Brundtland Commission, defining sustainability

In 1987, the Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs . 

It was the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations in 1987 that defined sustainable development in inspiring but very open-ended terms as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Crucially, it acknowledged that economic development was necessary to generate the wealth for cleaner, more efficient technologies, and social improvement. Going back to pre-industrial times was not the answer to the world s problems. 

Environmental management has moved on to embrace the concept of Sustainable Development. The 1987 World Commission on Environment/ Development under the guidance of Gro Harlem Brundtland (Prime Minister of Norway) made Sustainable Development the theme of its entire report called Our Common Future. It defined Sustainable Development as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In the UK in the mid-1990s the Department of Trade and Industry (DU) modified the definition to development which ensures a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. ... 

Of course, the term "sustainable development" was first launched with success in a United Nations report called "Our Common Future" [1], better known as "The Brundtland Report" after the chairperson of the commission that produced it (see Figure 13.1). In this report, sustainable development is defined as a social development required to satisfy the needs of present generations without putting at risk the needs of future generations. 

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