Sustainable development: What does it really mean?

SUSTAINABLE development is mom's apple pie and the central organising principle of all things environmental. Governments and companies are all for it. 2018 has been announced as the Year of Climate Action in Singapore, and the country holds Asean's chairmanship this year as well. Sustainability thus occupies pride of place in Singapore's public policy and social discourse. However, the concept lacks definition and its ambiguity allows its proponents to make extravagant claims that cannot be tested.

In the private sector, most companies extol their commitment to sustainability in advertisements, annual reports, CEO speeches and PR communications. These serve to promote a favourable corporate image, burnish credentials in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and often are meant to appease their NGO and social activist critics. Originating in the Rio Earth Summit of 1992,…