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, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development includes leading multinational corporations such as AT&T, BP, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Nestle, Proctor and Gamble, Shell, Sony and Toyota.

While the sustainability concept has been defined in many ways, it was first coined in a report published by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 (Gro Brundtland was the former prime minister of Norway and was appointed by the United Nations to head its sustainability programme in 1983). It was defined as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". This definition appeals quite naturally to the broad intuition of most people who are concerned about ensuring a better life for future generations. Yet, it is difficult to pin down when practical questions of policy or private sector behaviour are posed.