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of waste and pollutants over the lifecycle, and do not jeopardise the needs of
future generations” (CfSD, 2004).
This definition builds partly on the definition of the United Nations Brundtland
Commission which saw sustainable development as:
“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987).
The UN World Summit 2005 report identified three pillars of sustainability: environmental/ecological,
social and economic. Each of these three are closely
linked to lifestyles and provide useful indicators of their level of sustainability.
Definition of “sustainable
lifestyles” (CfSD, 2004):
people’s “patterns of action
and consumption [...], which
• Meet basic needs,
• Provide a better quality of
life,
• Minimise the use of
natural resources and
emissions [...],
• Do not jeopardise
the needs of future
generations”
Environmental or ecological sustainability is concerned with the environmental
impact of production and consumption. Many indicators have been defined elsewhere
1 , including levels of carbon and other emissions, levels of water and air
pollution, land use, deforestation and biodiversity. Protecting the environment
from the negative impacts of our current behaviour is the only way to protect the
livelihoods of current and future generations.
Social sustainability spans equity and security, diversity and social cohesion,
health and well-being. It aims to ensure equity of access to social resources.
Economic sustainability means resource efficiency as well as viable financial
models and aims to satisfy people’s current needs and wants, to ensure the
same for future generations and to establish:
The three pillars of
sustainability (UN, 2005):
• Environmental
• Social
• Economic
“human–nature relationships over the long-term and inherently uncertain
future” (Baumgartner, & Quaas, 2010).
These three pillars are mutually dependent and the challenge is to move towards
sustainable lifestyles where progress is mutually supportive of all three
aspects of sustainability (UN, 2005). Many of the promising practices outlined in
this report address more than just one of these pillars.
The lifestyle implications of these three sustainability pillars are that social,
environmental and economic considerations would influence everything we do,
have, use and display. This does not and should not mean we would face reduced
choices but rather that a diversity of available choices support sustainable
lifestyles. Many behaviours contribute to more sustainable ways of living.
These include insulating our homes, reducing our consumption through product
maintenance and repair, choosing eco-friendly products and reducing the
impact of our travel by opting for less carbon intensive travel modes such as
trains. Based on an extensive review of sustainable behaviours, the Department
for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has identified nine “headline”,
thirty “key” and various “sub” behaviours that address impact hot spots of our
current unsustainable lifestyles (Table 2).
1 See for example the 2010 Environmental Performance Index released by Yale University
and Columbia University (http://epi.yale.edu/Home) and the UNDP report on Millennium
Development Goal 7 “Ensure Environmental Sustainability’ (http://www.beta.undp.org/
content/dam/undp/library/MDG/english/MDG_Report_2010_Goal7.pdf).
What are sustainable lifestyles? 25