Sustainability
Introduction
Sustainability is a key concept in Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) within the International Baccalaureate (IB) syllabus. It involves understanding how to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This study note will delve into the principles, components, and real-world applications of sustainability, making it easier to grasp and apply these concepts.
Sustainability and Sustainable Development
Environmental sustainability means using global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimizes damage to the environment.
Social sustainability focuses on the creation of structures and systems such as health, education and community to support human well-being. It focuses on the survival of societies and their culture.
Economic sustainability focuses on creating economic structures and systems to support the production and consumption of goods and services that will support human needs. Economic sustainability cannot be achieved without environmental sustainability.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Sustainable development refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The United Nations has outlined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address global challenges and achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
The SDGs provide a comprehensive framework for addressing sustainability on a global scale.
Learn some specific examples of sustainable schemes - for example, Curitiba has a sustainable transport program and a ‘green exchange’ whereby residents can exchange waste products for food or bus tickets.
Natural Capital and Natural Income
Natural capital is a term used for resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services. Natural income is a resource that is produced as ‘interest’, i.e. the sustainable income produced by the natural capital.
- Natural capital: Forests, mineral deposits, fisheries, fertile soil.
- Natural income: Timber, ores, fish, plants.
Ecosystem services
- Supporting services: They are essentials for life and include primary productivity, soil formation and the cycling of nutrients.
- Regulating services: Benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena. Examples include pollination, regulation of pests and diseases, and production of goods.
- Provisioning services: Services people obtain from ecosystems such as food, fibre, and water from aquifers.
- Cultural services: Services derived from places where people’s interaction with nature provides cultural goods and benefits.
You need to be able to discuss the value of ecosystem services to a society.
Sustainability indicators
Ecological Footprint
The ecological footprint represents the hypothetical area of land required by a society, group, or individual to fulfil all their resource needs and the assimilation of wastes. If the EF is greater than the area available to the population, the population is living unsustainably.
Components of Ecological Footprint:
- Carbon footprint (energy use)
- Food footprint (agricultural land)
- Housing footprint (built-up land)
- Goods and services footprint (resource consumption)
A person who drives a fuel-efficient car, recycles, and uses renewable energy will have a smaller ecological footprint than someone who relies heavily on fossil fuels and generates a lot of waste.
You need to be able to explain the relationship between ecological footprint and sustainability.
Carbon footprint
Carbon footprint measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced by our actions. It includes direct emissions, like fossil-fuel combustion due to manufacturing and transportation and indirect emissions, like the production of electricity associated with goods and services consumed. Calculating carbon footprint can help us adopt methods to make our lives and businesses (manufacturing, production and transportation) more sustainable.
Environmental Impact Assessments
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) provide decision-makers with information in order to consider the environmental impact of a project. The purpose of an EIA is to establish the impact of the project on the environment.
Stages of the EIA
- Screening: Once all project designs have been considered, determine if the development will impact the environment significantly
- Scoping: Define issues that need to be addressed. Focus on impacts that will have a significant effect on the environment.
- Baseline study: Study of the current state of the environment before applying the design.
- Impact prediction: Interpretation of the importance or significance of the impacts. Conclusions are used to decide the fate of a project.
- Mitigation: Taking measures to reduce or remove environmental impacts.
- Monitoring/Assessment: Used to determine the accuracy of predictions, degree of deviation from predictions, reasons for deviations, and effect of mitigation.
You need to be able to evaluate the use of EIAs. Criticism of EIAs includes the lack of a standard practice or training for practitioners, the lack of a clear definition of a system boundary, and the lack of inclusion of indirect impacts.
Strengths of EIAs
- Legal compliance: Ensures that projects comply with environmental regulations and standards, helping avoid legal penalties and ensuring adherence to environmental laws.
- Economic benefits: This can lead to cost savings by identifying potential problems early and avoiding costly remediation efforts later. It also can prevent project delays caused by unforeseen environmental issues.
- Improved project design: Encourages better project planning and design by incorporating environmental considerations, which can lead to more efficient resource use and reduced environmental footprint.
Limitations of EIAs
- Costly: Conducting an EIA can be expensive, particularly for small projects or organizations with limited resources. This includes costs associated with data collection, analysis, and reporting.
- Uncertainty: Predictions made in an EIA are based on available data and assumptions, which may not always accurately predict actual impacts, leading to potential uncertainties in outcomes.
- Scope limitations: EIAs might not always fully capture the cumulative and long-term environmental impacts of a project, focusing more on immediate and localized effects.
Circular economy (CE)
The circular economy is a model that involves production and consumption involving sharing, reusing, repairing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible to reduce waste and overuse of resources. It has three principles: eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials and regenerating nature.
Strengths in adopting CE:
- Reduces greenhouse emissions and waste by extending the product life cycle
- Promotes sustainable consumer habits
- Regeneration of natural systems
Factors preventing the adoption of CE:
- Lack of environmental awareness by consumers and companies
- Lack of regulations enforcing recycling
- Technical and financial limitations
Conclusion
Understanding sustainability in ESS involves grasping the intricate balance between environmental, economic, and social factors. The understanding of sustainability, circular economy and the SDGs, and calculating sustainability indicators, we can work towards a more sustainable future. This knowledge not only helps in academic pursuits but also in making informed, responsible decisions in everyday life.
