Sustainability - or 'sustainable living' - has been defined as the goal of sustainable development.
A widely-used and internationall accepted definition of sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland, 1987).
In 2005, the UK government stated the goal of sustainable development is to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations (Defra).
Sustainable development is commonly conceptualised as having three dimensions - dimensions which are often symbolised as overlapping circles:
- environmental
- social
- economic
Sustainable development involes:
- the integration of economic, environmental and social elements
- minimising the trade-offs that have to be made between those elements
A sustainability-driven approach to civil engineering leads to adoption of some key objectives in practice:
- dramatically reduce the environmental impact of our life and work
- dramatically improve the environmental quality of what we create
- maximise the utilisation of materials and their reuse
- maximise appropriate use of secondary and recyled materials
- minimise waste in design, construction and use
- minimise energy and water use
- minimise pollution from all our activities
- focus on increasing peoples' quality of life through good urban design
- ensuring respect for people - showing care towards the workforce and the surrounding community