Introduction
Sustainability applies to different facets of any society. Therefore, terms such as sustainable development, sustainable community, sustainable industry, and sustainable agriculture among others have become so common. Sustainability consists of the present moment of a certain concept as well as its future. Although sustainability applies to different aspects of a society, sustainability manifests in the well-being of members of a society. In other words, how do different activities in different aspects of a society impact on present and future well-being of community members? Such impacts can either be positive or negative. This essay looks at sustainability in different aspects of society.
Definition of Sustainability
Sustainability manifests in the quality of life of community members, which arises from different aspects including economic, social and environmental. Indicators of economic sustainability include availability or lack of job opportunities, increased or decreased poverty in households, and ability or inability to own homes. Socially, sustainability includes aspect of crime levels, volunteerism as well as choice of working places i.e. whether citizens prefer public work or community based work. Environmental sustainability focuses on air quality, pollution or lack of pollution in water bodies as well as quality of water (Sustainability Measures, 2013).
Generally, sustainability refers to the ability to live within particular parameters, understanding relatedness among economic, social and environmental aspects as well as equitable sharing of resources and opportunities in the society. In particular, sustainability applies to different aspects as earlier seen and therefore acquires specific definitions as discussed below.
Sustainable development refers to enhancing the quality of human and animal life through available resources in a given locality. In addition, a sustainable environment demands utilizing what the earth can provide without getting diminished with an aim of enabling future generations to access such resources (Sustainability Measures, 2013). Further, sustainable development is the process of creating equitable, participatory and yielding structures to enhance financial empowerment of community members. As such, sustainable development involves pursuing economic improvement, social equity and environmental quality.
Sustainable development posits positive transformation which does not affect environmental or social systems negatively. In this regard, sustainable development calls for proper coordination between policy making and implementation, which involves community participation as well as informed understanding of the significant relationship between community members and environment and how each of them needs another one (Sustainability Measures, 2013).
A sustainable community refers to a community whose long-term probability for continued existence is positive and manifests through focus on environmental conservation, creating peaceful coexistence between different nations and sharing out of resources in a fair way (Sustainability Measures, 2013). As such, a sustainable community must enhance life, take charge as stewards and create relations outside such a community with an aim of promoting sustainability on the global front. Lastly, a community remains sustainable if it can produce faster than it can consume and does not produce wastes which natural systems cannot process (Sustainability Measures, 2013).
A sustainable enterprise emphasizes on local products and shuns imported products that a local community produces (Sustainability Measures, 2013). In addition, a sustainable enterprise uses local capital to grow and expand activities while engaging in production systems that are human friendly and dignified and endeavor to educate clients. Such an enterprise focuses on measures to reduce consumption of energy and takes care in regard to waste disposal. In addition, such an enterprise adheres to guidelines set by authorities on environmental sustainability (Sustainability Measures, 2013).
Reference
Sustainability Measures (2013). Sustainability Indicators 101. Web.