Understanding Sustainability

In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”―a definition that is still relevant in the present day.

“Sustainability means that we should not reduce the ability of people in the future to have the same quality of life, or better, than what we’ve had,” says Beatrice Olivastri, CEO of Friends of the Earth Canada, a non-governmental organization that advocates for environmental protection. “It requires a commitment to intergenerational equity.”

While the widespread use of the term “sustainability” is relatively new, the ethos behind it is not: Indigenous communities have long held the belief that we should care for our world in a way that ensures the well-being of the next seven generations.

Environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability focuses on protecting and preserving natural resources (like clean air, water, forests, and biodiversity), so that they can continue to support life for generations to come.

When we think about changes like shifting toward renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels or reducing the amount of waste we produce, it’s often this dimension of sustainability that we consider most explicitly.

For Olivastri, nature and the environment are the most important criteria of sustainability, given that without healthy ecosystems, we will struggle to have healthy human societies and economies.

The environment and the economy

Economic sustainability means supporting economic growth while ensuring resources are used efficiently and responsibly. How we set up our flows of resources has a significant impact on the environment.

Currently, our economies are largely linear, meaning that we follow a “take-make-use-dispose” formula for most products―essentially carving a straight line from production to disposal.

In some capacities, we’ve shifted toward recycling economies, where products are downcycled until we eventually dispose of them. It is possible, for example, that cardboard can be recycled into new products up to 20 times before its fibres break down.

However, recycling efforts are often insufficient: according to a 2019 study, only 9 percent of the 3.3 million tonnes of plastic that Canadians dispose of annually is recycled.

To make our economies truly sustainable, we need to shift toward what’s known as a circular economy, which maintains products and resources in circulation without diminishing their value, rather than recycling resources down to their disposal.

Just 7.2 percent of the global economy is currently circular, meaning that we have a long way to go in terms of shifting toward this kind of system.

Social sustainability

While we often think of the environmental aspects of sustainability, its social dimension is also critical. Social sustainability relates to creating a world where everyone can meet their social, cultural, and spiritual needs and access a good quality of life.

This includes ensuring equity in any transitions toward more environmentally sustainable practices. For example, farmers transitioning out of industrial food production should be given the opportunity to learn new skills or offered other pathways to fulfilling work.

Environmental justice

Another important part of social sustainability is environmental justice. This concept highlights how vulnerable communities often bear the brunt of climate change and pollution. The Government of Canada is currently working on a strategy to promote environmental justice for low-income, racialized, and/or Indigenous communities, who are more likely to be affected by harmful industrial practices, as well as the impacts of climate change.

Olivastri notes the case of a plastic plant in Southwestern Ontario that was recently forced to close after being ordered by the government to curb emissions of a harmful chemical impacting the health of the local Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

Working toward a more sustainable world

While individual action on sustainability is important, governments and corporations also have a lot of power.

Government commitments and action

In 2015, the Canadian government committed to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed to by the United Nations. These goals must be achieved by 2030 and cover dimensions of environmental, economic, and social sustainability, like ensuring gender equality and protecting biodiversity.

While Canada is making progress on some SDGs, there’s still much work to be done, particularly regarding persistent inequalities for Indigenous and racialized communities, working-age singles, female-led single-parent families, and people with disabilities. Increasing emissions from oil and gas projects are also holding back Canada’s progress on climate commitments.

Corporate influence and power

According to a recent study, from 2016 to 2022, 80 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions were produced by just 57 corporate and state producing companies.

Corporations, therefore, hold a lot of influence in the world of sustainability. Indeed, many spend significant sums of money lobbying governments to allow them to continue environmentally and socially harmful practices; a new report estimated that oil and gas lobbyists held an average of nearly five meetings daily with Canadian government officials in 2023.

It’s for this reason that Olivastri feels particularly frustrated by the degree to which sustainability initiatives have been “captured” by corporate interests.

Individual agency

While systemic change is desperately needed, the good news is that, as individuals, we also still have power. Olivastri recommends engaging with community sustainability initiatives as much as possible.

“Whether it’s your community looking at how to deal with plastic waste or deciding if a new polluting business can be set up, these are times when we should get involved,” she says.

It can be tricky to navigate corporations’ sustainability claims: many companies use a technique called “greenwashing” to make their products sound more sustainable than they really are.

If you come across vague labelling referring to a product being better for the environment, Olivastri recommends taking a critical approach. “Always ask yourself: on what basis is this claim being made?” she says. “Can they prove this claim? Can I?”

In this regard, Olivastri encourages thinking of yourself as a citizen―someone with both rights and responsibilities related to the environment―rather than a mere consumer.

While we should all try to make our lives as sustainable as possible, it’s important not to lose sight of the changes we need to see from governments and corporations. If you have the privilege to use your voice to protest and exercise your right to vote, these are crucial ways that we can hold power to account.

This article was originally published in the April 2025 issue of alive magazine.