What is Sustainability?

Sustainability Definitions

"Sustainable development means improving the quality of life whilst living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems." IUCN, UNEP and WWF-UK, 1991

"Like liberty, justice and democracy, sustainability has no single and agreed meaning. It takes on different meaning within different political ideologies and programmes underpinned by different kind of knowledge, values and philosophy." John Huckle, 1996

"Sustainability is what we want it to be and can change as we change. The best we can achieve is to acknowledge the centrality of people and to put participation at the very heart of implementation." Bell and Morse, 2000

Community Action?

Community action for sustainability means action for greener, healthier, more sustainable communities. This integrates environmental, social and economic issues.

Community action for sustainability delivers local environmental improvements and generates enthusiasm for the environment. It often leads to local policy change for sustainable development.

Community projects in action include community recycling projects, food growing groups, people improving their area and walking and cycling initiatives.

Our values

We support the values of Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. These put local people at the core of environmental, social and economic sustainability.

At the Rio+10 Summit in Johannesburg, Aug 2002, local governments renewed commitments to Agenda 21, demanding accelerated implementation under the motto "Local Action 21".