Sustainability Concepts

By,
Dr. Patrick Tang

Learning objectives
To clearly define sustainable development and

understand the evolution of sustainable concept

Understand the sustainability concepts, indicators and
constraints in achieving SD
Understand the pre-cautionary principle
Understand the differences between inter and intra
generational equity

Introduction
Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Report, UNEP, 2002
2 billion ha of soil is now classed as degraded by

human activities
About 1/6th of this is either strongly or extremely

degraded

Half of the worlds rivers are seriously depleted and

polluted
24% of mammals and 12% of bird species are under
threat
Depletion of the ozone layer which protects life from
UV light reached record levels
Concentrations of CO2 stood at 367 ppm or 25%
higher than 250 years ago.
3

UNEP on Human Development,

2002
Some 80 countries, 40% of the worlds population,
suffering from serious water shortages by 1995
Around 1.1 bil. people still lack access to safe drinking

water and 2.4 billion to good sanitation (Africa &Asia)

2.8 billion people live on less than $2/day
Every year, 11 million children die of preventable causes
derived from poor nutrition, sanitation, material health
and education

Conclusion: Current development course is

unsustainable!
4

We need to
develop an
approach
which focuses
on integrating
economic
activity with
environmental
protection and
social concerns
5

World Commission on Environment and Development,

1987 - Our common future The Earth is one but world is not. We all depend on
one biosphere for sustaining our lives. Yet each
community, each country, strives for survival and
prosperity with little regard for its impacts on others.
Some consume the Earths resources at a rate that
would leave little for future generations. Others, many
more in number, consume far too little and live with
the prospects of hunger, squalor, disease and early
death.

The Brundtland report,

World Commission for Economic Development
(1987)
Concept of sustainability is defined as meeting

the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs

Concept of Sustainable development (SD) &

Policy making
Successful SD (UNEP/WWF/IUCNNR 1980)
Social, ecological factors ,

economic
Living and non-living resource
Long term and short term
consequences
Policy making involves
Maintenance of ecological
processes
Sustainable use of resources
Maintenance of genetic diversity

Sustainable development
at confluence of social,
environment and
economic aspects

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su
stainable_development , last
viewed on 10th Feb 2010
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Triple bottom line

Fig. 1: Environmental,
economic and social
systems

The economic system draws on

materials and energy resources

from the environment, & labour
and intellectual capital from
society.
The economic system generates
a diversity of goods and services
for societys benefit, but at the
expense of impacts on the
environment.
The environment provides clean
air, water and land, as well as the
diversity of flora and fauna, to
society; these provisions are
essential to the development of
the social system.
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Environmental indicators
Resource depletion
Global warming potential
Ozone layer depletion
Photochemical smog
Human and eco-toxicity

Social indicators

Economic indicators
Gross Domestic Product

(GDP)
Capital expenditure,
including that on
environmental protection
Environmental liabilities
Ethical investments

Stake holder inclusion

International standards of

conduct regarding business

dealings, child labour
Income distribution
Satisfaction of social needs
including work

Sustainability
Indicators

10

World Commission on Environment

Development, 2002 : Targets
Reduce poverty
Accelerate shift towards sustainable consumption &

production
Increase global share of renewable energy sources
Improve economically viable, socially acceptable and
environmentally sound energy services
Develop and disseminate energy efficiency and energy
conservation technologies
To develop water resource management and water
efficiency plans
Reduce current loss of biological diversity
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How do we achieve SD?

Reducing material requirements
Reducing energy intensity

Reducing toxic dispersion

Enhancing material recyclability

Maximizing sustainable use of renewable resources

Extending product durability
Increasing the service intensity

12

Sustainable Technologies
Developments in new technologies can help achieve SD
Information and communications technology
Bio-technology

Nanotechnology

13

Nanotechnology
Creating smaller and

Nano-scale robots

cheaper devices
Using less material and
consuming less energy

Solar nano-technologies

Eg. Minute carriers and

nano-scale robots

Single molecule

transistors
Enzyme powered biomolecular motor
Minute carriers

14

Modern Biotechnology
Recombinant DNA
Cloning of Dolly the sheep
Agriculture and medicine
Speed up plant breeding
Crop varieties with greater
drought and disease
resistance
More nutritional value and
less environmental stress
Pest resistant genetically

modified (GM) crops, could

reduce the need to use
pesticides
Reduces damage to soil
quality
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Biotechnology Applications
Food Biotechnology

Stem Cell
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Food Biotechnology in Asia

Soy sauce
Tempeh and natto

(fermented soybeans)
Belacan (fermented
shrimp paste)
Cincaluk (fermented
shrimps)
Budu and ngoc nam
(fermented fish sauce)
Tapai (fermented rice)

Toddy (fermented young

flowers of palm)
Pickles
Vinegar
Bread
Yoghurt
Cheese
Asia Food Information Centre
(AFIC), 2001

17

Genetic Modification in Food Technology

Is it all good? Has the concentration of any naturally occurring

toxins or allergens in the food changed?

Have the levels of key nutrients changed?
Do new substances in the genetically modified food
have a history of safe use?
Has the foods digestibility been affected?
Has the food been produced using accepted,
established procedures?
Asia Food Information Centre
(AFIC), 2001
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Negative impacts of Technological advances

Usage of CFC causing

Affordability of nano-

ozone depletion
Increased skin cancer
Explosion of nuclear
power plant in
Chernobyl, Ukraine
Global warming

materials, rich or poor?

GMO can disrupt ecosystems and cause risk to
human health

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Pre-cautionary principle
How to handle negative impacts
from GMO?
1.
2.

3.

4.

Avoid transferring genes from foods known to be allergenic.

Check the structure of any new proteins produced in foods
derived from biotechnology against the structures of known
allergens to assure that no allergenic structures exist in the
new protein.
Measure the stability of the new protein in stomach and
intestinal fluids. Most allergens are stable to these conditions.
Proteins which are unstable to these conditions are not likely
to be allergens.
Determine how much of the new protein will be present in the
food consumed by humans. Most allergens are present in large
amounts (10% or more of the protein in the food where they
occur).
Asia Food Information Centre
(AFIC), 2001

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Precautionary Principle
Known as Rio Declaration
Implemented in global climate

Cost-benefit analysis and

discretionary judgment are

allowed
change, ozone-depletion and
bio-diversity conservation
Lack of scientific certainty
shall not be used as reason for
Misinterpreted as requiring
postponing cost-effective
proof of safety before allowing
measures to prevent
new technologies
environmental degradation
No new technology could meet
the above!
Apply the precautionary
principle even when there is
NO evidence to prove causal
link between emissions and
effects!
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Intra-generational equity
Represents current

Environmental

generation
Achieve material equity
and social justice both
within and between
countries
Helping poor nations
and assuring the poor
getting fair share of
resources required

degradation lead to
unsafe water, poor
sanitation affecting the
poor
IPCC report: Poorest
parts of the world will
suffer from global
climate change the most
Impacts fall
disproportionately on
the poor
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Intra-generational equity:
Poverty vs. Sustainable Development
Poor tend to be most vulnerable

to effects of environment
degradation
Low capacity to adapt to change
Vicious circle: link between
poverty and environment
Population growth and
inadequate resources lead to
migration of poor to more fragile
lands& overuse of env. resources
Big gap between the poor and
the rich!
Causes of poverty may be
injustice, policies and etc.

Indoor pollution from cooking

and heating
They prepare food and heat the
house by burning dung, wood,
crop residues, charcoal
Human health suffers in poorly
ventilated areas
Improving efficiency of cook
stoves by 20% can reduce the
amount of firewood
Solar cook-stove is an alternative

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UNDP and EU Poverty and

Environment Initiative
Strengthen participation of the poor in local plans,

policies, strategies
Protect the current natural asset of the poor through
protecting the access they already have such as land,
esp. in cases where poor are weak
Transferring the ownership of natural assets to poor
Assisting poor to overcome high initial costs for
sanitation
Resource transfers to poor
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Intergenerational Equity
Weak vs. Strong sustainability
Refers to our obligations to future generation
Constant Capital rule: the value of capital stock must not

be allowed to decline for indefinite future

Types of Capital: built, human, social, natural, financial.
Weak sustainability assumes forms of capital can be
substitutable with each other
Loss of natural capital(ozone layer, biological diversity) is
irreversible
Strong sustainability is when equivalent stock of natural
capital is preserved for future generations
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General principles of
Intergenerational Equity
The principle of not closing down options for future
generations (by making irreversible changes,
including the elimination of species or using up of
resources)
2. The principle of maximising future choices by
making a considered judgement as to what are the
most central, significant or important things to
preserve and protect, ex. air, energy, biodiversity,
cultural values.
1.

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Conclusions
How to achieve SD?
Reduce excessive levels of production and

consumption
More efficient use of resources
Reduce global pollution, protect bio-diversity and
alleviate poverty
Doing business with cleaner and more eco-efficient
production process
Increase recycling
Increase public participation in decision making to
create policies important in SD
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Key items for sustainability in the

chemical industry, Graedel (2002)
Chemical feed stocks

Energy for feed stock processing

Water for feed stock processing
Environment resilient to residual wastes emitted

* Water is identified because of the diverse demands for its

uses (residential, commercial, agriculture), its variability in
quality and availability, and its non-viability (in most cases)
as a traded commodity.

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Sustainable Chemical Industry

Graedel recommended a strategy for sustainable
chemical industry
Begin and maintain a

transition from
petrochemical to biochemical
feedstocks
Develop a strategy for
limiting water use to a
reasonable allocation of the
locally available supply

Begin and maintain a

transition from fossil fuel

and/or biomass energy to
more sustainable energy
Establish a program designed
to achieve near zero
discharges to the
environment

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Suggestions
Graedels report
Graedel suggested a target

2035 for 50% contribution

time for sustainability of 2

generations (approximately
50 years), based on a report
by the Board of Sustainable
Development of the US
National Research Council.
He proposes time frameworks
for transitions necessary to
achieve sustainability. Target
dates included.

from petrochemical and 50%

from biotechnological
feedstocks for organic
chemicals
2040 for 50% contribution
from fossil fuel and 50% from
non-fossil fuel or essentially
sustainable energy sources
2050 for close approach to
zero discharges from
processes to the environment
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Sustainability in Malaysia
Business Council for Sustainable Development in

Malaysia: primary advocator of Sustainable Development

in the Malaysian industry and society at large
BCSDM strives
To create awareness in sustainable development (SD)

To get the business community involved in SD

To be the main link between the Government and the

business community
To be an information exchange on successful SD practices
To work with national and global bodies towards attaining SD

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More to come!

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