Sustainability an der Universität Paderborn

First, three pillars of sustainability:

• three pillars: economy, ecology, social
• independent

Secondly, Tripple Bottom Line:

• interdependent

Thirdly, Sustainability triad:

• economy, ecology and social aspects are comprehensive

Now: Economy as a subsystem of social and economy

• holistic

Sustainability= conservation

Economic:

• weak:
  • prosperitiy maximasation
• strong:
  • Conservation of (natural) capital

Ecological:

• Stability and resilience of ecosystems

sociocultural:

• continuing, just satisfaction of needs

• prosperity maximasation
• "Real GDP per Capita is increasing over time and the increase is not threatened by "feedback" from either biophysical or from social impacts"
• sustainability= constant total capital stock
• Types of capital can be substituted

• Conservation of (natural) Capital
• "founded upon the law of thermodynamics and requires that the total stock of natural capital remains constant over time"
• no/ limited substitution of natural capital

• stability and resilience of ecosystems
• "maintenance of essential ecological processes and life support systems, the preservation of genetic diversity and the sustainable utilisation of species and ecosystems

• continuing, just satisfaction of needs
• "increasing the standard of living of the poor, which can be measured in terms of increased food, real income, health care, water supply. sanitation"

Economic Growth:

• typical macroeconomic goals
• one dimensional
• quantitative
• GDP

Economic Development:

• qualitative
• more dimensional
  • increasing quality of life
  • decreasing inequality
  • acces to education, health care...

This sense of justice comes from Aristoteles and is about treating your equals as equal. 

with regard to the Brundland-Definition (meet needs of present generation without compromising future generation) one can say:

• noone can use resources to ensure distributive justice
• Dilemma

• Resources can be used at same production capacity
• encourages technological development
• "enough and as good"

This equation shows that the impact can be meassured with population, affluence and technology. They can have a negative or positive impact. If two of the variables stay constant, the other one has a bigger impact.

I=PAT

I=Impact

P=Population

A=Affluence (Porsperity)

T=Technology

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• deutsch: Weltklimarat
• Institution of UN
• Publishing and reports about cilmate change

Sustainable development is development that can meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

WCED, 1987