What is sustainability?
Sustainability, as defined by the United Nations in 1987, is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In other words, sustainability is using our resources and implementing patterns of behaviour that can help individuals and communities across the world succeed indefinitely.
In 2015, the UN established 17 sustainable development goals to be achieved by 2030 to help address the growing needs of the world. The goals include:
- No poverty
- Zero hunger
- Good health and well being
- Quality education
- Gender equality
- Clean water and sanitation
- Affordable and clean energy
- Decent work and economic growth
- Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
- Reduced inequalities
- Sustainable cities and communities
- Responsible consumption and production
- Climate action
- Life below water
- Life on land
- Peace, justice, and strong institutions
- Partnership for goals.
Why does global sustainability matter? The Hamburger Connection
The reasons these goals are important to everyone are highlighted by the interconnectedness of the world and the ever growing impacts of the collective whole. A famous example I have taught for years in high school comes in the form of “The Hamburger Connection”, referring to the impact of cattle ranching in Brazil. Here is a breakdown:
The Situation:
- Farmers experiencing poverty in Brazil seek to earn a living by raising and producing cattle.
- Cattle require fields to graze in, while Brazil is covered in rainforest.
- Farmers seeking to escape poverty burn down the rainforest to make room for their cattle fields.
- The rainforest itself is dense and teeming with life, but the indigenous plants of the region are designed for a rain heavy environment with deep roots. Grass on the other hand, is not designed for this environment, and so the soil is not able to grow grass for more than 2-3 years before nutrients run out.
- This means every 2 or 3 years, farmers need to make more room and destroy more forest as the fields run out of nutrients. The process continues and repeats.
- This is the base process behind the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest.
The Sustainability Problems:
- Life on land – Many creatures and plants are lost to the slash and burning of the forest. Many medicines are created from unique plants found here, and the destruction of the ecosystem has ramifications we don’t fully comprehend as of yet.
- Life on land – There are many undisturbed tribes in the forest whose lives we are affecting.
- Responsible Consumption and Production – The slash and burn technique causes huge amounts of pollution from the fires that rage.
- No poverty – The farmers continue to be in poverty.
- Climate Action – The huge loss of the world’s largest carbon sink, the forest itself, amplifies the impacts of our greenhouse gas emissions, thus quickening the impacts of climate change.
The Causes & SolutionsPoverty – The Brazilian farmers are in poverty and have no other option to escape it. The solutions address the core issue using sustainable techniques.
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – The Brazilian government needs to support these farmers to provide them realistic pathways to escape poverty. It begins with them setting intentions, like education, more jobs, and more sustainable options.
Quality Education – Education is the core solution of every problem. It provides more pathways for people and a better understanding of the impact of our actions. Provide education on better, more sustainable practices and provide alternatives.
Climate Action – One of the key parts of education is for everyone to understand why this is a problem and how we can still achieve our goals through other means. Climate action is inherent in education and part of planning with work and infrastructure.
Decent Work and Economic Growth – Providing job options or streamlined work into sustainable fields will help Brazil elevate its GDP along with aiding it becoming a global leader. This is tied to education, climate action, and to III.
Industry, innovation, and Infrastructure – Creating renewable energy sources, or using the fields they have cleared for sustainable farms, or using the rainforest to research medical use for plants and animals, are all options that could have long term benefits and positive impacts.
How can I be sustainable, and how can sustainability benefit me?
Sustainability can be as complex as leading governments and organizations into action, or as simple as making sustainably conscious decisions in your daily life.
Compost – I have had a vermicompost now for 2 years and it has helped produce nutrient rich soil along with many helpings of ‘worm tea’, which when sprayed onto my plants helped lead to my greatest tomato harvest to date. Either using a regular or vermicompost, they are an excellent way to save your waste from polluting landfills while also creating nutrient rich soil.
Buy local – This is the most simple and effective method to living a sustainable lifestyle. Ignoring politics, buying imported goods requires shipping costs which produce greenhouse gases, and not to mention that the money often goes to multi-national corporations. Buying locally on the other hand not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions, but helps keep money within your local economy. That helps to reduce poverty in your region while also helping improve the available decent work and encourage economic growth, which as a whole reduces inequalities within communities. If everyone follows this method, then the money we invest in others in our communities would eventually be invested back into ourselves.
Grow Produce – While there is a start-up fee in the cost of seeds and soil, the long term benefit comes in the form of saving trips to the store, and saving money while you harvest your own produce (whose prices have skyrocketed over the past several years). Solar panels – Solar energy is still being perfected, but as it grows in popularity and use, the costs will become more realistic and manageable. Cost aside, solar panels represent one of the most accessible forms of renewable energy, and can help power homes year round, sun dependent.
Works Cited
Green Roofs – Green roofs require plants or greenery covering a roof or balcony, which not only acts as a mini carbon sink, but also helps cool homes down in the warmer months. Combined with the previously mentioned idea on gardening and compost, a green roof (or balcony) could encompass both ideas, making them by far one of the most available and impactful sustainable solutions.
Advocating and voting for sustainable policies – This can include empowering voices that help close the gender gap and provide equal opportunities to men and women, or could be supporting policies that are pushing towards renewable energy sources or are evidently understanding of the importance in addressing climate change through their policies. While several of these options have initial costs to them, the long term gain vastly outweighs the initial cost; which I think is in itself symbolic of sustainability.
Bennett, Paige. “Climate Change Is Costing the World $16 Million per Hour.” World Economic Forum, 12 Oct. 2023, www.weforum.org/stories/2023/10/climate-loss-and-damage-cost-16-million-per-hour/.
Bonfert, Anna, and Divyanshi Wadhwa. “Tracing Global Trends in Education: A Tale of Old and New Gender Gaps.” World Bank Gender Data Portal, 18 Apr. 2024, genderdata.worldbank.org/en/data-stories/a-tale-of-old-and-new-gender-gaps.
“The 17 Sustainable Development Goals.” United Nations, 2015, sdgs.un.org/goals. Accessed 3 May 2026.
United Nations. “Sustainability.” United Nations, p. 1, www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability. Accessed 3 May 2026.
Wasley, Andrew, et al. “More than 800m Amazon Trees Felled in Six Years to Meet Beef Demand.” The Guardian, 2 June 2023, www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/02/more-than-800m-amazon-trees-felled-in-six-years-to-meet-beef-demand. Accessed 3 May 2026.