What is sustainable development?

Trees4Good and Sustainable Development

The past 20 years have seen a growing realisation that the current model of world economic development is unsustainable. In other words, we are living beyond our means. We are destroying the planet and using up its resources at a rate that it is simply not possible to continue at.

From the loss of biodiversity with the felling of rainforests or over fishing to the negative effect our consumption patterns are having on the environment and the climate. Our way of life in a consumer based society is placing an increasing burden on the planet. The increasing stress we put on resources and environmental systems such as water, land and air cannot go on forever.

The world's population continues to increase and we already see a world where over a billion people live on less than a dollar a day. A widely-used and accepted international definition of sustainable development is: 'development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' - Globally we are not even meeting the needs of the present let alone considering the needs of future generations. Trees4Good and its partner companies and peole want to change this.

The simple fact is that unless we start to make real progress toward reconciling these contradictions we face a future that is less certain and less secure. We need to make a decisive move toward more sustainable development. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is in our own long-term best interests. It offers the best hope for the future. Whether at school, in the home or at work, we all have a part to play. Our small everyday actions add up to make a big difference.

Planting trees that help generate sustainable economies and lift people out of poverty is a great place to start.