“Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The concept of sustainable development can be traced to 1987 and the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) – commonly known as the Brundtland Commission, named for its Chair, Gro Harlem Brundtland. The commission was charged with developing recommendations for paths towards economic and social development that would not achieve short-term economic growth at the expense of long-term environmental and economic stability.

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A company that is weak on both values and commercial competence is simply a bad business. One that has strong values but is badly run, without proper attention to translating values into profits, will plainly not do well. In contrast, a company that is highly competent commercially but does not bother with corporate responsibility may work just fine, but it could also prove increasingly risky. Lastly a combination of strong commitment to CSR and strong commercial competence gives a good chance of success. The Economist Feb 2008

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August 20 was Earth Overshoot Day 2013, the approximate date humanity’s ecological resource consumption exceeded what Earth can renew this year. A mere 34 weeks into 2013, we demanded a level of ecological resources and services — from food and raw materials to sequestering carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions — equivalent to what Earth can regenerate for all of 2013.

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