Quotes & Sayings About Sustainable Development

Entrepreneurship is the cornerstone to African development and the key to local value creation in Africa. I am determined to ensure that Africa's next generation of entrepreneurs have the platform they need to turn their entrepreneurial aspirations into sustainable businesses that will drive economic growth and job creation across Africa, — Tony Elumelu

Sustainable Development is more than meeting the needs of today and the future generations; to my understanding this definition better fits sex industry. — M.F. Moonzajer

Globalisation can provide the route for the development of a sustainable and prosperous planetary society in the next generation, provided that globalisation itself becomes more civilised than it is right now. — Peter Ellyard

We will fight against any pro-nuclear power plan. And we will remind people that a change in the German nuclear consensus would stifle the development of sustainable energy and it would cost jobs. The SPD is the strongest among the opposition parties and we must take on this role with vigour. — Sigmar Gabriel

measures like GDP per person give only a rough reflection of the overall level of wellbeing of an individual or a nation. But for sustainable development we are interested in raising human wellbeing, not just in raising income, still less in a mad race for more riches for people who are already rich. Therefore, it is important to ask how we can best measure wellbeing (or life satisfaction) beyond GDP per capita. — Jeffrey D. Sachs

As Americans, we have shown ourselves to have the greatest military on the face of the planet, but we are not so very good at anticipating threats and appreciating just how difficult it is to build up stable democracies, to make the investments and sustainable development that we must as a nation if we are to attack the root causes of these sorts of instability. — Martin O'Malley

Sustainable development and climate change are two sides of the same coin — Ban Ki-moon

Sustainable development is a fundamental break that's going to reshuffle the entire deck. There are companies today that are going to dominate in the future simply because they understand that. — Francois-Henri Pinault

All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated. — Kofi Annan

Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance. — Ban Ki-moon

It is only individual great forces, which must be pulled together, in our common vision of combating the climate change. — Lailah Gifty Akita

The conflict in the Middle East needs to be solved for the same reasons. It is necessary to reach a two-states solution, built on international law, for sustainable peace and development, and it can only be achieved through joint efforts by the international community. — Anna Lindh

Literacy is at the heart of sustainable development — Kofi Annan

I went to art school in Chicago for a year at Columbia College. I had this whole master plan of getting into sustainable development and green architecture and construction, so I wanted to go to business school and then get my masters in construction and development. — Nico Tortorella

We know the problems ... and we know the solution; sustainable development. The issue is the political will — Tony Blair

Glorify Sustainable Organisations since they benefit all society — Miguel Reynolds Brandao

Climate change knows no borders. It will not stop before the Pacific islands and the whole of the international community here has to shoulder a responsibility to bring about a sustainable development. — Angela Merkel

An NDP government will establish, in law, clear criteria for resource extraction and transportation based on the principles of sustainable development, which include internalizing all pollution costs and putting a price on carbon. In our day and age there is no longer any way around it. Any new energy project requires a thorough, credible environmental assessment process, based on criteria of sustainable development and social acceptability. We don't have one in Canada, because the Conservatives have gutted all the relevant existing legislation and reduced the staff responsible for enforcing it. — Tom Mulcair

There is no shortage of evidence that when we support the fundamental freedoms of women and girls, they are able to realize their full potential to engage in, contribute to and benefit from sustainable development. In doing so, we will all reap the benefits; in our homes, throughout our communities, and across our nations. — Sam Kutesa

During my nearly five years as director-general of WHO, high-level policymakers have increasingly recognized that health is central to sustainable development. — Gro Harlem Brundtland

One buzzphrase that arose was 'sustainable development', which was used in two very different senses by opposing groups, because it left vague by what metric sustainability might be measured. Environmental groups meant by 'sustainability' a holistic approach by which life as we know it might be sustained. Scientists talked about 'sustainable cities' to mean cities that would not be destroyed by flooding in the wake of global warming. But to others, 'sustainable' meant a financial approach by which the oil industry as we know it might be sustained: sustainability was the minimum amount of environmental care that was affordable by those whose activities harmed the environment. — Steven Poole

Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. — Kofi Annan

My next goal is for Shenzhen to become the model of environmentally-friendly and sustainable development. — Wang Shi

Changing eating habits in the North is an important link in the chain of events needed to create environmentally sustainable development that meets people's needs. The Beyond Beef campaign is an important step in that direction. — Walden Bello

Falling prices are driving renewable energy investment in India, which rose 13 per cent last year and is expected to surpass 10 billion dollars in 2015. Adoption of increasingly cost-effective renewables holds the genuine promise of a new age of socio-economic development, powered by clean, increasingly decentralised, and sustainable energy. The opportunity for India is tremendous. — Adnan

Companies not interested in sustainable development issues will not survive long — Malcolm Brinded

We want to build things that encourage creativity and exploration. We're working to build a company focused on sustainable, creative and fulfilling game development. It's aimed at making a positive difference in our lives, as well as the lives of our people. — Robin Hunicke

To realize lasting peace and sustainable development in human society, members of the international community have to cooperate with one another fully and make concerted efforts. — Wu Bangguo

There can be no real growth without healthy populations. No sustainable development without tackling disease and malnutrition. No international security without assisting crisis-ridden countries. And no hope for the spread of freedom, democracy and human dignity unless we treat health as a basic human right. — Gro Harlem Brundtland

The realization of a sustainable economic development strategy for Maine's Native American communities has always been a priority and a critical element of my administration's overall economic development strategy. — John Baldacci

Global warming will not end by Earth finding a shade under the trees but under our hands joined together — Agona Apell

Culture defines who we are and how we see ourselves. A new attitude toward nature provides space for a new attitude toward culture and the role it plays in sustainable development — Wangari Maathai

It is not reasonable that art should win the place of honor over our great and powerful mother Nature. We have so overloaded the beauty and richness of her works by our inventions that we have quite smothered her. — Michel De Montaigne

Also, it is interesting that developing countries, with China and India perhaps in the lead, where the future of the global environment will be decided are now on board with the case for sustainable development. — Maurice Strong

Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow. It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances. — Pope Benedict XVI

Sustainable development is a proven catalyst for Xerox innovation. — Anne M. Mulcahy

If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we will no longer argue about the importance of wilderness protection, or over the question of saving endangered species, or how human communities must base their economic futures - not on short-term exploitation - but on long-term, sustainable development. — Gaylord Nelson

I always run into these Ph.D.s. They write and write and write about sustainable development. Then these guys ask me, 'But, how do you do it?' They are scared to death to do anything. — Jaime Lerner

If we want the world to be a better place to live, we have to treat it as one unit. If we want economic growth to be pervasive, we have to make people its partners. If we want the process of development to be sustainable, we have to work with the environment. — Narendra Modi

The core values that underpin sustainable development - interdependence, empathy, equity, personal responsibility and intergenerational justice - are the only foundation upon which any viable vision of a better world can possibly be constructed — Jonathon Porritt

Global markets must be balanced by global values such as respect for human rights and international law, democracy, security and sustainable economic and environmental development. — Anna Lindh

In my view, there is an urgent need to communicate with the public and help to explain where there is consensus, and where are there doubts about the issues of sustainable development. — Jeffrey Sachs

I became very interested [in philosophy] after attending the U.N. Conference on sustainable development in Brazil.I'm very concerned about climate change and the world reaching a tipping point. And, I see other people who really just want to survive to make it to the next election, rather than making means of change. — Nick Offerman

When my parents were growing up the world's population was under three billion. During my children's lifetime, it is likely to exceed nine billion. You don't need to be an expert to realise that sustainable development is going to become the greatest challenge we face this century — Tony Blair

Resources businesses must contribute to sustainable development if we are to continue to have access to resources. — Cynthia Carroll

The totalitarian greens, sometimes called ecofascists, would like to see most other humans eliminated in genocide and so leave a perfect Earth for them alone. At the other end of the spectrum are those who would like to see universal human welfare and rights, and somehow hope that luck, Gaia or sustainable development will allow this dream to come true. Greens could be defined as those who have sensed the deterioration of the natural world and would like to do something about it. They share a common environmentalism but differ greatly in the means for its achievement. — James E. Lovelock

The New Economy brings the need to tap people's curiosity, quest for knowledge and understanding, in order to develop a sustainable society. — Miguel Reynolds Brandao

There should be order if the development of the cyber world is to be sustainable. — Ma Huateng

Sustainable development: Meeting present needs without compromising the stock of natural resources remaining for future generations. In terms of buildings, it implies resource efficiency, minimum energy use, flexibility and long life — Richard Rogers

All new schools ... should be models for sustainable development: showing every child in the classroom and the playground how smart building and energy use can help tackle global warming ... Sustainable development will not just be a subject in the classroom: it will be in its bricks and mortar and the way the school uses and even generates its own power. — Tony Blair

What pleases me most is that sustainable development is on almost everybody's agenda now. — Maurice Strong

Sustainable development is not an option! It is the only path that allows all of humanity to share a decent life on this, one planet. Rio+20 gives our generation the opportunity to choose this path. — Sha Zukang

Sustainable South Bronx advocates for environmental justice through sustainable environmental and economic development projects. — Majora Carter

And as we [ the Church] move towards setting new (United Nations') sustainable development goals, we also understand that one of our key priorities is improving social inclusion. — Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo

I spent the first years working in Jordan trying to learn as much as I could about what was taking place in the country, about where there were gaps in the development process that needed attention. Inevitably, there were certain common denominators which are fairly common to all developing societies, perhaps to all societies: that quality education be accessible to everyone, not just a limited elite few; the sustainable conservation of natural resources; the full engagement of women in national development; and the value of cross-cultural exchange and understanding to international relations. — Queen Noor Of Jordan

No sustainable development, environmental harmony or lasting security will happen if we are unable to eradicate hunger and extreme inequality — Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva

On this International Literacy Day, let us recall that literacy for all is an integral part of education for all, and that both are critical for achieving truly sustainable development for all. — Kofi Annan

Both rich and poor nations have a common stake in policies that put the globe on a sustainable development path. The conflict is less between poor and rich countries than between the broad interests of people and the narrow interests of extractive industries. We need to find our way towards some kind of global regime that reduces emissions of the greenhouse gases, but well-off nations need to transfer the technology to make this possible, rather than viewing this shift as one more opportunity for private industry to profit. — Robert Kuttner

The Prime Minister of India, at a meeting that I co-chaired a few months ago, stated that any development that is not sustainable is not development. — Maurice Strong

Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development. — Kofi Annan

Acknowledging our love for the living world does something that a library full of papers on sustainable development and ecosystem services cannot: it engages the imagination as well as the intellect. It inspires belief; and this is essential to the lasting success of any movement. — George Monbiot

In the long term, it will be the human race that must take responsibility for the development of sustainable life-styles and economies that are not insistent on continuing growth and a throw away society. — David De Kretser

The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function. — Albert A. Bartlett

Sustainable development: Holding our world in trust for our children — Michael Meacher

So-called 'sustainable development' ... is meaningless drivel. — James Lovelock

For those who believe that ecological disaster will somehow be averted, it must also be clear that, over the next decade or so, sustainable development will constitute one of the biggest opportunities in the history of commerce. And innovation will be the name of the game. — Stuart L. Hart

Climate change is destroying our path to sustainability. Ours is a world of looming challenges and increasingly limited resources. Sustainable development offers the best chance to adjust our course. — Ban Ki-moon

We have entered a new era. Global society is interconnected as never before. [...] I suggest that we have arrived in the Age of Sustainable Development. — Jeffrey D. Sachs

Capitalism, as practiced, is a financially profitable, non-sustainable aberration in human development. — Paul Hawken

the goal of sustainable development is "to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations. — Krasimir Kirov

If Canada could simply apply the basic principles of sustainable development, such as the internalization of costs and 'polluters pay,' it would have long-term beneficial effects, both environmental and economic. — Andrew Nikiforuk

Discussions of sustainability as a political process have been taken up by a number of the social sciences centred on questions of power and outcomes for particular groups of people, across space and time. In short, this work raises sustainable development as a moral concept that seeks to define a 'fair and just' development (Starkey and Walford, 2001). The notion of 'environmental justice' is now a prominent part of contemporary discussions of the meaning and practice of sustainable development (see — Jennifer A. Elliott

Hunts Point Revival's reuse of the existing structure as part of the new development was conceptually bold and challenging. Overall, the project contained a good blend of creative sustainable design elements. The solar room for heating and ventilation was particularly creative and convincing. — Edward Mazria

Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract - sustainable development - and turn it into a reality for all the world's people — Kofi Annan

Four in five of us are, to some extent, members of faith communities. If just a fraction of this huge body of believers were to connect their faith to sustainable development and act accordingly, with the support of their institutions, the gains could be world-changing — Ian Christie

Respect for human rights requires transparent and accountable institutions and governance as well as the effective participation of all individuals and civil society, who are an essential part of realizing social and people-centred sustainable development. — Alfred-Maurice De Zayas

Soil mapping is one of the pillars to the challenge of sustainable development — Jeffrey Sachs

Haiti should remind us all that there is an immediate need to invest in and promote long-term development projects that are sustainable, scalable, and proven to work. — Bill Gates

The Neo-Feudalism of UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development is reviving serfdom as the condition of the future. If you let it. — Rosa Koire

Do we have to wait until a disaster overwhelms us before we make the radical changes necessary to protect our world for future generations? That is the vital challenge of sustainable development. If we act now there is much that can be saved which will otherwise disappear forever — John Gummer

We need scientists to design new fuels. We need farmers to help grow them. We need engineers to invent new technologies. We need entrepreneurs to sell those technologies. We need workers to operate assembly lines that hum with high-tech, zero-carbon components. We need builders to hammer into place the foundations for a clean energy age. We need diplomats and businessmen and women, and Peace Corps volunteers to help developing nations skip past the dirty phase of development and transition to sustainable sources of energy. In other words, we need you. — Barack Obama

The invention of the concept of sustainable human development and that of so-called human security, as opposed to territorial security of nation- states, and its promotion by the UN is in clear contradiction to all that we, the Group of 77, and the UN Charter itself consider inalienable, namely national sovereignty and security. — Pranab Mukherjee

Ownership is a sine qua non of sustainable development. — James Wolfensohn

Sustainable development requires human ingenuity. People are the most important resource. — Dan Shechtman

The sanctuary would be the epicenter for the foundation. We'll have think tanks there. It's going to be a really, really amazing place. As an educational home base, we will also focus on the development of sustainable agriculture initiative. It's a huge project but one I am exceptionally passionate about. — Ian Somerhalder

Sustainable development is a process which enables all people to realise their potential and to improve their quality of life in ways which protect and enhance the Earth's life support systems — Sara Parkin

Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own - indeed to embrace the whole of creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. Recognizing that sustainable development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come — Wangari Maathai

We are far from the so called 'end of history,' since the conditions for a sustainable and peaceful development have not yet been adequately articulated and realized. — Pope Francis

The African Union has to act in order to put an end to armed conflicts that undermine the continent, to fight against the devastation caused by AIDS and other contagious diseases, to promote sustainable development of its member states. — Omar Bongo

There can be no sustainable development without sustainable energy development — Margot Wallstrom

Energy is essential for development, and sustainable energy is essential for sustainable development. — Tim Wirth

Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for the entire human family. — Pope Benedict XVI

The outcome document known as "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" highlights poverty eradication as the overreaching goal of the new development agenda and has at its core the integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The emerging development agenda is unique in that it calls for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income. The 'five Ps' people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership - capture the broad scope of the agenda. The SDGs are expected to be achieved by 2030. — New Media Wing

Only one rational path is open to us - simultaneous de-development of the [overdeveloped countries] and semi-development of the underdeveloped countries (UDCs), in order to approach a decent and ecologically sustainable standard of living for all in between. By de-development we mean lower per-capita energy consumption, fewer gadgets, and the abolition of planned obsolescence. — John Holdren

My dear friends, God's creation is one and it is good. The concerns for nonviolence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection on the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. — Pope Benedict XVI

People need open space. People need to bring their children into an area where they can play without restriction." And I was told, "This is development." And I said, "That is not development, definitely not sustainable development, definitely not responsible development. People need fresh air. They can do without buildings. They can do without concrete. But they cannot do without fresh air. — Wangari Maathai

Engage the whole community with a common purpose to build an innovative and sustainable enterprise. — Miguel Reynolds Brandao

Investing in women's lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations - and consequently in our own long-term national interests. — Liya Kebede

Sometimes it is in the long-run interest of the business sector to restrict the freedom of individual firms so that they do not destroy the common pool of resources that all of them need, such as natural resources or the labour force. — Ha-Joon Chang

Nobody disputes that cheap natural gas would be a good thing for the economy. The question is, is this a sustainable new development that can be counted on for decades to come, or simply a 'bubble' brought on by a land grab and drilling frenzy? — Jeff Goodell