Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

Key definition

Sustainable definition

What does Sustainable mean? In legal practice, sustainable describes policies, projects, procurement and investments that meet present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet theirs, by conserving finite resources, preventing environmental harm and balancing social and economic factors. There is no single statutory definition of sustainable across England & Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The term is descriptive and applied within specific regimes, including: planning and environmental law (objectives of sustainable development; EIA/SEA), public sector duties (for example, the Well‑being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 sustainable development principle), and corporate/finance regulation (green claims and disclosure). In Ireland, usage is likewise descriptive, but certain EU...

Sustainable development in EU law: treaties, case law, SDG implementation, the European Green Deal, the 8th Environment Action Programme, and cross-sector legislation and Better Regulation guidance

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

Sustainable development—global context

The Brundtland definition

The most widely accepted articulation of ‘sustainable development’ emerged in 1987, when the United Nations (UN) Commission on Environment and Development produced a report entitled Our Common Future, more commonly known as the Brundtland Report. In it, sustainable development is described as the following: development that fulfils the needs of the present without diminishing the ability of future generations to meet their own. It [sustainable development] embraces two central concepts, set out below:

the notion of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, which should be given overriding priority; and
the recognition of limits imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment’s capacity to satisfy present and future needs.

The UN General Assembly endorsed the Brundtland formulation in Resolution 42/187. The UN 2005 World Summit Outcome Document explicitly highlights the ‘interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars’ of sustainable development, which are:

economic development
social development
environmental protection

The UN 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the UN in September 2015, is an agreement to set the world on a path towards...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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