“Sustainability” is a word that is being used more and more in the news, by politicians, scientists, and businesses, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Yet, surprisingly, few people have a basic understanding of what it means “to be sustainable”. In some ways, the word has been adopted by some groups to be indicative of being “environmentally friendly” or “socially responsible”. With the word being used ever more, there is a risk that its true meaning becomes lost, to the point where it becomes simply a “buzz word” with little context or meaning. To this end, this module examines the core pillars of sustainability, with aid of everyday examples, in order to develop a holistic understanding of what sustainability means. The module has been written by a Geographer but it is aimed at all people interested in learning about sustainability from the local to the global scale.
