Sustainability, is it sustainable ?
Sustainability is the permanence of human life while ensuring the continuation of production and diversity. In its best sense, it means meeting our own needs without compromising the needs of future generations. For a concept or thing to be sustainable, it must be able to maintain its current state. At the same time, it must be able to renew itself. Starting from here, this concept; It is used to leave a world in which economic, ecological and social conditions can be maintained for future generations.
The concept of sustainability; It started to enter and shape our lives after the report "Our Common Future" published by the United Nations in 1983. The definition stated in this report is “Humanity; It has the ability to make development sustainable by providing daily needs without compromising the ability of nature to respond to the needs of future generations. The life of everyone in the world is dependent on natural resources. Unfortunately, these natural resources will not last forever. In order to provide a sustainable environment, it is necessary to create a balance between the individual and nature. This balance can only be created by the individual.
Sustainability should not be considered only in terms of ecological meaning. It should be deducted over three main systems. An idea should be developed over ecological, economic and social conditions. It is necessary to meet the economic and social needs of the present time without harming the opportunities of future generations.
With the industrial revolution, there have been great developments in the field of industry and technology. With the growing industry, energy needs have also increased. In this direction, coal, oil, etc. non-renewable energy sources have been used. The fact that the industry has become a growing sector has led to the addition of new deteriorations based on the agricultural economy. rapid industrialization; rapid population growth, rural to urban migration, urbanization, environmental pollution, decrease in biodiversity, etc. caused. In general, it has been the harbinger of a great sociological change.
All living things interact with each other in nature. They are connected to each other in ecological balance. Ecologically damaged nature causes damage in economic and social conditions. Damage in one section causes damage in the other section in connection with it. The individual's effect of destroying the natural environment outweighed the self-healing rate of the natural environment. At this point, the need to act without disturbing the balance of the ecological system has arisen.
For such reasons, first of all, industrial enterprises and other businesses that have a negative impact on the ecosystem should adopt the concept of sustainability. In this direction, they need to do the work that needs to be done. From the perspective of companies, company interests and social conditions should not conflict. Sustainability can be achieved with a management approach that not only includes economic growth, but also social conditions and environmental issues. In an interview I read, the CEO of one of the biggest companies in Turkey explains that they have adopted the concept of sustainability and that they have experienced enormous social, economic and environmental changes thanks to this method.
Sustainability; It is linked to the economy, society and ecology. The concept of sustainability also has a holistic flow angle that covers these three dimensions. Its aim is to leave a livable world to future generations in every respect. A self-renewing environment, welfare-based social conditions, and society and environment-based economic system explain a holistic perspective. The method applied to fulfill these mentioned conditions is called the sustainability method.
Although it means ecological first when sustainability is mentioned, this concept expresses a holistic perspective that includes ecological, social conditions and economic components. In order to ensure sustainability, these three concepts must be managed in a balanced way. Sustainability components;
Ecological Sustainability: It focuses on the fact that natural resources in nature will one day run out and that these resources should be used wisely. It ensures the protection of ecology. Examines the relationship between nature and the individual. It advocates environmental sustainability, which is of great importance for every living thing. The use of natural resources as if they will not end in order to meet the economic need, and the intervention in the living rights of living things for development are issues that concern ecological sustainability.
Social Sustainability: Education, health, happiness, a safe life, quality of life etc. It focuses on the sustainability of social conditions in fields. It enables the achievement of individual and group goals as well as enriching the relations between people. It can be affected by the effects of economic and ecological changes on social conditions.
Economic Sustainability: It focuses on an economic and administrative mission. The sustainability of production and consumption dynamics is very important for economic continuity and development.
Sustainability represents an awareness. It indicates a goal, both socially and individually. The goal is to fulfill this goal. Sustainability components need to be considered one by one. At the same time, let's not forget that these components affect each other.
