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Sustainable sufficiency - an internally consistent version of sustainability

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  • Geoffrey Lamberton

    (Southern Cross University, Australia)

Abstract

Sustainable development has achieved widespread acceptance throughout the world as an appropriate goal for humankind. Applying the concept at both government and corporate levels has proved difficult due in part to an inherent conflict between the ecological, social and economic dimensions contained within contemporary interpretations of sustainable development. This paper describes a version of sustainability that provides clear and unambiguous direction for decision makers. Replacing the typically Western neoclassical economic perspective contained within most interpretations of sustainable development with a Buddhist perspective of economics leads to an internally consistent version of sustainability referred to as sustainable sufficiency. A study of a decision process within an organization operating within a sustainable development framework is used to provide contrast with decision making within a sustainable sufficiency framework. A conclusion of this paper is that the sustainable sufficiency concept reinforces the view that neoclassical economic principles provide a barrier to achieving the social and ecological objectives contained within contemporary interpretations of sustainable development. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Geoffrey Lamberton, 2005. "Sustainable sufficiency - an internally consistent version of sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(1), pages 53-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:13:y:2005:i:1:p:53-68
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.245
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lauriane Mouysset & Luc Doyen & François Léger & Frédéric Jiguet & Tim G. Benton, 2018. "Operationalizing Sustainability as a Safe Policy Space," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-9, October.
    2. Anna Remišová & Anna Lašáková & Alexandra Bohinská, 2019. "Reasons of Unethical Business Practices in Slovakia: The Perspective of Non-Governmental Organizations' Representatives," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 67(2), pages 565-581.
    3. Samadi, Sascha & Gröne, Marie-Christine & Schneidewind, Uwe & Luhmann, Hans-Jochen & Venjakob, Johannes & Best, Benjamin, 2017. "Sufficiency in energy scenario studies: Taking the potential benefits of lifestyle changes into account," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 126-134.
    4. Fabien Martinez & Ken Peattie & Diego Vazquez‐Brust, 2019. "Beyond win–win: A syncretic theory on corporate stakeholder engagement in sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 896-908, July.
    5. Olivier, Michelle M. & Howard, Johnathon L. & Wilson, Ben P. & Robinson, Wayne A., 2018. "Correlating Localisation and Sustainability and Exploring the Causality of the Relationship," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 749-765.
    6. Michael B. Wironen & Robert V. Bartlett & Jon D. Erickson, 2019. "Deliberation and the Promise of a Deeply Democratic Sustainability Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Chiu, Mei-Shiu, 2013. "Tensions in implementing the “energy-conservation/carbon-reduction” policy in Taiwanese culture," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 415-425.
    8. Michelle M. Olivier & Benjamin P. Wilson & Jonathon L. Howard, 2016. "Measuring Localisation Regionally to Form a Bhutanese Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Winston Jerónimo Silvestre & Ana Fonseca, 2020. "Integrative Sustainable Intelligence: A holistic model to integrate corporate sustainability strategies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1578-1590, July.
    10. Karl-Erik Sveiby, 2009. "Aboriginal principles for sustainable development as told in traditional law stories," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(6), pages 341-356.
    11. Mauerhofer, Volker, 2019. "Legal Institutions and Ecological Economics: Their Common Contribution for Achieving a Sustainable Development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 350-359.
    12. Erik Aschenbrand & Thomas Michler, 2021. "Why Do UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Get Less Recognition than National Parks? A Landscape Research Perspective on Protected Area Narratives in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Ana Criado-Gomis & Maria-Angeles Iniesta-Bonillo & Amparo Cervera-Taulet & Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano, 2020. "Women as Key Agents in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Gender Multigroup Analysis of the SEO-Performance Relationship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    14. Michelle M. Olivier & Benjamin P. Wilson & Johnathon L. Howard, 2017. "Determining Localisation Metrics," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 467-487, March.
    15. Bernal, Estrella & Edgar, David & Burnes, Bernard, 2018. "Building Sustainability on Deep Values Through Mindfulness Nurturing," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 645-657.
    16. L. Metcalf & S. Benn, 2012. "The Corporation is Ailing Social Technology: Creating a ‘Fit for Purpose’ Design for Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 195-210, December.
    17. Ninko Kostovski & Jadranka Mrsic & Venera Krliu Handziski, 2017. "Accounting For Socially Responsible And Environmentally Friendly Operations," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 4, pages 66-73, August.
    18. Olivier, Michelle M. & Wilson, Ben P. & Howard, Johnathon L., 2017. "Measuring Localisation Nationally to Form a Global Index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 207-219.
    19. Erling Holden & Kristin Linnerud, 2007. "The sustainable development area: satisfying basic needs and safeguarding ecological sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(3), pages 174-187.
    20. Alvarez Etxeberria, Igor & Garayar, Ainhoa & Calvo Sánchez, José Antonio, 2015. "Development of sustainability reports for farming operations in the Basque Country using the Delphi method," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 44-54.
    21. Yasuhiko Hotta & Tomohiro Tasaki & Ryu Koide, 2021. "Expansion of Policy Domain of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP): Challenges and Opportunities for Policy Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, June.
    22. Fabien Martinez & Ken Peattie & Diego Vazquez‐brust & Diego Vazquez-Brust, 2019. "Beyond win–win: A syncretic theory on corporate stakeholder engagement in sustainable development," Post-Print hal-02887685, HAL.

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