What is Sustainable Development?
The United Nation's World Commission on Environment and Development (also known as the Brundtland Commission) published the report Our Common Future in 1987. It defined sustainable development as "A system of development that meets the basic needs of all people without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own life-sustaining needs."
Principle 3 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development states that "The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations".
Further guidance is provided by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) which published its Ten Principles for Sustainable Development in 2003. The principles provide a framework to measure sustainable development performance. The ten principles are:
- Implement and maintain ethical business practices and sound systems of corporate governance;
- Integrate sustainable development considerations within the corporate decision-making process;
- Uphold fundamental human rights and respect cultures, customs and values in dealings with employees and others who are affected by our activities;
- Implement risk management strategies based on valid data and sound science;
- Seek continual improvement of our health and safety performance;
- Seek continual improvement of our environmental performance;
- Contribute to conservation of biodiversity and integrated approaches to land use planning;
- Facilitate and encourage responsible product design, use, re-use, recycling and disposal of our products;
- Contribute to the social, economic and institutional development of the communities in which we operate; and
- Implement effective and transparent engagement, communication and independently verified reporting arrangements with our stakeholders.