One of the most common definitions of sustainability used worldwide is from the U.N. Brundtland Commission. It reads, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without ____ the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Our planet has many resources that we depend on for food and for housing, and many of those resources can ____. You can cut down a tree and grow new trees, you can catch fish and there will be more fish, but that only works if you do it at a rate that these systems can replenish. We call that the____ rate. It's not that you're not using any resources; you are. But you're doing it at a rate that the systems are able to stay somewhat ____. When you make a decision to buy a smartphone you are impacting someone's life on the other side of the planet who's involved in mining the ____ to put in that smartphone. One of the other big frameworks that we use to talk about sustainability is the three E's. In business we call that “the triple bottom ____” and that's environment, economy, and equity. It's about understanding how they're connected. So, if you only look at short-term economic ____, then you're not going to end up with a thriving economy in the long term. If you're only looking at conserving the environment without thinking about economics and understanding–you know, how people are making their ____–you also may not end up with a thriving society. If you aren't looking at equity, you're going to end up with a few people that have most of the ____ and many people who are hungry and not living a good life and that's not really a successful human society either.

Sustainability

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