Editing Sustainable development (section)

===Improving on economic and social aspects===
{{Further|Corporate sustainability|Sustainable business}}

It has been suggested that because of the [[rural poverty]] and [[overexploitation]], environmental resources should be treated as important economic assets, called [[natural capital]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barbier |first=Edward B. |url=http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/economics/economic-development-and-growth/natural-resources-and-economic-development?format=HB |title=Natural Resources and Economic Development |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780521706513 |location= |pages=44–45 |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref> Economic development has traditionally required a growth in the gross domestic product. This model of unlimited personal and GDP growth may be over. Sustainable development may involve improvements in the quality of life for many but may necessitate a decrease in [[resource consumption]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=L. R.|title=World on the Edge|publisher=Norton|year=2011|isbn=978-0-393-08029-2|series=Earth Policy Institute}}</ref> "Growth" generally ignores the direct effect that the environment may have on social welfare, whereas "development" takes it into account.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243768263 |title=Sustainable development concepts |last=Pezzey |first=John |publisher=The World Bank |date=November 1992 |website=Researchgate |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>

As early as the 1970s, the concept of sustainability was used to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic ecological support systems".<ref>[[Robert L. Stivers|Stivers, R.]] 1976. The Sustainable Society: Ethics and Economic Growth. Philadelphia: [[Westminster John Knox Press|Westminster Press]].</ref> Scientists in many fields have highlighted ''[[The Limits to Growth]]'',<ref>Meadows, D.H., D.L. Meadows, J. Randers, and W.W. Behrens III. 1972. The Limits to Growth. Universe Books, New York, NY. {{ISBN|0-87663-165-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Meadows|first1=D.H.|title=Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update|last2=Randers|first2=Jørgen|last3=Meadows|first3=D.L.|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|year=2004|isbn=978-1-931498-58-6}}</ref> and economists have presented alternatives, for example a '[[steady-state economy]]', to address concerns over the impacts of expanding human development on the planet.<ref name="hd01">{{cite book |last=Daly |first=Herman E. |author-link=Herman Daly |title=Steady-state economics |date=1992 |publisher=Earthscan Publications |edition=2nd |location=London}}</ref> In 1987, the economist [[Edward Barbier]] published the study ''The Concept of Sustainable Economic Development'', where he recognized that goals of environmental conservation and economic development are not conflicting and can be reinforcing each other.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Barbier|first=E.|year=1987|title=The Concept of Sustainable Economic Development|journal=Environmental Conservation|volume=14|issue=2|pages=101–110|doi=10.1017/S0376892900011449|bibcode=1987EnvCo..14..101B |s2cid=145595791 }}</ref>

A [[World Bank]] study from 1999 concluded that based on the theory of genuine savings (defined as "traditional net savings less the value of [[resource depletion]] and environmental degradation plus the value of investment in [[human capital]]"), policymakers have many possible interventions to increase sustainability, in [[macroeconomics]] or purely environmental.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hamilton|first1=K.|last2=Clemens|first2=M.|year=1999|title=Genuine savings rates in developing countries|journal=World Bank Economic Review|volume=13|issue=2|pages=333–356|citeseerx=10.1.1.452.7532|doi=10.1093/wber/13.2.333}}</ref> Several studies have noted that efficient policies for renewable energy and pollution are compatible with increasing human welfare, eventually reaching a golden-rule{{Clarify|date=September 2021}} steady state.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ayong Le Kama|first=A. D.|year=2001|title=Sustainable growth renewable resources, and pollution|journal=Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control|volume=25|issue=12|pages=1911–1918|doi=10.1016/S0165-1889(00)00007-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chichilnisky|first1=G.|last2=Heal|first2=G.|last3=Beltratti|first3=A.|year=1995|title=A Green Golden Rule|journal=Economics Letters|volume=49|issue=2|pages=175–179|doi=10.1016/0165-1765(95)00662-Y|s2cid=154964259|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Endress|first1=L.|last2=Roumasset|first2=J.|year=1994|title=Golden rules for sustainable resource management|url=http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/88-98/WP_93-19.pdf|journal=Economic Record|volume=70|issue=210|pages=266–277|doi=10.1111/j.1475-4932.1994.tb01847.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Endress|first1=L.|last2=Roumasset|first2=J.|last3=Zhou|first3=T.|year=2005|title=Sustainable Growth with Environmental Spillovers|journal=Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization|volume=58|issue=4|pages=527–547|citeseerx=10.1.1.529.5305|doi=10.1016/j.jebo.2004.09.003}}</ref>

A meta review in 2002 looked at environmental and economic valuations and found a "lack of concrete understanding of what "sustainability policies" might entail in practice".<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Pezzey|first1=John C. V.|last2=Michael A.|first2=Toman|year=2002|title=The Economics of Sustainability: A Review of Journal Articles |website=Resources for the Future |url=http://www.rff.org/documents/rff-dp-02-03.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408214704/http://www.rff.org/documents/rff-dp-02-03.pdf|archive-date=8 April 2014|access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref> A study concluded in 2007 that knowledge, manufactured and human capital (health and education) has not compensated for the degradation of natural capital in many parts of the world.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dasgupta|first=P.|year=2007|title=The idea of sustainable development|journal=[[Sustainability Science]]|volume=2|issue=1|pages=5–11|doi=10.1007/s11625-007-0024-y|bibcode=2007SuSc....2....5D |s2cid=154597956}}</ref> It has been suggested that intergenerational equity can be incorporated into a sustainable development and decision making, as has become common in economic valuations of [[Economic analysis of climate change|climate economics]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Heal|first=G.|year=2009|title=Climate Economics: A Meta-Review and Some Suggestions for Future Research|journal=Review of Environmental Economics and Policy|volume=3|issue=1|pages=4–21|doi=10.1093/reep/ren014|s2cid=154917782}}</ref>

The [[World Business Council for Sustainable Development]] published a Vision 2050 document in 2021 to show "How business can lead the transformations the world needs". The vision states that "we envision a world in which 9+billion people can live well, within [[planetary boundaries]], by 2050."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vision 2050 - Time to transform |url=https://timetotransform.biz/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |publisher=WBCSD |language=en-US}}</ref> This report was highlighted by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "the largest concerted corporate sustainability action plan to date – include reversing the damage done to ecosystems, addressing rising [[greenhouse gas emissions]] and ensuring societies move to sustainable agriculture."<ref name="Wills">{{cite news |last1=Wills |first1=Jackie |title=World Business Council for Sustainable Development: Vision 2050 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainability-case-studies-world-business-council |access-date=17 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=15 May 2014 |language=en}}</ref>