sustainability final

Global entanglement

Explain how your local morning choices (e.g., breakfast, buying a t-shirt) create

distant ecological and social impacts across continents and generation

Special impact

Our "Ecological Footprint" often displaces environmental burdens to the Global South.

Synergies

when shifting toward one SDG helps another ( education sdg 4 creates skilled jobs sdg 8)

5 P’s in the sdg’s

People , planet , prosperity , peace , partnerships

Trade offs

when achieving one SDG hurts another, such as SDG 8 Economic Growth vs. SDG 13 Climate Action

Greenwashing

Externalities

Hidden environmental or social costs that are not included in the

final market price of a product (e.g., the toxic dyes of fast fashion polluting local rivers).

The true cost principle

Calculating the actual cost of a product by Internalising these hidden socio-ecological impacts.

Planetary boundaries

The scientific limits within which humanity can safely operate without destroying Earth's life-support systems (Roorda argues these must replace GDP as our primary indicator).

Incremental improvement

small, incremental optimization within the existing system. ( eg recycling programs in offices)

Systemic transition

deep, long-term, structural change in systems (eg circular economy replacing linear entirely)

Mitigation

Actions that reduce or prevent greenhouse gas

emissions (act on the cause). (eg switching from oil to renwablies)

Adaptation

preparing for the impacts we can no longer avoid,

e.g., floating cities

Sixth mass extinction

A period of geological time in which a high percent of biodiversity or distinct species dies out , experts say we are in the midst of a ___________

Lock in effect

When infrastructure, investments, or politics trap a society into an

unsustainable pathway (e.g., keeping fossil fuel subsidies due to political Lobbying).

Transition management

A cyclical process of long-term visioning, short-term concrete experimentation, building coalitions, and continuous learning.

Precautionary principle

If an action (like deep-sea mining for minerals) has a risk of causing severe harm to the "Global Commons," companies should avoid it even if scientific proof of damage isn't 100% certain yet.

The extractability principle

Profit comes from extracting resources , there are two hard limits : ecological exctactability (The limit of what we can take from nature without destroying its ability to regenerate.) and societal extractability (The limit of what we can "take" from a community or workforce without destroying the social fabric.) eg paying wages so low that workers can’t afforrd food

Product as service

Moving from selling a physical object (ownership) to selling the function or the result (access). Opposite of the traditional model of profiting off of planned obsolescence

True cost accounting

it calculates financial costs by analysing the entire life cycle of a product. It includes hidden costs of production like climate impacts

The price paradox

Sustainable products often seem expensive because they pay for everything upfront

Fair Wages: They pay workers properly (instead of using cheap, unethical labor).

Clean Energy: They pay more for renewable energy.

Jevons paradox ( the efficiency trap)

Why making a technology more resource-efficient often causes its consumption to rise because it becomes cheaper and more popular.

Circular economy model

an economic system designed to eliminate waste, extend product lifecycles, and

regenerate natural systems by reusing, repairing, recycling, and redesigning materials and products.

Cradle to cradle

emphasizes a regenerative approach that seeks to keep materials in use and minimize waste.

Cradle to grave

focuses on a product's lifecycle from creation to disposal,

Income poverty

measures a shortfall in monetary resources (like living on less than the World Bank’s extreme poverty line of $2.15 a day

Multidimensional poverty

non-monetary deprivations—such as lack of access to clean water, poor health, or inadequate educatio

Life cycle assessment

Evaluating a product’s total footprint from the raw

material extraction to final disposal

Blue washing

Using the UN logo or "Global Compact" membership

to claim a social responsibility that isn't backed by action.

The 7 R’s hierarchy

Circular economy priorities where Rethink and Reduce must

always happen before Recycle.

Human rights due diligence

The mandatory process for modern corporations To identify, prevent, and account for human rights abuses across their entire global supply chains.

Paradigm of domination/ ownership

treating the Earth as a resource pool to exploit

Paradigm of stewardship / indépendance

responsible management of natural resources, emphasizing the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of the environment for current and future generations

The Anthropocene

The current geological epoch where human socio-economic

activities have become the dominant force altering the Earth's climate and ecosystems.

The great acceleration

The exponential spike in human activity (population, GDP, energy use) and ecological damage starting around 1950.