Module 9: Managing for Sustainability

Natural Capital

The world's stock of natural assets including geology, soil, air, water, and all living things[cite: 6, 19].

Sustainable Development

Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs[cite: 6, 19].

Intergenerational Fairness

Equitably balancing resource benefits and environmental burdens between present and future generations[cite: 6, 19].

Planetary Boundaries

Scientific limits defining a safe operating space for human activity within finite global resource systems[cite: 6, 19].

Carrying Capacity

An ecosystem's maximum capacity to support species without degrading[cite: 6, 19].

Ecological Footprint

The amount of land and water human populations require to produce consumed resources and absorb waste[cite: 6, 19].

Current Ecological Overshoot

Humanity is using natural resources and producing waste 1.5 times faster than the ecosystem can sustainably support[cite: 6, 19].

Anthropocene Era

The modern geological era in which human activity has become the dominant influence on climate and the environment[cite: 6, 19].

The Great Acceleration

The rapid post-1750 intensification of human activity and its environmental impacts[cite: 6, 19].

9 Growth Countries

Nations generating over 50% of global population growth to 2050 (India, Nigeria, Pakistan, DRC, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt, US)[cite: 6, 19].

Black Carbon

Soot pollution created by primitive combustion of firewood and animal dung[cite: 7, 20].

Paris Agreement

International climate treaty aimed at limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels[cite: 7, 20].

Montreal Protocol

Landmark 1987 international treaty that phased out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to restore the stratospheric ozone layer[cite: 7, 20].

UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Global treaty committed to species and ecosystem protection, ratified by all UN members except the United States[cite: 7, 20].

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

Tracking a product's environmental impact across its entire lifecycle from raw material extraction to manufacturing, use, and disposal[cite: 7, 20].

Industrial Ecology

Designing manufacturing facilities and industrial systems as closed-loop, self-contained ecosystems[cite: 7, 20].

Extended Product Responsibility

The ongoing responsibility companies retain for the environmental impact of their products even after sale[cite: 7, 20].

Circular Economy

A production system designed to be regenerative by design, restoring rather than wasting input resources[cite: 7, 20].

Carbon Neutrality

Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency combined with carbon offsets[cite: 7, 20].