The role of concrete in a sustainble built environment

Paper in proceeding, 2008

The principle of sustained development is now internationally acknowledged and increasingly determines the actions of citizens, companies and politics at various levels. The term “sustainability” emanated originally from forestry and was referred to by Hans Carl von Carlowitz in 1713 for the first time in relation to forest management. The commission of experts, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), published its report on the future “Our Common Future” in 1987, which has also become known as the Brundtland Report (World Commission for Environment and Development (WCED) 1987). It substantially influenced the international debate on development and environmental policy, was discussed in depth at two international conferences (in London in 1987 and in Milan in 1988) and was the main triggering factor for the global Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (United Nations Commission for Environment and Development (UNCED) 1992). The “basic definition” of sustainable development originates from the Brundtland Report and reads: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: • The concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and • The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."