Sustainability in 2016

Book chapter, 2016

This chapter derives our current understandings of the concept of Sustainability. Its history dates back to the Sixties and is today largely affected by concerns about climate change that have centered around the United Nations Climate Change Conferences and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The aim of this chapter is to introduce you to the concept of Sustainability and give it sufficient background for you to subsequently explore the promises of sustainable business development. Sustainability has only recently been clearly linked to business development and innovation. In comparison to the earlier edition from 2014, this Chapter 2, Sustainability in 2016, has been updated to include the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris that saw a break-through in terms of all participating countries agreeing upon and signing the final document. This document, The Paris Accord, came into force in November 2016 after being ratified by a sufficient number of nations. In addition, the sections on ‘business strategies for sustainability’ and ‘development of technology and markets for products that are environmental’ have been updated.