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Sustainability and the environment: For future generations
In view of increasingly scarce resources and the simultaneous sharp rise
in environmental pollution, questions about sustainability and the environment
are of burning topicality, but politicians and business have a hard time
answering them. For example, Art. 73 (Sustainability) of the Swiss Federal
Constitution states:
"The federal and cantonal governments strive to achieve an enduring
and balanced relationship between nature and its ability to regenerate on
the one hand, and the requirements of people on the other."
It is left somewhat open as to how one is to interpret "nature and its
ability to regenerate" and "the requirements of people". In the media,
it is reported that a European Union (EU) design for "strategies for
sustainability" and "indicators for sustainable economic practices" are
almost complete. These should serve as a "model" for European
governments. It is interesting to note that most of the authors who
deal more closely with the subject "sustainability" write to a large
extent about environmental protection, resource management, economic
development and quality of life. The social aspects are almost always
overlooked.
This raises the question of how to arrive at a definition of sustainability.
Such a definition would have to meet both the local needs of an individual
company and the broader framework of an entire economy. Now so-called
"sustainability reports" —in the sense of a supplement to a company's
annual report— have recently found astonishing acceptance in a way that
could lead to uniform and binding standards. The Global Reporting Initiative's
guidelines, whose final report was presented in January of this year,
currently cover the field most broadly and concretely. "Social Performance
Indicators", which are intended to provide information on social criteria,
are also being developed.
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The facsimile print shown here is from J.J. Becher: Kluger Hausvater.
Extended Edition, Leipzig 1747.
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