Introduction

The idea of Sustainability has become a global norm that is adopted and pursued by a vast number of people and organisations worldwide. International organisations, national, regional, and local governments assumed this idea as a political objective and developed strategies and practices for its realisation. Businesses publish Sustainability reports and have specialist staff to monitor their ecological and social impact. They practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) and market specific products on the basis of their Sustainability. Moreover, many scientific disciplines have integrated the analysis of challenges to Sustainability and possible responses in their research agendas ranging from meteorology and oceanography to engineering, economics, anthropology, and science and technology studies. Finally, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and social movements play a particularly important role in defining the meanings of Sustainability, key challenges, responses, as well as in scrutinising governments and businesses in terms of Sustainability. On the whole, the idea of Sustainability is meanwhile so embedded in the agendas and everyday practices of those agents that not many dare to claim openly that they would prefer to be unsustainable or do not care at all. However, what exactly does it mean if, for example, a society is

aiming for Sustainability? Does it mean that this society should focus on

becoming ‘carbon neutral’ with regard to the operations of its economy and the everyday activities of its citizens? Or should it pursue more ambitious goals and seek to reduce its overall ecological footprint by not using more resources than the world’s ecosystems can reproduce and by not causing more emissions and waste than they can absorb? Would such a development be possible by ‘greening’ the currently dominant modes of production and consumption through technological innovations and ethical consumption? Should our societies more generally seek technological solutions to the most pressing Sustainability challenges? How should we assess risky and uncertain technologies such as nuclear power, climate engineering, carbon capture and storage, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? Or is promoting Sustainability rather about transforming life styles, everyday practices, and culture? Would Sustainability even require a more fundamental re-orientation away from a globalised economy continuously seeking to maximise growth? Would sustainable development not also include a strong element of social justice? Moreover, would it also not imply that politicians should consider the impact of their decisions on future generations? And what about those living in the poorer parts of the world? Does the idea of Sustainability imply that societies redirect some of their wealth in order to increase the well-being of those people who are much poorer? Is it just basic common sense to be sustainable or are we living in times of much more pressing crisis and urgency? Finally, one important aspect must not be forgotten: the actual effects of the idea of Sustainability remain limited. Ecological pressures and social disparities persist and in many cases increase. Hence, one could also ask whether sustainable development is a useful concept at all or whether it is not more than a rhetorical frame people use strategically to make them look responsible or naively to feel good. It seems that each of these questions has its relevance and that each

question captures important aspects of Sustainability and how this concept is used in real world interactions. On the one hand, Sustainability is a concept that has entered the everyday life of politicians, bureaucrats, business managers and activists from the global to the local level. On the other hand, even a brief first look at the multiple contexts in which it is used, reveals a multiplicity of understandings and activities. Helping readers to make sense of this plurality of uses of Sustainability and to navigate more comfortably between them is a central aim of this book.