ABSTRACT
The term sustainable development first gained substantial political relevance in 1987 following the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development entitled Our Common Future.
In this so-called Brundtland Report (named after the chairwoman of the commission, Gro Harlem Brundtland) sustainable development is described as follows: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. [...] In essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations” (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987, pp. 43, 46).
