ABSTRACT
Sustainability is a key organising principle underpinning the goals, policies and processes of society. It promotes a way of life that seeks to secure and conserve the natural capital upon which society depends. All societies are ultimately dependent for their economic and social well-being on the resources and systems that sustain life on Earth. These systems have limits, and as the results of global warming are beginning to demonstrate, we go beyond them at our peril. Economic activity of all types must therefore be constrained within those limits. Sustainability recognises the importance of efficient and ethical resource management in all forms, especially those resources derived from the natural world.
