Something¹ can be defined as sustainable if it meets the environmental, social, and economic needs of present and future generations by continuously addressing the following:

• Environmental integrity: the effective management and consumption of resources through reuse, renewable, and alternative approaches; minimizing environmental degradation; protecting and restoring natural systems and biodiversity; and mitigating global climate change.

• Social well-being: the promotion of a dignified standard of human well-being for all people, including universal access to basic needs such as healthcare, clean water, food, housing, education, fair wages, and safe working conditions, while empowering individual and collective action.

• Ethical and resilient economies: the development of economic systems that promote equitable opportunity, empower rather than exploit people and the environment, and provide long-term economic security for all.

Best practices for achieving sustainability include transparent decision-making; engagement of diverse stakeholders; attention to the intersectionality of sustainability challenges; application of systems thinking; grounding in cultural context and current scientific knowledge; and the use of measurable indicators to assess progress and ensure accountability.

1. Examples include entities such as communities, organizations, or institutions; processes and practices such as agriculture, transportation, energy, and waste management systems; technical innovations such as renewable energy, novel materials development; and policies implemented at any level of organization