16
2 Technology, Risk, Precaution, and Sustainability
The concept of sustainability invokes the continuity of humanity as a central
norm, focusing on the future satisfaction of human needs. The definition is clearly
anthropocentric, with nature being significant for sustainability as the basis for the
satisfaction of human needs—especially the basic needs for food, water, shelter,
and hygiene. The strong emphasis on the needs of future generations is in line
with the thinking of Jonas (1984), who maintains in his book, The Imperative of
Responsibility, that humans should act—under an ethical imperative—in a way that
is “compatible with the permanence of genuine human life” (Jonas, 1984).
As another key element, in recognition of the Earth as a whole system, the
concept of sustainability aims to combine the development of economy and society
with a recognition of the limits and constraints given by a finite environment.
This concept aims to achieve a new type of progress that simultaneously satisfies
economic, social, and ecological criteria.
Sustainability describes a set of requirements for the development of society’s
use of nature, and in this way, it becomes a guide for technical progress as well. The
conditions and methods needed to achieve sustainable development are still heavily
discussed even today, more than 30 years after the Brundtland Report.
The objectives of sustainability can be described by the following three basic
aims:
1. Economic: Efficient use of resources during the creation of value for improving
the overall quality of human life 4
2. Social: Orientation toward humanity as a guiding factor (e.g., for values such as
equality of opportunities), promotion of social cohesion and cultural identity, as
well as the development of democratic institutions
3. Environmental: Acknowledgment of the limited capacity of the Earth’s ecosystems, especially of soil, water, air, and the biosphere, in terms of their use as a
source of resources and as a sink for waste and pollutants
The concept of sustainability or, more precisely, sustainable development was
internationally accepted as an overarching political aim when the Agenda 21
was signed at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (the “Earth
Summit”) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (UN, 1992). The Agenda 21 specifies in four
main parts the social and economic dimensions of sustainable development and the
conservation and management of resources; it addresses the roles of various societal
groups in the implementation of the Agenda, such as children and youth; women;
NGOs; local authorities; business, industry, and workers; farmers; and indigenous
peoples, and it further outlines how sustainable development can be put into practice
through education, technology transfer, research, etc.
4 The current economic system is increasingly challenged by analyses that claim that its underlying
mechanism of continuous growth makes it incompatible with the social and environmental aims of
the sustainability concept (Daly, 2008; Seidl and Zahrnt, 2010).
2 Technology, Risk, Precaution, and Sustainability
The concept of sustainability invokes the continuity of humanity as a central
norm, focusing on the future satisfaction of human needs. The definition is clearly
anthropocentric, with nature being significant for sustainability as the basis for the
satisfaction of human needs—especially the basic needs for food, water, shelter,
and hygiene. The strong emphasis on the needs of future generations is in line
with the thinking of Jonas (1984), who maintains in his book, The Imperative of
Responsibility, that humans should act—under an ethical imperative—in a way that
is “compatible with the permanence of genuine human life” (Jonas, 1984).
As another key element, in recognition of the Earth as a whole system, the
concept of sustainability aims to combine the development of economy and society
with a recognition of the limits and constraints given by a finite environment.
This concept aims to achieve a new type of progress that simultaneously satisfies
economic, social, and ecological criteria.
Sustainability describes a set of requirements for the development of society’s
use of nature, and in this way, it becomes a guide for technical progress as well. The
conditions and methods needed to achieve sustainable development are still heavily
discussed even today, more than 30 years after the Brundtland Report.
The objectives of sustainability can be described by the following three basic
aims:
1. Economic: Efficient use of resources during the creation of value for improving
the overall quality of human life 4
2. Social: Orientation toward humanity as a guiding factor (e.g., for values such as
equality of opportunities), promotion of social cohesion and cultural identity, as
well as the development of democratic institutions
3. Environmental: Acknowledgment of the limited capacity of the Earth’s ecosystems, especially of soil, water, air, and the biosphere, in terms of their use as a
source of resources and as a sink for waste and pollutants
The concept of sustainability or, more precisely, sustainable development was
internationally accepted as an overarching political aim when the Agenda 21
was signed at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (the “Earth
Summit”) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (UN, 1992). The Agenda 21 specifies in four
main parts the social and economic dimensions of sustainable development and the
conservation and management of resources; it addresses the roles of various societal
groups in the implementation of the Agenda, such as children and youth; women;
NGOs; local authorities; business, industry, and workers; farmers; and indigenous
peoples, and it further outlines how sustainable development can be put into practice
through education, technology transfer, research, etc.
4 The current economic system is increasingly challenged by analyses that claim that its underlying
mechanism of continuous growth makes it incompatible with the social and environmental aims of
the sustainability concept (Daly, 2008; Seidl and Zahrnt, 2010).