Sustainable Development: Why Develop Sustainably in the First Place?

In this chapter, we learned about the pressing need to rethink sustainable development to prioritise the wellbeing of all stakeholders in the ecosystem.

1. Development that focuses purely on improving economic metrics fails to recognise nor account for the environmental crises and societal shortfalls it can cause. Thus, not reforming policy and corporate practices to prioritise social and environmental responsibility risks perpetuating the prevailing environmental crises and societal shortfalls we face.

2. Development should be reframed to place the wellbeing of society as the central metric to gauge progress, which will lead to more sustainable and equitable economic and social systems.