IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v13y2005i1p53-68.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable sufficiency - an internally consistent version of sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Geoffrey Lamberton

    (Southern Cross University, Australia)

Abstract

Sustainable development has achieved widespread acceptance throughout the world as an appropriate goal for humankind. Applying the concept at both government and corporate levels has proved difficult due in part to an inherent conflict between the ecological, social and economic dimensions contained within contemporary interpretations of sustainable development. This paper describes a version of sustainability that provides clear and unambiguous direction for decision makers. Replacing the typically Western neoclassical economic perspective contained within most interpretations of sustainable development with a Buddhist perspective of economics leads to an internally consistent version of sustainability referred to as sustainable sufficiency. A study of a decision process within an organization operating within a sustainable development framework is used to provide contrast with decision making within a sustainable sufficiency framework. A conclusion of this paper is that the sustainable sufficiency concept reinforces the view that neoclassical economic principles provide a barrier to achieving the social and ecological objectives contained within contemporary interpretations of sustainable development. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Geoffrey Lamberton, 2005. "Sustainable sufficiency - an internally consistent version of sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(1), pages 53-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:13:y:2005:i:1:p:53-68
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.245
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/sd.245
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.245?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jenkins, T. N., 2002. "Chinese traditional thought and practice: lessons for an ecological economics worldview," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 39-52, January.
    2. Bingham, Gail & Bishop, Richard & Brody, Michael & Bromley, Daniel & Clark, Edwin (Toby) & Cooper, William & Costanza, Robert & Hale, Thomas & Hayden, Gregory & Kellert, Stephen, 1995. "Issues in ecosystem valuation: improving information for decision making," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 73-90, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lauriane Mouysset & Luc Doyen & François Léger & Frédéric Jiguet & Tim G. Benton, 2018. "Operationalizing Sustainability as a Safe Policy Space," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-9, October.
    2. Anna Remišová & Anna Lašáková & Alexandra Bohinská, 2019. "Reasons of Unethical Business Practices in Slovakia: The Perspective of Non-Governmental Organizations' Representatives," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 67(2), pages 565-581.
    3. Samadi, Sascha & Gröne, Marie-Christine & Schneidewind, Uwe & Luhmann, Hans-Jochen & Venjakob, Johannes & Best, Benjamin, 2017. "Sufficiency in energy scenario studies: Taking the potential benefits of lifestyle changes into account," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 126-134.
    4. Fabien Martinez & Ken Peattie & Diego Vazquez‐Brust, 2019. "Beyond win–win: A syncretic theory on corporate stakeholder engagement in sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 896-908, July.
    5. Olivier, Michelle M. & Howard, Johnathon L. & Wilson, Ben P. & Robinson, Wayne A., 2018. "Correlating Localisation and Sustainability and Exploring the Causality of the Relationship," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 749-765.
    6. Michael B. Wironen & Robert V. Bartlett & Jon D. Erickson, 2019. "Deliberation and the Promise of a Deeply Democratic Sustainability Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Chiu, Mei-Shiu, 2013. "Tensions in implementing the “energy-conservation/carbon-reduction” policy in Taiwanese culture," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 415-425.
    8. Michelle M. Olivier & Benjamin P. Wilson & Jonathon L. Howard, 2016. "Measuring Localisation Regionally to Form a Bhutanese Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Winston Jerónimo Silvestre & Ana Fonseca, 2020. "Integrative Sustainable Intelligence: A holistic model to integrate corporate sustainability strategies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1578-1590, July.
    10. Karl-Erik Sveiby, 2009. "Aboriginal principles for sustainable development as told in traditional law stories," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(6), pages 341-356.
    11. Mauerhofer, Volker, 2019. "Legal Institutions and Ecological Economics: Their Common Contribution for Achieving a Sustainable Development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 350-359.
    12. Erik Aschenbrand & Thomas Michler, 2021. "Why Do UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Get Less Recognition than National Parks? A Landscape Research Perspective on Protected Area Narratives in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Ana Criado-Gomis & Maria-Angeles Iniesta-Bonillo & Amparo Cervera-Taulet & Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano, 2020. "Women as Key Agents in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Gender Multigroup Analysis of the SEO-Performance Relationship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    14. Michelle M. Olivier & Benjamin P. Wilson & Johnathon L. Howard, 2017. "Determining Localisation Metrics," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 467-487, March.
    15. Bernal, Estrella & Edgar, David & Burnes, Bernard, 2018. "Building Sustainability on Deep Values Through Mindfulness Nurturing," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 645-657.
    16. L. Metcalf & S. Benn, 2012. "The Corporation is Ailing Social Technology: Creating a ‘Fit for Purpose’ Design for Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 195-210, December.
    17. Ninko Kostovski & Jadranka Mrsic & Venera Krliu Handziski, 2017. "Accounting For Socially Responsible And Environmentally Friendly Operations," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 4, pages 66-73, August.
    18. Olivier, Michelle M. & Wilson, Ben P. & Howard, Johnathon L., 2017. "Measuring Localisation Nationally to Form a Global Index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 207-219.
    19. Erling Holden & Kristin Linnerud, 2007. "The sustainable development area: satisfying basic needs and safeguarding ecological sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(3), pages 174-187.
    20. Alvarez Etxeberria, Igor & Garayar, Ainhoa & Calvo Sánchez, José Antonio, 2015. "Development of sustainability reports for farming operations in the Basque Country using the Delphi method," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 44-54.
    21. Yasuhiko Hotta & Tomohiro Tasaki & Ryu Koide, 2021. "Expansion of Policy Domain of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP): Challenges and Opportunities for Policy Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, June.
    22. Fabien Martinez & Ken Peattie & Diego Vazquez‐brust & Diego Vazquez-Brust, 2019. "Beyond win–win: A syncretic theory on corporate stakeholder engagement in sustainable development," Post-Print hal-02887685, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Oliver Fromm, 2000. "Ecological Structure and Functions of Biodiversity as Elements of Its Total Economic Value," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 16(3), pages 303-328, July.
    2. Christian Azar, 1999. "Weight Factors in Cost-Benefit Analysis of Climate Change," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 13(3), pages 249-268, April.
    3. Mignoli, Guido & Nijkamp, Peter, 2001. "Values and effects of local identity preservation. A taxonomic approach," Serie Research Memoranda 0023, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    4. Kuosmanen, Timo & Kortelainen, Mika, 2007. "Valuing environmental factors in cost-benefit analysis using data envelopment analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 56-65, April.
    5. Collentine, Dennis & Larsson, Martin & Hannerz, Nils, 2004. "Exploiting decision heuristics and IT in the design of a DSS for voluntary agri-environmental programs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 303-315, July.
    6. Paolo Vassallo & Claudia Turcato & Ilaria Rigo & Claudia Scopesi & Andrea Costa & Matteo Barcella & Giulia Dapueto & Mauro Mariotti & Chiara Paoli, 2021. "Biophysical Accounting of Forests’ Value under Different Management Regimes: Conservation vs. Exploitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    7. Joanna Burger & Michael Gochfeld & Karen Pletnikoff & Ronald Snigaroff & Daniel Snigaroff & Tim Stamm, 2008. "Ecocultural Attributes: Evaluating Ecological Degradation in Terms of Ecological Goods and Services Versus Subsistence and Tribal Values," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1261-1272, October.
    8. Chen, Haojie, 2020. "Complementing conventional environmental impact assessments of tourism with ecosystem service valuation: A case study of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, China," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    9. de Groot, Rudolf S. & Wilson, Matthew A. & Boumans, Roelof M. J., 2002. "A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 393-408, June.
    10. Christian Azar, 1998. "Are Optimal CO 2 Emissions Really Optimal?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(3), pages 301-315, April.
    11. Wilson, Matthew A. & Howarth, Richard B., 2002. "Discourse-based valuation of ecosystem services: establishing fair outcomes through group deliberation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 431-443, June.
    12. Fabio A. Madau & Brunella Arru & Roberto Furesi & Paola Sau & Pietro Pulina, 2022. "Public perception of ecosystem and social services produced by Sardinia extensive dairy sheep farming systems," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-42, December.
    13. Aillery, Marcel P. & Hrubovcak, James & Kramer, Carol S. & Shoemaker, Robbin A. & Tegene, Abebayehu, 1996. "Agriculture In An Ecosystems Framework," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 25(2), pages 1-17, October.
    14. Rolfe, John & Bennett, Jeff & Louviere, Jordan, 2000. "Choice modelling and its potential application to tropical rainforest preservation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 289-302, November.
    15. Siyou Wang & Shaotao Chen & Wei Gao, 2022. "Information Services as a Method to Evaluate the Sustainability of Intangible Dimensions of a Historic Urban Landscape: A Case Study in Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    16. Valencia Torres, Angélica & Tiwari, Chetan & Atkinson, Samuel F., 2021. "Progress in ecosystem services research: A guide for scholars and practitioners," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    17. Jianfeng Zhu & Lijun Yu & Yueping Nie & Fang Liu & Yu Sun & Yuanzhi Zhang & Wenping Song, 2019. "Ancient Environmental Preference and the Site Selection Pattern Based on the Edge Effect and Network Structure in An Ecosystem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, December.
    18. R.K. Turner & W.N. Adger & S. Crooks & I. Lorenzoni & L. Ledoux, 1999. "Sustainable coastal resources management: principles and practice," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 23(4), pages 275-286, November.
    19. de Graaf, H.J. & Musters, C.J.M & Noordervliet, M.A.W. & ter Keurs, W.J., 2005. "An instrument for interactive setting development goals of a socio-environmental system," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 19-29, January.
    20. Blanco, Julien & Sourdril, Anne & Deconchat, Marc & Barnaud, Cécile & San Cristobal, Magali & Andrieu, Emilie, 2020. "How farmers feel about trees: Perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices associated with rural forests in southwestern France," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:13:y:2005:i:1:p:53-68. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.