The sustainable development goals: 17 goals to transform our world

The concept of sustainable development that emerged with the adoption in 1982 of the World Charter for Nature was given detailed definition in the 1987 report of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, or the Brundtland Commission, entitled Our Common Future. That report defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. It encompassed two key concepts: “the concept of ‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of ‘limitations’ imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs”.

Related Subject(s): United Nations