1. A Question of Ethics Michael Donnelly (Realeyes Sustainability)
Patricia Mackey (Sustainable NI)

2. Why sustainability matters

3. What is Sustainable Development?
“To enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs & to enjoy a better quality of life…
…without compromising the quality of life of future generations”
Securing the Future, UK's Sustainable Development Strategy,
HM Government 2005

4. Why sustainability matters: living within environmental limits
Population increase from 6 to 9 bn
Consumption per head increases 4 - 6x
Clean air & water, Stable climate
Viable forests & fisheries, Biodiversity
Source: The Natural Step

5. An alternative view of development
Aim = Growth
3. ECONOMY
2. SOCIETY
1. ENVIRONMENT
Where we need to be
Aim = Quality of Life for All
3. ENVIRONMENT
2. SOCIETY
1. ECONOMY
Where we are now….

6. Five principles of sustainable development
Living within environmental limits:
Respect limits of environment, resources & biodiversity
Ensure natural resources to support life remain unimpaired
Ensuring a strong, healthy & just society:
Meeting diverse needs of all
Promote personal wellbeing, social cohesion & inclusion
Create equal opportunity
Achieving a sustainable economy:
Strength, stability, prosperity & equal opportunity
Polluter Pays
Efficient resource use
Promoting good governance:
Participative governance across society
Engage people’s creativity, energy & diversity
Using sound science responsibly:
Policies developed & implemented according to sound science
Precautionary Principle
Public attitudes & values reflected
Source: Securing the Future, UK's Sustainable Development Strategy, HM Government 2005

7. Beyond the environment: the triple bottom line
CLIMATE
BIODIVERSITY
& RESOURCES
WASTE
WATER
SHORTAGES
POLLUTION
Living within environmental limits:
Ensure natural resources to support life remain unimpaired
EMPLOYMENT
LABOUR
RIGHTS
HEALTH
Ensuring a strong, healthy & just society:
Meet diverse needs of all; promote wellbeing, inclusion & equal opportunity
GROWTH &
REGENERATION
Achieving a sustainable economy:
Strong, stable, efficient & fair

8. Global Challenges

9. Climate Change: Why it’s happening
Without heat trapping “Greenhouse gases” Earth would be 25C cooler
Human activity is increasing levels of greenhouse gases in atmosphere
CO2 has increased from 280 to 380 ppm
Rising between 2 and 3 ppm/year
Main source is fossil fuel combustion for energy and transport
Average surface warming of 1 to 6C expected

10. What’s at stake: projected global risks
Monbiot: 90% cut by 2030
Tyndall: 90% cut by 2050
UK Gov: 60% cut by 2050
1oC
Rice yields fall 15%
Increasing extreme weather events
Indian Ocean coral dies
400m extra in water stress
5m extra in hunger
18% species loss
Greenland icecap melts
2oC
97% coral reefs bleach
Arctic summer sea ice melts
2.3-3bn water shortage
200m more at risk from malaria
Ecosystem collapse
>2oC
Major city flood risk
>50% species loss
“Runaway” climate change
- Forest die-back
- Permafrost melt
- Carbon release from soils
Human cost?

11. We already have the solutions
Public Transport
Passive Design
Energy
Efficiency
Renewables
Emissions Trading

12. Pollution: damaging health and the environment
“UK air pollution more dangerous than Chernobyll”
24,000 premature deaths per year (Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution)
Over 100,000 man-made chemicals exist
Only 3,500 have been adequately tested for health and environmental impacts
Over 300 man-made chemicals can be found in the average European’s blood
With globalisation, Europe is exporting its pollution overseas
Upstream prevention is cheaper than downstream clean up

13. Waste: our throwaway economy
10 x
10 x
10,000 kg
raw materials
Manufacture
1000 kg
finished product
6 months
100 kg
long-term
durables
EXTRACT
CONVERT
USE
DISCARD
Consumption should not be an end in itself: need to rethink value and efficiency

14. Global Inequality

15. Poverty: an ever widening gap
UK average high street coffee price $2
20% of world survives on less than $2 per day

16. Biodiversity: the sixth extinction
Up to 50% of species could be wiped out by climate change
Widespread decline in wildlife populations
Habitat destruction and loss of wilderness
Over-harvesting of timber, fisheries
Falling fertility from pollution
Invasion of alien species

17. The goal: One planet living
Ecological footprint = equivalent area of land required to meet an individual’s needs
Food, fibre, waste, energy, space
Measured in “Global hectares per capita” (gha)
“Equal sustainable share” =
“Global average footprint” =
“UK average” =
1.8 gha
2.2 gha
5.6 gha

18. 30 Coffee Cup Exercise Group Exercise Work as groups
mins
Coffee Cup Exercise
Work as groups
First map out the lifecycle of a cup of coffee:
From raw materials to disposal!
Identify impacts
Social, environmental and economic
How can this be improved?