Definition
Sustainability involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. [1]
Note that sustainability is a broad term that goes beyond environmental responsibility and includes social ends such as international economic development. This definition is often associated with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [2]
Financial sustainability occurs when an organization has sufficient cash inflows to cover necessary cash outflows for the foreseeable future. Necessary cash outflows include any outflows that a stakeholder has power to demand. These might typically include cashflows demanded by owners, the government (e.g., taxation), or employees. [3]
See Also
Sustainable innovation
Sustainable marketing
References
- This definition was formally of ‘sustainable development’ and was supplied in the 1987 UN report, “Our Common Future,” commonly called the “Brundtland Report”, see chapter 2, paragraph 1.
- The United Nations Sustainable Development goals (SDGs), see https://sdgs.un.org/goals.
- Universal Marketing Dictionary Project, 2023.