Definition

Noun: 1. The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level: The property of avoiding the depletion of natural resources to maintain an ecological balance. 2. The capacity for long-term maintenance or endurance: The quality of being able to continue or be sustained over a long period without causing failure or damage.

Usage

• Sustainability is most commonly used in environmental, economic, and social contexts to describe systems, practices, or processes that can continue into the future without being exhausted or causing severe harm.
• It is often used as an uncountable noun, but can be modified (e.g., , ).

Examples

• The company's new policy focuses on sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint.
• A key question for the project is its financial sustainability beyond the initial grant funding.
• Achieving sustainability requires balancing economic growth with environmental protection.

Advanced Usage

• "Sustainability" as a goal or principle: Often used in policy, corporate, and academic discourse to denote a guiding objective.
  • The UN's Sustainable Development Goals are a framework for global sustainability.
• "Sustainability" in a specific domain: The word is frequently preceded by an adjective to specify the area of concern.
  • We must assess the sustainability of the current agricultural practices.

Variants and Related Words

• Sustainable (adj.): Able to be maintained or continued; conserving an ecological balance.
  • They are investing in sustainable energy sources like solar and wind.
• Sustainably (adv.): In a way that can be maintained or continued.
  • The forest is managed sustainably to ensure its survival for future generations.

Synonyms

• Durability: The ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage over time.
• Longevity: Long existence or service life.
• Endurance: The ability to withstand hardship or adversity over a long period.

Antonyms

• Unsustainability: The quality of not being able to be maintained.
• Depletion: The reduction in the quantity or strength of a resource.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Sustainable development: Economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources.
  • The conference's theme was sustainable development in urban areas.
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG): A framework often linked to assessing a corporation's sustainability and ethical impact.

Noun

1. the property of being sustainable