Mapping out fuzzy buzzwords - who sits where on sustainability and sustainable development

Jason Palmer, Ian Cooper and Rita van der Vorst
Additional contact information
Jason Palmer: Eclipse Research Consultants, Cambridge, UK, Postal: Eclipse Research Consultants, Cambridge, UK
Ian Cooper: Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology, London, UK, Postal: Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology, London, UK
Rita van der Vorst: Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology, London, UK, Postal: Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology, London, UK

Sustainable Development, 1997, vol. 5, issue 2, 87-93

Abstract: Environmentalism has spawned a new vocabulary. Even frequently used words are still poorly defined. Different groups use the same words to express different ideas; often definitions are coloured by the groups' incompatible core value systems. This leads to fuzziness and misunderstanding. Such tendencies mean that a common vocabulary does not necessarily make for better communication. Quite the contrary: the use of fuzzy buzzwords prevents different groups from working together to define a shared agenda. Terms like 'sustainable development' and 'sustainability' are widely used but rarely defined by consensus. They succeed in sustaining dialogue but bring with it confusion.

Here, the constituent elements of sustainable development are mapped graphically using the principles said to underlie the concept. This not only has the advantage of visually discriminating between so-called weak and strong forms of sustainability but it also opens up the possibility of comparing and contrasting other formulations. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Date: 1997
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:5:y:1997:i:2:p:87-93

DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1719(199708)5:2<87::AID-SD70>3.0.CO;2-Z

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