The Way Forward: Is Sustainable Development Realistic?

Caroline D. Ditlev-Simonsen ()
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Caroline D. Ditlev-Simonsen: BI Norwegian Business School

Chapter 12 in A Guide to Sustainable Corporate Responsibility, 2022, pp 235-243 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This final chapter addresses the future of sustainable development. Given the fact that current consumption in developed countries is unsustainable, and a similar level of consumption in developing countries would be devastating from an environmental perspective, a shift in development is necessary. This chapter touches upon peoples’ human needs and discusses to which extent unsustainable consumption is a necessity for happiness. Alternative approaches to GDP in measuring a country’s success, like Gross National Happiness (BNH) and the Happy Planet Index, are discussed. Shifting focus from an increased consumption of natural resources to more attention on development associated with social issues like well-being, health, and happiness will be addressed. This chapter concludes with how sustainable development and happy people are realistic, but it will require a shift associated with revised business models, metrics, and goals.

Keywords: Realism; Needs; Consumption; Happiness; Business models; Alternatives to GDP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-88203-7_12

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-88203-7_12

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