sustainability
[suh-stey-nuh-bil-i-tee]
- the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed.
- Environmental Science. the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance: The committee is developing sustainability standards for products that use energy.
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Origin of sustainability
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sustainability
Contemporary Examples
But increasingly, when it comes to energy use and sustainability, parking lots are actually becoming part of the solution.
But the New Year is also about planning ahead, refining a longer-term vision of balance and sustainability.
Of course, as is often the case, there is a price to be paid for sustainability.
Restoring data security, information integrity, and the sustainability of our shared web is not about closing doors.
Markets alone will not ensure the sustainability of our fragile planet.
Word Origin and History for sustainability
n.
1907, in reference to a legal objection, from sustainable + -ity. General sense (in economics, agriculture, ecology) by 1972.
Sustainability is defined as a requirement of our generation to manage the resource base such that the average quality of life that we ensure ourselves can potentially be shared by all future generations. ... Development is sustainable if it involves a non-decreasing average quality of life. [Geir B. Asheim, "Sustainability," The World Bank, 1994]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper