Literature review: causality between the pillars of sustainable development

Abstract

Sustainable development refers to three key pillars of human life: the economic pillar, the ecological pillar and the social pillar. First and for most, the first pillar is crucial, insofar as the aim of all economic and social activity is to satisfy human needs or expectations. Furthermore, the existing Relationship between economic growth and environmental protection is a central concern in the sustainable development approach, since an approach to economic growth based solely on increasing gross domestic product, without seeking to quantify the medium- and long-term benefits resulting from environmental protection, is merely a basic form of sustainable development analysis, deemed unacceptable. The social dimension of sustainable development has been taken into account, as the concept of equity involves several aspects that translate into a sustainable evolution of human society. With this in mind, this theoretical paper aims to analyze the pillars of sustainable development in order to reconcile economic development with social prosperity, while reducing the increased use of natural resources. In order to analyze this reconciliation, the article is based on a systematic review of existing literature on the subject, including scientific articles and reports from international organizations. The results of the analysis of the pillars of sustainable development show that the three pillars on which sustainable development is based are not equally important, and that the environment must have an advantage in optimizing decisions. In fact, the economic potential of sustainable development is progressing very slowly, whereas socio-economic development is progressing very rapidly. What's more, we need to create an attitude that prevents the deterioration of environmental conditions, in terms of compatibility between production development and the environment.

Keywords: Sustainable Development; Economic sustainability; Social sustainability; Ecological sustainability; Environment

Classification JEL: Q01

Paper type: Theoretical Research