SUSTAINABLE

adjective (Environment) In environmental jargon: (of an activity, use of a resource, etc.) able to be sustained over an indefinite period without damage to the environment; (of a resource) that can be used at a given level without permanent depletion, renewable. Etymology: A specialized use of sustainable in the sense 'able to be maintained at a certain rate or level', itself a sense which only entered the language in the sixties. History and Usage: The adjective sustainable has been used in relation to wildlife conservation since the seventies; especially in the phrase sustainable development, it became one of the environmental buzzwords of the eighties as the green movement succeeded in focussing public attention on the long-term effects of energy use and industrial processes in Western societies. The corresponding adverb sustainably and the noun sustainability also became popular in environmental contexts: governments were urged to use energy sources sustainably and to consider the sustainability of processes, for example. It was host...to an environmental meeting in Bergen at which ministers from ECE's member countries discussed practical steps to promote 'sustainable development'. EuroBusiness June 1990, p. 64 The conference...was the first...ever to discuss the potential, as well as the problems, of conserving rainforests by sustainably exploiting non-timber resources. Earth Matters Summer 1990, p. 3