In 1972, the Club of Rome published its landmark report The Limits to Growth. This outlined the grave consequences of humanity exhausting the earth’s natural resources and put environmental issues firmly on the global agenda.

Another milestone was the UN’s Brundtland Report of 1987. This introduced the term “sustainable development”, defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Taking responsibility for future generations

Since then, issues such as poverty, pollution, depletion of natural resources and climate change have loomed ever larger. Individuals, businesses and governments have all become increasingly aware of the urgent need to take responsibility for tackling these problems. Not just for those living now, but for those who come after us.