Since the 1960s, scientists have been warning that the earth has reached its limits and that a more sustainable form of living ought to be found in order to preserve the living support system of the planet. However, it was only after the Norwegian Prime Minister published the book “Our Common Future” in 1987, that sustainability was recognised as an unavoidable joint mission of the whole world community. Since than, there has been worldwide agreement that the challenge faced by all is to achieve sustainable development that will protect ecological integrity of the planet over the longterm, while improving quality of life.
This is difficult to achieve considering the economic prosperity of modern society is based on industrial systems that consume
huge amounts of materials and energy on a flow-through basis, which results in pollution, waste problems and the disappearance of bio-diversity. The need to save our environment for future generations is one of the greatest challenges that humankind must address today. While there is a exponential growth in population, there is decline in the necessary resources to sustain this population due to the existing global industrial systems.