The differance between sustainability and support

When discussing environmental and ecological matters, these two terms appeared, supported and sustainable development, both alternatives when talking about the future for a possible sustainable and supported development.

These terms can apply in the economy, ecology or development, and social liability. Supported and sustainable development are considered synonyms. Based on their meaning, the dictionary tells us these words are synonyms, but their use is different like if they were connected but different.

A common use of these terms is that both talk about a process that won’t affect the current or future generation since this process shall endure over time without reducing the existing resources.

We can find the following definition of both:

Support

Etymologically, sustainability refers to support, meaning that someone or something external appears and supports. Therefore, sustainability is found on the external or exogenous side of a system. Inside this external side, there are government policies, environments, agreements, competences, markets, among others. Therefore, when we talk about a sustainable organization, it means opportunities and threats that might exist out-site the system to maintain it.

An example of supported development is renewable energy by human intervention helping us to produce energy sources without compromising our environment and future generations.

Sustainable

On the other hand, to be sustainable corresponds to an endogenous system, meaning, everything related to maintaining a system, the weaknesses and straights of an internal level. This type of development doesn’t need human or external intervention due to its economic, social and environmental conditions, affording to stand on its own without affecting the resources.

Within an organization be sustainable means to establish capacities, raw material, labor, the intangible and everything related to its existence, development, and growth; a sustainable model will not only survive on its own but will feed and maintain involved people. So now that you know the differences, and from an ecologic perspective, for a system to be sustainable and supported shall comply with a set of principles, and some of these are the following:

If you don’t know if a system or proposal is sustainable or supported, think if the system focuses on human intervention, meanwhile the other definition is about self-sufficiency. Finally, both go into the future and interdependent. Therefore, a good strategy must be sustainable and supported over time.

Sources: Quality blog, Universia