Sustainable Development starts with people, the very foundation of our existence and the future of ensuring our planet and humanity.
The word ‘sustainability’ relates to our entire ecosystem of people and planet.
The 5Ps were set about in the ambitious Sustainable Development Goal Agenda and include five principles all wrapped around one basic principle that no one can be left behind.
I believe our individual values and company purpose come into play every day, in our interactions with people, the planet and the prosperity of humanity.
As global citizens and business owners, we all must look within our communities where we live, work and play, and in other countries globally, to ensure this basic principle is upheld.
No action is too small or too big and we all have a role to play don’t you think?
“Sustainability is about achieving the present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to achieve their own needs.”
~ Sustainable Capacity International Institute
The 7th generation philosophy of the indigenous peoples believes that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. Wise words!
What are the 5 sustainability principles?
Sustainability has its foundation in the principle-based philosophy to promote the well-being of People, the preservation of our natural resources on this Planet, the elimination of extreme poverty for a life of prosperity for all, through the promotion of peace based on human rights, justice and rule of law, and through the partnership we need to have across nations, sectors and communities.
The Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlines the 5P commitments
P1 People: We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
P2 Planet: We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
P3 Prosperity: We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
P4 Peace: We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.
P5 Partnership: We are determined to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.
I think the 5Ps are a creed we all could live by!
Deb alcadinho, business 4 social good
Illustrating the 5Ps
Here’s a handy chart to help illustrate the pillars of 5Ps and the framework for the corresponding United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and their respective 169 targets, created in 2015, were designed to stimulate action before 2030 in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet.
When The United Nations and leaders of 193 countries created the SDGs, they identified this as a time of immense challenge to sustainable development, and the same rings true seven years later. the United Nations identifies:
- “Billions of people continue to live in poverty
- Rising inequalities within and among countries
- Enormous disparities in opportunity, wealth and power
- Gender inequality remains a key challenge
- Unemployment (youth unemployment) is a major concern
- Global health threats
- Spiralling conflict, violent extremism, terrorism and related humanitarian crises and forced displacement of people threaten to reverse much of the development progress made in recent decades
- Natural resource depletion and adverse impacts of environmental degradation, including desertification, drought, land degradation, freshwater scarcity and loss of biodiversity
- Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Increases in global temperature, sea level rise, ocean acidification and other climate change impacts are seriously affecting coastal areas and low-lying coastal countries, including many least developed countries and small island developing States”
The United Nations goes on to say “This is, however, a time of immense opportunity. Significant progress has been made in meeting many development challenges. Within the past generation, hundreds of millions of people have emerged from extreme poverty. Access to education has greatly increased for both boys and girls. The spread of information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies, as does scientific and technological innovation across areas as diverse as medicine and energy.”
Sustainability is based on the principles that all have rights for a better life, a life of dignity based on the fundamental human rights and on the awareness that we are part of an eco-system and a planetary equilibrium that requires our own global responsibility.
~ Sustainable Capacity International Institute
It is my goal, to guide companies to find their higher purpose, envision change and bring it to action.
At Business 4 Social Good we use Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to help our clients get their heads and hearts wrapped around the issues of our time.
When companies are empowered with knowledge, and essential reflection tools, they are better equipped to take action and make changes in their communities and around the world.
Want to learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals and how we can help you develop social impact for your company? Head over here on our website. We’d be honoured to help you on your journey.
