sustainability

English

Etymology

From sustain +‎ -ability.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləti/, [səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləɾi]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /səˌstæɪnəˈbɪlɪti/, [səˌstæɪnəˈbɪlɪɾi]

Noun

sustainability (countable and uncountable, plural sustainabilities)

1. The ability to sustain something.
   1. (ecology) A means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, planning and acting for the ability to maintain these necessary resources for future generations.
   2. (business) The ability to sustain a business in the long term, which is a state that is partly dependent on, but broader than, profitability today or in the short term; it involves aspects of a plausible path toward eventual profitability (as applies to a startup) and ecologic sustainability (for example, the long-term dependence of the timber/lumber industry on forest preservation and renewal, or of fisheries on viable fish stocks).

      The making of buggy whips is the proverbial exemplar of a business without sustainability in the face of technological change.

      • 2022 January 12, “Network News: Further extension to Transport for London emergency funding”, in RAIL, number 948, page 8:

        In a war of words that has broken out between Khan and Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps, the Mayor was accused of sending revenue-raising proposals to Shapps some three weeks late, giving him little choice but to extend negotiations. Khan countered this by alleging that 'unfair' conditions, such as raising council tax, are being attached to any new funding deal that would "punish Londoners" for the effect the pandemic has had on passenger numbers. He added: "These short-term deals are trapping TfL on life support rather than putting it on the path to long-term sustainability."

   3. (civics) The ability to sustain a civic practice or process in the long term, such as democracy, entrepreneurialism, a war effort, or others.

      universal primary and secondary education, without which the sustainability of innovation and entrepreneurialism seems questionable

Antonyms

• unsustainability

Derived terms

• seismic sustainability

 

Related terms

• sustain
• sustainable
• sustenance

Translations

ability to sustain something

• Bulgarian: усто́йчивост (bg) f (ustójčivost)
• Catalan: sostenibilitat (ca) f
• Danish: bæredygtighed c, holdbarhed c
• Dutch: houdbaarheid (nl) f
• Esperanto: daŭripovo
• French: soutenabilité (fr) f
• Galician: sustentabilidade f
• Georgian: მდგრადობა (mdgradoba)
• German: Zukunftsfähigkeit f
• Greek: αειφορία (el) f (aeiforía)
• Hungarian: fenntarthatóság (hu)
• Indonesian: keberlanjutan, kelestarian (id)
• Italian: sostenibilità (it) f
• Malay: kemampanan (ms)
• Maori: toitūtanga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bærekraft (no) f or c

  Nynorsk: berekraft f

• Portuguese: sustentabilidade (pt) f
• Russian: усто́йчивость (ru) f (ustójčivostʹ)
• Spanish: sostenibilidad (es)
• Swedish: hållbarhet (sv) c, uthållighet (sv) c, långsiktighet (sv) c, bärkraft (sv) c

ecological sense

• Catalan: sostenibilitat (ca) f
• Danish: bæredygtighed c
• Dutch: duurzaamheid (nl)
• Esperanto: daŭripovo
• French: durabilité (fr) f
• Georgian: მდგრადობა (mdgradoba)
• German: Nachhaltigkeit (de) f
• Greek: αειφορία (el) f (aeiforía)
• Hungarian: fenntarthatóság (hu)
• Italian: sostenibilità (it) f
• Japanese: 持続可能性 (ja) (jizokukanōsei), サステイナビリティ (sasuteinabiriti)
• Latvian: ilgtspēja m
• Maori: toitūtanga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bærekraft (no) m or f

• Portuguese: sustentabilidade (pt) f
• Romanian: sustenabilitate f, durabilitate (ro) f
• Russian: экологическая устойчивость f (ekologičeskaja ustojčivostʹ)
• Spanish: sostenibilidad (es)
• Swedish: hållbarhet (sv) c
• Turkish: sürdürebilirlik, sürdürülebilirlik (tr)
• Ukrainian: сталість довкілля (stalistʹ dovkillja)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} duurzaamheid (nl)

See also

• resilience
• resiliency