Sustainability is defined as humanity meeting its current needs without overburdening the natural environment or future generations. Most definitions of sustainability place the natural environment and its resources on co-equal foot-ing with social and justice concerns and with economic outcomes.
Environmental sustainability means maintaining ecological integrity, preserving biodiversity, and maintaining the balance of natural systems (such as the global climate), and it means that natural resources are consumed by humans at a rate less than that at which they can be replenished.
Social sustainability means that a minimum standard of basic necessities and human rights is afforded to all people, who have sufficient resources to keep themselves, their families, and their communities healthy and secure.
Economic sustainability means having economic systems that are accessible to everyone and that help to spread and generate prosperity globally.