Sustainability in Surrey ?

Official usages of 'sustainability'

In Surrey, we have:

• 1.06 million people
• 0.52 cars/person (550,000 total)
• the cars use 350,000 tons petrol
• we use 550,000+ tons of oil for domestic and business (gas, electric, coal, etc.)
  
• our agriculture grows an estimated 1% of the food consumed
• our industries produce an estimated 1% of the products used
• we produce 580,000 tons of household waste a year plus more waste from shops, offices, etc
• about 18% is recycled
• we produce 580,000 tons sewage
• we use 58 million tons water
• we have about 12 million trees

Surrey may not be able to sustain the current levels of any of these in the medium and long term

Ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations to come lies at the heart of the Government's sustainable development strategy. A widely-used international definition is 'development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. Although the idea is simple, the task is substantial. It means meeting four objectives at the same time, in the UK and the world as a whole:

- social progress which recognises the needs of everyone;
- effective protection of the environment;
- prudent use of natural resources; and
- maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment (DEFRA website - UK food and farming policy

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS - Sustainable development is an area of risk that - when managed effectively - can create opportunities to innovate, differentiate and enhance reputation and is becoming fundamental to long-term business success.

By addressing sustainable development issues, businesses of all sizes have found that they can have a significant impact, and at the same time meet - and sometimes exceed - their business objectives. (Department of Trade and Industry Sustainable Development and Environment pages)

UK Department of Transport (sustainability seems to be less mentioned here, and where it is used, it is often in relation to cycling)

The Sustainable Development Commission specialises in sustainability

Water UK represents UK water and wastewater service suppliers at national and European level.

Links to every aspect of National Statistics are given on this page

Note: there is a subtle difference between "sustainable development" and "sustainability". It will take a lot of sustainable development to reach a state of sustainability, but some systems are inherently un-sustainable.