Seventeenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

This article explores and lays the basis for a more complete understanding and application of the Sustainable Development paradigm, presenting the results of a series of online focus groups realized with 34 managers and 87 students during spring 2020. The analysis of the interactions between, and the contribution of, various participants, outlined several communication limitations: the way in which the main concepts and the identified problems are defined, often determines the range and focus of identifiable solutions. The limitations of these solutions introduced by an exclusively or predominantly anthropocentric perspective, require guilt suppression and political manipulation, which decouple public declarations and effective actions, leading to partial or negative consequences. The definition of sustainable development proposed by the Brundtland Commission exemplifies the roots of these contradictions. Sustainable development is considered from an anthropocentric perspective, outlining the centrality of satisfying human needs and drawing limits only regarding the potential conflict of interests between present and future human generations. The needs of other plant and animal species are not taken into account, as they are instrumentalized and considered as providers of resources or services for human consumption. Our paper identifies various communication limitations and misinterpretations specific for the public sustainability discourse, and outlines how these elements lead to partial or misdirected solutions based on force, manipulation, and guilt suppression. Finally, several propositions are formulated to reform the present sustainability discourse as a necessary step towards better and more holistic understanding and action.