Today, much is said about sustainability or sustainable development in various sectors of our society. But what does this term mean, after all?

The term “sustainable development” was first used in 1987 by Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, who served as chairman of a United Nations commission. She published a book (Our Common Future) in which she wrote in part: "Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Throughout most of man's history, he saw himself as a ruler of nature and believed that it was available only for his welfare, to serve economic development. This way of thinking has produced a “consumer society,” which is the exact opposite of sustainable development, as industries and factories seek to extract the maximum resources from the planet to accumulate wealth and satisfy the overconsumption of the population, and wastefulness occurs. The path the economy has taken so far has been to extract, produce, sell, use and dispose of, without worrying about nature and future generations, as if natural resources had no end.

This development model of our society established so far has led to drastic consequences such as environmental pollution and social inequality. It has been proven that humans cannot consume whatever they want without worrying about the consequences.