Abstract
Sustainable development has a long history with many different roots. The most widely agreed upon definition, ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’, includes the three main pillars of economic growth, environmental protection and social equality. Recognizing the tradeoffs and the difficulties in operationalizing the definition, the different chapters in this volume reflect different aspects of the pillars. The twelve chapters, illustrating different roots in research on sustainable development and business, can all be connected to an interpretation of the seminal modern definition.What if economic growth is inherently unsustainable? What if economic growth, as hitherto defined, is not possible while respecting planetary boundaries and the social capacity of human beings? And what if further economic growth is not achievable under any circumstances, at least in the affluent parts of the world? Moreover, as many sustainability researchers have posited, there may be inherent conflict between development in the socioeconomic and natural worlds.We do not claim to know exactly how to answer these observations from the outset. However, we do claim that in our times it would seem wise to maintain an open mind about most things, including how the production of goods and services for human consumption may be organized while leaving the planet in (at least) habitable condition for future generations. ‘Business as usual’ in the legacy of Adam Smith’s benefits of the ‘invisible hand’ may not be a wise choice in a world of refugee crises, climate change, biodiversity loss and persistent poverty among a growing world population. We suggest that ultimately neither ‘citizenship as usual’ nor ‘research as usual’ are viable options.