Golisano Institute for Sustainability
History of Sustainability
The 1960s was a time of initial awareness and realization that pollution is a problem, initiated by the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962. Through the 1970s, increased awareness of the human impact on the environment was illustrated by the OPEC oil crisis and discovery that CFCs deplete the ozone layer. The nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, discovery of the hole in the Arctic ozone, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in the late 1970s and ‘80s led to numerous international conferences in the 1990s designed to take action against pollution. International collaboration paved the way for the current focus on climate change.
The following excerpts from the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Sustainable Development Timeline describe key events in the sustainability movement. For a detailed sequence of events from the 1960s to the present, please see the IISD’s Sustainable Development Timeline (PDF).
1969 - National Environmental Policy Act is passed in the U.S., one of the first countries to establish a national legislative framework to protect the environment. Sets the basis for environmental impact assessment in the world.
1970 - First Earth Day held as a national teach-in on the environment. An estimated 20 million people participated in peaceful demonstrations across the U.S.
1972 - UN Conference on Human Environment/UNEP held in Stockholm. The conference is rooted in the regional pollution and acid rain problems of northern Europe. Leads to the establishment of many national environmental protection agencies and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
1972 - Club of Rome publishes controversial Limits to Growth. Predicts dire consequences if growth is not slowed. Northern countries criticize the report for not including technological solutions while Southern countries are incensed because it advocates abandonment of economic development.
1987 - Our Common Future (Brundtland Report). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development weaves together social, economic, cultural and environmental issues and global solutions. Popularizes term “sustainable development.”
1988 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change established to assess the most up-to-date scientific, technical and socioeconomic research in the field.
1990 - International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) established in Canada. Begins publishing the Earth Negotiations Bulletin as the authoritative record of international negotiations on environment and development.
1992 - Earth Summit. UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro. Agreements reached on the action plan “Agenda 21” and on the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and non-binding Forest Principles.
1993 - First meeting of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development established to ensure follow-up to UNCED, enhance international cooperation and rationalize intergovernmental decision-making capacity.
1999 - Launch of the first global sustainability index tracking leading corporate sustainability practices worldwide. Called the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Indexes, the tool provides guidance to investors looking for profitable companies that follow sustainable development principles.
2000 - UN Millennium Summit and the MDGs. The largest-ever gathering of world leaders agrees to a set of timebound and measurable goals for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women. Now known as the Millennium Development Goals, to be achieved by 2015.
2002 - World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg marking 10 years since UNCED. In a climate of frustration at the lack of government progress, the Summit promotes “partnerships” as a non-negotiated approach to sustainability.
2002 - Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). After five years of a multistakeholder, consensus building process, GRI releases its guidelines for how organizations should report on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of their business activities.
2005 - Kyoto Protocol enters into force, legally binding developed country Parties to goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions, and establishing the Clean Development Mechanism for developing countries.
2005 - Millennium Ecosystem Assessment released. 1,300 experts from 95 countries provide scientific information concerning the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being.