Sustainable development
You cannot extract more energy from a battery than you put into it (unless you utilise the heat of combustion by burning the battery at the end of its life)
Drawing on a comparable concept from forestry, the term ‘sustainability’ was adopted as a guiding principle for global development in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro by the United Nations Conference, attended by representatives from 178 countries. (Sustainable forest management allows only as much timber to be harvested as can regrow.)
What does sustainable development mean today?
"... development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and choose their own way of life"*)
Such development has far-reaching
consequences* in environmental terms – including, amongst other things, the overexploitation of nature and the consumption of resources;
* in social terms – such as the poverty of vast sections of humanity or power monopolies in the context of digitalisation;
* and in economic terms – including, amongst other things, globally equitable prices or the indebtedness of entire nations.
As part of the UN Decade of ‘Bildung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (Education for Sustainable Development)’, Hochschule München
and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology are committed to education for sustainability.
The Renewable Energy degree programme at the department provides students with the skills needed to help achieve a more sustainable energy supply. In addition, the department organises a range of activities aimed at promoting greater sustainability:
- In operation: Active participation in ÖKOPROFIT
- in education: lectures and seminars on relevant topics
- in research: research projects focused on sustainability
In 1983, the United Nations established the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) as an independent commission of experts, with its secretariat in Geneva. Its remit was to produce a forward-looking report on long-term sustainable, environmentally sound development on a global scale up to the year 2000 and beyond.
*) World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)
In the final report of the so-called Brundtland Commission, named after its chair, the then Prime Minister of Norway, sustainable development was defined as set out above.
If you have any suggestions, questions or comments, please contact the BNE Officer.