Maximizing impact in Hong Kong: economic, social, and environmental sustainability among nongovernmental organizations

Sustainability, a concept now commonly used in most development-based rhetoric sung by governments and international organizations, was first conceived in the early 19th century by Thomas Malthus, famed for the “Malthusian Catastrophe,” and later popularized in the late 20th century in response to concerns of an increasingly populous world with finite, nonrenewable natural resources. With the rapid industrialization and modernization of societies in the 20th century, significant economic growth and societal development came at a cost that threatened the long-term health of its citizens and the biosphere for generations to come. Out of the need for new approaches to address these concerns, i.e., to meet the material needs of a rapidly growing population, while at the same time minimizing environmental damage (Bridger & Luloff, 1999; Goodland, 2002; Khan, 1995), the concepts of “sustainability” and “sustainable development” found increasing relevance in local and international decision-making circles, and became best defined as “… development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). In 1992, the United Nation’s Conference on Environment and Development, simply known as the Earth Summit, brought together delegates from over 120 nations to frame “sustainable development” as an overarching policy of the 21st century (Basiago, 1999). To date, the Earth Summit has had the largest number of attendees of any international conference.