Clarifying inherent sustainability ideals is therefore expected to provide a basis for evaluating the sustainability conceptions of research projects. The present article explores qualitatively how sustainable development is framed in scientific projects, and elaborates
what can be learned from the characteristics identified from the project data in order to adequately handle sustainability notions selleck in research. It draws thereby on general requirements for appropriate sustainability conceptions based on the Brundtland definition—the most broadly approved definition of sustainable development to date, which features core development requirements as also highlighted in other definitions. This empirical study thus pursued the following questions: (1) In what way do research projects refer to particular sustainability goals? Do researchers underpin their
projects with Screening Library manufacturer specific notions about what to strive for? If yes, what are these and in what respects do they vary? How can ways in which researchers deal with such normative goals be characterized? (2) Do the identified characteristics inform the appropriateness of how sustainability goals are framed in research Selleckchem BGB324 projects? What can be derived from this towards a more general evaluation of sustainability conceptions in research projects? In the following, a set of basic requirements for appropriate sustainability conceptions is suggested, conceptually clarifying what the general idea of sustainable development implies for concrete projects. The methods applied for empirically exploring and normatively interpreting how research projects frame sustainability goals are then introduced. The results section presents the sustainability conceptions found as well as their attributes, which describe how the investigated land use studies dealt with this normative concept. In the discussion, the implications of the results for framing appropriate sustainability Rho conceptions of research projects are illustrated. The article concludes by pointing out a few crucial aspects with respect to the
issue in a wider context. Requirements for appropriate sustainability conceptions based on the Brundtland definition A sustainability conception is understood here as a particular vision, notion, understanding, or ideal of a sustainable development in the context of a real world problem situation. It may be expressed as a set of goals or objectives, or as descriptions of a desired or ideal state, development or as a way of meeting needs to be striven for. In the following, a set of conceptual adequacy requirements for sustainability conceptions is suggested. It is based on the normative principles included in the Brundtland definition (WCED 1987). The Brundtland report provided the most broadly approved definition of sustainable development to date.