Abstract
Sustainability displacement is the idea that the achievement of sustainability is shifted to some other place and future time rather than being delivered in the here and now. The growing use of environmental offsets is a key example of this phenomenon that is explored in this chapter. Sustainability displacement through use of environmental offsets is problematic because limitations, unknowns and complications mean there is no guarantee of achieving the desired goal. Based on a literature review and illustrative case studies, we present both theoretical and practical examples highlighting the problems with operationalizing sustainability in the context of individual development activities. We introduce a sustainability framework that includes the dimensions of ‘here and now’ and ‘there and then’ to make explicit the trade-offs in time and space. We conclude with reflections on the issues with sustainability displacement and the advantage of conceptualising sustainability in a simple but integrated and holistic fashion that provides a useful foundation for university teaching and research in sustainability.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bond A, Morrison-Saunders A, Stoeglehner G (2013) Designing an effective sustainability assessment process. In: Bond A, Morrison-Saunders A, Howitt R (eds) Sustainability assessment pluralism, practice and progress. Routledge, London, pp 231–244
Brown P, Lant C (1999) The effect of wetland mitigation banking in the achievement of no-net-loss. Environ Manag 23(3):333–345
Brownlie S, King N, Treweek J (2013) Biodiversity trade-offs and offsets in impact assessment and decision making: can we stop the loss? Impact Assess Proj A 31(1):24–33
Chapman K (2016) Complexity and creative capacity: rethinking knowledge transfer, adaptive management and wicked environmental problems (Routledge explorations in environmental studies). Routledge, Oxon
Cuperus R (2004) Ecological compensation of the highway impacts: negotiated trade-off or no-net-loss? Strapatz, Delft
DLWC – Department of Land and Water Conservation New South Wales (2001) Offsets, salinity and native vegetation: Discussion Paper. DLWC, Sydney. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/salinity/offsets.pdf. Accessed 29 Nov 2016
Dybas CL (2011) Ripple marks. The story behind the story. Oceanography 24(4):8–12
Elkington J (1997) Cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone, Oxford
George C (1999) Testing for sustainable development through environmental assessment. Environ Impact Assess Rev 19:175–200
Gibson R (2006) Sustainability assessment: basic components of a practical approach. Impact Assess Proj A 24(3):170–182
Gibson R (2011) Application of a contribution to sustainability test by the Joint Review Panel for the Canadian Mackenzie Gas Project. Impact Assessment Proj A 29(3):231–244
Gibson R (2013) Avoiding sustainability trade-offs in environmental assessment. Impact Assess Proj A 31(1):2–12
Gibson R, Hassan S, Holtz S, Tansey J, Whitelaw G (2005) Sustainability assessment criteria, processes and applications. Earthscan, London
Glasson J (1999) Environmental impact assessment—impact on decisions. In: Petts J (ed) Handbook of environmental impact assessment, Environmental impact assessment: process, methods and potential, vol 1. Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 121–144
Glasson J, Therivel R, Chadwick A (1999) Introduction to environmental impact assessment: principles and procedures, process, practice and prospects. UCL Press, Philadelphia
Glasson J, Therivel R, Chadwick A (2012) Introduction to environmental impact assessment, 4th edn. Routledge, London
Government of Western Australia (n.d.) Pilbara Conservation Strategy, Government of Western Australia, Perth. Available: https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/management/pilbara-conservation-strategy
Grace W, Pope J (2015) A systems approach to sustainability assessment. In: Morrison-Saunders A, Pope J, Bond A (eds) Handbook of sustainability assessment. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 285–320
Hacking T, Guthrie P (2006) Sustainable development objectives: why are they needed and where do they come from? J Environ Assess Policy Manag 8(3):341–371
Hayes N, Morrison-Saunders A (2007) The effectiveness of environmental offsets in EIA – practitioner perspectives from western Australia. Impact Assess Proj A 25(3):209–218
Kemess North Copper-Gold Mine Project Joint Review Panel (2007) Kemess north copper-gold mine project joint review panel report September 17, 2007. http://www.carriersekani.ca/images/docs/lup/Kemess North JPR Report Complete 2007.pdf. Accessed 21 Nov 2016
Lamorgese L, Geneletti D (2015) Equity in sustainability assessment: a conceptual framework. In: Morrison-Saunders A, Pope J, Bond A (eds) Handbook of sustainability assessment, research handbooks on impact assessment. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 57–76
Lele SM (1991) Sustainable development: a critical review. World Dev 19(6):607–621
Maron M, Hobbs RJ, Moilanen A et al (2012) Faustian bargains? Restoration realities in the context of biodiversity offset policies. Biol Conserv 155:141–148
Middle G (n.d.) Issues in the use of offsets. http://www.garrymiddle.net/issues-in-there-use-of-offsets/. Accessed 29 Nov 2016
Middle G, Middle I (2010) A review of the use of environmental offset as a policy mechanism in the environmental impact assessment process (EIA) in western Australia. Impact Assess Proj A 28(4):313–322
Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) (2002) Breaking new ground: mining, minerals and sustainable development: the report of the MMSD project. Earthscan, London
Morrison-Saunders A, Pope J (2013) Conceptualising and managing trade-offs in sustainability assessment. EIA Rev 38:54–63
Newsome D, Hughes M (2016) Understanding the impacts of ecotourism on biodiversity: a multi-scale, cumulative issue influenced by perceptions and politics. In: Geneletti D, Lamorgese L (eds) Handbook on biodiversity and ecosystem services in impact assessment, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 276–282
O’Riordan T (2000) The sustainability debate. In: O’Riordan T (ed) Environmental science for environmental management, 2nd edn. Routledge, London, pp 29–62
Ortolando L, Shepherd A (1995) Environmental impact assessment. In: Bronstein DA (ed) Environmental and social impact assessment. Wiley, Chichester, pp 3–30
Pope J, Bond A, Morrison-Saunders A (2015) A conceptual framework for sustainability assessment. In: Morrison-Saunders A, Pope J, Bond A (eds) Handbook of sustainability assessment, research handbooks on impact assessment. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 20–42
Pope J, Bond A, Hugé J, Morrison-Saunders A (2017) Reconceptualising sustainability assessment. EIA Rev 62:205–215
Rajvanshi A, Brownlie S, Slootweg R, Arora R (2011) Maximizing benefits for biodiversity: the potential of enhancement strategies in impact assessment. Impact Assess Proj A 29(3):181–193
Rundcrantz K, Skärbäck E (2003) Environmental compensation in planning: a review of five different countries with major emphasis on the German system. Eur Environ 13(4):204–226
Smith MD (2007) A review of recent NEPA alternatives analysis case law. EIA Rev 27(2):126–144
Steinemann A (2001) Improving alternatives for environmental impact assessment. EIA Rev 21(1):3–21
Turner R, Redmond A, Zelder J (2001) Count it by acre or function—mitigation adds up to net loss of wetlands. In: Kate K, Bishop J, Bayon R (eds) Biodiversity offsets: views, experience and the business case. Insight Investment, Cambridge, pp 5–16
Verheem R, Draaijers G (2006) Experiences on sustainability assessment in The Netherlands, The Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rob_Verheem/publication/267399927_Experiences_on_Sustainability_Assessment_in_the_Netherlands/links/545c8c3b0cf2f1dbcbcb4d85.pdf. Accessed 15 Nov 2016
Voisey’s Bay Mine and Mill Environmental Assessment Panel Report (2005) http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=0a571a1a-1&xml=0a571a1a-84cd-496b-969e-7cf9cbea16ae&offset=2&toc=show. Accessed 21 Nov 2016
Walker S, Brower A, Theo Stephens R, Lee W (2009) Why bartering biodiversity fails. Conserv Lett 2:149–157
Weiss JA (1982) Coping with complexity: an experimental study of public policy decision-making. J Policy Anal Manag 2(1):66–87
Williams CC, Millington AC (2004) The diverse and contested meanings of sustainable development. Geogr J 170:99–104
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our common future. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Saunders, A.M., Hughes, M. (2018). Overcoming Sustainability Displacement: The Challenge of Making Sustainability Accessible in the Here and Now. In: Brueckner, M., Spencer, R., Paull, M. (eds) Disciplining the Undisciplined?. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71449-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71449-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71448-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71449-3
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)