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Cradle-to-Grave and Sustainable Development

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Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education

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Definition

Sustainable development is commonly defined according to the Brundtland Commission as development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Cradle to grave refers to life cycle of products from the sourcing of raw materials to the product’s final disposal. It is typically linked to life cycle assessment, which is a set of methodologies and principles for capturing the full environmental and/or social impacts of a product throughout its life span. Thus, cradle-to-grave assessment is a necessary step toward sustainable product design.

Introduction

The Brundtland Commission in 1987 defined sustainable development succinctly as “development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland 1987). This definition enshrines that societal activity, such as economic growth, must allow allpeople to meet their...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hixon Center for Sustainable Environmental Design, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA, USA

    Tanja Srebotnjak

Authors
  1. Tanja Srebotnjak
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Correspondence to Tanja Srebotnjak .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Economics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Madhavi Venkatesan PhD

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Srebotnjak, T. (2019). Cradle-to-Grave and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_274-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_274-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63951-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63951-2

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