BY ART COSTANTINO
social justice and sustainability are two of the most powerful ideologies currently of interest on our campuses. While some perceive social justice and sus- tainability in competition for
attention and financial resources, an intersection exists between these two concepts.
The question for higher education is: How
can colleges and universities help students,
faculty, and staff, examine this important
connection and in the process promote
sound decisions?
SUSTAINABILITY AND
deFinitions oF sociaL Justice and sustainaBiLity The Wikipedia definition of social justice refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on principles of equality and solidarity, understands and values human
rights, and recognizes the dignity of every human being.
Examinations of social justice often consider how benefits and
hardships are allocated across and within societies.
One of the most popular definitions of sustainability comes
from the “Report of the World Commission on Environment
and Development: Our Common Future,” often referred to
as the Brundtland Commission Report (United Nations,
1987). The Brundtland Commission states, “Sustainable
development is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future genera-
tions to meet their needs.” The commission adds, “Physical
sustainability cannot be secured unless development policies
pay attention to such considerations as changes in access to
resources and in the distribution of costs and benefits. Even
the narrow notion of physical sustainability implies a concern
for social equity between generations, a concern that must
logically be extended to equity within each generation.”
While it has been argued that this definition of sustain-
ability could have been even more specific in referencing
social justice, subsequent definitions have left little to the
imagination regarding this connection. In the book, Just
Sustainabilties: Development in an Unequal World (MIT Press,
2003), its editors Julian Agyeman, Robert Bullard, and Bob
Evans define sustainability as “The need to ensure a better
MAKING THE
