What is Sustainability for Us?
 

Sustainability has been traditionally split into three dimensions: societal, environmental, and economic. Yet, through working on this joint project with Estonian students and hearing the perspectives of many different people on sustainability, we recognized the need to look deeper and further into the word “sustainability” while developing more multifaceted perspectives ourselves in the process.

 

Sustainability requires us not to simply fixate our gaze on the present, future, or past but to instead hold these three perspectives together in balance. We need to learn from the past so that we can make better choices in the present. We need to live in the present, paying attention to the conditions of human and ecological livelihoods and to take action based on what we can do now rather than relying on those who come after us to create change. And when realizing sustainability, we need to have a vision of the future – a vision of what we would like society and our relations with the environment to look like.

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We do not believe that the sustainability issues we are facing today can be solved simply through technological fixes and scientific breakthroughs. Of course, technology is an indispensable tool that plays an important role in helping us to make our societies and lifestyles more sustainable. However, more importantly, we believe that creating and sustaining thriving societies and environments depends on changes in mindset. We need to move away from linear and binary thinking to more holistic, multi-dimensional, and systems-oriented thinking that take into account the interconnected relationships that exist all around us. 

 

Moreover, through this study tour, we learned the importance of international collaboration when it comes to solving sustainability challenges. While Estonia and Japan are located far from each other, we are still facing many similar challenges, from climate change and biodiversity loss to various socio-economic problems. By working together across borders, we can gain new insights and perspectives into the issues confronting us today and help one another pave alternative pathways forward for more sustainable ways of living and being.