Sustainable Development is not a new concept. For centuries, people have reflected on their relationship with the environment and the responsibilities of one generation to the next.

	1789 American President, Thomas Jefferson, states: "Then I say the Earth belongs to each…generation during its course, fully and in its own right, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence."
	Late 19th C A German Forestry Code states that, in any one year, no-one should cut down more trees than they have planted. The Code even uses the word "sustainable".
	1972 The Club of Rome, established by around 40 economists and scientists, publishes its first report, "The Limits to Growth". This analyses the dynamic interactions between industrial production, population, environmental damage, food consumption and the use of natural resources. The report has a world-wide impact, selling more than 12 million copies in 27 languages.
	1987 The World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Commission) popularises the concept of Sustainable Development. In "Our Common Future", the Commission (named after its chairman, Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland) states that Sustainable Development "should meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
	1992 The Earth Summit, also known as the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), takes place in Rio de Janeiro to reconcile worldwide economic development with protecting the environment. The Summit is the largest gathering of world leaders in history, bringing together 117 heads of states and representatives of 178 nations. They agree to work towards the sustainable development of the planet.
	2002 A further meeting, The World Summit on Sustainable Development, was held from August 26 until September 4 in Johannesburg (South Africa) to review progress in the ten years since UNCED.