The famous Brundtland Commission Report of 1987 defined sustainable development as “... development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainable development therefore requires that, relative to their populations, each generation should bequeath to its successor at least as large a productive base as it inherited.
在著名的1987年布伦特兰委员会（Brundtland Commission）报告中，可持续发展被定义为“……可满足现实需求而又不牺牲未来世代满足其自身需求的能力的发展方式。”因此，可持续发展要求我们每一代人都应该留给我们的子孙后代一个与我们的人口相适应的，至少和我们在继承时具有一样规模的生产力基础。但一代人如何判断它们所遗留下来的是一份足够的生产力基础呢？