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Wissen und Orientierung

Sustainability: Between Saving the World and Buzzword

Julia Lissmann · 7 October 2026

A clear glass sphere in a blurred forest landscape that makes trees visible through refraction.

The bamboo toothbrush is sustainable. The investment fund is sustainable. Even shower gel now comes with a note about "sustainable packaging."

A term used for bathroom items, retirement planning, and the future of Earth? Something doesn't add up here.

It's time to look closer: What does sustainability actually mean and where does it come from?

What's in the word itself:

The quickest way to take an overused word seriously again: break it apart.

"Sustainable" (nachhaltig) is composed of the parts "nach" (after) and "halten" (hold). Something holds on. It persists beyond the moment instead of disappearing immediately. Literally, sustainable means: something remains long-lasting, it endures.

The noun "sustainability" transforms this into a principle: the ability for something to sustain itself permanently without depleting itself.

The term, as will become clear, has its origins in forestry. There, "sustaining" was initially very concrete: A forest is sustainably managed when its yield "sustains" across generations, meaning it is preserved rather than disappearing forever after a single harvest.

This literal meaning still lies at the core of the term, even though it often gets lost in everyday use.

Sustainability doesn't ask the question: "Does this work now?", but rather: "Will this still hold in ten, fifty, or a hundred years?". A product, business model, or political measure is only truly sustainable if it withstands this long-term test and not merely if it seems attractive at the moment.

This distinguishes sustainability from similar concepts like "ecological" (only environmental compatibility) or "fair" (only justice): "Sustainable" always additionally asks about duration.

It's precisely this double meaning that makes the word so seductive for advertising. As soon as something claims to "last long" or "work sustainably well," the linguistic hurdle is overcome. Regardless of whether there's truly a permanently viable system behind it or just a clever slogan.

Anyone who takes the genuine meaning of the word seriously asks one simple question with every use: Does it really hold or just sound like it?

A forester, a principle, 300 years ahead:

The history of sustainability begins surprisingly grounded: in the forest.

In 1713, Saxon mining director Hans Carl von Carlowitz noted that one should never remove more wood from a forest than can regrow.

This simple but brilliant idea forms the foundation of every definition of sustainability to this day: One should not use or consume more than can regenerate itself.

This principle only became internationally known 274 years later, in 1987, through the UN Brundtland Report. It explains that sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sounds obvious, but unfortunately it's not, as a look at the three pillars shows.

The three pillars and why they often conflict with each other:

The most common model divides sustainability into three dimensions. On paper, they seem to work together harmoniously, but in practice, there are often conflicts between them.

  1. Ecological sustainability
    The classic: climate protection, biodiversity, circular economy instead of throwaway mentality. The dimension most people think of first and often considered the actual foundation because it marks the physical limits of our planet.

  2. Economic sustainability
    This dimension deals with an economy that will still be viable in thirty years: stable jobs, fair pay, and long-term value creation instead of short-term profits. An uncomfortable truth is that this pillar often conflicts with the ecological one, since cheap production is rarely climate-friendly.

  3. Social sustainability
    Factors like education, health, equal opportunity, and fair working conditions matter here. This pillar is often underestimated, though, because what good are the best climate protection measures if only wealthy countries or people can benefit from them?

The catch with the nice triangle model: It suggests harmony where actual conflicts exist.

Phasing out coal use brings ecological benefits but means job losses. A minimum wage is socially just but could financially strain small businesses. Anyone serious about sustainability must accept these tensions and weigh them instead of assuming there's always a solution that supports all three pillars simultaneously.

Extended models:

Some experts think three pillars aren't enough and add a fourth: Governance.

Good governance, functioning institutions, and rule of law.

The idea is that without reliable rules and oversight, ecological and social promises often remain ineffective. As we see with corruption or ineffective environmental regulations.

Others flip the model entirely:

In the ecological priority model, the environment isn't just one of three pillars. It provides the framework within which economy and society can operate. Where there's no planet, there can be no economy. The logic is that simple.

The greenwashing trap:

A term that promises so much prestige is also often misused. "Greenwashing" describes exactly that:

Companies present themselves as environmentally friendly while barely changing anything in their actual business. Just a green logo here, a PR action there.

The problem is that without clear standards and proof requirements, the claim of "being sustainable" is easy to make and hard to verify.

That's precisely why mandatory reporting standards like the EU-wide CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) are gaining importance. They're meant to turn empty promises into measurable metrics.

The mission of the sustainability heroes:

This is exactly where Sustainability Heroes, a startup from Frankfurt am Main, comes in. Their sustainability map shows which sustainable offerings are available in your area, whether plastic-free shops, cafés, secondhand and fair fashion stores, or regional providers. There's something for everyone.

The map is just the beginning: The vision behind it is an all-in-one platform for sustainability where people can find everything they need for a more sustainable life in the future. Bundled in one place instead of scattered across dozens of websites.

Their mission is crystal clear: draw attention to sustainable alternatives and connect people with new possibilities that often remain hidden from them otherwise.

This mission touches all three pillars simultaneously:

  1. Ecologically, because visibility for regional, seasonal offerings means shorter supply chains and potentially less CO2 emissions.

  2. Economically, because small, sustainable providers get a chance to present themselves digitally and professionally. A chance they wouldn't have compared to large chains.

  3. And socially, because the team places great value on fair treatment of employees and partners. The storytelling of individual entrepreneurs on the platform is also meant to create a personal connection between providers and buyers.

What sustainability concretely means to the team, they express themselves: It's not about sacrifice, but about knowing the right alternatives and making sustainability tangible through simple, everyday steps rather than treating it as an abstract global problem.

The map, which already contributes to 10 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, is the first step on a longer journey that hopefully inspires many people and helps them join in.

Conclusion: No compromises, but alternatives:

Sustainability is often portrayed as sacrifice. As constant compromise between our own wishes and what the planet can bear.

This view falls short. It's more about living differently, not less. And with alternatives that are just as good and sometimes even work better. Regional instead of imported food, durable secondhand fashion instead of newly bought clothes, a café around the corner instead of a large chain. These are all not restrictions but possibilities that just need to be made visible and perceived.

What ultimately remains is not the question of sacrifice or wealth. It's a question of permanence, the core question of sustainability: "Does what we do really hold?". Because one thing doesn't change through compromises: There are alternatives for much. But for the planet, there is none!

So be part of it and decide sustainably well.

The following sources were used in this blog post:

Copyright and image credit:

The cover image was photographed by Marco Verch. All image rights belong to the author; reproduction, distribution, or other use requires express consent. Source: https://foto.wuestenigel.com/foto/536219-glaskugel-im-wald-spiegelt-baeume-und-sonnenlicht

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