The three pillars of sustainability

The conceptualisation of sustainability as ‘three pillars’ – ecological, economic, and social – has gained widespread recognition. The pillars are regarded as balancing force between equally desirable goals within these three categorisations.

However, the three-pillar concept is not universal, as some authors add institutional, cultural, or technical pillars.. This goes hand in hand with the criticism that in the dominant three pillar model economy is presented as a separate pillar, whereas culture and politics are not.