Introductory Chapter: The Need to Change the Paradigm - Sustainability and Development at the 21st Century

Abstract

Since the second half of the twentieth century, the big processes of globalization of the economy, coupled with the development of new technologies and the increase of the population, have led to the emergence of major environmental problems whose importance transcends beyond the limits of the countries, in a manner that we could say that they are global impacts. These problems include, among others, the ozone layer depletion, the climate change due to the greenhouse gas emission, or the depletion of natural resources. Industry, as well as modern societies, must face this challenge, changing their consumption patterns, increasing product life, banishing the concept of “use and throw away,” and changing from the traditional productive systems to a more sustainable ones. Sustainable Development’s most recognized definition was stablished at the publication Our Common Future, known as Brundtland Report [1], as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: