Saliem Fakir peers into the uncertain future of the sustainability agenda.

For almost 30 years notions of sustainability have flourished, dominating environmental thinking. The concept gained impetus after the Brundtland Commission in 1987, found renewed vigour at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and was emphasised at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. It has been a unifying concept that the health of nations, countries and governments are reported in relation to economic, social and environmental performance and governance.