The primary purpose for this effort to develop
a definition of environmental sustainability was
to help environmental professionals and others
operationalize a portion of the concept sustainable
development as set forth in Our Common Future.
The general understanding and conditions proposed
in the preceding section do provide more clarity of
purpose and direction but do not include instructions
for serving that purpose or following that direction.
The list below contains 15 guiding principles,
collected from a variety sources by the author and
his students and colleagues. They are sorted into
five imperfect but helpful categories. They are
included to stimulate thought as well as provide
advice. Readers are encouraged to visit the original
sources for greater depth and perspective.