In her President's Message in the ECA Voice newsletter (vol. 7 no. 3, 2007), Margaret Young wrote:

 

'Sustainability' refers to a way of life in which humans – individually as well as collectively – lessen the negative impact upon each other and the world in which we all live. Sustainability is a holistic concept which seeks to create positive outcomes, socially as well as environmentally.

 

The NSW Early Childhood Environmental Education Network outline that Sustainability is multidimensional - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) refers to the 5 dimensions of sustainability as being Environmental, Social, Economic, Political and Cultural. The Early Year Learning Framework (EYLF) 2.0 features Sustainability as one of the 8 principles that should underpin practice and broadly defines this within the environmental, social and economic dimensions, intertwined as follows: 

 

Environmental Sustainability - involves caring for our natural world, protecting, preserving and improving the environment.

Social Sustainability - involves inclusion, living peacefully, fairly and respectfully, together.

Economic Sustainability - involves practices to support economic development while not negatively impacting the other dimensions. This should include a fair and equitable access to resources, conserving resources, managing consumption and waste.

 

Further information can be found on the ACECQA EYLF Sustainability Information Sheet: https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-07/InformationSheet_EYLF-Sustainability%20-%20Principles%20Information%20Sheet.pdf