Question: what is your understanding of sustainability when applied to a business

title: Sustainability
text: The figure ( right ) examines sustainability at the scale of individual countries by contrasting their Ecological Footprint with their UN Human Development Index ( a measure of standard of living ) . The graph shows what is necessary for countries to maintain an acceptable standard of living for their citizens while , at the same time , maintaining sustainable resource use . The general trend is for higher standards of living to become less sustainable . As always , population growth has a marked influence on levels of consumption and the efficiency of resource use . The sustainability goal is to raise the global standard of living without increasing the use of resources beyond globally sustainable levels ; that is , to not exceed `` one planet '' consumption . Information generated by reports at the national , regional and city scales confirm the global trend towards societies that are becoming less sustainable over time .