The role of metrology in making chemistry sustainable

Sustainable development is the new design of an old concept, now emerging from the acute endangering of our habitat. Coined by the Brundlandt Commission in 1987, sustainable development was defined as ‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (World commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987). It appeared on the world stage during the UNO Earth Summit in Rio, 1992. Sustainability became the key term of the ‘Agenda 21’ (United Nations Conference for Education and Development, Earth Summit, Agenda 21, The United Nations Programme of action for Sustainable Development, United Nations, New York, 1992). The ‘Agenda 21’ is adopted by 178 states, although to date not all signatories have ratified the Agenda. Sustainable solutions should aim to harmonize ecological equilibrium, economic stability, and social harmony. But in the course of the years, the interpretation of the concept became more and more complicated and its context is becoming fuzzy. Extended version of a presentation given during a Baltic University Programme's international workshop on ‘Sustainable Chemistry and Biochemistry’ at St. Marienthal, Germany, February 15–17, 2005