Abstract

The aim of sustainable development is the harmonious realisation of the three pillars of economy, ecology and social affairs. This aspiration is also reflected in the practice of German development policy when it comes to promoting economic development in an ecologically and socially balanced way. In future, however, this high and complex standard must be concretised more in both a global and conceptual context. This is the only way to derive or demonstrate a generally valid and goal-compliant orientation for action.

Focusing on this initial situation, experts from science and practice have addressed this topic, with the relationship between the two pillars of economy and ecology taking centre stage in most of the contributions. It was not possible to cover the entire, very broad thematic spectrum. For this reason, a few current topics have been selected as examples for this anthology. The first four contributions initially address fundamental issues, while the following five contributions deal with the question of concrete implementation.

Authors