Although the interdependence between mankind and the environment has been known since ancient times, only half a century has passed since humanity has begun to foresee the major stakes involved, and the consequences of human activities on a planet that, after all, appears very small.It is only within the past decades that this awareness has moved from activist circles to play a role within Governmental and inter-Governmental organisations.In 1972, based on research work carried out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the Club of Rome - comprised of intellectuals, humanists and scientists - presented the first method to determine the dynamic behaviour of complex systems (System Dynamics Model). Each element interacts continuously with all the other elements as a whole. The study took into account five main criteria: acceleration of industrialisation, overpopulation, malnutrition, decrease in non-renewable energies, and deterioration of the environment. The report does not make any specific forecasts. It merely concludes significantly that continuous material growth will sooner or later lead to a "collapse" of our world, and that even adopting an optimistic view of future technological capacity (recycling, reduced use of raw materials, pollution control, etc.), this collapse will take place before the year 2100. Promoting a zero growth policy, the Club of Rome also warns against uncontrolled progress: "Not blind opposition to progress, but opposition to blind progress".During the same period, Ignacy Sachs and Maurice Strong introduced the concept of eco-development, which integrated the notions of social equity and ecological prudence to the commonly admitted concept of purely economic development. During the 1972 Stockholm Conference, these different works and surveys led to the creation of the United Nations Programme for the Environment, complementing the UNPD (Development).Several environmentally focused NGOs, such as Greenpeace, were also created in the ’70s, and many national associations joined forces to form larger organisations.
Together with industry, these NGOs are amongst those who have most benefited from globalisation. Taking advantage of the development of new communication means, NGOs quickly gained important economic and political power: the number of NGOs recognised by UNO soared from an initial 40 when the United Nations was created, to 180 in 1968, 744 in 1992, and approximately 3000 today. Even though their objectives are quite different, their structure and budgets are nowadays, in many ways, comparable to those of multinational companies. The annual budget for the 15 largest NGOs is in the order of several thousand million dollars! For 2005, associations such as Greenpeace, the WWF or Nature Conservancy possessed budgets ranging between 200 and 600 million dollars, enabling them to spread their influence throughout the world.The general public is beginning to grasp the consequences of the development of Northern countries to the detriment of emerging countries, as well as the first industrial pollutions (oil slicks, river pollution, etc.).
Some of the global issues that are beyond the national scope are being addressed progressively: alerts concerning depletion of the ozone layer (the famous "hole"), controversies surrounding the greenhouse effect, objective evidence of the progression of deserts, deforestation, etc.During the 90s, many labels promoting more ethical commerce and fair trade were introduced. The IFAT (International Federation for Alternative Trade - or International Fair Trade Association) was created in 1989, the EFTA (European Fair Trade Association) in 1990, NEWS (the Network of European World Shops) in 1994, and FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations, which includes the Max Havelaar label) in 1997 (14).Approximately one hundred heads-of-state and 40 000 delegates attended the largest event ever to be held by the United Nations, the 3rd World Summit, which took place in Johannesburg in 2002 (after Stockholm and Rio).
Johannesburg brought together major players: inter-governmental organisations, governments, NGOs, representatives of the civil sector and industry. Some 160 articles were drawn up defining a plan of action for water, energy, agricultural production, biodiversity and health.The Kyoto Protocol, now in force, enables polluting companies to trade CO2 emission rights with those who pollute less. This international treaty was initiated in 1999 and proposes to progressively reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, considered as the main case of global warming. 156 countries out of 192 ratified the treaty in 2005: among the industrialised countries the USA and Australia have not signed the treaty. This was the first attempt at regulating pollution through trade (previous measures only involved sanctions). A Carbon Market has been created for the major polluting companies. It operates via a system of quotas per tonne, or "pollution permits" that can be purchased and traded according to offer and demand, bringing an end to the free emission of greenhouse gases.
Although the approaches to the issue and the analysis of the factors involved vary from one source to another, the necessity for a long-term approach is now acknowledged. This should replace the short-term vision and needs to include economic and social aspects as well as environmental concerns, where strategic decisions affecting our society are concerned. The issue is complex but the stakes are high enough for all parties – politicians, industry, NGO, consumers, citizens – to feel a responsibility toward the evolution of our world.

Key dates :

• 1951: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) publishes the "First Report on the Condition of the Environment".


• 1972: The Club of Rome presents the report "Limits to Growth".


• 1972: Conference on the Environment by the United Nations (Stockholm); creation of UNPD.


• 1987: World Commission for Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission).


• 1992: Rio Earth Summit (Rio de Janeiro) - 182 States attended the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED); Multilateral Agreements on the Environment (MAE) and restrictive agreements; Launching of Agenda 21.


• 1993: World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna): "Right of Populations to a Healthy Environment and the Right to Development", two controversial requirements to which certain member States were opposed until the Rio Summit.


• 1995: World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen), focused on the social aspect of the concept of sustainable development.


• 2000: Application of the Montreal Protocol: Worldwide prohibition for CFCs (gas used in aerosols and refrigeration) which are partly responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer.


• 2000: Creation of ORSE (Research Unit on the Social Responsibility of companies).


• 2000: Launching of Global compact.• 2002: 3rd Earth Summit at Johannesburg, with the participation of companies from the energy and environment sectors.


• 2005: Application of the Kyoto Protocol.