The concept and dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social and economic) for VCE Health and Human Development Unit 4 AoS 1

Part a (average 0.7 out of 1; 37 per cent scored zero): "social" or "social sustainability". Part b averaged 1.2 out of 4, and 43 per cent scored zero.

What part b needed. Show the ongoing nature of sustainability, using language such as "now and into the future", "continuing", "ongoing" or "indefinitely", and make meaningful links to human development concepts (a decent standard of living, participation in decisions affecting lives, reaching full potential, enhancing capabilities, participating in the community, a long and healthy life, productive creative lives, expanding choices, access to knowledge, access to health).

Accepted examples of social sustainability (report): access to human rights, education and health care; political empowerment; connection to community; building skills and capacities; increasing equity (including gender equality); sustainable birth rates; social support systems; access to technology; peace and security; safe and decent working conditions; elimination of poverty; high levels of employment.

Common issues. Listing human development concepts without showing what they mean, and not showing the ongoing nature of social sustainability.

High-scoring response (report, summarised). Gender equality: if women have the same opportunities as men in current and future generations, more women can get a job and earn an income to afford nutritious food and a decent standard of living. Safe and decent working conditions now and into the future mean fewer children work in child labour and more attend school, gaining literacy and numeracy and increasing access to knowledge.

Source: 2025 VCE Health and Human Development examination, Question 6a and 6b, and the 2025 examiners' report.

Average 1.3 out of 3; 37 per cent scored zero and over half scored 0 or 1, showing the concept was not well understood.

Examples accepted (report): innovation and diversity of industries; job creation (employment); economic growth (increasing average incomes); trade; managing debt.

To gain full marks, the description of economic sustainability had to refer to current and future generations, and the example needed a clear link to one dimension of health and wellbeing.

High-scoring response (report, summarised). Economic sustainability means average incomes are adequate for a decent standard of living and continue to rise with living costs into the future. For example, ensuring job creation now and in the future lets people earn an income to afford essentials such as food and clothing, reducing stress and anxiety and promoting mental health and wellbeing.

Source: 2024 VCE Health and Human Development examination, Question 4, and the 2024 examiners' report.

Average 1.0 out of 4; 47 per cent scored zero.

Possible concepts (report): reducing climate change, clean energy generation, protecting water sources, sustainable agricultural practices, maintaining fisheries.

Why students lost marks. Many did not name a specific aspect of environmental sustainability, did not refer to future generations, or did not link to health and wellbeing in a global context.

High-scoring response (report, summarised). Dimension 1: mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gases can reduce temperatures and bushfires, reducing injuries and promoting physical health and wellbeing globally. Dimension 2: using food sources in a way that can be maintained into the future means people around the world are less likely to worry about food running out, reducing stress and anxiety and promoting mental health and wellbeing globally.

Source: 2023 VCE Health and Human Development examination, Question 9d, and the 2023 examiners' report.

Environmental sustainability (1 mark).

1 mark: meeting the needs of the present generation (1 mark:) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Accept the study design's wording: the ongoing capacity of the planet to maintain all life.

Economic (1 mark): any of job creation, economic growth that raises average incomes, a diversity of industries, trade, managing debt.

Social (1 mark): any of access to education, access to health care, gender equality, political empowerment, peace and security, social support systems, safe and decent working conditions.

Describe with the time element (1 mark)

Social sustainability means ensuring people have access to social resources such as education, health care and human rights, both today and into the future.

Example (1 mark)

Universal access to free primary and secondary education for this generation and the next.

Link to a dimension (1 mark)

Educated people have higher health literacy, so they are more likely to recognise symptoms and use health services early, reducing morbidity from preventable diseases and promoting physical health and wellbeing.

Concept 1 (2 marks). Sustainable farming practices such as crop rotation keep soils fertile now and into the future, so farming families keep producing food to eat and sell. This gives them a decent standard of living.

Concept 2 (2 marks). Protecting water sources from pollution means safe water continues to be available for current and future generations, so fewer children miss school with diarrhoeal illness, increasing access to knowledge.

Marking: per concept, 1 mark for an accurate, ongoing example and 1 mark for a meaningful link to a named human development concept.

Data (1 mark). In 2023, 52.9 per cent of people in low-income countries lived on less than US$3.00 a day, compared with 10.4 per cent of the world's population in 2024 (World Bank).

Explanation (2 marks). Sustained job creation and rising incomes, now and into the future, let families afford nutritious food, safe housing and health care, reducing undernutrition and communicable disease; government revenue from a growing economy funds hospitals and schools, supporting a long and healthy life.

Marks guide (Original, modelled on the 2023 Q9d report)

Per dimension: 1 mark for a specific, ongoing example of social sustainability; 1 mark for a clear link to that named dimension for many people worldwide.

Physical

Gender equality that continues into the future gives women worldwide universal access to sexual and reproductive health care, so they can space pregnancies and give birth with skilled attendants, reducing complications and deaths and promoting physical health and wellbeing.

Social

Peace and security, maintained for current and future generations, allow people in conflict-affected countries to gather, attend school and work together without fear, building strong relationships and community connection and promoting social health and wellbeing.

Marks guide (Original)

5-6: all three dimensions explained, with clear cause-and-effect links between them and to named health and human development outcomes. 3-4: some links. 1-2: describes dimensions.

Environmental to economic

Greenhouse gas emissions intensify droughts and floods, destroying crops and livestock, so farmers lose their income: economic sustainability is undermined.

Economic to social

Loss of income forces families to withdraw children from school or migrate to cities, reducing access to education and connection to community: social sustainability suffers.

Social to environmental

Communities without education or political empowerment have less capacity to adopt sustainable practices or demand environmental protection, so environmental damage continues.

Implications

Food insecurity increases undernutrition and child deaths (physical health), stress about the future harms mental health, and human development concepts such as a decent standard of living and access to knowledge decline. Action on any one dimension, such as renewable energy, must therefore be combined with economic and social measures.