Hope and Sustainability: Rethinking Sustainability Beyond Optimism

By Daniela Corvalán

Sustainability is often approached from a technical or economic perspective, yet little attention is paid to its philosophical dimension—a perspective essential for truly understanding its depth. This connection between philosophy and sustainability was something I discovered during my Ethics and Foundations of Sustainability course in my master’s programme. At first, it was a challenge. Relating abstract concepts like “mystery” or “transcendence” to something as concrete as corporate strategies or social and environmental goals seemed daunting. However, what began as a challenge soon turned into a revelation.

Sustainability is not merely a set of technical solutions to environmental or social problems. It is also a way of questioning our relationship with the world. Along this journey, the ideas of philosopher Gabriel Marcel deeply resonated with me, particularly his notion of “mystery” and his invitation to contemplate beauty. In contrast to modern optimism, which seeks certainties and immediate solutions, Marcel presents hope as an act of faith and wonder—a capacity that transcends what can be explained or controlled.

In comparison, our relationship with technology appears to challenge this concept of hope. While technology has enabled extraordinary advancements, it also confronts us with phenomena such as overstimulation and “frenzy.” Byung-Chul Han, another contemporary thinker, describes hope as the ability to marvel at the present without the need to transform or resolve it, the projection of a dignified future born out of love, faith, and transcendence. Without hope, he argues, we are left with nothing more than an optimised present—lacking revolution, purpose, and meaning. In this context, a misuse of technology could alter our perception of time and our ability to learn patience, connecting us almost automatically and involuntarily to immediate stimuli. This raises an unsettling question: can technology, when used without conscious intent, erode our ability to contemplate and protect what we love?

In my experience, corporate sustainability shares a profound connection with transcendence. Creating a business or embarking on an entrepreneurial venture is not merely an economic act; it is an act of faith in the future, of love for what we do, and of hope that our efforts will create a positive impact. Protecting what we love—whether it is a business, an ecosystem, or a community—requires a deep and deliberate commitment, one that transcends metrics and reports.

Without hope, there is no sustainability. Unlike optimism or pessimism, which offer certainties about a positive or negative future, hope allows us to imagine a different future, even in the face of uncertainty. In this sense, sustainability challenges us to reclaim the value of contemplation: to see nature—and indeed ourselves—not merely as resources but as inherently valuable simply because they exist.

However, sustainability also requires us to acknowledge its boundaries. Digitalisation, for instance, offers countless benefits, but its risks cannot be ignored. In the digital realm, we risk reducing ourselves to objects, fragmenting our humanity, and forgetting that we are relational beings. This may be one of the greatest philosophical challenges of our time: how to preserve our humanity in a world increasingly mediated by tools and algorithms that render us into something corporeal without the capacity to capture our essence—the “mystery.”

Ultimately, sustainability is not just an environmental or corporate issue; it is a call to reconsider how we live, how we relate to the world around us, and how we project a future worthy of the generations to come. As Marcel observes, the mystery of life is not something we are meant to solve, but something we must learn to contemplate and cherish.

The challenge for businesses and citizens alike is clear: to stop viewing sustainability as a technical solution and to start embracing it as an ethical and existential commitment. Unrestrained expansion does not merely create isolated problems; it threatens our very humanity.

Now is the time to reclaim hope as the driving force for change—not because we have certainties, but because we believe, as an act of faith, in the possibility of a better future.