Sustainable living describes a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources, and one's personal resources. Its practitioners often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering their methods of transportation, energy consumption, and/or diet. Its proponents aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, naturally balanced, and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology. The practice and general philosophy of ecological living closely follows the overall principles of sustainable development.

Lester R. Brown, a prominent environmentalistand founder of the Worldwatch Institute and Earth Policy Institute, describes sustainable living in the twenty-first century as "shifting to a renewable energy-based, reuse/recycle economy with a diversified transport system." Derrick Jensen ("the poet-philosopher of the ecological movement"), a celebrated American author, radical environmentalist and prominent critic of mainstream environmentalism argues that "industrial civilization is not and can never be sustainable". From this statement, the natural conclusion is that sustainable living is at odds with industrialization. Thus, practitioners of the philosophy potentially face the challenge of living in an industrial society and adapting alternative norms, technologies, or practices.

Additionally, practical ecovillage builders like Living Villages maintain that the shift to alternative technologies will only be successful if the resultant built environment is attractive to a local culture and can be maintained and adapted as necessary over multiple generations.

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