The paper shows the relationship between sustainability and sustainable development with Sweden as the country of interest. The paper finds that each region of the world has made some progress towards achieving high levels of sustainable development; however, each region also faces unique challenges that affect the attainment of the sustainable development goals in the region. These challenges have social, political, structural, institutional and economic dimensions. Also, while sustainable development is a widely acknowledged concept in academia its practicality in policy circles has been contested. Existing empirical studies show that incorporating sustainability or sustainable development concerns into business or environmental management yields some positive benefits.