Trajnost kot splošno sprejet cilj sodobne družbe je odraz visoke okoljske ozaveščenosti javnosti in pomeni odločitev sodobne družbe za kvalitativni civilizacijski napredek. Osnovni pogoj za uveljavitev koncepta trajnosti je poznavanje zakonitosti struktur in procesov rasti in razvoja naravnih sistemov in uporaba sistemskega načina razmišljanja. Zaradi kompleksnosti, nelinearnosti, nepredvidljivosti in nepovratnosti je organicistični pristop preučevanja značilnosti naravnih sistemov edini objektiven pristop. Ta je osredotočen na povezanost, sorodnost in vsebinskost, kar vodi v razvoj sistemskega načina razmišljanja. Njegove temeljne značilnosti so: osredotočenost na celoto in ne samo na sestavne dele, preučevanje odnosov (procesov) med elementi (podsistemi) in ne samo preučevanje značilnosti posameznih elementov (podsistemov), odkrivanje vzorcev na nivoju sistema in ne le pos amičnih interakcij ter uporaba kvalitativnih in kvantitativnih pristopov. Sodobne sistemske in metodološke znanosti, ki temeljijo na sistemskem razmišljanju, omogočajo hiter razvoj organicističnega pristopa k preučevanju značilnosti naravnih sistemov in omogočajo razvoj koncepta trajnosti.

Sustainability as a generally accepted goal of modern society is a reflection of high public environmental awareness and its decision to achieve a qualitative progress of modern civilization. The basic condition for the development of the concept of sustainability is knowledge about the structures and processes of natural systems and the use of systems thinking. Given the complexity, nonlinearity, unpredictability and irreversibility of natural systems, the most objective research approach to these systems is organicistic approach. It is focused on the relationships, similarities and contents which lead to the development of systems thinking. Its main characteristics are: a focus on the whole and not just its parts, examining the relations (processes) between elements (subsystems) rather than examining the characteristics of individual components (subsystems), detecting patterns at a systems level and not only individual interactions, and the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Modern systems and methodological sciences which are based on systems thinking, enabling rapid development of organicistic approach to studies the characteristics of natural systems and facilitate the development of the concept of sustainability.