Abstract
This article argues that sustainable development should be in the conceptual focus of public authorities in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Sustainability involves three systems: environmental, economic, and social. The challenge of governance, and thus of implemented public policy, is to sustain each of these systems on its own while maintaining an appropriate balance among them. The article defines the concept of sustainability and sustainable development, and its environmental component in particular, in ways that are relevant to public policy; assesses the validity of the concept in terms of the interrelationships and interdependencies among the three systems. By integrating knowledge and study of the environmental system with the traditional competence in the social and economic systems, public authorities may have a model of sustainable development in the Republic of Kazakhstan which helps to be competitive internationally.