Environmental pollution is among the major challenges the world is facing in the 21st century. Current research clearly shows that there is trade-off between environmental- social sustainability and economic development. According to (Esfahbodi, Zhang, Watson, 2016), natural resources are depleting at a relatively alarming rate. Environmental degradation creates scarcity and sustainability issues for the future generation. On one hand, nations are trying to hasten their economic growth to improve their living standards. On the other hand, environmental problems are increasingly becoming complicated due to the excessive use of natural resources to hasten economic development. In this connection, this paper will address the relationship between environmental/social sustainability and economic development. The paper will base its discussion on whether there is a trade-off between environmental-social sustainability and economic development