Human activities have all kinds of consequences for ecosystems, and it is clearly necessary to think and act in favour of environments that are conducive to sustainable development. However, the specific geographical characteristics of each region, whether demographic, political, organisational or economic, play a decisive role in determining the extent to which sustainable management can be achieved. How can sustainable territories be created? The aim of this article is to present, according to four branches of geography, the challenges of public policies with regard to environments and the need to embed sustainability in territories.