<p>Sustainable development has become a mandatory agenda for all societies, and the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) summarize a consensus on actions and targets to be promoted in all environments (social, governmental, organizational, etc.). Under this consensus, however, cultural practices persist that harm or compromise the survival of vulnerable populations, such as the observed impacts of some renewable energy projects that result in forced displacement, or suppress the necessary living conditions for social and cultural reproduction. This article examines this issue and argues that the concept of sustainability, as supported in the SDGs, does not dispense with a commitment to the inclusion of vulnerable populations; on the contrary, it inescapably presupposes it. Ignoring inclusion as a necessary dimension of sustainability may lead to cultural practices that result in what the article proposes to label as negative cultural cusps.</p>