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Sustainable Governance: Concept, Metrics and Contexts (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance)
by Andrea Cardoni Evgeniia KiselevaThe role of governance as a fundamental pillar of sustainability is widely recognized and confirmed by its inclusion in the main ESG issues (environmental social governance). Through the complex role of governance in the context of ESG, research has developed the notion of sustainable corporate governance, i.e., a system based on the integration of shareholder and stakeholder objectives that protects the environment and the broader community. This book provides a sound theoretical definition, a precise measurement system, and best practice examples for the implementation of sustainable corporate governance. It includes theoretical foundations based on stakeholder and institutional theories from different environments and contexts, such as developed and developing economies, large publicly traded companies and SMEs, and family businesses. In addition to explaining the concept theoretically, it uses practical case studies to address the effective integration of sustainable governance into corporate structures. The book provides business students and researchers with an in-depth analysis of the emerging concept of sustainable governance and is valuable for academics as well as corporate and financial market participants.
Sustainable Governance in Hybrid Organizations: An International Case Study of Water Companies (Finance, Governance and Sustainability)
by Linne Marie LauesenIn Sustainable Governance in Hybrid Organizations the author Linne Marie Lauesen explores how businesses that have succeeded in conducting sustainable governance, manage and govern their sustainable performance: in other words, how they manage to be economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. In this respect, hybrid organizations that are formed as businesses with a mission to be sustainable and to provide services for society - such as water companies - are a good point of departure. Water companies are highly regulated whilst working primarily for the betterment of society and on behalf of generations to come, for whom clean and plentiful water and the preservation of nature is a must. Linne Marie has dug deep into these types of hybrid organizations in order to reveal which mechanisms of organizational governance for sustainability are at play, and how these organizations manage to balance their triple bottom lines in order to survive financially, socially, and environmentally and make a business out of their conduct. Balancing these three bottom lines in a sustainable way is explained in a clear and accessible way and the juxtaposition between non-profit and for-profit water companies will show how this model can be transferred to other business spheres.
Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity: Economic and Global Policy Issues
by Raimund Bleischwitz Paul J.J. Welfens Zhongxiang ZhangWritten by international experts in their respective fields, Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity provides a comprehensive overview of global issues of raw materials supply and resource use. It also introduces new views and perspectives on the sustainable growth of emerging economies and develops a rationale for a new resource economics. This book emphasises why resources are back on the agenda: firstly, because of their fundamental economic role in technological progress and long-term prosperity; secondly, because deficits in raw material markets are now intertwined with deficits in the financial markets; and, thirdly, because the sustainable management of natural resources is a crucial element in responses to new global challenges such as climate change. Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity analyses raw materials supply and resource use in a global context. The contributions present state-of-the-art results and perspectives on the availability of resources and discuss factors such as limited supply, demand from emerging and other economies and the critical shortage of some materials – particularly some metals – that are essential inputs in many high-tech processes and may put certain industries at risk. Sustainable Growth and Resource Productivity sheds new light on the economics of sustainable growth. Linking the current financial crisis with stock market pricing and innovation dynamics, it argues for reforms in international macro-economic policies. It also critically discusses the implications of valuing labour productivity over capital and resource productivity and argues that policies favouring capital productivity will increase both social and economic sustainability. Further contributions are made on the business dimensions of material efficiency as well as on policy recommendations. The book examines the overall empirical trend towards decoupling resource use from economic growth. It undertakes a rigorous cross-country comparison and looks in more detail at the cases of Finland and Greece, as well as at emerging economies and their role in the global governance of natural resources. A key focus is placed on China, with discussion of recent findings regarding Chinese domestic policy on energy, climate and resources as well as on developing Chinese foreign policy in Africa. The book concludes with the positing of a new theory of resource economics: an emerging sub-discipline that puts resources at its heart but clearly aligns with other fields of economics, and transcends the borderlines of geology, geography, material science, recycling and waste, as well as elements of other social sciences. This important new book will be essential reading for economic researchers, governmental officials, businesses and NGOs with an interest in understanding the policy links to sustainable growth and in learning more about the emerging field of resource productivity.
Sustainable Housing in a Circular Economy
by Naomi Keena Avi FriedmanThis book relates circular economy principles to housing design and construction and highlights how those principles can result in both monetary savings, positive environmental impact, and socio-ecological change.Chapters focus on three key circular economy principles and apply them to architectural construction and design, namely rethinking of the end-of-use phase of a building and the potential of design-for-disassembly; the role of digitization and data standardization in fostering evidence-based circular economy design decision-making; and presenting space as a resource to conserve, via exploration of the sharing economy and flexibility principles. Beyond waste management and material cycles, this book provides a holistic understanding of the opportunities across the building life cycle that can allow for sustainable and affordable circular housing. With case studies from 13 different countries, including but not limited to the Hammarby Sjöstad district in Sweden, the Circle House in Denmark, Benny Farm in Canada, VMD Prefabricated House in Mexico, and the Deep Performance Dwelling in China, authors pair theoretical frameworks with real-world examples.This will be a useful resource for upper-level students and academics of architecture, construction, and planning, especially those studying and researching housing design, building technology, green project management, and environmental design.
Sustainable Innovation: Build Your Company's Capacity to Change the World
by Andrew HargadonIf we can carry in our pockets more computing power than the Apollo program needed to put a man on the moon, why can't we solve problems like climate change, famine, or poverty? The answer lies, in part, in the distinctive challenges of creating innovations that address today's pressing environmental and social problems. In this groundbreaking book, Andrew Hargadon shows why sustainable innovation--the development of financially viable products that support a healthy environment and communities--is so difficult when compared to creating the next internet ventures or mobile apps that disregard these criteria. While other books treat innovation across sectors equally, Hargadon argues that most effective innovation strategies hinge on attention to the context in which they are pursued. Instead of relying on a stale set of "best practices," executives must craft their own strategies based on the particulars of their industries and markets. But, there are some rules of the road that foster a triple bottom line; this book provides a research-based framework that outlines the critical capabilities necessary to drive sustainable innovation: a long-term commitment, nexus work, science and policy expertise, recombinant innovation, and robust design. Sustainable Innovation draws on a wide range of historical and contemporary examples to show business readers and their companies how to stand on the shoulders of successful pioneers.
Sustainable Innovation: The Organisational, Human and Knowledge Dimension
by René JornaHOW SUSTAINABLE IS INNOVATION? Problematically, most contemporary patterns of innovation in human social systems and organisations are not sustainable. This prevents people from learning effectively, from recognising and solving their problems, and from operating in sustainable ways. It is arguably why societies, businesses and industries around the world are so unsustainable. Sustainable innovation is a pattern of social learning and problem-solving that is, itself, sustainable. The sustainability of innovation, moreover, is linked to the sustainability of its outcomes, which manifest themselves in what people produce and do in the world. Sustainable innovation, then, is a necessary precondition for sustainability in how societies and organisations function – the ways they organise, the products and services they make, the energy and resources they use, and the wastes they produce. As challenges such as demographic pressures, ethnic tensions, terrorism, global poverty, pandemics and abrupt climate change force their way into mainstream politics and business, so we see growing interest in innovation, entrepreneurial solutions and, critically, issues such as how to ensure successful solutions replicate and scale. Sustainable Innovation aims to illustrate that shift. Instead of simply focusing on environmental and technological matters, it views and evaluates innovation-for-sustainability in terms of the human, social and management challenges and responses. It argues that a just, efficient and sustainable balancing of these elements is best achieved by the development of new knowledge, and by the evolution of better means both of embedding that emerging knowledge in organisations and institutions, and of managing the relevant flows of information, knowledge and wisdom. The book stresses that claims that a particular product, production process or service are sustainable usually assume that an appropriate balance has been achieved between people, planet and profit. However, calculating the sustainability of such things, let alone of complex systems such as enterprises or economies, can be impossible. Instead of "sustainability", the book favours the use of terms such as "making sustainable", emphasising that in dynamic operating environments organisational processes are changing constantly, whether or not they are under effective strategic control by management. Innovation, too, is dynamic by definition. Sustainable Innovation argues that there must be a constant focus on the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental value creation during the innovation process. Sustainable innovation is a new challenge for organisations. It is a process that should permeate the whole organisation, in terms of its members, its tasks, its coordination mechanisms and its procedures. Waste or pollution should not be seen as the reason for further intervention downstream, but as an end-of-the-pipe effect, which could be organisationally cured upstream. Developed from the Dutch research programme "Knowledge Creation for Sustainable Innovation", this book presents empirical research and cases to develop a theory of sustainable innovation that is based on management of knowledge, knowledge and cognition and innovation approaches. Sustainable Innovation suggests that knowledge and innovation will be the key drivers of social and corporate sustainability in the years ahead. It will be essential reading for managers and researchers in areas such as sustainability, innovation, knowledge management and organisational learning.
Sustainable Investing: A Path to a New Horizon
by Herman BrilThis book tells the story of how the convergence between corporate sustainability and sustainable investing is now becoming a major force driving systemic market changes. The idea and practice of corporate sustainability is no longer a niche movement. Investors are increasingly paying attention to sustainability factors in their analysis and decision-making, thus reinforcing market transformation. In this book, high-level practitioners and academic thought leaders, including contributions from John Ruggie, Fiona Reynolds, Johan Rockström, and Paul Polman, explain the forces behind these developments. The contributors highlight (a) that systemic market change is influenced by various contextual factors that impact how sustainable investing is perceived and practiced; (b) that the integration of ESG factors in investment decisions is impacting markets on a large scale and hence changes practices of major market players (e.g. pension funds); and (c) that technology and the increasing datafication of sustainability act as further accelerators of such change. The book goes beyond standard economic theory approaches to sustainable investing and emphasizes that capitalism founded on more real-world (complex) economics and cooperation can strengthen ESG integration. Aimed at both investment professionals and academics, this book gives the reader access to more practitioner-relevant information and it also discusses implementation issues. The reader will gain insights into how "mainstream" financial actors relate to sustainable investing.
Sustainable Land Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and Trade-offs
by World BankLand is the integrating component of all livelihoods depending on farm, forest, rangeland, or water (rivers, lakes, coastal marine) habitats. Due to varying political, social, and economic factors, the heavy use of natural resources to supply a rapidly growing global population and economy has resulted in the unintended mismanagement and degradation of land and ecosystems. 'Sustainable Land Management' provides strategic focus to the implementation of sustainable land management (SLM) components of the World Bank's development strategies. SLM is a knowledge-based procedure that integrates land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management to meet rising food and fiber demands while sustaining livelihoods and the environment. This book, aimed at policy makers, project managers, and development organization, articulates priorities for investment in SLM and natural resource management and identifies the policy, institutional, and incentive reform options that will accelerate the adoption of SLM productivity improvements and pro-poor growth.
Sustainable Legacies: A Legal Inquiry into PwDs’ Rights in Vietnam’s Development
by Nguyen Binh An Nguyen Hien Phuong Luong Van TuanThis book offers a comprehensive exploration of Vietnam's legal landscape through the lens of inclusivity. Covering topics ranging from educational rights and workplace inclusivity to corporate social responsibility and transport accessibility, this book provides a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing PwDs in Vietnam. What sets this book apart is its interdisciplinary approach, weaving together legal analysis, policy evaluation and real-world case studies to provide practical insights for policymakers, legal practitioners, academics, and advocates. With a focus on actionable recommendations, it is a valuable resource for anyone interested in promoting sustainable development and social justice for persons with disabilities. Accessible yet rigorous, the book is aimed at a wide audience, from legal practitioners and policymakers to disability rights activists and academics. It serves as both a roadmap for legal reform and a catalyst for promoting a more inclusive and just society
Sustainable Luxury: Managing Social and Environmental Performance in Iconic Brands
by Miguel Angel Gardetti Ana Laura TorresMost consumers of luxury products and services use them as status symbols – symbols of success. However, the definition of success – and the way it is perceived by others – is changing. Increasingly, consumers want the brands they use to address growing concerns that luxury products invariably come at a heavy social and environmental cost. The luxury industry faces its biggest challenge yet in satisfying an emerging demand of successful consumerism – products that meet high environmental, social and ethical standards.This collection sees internationally renowned fashion, luxury and sustainability experts come together to explore the challenges faced - and solutions developed - by luxury goods companies in sourcing, producing and marketing luxury products. Sustainable Luxury: Managing Social and Environmental Performance in Iconic Brands represents the most comprehensive collection of current writing on the nascent relationship between sustainability and luxury. It will be essential reading for academics researching sustainable development in the fashion and luxury industries and it will provide invaluable guidance for practitioners seeking the latest research to help them meet consumer demand for sustainable goods and services.
Sustainable Luxury and Social Entrepreneurship: Stories from the Pioneers
by Miguel Angel Gardetti María Eugenia GirónLuxury products are now seen by a growing number of global consumers as an important and more widely available way of expressing personal aspirations and values. Most consumers of luxury products and services use them as status symbols and symbols of success. However, the definition of success – and the way it is perceived by others – is changing. Many of these successful consumers now want the brands they use to reflect their concerns and aspirations. Such products come with a heavy social and environmental cost. Sustainable luxury is about rediscovering the old meaning of luxury – a considered purchase of a beautifully crafted object with built-in social and environmental value.The social entrepreneurs documented in this book highlight the relationship between personal values and sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation in developing and marketing luxury products. The pioneers outline how they have developed inclusive supply chains with poor and vulnerable communities. Their stories prove that luxury need not be a destructive force. Instead, this book opens a window on a world where entrepreneurial pioneers can change the rules of the game.
Sustainable Luxury and Social Entrepreneurship Volume II: More Stories from the Pioneers
by Miguel Angel Gardetti María Eugenia GirónLuxury products are now seen by a growing number of global consumers as an important and more widely available way of expressing personal aspirations and values. Most consumers of luxury products and services use them as status symbols and symbols of success. However, the definition of success – and the way it is perceived by others – is changing. Many of these successful consumers now want the brands they use to reflect their concerns and aspirations. Such products come with a heavy social and environmental cost. Sustainable luxury is about rediscovering the old meaning of luxury – a considered purchase of a beautifully crafted object with built-in social and environmental value.The social entrepreneurs documented in this book highlight the relationship between personal values and sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation in developing and marketing luxury products. The pioneers outline how they have developed inclusive supply chains with poor and vulnerable communities. Their stories prove that luxury need not be a destructive force. Instead, this book opens a window on a world where entrepreneurial pioneers can change the rules of the game.
Sustainable Management: A Complete Guide for Faculty and Students (The Principles for Responsible Management Education Series)
by Petra Molthan-HillSustainable Management: A Complete Guide for Faculty and Students is both a textbook for students, as well as a teaching guide for educators. With a full introduction to sustainable management, the book covers a wide range of subject areas relevant to business and management students. It enables faculty to incorporate sustainability and climate solutions into their modules, and is also very accessible for self-directed studies. This third edition features fully updated chapters on how to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into key disciplines in business, including economics, operations, marketing, HR, strategy, and financial reporting. We also cover topics such as corporate peacemaking, greenhouse gas management and crowdsourcing. The book offers a new chapter on how to integrate climate solutions and climate change mitigation education into business and management schools, as well as many ideas in each chapter on how to do so. The chapter on employability and sustainability was fully redesigned adding new resources, which can be used in any educational establishment. Educators in business schools and trainers in organisations will find short readymade seminars/workshops and a wide array of learning resources supported by a companion website.
Sustainable Management: Coping with the Dilemmas of Resource-Oriented Management
by Georg Müller-ChristIn the second edition of this book, the concept of resource-based sustainability has once again been expanded to include further references to modern management theories. The author shows that overcoming the dilemmas that sustainability creates for companies and all organizations leads to more complex decisions that also require higher levels of awareness. The concept of sustainable leadership is closely related to the resource approach. Finally, readers will learn how to tell a compelling transformation narrative toward sustainability.
Sustainable Management of Transnational Megaprojects (Routledge-Giappichelli Studies in Business and Management)
by Dario Cottafava Daniel Torchia Stefania Camoletto Laura CorazzaThis book analyses the seminal role of megaprojects for sustainable development, and the related, complex challenges they bring. It provides insights into the growing social responsibilities that megaprojects have, not only to be environmentally sustainable, but also towards the multitude of stakeholders involved, whether directly or indirectly. After an historical overview of the increasingly necessary links between sustainable infrastructure and megaprojects, the book builds on and applies stakeholder theory to stakeholder engagement and management in megaprojects. It also emphasizes the importance of building impact assessment frameworks that consider the unheard voices that are often passively sitting at the receiving end of a megaproject, as well as the local context where the megaproject is embedded. The book then proceeds to analyse the case of a very contested transnational railway megaproject between Italy and France, the Turin-Lyon high-speed railway, which has been suffering from stakeholder and communication issues for over thirty years, as well as from notable managerial and legal differences in the two countries. In this way, the book informs both theory and practice and encourages scholarly interventions into wicked problems. It contains a comprehensive review of the academic literature on the sustainability, sustainability challenges, and sustainability reporting of megaprojects. Conceptual models, frameworks and future research opportunities are provided to clarify the empirical challenges and highlight the gaps and opportunities to be explored by researchers and practitioners in future. The audience for the book is both academic researchers and practitioners in the field of megaprojects and more specifically, those dealing with managing transnational megaprojects. It also includes several topics that will be of interest to policy and decision-makers.
Sustainable Marketing: A Holistic Approach
by Mark PetersonBuilding on the idea that holistic marketing strategies allow firms to assess risk and realise opportunities, this book draws on new research and industry examples to help you recognize effective sustainability practices that benefit companies, stakeholders and society. With an issue-based approach that dissects the interplay between marketing and society, the author encourages readers to critically engage with the changing nature of markets; how companies can adapt to sustainability guidelines and environmental threats while still remaining profitable in today’s global market. Using a range of examples including Costco, Juul, Facebook, Patagonia and Bitcoin, Peterson highlights the importance of social issues facing businesses today such as poverty alleviation, the drive towards more ‘green’ living, corporate social responsibility within firms and political pressures such as emissions guidelines and reducing the global carbon footprint. The Mavericks Who Made It feature also highlights key entrepreneurs throughout history, their key successes and their impact on sustainable marketing.
Sustainable Marketing: A Holistic Approach
by Mark PetersonBuilding on the idea that holistic marketing strategies allow firms to assess risk and realise opportunities, this book draws on new research and industry examples to help you recognize effective sustainability practices that benefit companies, stakeholders and society. With an issue-based approach that dissects the interplay between marketing and society, the author encourages readers to critically engage with the changing nature of markets; how companies can adapt to sustainability guidelines and environmental threats while still remaining profitable in today’s global market. Using a range of examples including Costco, Juul, Facebook, Patagonia and Bitcoin, Peterson highlights the importance of social issues facing businesses today such as poverty alleviation, the drive towards more ‘green’ living, corporate social responsibility within firms and political pressures such as emissions guidelines and reducing the global carbon footprint. The Mavericks Who Made It feature also highlights key entrepreneurs throughout history, their key successes and their impact on sustainable marketing.
Sustainable Marketing: Strategic Marketing for People, Planet and Profit (Classroom Companion: Business)
by S. M. Shams David M Brown Kimberley HardcastleThis core textbook empowers and inspires students with sustainable marketing strategies to pursue the triple bottom line; People, Planet and Profit. The purpose is to underpin a brand’s commercial competitive advantage through its societal and environmental impact. It presents complex cross-disciplinary and cross-functional theoretical and practical discussions in a simplified manner to specify how the learning outcomes from different chapters can address the grand challenges associated with climate change, economic instability, geopolitical uncertainty, and inequity whilst underpinning profit-making ventures responsibly. The authors also demonstrate how the learning outcomes from this book can be applied in pursuit of each of the 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each chapter features a chapter summary, preliminary vignette, key terms, web exercises, review and discussion questions, and a practice quiz. Throughout the text there are also specific teaching features to provide students and instructors with an enhanced pedagogical experience. These features include: The Manager’s Corner: These sections provide real-world examples that instructors may highlight to exemplify theory or as mini cases for discussion Sustainable Marketing in Action: These sections inspire students to apply concepts and theories to actual business situations This core textbook prepares the next generation of sustainable marketers to pursue their career goals with a commitment to fostering a positive and sustainable impact on society, the environment, the economy, their organizations, and themselves.
Sustainable Markets for Sustainable Business: A Global Perspective for Business and Financial Markets (Finance, Governance and Sustainability)
by Güler ArasAround the world the focus is on the relationship between ethics and governance codes and how widely this should be interpreted. Sustainability has three main accepted dimensions: economic growth, social responsibility, and environmental protection. It is a truly multidimensional and multidisciplinary concept, and one which directly affects the risks and opportunities for markets and businesses. In three distinct parts, Sustainable Markets for Sustainable Business explores the relationship between markets and business and sustainable development, as well as issues such as climate change, pollution, land degradation and biodiversity loss. Firstly the authors, all experts from around the world, consider a variety of theoretical issues concerned with sustainability in the new environment. In Part Two the emphasis is on looking at these issues in the market and business practice under various guises. Although every chapter contains discussion and recommended solutions, the final part specifically focuses on future perspectives and the solution strategies for implementation of sustainability measures. Throughout the book the authors address the need for business and market sustainability reforms. The world's markets have the potential to improve the lives of billions in developing countries, reducing poverty and securing environmental quality for future generations. Often they fail to capture the full value of natural resources or promote the interests of poor people. Therefore, an effective public policy framework is required. Sustainable Markets for Sustainable Business and future titles in the Finance, Governance and Sustainability Series address this need.
Sustainable Measures: Evaluation and Reporting of Environmental and Social Performance
by Martin Bennett Peter James Leon KlinkersEnvironmental and social performance measurement and reporting by business has become a high-profile issue during the 1990s. It is increasingly being requested by stakeholders and required by governments. Companies too are finding that they need better environmental and social performance data for effective internal management. And there are a growing number of standardisation initiatives – such as the ISO 14031 guidelines on environmental performance evaluation or the CERES Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) template for sustainability reporting – that are aimed at making it easier for more companies to take action, and for stakeholders to compare their progress.Sustainable Measures collects together most of the key work and individuals concerned with the topic from around the world. Contributions include: environmental and social reporting by John Elkington and colleagues at SustainAbility; the GRI discussion draft; Roger Adams and Martin Houldin on the FEE study of environmental reporting; Janet Ranganathan of the World Resources Institute on sustainability measures; and Martin Bennett and Peter James on ISO 14031 and the future of environmental performance evaluation. There are also chapters examining current practice in Austria, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands and South Africa, developments in electronic reporting, as well as case studies of Baxter, Kunert, Niagara Mohawk, Unox, The Body Shop and the UK water industry, and an analysis of leading social reports.The book is essential reading for all academics, campaigners, policy-makers and practitioners with an interest in issues such as:The standardization and comparability of environmental and social performance measuresMeasuring and reporting on sustainable businessEco-points and other means of evaluating product impactsThe implementation of measurement and reportingBest practice in corporate environmental and social reportingNew means of communicating environmental dataEnvironmental performance evaluation in developing countries
Sustainable Operations Management
by Andrea ChiariniThis book presents innovative research on various aspects of sustainability in the field of operations management and illustrates the potential of sustainability thinking and practice to improve operations performance and thereby meet customer needs. Particular attention is devoted to corporate social responsibility and marketing strategy, knowledge management for sustainability, the role of culture in a sustainable built environment, sustainable manufacturing through the application of lean and green concepts, advancing sustainability through ISO standards, and the sustainable supply chain. The present decade is proving to be a time of change in terms of business strategies and operations management. Many of the trends are still subject to uncertainty, but an understanding of the need for, and benefits of, sustainability can give a clear indication of their trajectory. Consumers and markets in general believe that while implementing their business strategies, companies should also try to improve society and the environment and to exercise social responsibility toward their employees. This book provides insights into how this may be achieved, and it is recommended for researchers as well as all practitioners and managers dedicated to enhancing sustainability in operations.
A Sustainable Philosophy—The Work of Bryan Norton (The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics #26)
by Sahotra Sarkar Ben A. MinteerThis book provides a richly interdisciplinary assessment of the thought and work of Bryan Norton, one of most innovative and influential environmental philosophers of the past thirty years. In landmark works such as Toward Unity Among Environmentalists and Sustainability: A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management, Norton charted a new and highly productive course for an applied environmental philosophy, one fully engaged with the natural and social sciences as well as the management professions. A Sustainable Philosophy gathers together a distinguished group of scholars and professionals from a wide array of fields (including environmental philosophy, natural resource management, environmental economics, law, and public policy) to engage Norton’s work and its legacy for our shared environmental future. A study in the power of intellectual legacy and the real-world influence of philosophy, the book will be of great interest scholars and students in environmental philosophy, public policy and management, and environmental and sustainability studies. By considering the value and impact of Norton’s body of work it will also chart a course for the next generation of pragmatic environmental philosophers and sustainability scholars grappling with questions of environmental value, knowledge, and practice in a rapidly changing world.
Sustainable Practices in Higher Education: Finance, Strategy, and Engagement
by Thomas Walker Khaled Tarabieh Sherif Goubran Gabrielle Machnik-KekesiThis edited collection presents, reviews, and critically analyzes sustainable practices and long-term-oriented decision-making in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Campus closures and the quick transition to hybrid or e-learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic caused HEI stakeholders, including students, faculty, and staff, to swiftly adopt new ways of learning, teaching, and administering that were unfathomable only months before. This radical and challenging shift left many in academia with a sense that there is tremendous potential for HEIs to take the lead – both from an educational and practical standpoint – in fostering on- and off-campus sustainability and combatting climate change. In this book, the editors and their contributors systematically highlight current challenges that are slowing or derailing HEIs’ finance-related initiatives and practices geared toward sustainability. The case studies collected in this book provide a holistic overview of the ways in which financial and other long-term decisions can lead to more sustainable practices in higher education.
Sustainable Public Procurement under EU Law
by Sjåfjell, Beate and Wiesbrock, Anja Beate Sjåfjell Anja WiesbrockThis book examines the effectiveness of the modernisation of EU public procurement law in light of the overarching treaty goals on sustainability. Contributors expertly cover core issues of public procurement, including life cycle costing (LCC), eco- and fairtrade labels, the link to the subject matter (LtSM) requirement, the mandatory horizontal rule on environmental and social legal compliance, and framework agreements. Also explored are the balancing of economic and non-economic objectives implied in sustainable public procurement. The volume moves on to identify major unresolved issues in the use of sustainability considerations, and highlights challenges and possibilities for the national implementation due to take place in 2016. The book contributes to the dismantling of the compartmentalisation that underpins unsustainable policy decisions by discussing the interface of company law and public procurement law and the implication of the new rules on sustainable public procurement for sustainable companies, and specifically for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Sustainable Resource Management: Global Trends, Visions and Policies
by Raimund Bleischwitz Stefan BringezuSustainable Resource Management is the result of years of exhaustive research by Germany's Wuppertal Institute. Looking at material flows, industrial and societal metabolism and their implications for the economy, this important new book provides radical perspectives on how the global economy should use natural resources in intelligent ways that maximise well-being without destroying life-supporting ecosystems. It presents a vision of the future and the fundamental elements necessary for the sustainable management of the Earth's resources. It argues that the need to manage the use of our natural resources at a sustainable level can be shaped into a great opportunity for innovation and for new institutions to govern change.Sustainable Resource Management first provides an overview of the methods it has used to analyse the physical basis of our economies, from the product and firm level through to sectors and whole countries, considering material flows and life-cycle-wide impacts on the environment. Indicators are described that reflect the volume, structure and physical growth of the socio-industrial metabolism, resource productivity and the share of domestic and foreign resource use. By accounting for the global land use of different countries and regions, the book aims to better assess the global implications of domestic activities. For example, linkages are made between the consumption of food and non-food to land use change, such as the expansion of cropland at the expense of natural ecosystems.Sustainable Resource Management presents a number of key findings. Comparing the resource use of the EU with the USA, Japan and China, it determines why there is a difference. It provides evidence about the decoupling of resource use from economic growth, at the expense of an increased reliance on foreign supply. There are two closely analysed case studies, on platinum group metals (PGM) and biofuels, which provide insights into the key drivers of resource use and related problem shifting. Another key finding is that only a limited number of sectors, both on the production and consumption side, are actually associated with major resource requirements and atmospheric emissions – so synergies between resource conservation and climate protection can be found. Evidence is also given of a possible link between a low level of resource productivity and a high risk of unemployment.Sustainable Resource Management also looks into the future and provides visions of sustainable resource use, including the necessary conditions for a sustainable metabolism in the EU. Four example-rich visions are laid out approaching the future from different angles: the resource-efficient and recycling-based industry, the steady-stocks society, the solarised technosphere, and the balanced bio-economy. Each examines key conditions for a low-risk and high-opportunity future, while accounting for likely trade-offs between dematerialisation and rematerialisation, between renewable energy sources and non-renewable materials, between construction and deconstruction of buildings and infrastructures, and between domestic production and the import of biomass products.Finally, Sustainable Resource Management provides a blueprint for how a more sustainable future may be achieved. It analyses the legitimacy of public policies for sustainable resource management, looks at market deficits and barriers, and considers the global nature of the challenge. Crucially, it lays down the key elements of a strategy roadmap: First, better information, dissemination and knowledge generation. Second, innovative market policies to encourage new business models. Third, industry-specific policies – particularly where current resource use patterns are significant and a huge demand for adaptation and system innovation exist, such as in automotive or metal production. Last but not least, an international convention on sustainable resource management is proposed.This significant new book will be essential reading for researchers, EU and national governmental officials; and business and NGOs