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Sustainability and Megaproject Development (Routledge-Giappichelli Studies in Business and Management)
by Franca Cantoni Edoardo FavariMegaprojects, also referred to in the literature as Large Engineering Projects or Major Projects, are generally defined as large-scale investment initiatives worth 1b€/$ or more and, facing similar problems independent of the country where they are implemented and the industry they belong to. The common feature of most megaprojects is that they are difficult to design and manage so that their realization and completion is always extremely expensive, often over budget and delivery deadlines also are not met. In the worst-case scenario, they remain unfinished. This book, through its multidisciplinary approach, offers food for thought and alternative interpretations for the complex world of megaprojects. While much research has been conducted and differing approaches have been developed over the last 20 years, there is still a lot of debate surrounding the topic, and a holistic approach for effectively managing these initiatives is still missing. What is clear to all researchers and experts in the field is that a traditional-linear management approach is simply not sufficient, as at many stages of a megaproject, iterative and feedback effect occurs due to stakeholder involvement and increasing and continuous interaction between them. The book promotes the debate among all categories of stakeholders involved in the megaproject’s supply chain, in order to increase the awareness of complex phenomena relating to the critical issues and common problems they face, all over the world, and to seek performance improvement across the whole life cycle of a megaproject, including the selection, design, construction, operation and de- commissioning.The multidisciplinary approach cultivated in the book conveys an innovative way to study megaprojects and their inherent complexities.
Sustainability and Organizational Change Management
by Stewart R. Clegg and João Amaro de MatosThere is no bigger challenge for organizational change management in the contemporary world than achieving greater sustainability. The challenges associated with sustainable development are multifaceted, including criteria pertaining to the delivery of environmental, social, ethical and economic results. Creating sustainable value requires companies to address issues that relate to pollution and waste, created by industrialization; to respond in a transparent manner to the challenges increasingly raised by the civil society, namely NGOs; to invest in emerging technologies that provide innovative solutions to many of today’s environmental problems; and to effectively respond to the challenges of increased poverty and inequality around the globe. On the other hand, to create shareholder value, managers must focus not only on cost reduction and risk control, but also on fostering innovation, enhancing corporate reputation within external stakeholders, and establishing a credible growth path for the future.The current global financial crisis has left few untouched: unprecedented unemployment figures, public deficits, bankruptcies, redundancies, austerity regimes, and governments bailing out banks all over the globe. World confidence is at a record low. How can management scholars encounter solutions for the dilemmas created by this scenario of change in which they can manage to change sustainably? This book provides some answers to these pressing questions. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Change Management.
Sustainability and Peaceful Coexistence for the Anthropocene (Transnational Law and Governance)
by Pasi HeikkurinenThe rapid industrialization of societies has resulted in radical changes to the Earth’s biosphere and its local ecosystems. Climate scientists have recorded and forecasted worrying global temperature rises going back to the early twentieth century, while biologists and palaeontologists have suggested that the next mass extinction is on its way if the current rate of species loss continues. To avert further ecological damage, excessive natural resource use and environmental deterioration are challenges that humanity must deal with now. The human species has had such a significant impact on the natural environment that the present geological epoch can be referred to as the ‘Anthropocene’, the age of humans. The blame and responsibility for the prevailing unsustainability, however, cannot be assigned equally to all humans. To analyse the root problems and consequences of unsustainable development, as well as to outline rigorous solutions for the contemporary age, this transdisciplinary book brings together natural and social sciences under the rubric of the Anthropocene. The book identifies the central preconditions for social organization and governance to enable the peaceful coexistence of humans and the non-human world. The contributors investigate the burning questions of sustainability from a number of different perspectives including geosciences, economics, law, organizational studies, political theory and philosophy. The book is a state-of-the-art review of the Anthropocene debate and provides crucial signposts for how human activities can, and should, be changed.
Sustainability and Resilience Planning for Local Governments: The Quadruple Bottom Line Strategy (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Haris AlibašićThis book details a process of creating a long-term sustainability and resilience plan for local governments to use in designing and implementing sustainability and resilience-related policies, initiatives, and programs. It offers guidance and methods in applying sustainability and resilience strategies to attain the prosperity of organizations and communities. The recommendations in this book are based on the author's years of experience in directing applied resilience and sustainability planning for a local government, and years of research covering diverse aspects of sustainability and resilience from climate change, climate preparedness and readiness, quadruple bottom line strategy, greenhouse gas emission reduction policies, climate adaptation and mitigation to sustainable energy policies and initiatives. Chapter one defines terms related to sustainability and resilience and addresses how the topics reshape local governments and communities. Chapter two maps out the sustainability and resilience process for organizations and communities, determining the appropriate steps to be taken at each level of sustainability and resilience planning. Chapter three identifies community and organizational level engagement, with internal and external stakeholders, including designs necessary throughout these processes. Chapter four contains measuring, tracking, monitoring and reporting methods using the quadruple bottom line strategy, and developing a sustainability and resilience progress report to ensure accountability, transparency, and good governance. Then, chapter five details the implementation of a sustainability and resilience plan once it is established, describing potential programs and initiatives to achieve sustainable and resilient communities. Chapter six describes the intersection between sustainability and resilience, and chapter seven examines the tools and resources available to create a practical sustainability and resilience plan. Chapter eight concludes the text by addressing the future of sustainability and resilience, and complexities of the modern dynamics of the interconnected systems in cities, counties, and organizations, and recommends how local government administrators in their planning methods and strategies must consider these challenges.
Sustainability and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: Lessons from Mixed Methods Research
by Aharon FactorIndustrialisation has brought great benefits to humankind but now, after 200 years of fossil fuel use, land clearance and pollution, the planet’s boundaries are being stretched to their limits. Going beyond these confines would have severe consequences for humankind. To prevent this from happening, government, corporate and community initiatives must focus on reducing the environmental impact of approximately 400 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), given that they produce approximately 70% of the world’s pollution, 60% of carbon emissions and have a significant impact on land. To date, research shows that SMEs have been environmental laggards and more needs to be understood to improve sustainability in the SME sector. Broadening the researcher’s methodological focus, beyond traditional singular approaches, improves knowledge generation and better informs policy and practice. This book paves the way by showing the reader that a mixed method research design is able to provide a deep, diverse and holistic understanding of sustainability and SMEs. Importantly, the book also provides an in-depth mapping of mixed method sustainability and SME research at a regional level. As this book is about environmental sustainability framed in a business context, it will be of interest to researchers, academics, students and those in industry who are enquiring about the environmental sustainability of SMEs.
Sustainability and Smart Manufacturing: The Transformation of the Steelwork Industry (Routledge Advances in Production and Operations Management)
by Radosław Wolniak Bożena Gajdzik Wieslaw Grebski Jan Szymszal Michalene Eva GrebskiThis book discusses three key aspects of business operations: sustainability, human factors, and smart manufacturing, which make up modern business. The authors share their experiences in the transformation of enterprises to Industry 4.0/5.0 and the sustainability of steel production, as well as the reorganization of human factors using the example of the steel sector. The steel industry is covered both from a global perspective (key producers in the global steel market), as well as from a local and sectoral perspective (the companies that make up the sector of metal and metal product producers, using Poland as an example).This insightful book discusses how the steel industry can develop intelligent solutions to enhance sustainable performance and the challenges they must overcome, including policy and regulation. Case studies evaluate how steel companies are investing in new technologies that meet environmental requirements but also human resource development to enhance digital skills and competencies of the workforce.The book will find an audience across disciplines but be of particular value to scholars of industrial, operations, and technology management.
Sustainability and Social Responsibility of Accountability Reporting Systems: A Global Approach (Accounting, Finance, Sustainability, Governance & Fraud: Theory and Application)
by Roshima Said Kıymet Tunca ÇalıyurtThis book explores sustainability and social responsibility from the point of view of accountability reporting systems. The contributions to this volume open up discussions about the theory and application of sustainability and social responsibility across various corporate sectors and assists the reader in applying sustainable corporate social responsibility reporting across those sectors. As a central theme, the book addresses how the theory and application in sustainability and social responsibility has different dimensions and aspects which are impossible to apply across different sectors. This point of view is supported by chapter contributions from countries around the world including Turkey, Serbia, Malaysia, United States, South Africa, Italy, China, Brasil, Romania, Serbia, Puerta Rico, Algeria. Academics worldwide will discover in Sustainability and Social Responsibility of Accountability Reporting Systems: A Global Approach the latest developments about corporate social responsibility and sustainability of accountability reporting systems.
Sustainability and Water Footprint: Industry-specific Assessments and Recommendations (Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes)
by Subramanian Senthilkannan MuthuThis volume offers background and a variety of cases dealing with the concept of water footprint. The first chapter provides an introduction to the concept of water footprint and how it can be used to evaluate efforts toward sustainability, conservation, and environmental cleanup and remediation. Special focus is given to wastewater treatment from housing and construction, agriculture, and other industries. This book will be useful to academics, professionals, and students who are striving to make industrial use of water and cleanup of byproducts more sustainable.
Sustainability and Well-Being: The Middle Path to Environment, Society, and the Economy
by Asoka BandarageA powerful social science analysis and a compassionate philosophical perspective to face the twin challenges of environmental sustainability and human well-being.
Sustainability and Wellbeing: Human-Scale Development in Practice (Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development)
by Mònica Guillen-RoyoThe idea that we can meet human needs and simultaneously conserve and even enhance the natural environment is an attractive one. Since the Brundtland report popularised a definition of sustainable development based on the concept of needs, there has been a widespread belief that it should be possible to achieve a good quality of life without compromising natural ecosystems. Sustainability and Wellbeing fills a gap in sustainable development studies by drawing on a range of case-studies to discuss the challenges and opportunities of using Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development (HSD) framework in practice. The first section presents the theory and the methodology of HSD in the context of related literature on sustainable development and wellbeing. The second section discusses applications of the HSD methodology with three different purposes: the design of sustainable development interventions; the engagement of researchers with communities or groups of people in sustainability processes and the consolidation of sustainable community initiatives. Finally, the third reflects on challenges and limitations of using the HSD approach to define strategies for sustainable development and concludes. This is an invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in wellbeing, sustainability, sustainable development, and human development.
Sustainability and the Art of Long-Term Thinking (Routledge Studies in Sustainability)
by Thomas Petersen Bernd Klauer Reiner Manstetten Johannes SchillerDealing with time is intimately linked to sustainability, because sustainability, at its core, involves long-term ethical claims. To live up to them, decision and policy-making has to consider long-term development of society, economy, and nature. However, dealing with time and such long-term development is a notoriously difficult subject, both in science and, in particular, in practical decision and policy making. Rooted in philosophical and scientific reasoning, this book explores how the concept of time can be incorporated into effective practical action. The book describes a system and uses case studies to help sustainability practitioners and researchers consider the long-term consequences of our actions in a methodical way. The system integrates scientific and practical knowledge about time and temporal developments to help break down the sometimes overwhelming complexity of sustainability issues. Combining theoretical conceptual thinking and practical applications, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers of sustainability science, environmental sciences, sustainable development, environmental economics, political sciences and practical philosophy.
Sustainability and the Automobile Industry in Asia: Policy and Governance (Routledge Studies in Sustainability)
by Suwa Aki Iguchi MasahikoThis book provides a wealth of information and a critically required framework for sustainable automobile policy development in major Asian countries. It also gives wide-ranging policy options, ranging from technological to institutional solutions to automobile emission problems, based on empirical case studies and comparative policy and regulatory analysis. It is a useful reference with valuable insights on how rapidly changing economies are adopting their policy and regulatory structures to cope with the progressively severe environmental impacts of automobile increase.
Sustainability and the Fashion Industry: Can Fashion Save the World? (Responsible Fashion)
by Annick Schramme Nathalie VerbovenThere is widespread rhetorical agreement that the fashion industry must get itself onto a more ethical and sustainable footing. What does this mean in practice, and how can this be achieved in different regions around the world?This book brings together expert scholars and reflective practitioners via a network of dialogue and exchange to help drive forward an ethical and sustainable future for the fashion industry. With insights from fashion design, management, sociology, philosophy, education, heritage studies and policy, the book asks whether or not fashion can save the world.Enriched with illuminating case interviews and the perspective of experts, this book will be of interest to researchers and scholars in the fields of sustainable business and the fashion industry, and provides a unique resource for readers seeking to understand more about the need for responsible fashion.
Sustainability and the Humanities
by Walter Leal Filho Adriana Consorte McCreaThis book explores the strong links between sustainability and the humanities, which go beyond the inclusion of social sciences in discussions on sustainability, and offers a holistic discussion on the intellectual and moral aspects of sustainable development. The contributions from researchers in the fields of education, social sciences, religion, humanities, and sustainable development fulfill three main aims:They provide university lecturers interested in humanities and sustainable development with an opportunity to present their work;foster the exchange of information, ideas and experiences acquired in the execution of teaching and research; anddiscuss methodological approaches and projects that provide a better understanding of how the humanities can contribute to the debate on sustainable development. Prepared by the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme and the World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre, the book reiterates the need to promote integrated approaches to sustainable development. Including practice-based lessons learnt that can be replicated further, it is a valuable resource for scientists and practitioners working in the humanities and sustainable development.
Sustainability and the New Economics: Synthesising Ecological Economics and Modern Monetary Theory
by Rod Taylor Stephen J. WilliamsThis multidisciplinary book provides new insights and hope for sustainable prosperity given recent developments in economics – but only if swift and strong actions consistent with Earth’s biophysical limits and principles of justice are universally taken. It is one thing to put limits on resource throughput and waste generation to conform with the ecosphere’s biocapacity. It is another thing to efficiently allocate a sustainable rate of resource throughput and ensure it is equitably distributed in the form of final goods and services. While the separate but interdependent decisions regarding throughput, distribution, and allocation are the essence of ecological economics, dealing with them in a world that needs to cure its growth addiction requires a realistic understanding of macroeconomics and the fiscal capacity of currency-issuing central governments. Sustainable prosperity demands that we harness this understanding to carefully regulate the rate of resource throughput and manipulate macroeconomic outcomes to facilitate human flourishing. The book begins by outlining humanity’s current predicament of gross ecological overshoot and laments the half-century of missed opportunities since The Limits to Growth (1972). What was once economic growth has become, in many high-income countries, uneconomic growth (additional costs exceeding additional benefits), which is no longer advancing wellbeing. Meanwhile, low-income nations need a dose of efficient and equitable growth to escape poverty while protecting their environments and the global commons. The book argues for a synthesis of our increasing knowledge of the ecosphere’s limited carrying capacity and the power of governments to harness, transform, and distribute resources for the common good. Central to this synthesis must be a correct understanding of the difference between financial constraints and real resource constraints. While the latter apply to everyone, the former do not apply to currency-issuing central governments, which have much more capacity for corrective action than mainstream thinking perceives. The book joins the growing chorus of authoritative voices calling for a complete overhaul of the dominant economic system. We conclude with policy recommendations based on a new economics that, if implemented, would come close to guaranteeing a sustainable and prosperous future. Upon reading this book, at least one thing should be crystal clear: business as usual is not a viable option.
Sustainability and the Political Economy of Welfare: Perspectives, Policies And Emerging Practices (Routledge Studies in Ecological Economics)
by Max Koch Oksana MontWelfare is commonly conceptualized in socio-economic terms of equity, highlighting distributive issues within growing economies. While GDP, income growth and rising material standards of living are normally not questioned as priorities in welfare theories and policy making, there is growing evidence that Western welfare standards are not generalizable to the rest of the planet if environmental concerns, such as resource depletion or climate change, are considered. Sustainability and the Political Economy of Welfare raises the issue of what is required to make welfare societies ecologically sustainable. Consisting of three parts, this book regards the current financial, economic and political crisis in welfare state institutions and addresses methodological, theoretical and wider conceptual issues in integrating sustainability. Furthermore, this text is concerned with the main institutional obstacles to the achievement of sustainable welfare and wellbeing, and how these may feasibly be overcome. How can researchers assist policymakers in promoting synergy between economic, social and environmental policies conducive to globally sustainable welfare systems? Co-authored by a variety of cross-disciplinary contributors, a diversity of research perspectives and methods is reflected in a unique mixture of conceptual chapters, historical analysis of different societal sectors, and case studies of several EU countries, China and the US. This book is well suited for those who are interested in and study welfare, ecological economics and political economy.
Sustainability and the Rural Enterprise Economy: Economic, Environmental and Social Transformation (Routledge Advances in Regional Economics, Science and Policy)
by Birgit Leick Susanne Gretzinger Teemu MakkonenEnterprises in rural regions must now act in a globalized world and face global challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcities and social inequalities or the sustainability preferences of consumers. Rural start-up enterprises often strive to contribute to the solutions of global-scale problems, for example, the issues expressed by the United Nation´s Sustainable Development Goals, and for getting skilled labor into urban regions in order to make rural regions appealing to young people again. This book explores the management of sustainability issues in the context of the rural enterprise economy.It sheds light on these challenges and opportunities by linking the rural enterprise economy and sustainability management. It provides practical evidence about how rural enterprises and rural entrepreneurs can handle sustainability requirements and contribute to sustainability transformations in terms of economic, environmental and social stability. In addition to its practical relevance, the motivation of the book is first and foremost to develop a common understanding of the necessary key terminology and core concepts in a still largely underexplored, yet rapidly expanding research field and contribute to theory development by employing a multidisciplinary approach. It offers state-of-the-art cases from various countries to question and approach unresolved research questions related to sustainability issues and the management of sustainability, which are both a requirement and an opportunity for entrepreneurs and enterprises in a rural context.The book primarily targets scholars and researchers in economics and business research, entrepreneurship, innovation, regional planning, economic geography and sustainability management. It is also aimed at practitioners committed to enterprise development or entrepreneurship in rural regions and elsewhere, and policymakers and policy actors at different levels.
Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals in Cultural Clusters: A Comparative Analysis of Concepts, Influences, and Attainability (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Jang SinghThis book examines the three pillars of sustainability (physical environment, social issues, and economic justice) and the progress and achievability of the United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Canada, Guyana, India, Sri Lanka, and the USA. It presents data from interviews with 41 political and business leaders in these five countries to examine the political and professional effects on sustainability. In addition to the three pillars of sustainability, the author briefly examines the role of religion in sustainability as a potential fourth pillar. The UN SDGs represent minimum targets for the global environmental, economic, and social pillars that underpin a sustainable future for our planet. The data presented in this book combined with the themes uncovered with the SDGs adds to our understanding of how we can potentially influence and achieve these targets and create a sustainable future for the world.
Sustainability and the U.S. EPA
by Committee on Incorporating Sustainability in the U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySustainability is based on a simple and long-recognized factual premise: Everything that humans require for their survival and well-being depends, directly or indirectly, on the natural environment. The environment provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Recognizing the importance of sustainability to its work, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working to create programs and applications in a variety of areas to better incorporate sustainability into decision-making at the agency. To further strengthen the scientific basis for sustainability as it applies to human health and environmental protection, the EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide a framework for incorporating sustainability into the EPA's principles and decision-making. This framework, Sustainability and the U. S. EPA, provides recommendations for a sustainability approach that both incorporates and goes beyond an approach based on assessing and managing the risks posed by pollutants that has largely shaped environmental policy since the 1980s. Although risk-based methods have led to many successes and remain important tools, the report concludes that they are not adequate to address many of the complex problems that put current and future generations at risk, such as depletion of natural resources, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. Moreover, sophisticated tools are increasingly available to address cross-cutting, complex, and challenging issues that go beyond risk management. The report recommends that EPA formally adopt as its sustainability paradigm the widely used three pillars approach, which means considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of an action or decision. Health should be expressly included in the social pillar. EPA should also articulate its vision for sustainability and develop a set of sustainability principles that would underlie all agency policies and programs.
Sustainability at IKEA Group
by V. Kasturi Rangan Vincent Dessain Jerome Lenhardt Michael W. ToffelBy 2014, IKEA Group was the largest home furnishing company, with EUR28.5 billion of sales, and planned to reach EUR50 billion by 2020, mainly from emerging markets. At the same time, IKEA Group had adopted in 2012 a new sustainability strategy that focused the company's efforts on its entire value chain from its raw materials sourcing to the lifestyle of its end consumers. The plan especially centered on wood, which represented 60% of IKEA Group's total procurement in volume and constituted a key lever for the company to increase its positive impact on sustainability. IKEA Group Management therefore had to decide how to manage its portfolio of wood sustainability initiatives, especially in the context of the company's aggressive growth plan.
Sustainability at Millipore
by Katharine Lee Michael W. ToffelThis case describes Millipore Corporation's approach to becoming a more environmentally sustainable company. As he prepared for his quarterly meeting with the CEO, the Director of Sustainability needed to develop positions on several issues. Tactically, he needed to recommend whether the company should purchase carbon offsets to help meet its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets, and whether to continue publicly reporting its greenhouse gas emissions and strategies despite recent problems. On a more strategic level, he needed to recommend how to take the company's Sustainability Initiative to the next level and consider whether changes were needed to its organizational structure. Finally, he needed to develop a more systematic approach to prioritizing investments in various projects being proposed to improve environmental performance.
Sustainability at Siemens
by Amy C. Edmondson Emer Moloney Daniela Beyersdorfer V. Kasturi RanganDescribes sustainability efforts at Siemens since arrival of Chief Sustainability Officer, Barbara Kux, in 2008. Asks students to evaluate success of those efforts and outline what the company should do going forward.
Sustainability at Work: Careers That Make a Difference
by Marilyn WaiteSustainability at Work is a compelling guide for anyone who seeks both a successful career and a career that makes a positive difference in society.Containing career advice of great value to students and professionals, and explaining how one can integrate sustainability into future roles, this book’s appeal extends far beyond those well versed in sustainability thinking. The text includes an easy-to-follow structure—the SURF Framework—that anyone wondering how they can make a difference in the workplace can apply. In this thoroughly revised new edition, Marilyn Waite builds upon recent career trends to include two all-important themes that are redefining sustainability: justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion and climate-related career pathways. In addition, practical advice for finding and creating roles that correspond to one’s preferences and purpose is elaborated. The book explains how real people in a plethora of sectors can have a positive impact on people and planet. Professionals from a variety of backgrounds and locations explain how they brought a sustainability approach to various sectors, including agriculture, business, economics, and financial services, education and research, entertainment and media, health care, law and policy, and science and technology. The breadth of stories covers individuals working on five continents in various levels of responsibility.Through inspiring narratives and a structured framework, Sustainability at Work illustrates how sustainability can be incorporated into every imaginable career to impact the quadruple bottom line: environment, economy, society, and future generations.
Sustainability at Work: Careers that make a difference
by Marilyn WaiteSustainability at Work is a compelling guide for everyone who wants to have both a successful career and a career that makes a positive difference in society. Containing career advice of great value to students of sustainability, and explaining how they can apply their knowledge to their future careers, its appeal extends well beyond the classroom. Sustainability at Work includes an easy-to-follow framework that anyone wondering how they can make a sustainable difference in the workplace can apply. Professionals from a variety of backgrounds and territories explain how they brought a sustainability approach to various sectors: agriculture, health care, business, economics, and financial services, education and research, law and policy, science and technology, and entertainment and media. Through inspiring narratives and a structured framework, Sustainability at Work illustrates how sustainability can be incorporated into every imaginable career to impact the quadruple bottom line: environment, economy, society, and future generations.
Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Transforming Our Consumer Culture
by John R. EhrenfeldJohn Ehrenfeld challenges conventional understandings of solving environmental problems and offers a radical set of strategies to attain sustainability.