Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis

Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis PDF Author: Raz Godelnik
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030773183
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
This book provides a clear, critical, and timely analysis of the state of corporate sustainability within the context of the climate crisis. It offers not only a substantive critique of the current efforts but also clarity about the changes needed and how to implement them. The book goes beyond the more common debate on shareholder capitalism vs. stakeholder capitalism to explain the shortcomings of the current approach to sustainability in business, which the author describes as sustainability-as-usual. Using strategic design lenses, the author proposes a new model of awakened sustainability, which offers a transformational shift in corporate sustainability to ensure companies fairly and effectively address the climate crisis. The book presents the numerous changes needed in the environment in which companies operate to enable awakened sustainability and how these changes can be realized. Grounded in the scientific community’s calls for urgent action on climate change, this groundbreaking text provides scholars with an evaluation of current and future trends in corporate sustainability. It connects the dots between the progress made in the last five decades and the opportunities entailed in the work on a regenerative and just vision for companies in this decade and beyond.

Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis

Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis PDF Author: Raz Godelnik
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030773183
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 163

Get Book

Book Description
This book provides a clear, critical, and timely analysis of the state of corporate sustainability within the context of the climate crisis. It offers not only a substantive critique of the current efforts but also clarity about the changes needed and how to implement them. The book goes beyond the more common debate on shareholder capitalism vs. stakeholder capitalism to explain the shortcomings of the current approach to sustainability in business, which the author describes as sustainability-as-usual. Using strategic design lenses, the author proposes a new model of awakened sustainability, which offers a transformational shift in corporate sustainability to ensure companies fairly and effectively address the climate crisis. The book presents the numerous changes needed in the environment in which companies operate to enable awakened sustainability and how these changes can be realized. Grounded in the scientific community’s calls for urgent action on climate change, this groundbreaking text provides scholars with an evaluation of current and future trends in corporate sustainability. It connects the dots between the progress made in the last five decades and the opportunities entailed in the work on a regenerative and just vision for companies in this decade and beyond.

Learning for sustainability in times of accelerating change

Learning for sustainability in times of accelerating change PDF Author: Arjen E.J. Wals
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 908686757X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 549

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Book Description
We live in turbulent times, our world is changing at accelerating speed. Information is everywhere, but wisdom appears in short supply when trying to address key inter-related challenges of our time such as; runaway climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the depletion of natural resources, the on-going homogenization of culture, and rising inequity. Living in such times has implications for education and learning. This book explores the possibilities of designing and facilitating learning-based change and transitions towards sustainability. In 31 chapters contributors from across the world discuss (re)emerging forms of learning that not only assist in breaking down unsustainable routines, forms of governance, production and consumption, but also can help create ones that are more sustainable. The book has been divided into three parts: re-orienting science and society, re-connecting people and planet and re-imagining education and learning. This is essential reading for educators, educational designers, change agents, researchers, students, policymakers and entrepreneurs alike, who are concerned about the well-being of the planet and convinced of our ability to do better. The content and related issues can be discussed on the blog by editor Arjen Wals: Transformative learning. 'We are living in times of incertitude, complexity, and contestation, but also of connectivity, responsibility, and new opportunities. This book analyses the consequences of these times for learning in formal, non-formal, and informal education. It explores the possibilities offered by the concept of sustainability as a central category of a holistic paradigm which harmonizes human beings with Earth. To change people and to change the world are interdependent processes - this book contributes to both.' Moacir Gadotti, Director of Paulo Freire Institute, São Paulo, Brazil 'I hope you share my excitement about the innovations for sustainability that this book catalogues and analyses. While the ecological news is grim, the human news is not. Even in a time of accelerating change, people are showing their enormous capacities to learn, adapt, restore and protect.' From the Foreword by Juliet Schor, author of ‘True Wealth: how and why millions of Americans are creating a time-rich, ecologically-light, small-scale high-satisfaction economy’ 'This book implies a ‘culture of critical commitment’ in educational thinking and practice - engaged enough to make a real difference to social-ecological resilience and sustainability but reflexively critical enough to learn constantly from experience and to keep options open in working for a sustainability transformation.' From the Afterword by Stephen Sterling, Professor of Sustainability Education, Centre for Sustainable Futures, Plymouth University, United Kingdom

The Age of Sustainable Development

The Age of Sustainable Development PDF Author: Jeffrey D. Sachs
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231539002
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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Book Description
Jeffrey D. Sachs is one of the world's most perceptive and original analysts of global development. In this major new work he presents a compelling and practical framework for how global citizens can use a holistic way forward to address the seemingly intractable worldwide problems of persistent extreme poverty, environmental degradation, and political-economic injustice: sustainable development. Sachs offers readers, students, activists, environmentalists, and policy makers the tools, metrics, and practical pathways they need to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Far more than a rhetorical exercise, this book is designed to inform, inspire, and spur action. Based on Sachs's twelve years as director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, his thirteen years advising the United Nations secretary-general on the Millennium Development Goals, and his recent presentation of these ideas in a popular online course, The Age of Sustainable Development is a landmark publication and clarion call for all who care about our planet and global justice.

The Age of Sustainability

The Age of Sustainability PDF Author: Mark Swilling
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042960372X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
With transitions to more sustainable ways of living already underway, this book examines how we understand the underlying dynamics of the transitions that are unfolding. Without this understanding, we enter the future in a state of informed bewilderment. Every day we are bombarded by reports about ecosystem breakdown, social conflict, economic stagnation and a crisis of identity. There is mounting evidence that deeper transitions are underway that suggest we may be entering another period of great transformation equal in significance to the agricultural revolution some 13,000 years ago or the Industrial Revolution 250 years ago. This book helps readers make sense of our global crisis and the dynamics of transition that could result in a shift from the industrial epoch that we live in now to a more sustainable and equitable age. The global renewable energy transition that is already underway holds the key to the wider just transition. However, the evolutionary potential of the present also manifests in the mushrooming of ecocultures, new urban visions, sustainability-oriented developmental states and new ways of learning and researching. Shedding light on the highly complex challenge of a sustainable and just transition, this book is essential reading for anyone concerned with establishing a more sustainable and equitable world. Ultimately, this is a book about hope but without easy answers.

Toward the Era of Sustainability

Toward the Era of Sustainability PDF Author: Luka Erklavec
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781542811071
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 816

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Book Description
Is it possible for human society to shift from the current prevailing socio-economic system to the Sustainable Socio-Economic System, which would, once established, perpetuate through time and maximise the chances of the long-term survival and prosperity of mankind? Or are we forever bound to various forms of the market-monetary and centrally planned economic system with either democratic or dictatorial form of leadership, as has been the case throughout human history?This book illustrates that chances exist for the Sustainable Socio-Economic System to function and that the gradual transition toward such a socio-economic system could be successfully conducted without endangering the stability of society throughout its course.As it has been estimated that chances for the Sustainable Socio-Economic System to be established exist, the message that this book aims to convey is that theoretical concepts of the Sustainable Socio-Economic System and of the gradual transition toward it should be researched further by an independent research organization, applying the scientific method in all aspects of its research. This book defines goals of the research, which could be conducted by such a research organization, as well as proposes its organizational structure and methods of establishing it.The book also surpasses its purpose of conveying the previously mentioned message, for a large share of the book consists of analyses of the market-monetary democratic system, being the prevailing socio-economic system in the modern world, of analyses of the Sustainable Socio-Economic System, and analyses of the gradual transition toward this system. By reading this book, the reader can gain a detailed understanding of the aforementioned topics. He or she can therefore gain an understanding of the characteristics of the market-monetary democratic socio-economic system and of the characteristics and developmental tendencies of an economy and wider society within this system, and if using the framework provided in this book, can improve the understanding of historic and current events, as well as improve his or her ability to estimate future developments in the global economy and global society to a high degree of certainty. The reader can also become able to visualize the Sustainable Socio-Economic System, to understand the process of transition toward it, and to understand other possible types of transitions, some of which have taken place historically in human society.The Sustainable Socio-Economic System essentially represents a socio-economic system, which maximises the chances of the long-term survival and prosperity of mankind. It is defined by the Principle of Sustainability, a set of criteria required to be applied in all aspects of a socio-economic system in order for it to be characterized as sustainable.All socio-economic systems can be determined to either be sustainable or unsustainable, based on whether or not all of the criteria of the Principle of Sustainability are applied in all aspects of a particular socio-economic system. All past socio-economic systems that have taken place in human society, including the market-monetary democratic system, to a significant extent breach various criteria of the Principle of Sustainability, essentially meaning that all of these socio-economic systems have been and are unsustainable.As the characteristics of all possible socio-economic systems, which make the latter unsustainable, are explained in this book, the reader should gain an understanding of the importance of eventually conducting the gradual transition toward the Sustainable Socio-Economic System. After gaining this understanding, the reader could decide to support the idea of establishing an independent research organization, which would determine the possibilities of establishing the Sustainable Socio-Economic System and conducting the gradual transition toward it.

CSR and Management Accounting Challenges in a Time of Global Crises

CSR and Management Accounting Challenges in a Time of Global Crises PDF Author: Oncioiu, Ionica
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1799880710
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Modern companies are subject to increasing pressures to conduct their business in an environmentally responsible manner due to social and environmental problems. Management of sustainable performance is one of the phenomena faced by the current business environment and, in particular, management corporations. The focus of management on profitability remains the main objective of any company, but it must also take into account the sustainability of social, economic, and environmental aspects. Under these circumstances, managerial decisions need to be adjusted and strongly substantiated, considering the information required by internal and external stakeholders, including financial reporting. The information requirements of customers and other stakeholders are steadily increasing, and some companies face certain problems in implementing the concept of sustainability and environmental reporting. CSR and Management Accounting Challenges in a Time of Global Crises is a comprehensive reference source that explores various theoretical and practical approaches of management accounting and its impact in the 21st century and investigates new accounting and financial approaches where economic and social aspects become mutually supportive to enhance their impact on community development. Covering topics such as CSR reporting, sustainability, and greenwashing, this book is an essential resource for academicians, specialty organizations, chief financial officers (CFOs), financial controllers, business analysts, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) analysts, budgeting managers, students, researchers, and business environment managers and specialists.

Assessing Progress Towards Sustainability

Assessing Progress Towards Sustainability PDF Author: Carmen Teodosiu
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0323897991
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
Assessing Progress toward Sustainability: Frameworks, Tools, and Case Studies provides practical frameworks for measuring progress toward sustainability in various areas of production, consumption, services and urban development as they relate to environmental impact. A variety of policies/strategies or frameworks are available at national and international levels. This book presents an integrated approach to sustainability progress measurement by considering both the frameworks and methodological developments of various tools, as well as their implementation in assessing the sustainability of processes, products and services through a global perspective. Combining methods and their application, the book covers a variety of topics, including lifecycle assessment, risk assessment, nexus thinking, and connection to SDGs. Organized clearly into three main sections --Frameworks, Tools, and Case Studies--this book can serve as a practical resource for researchers and practitioners alike in environmental science, sustainability, environmental management and environmental engineering. Offers an integrated approach to sustainability assessment using the most up-to-date frameworks and tools Includes extensive, diverse case studies to illustrate the methods and process for using the frameworks and tools outlined Provides practical insights related to challenges and opportunities to reduce environmental impacts and increase resources and energy efficiency

Sustainability

Sustainability PDF Author: Jeremy L. Caradonna
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197625029
Category : Sustainability
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
From one of the world's leading experts on the subject, a fully updated introduction to the sustainability movement from the 1600s to today The word is nearly ubiquitous: at the grocery store we shop for sustainable foods that were produced from sustainable agriculture; groups ranging from small advocacy organizations to city and state governments to the United Nations tout sustainable development as a strategy for local and global stability; and woe betide the city-dweller who doesn't aim for a sustainable lifestyle. Seeming to have come out of nowhere to dominate the discussion-from permaculture to renewable energy to the local food movement-the ideas that underlie and define sustainability can be traced back several centuries. In this illuminating and fascinating primer, newly revised and updated, Jeremy L. Caradonna does just that, approaching sustainability from a historical perspective and revealing the conditions that gave it shape. Locating the underpinnings of the movement as far back as the 1660s, Caradonna considers the origins of sustainability across many fields throughout Europe and North America. Taking us from the emergence of thoughts guiding sustainable yield forestry in the late 17th and 18th centuries, through the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, the birth of the environmental movement, and the emergence of a concrete effort to promote a balanced approach to development in the latter half of the 20th century, he shows that while sustainability draws upon ideas of social justice, ecological economics, and environmental conservation, it is more than the sum of its parts and blends these ideas together into a dynamic philosophy. Caradonna's book broadens our understanding of what sustainability means, revealing how it progressed from a relatively marginal concept to an ideal that shapes everything from individual lifestyles, government and corporate strategies, and even national and international policy. For anyone seeking understand the history of those striving to make the world a better place to live, here's a place to start.

Pursuing Sustainability

Pursuing Sustainability PDF Author: Pamela Matson
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400881218
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
An essential guide to sustainable development for students and practitioners Sustainability is a global imperative and a scientific challenge like no other. This concise guide provides students and practitioners with a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action in the pursuit of sustainable development, and serves as an invaluable companion to more narrowly focused courses dealing with sustainability in particular sectors such as energy, food, water, and housing, or in particular regions of the world. Written by leading experts, Pursuing Sustainability shows how more inclusive and interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives can help you achieve your sustainability objectives. It stresses the need for understanding how capital assets are linked to sustainability goals through the complex adaptive dynamics of social-environmental systems, how committed people can use governance processes to alter those dynamics, and how successful interventions can be shaped through collaborations among researchers and practitioners on the ground. The ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students and an invaluable resource for anyone working in this fast-growing field, Pursuing Sustainability also features case studies, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading. Provides a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action Draws on the latest cutting-edge science and practices Serves as the ideal companion text to more narrowly focused courses Utilizes interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives Illustrates concepts with a core set of case studies used throughout the book Written by world authorities on sustainability An online illustration package is available to professors

Our Common Journey

Our Common Journey PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309086388
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
World human population is expected to reach upwards of 9 billion by 2050 and then level off over the next half-century. How can the transition to a stabilizing population also be a transition to sustainability? How can science and technology help to ensure that human needs are met while the planet's environment is nurtured and restored? Our Common Journey examines these momentous questions to draw strategic connections between scientific research, technological development, and societies' efforts to achieve environmentally sustainable improvements in human well being. The book argues that societies should approach sustainable development not as a destination but as an ongoing, adaptive learning process. Speaking to the next two generations, it proposes a strategy for using scientific and technical knowledge to better inform future action in the areas of fertility reduction, urban systems, agricultural production, energy and materials use, ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation, and suggests an approach for building a new research agenda for sustainability science. Our Common Journey documents large-scale historical currents of social and environmental change and reviews methods for "what if" analysis of possible future development pathways and their implications for sustainability. The book also identifies the greatest threats to sustainabilityâ€"in areas such as human settlements, agriculture, industry, and energyâ€"and explores the most promising opportunities for circumventing or mitigating these threats. It goes on to discuss what indicators of change, from children's birth-weights to atmosphere chemistry, will be most useful in monitoring a transition to sustainability.