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Book Perspectives on Social and Business Sustainability

Download or read book Perspectives on Social and Business Sustainability written by Tay Kay Luan and published by Partridge Publishing Singapore. This book was released on 2018-10-12 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addressing the sustainability agenda is never easy. The early promises of the corporate social-responsibility concept and application have raised better awareness and understanding of its concept and application. Understandably, the experience and outcome are never the same across the business and social community. To begin with, issues related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) come in hundreds of shades. The understanding of the definition alone depends on whose perspective and in what context. At the very least, there is now a greater acceptance of the concept, but increasingly, corporate leaders need no further persuasion that doing good is more than giving a donation. The myriad of CSR issues and concerns is, therefore, worth a relook but from the conceptual perspectives to understanding of the challenges, impacts, and trends. Perspectives on Social and Business Sustainability first describes the important elements of different aspects of how CSR is being understood, applied, and reported. The book examines how international trends and developments including market and technology disruptions will continue to shape the sustainability landscape. The book is relevant for those wanting to take a quick perspective of the evolving concept of sustainability and is also useful for those who only want to focus on specified area within the context of social and business sustainability.

Book Business and the Sustainability Challenge

Download or read book Business and the Sustainability Challenge written by Peter N. Nemetz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-08-29 with total page 724 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is vitally important for businesses to have a holistic understanding of the many issues surrounding and shaping sustainability, from competitors to government and political factors, to economics and ecological science. This integrated textbook for MBA and senior-level undergraduates offers a comprehensive overview of the issues of sustainability as they relate to business and influence corporate strategy. It also features a wide range of cases and an extensive discussion of tools to incorporate sustainability issues into strategic decision making, helping instructors and students to build and then apply a solid understanding of sustainability in business.

Book Sustainability Perspectives  Science  Policy and Practice

Download or read book Sustainability Perspectives Science Policy and Practice written by Peter A. Khaiter and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book presents methodological and applied aspects of sustainability and sustainable management from different countries and regions around the globe. It discusses approaches to sustainability assessment, demonstrates how ideas of sustainability and sustainable management are incorporated into public policies and private actions at local and national levels. Authors focus on promoting greater sustainability in natural resource management, energy production and storage, housing design, industrial reorganization, coastal planning, land use, and business strategy, including sustainability indicators, environmental damages, and theoretical frameworks. Chapters reflect environmental, economic and social issues in sustainable development, challenges encountered, and lessons learned as well as solutions proposed.

Book Sustainable Markets for Sustainable Business

Download or read book Sustainable Markets for Sustainable Business written by Professor Güler Aras and published by Gower Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Around 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.

Book Sustainability Perspectives for Resources and Business

Download or read book Sustainability Perspectives for Resources and Business written by Orie L. Loucks and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1998-11-17 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Miami University in Oxford, Ohio offers a course entitled "Sustainability Perspectives," based on this text. The course was awarded "The Instructional Innovation Award" at the 1996 annual meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, an association of Decision Science professionals headquartered at Georgia State University in Atlanta. The 1990's have seen the development of important new approaches to sustaining corporate development and protecting the environment. Corporations are beginning to realize their responsibilities for a healthy environment. Sustainable development is viewed as an integrated, ecological, economic, and social system in which both economic growth and quality-of-life improvements can occur in a unified system complementary to the maintenance of natural capital. Sustainability Perspectives for Resources and Businesses shows the reader that a sound understanding of the concepts involved in sustainable development is beneficial to businesses, natural resources, and the population in general. This textbook was written to help students and professionals involved in business, science, or engineering to understand the changes occurring in the workplace. It serves as a step toward understanding how business and science, as professional communities, are adapting to new information about risks to the environment. Various chapters are devoted to resources, values, and valuation systems. Each section develops principles such as resilience and integrity in the economy and the environment.

Book An Introduction to Sustainability

Download or read book An Introduction to Sustainability written by Martin Mulligan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-20 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Sustainability provides students with a comprehensive overview of the key concepts and ideas which are encompassed within the growing field of sustainability. The book teases out the diverse but intersecting domains of sustainability and emphasises strategies for action. Aimed at those studying the subject for the first time, it is unique in giving students from different disciplinary backgrounds a coherent framework and set of core principles for applying broad sustainability principles within their personal and professional lives. These include: working to improve equality within and across generations, moving from consumerism to quality of life goals and respecting diversity in both nature and culture. Areas of emerging importance such as the economics of happiness and wellbeing stand alongside core topics including: Energy and society Consumption and consumerism Risk and resilience Waste, water and land. Key challenges and applications are explored through international case studies and each chapter includes a thematic essay drawing on diverse literature to provide an integrated introduction to fundamental issues. Launched with the brand-new Routledge Sustainability Hub, the book’s companion website contains a range of features to engage students with the interdisciplinary nature of Sustainability. Together these resources provide a wealth of material for learning, teaching and researching the topic of sustainability. This textbook is an essential companion to any sustainability course.

Book Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture

Download or read book Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture written by Dianne Smith and published by Springer Science & Business. This book was released on 2014-04-30 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that interior architects have a responsibility to practice their profession in collaborative ways that address the needs of communities and of to be the agents of social justice and cultural heritage. The book is divided into three sections, based on three pivotal themes — community engagement, social justice and cultural heritage. Each section has chapters that put forward the principles of these themes, leading into a variety of fascinating case studies that illustrate how socially sustainable design is implemented in diverse communities across the world. The second section includes four concise case studies of community housing issues, including remote-area indigenous housing and housing for the homeless. The third section offers two extensively researched essays on design and cultural heritage — a case study of the development of a redundant industrial site and a historical study of gendered domestic interiors. The book appeals to a wider audience than the design community alone and challenges mainstream interior design/interior architecture practitioners nationally and internationally to take a leading role in the field of socially responsible design. The issues raised by the authors are relevant for individuals, communities, government and non-government organisations, professionals and students. “In the twenty-first century we seem to have entered into a new world of knowledge discovery, where many of the most exciting insights come not from the authority of a traditional discipline, but from the dialogue that happens at the hubs and intersections of thought — the arenas where different disciplines and approaches, different schools and habits of thinking, come together to collaborate and contend. This collection is a good example of this, and I hope the book will be widely read and its lessons learned and applied.” Tim Costello, Officer of the Order of Australia, Chief Executive, World Vision Australia.

Book Women and Sustainability in Business

Download or read book Women and Sustainability in Business written by Kiymet Caliyurt and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women and Sustainability in Business: A Global Perspective, brings together original research from a dozen countries, concerning the issues and challenges facing women in sustainable business. This is a recurrent topic among researchers, regulators, companies and rating agencies. Governments pay special attention to how women impact the economy when shaping their strategies on economic sustainability. Women’s contribution to business is fundamental to creating a sustainable economy, such that businesses try to strengthen ‘women’s presence’ within their organisations, especially on their boards. Today, sustainable companies cannot survive without strategies involving women. Stakeholders, regulators, NGOs and rating agencies track both women-focused strategies and the corporate sustainability reports of companies. Well-designed strategies for women workers help companies to develop their financial and social sustainability initiatives progressively. This book analyses the practice of women in sustainable business, in terms of company performance, social responsibility, board management, entrepreneurship, employment, education, management, social sustainability, environmental politics and technology, from a wide range of diverse, regional perspectives and highlights the differences between the underdeveloped, developing and developed world.

Book Sustainability Perspectives for Resources and Business

Download or read book Sustainability Perspectives for Resources and Business written by Orie L. Loucks and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2023-07-21 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Miami University in Oxford, Ohio offers a course entitled "Sustainability Perspectives," based on this text. The course was awarded "The Instructional Innovation Award" at the 1996 annual meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, an association of Decision Science professionals headquartered at Georgia State University in Atlanta. The 1990s have seen the development of important new approaches to sustaining corporate development and protecting the environment. Corporations are beginning to realize their responsibilities for a healthy environment. Sustainable development is viewed as an integrated, ecological, economic, and social system in which both economic growth and quality-of-life improvements can occur in a unified system complementary to the maintenance of natural capital. Sustainability Perspectives for Resources and Businesses shows the reader that a sound understanding of the concepts involved in sustainable development is beneficial to businesses, natural resources, and the population in general. This textbook was written to help students and professionals involved in business, science, or engineering to understand the changes occurring in the workplace. It serves as a step toward understanding how business and science, as professional communities, are adapting to new information about risks to the environment. Various chapters are devoted to resources, values, and valuation systems. Each section develops principles such as resilience and integrity in the economy and the environment.

Book Corporate Social Responsibility

Download or read book Corporate Social Responsibility written by David Chandler and published by Business Expert Press. This book was released on 2014-11-15 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The goal of this project is to detail the core, defining principles of strategic CSR that differentiate it as a concept from the rest of the CSR/sustainability/business ethics field. It is designed to be a provocative piece, but one that solidifies the intellectual framework around an emerging concept--strategic CSR.The foundation for these principles comes from my perspective as a management professor within the business school. As such, it is a pragmatic philosophy, oriented around stakeholder theory, that is designed to persuade business leaders who are skeptical of existing definitions and organizing principles of CSR, sustainability, or business ethics. It is also designed to stimulate thought within the community of intellectuals and business school administrators committed to these issues, but who approach them from more traditional perspectives. Ultimately, therefore, the purpose of the strategic CSR concept (and this book) is radical--it aims to redefine both business education and business practice. By building a theory that defines CSR as core to business operations and value creation (as opposed to peripheral practices that can be marginalized within the firm), these defining principles become applicable across the range of operational functions. As such, they redefine how businesses approach these functions in practice, but also redefine how these subjects should be taught in business schools.

Book A Guide to Sustainable Corporate Responsibility

Download or read book A Guide to Sustainable Corporate Responsibility written by Caroline D. Ditlev-Simonsen and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book discusses the challenges and opportunities faced by companies in an age that increasingly values sustainability and demands corporate responsibility. Beginning with the historical development of corporate responsibility, this book moves from academic theory to practical application. It points to ways in which companies can successfully manage their transition to a more responsible, sustainable way of doing business, common mistakes to avoid and how the UN Sustainable Development Goals are integral to any sustainability transformation. Practical cases illustrate key points. Drawing on thirty years of sustainability research and extensive corporate experience, the author provides tools such as a Step-by-Step strategic guide on integrating sustainability in collaboration with stakeholders including employees, customers, suppliers and investors. The book is particularly relevant for SMEs and companies operating in emerging markets. From a broader perspective, the value of externalities, full cost pricing, alternative economic theories and circular economy are also addressed.

Book Sustainability and Management

Download or read book Sustainability and Management written by Kıymet Çalıyurt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-14 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of the 1987 Brundtland Report, sustainable development has become key to the management systems within businesses, and a means by which companies can increase their long-term value. Being a ‘sustainable company’ increasingly means ‘staying alive in business’ and has become a necessity for all kinds of enterprises, from the micro-sized to global corporations. In more recent years, many companies, and indeed governments, have looked at sustainability as a means to combat the multiple challenges of environmental accidents, global warming, resource depletion, energy, poverty and pollution. However, being sustainable or maintaining sustainability is not an easy task for a company’s management function. It needs continuous support and engagement from the board, the executive management, staff and other stakeholders alike. Additionally, it brings extra costs to the company in terms of hiring trained staff, organising continuous training in the company, publishing sustainability reports and subscribing to a rating system. Sustainability must be nourished by a company’s board as well as by all of its departments, such as accounting, marketing and human resources. By the same token, it is not enough for a company simply to declare itself a ‘sustainable business’ or rely on past measures and reputation; sustainability is an ongoing activity and one which has to be proved by periodically disclosing sustainability reports, according to international rating systems. In Sustainability and Management: An International Perspective, Kıymet Çalıyurt and Ülkü Yüksel bring together international authors from a variety of specialisations to discuss the development, aspects, problems, roadmap, trends and disclosure systems for sustainability in management. The result is a lively, insightful exposition of the field.

Book Comparative Perspectives on Global Corporate Social Responsibility

Download or read book Comparative Perspectives on Global Corporate Social Responsibility written by Jamali, Dima and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the modern era, businesses have developed a complex relationship with the society surrounding them. While the effects of business activity are clearly seen, their direct impact varies from country to country. Comparative Perspectives on Global Corporate Social Responsibility is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly research on the accountability contemporary businesses face for the environmental, social, and economic impacts that they create. Highlighting the variant expressions between developed and developing countries, this book is ideally designed for graduate students, professionals, practitioners, and academicians interested in furthering their knowledge on corporate social responsibility.

Book Governance and Sustainability

Download or read book Governance and Sustainability written by David Crowther and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-19 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the concepts of sustainability and governance in relation to the governance of corporations – hence the ubiquity of the term corporate governance – and other bodies. It examines how these concepts are regularly used by politicians and by the media. The two concepts are however largely treated as being separate and discrete, and given equal coverage. The argument in this book is that the two concepts are inter-related and that good governance is a prerequisite for sustainability. The focus of the book therefore is different from most, as it seeks to integrate these two important issues. The approach used in this book is based on the tradition of the Social Responsibility Research Network – a worldwide body of scholars that, over its 20-year history, has sought to broaden the discourse and to treat all research as inter-related and business-relevant. The book examines diverse aspects of the changes to corporate and institutional behaviour that have recently manifested by focusing on these two aspects of sustainable development. Thus, the authors explore engagement and partnership between organisations, in order to consider the extent to which the focus has changed so much that we need to think about new approaches to our understanding of sustainability and differing effects in practice. The international mix of authors makes this an original contribution, sharing some of the best ideas from around the world.

Book Economics and Sustainability

Download or read book Economics and Sustainability written by Karl Bruckmeier and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-21 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This textbook provides an overview of economic perspectives on sustainability. It synthesises economic, ecological and interdisciplinary sustainability research and by applying an integrated social-ecological and economic framework, demonstrates how this research can be improved and implemented in practice. Split into three parts, the book begins by introducing a range of topics forming the basis of knowledge needed to understand the varying sustainability discourses in economics, ecology and interdisciplinary sustainability research. Chapters cover the political context of sustainability; the history of sustainability in European environmental discourses dating back to the seventeenth century; as well as various problems and forms of interdisciplinary knowledge integration and synthesis in the sustainability process. Part II reviews the core economic themes relevant to sustainable development including natural resource management, environmental economics and ecological economics. Also highlighted are often neglected issues such as conflicts, disasters and interrelated crises on the way towards sustainability. The chapters in Part III discuss the future of the sustainability process. They argue for the necessity of overhauling the relationship between science and practice; explore failures and the unforeseen difficulties of sustainability transformation; and discuss how to enable a long term sustainability process that reaches into the distant future. An innovative resource for a broad range of interdisciplinary programmes on sustainability. The book will be an invaluable reference for master and PhD students, instructors, researchers and practitioners in sustainability governance.

Book Sustainability and company performance

Download or read book Sustainability and company performance written by Lujie Chen and published by Linköping University Electronic Press. This book was released on 2015-09-03 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation approaches the question of sustainability and its influence on company performance, with special focus on the manufacturing industry. In the contemporary production environment, manufacturing operations must take into account not only profit, but also environmental and social performance, in order to ensure the long-term development of the company. Companies have to decide whether they should allocate resources to environmental and social practices in order to improve their competitive advantage. Consequently, in decision-making processes concerning operations, it is important for companies to understand how to coordinate profit, people, and planet. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the current situation regarding manufacturers’ sustainable initiatives, and to explore the relationship between these sustainable practices and companies’ performance, including financial performance, operational performance, innovation performance, environmental performance, and social performance. First of all, a structured literature review was conducted to identify sustainable factors considered to be important in the decision making of manufacturing operations. The findings were synthesized into a conceptual model, which was then adopted as the basis for designing the survey instrument used in this dissertation. Drawing on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports, empirical research was performed to explore the relationship between environmental management practices and company performance. Interestingly, the findings showed that many environmental management practices had a strong positive impact on innovation performance. Sustainability disclosures and financial performance were further analyzed using extended data from the GRI reports. The results also showed that several sustainability performance indicators, such as product responsibility, human rights, and society, displayed a significant and positive correlation with return on equity in the sample companies. In order to further explore the research area and to verify these findings, a triangulation approach was adopted and new data were collected via a survey conducted among middle and large sample companies in the Swedish manufacturing industry. The results indicated that the sustainable improvement practices had a positive impact on company performance. Some environmental and social improvement practices had a direct and positive correlation with product and process innovation. Furthermore, findings suggested that better cooperation with suppliers on environmental work could help to strengthen the organizational green capabilities of the focal companies. When considering the company’s general approach to implementing sustainable practices, some interesting findings emerged. There were limited significant differences in sustainable practices when comparing different manufacturing sectors, and different countries and regions. However, the results showed that Swedish manufacturing companies often place higher priority on implementing economic and environmental sustainability practices than on social ones. This dissertation contributes to the literature on manufacturing sustainability. The study expands the understanding of how environmental, social, or economic perspectives as a triple bottom line can influence company performance and to a certain extent the supply chain. Identifying and understanding such relationships gives companies the opportunity to integrate sustainability into their manufacturing operations strategy in order to sustain their manufacturing operations over the long term.

Book Handbook on the Business of Sustainability

Download or read book Handbook on the Business of Sustainability written by Yousafzai, Shumaila and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2022-02-11 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking Handbook uniquely focuses on the business of sustainability, offering a fresh insight and practical solutions to the challenges that businesses face in making human activity sustainable. It is organized into four distinctive themes that cut across levels of analysis and illustrate a rich set of solution contexts that will guide future research.