The Knowledge Society: A Sustainability Paradigm
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Naim Hamdija Afgan
2010-10-01
Full Text Available This paper defines the knowledge society as a human structured organisation based on contemporary developed knowledge and representing new quality of life support systems. It implies the need for a full understanding of distribution of knowledge, access to information and the capability to transfer information into a knowledge. The understanding of knowledge is the central challenge when defining a knowledge society. From our present perception of knowledge society, it is of interest to emphasize the role of the knowledge society in future development of human society. The life support systems are essential pillars of human society development. In this respect knowledge society represents a new paradigm for future development and it is strongly correlated to sustainable development. For this reason the sustainability paradigm of knowledge society is a potential frame for human society development leading to social cohesion, economic competitiveness and stability, use of resources and economic development, safeguarding biodiversity and the ecosystem.In order to verify the mutual relation between knowledge society and sustainability, we have to introduce the difference between these two terms. The knowledge society is based on the agglomeration of eco-knowledge, env-knowledge and soc-knowledge, it may be evaluated as the complex knowledge of quality of life support systems. We have to introduce metrics which will allow us to present knowledge as the paradigm of the number of indicators for verifying progress made.Sustainability metrics are designed to consolidate measures of economic, environmental and social performance of any system. It can be understood as a pattern for evaluation of the available knowledge about systems and their performance. In particular the decision-making process for the selection of the system under consideration must be based on the available knowledge. The link between knowledge and sustainability makes it possible for
Generating Sustainable Value from Open Data in a Sharing Society
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jetzek, Thorhildur; Avital, Michel; Bjørn-Andersen, Niels
2014-01-01
Our societies are in the midst of a paradigm shift that transforms hierarchical markets into an open and networked economy based on digital technology and information. In that context, open data is widely presumed to have a positive effect on social, environmental and economic value; however...... the evidence to that effect has remained scarce. Subsequently, we address the question how the use of open data can stimulate the generation of sustainable value. We argue that open data sharing and reuse can empower new ways of generating value in the sharing society. Moreover, we propose a model...... that describes how different mechanisms that take part within an open system generate sustainable value. These mechanisms are enabled by a number of contextual factors that provide individuals with the motivation, opportunity and ability to generate sustainable value...
Sustainable Society Formed by Unselfish Agents
Kikuchi, Toshiko
It has been pointed out that if the social configuration of the three relations (market, communal and obligatory relations) is not balanced, a market based society as a total system fails. Using multi-agent simulations, this paper shows that a sustainable society is formed when all three relations are integrated and function respectively. When agent trades are based on the market mechanism (i.e., agents act in their own interest and thus only market relations exist), weak agents who cannot perform transactions die. If a compulsory tax is imposed to enable all weak agents to survive (i.e., obligatory relations exist), then the fiscal deficit increases. On the other hand, if agents who have excess income undertake the unselfish action of distributing their surplus to the weak agents (i.e., communal relations exist), then trade volume increases. It is shown that the existence of unselfish agents is necessary for the realization of a sustainable society. However, the survival of all agents is difficult in a communal society. In an artificial society, for all agents survive and fiscal balance to be maintained, all three social relations need to be fully integrated. These results show that adjusting the balance of the three social relations well lead to the realization of a sustainable society.
Towards a Global Sustainable Information Society (GSIS?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christian Fuchs
2008-07-01
Full Text Available The development, diffusion, and adoption of new ICTs doesn’t automatically result in ecological sustainability, it poses both new opportunities and risks. Embedded into the antagonism between capital and economy it seems like the logical of profitability frequently offsets ecological awareness and hence has negative effects on the realization of positive potentials of ICTs on the environment. Environmental problems are social problems, not technological problems, they are neither caused by science or technology as such, nor can they be solved by science or technology as such. The discourse on sustainable development shows a shift from the view of nature as an enemy that must be controlled to a view that considers nature as an important pre-condition of human existence that must be treated carefully. In the discourse on sustainability there has been a shift from a focus on ecological issues towards the inclusion of broader societal issues. It has now become very common to identify an ecological, an economic, a social, and an institutional dimension of sustainability. One can distinguish four types of sustainability concepts based on where in the nature-society-relationship they locate sustainability: ecological reductionism, social projectionism, dualism, man-nature-dialectic. Both nature and society are self-organizing systems in the sense that they permanently produce themselves. Ecological sustainability means that humans appropriate nature in a way that allows ecological diversity, i.e. the autopoiesis of nature can develop in such a way that nature flourishes, reproduces its subsystems, differentiates itself and produces new qualities, i.e. new ecological life forms and subsystems. Societal sustainability can broadly be defined as a good life for all. A sustainable society encompasses ecological diversity, technological usability, economic wealth, political participation, and cultural wisdom. Ecological sustainability is based on social
Sustainable housing as part of sustainable development - visions and experiences from Denmark
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard
2010-01-01
The paper discusses different approaches to sustainable development with main focus on sustainable housing, but also local climate activities with focus on transportation, food and local businesses are discussed. The focus in the paper is mainly on experiences from Denmark. The paper starts out...... with a short introduction to theoretical approaches to analyses of sustainable housing and other sustainability initiatives as innovation processes. Afterwards some social and political characteristics of Denmark are presented and one of the recent sustainability initiatives in Denmark, the climate plan from...... the Danish Society of Engineers is described. The second part of the paper discusses Danish sustainable housing strategies focusing on new houses and refurbishment of existing houses. Finally some recent experiences from a local climate cooperation between a technical university, a municipal administration...
Innovation Habitat: Sustainable possibilities for the society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andreia de Bem Machado
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Contemporary society is moving in the core of a reality in which sustainability needs to be thought out and inserted through practices carried out in different dimensions of society, such as organizations, public and private institutions. This paper aims to identify the contribution of innovation habitats (IH for sustainability in society. The methodology used was systematic review of scientific literature in one online database. As a result, it was identified: 47 scientific papers publicated since 2000, but more frequently in the last year, 2014, with 10 publications, without providing a reference author in the area. There was also a high number of papers about management and social sciences. It was noticed a short number of publications, empirical and theoretical, about practices to promote sustainable actions in the society, so this indicates the need of research on this kind of practices, with innovation environment as the driver.
Room for Sustainable Agriculture. Part 1 Advice. Part 2 Analysis
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2013-03-15
An outline is given of the social dilemmas associated with agriculture and horticulture in the Netherlands. Ongoing innovation and accelerated sustainable development are essential to resolve these dilemmas. Given the importance of the Dutch agriculture and horticulture sector, there is every reason for the central government to play its part and help remove the obstacles to the continuing sustainable development of the sector. The Council recommends that the central government continues developing the Council's vision for agriculture and horticulture with the parties concerned, allows scope for the development of different agricultural business models, applies knowledge and innovation as drivers of continuing sustainable development, amends laws and regulations as necessary, and facilitates a permanent dialogue between the sector and society. The advisory report also sets out the Council's vision concerning the political and public debate on agriculture and horticulture. This debate is most clearly characterised by major and seemingly insurmountable differences of opinion. The Council hopes that its report will induce a shift in thinking about Dutch agriculture among politicians and society at large, so that the transitions considered necessary by the Council can be implemented more rapidly.
Room for Sustainable Agriculture. Part 1 Advice. Part 2 Analysis
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2013-03-15
An outline is given of the social dilemmas associated with agriculture and horticulture in the Netherlands. Ongoing innovation and accelerated sustainable development are essential to resolve these dilemmas. Given the importance of the Dutch agriculture and horticulture sector, there is every reason for the central government to play its part and help remove the obstacles to the continuing sustainable development of the sector. The Council recommends that the central government continues developing the Council's vision for agriculture and horticulture with the parties concerned, allows scope for the development of different agricultural business models, applies knowledge and innovation as drivers of continuing sustainable development, amends laws and regulations as necessary, and facilitates a permanent dialogue between the sector and society. The advisory report also sets out the Council's vision concerning the political and public debate on agriculture and horticulture. This debate is most clearly characterised by major and seemingly insurmountable differences of opinion. The Council hopes that its report will induce a shift in thinking about Dutch agriculture among politicians and society at large, so that the transitions considered necessary by the Council can be implemented more rapidly.
Network-Based Community Brings forth Sustainable Society
Kikuchi, Toshiko
It has already been shown that an artificial society based on the three relations of social configuration (market, communal, and obligatory relations) functioning in balance with each other formed a sustainable society which the social reproduction is possible. In this artificial society model, communal relations exist in a network-based community with alternating members rather than a conventional community with cooperative mutual assistance practiced in some agricultural communities. In this paper, using the comparison between network-based communities with alternating members and conventional communities with fixed members, the significance of a network-based community is considered. In concrete terms, the difference in appearance rate for sustainable society, economic activity and asset inequality between network-based communities and conventional communities is analyzed. The appearance rate for a sustainable society of network-based community is higher than that of conventional community. Moreover, most of network-based communities had a larger total number of trade volume than conventional communities. But, the value of Gini coefficient in conventional community is smaller than that of network-based community. These results show that communal relations based on a network-based community is significant for the social reproduction and economic efficiency. However, in such an artificial society, the inequality is sacrificed.
Can renewable energy sources sustain affluent society?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Trainer, F.E.
1995-01-01
Figures commonly quoted on costs of generating energy from renewable sources can give the impression that it will be possible to switch to renewables as the foundation for the continuation of industrial societies with high material living standards. Although renewable energy must be the sole source in a sustainable society, major difficulties become evident when conversions, storage and supply for high latitudes are considered. It is concluded that renewable energy sources will not be able to sustain present rich world levels of energy use and that a sustainable world order must be based on acceptance of much lower per capita levels of energy use, much lower living standards and a zero growth economy. (Author)
Sustainability in Multi-Religious Societies: An Islamic Perspective
Grine, Fadila; Bensaid, Benaouda; Nor, Mohd Roslan Mohd; Ladjal, Tarek
2013-01-01
The question of sustainability in multi-religious societies underscores interrelating theological, moral and cultural issues affecting the very process of social co-existence, cohesion and development. This article discusses Islam's understanding of the question of sustainability in multi-religious contexts while highlighting the contribution of…
Operationalising the Sustainable Knowledge Society Concept through a Multi-dimensional Scorecard
Dragomirescu, Horatiu; Sharma, Ravi S.
Since the early 21st Century, building a Knowledge Society represents an aspiration not only for the developed countries, but for the developing ones too. There is an increasing concern worldwide for rendering this process manageable towards a sustainable, equitable and ethically sound societal system. As proper management, including at the societal level, requires both wisdom and measurement, the operationalisation of the Knowledge Society concept encompasses a qualitative side, related to vision-building, and a quantitative one, pertaining to designing and using dedicated metrics. The endeavour of enabling policy-makers mapping, steering and monitoring the sustainable development of the Knowledge Society at national level, in a world increasingly based on creativity, learning and open communication, led researchers to devising a wide range of composite indexes. However, as such indexes are generated through weighting and aggregation, their usefulness is limited to retrospectively assessing and comparing levels and states already attained; therefore, to better serve policy-making purposes, composite indexes should be complemented by other instruments. Complexification, inspired by the systemic paradigm, allows obtaining "rich pictures" of the Knowledge Society; to this end, a multi-dimensional scorecard of the Knowledge Society development is hereby suggested, that seeks a more contextual orientation towards sustainability. It is assumed that, in the case of the Knowledge Society, the sustainability condition goes well beyond the "greening" desideratum and should be of a higher order, relying upon the conversion of natural and productive life-cycles into virtuous circles of self-sustainability.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Oksana Mont
2010-07-01
Full Text Available Addressing climate change and the collapse of ecosystems without threatening the economy, while simultaneously improving the well-being of all people and ensuring social justice and equality, seems to be the largest challenge in the history of mankind. So far, all the efforts to address growing environmental and human problems through technological solutions and policy measures have been largely outpaced by growing population and increasing consumption levels. Therefore, an understanding of the essential driving forces and complexities of consumption, and of how environmental impacts from rising consumption can be reduced, is becoming increasingly important. This understanding can be achieved by analyzing not only economic frameworks, political settings, business models, and technological innovations, but also social norms, psychological factors, and collective and individual decision-making processes. This article, Part I, provides a meta-analysis of the main political, economic, technological, and business drivers of contemporary consumption and offers a systematic discussion of the relevance of these factors for the instigation of change towards sustainable patterns and levels of consumption. The main conclusion from Part I and II is that a systems-thinking approach is required in order to understand how various political, technical, social, economic, and psychological drivers overlap and influence each other in creating our consumer society.
Griswold, Wendy
2017-01-01
Future professionals will bear the brunt of creating sustainable societies. Equipping them for the task is the challenge of current educators. Educational experiences facilitating the development of sustainable habits of mind are needed. This research reports on the experiences of developing scientists and engineers engaged in a sustainable energy…
Applying Andragogical Concepts in Creating a Sustainable Lifelong Learning Society
Charungkaittikul, Suwithida; Henschke, John A.
2017-01-01
Today, the world is changing, re-establishing the role of education to have a developed society. This article aims to explore the practical application of Andragogy as a key element for creating a sustainable lifelong learning society, to propose strategies for developing a lifelong learning society using andragogical concepts, to enhance…
SUSTAINABILITY AS A PART OF BALANCED SCORECARD
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
LUCIE SARA ZAVODNA
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Sustainability is a trend, which is more seriously discussed on the international and national level. But also companies in the local level are pushed to have strategies and visions, which enable better future for society, our planet and local economy. Sustainability is one of the conditions – it allows companies to implicate social, economic and environmental pillars to the company´s strategy and management. The question, which remains today is, how to measure social, economic and environmental impact on society? And more – how to enable future generations to have the same conditions as we have today? The paper provides format for a possible bridge between current strategic Balanced Scorecard system and future trend of sustainability. One of the special tools, which can be used for measuring sustainability, is Balanced Scorecard (by Kaplan and Norton in 1990s with the complement of sustainable metrics. The paper introduces three possible methods, which can be used by implementing sustainability into the Balanced Scorecard. One of these methods is described in detail. There is a focus on the sustainable indicators included as the fifth area in Balanced Scorecard model.
Sustainability as a part of balanced scorecard
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lucie Sara Zavodna
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Sustainability is a trend, which is more seriously discussed on the international and national level. But also companies in the local level are pushed to have strategies and visions, which enable better future for society, our planet and local economy. Sustainability is one of the conditions – it allows companies to implicate social, economic and environmental pillars to the company´s strategy and management. The question, which remains today is, how to measure social, economic and environmental impact on society? And more – how to enable future generations to have the same conditions as we have today? The paper provides format for a possible bridge between current strategic Balanced Scorecard system and future trend of sustainability. One of the special tools, which can be used for measuring sustainability, is Balanced Scorecard (by Kaplan and Norton in 1990s with the complement of sustainable metrics. The paper introduces three possible methods, which can be used by implementing sustainability into the Balanced Scorecard. One of these methods is described in detail. There is a focus on the sustainable indicators included as the fifth area in Balanced Scorecard model.
Energy, society and environment. Technology for a sustainable future
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Elliott, D.
1997-04-01
Energy, Society and Environment examines energy and energy use, and the interactions between technology, society and the environment. The book is clearly structured to examine; Key environmental issues, and the harmful impacts of energy use; New technological solutions to environmental problems; Implementation of possible solutions, and Implications for society in developing a sustainable approach to energy use. Social processes and strategic solutions to problems are located within a clear, technological context with topical case studies. (UK)
Dutch environmental policy up for revision. Towards a cost-effective, sustainable society. Part 1
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Van Dorp, H.W.; Schmitz, H.
2009-01-01
In a series of two articles an important energy formula is used to discuss current Dutch environmental policy and calculations are made based on 7.2 million dwellings. Normally, everyone who has an opinion on energy and carbon dioxide emissions should know this formula and be able to apply it. The second article discusses climate policy and provides a comparison of the social cost at new housing level for both policy lines. More specifically, the investment effectiveness of carbon dioxide in the soil near Barendrecht and Geleen is discussed as well as the annual investments in the 220 and 380 kV high tension grid. Moreover, some recommendations and necessary policy adjustments to strengthen the competitive edge of the SMB compared to large energy companies and to realize an affordable and sustainable society are provided [nl
Social sustainability in an ageing chinese society : Towards an integrative conceptual framework
Liu, Yafei; Dijst, Martin; Geertman, Stan; Cui, Can
2017-01-01
Social sustainability is a relatively underexposed dimension of the sustainability debate. Diversified and discipline-specific study perspectives and the lack of contextualization make it difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding of social sustainability in non-Western societies. In examining
Towards Sustainable Lifestyles. A Variety of Lifestyles for a Post-carbon Society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Huber, Andreas; Le Marre, Pierre; Girard, Sebastien
2013-01-01
In 2009 a programme 'Re-thinking Society in a Post-carbon Society'- steered jointly by the Foresight Department of the French Ecology Ministry and the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), was launched in France. It is still ongoing and aims to produce a final report in 2013. The idea of a transition towards a 'post- carbon' society includes four main objectives: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to one quarter of what they were in 1990; near-autonomy with regard to carbon energies (petrol, gas, coal); an adequate capacity to adapt to climate change and, lastly, greater attention to situations of 'energy precariousness'. As part of the dossier Futuribles is devoting to this programme this month, Andreas Huber, Sebastien Girard and Pierre Le Marre lay out in this article the results of the studies they have carried out on 'sustainable urban milieus'. After a presentation of the notion of 'milieu' (based here on a segmentation using the Socio-milieus R method) and of the typology employed (nine main social milieus, three emergent milieus and 16 contrasting profiles), the authors show the extent to which individuals' carbon foot - prints vary, depending upon lifestyles, and what a determining effect these lifestyles have in the fields of housing and transport. They then specify the various factors influencing behaviour in the direction of sustain - able consumption (or not) and the different types of strategies of intervention that are likely to modify those behaviours. Lastly, they detail two targeted strategies, one aimed at the 'precarious seniors' milieu and the other at the 'eco-elite' milieu. Despite certain imperfections that remain to be sorted out in the study of sustainable urban milieus, these studies open up new perspectives for the development of sociologically targeted policies for a post-carbon transition. (authors)
CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANIC FARMING ON THE SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY - ROMANIA AND EU
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
BURJA CAMELIA
2017-02-01
Full Text Available A major trend adopted by the European Union member countries that are making efforts for sustainable development is the development of organic farming. The article studies the influences generated by the organic farming development in the EU countries, in the period 2006-2014, in terms of sustainable society. The statistical analysis is based on the use of certain variables that have a significant influence on the components of sustainable society. The identification of estimators for panelling data showed the favourable consequences of increasing the organic area for many indicators underpinning the economic, environmental and human wellbeing. The results confirm that the organic farming is a viable alternative to the conventional agriculture for raising the quality of life. The paper essentially quantifies the multiple effects of the organic farming for sustainable development and demonstrates that one of the directions to accelerate the development of the European economy on a sustainable basis is to stimulate the organic farming.
Literacy Education and Sustainable Development in Developing Societies
Oghenekohwo, Jonathan E.; Frank-Oputu, Ekima A.
2017-01-01
The development of a literate society is a pre-requisite for the emergence of a knowledge economy. The thesis advanced in this paper is that, without massive investment and promotion of literacy education, development that is targeted at the 17-point sustainable development goals (SDGs) will be bereft of citizen's empowerment, engagement,…
COOPERATION AND SUSTAINABILITY CASE STUDY OF A SOCIETY OF SOCIAL SOLIDARITY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Graciela Carrillo González
2013-04-01
Full Text Available Sustainability studies have been addressed from an economic, social, cultural, and environmental point of view. They have exceeded dimensions and developed mechanisms, which have involved various elements to establish cooperation and social networks. The aim of this paper is to analyze cooperation and establishment of farmers' organizations as critical factors in achieving sustainable local projects oriented to reforestation and land recovery, illustrating with the case of a triple S (Society of Social Solidarity, in the town of Zapotitlan Lagunas in the State of Oaxaca. Positive effects derived from these kinds of societies are reforestation in the area, land recovery, consolidation of social relationships and job creations. Therefore, thinking and acting locally is a condition to positively impact on the environment and add a social and economic vision can contribute to sustainability.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gregory Trencher
2017-04-01
Full Text Available Universities are under mounting pressure to partner with societal stakeholders and organizations to collaboratively create and implement sustainability-advancing knowledge, tools, and societal transformations. Simultaneously, an increasing number of societal organizations are reaching out to partner with universities to achieve organizational objectives and increase the effectiveness of strategies to further societal sustainability. Using a conceptual framework of “sustainability co-creation”, this study empirically examines the historical and ongoing experiences of five organizations in Japan that actively partner with universities to enhance sustainability activities and strategies to transform society. We examine motivations for partnering with universities, innovative models of practice, factors hampering the co-creative potential of the university, and desired changes to overcome these. Our empirical study leads to the proposal of a typology that might assist in categorizing and understanding key attributes of differing types of sustainability co-creation. We build our typology from two perspectives: First, in terms of the primary objective of the co-creation (ranging from knowledge production to the transformation of society, and second, in terms of the approach taken (ranging from either socially or technologically-centered. We then reflect on the organizations’ experiences to offer several strategies that could increase the effectiveness of the university when partnering with stakeholders in sustainability co-creation. We also highlight several factors effecting the university’s capacity to move beyond knowledge production towards implementation measures to transform society with external stakeholders.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Oksana Udovyk
2017-09-01
Full Text Available This study explores the diversity of grassroots initiatives (GIs for sustainable development that are emerging in post-EuroMaidan Ukraine. It first focuses on an overview of different theories on civil society and trends in Ukrainian civil society development. Eight cases of GIs are selected to represent different pillars of sustainability work done by the initiatives (economic, social, environmental, and political-institutional. These cases question the arguments behind the weak and pseudo-plenipotentiary vision of civil society in Ukraine, and demonstrate mechanisms of sustainable development suggested by analyzed GIs. In general, this study challenges the myth of a weak civil society in Ukraine, opens up a broader discussion on the meaning and role of civil society, and provides new ideas for building a sustainable society.
Elena CIGU
2014-01-01
Local governments play an important role in sustainable development processes based on their administrative and financial autonomy. Policies and programs undertaken to assure sustainable development by local governments produce benefits for persistence of the knowledge society. This paper will try to highlight the implication of local financial autonomy over sustainable development of local communities in a knowledge society, based especially on local financial autonomy theory approach.
Tunisia-Japan Symposium: R&D of Energy and Material Sciences for Sustainable Society
Akimoto, Katsuhiro; Suzuki, Yoshikazu; Monirul Islam, Muhammad
2015-04-01
This volume of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains papers presented at the Tunisia-Japan Symposium: R&D of Energy and Material Sciences for Sustainable Society (TJS 2014) held at Gammarth, Republic of Tunisia on November 28-30, 2014. The TJS 2014 is based on the network of the Tunisia-Japan Symposium on Science, Society and Technology (TJASSST) which has been regularly organized since 2000. The symposium was focused on the technological developments of energy and materials for the realization of sustainable society. To generate technological breakthrough and innovation, it seems to be effective to discuss with various fields of researchers such as solid-state physicists, chemists, surface scientists, process engineers and so on. In this symposium, there were as many as 109 attendees from a wide variety of research fields. The technical session consisted of 106 contributed presentations including 3 plenary talks and 7 key-note talks. We hope the Conference Series and publications like this volume will contribute to the progress in research and development in the field of energy and material sciences for sustainable society and in its turn contribute to the creation of cultural life and peaceful society.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Elena CIGU
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Local governments play an important role in sustainable development processes based on their administrative and financial autonomy. Policies and programs undertaken to assure sustainable development by local governments produce benefits for persistence of the knowledge society. This paper will try to highlight the implication of local financial autonomy over sustainable development of local communities in a knowledge society, based especially on local financial autonomy theory approach.
AGUILERA, Anne
2013-01-01
Business travel has been relatively neglected in strategies to promote sustainable travel. A two-stage approach is taken beginning by showing how sustainability of business travel is relevant not only environmentally, but also from an economic and social perspective. On the one hand, this form of travel helps to generate jobs in numerous business sectors, not only in transportation. On the other hand, the social dimension cannot be ignored either, since business travel is often a source of fa...
Gosselin, D. C.; Manduca, C. A.; Oches, E. A.; MacGregor, J.; Kirk, K. B.
2012-12-01
Sustainability is emerging as a central theme for teaching about the environment, whether it be from the perspective of science, economics, or society. The Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences workshop provided 48 undergraduate faculty from 46 institutions a forum to discuss the challenges and possibilities for integrating geoscience concepts with a range of other disciplines to teach about the fundamentals of sustainability. Participants from community college to doctorate-granting universities had expertise that included geosciences, agriculture, biological sciences, business, chemistry, economics, ethnic studies, engineering, environmental studies, environmental education, geography, history, industrial technology, landscape design, philosophy, physics, and political science. The workshop modeled a range of teaching strategies that encouraged participants to network and collaborate, share successful strategies and materials for teaching sustainability, and identify opportunities for the development of new curricular materials that will have a major impact on the integration of geosciences into the teaching of sustainability. The workshop design provided participants an opportunity to reflect upon their teaching, learning, and curriculum. Throughout the workshop, participants recorded their individual and collective ideas in a common online workspace to which all had access. A preliminary synthesis of this information indicates that the concept of sustainability is a strong organizing principle for modern, liberal education requiring systems thinking, synthesis and contributions from all disciplines. Sustainability is inherently interdisciplinary and provides a framework for educational collaboration between and among geoscientists, natural/physical scientists, social scientists, humanists, engineers, etc.. This interdisciplinary framework is intellectually exciting and productive for educating students at all levels of higher education
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ahmad, M H; Ariffin, A; Malik, T A
2014-01-01
A strategy for sustainable development is a significant milestone on the road to a more socially, economically and environmentally responsible society. It creates a framework within which the stakeholders can make a strong contribution to a better future. Because of the merits and growing interest in sustainable development, the race is on for researchers and stakeholders in the construction sector to initiate actions to reduce the negative impacts of development and sharpen their competitive edge. The cities should be created with a vision which supports harmonious communities and living conditions through sustainable urban development. The resources must be used efficiently while reducing the development impact on human health and environment during the buildings' life cycle. Environmental auditing and pressure-state response based models to monitor sustainable development in Malaysia should be developed. A data availability and sharing system should be developed and implemented to facilitate for the use in the establishment of sustainable development and low carbon society. Ideas which affect millions of people and guide the policies of nations must be accessible to all. Only thus can they permeate the institutions from the local to the global level. Creating sustainable development and low carbon societies depends on the knowledge and involvement of all stakeholders in the industry. So what is our level of understanding of GIS and its application? The development of geospatial data in Malaysia is important because the successful implementation of sustainable development and low carbon projects depend largely on the availability of geospatial information. It would facilitate the stakeholders and resolve some of the problems regarding the availability, quality, organisation, accessibility and sharing of spatial information. The introduction of GIS may change the way for better sustainable urban development and low carbon society performance. The use of GIS
Ahmad, M. H.; Ariffin, A.; Malik, T. A.
2014-02-01
A strategy for sustainable development is a significant milestone on the road to a more socially, economically and environmentally responsible society. It creates a framework within which the stakeholders can make a strong contribution to a better future. Because of the merits and growing interest in sustainable development, the race is on for researchers and stakeholders in the construction sector to initiate actions to reduce the negative impacts of development and sharpen their competitive edge. The cities should be created with a vision which supports harmonious communities and living conditions through sustainable urban development. The resources must be used efficiently while reducing the development impact on human health and environment during the buildings' life cycle. Environmental auditing and pressure-state response based models to monitor sustainable development in Malaysia should be developed. A data availability and sharing system should be developed and implemented to facilitate for the use in the establishment of sustainable development and low carbon society. Ideas which affect millions of people and guide the policies of nations must be accessible to all. Only thus can they permeate the institutions from the local to the global level. Creating sustainable development and low carbon societies depends on the knowledge and involvement of all stakeholders in the industry. So what is our level of understanding of GIS and its application? The development of geospatial data in Malaysia is important because the successful implementation of sustainable development and low carbon projects depend largely on the availability of geospatial information. It would facilitate the stakeholders and resolve some of the problems regarding the availability, quality, organisation, accessibility and sharing of spatial information. The introduction of GIS may change the way for better sustainable urban development and low carbon society performance. The use of GIS is to
Coal technology in a sustainable society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Anon
2000-01-01
Coal is a major world energy resource. For many countries it is the primary fuel in electricity generation. As world energy demand increases so also will the demand for coal. Steel and aluminium-essential elements in the fabric of modern society -also rely heavily on coal. This article points out that the Australian coal industry is responding to the challenges facing coal by investigating a sustainable development strategy and examining the full life cycle outcomes of coal as fuel and reductant. The challenge is to deliver much more efficient ways of extracting energy from coal. The most effective strategies are seen to be: ash displacement credits, synergies with renewables and integration with other industries
Sustainability Definitions for NRAs – Framework Part 1
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gudmundsson, Henrik; Harmer, Clare; Hewitt, Alison
Part 1 “Sustainability Definitions for NRAs”. The objective of this part of the framework is to support NRAs in developing and implementing definitions of sustainability. The present report contains the foundations for the framework, including: •The methodology adopted in the process of developing...... the understanding of the social, environmental and economic aspects of managing a road network. Whilst NRAs generally share an increasing awareness of some aspects of sustainability there is not a common understanding of, or approach to sustainability, as a whole. The project ‘Sustainability for National Road...... Authorities’ (SUNRA) is tasked with identifying how NRAs can contribute to sustainable development. This involves three main tasks, addressed in three corresponding Work Packages (WPs) 1.Providing a common way of defining sustainable development within the context of European NRAs (WP1). 2.Identifying how...
Environmental Sustainability of Gm Crops for Food Safety on Risk Society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gil Ramos de Carvalho Neto
2016-10-01
Full Text Available GM crops are presented as an alternative to the erradication of hunger. The risk society, however, considering the brazilian environmental law - specially the brazilian legislation on biosafety - the food safety and nutritional law and the economic and social data on the subject, it appears that the environmental sustainability of these crops is not yet complete. Producers should adopt additional safeguards if they wish a sustainable agriculture with effective food security.
Ergonomics as a missing part of sustainability.
Pavlovic-Veselinovic, Sonja
2014-01-01
In the last twenty years, terms such as sustainable development, environmental protection, and sustainable design have been widely exploited, often without justification. Does ergonomics have a legitimate need or right to use these terms and to be the part of the process to which they refer? This paper discusses the relationship between ergonomics and the concept of sustainable development and its three elements of sustainability (environmental, social and economic), as the steps ergonomists need to take to secure and strengthen the influence in sustainability topics.
Frijters, S.
Sustainable development has become a crucial part of our modern society and our education. Sustainability is a complex concept. After all, what is considered sustainable to us now may not necessarily be so in the future. We need to continually review our judgments with regards to sustainability.
Electricity Technology Roadmap. Technology for the Sustainable Society. 2025
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2002-01-01
The Dutch Electricity Technology Roadmap Initiative is being developed by KEMA as a joint effort of Dutch and European experts of universities, industry and (non)governmental organisations. It aims to assess how to structure the ongoing collaborative research and technological advancement, the exploration of the opportunities and the threats for the electricity-based innovations over the next twenty-five years. In addition it analyses how to manage the transition towards a knowledge based economy and a more sustainable society. To date, about 100 organisations have participated with KEMA and its sponsors in shaping a comprehensive vision of the opportunities to structure the knowledge based economy in the Digital Society with as basis the increase of electricity's value to society. This vision is being translated into a set of technology development destinations and a total of six distinct initiatives for targeted projects. KEMA is leading this ongoing road-mapping effort, with the support of TENNET and EPRI (USA). The Dutch power generation utilities and the Ministry of Economics (EZ) financially support the work. It is an investment in the future of the Dutch knowledge based economy and a guidance to structure and strengthen the value of public and private RandD investments. The Electricity Technology Roadmap Initiative explores a period of fast regulatory, political, technological and institutional change in the electricity enterprise and in the society. The strategic choices made in this period of change can have profound consequences on whether future opportunities are opened or closed, and whether threats increase or are eliminated The reluctance to proceed with important changes is understandable, given the extreme uncertainty under which decisions must be made. No regrets solutions may be appropriate in some circumstances. These situations highlight the need for foresight and the importance of strategic roadmapping. The first year of the Roadmap
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard
2011-01-01
The Danish government's vision about Denmark as a society independent of fossil energy has initiated several Danish energy and climate action plans during 2009-2010 with visions and measures for a 30-40 year time perspective. The paper analyses differences and similarities in action plans from....... The analyses are conducted as part of a project about sustainable transitions towards a low carbon society. The plan from the renewable energy NGO is an energy plan, while the other plans are climate plans, which include non-energy related greenhouse gasses from land use changes and use of fertilizers...... in agriculture. The plans differ with respect to whether and how agricultural production and Danish food consumption should change as part of transitions towards a low carbon society. All four plans agree about a significant increase in Danish wind turbine capacity and stronger energy saving efforts in Danish...
Sustainable Design and Postindustrial Society: Our Ethical and Aesthetic Crossroads
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Leonard Bachman
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Mid-20th century transitions from industrial product society to postindustrial information society have marked profound but now familiar conversions to service economy, knowledge workers, and cybernetic reasoning. Second order, but equally important consequences of this change involve the transformation from predominantly human-machine heroics to human-human collaboration. Collectively, these events have revolutionized the bases of production and value across the developed world. Less appreciated however, are the more subtle shifts of postindustrialism and their ultimate epochal transformations of contemporary life. The short list of these more elusive transitions includes local scale isolation to macro and global scale interaction, mechanistic routine to systemic reasoning, static to dynamic assumptions, short-termism to scenario planning, profit to value motives, hero to team attribution, intuitive to cybernetic decisions, and a move away from rote procedural expertise in favor of reasoned principle, wisdom, and theory. Our historical perspective thus argues for the relevance of postindustrial society in the emergence of a sustainable future, with particular reference to the built environment and to the complex, collaborative, evidence based and cybernetic processes it involves. The difficulty here is that without a vivid and operational understanding of the aesthetic connections and ethical mandates inherent in these more sublime postindustrial events; it is entirely possible that all the best scientific, technical, and political efforts toward sustainability are hampered by old habits of piecemeal procedures, mechanistic approaches, individual expertise, quick profit, and simplistic short-termism. Postindustrial ethics and aesthetics, on the other hand, offer a new and different apparatus by embracing complexity and dynamic interaction. Within that new aesthetic lies a set of principles and sensitivities towards postindustrial and
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Rotmans, J. [International Centre for Integrative Studies ICIS, Universiteit Maastricht, Maastricht (Netherlands)
2003-07-01
Via transitions outdated societal systems need to be replaced by new societal and sustainable systems. In this book attention is paid to how the renewal process can be steered. The first part deals with the transition philosophy, while the second part is dedicated to a series of practical examples in the field of water, agriculture, energy, construction, mobility and biodiversity which must bring us to a new, sustainable society. [Dutch] Het creeren van een duurzame samenleving is van levensbelang voor de huidige en toekomstige generaties. Toch krijgt duurzaamheid van de politiek nog steeds niet de aandacht die zij verdient. Dit boek biedt daarom een vernieuwende en uitdagende kijk op deze grote maatschappelijke opgave. Onze tegenwoordige samenleving is verre van duurzaam; ondanks het veelgeroemde 'poldermodel' zijn we er tot nu toe niet in geslaagd de hardnekkige problemen in sectoren als de landbouw, de gezondheidszorg en de energievoorziening het hoofd te bieden. Meer en meer wordt duidelijk dat een duurzame samenleving een echte cultuuromslag vergt. Via transities - maatschappelijke overgangen die tijd, durf en energie vergen - zullen verouderde maatschappelijke systemen (deels) moeten worden afgebroken om vervolgens opnieuw te worden opgebouwd. Dit boek gaat in op de wijze waarop dit noodzakelijke vernieuwingsproces kan worden gestuurd. Het eerste deel behandelt het transitiedenken, inclusief de achterliggende filosofie. In het tweede deel staat het transitiehandelen centraal, aan de hand van een serie praktijkvoorbeelden op de terreinen water, landbouw, energie, de bouwsector, mobiliteit en biodiversiteit. Een inspirerend boek voor iedereen die een bijdrage wil leveren aan de totstandkoming van een nieuwe, duurzame samenleving.
Technology assessment HTR. Part 8. Nuclear energy and sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Turkenburg, W.C.
1996-06-01
The small social acceptance of nuclear power for power generation suggests that in the present situation nuclear technology does not meet certain sustainable criteria. First, the concept of sustainable development is explained and which dimensions can be distinguished. Next, the sustainable development with regard to the development of the energy supply is outlined and the energy policy to obtain this situation is discussed. Subsequently, the impact of the sustainable development and the policy used to realize this on the nuclear technology are dealt with. As a result, criteria are formulated that can be used to verify how nuclear technology will meet this criteria and which demands should be used to fit this technology so it can be used in a sustainable development of the society. 55 refs
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paneva Aneliya
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Effectively tackling problems of sustainable development such as climate change, poverty, and biodiversity loss requires a different perspective on the role of science in society. Building on the understanding that knowledge production processes shall go hand in hand with governance processes, sustainability science and ecological economics promote transdisciplinarity and participatory procedures as a key requirement for scientific work on nature-society interactions. Involving non-academic actors such as local lay persons, civil society representatives, businesses, and decision makers in the research process promises the discovery of practical solutions to related problems and empowerment of communities. While this novel research approach has been increasingly applied in Western societies, its adoption by scientific actors in the context of Central and Eastern Europe, however, remains relatively low. Employing Bulgaria as a case study, this investigation examined the inter-actions between academia and practice through a series of expert interviews and a review of policy documents, thus offering insights into the specific conditions of implementing science for sustainable development. It emerges that knowledge transfer and experience exchange in the field are needed. Promoting social learning in this domain requires clarification of the roles of actors and institutions for sustainable development. Finally, recommendations for science related policies and scientific work are given.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE, PART OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
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TEODORESCU ANA-MARIA
2016-06-01
Full Text Available This article shows the role of electronic commerce in the digital economy, where information is the main resource. Internet, information society technology vector, made possible transition to a knowledge society at the beginning of XXI century. New economy involves transition from a traditional economy based on resources, to a knowledge-based economy. The development of information technology leads to major changes in the economic and social fields. In a world of globalization, e-commerce, part of the information society, manages to eliminate geographical barriers between participants at economic transactions. I presented e-commerce history, definitions. I pointed out the importance of this sector at european level by quantification of indicators. I used a theoretical research and qualitative analysis of the data. I presented values indicators at the european level, the lowest and highest value, and recorded values for Romania.
A SUSTAINABLE COMPANY AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY: CASE STUDY OF EDP-ENERGIAS DO BRAZIL SA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Leonardo Fabris Lugoboni
2014-06-01
Full Text Available Sustainability is a reality that can be understood as the use of resources to meet the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This article seeks to highlight the importance of sustainability in the business environment and show how companies are pressured by the market, the society - more aware of its role - and regulators that not only alert and educate, but are also more rigorous in their inspections so that their activities are permeated with social and environmental responsability. It is an exploratory and descriptive study as it addresses generally the importance of sustainability for business by providing benefits related to corporate image, tax incentives and credit facilitation as well as contribution to society through cultural projects and environmental policies.
NETWORK CULTURE - INTEGRAL PART OF NEW VALUES OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Sukhanov
2014-01-01
New technologies not only improve working conditions or communication, they are also bringing new values to the society. This article discusses the concept of «network culture», which is now perceived by society as an integral part of values that can only exist in a civil society. We can research ( find) this kind of society in modern time period in Russia. The article analyzes the meaning of communication, how to use it, development processes in network media. Nowadays network culture an...
Chapin, F. Stuart; Pickett, S.T.A.; Power, Mary E.; Collins, Scott L.; Baron, Jill S.; Inouye, David W.; Turner, Monica G.
2017-01-01
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has responded to the growing commitment among ecologists to make their science relevant to society through a series of concerted efforts, including the Sustainable Biosphere Initiative (1991), scientific assessment of ecosystem management (1996), ESA’s vision for the future (2003), Rapid Response Teams that respond to environmental crises (2005), and the Earth Stewardship Initiative (2009). During the past 25 years, ESA launched five new journals, largely reflecting the expansion of scholarship linking ecology with broader societal issues. The goal of the Earth Stewardship Initiative is to raise awareness and to explore ways for ecologists and other scientists to contribute more effectively to the sustainability of our planet. This has occurred through four approaches: (1) articulation of the stewardship concept in ESA publications and Website, (2) selection of meeting themes and symposia, (3) engagement of ESA sections in implementing the initiative, and (4) outreach beyond ecology through collaborations and demonstration projects. Collaborations include societies and groups of Earth and social scientists, practitioners and policy makers, religious and business leaders, federal agencies, and artists and writers. The Earth Stewardship Initiative is a work in progress, so next steps likely include continued nurturing of these emerging collaborations, advancing the development of sustainability and stewardship theory, improving communication of stewardship science, and identifying opportunities for scientists and civil society to take actions that move the Earth toward a more sustainable trajectory.
Schoppen, Hendrik Sietze
2017-01-01
The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership Authorized translation of the chapter ‘Impact of brands on people, markets and society’ (prepublication Build Bridge Bond, method for sustainable leadership and building future-proof trust)
The value of the phenomenon of communication for the sustainable development of modern society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
O. I. Plaksina
2016-06-01
On this basis the substantial potential of communication is determined. A di-verse range of communication’s actions is presented. Communication carries out satisfaction the people’s need in emotional resonance and empathy; penetration into the inner world of Another, co-presence, being «here» and «now» together with Another; integration, unity, feeling part of a whole people and becoming related; finding a certain sense; producing and approving of values, humanization; realiza-tion of the basic human need - to be included in society and culture, i.e., generic quality of sociality which is inherent to man; improvisation, in conjunction with the presence of algorithms in the communication; preventing, overcoming an inferiority of people’s objectivisation, de-objectivisation; counteracting to the massification, standardization, «oversimplification» of consciousness and personality. Thereby this paper shows that communication efficiently overcomes and blocks the most of the challenges/risks, which might lead to instability of the socie-ty’s development in the informational stage of history - the four groups from six groups, which were identified in this article. As a result, the positive influence of communication on the sustainability of modern society in a global scale has been substantiated and proven.
Sustainability Ethics Emergency and Media Responsibility in the Consumption Society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rogério Bianchi de Araujo
2008-08-01
Full Text Available In this article, it is discussed the sustainable development and the importance of the environmental cause, in order to create models of development that consider the sustainability and environmental preservation for the future generations. The participation of all society is essential in this debate. The establishment of new habits that do not compromise the subsistence and the conscience of the real self-destruction possibility must be studied and analysed; they consist in challenging intentions, which detach the relevance and the moral duty of the media to restore a new ethics and a new way to understand the reality, as well as to divulge the impact of this different perception in the human life. Therefore occurs the requirement of a responsible compromise relating to the development, by way of understanding the biosphere as the social life basis, considering that, in these ecosystems, the human being is only one of the many species that live in an interdependence relationship.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tetsuo, Sawada; Naoki, Yamano; Yoshiko, Aoyama; Akiko, Shioda; Junichi, Mizuo; Yasuhiko, Fujii
2007-01-01
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which includes compliance, engineering and business ethics, safety and security, and corporate governance, is being widely applied not only in the field of business administrations but also in academia and research communities. The basic 3 ideals of CSR are sustainability, stakeholder dialogue (stakeholder include consumers, suppliers, employees, investors and local communities) and triple basic constraints (be environment-friendly, competitive and beneficial for the society as a whole). A typical aspect of this trend is that most electric power company publishes documents such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports which are the improved version of social-environmental reports. CSR reflects the very expectations from the society that how far the corporations and organizations including universities can resolve the issues in which the society is necessarily involved. The nuclear power generations and related facilities are sorts of societal systems and not merely technological systems. This paper describes the concept of CSR, its basic prerequisites and the framework of the civic forum that is a part of the practices of Nuclear CSR
Metrics for value creation in a sustainable knowledge society
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Huovila, P., Email: pekka.huovila@vtt.fi
2012-06-15
This paper highlights the need to create potential value metrics for sustainable neighbourhoods, capable of working simultaneously at a variety of spatial scales for different stakeholders (multi-scalar reciprocity), moving from top-down imposed metrics towards bottom-up formulated ones. Metrics for Value Creation should be constituted using different approaches. One dimension is the built environment, where the present rating schemes focus on the environmental impact of the use of buildings, namely energy use. Another dimension is the corporate aspect, where triple bottom line reporting also emphasises environmental and social issues, but the discursive civic square environment risks domination by economic sustainability of the production and growth-oriented business environment. The third dimension is the city itself with its social networks, concerning indicators for employment and crime, for example. The fourth dimension aims to measure the quality of life of individual citizens, which is not easy to define. At present, all four approaches are used separately without interoperability between the systems. Current environmental rating schemes, such as BREEAM, CASBEE, Green Star, HQE, LEED, PromisE, etc. are able to structure the processes of setting objectives, monitoring the process and assessing the state of buildings by some simple indicators. Mostly they focus on resource use and environmental impacts, but also cover some performance parameters, such as indoor environmental quality or aspects of accessibility. However, they are not contributing to the objectives of value creation in a knowledge society. This paper discusses major limitations of current sustainability indicator sets and rating tools. Finally, it describes a new approach to value metrics for sustainable neighbourhoods, using the LivingLab approach. This is a user-centric multidisciplinary research approach and a user community-driven innovation based on real-life experiments. The benefits of
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Oksana Mont
2010-08-01
Full Text Available Looking at consumption from a societal perspective, we can see that purchasing and behavior decisions are influenced by many factors, not the least which are what the people around us and in the media are doing. Other factors include economic influences, the marketing of products and technological innovations, and regulations governing consumption. This article, Part II, argues that in order to understand consumption, we need to move beyond the dominant (economic understanding of consumers and consumer behavior, and think about the origins of our preferences, needs, and desires. A thorough understanding of consumption is informed by the contributions of sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and behavioral scientists, who study the socio-cultural, social, and psychological contexts in which consumer behavior is embedded. These disciplines offer rich and complex explanations of human behavior, which in turn illuminate the discussion on how consumer behavior can be made more sustainable.
Challenges to achievement of metal sustainability in our high-tech society.
Izatt, Reed M; Izatt, Steven R; Bruening, Ronald L; Izatt, Neil E; Moyer, Bruce A
2014-04-21
Achievement of sustainability in metal life cycles from mining of virgin ore to consumer and industrial devices to end-of-life products requires greatly increased recycling rates and improved processing of metals using conventional and green chemistry technologies. Electronic and other high-tech products containing precious, toxic, and specialty metals usually have short lifetimes and low recycling rates. Products containing these metals generally are incinerated, discarded as waste in landfills, or dismantled in informal recycling using crude and environmentally irresponsible procedures. Low recycling rates of metals coupled with increasing demand for high-tech products containing them necessitate increased mining with attendant environmental, health, energy, water, and carbon-footprint consequences. In this tutorial review, challenges to achieving metal sustainability, including projected use of urban mining, in present high-tech society are presented; health, environmental, and economic incentives for various government, industry, and public stakeholders to improve metal sustainability are discussed; a case for technical improvements, including use of molecular recognition, in selective metal separation technology, especially for metal recovery from dilute feed stocks is given; and global consequences of continuing on the present path are examined.
PATHWAYS TO SUSTAINABLE BANKING MANAGEMENT
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dragan (Santamarian Oana Raluca
2012-12-01
Full Text Available This paper describes one of the major challenges of the future: the sustainable development of the society. Sustainability is now increasingly recognized as central to the growth of emerging market economies. For the banking sector, this represents both a demand for greater social and environmental responsibility as well as a new landscape of business opportunity. Several years ago, the main part of the banks did not consider the social and environmental problems relevant for their operations. Recently, the banks began to realize the major impact of the sustainable development over the way of ulterior development of the society and, implicitly over the way of creating of the banking value in the future. In this context, the development of a banking management system, based on sustainable principles represents one of the provocations of these days.Starting from literature in the sustainable banking management field in this paper are presented several relevant issues related to risk management in the context of sustainable banking financing: the need to implement the sustainable management principles in financial and banking industry; the role of banks in sustainable development of society; social and environmental risk management policies, events that have shaped the role of the banking sector in sustainable development; international standards regarding sustainable banking management such us: Equator Principles for sustainable investment projects’ financing or GRI principles for sustainable reporting. Furthermore, we developed a practical case study related to the implementation of sustainable banking management at Bank of America.
Geerts, Robert
2013-12-01
Society invests in the education of engineers because it is expected that the works of engineers will bring good results for society. Because the work of engineers is not value free or neutral, it is important that engineers are educated in the important principles of the social sciences and humanities. This education is essential for the awareness and understanding of what is good for society. Therefore the concept of sustainable development should be part of an education in engineering but only when the social sciences are also a part of it.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fujimoto, J. [Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the Univ. of Tokyo (Japan); Matsumoto, M. [Fundamental and Environment Labs., NEC Corp. (Japan)
2004-07-01
We discuss a new EcoDesign method, with a goal of improving the economy, and its application to a sustainable networked society. The new EcoDesign method differs from conventional EcoDesign in three respects: it utilizes a top-down approach, project-style research, and fact-finding and benchmarking. We systematize EcoDesign for a networked society from the viewpoint of technology and divide it into four components. Feasibility studies of the individual components reveal that if we promote ICT diffusion with EcoDesign in mind, we can suppress CO2 emissions and move towards a more sustainable society. (orig.)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zev Naveh
2009-11-01
Full Text Available The present chaotic transformation from the industrial to the global information society is accelerating the ecological, social and economic unsustainability. The rapidly growing unsustainable, fossil energy powered urbanindustrial technosphere and their detrimental impacts on nature and human well-being are threatening the solar energy powered natural and seminatural biosphere landscapes and their vital ecosystem services. A sustainability revolution is therefore urgently needed, requiring a shift from the „fossil age“ to the „solar age“ of a new world economy, coupled with more sustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns. The sustainable future of viable multifunctional biosphere landscapes of the Mediterranean Region and elsewhere and their biological and cultural richness can only be ensured by a post-industrial symbiosis between nature and human society. For this purpose a mindset shift of scientists and professionals from narrow disciplinarity to transdisciplinarity is necessary, dealing with holistic land use planning and management, in close cooperation with land users and stakeholders. To conserve and restore the rapidly vanishing and degrading Mediterranean uplands and highest biological ecological and cultural landscape ecodiversity, their dynamic homeorhetic flow equilibrium, has to be maintained by continuing or simulating all anthropogenic processes of grazing, browsing by wild and domesticated ungulates. Catastrophic wildfires can be prevented only by active fire and fuel management, converting highly inflammable pine forests and dense shrub thickets into floristically enriched, multi- layered open woodlands and recreation forests.
The Carpathians. Integrating nature and society towards sustainability
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kozak, Jacek; Ostapowicz, Katarzyna [Jagiellonian Univ., Krakow (Poland). Inst. of Geography and Spatial Management; Bytnerowicz, Andrzej [Pacific Southwest Research Station, Riverside, CA (United States). USDA Forest Service; Wyzga, Bartlomiej (eds.) [Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow (Poland). Inst. of Nature Conservation
2013-06-01
Provides an interdisciplinary approach. Explores ways to generate value for the Carpathian mountain region. Gives a new insight into the Carpathian mountain region. The Carpathians are a distinct mountain chain in the core of Central and Eastern Europe holding valuable biological resources and a rich cultural heritage. The last twenty years have witnessed an increasing awareness of the Carpathians' value for European society and strengthened research cooperation in the region, especially after the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007. This book presents a wide range of problems related to sustainable development in the Carpathian region that were discussed during the 1{sup st} Forum Carpaticum held in 2010 in Krakow, Poland. The four sections of the book deal with various issues related to the abiotic environment, forests and biodiversity, human activities, and research methods allowing a better understanding of the past, present and future of the Carpathians.
The perspective of sustainability in networked knowledge society: governance, education, ethics
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pilar AZNAR MINGUET
2013-12-01
Full Text Available This article aims to stimulate thinking about entering the perspective of sustainability in new information societies and knowledge supported by ICTs, and characterized by globalization is far from inclusive. It involves the construction of a global system that promotes the pursuit of environmental quality, social justice and an equitable economy and viable long term. UNESCO has identified three basic ways to get it: governance, education and ethics.Governance can promote equitable social connectivity, changes in patterns of production and consumption and application search and real solutions to the socio-environmental. Education can foster continuing education of those critical, responsible and committed attitudes of respect and harmony with the natural and social environment, international organizations like the OECD, UN and governments through the development of their educational systems, have shaped the competency-based training model, including skills for sustainability are key consider. And all from ethical approaches to guide human capacity to think, act and promote the defense of life on our planet.
Sustainable development tables for science teachers training within the information society
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Horta, L.M.P. [Portuguese Ministry of Education' s Secondary School at Sabugal, Sabugal (Portugal)
2006-07-01
Certain essential criteria are needed to achieve sustainable development. These include information about the benefits of investment and public awareness about environmental education, training, appropriate energy technologies, energy storage strategies, the availability of renewable energy sources and cleaner technologies. This paper reported on the value of the Internet in providing new opportunities to both students and teachers to improve their knowledge in renewable energy technologies and environment awareness. The Internet provides a starting point for pedagogical projects. The Internet's capability of providing ideas for secondary and post secondary teachers in chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering was discussed with reference to the Science Technology and Society (Environmental) approach in the Portuguese National Education Curriculum. The approach provides opportunities for improving the image of science to students and offers the use of laboratory experiments to motivate students. It was concluded that public awareness and education on issues concerning sustainable development, such as renewable energies, energy efficiency, can be promoted by the Internet. 106 refs., 2 tabs.
Sustainability needs communication - German ICT-industry's strategy to promote sustainability
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tobias, M. [German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media - BITKOM, Berlin (Germany); Pongratz, S. [Motorola Advanced Technology Center, Taunusstein (Germany)
2004-07-01
Information and communication technologies (ICT) lay the basis for the information society and have therefore a daily influence on almost everybody. This involves certain requirements regarding the purpose of a sustainable development as for example energy use, careful use of resources, and global compliance with social standards. However, ICT applications and their integration into business processes as well as daily private life also offer enormous potential for shaping sustainable development. Based on this realization, active companies and their associations are to play an important role in promoting new approaches for Sustainability. To this reason the German ICT-Association BITKOM together with some of the most active players in this field founded a new workgroup for International Environmental Policy and Sustainability. Main targets are the communication of an orientation towards sustainability within the own branch as well as the usage of ICT-products and services to enable sustainable development on a society basis. This covers political activities, publication of guidelines and brochures as well as the discussion of new approaches with scientists and NGOs. By critically questioning the approach within the own branch the process of a transparent communication shall be initiated, by which everybody will be able to contribute his specific part to the whole ''sustainability-puzzle''. (orig.)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Klaus Boehnke
2015-04-01
Full Text Available Based on representative survey data, the present study examines potentials for the sustainable development of a transnational civil society in French-German, Polish-German, and Czech-German border regions. The theoretical framework is a social capital approach in the tradition of Putnam. Transnational engagement is seen as a key element for the development of a border-crossing civil society. For the analysis, existing forms of social capital were classified according to their bridging and bonding functions and the potentials of local and transnational activities are described. Furthermore, using multilevel analysis, the predictive power of different variables like individual dispositions and specific contexts of the regions on cross-border activities are examined. Descriptively, the expected lower level of local civil-society engagement, in general, and also with regard to the transnational activities was found for post-socialist border regions. It is shown that, first and foremost, existing experience in civil-society engagement in the local context is a high-impact predictor for both transnational activities and an interest in such activities. Other variables like feelings of a historical burden or the economic situation of the region are less important.
NETWORK CULTURE - INTEGRAL PART OF NEW VALUES OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Sukhanov
2014-06-01
Full Text Available New technologies not only improve working conditions or communication, they are also bringing new values to the society. This article discusses the concept of «network culture», which is now perceived by society as an integral part of values that can only exist in a civil society. We can research ( find this kind of society in modern time period in Russia. The article analyzes the meaning of communication, how to use it, development processes in network media. Nowadays network culture and its influence on society are almost in all spheres of state and society, as well as changes in perception of information and content generation process. Development of the Internet and Internet technologies largely set the tone for the development of popular culture and allows you to store or to influence the national culture. Internet press today is and example which shows us, how this kind of tool can be used to influence on citizens.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2014-3-6
Globalization of the economy and women's work in a sustainable society.
Mies, M
1998-01-01
This article critiques theories of development and growth models, which are not compatible with conservation of resources, women's empowerment, and a sustainable society. Affluent societies are using up most of the world's resources in unsustainable ways. Industrial giants have co-opted the term "sustainability." This gender discussion addresses the issue of patriarchal and capitalist systems and presents a new theoretical framework. The author disagrees with the global division of labor, where women are manipulated as producer-housewives and consumer-housewives, and with the global level of violence against women, in general. Gender equality is not viable in the present patriarchal order. In all economic theories, women's work is a free resource and invisible as unpaid housework and nurturing work. The globalization of the economy leads to greater capital and power concentration in the hands of a few. Women are ill served by structural adjustment policies. New global restructuring has improved the welfare of Third World elites. Globalization of capital and new technology makes ethics obsolete. A new economic model must be based on the preservation of life at the center, with livelihood based on wage labor and unpaid work, control of communal assets, and solidarity of communities. Unpaid necessary social labor must be shared by men and women equally. The checklist for change includes, for example, that money would be a means of circulation, not of accumulation. Nature would be reintegrated into economics. There must be new meanings for work, productive labor, economics, the good life, satisfaction of needs, and political structures.
Using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to Assess and Plan for Sustainability
Mainor, Avia; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Maier, Ryan C.; Brossart, Laura; Luke, Douglas A.
2014-01-01
Implementing and growing a public health program that benefits society takes considerable time and effort. To ensure that positive outcomes are maintained over time, program managers and stakeholders should plan and implement activities to build sustainability capacity within their programs. We describe a 3-part sustainability planning process that programs can follow to build their sustainability capacity. First, program staff and stakeholders take the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure their program’s sustainability across 8 domains. Next, managers and stakeholders use results from the assessment to inform and prioritize sustainability action planning. Lastly, staff members implement the plan and keep track of progress toward their sustainability goals. Through this process, staff can more holistically address the internal and external challenges and pressures associated with sustaining a program. We include a case example of a chronic disease program that completed the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and engaged in program sustainability planning. PMID:24456644
Role of Mass Media in the Disaster Preparedness and Sustainable Development of Society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Seid-Aliyeva, Dinara E.
2006-01-01
Better understanding of the causes and effects of large earthquakes can assists in mitigation of damage and loss of lives as a result of destructive natural events. Well-informed and educated population living in geological hazard-prone regions can reduce catastrophic consequences of natural disasters and guaranty the sustainable development of healthy society. A development of information service for disaster management is of importance in reduction of the disaster's consequences
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Loredana JITARU
2017-04-01
Full Text Available The Eastern Partnership (EaP launched in 2009 as the Eastern dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy introduced the civil society as a new strategic actor in the EU's relations with Eastern Partnership countries. The civil society‟s role is to participate in policy making, to suggest new initiatives and to promote shared values of partnership, such as: democracy, promoting better governance, state law, sustainable development, respect for human rights and for the fundamental freedoms. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, we analyse the role of the civil society in the EaP and we ask whether the increasing role of the civil society in the EaP will lead to the success of this project. In the second part, we analyse the perceptions and the attitudes of civil society towards European integration.
Purnamasari, W. D.; Kirana, V.; Wardhani, D. K.
2017-06-01
Green Kampong is one of the participatory development to conserve our environment. RW 03 Sukun, Malang City has chosen by researcher become case study because it has be successful to obtain a predicate as “Green Kampong” by following environmental management contests through the participatory society. There was some purpose of this study. The first aim was to find out the level of participation at every kind of the social activities such as waste separation for households, bio-pores project, stone massage therapy on the road, and other greening acts. The second aim was to evaluate the level for sustainable society which consists of: the leadership, the social capital, the internal controls activity, the use of technology, and also the finance of physical development in green kampong. The researcher has used the scoring and schema methods in this study. The result showed that the activity that has reached the maintenance phase are sorting waste and greening, whilst the activity that only reached the stage of control are bio-pores development and stone therapy. The social activities with highest participation was taken by greening act and the lowest was taken by bio-pores project. The sustainability of the community rw 03 Sukun known that of the five components aspects the sustainability of, three of whom were have achieved good progress toward the sustainability of the aspects leadership, social capital, and technology facilities and infrastructure while two aspects of whom were still achieved a good start toward sustainability of the aspects monitoring and evaluation and financing.
Sustainable development. Uncertain futures
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Leveque, Ch.; Sciama, Y.
2005-01-01
The last 30 years show that the human being did not dominate the Nature. After an introduction on the historical relations between the human and the environment, the authors present the different research ways (irrigation with recovery, renewable energies, new agriculture,...). They show that science is not always the enemy of the sustainable development. The third part presents the constraints that the society puts on the way of the sustainable development, which explain the limitations of the progress. (A.L.B.)
How to assess sustainability in automated manufacturing
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Dijkman, Teunis Johannes; Rödger, Jan-Markus; Bey, Niki
2015-01-01
The aim of this paper is to describe how sustainability in automation can be assessed. The assessment method is illustrated using a case study of a robot. Three aspects of sustainability assessment in automation are identified. Firstly, we consider automation as part of a larger system...... that fulfills the market demand for a given functionality. Secondly, three aspects of sustainability have to be assessed: environment, economy, and society. Thirdly, automation is part of a system with many levels, with different actors on each level, resulting in meeting the market demand. In this system......, (sustainability) specifications move top-down, which helps avoiding sub-optimization and problem shifting. From these three aspects, sustainable automation is defined as automation that contributes to products that fulfill a market demand in a more sustainable way. The case study presents the carbon footprints...
Building a Sustainable Society: The Necessity to Change the Term 'Consumer'
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sabrina Chakori
2017-10-01
Full Text Available The profit-seeking system leads to many negative environmental impacts. Within this economic system, consumption reflects an important relationship between humans and nature. However, despite the growing international attention to environmental sustainability, our society does not necessarily acknowledge consumerism as the cause of global environmental degradation. Deconstructing the consumption culture and redefining what determines well-being, this paper will attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing definition of people in the economic system. Many authors have defined our role in the economy; however, in terms of customer, citizen-consumer, and socially conscious consumer, most of the literature in this domain remains rooted in consumerism. Consumerism cannot be fixed with further consumerism; therefore this paper discusses the importance of reclaiming our identity and the need to define new terms for people in a new economic system. Any new terms should integrate interests and responsibilities that go beyond simple utility maximization. Moving beyond the term “consumer” will change our worldview. This cultural transformation may help facilitate long-term environmental sustainability.
Factors affecting sustainable animal trypanosomosis control in parts ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
This study examined the factors affecting sustainable trypanosomiasis control in parts of Kaduna State within the sub-humid savannah ecological zone of Nigeria. Focus group discussions were ... More awareness and preference for pour-on and aerial spraying were higher than the use of traps, target or screens. Rearing of ...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ellinor Isgren
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Agroecology is gaining ground within the debate on how to address systemic social and environmental problems in agriculture. However, it remains marginalized in agricultural research and development plans around the world. This paper analyzes agroecology as a socio-technical niche in Uganda, where its emergence in part can be seen as an unintended consequence of neoliberalist development. The case studied is a civil society network that links farmer groups and non-governmental organizations across different levels. Through the analytical lens of regime dimensions, we find that agroecology is practiced as a smallholder-centric approach that champions collective action, locally appropriate technologies, participatory methods in research and extension, and calls for more active state guidance of agricultural change along specific principles. However, two major concerns are raised; the niche converges with the dominant discourse around commercialization, and policy advocacy is hampered by the apolitical history of NGOs and an increasingly tense political climate. These two areas are critical for agroecology to contribute to just sustainability transitions, and civil society organizations with strong links to smallholder farmers need to be included in the growing scholarly debate both to inform it and to receive guidance from it. Transition frameworks can help facilitate the development of viable institutional designs and explicitly transformative strategies, but we also point towards the need for engagement with theories on civil society collective action and political mobilization.
Sustainable development. First part
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Colombo, U.; Lanzavecchia, G.; Berrini, M; Zambrini, M.; Bologna, G.; Carraro, C.; Hinterberger, F.; Mastino, G.; Federico, A.; Gaudioso, D.; Luise, A.; Mauro, F.; Padovani, L.; Federico, A.
1998-01-01
This paper summarizes a collective effort and represents the second edition of: Environment, energy, economy: a sustainable future. In this work are reported various interventions on sustainable development problem [it
Sustainable energy development as an integral part of hydroelectric business management
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lee, W.; Yu, M.; Young, C.
1996-01-01
Elements of Ontario Hydro's strategy for sustainable energy development were discussed, highlighting key developments in the business management practices in Ontario Hydro's Hydroelectric Business Unit. Sustainable development considerations are now integral part of any business case analysis; management of the environment also has been integrated into the Utilities' business management process. Several environmental management practices intended to enhance sustainability have been introduced, including a full-fledged environmental management system based on ISO 14001 standards. Energy efficiency opportunities are aggressively pursued, including turbine upgrades, and energy efficient lighting. Experience to date indicates that business performance and progress towards sustainable energy development need not be mutually exclusive
El-Bassiouny, Noha
2012-01-01
The Business and Society Research Cluster (BSRC) at the German University in Cairo, the El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center at the American University in Cairo and Misr El-Kheir (MEK) Foundation, Egypt, hosted the region's first sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) case studies conference, entitled "Toward a…
Takahashi, Yasuo
2012-08-01
Conference logo The 21st century has been called the century of environmental revolution. Green innovations and environmentally friendly production systems based on physics, chemistry, materials science, and electronic engineering will be indispensable for ensuring renewable energy and establishing a sustainable society. In particular, production design, materials processing, and fabrication technologies such as welding and joining will be very important components of such green innovations. For these reasons, the International Symposium on Materials Science and Innovation for Sustainable Society - eco-materials and eco-innovation for global sustainability - (ECO-MATES 2011) was organized by the Joining and Welding Research Institute (JWRI) and the Center of Environmental Innovation Design for Sustainability (CEIDS), Osaka University. ECO-MATES 2011 was held at Hotel Hankyu Expo Park, Osaka, Japan from 28-30 November 2011. 435 participants from 20 countries around the world attended the symposium. 149 oral presentations including 60 invited talks and 160 posters were presented at the symposium to discuss the latest research and developments in green innovations in relation to environmental issues. The topics of the symposium covered all environmentally related fields including renewable energy, energy-materials, environment and resources, waste and biomass, power electronics, semiconductor, rare-earth metals, functional materials, organic electronics materials, electronics packaging, smart processing, joining and welding, eco-efficient processes, and green applied physics and chemistry. Therefore, 55 full papers concerning green innovations and environmentally benign production were selected and approved by the editorial board and the program committee of ECO-MATES 2011. All papers were accepted through peer review processes. I believe that all the papers have many informative contents. On behalf of the steering committee of the symposium, I would like to express
Landscapes of Lost Energy: Counterfactual Geographical Imaginary for A More Sustainable Society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
van der Horst Dan
2014-07-01
Full Text Available The quest for sustainable energy, one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, calls for more input from academics than 'simply' producing good science. Geographical imaginations are as old as storytelling and mapmaking, but this essay is neither about 'long ago and far away', nor about utopian energy futures. This is a call to geographers to engage with 'alternative present' energy scenarios, using the full range of analytical and discursive tools at our disposal. Drawing on a diverse tradition of imagined spaces and the awareness of absences (material, relational or otherwise, geographers should be able to contribute to the quest for a more sustainable society by assessing, envisaging, and communicating a counterfactual 'here and now', based on good practices existing right now, but not (yet right here. We need to understand how much more sustainable our bit of the planet would be if we could just, environmentally speaking, 'keep up' with the best of our neighbours. This counterfactual present should be seen as neither radical nor utopian, because it only assumes the historic adoption of best practices which we now know to be feasible and successful. And if thi alternative current scenario looks radically different from the 'real' state we are in, then this goes to show how radically unsustainable our business-as-usual approach has been.
Waste management in a sustainable society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ascari, Sergio; Milan, Univ. ''Bocconi''
1997-01-01
This paper summarises the environmental economics debate about sustainable management of solid wastes. Sustainable levels of solid waste generation, recycling and disposal cannot be set by general criteria, but priorities are better defined locally. Preferable solutions are mostly determined by market forces once economic instruments are introduced in order to compel agents to incorporate environmental costs and benefits into their decisions. Greater care should be devoted to dangerous wastes, where schemes may be devised to subsidize not only recovery and recycling but environmentally safe disposal as well; these may be financed by raw materials levies
Balvanera, P.; Daw, T.M.; Gardner, T.A.; Martín-López, B.; Norström, A.V.; Ifejika Speranza, C.; Spierenburg, M.J.; Bennett, E.M.; Farfán, M.; Hamann, M.; Kittinger, J.N.; Luthe, T.; Maass, M.; Peterson, G.D.; Pérez-Verdin, G.
2017-01-01
The emerging discipline of sustainability science is focused explicitly on the dynamic interactions between nature and society and is committed to research that spans multiple scales and can support transitions toward greater sustainability. Because a growing body of place-based social-ecological
Impact of geohazards on sustainable development of society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Blistan, P.
2015-01-01
In this paper the authors analyze environmental risk factors in Slovakia in terms of sustainable development within environmental conditions and perspectives. Geological and geomorphological conditions affecting sustainable development are analyzed. Monitoring system of the environment and the need for sustainable development is presented.
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
PÉTER BAGOLY-SIMÓ
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Over the last three decades, the concept of sustainable development has enjoyed growing attention. Transporting sustainable development into all forms of education is connected to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD. Due to its role in society, formal education plays a special part in the process of ESD implementation. This paper takes a closer look at the interconnectedness between sustainable development, ESD, and formal education by focusing on school geography, a subject with special affinity to both concepts and topics of ESD.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dian ASWITA
2018-05-01
Full Text Available One of the existing natural and environmental uses in Aceh (Indonesia is tourism. One of the aspects that determine the development and sustainability of tourism is the institutional and community aspects. Sustainable tourism is a picture of the ecosystem sustainability and socio-economic development of the community. This study aims to reveal and find local wisdom practices and explore local knowledge owned by Sabang Island community in the management and conservation of the environment so as to support the realization of sustainable tourism. This study uses rationalistic paradigm and uses qualitative research method. The data that has been collected is analyzed descriptively. Local wisdom and local knowledge are reflected in how society has a unique way of looking at and understanding nature and interacting with it. In the Aceh community, there are customary institutions that regulate the rules or interactions of the community with the environment, including “panglima laot”, “keujreun blang”, “peutua seuneubok”, “pawang glee or peutua uteun”, “haria peukan” and “syahbanda”. Local wisdom and local knowledge have great potential in maintaining, preserving and sustainability of the environment used by communities to meet their living needs. Ecological, social and religious intelligence formed through local wisdom and local knowledge can be an aspect in maintaining environmental sustainability in order to build sustainable tourism on Sabang Island.
WATER SUPPLY PIPE REPLACEMENT CONSIDERING SUSTAINABLE TRANSITION TO POPULATION DECREASED SOCIETY
Hosoi, Yoshihiko; Iwasaki, Yoji; Aklog, Dagnachew; Masuda, Takanori
Social infrastructures are aging and population is decreasing in Japan. The aged social infrastructures should be renewed. At the same time, they are required to be moved into new framework suitable for population decreased societies. Furthermore, they have to continue to supply sufficient services even during transition term that renewal projects are carried out. Authors propose sustainable soft landing management of infrastructures and it is tried to apply to water supply pipe replacement in this study. Methodology to replace aged pipes not only aiming for the new water supply network which suits for population decreased condition but also ensuring supply service and feasibility while the project is carried out was developed. It is applied for a model water supply network and discussions were carried out.
Environmental sustainability in North European hotel business
Niskanen, Ville
2011-01-01
Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important in modern day society, and environmental sustainability is one issue to be considered in hotel business. Global temperatures have been increasing during the recent years and the emissions of carbon dioxide have a big role in the issue. Hotels can affect the situation for their part by trying to run their businesses in an environmentally sustainable fashion. Concentrating on environmental issues can also result in financial savings in th...
MacKillop, Fionn
2018-06-01
This paper aims to investigate the links between materiality and society at a conceptual level, using examples from the author's decade of research in several fields relevant to the issue. With current talk of the need for `sustainability' and `resilience' reaching fever pitch in industry, politics and other arenas, there is a regrettable tendency to muddle the meaning of these words. Drawing on original research carried out in the UK, China, Germany, and Australia, and using the conceptual approaches of actor-network theory (ANT) and urban political ecology (UPE), the author invites us to re-engage with the materiality of society and how we, as businesses, consumers and thinkers, can advance sustainability and resilience through this re-engagement. We will ask what sustainability and resilience mean, for whom and in what context. We will also look at how we can shift thinking and reinvigorate these words, by contributing to the dialogue between the social sciences and business and industry. Specific examples will be taken from the UK and Chinese steel industries; climate-sensitive urban design in Manchester and Stuttgart; and housing construction and affordability in Scotland and Australia, thus covering a wide range of issues related to urban sustainability and resilience in relation to materiality.
Sustainable tourism as a method of forming a tolerant society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dryga Svetlana
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The article concentrates on potential capabilities for the development of sustainable tourism, as well as its role in the formation of tolerant social relations. The authors revealed the profound impact of sustainable and hike tourism on emergence of the phenomenon ‘new tourist’. They also offered the description of levels of tolerance and their influence on the sustainable tendencies in modern tourism. There is a growing trend for tourism in modern international community to act as a high-powered regulator of socio-cultural relations and, simultaneously, as the crucial factor of counteraction to that xenophobia. A head-on clash of local and foreign cultures, which is an integral part of the very notion of tourism, is not supposed to assume itself in highly extreme forms, with the air of predominance of any of them, moreover, to be based on national, racial, religious, linguistic or educational differences. To put the idea across more efficiently, the authors resorted to exploiting such useful tools as the analysis and synthesis methodology, as well as that of comparison and prognostics. What is produced in the outcome of this study is revealing and emphasizing the levels of tolerance, characterizing the uneasy interrelationships between the so-called ‘new’ tourists and local community. The research findings could find practical applications for designing of new tourist products and elaborating of new networks of footpaths for walking tours.
@AACAnatomy twitter account goes live: A sustainable social media model for professional societies.
Benjamin, Hannah K; Royer, Danielle F
2018-05-01
Social media, with its capabilities of fast, global information sharing, provides a useful medium for professional development, connecting and collaborating with peers, and outreach. The goals of this study were to describe a new, sustainable model for Twitter use by professional societies, and analyze its impact on @AACAnatomy, the Twitter account of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists. Under supervision of an Association committee member, an anatomy graduate student developed a protocol for publishing daily tweets for @AACAnatomy. Five tweet categories were used: Research, Announcements, Replies, Engagement, and Community. Analytics from the 6-month pilot phase were used to assess the impact of the new model. @AACAnatomy had a steady average growth of 33 new followers per month, with less than 10% likely representing Association members. Research tweets, based on Clinical Anatomy articles with an abstract link, were the most shared, averaging 5,451 impressions, 31 link clicks, and nine #ClinAnat hashtag clicks per month. However, tweets from non-Research categories accounted for the highest impression and engagement metrics in four out of six months. For all tweet categories, monthly averages show consistent interaction of followers with the account. Daily tweet publication resulted in a 103% follower increase. An active Twitter account successfully facilitated regular engagement with @AACAnatomy followers and the promotion of clinical anatomy topics within a broad community. This Twitter model has the potential for implementation by other societies as a sustainable medium for outreach, networking, collaboration, and member engagement. Clin. Anat. 31:566-575, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sustainability: role of thorium
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Stigson, Bjorn Roland
2015-01-01
The task to renew the world's energy infrastructure, where fossil fuels account for 80% of supply, is enormous. The two carbon neutral energy sources - renewable and nuclear - should be the base of the world's future energy mix. Nuclear, however, suffers from a bad public opinion and lack of government support in many parts of the world. We can conclude that the world needs an 'on demand' energy source that is affordable, clean, safe and scalable. Thorium energy could be that energy source. It is the most energy dense solution we know, fitting well to the modular and size-constrained requirements of an urbanizing world. No part of society can create a sustainable world on their own and markets are too slow to drive transformational changes. We need new partnerships between governments, business, civil society and academia where each part is delivering on their specific responsibilities and roles
The Dialectic of the Nature-Society-System
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christian Fuchs
2008-07-01
Full Text Available There are four logical possibilities for conceiving the relationship of nature and society: the reduction of society to nature, the projection of nature into society, dualism, and a nature-society-dialectic. This differentiation results in four different approaches. Nature is a self-organizing system that produces an evolutionary hierarchy of interconnected systems with specific qualities. Society is a product of nature where humans produce and reproduce structures that enable and constrain human practices in dynamic processes. Parts of nature are observed and appropriated by humans from within society, these parts are socially constructed and form a subsystem of society. The self-organization cycle of nature and the self-organization cycle of the socio-sphere are mutually connected in a productive cycle of society where natural self-organization serves as the material foundation that enables and constrains social self-organization and human production processes transform natural structures and incorporate these very structures into society as means of production (technologies, raw materials. The economy is that part of the socio-sphere where the relationship between nature and the socio-sphere is established, the mediation is achieved by human labour processes. Nature enters the economic process as material input in the form of means of production (constant capital: machines, raw materials, auxiliary materials. Organized nature that is part of the production process in the form of technology increases the productivity of labour and hence reduces the costs of variable capital (total amount of wages and increases the speed of the production of surplus value. The production system of modern society is oriented on economic profit and productivity, ecological depletion and pollution are by-products of modernization. The Fordist production model that originated in the West and was copied by the Soviet Union is one of the major causes of the global
The Impact of Civil Society Organizations on Sustainable ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Civil society groups are agents of development in any nation. Civil society organizations appear to play important role in social, political and economic development activities. The transformation of any society or system, particularly the developing societies like Nigeria depend on the effectiveness and efficiency of its civil ...
Stutts, Amy; Schloemann, Johanna
2002-06-01
As medical knowledge and technology continue to increase, so will the ability to provide life-sustaining support to patients who otherwise would not survive. Along with these advances comes the responsibility of not only meeting the clinical needs of our patients, but also of understanding how the family's culture and spirituality will affect their perception of the situation and their decision-making process. As the U.S. continues to become a more culturally diverse society, health care professionals will need to make changes in their practice to meet the psychosocial needs of their patients and respect their treatment decisions. Part I of this series (April 2002) discussed how the cultural and spiritual belief systems of Baby S's family affected their decision-making processes and also their ability to cope with the impending death of their infant. The development of a culturally competent health care team can help bridge the gap between culturally diverse individuals. This article addresses the following questions: 1. What legal alternatives are available to the staff to protect the patient from suffering associated with the continuation of futile life-sustaining support? 2. What conflicts might the staff experience as a result of the continuation of futile life-sustaining support? 3. What efforts can be made to support members of the staff? 4. What can be done to prepare others in the health care professions to deal more effectively with ethical/cultural issues?
Analysis on The Society Indicator of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR of PT Antam
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nuraini Sari
2013-11-01
Full Text Available Stakeholders believe that CSR report of a company provides significant information as well as the financial information reported in financial statement. The purpose of this research is to analyze the comprehensiveness and information on society indicator stated in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (version 3.1 provides indicators to analyze the CSR of company. This research focuses on society aspect as one of the performance indicators. Comprehensive reporting contains three types of information: (i vision and goals, (ii management approach, and (iii performance indicator. The methodology used in this research was data collection. This research analyzed the disclosure of society aspect by PT Antam on their financial statement and annual CSR report for the year 2012. The result of this research explains that PT Antam’s sustainability report for the year 2012 was comprehensive because they reported all the six aspects of society indicator. However, PT Antam failed to report the total value of financial and in kind contributions to political parties, politicians, and related institutions by country (SO6 as part of public policy aspect in their sustainability report.
CLAIMS OF SUSTAINABLE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Susanne Balslev
Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of current practices within the emergent management discipline: Sustainable Facilities Management (SFM). Background: To develop a sustainable society, facilities managers must become change agents for sustainability in the built...... environment. Facilities Management (FM) is contributing to the environmental, social and economical problems, but can at the same time also be a part of the solution. However, to integrate sustainability in FM is still an emergent niche within FM, and the examples of SFM so far seems to come out of very......-creating of new socio-technical services and technologies These SFM understandings are concluded to be coexisting claims of SFM definitions. Practical Implications: Facilities managers will be able to identify the mindset behind different services and technologies that are promoted as SFM. But maybe just...
Netherlands climate policy to be revised. Towards a cost-effective, sustainable society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Van Dorp, H.W.; Schmitz, H.
2009-01-01
This is the second article in a series of two. The first article addresses current Dutch energy policy by means of an important energy formula and calculations were made based on 7.2 million Dutch dwellings. This article addresses climate policy with a comparison of the social cost on the level of new housing construction of both policy lines. More specifically, the investment effect of carbon dioxide storage in the soil in Barendrecht and Geleen, both Netherlands, is discussed as well as the annual investment in the 220 and 380 kV high voltage grid. Some recommendations and necessary policy adjustments are suggested that will strengthen the competitive edge of the SMBs compared to large energy companies and will help realize a truly affordable sustainable society [nl
Winter University 2017. Urban rivers as a part of sustainable development
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Valeria Nuyanzina
2017-03-01
Full Text Available The article presents proposals worked out by the international teams that took part in the 18th session of International Baikal Winter University of Urban Planning. The session focused on small rivers rehabilitation as a part of sustainable development. Through the case study of the Ushakovka River in Irkutsk, the teams proposed new ideas of riverfront development, which can be also applied to other small rivers.
How may consumer policy empower consumers for sustainable lifestyles?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Thøgersen, John
At least judged by its outcome, it seems that consumers in the rich parts of the world make less of an effort at changing their lifestyle in a sustainable direction than is desired by society and than is in their own collective long-term interest. Part of the explanations is that individual......'s striving for sustainability. The relevant external conditions are an extremely diverse set of factors, perhaps their only commonality being that, unless making an organized effort, consumers can do nothing about them. Because external conditions influence all or many consumers, making them more...... facilitating for sustainable consumption can be much more effective than anything an individual consumer can do. Many of the external constraints facing consumers who want to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle are of a relative nature and their impact depends on the individual's resources. For instance...
Social Value Orientation and Capitalism in Societies.
Shahrier, Shibly; Kotani, Koji; Kakinaka, Makoto
2016-01-01
Cooperation and competition are core issues in various fields, since they are claimed to affect the evolution of human societies and ecological organizations. A long-standing debate has existed on how social behaviors and preferences are shaped with culture. Considering the economic environment as part of culture, this study examines whether the ongoing modernization of competitive societies, called "capitalism," affects the evolution of people's social preferences and behaviors. To test this argument, we implemented field experiments of social value orientation and surveys with 1002 respondents for three different areas of Bangladesh: (i) rural, (ii) transitional and (iii) capitalistic societies. The main result reveals that with the evolution from rural to capitalistic societies, people are likely to be less prosocial and more likely to be competitive. In a transitional society, there is a considerable proportion of "unidentified" people, neither proself nor prosocial, implying the potential existence of unstable states during a transformation period from rural to capitalistic societies. We also find that people become more proself with increasing age, education and number of children. These results suggest that important environmental, climate change or sustainability problems, which require cooperation rather than competition, will pose more danger as societies become capitalistic.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Vares, S.; Pulakka, S.; Toratti, T. [and others
2012-11-01
This report is the second part of the final report of Sustainable refurbishment of building facades and exterior walls (SUSREF). SUSREF project was a collaborative (small/medium size) research project within the 7th Framework Programme of the Commission and it was financed under the theme Environment (including climate change) (Grant agreement no. 226858). The project started in October 1st 2009 and ended in April 30th 2012. The project included 11 partners from five countries. SUSREF developed sustainable concepts and technologies for the refurbishment of building facades and external walls. This report together with SUSREF Final report Part B and SUSREF Final Report Part C introduce the main results of the project. Part A focuses on methodological issues. The descriptions of the concepts and the assessment results of the developed concepts are presented in SUSREF Final report part B (generic concepts) and SUSREF Final report Part C (SME concepts). The following list shows the sustainability assessment criteria defined by the SUSREF project. These are Durability; Impact on energy demand for heating; Impact on energy demand for cooling; Impact on renewable energy use potential; Impact on daylight; Environmental impact of manufacture and maintenance; Indoor air quality and acoustics; Structural stability; Fire safety; Aesthetic quality; Effect on cultural heritage; Life cycle costs; Need for care and maintenance; Disturbance to the tenants and to the site; Buildability. This report presents sustainability assessment results of general refurbishment concepts and gives recommendations on the basis of the results. The report covers the following refurbishment cases - External insulation - Internal insulation - Cavity wall insulation - Replacement Insulation during renovation.
International Partnerships for Sustainable Societies | IDRC ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
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Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fabio Caporali
Full Text Available In the framework of the 16th National Meeting of the Italian Ecological Society (“Global Change, Ecological Diversity and Sustainability”, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, 19-22 September 2006, a symposium was devoted to “Agroecology and Sustainable Development”. A major goal of this symposium was to contribute to keeping the dialogue among the experts of the various disciplines alive. Sustainability of agriculture is a challenge for society world wide. Universities and society as a whole have a responsibility in re-examining current perception of nature, of the world and of human society in the light of natural resources depletion, increasing pollution and social inequalities. The urgency to address sustainability issues is increasingly being reflected in the manner in which institutions of higher education around the world are giving priority to the teaching, research and practice of sustainability. The University of Tuscia is involved in international initiatives concerning teaching and research in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture.
Nuclear energy and sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Arts, F.; De Ruiter, W.; Turkenburg, W.C.
1994-01-01
The purposes of the title workshop were to exchange ideas on the possible impact of nuclear energy on the sustainable development of the society, to outline the marginal conditions that have to be fulfilled by nuclear energy technology to fit in into sustainable development, to asses and determine the differences or agreements of the workshop participants and their argumentations, and to determine the part that the Netherlands could or should play with respect to a further development and application of nuclear energy. 35 Dutch experts in the field of energy and environment attended the workshop which is considered to be a success. It is recommended to organize a follow-up workshop
Technical Education--The Key to Sustainable Technological Development
Odo, J. U.; Okafor, W. C.; Odo, A. L.; Ejikeugwu, L. N.; Ugwuoke, C. N.
2017-01-01
Technical education has been identified as one of the most effective human resource development that needs to be embraced for rapid industrialization and sustainable technological development of any nation. Technical education has been an integral part of national development in many societies because of its impact on productivity and economic…
The party's over: oil, war and the fate of industrial societies
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Heinberg, Richard
2003-01-01
... - a transitional era of dwindling energy supplies, resource wars, and industrial collapse. If societies a century from now have managed to learn how to live peacefully, modestly, and sustainably, it may be at least partly because the advice in this timely book was heeded. - Thom Hartmann, author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and Unequal Protection...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki; Goto, Mika
2014-01-01
A balance between industrial pollution prevention and economic growth becomes a world-wide issue to develop a sustainable society in many industrial nations. To discuss the issue, this study proposes a new use of DEA environmental assessment to determine how to effectively allocate capital for developing regional industries. The amount of capital is used to invest for technology innovation for both local economic growth and environmental protection. In this study, the proposed approach separates outputs into desirable and undesirable categories. Inputs are also separated into two categories, one of which indicates an amount of investment on capital assets. The other category is used for production activities. The proposed approach unifies them by two disposability concepts. This study has evaluated the performance of manufacturing industries in 47 prefectures (local government units in Japan) by Unified Efficiency under Natural disposability (UEN), Unified Efficiency under Managerial disposability (UEM) and Unified Efficiency under Natural and Managerial disposability (UENM). The UENM is further separated into its two cases: with and without a possible occurrence on desirable congestion, or technology innovation, on undesirable outputs. This study has empirically confirmed that Japanese manufacturing industries need to make their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution substances by investing in technology innovation. Furthermore, most of economic activities are currently located at metropolitan regions (e.g., Tokyo) in Japan. To develop a sustainable society, Japan needs to allocate capital into regions with a high level of investment effectiveness by shifting the manufacturing industries from the metropolitan regions to much promising local areas identified in this study. Such a shift, along with technology innovation, makes it possible to reduce air pollutions in the entire Japan by balancing economic growth and pollution prevention. This
Dazzi, Carmelo; Fullen, Michael A.; Costantini, Edoardo A. C.; Theocharopoulos, Sid; Rickson, Jane; Kasparinskis, Raimonds; Lo Papa, Giuseppe; Peres, Guenola; Sholten, Thomas; Kertész, Adam; Vasenev, Ivan; Dumitru, Mihail; Cornelis, Wim; Rubio, José L.
2017-04-01
Soil is an integral component of the global environmental system that supports the quality and diversity of terrestrial life on Earth. Therefore, it is vital to consider the processes and impacts of soil degradation on society, especially on the provision of environmental goods and services, including food security and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Scientific societies devoted to Soil Science play significant roles in promoting soil security by advancing scientific knowledge, education and environmental sustainability. The European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC) was founded in Ghent (Belgium) on 4 November 1988 by a group of 23 researchers from several European countries. It is an interdisciplinary, non-political association with over 500 members in 56 countries. The ESSC produces and distributes a hardcopy Newsletter twice a year and maintains both a website and Facebook page: http://www.soilconservation.eu/ https://www.facebook.com/European-Society-for-Soil-Conservation-ESSC-100528363448094/ The ESSC aims to: • Support research on soil degradation, soil protection and soil and water conservation. • Provide a network for the exchange of knowledge about soil degradation processes and soil conservation research and practises. • Produce publications on major issues relating to soil degradation and soil and water conservation. • Advise regulators and policy-makers on soil issues, especially soil degradation, protection and conservation. The ESSC held its First International Congress in Silsoe (UK) in 1992. Further International Congresses were held in Munich (1996), Valencia (2000), Budapest (2004), Palermo (2007), Thessaloniki (2011) and Moscow (2015). The Eighth International Congress will be held in Lleida (Spain) in June 2017: http://www.consowalleida2017.com/ Interspersed between these international congresses, the ESSC organizes annual international conferences on specific topics. These include Imola, Italy (Biogeochemical Processes at
PERFORMANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR FROM ROMANIA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Raluca Andreea POPA
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Performance became a very important topic especially when it comes into discussion the idea of sustainability. If we think to the value added and the level of employees, an important sector for our society and economy is the Manufacturing because it provides a high value added to GDP (gross domestic product and also provides a high amount of work places at European level and also in Romania. The main goal of this paper is to analyse the performance of the largest enterprises from Romania that are part from the Manufacturing sector. This very large enterprises could be trend setters in their subindustries for the small and medium ones. The paper is composed from three parts. In the first part it is analysed the literature developed by specialist in the domain of sustainability and financial performance. The second part is an overview of the evolution of Manufacturing sector in the past years and the last one comes to underline the performances of this sector by analysing the evolution of specific indicators regarding the sustainability and performance of enterprise. In conclusion’s side there are made some suggestions about the importance of this sector for Romania’s economy and also for a sustainable development.
Digital sustainability: basic conditions for sustainable digital artifacts and their ecosystems
Stürmer, Matthias; Abu-Tayeh, Gabriel; Myrach, Thomas
2017-01-01
The modern age has heralded a shift from the industrial society, in which natural resources are crucial input factors for the economy, towards a knowledge society. To date, sustainability literature has treated knowledge—and in particular digital artifacts—mainly as a means to the end of achieving sustainable development. In this conceptual paper, we argue that digital artifacts themselves ought also to be considered as resources, which also need to be sustainable. While over-consumption is a...
Designing sustainable work systems: the need for a systems approach.
Zink, Klaus J
2014-01-01
There is a growing discussion concerning sustainability. While this discussion was at first mainly focused on a society level--and sometimes regarding especially environmental problems, one can now see that this topic is of increasing relevance for companies worldwide and even the social dimension of this three pillar approach is gaining more and more importance. This leads to some questions: Is sustainability already a part of human factors thinking or do we have to further develop our discipline? How can we define sustainable work systems? What are the topics we have to consider? Do we need a new systems ergonomics perspective regarding whole value creation chains and a life-cycle perspective concerning products (and work systems)? How can we deal with potential contradictions about social, ecological, and economic goals? Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.
Nuclear fuel: sustainable source of energy or burden on society?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Williams, T.; Klaiber, G.
2007-01-01
In the past, the question concerning the sustainability of a resource primarily addressed its finite nature. Accordingly, electricity production using renewable energies was clearly sustainable. Contrasting this are systems based on oil, gas, coal or uranium. However, from the perspective of 'neo-sustainability' being analyzed today, this assessment appears less clear-cut, especially in light of the definition of sustainability as provided by the Brundtland report. Nowadays, the depletion time of fuel resources is thus not the only significant aspect, but factors such as efficiency, ecofriendliness and social responsibility also figure in. The nuclear fuel supply is analyzed from a sustainability perspective. After a short description of the supply chain, each of the most important aspects of sustainability are related to the individual stages of the supply chain and evaluated. This method aims at answering the question concerning to what extent nuclear fuel is a sustainable source of energy. Although the recycling of fissile materials from reprocessing and the deployment of advanced reactors are key factors as regards the issue of sustainability, these topics are deliberately only touched on. The main focus lies on the sustainability of the nuclear fuel cycle as it is currently utilized in light water reactors, without discussing the subject of reprocessing. (orig.)
Social Value Orientation and Capitalism in Societies
Shahrier, Shibly; Kakinaka, Makoto
2016-01-01
Cooperation and competition are core issues in various fields, since they are claimed to affect the evolution of human societies and ecological organizations. A long-standing debate has existed on how social behaviors and preferences are shaped with culture. Considering the economic environment as part of culture, this study examines whether the ongoing modernization of competitive societies, called “capitalism,” affects the evolution of people’s social preferences and behaviors. To test this argument, we implemented field experiments of social value orientation and surveys with 1002 respondents for three different areas of Bangladesh: (i) rural, (ii) transitional and (iii) capitalistic societies. The main result reveals that with the evolution from rural to capitalistic societies, people are likely to be less prosocial and more likely to be competitive. In a transitional society, there is a considerable proportion of “unidentified” people, neither proself nor prosocial, implying the potential existence of unstable states during a transformation period from rural to capitalistic societies. We also find that people become more proself with increasing age, education and number of children. These results suggest that important environmental, climate change or sustainability problems, which require cooperation rather than competition, will pose more danger as societies become capitalistic. PMID:27792756
Social Value Orientation and Capitalism in Societies.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shibly Shahrier
Full Text Available Cooperation and competition are core issues in various fields, since they are claimed to affect the evolution of human societies and ecological organizations. A long-standing debate has existed on how social behaviors and preferences are shaped with culture. Considering the economic environment as part of culture, this study examines whether the ongoing modernization of competitive societies, called "capitalism," affects the evolution of people's social preferences and behaviors. To test this argument, we implemented field experiments of social value orientation and surveys with 1002 respondents for three different areas of Bangladesh: (i rural, (ii transitional and (iii capitalistic societies. The main result reveals that with the evolution from rural to capitalistic societies, people are likely to be less prosocial and more likely to be competitive. In a transitional society, there is a considerable proportion of "unidentified" people, neither proself nor prosocial, implying the potential existence of unstable states during a transformation period from rural to capitalistic societies. We also find that people become more proself with increasing age, education and number of children. These results suggest that important environmental, climate change or sustainability problems, which require cooperation rather than competition, will pose more danger as societies become capitalistic.
Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) WasteWise Data
EPA??s WasteWise encourages organizations and businesses to achieve sustainability in their practices and reduce select industrial wastes. WasteWise is part of EPA??s sustainable materials management efforts, which promote the use and reuse of materials more productively over their entire lifecycles. All U.S. businesses, governments and nonprofit organizations can join WasteWise as a partner, endorser or both. Current participants range from small local governments and nonprofit organizations to large multinational corporations. Partners demonstrate how they reduce waste, practice environmental stewardship and incorporate sustainable materials management into their waste-handling processes. Endorsers promote enrollment in WasteWise as part of a comprehensive approach to help their stakeholders realize the economic benefits to reducing waste. WasteWise helps organizations reduce their impact on global climate change through waste reduction. Every stage of a product's life cycle??extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal??indirectly or directly contributes to the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere and affects the global climate. WasteWise is part of EPA's larger SMM program (https://www.epa.gov/smm). Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) is a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles. It represents a change in how our society thinks about the use of natural resources
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hakkinen, T. (ed.)
2012-11-01
This report is the final report of Sustainable refurbishment of building facades and exterior walls (SUSREF). SUSREF project was a collaborative (small/medium size) research project within the 7th Framework Programme of the Commission and it was financed under the theme Environment (including climate change) (Grant agreement no. 226858). The project started in October 1st 2009 and ended in April 30th 2012. The project included 11 partners from five countries. SUSREF developed sustainable concepts and technologies for the refurbishment of building facades and external walls. This report together with SUSREF Final report Part B and SUSREF Final Report Part C introduce the main results of the project. Part A focuses on methodological issues. The descriptions of the concepts and the assessment results of the developed concepts are presented in SUSREF Final report part B (generic concepts) and SUSREF Final report Part C (SME concepts). (orig.)
The Impact of Civil Society Organizations on Sustainable ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Toshiba
society organizations appear to play important role in social, political and economic ... depend on the effectiveness and efficiency of its civil societies. This ..... media provided a strong leadership and organized protests against unpopular ...
Openness to civil society: The challenges for the TSOs
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Petitfrere, M.; Rollinger, F.
2007-01-01
Society's concerns have led to changes in the legal framework towards a greater requirement for public information and participation in decision-making processes. International organisations such as the OECD/NEA and the IAEA have also made similar changes. What changes are necessary to the way TSOs work to make space for a fourth player - the population - in controlling radiological and nuclear risk? Society's participation varies from access to existing information to a desire to participate in expert assessments in a pluralistic assessment process. IRSN has made openness to civil society one of its four strategic priorities, and a dedicated team is responsible for carrying out actions in consultation with players from civil society, including the local information committees (CLIs). These actions lie at the heart of IRSN's strategy, because it is only by developing experimental expert assessment processes involving parts of civil society that both sides can learn from one another. Two pluralistic expert groups have been set up on radiological protection, and their innovative method of operation is worth highlighting. Another participative action is the development jointly with the CLIs in the Loire basin of methods of collecting environmental monitoring data. Finally, to accompany and promote this new approach internally, an internal network dedicated to stakeholder involvement has been set up. IRSN also intends to take advantage of existing experiences elsewhere. These moves towards joint expert assessment are an inevitable development that demands a real change of culture on the part of all players, putting technical issues as part of a broader process of evaluation and decision-making. Actually, they form part of a sustainable development approach. (author)
Social Media Facebook @oasofficial Facebook Twitter @oas_official Twitter Newsletters Documents OAS Technology Social Development Summits of the Americas Sustainable Development T Telecommunications Terrorism Tourism Trade Treaties and Agreements W Women Y Youth Strategic Partners Permanent Observers Civil Society
Kommers, Piet, Ed.; Issa, Tomayess, Ed.; Issa, Theodora, Ed.; McKay, Elspeth, Ed.; Isias, Pedro, Ed.
2016-01-01
These proceedings contain the papers and posters of the International Conferences on Internet Technologies & Society (ITS 2016), Educational Technologies (ICEduTech 2016) and Sustainability, Technology and Education (STE 2016), which have been organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and…
Sustainability, Transformational Leadership, and Social Entrepreneurship
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Etayankara Muralidharan
2018-02-01
Full Text Available This article examines the extent to which culturally endorsed transformational leadership theories (CLTs and the sustainability of society, both considered societal level institutional indicators, impact the emergence of social entrepreneurship. Using 107,738 individual-level responses from 27 countries for the year 2009 obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM survey, and supplementing with country-level data obtained from Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE and Sustainability Society Foundation (SSF, our findings from multilevel analysis show that transformational CLTs and sustainability conditions of society positively influence the likelihood of individuals becoming social entrepreneurs. Further, the effectiveness of transformational CLTs matters more for social entrepreneurship when the sustainability of society is low, which suggests the interaction between cultural leadership styles and societal sustainability. This article contributes to comparative entrepreneurship research by introducing strong cultural antecedents of social entrepreneurship in transformational CLTs and societal sustainability. We discuss various implications and limitations of our study, and we suggest directions for future research.
Sustainable collaboration : The impact of governance and institutions on sustainable performance
Niesten, Eva; Jolink, Albert; Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz; Chappin, Maryse; Lozano, Rodrigo
2017-01-01
Collaboration between firms is important to stimulate the transition to a more sustainable society. This special volume shows that collaboration is indeed one of the preferred forms of governance to manage relations between firms in a sustainability context. Collaboration enhances sustainable
The dual sustainability of wind energy
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Welch, Jonathan B.; Venkateswaran, Anand [413 Hayden Hall, College of Business, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 (United States)
2009-06-15
Academics, practitioners, and policy makers continue to debate the benefits and costs of alternative sources of energy. Environmental and economic concerns have yet to be fully reconciled. One view is that decisions that incorporate both society's concern with the environment and investors' desire for shareholder value maximization are more likely to be truly sustainable. We coin the term dual sustainability to mean the achievement of environmental and financial sustainability simultaneously. Many experts believe that wind energy can help to meet society's needs without harming future generations. It is clean and renewable. Because the fuel is free it provides the ultimate in energy independence. Wind energy has emerged as a leading prospect, in part, because it is considered by many to be environmentally sustainable. However, a key question that remains is whether wind energy is financially sustainable without the extensive government support that has helped to create and nurture this growth industry. Using reliable, proprietary data from field research, our analysis employs a capital budgeting framework to evaluate the financial economics of investments in wind energy. We find that because of the convergence of improved technology, greater efficiency, and with the increasing cost of traditional, competing sources such as oil and natural gas, wind energy is close to becoming self-sustaining financially without the extensive federal government support that exists today. Wind energy can provide the best of both worlds. It is sustainable from an environmental perspective and it is becoming sustainable financially. In short, those companies investing in wind energy will be able to do well by doing good. Perhaps the achievement of dual sustainability is true sustainability. Our research findings and dual sustainability have several interesting and important implications for public policy towards wind energy. All imply that public policy can now be
Engineering Sustainability: A Technical Approach to Sustainability
Rosen, Marc A.
2012-01-01
Sustainability is a critically important goal for human activity and development. Sustainability in the area of engineering is of great importance to any plans for overall sustainability given 1) the pervasiveness of engineering activities in societies, 2) their importance in economic development and living standards, and 3) the significant impacts that engineering processes and systems have had, and continue to have, on the environment. Many factors that need to be considered and appropriate...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Arend, M
2004-07-01
This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) is one of a series of reports concerning municipal development in various cities in Switzerland. The four city districts involved include Basel (Gundeldinger Feld), Lausanne (Bellevaux), Lucerne (Basel-/Bernstrasse) and Zurich (Werdwies). This paper takes a look at society aspects in the four districts and examines the factors that influence the sustainable development of the districts. Topics discussed include basic residential needs, safety, health, and supply along with culture and education. Also examined are the possible topics equality and fairness and participation along with geographical reference and neighbourhood relations. A project for this area of investigation is suggested.
Theoretical and substantive concept of sustainable close-to-nature managed progress
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dušan Plut
2005-12-01
Full Text Available Implementation of the principles of sustainability in the economic, social and environmental field means that organisation and (material operation of a society is permanently adapted to the environment. Sustainable close-to-naturemanaged development, or in a broader sense progress, means permanent (sustainable and simultaneous improvement of material, social and environmental quality of life, thus a permanent raise of the welfare in its broader sense of all inhabitants within the capacities (limitations of the environment. The opportunity of geography is to take an active part in the realisation of close-to-nature managed patterns of the spatial organisation of human activity.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Turcu, Ilie
2010-01-01
The Proceedings of the 'NUCLEAR 2010 international conference on sustainable development through nuclear research and education' held at INR-Pitesti on May, 26 - 28 2010 contain communications published in two parts. The second part contains 34 talks adressing themes of nuclear energy, in the following three sections: Section 2.1 - Radioactive waste management (13 papers); Section 2.2 and 3 - Radioprotection and air, water and soil protection (12 papers); Section 3.1 - Strategies in energy (3 papers); Section 3.2 - Education, continuous formation, and knowledge transfer (1 paper); Section 3. - International Partnership for a sustainable development (2 papers); Section 3.4 - Research infrastructure (3 papers)
Sustainable development in agriculture: is it really sustainable?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Singh, S.R.K.; Srinivas, K.; Kumar, L.R.; Gupta, H.S.
2005-01-01
Indian agriculture has achieved remarkable success in the food grain production due to inception of 'rainbow revolution', which made the country self-sufficient in food production. Sustainable agriculture (SA) is an ongoing process, in which people take actions leading to development of agriculture that meets their current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It advocates avoiding all those actions, which reduce the ability of future generations to meet out the present generations. It is based on the optimal interaction between clean environment, healthy economy, and vital society by avoiding trade-off of problems to other regions on to the future. Moreover, sustainable agriculture is the function of people's progress and nature's capacity. In fact, SA commits us to considering the long-term effect and to recognize our place within the ecosystem. It encourages a continuous reflection on the implications of human activity on the ecosystem. Empirical evidences shows that in the race of self-sufficiency in food grain production, we compromised a lot on social and environmental fronts. The aftermath of green revolution is not so sustainable as it showed reverse side too, in the form of environmental degradation and ecological imbalances. Such threats have led to the need for promoting sustainable development in agriculture. Due to several unsustainable activities which resulted in resource degradation in the form of top soil loss, ground water depletion and forest degradation. The average soil loss is estimated to be over 16 tonnes/ha/year. The ground water depletion resulted in several blocks as 'grey blocks' and 'dark blocks'. This happened mainly due to increase in number of tube-wells and free supply of electricity making the cost of pumping water very low. Rate of human induced land degradation is very high. Out of total geographical area of 329.0 million ha, 187 million ha (57.0 %) are reported to have degraded, of
Sustainability transitions in the perspective of ecological macroeconomics
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Røpke, Inge
2013-01-01
Globally, societies are facing a number of serious environmental, economic and social crises. Although the multiple crises are interrelated, research communities tend to be organised around specific complexes of problems. This paper is intended to contribute to the development of an ecological...... macroeconomics that addresses multiple crises by including insights from different, partly overlapping research communities. The main idea is to explore the usefulness of combining three different system perspectives in the study of sustainability transitions: socio-technical provision systems, distributional...... systems and macroeconomic systems. First, the theoretical concept of sustainability and the different system perspectives are outlined, and then the perspectives are brought together in the discussion of a specific topic that is key to sustainable transition: the need for considerable resources to invest...
The Reputation Crisis: Risk Management Based Logical Framework to the Corporate Sustainability
Yilmaz, Ayse Kucuk; Kucuk, Ferziye
2010-01-01
Risk is a constituent part of both the business and the society in which we survive. Reputation is valuable assest for corporates in sustainable way. Integrating risk management with strategy-setting, such as an enterprise risk management (ERM) approach, helps an organization manage its risks to protect and enhance enterprise value in three ways. First, it helps to establish sustainable competitive advantage. Second, it optimizes the cost of managing risk. Third, it helps management improve b...
Increasing the Sustainability of Museums through International Strategy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Izabela Luiza POP
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Museums use resources in order to provide public goods and services. The most important sources of income for many museums are budgetary subsidies. Unfortunately, these grants are limited and shrinking. In this context, during the last years the need for sustainable development of museums was stressed. In order to continue to operate, museums were forced to find ways of increasing their own income and keeping their costs under control. Thus museums have begun to use management and marketing strategies similar to those used by private companies. This paper examines the positive effects of international strategy implementation on museums’ sustainability. The first part of the paper explains why it is necessary to reform the traditional management of museums, which its main development directions are, what the sustainable development of museums is and why they should become sustainable. In the second part our research conducted on three museums (Guggenheim, Louvre, Hermitage shows that international expansion helps museums to increase their sustainability. The international strategy enables museums to increase their revenue, through licensing agreements, reduce their storage costs, highlight their heritage, improve their market image and be closer to consumers. Thus, through a strategy applied until recently only in the private sector, museums can improve their sustainability, but also better fulfill their purpose of serving the society.
Sustaining the wild equals sustaining the world.
Nelson, G
1994-01-01
Sustainable development and carrying capacity are concepts that denote meeting society's needs without compromising the survival of future generations. The United States and other industrialized countries are pursuing a self-destructive course when fueling their economies by consuming their capital and degrading and depleting their resource base. Maximum exploitation of all resources has been the guiding ethic without paying respect to the environmental consequences. A sustainable society is still possible if strong political leadership and an ecologically literate society with an environmental ethic evolves. In the 1990s the world's population is calculated to increase to 6.3 billion people, the population of the United States already exceeds its carrying capacity and neither of these population increases are sustainable in the long run. In 1916 the US had 98 million people, and in 1994 it had about 260 million and it is still growing. The consequences are already obvious: the National Park System had just 358,000 visitors in 1916, 33 million in 1950, 172 million in 1970, and over 270 million in 1993. Often economists are an impediment to a sustainable economy because they fail to factor in the accumulated environmental deficit or annual cost of environmental deterioration when measuring annual economic output. Fortunately, in the US a conservation ethic is beginning to develop that will eventually become a strong social, political, and economic force. For instance, Wisconsin has mandated environmental education in every school from kindergarten through 12th grade. Such a program will provide the moral and political support to move the country to a sustainable economy. Even losing nations have recovered from World War II, but there is no recovery from destroyed ecosystems.
Power Electronics and Renewable Energy Systems – a perfect match for a sustainable society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Frede Blaabjerg
2015-08-01
Full Text Available The energy consumption is steadily increasing very rapid due to more people on the earth, betterliving conditions as well as we are trying to live in areas where the energy demand is high. Theeconomy growth in the last century has not been possible without low prize of energy which has beenachieved by fossil fuels. Looking into the future – the fossil fuel resources have a time limit – whichcan appear faster than expected – both because of the limited resources but also because the marketcan suddenly increase the prize. Therefore there is a demand to come up with sustainable energysolutions for energy production like wind turbines, hydro power as well as photovoltaics. At the sametime it is evident that by the use of new technology it is possible to make energy saving. In bothsituations power electronics are making this possible – we are using power electronics to interfacerenewable sources to maximize the energy yield from wind turbines and photovoltaics as well assmoothly integrate it to the grid. Also in many applications we use power electronics to interface a loadwith the grid and control the behavior of the electrical equipment according to the demand. In manycases power electronics is able to ensure a large amount of energy saving like in pumps, compressorsas well as in ventilation systems. Also the transportation gain a lot of using electricity instead of fossilfuel – clearly made possible due to the power electronics. Denmark is one of the societies which have been the frontier of implementing the renewabletechnology and has today covered more than 50 % of the electrical energy consumption by means ofrenewable and has as ambition to be fully independent on fossil fuels in 2050. Already in 2035 100 %of the electricity will be covered by renewables. At the same time the energy consumption has notreally increased for 20 years despite the GDP has grown by more than 60 % - much is enabled byenergy efficient technologies based on
For sustainable participation by civil society in Europe in the oversight of nuclear activities
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Delalonde, J.C.
2010-01-01
The Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, was signed in 1998 by the European Community and European countries including the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU). That same year, the Committee of the Regions adopted a resolution on nuclear safety and local and regional democracy. These two texts indicate strong political and legal recognition of access to information and participation in the nuclear field. Ten years later, it would seem to be important to observe how these principles are actually implemented. As of 2009, the ANCCLI and the European Commission opened an 18-month European dialogue on the practical application of the Aarhus Convention in the nuclear field. The principle of this approach, called ACN for Aarhus Convention and Nuclear, is to promote feedback about practical application of the Aarhus Convention in the nuclear field in the various European countries, and to share this feedback in order to identify both difficulties and good practices and to initiate progress jointly with the various stakeholders concerned (authorities, civil society, operators, experts, local authorities, etc.). It is also an opportunity to look at the conditions for sustainable participation by civil society in monitoring nuclear issues. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares
2016-03-01
Full Text Available Research on natural resource management suggests that local perceptions form the basis upon which many small-scale societies monitor availability and change in the stock of common-pool natural resources. In contrast, this literature debates whether local perceptions can be effective in guiding the sustainable management of natural resources. With empirical evidence on this matter still highly limited, we explored the role of local perceptions as drivers of harvesting and management behavior in a small-scale society in Bolivian Amazonia. We conducted structured interviews to capture local perceptions of availability and change in the stock of thatch palm (Geonoma deversa among the Tsimane', an indigenous society of foragers-horticulturalists (n = 296 adults in 13 villages. We analyzed whether perceptions of availability match estimates of abundance obtained from ecological data and whether differences in perception help to explain harvesting behavior and local management of thatch palm. Perceptions of availability of G. deversa are highly contingent upon the social, economic, and cultural conditions within which the Tsimane' have experienced changes in the availability of the resource, thus giving a better reflection of the historical, rather than of the ecological, dimensions of the changes undergone. Although local perceptions might fall short in precision when scrutinized from an ecological standpoint, their importance in informing sustainable management should not be underestimated. Our findings show that most of the harvesting and management actions that the Tsimane' undertake are, at least partially, shaped by their local perceptions. This paper contributes to the broader literature on natural resource management by providing empirical evidence of the critical role of local perceptions in promoting collective responses for the sustainable management of natural resources.
WHERE DOES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STAND IN RELATION TO SUSTAINABILITY?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nancy Diana Panta
2018-03-01
Full Text Available The business competitive landscape of today is shaped by new challenges. In order to outperform their peers, companies seek to seize opportunities and manage the risks associated with the challenges that arise. To this adds the pressure of societies on organizations to be more transparent, ethical and responsible. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR and sustainability come in response to this increasing demand of societies by being a pivotal tool in the business area. Organizations of the 21st century can no longer ignore CSR and sustainability and should follow the steps of integrating them across all departments as part of their strategic policy. Sustainable organizations are required to direct their interest beyond the economical factor and extend their goals towards environmental and social aspects. By integrating environmental and social concerns in the daily operations of a company, new models of doing business emerge and a synergy with various stakeholder groups takes place. Although a significant amount of attention has been headed towards the conceptualisation of CSR and sustainability, they both remain contested concepts. Therefore, the present paper depicts the effort to follow the emergence and conceptualization of CSR and sustainability from their origins, to introduce the changing meaning of CSR and to bridge the gap between the two concepts. Through literature review, the paper will provide relevant theoretical underpinnings that link CSR and sustainability.
Sustainable manufacturing challenges, solutions and implementation perspectives
Seliger, Günther; Bonvoisin, Jérémy
2017-01-01
Sustainability imposes an unprecedented challenge on society and has become the driving force of an urgent search for innovative solutions in all branches of economy. Manufacturing plays a key role in many areas of human living, and it is both part of the problem and of the solution. This book offers an overview of the broad field of research on sustainability in manufacturing with a particular focus on manufacturing technology and management. It summarizes the current challenges, describes best in class methods for development of sustainable manufacturing solutions and offers implementation perspectives. This volume covers areas of research such as production processes, product development, business model and corporate development, macro economy and education. The target audience primarily comprises research experts and practitioners in the field of manufacturing, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students. .
Foley, Rider Williams
Cities around the globe struggle with socio-economic disparities, resource inefficiency, environmental contamination, and quality-of-life challenges. Technological innovation, as one prominent approach to problem solving, promises to address these challenges; yet, introducing new technologies, such as nanotechnology, into society and cities has often resulted in negative consequences. Recent research has conceptually linked anticipatory governance and sustainability science: to understand the role of technology in complex problems our societies face; to anticipate negative consequences of technological innovation; and to promote long-term oriented and responsible governance of technologies. This dissertation advances this link conceptually and empirically, focusing on nanotechnology and urban sustainability challenges. The guiding question for this dissertation research is: How can nanotechnology be innovated and governed in responsible ways and with sustainable outcomes? The dissertation: analyzes the nanotechnology innovation process from an actor- and activities-oriented perspective (Chapter 2); assesses this innovation process from a comprehensive perspective on sustainable governance (Chapter 3); constructs a small set of future scenarios to consider future implications of different nanotechnology governance models (Chapter 4); and appraises the amenability of sustainability problems to nanotechnological interventions (Chapter 5). The four studies are based on data collected through literature review, document analysis, participant observation, interviews, workshops, and walking audits, as part of process analysis, scenario construction, and technology assessment. Research was conducted in collaboration with representatives from industry, government agencies, and civic organizations. The empirical parts of the four studies focus on Metropolitan Phoenix. Findings suggest that: predefined mandates and economic goals dominate the nanotechnology innovation process
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tejera Oliver, J. L.
2009-01-01
Mining activities are carried out by the older man and have provided resources, since ancient times, for their development and progress. With the discovery of fire will show the first metals that have marked the civilizations of copper, bronze and iron, and is the prehistory of the Stone Age tools that man has made from the exploitation of quarries first. The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century is linked to coal and steel, and could not conceiver of todays society without oil and gas, without silicon and coltan. But the mines are often aggressive and, despite their need and what they contribute to the development are answered by the societies where are made. during recent years there has been growing international efforts to try to make the minimum requirements of sustainable exploitation (European Directives, GMI, GRI, etc.) In AENOR, and within the Technical Committee of Standardization 22 Mining and Explosives, chaired by AITEMIN, was established the subcommittee 3, chaired by IGME, where, with the participation of all stake holders, have developed some standards on sustainable mining management sustainable mining that will be a tool available to mining companies to demonstrate their sustainable use to Society. (Author)
Moving Towards Sustainable Food Consumption : Identifying Barriers to Sustainable Student Diets
Ede, James; Graine, Sophia; Rhodes, Chris
2011-01-01
Adopting more sustainable consumption habits has been identified as a necessary step in the progression towards a sustainable society. In the area of sustainable consumption, personal food behaviour represents a strong leverage point. University students have been identified as a strategic audience; habits established during this transformative period can track forward into later life. This study seeks to identify the barriers inhibiting students from eating more sustainably. Perceived benefi...
Sustainable rural development and communicative learning
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Noe, Egon; Langvad, Anne-Mette
2006-01-01
Functional differentiation within society at large poses a major challenge to practising sustainable rural development. Multiplication of perspectives on sustainability calls for a theoretical position that is based on the integrity of each of the perspectives in play and for an approach that is ......Functional differentiation within society at large poses a major challenge to practising sustainable rural development. Multiplication of perspectives on sustainability calls for a theoretical position that is based on the integrity of each of the perspectives in play and for an approach...
The sustainability of our society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sommer, T.
1997-01-01
German society is in a crisis characterized by five criteria: the German unification process, globalization, social achievements, a crisis of meaning and of leadership. Five problems must be solved if the crisis is to be overcome: A new attitude to work and to technology must be found. After reunification, there is need for thorough renewal. The democratic system must give answers to the essential questions of social life and life in a community. A new leading elite with imagination, initiative, and responsibility for the 21st century must be found. What is needed, in a way, is the ethical equivalent of war and defeat. The present crisis should be the cause, and the reason, for seizing and opportunity it includes. (orig.) [de
The Two Faces of Sustainability : Fuzzy Evaluation of Sustainable Development
Cornelissen, T.
2003-01-01
An evaluative framework of sustainable development operates at both the production system level and the society level: objective information gathered at the production system level is given subjective meaning at the society level. The evaluative framework constitutes a complete cycle to monitor
Life Cycle Costing in Sustainability Assessment—A Case Study of Remanufactured Alternators
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Annekatrin Lehmann
2011-11-01
Full Text Available Sustainability is on the international agenda, and is a driver for industry in international competition. Sustainability encompasses the three pillars: environment, society and economy. To prevent shifting of burden, the whole life cycle needs to be taken into account. For the environmental dimension of sustainability, life cycle assessment (LCA has been practiced for a while and is a standardized method. A life cycle approach for the social and economic pillars of sustainability needs to be further developed. This paper investigates the application of life cycle costing (LCC as part of a wider sustainability assessment where also social life cycle assessment (SLCA and LCA are combined. LCA-type LCC is applied on a case study of remanufactured alternators. Remanufacturing of automobile parts is a fast growing important business with large potential for cost and resource savings. Three design alternatives for the alternator and three locations for the remanufacturing plant are evaluated. The remanufacturer perspective and the user perspective are investigated. The results for the LCA-type LCC show that the largest cost for the remanufacturer is the new parts replacing old warn parts. However, the user cost, and therein especially, cost for fuel used for the alternator’s power production dominates and should be the focus for further improvement. In conducting the case study, it was revealed that the connection between the LCA-type LCC results and the economic dimension of sustainability needs to be further investigated and defined. For this purpose, areas of protection for life cycle sustainability assessment and LCA-type LCC in particular need further development.
Intermediaries in sustainable urban transitions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hoffmann, Birgitte; Agger, Annika
´s, or semi public institutions. Our claim is that interme-diary actors have the potential to reach a broader scope of citizens due to their particular role in between public au-thorities and civil society. The key question of the paper is how the intermediary actors facilitate citizens' participatory...... processes in sustainable urban management and the paper explores the development of communities of practise as a way to develop learning processes and new practises? The aim is to analyse approaches of involving citizens and how they contribute to the development of new actor configurations in urban social...... the development of new practises plays a part in multi level transitions. Empirically, the article is based on case studies from Denmark of local environmental centres, green guides etc. that have performed innovative forms of involving citizens in sustainable urban development. The empirical material...
De Silva, M J
2015-04-01
There have been repeated calls to include mental health in the sustainable development goals (SDGs), arguing that progress in development will not be made without improvements in mental health. Although these calls are starting to gain political traction, currently only a tiny fraction of international development work includes mental health. A social determinants framework may be useful in incorporating mental health into sustainable development because it promotes a multi-sectorial and multi-disciplinary approach which is the corner stone of good development practice. Two approaches are suggested to make mental health a part of sustainable development: (1) integrate mental health into existing development programmes to promote social and economic environments that prevent mental health problems developing; (2) ensure that mental health programmes are better at promoting sustainable development by preventing the negative social and economic consequences of mental illness. Real-world examples of these approaches are provided. To achieve this, the mental health impact of wider development programmes, and the social and economic consequences of mental health interventions, must be evaluated. Development agencies should ensure that they have equity for mental health in all their policies, and investment must be increased for those mental health prevention, promotion and treatment programmes which have the greatest impact on sustainable development. The SDGs bring the promise of a more holistic approach to development. It is now the task of global mental health to demonstrate not just that mental health is an integral part of sustainable development, but that affordable and effective solutions exist which can improve mental health and development more broadly.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cory Searcy
2017-12-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to explore the role of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs in sustainable supply chains. I argue that MSIs are needed to help establish and institutionalize the natural and social thresholds in which a sustainable supply chain must operate. While a multitude of MSIs relevant to supply chains already exist, they do not yet adequately address sustainability thresholds. Building on theory and literature, I elaborate on four interrelated roles for MSIs in this area: (1 providing learning platforms, (2 developing standards, (3 developing enforcement mechanisms, and (4 issuing labels and certifications. All four roles emphasize the need for supply chains to operate within the thresholds set by nature and society. Staying within thresholds is what distinguishes between sustainable and unsustainable supply chains. The four roles form part of a broader conceptual framework outlining a way forward for MSIs in sustainable supply chains. Different MSIs could address one or more of these roles. I argue that all MSIs must be developed with special attention to their input and output legitimacy. Stakeholders from both within and beyond the supply chain must be involved in developing and implementing a MSI for it to be viewed as legitimate. I note that the conceptual framework presented here is a starting point. It would benefit from further testing and refinement. For example, future work could add further specificity to the four roles I discuss. Future research could also focus on integrating economic thresholds for sustainable supply chains into the framework.
Sustainable Business Models - A Need For New And Sustainable Business Models
Heir, Nina
2016-01-01
Business plays a key role for the sustainable development of the society. However, business models of today do not have a sustainable perspective, indicating that they do not balance the three dimensions of sustainability; the social, environmental and economical dimension. A change at the business model level is therefore required for sustainable business models to become the new business models of tomorrow. The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of how companies can con...
Dobon, A.; Cordero, P.; Pereira da Silva, F.I.D.G.; Ostergaard, S.R.; Antvorskov, H.; Robertsson, M.; Smolander, M.; Hortal, M.
2011-01-01
This paper is the second part of a two-paper series dealing with the sustainability evaluation of a new communicative packaging concept. The communicative packaging concept includes a device that allows changing the expiry date of the product as function of temperature during transport and storage:
ICT for society through society: Application of code-sprints as entrepreneurial enabler
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Coetzee, L
2010-08-31
Full Text Available Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) is faced with the challenge of creating sustainable and innovative success stories which speak to the creation of an inclusive digital society. Initial attempts at ICT4D had limited...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Arend, M.
2004-07-01
This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) is one of a series of reports concerning municipal development in various cities in Switzerland. The four city districts involved include Basel (Gundeldinger Feld), Lausanne (Bellevaux), Lucerne (Basel-/Bernstrasse) and Zurich (Werdwies). This paper takes a look at society aspects in the four districts and examines the factors that influence the sustainable development of the districts. Topics discussed include basic residential needs, safety, health, and supply along with culture and education. Also examined are the possible topics equality and fairness and participation along with geographical reference and neighbourhood relations. A project for this area of investigation is suggested.
Occupational ethis sustainable a global society
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Nilton Cesar Flores
2015-09-01
Full Text Available The thematic working environment reproduces the complexities of the risks in a globalized world. In imbricar the interrelationship of this globalization movement of the economy and productive restructuring that triggers a series of social consequences. While globalization and the emergence of new technologies benefited the man, however, they gave up the cost of a degree of disregard and neglect the integrity of those involved in the process. Thus arises the need for new approaches to law. To this end, the study overcomes the theory of shallow ecology and of the understanding of the theory of deep ecology without it looses its essence, proposing an analysis focused on the human element within the web of life, indicating a new guiding principle: sustainable occupational ethics.
Sustainable development - opening address 29th Annual Canadian Nuclear Society Conference
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lamarre, P.
2008-01-01
This paper discusses sustainable development which in a broad sense incorporates three dimensions: economic growth, environmental protection, and social welfare. The challenge for sustainable development is to address these three dimensions in a balanced way
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Moutsios, Stavros
in Europe. Elaborating on the Castoriadian ontology, the book delves into the magma of social imaginary significations that characterise and associate pivotal epochs of the continent’s history, Classical Greece and Modernity, and exemplifies their incarnation in educational systems and in the formation...... countries. Nevertheless, as Moutsios suggests, the European tradition, notwithstanding its ideological usage by much of social sciences, contains an indissoluble critical and self-reflective dimension, which needs to be sustained and advanced in education and its cross-cultural comparison, perhaps, more......'Society and Education: An Outline of Comparison' explores the relation of society to education in Europe, as well as its comparative perspective towards overseas societies and their institutions. It is an enquiry into the social-historical institution of education and cross-cultural studies...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nagaoki, Yoshihiro; Nagura, Fuminori; Sakaguchi, Tomoyoshi; Kawasaki, Hirotsugu; Kikuchi, Shin
2008-01-01
The FBR cycle is a key technology maintaining a sustainable society through efficient utilization of limited uranium resources and conformance to global environmental protection. The domestic and overseas R and D of the FBR cycle entered on a new phase aiming at its commercialization and JAEA started the Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development (FaCT) project. The FaCT project targeted at international standardization of the FBR fuel cycle and promoting the advanced R and D on the innovative technologies to increase cost-efficiency and reliability for the commercialization under international competition and cooperation. The combination of a sodium cooled FBR and advanced fuel cycle system with advanced aqueous reprocessing and simplified pelletizing fuel fabrication was selected a major concept. (T. Tanaka)
Trevena, Helen; Kaldor, Jenny Claire; Downs, Shauna M
2015-09-01
The development of food policy is strongly influenced by the understanding and position actors adopt in their 'framing' of sustainability. The Australian Government developed a National Food Plan (2010-2013). In public consultations on the National Food Plan Green Paper, the government sought stakeholders' views on sustainability. The present study examined the way in which the food industry and civil society organizations framed sustainability in their submissions to the Green Paper. Submissions by food industry actors and civil society organizations were analysed using a framing matrix that examined positioning, drivers, underlying principles and policy solutions related to sustainability. Submissions were open coded and subsequently organized based on themes within the framing matrix. Australia. One hundred and twenty-four written submissions (1420 pages). While submissions from industry and civil society organizations often framed sustainability similarly, there were also major differences. Civil society organizations were more likely to make the link between the food supply and population health, while industry was more likely to focus on economic sustainability. Both viewed consumer demand as a driver of sustainability, welcomed the idea of a whole-of-government approach and stressed the need for investment in research and development to improve productivity and sustainable farming practices. The meaning of sustainability shifted throughout the policy process. There are opportunities for creating shared value in food policy, where the health, environment and economic dimensions of sustainability can be compatible. However, despite pockets of optimism there is a need for a shared vision of sustainability if Australia is to have a food policy integrating these dimensions.
SUSTAINABILITY, GLOBALIZATION, CULTURE AND WORK
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
João Almeida Santos
2013-11-01
Full Text Available This paper discusses the development process and the influence of globalization on culture and behavior of society seen on reflexes in the consumer market and how they participate or interfere in sustainability. Whereas globalization as a process of interaction between people in general originated in trade and political relations, reflections on the culture and behavior of society are inevitable from the point of view of consumption of products that are offered for new consumers in these markets that are in the process of globalization. Considering this necessity, it is important to consider the sustainable use of resources and by-products. This article is a reflection on sustainability, globalization, culture and work, and can be summarized in: a identifying the consequences of globalization on employment from the use of technology, b the consequences of globalization on culture are positive or negative for both involved, c benefits globalization and society have with new, better and cheaper products to meet the population needs and d how sustainability is in this consuming-producing context.
Public opinion survey on the relationship between society and nuclear energy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Shinoda, Yoshihiko; Yamano, Naoki; Torii, Hiroyuki
2008-01-01
The social research group of the 21st century COE program 'Innovative Nuclear Energy Systems for Sustainable Development of the World' has studied under the theme coevolution of nuclear technology and society. As part of this study, this group conducted a questionnaire survey of 2,500 adults (collection rate of 22.0%; 551 replies) who live in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The purpose of this survey asking opinion about the relationship between attitude toward nuclear technology utilization and social awareness is to determine their request, exception and concern about nuclear technology utilization. The survey reveals that the differences of attitudes towards nuclear technology utilization can be explained in terms of differences of general views on the society, such as the directionality of social progress. Thus, it is necessary to argue with citizens about the strategy on nuclear technology utilization from the viewpoint of the directionality of the future society. The social decision-making process on nuclear technology utilization has to be renovated through dialogue among citizens as the partner taking on the achievement and contribution toward the directionality of the future society. (author)
Sustainability clauses in international supply chain contracts
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Peterkova, Katerina
2014-01-01
Our current society is not successful in mitigation of global social and environmental challenges. States lack legal tools, and sometimes also the will, to secure social and environmental interests transnationally and the existing soft and private regulation is criticized for its weak legitimacy...... but also to do business exclusively with socially responsible partners. Unawareness, either intentional or negligent, of unethical behaviour within a company’s supply chain may lead to an assumption that the company is complicit in such a conduct. The paper discusses a hypothesis that sustainability...... contractual clauses (SCCs) in international supply chain agreements may help to overcome the regulatory gap in relation to global sustainability while concurrently protect companies against potential social, economic and legal risks threatening in connection to unethical behaviour of their suppliers. As parts...
Tax modifications: sustainable energy and society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Thorp, J.P.
2000-01-01
The application of taxes is said to be a valuable means of solving environmental problems; provision of the right incentives will invariably achieve the goal. The policy requirements for addressing the environmental problems are (i) to understand and accept a vision of a sustainable future; (ii) to understand the nature of the challenge; (iii) decide a course of action for the desired future and (iv) the will to implement the actions. The subject is discussed under the sub-headings of (a) The Government Approach; (b) The Climate Change Levy; (c) The Future (short, medium and long term); (d) Recommendations and (e) Renewable Technologies. The potential for carbon savings through a market led transition to a low carbon economy is 'extensive'. The Government must have regulation, taxation or legislation to shape the market to lead to a socially desirable outcome
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
I. S. Gusev
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Studies have proven that, at present one of the priority research areas as part of the Development Strategy of the Food Processing Industry of the Russian Federation until 2020 is to develop effective mechanisms for sustainable socio-economic development of industrial enterprises. This article investigated the logic of strategic planning within the framework of sustainable economic growth, analyzed the structure of strategic planning, study the subject of strategic planning in the management of sustainable development of enterprises, justified the basic principles of strategic planning for the effective management of sustainable development of industrial enterprises, as well as the complex of organizational tactical activities of operational management strategy for sustainable development of the enterprise. The observation revealed that currently there was a high need for the framework of the branch, departmental and state programs implemented in industrial management of scientific and methodological approaches of strategic planning. Studies have shown that these approaches in its conceptual entity should be based on the growth potential of the sustainable development of meat processing plants in space and time in order to achieve high competitive advantages. Conducted a systematic analysis of industry conditions proved that the problem of sustainable operation and development of meat processing enterprises as a problem of management and control is relatively new, unexplored and highly relevant. On the contrary, it is the basis of modern management strategy and management is a concept and methodology of the so-called adaptive enterprise development under the action of various external and internal factors, risks that may threaten its economic stability and sustainability.
The EPA, as part of the P3-People, Prosperity and the Planet Award Program, is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving the overall sustainability of human society.
Sustainability of common pool resources.
Timilsina, Raja Rajendra; Kotani, Koji; Kamijo, Yoshio
2017-01-01
Sustainability has become a key issue in managing natural resources together with growing concerns for capitalism, environmental and resource problems. We hypothesize that the ongoing modernization of competitive societies, which we refer to as "capitalism," affects human nature for utilizing common pool resources, thus compromising sustainability. To test this hypothesis, we design and implement a set of dynamic common pool resource games and experiments in the following two types of Nepalese areas: (i) rural (non-capitalistic) and (ii) urban (capitalistic) areas. We find that a proportion of prosocial individuals in urban areas is lower than that in rural areas, and urban residents deplete resources more quickly than rural residents. The composition of proself and prosocial individuals in a group and the degree of capitalism are crucial in that an increase in prosocial members in a group and the rural dummy positively affect resource sustainability by 65% and 63%, respectively. Overall, this paper shows that when societies move toward more capitalistic environments, the sustainability of common pool resources tends to decrease with the changes in individual preferences, social norms, customs and views to others through human interactions. This result implies that individuals may be losing their coordination abilities for social dilemmas of resource sustainability in capitalistic societies.
Holistic Development: Muslim Women's Civil Society Groups in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Holistic Development: Muslim Women's Civil Society Groups in Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania. ... we conceptualize economic and political participation and measure inequality. ... Tanzania to help develop mechanisms for sustainable economic growth and ... Keywords: African women, muslim women, civil society, economic ...
THE NATURAL WORLD AND THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stanislav Nikolaevich Glazachev
2015-11-01
Full Text Available The aim of the study is justification of human cultural and informational dependence from the «natural world». Being such a relationship is considered from the perspective of degradation of natural ecosystems and self-reduction of human’s «cultural genome», which is formed and supported in conjunction with the natural environment, with the «natural world» only.The article states that there is an urgent need to find mechanisms of human cultureto ma-nage the destructive potential of global antropo-eco-systems. The contradiction between the inevitability of the modern information society rapid development and the impossibility of sustainable development of the biosphere in existing circumstances is analyzed. Authors’s concept of ecological culture as a methodological basis in development of the idea on a positive interaction between the Information Society and «the world of Nature» is offered.The findings of the new study include cultural paradigm of noospheric thinking, based on a holistic human perception of «the natural world» and a human in it as its integral part.
Sustainability and sacred values
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
John Cairns Jr.
2002-09-01
Full Text Available Successful implementation of the quest for sustainable use of the planet requires that human society both reexamine and expand present views of what is sacred and what is not. The most important aspect will be going beyond a homocentric focus to a biocentric emphasis. A unifying theme would be the desire to leave a habitable planet for human descendants and those of other species. It is unlikely that society can be confident of achieving sustainability until persuasive evidence supporting this belief has existed for several generations. In order for sustainable use of the planet to persist indefinitely, the conditions essential to this state must be morally preserved on sacred grounds. Viewing natural systems as sacred requires not only preventing damage to them but, wherever possible, repairing damage to them caused by humankind.
Hwang, D J; Kim, Y J; Lee, J Y
2010-09-01
To study the effect and long-term sustainability of part-time occlusion therapy for anisometropic amblyopia after 8 years of age. A total of 41 anisometropic amblyopes aged > or =8 years were analysed. In six patients, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of amblyopic eye improved more than two lines within 2 weeks of full-time spectacle wear. The remaining patients were assigned to perform part-time patching during out-of-school hours. Long-term results were assessed in patients who were observed over 1 year after the end of the treatment. Among 35 patients, four dropped out, refusing further treatment, and one changed to atropine penalisation. The part-time patching schedule was completed in 30 patients. 90% of patients (27/30) complied well. Mean BCVA in the amblyopic eye improved significantly (ppart-time occlusion treatment in school-aged amblyopes, which had been carried out after school hours, was successful and the effect was sustained in most cases.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kamminga, K.J.
2001-01-01
After an introduction to the issue of sustainable development, relevant aspects of the discussion about sustainable development are discussed. In particular, various perspectives on sustainable development based on different views of nature. However, since sustainable development is such a broad and general concept, narrowing its reach is necessary to enlarge its applicability. From various observations, it is concluded that there are good reasons to focus the sustainable development discussion on the energy domain. First, the existence of sources of potential energy is the basis for all physical activity. Second, fossil fuel reserves -which are by far the most dominant types of energy in the western, industrialized world at present- are limited. Third, the extraction, transportation, use and/or combustion of fossil fuels give rise to serious pressure on the world's natural environment. On a global scale, this particularly concerns the emission of CO2. Starting from a system approach, the relationship between society (the production and consumption system) and nature (the natural system) is dealt with, distinguishing between two relevant views. The first one regards the production and consumption system as separated from, though interacting with, the natural system. Thus, two systems in fact exist next to each other. By contrast, the second view explicitly defines boundaries for the production and consumption system on biophysical grounds. According to this vision, the production and consumption system should be considered a subsystem of the natural system. Chapter 2 offers a first elaboration upon the relation between the two systems. From a historical perspective sustainable development is addressed against the background of the main development in economics over the last three centuries; that is, the development from the physiocrats and the classical economists to the theory of neoclassical economics. The issue of natural resources is chosen as a proxy of
Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Action
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Korsgaard, Steffen T.; Anderson, Alistair
Abstract Objectives - This paper explores how entrepreneurial action can lead to environmental sustainability. It builds on the assumption that the creation of sustainble practices is one of the most important challenges facing the global society, and that entrepreneurial action is a vital......: resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurial action. Approach - The paper uses a case study approach to build deeper theoretical knowledge of environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship. Results - The paper identifies and analyses a distinct form of sustainable entrepreneurship - resource oriented...... entrepreneurship - which uses bricolage in various ways to create sustainable solutions. Implications and value - The concept of resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurship contributes to the theoretical understanding of how entrepreneurial action can support sustainability, Furthermore the case study has...
An Empirical Exploration, Typology, and Definition of Corporate Sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Manfred Max Bergman
2017-05-01
Full Text Available The relationship between business and society is evolving. On the one hand, social, environmental, and long-term economic issues subsumed under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are inspiring intergovernmental organizations, governments, NGOs, NPOs, foundations, and civic society to legislate and regulate corporate behavior toward a greater concern for the wellbeing of groups, regions, or entire societies. On the other, a growing trend toward protectionism, nationalism, and populism may be the consequence or expression of a dissatisfaction with the perceived dissociation of the private sector from society. As a form of self-regulation, corporate responsibility deals with the complex responsibilities businesses have toward society. However, it tends to be hampered by an emphasis on theology and philosophy-based business ethics, which are difficult to integrate into day-to-day business operations or to translate between national or corporate cultures. In this article, we argue that corporate sustainability could be a more useful concept to help improve on how government, the private sector, and academia understand the links between business and society, and how to translate the interdependence between business and society from one culture to another. For this purpose, we empirically analyzed the relevant academic literature on corporate sustainability, using Content Configuration Analysis. Our analyses revealed three conceptual types and nine subtypes of corporate sustainability. Based on their assessment, we suggest conceptual preferences and a definition of corporate sustainability, which fulfil criteria that may render the concept more useful to global political and socioeconomic negotiations among stakeholder groups for the long-term benefit of business and society.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mavromati, Fotini; Ittershagen, Martin [comps.
2012-05-30
The Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) sees excellent opportunities to move the economic regeneration forward by means of environmental protection. Under this aspect, the annual report ''Focus 2012'' under consideration presents the following contributions: (1) Green Economy as a new model for economic development; (2) Elements of a sustainable energy supply; (3) Resource efficiency as a key competence for sustainable societies; (4) Green Chemistry as a fundamental building block of Green Economy.
Methods of Comprehensive Assessment for China’s Energy Sustainability
Xu, Zhijin; Song, Yankui
2018-02-01
In order to assess the sustainable development of China’s energy objectively and accurately, we need to establish a reasonable indicator system for energy sustainability and make a targeted comprehensive assessment with the scientific methods. This paper constructs a comprehensive indicator system for energy sustainability from five aspects of economy, society, environment, energy resources and energy technology based on the theory of sustainable development and the theory of symbiosis. On this basis, it establishes and discusses the assessment models and the general assessment methods for energy sustainability with the help of fuzzy mathematics. It is of some reference for promoting the sustainable development of China’s energy, economy and society.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
GHITA Simona
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Europe represents one of the most significant tourism destinations in the world, but, nowadays, it is more and more important the issue of adapting the tourism demand and supply to the need of sustainability. Information Technologies can help to increase the competitiveness of the tourism industry, creating a bridge between tourism supply and demand. According to the figures presented by the UNWTO, the growth rate of international tourist arrivals in 2013 compared to 2012 was of 5% (meaning 52 million international tourists arrivals, reaching 1,09 billion arrivals in 2013. The highest absolute growth was experienced by Europe (29 million arrivals in 2013, while the highest relative growth was registered in Asia and the Pacific (6%. The average international tourist receipt exceeded US$700 per person, while total tourists’ expenditures leveled more than $1,4 trillion. Tourism sector, including the related industries, contributed in 2013 by 9,5% to the total global Gross Domestic Product (GDP and created approximately 10% of the jobs worldwide. In Romania the ascending trend of tourists’ arrivals in accommodation establishments was interrupted by decreases in 2009 and 2010, due to the global economic-financial crisis. The indicator “Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by residents” experienced a similar evolution. Revenues from tourism and its contribution to GDP can be improved through the usage of information technology services. The present paper gives a possible answer to the following questions: can Information Society improve the competitiveness of European Sustainable Tourism Economy? Are there evidences of the impact of modern informational technologies on trends in sustainable tourism economy? In the analysis, the author used EUROSTAT data for European countries, 2000-2013 time-series. Statistical indicators used in the analysis are grouped by three areas of interest: Tourism Area (Arrivals of residents
An engineering dilemma: sustainability in the eyes of future technology professionals.
Haase, S
2013-09-01
The ability to design technological solutions that address sustainability is considered pivotal to the future of the planet and its people. As technology professionals engineers are expected to play an important role in sustaining society. The present article aims at exploring sustainability concepts of newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark. Their understandings of sustainability and the role they ascribe to sustainability in their future professional practice is investigated by means of a critical discourse analysis including metaphor analysis and semiotic analysis. The sustainability construal is considered to delimit possible ways of dealing with the concept in practice along the engineering education pathway and in professional problem solving. Five different metaphors used by the engineering students to illustrate sustainability are identified, and their different connotative and interpretive implications are discussed. It is found that sustainability represents a dilemma to the engineering students that situates them in a tension between their technology fascination and the blame they find that technological progress bears. Their sustainability descriptions are collected as part of a survey containing among other questions one open-ended, qualitative question on sustainability. The survey covers an entire year group of Danish engineering students in the first month of their degree study.
Sustainable Concrete Technology
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sim J.
2015-12-01
Full Text Available The growing concern over global warming and significant ecological changes requires sustainable development in all fields of science and technology. Concrete not only consumes huge amount of energy and natural sources, but also emits large amount of CO2, mainly due to the production of cement. It is evident that such large amount of concrete production has put significant impact on the energy, resource, environment, and ecology of the society. Hence, how to develop the concrete technology in a sustainable way has become a significant issue. In this paper, some of Korean researches for sustainable development of concrete are presented. These are sustainable strengthening for deteriorated concrete structure, sustainable reinforcement of new concrete structure, sustainable concrete using recycled aggregate and supplementary cementing materials and finally application of each technique to precast concrete.
Digital Denmark: From Information Society to Network Society
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Henten, Anders; Falch, Morten
2000-01-01
for a welfare society. However, globalisation and the spreading use of new information and communication technologies and services challenge this position. This article examines Denmark's performance in implementing its IS 2000 plans, the background to the Digital Denmark report, and its implications......The Danish Government recently issued a new policy report, Digital Denmark, on the "conversion to a network society", as a successor to its Information Society 2000 report (1994). This is part of a new round of information society policy vision statements that are, or will be forthcoming from...... national governments everywhere. Denmark provides an interesting case study because it ranks high in the benchmark indicators of information network society developments. This position has been obtained largely by public sector initiatives and without erosion of the highly reputed Scandinavian model...
Sustainability Science: Sustainable Energy for Mobility and Its Use in Policy Making
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fabio Orecchini
2011-10-01
Full Text Available Since the 1980s sustainability has clearly become the challenge of the 21st century. In a process toward a sustainable society it is crucial that different stakeholders start collaboration and exchange ideas with technicians and academics. To finalize the policy decisions on important issues such as energy sustainability, collaboration between policy makers, academia and the private sector is important. This work intends to give Italian policy makers concrete advice and solutions to develop energy systems for mobility. The analysis proceeds from the context of Sustainability Science, a new science, which has emerged as one of the most important disciplines of international scientific research. Using a new approach, trans-disciplinary and integrated, this research is oriented to study and understand the complexity of the interactions between economy, society and nature. This broad approach permits proposing concrete solutions to complex problems locally and globally. We propose a scheme of definition of Sustainability Energy, defining five pillars of reference, and we redefine the energy systems for mobility in the context of Sustainability Science. In this paper, we start from the idea that we are living in a crucial passage, we are moving from the era of petroleum to the era of energy vectors. Energy systems, including mobility, should be redefined within this new approach.
Becoming more sustainable: concepts and issues
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pirages, D C [Maryland Univ., Dep. of Government and Politics, Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda, College Park, MD (United States)
1996-11-01
The automobile and associated mobility system have had a major economic and ecological impact on human societies. The industrial revolution, during which the internal combustion engine has played a major role, has shaped secular, materialistic societies and associated consumption patterns that cannot be sustained in a future world of eight billion people. Creating a more sustainable world means maximizing human satisfaction while minimizing human impact on nature. Becoming more sustainable is best envisioned as a continuing process in which constraints and possibilities change over time and space. The sustainable process raises major controversies including how to define and measure progress, how to apportion wealth among generations, and between free trade and environmental preservation. Sustainable mobility implies major changes in approaches to transportation including stressing psychological rather than physical mobility, designing speciality vehicles for emerging niches, and placing special emphasis on mass transit systems for emerging megacities. (author) 17 refs.
The indispensable role of thorium for creating a sustainable society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kamei, T.
2012-01-01
Several approaches are required in parallel for constructing a sustainable society. One of them is to fight against global warming. The other one is to make this world nuclear weapon free. Nuclear power has been used for peaceful purpose because nuclear power produces electricity without emitting CO 2 . Nearly 15% of world electricity is produced by nuclear power. Through nuclear power plant has a possibility of severe accident such as Fukushima Daiichi, its advantage is still valuable for the world. President Obama's speech in Prague in 2009 brought a impact to the world to move toward the world without nuclear weapon. The remaining subject is how to treat dismantled fissionable materials. Existing nuclear power plants utilize uranium because only uranium contains natural occurring fissionable material, uranium-235. The spent uranium fuel contains fissionable plutonium-239. Thus, uranium fuel cycle always accompanies possibility of nuclear proliferation. Thorium plays an important role for both solving global warming and nuclear weapon. Fertile thorium can be used as nuclear fuel by support of fissionable plutonium-239 from spent uranium fuel or weapon head. Preliminary calculation indicates that the USA's and Russia's dismantle nuclear weapon enable to start more than 10 GWe of thorium nuclear power plants. In addition, plutonium-239 obtained from uranium fuel is available of 392 GWe of thorium nuclear power. Uranium-233 coming from thorium is also a fissionable but it is hard to be used for weapon because of its accompanied gamma-ray. Thorium itself is now obtained as by-product of rare-earth mining, which is used for high-tech products including photovoltaic cell, wind-mill, and hybrid-vehicle. However, thorium is not taken care adequately and becomes environmental hazard. Both to take care of environment, to support implementation of high-tech product and to make the world without nuclear weapon, a comprehensive role of thorium will be presented
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mavromati, Fotini; Ittershagen, Martin (comps.)
2012-05-30
The Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) sees excellent opportunities to move the economic regeneration forward by means of environmental protection. Under this aspect, the annual report ''Focus 2012'' under consideration presents the following contributions: (1) Green Economy as a new model for economic development; (2) Elements of a sustainable energy supply; (3) Resource efficiency as a key competence for sustainable societies; (4) Green Chemistry as a fundamental building block of Green Economy.
Educating Citizens in Late Modern Societies
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Christensen, Torben Spanget
2011-01-01
One way or the other democratic states need to take on the task of educating its rising generation in governmental affairs, societal matters and citizenship in order to sustain the democracy itself. This article presents a model for analysing civic education in late modern, globalised world....... The model is based on the fundamental belief that the overall aim of civic education in democratic, late modern and global societies is empowerment of the citizen in order to establish a self governing citizen who simultaneous is capable of managing and keeping together partly contradictory citizens tasks...... studies and evaluations of the Danish upper secondary school completed at my department at University of Southern Denmark in recent years, especially connected to a quite far reaching curriculum reform from 2005. It is assumed that this Danish development is an expression of a more general phenomenon...
Ronglian, Yuan; Mingye, Ai; Qiaona, Jia; Yuxuan, Liu
2018-03-01
Sustainable development is the only way for the development of human society. As an important part of the national economy, the steel industry is an energy-intensive industry and needs to go further for sustainable development. In this paper, we use entropy method and Topsis method to evaluate the development of China’s steel industry during the “12th Five-Year Plan” from four aspects: resource utilization efficiency, main energy and material consumption, pollution status and resource reuse rate. And we also put forward some suggestions for the development of China’s steel industry.
Management of Business Transformation to Sustainable Business
Grunda, Rokas
2011-01-01
Having examined the concepts of sustainable business and advantages and disadvantages of business sustainability management models, the objective of the dissertation is to formulate a management model of business transformation to sustainable business and to verify it in present business conditions in Lithuania. In the dissertation, the essence of the concepts of sustainable development and sustainability is characterized, the criteria of sustainable society are distinguished and the concept ...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Prothero, Andrea; Dobscha, Susan; Freund, Jim
2011-01-01
This essay explores sustainable consumption and considers possible roles for marketing and consumer researchers and public policy makers in addressing the many sustainability challenges that pervade our planet. Future research approaches to this interdisciplinary topic need to be comprehensive...... and systematic and will benefit from a variety of different perspectives. There are a number of opportunities for future research, and three areas are explored in detail. First, the essay considers the inconsistency between the attitudes and behaviors of consumers with respect to sustainability; next, the agenda...... is broadened to explore the role of individual citizens in society; and finally, a macro institutional approach to fostering sustainability is explored. Each of these areas is examined in detail and possible research avenues and public policy initiatives are considered within each of these separate...
Monitor Sustainable Netherlands 2011
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2011-09-01
The Monitor provides an image of the sustainability of the Dutch society. It shows which areas are successful and what the 'concerns for tomorrow' are from the point of view of sustainability. An analysis is conducted of how the Netherlands are doing in the fields of climate change, biodiversity, health, knowledge, graying and social cohesion. These and many other topics are discussed in this monitor by means of a number of sustainability indicators and detail analyses [mk]. [nl
Monitor Sustainable Netherlands 2009
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2009-02-01
The Monitor provides an image of the sustainability of the Dutch society. It shows which areas are successful and what the 'concerns for tomorrow' are from the point of view of sustainability. An analysis is conducted of how the Netherlands are doing in the fields of climate change, biodiversity, health, knowledge, graying and social cohesion. These and many other topics are discussed in this monitor by means of a number of sustainability indicators and detail analyses [mk] [nl
Business Ethics and Corporate Sustainability
A. Tencati; F. Perrini
2011-01-01
This authoritative book includes cutting-edge insights from leading European and North American scholars who reflect upon business ethics’ foundations, firms, markets and stakeholders in order to design more sustainable patterns of development for business and society. Together, the contributing authors advance critical, innovative and imaginative perspectives to rethink the mainstream models and address the sustainability challenge. Business Ethics and Corporate Sustainability will provi...
Quality Education: Cultural Competence and a Sustainability Worldview
Nolet, Victor
2017-01-01
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals tie together equity, justice, and a more inclusive society with ecological sustainability. This article offers teaching strategies for integrating the goal of quality education for sustainability and multicultural education.
CONCEPTUAL DELIMITATIONS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ienciu Ionel-Alin
2013-07-01
Full Text Available Sustainable development is a model for resource use meant to satisfy human needs, without polluting the environment, so that these needs can be satisfied not only in the present, but in the future as well. It is a concept of nowadays with no generally accepted definition, placing environment first and foremost, aiming at implementing the environmental policies in all structures and at all economic levels. Within the present study we have aimed at creating a conceptual delimitation on sustainable development, sustainability and socialresponsibility, concepts of present interest, that tend to become a mystery for the academic community and practitioners by their variety and complexity of approaches. During our scientific endeavor we believe that social responsibility is the foundation of sustainable development. Sustainable development is a concept used especially at macro-economic level, while social responsibility is used at entity level and incorporates the economic, environmental and social dimension, which has a voluntary character and tries to respond to the information needs of the society and other stakeholders. Sustainability at the entity\\'s level is the goal or final objective of sustainable development – satisfaction of present needs without compromising the possibility for future generations to satisfy their own needs, while social responsibility is an intermediate phase of sustainability wherein entities try to balance the economic, social and environmental dimension. Thus, we can state we include ourselves within social corporatism, slightly close to social institutionalism, which is characteristic to developed countries, giving a particular importance to social contract and relations between entity and society. We believe that in Romania, a POSDRU funded project should be regarded as a legal person with social values, which must be based on sustainable development and to promote, besides legal liability of automatically deriving
Sustainable solid waste management: An integrated approach for Asian countries
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Shekdar, Ashok V.
2009-01-01
Solid waste management (SWM) has been an integral part of every human society. The approaches for SWM should be compatible with the nature of a given society, and, in this regard, Asian countries are no exception. In keeping with global trends, the systems are being oriented to concentrate on sustainability issues; mainly through the incorporation of 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) technologies. However, degree and nature of improvements toward sustainability are varying and depend on the economic status of a country. High-income countries like Japan and South Korea can afford to spend more to incorporate 3R technologies. Most of the latest efforts focus on 'Zero Waste' and/or 'Zero Landfilling' which is certainly expensive for weaker economies such as those of India or Indonesia. There is a need to pragmatically assess the expectations of SWM systems in Asian countries. Hence, in this paper, we analyze the situation in different Asian countries, and explore future trends. We conceptually evaluate issues surrounding the sustainability of SWM. We propose a multi-pronged integrated approach for improvement that achieves sustainable SWM in the context of national policy and legal frameworks, institutional arrangement, appropriate technology, operational and financial management, and public awareness and participation. In keeping with this approach, a generic action plan has been proposed that could be tailored to suit a situation in a particular country. Our proposed concept and action plan framework would be useful across a variety of country-specific scenarios
Nuclear power and sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sandklef, S.
2000-01-01
Nuclear Power is a new, innovative technology for energy production, seen in the longer historic perspective. Nuclear technology has a large potential for further development and use in new applications. To achieve this potential the industry needs to develop the arguments to convince policy makers and the general public that nuclear power is a real alternative as part of a sustainable energy system. This paper examines the basic concept of sustainable development and gives a quality review of the most important factors and requirements, which have to be met to quality nuclear power as sustainable. This paper intends to demonstrate that it is not only in minimising greenhouse gas emissions that nuclear power is a sustainable technology, also with respect to land use, fuel availability waste disposal, recycling and use of limited economic resources arguments can be developed in favour of nuclear power as a long term sustainable technology. It is demonstrated that nuclear power is in all aspects a sustainable technology, which could serve in the long term with minimal environmental effects and at minimum costs to the society. And the challenge can be met. But to achieve need political leadership is needed, to support and develop the institutional and legal framework that is the basis for a stable and long-term energy policy. Industry leaders are needed as well to stand up for nuclear power, to create a new industry culture of openness and communication with the public that is necessary to get the public acceptance that we have failed to do so far. The basic facts are all in favour of nuclear power and they should be used
Handbook of sustainable engineering
Lee, Kun-Mo
2013-01-01
"The efficient utilization of energy, sustainable use of natural resources, and large-scale adoption of sustainable technologies is the key to a sustainable future. The Handbook of Sustainable Engineering provides tools that will help us achieve these goals". Nobel Prize Winner Dr. R.K. Pauchauri, Chairman, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change As global society confronts the challenges of diminishing resources, ecological degradation, and climate change, engineers play a crucial role designing and building technologies and products that fulfil our needs for utility and sustainability. The Handbook of Sustainable Engineering equips readers with the context and the best practices derived from both academic research and practical examples of successful implementations of sustainable technical solutions. The handbook’s content revolves around the two themes, new ways of thinking and new business models, including sustainable production, products, service systems and consumption while addressing key asse...
Integrating sustainability in interior design studio
Karslı, Umut Tuğlu
2013-01-01
Teaching methods on concept of sustainability are frequently searched in the interior architecture education. The purpose of this study is to propose a model for integrating sustainability in interior design studio. In this context, the first part of the research defines relationship between sustainability and interior architecture and determines sustainable interior design principles. In the second part, an interior design studio model is proposed and principles determined in the first part ...
Sustainability and uncertainty
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Karsten Klint
2007-01-01
The widely used concept of sustainability is seldom precisely defined, and its clarification involves making up one's mind about a range of difficult questions. One line of research (bottom-up) takes sustaining a system over time as its starting point and then infers prescriptions from...... this requirement. Another line (top-down) takes an economical interpretation of the Brundtland Commission's suggestion that the present generation's needsatisfaction should not compromise the need-satisfaction of future generations as its starting point. It then measures sustainability at the level of society...... a clarified ethical goal, disagreements can arise. At present we do not know what substitutions will be possible in the future. This uncertainty clearly affects the prescriptions that follow from the measure of sustainability. Consequently, decisions about how to make future agriculture sustainable...
Multiple helix ecosystems for sustainable competitiveness
Ferreira, João; Farinha, Luís; Fernandes, Nuno
2016-01-01
This book discusses the main issues, challenges, opportunities, and trends involving the interactions between academia, industry, government and society. Specifically, it aims to explore how these interactions enhance the ways in which companies deliver products and services in order to achieve sustainable competitiveness in the marketplace. Sustainable competitiveness has been widely discussed by academics and practitioners, considering the importance of protecting the environment while sustaining the economic goals of organizations. The Quintuple Helix innovation model is a framework for facilitating knowledge, innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. It embeds the Triple and the Quadruple Helix models by adding a fifth helix, the “natural environment.” The Triple Helix model focuses on the university-industry-government triad, while the Quadruple adds civil society (the media- and culture-driven public) as a fourth helix. The Quintuple Helix model facilitates research, public policy, and pract...
Sustainable mining management; Gestion minera sostenible
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tejera Oliver, J. L.
2009-07-01
Mining activities are carried out by the older man and have provided resources, since ancient times, for their development and progress. With the discovery of fire will show the first metals that have marked the civilizations of copper, bronze and iron, and is the prehistory of the Stone Age tools that man has made from the exploitation of quarries first. The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century is linked to coal and steel, and could not conceiver of todays society without oil and gas, without silicon and coltan. But the mines are often aggressive and, despite their need and what they contribute to the development are answered by the societies where are made. during recent years there has been growing international efforts to try to make the minimum requirements of sustainable exploitation (European Directives, GMI, GRI, etc.) In AENOR, and within the Technical Committee of Standardization 22 Mining and Explosives, chaired by AITEMIN, was established the subcommittee 3, chaired by IGME, where, with the participation of all stake holders, have developed some standards on sustainable mining management sustainable mining that will be a tool available to mining companies to demonstrate their sustainable use to Society. (Author)
Promoting sustainability through green chemistry
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kirchhoff, Mary M. [American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 (United States)
2005-06-15
Green chemistry is an important tool in achieving sustainability. The implementation of green chemistry, the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances, is essential if the expanding global population is to enjoy an increased standard of living without having a negative impact on the health of the planet. Cleaner technologies will allow the chemical enterprise to provide society with the goods and services on which it depends in an environmentally responsible manner. Green chemistry provides solutions to such global challenges as climate change, sustainable agriculture, energy, toxics in the environment, and the depletion of natural resources. A collaborative effort by industry, academia, and government is needed to promote the adoption of the green chemistry technologies necessary to achieve a sustainable society.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Daniels, Peter L.
2010-01-01
The evidence of impending and serious climate and other consequences of an expanding world economy based on fossil carbon energy continues to accumulate. This two-part paper examines the potential contribution of the world view and insights of Buddhism to this search. It presents both a conceptual and practical case that Buddhism can help shape and move towards an alternative and effective paradigmatic basis for sustainable economies - one capable of bringing about and maintaining genuine, high welfare levels across the world's societies. The first paper outlined a comprehensive analytical framework to identify the fundamental nature of anthropogenic climate change. Based on the integration of two of the most influential environmental analysis tools of recent decades (the DPSIR model and IPAT equation), the framework was then broadened to facilitate ideas from the Buddhist world view by injecting two key missing aspects - the interrelated role of (1) beliefs and values (on goals and behavior) and (2) the nature of well-being or human happiness. Finally, the principal linkages between this climate change analysis framework and Buddhism were explored. In this concluding paper, the systems framework is used to demonstrate how Buddhist and related world views can feed into appropriate and effective responses to the impending challenges of climate change. This is undertaken by systematically presenting a specific, if indicative, list of relevant strategies informed by the understanding of interconnectedness and other basic principles about the nature of reality and human well-being as proposed in Buddhism. (author)
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Daniels, Peter L. [Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, 4111 (Australia)
2010-03-15
The evidence of impending and serious climate and other consequences of an expanding world economy based on fossil carbon energy continues to accumulate. This two-part paper examines the potential contribution of the world view and insights of Buddhism to this search. It presents both a conceptual and practical case that Buddhism can help shape and move towards an alternative and effective paradigmatic basis for sustainable economies - one capable of bringing about and maintaining genuine, high welfare levels across the world's societies. The first paper outlined a comprehensive analytical framework to identify the fundamental nature of anthropogenic climate change. Based on the integration of two of the most influential environmental analysis tools of recent decades (the DPSIR model and IPAT equation), the framework was then broadened to facilitate ideas from the Buddhist world view by injecting two key missing aspects - the interrelated role of (1) beliefs and values (on goals and behavior) and (2) the nature of well-being or human happiness. Finally, the principal linkages between this climate change analysis framework and Buddhism were explored. In this concluding paper, the systems framework is used to demonstrate how Buddhist and related world views can feed into appropriate and effective responses to the impending challenges of climate change. This is undertaken by systematically presenting a specific, if indicative, list of relevant strategies informed by the understanding of interconnectedness and other basic principles about the nature of reality and human well-being as proposed in Buddhism. (author)
'Energy for a sustainable society'. Recommendations of the Panel
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1997-10-01
On June 18 and 19, 1997, The Norwegian Research Council arranged a series of national conferences on sustainable development. A panel has followed up the conferences with the present report. The priority is on issues of importance for the development of policies and political means in the climate area. This is because the climate challenges are essential for a sustainable global development. Without doubt, it takes long for the temperature of the atmosphere to stabilise after a change in the CO 2 content, several decades. Greatly reduced anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases cannot prevent a delayed temperature increase, which calls for precautionary measures. Norwegian policy should be based on the assumption that the emission negotiations will lead to emission restrictions for most of the industrialised countries. However, one-sided focus on national emission goals may lead to unwanted increase in other countries' emissions following Norwegian decreases. The panel suggests that Norwegian measures should be oriented along the following: (1) Energy efficiency, (2) Social planning, (3) Renewable energy sources, (4) De-carbonisation of fossil energy carriers
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chen, G.Q.; Chen, B.
2007-01-01
This paper is the continuation of the fourth part on fishery and rangeland. The total resource inflow to the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 is investigated in four parts published afore. The total resource energy input corresponds to GDP is presented in comparison with the purchasing power parity in this paper. The structure of the resource energy inflow is also outlined. Finally, a novel concept referred to as resource intensity is suggested to serve as a basic indicator to illustrate the real status of the economic development in China
Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on exergy-Part 3: Agricultural products
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chen, B.; Chen, G.Q.
2007-01-01
This part is the continuation of the second part on renewable energy sources and forest. The major agricultural products entering the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 are calculated and analyzed in detail in this paper. The relative political infrastructure and organization of the agricultural production in the rural areas frequently and rapidly changed during the past two decades, making profound impact on the crop structure and yields. The planning and organization of agriculture has been adjusted when prices and market are introduced into agricultural production and the direct planning is restricted. The growth in usage of fertilizers, pesticides and farm-use plastic membrane is revealed. The state farm system as the pioneer of exploring the modernization of agriculture and accumulating experiences is also described
Ambient intelligence and affective computing: a contribute to energetic sustainability
Silva, Fábio
2016-01-01
Tese de Doutoramento em Informática. economy and the citizen behaviours are putting stress on resources at increasing scales. Society demands sustainable solutions for these problems. However, these solutions need to compromise restrictions enforced by either society, physics and resources. This leads to the traditional dimensions of sustainability: economic, environmental and social, which need to be addressed as a whole in order to find sustainable configurations. Although...
Sustainable development - the ICC business charter
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Santaholma, J.
1992-01-01
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) prepared and approved, in November 1990, the ''Business Charter for Sustainable Development; a set of principles for environmental management''. Environmental protection is a necessary part of sustainable development but, too often, the performance of business is seen by society as inadequate. Improved environmental performance is essential if business is to regain public trust, reduce the pressures on governments to over-legislate, and strengthen the business voice in debate on public policy. The Charter has been prepared as a major pro-active business initiative by enterprises around the world. This is timely in view of the extensive international debate on environmental issues and the widespread acceptance of the ''Sustainable Development'' concept. Sustainable development involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Although the objective of the Charter is that the widest range of enterprises as organizations commit themselves to improving their environmental performance in accordance with the Principles of the Charter, an individual branch of industry may also meet the goals of the Charter. The paper evaluates how the practices implemented in the field of nuclear energy are in harmony with the principles. The conclusion is that nuclear is in the avant garde within the wide spectrum of industrial activities. This conclusion should assist nuclear energy to improve its public acceptance. (author)
Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on exergy-Part 4: Fishery and rangeland
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chen, B.; Chen, G.Q.
2007-01-01
This fourth part is the continuation of the third part on agricultural products. The major fishery and rangeland products entering the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 are calculated and analyzed in detail in this paper. The aquatic production, mainly relying on freshwater and seawater breeding, Enhancement policy of fishery resources, including closed fishing season system, construction of artificial fish reefs and ecological fish breeding, etc., is discussed in detail. The degradation of the major rangeland areas, hay yields and intake rangeland resources by the livestock, are also described associated with the strategic adjustment and comprehensive program to protect rangeland resources during the study period
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Daniel Serbănică
2015-08-01
Full Text Available In today`s society, marked by profound changes in consumer attitudes towards the environment and social issues, organizations are forced to behave responsibly, to be oriented towards a sustainable marketing. However the efforts of the organization should be evaluated periodically to see the extent to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which resource consumption leads to results. From the marketing perspective, this can be achieved through marketing audit, which is a tool for evaluating and controlling a marketing organization’s performance. This paper aims, through a documentary study in the first part and an exploratory quantitative research, in the second, to highlight the role and place of the audit of marketing in companies in Romania, to assess the effectiveness of marketing activity undertaken the principles of sustainability. The last part of the paper includes research findings and a series of theoretical and managerial recommendations on the use of marketing audit as a tool for assessing the sustainability of marketing companies in the target group, with the possibility of generalizing to all companies operating on the market in Romania.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2008-01-01
The 29th Annual Conference of the Canadian Nuclear Society and 32nd CNS/CNA Student Conference on Sustainable Development through Nuclear Technology was held on June 1-4, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The theme of the conference was 'Nuclear Sustainability'. The central objective of this conference was to provide a forum for exchange of views on how this technical enterprise can best serve the needs of humanity, now and in the future. The renewed global interest in nuclear technology is based on a recognition of its potential to meet economic and environmental targets more favourably than competing technologies. Although many of these attractions are short-term in nature, they stem from a broader potential of nuclear technology to drive all aspects of development (social, environmental, economic) in a sustainable in this area. (author) a terial in support of fuel resources themselves. The conference drew a record attendance of over 450 delegates. Over 100 technical papers were presented within 15 technical sessions, as well as over 30 student papers in 5 sessions. The following list of session titles indicates the diversity of the technical papers: advanced reactors; plant and components; process systems; thermalhydraulics; safety and licensing; hydrogen; human factors; physics; instrumentation and control; environment and waste management; and plant operation. (author)
Towards Sustainable Health Care Organizations
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mauro ROMANELLI
2017-09-01
Full Text Available Health care organizations have to develop a sustainable path for creating public value by seeking legitimacy for building and maintaining public trust with patients as social and economic institutions creating value and sustaining both health and wealth for people and communities within society. Health care organizations having at disposal decreasing resources and meeting increasing demands of citizens are following an unsustainable path. Designing sustainable health care systems and organizations is emerging as a strategic goal for developing the wealth of people and communities over time. Building sustainable organizations relies on valuing human resources, designing efficient and effective processes, using technology for better managing the relationships within and outside organizations. Sustainable health care organizations tend to rediscover the importance of human resource management and policies for effectively improving communication with patients and building trust-based relationships. While processes of accreditation contribute to legitimizing effectiveness and quality of health care services and efficient processes, introducing and using new information and communication technologies (ICTs and informatics helps communication leading to restore trust-based relationships between health care institutions and patients for value creation within society.
On the roles of science and culture in sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Eriksson, K.E.
1999-01-01
Sustainable development not only involves relations between the global society ant its resource base, the ecosphere, but also relations within the global society itself. It may useful to think of sustainable development as a process with two phases. The first is transitional and involves a transition to a sustainable situation in several essential respects: population; use of natural systems, in particular atmosphere, water, productive land; supply and use of water, food, energy; international order; democracy and human development. The second phase then involves continued development within the restrictions set by the sustainable requirements
Buyer behaviour in the context of sustainable consumption policy pursued in Poland
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jaroslaw Korpysa
2013-11-01
Full Text Available The concept of sustainable consumption has been actively promoted among modern societies. It has gained a special importance in the context of pursuing sustainable consumption policy and supporting actions taken as part of corporate social responsibility. The fulfilment of strategic goals defined under this concept minimizes negative effects of industrialization and globalization. Furthermore, it contributes to efficient allocation of natural resources and natural environment protection. It is beyond any doubt that a 21st century consumer should take account of a number of issues while buying and subsequently using goods and services. These issues include wastage reduction, lower emission of pollution and limited production of waste, as well as selection of products whose development conforms to the code of ethics and socio-environmental norms. This awareness is observed in most countries all over the world, nevertheless certain differences can be noticed between the developed and developing states. Although the concept of sustainable consumption is being actively promoted among consumers in the developing countries (e.g. in Poland, they are still less aware of the necessity to conform to socio-ecological norms in the process of consumption. The main aim of the article is to analyse buyer behaviour in the context of sustainable development policy pursued in Poland. The first part will be devoted to theoretical issues relating to the subject of the analysis. In the second part of the paper the author will present the results of a survey examining the aforementioned behaviour.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Richert, W.; Sielhorst, S.
2006-03-01
Social organizations point out the sustainability risks involved in biomass production. Upon urgent request of Dutch environmental organizations a set of sustainability criteria must be developed for imported biomass. Part 1 of this background document intends to sketch the background of the risks that are observed by the environmental organizations. Part 2, which is yet to be published, will look at the risks in the light of opportunities of energy crops for producing countries. [nl
Perspective of Game Theory in Education for Sustainable Development
Ahrens, A.; Zascerinska, J.
2012-01-01
The sustainable development of society has attracted a lot of research efforts. A strategic aspect to the society's evolution is introduced by the game theory (Fernandez, 2011, p. 1). The research question is as follows: how to organize the process of teaching and learning in education for sustainable development? The aim of the research is to…
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Robreau, Y.; Porcher, P.
2002-11-01
This document aims to define the sustainable development concept with a special attention for France and Israel position. The first part recalls the history of the sustainable development from the ''Man and Biosphere'' program of the UNESCO to Rio protocol. Then are described the principles of the sustainable development, the France plans and the France position at Johannesburg conference. The last part is devoted to the Israel position and a short presentation of the consequences of the greenhouse gases on the human health and the environment. (A.L.B.)
Polk, Merritt; Knutsson, Per
2008-01-01
Given the complexity of current social structures and environmental problems, attaining a truly sustainable society seems rather improbable today. Not only has society not been planned for the complexity of the preconditions and effects that sustainability entails, sustainability is also unlikely given current individual consumption patterns,…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paola Migliorini
2016-11-01
Full Text Available The need to strengthen the connection between academia and society has received increased attention over the past years. The importance of bringing university students closer to stakeholders in society as part of their learning process is high regarding sustainable agriculture, because of its applied approach. University programs based on experiential and action-oriented learning have been developed over the past decades, but more knowledge is needed about the impact of these educational activities. In a short course in sustainable agriculture at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Italy, we examined the impacts of experiential and action-oriented learning on competency development as well as transformational impacts on the students. We found that students improve on several core competences as a result of their participation in the short course, and also signs of deep transformational processes among the students.
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship and Business Sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ana Tur-Porcar
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for society, and the creation of business ventures is one area where sustainability is critical. We examined the factors affecting actions that are designed to foster business sustainability. These factors are related to the environment, behavior, human relations, and business activity. Based on questionnaire responses from experts, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP method was used to rank sustainable business criteria according to their importance for entrepreneurs starting sustainable businesses. The results indicate that the most important drivers of sustainable entrepreneurship are behavioral factors and business factors. Ethical principles and values, together with competitive intelligence, are crucial for undertaking actions that lead to sustainability.
Is woody residue part of your plan for sustainable forestry?
Deborah Page-Dumroese
2010-01-01
The answer to the title question should be "yes"! Currently, there is a lot of chatter about sustainable forestry and alternative fuels, including conversion of wood to bioenergy. At first glance it may seem like there is a conflict - how can removal of woody biomass be sustainable? Whether you are a small woodlot owner doing sustainable harvesting, looking...
Earth Observation for Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture
Bach, Heike; Mauser, Wolfram; Gernot, Klepper
2016-08-01
The global and regional potentials of Earth Observation (EO) to contribute to food security and sustainable agriculture in the 2050-timeframe were analysed in the ESA study EO4Food, whose outcome will be presented (www.EO4Food.org). Emphasis was put on the global societal, economic, environmental and technological megatrends that will create demand for food and shape the future societies. They will also constitute the background for developments in EO for food security and sustainable agriculture. The capabilities of EO in this respect were critically reviewed with three perspectives 1) the role of EO science for society, 2) observables from space and 3) development of future science missions.It was concluded that EO can be pivotal for the further development of food security and sustainable agriculture. EO allows to support the whole economic and societal value chain from farmers through food industry to insurance and financial industry in satisfying demands and at the same time to support society in governing sustainable agriculture through verifyable rules and regulations. It has the potential to become the global source of environmental information that is assimilated into sophisticated environmental management models and is used to make agriculture sustainable.
Sustainable Lifestyle Marketing of Individuals: the Base of Sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mira Rakic
2015-08-01
Full Text Available This paper highlights the sustainable lifestyle marketing of an individual (SLMOI. The SLMOI is the activity, a set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating and maintaining the sustainable lifestyle of an individual (SLOI. The SLOI is an individual’s sustainability-oriented pattern of living represented by his or her activities, interests and opinions. The SLOI refers to a sustainable pattern of life (daily activities within the family, a sustainable pattern of consumption, a sustainable pattern of work and production (as employees in organizations and a sustainable pattern of behavior in the society and the environment they live in. The SLOI reflects an individual’s choices with respect to spending time, money and energy in accordance with the sustainable pattern of life. The SLOI stands for sustainable behavioral patterns on the basis of attitudes and values. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes of the population towards sustainable lifestyles and the SLMOI (performed by different actors and behaviors on the basis of attitudes.Using a face-to-face questionnaire interview, the study was conducted on a sample of 400 citizens of Serbia. There are three key conclusions. First, the SLMOI leads to the SLOI, and the SLOI further leads to sustainability. Second, the creation and maintenance of the SLOI is a long-term process. Third, a holistic approach is needed as well as the engagement of numerous actors in that process of creating and maintaining the SLOI.
Boersma-de Jong, Margreet F.
2012-01-01
Presentation for Springschool of Strategy, University of Groningen, 10 October 2012. The role of CSR is to stimulate ethical behaviour, and as a result, mutual trust in society. Advantage of CSR for the company and the evolution of CSR. From CSR to Sustainable Finance: how does CSR influence
Incorporating Sustainability Issues into the Financial Accounting Curriculum
Haskin, Daniel L.; Burke, Megan M.
2016-01-01
Changes in the views that society holds of capital allocation suggest that sustainability reporting needs to be incorporated into the financial accounting curriculum. This paper reviews the background and history of corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting and discusses formation of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board…
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Strassner, Carola; Bügel, Susanne Gjedsted; Hertwig, Jostein
2016-01-01
Internationally there is increasing interest in short food supply chains and local and organic food as part of a wider concern with sustainability. This is strongly evident in both commercially oriented food service, where it is often associated with sustainable tourism endeavours, and in institu......Internationally there is increasing interest in short food supply chains and local and organic food as part of a wider concern with sustainability. This is strongly evident in both commercially oriented food service, where it is often associated with sustainable tourism endeavours...
From spotting - to sustaining the window of opportunity
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Knudsen, Henrik; Lindgren, Peter
2006-01-01
Modern societies are increasingly dependent on entrepreneurship and innovation to develop their competitiveness and wealth. In the agenda for today's development of the competence of innovation and entrepreneurship is paramount and this is also one major objective for the educational sector...... business to the entrepreneur should be given greater focus. The educational system must secure unique sustainable capabilities and ideas in the entrepreneurs business otherwise the society and the entrepreneurs will only stay shortly in business (Knudsen & Lindgren, 2004). However, there is relative little...... in the literature on the sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship. The question being, how can entrepreneurs articulate and embed innovation and entrepreneurship into sustainable businesses accompanying customers innovation process and become leaders of the customers innovation process - sustaining the window...
Shadymanova, J.; Wahlen, S.; Horst, van der H.M.
2014-01-01
Within Western societies, the detrimental consequences of mass consumption on the environment have long been identified. Consumers have developed sustainability consciousness in accordance with research and policies. In non-Western societies, however, experiences with mass consumption have not been
Is South Korea’s Green Job Policy Sustainable?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yeon-Mi Jung
2015-07-01
Full Text Available South Korea’s green job policy was implemented in February 2008 as a part of low-carbon green growth policy, but has been discontinued at the present. The country’s actual energy and environmental consumption has continuously increased, and South Korean society has grown increasingly distant from sustainable development. The study constructs a theoretical framework centering on sustainable development and analyzes the process and contents of South Korea’s green job policy. We suggest four findings: First, in terms of ideology, the nation’s green job policy was based on green growth. Implemented as a strategy typical of developing countries, South Korea’s green growth was pursued as weak ecological modernization, relatively stressing economic growth and excluding citizens’ participation. Second, in terms of governance, the nation’s green job policy was led by the central government, thus nearly completely destroying existing legal and institutional infrastructures related to sustainable development. Third, South Korea’s green job policy was defined on the basis of a growth orientation and concentrated on the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project and the NPP project, both of which betrayed considerable problems from the perspective of sustainable development. Fourth, green jobs were created in traditional environmental protection and pollution reduction and therefore limited.
The 1.5 kilowatt society: Towards a sustainable, equitable, and habitable world
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Duerr, H.P.
1998-01-01
Numerous tremblings around the globe painfully signal that the end of the Cold War has not carried mankind to the envisaged less troubled political and economical waters. The defects of the present industrial civilization present mankind today with a formidable challenge to fulfil successfully and simultaneously to reconcile three incompatible requirements: ecological sustainability; social sustainability; individual sustainability; energy resources, their abundance, accessibility and if scarce possible substitutions, or in case of renewable resources possibilities of their regeneration; environmentally and socially tolerable deposition of the non-recycled remnants of non-renewable fuels (safe removal of radioactive wastes in case of nuclear energy, and the release of carbondioxide in case of fossil fuels without climatic changes); appropriate limitation of local and global primary energy conversion because of the negative side effects of human energy applications, and in view of limited robustness of the earth's ecosystem
Museums, a consolidated offer for sustainable tourism and the quality of the landscape
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Manuel Antonio Zárate Martín
2017-11-01
Full Text Available The International Council of Museums (ICOM and the World Federation of Friends of Museums (WFFM for worldwide Sustainable Cultural Tourism acknowledge that museums constitute an example of sustainable cultural tourism for a society with increasing free time and the ability to move for reasons of leisure and tourism. This paper analyzes the evolution of museums since their initial function of gathering material for its conservation to the current situation, in which museums form part of the tourism offer and compete among themselves to increase the number of visitors, and enhance feelings of a collective identity and of respect and tolerance towards other cultures in accordance with the Charter for Sustainable Tourism of 1995. Museums also contribute, through tourism, to generating employment and enhancing the landscape following strategies of the Convention of the European landscape of 2000.
An innovative approach to undergraduate climate change education: Sustainability in the workplace
Robinson, Z. P.
2009-04-01
Climate change and climate science are a core component of environment-related degree programmes, but there are many programmes, for example business studies, that have clear linkages to climate change and sustainability issues which often have no or limited coverage of the subject. Although an in-depth coverage of climate science is not directly applicable to all programmes of study, the subject of climate change is of great relevance to all of society. Graduates from the higher education system are often viewed as society's ‘future leaders', hence it can be argued that it is important that all graduates are conversant in the issues of climate change and strategies for moving towards a sustainable future. Rather than an in depth understanding of climate science it may be more important that a wider range of students are educated in strategies for positive action. One aspect of climate change education that may be missing, including in programmes where climate change is a core topic, is practical strategies, skills and knowledge for reducing our impact on the climate system. This presentation outlines an innovative approach to undergraduate climate change education which focuses on the strategies for moving towards sustainability, but which is supported by climate science understanding taught within this context. Students gain knowledge and understanding of the motivations and strategies for businesses to improve their environmental performance, and develop skills in identifying areas of environmental improvement and recommending actions for change. These skills will allow students to drive positive change in their future careers. Such courses are relevant to students of all disciplines and can give the opportunity to students for whom climate change education is not a core part of their programme, to gain greater understanding of the issues and an awareness of practical changes that can be made at all levels to move towards a more sustainable society.
Dynamics and forecast in a simple model of sustainable development for rural populations.
Angulo, David; Angulo, Fabiola; Olivar, Gerard
2015-02-01
Society is becoming more conscious on the need to preserve the environment. Sustainable development schemes have grown rapidly as a tool for managing, predicting and improving the growth path in different regions and economy sectors. We introduce a novel and simple mathematical model of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in order to obtain a dynamical description for each one of the sustainability components (economy, social development and environment conservation), together with their dependence with demographic dynamics. The main part in the modeling task is inspired by the works by Cobb, Douglas, Brander and Taylor. This is completed through some new insights by the authors. A model application is presented for three specific geographical rural regions in Caldas (Colombia).
Garzón-Villalba, Ximena P; Wu, Yougui; Ashley, Candi D; Bernard, Thomas E
2017-07-01
stress exposures. Tsk alone or in combination with HR has a high sensitivity, and makes better discriminations than the other PHSIs under relatively constant exposure (metabolic rate and environment) for an hour or so. Screening limits with high sensitivity, however, have low thresholds that limit utility. To the extent that the observed strain is low, there is good evidence that the exposure is Sustainable. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.
Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gad, Ulrik Pram; Jakobsen, Uffe; Strandsbjerg, Jeppe
2017-01-01
The concept of sustainability has become central in arctic politics. However, there is little agreement on what ‘sustainable’ means. For different actors (governments, indigenous people, NGOs, etc.) the concept implies different sets of opportunities and precautions. Sustainability, therefore...... the role of sustainability in political and economic strategies in the Arctic. Sustainability has become a fundamental concept that orders the relationship between the environment (nature) and development (economy), however, in the process rearticulating other concepts such as identity (society). Hence, we...... to outline an agenda for how to study the way in which sustainability works as a political concept....
"Thinking about a Sustainable Earth"
Ikeshita, Makoto
2014-05-01
1.Introduction The Course of study for Junior high school teaching was changed in 2008 in Japan. We should especially mention about this change that ESD, "Education for Sustainable Development," was written as a point of view. ESD is a kind of educations that is studied with a target for a region and that aims at reorganize of consciousness through thinking of how to be a better region. ESD's view was written for Social studies, Science, Foreign Languages, Health and Physical Education, Home Economics and Technical Arts, and the Period for Integrated Studies. Of these subjects, Social studies are the one of core subjects. Social studies for Junior high school consist of Geography, History and Civics. "Problem of us and international society" is the last part of Civics. Teacher helps students to understand international society deeply and think about the role of our country for it. Students research many problems (global environment, resources and energy, poverty etc.) and organize their thoughts on how make a better society as a part of the human family. I taught them to think about how to solve many themes like religious problems, terrorism problems, the North-South problems, and resource and energy problems. It is my practice to let them think about what they should do to solve the global warming problem. 2.The truth of my class I pointed out to the students that the length of summer time in Japan is increasing, and we can anticipate it will continue to increase in the future. After that, I explained to them that occurrence of sudden, heavy downpour of rain is increasing and helped them understand the process of this kind of downpour through some diagrams and pictures. I helped them understand the context of this increase of the length of summer time and heavy downpour within the whole earth's ecosystem. Such increases as these things are causing global warming. I asked them to think about what are the possible problems if global warming progresses. The ideas the
Utilities practices toward sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2008-01-01
The strategy toward a Sustainable Development is not standardised and it is useful to compare approaches of companies. WG C3.03 analysed a number of Sustainability Reports or Environmental Reports, published by Utilities, exposing their current approaches to the three 'Pillars': environmental aspects, society development and economical performances. Case studies, relevant to the three 'Pillars', show examples of practices
Innovating engineering study programs for a sustainable society
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Schjær-Jacobsen, Hans; Andersen, Birte Møller; Molin, Jesper
2011-01-01
The Danish government as well as regional and municipal authority has issued ambitious goals and plans for building a sustainable future by developing and implementing alternative practices and technological solutions to societal needs. As an educational institution Copenhagen University College ...... mass and earth energy, monitoring and reducing energy consumption in buildings and transport, and application of cradle-to-cradle concepts in product development and manufacturing including circular logistics....... in order to comply with society’s ambitions. Further, the new learning elements introduced in the curriculum of study programs are described and examples of theoretical and practical implementations of specific technical solutions developed by the students are presented. Focus is on such areas as wind, bio...
Engineering for Sustainable Development and the Common Good
Kelly, William E.
2006-01-01
In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) updated its Code of Ethics to include specific statements on sustainable development and at about the same time, 1994, ASCE adopted its Policy 418 on sustainable development. Sustainable development as defined by ASCE "is the challenge of meeting human needs for natural resources, industrial…
Transitioning Wood Furniture Products towards Sustainability
Lu, Lei; Zhang, WeiGuang; Zhang, WeiQing
2008-01-01
Wood Furniture Products (WFPs) play a significant role in both the global economy and the transition of society towards sustainability. This paper begins with a brief description of the industry and highlights the current challenges and compelling measures of WFPs from a systems perspective through the lens of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and by applying backcasting from sustainability principles (SPs). An examination of the challenges and opportunities of WFPs i...
Sustainable Development in Sweden - a success story. Discourse analysis
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ahlberg, Malin
2009-01-01
In Sweden the term 'Sustainable Development' is very well known and is often used as leitmotivs in many parts of the society. Since the UN Conference on Environment and Development took place in Rio de Janeiro 1992 SD has become more and more indispensable in political debates and it has even become a crucial argument in management decisions in the business sector. Due to the tradition of consensus policy and the strong involvement of different interest group in policy decision-making processes, the idea of SD as a holistic policy concept fell in Sweden on a fruitful ground
An Artist's Anthropological Approach to Sustainability
Mackinnon-Day, Patricia
2016-01-01
Recent studies of sustainability draw attention to the impact art and culture have on communities. The Earth Charter, which originated in 1968, fostered the idea of "a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace." This article supports the idea that art can…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Patricia Balvanera
2017-03-01
Full Text Available The emerging discipline of sustainability science is focused explicitly on the dynamic interactions between nature and society and is committed to research that spans multiple scales and can support transitions toward greater sustainability. Because a growing body of place-based social-ecological sustainability research (PBSESR has emerged in recent decades, there is a growing need to understand better how to maximize the effectiveness of this work. The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS provides a unique opportunity for synthesizing insights gained from this research community on key features that may contribute to the relative success of PBSESR. We surveyed the leaders of PECS-affiliated projects using a combination of open, closed, and semistructured questions to identify which features of a research project are perceived to contribute to successful research design and implementation. We assessed six types of research features: problem orientation, research team, and contextual, conceptual, methodological, and evaluative features. We examined the desirable and undesirable aspects of each feature, the enabling factors and obstacles associated with project implementation, and asked respondents to assess the performance of their own projects in relation to these features. Responses were obtained from 25 projects working in 42 social-ecological study cases within 25 countries. Factors that contribute to the overall success of PBSESR included: explicitly addressing integrated social-ecological systems; a focus on solution- and transformation-oriented research; adaptation of studies to their local context; trusted, long-term, and frequent engagement with stakeholders and partners; and an early definition of the purpose and scope of research. Factors that hindered the success of PBSESR included: the complexities inherent to social-ecological systems, the imposition of particular epistemologies and methods on the wider research group
The Black Man in American Society.
Framingham Public Schools, MA.
GRADE OR AGES: Junior high school. SUBJECT MATTER: The black man in American society. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: There are four major parts each with an overview. The four parts concern a) the African heritage of the black man, b) the American exploitation of the black man, c) the black man's contribution to American society, d) the…
Innovation: an emerging focus from cells to societies.
Hochberg, Michael E; Marquet, Pablo A; Boyd, Robert; Wagner, Andreas
2017-12-05
Innovations are generally unexpected, often spectacular changes in phenotypes and ecological functions. The contributions to this theme issue are the latest conceptual, theoretical and experimental developments, addressing how ecology, environment, ontogeny and evolution are central to understanding the complexity of the processes underlying innovations. Here, we set the stage by introducing and defining key terms relating to innovation and discuss their relevance to biological, cultural and technological change. Discovering how the generation and transmission of novel biological information, environmental interactions and selective evolutionary processes contribute to innovation as an ecosystem will shed light on how the dominant features across life come to be, generalize to social, cultural and technological evolution, and have applications in the health sciences and sustainability.This article is part of the theme issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'. © 2017 The Author(s).
Soil mapping and processes modelling for sustainable land management: a review
Pereira, Paulo; Brevik, Eric; Muñoz-Rojas, Miriam; Miller, Bradley; Smetanova, Anna; Depellegrin, Daniel; Misiune, Ieva; Novara, Agata; Cerda, Artemi
2017-04-01
Soil maps and models are fundamental for a correct and sustainable land management (Pereira et al., 2017). They are an important in the assessment of the territory and implementation of sustainable measures in urban areas, agriculture, forests, ecosystem services, among others. Soil maps represent an important basis for the evaluation and restoration of degraded areas, an important issue for our society, as consequence of climate change and the increasing pressure of humans on the ecosystems (Brevik et al. 2016; Depellegrin et al., 2016). The understanding of soil spatial variability and the phenomena that influence this dynamic is crucial to the implementation of sustainable practices that prevent degradation, and decrease the economic costs of soil restoration. In this context, soil maps and models are important to identify areas affected by degradation and optimize the resources available to restore them. Overall, soil data alone or integrated with data from other sciences, is an important part of sustainable land management. This information is extremely important land managers and decision maker's implements sustainable land management policies. The objective of this work is to present a review about the advantages of soil mapping and process modeling for sustainable land management. References Brevik, E., Calzolari, C., Miller, B., Pereira, P., Kabala, C., Baumgarten, A., Jordán, A. (2016) Historical perspectives and future needs in soil mapping, classification and pedological modelling, Geoderma, 264, Part B, 256-274. Depellegrin, D.A., Pereira, P., Misiune, I., Egarter-Vigl, L. (2016) Mapping Ecosystem Services in Lithuania. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 23, 441-455. Pereira, P., Brevik, E., Munoz-Rojas, M., Miller, B., Smetanova, A., Depellegrin, D., Misiune, I., Novara, A., Cerda, A. (2017) Soil mapping and process modelling for sustainable land management. In: Pereira, P., Brevik, E., Munoz-Rojas, M., Miller, B
Curriculum and Civil Society in Afghanistan
Jones, Adele
2009-01-01
Although research has traditionally discussed the ways in which societies in conflict develop educational practices, only recently have scholars begun to examine the role of education in creating or sustaining conflict. In Afghanistan, changing regimes have had an impact on state-sanctioned curricula over the past fifty years, drastically altering…
Put numbers on the sustainability
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hauschild, Michael Zwicky
2014-01-01
applied in many companies today. As engineers we need methods to analyze the sustainability performance of the technologies that we develop in order to create value for society. Quantitative methods allow us to benchmark alternative solutions against each other, to prioritize improvements and to document...... the sustainability performance. In this presentation the focus will be on the environmental dimension of sustainability and on methods for quantifying the environmental performance of products and technical systems. A product may cause environmental impacts when it is brought to use, but also when it is produced...
Sustainability Matters for Undergraduate Teaching and Learning
Fry, Catherine L.; Wei, Cynthia A.
2015-01-01
A growing body of evidence shows that infusing sustainability into undergraduate courses and programs can simultaneously benefit institutional goals, student learning outcomes, and society at large. In addition to being a globally relevant and urgent topic, sustainability can enhance learning of disciplinary concepts and development of broad…
Current problems of the nuclear power - society relationship in Romania
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Constantin, Marin
2004-01-01
The present work tries to make an analysis of the current aspects of the interaction between the nuclear field, environment and society. One starts from the general conception of sustainable development. The analysis focusses mainly the social side of the sustainable development and the environmental protection issues. As prominent appears the sensitive problem of radioactive waste management. The papers analyses the current public perception, the mutations expected in the public opinion as well as the problems which the nuclear industry and decision makers confront to harmonize the requirements in the nuclear power sector and those imposed by society. Particularly focused is the situation in Romania
The role of Carbon Capture and Storage in a future sustainable energy system
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lund, Henrik; Mathiesen, Brian Vad
2012-01-01
systems, the number of utilisation hours of power and CHP plants will have to decrease substantially due to the energy efficiency measures in combination with the inclusion of renewable energy power inputs from wind and similar resources. Consequently, no power or CHP plants exist in future sustainable......This paper presents the results of adding a CCS(Carbon Capture and Storage) plant including an underground CO2 storage to a well described and well documented vision of converting the present Danish fossil based energy system into a future sustainable energy system made by the Danish Society...... huge construction costs with the expectation of long lifetimes. Consequently, the CCS has to operate as part of large-scale power or CHP plants with high utilisation hours for the CCS investment to come even close to being feasible. However, seen in the light of transforming to sustainable energy...
The Sustainability Cycle and Loop: models for a more unified understanding of sustainability.
Hay, Laura; Duffy, Alex; Whitfield, R I
2014-01-15
In spite of the considerable research on sustainability, reports suggest that we are barely any closer to a more sustainable society. As such, there is an urgent need to improve the effectiveness of human efforts towards sustainability. A clearer and more unified understanding of sustainability among different people and sectors could help to facilitate this. This paper presents the results of an inductive literature investigation, aiming to develop models to explain the nature of sustainability in the Earth system, and how humans can effectively strive for it. The major contributions are two general and complementary models, that may be applied in any context to provide a common basis for understanding sustainability: the Sustainability Cycle (S-Cycle), and the Sustainability Loop (S-Loop). Literature spanning multiple sectors is examined from the perspective of three concepts, emerging as significant in relation to our aim. Systems are shown to provide the context for human action towards sustainability, and the nature of the Earth system and its sub-systems is explored. Activities are outlined as a fundamental target that humans need to sustain, since they produce the entities both needed and desired by society. The basic behaviour of activities operating in the Earth system is outlined. Finally, knowledge is positioned as the driver of human action towards sustainability, and the key components of knowledge involved are examined. The S-Cycle and S-Loop models are developed via a process of induction from the reviewed literature. The S-Cycle describes the operation of activities in a system from the perspective of sustainability. The sustainability of activities in a system depends upon the availability of resources, and the availability of resources depends upon the rate that activities consume and produce them. Humans may intervene in these dynamics via an iterative process of interpretation and action, described in the S-Loop model. The models are briefly
Is human society in denial regarding the tough questions about sustainability?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
John Cairns, Jr.
2004-07-01
Full Text Available The news media report daily on unsustainable practices and events that impede progress toward sustainable use of the planet - production of greenhouse gases, biotic impoverishment, depletion of fossil waters (aquifers, human population growth, production of persistent toxic substances, loss of agricultural topsoil and land, rapid loss of old growth forests, and so on. Exponential economic growth both depletes natural capital more rapidly than it is regenerated and also gives an illusion of sustainable prosperity. Failure to act more expeditiously is almost certainly due to a number of factors; however, denial that a problem exists is, arguably, one of the most likely reasons. Just as an alcoholic or drug addict must first acknowledge that a problem exists before successful treatment is possible, so must those addicted to exponential growth on a finite planet.
Teaching Sustainability in an Accounting Classroom
Creel, Timothy; Paz, Veronica
2018-01-01
Sustainability has become an important issue in the world today for both business and society. As accounting faculty members, it is important that we add aspects of sustainability into accounting classrooms to help prepare students for what they will see in the workplace. The article aims to discuss areas for faculty to share with students the…
Sustainable Development: Natural and Scientific Principles. Summary
Kuznetsov Oleg; Bolshakov Boris
2002-01-01
The book contains a brief summary of "Sustainable Development: Natural and Scientific Principles" textbook. The connection of sustainable development with the fundamental laws of the nature - society - man system, the logic of the transfer to sustainable development in ecology, economics, finances, politics and education are principally new in the mentioned textbook. A special attention is paid to synthesis and comparison of interconnections and knowledge in the creative process of research a...
Sustainable development from A to Z
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Euzen, Agathe; Gaill, Francoise; Eymard, Laurence
2013-01-01
This document proposes a presentation and the table of content of a book written by a large panel of researchers in economy, physics, agronomy, ecology, urban planning, demography, climate, geography, and so on, to describe, understand, and imagine the various tools aimed at the sustainable development of societies in the future. The contributions recall the origin of the concept of sustainable development, and discuss its political dimension, the evolution of the metropolitan space at the era of globalization, the issues of climate and energy, the relationship between environment and animal development, ethic aspects. They propose different perspectives on the environment (vulnerability, time scales, climate and ecosystems, water cycle issues, atmospheric chemistry, sea level rise, soils, wet lands, modelling of biodiversity, examples of sea biodiversity). They discuss the issue of new 'biomes' (city, urban forms, sustainable urban planning, urban ecology, urban mobility, urban growth, rural areas, and anthropogenic pressure on the coasts). They address societal aspects: demographic growth, access to basic services, sharing of resources, fishing and farming, GMOs and agriculture, food issues, energy transition, ways of life related to globalization, so on). They discuss the impacts of human activities on the environment: floods, dry and heat periods, air quality and health, ecological risks, marine sound pollution, consumption and wastes, pollutions, underground disposal, adaptation to climate change. A last part presents new research approaches
Indian Vacuum Society: The Indian Vacuum Society
Saha, T. K.
2008-03-01
The Indian Vacuum Society (IVS) was established in 1970. It has over 800 members including many from Industry and R & D Institutions spread throughout India. The society has an active chapter at Kolkata. The society was formed with the main aim to promote, encourage and develop the growth of Vacuum Science, Techniques and Applications in India. In order to achieve this aim it has conducted a number of short term courses at graduate and technician levels on vacuum science and technology on topics ranging from low vacuum to ultrahigh vacuum So far it has conducted 39 such courses at different parts of the country and imparted training to more than 1200 persons in the field. Some of these courses were in-plant training courses conducted on the premises of the establishment and designed to take care of the special needs of the establishment. IVS also regularly conducts national and international seminars and symposia on vacuum science and technology with special emphasis on some theme related to applications of vacuum. A large number of delegates from all over India take part in the deliberations of such seminars and symposia and present their work. IVS also arranges technical visits to different industries and research institutes. The society also helped in the UNESCO sponsored post-graduate level courses in vacuum science, technology and applications conducted by Mumbai University. The society has also designed a certificate and diploma course for graduate level students studying vacuum science and technology and has submitted a syllabus to the academic council of the University of Mumbai for their approval, we hope that some colleges affiliated to the university will start this course from the coming academic year. IVS extended its support in standardizing many of the vacuum instruments and played a vital role in helping to set up a Regional Testing Centre along with BARC. As part of the development of vacuum education, the society arranges the participation of
Sustainability of common pool resources
Timilsina, Raja Rajendra; Kotani, Koji; Kamijo, Yoshio
2017-01-01
Sustainability has become a key issue in managing natural resources together with growing concerns for capitalism, environmental and resource problems. We hypothesize that the ongoing modernization of competitive societies, which we refer to as "capitalism," affects human nature for utilizing common pool resources, thus compromising sustainability. To test this hypothesis, we design and implement a set of dynamic common pool resource games and experiments in the following two types of Nepales...
Older people in the information society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aleksandra Marcinkiewicz-Wilk
2016-06-01
Full Text Available This paper focuses on the situation of older people in the information society. In the theoretical part of article phenomena of aging population and information society were described. This paper includes results of research conducted in qualitative strategy. The method of collecting data was biographical method. The method for data processing was qualitative content analysis. In the research 2 older, educationally active people took part. Results of research shows how older people understand the information society and what risk and opportunities they notice in this new reality. Narratives of the respondents indicated that education is of crucial importance for participation in the information society. Older people who take part in lifelong learning cope better with the new reality than people who do not learn. Based on the research results we can point out areas of education which should be development. Moreover, it is visible that educational activity of older people is very important in adaptation to the information society. Narratives of seniors indicate reasons for the lack of educational activity of other seniors. According to this, it can be specified what action should be undertaken to prevent the exclusion of older people in this new reality
Emergent pedagogy of sustainability
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Husted, Mia; Frøkjær, Thorleif
of societal life. Most often, the experimental activities tends to favor learning about responsible behavior, but the intension was formation of critical curiosity. While the difficulties to find pedagogical forms to present sustainability frustrate the participating pedagogues, the teachers teaching student.......S. Nielsen, N. Sriskandarajah, & E. Gunnarsson (eds) (2016). Commons, Sustainability, Democratization: Action Research and the Basic Renewal of Society. New York. RoutledgeLewin, K. (1948). Resolving Social Conflicts. New York, Harper and RowSachs, W. (1999). Planet dialectics. Explorations in Environment...
Punishment sustains large-scale cooperation in prestate warfare
Mathew, Sarah; Boyd, Robert
2011-01-01
Understanding cooperation and punishment in small-scale societies is crucial for explaining the origins of human cooperation. We studied warfare among the Turkana, a politically uncentralized, egalitarian, nomadic pastoral society in East Africa. Based on a representative sample of 88 recent raids, we show that the Turkana sustain costly cooperation in combat at a remarkably large scale, at least in part, through punishment of free-riders. Raiding parties comprised several hundred warriors and participants are not kin or day-to-day interactants. Warriors incur substantial risk of death and produce collective benefits. Cowardice and desertions occur, and are punished by community-imposed sanctions, including collective corporal punishment and fines. Furthermore, Turkana norms governing warfare benefit the ethnolinguistic group, a population of a half-million people, at the expense of smaller social groupings. These results challenge current views that punishment is unimportant in small-scale societies and that human cooperation evolved in small groups of kin and familiar individuals. Instead, these results suggest that cooperation at the larger scale of ethnolinguistic units enforced by third-party sanctions could have a deep evolutionary history in the human species. PMID:21670285
Sustainable use of phosphorus: a finite resource.
Scholz, Roland W; Ulrich, Andrea E; Eilittä, Marjatta; Roy, Amit
2013-09-01
Phosphorus is an essential element of life and of the modern agricultural system. Today, science, policy, agro-industry and other stakeholder groups are increasingly concerned about the sustainable use of this resource, given the dissipative nature of phosphorus and difficulties in assessing, evaluating, and coping with phosphorus pollution in aquatic and terrestrial systems. We argue that predictions about a forthcoming peak, followed by a quick reduction (i.e., physical phosphate rock scarcity) are unreasoned and stress that access to phosphorus (economic scarcity) is already, and may increasingly become critical, in particular for smallholders farmers in different parts of the world. The paper elaborates on the design, development, goals and cutting-edge contributions of a global transdisciplinary process (i.e. mutual learning between science and society including multiple stakeholders) on the understanding of potential contributions and risks related to the current mode of using phosphorus on multiple scales (Global TraPs). While taking a global and comprehensive view on the whole phosphorus-supply chain, Global TraPs organizes and integrates multiple transdisciplinary case studies to better answer questions which inform sustainable future phosphorus use. Its major goals are to contribute to four issues central to sustainable resource management: i) long-term management of biogeochemical cycles, in particular the challenge of closing the phosphorus cycle, ii) achieving food security, iii) avoiding environmental pollution and iv) sustainability learning on a global level by transdisciplinary processes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Sustainability - What are the Odds? Guessing the Future of our Environment, Economy, and Society
This article examines the concept of sustainability from a global perspective, describing how alternative futures might develop in the environmental, economic, and social dimensions. The alternatives to sustainability appear to be (a) a catastrophic failure of life support, econo...
Challenges for Marketers in Sustainable Production and Consumption
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Caroline Oates
2016-01-01
Full Text Available As one of the biggest issues facing today’s global society, sustainability cuts across all areas of production and consumption and presents challenges for marketers who attempt to understand and incorporate sustainability in their everyday practices [1–3]. [...
van der Heijden, Beatrice
2012-01-01
Ageing and dejuvenization of the working population urge us to pay directed attention to sustainable employability policy as being part of Strategic HRM. In this shortened version of my inaugural lecture, a positive psychological approach is used to deal with the possibilities both employees and
Post-carbon bibliography. Research program 'rethinking cities in a post-carbon society?'
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mor, Elsa
2009-05-01
This bibliography presents a selection of references (books, journal articles, dossiers, reports) with or without abstract, about: post-carbon cities and societies, energy and energy peaks, renewable energy sources, energy/climate prospective, low-carbon economy and society, climate/regions and adaptation to climate change, intelligent infrastructure systems, Grenelle Environment Forum, urban policy, energy policy and fossil fuels phasing out, sustainable urbanism, urban morphologies, buildings, sustainable mobility and transports, low energy intensity lifestyles
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shogo Kudo
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Sustainability science emerged as a new academic field to address complex sustainability challenges. To train sustainability experts, sustainability science programs and sustainability-focused courses are offered in higher education, especially at the graduate level. Given the diverse topics and the complex structures of sustainability challenges, what are the required knowledge and skills needed for sustainability experts? Although the earlier literature identified key features and competencies, empirical studies on how educational programs in sustainability science provide the necessary training are still scarce. This study addresses this gap by illustrating how a field-based course can contribute in developing core skills for fostering sustainability experts through a case study of field-based course called Global Field Exercise (GFE in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science-Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI at The University of Tokyo. Literature review on the competencies in sustainability science suggests a three-way typology of descriptive-analytical skills, solution-oriented skills, and attitudinal skills. A group of students joined a GFE unit in Akita, Japan, and set “local food and place attachment” as the topic for their fieldwork. The participants conducted semi-structured interviews to three generational groups to illustrate the different perceptions of local food and places. The alternative mechanism of knowledge transmission across generations by local festivals and school events was found. The authors observed the implemented field-based course provided unique learning opportunities to acquire: (i the ability to perform key competencies collectively instead of individually; (ii an interdisciplinary-mindset to acknowledge multiple views to topics during group discussions among researchers; (iii a transdisciplinary-mindset to communicate research outputs with local residents in a communicable way; (iv the ability to
Benchmarks for sustainable construction: A contribution to develop a standard
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zimmermann, M. [Swiss Federal Labs. for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Centre for Energy and Sustainability in Buildings (ZEN), Duebendorf (Switzerland); Althaus, H.-J. [Swiss Federal Labs. for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Technology and Society Lab. (TSL), Duebendorf (Switzerland); Haas, A. [Swiss Federal Labs. for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Lab. for Energy Systems/Building Equipment, Duebendorf (Switzerland)
2005-11-15
Sustainability has been enshrined as a goal of society to ensure that the satisfaction of present needs does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is thus a social objective, achievable only where all areas of society co-operate in fulfilling the associated demands. Ecological sustainability is, in turn, a basic prerequisite for sustainable economic and social development. The first step in formulating an effective response to this challenge, focused solely on the environmental issues, entails a quantification of the contribution required from the various areas of human activity for the achievement of sustainable development. Without binding sub-targets for the different sectors, it will be all but impossible to move systematically towards a sustainable society. These benchmarks for sustainable construction therefore set out to define the requirements to be met by buildings and structures in contributing to the achievement of a sustainable society. The permissible impact of buildings, in terms of energy demand and pollutant loads, during construction, maintenance and operation is determined. The analysis focuses on identifying the permissible levels of loads based on the specific energy consumption per m{sup 2} and year for heating, hot water, electricity and construction. A conscious attempt is made to combine existing methods with the general political consensus by taking account of: The ecological scarcity method [G. Brand, A. Scheidegger, O. Schwank, A. Braunschweig, Bewertung in Okobilanzen mit der Methode der okologischen Knappheit (Life cycle analysis using ecological scarcity method), Environmental Publication no. 297, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL), 1997] used to define critical pollutant loads; The limitation of greenhouse gas emissions specified by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2001, IPCC Third
High-Level System Change: Protecting Business and Society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Frank Dixon
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Over the past 15 years, sustainability has become mainstream in the corporate and financial sectors. But environmental and social conditions are declining rapidly in many regions. Nearly all corporate and financial sector sustainability strategies are focused on company-level activities, such as unilaterally mitigating negative environmental and social impacts. But flawed economic and political systems make it impossible for businesses to mitigate about 80 percent of negative impacts. These impacts often return to harm companies, for example, in the form of market rejection, lawsuits and reputation damage. System change is the most important sustainability issue. Protecting business and society requires substantially shifting the focus of corporate sustainability strategies from company change to system change. A growing number of collaborative system change efforts are being implemented. Most focus on specific issues, sectors or system flaws. They frequently are ineffective because they do not use a whole system approach. All major aspects of human society are connected. Root causes, key leverage points and most effective solutions often lie outside of issue-specific areas. Climate change, economic reform and other complex issues can only be effectively addressed through a whole system approach. This paper summarizes important economic and political system flaws and describes a collaborative, whole system approach for engaging the corporate and financial sectors in system change.
Sustainability of Fossil Fuels
Lackner, K. S.
2002-05-01
For a sustainable world economy, energy is a bottleneck. Energy is at the basis of a modern, technological society, but unlike materials it cannot be recycled. Energy or more precisely "negentropy" (the opposite of entropy) is always consumed. Thus, one either accepts the use of large but finite resources or must stay within the limits imposed by dilute but self-renewing resources like sunlight. The challenge of sustainable energy is exacerbated by likely growth in world energy demand due to increased population and increased wealth. Most of the world still has to undergo the transition to a wealthy, stable society with the near zero population growth that characterizes a modern industrial society. This represents a huge unmet demand. If ten billion people were to consume energy like North Americans do today, world energy demand would be ten times higher. In addition, technological advances while often improving energy efficiency tend to raise energy demand by offering more opportunity for consumption. Energy consumption still increases at close to the 2.3% per year that would lead to a tenfold increase over the course of the next century. Meeting future energy demands while phasing out fossil fuels appears extremely difficult. Instead, the world needs sustainable or nearly sustainable fossil fuels. I propose the following definition of sustainable under which fossil fuels would well qualify: The use of a technology or resource is sustainable if the intended and unintended consequences will not force its abandonment within a reasonable planning horizon. Of course sustainable technologies must not be limited by resource depletion but this is only one of many concerns. Environmental impacts, excessive land use, and other constraints can equally limit the use of a technology and thus render it unsustainable. In the foreseeable future, fossil fuels are not limited by resource depletion. However, environmental concerns based on climate change and other environmental
Sustainable Deforestation Evaluation Model and System Dynamics Analysis
Feng, Huirong; Lim, C. W.; Chen, Liqun; Zhou, Xinnian; Zhou, Chengjun; Lin, Yi
2014-01-01
The current study used the improved fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to construct a sustainable deforestation development evaluation system and evaluation model, which has refined a diversified system to evaluate the theory of sustainable deforestation development. Leveraging the visual image of the system dynamics causal and power flow diagram, we illustrated here that sustainable forestry development is a complex system that encompasses the interaction and dynamic development of ecology, economy, and society and has reflected the time dynamic effect of sustainable forestry development from the three combined effects. We compared experimental programs to prove the direct and indirect impacts of the ecological, economic, and social effects of the corresponding deforest techniques and fully reflected the importance of developing scientific and rational ecological harvesting and transportation technologies. Experimental and theoretical results illustrated that light cableway skidding is an ecoskidding method that is beneficial for the sustainable development of resources, the environment, the economy, and society and forecasted the broad potential applications of light cableway skidding in timber production technology. Furthermore, we discussed the sustainable development countermeasures of forest ecosystems from the aspects of causality, interaction, and harmony. PMID:25254225
Sustainable deforestation evaluation model and system dynamics analysis.
Feng, Huirong; Lim, C W; Chen, Liqun; Zhou, Xinnian; Zhou, Chengjun; Lin, Yi
2014-01-01
The current study used the improved fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to construct a sustainable deforestation development evaluation system and evaluation model, which has refined a diversified system to evaluate the theory of sustainable deforestation development. Leveraging the visual image of the system dynamics causal and power flow diagram, we illustrated here that sustainable forestry development is a complex system that encompasses the interaction and dynamic development of ecology, economy, and society and has reflected the time dynamic effect of sustainable forestry development from the three combined effects. We compared experimental programs to prove the direct and indirect impacts of the ecological, economic, and social effects of the corresponding deforest techniques and fully reflected the importance of developing scientific and rational ecological harvesting and transportation technologies. Experimental and theoretical results illustrated that light cableway skidding is an ecoskidding method that is beneficial for the sustainable development of resources, the environment, the economy, and society and forecasted the broad potential applications of light cableway skidding in timber production technology. Furthermore, we discussed the sustainable development countermeasures of forest ecosystems from the aspects of causality, interaction, and harmony.
Sustainable Deforestation Evaluation Model and System Dynamics Analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Huirong Feng
2014-01-01
Full Text Available The current study used the improved fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to construct a sustainable deforestation development evaluation system and evaluation model, which has refined a diversified system to evaluate the theory of sustainable deforestation development. Leveraging the visual image of the system dynamics causal and power flow diagram, we illustrated here that sustainable forestry development is a complex system that encompasses the interaction and dynamic development of ecology, economy, and society and has reflected the time dynamic effect of sustainable forestry development from the three combined effects. We compared experimental programs to prove the direct and indirect impacts of the ecological, economic, and social effects of the corresponding deforest techniques and fully reflected the importance of developing scientific and rational ecological harvesting and transportation technologies. Experimental and theoretical results illustrated that light cableway skidding is an ecoskidding method that is beneficial for the sustainable development of resources, the environment, the economy, and society and forecasted the broad potential applications of light cableway skidding in timber production technology. Furthermore, we discussed the sustainable development countermeasures of forest ecosystems from the aspects of causality, interaction, and harmony.
Mapping a sustainable future: Community learning in dialogue at the science-society interface
Barth, Matthias; Lang, Daniel J.; Luthardt, Philip; Vilsmaier, Ulli
2017-12-01
In 2015, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) announced that the Science Year 2015 would focus on the "City of the Future". It called for innovative projects from cities and communities in Germany dedicated to exploring future options and scenarios for sustainable development. Among the successful respondents was the city of Lüneburg, located in the north of Germany, which was awarded funding to establish a community learning project to envision a sustainable future ("City of the Future Lüneburg 2030+"). What made Lüneburg's approach unique was that the city itself initiated the project and invited a broad range of stakeholders to participate in a community learning process for sustainable development. The authors of this article use the project as a blueprint for sustainable city development. Presenting a reflexive case study, they report on the process and outcomes of the project and investigate community learning processes amongst different stakeholders as an opportunity for transformative social learning. They discuss outputs and outcomes (intended as well as unintended) in relation to the specific starting points of the project to provide a context-sensitive yet rich narrative of the case and to overcome typical criticisms of case studies in the field.
The Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
. In original conservationist discourse, the environment was the sole referent object of sustainability, however, as sustainability discourses expand, the concept is linked to an increasing number of referent objects, such as, society, economy, culture and identity. This book sets out a theoretical framework...... of sustainability and how actors are employing and contesting this concept in specific regions within the Arctic. In doing so, the book demonstrates how sustainability is being given new meanings in the postcolonial Arctic and what the political implications are for postcoloniality, nature, and development more...
The role of culture in implementing the concept of sustainability
Bakri, M.
2018-03-01
Environment degradation urges human to live in a sustaining way both for production and consumption mode. It covers any sector of human life include architecture. People are competing to implement the concept of sustainability using the latest technology while the culture has begun to be forgotten. Bearing in mind that by examining the culture related or daily activities, the sustainable development can be implemented with a solid base and fully accepted by the society. Hence, the benefit of sustainable development can be felt by the inhabitant sooner. The aim of this research is examining the local culture in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and Gozo, Maltese Islands which has sustainability concept. The local culture can be a starting point in implementing the notion of sustainability through daily basis approach. This research uses the qualitative method and collects the data through observation and literature review. The result has shown that some of the cultures in selected area have sustainability values which can be developed further in term of the implementation of sustainable development. Thus, related to the sustainable development, the practitioners can shift to the deep-rooted local value rather than apply an alien concept in society.
Survival and sustainability. Environmental concerns in the 21st century
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Goekcekus, Hueseyin; Tuerker, Umut [Near East Univ., Nicosia, North Cyprus (Turkey). Dept. of Civil Engineering; LaMoreaux, James W. (eds.) [P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Tuscaloosa, AL (United States)
2011-07-01
The International Conference on Environment: Survival and Sustainability, held at the Near East University, Nicosia, Northern Cyprus 19-24 February 2007, dealt with environmental threats and proposed solutions at all scales. The 21 themes addressed by the conference fell into four broad categories; Threats to Survival and Sustainability; Technological Advances towards Survival and Sustainability; Activities and Tools for Social Change; Defining Goals for Sustainable Societies. Activities and tools that move the society towards greater sustainability were emphasized at the conference. These included environmental law and ethics, environmental knowledge, technology and information systems, media, environmental awareness, education and lifelong learning, the use of literature for environmental awareness, the green factor in politics, international relations and environmental organizations. The breadth of the issues addressed at the conference made clear the need for greatly increased interdisciplinary and international collaboration the survival and sustainability concept. The exchanges at the conference represent a step in this direction. (orig.)
Zheng, Zhongming; Xuemin
2013-01-01
This brief focuses on network planning and resource allocation by jointly considering cost and energy sustainability in wireless networks with sustainable energy. The characteristics of green energy and investigating existing energy-efficient green approaches for wireless networks with sustainable energy is covered in the first part of this brief. The book then addresses the random availability and capacity of the energy supply. The authors explore how to maximize the energy sustainability of the network and minimize the failure probability that the mesh access points (APs) could deplete their
April 2014 Arizona thoracic society notes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Robbins RA
2014-04-01
Full Text Available No abstract available. Article truncated at 150 words. The April 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society meeting was held on Wednesday, 4/23/2014 at Scottsdale Shea Hospital beginning at 6:30 PM. There were 15 in attendance representing the pulmonary, critical care, sleep, pathology and radiology communities. It was announced that there will be a wine tasting with the California, New Mexico and Colorado Thoracic Societies at the American Thoracic Society International Meeting. The tasting will be led by Peter Wagner and is scheduled for the Cobalt Room in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront on Tuesday, May 20, from 4-8 PM. Guideline development was again discussed. The consensus was to await publication of the IDSA Cocci Guidelines and respond appropriately. George Parides, Arizona Chapter Representative, gave a presentation on Hill Day. Representatives of the Arizona, New Mexico and Washington Thoracic Societies met with their Congressional delegations, including Rep. David Schweikert, to discuss the Cigar Bill, NIH funding, and the Medicare Sustainable Growth ...
Sustainability Assessment of Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia
Habib M. Alshuwaikhat; Yusuf A. Adenle; Bilal Saghir
2016-01-01
Universities are paramount change drivers in bringing about a culture of sustainability in society by setting themselves up as models and nurseries for sustainable development. Thus, assessment of sustainability integration within universities is key to their impact on sustainable development. This study conducted an assessment of different public sector universities of Saudi Arabia based on five components: (i) Teaching and Curriculum; (ii) Research and Scholarship; (iii) Campus Operations; ...
When Sustainable Development is Core Business
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Galamba, Kirsten Ramskov
2010-01-01
. Originality/value: The paper presents suggestions on the role of facilities management in a sustainable transition of society by changing focus from a typically instrumental approach towards a more holistic management of its facilities. The research provides an insight into the context of FM in a local......Purpose: The purpose of the paper is an attempt to define sustainability in a Facilities Management context and to present a methodology for facilities managers to reflect on their role as system builders. Theory: Theory of transition of large socio-technical systems are used to show the complexity...... of reorganising public building administration into FM for sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: Understandings of the term Sustainable Facilities Management is identified through reviews of FM literature as well as literature on sustainable buildings and sustainable urban development...
Governance Strategies for a Sustainable Digital World
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Igor Linkov
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Digitalization is changing society by the increased connectivity and networking that digital technologies enable, such as enhancing communication, services, and trade. Increasingly, policymakers within various national governments and international organizations such as the United Nations (UN and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD are examining the original sustainability policy concepts applied within the Brundtland Report of 1987 through the lens of digitalization. While the growth of a digital economy may increase productivity and benefit local and global economies, digitalization also raises potential sustainability challenges pertaining to social (i.e., the benefits or costs imposed by disruptive digital technologies upon social networks and ways of life, including threats to economic sustainability and the rise of economic disparity and environmental wellbeing (i.e., natural resource stewardship and concern for future generations driven by the automation of information processing and delivery of services. Various perspectives have been raised regarding how the process of digitalization might be governed, and national governments remain at odds regarding a single best strategy to promote sustainable digitalization using the Brundtland concept to meet the development needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations (i.e., social and environmental well-being. This paper reviews three governance strategies that countries can use in conjunction with adaptive governance to respond to digitalization sustainability threats: (i a laissez-faire, industry-driven approach; (ii a precautionary and preemptive strategy on the part of government; and (iii a stewardship and “active surveillance” approach by government agencies that reduce the risks derived from digitalization while promoting private sector innovation. Regardless of a state’s digital governance response and how it is shaped by
The bumpy road from renewable to sustainable
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Sinke, W.C. [ECN Solar Energy, Petten (Netherlands)
2011-08-15
Solar energy is inherently renewable, but not automatically (fully) sustainable. Few people will disagree with this general statement, but that is about where consensus ends. Photovoltaic solar energy (PV) has rapidly left behind the megawatt-era and entered the gigawatt-era a few years ago. The PV sector is currently preparing for the 'real thing', i.e. the terawattscale manufacturing and installation that is needed for substantial impact on a global level. For that reason sustainability is now high on the list of development priorities, next to cost reduction and performance enhancement. Clearly terawatt-scale use is impossible, or at least undesirable, if certain sustainability criteria are not met. It would also severely affect the credibility of PV as a solution for sustainability related problems of society. The challenge is to translate this general concept into concrete actions that are useful for research, manufacturing, installation and other parts of the PV value chain. An important and famous definition of the concept of 'sustainability', or rather of 'sustainable development' has been given in the Brundtland Report: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Although this definition catches an essential aspect of 'sustainability', it does not give concrete leads for the difficult choices that have to be made in everyday life in general, and in solar energy technology development and deployment in particular. Many other, more specific definitions and descriptions have also been developed, especially related to the narrower term 'environmental sustainability'. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, these do not give final answers to the questions either. This leads to strong and sometimes emotional debates, but also to confusion and misunderstanding among specialists as well as non-specialists. Dealing with (or managing
The bumpy road from renewable to sustainable
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sinke, W.C.
2011-01-01
Solar energy is inherently renewable, but not automatically (fully) sustainable. Few people will disagree with this general statement, but that is about where consensus ends. Photovoltaic solar energy (PV) has rapidly left behind the megawatt-era and entered the gigawatt-era a few years ago. The PV sector is currently preparing for the 'real thing', i.e. the terawattscale manufacturing and installation that is needed for substantial impact on a global level. For that reason sustainability is now high on the list of development priorities, next to cost reduction and performance enhancement. Clearly terawatt-scale use is impossible, or at least undesirable, if certain sustainability criteria are not met. It would also severely affect the credibility of PV as a solution for sustainability related problems of society. The challenge is to translate this general concept into concrete actions that are useful for research, manufacturing, installation and other parts of the PV value chain. An important and famous definition of the concept of 'sustainability', or rather of 'sustainable development' has been given in the Brundtland Report: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Although this definition catches an essential aspect of 'sustainability', it does not give concrete leads for the difficult choices that have to be made in everyday life in general, and in solar energy technology development and deployment in particular. Many other, more specific definitions and descriptions have also been developed, especially related to the narrower term 'environmental sustainability'. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, these do not give final answers to the questions either. This leads to strong and sometimes emotional debates, but also to confusion and misunderstanding among specialists as well as non-specialists. Dealing with (or managing) these aspects of PV and using them to define the
POPULARIZATION OF AN ECOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION USING SENSORY MARKETING
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marcin Gębarowski
2015-09-01
Full Text Available This publication presents an essence of sustainable consumption and sustainable marketing laying special emphasis on an ecological dimension of those phenomena. There has been also explored the essence of sensory marketing as an innovative concept that constitutes an answer to the demand of experience economy. In the part of this work which relates to market realities, examples of propagating disseminating attitudes were referred to. The primary goal of this article is to point out the possibilities of popularizing an ecological dimension of sustainable consumption through promotional activities taken by business entities. Whereas the secondary goal is to determine the factors conditioning the effective performance of marketing activities involving people’s senses and drawing the society’s attention to proecological behaviours. Among the main determinants the following activities have been identifi ed: coherent appeal to all senses of consumers, the connection of promotional actions with local societies, the formation of an “ecological” community around a brand, the use of an aspect of surprise, the organisation of campaigns which respect the rules of environmental protection.
Community Dialogue: The Bridge between Individual and Society
Wells, Gordon
2009-01-01
In Shakespeare's "As You Like It," Jaques offers the image of the world--or society--as a stage on which "one man in his time plays many parts." The question is: how does he (or she) know how to play those parts? Jaques seems to be suggesting that individuals are the creation of society, and the parts they play are written in…
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hall, Ralph P.; Gudmundsson, Henrik; Marsden, Greg
2014-01-01
The transportation system is the backbone of economic and social progress and the means by which humans access goods and services and connect with one another. Yet, as the scale of transportation activities has grown worldwide, so too have the negative environmental, social, and economic impacts...... that relate to the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure and the operation or use of the different transportation modes. The concept of sustainable transportation emerged in response to these concerns as part of the broader notion of sustainable development. Given the transportation...... sector’s significant contribution to global challenges such as climate change, it is often said that sustainable development cannot be achieved without sustainable transportation....
Transitioning to a More Sustainable Society: Unpacking the Role of the Learning-Action Nexus
Moyer, Joanne M.; Sinclair, A. John; Quinn, Lisa
2016-01-01
In recent years, action on sustainability has been highly influential around the globe and many now recognize the importance of individual and social learning for inspiring action and achieving sustainability outcomes. Transformative learning theory has been criticized, however, for insufficient development of the link between learning and action.…
Creating sustainable city by enhancing social capital
Affandi, R. A.; Mursitama, T. N.
2018-03-01
Scholars have been discussing social capital since the last two decades. They analyzed from various perspectives such as sociology, education, political participation, strengthening democratic values and economic empowerment of the society. However, study related to the implementation that benefits directly to the society is needed. This study examines how to create a sustainable city by enhancing social capital from both macro and micro analyses. This combination of analysis offers deeper understanding both from decision makers at city level and individuals, groups and society. We will conduct qualitative approach mainly by interviews and direct observation to collect the data. also, we also analyze publicly available data. Finally, this study contributes to new understanding in creating a sustainable city, not only about the environment and physical aspects, but also about ensuring political economic, democratic values, and social welfare.
The national strategy for a sustainable development 2009-2013
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2010-01-01
This document first presents the content of the French national strategy for a sustainable development, and notably its nine strategic challenges: climate change and energy, sustainable transport and mobility, sustainable consumption and production, sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources, public health, prevention and risk management, international challenges in terms of sustainable development and struggle against poverty, knowledge society, and governance. While discussing these challenges, the report outlines the need to make this strategy more constraining for public authorities, to structure this strategy about transitions towards a sustainable development, and to give room to dialogue
The 24-hour society between myth and reality.
Costa, G
2001-12-01
The 24-hour society appears to be an ineluctable process towards a social organisation where time constraints are no more "restricting" the human life. But, what kind of 24-hour society do we need? At what costs? Are they acceptable/sustainable? Shift work, night work, irregular and flexible working hours, together with new technologies, are the milestone of this epochal passage, of which shift workers are builders and victims at the same time. The borders between working and social times are no more fixed and rigidly determined: not only the link between work place and working hours is broken, but also the value of working time changes according to the different economic/productive/social effects it can make. What are the advantages and disadvantages for the individual, the companies, and the society? What is the cost/benefit ratio in terms of physical health; psychological well-being, family and social life? The research on irregular working hours and health shows us what can be the negative consequences of non-human-centered working times organisations. Coping properly with this process means avoiding a passive acceptance of it with consequent maladjustments at both individual and social level, but adopting effective preventive and compensative strategies aimed at building a more sustainable society, at acceptable costs and with the highest possible benefits.
Energy for a sustainable post-carbon society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Antonio García-Olivares
2016-09-01
Full Text Available A feasible way to avoid the risk of energy decline and to combat climate change is to build a worldwide, 100% renewable energy mix. Renewable energy can be scaled up to the range of 12 electric terawatts (TWe if 10% of continental shelves are exploited with floating turbines to depths as low as 225 m, 5% of continents with ground turbines, and 5% of the main deserts with concentrating solar power (CSP farms. However, a globally electrified economy cannot grow much above 12 TWe without approaching the limit of terrestrial copper reserves. New photovoltaic silicon panels do not use silver metallization pastes and could contribute up to 1 TW of decentralized residential power. Hydroelectricity has a potential of 1 TW but a fraction of this would have to be sacrificed for energy storage purposes. Hydro, CSP, wave energy and grid integration at continental scales may be sufficient to fit supply to demand, avoiding intermittency. The renewable energy mix would have an energy return on energy invested about 18, which is 25% lower than the estimated present one. That should be sufficient to sustain an industrialized economy provided that the substitution of electricity for fossil fuels is done intelligently.
Generating Sustainable Value from Open Data in a Sharing Society
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jetzek, Thorhildur; Avital, Michel; Bjørn-Andersen, Niels
2014-01-01
Our societies are in the midst of a paradigm shift that transforms hierarchical markets into an open and networked economy based on digital technology and information. In that context, open data is widely presumed to have a positive effect on social, environmental and economic value; however...
Wholesome Nutrition: an example for a sustainable diet.
von Koerber, Karl; Bader, Nadine; Leitzmann, Claus
2017-02-01
'Wholesome Nutrition' is a concept of sustainable nutrition that was developed at the University of Giessen in the 1980s. In this concept, health and the ecologic, economic, social and cultural dimensions of nutrition are equally important. In 1992 at the UN-Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro the definition of 'Sustainable Development' comprised the dimensions environment, economy and society. Additionally to these three 'classical' dimensions of sustainability, we included 'health' as the fourth dimension because nutrition has far reaching effects on human health. The fifth dimension, 'culture', became part of the sustainability dialogue since many years; the respective cultural background influences food habits. Presently, mankind has to cope with huge global challenges such as poverty and food insecurity in low-income countries as well as climate change. Therefore the objective is to identify prospects for actions to respond to these global challenges. The concept of 'Sustainable Nutrition' analyses the food supply chain at all stages from input-production and primary production to processing, distribution, preparation, consumption and waste disposal. The present analysis leads to the following seven principles: preference of plant-based foods, organic foods, regional and seasonal products, preference of minimally processed foods, Fair Trade products, resource-saving housekeeping and enjoyable eating culture. This concept is based on holistic thinking and has the potential to reduce the global challenges in the field of nutrition. Scientists, stakeholders, multipliers and consumers are asked to consider environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects in addition to the biological (health) aspects.
Developing Ecological Sustainability
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hedman, Jonas; Henningsson, Stefan
2016-01-01
IS initiatives become part of a firm’s overall strategy and part of the organizational sustainability process. We find that Green IS initiatives are initiated through a bottom-up process where environmentally concerned individuals identify issues and become Green IS champions. They use their authority...... and edification skills to promote Green IS to the organizational agenda. If the issue is aligned with the organizational agenda, it receives management’s endorsement. The empirical case also shows two types of systemic feedback that can fuel a self-reinforcing sustainability process. The first type of feedback...
Kosovar Society through Secularism and Religion
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
MSc. Dritero Arifi
2013-12-01
Full Text Available This paper will analyze the importance and the effects of religion, in Kosovar society. A great part of the paper, will analyze the social and the political relations in Post-War Kosovo. Initially it will elaborate religion and secularism, especially in theoreticall aspect, what impact have these definitions in modern societies. In order to explain what the importance of the religion in Kosovo is, we will focus on analyzing ethnical, social and political relations within Kosovo society. A considerable component of the paper is also, the elaboration of secularism in Kosovo conditions. This implies that the formulation of the problem and the objective of this research, are the substance of the paper’s theme, which is, religion in Kosovo; its definition and the outlook of the Kosovar society on religion. Is Kosovo post-war society more or less religious? That means the elements of Religions and Secularism will be part of the analysis of developments in post-war Kosovo.
THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET AS A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ricardo Lopes
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Central theme in society these days, the diet went through several phases during the evolution of the human being. Currently human’s advanced civilizational, deplete resources, develops forms of reproduction and rapid growth of animals, genetically alter plants to make them more resilient and artificially prolongs life. All these factors lead to an overload in nature and revolve to a group of environmentalists and animal rights. Sustainability is part of everyday life of political and social discourse as the fundamental way to our relationship with the environment. Sustainable food systems are those that are able to survive over time, promoting sustainable use of resources and a balance in the economic, social and environmental aspects. Changing diet to the Mediterranean Diet would bring benefits: on the health level, with better nutrition and increased use of some processed products; economic, by encouraging the consumption of local and national production of products; social, with the creation of jobs in agriculture; and environmental, using organic production and the reduction of transportation needs. The Mediterranean Diet encourages a more balanced and healthy eating style, with great positive impact on the environment. With the globalization phenomena is was gradually lost, but is now being revived due to the awakening to health and ecological problems.
Re-Energize South Limburg: Designing sustainable energy landscapes
Etteger Ma, van R.; Stremke, S.
2007-01-01
Designers, architects and planners must begin to anticipate the far reaching changes we are facing in connection with climate change. What if we take action and actively participate in the transition from fossil-fuel driven society towards a more sustainable society? This Wageningen University paper
Introduction: Environment and Society in Contemporary Latin America
de Castro, F.; Hogenboom, B.; Baud, M.; de Castro, F.; Hogenboom, B.; Baud, M.
2016-01-01
Societal change in Latin America is intimately related to nature and natural resources. In this resource-rich region, nature–society relations provide both opportunities and challenges in achieving more fair, equitable and sustainable development. Nearly half of the world’s tropical forests are
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nafisa Yeasmin
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Northern countries are facing the challenges of declining human capital, and admitting immigrants, many of whom belong to religious minorities, to satisfy the demand for labour. If northern societies accept multiculturalism and immigrants, they should not disregard the cultures and religious practices (for example, ritual slaughter of immigrants, as they need to survive and integrate as a minority community in a secular society. However, there is clash between secularism and religions permitting animal slaughter, which is prohibited by some and allowed by other European countries. Community viability and sustainability depend partly on the exercise of community beliefs and ideology that support identity behaviour. This study will present an ethnographic analysis of the religiosity related to ritual slaughter and Muslim cultural identity in the European Arctic region and explore how religious relativism and practice sustain the community and support the overall integration of the Muslim minority in the North.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ruijgrok, W.
1999-09-01
The Third Energy Policy Memorandum and Action Programme 'The Advance of Sustainable Energy' depicts the objectives for sustainable energy consumption in the Netherlands. A major condition for achieving a successful market introduction of these sources of energy is a profitable operation. This study looks at the question of how profitable the various energy sources are at the moment what the contribution to this is of the existing package of stimulation measures provided by the Dutch government, and what improvements are possible. 20 refs
The role of soils in sustaining society and the environment
Hartemink, A.E.; McBratney, A.B.; White, R.E.
2009-01-01
This four-volume set, edited by leading experts in soil science, brings together in one collection a series of papers that have been fundamental to the development of soil science as a defined discipline. Volume 4 on The Role of Soils in Society and the Environment covers: - Soils and the
Guang, Yang; Ge, Song; Han, Liu
2016-01-01
The harmonious development in society, economy and environment are crucial to regional sustained boom. However, the society, economy and environment are not respectively independent, but both mutually promotes one which, or restrict mutually complex to have the long-enduring overall process. The present study is an attempt to investigate the relationship and interaction of society, economy and environment in China based on the data from 2004 to 2013. The principal component analysis (PCA) model was employed to identify the main factors effecting the society, economy and environment subsystems, and SD (system dynamics) method used to carry out dynamic assessment for future state of sustainability from society, economy and environment perspective with future indicator values. Sustainable development in China was divided in the study into three phase from 2004 to 2013 based competitive values of these three subsystems. According to the results of PCA model, China is in third phase, and the economy growth is faster than the environment development, while the social development still maintained a steady and rapid growth, implying that the next step for sustainable development in China should focus on society development, especially the environment development.
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Murambadoro, M
2009-08-01
Full Text Available The South African constitution seeks to secure ecological sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. It is important to understand how society makes use of natural resources...
Civil Society, Adult Learning and Action in India.
Tandon, Rajesh
2000-01-01
Five case studies of individual and collective learning projects in India demonstrate that (1) the impetus for civic action arises from local conditions; (2) transformative action requires sustained adult learning; and (3) civil society is a complex concept reflecting diverse priorities and perspectives. (SK)
Solutions for Energy Efficient and Sustainable Heating of Ventilation Air: A Review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Žandeckis
2015-10-01
Full Text Available A high energy efficiency and sustainability standards defined by modern society and legislation requires solutions in the form of complex integrated systems. The scope of this work is to provide a review on technologies and methods for the heating of ventilation air as a key aspect for high energy and environmental performance of buildings located in a cold climate. The results of this work are more relevant in the buildings where space heating consumes a significant part of the energy balance of a building, and air exchange is arranged in an organized manner. A proper design and control strategy, heat recovery, the use of renewable energy sources, and waste heat are the main aspects which must be considered for efficient and sustainable ventilation. This work focuses on these aspects. Air conditioning is not in the scope of this study.
Pluralism in Search of Sustainability: Ethics, Knowledge and Methdology in Sustainability Science
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ellinor Isgren
2017-02-01
Full Text Available Sustainability Science is an emerging, transdisciplinary academic field that aims to help build a sustainable global society by drawing on and integrating research from the humanities and the social, natural, medical and engineering sciences. Academic knowledge is combined with that from relevant actors from outside academia, such as policy-makers, businesses, social organizations and citizens. The field is focused on examining the interactions between human, environmental, and engineered systems to understand and contribute to solutions for complex challenges that threaten the future of humanity and the integrity of the life support systems of the planet, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and land and water degradation. Since its inception in around the year 2000, and as expressed by a range of proponents in the field, sustainability science has become an established international platform for interdisciplinary research on complex social problems [1]. This has been done by exploring ways to promote ‘greater integration and cooperation in fulfilling the sustainability science mandate’ [2]. Sustainability science has thereby become an extremely diverse academic field, yet one with an explicit normative mission. After nearly two decades of sustainability research, it is important to reflect on a major question: what critical knowledge can we gain from sustainability science research on persistent socio-ecological problems and new sustainability challenges?
Creativity and organizational learning as means to foster sustainability
Lozano, Rodrigo
This article argues that creativity and organizational learning can help to challenge the traditional Newtonian and Cartesian mental models and foster more sustainable societies. The recognition and acceptance of creativity by individuals, groups, organizations, and finally society can create new
Neugebauer, Reimund; Uhlmann, Eckart
2013-01-01
To meet and adapt to the current and future trends and issues in technology and society, the science committee of The German Academic Society for Production Engineering (WGP) continues to define future topics for production technology. These themes represent not only the key focus for the scientific work of the WGP, but also the central themes of the first annual conference in June 2011, whose paper is publically available in this volume. Such themes, including electric mobility, medical technology, lightweight construction, and resource efficiency, as well as mass production ability have all been identified as future, large-scale, and long-term drivers of change. Future trends influence changes sustainably and fundamentally; they permeate society, technology, economics, and value systems and have an effect in virtually all areas of life. The WGP has, as part of its research, established for itself the goal of not only observing these emerging changes, but also of supervising and influencing their development...
Society in Manfaluti Innovative Literature (Arabic
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Farman Ullah Khan
2016-07-01
Full Text Available This article describes the social problems face by the Egyptian people in the late nineteenth and beginning of twentieth century which are tackled by the writer Mustafā Lutfī Manfalūtī in his articles and parables. In the mentioned period the Egyptian society was prone to immoralities carved by the English regime. Bad governance, deprivation of the Egyptian society from their basic rights, and negligence towards Islam were the major shortcomings on the part of the ruling elite. While poverty, problems of women, immorality, offence and other social evils were the main troubles on the part of Egyptian society. This article deals with the way the writer tackled those problems in his writings
Japanese women in the contemporary society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dinca Violeta Mihaela
2017-07-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to examine Japanese society and present contemporary issues with emphasis on the changes in the role, status and preferences of Japanese women within the Japanese society, through the years. The first part of the paper makes an overview on the evolution of the role of women in Japanese society during Shogunate until now, focusing mainly on increasing Japanese women's status within the enterprise. In the second part of the paper, the author exposes the results of several studies on the effects on the marketing of luxury for Japanese women, highlighting the correlation between increased interest to be as competitive in the workplace and enhancing concern for luxury brands.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Verônica Macário de Oliveira
2016-05-01
Full Text Available Discussions on sustainability began recently to focus on the consumption patterns of contemporary society as a major causative factors of social and environmental problems. Thus, the aim of this paper is to discuss some opportunities that companies have to influence these changes consumption patterns towards sustainability, taking as a basis the view discussed in studies of Rindova and Ravasi (2008 who consider firms as producers of culture. To this end, we performed a theoretical essay. The results show that companies can influence the formation of specific cultures with the symbolic construction of sustainable practices, contributing to the formation of a culture of sustainable consumption. This occurs from innovation in their ways of working, considering that evoke meanings that products appear to be influenced by strategic choices of producers, such as the concepts and philosophies of design (Ravasi; Rindova, 2008, which includes the development new technologies and practices (Michaelis, 2003 based on the principles of eco-efficiency (Barber, 2008; Clark, 2008, as well as changes in values and discourses that shape the cultures of business, government, media and civil society (Michaelis, 2003, also aligned with the ethical principles and shared environmental responsibility (Tukkeret al, 2008.
Burmeister, Mareike; Schmidt-Jacob, Sabine; Eilks, Ingo
2013-01-01
Sustainability became a regulatory idea of national and international policies worldwide with the advent of the Agenda 21. One part of these policies includes promoting sustainability through educational reform. With the United Nations World Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), spanning the years 2005 to 2014, all school…
A Strategy For Teaching Sustainability Assessment
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Olsen, Stig Irving
2010-01-01
of their decisions. Our strategy for the teaching address three target groups and follows two routes. One route provides in-depth education for students aiming to specialise in quantitative sustainability assessment. A variety of courses ranging from production level through company level to society level...... will be offered. The second route aims to present concepts of sustainability and potential impacts of the specific technology field as well as methods and tools for specific domains, i.e. nano technology. It is targeted two groups of students at the different technological domains at DTU; those specifically...... for that technology domain and introduces quantitative tools to assess sustainability. The proposed strategy embeds sustainability throughout the engineering curriculum....
Development Strategy for Slovak society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sikula, V.
2010-01-01
In this book authors analyse the present state of economy as well as strategy of perspectives of development of Slovak society. A key issue in the next 5 to 10 years in the energy sector will mainly address energy security, diversification of energy sources, renewable energy sources and energy savings. The strategic goal is to transform energy into a form that will ensure long competition-capable and reliable supply of all forms of energy, taking into account sustainable development, security of supply and technical security. The strategy of energy security of Slovakia in 2030 is to achieve a competitive energy industry, ensuring safe, reliable and efficient supply of all forms of energy at affordable prices with regard to consumer protection, environmental protection, sustainable development, security of supply and technical security.
CEA sustainable development report 2007
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2007-01-01
The CEA, a prominent player in research development and innovation, is active in three main domains: energy, health care and information technology, defense and security. This annual report presents the CEA activities in the domain of the sustainable development. The first part is devoted to the environment preservation policy (energy, water, air, chemistry, wastes, transport, buildings). The second part shows the dynamic governance in the domain of the risks management. The last part presents the CEA activities of research for the sustainable development. (A.L.B.)
Sustainable Offering Practices Through Stakeholders Engagement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bijay Prasad Kushwaha
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Sustainable development is achieved by satisfying the current ends without shrinking the existing means which can serve as needs for the society in the future. It has become global motive and responsibility of present community to utilize resources in an optimum way with minimum environmental damage. The objective of this paper is to study theoretical framework and practical approaches on sustainable offering practices through customer engagement. The study has also examined the opportunities and challenges of sustainable offering practices in India. The study is based on a previous study and secondary data has been used for analysis. The outcome revealed the process for successful sustainable offering practices in context of Indian consumers. The analysis has helped to understand different practices of sustainable offering through engaging stakeholders.
Jackson-Morris, Angela; Latif, Ehsan
2017-03-01
To produce a tool to assess and guide sustainability of national tobacco control programmes. A two-stage process adapting the Delphi and Nominal group techniques. A series of indicators of tobacco control sustainability were identified in grantee/country advisor reports to The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease under the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Control (2007-2015). Focus groups and key informant interviews in seven low and middle-income countries (52 government and civil society participants) provided consensus ratings of the indicators' relative importance. Data were reviewed and the indicators were accorded relative weightings to produce the 'Index of Tobacco Control Sustainability' (ITCS). All 31 indicators were considered 'Critical' or 'Important' by the great majority of participants. There was consensus that a tool to measure progress towards tobacco control sustainability was important. The most critical indicators related to financial policies and allocations, a national law, a dedicated national tobacco control unit and civil society tobacco control network, a national policy against tobacco industry 'Corporate Social Responsibility' (CSR), national mortality and morbidity data, and national policy evaluation mechanisms. The 31 indicators were agreed to be 'critical' or 'important' factors for tobacco control sustainability. The Index comprises the weighted indicators as a tool to identify aspects of national tobacco control programmes requiring further development to augment their sustainability and to measure and compare progress over time. The next step is to apply the ITCS and produce tobacco control sustainability assessments. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.
2013-05-06
...] Food and Drug Administration/International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering Co-Sponsorship... Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), is announcing a conference entitled ``Redefining the `C' in CGMP: Creating, Implementing and Sustaining a Culture of Quality'' Pharmaceutical Quality System (ICH...
Technological Advances and Opportunities for the Development of Sustainable Biorefineries
Mussatto, Solange I.
2017-01-01
Moving to a more sustainable economy, where renewable biomass is used to produce fuels, chemicals, energy and materials, is one of the main challenges faced by the society nowadays in order to ensure a sustainable low-carbon economy for the future. In addition, a bio-based economy has the potential to generate new jobs and new opportunities for entrepreneurship, with further benefits to the global economy and the society. Biomass can be used to replace fossil feedstocks for the production of ...
Sustainability through service perspectives, concepts and examples
Wolfson, Adi; Martin, Patrick M; Tavor, Dorith
2015-01-01
This book discusses the mutual relationship between service and sustainability. It covers methodologies and approaches and describes measurements and tools that can promote sustainability on the service market. Lastly, it presents the different applications of sustainability, together with examples of sustainable services. Environmental concerns have become integral to any decision-making process in the design and implementation of goods and services. With the increasing dominance of the service sector, and as service systems become more complex and interdisciplinary, the focus must move from the exchange of products to that of services. Newly created services should thus aim to incorporate sustainability into their designs while viewing sustainability as a service in its own right. Integrating sustainability in the service design and development process is essential to improving the sustainability of our society and preserving the environment. Moreover, doing so shifts the service boundaries from values that...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Paraschiv, Irina Maria
2016-01-01
The proceedings of the NUCLEAR 2016 the 9th annual international conference on sustainable development through nuclear research and education held at INR-Pitesti on May, 18-20, contain 81 communications presented in two plenary sessions and three sections addressing the themes of Nuclear energy, Environmental protection and Sustainable development. This section (Part 3/3) is addressing the following items: Section 3.1 Education, training and knowledge management (22 papers); Section 3.2 International cooperation (5 papers); These papers are presented as abstracts in 'Nuclear 2016 - Book of Abstracts', separately processed
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Paraschiv, Irina Maria
2016-01-01
The proceedings of the NUCLEAR 2016 international conference on sustainable development through nuclear research and education held at INR-Pitesti on May, 18-20, contain 81 communications presented in two plenary sessions and three sections addressing the themes of Nuclear energy, Environmental protection and Sustainable development. This section (Part 2/3) is addressing the following items: Section 2.1 Radioactive waste management (7 paper); Section 2.2 Radioprotection (4 papers); Section 2.3 Air, water and soil protection (1 paper); These papers are presented as abstracts in 'Nuclear 2016 - Book of Abstracts', separately processed
Sustainable Infrastructures for Life Science Communication: Workshop Summary
Brown, Elizabeth Stallman; Yeung, Laurence; Sawyer, Keegan
2014-01-01
Advances in the life sciences--from the human genome to biotechnology to personalized medicine and sustainable communities--have profound implications for the well-being of society and the natural world. Improved public understanding of such scientific advances has the potential to benefit both individuals and society through enhanced quality of…
Ethics in environmental politics and sustainable use of the planet
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
John Cairns Jr.
2001-06-01
Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Environmental politics, especially regarding sustainable use of the planet, must be based on a shared set of ethical values. Although there is a fundamental conflict between ecological doctrine and human cultures, naturalistic assemblages of plants and animals can co-exist with human society in a mutualistic relationship. Numerous environmental practices of human society have ethical implications and are serious obstacles to the quest for sustainability. Continuing them will probably result in crossing one or more important ecological thresholds, which may result in new ecological conditions less favorable to human society than those that presently exist. Some of the probable conditions (e.g., global climate change could be characterized as paradigm-shifting catastrophes. Motivational ethics may triumph initially, but consequential ethics may eventually emerge in environmental politics, which would then produce some interesting conditions in a sustainability context. Since humans have only one planet on which to experiment, speculation about possible future scenarios seems prudent, as does precautionary action to avoid undesirable outcomes.
A Multidisciplinary Team-Teaching Approach to Sustainable Business Education
Izberk-Bilgin, Elif; Klein, Barbara D.; Chandra, Charu; Lee, Hei-Wai; Susko, David; Lee, Moses; Zikanov, Oleg
2012-01-01
Sustainability has been identified as one of the most pressing challenges for business and society. However, research shows that sustainability topics are still not given sufficient attention in higher education, particularly in the undergraduate business curriculum. This paper offers a template for an interdisciplinary, team-taught undergraduate…
A theory of intelligence: networked problem solving in animal societies
Shour, Robert
2009-01-01
A society's single emergent, increasing intelligence arises partly from the thermodynamic advantages of networking the innate intelligence of different individuals, and partly from the accumulation of solved problems. Economic growth is proportional to the square of the network entropy of a society's population times the network entropy of the number of the society's solved problems.
[The challenges of sustainable development in healthcare facilities].
Mourgues, François; Muret, Jane; Pauchard, Jean-Claude
2018-03-01
Healthcare and medical-social facilities have a major responsibility within society, that of the quality of care, but also that of developing a system of sustainable and socially-responsible health. This system must meet the three pillars which constitute such an approach: economic, social and environmental sustainability. Innovation remains central to the sustainable evolution of practices and the first results are now visible. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Sustainable development indicators for territories
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Moreau; Sylvain; Bottin, Anne; Bovar, Odile; Nirascou, Francoise; Albecker, Marie-Fleur; Bardou, Magali; Barret, Christophe; Berger, Emmanuel; Blanc, Christophe; Bovar, Odile; Briquel, Vincent; Chery, Jean-Pierre; Deshayes, Michel; Firdion, Laetitia; Fluxa, Christine; Girault, Maurice; Guerrero, David; Hassaine, Zahida; Hilal, Mohamed; Imbert, Frederic; Kerouanton, Marie-Helene; Lacroix, Steve; Magnier, Celine; Moreau, Jacques; Nirascou, Francoise; Pageaud, Dorothee; Schaeffer, Yves; Thienard, Helene; Vinet, Loic; Wemelbeke, Guillaume; Wichmann, Martine; Boitard, Corinne; Bird, Geoffrey
2011-11-01
For different themes (Sustainable consumption and production, Knowledge and social and economic development society, governance, climate change and energy management, sustainable transport and modality, conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources, public health, risk prevention and management, social and territorial cohesion), this study proposes a set of axis, and several indicators for each axis. Indicators correspond to different geographical scale and are determined from different sources. These indicators are for example: production of aggregates, proportion of organic agriculture in usable agricultural area, evolution in quantity of household waste collected per inhabitant, employment rate, research spending in relation to GDP, coverage of population by local Agenda 21, and so on. Thus, each indicator is discussed, commented and analysed
Sustainability Policy and the Law
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Karsten, Jens; Reisch, Lucia
2008-01-01
Growing awareness of environmental and social concern and the pressing issue of climate change have forcefully re-established sustainability policy as a part of consumer policy. The need for change in consumer behaviour and for more responsible lifestyles on the demand-side of the economy is chal...... of sustainability policy in European politics. Beyond this descriptive purpose the paper thereby purports to frame the debate on sustainability policy and the law on the eve of a new political cycle of the European Union.......Growing awareness of environmental and social concern and the pressing issue of climate change have forcefully re-established sustainability policy as a part of consumer policy. The need for change in consumer behaviour and for more responsible lifestyles on the demand-side of the economy...
5th Physics and Society Forum - EPS
2012-01-01
The Fifth Physics and Society Forum, organized by the European Physical Society, will take place at CERN from 28 to 29 March 2012. The purpose of the meeting is to explore the challenges experienced by physicists who leave their field of study to pursue alternative careers in the market place outside of teaching and university-based research. It is widely recognized that a knowledgeable society is a prerequisite for growth. Value is only created if knowledge can be transformed into know-how and "know-how-to-do". Today it is widely recognized that a society is unable to grow and sustain an advanced science system unless equally advanced production is present. Today production is off-shored to emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere where labour costs are more favourable. European physicists therefore have the choice of being smarter, working harder and working cheaper or moving into other fields. Registration is open until 1st March 2012. Please ...
Citizens in sustainable transitions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hoffmann, Birgitte; Agger, Annika
2013-01-01
The paper explores how local public authorities can support and facilitate citizens’ participa-tion and learning in sustainable transition in urban neighbourhoods, by supporting local in-termediaries. The role of intermediaries can be performed by a variety of actors such as public housing...... associations; NGO´s, or semi public institutions. Our claim is that intermediary actors have the potential to facilitate new platforms for citizens’ participation in urban sustainable transition due to their particular role in between public authorities and civil society. The key question of the paper is how...... the intermediary actors facilitate citizens' participatory processes in sustainable urban transitions, and the paper explores the concept of institutional capacity building as a way to develop learning processes and new practises? The aim is to analyse approaches of creating platforms for involving citizens...
A Postulate for Accelerated Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and Principles
Kassenberg, Andrzej
2017-12-01
The last 30-year period has been increasingly important for sustainable development, as is evidenced by the UN's announcement of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. However, many megatrends continue to progress in the direction opposite to that meeting the needs of sustainable development. For the Earth and human civilisation to be protected, it is necessary for a new approach to be developed - a new order that might be termed the civilization/economics of enough, or of moderation. However, convincing societies, including that of Poland, in regard to the benefits of addressing the challenges sustainable development poses is not an easy task; even though a redirecting of the economy and of society along new paths will bring measurable benefits capable of compensating for the costs of transformation.
Towards sustainable restoration: learning from the past, a challenge
Hees, R.P.J. van; Naldini, S.
2016-01-01
In many cultures in the past, sustainability used to be an integral concept, related to building traditions, crafts and daily life.With the increasing complexity of our society and the progressive shift from the local to the global scale the past sustainable building tradition has often faded out,
Approaches to Sustainable Development in Poland
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kostrzewa, Karina; ); Piasecki, Ryszard
2009-01-01
The sustainable development principle was introduced into the legal system of Poland when the Constitution of the Polish Republic was adopted in 1997. Paradoxically, in Poland - one of the few countries in the world which have introduced the concept of sustainable development at the level of the Constitution, it is difficult to find a reference to it in the political debate. The national sustainable development strategy Poland 2025 has met no response among society and today it seems to be hardly remembered by anybody. An average citizen does not know the concept of sustainable development, or has a vague notion of it, often identifying it exclusively with environmental protection. Solving social problems (the labour market, education, health protection, equality of the sexes, etc.) is not associated with sustainable development whatsoever, and neither is engagement into achieving these development targets on the global scale
Sustainability and specialisation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
John Cairns Jr.
2004-05-01
Full Text Available Society depends heavily on its major universities and independent research organisations for new ideas. Arguable, sustainable use of the planet will require conceptual paradigms unprecedented in human history. Educational systems, especially major universities and research organisations, must produce students in all phases of the educational continuum who are capable of transdisciplinary activities. A much larger group of such students will be required to implement these new undertakings. Until the perception of the need for transdisciplinary education becomes widespread, nothing significant is likely to happen. One major obstacle is the lack of employment for transdisciplinary individuals. A commitment to sustainable use of the planet will provide employment and make better use of increasingly scarce resources.
Sustainability of animal production systems: an ecological perspective.
Vavra, M
1996-06-01
The question of sustainability of agricultural production and the use of natural resources has become a popular topic. Most scientists agree that current systems are generally non-sustainable. Current rates of resource extraction will lead us to a depleted earth in the future. Sustainability is defined in many ways. For this paper sustainability should be considered the overlap of what is wanted and what is ecologically possible. Attempts have been made to place a quantitative measure on sustainability. However, it should be considered a trajectory or goal, a direction that guides constructive change, rather than a single quantitative measure. Research and extension personnel may have to take a broader look at their efforts and expand their knowledge base in order to address the issue of sustainable production systems. Both natural events and those caused by humans bring about changes in production potential that require shifts in management. Uncertainty and change should be incorporated into adaptive management strategies. Interdisciplinary efforts are needed to confront these issues. Animal scientists need to formulate management systems that are environmentally compatible or face restrictive legislation that will force change. Members of the American Society of Animal Science seem to agree: efficient and sustainable use of natural resources appears in the draft of the Strategic Plan of the Society, and a poll of members revealed that environmental concerns about animal agriculture was a primary issue facing animal scientists.
Garzón-Villalba, Ximena P; Wu, Yougui; Ashley, Candi D; Bernard, Thomas E
2017-07-01
Heat stress exposure limits based on wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) were designed to limit exposures to those that could be sustained for an 8-h day using limited data from Lind in the 1960s. In general, Sustainable exposures are heat stress levels at which thermal equilibrium can be achieved, and Unsustainable exposures occur when there is a steady increase in core temperature. This paper addresses the ability of the ACGIH® Threshold Limit Value (TLV®) to differentiate between Sustainable and Unsustainable heat exposures, to propose alternative occupational exposure limits, and ask whether an adjustment for body surface area improves the exposure decision. Two progressive heat stress studies provided data on 176 trials with 352 pairs of Sustainable and Unsustainable exposures over a range of relative humidities and metabolic rates using 29 participants wearing woven cotton clothing. To assess the discrimination ability of the TLV, the exposure metric was the difference between the observed WBGT and the TLV adjusted for metabolic rate. Conditional logistic regression models and receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) along with ROC's area under the curve (AUC) were used. Four alternative models for an occupational exposure limit were also developed and compared to the TLV. For the TLV, the odds ratio (OR) for Unsustainable was 2.5 per 1°C-WBGT [confidence interval (CI) 2.12-2.88]. The AUC for the TLV was 0.85 (CI 0.81-0.89). For the alternative models, the ORs were also about 2.5/°C-WBGT, with AUCs between 0.84 and 0.88, which were significantly different from the TLV's AUC but have little practical difference. This study (1) confirmed that the TLV is appropriate for heat stress screening; (2) demonstrated the TLV's discrimination accuracy with an ROC AUC of 0.85; and (3) established the OR of 2.5/°C-WBGT for unsustainable exposures. The TLV has high sensitivity, but its specificity is very low, which is protective. There were no important
The sustainable development; Le developpement durable
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Robreau, Y.; Porcher, P
2002-11-01
This document aims to define the sustainable development concept with a special attention for France and Israel position. The first part recalls the history of the sustainable development from the ''Man and Biosphere'' program of the UNESCO to Rio protocol. Then are described the principles of the sustainable development, the France plans and the France position at Johannesburg conference. The last part is devoted to the Israel position and a short presentation of the consequences of the greenhouse gases on the human health and the environment. (A.L.B.)
Resource management as a key factor for sustainable urban planning
Agudelo Vera, C.M.; Mels, A.R.; Keesman, K.J.; Rijnaarts, H.H.M.
2011-01-01
Due to fast urbanization and increasing living standards, the environmental sustainability of our global society becomes more and more questionable. In this historical review we investigate the role of resources management (RM) and urban planning (UP) and propose ways for integration in sustainable
Ross, Vicki M; Guenter, Peggi; Corrigan, Mandy L; Kovacevich, Debra; Winkler, Marion F; Resnick, Helaine E; Norris, Tina L; Robinson, Lawrence; Steiger, Ezra
2016-12-01
Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is a high-cost, complex nutrition support therapy that requires the use of central venous catheters. Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are among the most serious risks of this therapy. Sustain: American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's National Patient Registry for Nutrition Care (Sustain registry) provides the most current and comprehensive data for studying CLABSI among a national cohort of HPN patients in the United States. This is the first Sustain registry report detailing longitudinal data on CLABSI among HPN patients. To describe CLABSI rates for HPN patients followed in the Sustain registry from 2011-2014. Descriptive, χ 2 , and t tests were used to analyze data from the Sustain registry. Of the 1,046 HPN patients from 29 sites across the United States, 112 (10.7%) experienced 194 CLABSI events during 223,493 days of HPN exposure, for an overall CLABSI rate of 0.87 episodes/1,000 parenteral nutrition-days. Although the majority of patients were female (59%), adult (87%), white (75%), and with private insurance or Medicare (69%), CLABSI episodes per 1,000 parenteral nutrition-days were higher for men (0.69 vs 0.38), children (1.17 vs 0.35), blacks (0.91 vs 0.41), and Medicaid recipients (1.0 vs 0.38 or 0.39). Patients with implanted ports or double-lumen catheters also had more CLABSIs than those with peripherally inserted or central catheters or single-lumen catheters. Staphylococci were the most commonly reported pathogens. These data support findings of smaller studies about CLABSI risk for children and by catheter type and identify new potential risk factors, including gender, race, and insurance type. Additional studies are needed to determine effective interventions that will reduce HPN-associated CLABSI. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Sustainable Development in Engineering Education
Taoussanidis, Nikolaos N.; Antoniadou, Myrofora A.
2006-01-01
The principles and practice of environmentally and socially sustainable engineering are in line with growing community expectations and the strengthening voice of civil society in engineering interventions. Pressures towards internationalization and globalization are reflected in new course accreditation criteria and higher education structures.…
Price stability and balanced public accounts as a condition for sustainable development
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C.A. CIAMPI
1998-03-01
Full Text Available The article illustrates Italy's economic recovery as part of a process of renewal involving the institutions, every area of the economy and Italian society as a whole. After the turning point in 1992, a general consensus emerged that European integration was necessary and fully consistent with the national interest. In this context, the three components of economic policy - budgetary policy, incomes policy, monetary policy - are working in tandem, ensuring stability, the essential condition from any lasting and sustainable growth. Thus inflation has now been beaten; the balance of payments on current account has recorded increasing and substantial surpluses, and there has been a huge reduction in the budget deficit, with a large primary surplus. The sustainability of these results is ensured by the implementation of structural reforms: tax reform, reform of central government budget, reform of the civil service, pensions reform and reform of Italy’s commercial system.
Transnationalising Civil Society?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jørgensen, Martin Bak
The paper takes a transnational perspective on developing an analytical framework for understanding how transnationalism interacts with civil society and how immigrant organisations use transnational strategies to challenge the pre-given positions of immigrants within given integration......- and citizenship-regimes. Locating transnationalism as part of the political opportunity structure also indicates that the state(s) to some degree can facilitate transnationalism, directly and indirectly. A substantial part of political engagement now occurs via transnational channels. What is uncertain is to what...
Sustaining Tunisian SMEs' Competitiveness in the Knowledge Society
Del Vecchio, Pasquale; Elia, Gianluca; Secundo, Giustina
The paper aims to contribute to the debate about knowledge and digital divide affecting countries' competitiveness in the knowledge society. A survey based on qualitative and quantitative data collection has been performed to analyze the level of ICTs and e-Business adoption of the Tunisian SMEs. The results shows that to increase the SMEs competitiveness is necessary to invest in all the components of Intellectual capital: human capital (knowledge, skills, and the abilities of people for using the ICTs), structural capital (supportive infrastructure such as buildings, software, processes, patents, and trademarks, proprietary databases) and social capital (relations and collaboration inside and outside the company). At this purpose, the LINCET "Laboratoire d'Innovation Numerique pour la Competitivité de l'Entreprise Tunisienne" project is finally proposed as a coherent proposition to foster the growth of all the components of the Intellectual Capital for the benefits of competitiveness of Tunisian SMEs.
FINANCIAL LITERACY AS A PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michaela Krechovská
2015-07-01
Full Text Available The paper aims to highlight the important role of financial literacy as one of the factors that ensures sustainable development in society. First, the paper deals with the definition of financial literacy and the importance of financial literacy for society. It analyses various symptoms associated with the level of financial literacy in the form of household debt and the number of ordered property repossessions. Furthermore, the paper focuses on the measurement of financial literacy and, in this context, presents selected results of the survey of financial literacy from a selected group of respondents (university students in the Czech Republic that were acquired as part of the "V4 Scientific Centers for the Enhancement of Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Education" project focused on research in the field of entrepreneurship education and financial literacy in Visegrad Group countries. Financial literacy is seen as one of the most important characteristics that can determine the behaviour of individuals in the world of finance, their approaches to payment discipline, debt and thinking for the future. In this regard, it is important to put emphasis on financial education as a tool for heightening and developing practical financial literacy.
Drugs, money and society (Part II).
Walley, Tom
2010-09-01
Pharmacoeconomics started as marketing but has developed into a valuable tool in the fuller assessment of drug therapies. Its principles are now widely accepted, and many countries have government-funded agencies with responsibility for its application, most notably the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in England. Many clinical pharmacologists are active in this area, and the discipline itself is part of the clinical pharmacology trainees' curriculum. Further developments will include value-based pricing and its use in cost sharing arrangements between health service and manufacturers.
Sustainable Transportation - Indicators, Frameworks, and Performance Management
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gudmundsson, Henrik; Hall, Ralph P.; Marsden, Greg
This textbook provides an introduction to the concept of sustainability in the context of transportation planning, management, and decision-making. The book is divided into two parts. In the first part, indicators and frameworks for measuring sustainable development in the transportation sector...... are developed. In the second, the authors analyze actual planning and decision-making in transportation agencies in a variety of governance settings. This analysis of real-world case studies demonstrates the benefits and limitations of current approaches to sustainable development in transportation. The book...... concludes with a discussion on how to make sustainability count in transportation decision-making and practice....
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Camelia Iuliana LUNGU
2013-10-01
Full Text Available The need to integrate sustainability among the skills of specialists in economics and its accreditation for the university curricula was recognized in academic literature for over twenty years. Based on literature review the study outlines the idea that although there is significant interest in the concept of sustainability for economic education, particularly for the accounting domain, as demonstrated by the wide range of topics dealt with in a number of high quality journals, the dispersion is extremely high, the subjects are not treated consistently and the research impact is not reflected in practice. The paper presents then a documentary based research on the deepening the subjects included in the curricula of master's programs in a number of European universities, central or collateral dealing with aspects of sustainability. In the last part of the article a study is depicted in order to present a picture of the possible involvement of Romanian students, graduated of economic studies, regarding the aspects of sustainability (environment, society and corporate responsibility, impacting the future evolution of the Romanian economy.
A Sustainable Energy Laboratory Course for Non-Science Majors
Nathan, Stephen A.; Loxsom, Fred
2016-01-01
Sustainable energy is growing in importance as the public becomes more aware of climate change and the need to satisfy our society's energy demands while minimizing environmental impacts. To further this awareness and to better prepare a workforce for "green careers," we developed a sustainable energy laboratory course that is suitable…
Multiple criteria decision making for sustainable energy and transportation systems. Proceedings
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ehrgott, Matthias [Auckland Univ. (New Zealand). Dept. of Engineering Science; Naujoks, Boris [Login GmbH, Schwelm (Germany).; Stewart, Theodor J. [Cape Town Univ., Rondebosch (South Africa). Dept. of Statistical Sciences; Wallenius, Jyrki (eds.) [Helsinki School of Economics (Finland). Dept. of Business Technology
2010-07-01
In the twenty-first century the sustainability of energy and transportation systems is on the top of the political agenda in many countries around the world and governments are establishing policies towards a sustainable, low emissions energy future. Environmental impacts of human economic activity necessitate the consideration of conflicting goals in decision making processes to develop sustainable systems. Any sustainable development has to reconcile conflicting economic and environmental objectives and criteria. The science of multiple criteria decision making has a lot to offer in addressing this need. Decision making with multiple (conflicting) criteria is the topic of research that is at the heart of the International Society of Multiple Criteria Decision Making. This book is based on selected papers presented at the societies 19th International Conference, held at The University of Auckland, New Zealand, from 7th to 12th January 2008 under the theme ''MCDM for Sustainable Energy and Transportation Systems''. (orig.)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
CLAUDIA ELENA PAICU
2014-02-01
Full Text Available The economic communication is more than a decade a point of interest due to the communication supports development and the diversity of information, on one hand, and due to the need for documentation and knowledge, both at the individual level and at the level of society, on the other hand. Thus the freedom into thinking and expression led to the development of communication activities and collecting them in a new vision. The process of communication has become, in a relatively short time, one of the engines of the economy, but also an integral part of what is meant to be today, the psycho-sociology of modern human societies. In this context, we propose an analysis of the communicative process that takes place in the economic environment, since the information and communication technology is, at present, a real factor in sustainable development. We start the analysis from the tight interdependence between the economic communication and the development of human culture as a basic factor for efficient management and for sustainable development overall.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cencič Majda
2013-09-01
Full Text Available The concept of sustainability and a sustainable and ecological development are common debate topics in today’s society. This paper discusses the concept of sustainability in green building with regard to schools. The research was conducted on a representative sample of primary school teachers, focusing on some of their opinions on green building. We asked them which aspect of building they favoured and how often they asked themselves certain questions about the school they taught in. Furthermore, we were interested to see whether we would find age-related differences. To this end, teachers were divided into two groups, namely, teachers of up to 35 years of age and teachers over 35. We were surprised to find that teachers over 35 had a more positive attitude towards green building in schools compared to their younger colleagues. Based on the results, we came to a conclusion that the topics pertaining to ecology and sustainable development are neglected in today’s education. However, making them part of school curriculum is not enough, as the opinions and attitudes of teachers on sustainable and ecological issues also have an important impact on the subject-matter itself.
The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: Towards four pillars of learning
Shivali Lawale; Aline Bory-Adams
2010-01-01
Education for sustainable development is a paradigm shift in education which goes beyond the traditional realms of education. Shivali Lawale and Aline Bory-Adams assess how education for sustainable development could build sustainable societies through the Decade of Education for sustainable development. They explore how to build a conceptual framework based on the four pillars of learning proposed by the Delors Report.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Paraschiv, Irina Maria
2016-01-01
The Proceedings of the NUCLEAR 2016 international conference on sustainable development through nuclear research and education held at INR-Pitesti on May, 18-20, contain 81 communications presented in two plenary sessions and three sections addressing the themes of Nuclear energy, Environmental protection and Sustainable development. This section (Part 1/3) are addressing the following items: Section 1.1 Nuclear safety and severe accidents (6 papers); Section 1.2 Nuclear reactors and gen. IV (7 papers); Section 1.3 Nuclear technology and materials (29 papers); These papers are presented as abstracts in 'Nuclear 2016 - Book of Abstracts', separately processed
Merlin, Fabrício Kurman; Pereira, Vera Lúciaduarte do Valle; Pacheco, Waldemar
2012-01-01
Organizations are part of an environment in which they are pressured to meet society's demands and acting in a sustainable way. In an attempt to meet such demands, organizations make use of various management tools, among which, ISO standards are used. Although there are evidences of contributions provided by these standards, it is questionable whether its parameters converge for a possible induction for sustainable development in organizations. This work presents a theoretical study, designed on structuralism world view, descriptive and deductive method, which aims to analyze the convergence of management tools' parameters in ISO standards. In order to support the analysis, a generic framework for possible convergence was developed, based on systems approach, linking five ISO standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 31000 and ISO 26000) with sustainable development and positioning them according to organization levels (strategic, tactical and operational). The structure was designed based on Brundtland report concept. The analysis was performed exploring the generic framework for possible convergence based on Nadler and Tushman model. The results found the standards can contribute to a possible sustainable development induction in organizations, as long as they meet certain minimum conditions related to its strategic alignment.
Bohunice NPPs - Part of the Slovak's economy (sustainable) development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dobak, Dobroslav
2001-01-01
Of the total consumption of electricity in Slovakia, 42% was generated in nuclear power plant units in 1999. Slovakia operates 6 units with a WWER 440 nuclear reactors, 4 of them are at Bohunice site and 2 at Mochovce. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority of SR is not the only regulatory body controlling nuclear activity. Both - the system of nuclear activities regulation in Slovakia as well as the approach to Nuclear Safety enhancement of the operator were positively judged by IAEA and WENRA. In 1993 -Slovakia has accepted the commitments of the UN Convention on Climate Changes, including a reduction of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by the year 2000. Moreover, as an internal target Slovakia has set the reaching of the ,'Toronto Objective', i.e. 20% reduction in CO x emissions through the year 2005 as compared to 1988. Taking into account the actual situation as well as natural conditions for some renewable sources utilisation, the target won't be reached without nuclear energy. The nuclear energy is free of emissions, does not burn oxygen, and with the share of production in Slovakia will remain significant contributor. To the environment protection it contributes also by replacing fossil heat plants with heat delivery for the region. In case of radiological wastes the environment protection is ensured by very strict system of control, evidence, treatment and repository. To conclude, Bohunice NPPs were, are and will remain very important part of the Slovak's economy, creating conditions for its (sustainable) development
IMPACT OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bogdan Sofronov
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Sustainable tourism is the concept of visiting a place as a tourist and trying to make only a positive impact on the environment, society and economy. A key aspect is respect for the people who call the location home, the culture and customs of the area, and the socio-economic system. While sustainable tourism is sometimes confused with ecotourism, ecotourism is actually only one aspect of sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism is attempting to have a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and the tourists themselves.
Global drivers, sustainable manufacturing and systems ergonomics.
Siemieniuch, C E; Sinclair, M A; Henshaw, M J deC
2015-11-01
This paper briefly explores the expected impact of the 'Global Drivers' (such as population demographics, food security; energy security; community security and safety), and the role of sustainability engineering in mitigating the potential effects of these Global Drivers. The message of the paper is that sustainability requires a significant input from Ergonomics/Human Factors, but the profession needs some expansion in its thinking in order to make this contribution. Creating a future sustainable world in which people experience an acceptable way of life will not happen without a large input from manufacturing industry into all the Global Drivers, both in delivering products that meet sustainability criteria (such as durability, reliability, minimised material requirement and low energy consumption), and in developing sustainable processes to deliver products for sustainability (such as minimum waste, minimum emissions and low energy consumption). Appropriate changes are already being implemented in manufacturing industry, including new business models, new jobs and new skills. Considerable high-level planning around the world is in progress and is bringing about these changes; for example, there is the US 'Advanced Manufacturing National Program' (AMNP)', the German 'Industrie 4.0' plan, the French plan 'la nouvelle France industrielle' and the UK Foresight publications on the 'Future of Manufacturing'. All of these activities recognise the central part that humans will continue to play in the new manufacturing paradigms; however, they do not discuss many of the issues that systems ergonomics professionals acknowledge. This paper discusses a number of these issues, highlighting the need for some new thinking and knowledge capture by systems ergonomics professionals. Among these are ethical issues, job content and skills issues. Towards the end, there is a summary of knowledge extensions considered necessary in order that systems ergonomists can be fully
Ichinose, Takae
2015-04-01
Hiroshima University High School (HUHS) became the first UNESCO Associated School in Japan in 1953, and since then it has practiced ESD in various educational activities in all ranges of education. As a teacher of home economics, I have focused on consumer affairs and encouraged my students to consider what each of them can do as an individual consumer in order to create a sustainable society. In Japan, several acts related to consumer affairs have been enforced in recent years. "Act on Promotion of Consumer Education" was enforced in December 2012, and construction of the "Consumer Citizen Society" was proposed. It places emphasis not only on environmental concerns but also on the initiative of consumers and its influence on social and economic trends. In addition, "Act on Promotion of Recycling of Small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment" was enforced in April, 2013. It aims at protecting living environment and healthy development of the national economy by appropriate treatment of waste materials and effective use of resources. For my lessons on "food, clothing and shelter in relation to consumption behavior and environmental problems", I took up "the recycling of small waste home appliances" as the teaching materials to raise awareness on resources recycling. The purpose of the lessons is three-fold: (1) to make students aware of environmental load; (2) to deepen the understanding of the influence which excessive consumption has on developing countries; (3) to encourage the students to think positively toward the solution of the problems. I am currently practicing the lessons, and I have shown below the summary of the instruction. Lesson 1: Give a quiz based on the database on environmental label from Ministry of the Environment website. Then show a film on whereabouts of the hi-tech industrial waste (e-waste). After the film, show some everyday products for which mineral resources are used in order to impress the idea of "urban mine". Lesson 2: Show a
Silent Revolution in Research for Sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bruce Alder
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Is research ‘fit-for-purpose’ for realizing sustainable development? More than two decades after the Brundtland report and UNCED Earth summit, the world has now adopted Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs. Rather than a cause for celebration, this delay should encourage reflection on the role of research in society. Why is it so difficult to realize sustainability in practice? The answer lies in the fact that universities and research centres persist with 19th century methods of data gathering, scholarly analysis, and journal articles. Today’s world needs science in real-time, whether to detect drought, confront Ebola, or assist refugees. Research needs to work faster and embrace 21st century practices including data science, open access, and infographics.A silent revolution is occurring in the ways of organizing and conducting research, enabled by new technology and encouraging work that tackles the key challenges facing society. A variety of new arrangements have come into existence that promote international collaboration, including Horizon 2020 with its emphasis on societal challenges, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which has inspired a family of grand challenges funds on health and development, and the Future Earth joint program of research for global sustainability. These arrangements not only control billions of dollars in research funding, they also influence the strategies of national research councils and international organizations. The result is no less than a transformation in the incentives that reward how researchers invest their time and effort.Why is a revolution needed? Within research, substantial growth in knowledge production coincided with fragmentation among disciplines. One can easily find expertise and publications in soil science or agronomy, yet integrated efforts on food security and climate adaptation remain scarce. Beyond research, society remains largely uninformed, as academics avoid engaging in public
Ecological modernization of sustainable buildings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten
2008-01-01
This article will examine how the contemporary development of sustainable buildings has been influenced by the concept of ecological modernisation. Ecological modernisation is a policy concept describing how environmental considerations are increasingly being integrated into modern society...... driven by enthusiasts and grassroots to being a more widespread, generally obtainable and integrated product. We will discuss to what degree this can be understood within the ideas of ecological modernisation, and then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this development. Based on the concepts...... of governance, standardisation and visibility, the conclusion is that in many ways ecological modernisation has penetrated in Danish sustainable buildings and has contributed to a positive development. However, there are aspects of sustainable consumption that this development does not relate to, including...
Approaches for assessing sustainable remediation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Søndergaard, Gitte Lemming; Binning, Philip John; Bjerg, Poul Løgstrup
Sustainable remediation seeks to reduce direct contaminant point source impacts on the environment, while minimizing the indirect cost of remediation to the environment, society and economy. This paper presents an overview of available approaches for assessing the sustainability of alternative...... remediation strategies for a contaminated site. Most approaches use multi-criteria assessment methods (MCA) to structure a decision support process. Different combinations of environmental, social and economic criteria are employed, and are assessed either in qualitative or quantitative forms with various...... tools such as life cycle assessment and cost benefit analysis. Stakeholder involvement, which is a key component of sustainable remediation, is conducted in various ways. Some approaches involve stakeholders directly in the evaluation or weighting of criteria, whereas other approaches only indirectly...
Simulated Sustainable Societies: Students' Reflections on Creating Future Cities in Computer Games
Nilsson, Elisabet M.; Jakobsson, Anders
2011-02-01
The empirical study, in this article, involved 42 students (ages 14-15), who used the urban simulation computer game SimCity 4 to create models of sustainable future cities. The aim was to explore in what ways the simulated "real" worlds provided by this game could be a potential facilitator for science learning contexts. The topic investigated is in what way interactions in this gaming environment, and reflections about these interactions, can form a context where the students deal with real world problems, and where they can contextualise and apply their scientific knowledge. Focus group interviews and video recordings were used to gather data on students' reflections on their cities, and on sustainable development. The findings indicate that SimCity 4 actually contributes to creating meaningful educational situations in science classrooms, and that computer games can constitute an important artefact that may facilitate contextualisation and make students' use of science concepts and theories more explicit.
Božiková, Lucia; Šnircová, Jana
2016-06-01
In this article we introduce a model of sustainable competitiveness, which we created on the basis of a long term study of literature and analysis. This article is divided into several parts. In the first part, we will introduce the problem of competitiveness and sustainable competitiveness. The second part is focused on the basic aspects for the creation of the model. In the third part the model itself is introduced and also an explanation and description of the mode is given.
Stougie, L.
2014-01-01
A major challenge in striving for a more sustainable society is the selection of technological systems. Given the capital intensity of industrial production plants, power generation systems and infrastructure, investment decisions create path dependencies for decades to come. It is difficult to know
Kastenhofer, Karen; Lansu, Angelique; Van Dam-Mieras, Rietje; Sotoudeh, Mahshid
2010-01-01
Global failures to reach a sustainable development within present-day societies as well as recent breakthroughs within technoscience pose new challenges to engineering education. The list of competencies which engineers should have to rise to these challenges is long and diverse, and often
An Empirical Exploration, Typology, and Definition of Corporate Sustainability
Manfred Max Bergman; Zinette Bergman; Lena Berger
2017-01-01
The relationship between business and society is evolving. On the one hand, social, environmental, and long-term economic issues subsumed under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are inspiring intergovernmental organizations, governments, NGOs, NPOs, foundations, and civic society to legislate and regulate corporate behavior toward a greater concern for the wellbeing of groups, regions, or entire societies. On the other, a growing trend toward protectionism, nationalism, and popul...
Kosovar Society through Secularism and Religion
MSc. Dritero Arifi; Dr.Sc. Ylber Sela
2013-01-01
This paper will analyze the importance and the effects of religion, in Kosovar society. A great part of the paper, will analyze the social and the political relations in Post-War Kosovo. Initially it will elaborate religion and secularism, especially in theoreticall aspect, what impact have these definitions in modern societies. In order to explain what the importance of the religion in Kosovo is, we will focus on analyzing ethnical, social and political relations within Kosovo society. A...
Sustainability in nursing: a concept analysis
Anåker, Anna; Elf, Marie
2014-01-01
Aim The aim of this study was to describe, explore and explain the concept of sustainability in nursing. Background Although researchers in nursing and medicine have emphasised the issue of sustainability and health, the concept of sustainability in nursing is undefined and poorly researched. A need exists for theoretical and empirical studies of sustainability in nursing. Design Concept analysis as developed by Walker and Avant. Method Data were derived from dictionaries, international healthcare organisations and literature searches in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases. Inclusive years for the search ranged from 1990 to 2012. A total of fourteen articles were found that referred to sustainability in nursing. Results Sustainability in nursing involves six defining attributes: ecology, environment, future, globalism, holism and maintenance. Antecedents of sustainability require climate change, environmental impact and awareness, confidence in the future, responsibility and a willingness to change. Consequences of sustainability in nursing include education in the areas of ecology, environment and sustainable development as well as sustainability as a part of nursing academic programs and in the description of the academic subject of nursing. Sustainability should also be part of national and international healthcare organisations. The concept was clarified herein by giving it a definition. Conclusion Sustainability in nursing was explored and found to contribute to sustainable development, with the ultimate goal of maintaining an environment that does not harm current and future generations′ opportunities for good health. This concept analysis provides recommendations for the healthcare sector to incorporate sustainability and provides recommendations for future research. PMID:24602178
A worldwide perspective on energy, environment and sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dincer, Ibrahim; Rosen, Marc A.
1998-01-01
Problems with energy supply and use are related not only to global warming, but also to such environmental concerns as air pollution, ozone depletion forest destruction and emission of radioactive substances. These issues must be taken into consideration simultaneously if humanity is to achieve a bright energy future with minimal environmental impacts. Much evidence exists which suggests that the future will be negatively impacted if humans keep degrading the environment. There is an intimate connection between energy, the environment and sustainable development. A society seeking sustainable development ideally must utilise only energy resources which cause no environmental impact (e.g. which release no emissions to the environment). However, since all energy resources lead to some environmental impact, it is reasonable to suggest that some (not all) of the concerns regarding the limitations imposed on sustainable development by environmental emissions and their negative impacts can be part overcome through increased energy efficiency. A strong relation clearly exists between energy efficiency and environmental impact since, for the same services or products, less resource utilisation and pollution is normally associated with higher efficiency processes. Anticipated patterns of future energy use and consequent environmental impact (Focusing on acid precipitation, stratospheric ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect) are comprehensively discussed in this paper. Also, some solutions to current environmental issues in terms of energy conservation and renewable energy technologies are identified and some theoretical and practical limitations on increased energy efficiency are explained. The relations between energy and sustainable development, and between the environment and sustainable development, are described, and in illustrative example is presented. Throughout the paper several issues relating to energy, environment and sustainable development are examined
Education for Sustainable Living: An International Perspective on Environmental Education.
Fien, John
1993-01-01
Analyzes the nature of sustainable development and the role that environmental education can play in a transformation toward a sustainable society. Discusses three rules for teaching environmental education: a child-centered education, objectivity on matters of values, and creation of environmentally responsible behavior. Provides a checklist of…
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT SEBAGAI INDIKATOR PENGAMBILAN KEPUTUSAN INVESTASI
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Satia Nur Maharani
2017-03-01
Full Text Available One indicator of investment decisions is corporate sustainability report. Sustainability is about long-termvalue creation not only for company but also for employees, customers, the industry sector, investors and thecommunities where the company does business. The ability of company to create long-term value is based on itsunderstanding and response to demands of society and on recognizing that environmental, social, economicaland ethical factors affect the business strategy. This article identifies drives for organization to adopt corporatesocial responsibility and produce corporate sustainability report.
ROMANIAN KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT. A PROPOSAL
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Mirela CERKEZ
2016-06-01
Full Text Available This article is an argument for the applicability of the Finnish model of knowledge society oriented public policy-making and not a detailed recommendation on the specific steps Romania should make in order to become a knowledge society. The article is elaborated as a synthesis of the Finnish knowledge society oriented public policies and an analysis of the adequacy of policy transfers from Finland to Romania. Data on Romania are not rich as the task of the article is not to make a diagnosis on Romania’s stage of development. Its main contribution consists of the identification of Finnish public measures meant to foster knowledge society that may be a best practice example for Romania. The introductory part briefly introduces the reader into the theoretical understanding of the concept of knowledge society. Then, I argue that there are several types of knowledge societies and Romania should look for European examples given the resemblance of the starting conditions. The main part of the paper presents the Finnish knowledge society development as an experience modeled by public intervention and I mirror these developments with the Romanian case. In the end, I explore the differences between the two countries that may interfere with the application of the Finnish model. Still, my conclusion is that those differences do not make the Finnish model less applicable. The efforts might need to be more intense and the results might show up later.
Sustainability in CALL Learning Environments: A Systemic Functional Grammar Approach
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Peter McDonald
2014-09-01
Full Text Available This research aims to define a sustainable resource in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL. In order for a CALL resource to be sustainable it must work within existing educational curricula. This feature is a necessary prerequisite of sustainability because, despite the potential for educational change that digitalization has offered since the nineteen nineties, curricula in traditional educational institutions have not fundamentally changed, even as we move from a pre-digital society towards a digital society. Curricula have failed to incorporate CALL resources because no agreed-upon pedagogical language enables teachers to discuss CALL classroom practices. Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG can help to provide this language and bridge the gap between the needs of the curriculum and the potentiality of CALL-based resources. This paper will outline how SFG principles can be used to create a pedagogical language for CALL and it will give practical examples of how this language can be used to create sustainable resources in classroom contexts.
A National Scale Sustainable Agriculture Matrix of Indicators to Inform Policy
Davidson, E. A.; Zhang, X.
2017-12-01
The ratification of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by all member countries of the United Nations demonstrates the determination of the international community in moving towards a sustainable future. To enable and encourage accountability, independent and transparent measurements of national sustainability efforts are essential. Among all sectors, agriculture is fundamental to all three pillars of sustainability, namely environment, society, and economy. However, the definition of a sustainable agriculture and the feasibility of measuring it remain elusive, in part because it encompasses both biophysical and socio-economic components that are still poorly integrated. Therefore, we have been developing a Sustainable Agriculture Matrix (SAM) on a national scale in order to measure country-level performance in agriculture. First proposed by Swaminathan for agricultural research and policy in 1990s, SAM is a collection of indicators measuring sustainable agriculture from environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The environmental dimension evaluates various impacts of agricultural production on the environment, such as water consumption and nutrient pollution. The economic dimension quantifies the costs and benefits for major stakeholders involved in agricultural production, including government, industry, farmers, and consumers. The social dimension considers three major aspects: 1) social welfare (e.g., hunger and poverty rate, nutritional quality, demography of rural community); 2) equity over sectors, space, and gender (e.g., access to resources/services and opportunities, distribution of income, land ownership and tenure rights); 3) systemic risk (e.g., fragility of the global agricultural production and trade system, resilience of a farm or a country to market and natural shocks). Translating the illustrative concepts into measureable indicators will not only provide an independent and transparent measurement of national performance in the
Educating Professionals for Sustainable Futures
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Hille Janhonen-Abruquah
2018-02-01
Full Text Available The recent discourse on sustainability science calls for interdisciplinary research. The home economics science approach ranges from individual actions to the involvement of communities and societies at large, and thus it can provide important perspectives on cultural sustainability. The aim of the research is to study the linkage between cultural sustainability and service sector education to support the creation of sustainable professions. In the present small-scale empirical study, the food service degree curriculum of a Finnish vocational college and teachers’ group interview data were analyzed to find how cultural sustainability is presented in the curriculum and how it is understood by teachers and integrated into teaching practices. Previous cultural sustainability research identifies four perspectives of cultural sustainability: (1 vitality of cultural traditions; (2 economic starting point; (3 diversity together with maintenance of local culture; and (4 possible influence on the balance between human actions and environment. Findings indicate that sustainability, including cultural sustainability, is integrated in the curriculum and considered important by teachers. Translating these into practice remains a challenge. The balance between human and nature was mostly understood as recycling, use of public transport, sustainable consumption, and taking trips to the nature nearby. Cultural sustainability as a concept is not well known, although themes such as multicultural issues, equality, charity, and environmental responsibility were included in teachers’ practical lessons daily. Feasts and celebrations in learning were opportunities to view cultural sustainability widely. This paper provides a way forward for the teachers to develop further their pedagogical practices.
Nanotechnology for sustainable development: retrospective and outlook
Diallo, Mamadou S.; Fromer, Neil A.; Jhon, Myung S.
2013-11-01
The world is facing great challenges in meeting rising demands for basic commodities (e.g., food, water and energy), finished goods (e.g., cell phones, cars and airplanes) and services (e.g., shelter, healthcare and employment) while reducing and minimizing the impact of human activities on Earth's global environment and climate. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile platform that could provide efficient, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable solutions to the global sustainability challenges facing society. This special issue of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research is devoted to the utilization of nanotechnology to improve or achieve sustainable development. We highlight recent advances and discuss opportunities of utilizing nanotechnology to address global challenges in (1) water purification, (2) clean energy technologies, (3) greenhouse gases management, (4) materials supply and utilization, and (5) green manufacturing and chemistry. In addition to the technical challenges listed above, we also discuss societal perspectives and provide an outlook of the role of nanotechnology in the convergence of knowledge, technology and society for achieving sustainable development.
Nanotechnology for sustainable development: retrospective and outlook
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Diallo, Mamadou S.; Fromer, Neil A.; Jhon, Myung S.
2013-01-01
The world is facing great challenges in meeting rising demands for basic commodities (e.g., food, water and energy), finished goods (e.g., cell phones, cars and airplanes) and services (e.g., shelter, healthcare and employment) while reducing and minimizing the impact of human activities on Earth’s global environment and climate. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile platform that could provide efficient, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable solutions to the global sustainability challenges facing society. This special issue of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research is devoted to the utilization of nanotechnology to improve or achieve sustainable development. We highlight recent advances and discuss opportunities of utilizing nanotechnology to address global challenges in (1) water purification, (2) clean energy technologies, (3) greenhouse gases management, (4) materials supply and utilization, and (5) green manufacturing and chemistry. In addition to the technical challenges listed above, we also discuss societal perspectives and provide an outlook of the role of nanotechnology in the convergence of knowledge, technology and society for achieving sustainable development
Nanotechnology for sustainable development: retrospective and outlook
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Diallo, Mamadou S., E-mail: mdiallo@kaist.ac.kr [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water and Sustainability (EEWS) (Korea, Republic of); Fromer, Neil A. [California Institute of Technology, Resnick Sustainability Institute (United States); Jhon, Myung S. [Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Chemical Engineering (United States)
2013-11-15
The world is facing great challenges in meeting rising demands for basic commodities (e.g., food, water and energy), finished goods (e.g., cell phones, cars and airplanes) and services (e.g., shelter, healthcare and employment) while reducing and minimizing the impact of human activities on Earth’s global environment and climate. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile platform that could provide efficient, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable solutions to the global sustainability challenges facing society. This special issue of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research is devoted to the utilization of nanotechnology to improve or achieve sustainable development. We highlight recent advances and discuss opportunities of utilizing nanotechnology to address global challenges in (1) water purification, (2) clean energy technologies, (3) greenhouse gases management, (4) materials supply and utilization, and (5) green manufacturing and chemistry. In addition to the technical challenges listed above, we also discuss societal perspectives and provide an outlook of the role of nanotechnology in the convergence of knowledge, technology and society for achieving sustainable development.
Nature–society linkages in the Aral Sea region
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kristopher D. White
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Central Asia's Aral Sea crisis represents a disaster of monumental proportions, a tragedy for both the region's ecology and its human inhabitants. While the human and natural environments had operated in a sustainable co-joined system for millennia, Tsarist Russian expansion into Central Asia, followed by Soviet expansion of both the cotton industry and unsustainable irrigation practices to anchor it spelled doom for the Aral Sea. Today, many of the political and economic stimuli for such misguided practices continue, as do the continued retreat of the Sea and the proliferation of poor human health. The Aral Sea crisis has received ample scholarly attention, though somewhat surprising is a relative dearth of research explicitly investigating the nature, variety, and directionality of nature–society linkages today within the region. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the contemporary nature–society linkages operating within the Aral Sea region of Central Asia. Historical nexuses will provide necessary background, and the linkages operating currently within the spheres of regional economy, human health, and political considerations will be detailed. Couching the current crisis within the framework of coupled human–environment system contexts reveals a region in which these linkages are largely inextricable. This paper concludes with a call for a reconsideration of the nature-society linkages and a greater emphasis placed on the local region's ecological and social sustainability.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE FOR THE ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AIRPORT MANAGEMENT
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vildan Durmaz
2011-11-01
Full Text Available Air transportation industry is a globally growing industry. As an inseparable part of this industry, airport management is also becoming more crucial issue to be dealt with. Airports offer economic and social benefits to the society, but also environmental impacts of airport operations are increasing due to high traffic growth. While airport capacity is increasing, airport operators are being responsible for mitigating environmental constraints. Today to implement airport environmental management system is seen as a critical way of solution. To ensure effective implementation of this system, an organizational change with definite roles, responsibilities and structure are needed. This study illustrates a way of organizational response to market forces and national regulations guiding the achievement of sustainable airports by determining the structure and the roles in an airport organization.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Florentin Caloian
2013-11-01
Full Text Available In order to ensure a sustainable development of an entity, a sustainability accounting report, trustfulness and proper made is mandatory for financial users. As a fact, the entities have to reveal social and environment information in order to increase the creditworthiness in the activity they realized. The purpose of this research is to point out how the sustainability accounting report influences the financial performance of the companies, by quantifying the social and environment elements in a score variable. The analysis is done upon the societies that are listed on the first category of Bucharest Stock of Exchange and tries to identity the way through which sustainable development can be ensured. The results are based on a linear regression model and find a direct positive correlation between the score variable and the financial performance of the companies
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BUSINESS
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Viktoria Krykun
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Today sustainable development is a widely used term, which has been increasingly influential in recent years. Debates about sustainability no longer consider sustainability solely as an environmental concern, but also incorporate economic and social dimensions. However, while a social and economic dimensions of sustainable development are widely discussed, environmental degradation becomes more and more crucial each year and is likely to reduce human well-being all across the world within the next few decades. The purpose of the paper is to analyse ecological ‘pillar’ of sustainable development, its historical background, main steps towards implementation of ‘new global environmental rules for society. Methodology. The paper is based on statistical information from public sources, reports of different international organizations and institutions, which are used to stress and underline main crucial points of research. Results of the survey show, that environmental quality, economic development and social well-being are interdependent and the main aim of international institutions, independent countries, businesses and society is to achieve environmentally sustainable development. Environmental issues make strong impact on modern economy. Responsible global strategy of development provides the whole society with rules, how ‘wise’ technological changes and economic policy can make industrial production processes less polluting and less resource intensive but yet more productive and profitable. Practical implications. Strategy of sustainable development and it’s three basic dimensions have found practical implication in one complex model, which illustrates the level of development of each country – the Human Development Index, which is focusing on three basic dimensions of human development: life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling and gross national income per capita. Another data, which is
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Božiková Lucia
2016-06-01
Full Text Available In this article we introduce a model of sustainable competitiveness, which we created on the basis of a long term study of literature and analysis. This article is divided into several parts. In the first part, we will introduce the problem of competitiveness and sustainable competitiveness. The second part is focused on the basic aspects for the creation of the model. In the third part the model itself is introduced and also an explanation and description of the mode is given.
Sustainability of dams-an evaluation approach
Petersson, E.
2003-04-01
Situated in the stream bed of a river, dams and reservoirs interrupt the natural hydrological cycle. They are very sensitive to all kinds of changes in the catchment, among others global impacts on land use, climate, settlement structures or living standards. Vice versa dams strongly affect the spatially distributed, complex system of ecology, economy and society in the catchment both up- and downstream of the reservoir. The occurrence of negative impacts due to large dams led to serious conflicts about future dams. Nevertheless, water shortages due to climatic conditions and their changes, that are faced by enormous water and energy demands due to rising living standards of a growing world population, seem to require further dam construction, even if both supply and demand management are optimised. Although environmental impact assessments are compulsory for dams financed by any of the international funding agencies, it has to be assumed that the projects lack sustainability. Starting from an inventory of today's environmental impact assessments as an integral part of a feasibility study the presentation will identify their inadequacies with regard to the sustainability of dams. To improve the sustainability of future dams and avoid the mistakes of the past, the planning procedures for dams have to be adapted. The highly complex and dynamical system of interrelated physical and non-physical processes, that involves many different groups of stakeholders, constitutes the need for a model-oriented decision support system. In line with the report of the World Commission of Dams an integrated analysis and structure of the complex interrelations between dams, ecology, economy and society will be presented. Thus the system, that a respective tool will be based on, is analysed. Furthermore an outlook will be given on the needs of the potential users of a DSS and how it has to be embedded in the overall planning process. The limits of computer-based decision-support in the
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Grin, J.; Rotmans, J.; Schot, J.; Geels, F.; Loorbach, D.
2010-01-01
Over the past few decades, there has been a growing concern about the social and environmental risks which have come along with the progress achieved through a variety of mutually intertwined modernization processes. In recent years these concerns are transformed into a widely-shared sense of urgency, partly due to events such as the various pandemics threatening livestock, and increasing awareness of the risks and realities of climate change, and the energy and food crises. This sense of urgency includes an awareness that our entire social system is in need of fundamental transformation. But like the earlier transition between the 1750s and 1890s from a pre-modern to a modern industrial society, this second transition is also a contested one. Sustainable development is only one of many options. This book addresses the issue on how to understand the dynamics and governance of the second transition dynamics in order to ensure sustainable development. It will be necessary reading for students and scholars with an interest in sustainable development and long-term transformative change.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Grin, J. [Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Rotmans, J. [Sustainability Transitions and Transition Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Schot, J. [Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Geels, F. [Science Policy Research Unit SPRU, University of Sussex, Brighton (United Kingdom); Loorbach, D. [Dutch Research Institute for Transitions Drift, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam (Netherlands)
2010-07-01
Over the past few decades, there has been a growing concern about the social and environmental risks which have come along with the progress achieved through a variety of mutually intertwined modernization processes. In recent years these concerns are transformed into a widely-shared sense of urgency, partly due to events such as the various pandemics threatening livestock, and increasing awareness of the risks and realities of climate change, and the energy and food crises. This sense of urgency includes an awareness that our entire social system is in need of fundamental transformation. But like the earlier transition between the 1750s and 1890s from a pre-modern to a modern industrial society, this second transition is also a contested one. Sustainable development is only one of many options. This book addresses the issue on how to understand the dynamics and governance of the second transition dynamics in order to ensure sustainable development. It will be necessary reading for students and scholars with an interest in sustainable development and long-term transformative change.
Sustainable spatial development in higher education
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maja Terlević
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Sustainable development is not only a great challenge for society as a whole, but also for higher education institutions, which have been rapidly including sustainable development in their educational process in the last two decades. Directly or indirectly, education for sustainable spatial development includes all aspects of sustainable development: environmental, economic, social and cultural. Space is a junction of various interests, which requires coordinating the entire process of spatial planning, taking into account the goal of sustainable spatial development. The existing values of space are insufficient for the rapid implementation of a sustainable spatial development paradigm. Suitable education is needed by both individuals and spatial planning professionals and at all levels of education. It is therefore necessary to transform some of the academic programs in the higher education curriculum by integrating teaching content and methods that include long-term knowledge and holistic thinking, taking into account the importance of interdisciplinary integration. This article reviews literature in sustainable development in higher education from 2002 to 2013. Topics discussed include students’ and teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development, the presence of sustainable development and sustainable spatial development in higher education and the reasons for the slow introduction of this material into the curriculum. Based on a literature analysis, the last section identifies important drivers that can contribute to a more rapid integration of a sustainable spatial development paradigm into higher education.
SPIRITUAL DETERMINANTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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M. I. Bilalov
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Aim. The aim of the research is to study the specific determinants, motivational factors, tools and approaches that make up the mechanism for the implementation of sustainable development (the region of Southern Russia.Material and methods. As the main methodological approach, the author used the civilizational method including philosophy and political science which effectively evaluate and analyze a concrete historical stage of development of a society, a short period of its history. At the same time, as a particularly important factor and determinant of social development, we put culture, mental and religious terms of spiritual life of the peoples of the South of Russia into to the forefront, which is seen as a local independent civilization. We see the methodological innovation in the understanding of sustainable development based on the principle of ecocentrism, the equality between generations, types and groups, with regard to the principle of universal evolutionism.Results. It is assumed that civilizations develop independently and realize its cultural potential in various areas, while ethnic groups, nations and peoples with their specific culture must respect the principle of equal moral functioning. The threat of a global catastrophe and attitude for sustainable development bring spiritual values of traditional civilizations to the forefront, which are collectivism, harmony between man and nature, self-limitation, reliance on national culture and other issues that have always been fundamental to Dagestan and the North Caucasus.Conclusions. Sustainable development of the South Russian regions, including Dagestan, is possible only on the basis of the given spiritual determinants in the direction of a global civil society.
SUSTAINABILITY OF TAX SYSTEM IN ROMANIA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ana Patricia HOMORODEAN (CSATLOS
2014-11-01
Full Text Available In the context of globalization, sustainable development is the key to the development of contemporary society and future generations. Sustainability has become a key point for the debates in the political, economic, and academic environment. Therefore, today wehave reached the point when we speak of a country or company sustainability, of environmentalor agricultural sustainability, while speaking,at the same time, of fiscal policy sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Romanian fiscal policy sustainability in terms of tax revenues. The methodology used in this research is bibliographical analysis of specialist literature and statistical analysis of data. Bibliographical analysis was used to define operating concepts: fiscal sustainability and tax revenues. Statistical analysis was used to analyze the evolution of tax revenues in Romania between2005and2013, as well as the share of tax revenues in the general consolidated budget of Romania. Statistical data were processed using Microsoft Excel and presented as evolution diagrams. The novelty and originality of the present work consist in the bibliographical study on Romanian fiscal policy sustainability, the statistical study on the evolution of tax revenues in Romania between 2005and2013, and the analysisof fiscal policy sustainability in Romania in terms of tax revenues.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ren, Jingzheng; Manzardo, Alessandro; Toniolo, Sara
2013-01-01
The enhancement of sustainability of hydrogen supply chain is of vital importance for the stakeholders/decision-makers to design a sustainable hydrogen supply chain. The objective of this paper is to develop a method for prioritizing the influential factors, identifying the key driving factors...... that influence the sustainability of hydrogen supply chain and mapping the cause–effect relationships to improve the sustainability of hydrogen supply chain. In this paper, thirty seven criteria in four aspects including economic, technological, environmental and societal aspects are considered for enhancing...... the sustainability of hydrogen supply chain, and decision making trial and evaluation laboratory has been used to analyze the relationships among these criteria. The status of hydrogen supply chain in China has been studied by the proposed method, and the results are consistent with the actual conditions. It could...
The Institution's position on sustainable energy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sargent, M.A.
1999-01-01
The twenty-first century will be an era in which sustainability will be a powerful value espoused by the community. The sustainability of energy, in terms of production and consumption, and in relation to the broader impacts of energy on society and the environment, will be a particular focus of the community. Australia, as a nett exporter of energy, and with a high per capita energy consumption, has both an economic and environmental imperative to be a leader in sustainable energy concepts and technologies. Australia therefore needs to position itself strategically, with a policy framework that facilitates the strategic positioning, to use and foster its diverse resources to provide for the social and economic needs of this generation, in a manner that ensures that the energy needs of the future generations can be met. The Institution of Engineers Australia has developed a Position on Sustainable Energy. The principles and actions through which the country's transition to a sustainable energy future will be managed are outlined
Sustainability in nursing: a concept analysis.
Anåker, Anna; Elf, Marie
2014-06-01
The aim of this study was to describe, explore and explain the concept of sustainability in nursing. Although researchers in nursing and medicine have emphasised the issue of sustainability and health, the concept of sustainability in nursing is undefined and poorly researched. A need exists for theoretical and empirical studies of sustainability in nursing. Concept analysis as developed by Walker and Avant. Data were derived from dictionaries, international healthcare organisations and literature searches in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases. Inclusive years for the search ranged from 1990 to 2012. A total of fourteen articles were found that referred to sustainability in nursing. Sustainability in nursing involves six defining attributes: ecology, environment, future, globalism, holism and maintenance. Antecedents of sustainability require climate change, environmental impact and awareness, confidence in the future, responsibility and a willingness to change. Consequences of sustainability in nursing include education in the areas of ecology, environment and sustainable development as well as sustainability as a part of nursing academic programs and in the description of the academic subject of nursing. Sustainability should also be part of national and international healthcare organisations. The concept was clarified herein by giving it a definition. Sustainability in nursing was explored and found to contribute to sustainable development, with the ultimate goal of maintaining an environment that does not harm current and future generations' opportunities for good health. This concept analysis provides recommendations for the healthcare sector to incorporate sustainability and provides recommendations for future research. © 2014 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic College of Caring Science.
Sustainable Development vs. Post-Industrial Transformation: Possibilities for Russia
Zhironkin, Sergey; Gasanov, Magerram; Barysheva, Galina; Gasanov, Eyvaz; Zhironkina, Olga; Kayachev, Gennady
2017-11-01
Today the theory of postindustrial society is one of the most widespread concepts which allow adequately comprehending the largescale changes that have occurred in the ecological consciousness of Western societies for the last thirty years. Offered in the late 1960s and early 1970s by American and European researchers in the field of economics, social philosophy, and ecology, the integrated idea of sustainable development in postindustrial era incorporated the best elements of the scientific tradition dating back to the Age of Enlightenment. The article emphasizes that the key to modern social progress is the rapid technological development based on the transformation of science into a direct productive force. The measure of such progress is a shift from pure economic growth to the sustainable development. The authors describe the ways of changing Russian Government's attitude to economy regulation in postindustrial development to achieve the goals of sustainable development.
Effects of Corporate Sustainability on Established Brand : the case of IKEA
Gbanabila, Yenimi
2014-01-01
The emergence of Sustainable Development as an alternative approach to changing unsustainable behaviour in today’s business practices to save the planet towards a sustainable society is shifting branding paradigm from the “what of the commodity to the how of shared values”. For marketers responding to this changing paradigm to maintain competitive in today’s market sustainable branding is gaining attention in today’s business practices. But does sustainable practice have effects on branding i...
The Cradle to Cradle concept - is it always sustainable?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bjørn, Anders; Strandesen, Maria
TerraSkin with a cellulose based reference paper was conducted. From this, energy systems and recycling infrastructure was found to be decisive parameters for the sustainability of C2C products. They are therefore not always sustainable. Moreover a literature study identified inherent sustainability......The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) concept has gained wide interest among especially designers over the past few years. This paper aims to investigate whether C2C products are in fact always sustainable and to explore whether an ideal C2C society is so too. An LCA comparing the C2C certified mineral paper...
The role of sustainability requirements in international bioenergy markets
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pelkmans, Luc; Goovaerts, Liesbet; Goh, Chun Sheng
2014-01-01
As the main driver for bioenergy is to enable society to transform to more sustainable fuel and energy production systems, it is important to safeguard that bioenergy deployment happens within certain sustainability constraints. There is currently a high number of initiatives, including binding...... regulations and several voluntary sustainability standards for biomass, bioenergy and/or biofuels. Within IEA Bioenergy studies were performed to monitor the actual implementation process of sustainability regulations and certification, evaluate how stakeholders are affected and envisage the anticipated......’ of biomass involves different policy arenas and legal settings. Policy pathways should be clear and predictable, and future revisions of sustainability requirements should be open and transparent. Sustainability assurance systems (both through binding regulations and voluntary certification) should take...
What is the Minimum EROI that a Sustainable Society Must Have?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
David J.R. Murphy
2009-01-01
Full Text Available Economic production and, more generally, most global societies, are overwhelmingly dependant upon depleting supplies of fossil fuels. There is considerable concern amongst resource scientists, if not most economists, as to whether market signals or cost benefit analysis based on today’s prices are sufficient to guide our decisions about our energy future. These suspicions and concerns were escalated during the oil price increase from 2005 – 2008 and the subsequent but probably related market collapse of 2008. We believe that Energy Return On Investment (EROI analysis provides a useful approach for examining disadvantages and advantages of different fuels and also offers the possibility to look into the future in ways that markets seem unable to do. The goal of this paper is to review the application of EROI theory to both natural and economic realms, and to assess preliminarily the minimum EROI that a society must attain from its energy exploitation to support continued economic activity and social function. In doing so we calculate herein a basic first attempt at the minimum EROI for current society and some of the consequences when that minimum is approached. The theory of the minimum EROI discussed here, which describes the somewhat obvious but nonetheless important idea that for any being or system to survive or grow it must gain substantially more energy than it uses in obtaining that energy, may be especially important. Thus any particular being or system must abide by a “Law of Minimum EROI”, which we calculate for both oil and corn-based ethanol as about 3:1 at the mine-mouth/farm-gate. Since most biofuels have EROI’s of less than 3:1 they must be subsidized by fossil fuels to be useful.
Kazdin, Alan E
2009-01-01
Climate change and degradation of the environment are global problems associated with many other challenges (e.g., population increases, reduction of glaciers, and loss of critical habitats). Psychological science can play a critical role in addressing these problems by fostering a sustainable environment. Multiple strategies for fostering a sustainable environment could draw from the diversity of topics and areas of specialization within psychology. Psychological research on fostering environmentally sustainable behaviors is rather well developed, as illustrated by interventions focusing on education of the public, message framing, feedback, decision making, the media, incentives and disincentives, and social marketing. Other sciences and professions as well as religion and ethics are actively involved in fostering a sustainable environment. Psychology ought to be more involved directly, systematically, and visibly to draw on our current knowledge and to have palpable impact. We would serve the world very well and in the process our discipline and profession.
Sustainable Chemical Processes and Products. New Design Methodology and Design Tools
Korevaar, G.
2004-01-01
The current chemical industry is not sustainable, which leads to the fact that innovation of chemical processes and products is too often hazardous for society in general and the environment in particular. It really is a challenge to implement sustainability considerations in the design activities
Sustainable Building in Scandinavia: Directions of Innovations for Supporting the Transition
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Koch-Ørvad, Nina; Thuesen, Christian
2016-01-01
Buildings are essential for securing a sustainable society, and the Scandinavian building sector is viewed upon globally as the one to lead the way. This paper investigates in which directions sustainable building in Scandinavia is likely to move and outlines a number of areas where sustainable...... in novations are necessary for supporting this movement. The focus on innovations as essential support for the sustainable transition of the building sector derives from the Multi-Level Perspective, which has been applied to this study as a framework for understanding sustainable transitions of socio...
Embedding Sustainability and Renewable Energy Concepts into Undergraduate Curriculum
Belu, R.; Cioca, L.
2017-12-01
Human society is facing an uncertain future due to the present unsustainable use of natural resources and the growing imbalance with our natural environment. Creation of a sustainable society is a complex multi-disciplinary and multi-stage project, believed to dominate our century, requiring collaboration, teamwork, and abilities to work with respect and learn from other disciplines and professions. Sustainable development means technological progress meeting the present needs without compromising future generation ability to meet its needs and aspirations. It has four aspects: environment, technology, economy, and societal organizations. Students are often taught to deal with technological developments and economic analysis to assess the process or product viability, but are not fully familiar with sustainability and optimization of technology development benefits and the environment. Schools in many disciplines are working to include sustainability concepts into their curricula. Teaching sustainability and renewable energy has become an essential feature today higher education. Sustainable and green design is about designs recognizing the constraints of the natural resource uses and the environment. It applies to all of engineering and science areas, as all systems interact with the environment in complex and important ways. Our project goals are to provide students with multiple and comprehensive exposures to sustainability and renewable energy concepts, facilitating the development of passion and skills to integrate them into practice. The expected outcomes include an increased social responsibility; development of innovative thinking skills; understanding of sustainability issues, and increasing student interests in the engineering and science programs. The project aims to incorporate sustainability and renewable energy concepts into our undergraduate curricula, employing the existing course resources, and developing new courses and laboratory experiments
Towards the Importance for Sustainable Development: Case Study: Albania
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Klodiana Gorica
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Information has become an important element without which society cannot achieve its objectives. The term “information society” is increasingly used nowadays, because of the importance and necessity of information in today's dynamic environment. Western countries are convinced that the information society will result in economic and social benefits (Audenhove 2000. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, notes that information infrastructures are expected to stimulate economic growth, increase productivity, create jobs, and improve on the quality of life (Gichoya 2005. It is for these reasons that many studies state that the role of ICTs as enablers of sustainable development is growing. The overall goal of this paper is to point out the importance of ICT market development for the sustainable development of all the economy and the final development of Information society, especially in developing countries, where Albania is the case study illustration. The first step of this research is to show the importance of studying ICTs in the light of building an information society. In fact, the efforts of a country to build an information society, in order to benefit in terms of sustainable development, are closely related to the efforts of building strong information infrastructures and a growing ICT sector. Many indicators related to Information society measurement deal in fact with the infrastructures needed and the products and services of ICT sector. But, failures to submit ICT in contexts which are contrary to techno-economic rationality are reflected in many cases in developing countries. Thus, a defining characteristic of this research is to understand the contexts that confront ICT and information systems development in developing countries in terms of their conditions. In fact the development of ICT sector, depend not only on the political, economic and social conditions of each country, but also on the phase of e
Sustainable Building Operation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Jesper Ole
2009-01-01
of sustainable building operation and a survey amongst building administrators from the private and the social housing sector. Our results show that there are many good examples on sustainable building operation in Danish housing estates, where local building managers, residents etc. have gained impressive......Energy-savings in the existing building stock have becomes a main goal in national and international policies. Often focus is on building-renovations, whereas the potential of sustainable building operation to a large extent has been neglected. Nevertheless, international research as well...... as practical experiences from Danish housing estates indicates that there are large potentials for energy savings by focusing on the operation of the buildings. We suggest that in order to achieve sustainability in the existing housing, renovation and operations should be seen as integrated parts...
Components of sustainability considerations in management of petrochemical industries.
Aryanasl, Amir; Ghodousi, Jamal; Arjmandi, Reza; Mansouri, Nabiollah
2017-06-01
Sustainability comprises three pillars of social, environmental, and economic aspects. Petrochemical industry has a great inter-related complex impact on social and economic development of societies and adverse impact on almost all environmental aspects and resource depletion in many countries, which make sustainability a crucial issue for petrochemical industries. This study was conducted to propose components of sustainability considerations in management of petrochemical industries.A combination of exploratory study-to prepare a preliminary list of components of sustainable business in petrochemical industries based on review of literature and Delphi-to obtain experts' view on this preliminary list and provide a detailed list of components and sub-components that should be addressed to bring sustainability to petrochemical industries, were used.Two sets of components were provided. First general components, which include stakeholders (staffs, society, and environment) with four sub-components, financial resources with 11 sub-components, improvement of design and processes with nine sub-components, policy and strategy of cleaner production with seven sub-components and leadership with seven sub-components. The second operational components included raw material supply and preparation with five, synthesis with ten, product separation and refinement with nine, product handling and storage with five, emission abatement with eight, and improvement of technology and equipment with 16 sub-components.
Simulated Sustainable Societies: Students' Reflections on Creating Future Cities in Computer Games
Nilsson, Elisabet M.; Jakobsson, Anders
2011-01-01
The empirical study, in this article, involved 42 students (ages 14-15), who used the urban simulation computer game SimCity 4 to create models of sustainable future cities. The aim was to explore in what ways the simulated "real" worlds provided by this game could be a potential facilitator for science learning contexts. The topic investigated is…
Socially Inclusive Development: The Foundations for Decent Societies in East and Southern Africa.
Abbott, Pamela; Wallace, Claire; Sapsford, Roger
2017-01-01
This article is concerned with how social processes and social provision are conceptualised and measured in societies in order to offer guidance on how to improve developmental progress. Significant advances have been made in developing multidimensional measures of development, but they provide little guidance to governments on how to build sustainable societies. We argue for the need to develop a theoretically informed social and policy framework that permits the foundations for building decent societies to be put in place by governments. In our view the recently developed Decent Society Model provides such a framework. Our example is the assessment of government provision, by function, within fourteen countries of East and Southern Africa. The context is the current debates about socially inclusive development, but we argue that it is necessary to range more widely, as social processes of different kinds are multiply interrelated. Social inclusion is recognised by governments as well as international agencies, including the World Bank and the United Nations, as not only an ethical imperative but smart economics; socially inclusive societies are more stable and have greater potential for economic growth. Societies that can develop sustainably need not only to be inclusive, however, but to provide economic security for all, to be socially cohesive and to empower citizens so that as individuals and communities they can take control over their own lives.
Sustainability: Actuality and necessity in the construction sector in Colombia
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Acevedo Agudelo, Harlem; Vasquez Hernandez, Alejandro; Ramirez Cardona, Diego Alejandro
2012-01-01
The construction industry, a part of being essential to achieve the society development, is also one of the main generators of solid waste and pollution, and it is also responsible for a great part of the landscape transformation and the energy usage. These are enough reasons for the industry not to be indifferent to the actual environmental problematic. This paper, which is intended for academic and professional community generally, presents a diagnosis about the current state of construction in Colombia regarding the environmental impact that it generates. To this end, it exposes the Colombian construction industry framed-related to its environmental impact, and documents, chronologically, the practices and strategies that have been used to reduce the negative impact on the environment throughout the time until nowadays. Finally, this document presents a survey result applied to a representative sample of constructive firms of the Valle de Aburra, Antioquia, where several aspects, regarding the concept of sustainable building and the environmental actions that the firm carries out, were inquired.
Some Thoughts on Sustainability, Insurability and Insurance
Walter R Stahel
1997-01-01
There are clear indications that the present “old” industrial economy needs a serious adjustment to become compatible with the aims of a sustainable society. The main issues involved are the time factor, resource productivity and socio-cultural ecology.-the time factor: sustainability is a long-term societal vision concerned with the stewardship of natural resources and assets in order to safeguard the opportunities and choices of future generations. The industrial economy is often limited to...
Edi Nugroho Soebandrija, Khristian
2017-12-01
This paper comprises discussion of Green Innovation and Sustainable Industrial Systems within Sustainability and Company Improvement Perspective of beverage manufacturing company (BMC). The stakeholder theory is the grand theory for the company improvement perspective in this paper. The data processing in this paper is conducted through software which are SEM-PLS with SmartPLS 2.0 and SPSS 19. The specified objective of this paper has focus on sustainability as one of 6 variables, in lieu of those 6 variables as the big picture. The reason behind this focus on sustainability is the fact that there are assorted challenges in sustainability that is ranging from economic, environment and company perspectives. Those challenges in sustainability include the sustainable service supply chain management and its involvement of society. The overall objective is to analyze relationship hypothesis of 6 variables, 4 of them (leadership, organizational learning, innovation, and performance) are based on Malcolm Baldrige’s performance excellence concept to achieve sustainability and competitive advantage through company-competitor and customer questionnaire, and its relation to Total Quality Management (TQM) and Quality Management System (QMS). In conclusion, the spearheaded of company improvement in this paper is in term of consumer satisfaction through 99.997% quality standards. These can be achieved by ambidexterity through exploitation and exploration innovation. Furthermore, in this paper, TQM enables to obtain popularity brand index achievement that is greater than 45.9%. Subsequently, ISO22000 of food security standard encompasses quality standard of ISO9000 and HACCP. Through the ambidexterity of exploitation and exploration (Non Standard Product Inspection) NOSPI machine, the company improvement generates the achievement of 75% automation, 99.997% quality control standard and 80% of waste reduction.
Global Civil Society: the Formation of the New Actor of World Politics. Part I
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Владимир Геннадьевич Иванов
2010-12-01
Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the analysis of the emerging global phenomenon: the rise of global civil society as the new actor of world politics. The author suggests that the importance of global civil society as a «third way» between the State and the Free Market is especially high at the time of modern economic crisis. Global civil society organizations work out the new socio-political agenda for the world and new approaches to the global problems. This shaping society is full of conflicts and contradictions but its rapid development in the 1990-2000th is the milestone for developing of truly global politics.
Interpreting sustainable development
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
1998-01-01
Over the past decade, the term" sustainable development"has emerged as the principal concept in the development field. The concept emerged in the 1970s and was first promoted in the international environmental and development communities with the publication of the " world conservation strategy"(1980). It was popularized by the Brundtland report, " Our common future"(1987). The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as " development which meets the needs of the present, without compromising the sustainability of future generation to meet their own needs". The Earth Summit(1992) established "sustainable development" as the most important policy of the 21st century. Since then, the relationship between development and environment has been widely discussed and sustainabale development is now an important part of the vocabulary of environmental policy research and analysis. In this paper, we begin by tracing the evolution of the concept of sustainable development. Definitions of sustainable development in ecology, economics and sociology are then explored and discussed. This paper also examine the contribution that a broadly-based concept of sustainable development can make: as a goal, an attitude and as a guiding principle for integrating economic development and environmental protection.
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGRI-FOOD SPHERE
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
V. Samofatova
2017-10-01
Full Text Available The article highlights the historical preconditions and principles of sustainable development of theagri-food sphere. The analysis of the evolution of the categorical content of sustainable development iscarried out. It has been noted that the main ideology of sustainable development is the integration andharmonization of the ecological, economic and social spheres of society. It is shown that the concept ofsustainable development has an interdisciplinary character, so it should be considered in many aspects andstudied from different angles. The basic advantages of sustainable development for the agri-food sphere areoutlined.
“Sustainability Learning”: An Introduction to the Concept and Its Motivational Aspects
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ralf Hansmann
2010-09-01
Full Text Available This theoretical paper clarifies the concept of sustainability learning and specifically analyzes motivational aspects. Mastering the challenges of sustainability requires individual learning as well as learning processes on different levels of human systems ranging from groups and organizations to human societies, and mankind as a whole. Learning processes of individuals play a fundamental role, since individuals constitute and shape the larger social aggregates. Learning processes on the level of social aggregates are important since social systems embed and influence individuals. Therefore, sustainability learning needs to be understood as a multi-level concept, comprising individual learning as well as learning processes of human systems. Transdisciplinarity and mutual learning between science and society are considered fundamental approaches of sustainability learning, and hence increase the capacity of mankind to manage human-environment systems in sustainable ways. Based on systemic considerations, the two-fold role, in which motivations act as determinants and targeted outcomes of sustainability learning processes, is explained together with the outstanding role that cooperation, hence cooperative motivation, plays for sustainable development. Finally, the multifaceted, controversial discourses on what sustainability ultimately means (for the scientific community, for a given cultural or political entity, organization, or individual person are considered.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
María Angela Prialé
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Through a literature review, this exploratory study seeks to determine whether the practices related to its colaborators, who report as part of its action responsible Peruvian companies issuing sustainability reports can be considered sustainable management practices of human resources. To this end, it was used the approach of sustainable work systems as a general approach. It was found that some of the practices of responsible management of human resources that implement the analyzed companies address the human dimensions of sustainability, although not all dimensions are considered equally or similar depth.
Axiological aspects of sustainable development with theoretical and empirical approach
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Włodzimierz Kaczocha
2011-01-01
Full Text Available The first part of the paper presents the values – goals, which are contained in political programs of sustainable development. These values (e.g. social justice, intergenerational justice, liberty, sustainable consumption and value of nature should be explained with respect to the assumptions of ethics of beliefs, obligation or responsibility. The second part discusses the results of empirical studies which focused on certain goals-values of sustainable development achieved by residents of rural areas. The third part contains analytical interpretation of three values: positive liberty, social justice and community, which are of key importance to sustainable development. The final fourth part discusses political and ethical dilemmas which must be faced by Polish politicians: should we design and implement sustainable development evenly or, in consideration of the ethical aspect; should we start first from radical improvement in conditions of living among poor people?
Participation of women in neurochemistry societies.
Lees, Marjorie B
2002-11-01
Women have made important scientific contributions to the field of neurochemistry, and they have also been leaders in neurochemical societies throughout the world. Here I discuss women's involvement and leadership in six neurochemistry societies: American Society for Neurochemistry, Argentine Society for Neurochemistry, International Society for Neurochemistry, European Society for Neurochemistry, Japanese Society for Neurochemistry, and Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry. The number of women who have been active in these societies and the level of their activity vary considerably. Neurochemical societies in the Western hemisphere, i.e., the American and the Argentine Society for Neurochemistry, have much greater numbers of women who have held office, been on council, or engaged in other leadership activities than in the rest of the world. The limited participation of women in the Japanese Neurochemistry Society relates to Japanese cultural views and was not unexpected. However, the relatively few women leaders in the International Society for Neurochemistry was a surprise. The European Society had a somewhat better record of female participation than did the International Society. The reasons for these differences are partly cultural, but factors related to when each society was formed, how it is organized, and how elections are structured undoubtedly play a role. Further analysis of these observations would be of interest from a sociological and a women's studies point of view.
Promoting Sustainable Food Provision; the Role of Networks in Global Food Governance
Oosterveer, P.J.M.
2017-01-01
Food provision in contemporary societies is transforming due to challenges of globalization, sustainability and equity. The interactions between civil society organizations, governments, the food industry, consumers and producers constitute dynamic fields of environmental change in global food
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Feldt, Liv Egholm; Hein Jessen, Mathias
Since the beginning of the 1990’s, civil society has attracted both scholarly and political interest as the ‘third sphere’ outside the state and the market not only a normatively privileged site of communication and ‘the public sphere’, but also as a resource for democratization processes...... and social cohesion, as well as a provider of welfare services from a welfare state in dire straits. However, such a view upholds a sharp distinction between the three sectors and their distinct logic. This article claims that the separation of spheres is a fundamental part of our ‘social imaginary......’ and as such dominates our way of thinking about civil society. Yet, this view hinders the understanding of how civil society is not a pre-existing or given sphere, but a sphere which is constantly produced both discursively, conceptually and practically. Through two examples; 1,the case of philanthropy in the beginning...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nilsen, Heidi Rapp
2010-01-01
The purpose of this paper is to contribute towards moving the predominant situation of weak sustainable development (WSD) in the direction of strong sustainable development (SSD). More people - academics, politicians, bureaucrats and laymen alike - need to recognize SSD as an alternative to WSD. A joint discourse of WSD and SSD is suggested, called reflexive sustainable development. Here, advocates of WSD and SSD must argue for each specific case why their solution is better. This will expose, amongst other things, the ethical foundations which form part of resulting policy advice. Reflexive sustainable development is to be framed in discourse ethics, thereby remedying the power imbalance and allowing for substantial discussion. Reflexive sustainable development builds on a common theoretical base but will not lead to consensus in all matters. A family metaphor is introduced to inspire a discourse of both consensus and compromise. (author)
Montossi, F; Font-i-Furnols, M; del Campo, M; San Julián, R; Brito, G; Sañudo, C
2013-12-01
There are increasing concerns of society towards the consumption of animal products which have been produced and transformed in a sustainable manner. This trend influences consumer purchasing decision making, particularly in developed countries. On the other hand, in the next years, the pressure to increase the volume and efficiency of meat production will be much higher to cope with the expected unsatisfied demand. At least in part, current and future technologies could contribute to solve this challenge. However, the use of some of these innovations could have a negative effect on consumer preferences. There is no consensus in our society about this dilemma. The objective of this paper is to review the scientific evidence related to these topics and to analyze and discuss the effect of some of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors linked with the sheep industry which could affect the acceptability of lamb meat by consumers. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Ethnic identity, territory and sustainable development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Carmona Maya, Sergio Ivan
1998-01-01
This article explores, within the relationship between territory and society, the various points concerning cultural, social and ethnic identity through which the social contract on sustainable development must confront its greatest contradictions. The political position taken as regards sustainable development seeks cultural unity as a necessary condition for establishing modern forms of behavior to deal with styles of development and the management of the environment, for which to reconcile cultural diversity and the permanent social interaction between different ethnic groups, which is both imperative and of the utmost urgency
Information Systems Solutions for Environmental Sustainability
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gholami, Roya; Watson, Richard T.; Hasan, Helen
2016-01-01
We contend that too few information systems (IS) academics engage in impactful research that offers solutions to global warming despite the fact that climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing this generation. Climate change is a major threat to global sustainability in the 21st...... themselves in creating solutions for environmental problems. Moreover, information is a perquisite for assessing the state of the environment and making appropriate decisions to ameliorate identified problems. Indeed, the IS scholarly community needs to help create a sustainable society. While...
Social Media Research, Human Behavior, and Sustainable Society
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Quan Li
2017-03-01
Full Text Available A bibliometric analysis was conducted to review social media research from different perspectives during the period of 2008–2014 based on the Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index database. Using a collection of 10,042 articles related to social media, the bibliometric analysis revealed some interesting patterns and trend of the scientific outputs, major journals, subject categories, spatial distribution, international collaboration, and temporal evolution in keywords usage in social media studies. The research on social media has been characterized by rapid growth and dynamic collaboration, with a rising number of publications and citation. Communication, Sociology, Public, Environment & Occupational Health, Business, and Multidisciplinary Psychology were the five most common categories. Computers in Human Behavior was the journal with the most social media publications, and Computers & Education ranked first according to the average citations. The two most productive countries were the U.S. and UK, delivering about half of the publications. The proportion of China’s internationally collaborative publications was the highest. The University of Wisconsin, the University of Michigan, and Harvard University were three most productive institutions. Several keywords, such as “Facebook”, “Twitter”, “communication”, “Social Networking Sites”, “China”, “climate change”, “big data” and “social support” increasingly gained the popularity during the study period, indicating the research trends on human behavior and sustainability.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Constantin, Marin; Turcu, Ilie
2015-01-01
The proceedings of the NUCLEAR 2015 the 8"t"h annual international conference on sustainable development through nuclear research and education. Part 1/3 held at INR-Pitesti on May, 27-29 contain 62 communications presented in two plenary sessions and three sections addressing the themes of Nuclear energy, Environmental protection and Sustainable development. In turn these sections are addressing the following items: Section 1.1 Nuclear safety and severe accidents (7 papers); Section 1.2 Nuclear reactors and gen. IV (5 papers); Section 1.3 Nuclear technology and materials (19 papers); Section 2.1 Radioprotection & air, water and soil protection (1 paper); Section 2.2 Radioactive waste management (9 papers); Section 3.1 policies and strategies in nuclear research (1 paper); Section 3.2 Education, training and knowledge management (16 papers); Section 3.3 International partnership for a sustainable development (4 papers). These papers are presented as abstracts in 'Nuclear 2015 - Book of Abstracts', separately processed
TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS OF INDICATORS USED IN THE ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sabina VITALIA
2013-01-01
Full Text Available The present article exposes the summary of a research project whose purpose is measuring sustainable development in Romania at the level of rural areas. Sustainable Development (Sustainable Development in English means better quality of life now and for future generations. According to the vision of sustainable development, progress integrates immediate and long-term objectives, local actions and global economic and environmental issues, all of which are inseparable. Such a vision of society can not be imposed only by political, society as a whole must adopt certain principles (political, economic, social, thinking. Sustainable development can be defined simply as a better quality of life for everyone, both now and for future generations. Sustainable development means: balanced and equitable economic development; high levels of employment, social cohesion and inclusion; a high level of environmental protection and responsible use of natural resources; generating a coherent political system open, transparent and accountable; effective international cooperation to promote global sustainable development (Gothenburg Strategy, 2001.
Sustainability Characterization for Additive Manufacturing.
Mani, Mahesh; Lyons, Kevin W; Gupta, S K
2014-01-01
Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to create geometrically complex parts that require a high degree of customization, using less material and producing less waste. Recent studies have shown that AM can be an economically viable option for use by the industry, yet there are some inherent challenges associated with AM for wider acceptance. The lack of standards in AM impedes its use for parts production since industries primarily depend on established standards in processes and material selection to ensure the consistency and quality. Inability to compare AM performance against traditional manufacturing methods can be a barrier for implementing AM processes. AM process sustainability has become a driver due to growing environmental concerns for manufacturing. This has reinforced the importance to understand and characterize AM processes for sustainability. Process characterization for sustainability will help close the gaps for comparing AM performance to traditional manufacturing methods. Based on a literature review, this paper first examines the potential environmental impacts of AM. A methodology for sustainability characterization of AM is then proposed to serve as a resource for the community to benchmark AM processes for sustainability. Next, research perspectives are discussed along with relevant standardization efforts.
Foley, W Dennis; Shuman, William P; Siegel, Marilyn J; Sahani, Dushyant V; Boll, Daniel T; Bolus, David N; De Cecco, Carlo N; Kaza, Ravi K; Morgan, Desiree E; Schoepf, U Joseph; Vrtiska, Terri J; Yeh, Benjamin M; Berland, Lincoln L
This is the second of a series of 4 white papers that represent Expert Consensus Documents developed by the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance through its task force on dual-energy computed tomography. This paper, part 2, addresses radiation dose and iodine sensitivity in dual-energy computed tomography.
Sustainable supply chain management practices in Indian automotive industry
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mathivathanan, Deepak; Kannan, Devika; Haq, A. Noorul
2018-01-01
As one of the largest manufacturing sectors, the automotive industry has a deep impact on the society and environment. Automotive products provide mobility to millions and create jobs, but also threaten the environment. Consumer pressure, government regulations, and stakeholder demands for a comp......As one of the largest manufacturing sectors, the automotive industry has a deep impact on the society and environment. Automotive products provide mobility to millions and create jobs, but also threaten the environment. Consumer pressure, government regulations, and stakeholder demands...... into the traditional supply chain and that help an industry shift towards a sustainable supply chain are called SSCM practices. Firms have difficulty identifying the most useful practices and learning how these practices impact each other. Unfortunately, no existing research has studied the interrelated influences...... stakeholder perspectives are identified. The results reveal that management commitment towards sustainability and incorporating the triple bottom line approach in strategic decision making are the most influential practices for implementing the sustainable supply chain management. This study provides...
McGillion, Michael; Arthur, Heather M; Cook, Allison; Carroll, Sandra L; Victor, J Charles; L'allier, Philippe L; Jolicoeur, E Marc; Svorkdal, Nelson; Niznick, Joel; Teoh, Kevin; Cosman, Tammy; Sessle, Barry; Watt-Watson, Judy; Clark, Alexander; Taenzer, Paul; Coyte, Peter; Malysh, Louise; Galte, Carol; Stone, James
2012-01-01
Refractory angina (RFA) is a debilitating disease characterized by cardiac pain resistant to conventional treatments for coronary artery disease including nitrates, calcium-channel and β-adrenoceptor blockade, vasculoprotective agents, percutaneous coronary interventions, and coronary artery bypass grafting. The mortality rate of patients living with RFA is not known but is thought to be in the range of approximately 3%. These individuals suffer severely impaired health-related quality of life with recurrent and sustained pain, poor general health status, psychological distress, impaired role functioning, and activity restriction. Effective care for RFA sufferers in Canada is critically underdeveloped. These guidelines are predicated upon a 2009 Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Position Statement which identified that underlying the problem of RFA management is the lack of a formalized, coordinated, interprofessional strategy between the cardiovascular and pain science/clinical communities. The guidelines are therefore a joint initiative of the CCS and the Canadian Pain Society (CPS) and make practice recommendations about treatment options for RFA that are based on the best available evidence. Concluding summary recommendations are also made, giving direction to future clinical practice and research on RFA management in Canada. Copyright © 2012 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Multi-criteria approach to support strategically sustainable decisions in organizations
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Victor Diogho Heuer de Carvalho
2015-09-01
Full Text Available Keeping the social and environmental conditions in a favorable conservation status for allowing the society to develop itself without restrictions is the central idea which underpins the sustainability concept. Different spheres such as media, academia and business organizations started to give more importance to the study of sustainability, once it directly affects aspects that influence the economy in the world. Organizationally, the use of sustainable strategies can bring returns in favor of a healthy development and a conscious culture about the waste as well as reflecting how organizations connect with society and the environment. The objective of this work is to propose a model for prioritizing strategies to support the creation of an environment and a culture based on sustainability in organizations. This model has four steps, beginning with the problem structuring, including the definition of criteria and alternatives, the application of a multi-criteria method for prioritization, and finally, the implementation of the alternatives according to the decision maker opinion as well as on prioritization results.
Electronics and telecommunications in Poland, issues and perspectives: Part I. Society and education
Modelski, Józef; Romaniuk, Ryszard
2010-09-01
important role of ET is combined with the existence in the society of an adequate infrastructure which recreates the full development cycle of high technology embracing: people, institutions, finances and logistics, in this also science, higher education, education, continuous training, dissemination and outreach, professional social environment, legal basis, political support and lobbying, innovation structures, applications, industry and economy. The digest of chosen development tendencies in ET was made here from the academic perspective, in a wider scale and on this background the national one, trying to situate this branch in the society, determine its changing role to build a new technical infrastructure of a society based on knowledge, a role of builder of many practical gadgets facilitating life, a role of a big future integrator of today's single bricks into certain more useful unity. This digest does not have a character of a systematic analysis of ET. It is a kind of an arbitrary utterance of the authors inside their field of competence. The aim of this paper is to take an active part in the discussion of the academic community in this country on the development strategy of ET, choice of priorities for cyclically rebuilding economy, in competitive environments. The review paper was initiated by the Committee of Electronics and Telecommunications of Polish Academy of Sciences and was published in Polish as introductory chapter of a dedicated expertise, printed in a book format. This version makes the included opinions available for a wider community.
Environment, energy, economy. A sustainable future
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Luise, A.; Borrello, L.; Calef, D.; Cialani, C.; Di Majo, V.; Federio, A.; Lovisolo, G.; Musmeci, F.
1998-01-01
This paper is organized in five parts: 1. sustainable development from global point of view; 2. global problems and international instruments; 3. sustainable management of resources in economic systems; 4. forecasting and methods: models and index; 5. future urban areas [it
Creating sustainable campuses: Sharing knowledge between ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
2016-06-02
Jun 2, 2016 ... As part of the Sustainable Campuses: Sharing our Knowledge for Social and ... structure, environmental education, and project design and management. ... Read the project report, Sustainable Campuses: Sharing our ... Innovative grants program teams up Canadian and Latin American researchers.
Networks for Innovation for Sustainable Tourism
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Liburd, Janne J.; Carlsen, Jack; Edwards, Deborah
Innovation is key to responding to the future challenges that confront all sectors of society and the economy. Within tourism, there are numerous corporations and destinations around the world that are responding to the challenges posed by ecological, social, cultural and economic forces and making...... the transformation toward sustainability through innovation. Networks for Innovation in Sustainable Tourism assembles ten case studies of large and small enterprises and destinations in developed and developing nations that are pursuing innovative practices that will enhance the sustainability of their operations....... The cases have been prepared for use in research and teaching of innovation, and the analysis and case notes are designed to facilitate discussion and further investigation of innovation, not only in tourism, but in other economic sectors as well....
Value Creation in the Context of Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility
Šmida, Ľubomír; Sakál, Peter
2014-12-01
Under the influence of the new rules of the economy and the society, companies are achieving a notional line of a necessary change in the approach to creating new value, wealth. Implementation of changes in the system of wealth creation requires a review of existing assumptions of unlimited growth of the global economy and wealth creation in the environment accepting economic interests, society and the environment as a holistic unit. The main purpose of this paper is the clarification of a new requirements for business, presentation of the questionnaire survey Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility and inform on value creation in the context of Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility.
Value Creation in the Context of Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Šmida Ľubomír
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Under the influence of the new rules of the economy and the society, companies are achieving a notional line of a necessary change in the approach to creating new value, wealth. Implementation of changes in the system of wealth creation requires a review of existing assumptions of unlimited growth of the global economy and wealth creation in the environment accepting economic interests, society and the environment as a holistic unit. The main purpose of this paper is the clarification of a new requirements for business, presentation of the questionnaire survey Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility and inform on value creation in the context of Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility.
Chappin, E.J.L.; Bijvoet, Xanna; Oei, A.
2017-01-01
In order to attain a truly sustainable society it is necessary for people to make ‘the sustainable choice’ in daily life, business and governance. Instrumental in increasing the awareness and understanding about sustainability issues and improving people's behaviour regarding sustainability
Korean society of mechanical engineers 60 years
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2005-12-01
This book introduces 60 years of Korean society of mechanical engineers with birth, foundation, development process, change of enforcement regulation and articles of association, important data of this association, 60 years of parts, committee and branch, business of association like academic event, publication, technical development business, supporting research centers, bond Korean society of mechanical engineers and mechanical industry and development of related organizations, development for industrial fields and development direction of Korean society of mechanical engineers.
Human-Nature for Climate Action: Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Helen Santiago Fink
2016-03-01
Full Text Available The global climate change agenda proceeds at an incremental pace while the Earth is approaching critical tipping points in its development trajectory. Climate action at this pinnacle juncture needs to be greatly accelerated and rooted in the fundamentals of the problem—human beings’ disconnection from nature. This paper underscores the valuable role nature and nature-based solutions can play in addressing climate change at the city scale and its implications for broader sustainability. Urban ecosystems (nature in cities are seen as an integral part of a proposed local climate action rubric wherein policy measures and integrated planning guide lowcarbon/impact development to create more resilient and sustainable urban environments. The use of green infrastructure is highlighted as a cost-effective means to contribute to mitigation and adaptation needs as well as to promote human wellbeing. The paper takes an exploratory view of the influence of ecosystem services, particularly cultural services, and its economics in relation to the individual and society to understand how biophilia can be nurtured to promote environmental stewardship and climate action.
Siegel, Marilyn J; Kaza, Ravi K; Bolus, David N; Boll, Daniel T; Rofsky, Neil M; De Cecco, Carlo N; Foley, W Dennis; Morgan, Desiree E; Schoepf, U Joseph; Sahani, Dushyant V; Shuman, William P; Vrtiska, Terri J; Yeh, Benjamin M; Berland, Lincoln L
This is the first of a series of 4 white papers that represent Expert Consensus Documents developed by the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance through its task force on dual-energy computed tomography (DECT). This article, part 1, describes the fundamentals of the physical basis for DECT and the technology of DECT and proposes uniform nomenclature to account for differences in proprietary terms among manufacturers.
Assessing potential sustainable wood yield
Robert F. Powers
2001-01-01
Society is making unprecedented demands on world forests to produce and sustain many values. Chief among them is wood supply, and concerns are rising globally about the ability of forests to meet increasing needs. Assessing this is not easy. It requires a basic understanding of the principles governing forest productivity: how wood yield varies with tree and stand...
Transitions to sustainable development. On the relevance of exploiting market forces
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Glasbergen, P.
2002-01-01
Transition management is a new concept in Dutch environmental policy and management. Bringing about transitions in society is a classical issue in planning and policy theory. One of the main debates is on the relationship between market and plan as coordinating mechanisms in society. Based on an examination of this debate, this article argues that there is no contradiction between incremental change and structural changes in society. In terms of these incremental changes, it observes a process of sustainable development that has gone on for years. In the author's view, the key to sustainable development is to be found in private investments. Transitions in a liberal democratic society necessarily take place via the market mechanism and come about as societal learning processes. The main challenge is to develop structures in which private capital is applied to achieve long-term processes of societal change. The FairTrade market and the clean development mechanism are discussed by way of examples [nl
Sustained volunteerism: justification, motivation and management
Renes, R.J.
2005-01-01
In a society such as ours, where the tendency exists to always weigh costs against benefits (“what’s in it for me?”), unselfish volunteerism seems difficult to understand. An unselfish act such as sustained volunteerism lacks clear-cut, visible extrinsic rewards or benefits. The present thesis tries
Prialé, María Angela; Fuchs, Rosa María; Sáenz, Manuel
2014-01-01
Through a literature review, this exploratory study seeks to determine whether the practices related to its colaborators, who report as part of its action responsible Peruvian companies issuing sustainability reports can be considered sustainable management practices of human resources. To this end, it was used the approach of sustainable work systems as a general approach. It was found that some of the practices of responsible management of human resources that implement the analyzed compani...
Global transformations of individualised societies: implications and lessons to be learned
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anatoliy Kolot
2014-03-01
Full Text Available In this work, we have studied the theoretical aspects of nature, effects of formation and development of two phenomena of our time — individualisation of personality and formation of individualised societies. The study evidences that social life in the context of individualisation has both multiple opportunities for selfactualisation, individual’s prioritisation and contradictions, unexpected consequences and asymmetries that surround ‘individuals’. The flip side of the individualisation trend includes lack of stability, predictability, sustainability of a society members, weaker involvement of economically active population in group interaction, as well as erosion of cultural solidarity, ‘atomisation’ of people due to loss of usual, traditional social relations. This article contains the author’s concept of overcoming the ‘negative’, false individualism. There might be much sense in the idea suggesting that the opposition between individualism and collectivism, an individual and society, freedom and socialisation can be overcome, but not by removing of some elements, or underrating of some values, or ignoring the need for their development. The inclusion of opposing phenomena and processes in today’s more comprehensive and complex mental schemes helps us deploy efficient and socially relevant projects for sustainable economic and social development
A Framework for Assessing the Social and Economic Impact of Sustainable Investments
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Räikkönen Minna
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Investments towards sustainable development are vital for the future and they must be carefully planned to deliver immediate and long-term benefits. Hence, the ability to communicate the forms of impact of sustainable investments to local societies, people, investors and other stakeholders can provide a competitive advantage. However, the assessments are often under pressure to demonstrate short-term effects rather than emphasise the long-term impact. In addition, indirect and intangible forms of impacts should not be measured solely in economic terms. This paper proposes an assessment framework to support the integrated economic and social impact assessment of sustainable investments aimed at improving physical and socio-economic wellbeing. The framework is demonstrated in two case studies: new construction and renovation investments in affordable housing and social impact investment in sustainable development. The investments in the case studies are evaluated, selected and prioritized not only in terms of money but also with regard to sustainability, social acceptability and their overall impact on society, as a whole. The results indicate that a systematic integrated assessment of monetary and non-monetary factors can be successfully combined with the sustainable development decisions.
Co-creation of a sustainable image on social media : the case of five food brands
Smallegange, Cornelia
2017-01-01
The food industry causes large environmental impacts globally. Different actors such as governments, brands and consumers however, are actively working on creating a sustainable society. In this study I investigate how brands and consumers co-create a sustainable image and which sustainable images they create. A multiple case study is conducted under five Dutch sustainable food brands by using content analysis of sustainability hashtags ...
Climate change and sustainable energy: actions and transition to a lower carbon economy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rosen, M.A.
2009-01-01
'Full text:' This presentation will address climate change and transition to a lower carbon economy in general and the importance of sustainable energy in such initiatives. The talk has two main parts. In the first part, the presenter discuss why non-fossil fuel energy options, which are diverse and range from renewables through to nuclear energy, are needed to help humanity combat climate change and transition to a lower carbon economy. Such energy options reduce or eliminate emissions of greenhouse gases and thus often form the basis of sustainable energy solutions. Nonetheless, carbon dioxide capture and sequestration may allow fossil fuels to be less carbon emitting. Sustainable energy options are not sufficient for avoiding climate change, in that they are not necessarily readily utilizable in their natural forms. Hydrogen energy systems are needed to facilitate the use of non-fossil fuels by allowing them to be converted to two main classes of energy carriers: hydrogen and select hydrogen-derived fuels and electricity. As hydrogen is not an energy resource, but rather is an energy carrier that must be produced, it complements non-fossil energy sources, which often need to be converted into more convenient forms. In addition, high efficiency is needed to allow the greatest benefits to be attained from all energy options, including non-fossil fuel ones, in terms of climate change and other factors. Efficiency improvements efforts have many dimensions, including energy conservation, improved energy management, fuel substitution, better matching of energy carriers and energy demands, and more efficiency utilization of both energy quantity and quality. The latter two concepts are best considered via the use of exergy analysis, an advanced thermodynamic tool. In the second part of the presentation, actions to address climate change more generally and to help society transition to a lower carbon economy are described. The role of sustainable energy in this
Knowledge Sharing for the Provision of sustainable Cooperation ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
pc
2018-03-05
Mar 5, 2018 ... affect development of a sustainable society and will determine tendencies in ... artificial intelligence and should be defined as 'intellectual systems' ..... Grundspeņķis,"Multi-Agent Robotic System Architecture for Effective Task.
Energy and sustainable development in Finland
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2003-01-01
The U.N. World Summit on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 was the origin of the international framework for sustainable development. As a basis for joint, sustainable action by governments, organizations, industries, and the public, the participating countries signed the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and drafted the associated action program, Agenda 21. Sustainable development comprises these three determinant factors: - Economy. - Ecology. - Social aspects. This is where entrepreneurial responsibility for society comes in. If industries want to generate overall positive effects, they must be efficient, competitive, and profitable on a long-term basis. Power supply systems meeting the criteria of sustainable development must be reliable, economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally compatible. The power supply in Finland is meeting these sustainability requirements in many ways. Finland's electricity supply is decentralized, using a variety of energy sources. Electricity can be generated and made available at low cost. The Finnish power industry is an important employer and a major factor in the economy. Moreover, electricity is generated in advanced types of power plants. In this way, the structure of the Finnish power supply system incorporates important factors of sustainable development. (orig.)
National strategy for sustainable development 2010-2013 - Towards a green and fair economy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2012-09-01
For a set of 'sustainable development' challenges, this report discusses context and stakes, and strategic choices, and gives an overview of action leverages. These challenges deal with consumption and sustainable products, the knowledge society (education and training, research and development), governance, climate change and energies, sustainable transport and mobility, preservation and sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources, public health and risk prevention and management, demography, immigration and social inclusion, international challenges in the field of sustainable development and poverty in the world
Sustainable Development as Concern for Industrial Companies
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bundgaard, Hans
Today, the industrial company has responsibilities towards the environment, the society, and the owners. From a theoretical base of social theory and social science, this industry research has considered the preconditions for a more proactive industrial response towards sustainability. A new conc...
Introduction: Features of environmental sustainability in agriculture
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Dalgaard, Tommy; Ferrari, S; Rambonilaza, M
2006-01-01
This introductive paper aims to address the features of environmental sustainability in agriculture. Recent developments of the concept, which are discussed here, emphasise its multi-faceted nature and lead to various definitions as well as to different implications for policy measures in society...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Reisch, Lucia; Eberle, Ulrike; Lorek, Sylvia
2013-01-01
Contemporary food production and consumption cannot be regarded as sustainable and raises problems with its wide scope involving diverse actors. Moreover, in the face of demographic change and a growing global population, sus-tainability problems arising from food systems will likely become more...... and globalization of agriculture and food processing, the shift of consumption patterns toward more dietary animal protein, the emergence of modern food styles that entail heavily processed products, the growing gap on a global scale between rich and poor, and the paradoxical lack of food security amid an abundance...... of food. These factors are attributable to national and international policies and regulations, as well as to prevalent business prac-tices and, in particular, consumers' values and habits. The most effective ways for affluent societies to reduce the environmental impact of their diets are to reduce...
Civil society contributions to a sustainable health workforce in the European Union
Mans, Linda; van de Pas, Remco; Marschang, Sascha
Background: Following the adoption of the World Health Organization’s Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel (WHO Code), eight civil society organizations implemented the European Union (EU) funded project “Health Workers for All and All for Health Workers”
Modeling the global society-biosphere-climate system : Part 2: Computed scenarios
Alcamo, J.; Van Den Born, G.J.; Bouwman, A.F.; De Haan, B.J.; Klein Goldewijk, K.; Klepper, O.; Krabec, J.; Leemans, R.; Olivier, J.G.J.; Toet, A.M.C.; De Vries, H.J.M.; Van Der Woerd, H.J.
1994-01-01
This paper presents scenarios computed with IMAGE 2.0, an integrated model of the global environment and climate change. Results are presented for selected aspects of the society-biosphere-climate system including primary energy consumption, emissions of various greenhouse gases, atmospheric
Engage key social concepts for sustainability
C. C. Hicks; A. Levine; A. Agrawal; X. Basurto; S. J. Breslow; C. Carothers; Susan Charnley; S. Coulthard; N. Dolsak; J. Donatuto; C. Garcia-Quijano; M. B. Mascia; K. Norman; M. R. Poe; T. Satterfield; K. St. Martin; P. S. Levin
2016-01-01
With humans altering climate processes, biogeochemical cycles, and ecosystem functions (1), governments and societies confront the challenge of shaping a sustainable future for people and nature. Policies and practices to address these challenges must draw on social sciences, along with natural sciences and engineering (2). Although various social science approaches...
The African Diaspora, Civil Society and African Integration
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Opoku-Mensah, Paul Yaw
This paper, a work-in-progress, makes a contribution to the discussions on the appropriate modalities for incorporating the African diaspora in the African integration project. It argues that the most appropriate entry points for incorporating the African diaspora into the integration project...... might not, necessarily, be in the formal political structures, although this is important. To the contrary, the most effective and sustainable might be within civil society---that is the links between the peoples and organizations of Africa and the diaspora. Using the case of the African academy......-- as an institution of civil society--- the paper outlines a conceptual framework for incorporating the diaspora into the African integration project....
Sustainable Wearables: Wearable Technology for Enhancing the Quality of Human Life
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jaewoon Lee
2016-05-01
Full Text Available This paper aims to elicit insights about sustainable wearables by investigating recent advancements in wearable technology and their applications. Wearable technology has advanced considerably from a technical perspective, but it has stagnated due to barriers without penetrating wider society despite early positive expectations. This situation is the motivation behind the focus on studies by many research groups in recent years into wearable applications that can provide the best value from a human-oriented perspective. The expectation is that a new means to resolve the issue can be found from a viewpoint of sustainability; this is the main point of this paper. This paper first focuses on the trend of wearable technology like bodily status monitoring, multi-wearable device control, and smart networking between wearable sensors. Second, the development intention of such technology is investigated. Finally, this paper discusses about the applications of current wearable technology from the sustainable perspective, rather than detailed description of the component technologies employed in wearables. In this paper, the definition of sustainable wearables is discussed in the context of improving the quality of individual life, social impact, and social public interest; those wearable applications include the areas of wellness, healthcare, assistance for the visually impaired, disaster relief, and public safety. In the future, wearables will not be simple data trackers or fun accessories but will gain extended objectives and meanings that play a valuable role for individuals and societies. Successful and sustainable wearables will lead to positive changes for both individuals and societies overall.
A pathway to a more sustainable water sector: sustainability-based asset management.
Marlow, D R; Beale, D J; Burn, S
2010-01-01
The water sectors of many countries are faced with the need to address simultaneously two overarching challenges; the need to undertake effective asset management coupled with the broader need to evolve business processes so as to embrace sustainability principles. Research has thus been undertaken into the role sustainability principles play in asset management. As part of this research, a series of 25 in-depth interviews were undertaken with water sector professionals from around Australia. Drawing on the results of these interviews, this paper outlines the conceptual relationship between asset management and sustainability along with a synthesis of the relevant opinions voiced in the interviews. The interviews indicated that the participating water authorities have made a strong commitment to sustainability, but there is a need to facilitate change processes to embed sustainability principles into business as usual practices. Interviewees also noted that asset management and sustainability are interlinked from a number of perspectives, especially in the way decision making is undertaken with respect to assets and service provision. The interviews also provided insights into the research needed to develop a holistic sustainability-based asset management framework.
Technological hazards in the understanding of society
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Diepold, W.
1977-01-01
This is a discussion of how employees of industry, an important part of society, and how the consumers and hence the whole volume of society express their attitude with respect to technological hazards in their practical activities and how the conclusions can be drawn from this that the population is thoroughly familiar in dealing with potential hazards. (orig.) [de
Important features of Sustainable Aggregate Resource Management
Solar, Slavko V.; Shields, Deborah J.; Langer, William H.
2004-01-01
Every society, whether developed, developing or in a phase of renewal following governmental change, requires stable, adequate and secure supplies of natural resources. In the latter case, there could be significant need for construction materials for rebuilding infrastructure, industrial capacity, and housing. It is essential that these large-volume materials be provided in a rational manner that maximizes their societal contribution and minimizes environmental impacts. We describe an approach to resource management based on the principles of sustainable developed. Sustainable Aggregate Resource Management offers a way of addressing the conflicting needs and interests of environmental, economic, and social systems. Sustainability is an ethics based concept that utilizes science and democratic processes to reach acceptable agreements and tradeoffs among interests, while acknowledging the fundamental importance of the environment and social goods. We discuss the features of sustainable aggregate resource management.
Important Features of Sustainable Aggregate Resource Management
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Slavko V. Šolar
2004-06-01
Full Text Available Every society, whether developed, developing or in a phase of renewal following governmental change, requires stable, adequate and secure supplies of natural resources. In the latter case, there could be significant need for construction materials for rebuilding infrastructure, industrial capacity, and housing. It is essential that these large-volume materials be provided in a rational manner that maximizes their societal contribution and minimizes environmental impacts. We describe an approach to resource management based on the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable Aggregate Resource Management offers a way of addressing the conflicting needs and interests of environmental, economic, and social systems. Sustainability is an ethics based concept that utilizes science and democratic processes to reach acceptable agreements and tradeoffs among interests, while acknowledging the fundamental importance of the environment and social goods. We discuss the features of sustainable aggregate resource management.
Sustainability Assessment of Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Habib M. Alshuwaikhat
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Universities are paramount change drivers in bringing about a culture of sustainability in society by setting themselves up as models and nurseries for sustainable development. Thus, assessment of sustainability integration within universities is key to their impact on sustainable development. This study conducted an assessment of different public sector universities of Saudi Arabia based on five components: (i Teaching and Curriculum; (ii Research and Scholarship; (iii Campus Operations; (iv Management and Community; and (v Financial Management. The sustainability assessment questionnaire (SAQ was utilized as a tool to discern the component-wise sustainability assessment for Saudi universities. The outcomes of the survey reveal that, in stark contrast with the universities of the developed world, offerings of sustainability relevant academic courses in Saudi Arabia are still lacking. Most Saudi universities still need to integrate research and scholarship in the area of sustainability; sustainable-campus operations in the current scenario are not sufficient. The results also reveal that sustainability-related projects are not prioritized within universities and sustainable financial management practices are not significant. This article concludes by proposing some recommendations emphasizing the importance of adopting sustainability practices in Saudi universities.
Evaluation of Sustainable Practices within Project Management Methods
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shah Satya
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this research study is to investigate some of the sustainable practices within projects with a focus on social projects. The different research methodologies applied through this research consisted both primary and secondary research, including literature review and through case study. The stakeholder’s behavioural needs towards acting and implementing sustainable practices led to the adoption of sustainable practices within projects which are managed across profit and non-profit organisations. Nevertheless, lack of sustainable behaviour was outlined, and henceforth the integration of sustainable development within social projects is crucially important as such projects were identified as the drivers toward educating the society in order to help to produce generations of people who would be more sustainably aware. Currently, sustainable development is very often taken into account when it comes to managing projects. Nevertheless, if the adoption of sustainable practices is well established in some sectors such as construction, literature tends to demonstrate a lack of information regarding other sectors, especially within social projects. This research aims to investigate the adoption of sustainable practices within social projects and therefore to satisfy a literature gap.
Life-cycle design for sustainable architecture
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Francesca Thiébat
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Sustainability in architecture should involve environmental and social aspects and also economic aspects. However, in a design process budget issues usually outweigh ecological aspects. How can we then drive clients and builders to put more socially responsible buildings on the market that do not exceed the fixed budget but are environmentally friendly? This paper propose an economic and environmental assessment tool to aid private or public building designers and owners to find the global sustainability value of a green building within a life cycle perspective. Sustainable life cycle tools for buildings design and construction help to achieve successfully integrated architecture. The research here presented proposes a new point of view of the “time-cost-quality triangle” of Project Management, by introducing three further aspects: environment, society and aesthetics.
Sustainable DTU, Electronics and It
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Schultz, Ole; Molin, Jesper; Hundebøll, Peder M.
2014-01-01
and suggest what should be done at the Campus to make it green and as the last part of it the prototype and suggest in detail what could be done. Over time there have been participating students from another elective course, Sustainable Electronics and IT as well students from Process and Innovation, Export...... Engineering and Civil Engineering students. The courses teach students that sustainability is a cross disciplinary topic – where engineering’s from different education has to cooperate for getting a proper solution. Electronic and IT Diplom engineering students are motivated learning about sustainability...... within their field when sustainability and environmental impact is seen in a context. That is done in an elective course: Sustainable Electronics and IT (SUSIE). We have integrated sustainability in the context of embedded wireless systems for building monitoring and control using the Internet of Things...
New Humanism and Sustainable Development
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Han d'Orville
2015-10-01
Full Text Available The call for a new humanism in the 21st century roots in the conviction that the moral, intellectual and political foundations of globalization and international cooperation have to be rethought. Whilst the historic humanism was set out to resolve tensions between tradition and modernity and to reconcile individual rights with newly emerging duties of citizenship, the new humanism approach goes beyond the level of the nation state in seeking to unite the process of globalization with its complex and sometimes contradictory manifestations. The new humanism therefore advocates the social inclusion of every human being at all levels of society and underlines the transformative power of education, sciences, culture and communications. Therefore, humanism today needs to be perceived as a collective effort that holds governments, civil society, the private sector and human individuals equally responsible to realize its values and to design creatively and implement a humanist approach to a sustainable society, based on economic, social and environmental development. New humanism describes the only way forward for a world that accounts for the diversity of identities and the heterogeneity of interests and which is based on inclusive, democratic, and, indeed, humanist values. Humanism did evolve into the grand movement of human spiritual and creative liberation, which enabled an unparalleled acceleration of prosperity and transformation of civilizations. In line with humanist ethics, the material growth was understood as a collective good, which was to serve all participants of a community and meant to enable the socio-economic progress of society. The exact definition of humanism has historically fluctuated in accordance with successive and diverse strands of intellectual thought. The underlying concept rests on the universal ideas of human emancipation, independence and social justice. Humanism can hence be understood as a moral inspiration for
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Meng Li
2017-10-01
Full Text Available As thick rock partings delay the efficient mining of coal seams and constrain the sustainable development of coal mines, an innovative extraction method for a coal seam with thick rock parting was proposed. The coal seams were divided into different sub-zones according to the thickness of rock parting and then the sub-zones were mined by separately using three mining schemes involving full-seam mining, combined mining using backfill and caving (CMBC, and reducing height mining. Afterwards, the study introduced the basic mechanism and key devices for the CMBC and analysed the working state of the backfill support in detail. Moreover, the method for calculating the length of the backfill zone was proposed to design the length of backfill zone and the influences of four factors (including bulking coefficient of rock parting on the length of the backfill zone were also explored. By taking the No. 22203 panel, Buertai mine, Inner Mongolia, China as an example, the mined coal resource by using the CMBC extraction method will increase by 1.83 × 106 tons and the recovery ratio will rise from 56.2% to 92.4% compared with mining of the 2-2 upper coal seam alone. Moreover, by applying CMBC, a series of environmental and ecological problems caused by rock parting is reduced, which can improve the environment in mined areas. The research can provide technological guidance for mining panels of a coal seam with a thick rock parting and the disposal thereof under similar conditions.
Radjiyev, Ayubkhon; Qiu, Hai; Xiong, Shuping; Nam, KyungHyun
2015-01-01
The need for sustainable development has been widely recognized and sustainable development has become a hot topic of various disciplines even though the role of ergonomics in it is seldom reported or considered. This study conducts a systematic survey of research publications in the fields of ergonomics and sustainable development over the past two decades (1992-2011), in order to identify their research trends and convergent areas where ergonomics can play an important role in sustainable development. The results show that 'methods and techniques', 'human characteristics', 'work design and organization', 'health and safety' and 'workplace and equipment design' are the top five frequently researched areas in ergonomics. Ergonomics has an opportunity to contribute its knowledge especially to 'industrial and product design', 'architecture', 'health and safety' and 'HCI' (especially for energy reduction issues) categories of sustainable development. Typical methodologies and general guidance on how to contribute the expertise of ergonomist to sustainable development are also discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.
Developing the curriculum for a new Bachelor's degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development
Lozano, F.J.; Lozano, R.
2013-01-01
With a growing interest in sustainability, a number of universities have engaged in educating the future leaders, decision makers, scientists, and engineers on how their decisions can help societies become more sustainable. This paper presents the process for developing the Bachelor’s degree
Sustainability Assessment of Power Generation Systems by Applying Exergy Analysis and LCA Methods
Stougie, L.; van der Kooi, H.J.; Valero Delgado, A.
2015-01-01
The selection of power generation systems is important when striving for a more sustainable society. However, the results of environmental, economic and social sustainability assessments are subject to new insights into the calculation methods and to changing needs, economic conditions and societal
Developing the curriculum for a new Bachelor's degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development
Lozano, Francisco J.; Lozano, Rodrigo
2014-01-01
With a growing interest in sustainability, a number of universities have engaged in educating the future leaders, decision makers, scientists, and engineers on how their decisions can help societies become more sustainable. This paper presents the process for developing the Bachelor's degree
Sustainability in School Building Design
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
B. Ece ŞAHİN
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Sustainable construction is important for the continuation of life in a healthy world for futuregenerations; many issues affecting the quality of life such as effective use of resources, take advantage ofrenewable energy, the choice of recyclable materials that do not harm the environment and waterconservation are considered in the context of sustainable design. Implementations carried out in thisframework are regarded as valuable due to providing the consciousness of sustainability to the society.Creating the awareness of sustainability is given a great importance by educators; thus, “education forsustainability” are included from the preschool program so that children can learn the gainings of suchperspective in their early ages. In support of this concept, it is believed that education structures should bea laboratory where children can practice theoretical knowledge learned at school. In that respect, studiesneed to be considered in the context of sustainable construction are studied in this research. In the study,after a description of the importance of sustainable design as a learning mean, significant subjects such asusing natural light, heating, cooling and air-conditioning methods, wind energy, water protection andmaterial selection are analyzed in terms of designing sustainable schools. It is criticized worldwide thatstructures ground on sustainable design principles are relatively few in numbers. Despite, there is anincreasing interest to the subject in Turkey later years; a lot more steps are required in terms ofimplementation and research of the issue. Thus, the purpose of the study is to provide a supplementaryreference for school designs.
Sustainable Agricultural Marketing Initiatives
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hakan Adanacıoğlu
2015-07-01
Full Text Available Sustainable marketing is a holistic approach that puts equal emphasis on environmental, social equity, and economic concerns in the development of marketing strategies. The purpose of the study is to examine and discuss the sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives practiced throughout the World and Turkey, and to put forth suggestions to further improve the performance of agricultural marketing initiatives in Turkey. Some of the sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives practiced around the world are carried out through civil organizations. Furthermore; some of these initiatives have also launched by farmers, consumers, food processors and retailers. The long-term strategies to increase these initiatives should be determined due to the fact that examples of successful sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives are inadequate and cannot be spread in Turkey. In this context, first of all, the supports provided by the government to improve agricultural marketing systems, such as EU funds for rural development should be compatible with the goals of sustainable marketing. For this purpose, it should be examined whether all proposed projects related to agricultural marketing meet the social, economic, and environmental principles of sustainable marketing. It is important that supporting organizations, especially civil society organisations, should take an active role for faster dissemination and adoption of sustainable agricultural marketing practices in Turkey. These organizations may provide technical assistance in preparing successful project proposals and training to farm groups. In addition, the other organizations, such as local administrations, producers' associations, cooperatives, can contribute to the success of sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives. The use of direct marketing strategies and vertical integration attempts in sustainable agricultural marketing initiatives that will likely be implemented in Turkey is
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Vylegzhanina
2016-01-01
Full Text Available In this work, we introduce results of comparative analysis of international ratings indexes of innovation systems for their compliance with purposes of sustainable development. Purpose of this research is defining requirements to benchmarking methods of assessing national or regional innovation systems and compare them basing on assumption, that innovation system is aligned with sustainable development concept. Analysis of goal sets and concepts, which underlie observed international composite innovation indexes, comparison of their metrics and calculation techniques, allowed us to reveal opportunities and limitations of using these methods in frames of sustainable development concept. We formulated targets of innovation development on the base of innovation priorities of sustainable socio-economic development. Using comparative analysis of indexes with these targets, we revealed two methods of assessing innovation systems, maximally connected with goals of sustainable development. Nevertheless, today no any benchmarking method, which meets need of innovation systems assessing in compliance with sustainable development concept to a sufficient extent. We suggested practical directions of developing methods, assessing innovation systems in compliance with goals of societal sustainable development.
How to connect bioethics and environmental ethics: health, sustainability, and justice.
Dwyer, James
2009-11-01
In this paper, I explore one way to bring bioethics and environmental ethics closer together. I focus on a question at the interface of health, sustainability, and justice: How well does a society promote health with the use of no more than a just share of environmental capacity? To address this question, I propose and discuss a mode of assessment that combines a measurement of population health, an estimate of environmental sustainability, and an assumption about what constitutes a fair or just share. This mode of assessment provides an estimate of the just and sustainable life expectancy of a population. It could be used to monitor how well a particular society promotes health within just environmental limits. It could also serve as a source of information that stakeholders use when they deliberate about programs, policies, and technologies. The purpose of this work is to focus attention on an ethical task: the need to fashion institutions and forms of life that promote health in ways that recognize the claims of sustainability and justice.
Delineating a sustainable future
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Brown, Lester R
1996-01-01
The expression Develop Sustainable of wide use today in day is used among national political leaders and among environmentalists. The sustainable economy from the environmental point of view is that that obeys the basic principles or laws of the sustainability; principles so real as those of the aerodynamic one or those of the thermodynamic. If somebody intends, for example, to design an airplane, it will have to be adjusted to the aerodynamic principles and to print to the apparatus a certain stability degree so that it can fly. In the same way, an economic system environmentally sustainable it must respond to the balance principles if it doesn't want to be condemned to the failure. The fundamental laws or sustainability principles are as rigorous as the aerodynamic laws. The society can violate these laws in the short term; but not long term. As well as an airplane can lose height in a brief lapse without falling; the economy can violate the principles of the sustainability in the short term without collapsing. Among of the sustainability principles figure the following: long term; the extinction of species cannot exceed the evolution of the species; the soil erosion cannot exceed the soils formation; the destruction of forests cannot exceed the regeneration of the forests; the emissions of carbon cannot exceed the fixation of carbon; the fishing cannot exceed the regenerative capacity of the banks of fish and, in the human land, the morbidity cannot exceed the mortality. The author also speaks of the disappearance of species, ozone layer, stability of the climate, earth, water fertilizers and alimentary systems among others
Towards Sustainable Production of Biofuels from Microalgae
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hans Ragnar Giselrød
2008-07-01
Full Text Available Renewable and carbon neutral biofuels are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. The viability of the first generation biofuels production is however questionable because of the conflict with food supply. Microalgal biofuels are a viable alternative. The oil productivity of many microalgae exceeds the best producing oil crops. This paper aims to analyze and promote integration approaches for sustainable microalgal biofuel production to meet the energy and environmental needs of the society. The emphasis is on hydrothermal liquefaction technology for direct conversion of algal biomass to liquid fuel.
Civic Entrepreneurship: In Search of Sustainable Development
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Banuri, Tariq; Najam, Adil; Spanger-Siegfried, Erika [Stockholm Environment Institute - Boston Center (United States)
2003-07-01
Around the world, civic entrepreneurs are practising sustainable development through their actions. Representing civil society, business, and government, civic entrepreneurs are championing sustainable development and succeeding – often despite significant odds – in making it happen on the ground. It may often happen at a small scale, but it does so in undeniably real, robust and promising terms. Civic entrepreneurship is driven explicitly by the public interest, and seeks to create new ways of building social capital and of harnessing existing ideas, methods, inventions, technologies, resources or management systems in the service of collective goals.
Robinette, Kathleen M; Veitch, Daisy
2016-08-01
To provide a review of sustainable sizing practices that reduce waste, increase sales, and simultaneously produce safer, better fitting, accommodating products. Sustainable sizing involves a set of methods good for both the environment (sustainable environment) and business (sustainable business). Sustainable sizing methods reduce (1) materials used, (2) the number of sizes or adjustments, and (3) the amount of product unsold or marked down for sale. This reduces waste and cost. The methods can also increase sales by fitting more people in the target market and produce happier, loyal customers with better fitting products. This is a mini-review of methods that result in more sustainable sizing practices. It also reviews and contrasts current statistical and modeling practices that lead to poor fit and sizing. Fit-mapping and the use of cases are two excellent methods suited for creating sustainable sizing, when real people (vs. virtual people) are used. These methods are described and reviewed. Evidence presented supports the view that virtual fitting with simulated people and products is not yet effective. Fit-mapping and cases with real people and actual products result in good design and products that are fit for person, fit for purpose, with good accommodation and comfortable, optimized sizing. While virtual models have been shown to be ineffective for predicting or representing fit, there is an opportunity to improve them by adding fit-mapping data to the models. This will require saving fit data, product data, anthropometry, and demographics in a standardized manner. For this success to extend to the wider design community, the development of a standardized method of data collection for fit-mapping with a globally shared fit-map database is needed. It will enable the world community to build knowledge of fit and accommodation and generate effective virtual fitting for the future. A standardized method of data collection that tests products' fit methodically
Community action for sustainable housing: Building a low-carbon future
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Seyfang, Gill
2010-01-01
This paper presents a new analytical framework of 'grassroots innovations' which views community-led initiatives for sustainable development as strategic green niches with the potential for wider transformation of mainstream society. This framework is applied to a low-carbon, low-impact, community-based sustainable housing initiative in the USA that pioneers straw bale housing techniques within a strong community-building ethos. The project is evaluated according to New Economics criteria of sustainable consumption, and is found to be successful at localising the construction supply chain, reducing ecological footprints, community-building, enabling collective action and building new institutions and systems of provision around housebuilding. However, viewing it as a strategic niche with aim to influence wider society, it is clear that it faces significant challenges in diffusing its ideas and practices beyond the niche. Its model is not necessarily suitable for scaling up or widespread replication; however, the scope for niche lessons to be adopted by mainstream builders is greater, given a supportive policy environment. Recognising the innovative nature of green niches at the policy level could lead to new approaches to governance of bottom-up community action for sustainable development.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexander Neaman
2015-02-01
protection and/or preservation of the environment, while education for sustainable development (or sustainability education is usually defined as a tool for achieving sustainable development [12]. Prosocial education aims at educating people to share with acquaintances and strangers, to make friends, to work cooperatively, and to develop a sense of self as a moral person [13]. The term “prosocial education” is actually an umbrella concept since it conceptually overlaps with other terms, such as soft-skills development, social-emotional learning, whole child education, service learning, civic education, character education and moral education [2]. Schonert-Reichl & O’Brien [14] reviewed several social-emotional learning programs that have empirical evidence to support their effectiveness, demonstrating that it is possible to promote prosocial behavior through creating a prosocial classroom environment, which emphasizes caring for others, mutual respect and cooperation. Prosocial education could help to gradually bridge this gap of “otherness,” with the aim of helping students overcome alienation, emerging from oneself towards the other by learning to be concerned for the other as we are concerned for ourselves [15]. Since on the individual level prosocial and proenvironmental behaviors are parts of the same behavior, prosocial and environmental educational approaches can reinforce each other. Thus, we suggest that the traditional emphasis of environmental education on protecting and/or preserving the environment could be reinforced with prosocial education. Such a combined educational approach would promote sustainable behavior, contributing to multi- and inter-disciplinary efforts to create an ecologically and socially sustainable society. With regard to the economic aspect of sustainable development, some leading economists [16], [17] claim that the current economic system requires the installation of a more social aspect in order to manage today
2014-01-01
Hemodynamically Unstable Pelvic Trauma is a major problem in blunt traumatic injury. No cosensus has been reached in literature on the optimal treatment of this condition. We present the results of the First Italian Consensus Conference on Pelvic Trauma which took place in Bergamo on April 13 2013. An extensive review of the literature has been undertaken by the Organizing Committee (OC) and forwarded to the Scientific Committee (SC) and the Panel (JP). Members of them were appointed by surgery, critical care, radiology, emergency medicine and orthopedics Italian and International societies: the Italian Society of Surgery, the Italian Association of Hospital Surgeons, the Multi-specialist Italian Society of Young Surgeons, the Italian Society of Emergency Surgery and Trauma, the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care, the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine, the Italian Society of Medical Radiology, Section of Vascular and Interventional Radiology and the World Society of Emergency Surgery. From November 2012 to January 2013 the SC undertook the critical revision and prepared the presentation to the audience and the Panel on the day of the Conference. Then 3 recommendations were presented according to the 3 submitted questions. The Panel voted the recommendations after discussion and amendments with the audience. Later on a email debate took place until December 2013 to reach a unanimous consent. We present results on the 3 following questions: which hemodynamically unstable patient needs an extraperitoneal pelvic packing? Which hemodynamically unstable patient needs an external fixation? Which hemodynamically unstable patient needs emergent angiography? No longer angiography is considered the first therapeutic maneuver in such a patient. Preperitoneal pelvic packing and external fixation, preceded by pelvic binder have a pivotal role in the management of these patients
A brighter future: sustainable markets for solar
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Luther, Joachim
1997-01-01
At the recent Solar World Congress of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) in Taejon, Korea, delegates heard how continuing improvement of renewable energy technologies are combining with regulatory changes in energy markets to establish new opportunities for sustainable markets for solar and renewable energy. (author)
Sustainable development strategy : moving forward
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2004-01-01
This publication demonstrates the steps that Natural Resources Canada has taken to optimize the contribution of natural resources to sustainable development. Canada's forestry, minerals, metals and energy sectors are key components to Canada's overall economy and society. The Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) focuses on the development and use of Canada's resources in a responsible manner that will maintain the integrity of natural ecosystems and safeguard the quality of life for Canadians. All decision-making takes into account economic, environmental and social considerations. The challenges facing the natural resources sector include the management of forests, the development of clean energy options, and the recycling and reuse of minerals and metals resources. This publication outlines the specific goals and objectives set by Natural Resources Canada that will make the SDS possible through programs, policies, legislation, technology utilization and operations. It also describes Canada's progress in meeting the following 4 commitments: (1) Canadians make better decisions that advance sustainable development, (2) Canadians are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change, (3) Canada is recognized globally as a responsible steward of natural resources and a leader in advancing sustainable development, and (4) Natural Resources Canada demonstrates its commitment to sustainable development in its operations. tabs
Towards a Sustainability Reporting Guideline in Higher Education
Huber, Sandra; Bassen, Alexander
2018-01-01
Purpose: So far, sustainability reporting in higher education is in a very early stage--partly, because of the lack of an established and widely recognized sustainability reporting framework for higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, a modification of the sustainability code for the use in the higher education context was recently…
Creative workers’ views on cultural heritage and sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dawn Bennett
2014-06-01
Full Text Available This paper presents the “Arts–Sustainability–Heritage” (ASH model which may be used to understand the values and actions of creative workers in relation to cultural heritage and sustainability. The model is derived from previous research on conceptions of sustainability, and the qualitative data comes from the “Creative Workforce” survey. We contend that artistic work is essential both for cultural heritage through the work's reference and re-interpretation of culture, and for sustainability as a reflection on the current and future state of society. Artistic work is often considered an intangible cultural asset, and hence, the contribution of creative workers is often overlooked in a policy environment. The ASH model contributes to understanding the contribution of this ephemeral work toward cultural heritage and sustainability.
Sustainable solutions: developing products and services for the future
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Charter, Martin; Tischner, Ursula
2001-01-01
... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Martin Charter, The Centre for Sustainable Design, UK, and Ursula Tischner, econcept, Germany part 1: 1. Background to Sustainable Consumption and Production...
Business system: Sustainable development and anticipatory system
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vojko Potočan
2002-01-01
Full Text Available The existence and development of humankind depends mainly upon the co-ordinated operation of all areas and levels of human activity. However, in theory and in practice there is no model of operation, which would provide a harmonized and target oriented development. A partial solution is offered by sustainable development, which tries to define and carry out common goals of mankind with a harmonized implementation of human activities at all levels of its living and behaviour. Companies belong to central institutions of modern society which essentially co–create the sustainability of society. The company’s endeavour by simulation to prepare models of their goals concerning their internal and external environment. On the base of systemic treatment, we can define companies as business system, which can survive in a log-run only on the basis of sustainable development. The business system can also be supported by the application of the anticipatory systems. The anticipatory systems can be, in this sense, understood as an entity of the methodological approach, techniques and modes of work. Their characteristics have, a direct impact on the determination of goals, on the orientation of operation, and hence on the achievement of the business system results.
Sustainable forest management in Serbia: State and potentials
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Medarević Milan
2008-01-01
Full Text Available Starting from the internationally adopted definition of sustainable forest management, this paper points to the demands of sustainable forest management that can be satisfied by meeting the definite assumptions. The first part presents the objectives of forest and woodland management planning and utilisation, hunting management, and protection of protected areas, as well as the all-inclusive compatible goals of forest policy in Serbia. The second part presents the analysis of the present state of forests in Serbia, in relation to the Pan-European criteria for the assessment of sustainability, and the potentials of our forests to meet all the demands.
Wiedermann, Marc; Donges, Jonathan F.; Heitzig, Jobst; Kurths, Jürgen
2014-05-01
When investigating the causes and consequences of global change, the collective behavior of human beings is considered as having a considerable impact on natural systems. In our work, we propose a conceptual coevolutionary model simulating the dynamics of local renewable resources in interaction with simplistic societal agents exploiting those resources. The society is represented by a social network on which social traits may be transmitted between agents. These traits themselves induce a certain rate of exploitation of the resource, leading either to its depletion or sustainable existence. Traits are exchanged probabilistically according to their instantaneous individual payoff, and hence this process depends on the status of the natural resource. At the same time agents may adaptively restructure their set of acquaintances. Connections with agents having a different trait may be broken while new connections with agents of the same trait are established. We investigate which choices of social parameters, like the frequency of social interaction, rationality and rate of social network adaptation, cause the system to end in a sustainable state and, hence, what can be done to avoid a collapse of the entire system. The importance and influence of the social network structure is analyzed by the variation of link-densities in the underlying network topology and shows significant influence on the expected outcome of the model. For a static network with no adaptation we find a robust phase transition between the two different regimes, sustainable and non-sustainable, which co-exist in parameter space. High connectivity within the social network, e.g., high link-densities, in combination with a fast rate of social learning lead to a likely collapse of the entire co-evolutionary system, whereas slow learning and small network connectivity very likely result in the sustainable existence of the natural resources. Collapse may be avoided by an intelligent rewiring, e
Leverage points for sustainability transformation.
Abson, David J; Fischer, Joern; Leventon, Julia; Newig, Jens; Schomerus, Thomas; Vilsmaier, Ulli; von Wehrden, Henrik; Abernethy, Paivi; Ives, Christopher D; Jager, Nicolas W; Lang, Daniel J
2017-02-01
Despite substantial focus on sustainability issues in both science and politics, humanity remains on largely unsustainable development trajectories. Partly, this is due to the failure of sustainability science to engage with the root causes of unsustainability. Drawing on ideas by Donella Meadows, we argue that many sustainability interventions target highly tangible, but essentially weak, leverage points (i.e. using interventions that are easy, but have limited potential for transformational change). Thus, there is an urgent need to focus on less obvious but potentially far more powerful areas of intervention. We propose a research agenda inspired by systems thinking that focuses on transformational 'sustainability interventions', centred on three realms of leverage: reconnecting people to nature, restructuring institutions and rethinking how knowledge is created and used in pursuit of sustainability. The notion of leverage points has the potential to act as a boundary object for genuinely transformational sustainability science.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paul Sylvestre
2014-03-01
Full Text Available If change for sustainability in higher education is to be effective, change efforts must be sensitive to the institutional culture in which they will be applied. Therefore, gaining insight into how institutional stakeholders engage with the concept of sustainable universities is an important first step in understanding how to frame and communicate change. This study employed Q methodology to explore how a group of professors conceptualize sustainable universities. We developed a Q sample of 46 statements comprising common conceptions of sustainable universities and had 26 professors from Dalhousie University rank-order them over a quasi-normal distribution. Our analysis uncovered four statistically significant viewpoints amongst the participants: ranging from technocentric optimists who stress the importance of imbuing students with skills and values to more liberal arts minded faculty suspicious of the potential of sustainability to instrumentalize the university. An examination of how these viewpoints interact on a subjective level revealed a rotating series of alignments and antagonisms in relation to themes traditionally associated with sustainable universities and broader themes associated with the identity of the university in contemporary society. Finally, we conclude by discussing the potential implications that the nature of these alignments and antagonisms may hold for developing a culturally sensitive vision of a sustainable university.
Strategic collective system building to commercialize sustainability innovations
Planko, J.; Cramer, J.M.; Chappin, M.M.H.; Hekkert, M.P.
2016-01-01
The implementation of innovative sustainability technologies often requires far-reaching changes of the macro environment in which the innovating firms operate. Strategic management literature demonstrates that the chances of a successful diffusion and adoption of an innovative technology in society
A platform for secure, safe, and sustainable logistics
Hofman, W.J.; Bastiaansen, H.J.M.; Berg, J. van den; Pruksasri, P.
2012-01-01
In the current society, logistics is faced with at least two bigchallenges. The first challenge considers safety and security measurements dealing with terrorism, smuggling, and related security accidents with a high societal impact. The second challenge is to meet sustainability requirements
From the Big Bang to sustainable societies.
Eriksson, K E; Robèrt, K H
1991-01-01
A series of events in the history of cosmos has created the prerequisites for life on Earth. With respect to matter, the earth is a closed system. However, it receives light from the sun and emits infrared radiation into space. The difference in thermodynamic potential between these two flows has provided the physical conditions for self-organization. The transformation of lifeless matter into modern life forms, with their high degree of order and complexity, has occurred in the context of the earth's natural cycles, including the water cycle and the biochemical cycles between plants and animals. Primary production units, the cells of green plants, can use the thermodynamic potential of the energy balance in a very direct way, i.e. in photosynthesis. Plant cells are unique in their ability to synthesize more structure than is broken down elsewhere in the biosphere. The perpetuation of this process requires the recycling of wastes. However, modern industrial societies are obsessed with the supply side, ignoring the principle of matter's conservation and neglecting to plan for the entire material flow. As a result there has been an accumulation of both visible and invisible garbage (pollution), which disturbs the biosphere and reduces stocks of natural resources. Furthermore, due to complexity and delay mechanisms, we usually cannot predict time parameters for the resulting socio-economic consequences or the development of disease. To continue along this path of folly is not compatible with the maintenance of wealth, nor with the health of humans or the biosphere. Rather than address the millions of environmental problems one at a time, we need to approach them at the systemic level. It is essential to convert to human life-styles and forms of societal organization that are based on cyclic processes compatible with the earth's natural cycles. The challenge to the developed countries is not only to decrease their own emissions of pollutants but to develop the cyclic
Incorporating Sustainability and Green Design Concepts into Engineering and Technology Curricula
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Radian G. Belu
2016-05-01
Full Text Available Human society is facing an uncertain future due to the present day unsustainable use of natural resources and the growing imbalance with our natural environment. Sustainability is an endeavour with uncertain outcomes requiring collaboration, teamwork, and abilities to work with respect and learn from other disciplines and professions, as well as with governments, local communities, political and civic organizations. The creation of a sustainable society is a complex and multi-stage endeavour that will dominate twenty first century. Sustainability has four basic aspects: environment, technology, economy, and societal organization. Schools with undergraduate engineering or engineering technology programs are working to include sustainability and green design concepts into their curricula. Teaching sustainability and green design has increasingly become an essential feature of the present day engineering education. It applies to all of engineering, as all engineered systems interact with the environment in complex and important ways. Our project main goals are to provide the students with multiple and comprehensive exposures, to what it mean to have a sustainable mindset and to facilitate the development of the passion and the skills to integrate sustainable practices into engineering tools and methods. In this study we are describing our approaches to incorporating sustainability and green design into our undergraduate curricula and to list a variety of existing resources that can easily be adopted or adapted by our faculty for this purpose. Our approaches are: (1 redesigning existing courses through development of new curricular materials that still meet the objectives of the original course and (2 developing upper division elective courses that address specific topics related to sustainability, green design, green manufacturing and life-cycle assessment.
Transforming Innovation for Sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Melissa Leach
2012-06-01
Full Text Available The urgency of charting pathways to sustainability that keep human societies within a "safe operating space" has now been clarified. Crises in climate, food, biodiversity, and energy are already playing out across local and global scales and are set to increase as we approach critical thresholds. Drawing together recent work from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Tellus Institute, and the STEPS Centre, this commentary article argues that ambitious Sustainable Development Goals are now required along with major transformation, not only in policies and technologies, but in modes of innovation themselves, to meet them. As examples of dryland agriculture in East Africa and rural energy in Latin America illustrate, such "transformative innovation" needs to give far greater recognition and power to grassroots innovation actors and processes, involving them within an inclusive, multi-scale innovation politics. The three dimensions of direction, diversity, and distribution along with new forms of "sustainability brokering" can help guide the kinds of analysis and decision making now needed to safeguard our planet for current and future generations.
THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY IN BANKING
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
DRĂGAN (SÂNTĂMARIAN OANA RALUCA
2013-02-01
Full Text Available The paper aims to highlight the strategic implication of corporate social responsibility (CSR and sustainable development for the banking sector. A few years ago, banks did not give much importance to the social and environmental problems. Recently, the banks began to realize the major impact of the sustainable development over the way of ulterior development of the society and, implicitly over the banking system. In this context, the development of a bank management system based on sustainable principles is one of the current challenges. For this purpose this paper focuses on issues such as the importance and advantages of implementing sustainability bank management, international standards regarding sustainable banking management such as: Equator Principles for sustainable investment projects’ financing or GRI principles for sustainable reporting. In addition, we have developed a practical case study about the implementation of sustainable banking management; the case study presents Romanian Commercial Bank as an example of good practice in the Romanian banking sector.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Timothy Wallington
2013-04-01
Full Text Available The reduction of CO2 emissions associated with vehicle use is an important element of a global transition to sustainable mobility and is a major long-term challenge for society. Vehicle and fuel technologies are part of a global energy system, and assessing the impact of the availability of clean energy technologies and advanced vehicle technologies on sustainable mobility is a complex task. The global energy transition (GET model accounts for interactions between the different energy sectors, and we illustrate its use to inform vehicle technology choices in a decarbonizing economy. The aim of this study is to assess how uncertainties in future vehicle technology cost, as well as how developments in other energy sectors, affect cost-effective fuel and vehicle technology choices. Given the uncertainties in future costs and efficiencies for light-duty vehicle and fuel technologies, there is no clear fuel/vehicle technology winner that can be discerned at the present time. We conclude that a portfolio approach with research and development of multiple fuel and vehicle technology pathways is the best way forward to achieve the desired result of affordable and sustainable personal mobility. The practical ramifications of this analysis are illustrated in the portfolio approach to providing sustainable mobility adopted by the Ford Motor Company.
The Sum Total is Greater than the Sum of All Parts
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zuhal GERÇEK
2011-01-01
Full Text Available Institutional social responsibility is the responsibility of an institution to promote economic, environmental, cultural and social development to improve the quality of life, together with local people and the whole society, for a sustainable world. It also ensures companies to perform fairly and responsibly and treat all stakeholders and the community accordingly. How should universities practice corporate social responsibility? New world requires universities to redefine their missions and while continuing to serve as a space for innovation, creativity and learning they should provide tools necessary for sustainable development, social analysis and critical thinking. Universities with the basic tasks of education and research, is a prototype of the society as involving individuals of each sex, and culture ranging from the age range from 18 to 70, varying levels of education from primary school to doctoral studies. In this regard, universities should be a part of shaping the dynamics of present and future of the social and physical environment. Universities first carry out Institutional Social Responsibility within their own culture first. Universities then should provide students as the most important stakeholders with genuine education, self-knowledge and the learning process by promoting the personal development of people in the community in finding a way to show locations and social development, as well as mobilizing communities, strengthening the process. Education should encourage and motivate free and active participation in life to inspire individuals by helping them to acquire physical and social skills with new approaches essential to address problems around them. Education should also ensure the development of personal, social and environmental consciousness. Within a society social responsibility may become natural characteristic when individuals equipped with this awareness.