...Unwinding complex systems, fostering innovation and controlling climate change Stepping towards global prosperity in a greener environment Shitij Nigam mail.snigam@gmail.com Introduction The question of climate change - and whether to tackle it or not - has always probed the minds of policy makers. Indeed, the issue of how it may be technologically tackled is solved to a certain extent. But whether such solutions may be implemented in a sustainable manner, and which hold grounds with the interests of all stakeholders – demands a higher level of scrutiny, especially into the consequences of taking overtly aggressive actions. Indeed, Environmentalists have been continuously plagued by Economists regarding the viability of any steps which might be taken in this arena, especially in policy-making, given the substantial amount of initial investment involved in ‘green’ projects, supplemented by the fact that the rates of returns remain inevitably slow, if not supplemented by uncertainty in most cases. The term “Emerging Markets” has been loosely thrown around the table for the past few years, being crudely defined as ‘nations with social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization’[1]. China and India instantly come to mind as perfect examples of such ‘markets’, given their perception as future cash-cows, owing to the vast scope of industrial expansion, especially within themselves – owing to the aggregated strength of their respective populations...
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...“Critically analyse the performance of an organisation or campaign (non-profit or commercial) in relation to their promotion of sustainability/sustainable development. Assess its value and level of success in achieving meaningful change. The organisation or campaign can be local, national or global and may range in size from large to small (eg Greenpeace, The Body Shop, Travelsmart, Friends of Kings Park).” Introduction: Founded in 1992, Planet Ark has encouraged environment change and sustainability for over twenty years and is specially focused on the impact we have on our planet and the sustainable ways we can use to minimize this impact. Planet Ark aims to ‘protect and enhance the natural environment’ (Planet Ark, 2013) and get individuals and businesses involved together to protect the planet and work towards sustainability. Planet Ark undertakes a special annual activity, National Tree Day, planting tress to provide for a sustainable future, which begun in 1996 and continued each year with growing support. One of the main points of focus for National Tree Day is to educate on and plant native trees and plants, creating a sustainable future for the environment by supporting local bio-diversity, however the question remains is Planet Ark achieving this and National Tree Day actively educating and making for a sustainable future? Through the use of various articles, Planet Ark’s own findings and reports and other critical analysis’s we will explore and discover how...
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...The Walmart Journey: Walmart’s trucking Division Scale and Operation: Wal-Mart was founded on Sam Walton’s principle and ideals to bring products to the consumers in a way that mean they could offer their products to the consumers for cheaper than other retailers. This led to them creating a retail giant over the next forty years. In the early 1970’s Wal-Mart became the one of the first companies to use a centralized distribution center for their stores. When they started this practice they knew they would need a trucking fleet for years to come and made the decision to own their own private fleet. Along with great success comes turmoil and hard times. Wal-Mart’s came in the early 2000’s when there was a lot of public criticism about their business practices which included being sexist, strong-arming the little guys, and not having fair working conditions for their workers who were not allowed to join or create a union. There was also a growing movement within corporations around the world towards going green and having more sustainable business practices. On this note Lee Scott offered his famous speech in 2005 to the consumers, investors, and people around the world. His speech “21st Century Leadership” he laid out a three part plan for becoming a prominent player in sustainable business. These three parts included being supplied by 100% renewable energy, creating zero waste, and selling sustainable products in their stores. Currently, Wal-Mart owns a private trucking...
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...FROM “(R)EVOLUTION” TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: CURRENT FEATURES AND PERSPECTIVES ABSTRACT This article aims to address the issue of Sustainable Development (SD) in an evolutionary perspective within its multidisciplinary scope. The complexity of developments for sustainability has frequently proven difficult in its implementation, evaluation and effective communication.It was our intention to provide an outline of the diverse views on the subject, focusing on globalization as a change of attitude towards sustainability.It is a review of terminology associated with the SD and its multiple interpretations.It is referenced the apparent and irrelevant impact of initiatives to solve the economic, social and environmental problem. It emphasizes the influence and importance of strategies and the positioning of SMEs on the way to SD in the policy of act local think global. KEYWORDS Strategy Sustainable development Sustainability, SMEs JERÓNIMO, WINSTON CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal OLIVEIRA, NUNO GASPAR DE CIGEST, Assistente Instituto Superior de Gestão, Portugal 1. INTRODUCTION “(R)Evolution or Death”, adapted from the revolutionary slogan used and popularized by the Cuban regime, serves as motto for the urgent need to transform our production and consumption systems and our standing towards the environment around us....
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...Culture shapes the way we see the world. It therefore has the capacity to bring about the change of attitudes needed to ensure peace and sustainable development which, we know, form the only possible way forward for life on planet Earth. Today, that goal is still a long way off. A global crisis faces humanity at the dawn of the 21st century, marked by increasing poverty in our asymmetrical world, environmental degradation and short-sightedness in policy-making. Culture is a crucial key to solving this crisis. Source: Preface, World Culture Report, UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 1999. Our cultural values, which often include particular religious beliefs, shape our way of living and acting in the world. Module 11 on Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability explores the importance of indigenous values and spirituality in providing guidance for sustainable living. Such principles and values encourage a spirit of harmony between people, their natural environments and their spiritual identities. The principles for living sustainably that flow from these and other cultural and religious beliefs vary between groups and countries. They have also changed over time as circumstances demand. Despite this diversity, many principles for living sustainably are shared, not only among indigenous peoples, but also between different religious traditions. This module explores the role of culture and religion in providing guidance on ways of living sustainably. It also provides activities which analyse...
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...Nike Inc. Strategic Analysis ----Eric Overview Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and selling of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area, and is one of only two Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Oregon. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$24.1 billion in its fiscal year 2012 (ending May 31, 2012). As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. The brand alone is valued at $10.7 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses. The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Hurley International and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008, and previously owned Cole Haan and Umbro. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-profile...
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...Economic, Social, and Environmental Success— and How You Can Too I chose this book because the title drew my attention since the beginning. When I read the title I understood that in this book the Author’s were going to talk about how big corporations deal with sustainability. That for me was really important, as sustainability is such a hard concept to grasp. I believe that the best way to understand about sustainability is with examples and cases that happen in real life. On this book Andrew Savitz and Karl Weber, put all their vast experience and knowledge in sustainable practices and recollect big cases of the corporate world and study them. Some events are about mistakes the corporations did when they failed to understand the Triple bottom Line in their business decisions. Others are great examples of how companies found the “sustainability sweet spot” (a concept of them) and were able to achieve success not only economical, but also social and environmental. The purpose of the authors is to inform and educate the reader about how a company needs to balances social economical and environmental growth on todays world. The books starts with an important introduction, explaining what it is sustainability or at least they try as like I said before is such a hard concept to calculate. Where I believe they nail their explanation is when they start telling us what a sustainable company is and what are the benefits that a sustainable company has. “A sustainable corporation...
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...Introduction s environmental issues gain greater attention, pressure is being placed on all industries, including financial services to implement “green” initiatives. While green banking is not yet a key reason for most customers to select one financial institution over another, customer demands and greater environmental awareness are driving a number of financial institutions to go green. Environment is a key focus amongst ethical banks (in this field specially called sustainability or green banks) as well as amongst many conventional banks that wish to appear more ethically oriented or that see switching to more environmental practices to be to their advantage. In general bankers “consider themselves to be in a relatively environmentally friendly industry (in terms of emissions and pollution). However, given their potential exposure to risk, they have been surprisingly slow to examine the environmental performance of their clients. A stated reason for this is that such an examination would ‘require interference’ with a client’s activities. While the desire to not meddle in the business of the client is valid, one could also note that banks are required to interfere in the business of their clients regularly to ensure that the clients’ business plan is viable before issuing them a loan. The kind of analysis that all banks partake in is termed a single bottom line analysis (this analysis only considers financial performance). It is arguable whether or not performing a triple bottom...
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......................................................... iii-xi Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... xii Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Research Results .................................................................................................................... 2-3 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 4 Edification .................................................................................................................... 4 Sustainability .................................................................................................................... 4 Reasoning .................................................................................................................... 4-5 Conclusion & Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 5 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 6 List of Illustrations Figure 1 1) Figure 2 Figure 3 dd sdf Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Executive Summary Generation Y (Millenials); the second largest...
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...Upton, an exemplar development with houses built to high levels of sustainability. The buildings pictured were designed by Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd, who also acted as ecological design consultants for the site. http:/ /www.ecodesign.co.uk Good Practice Guidance: Sustainable Design and Construction The purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development ... ... To achieve sustainable development, economic, social and environmental gains should be sought jointly and simultaneously through the planning system ... ... Good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning, and should contribute positively to making places better for people ... ... Local planning authorities should adopt proactive strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change, taking full account of flood risk, coastal change and water supply and demand considerations ... National Planning Policy Framework, Department for Communities and Local Government, March 2012 Cross Sector Group on Sustainable Design and Construction August 2012 Contents Introduction Background The role of planning, and its relation to Building Regulations Formulating planning policies on sustainable design and construction Justifying local requirements: evidence and viability Examples of local plan policies Development management 03 04 05 06 06 07 08 Annex 1 – Example policies on sustainable design and construction ...
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...new framework for implementing corporate sustainability Key points: ▪ Sustainability performance is the effect of corporate activity on the social, environmental, and economic fabric of society. ▪ A balance between economic progress, social responsibility, and environmental protection, sometimes referred to as the triple bottom line, can lead to competitive advantage. ▪ The evaluation of social, economic, and environmental impacts of organizational actions is necessary to make effective operational and capital investment decisions that positively impact organizational objectives and satisfy the objectives of multiple stakeholders. ▪ The financial payoff of a proactive sustainability strategy can be substantial. ▪ To become a leader in sustainability, one needs to articulate what sustainability is, develop processes to promote sustainability throughout the corporation, measure performance on sustainability, and ultimately link this measurement to corporate financial performance. ▪ Corporate citizenship is an important driver for building trust, attracting and retaining employees, and obtaining a “license to operate” within a community. ▪ Corporate citizenship is much more than charitable donations and public relations—it’s the way the company integrates sustainability principles with everyday business operations and policies and then translates all of this into bottom-line results. ▪ For sustainability to be long lasting and useful, it must...
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...delegate to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperative. Wilkerson works with Bellwether Services, a consulting group in Atlanta, GA. In addition to strategic sourcing, Wilkerson consults on supply chain cost reduction as well as other sustainability issues. Wilkerson was previously employed by Pepsi-Cola, Nestle Purina, and Dannon Waters of North America. He is a Certified Professional in Supply Management and Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt. His functional expertise includes global sourcing, global supply chain management, sales and operations planning, and sustainable supply chains. APQC: Why has green sourcing and sustainable procurement become an important topic? John Wilkerson: Leaders at organizations like Dell, AT&T, P&G, and the U.S. government understand our future environmental challenges and potential long-term global impact on business and consumers. These organizations now want their suppliers also to be socially responsible and environmentally fit. So they are putting pressure on their strategic sourcing teams to drive sustainable supply chain performance. Another driver is on the regulatory side. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued guidance to publicly traded companies, asking them to communicate their sustainability risks. Public companies have to show the environmental impact of their actions. For example, if you are with an organization that depends on transportation and your actions are harmful to...
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...Climate change is a by-product of a global economic system based on cheap fossil fuel energy that powers our homes, vehicles, offices and factories. Summaries of climate science and modeling, such as those undertaken by the International Panel on Climate Change tell us that a “business as usual” trajectory of rising greenhouse gas emissions (or even maintaining emissions at current levels) threatens the very survival of humans, not to mention other animals and plants. (Lee, Mark, and Kenneth I., 11) As the world is increasingly focusing on environmental awareness, a new “green” trend has arisen. This research essay will discuss the issue of sustainability of the environment in production, growing consumer interest in the green trend, and how it is affecting businesses. The effects of an altered climate are already evident in retreating glaciers, shrinking polar ice, droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events. As environmental awareness is becoming more common, and since production industries tend to think in terms of the long run (Wilson, Tim) there is a demand for a transformational shift towards sustainable systems of production and consumption, however many people confuse being green with being sustainable. To be green, substances from the earth's core must not be extracted faster than they're regenerated, pollutants must not be discharged into the atmosphere faster than the earth's systems can clean them, and surface level resources must not be destroyed or harvested...
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...developed 24 of its 32 fabrics to be more sustainable and to combine performance and visual appeal. In the sales area, the company uses a concept called “Web-front” to combine the efficiency of the Web with the intimacy of a gallery-like boutique so that the operating expense is saved because less energy and fewer material are used. In the finance area, Nau has pledged 5 percent of sales to charitable organizations dedicated to solving crucial environmental and humanitarian problems while the “philanthropic gold standard” is 1 percent and the average among all corporations is 0.047 percent. So from a Green Management perspective, Nau’s approach to doing business would be considered as dark green. Their holistic approach to environmental sustainability goes beyond the products they sell and extends into their relationship with suppliers and retailing phases of their products. So it is ethical and responsible. But why some other companies do not take this approach? Several viewpoints are raised to support the irresponsible behavior. 1. The responsibility of the enterprises in the society is to make profit for stockholders. There is no need for them to take the social responsibility. 2. Too much power is given to the enterprises if they participate in the settlement of social problems. Then corruption problem may come up. 3. Interest conflict may exist in the procedure of taking social responsibility. 4. The enterprises are not good at managing social problems. There might be different...
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