Management for Sustainable Development


Book Description

Today, increasingly more, the word sustainability is present in all kinds of discussions: at home, at work, at school, in all society. Conscious of the environment where we live everybody looks to find the best solutions to solve problems that result from Human Being evolution. Management for a sustainable development appears as a process from which organizations try to use all its resources, as well as improve its organizational and technological development, in order to answer not only to the present but also to future human and social needs. Only in this way is it possible to improve the quality of life. Seen in this way, sustainable development is understood to be people centred. We have a special concern with cultural, social and economic dimensions, where individuals can develop, together as a society, whilst at the same time individual and organizational activities can be implemented without destroying the present diversity and complexity of the ecological system where we live. Taking into account these concerns, this book looks to cover issues related to the management for sustainable development in a context where organizations are continually facing high challenges for what concerns the items related to, amongst others, the re-use, recycling, waste reduction, add value, low costs and time of production, sustainable behaviour, not only in an environmental perspective but also in an organizational perspective. Today’s organizations can no longer develop their practices based in the existent paradigms. On the contrary, it is necessary to completely break from these paradigms, creating a total change of mentality in the way we manage the organizational activities. Taking into account this reality, managing for a sustainable development appears as a management philosophy focused in productivity improvement considering different kinds of goals, such as biological, economic and social systems goals. Conscious of this reality, this book contributes to the exchange of experiences and perspectives about the state of research related to the management for a sustainable development, as well as the future direction of this research field. It looks to provide a support to academics and researchers, as well as those operating in the management field and who need to deal with policies and strategies related to sustainable development issues.




Growth Management for a Sustainable Future


Book Description

Previous books on growth management in the United States favor balanced growth, which suggests that growth and environmental protection represent equally legitimate objectives. Taking issue with the balanced growth position, this book argues that further growth is unsustainable and that growth management must focus on ensuring ecological sustainability. The book opens with the arguments supporting current global limits to growth, and then shows that the growth management movement in the United States represents an institutionalized form of ongoing growth accommodation, which is incongruous with sustainable behavior. The book also documents the historical pro-growth tendency of the planning profession and contends that this bias is impeding the necessary transition to a sustainable future. In addition, it presents the standards courts use to decide the legality of growth management programs and suggests that those standards do not present insurmountable obstacles to stopping future growth. In conclusion, this book presents operational measures of ecological sustainability and argues that the growth imperative currently driving the growth management movement must be replaced by the imperative of ecological sustainability.




Rethinking Sustainable Development


Book Description

"This book investigates the role of urban, regional and infrastructure planning in achieving sustainable urban and infrastructure development, providing insights into overcoming the consequences of unsustainable development"--Provided by publisher.




Organizing for Sustainable Development


Book Description

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize the increasingly complex, interdependent nature of societal and environmental issues for governments and business. Tackling such "grand challenges" requires the concerted action of a multitude of organizations and multiple stakeholders at different levels in the public, private, and non-profit sector. Organizing for Sustainable Development provides an integrated and comparative overview of the successes and failures of organizational efforts to tackle global societal issues and achieve sustainable development. Summarizing years of study by an interdisciplinary board of authors and contributors, this book provides readers with an in-depth understanding of how existing businesses and new hybrid organizations can achieve sustainable development to bring about an improved society, marking a key contribution to the literature in this field. Combining theoretical views with empirical approaches, the chapters in this book are highly relevant to graduate and undergraduate (multidisciplinary) programs in sustainable development, organization studies, development economics, development studies, international management, and social entrepreneurship.




The Age of Sustainable Development


Book Description

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




Growth Management for a Sustainable Future


Book Description

Argues that growth management in the United States is an institutionalized form of growth accommodation incongruous with sustainable behaviour and that the growth accommodation imperative should be replaced by an imperative of ecological sustainability.




Sustainable Development and the Limitation of Growth


Book Description

2007 marked the 20th anniversary of the G.H.Brundtland Commission report that broke new ground by addressing the issue of sustainable development as a means of avoiding an ecological catastrophe. This led to a multitude of political declarations, documents and scientific articles while Agenda 21 – adopted in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro – has been accepted by the governments of more than 100 countries. Sadly, however, this has not prevented certain recent dangerous trends, nor have the wider public, journalists, business circles or politicians grasped the urgency of the problem. It is therefore important to make humanity understand its real place in the natural environment and the gravity of the ecological threat before us. The exclusive role of natural ecosystems is a key factor in the maintenance of the biospheric equilibrium. The current global crisis is largely caused by their dramatic decline by 43% in the past hundred years. Ignoring the immutable laws and limitations which determine the existence of all living things in the biosphere could lead humanity to an ecological catastrophe. This book presents the ecological, demographic, economic and socio-psychological manifestations of the global crisis and outlines the immutable laws and limitations which determine the existence of all living things in the biosphere.




Human Resource Management Practices for Promoting Sustainability


Book Description

In the midst of climate change, responsible business practices and ecological modernization become essential tools for the promotion of sustainability. Due to the current level of demand for eco-friendly products and services, there is a need for green training and green human resource development to support green creativity and eco-innovation for sustainability. By incorporating green initiatives into human resource practices, organizations can maintain a positive impact on the environment. With a full understanding of sustainable business practices, positive impacts on the environmental management field become easier to produce. Human Resource Management Practices for Promoting Sustainability is a pivotal reference source that explores the incorporation of green initiatives into all aspects of human resource management practices in a variety of industries. The book delivers a discussion on green human capital, collective green intelligence, and competencies that are essential to cope with the challenges in Industry 4.0. It also provides a basis for green recruitment and selection processes as a way of promoting pro-environmental behavior in the labor markets. While highlighting a broad range of topics including employee relations, knowledge management, and recruitment, this book is ideally designed for executives, entrepreneurs, human resource managers, academicians, researchers, and students. The book is also suitable for conventional and corporate universities looking to meet sustainable development goals as well as policymakers as it provides a guideline in designing and implementing green creativity and eco-innovation based on a wide range of global issues confronting sustainability in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.




Advances in Sustainable Development and Management of Environmental and Natural Resources


Book Description

Published in two volumes, this new book, Advances in Sustainable Development and Management of Environmental and Natural Resources: Economic Outlook and Opinions, addresses the varied aspects of natural resources and their management in conjunction with socioeconomic aspects. With chapters from authors from around the world, this volume features 24 chapters that cover many aspects of the sustainable utilization of management of natural resources and provides new insight into the nexus of ecology and economy and their application in various fields of science. The chapters include case studies and research from India, Africa, South America, and elsewhere. After first laying the foundation, the volume goes on to discuss sustainable development and natural resource management from an economics point of view. Chapters address myriad issues involved in natural resources and environmental management, including soil and water resources management in arid lands, resource management for agricultural purposes, contemporary global legal norms of environment and sustainable development, how emissions factor into regional economies, mitigation of the impact of climate change through sustainable practices, rainwater harvesting technology, and much more. The chapters include case studies that discuss soil, agroforestry, agriculture, wetlands, and floral diversity. The book provides a solid foundation for a realistic perspective of the role of sustainable development and management of natural resources while taking the socioeconomic impact into consideration as well. It will be a valuable resource and reference for the study of ecology, economics, sustainable development, natural resource management, and other allied fields.




Alternative Urban Futures


Book Description

Alternative Urban Futures challenges existing models of urban development and promotes alternative paradigms, processes, and technologies designed to fulfill human needs and limit the harmful impacts of human activities on the environment. The book focuses on how planners and policy makers can develop and manage essential urban infrastructures in ways that support sustainable development in the areas of waste management, water supply and management, energy production and use, building design and construction, land-use, transportation, and food systems. Each chapter features case studies that provide concrete examples of how ecologically and socially responsible urban and sustainable development planning and policy approaches have been successfully implemented in cities around the world. The book is especially effective in its emphasis on recently published statistics and writing supporting new planning and policy recommendations. Each chapter ends with a summary, accompanied by a list of questions that can be addressed with information provided in the text.