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How businesses can and are acting to redress social and environmental issues is a question of growing academic interest. Bringing together a range of interdisciplinary perspectives, this insightful Research Agenda evaluates the current state of the art of sustainability and business and assesses key challenges for the field.Multidisciplinary chapters provide instrumental, economic, network and political perspectives on issues that are crucial in gaining insight into sustainability challenges facing businesses today, from socially responsible consumption behaviours and organisational resilience to climate change and sustainability transitions in extractive industries. Its diverse contributions highlight the breadth and depth of analyses and perspectives that are necessary to set a dynamic agenda for future research on sustainability and business. Advancing novel research questions and methodologies, the editors illustrate the path ahead for carrying out research that impacts the science and practice of business and sustainability, as well as creating meaningful change for our species and planet.Offering an advanced yet accessible introduction to the current state and future direction of sustainability and business, this incisive Research Agenda will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of business, sustainability studies, and environment studies. Its practical insights will also benefit MBA students and business executives moving into sustainability.

This book provides a description of the state of the art on environmental disclosure, illustrating the key theoretical issues, the regulatory frameworks, and the main standards developed and reporting the results of an empirical analysis on the environmental disclosure released by listed firms. Luigi Lepore and Sabrina Pisano begin by analysing the origin and evolution of environmental disclosure. They go on to provide a description of the main theoretical frameworks used by scholars, explaining the conceptual basis of each theory and describing how the specific theory has been used to explain the company's decision to release environmental disclosure. The second part of the book highlights the role and evolution of the European regulatory frameworks, emphasising the transition from voluntary to mandatory disclosure, and the major standards and guidance developed. The book ends by providing a picture of the evolution of sustainability reporting practices in European Union nations over the past two decades.This book investigates the critical issues and new directions in environmental disclosure, which are currently under examination by regulators and standard setters. It will therefore be of great interest to academics and students working in the areas of business and sustainability.

Climate change is like no other challenge we have ever faced. We have seen technology change driven by computers and information systems. The rate of change is determined by market acceptance and economics. We have also witnessed social changes in areas like voting rights, civil rights, child labor and gender equality. However, these social transformations have been much slower and in many cases are only partially accepted even after a century or more of effort. Climate change is unique because global warming doesn't care if we agree with the science, and it doesn't slow down because we are unwilling to act. The science is not driven by our focus on quarterly earnings and is not determined by public opinion. The purpose of Pathways to Action is to engage the reader in ideas about accelerating action. How can we prioritize certain approaches that allow for faster change at an industrial level? What are the biggest targets? Who can do more? What is the blueprint for action? The actions we take or don't take will be this generation's legacy for our children and grandchildren.

This book is a roadmap to help organizations adopt corporate responsibility and sustainability practices and be fit for purpose in a digital era. It explains why corporate responsibility is the only option in the twenty-first-century post-COVID-19 world, and guides readers through the process of transforming their organizations with continued reference to the importance of technology.This is not a technical manual, and it is not an academic textbook: it is designed to be a quick, easily digested read. The first part looks at the current landscape – both of business and of the world in which it operates. The second part explains why corporate responsibility is the only realistic option for business in the twenty-first-century, post-COVID, and who needs to take responsibility for it. The third part is a step-by-step guide to putting principles into practice, covering: values, stakeholder engagement, employees, supply chain, environment, community, customers and marketing, and reporting and transparency. Each chapter is linked to relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals and supported by dozens of real-world examples.By the end of the book, business leaders will have understood the scope of the challenge involved in leading a truly socially and environmentally responsible organization, and, crucially, will have understood why such a course of action is not only desirable but essential. And they will also have been inspired by a sense of purpose. The book offers direct access to the processes, insights, and techniques for installing corporate responsibility throughout organizations large and small, based on the author's many years'experience working in government and with successful large corporations. It is up-to-date and relevant, addressing the implications of COVID-19 and the modern technological “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Firms adopt a wide variety of ecological strategies, ranging from the development of innovative products with reduced environmental impact to lobbying against governmental attempts to set standards for the way in which firms deal with the natural environment. This book explores this variety and is the first to provide a coherent evolutionary approach to the ecological strategies of firms. Drawing on insights from organization and management sciences and innovation studies, the author outlines an evolutionary framework enabling a deeper understanding of how firms shape ecological strategies and interact to create inertia or change at the level of systems of production and consumption. This framework is applied to the coffee and automobile production and consumption systems, yielding insight into the complex dynamics through which such systems evolve in dealing with ecological impact. The book advances theoretical insight into business strategies and the natural environment and illuminates the dynamics of production and consumption systems.Scholars, students and practitioners from organization and management sciences, innovation studies and industrial ecology interested in the relationship between business and the natural environment will find this book invaluable.