Search

This edited research monograph collects nine unique research contributions on the concept of social sustainability and its connection to possibilities and hindrances for good work in organisations. Social sustainability, in organisational contexts, emphasizes the long-term well-being of stakeholders and communities. The authors in this book demonstrate how organisational long-term strategies should prioritise employee well-being, mental health, community engagement, and ethical supply chain management, inter alia. Readers, from undergraduate students to the research community, will learn how long-term social sustainability orientation is different from Corporate Social Responsibility, which responds to immediate stakeholder expectations. The United Nations'Sustainable Development Goals have nudged many organisations to implement social sustainability, and many authors in this book relate to UN concepts such as the SDGs or Global Compact's definition of social sustainability. However, many organisations have come under scrutiny for acting merely ceremonial to live up to the current megatrends. In consequence, readers will take away that the line between genuine corporate mission and ceremonial lip services must be critically observed, and how this can be done in different areas. Key chapters of this book explore social sustainability, e.g., in higher education (as sustainable knowledge in business students), in corporate communication (employee identification, corporate volunteering, and corporate heritage), and in sustainable human resource management practices. Workplace toxicity, especially towards minorities, is explored, highlighting both the role of bystanders, and the financial repercussions of ignoring workplace harassment. Digital transformation's social implications, employee well-being, and the importance of psychological safety in startups are addressed. The chapters, all together, signify the relevance of meaningful work for long-term societal cohesion and individual fulfilment.

Impact Investing for a Sustainable Planet guides investors in supporting entrepreneurs to scale business models which maximize positive impact outcomes, including climate- and nature-based solutions. EcoEnterprises Fund is a long-standing leader in the impact investing industry, which helps advance sustainable entrepreneurial ventures and promote environmental stewardship in Latin America. Following on from their previous book, Portfolio for the Planet, Tammy E. Newmark and Michele A. Pena take stock of EcoEnterprises Fund's processes and partnerships over two decades and three impact funds. They detail the unique strategies employed by the Fund to invest in expanding sectors such as regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, bio-innovation, and climate tech. Close analysis of the investment processes and company engagements offers practical takeaways, ranging from tips on structuring transactions to guidance on enhancing companies'environmental and social management systems and community partnerships. These case studies highlight how specific themes – including biodiversity investing, supply chain management, gender-smart investing, climate solutions, and successful exits – form the basis for sustainable growth and enduring powerful outcomes.This inspiring volume offers practical advice for veterans and newcomers in the field of impact investing. It will also be a valuable resource for students and scholars of sustainable investing and finance, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable business.

Social Impact, Organizations and Society represents endeavors to comprehensively explore the essence of social impact. The editors aim to elucidate its definition, scope, measurement and implementation. Delving into how organizations integrate social impact into their core missions, decision-making processes and operational frameworks, this monograph strives to identify avenues for enhancing social impact generation. Furthermore, its focus lies on fostering effective relationships with diverse stakeholder groups and providing empirical evidence of social impact practices across industries and sectors. Through an in-depth examination of the latest research, this monograph sheds light on the evolving role of corporate social responsibility and its significance amidst contemporary challenges.Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 and 14 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Winner of the Gold Axiom Business Book Award 2024 in the Philanthropy / Non Profit / Sustainability category.Tech For Good reveals how Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will help solve the world's greatest challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, and poverty. Tech For Good presents a unique perspective on how business can successfully apply advanced technologies in a purpose-driven manner while unlocking new markets and seizing business opportunities. Packed with 75 real-life business cases of companies from all over the world, this inspiring book unfolds a compelling narrative about how businesses commercially synergize technology and sustainability. The purpose of this book is to imagine the unprecedented possibilities advanced technologies offer business to drive sustainable growth. Tech for Good will be vital for realizing our Global Goals.

This book equips readers—both students and communication practitioners—with the theoretical understanding and practical skills they need to support nonprofit and for-profit organizations to create and assess their diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and social identity intersectionality goals.Through applied examples of the insider activist role that the communication function plays, the book helps future and current professional communicators navigate organizations toward authentic relationship-building with internal and external audiences. It teaches that embracing DEI includes acknowledging social identity intersectionalities—recognizing that people possess multiple social identity dimensions of age, culture, ethnicity/race, faith/spirituality, gender, physical/psychological ability, sexual orientation, social class, and more. In order to illuminate the theory discussed in the book, each chapter includes thought-provoking situation-opportunity sidebars, discussion questions for drilling deeper into the issues at hand, and case studies with applied lessons about DEI issues.This is an ideal text for advanced undergraduates and graduate courses in organizational communication, strategic communication, marketing communication, human resources, and public relations, as well as for communication practitioners working in these subdisciplines.

This book provides an overview of recent and current research which defines and scopes the field of responsible marketing in one single edited book. It brings together diverse perspectives from contributors at Birmingham University, leading the academic development of knowledge of the subject, to contribute to the learning curriculum and reach out to those interested in improving marketing practices and standards. Responsible Marketing for Well-being and Society draws together a rich and diverse body of scholarly research from a variety of perspectives from individual to global, macro and micro, producer and consumer, environmental, stakeholder, supply chain, and other intermediary viewpoints. The embryonic research in this field involves different philosophical and methodological positions, theoretical approaches, and research communities including aspects of corporate social responsibility, marketing ethics, critical marketing, consumer culture theory, and macromarketing.The book takes a predominantly organisational or enterprise-level perspective in order to understand and explain how individuals and organisations can manage their marketing activities and relationships responsibly. The actions of other stakeholders are also a crucial component in achieving responsible outcomes; therefore, a broader perspective on the impacts of marketing decisions and actions on other stakeholders, such as consumers, employees, the environment, and society, is also taken as a basis for analysis and discussion. The book provides an authoritative overview for the academic market, including university libraries, research teams, PhD students, and independent researchers.The topics and contents of responsible marketing are relevant to several disciplinary fields of study including, marketing, advertising, retailing and other business subjects, consumer studies, sustainability, ethics, public policy, media studies, psychology, economics, and other social sciences.

This book provides practical insights, tools and frameworks to help readers produce tactically and strategically appropriate marketing plans.Showing how to embed sustainability in these plans, students will be shown how to implement changes while being encouraged to reflect on why they are needed. The text reflects on contemporary themes that impact on sustainable marketing planning, including consumer behaviour, entrepreneurialism, internal marketing, services, international marketing, event management and digital marketing. The second edition has been fully updated with a greater focus on the issues surrounding sustainability, including the environmental challenges facing businesses, sustainable accreditation and integrating the UN SDGs. It provides background on the value discourses that underpin sustainability, incorporates new examples and case studies from broader regions around the world and introduces TBL-based loyalty. Full of tools and frameworks to improve comprehension, including chapter-by-chapter learning outcomes, summaries, exercises, applied activities and mini case studies, it bridges the gap between theory and practice effectively and accessibly.Presenting contemporary themes and challenges at the cutting edge of business research and practice, this book provides core reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of sustainable marketing, marketing planning and marketing strategy, as well as professionals seeking to improve the competitive advantage of their organisations.Online resources for the use of instructors include PowerPoint lecture slides and a multiple choice questions section.

Giving Voice to Values is a very important tool that has helped many professionals better align what they do with what they value and believe. This book introduces the methodology of Socratic Dialogue as a complementary set of tools for creating spaces of joint reflection in which one can gain clarity about one's values and gain the confidence to voice them effectively.Socrates'main concern was to progressively reach a higher alignment between ideas and actions: that is, to achieve a harmony between what we think, what we say and what we do. The first step to giving voice to our values involves introspection and dialogue with others – which is how we can become aware of what we really think and value. An examined life, Socrates reminds us, is a fulfilled one. Based on the authors'more than ten years'experience teaching Socratic Dialogue to business and law students, executives and professionals, faculty, incarcerated people and other vulnerable groups, the book provides teachers and practitioners with a roadmap to conceive, design and conduct Socratic Dialogue courses and sessions. It provides context for the method and its adaptation to the challenges of the 21st century. The book also offers guidance on how to structure a Socratic Dialogue classroom, as well as a series of tried-and-true activities and exercises, practical recommendations and testimonies of the transformative impact that dialogue courses have had on participants.The book is of prime interest to professors and educators of business ethics, as well as professional consultants working to help organizations become more responsible and introduce ethical reasoning in their decisions. It also serves as a valuable resource for social educators and practitioners in prisons and rehabilitation units, as well as teachers in primary and secondary education.

Green finance is heralded in theory and practice as the new panacea – the ideal way to support the green transition of businesses into more sustainable, environmentally responsible forms, by means of incentivized financial investments. This handbook brings together a variety of expert scholars with industry specialists to offer the most authoritative overview of green finance to date, presenting the current situation in the field. It focuses on green finance in a comprehensive way, discussing its characteristics, underlying principles, and mechanisms.The book carefully illuminates the issues surrounding green finance and delineates its boundaries, mapping out and displaying the disparate voices, traditions, and professional communities engaged in green and sustainable finance activities. Specifically, it examines the'environmental'in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measurements, while also discussing the interplay between each measurement. It develops a range of analytic approaches to the subject, both appreciative and critical, and synthesizes new theoretical constructs that make better sense of hybrid financial relationships. Furthermore, the handbook illustrates existing best practices and theories, and critically examines the gaps to derive the necessary future research questions. It highlights the essential issues and debates and provides a robust research agenda. As such, it helps to create an effective market for the various green financing instruments through clarification and standardization.This handbook will be the standard reference work for a broad audience, encompassing scholars, researchers, and students but also interested professionals, regulators, and policymakers wishing to orient themselves in a rapidly developing and increasingly topical field.

This book examines the relationship between business-based peacebuilding and the opportunities that emerge from the pluralisation of regulation. The core message is, notwithstanding the broad range of regulatory initiatives and actors that exist in conflict-affected settings, the state should assume responsibilities for defining the types of contribution that business can and ought to make to peace. It also demonstrates how the state, through different forms and methods of regulation, is well-placed to engage businesses to do so. It is particularly concerned with the potential for regulation to help address what is identified as a state of optimistic uncertainty in the field of business and peacebuilding. On one level, there is a sense of optimism around the types of contributions that businesses can and often do make as agents for peace. On another, there are varying degrees of uncertainty surrounding the actual peacebuilding impacts of business activities; how businesses are to understand the ways in which to make these contributions, and why businesses would do so. Regulation, this book will argue, can play an important role in bridging the chasm between optimism and uncertainty. This book will be of interest to those engaged not only with business and peacebuilding but also business and human rights, business and development and business and the environment. Moreover, this book is also of contemporary interest in other ways – the aftermath of the Ukranian conflict, as an example, will require a concerted effort to rebuild that society after war. Private sector actors could be a powerful vehicle for reconstruction and development and this book examines how regulation can be used to facilitate businesses involvement in peacebuilding efforts.

Climate change is one of the most significant and challenging problems we face today, and many organisations have recognised their responsibility in reducing emissions and environmental degradation and regenerating biodiversity. However, conventional leadership has failed to respond adequately to the magnitude of the threat, and a profound change in corporate leadership is required to substantively cut emissions and change climate policy to minimise further destructive environmental impact. This book sets out the qualities and approaches needed by leaders to successfully develop and implement climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.Bringing together the foremost experts in climate change leadership from business, leadership, psychology and coaching backgrounds, this book addresses the failures of current leadership practice and proposes a variety of models of how climate change leadership capabilities can be effectively developed in organisations. It is structured around four concepts: foundations, which includes models of environmental, ecological and evolutionary leadership; transitions, which looks at transformational and ethical models that are being repurposed for the age of sustainability; progressions, which explores innovative models that are being developed for the current age including systems, adaptation and maturity-based models of leadership; and actions, which includes models of sustainable goal setting and climate leadership coaching and development.The book is written for corporate leaders, researchers and educators and will be an invaluable addition to the leadership curriculum and executive development programmes to help the next generation of leaders respond to global challenges.

The complexity facing today's organizations calls for a rethinking of leadership. The world is facing grand challenges for people and the planet. Leaders and employees bear the responsibility of formulating strategies grounded in strong values. These strategies aim to foster the growth of sustainable organizations and promote ethical work practices. This book gives voice to values-based leadership and provides a method for leaders to develop a values-based organizational culture.Values play a role on many levels in how we work as individual leaders, in teams, and in organizations and in how organizations approach societal challenges. Values can be a compass or orientation point, giving direction for decisions and actions. Awareness of values can make organizational responsibilities clearer and give a sense of meaning to work and help leaders to create organizations where corporate, moral, and social values are embedded at every level. This book gives insight into a Scandinavian values-based leadership model built on the institutional leadership tradition. It provides processes and practices that leaders can use to develop organizations where values are continuously nurtured. The book provides practical ideas of how leaders can work on becoming conscious of both the organization's explicit and implicit values, as well as working on the direction of the organization and its broader organizational culture.This book will be an invaluable resource for both practitioners and graduate students interested in leadership and organizational development.

This is a book for leaders who think about legacy, their own and the one their business is leaving. Yet, none of us get to write our legacy, that is for those who come after us. This book and the lessons within will enable you to improve yours.The eight questions at the core of this book are underpinned by three big ideas: The questions we ask matter Businesses are the tools we use to shape our world Business value is optimized for the long term when society thrives The questions have been developed and road-tested with business leaders and thousands of executives on an MBA that is ranked number one in the world as ‘best for the planet'. Applying them to your business will enable long-term value creation while shifting it to one that your children will be proud of.This book will appeal to business executives, leaders and managers, MBA graduates and students, and all those interested in transforming their organizations for the challenges ahead.

This edited textbook explores the 17 UN SDGs through 12 works from the humanities, including films, novels, and photographic collections. It provides students with the knowledge and understanding of how the humanities engage in broader social, political, economic, and environmental dialogue, offering a global perspective that crosses national and continental borders.The book takes students through the UN SDGs from a theoretical perspective through to practical applications, first through specific global humanities examples and then through students'own final projects and reflections. Centered around three major themes of planet, people, and prosperity, the textbook encourages students to explore and apply the Goals using a place-based, culturally rooted approach while simultaneously acknowledging and understanding their global importance. The text's examples range from documentary and feature film to photography and literature, including Wang Jiuliang's Plastic China, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn's Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, Barbara Dombrowski's Tropic Ice: Dialog Between Places Affected by Climate Change, and Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger, among others. Providing diverse geographic and cultural perspectives, the works take readers to Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Greenland, Haiti, India, Japan, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, and the United States.This broad textbook can be used by students and instructors at undergraduate and postgraduate levels from any subject background, particularly, but not exclusively, those in the humanities. With added discussion questions, research assignments, writing prompts, and creative project ideas, students will gain a nuanced understanding of the interconnectivity between social, cultural, ethical, political, economic, and environmental factors.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

This book dives into the heart of social entrepreneurship as the authors share the latest research, global experiences, authentic private conversations, and diverse narratives around this widely popular concept. The idea and practice of social entrepreneurship has swept the world, taken up with enthusiasm by business leaders, nonprofit practitioners, and public policy makers alike. In this book, the authors argue that social entrepreneurship is surrounded by great promise, and that this high expectation has contributed to its pitfalls, setting it out as separate and different from other kinds of nonprofit organising, public service provision, and business for social benefit. After exploring the problem of inflated expectations, the authors rescue the concept from perfection – overly positive normative judgements – by presenting practical ways forward. The book sets out how to really unleash the power of social entrepreneurship so that it can actually deliver on its promise to improve how we organise for social purpose. This potential revolves around four key themes that are levers for social change: innovative individuals, social impact, scaling social enterprises, and the power of ecosystems. Through these themes, the book covers a wide range of approaches to social enterprise illustrated by specific examples and experiences from five continents. This accessible book is a valuable resource for a variety of practitioners, upper-level students, instructors, and business scholars, particularly those with an interest in social/environmental impact, entrepreneurship, business ethics, sustainable business, ESG and CSR.

This book brings together two important fields in the study of international politics and policy: climate change adaptation and mitigation (climate action) and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). Both have attracted strong scholarly attention in each of their respective research silos, but there is yet to be a strong research push that explores the relationship between the two.Filling this gap, Ben L. Parr argues that the climate action and the R2P agendas share a common goal: to protect vulnerable human populations from large-scale harm. To substantiate this argument, Parr reveals where the historical, conceptual, and operational parallels exist between the two agendas, and where and when researchers and practitioners from both camps might work together in practice to achieve their common goal in the challenging years ahead. Notably, the book builds on recent efforts by Western governments in the UK, US, and EU to integrate climate action policies into conflict prevention and response policies. To achieve this, the volume situates a variety of climate action policies alongside the 46 policy options found in the R2P operational framework (commonly known as the R2P toolbox) across its prevention, reaction, and rebuilding phases.Climate Change Action and the Responsibility to Protect will be of significant interest to policy-orientated students and scholars, those working at the academic-policy interface in the NGO community, as well as those working in government and international organisations.

The growth of digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to increase global wealth and tackle some of the world's most serious problems, including economic marginalization. In contrast, these innovations may contribute to widening economic gaps and potentially threaten the stability of democratic governments. Changes in economic growth and distribution are occurring in both developed and developing countries due to the impact that new technologies are having on businesses and the workplace. This book provides answers to the question of whether the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as AI, will lead to greater economic uncertainty, environmental collapse, and social unrest or whether they will help achieve shared prosperity and sustainable development, and successively the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).This book focuses on Human-centred AI and the responsible deployment of diverse technologies for achieving sustainable development. It examines why the human-centred approach is so crucial to long-term success. It underlines the definition of human-centred AI and its importance in creating sustainability and resilience. This book begins with a comprehensive history of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, details how to produce AI that is centred on humans in order to accomplish sustainable development in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and then goes on to discuss the need for proper management and governance of emerging technologies. The book ends by presenting a framework that will assist stakeholders in employing AI in a human-centred manner to achieve the SDGs set for 2030.This book will appeal to scholars, academics, and researchers interested in information linked to the SDGs, AI, and Industry 4.0.