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The transition to an ecologically sustainable economy is and will create significant changes in the world of work. These changes will include the creation of new green jobs and new industries, minor to major changes in existing jobs and the phase-out of some jobs in carbon-intensive activities. A just transition ensures that while working towards a more ecologically sound economy, countries also plan for positive outcomes for those communities and people negatively affected by our global efforts to decarbonise. Identifying and implementing a country-specific policy mix for a just transition is an emerging challenge for nations. This paper constructs a policy framework for supporting the greening of employment and a just transition. The resulting policy framework is then used to assess policy readiness for promoting green jobs and a just transition across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The assessment highlights the current state of policy for supporting green jobs, green skills and just transition planning, as well as the significant challenges in identifying and implementing policy settings to support green jobs and a just transition.

© 2018 by the authors. Metal resources are essential materials for many consumer products, including vehicles and a wide array of electrical and electronic goods. These metal resources often cause adverse social and environmental impacts from their extraction, supply and disposal, and it is therefore important to increase the sustainability of their production and use. A broad range of strategies and actions to improve the sustainability of resources are increasingly being discussed within the evolving concept of the circular economy. This paper uses this lens to evaluate the opportunities and barriers to improve the sustainability of metals in consumer products in Australia, with a focus on strategies that "slow" and "narrow" material flow loops. We have drawn on Allwood's characterisation of material efficiency strategies, as they have the potential to reduce the total demand for metals. These strategies target the distribution, sale, and use of products, which have received less research attention compared to the sustainability of mining, production, and recycling, yet it is vitally important for changing patterns of consumption in a circular economy. Specifically, we have considered the strategies of product longevity (life extension, intensity of use, repair, and resale), remanufacturing, component reuse, and using less material for the same product or service (digitisation, servicisation, and light-weighting). Within the Australian context, this paper identifies the strategies that have the greatest opportunity to increase material efficiency for metal-containing products (such as mobility, household appliances, and personal electronics), by evaluating current implementation of these strategies and identifying the material, economic, and social barriers to and opportunities for expanding these strategies. We find that many of these strategies have been successfully implemented for mobility, while applying these strategies to personal electronics remains the biggest challenge. Product longevity emerged as the strategy with the most significant opportunity for further implementation in Australia, as it is the most broadly applicable across product types and has significant potential for material efficiency benefits. The barriers to material efficiency strategies highlight the need for policies that broaden the focus beyond closing the loop to "slowing" and "narrowing" material loops.

The scale and complexity of the ‘wicked problems’ posed by sustainability are forcing collaborations between unlikely partners. In many instances, government is choosing to play a critical role in the sustainable innovation process. Yet much of the innovation literature pushes to the fore the ingenuity of the firm, leaving government to play a secondary supporting role. Drawing on ideas from innovations and transitions theory on the role of government in supporting green niches, this paper analyses the example of an evolving biomass project in regional NSW. In particular, the paper focuses upon the role that regional government plays in supporting this community-led collaboration. Based on circular economy principles, the project aims to achieve energy independence whilst simultaneously generating bio-products for the agricultural sector. Utilising a case study methodology including in-depth semi-structured interviews with more than 20 key stakeholders from government, business and the local community, analysis of the data suggests that government is a critical actor in the innovation process; plays a multiplicity of roles across the network; and that these roles vary to a greater degree than previously suggested in the literature. A number of factors are also identified that shape these roles at different stages of the innovation process. This paper sheds new light on the critical role played by government in facilitating and leading sustainability transitions and contributes to our knowledge of sustainable innovations more broadly. It also highlights a need for more research to improve our understanding of appropriate actors at different stages of sustainability transitions.

SummaryIn this paper we will examine one of the most locally specific resources within regions: their workforce. We will consider how the specific types and quantities of knowledge workers evident in a region could be measured, and suggest that these workers form an integral but underestimated component of a region’s innovative capability. To illustrate this hypothesis we use an established breakdown of occupations by aspects of knowledge and function, by sub–regions for the metropolitan region of Sydney.This paper aims to highlight two key points. Firstly the recognition that examining knowledge workers, especially in a broader sense than is currently utilised in the innovation literature (R&D scientific employment) is a useful way for examining and interpreting the knowledge dynamics of a region, and secondly, the importance of aggregation and scale when examining regional innovation systems. Adequate consideration for the distribution of these dynamics is essential for policymakers engaged in activitie...

This chapter investigates forms of knowledge sourcing for skills development other than formal approaches, including knowledge intensive service activities (KISA). A web-based survey questionnaire was supplied to firms in the participating countries. Analysis of the data obtained includes: skill levels of the employees (low, medium, high); age bracket; country; preferred training methodology (vocational education and training versus KISA); types of skills; outcomes from training by employee, company and local region effects; effects of the financial crisis on training activities; and motivations for skills development. Finally, policy implications resulting from this analysis are outlined, including noting that the types of skills development appear to be linked to the existing skill levels of employees, which is of importance because of its potential impact upon low-skilled workers’ future employability.

This chapter analyses formal training activities within small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It is anticipated that across Europe, most new jobs will be within knowledge and other skills intensive jobs. Results of the Continuing Vocational Training Surveys over the last few years are analysed, to determine levels of participation by small, medium and large firms in training and skills development activities, and the potential effects these training programmes will have on the future competitiveness of the SMEs. Areas investigated include: initial Vocational Education and Training (VET), specifically apprenticeships; and continuing VET (primarily that financed by the workplace).From these results, policy implications are suggested, which are designed to enable SMEs to utilise the findings to develop or improve their current training regimes, and to draw the attention of government agencies to how best to positively influence these companies.