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This two-volume edited work explores how businesses shape, and are shaped by, sustainability forces and phenomena. Major global developments are inexorably being led by a sustainability agenda, which, in itself constitutes an integral part of business evolution. And as context shapes content, shifts in society have gradually given rise to new regulations, new types of markets, environmental-excellence criteria for businesses, new economic standards, and a wide range of green technologies.Reflecting the purpose of the series, both volumes offer a cross-section of multi-disciplinary perspectives within business studies. Volume 1 focuses on strategic and managerial approaches to sustainability in business, including accounts on the historic origins of sustainability and its contemporary corporate sustainable models. Volume 2 explores, more contextually, how business and social sustainability constitute indivisible and inextricable components of the same nexus. Taken together, theyoffer an original perspective on how businesses can help achieve the SDG goals and targets.

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility: Corporate Activities, the Environment and Society adds to the current debate on the societal-level impacts of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This edited volume offers conceptual and empirical contributions highlighting various dimensions of CSR impacts. What differentiates the book from others is that we examine the impact of CSR at the societal level, rather than focussing only on those at occur at the level of the firm. The book's contributions present novel perspectives that comprise, among others, empirical analyses of CSR activities, accounts of impacts in various geographic locations, and state-of-the-art reviews of extant literature on the topic. The practical examples and theory-building presented here help us to better capture the societal impacts of contemporary CSR practice. This book will appeal to scholars and students as well as practitioners and policy makers interested in practical and theoretical aspects of CSR impacts at the societal-level.Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives CC-BY 4.0 license.

This book explores the origins and significance of the corporate climate action phenomenon, which has attracted increased attention in recent years. It examines how and why, during the 2010s, American, German, and Indian corporations spanning finance, technology, automotive, and energy-intensive industries adopted certain climate practices and converged around the idea that the private sector has a vital role to play in addressing climate change and advancing a low-carbon future. It also considers how policy developments that states widely understood as watersheds, including the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, simply confirmed what the private sector had long believed: that states lacked answers about how to achieve concerted, ambitious, and effective climate action. It was in this context, amid diminishing expectations for robust state climate action, that select corporations sought to fill a perceived leadership vacuum in an issue area poised to shape future global trends. Providing a novel assessment of the corporate sector as a climate actor, this book evaluates how the shift in the center of gravity in the climate change issue area away from national governments and toward other players may influence world order and impact an international security landscape increasingly defined by non-military challenges.

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.

Challenge-based research focuses on addressing societal and environmental problems. One way of doing so is by transforming existing businesses to profitable ventures through co-creation and co-evolution. Drawing on the resource-based view, this book discusses how social challenges can be linked with the industrial value-chain through collaborative research, knowledge sharing, and transfer of technology to deliver value. The work is divided into three sections: Part 1 discusses social challenges, triple bottom line, and entrepreneurship as drivers for research, learning, and innovation while Part 2 links challenge-based research to social and industrial development in emerging markets. The final section considers research-based innovation and the role of technology, with the final chapter bridging concepts and practices to shape the future of society and industry. The authors present the RISE paradigm, which integrates people (society), planet (sustainability),and profit (industry and business) as critical constructs for socio-economic and regional development. Arguing that the converging of society and industry is essential for the business ecosystem to stay competitive in the marketplace, this book analyzes possible approaches to linking challenge-based research with social and industrial innovations in the context of sectoral challenges like food production, housing, energy, biotechnology, and sustainability. It will serve as a valuable resource to researchers interested in topics such as social challenges, innovation, technology, sustainability, and society-industry linkage.

This casebook demonstrates how companies can design and execute corporate sustainability strategies into their overall business strategy to achieve sustainable transformation. It offers a set of case studies from different industrial sectors such as aerospace and defence, beauty, energy, engineering and construction, fashion retail, financial services, food and hospitality, life sciences, motorsports, pharmaceutical, software, toy production. Each story presents practical and concrete actions taken by companies to develop their sustainability strategies, as well as challenges and issues faced during the process. Concluding with best practices emerging from the cross-case analysis, this book is beneficial for sustainability and management professionals, students and scholars.

This book highlights the relevant and timely global change movement: green entrepreneurship. Presented in this book is relevant literature and academic knowledge. The book is expected to support in creating more green entrepreneurship initiatives in collaboration with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This book demonstrates how the inclusion of nature in engineering decisions results in innovative solutions that are economically feasible, ecologically viable, and socially desirable. It advances progress toward nature-positive decisions by protection and restoration of ecosystems and respect for ecological boundaries. The topic of this book is an active area of academic research, and leading companies are including goals associated with ecosystem services in their sustainability plans. This book is the first collection of methods and applications that explicitly include the role of nature in supporting engineering activities and describes the role that ecosystems play in supporting technology and industry. It describes approaches, models, applications, and challenges for innovation and sustainability that will be useful to students and practitioners.

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.

This book introduces readers to the main types of corporate sustainability practices. The first section examines both the ratings provided by international agencies and the various ESG (Environmental, Social and Government) indexes existing at 2021. In turn, the second part empirically investigates the relationship between the level of corporate sustainability and corporate financial performance among the large companies listed on the Milan Exchange FTSE-MIB 40 index for 2015-2019. The book offers a comprehensive overview of current sustainability concepts and practices and illustrates how various companies are seeking to integrate them in their competitive strategy. Further, it fills a gap in the extant literature by analysing the origins, historical evolution and structure of the main rating agencies and ESG indexes. In addition, the empirical analysis of corporate sustainability's impact on companies'financial performance reveals the importance of collegial leadership – a commonly found feature of Italian family businesses that has not been considered in previous studies – as a moderating factor for reconciling sustainability initiatives and performance at family-run firms.

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.

When thinking about lowering or changing consumption to lower carbon footprints, the obvious offenders come easily to mind: petroleum and petroleum products, paper and plastic, even food, but not clothes. When people evaluate ways to lower their personal carbon footprint by changing purchasing habits, they are bombarded with information to avoid petroleum and petroleum products, plastics, paper, even food, but not clothes. Most consumers do not think of clothes as a source of environmental damage. Yet, clothes are made with petroleum products through chemically-laden industrial processes that generate significant pollution. The fashion industry is among the largest organic water polluters in the world, accounting for significant greenhouse gas emissions and generating massive amounts of waste as a function of the frequent discarding of used clothing. In the Dirty Side of the Garment Industry: Fast Fashion and Its Negative Impact on Environment and Society, author Nikolay Anguelov exposed the ecological damage from the fast-fashion business model. In this book, The Sustainable Fashion Quest: Innovations in Business and Policy, the author takes this one step further by focusing on solutions. This book uses the familiar (yet complex) industry of fashion as a lens to examine how business pressures and national and international policies can have both positive and negative social and ecological impacts. It provides an analysis of extant and emerging policies to address the divergence in the ongoing quest to maximize economic development and minimize the social costs of the industrialization process. It also examines emerging technologies and innovative business models that have the potential to revolutionize how fashion is perceived, manufactured, and consumed.This book begins with an introductory letter that outlines the social and environmental issues facing the fashion industry, as well as emphasizing the seriousness and urgency of addressing them. Each chapter then focuses on a major aspect of the industry with an increasing emphasis on policy. The chapters outline the impact of global-level and business-level decisions on the industry's success, its social and environmental impact, and its relationship to consumers. The goal of the book is to define that transition, explain its challenges, and educate readers on the possibilities to become powerful drivers of change through their professional actions and their personal behavior as consumers.While the book specifically analyzes the fashion industry, it also explains the implications for other industrial sectors. It uses a product everyone is familiar with (we all buy clothes, after all) to examine the decisions, impacts, and policies shaping the industry behind the scenes. The linkages are applicable to other fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business sectors, such as consumer electronics, which are starting to face sustainability criticism for relying on a business model of promoting a high frequency of repeat purchasing.

Der fortschreitende Klimawandel sowie die globalen sozialen und gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen erfassen auch die Unternehmen. Denn zwischen einer intakten Umwelt, sozialer Gerechtigkeit und wirtschaftlicher Prosperität bestehen enge Wechselwirkungen. Wie nehmen die Unternehmen ihre Verantwortung gegenüber der Gesellschaft wahr? Welche Rolle kommt ihnen im Umgang mit den natürlichen Ressourcen und der Sorge für Chancengleichheit, Generationengerechtigkeit und das Gemeinwohl zu? Das Buch vermittelt umfassend die Hintergründe und Fakten zu den Themen der Corporate Responsibility, die ökologische, soziale und Governance-Aspekte gleichermassen einschliesst. Weiter zeigt es detailliert den Stand der Massnahmen auf der Ebene der Vereinten Nationen, in der Europäischen Union und in der Schweiz auf.'Seitenblicke'und Fallbeispiele nehmen Bezug auf aktuelle Entwicklungen und die Unternehmenspraxis. Eine breite, an Nachhaltigkeitsfragen interessierte Leserschaft findet in diesem Buch Orientierung und das notwendige Wissen, um selber eigene Beiträge zum Erhalt der Umwelt sowie zur Förderung der Wohlfahrt aller Menschen leisten zu können.

This book is a truly interdisciplinary publication, useful to scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies and private companies, undertaking research and/or executing projects focusing on social responsibility and sustainability from across the world.Sustainable development has become a matter of central concern to both public institutions and enterprises. Indeed, for many companies, a due emphasis to environmental issues is not only positive from the point of view of environmental gains, but also to the image of the business. Often, but not always, this is reflected in the preparation of formal strategies and programmes, which entail their institutional strategies and visions. The wide area of social responsibility, often known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), entails elements of social equality and environmental accountability, and eco-efficiency. Due to their complexity, the interrelations between social responsibility and sustainable development need to be better understood. There is also a real need to showcase successful examples of how public institutions and companies are handling their sustainability challenges. It is against this background that this book has been produced.

As environmental legislation grows more stringent in response to the escalating climate crisis, some of the world's largest corporations have adopted fraudulent mechanisms to keep their margins of profit, and achieve improper competitive advantage. Such mechanisms can lead to problems in the supply chain, a decrease in market value, diminished trust in brands, increased surveillance of companies, as well as damage to the environment. This book offers a holistic view of the nature and consequences of environmental fraud, bringing together practical examples, empirical research data, and management theory. It will be of interest to academics working in the fields of sustainability management, business ethics, and corporate social and environmental responsibility.

This book aims to analyze contexts and perspectives in the relationships between environmental sustainability, human development and organizations. The book combines different scientific approaches for enhancing our understanding of environmental sustainability, development economics and evaluate what the actual conditions in emerging economies are and how developing new process could improve the well-being of developing countries. Employing a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, the authors work to determine the main related factors and outcomes of the relationship between challenges and new strategies in the environmental sustainability, ultimately seeking to guide public policies to enhance the welfare of the population of an emerging economy.

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.”

The impacts of the digital transformation on society in general, and particularly on people's lives, are the subject of increasing debate among policymakers, researchers and industry. This book explores the challenges of this new revolution, identifies solutions, and demonstrates how knowledge management can enable the transition process associated with the digital transformation, guided by the principles of sustainability. Featuring contributions by experts from diverse areas of science and business – on topics ranging from the digital transformation of knowledge management in the public sector, to the creation of sustainable smart cities, regions and countries, and from using AI for business models to food security – it provides a comprehensive discourse on the digital transformation's impacts on employment, education, governance, social life, sustainability, values, the economy and democracy.

Corporate Environmental Management, Second Edition, provides environmental industry executives, the investment community, and students a basis for measuring corporate environmental activities and standing. It offers a comprehensive understanding of the technical, cost, and regulatory issues that environmental managers face. Sustainable development, conservation environmental science, and emissions trading are examined, as well as issues such as RCRA and CERCLA hazardous and chemical waste management. This new edition is updated throughout and adds a chapter on the newer global environmental guidelines and regulations (Paris Climate Agreement, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Trans-Pacific Partnerships (TPP)).

This book shows how environmentalists have shaped the world's largest multilateral development lender, investment financier and political risk insurer to take up sustainable development. The book challenges an emerging consensus over international organisational change to argue that international organisations (IOs) are influenced by their social structure and may change their practices to reflect previously antithetical norms such as sustainable development. This important text locates sources of organisational change with environmentalists, thus demonstrating the ways in which non-state actors can effect change within large intergovernmental organisations through socialisation. It combines a theoretically sophisticated account of international organisation change with detailed empirical evidence of change in one issue area across three institutions. The book will be of interest to academics, postgraduate and upper undergraduate students in international relations, international political economy, environmental politics, development and globalisation studies and geography as well as policy makers, international bureaucrats and development practitioners.

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.

Establish an effective environmental performance program in your organization Providing an authoritative guideto managers responsible for their corporation's environmental performance, Corporate Environmental Management details how to effectively develop, implement, and assess a sophisticated corporate environmental management prog

The 1984 explosion of the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India was undisputedly one of the world's worst industrial disasters. Some have argued that the resulting litigation provided an'innovative model'for dealing with the global distribution of technological risk; others consider the disaster a turning point in environmental legislation; still others argue that Bhopal is what globalization looks like on the ground. Kim Fortun explores these claims by focusing on the dynamics and paradoxes of advocacy in competing power domains. She moves from hospitals in India to meetings with lawyers, corporate executives, and environmental justice activists in the United States to show how the disaster and its effects remain with us. Spiraling outward from the victims'stories, the innovative narrative sheds light on the way advocacy works within a complex global system, calling into question conventional notions of responsibility and ethical conduct. Revealing the hopes and frustrations of advocacy, this moving work also counters the tendency to think of Bhopal as an isolated incident that'can't happen here.'