scholarly journals Design Thinking for Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1363-1368
Author(s):  
Mara Zeltina
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Project Work ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Sustainable Products ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

The complexity of environmental and sustainability challenges has created an ongoing need for innovative and integrated approaches to address them. Design disciplines have a long history. The method “design thinking”, originally applied in architecture, engineering and business, has led to new and creative problem solving, thus creating much potential for use in sustainable development planning. While principles of good design are well established, there has been limited integration of design thinking with environmental science, sustainable development planning and education. This research was focused on how a sustainability approach can be merged with design thinking to develop socially responsible and environmentally sustainable products and services. The case study has been carried out in the master’s study course Sustainable Development Planning. Some of basic principles and stages of design thinking, such as empathy, creativity, collaboration, responsibility and interdisciplinary approach have been tested by using students project work evaluation regarding certain criteria and survey after the study course. The first results of approbated design thinking principles and methods, significant advantages and disadvantages and the perspective of using this method have been analysed and discussed. As the result from this study proposals for the improvement of the content of this study course and related study courses (a study course on sustainable development issues is compulsory in all undergraduate study programs in Latvia) and for the specification of test tasks have been developed, considering also future needs to provide the study course remotely.

scholarly journals Effect Relationships on Sustainable Development of Palm Oil Production for Independent Smallholder Farmers toward Sustainable Certification System

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Nurliza Nurliza ◽  
Eva Dolorosa
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Palm Oil ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Certification System ◽  
Sustainable Products ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Palm oil is currently the most widely used vegetable oil in the world and its usage is also expected to double by 2020. However, there are some social and environmental impacts of palm oil plantation. Some complications resulted from the plantation may go as far as mass objections to the production of palm oil. On the contrary, demand for palm oil is still vast and constantly rising. In Indonesia, independent small farmers are the most important stakeholders since they are 43% of the whole Indonesian palm oil producers and have become the biggest spotlight of Indonesian palm oil development, including challenges and problems in which they will have to face to substantially increase their role in the global market as well as maintaining sustainability. Challenges today need to be engaged with innovation and inventions in a more productive and effective way. Enhancing independent small farmers will not only enlarge their contribution to sustainability practices, but also ensuring the sustainable products supplied to the market. Thus, supporting sustainable palm oil production is the way forward. Based on this current issue, this research identifies key point relationships (direct and indirect) on sustainable development factors which are based on Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification System (ISPO), these identified key points will be the primary target to be improved and government support in fostering the sustainability of palm oil industry will be profoundly necessary.

scholarly journals Do First-Movers in Marketing Sustainable Products Enjoy Sustainable Advantages? A Seven-Country Comparative Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haili Zhang ◽  
Michael Song
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Product Introduction ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Sustainable Products ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
First Mover ◽  
Cross National

The literature suggests that first-movers enjoy sustainable competitive advantages but suffer some disadvantages. The timing of new product introduction is a major decision for executives who are concerned about sustainability issues. These executives must simultaneously strive for environmental protection, social welfare, the timing of product introduction, and the economic viability of decisions. However, few academic studies have examined how executives balance sustainable first-mover advantages and sustainable development goals in order to achieve sustainable organizational growth and performance. This study develops nine research hypotheses to examine what sustainable advantages first-movers gain by being first to market sustainable products in five industries that are important for advancing sustainable development goals. Using data collected from 1437 executives who are concerned about sustainability issues in seven countries, this study uses Duncan multiple-range tests to examine cross-national similarities and differences between Asian and Western countries. The study results reveal some interesting cross-national similarities and differences. The cross-national differences suggest some competing and signaling strategies for sustainable enterprise development. This study contributes to the existing cross-national research on first-mover advantages, provides a richer understanding of how executives who are concerned about sustainability issues perceive sustainability first-mover advantages and disadvantages, and further expands the theory of sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship.

scholarly journals Mapping Students’ Development in Response to Sustainability Education: A Conceptual Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Greig ◽  
Julian Priddle
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainability Learning ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals requires that, by 2030, all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. This not only demands an interdisciplinary approach, but also that this approach must seek to be transformative, with change for sustainability as an explicit outcome in addition to subject knowledge. Many have argued that the complex or ‘wicked’ nature of sustainability challenges indicates the need for a learning experience that emphasizes active, reflective learning across-and between-discipline areas. In this paper we develop a conceptual model of sustainability learning for higher education that can potentially address the distinctiveness of sustainability education and monitor students’ progression as learners. Our conceptual model of sustainability learning, has been developed on a university Master’s program in Sustainability and integrates continua of pedagogy and disciplinarity into a three-dimensional space. Learners can be represented as different loci within this space at different points in their development. This potentially allows a ‘learning journey’ to be plotted. We propose that the model can also be used more widely as a tool to visualize learning progression within other university programs, providing an opportunity for both learners and curriculum designers to reflect on progress.

scholarly journals Customized Education as a Framework for Strengthening Collaboration between Higher Education Institutions and Regional Actors in Sustainable Development—Lessons from Albania and Kosovo

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Meyer ◽  
Michael Pillei ◽  
Friedrich Zimmermann ◽  
Gernot Stöglehner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Regional Sustainability ◽  
Sustainable Regional Development ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Albania and Kosovo have invested considerable efforts to tackle present regional sustainability challenges on a research-based and strategic level. This happened through their traditional role as a provider of research and education. Additional activities fostering HEIs as a driver for sustainable regional development and innovation have been initiated as part of their third mission. However, customized education approaches were missing in order to fulfill specific regional demands of different research and learning projects in collaboration with regional actors. This paper explores the recently finished project “Connecting Science-Society Collaboration for Sustainability Innovation—ConSus” which focuses on the efforts of HEIs in Albania and Kosovo to tackle present regional sustainability challenges in both countries. An analytical framework regarding collaborative learning opportunities towards sustainable regional development and innovation has been drafted based on five key elements (capacities of HEIs in regional development, planning, learning and implementation theory, and action research). This framework has been applied to analyze the learning activities of the ConSus project. As a main finding, customized education approaches in the contexts of sustainable development (SD) and collaboration of scientific and regional actors are important elements to cope comprehensively with real-world problems.

scholarly journals Project Management and Agile Technology in Environmental Science and Sustainable Development in the “University – Employer – Region” System

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 02022
Author(s):  
Natalya Yevgenievna Ryazanova ◽  
Natalia Evgenievna Lobzhanidze ◽  
Ekaterina Vladimirovna Kazakova
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Collective Work ◽  
The University

In this article, the authors present the outcomes of three years of their scientific work on the formulation of a research hypothesis, the formation of project research groups, and the presentation of the outcome to groups of “customers”: employers and/or regions. An interdisciplinary approach was applied in this work, which allowed to integrate environmental, economic, and social research methods. The objectives of the study were to determine the range of the relevant research topics in environmental science and sustainable development and formation of cases; to perform the personal and collective work in the project group; to form the skill of working with topic experts and documents in students; and to verify the work and present to the customer. The youth modeling of international and national processes and events, project laboratories, and cases obtained in the course of the study were presented in this work.

Similar and Different Aspects of Spatial Development Planning in Latvia and England

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 61-67
Author(s):  
Irena Kukule ◽  
Vivita Pukite ◽  
Vita Cintina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Spatial Development ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
European Countries ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Time Periods

Spatial sustainable development planning and providing is a very responsible process. During the process, many spatial development planning documents for specific different time periods on different planning levels are being developed. However, there are only slight differences between the spatial development planning in many European countries where few of them can notice more than the others. Latvia and England, two European Union countries, which had some significant changes in legislation regarding spatial development planning in 2011, were selected for the comparison. The research aims to evaluate similar and different aspects of spatial development planning in Latvia and England. To achieve the aim, the information on spatial development planning tendencies in both countries, legislation, development order of planning documents and other aspects. The result is a comparison of different and similar aspects of spatial development planning in Latvia and England.

scholarly journals Evidence-Based Management of the Anzali Wetland System (Northern Iran) Based on Innovative Monitoring and Modeling Methods

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5503
Author(s):  
Roghayeh Sadeghi Pasvisheh ◽  
Marie Anne Eurie Forio ◽  
Long Tuan Ho ◽  
Peter L. M. Goethals
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Modeling ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Anzali Wetland ◽  
Northern Iran ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Modeling Techniques ◽  
State Changes ◽  
Wetland System

As an “international aquatic ecosystem” in Northern Iran, the Anzali wetland is a nursery for fish and a breeding and wintering area for a wide variety of waterfowl. The wetland is threatened by human activities (deforestation, hunting, tourism, and urbanization), leading to habitat destruction, eutrophication, and sediment accumulation. To stop the degradation and to set up effective protection and restoration in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, scientific insights must be integrated into a practical framework for evidence-based support for policymakers and managers of the Anzali wetland. In this study, the Drivers–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework is used as a suitable tool to link human pressures and state changes to derive an overview of the potential impacts. Population growth, intensive agriculture, increased urbanization, and industrialization are the major driving forces that have led to a complex cascade of state changes. For instance, during recent years, water quality deterioration, habitat degradation, and the overgrowth of invasive species in the Anzali wetland watershed have caused negative socio-economic and human health impacts. Integrated and innovative monitoring programs combined with socio-environmental modeling techniques are needed for a more evidence-based management approach as part of a multiresponse strategy for the sustainable development of the wetland system. In this respect, there is a critical gap in useful information concerning biological composition and innovative monitoring methods. Moreover, the relation of biota with human activity and environmental conditions needs to be better quantified. Therefore, ecological modeling techniques based on machine learning and statistics were reviewed for their advantages and disadvantages. The overview of approaches presented here can serve as the basis for scientists, practitioners, and decision-makers to develop and implement evidence-based management programs for the Anzali wetland.

A Study on Development of Urbanization in Western Region under the Ecological Environment Restriction

2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 5853-5858
Author(s):  
Lu Feng Duan
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Regional Economy ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
External Condition ◽  
Ecological Environment ◽  
Western Region ◽  
Evolution System ◽  
Industrial Transformation ◽  
Organic Combination

Ecological environment is an important external condition for subsistence and development of human being, and urbanization is an important engine to promote regional economy and social development, and whether they can become an organic combination would be crucial for the western region to ensure sustainable development in economy and society. The paper presents the corresponding solution including change of idea about ecology, improvement of environment for urban development, planning in a scientific and reasonable way, upgrading urban evolution system, carrying on industrial transformation, enhancement of the momentum for urban development, building “Two Oriented” society so as to increase urban development quality after analysis of various restrictive factors in development of urbanization in western region under the ecological environment restriction.

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