scholarly journals Innovation Management, from Materiality Assessment to Sustainability Reporting, opening the Social Impact Black Box

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-27
Author(s):  
Belen Suarez Lopez ◽  
Antonio Vargas Alcaide

When the impossible becomes inevitable. The covid-19 has disrupted increasing the speed of changes in the Industry 4.0, highlighting the need to make a paradigm shift from ego-system to eco-system perspective, challenging organizations and citizens to react from their changemakers role. Two crucial needs arise: firstly, the need to innovate to address the tremendous and complex challenges we face and on the other hand, the need to assess and manage our social impacts. Most organizations should redesign their purpose to focus on measuring, monitoring, and reporting not only in financial terms but also taking into account the non-financial performance, especially in terms of sustainability. Some authors names this time, the era of “stakeholders capitalism”. This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific, standardization, and business discussion on understanding how organizations could measure their financial, environmental, and social impacts; how to increase the quality of the sustainability reporting, and deliver the most benefit for their stakeholders. The article analyzes the pathway of Innovating, Evaluating and Reporting the Impact, using the materiality assessment as a driver to create value thanks to disruptive technologies as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and the Internet of things. The result of the study can be practically valuable for many stakeholders: the Organizations Management and Boards, Chief Innovation Officers and Teams responsible for Sustainability reporting, Auditors assuring the reliability of sustainable reporting, the Scientifics researching on the topic of Innovation, Impact Assessment, and Sustainability; Public Administrations for addressing the economic, social and environmental challenges, and building trust by ensuring transparency and accountability; Investors and other stakeholders interested on understanding long-term value creation and the social and environmental risk assessment to incentivize sustainable growth.

Author(s):  
Phillip D. Stevenson ◽  
Christopher A. Mattson ◽  
Kenneth M. Bryden ◽  
Nordica A. MacCarty

More than ever before, engineers are creating products for developing countries. One of the purposes of these products is to improve the consumer’s quality of life. Currently, there is no established method of measuring the social impact of these types of products. As a result, engineers have used their own metrics to assess their product’s impact, if at all. Some of the common metrics used include products sold and revenue, which measure the financial success of a product without recognizing the social successes or failures it might have. In this paper we introduce a potential metric, the Product Impact Metric (PIM), which quantifies the impact a product has on impoverished individuals — especially those living in developing countries. It measures social impact broadly in five dimensions: health, education, standard of living, employment quality, and security. The PIM is inspired by the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) created by the United Nations Development Programme. The MPI measures how the depth of poverty within a nation changes year after year, and the PIM measures how an individual’s quality of life changes after being affected by an engineered product. The Product Impact Metric can be used to predict social impacts (using personas that represent real individuals) or measure social impacts (using specific data from products introduced into the market).


Author(s):  
Hans Ottosson ◽  
Emma Hirschi ◽  
Christopher A. Mattson ◽  
Eric Dahlin

In this paper we present a starting point for designing for and/or assessing the social impact of engineered products. The starting point is a set of tables comprising products, their general functional characteristics, and the accompanying social impacts. We have constructed these tables by first extracting a set of social impact categories from the literature, then 65 products were qualitatively reviewed to find their social impact. The resulting product impact tables can be used at either the beginning of the product development process to decide what social impact to design for and discover product functions that lead to it, or later to qualitatively assess the social impact of a product being designed and/or to assess the impact of an existing product.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-302
Author(s):  
Robin Boustead ◽  
Sushma Bhatta

Abstract We set out to assess the social impacts of tourism in a Community Based Tourism (CBT) destination by asking the following questions; (1) from a community and individual perspective, what are the major issues faced in a CBT destination?, and (2) is there any pattern to, or similarity between, quality of life and liveable environment impacts in a CBT destination? The Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) National Park in Nepal is used for the study area and where tourism is clearly an important contributor to the local economy. Despite high levels of resident and visitor satisfaction with tourism, survey results indicate that the major issues faced by communities and individuals in the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone (SNPBZ) are related to uncontrolled tourism development. This is most evident in a lack of relevant skills and training, increasing time burden to cater for tourists, frustrations felt by residents during peak season, the impact of inbound migration, lack of community control and most importantly, the impact of waste and water pollution. Management of the SNPBZ is based on a multi-stakeholder system that includes local population participation, but it does not seem to be working very well. Our survey indicates that uncontrolled growth of tourism businesses is placing increasing pressures on traditional cultures and the environment, thus creating negative impacts on quality of live and liveable environment for residents. Without an effective management system that enhances the ability of communities and Park management to control the impact of tourism, the situation is very likely to worsen in the future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip D. Stevenson ◽  
Christopher A. Mattson ◽  
Eric C. Dahlin

AbstractAll products impact the lives of their users, this is called social impact. Some social impacts are commonly recognized by the engineering community, such as impacts to a user’s health and safety, while other social impacts can be more difficult to recognize, such as impacts on families and gender roles. When engineers make design decisions, without considering social impacts, they can unknowingly cause negative social impacts. Even harming the user and/or society. Despite its challenges, measuring a program’s or policy’s social impact is a common practice in the field of social sciences. These measurements are made using social impact indicators, which are simply the things observed to verify that true progress is being made. While there are clear benefits to predicting the social impact of an engineered product, it is unclear how engineers should select indicators and build predictive social impact models that are functions of engineering parameters and decisions. This paper introduces a method for selecting social impact indicators and creating predictive social impact models that can help engineers predict and improve the social impact of their products. As a first step in the method, an engineer identifies the product’s users, objectives, and requirements. Then, the social impact categories that are related to the product are determined. From each of these categories, the engineer selects several social impact indicators. Finally, models are created for each indicator to predict how a product’s parameters will change these indicators. The impact categories and indicators can be translated into product requirements and performance measures that can be used in product development processes. This method is used to predict the social impact of the proposed, expanded U.S. Mexico border wall.


Author(s):  
Zerrin Sungur

The concept of sustainability began to dominate tourism debates after the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio in 1992. Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector, with an estimated growth rate of 25 to 30 percent, of one of the largest industries in the world. The motto of Action Program for Sustainable Development was that “Only whatever can be sustained by nature and society in the long term permissible.” The World Conservation Union expanded this definition as follows: “Ecotourism is environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations.” There are two major problems with respect to ecotourism: achieving ecologic integrity of the ecotourism resource and, increasing and ensuring consistency of quality of the recreation experience for the ecotourist. Economic, environmental and social impacts involved in ecotourism should be balanced within ethical principles. The first official reference to the concept of ecotourism in Turkey was made in the Eighth Five-Year Development Plan (2001-2005). The aim of this study is to explore social impacts of ecotourism in Turkey. Some projects and surveys related with ecotourism will be considered in order to get better understanding of social impacts of ecotourism on the lives of local people in Turkey.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Ayu Indira Hasugian

AbstrakDesa Siruar Parmaksian Tobasa di salah satu desa yang berada di daerah Toba mengalami perubahan sosial akibat dampak negatif berdirinya PT TPL. Dampak yang diberikan mengarah kepada kaum perempuan/ibu sehingga mengakibatkan aktivitas sehari-hari perempuan/ibu menjadi terkendala. Dampak ini terjadi di setiap harinya, sehingga akan sangat berdampak buruk bagi hubungan antara perempuan dan alam. Melihat kasus tersebut peneliti ingin melakukan penelitian terhadap kondisi  yang dialami kaum perempuan/ibu tersebut. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menganalisa dampak sosial akibat pabrik kertas di Desa Siruar Parmaksian Tobasa kepada para perempuan dengan menggunakan paradigma Ekofeminis yang di tawarkan oleh McFague dan Warren, dan dikaji dalam bentuk studi kasus. Metode penelitian yang peneliti pakai adalah Metode Studi Kasus dari Teori E.P Gintings. Ada beberapa isu yang muncul dari kasus atau masalah ini, diantaranya : dampak sosial, dampak kerusakan alam terhadap kehidupan para perempuan, dan paradigma baru relasi perempuan dan alam atau rekonstruksi paradigma. Hal ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui Bagaimana dampak sosial akibat pabrik kertas terhadap masyarakat yang berada di lingkungan  Industri Kertas di Desa Siruar Parmaksian Tobasa yang mengarah kepada perempuan yang terdampak dan Bagaimana upaya-upaya yang dilakukan kaum perempuan/ibu di desa siruar untuk mempertahankan tanah/wilayahnya yang telah di rusak oleh perusahaan tersebut?. Hasil Analisis menunjukkan bahwa  paradigma Ekofeminis sudah menerapkan paradigma dengan istilah “Konstruksionisme”, yang disebut dengan istilah metafora dunia sebagai tubuh Allah, artinya dunia harus dipahami sebagai satu kesatuan organik, tubuh Tuhan dan bisa menanamkan sikap yang menghargai dunia.Kata Kunci: dampak sosial, paradigma ekofeminis AbstractThe village of Siruar Parm testimony Tobasa in a village in the Toba area experienced social changes due to the negative impact of the establishment of PT TPL. The impact that is given is directed at women / mothers so that it causes the daily activities of women / mothers to be constrained. This impact occurs every day, so it will have a very bad impact on the relationship between women and nature. Seeing this case, the researchers wanted to conduct research on the conditions experienced by these women / mothers. The purpose of this study is to analyze the social impacts of the paper mill in Siruar Parm testimony Tobasa on women using the Ecofemist paradigm offered by McFague and Warren, and study it in the form of a case study. The research method that researchers use is the Case Study Method of E.P Gintings Theory. There are several issues that arise from this case or problem, including: social impacts, the impact of natural destruction on women's lives, and a new paradigm of relations between women and nature or paradigm reconstruction. This is done to find out how the social impact of the paper mill on the community living in the Paper Industry in Siruar Parm testimony Tobasa Village which leads to affected women and how the efforts made by women / mothers in Siruar Village to defend their has been damaged by the company ?. The results of the analysis show that the Ecofemist paradigm has applied a paradigm with the term "Constructionism", which is called the metaphor of the world as the body of God, meaning that the world must be understood as an organic unit, the body of God and can instill an attitude of respect for the world. Keywords: social impact, eco-feminist paradigm


2020 ◽  
pp. 147447402096313
Author(s):  
Hywel M Griffiths ◽  
Stephen Tooth

Sustainable flood memories – defined as those formed of folk memories of flooding, flood heritage and other local, lay knowledges – have been identified as having great potential for increasing community resilience to floods. Focusing on the social and cultural aspects of flood and drought memory, we present the findings of archival research, interviews with residents of the Welsh colony in Argentine Patagonia ( Y Wladfa in Welsh), and critical textual analysis of museum spaces. This analysis enables reconstruction of flood and drought history over the ~150 years of the colony, provides insights into the impact, emotive power and perception of floods and droughts, and highlights the ways in which lay knowledge and flood and drought memories are transmitted vertically and shared horizontally in material and immaterial ways. We argue that specific thresholds of memory exist, as related to flood/drought magnitude, duration, social impact and memorialisation, which ensure that some events are encoded, transcribed and transmitted through the collective memoria of a community, while other events may fade from memory. Ensuring long-term sustainability of the Welsh-language community, and integration of these flood/drought memories with those from other cultures and languages, will help develop community resilience to 21st century hydroclimatic changes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Pozzoli ◽  
Alberto Romolini

The Third Sector is a crucial social and economic system at an international level in supplying pub-lic services. The Italian law no 155/2006 and the consequent operating decrees have formally rec-ognised the social entrepreneurship, requiring social enterprises (SEs), among other things, to provide specific disclosure in relation to the social impact of their operations. This paper aims to in-vestigate whether there is a relation between the “quality” of SEs’ social reporting and financial per-formance. In relation to this, the research has examined the SEs instituted as limited liabilities companies. The research contributes to the development of this field of studies, concluding that there is no cause-effect relation neither in the hypothesis that the quality of social reports affects the financial performance, neither in the hypothesis that financial performance affects the quality of so-cial reports.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads G. Jørgensen ◽  
Navid M. Toyserkani ◽  
Frederik G. Hansen ◽  
Anette Bygum ◽  
Jens A. Sørensen

AbstractThe impact of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) on long-term quality of life is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of BCRL on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) up to 10 years after breast cancer treatment. This regional population-based study enrolled patients treated for breast cancer with axillary lymph node dissection between January 1st 2007 and December 31th 2017. Follow up and assessments of the included patients were conducted between January 2019 and May 2020. The study outcome was HRQoL, evaluated with the Lymphedema Functioning, Disability and Health Questionnaire, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire and the Short Form (36) Health Survey Questionnaire. Multivariate linear logistic regression models adjusted for confounders provided mean score differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals in each HRQoL scale and item. This study enrolled 244 patients with BCRL and 823 patients without BCRL. Patients with BCRL had significantly poorer HRQoL than patients without BCRL in 16 out of 18 HRQoL subscales, for example, in physical function (MDs 27, 95%CI: 24; 30), mental health (MDs 24, 95%CI: 21; 27) and social role functioning (MDs 20, 95%CI: 17; 23). Age, BMI, BCRL severity, hand and dominant arm affection had only minor impact on HRQoL (MDs < 5), suggesting a high degree of inter-individual variation in coping with lymphedema. This study showed that BCRL is associated with long-term impairments in HRQoL, especially affecting the physical and psychosocial domains. Surprisingly, BCRL diagnosis rather than clinical severity drove the largest impairments in HRQoL.


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