Sustainable development at corporate level

2011 ◽  
pp. 101-131
Author(s):  
Florina Bran ◽  
Ildiko Ioan ◽  
Carmen Valentina Radulescu ◽  
Monica Patricia Ardeleanu

Sustainable development was built as a conceptual framework for solutions that harmonize economy-environment relation. Although widely accepted, its practical implications are still subject of debate and controversies. Our paper targets this area and attempts a theoretical explanation and an overview on the progresses toward sustainability made at corporate level. Therefore we explore the theories of corporate environmental behavior and than describe the various approaches used by companies to improve their contribution to the overall goal of sustainability. A special focus is given to management practices implemented in order to improve companies' environmental and social performance and we report on the progresses in standard development by international organizations such as ISO and SAAS.

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 995-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabricio Casarejos ◽  
Mauricio Nogueira Frota ◽  
Laura Morten Gustavson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to guide higher education institutions (HEIs) in accomplishing sustainability goals while strengthening their associated systems and processes. Pursuing this goal, this study proposes a conceptual framework for modeling the HEI organizational environment; a set of strategic sustainability actions to drive movements toward sustainability; and an assessment scheme incorporating four indices to measure the degree of commitment, parity, difficulty and institutional performance throughout the implementation process of the actions proposed. Design/methodology/approach Development of the work included a literature review focused on internationally established concepts, recommendations and guidelines aimed at driving HEIs to fully acknowledge the principles of sustainable development, a study of the state-of-the-art evaluation frameworks for sustainability and an analysis of scientific studies on sustainability in HEIs and society. Findings The overall approach proposed proved to be robust, as it synthesizes global concepts, recommendations and guidelines endorsed by key international organizations and researchers thoroughly discussed in worldwide publications related to sustainability. Moreover, the conceptual framework for modeling the HEI organizational environment, the strategic sustainability actions formulated and the assessment scheme are confirmed to be a practical and realistic strategy for assisting HEIs to effectively achieve their sustainability targets and goals. Practical implications Facilitation of institutional performance assessment using the hands-on tool proposed to drive HEIs toward sustainability. Originality/value Few studies have proposed multidimensional approaches and indices to assess the institutional performance of HEIs in implementing sustainability actions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (04) ◽  
pp. 400-408
Author(s):  
Fahad Albejaidi

Sustainability is the main problem of organizations. Due to environmental uncertainty and human negligence lot of issues related with environment are increasing day by day. That is why implementing green policies and initiating green activities are crucial for organizations to attain competitive advantage and sustainability. The purpose of the existing study was to determine direct link between GHRM and sustainable development. For this drive, survey from 416 respondents was conducted. Those organizations that have awareness of environmental issues and have implemented and initiated green objectives were chosen for this study. The non-probability convenience sampling was used for selecting sample size. SPSS 25 was used. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability test were conducted the findings show the scales adopted are found valid and reliable. Further regression was run to test hypotheses; it shows that all predictor have impact upon criterion variables. Only green training has insignificant effect on environment sustainability while green RSL, GT and green rewards also does not have impact on social performance.


Author(s):  
Katarzyna ŻAK ◽  

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to identify the level of involvement of the corporations of the EBRD regions in the implementation of the concept of sustainable development, and to evaluate the applied solutions in the field of green management. Design/methodology/approach: The research methods used in the paper include the review of Polish and foreign literature, and the analysis of data from secondary sources. The desk research analysis was conducted on the basis of numerical information contained in the publication entitled "Transition Report 2019-20" and presented on the website of The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Findings: The result of the conducted research include the indication of the corporations in the countries of the EBRD regions that are leaders in the field of green governance and green management, and identification of factors and the extent to which they have an impact on the implementation of sustainable development postulates. Research limitations/implications: The presented findings encourage further research to determine the causes of drastic differences in the field of green governance and green management in the studied corporations of the EBRD regions and the possibility of limiting them. Practical implications: The analysis and evaluation of the implementation of the main practices of green management in the corporations of the EBRD regions allow to identify leaders in this area and apply the model of their operation (benchmarking) to improve the position of the organizations that show deficits. Social implications: The use of the presented data, analyses and conclusions should imply further actions and strategies in enterprises necessary to implement the concept of sustainable development. Originality/value: The paper synthetically presents the significance of the concept of green governance and the application of green management practices by corporations from the EBRD regions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-274
Author(s):  
Antoni Seguí Alcaraz

Purpose Right up to the moment, the financial sector has been considered a clean and a neutral sector, as far as social and environmental impact concerns. The purpose of this paper is to determine the attitude of Spanish credit institutions to the sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach Delphi methodology was used to test the viability and validity of the questionnaire and to choose the best systematic way of communication. The research to understand society and environment focussed on investments was conducted using a survey completed by 57 Spanish credit institutions. Various types of statistical analyses were performed to assess the questionnaire. Findings The higher the entities’ investment is in environmental projects, the more sensitive they will be about social responsibilities issues. However, the higher the percentage invested in funding to communities or dejected regions and in cultural projects. Research limitations/implications To know, measure and evaluate the activities of a credit institution in the environment, it is necessary to define indicators for the policies, procedures and management practices adequate for the sector. Practical implications Credit Spanish Institutions sector organizations are responding positively to sustainable development and, in the process, enhancing stakeholder value. Social implications In various practices of credit institutions, implementing a preventive environmental approach or undertaking initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibilities – along with the possibility to allocate funds for certain projects – environmental conditions are also considered. Originality/value To develop good environmental practices in credit institutions, they apply the principles of sustainability and identify and quantify the environmental risk in the normal internal process of risk assessment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gradel ◽  
Gerelbaatar Sukhbaatar ◽  
Daniel Karthe ◽  
Hoduck Kang

The natural conditions, climate change and socio-economic challenges related to the transformation from a socialistic society towards a market-driven system make the implementation of sustainable land management practices in Mongolia especially complicated. Forests play an important role in land management. In addition to providing resources and ecosystem functions, Mongolian forests protect against land degradation.We conducted a literature review of the status of forest management in Mongolia and lessons learned, with special consideration to halting deforestation and degradation. We grouped our review into seven challenges relevant to developing regionally adapted forest management systems that both safeguard forest health and consider socio-economic needs. In our review, we found that current forest management in Mongolia is not always sustainable, and that some practices lack scientific grounding. An overwhelming number of sources noticed a decrease in forest area and quality during the last decades, although afforestation initiatives are reported to have increased. We found that they have had, with few exceptions, only limited success. During our review, however, we found a number of case studies that presented or proposed promising approaches to (re-)establishing and managing forests. These studies are further supported by a body of literature that examines how forest administration, and local participation can be modified to better support sustainable forestry. Based on our review, we conclude that it is necessary to integrate capacity development and forest research into holistic initiatives. A special focus should be given to the linkages between vegetation cover and the hydrological regime.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Author(s):  
Anita Tolnay ◽  
András Koris ◽  
Robert Magda

Abstract The main objective of the current study is to highlight sustainable development from the perspective of the cosmetics industry producing ‘eco-friendly’ products. In the last decades an enhancing interest is being experienced towards sustainable development among cosmetics manufacturing companies, scientific research and development (R & D) laboratories as well as green consumers in the need for natural products safer for health and less toxic for the environment. Several international studies show that cosmetic products formulated with natural ingredients developed by cosmetic industry has a higher annual market growth than for synthetic products. R & D puts special focus on new innovative technologies in green cosmetic products to meet the frequently updated requirements of regulations in compliance with the current legislation. Scientific laboratory market has an increasing importance to evaluate natural and organic raw materials. In this work the authors attempt to focus on the growing importance of research activities to sustainable cosmetics production in life cycle assessment methodology. Naturally, the conceptual scope and extent of this study do not permit all the possible issues to be examined from every aspects due to lack of data, thus it will be endeavored to point out merely the most relevant considerations in the field of cosmetic industry.


1991 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-101
Author(s):  
Faiz Bilquees

Poverty alleviation with reference to gender has been the focus of attention of national and international organizations since the seventies. Massive international assistance, both financial and technical, has been given for such programmes. However, the success rate of such projects has been fairly low. Two major reasons can be given for this low rate of success: (i) the projects have been imposed from the top without due regard to the local conditions, and the target group, i.e., the women, have been treated as objects rather than subjects; (ii) the donors and the implementing agencies have not always focused on the ultimate goal of sustainable development The success stories are quoted quite extensively but they have not been followed. The underlying factor behind their success was a strong faith in the capabilities of the masses at the grassroots level and the maximum use of local talent and expertise. Ponna Wignaraja has produced a wealth of infonnation by providing an in-depth review of the successful poverty alleviation projects amongst women which can lead to sustainable development in South Asia. He first analyses the successful cases in detail, and then he looks at the not very successful projects in Africa and Latin America, suggesting guidlines from specific successful projects in South Asia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 2350-2357
Author(s):  
George Ungureanu ◽  
Gabriela Ignat ◽  
Eduard Boghita ◽  
Luiza Costuleanu ◽  
Catalin Razvan Vintu ◽  
...  

The importance of sustainable development has started to be acknowledged in Romania as well, once the various pollution sources and the restrictions affecting industrial and agricultural pollution were identified, from an economic and ecological standpoint. Sustainable development represents the need of raising awareness about environmental protection and educating people, and this aspect is reflected by the evolution of communal policies in recent years, policies marked by a shift from an approach based on constraints and sanctions to a higher level of flexibility, based on incentives. The purpose of this paper is to make a recommendation for improving existing policy by making an assessment of economic incentives in order to stimulate farmers to adopt sustainable farming systems of a viable, sustainable agriculture, capable to apply the newest technologies and lead to profit and efficiency, to the economical and organizational consolidation. To analyse the effects of different zone packages on income of farmers and the environment a linear programming model is developed for a typical, 192 ha mixed farm in the Iasi region plain pilot area. The major activities of the farm is keeping dairy cattle, growing fodder (grass, alfalfa, silage maize) and cash crops (winter wheat and maize).


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arian Razmi-Farooji ◽  
Hanna Kropsu-Vehkaperä ◽  
Janne Härkönen ◽  
Harri Haapasalo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to understand data management challenges in e-maintenance systems from a holistically viewpoint through summarizing the earlier scattered research in the field, and second, to present a conceptual approach for addressing these challenges in practice. Design/methodology/approach The study is realized as a combination of a literature review and by the means of analyzing the practices on an industry leader in manufacturing and maintenance services. Findings This research provides a general understanding over data management challenges in e-maintenance and summarizes their associated proposed solutions. In addition, this paper lists and exemplifies different types and sources of data which can be collected in e-maintenance, across different organizational levels. Analyzing the data management practices of an e-maintenance industry leader provides a conceptual approach to address identified challenges in practice. Research limitations/implications Since this paper is based on studying the practices of a single company, it might be limited to generalize the results. Future research topics can focus on each of mentioned data management challenges and also validate the applicability of presented model in other companies and industries. Practical implications Understanding the e-maintenance-related challenges helps maintenance managers and other involved stakeholders in e-maintenance systems to better solve the challenges. Originality/value The so-far literature on e-maintenance has been studied with narrow focus to data and data management in e-maintenance appears as one of the less studied topics in the literature. This research paper contributes to e-maintenance by highlighting the deficiencies of the discussion surrounding the perspectives of data management in e-maintenance by studying all common data management challenges and listing different types of data which need to be acquired in e-maintenance systems.


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