sustainability initiatives
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2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Kelum A. A. Gamage ◽  
Nora Munguia ◽  
Luis Velazquez

For decades, sustainability researchers have tenaciously insisted on transforming higher education institutions into more sustainable and inclusive campuses. Yet, as the 2030 agenda seems unlikely to be achieved, universities are struggling to meet the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) before the 2030 deadline. In addition, the post-COVID-19 era demands quality and inclusive education that entails care for students experiencing high stress levels. So far, most of the significant achievements are within the environmental or economic dimensions of sustainable development, but strengthening the social dimension is still one pending task. The importance of happiness to sustainability initiatives on campus, and beyond, deserves further research. To this end, this article offers insights into incorporating the sustainability–happiness nexus into sustainable universities to enhance the social dimension of sustainability. COVID-19 reminds sustainability academics and stakeholders that teaching technical and scientific knowledge is necessary to become more sustainable. Still, it is not sufficient to achieve the goals in the 2030 agenda. Providing inclusive and sustainable quality education will be reached when more sustainable universities consider happiness the ultimate goal of human development.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Hurth ◽  
Iain S. Stewart

As the extent of damage to environmental systems from our business-as-usual activity becomes ever more alarming, Universities as core social institutions are under pressure to help society lead the transition to a sustainable future. Their response to the issues, that they themselves have helped reveal, has, however, been widely criticised for being wholly inadequate. Universities can be observed to engage with sustainability issues in ad-hoc ways, with the scale of attention and commitment dependant mainly on the level of pressure exerted by stakeholders that works to overcome aspects of inherent inertia. Sustainability initiatives can therefore be regarded mainly as bolt-ons. This mirrors how other sectors, including businesses, have tended to respond. As the environmental and social crisis mounts and the window for adaptive change to ensure long-term wellbeing for all narrows, the pressure for deeper systemic change builds. It is in this context that transformation to a “purpose-driven organisation” has emerged as a systemic approach to change, enabling an organisation to align deeply and rapidly with society's long-term best interest and hence a sustainable future. Nowhere has this concept been taken forward more obviously than in the business sector. As business leadership towards purpose becomes more apparent, so the lack of action in this area by universities appears starker. In this paper we clarify what it means to be a purpose-driven organisation, why and how it represents a deep holistic response to unsustainability, and what core questions emerging from the business world university leaders can ask themselves to begin the practical journey to transform their institutions into purpose-driven universities.


2022 ◽  
pp. 227-249
Author(s):  
Teresa Eugénio ◽  
Susana Cristina Rodrigues ◽  
Marco José Gonçalves

This chapter is a unique case study that aims to present the evolution of non-financial reporting in Nestlé Portugal from 2007 to 2016 with the aim to study in-depth the Nestlé sustainability report practices. This study proposes to identify the key milestones in the evolution of this type of report, to compare with the disclosure strategy of Nestlé international, to understand if this company follow the IIRC guidelines, to identify the contribution of the audit by an independent entity, to conclude if Nestlé contributes to the achieving of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and to identify if the awards Nestlé received matter in its sustainability initiatives. Public institutional information was preferably used, particularly the sustainability report and integrated report, processed with various work tools using the technique of content analysis. The conclusions made it possible to understand that Nestlé emerges as a company that integrates these issues into its strategy and can be a model for companies that wish to follow this report path towards sustainability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. MacNeil ◽  
Michelle Adams ◽  
Tony R. Walker

Maritime ports are critical nodes in the Canadian resource-based economy that can have significant environmental impacts near coastal communities and marine ecosystems. To address these impacts, Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs) assess their environmental performance using the Green Marine Environmental Program (GMEP). Reliance on this program necessitates its evaluation as an effective initiative to address sustainability in its broader context. An analysis was performed to identify links between United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) targets relevant to the Canadian Port Sector and GMEP performance indicators. Results indicate that there are significant gaps in the GMEP, with only 14 of 36 relevant SDG targets directly linked to the program. Findings suggest either an expansion of the GMEP to incorporate these broader sustainability goals, or the development and inclusion of a new framework for CPAs to bridge gaps between the GMEP and SDG targets to improve sustainability in their maritime port operations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
Gaurangi Sen ◽  
Hing-Wah Chau ◽  
Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq ◽  
Nitin Muttil ◽  
Anne W. M. Ng

Universities and higher education institutions play an important role in achieving a sustainable future through their teaching and by undertaking cutting edge research to combat climate change. There have been several efforts towards a sustainable future and achieving carbon neutrality at higher education institutions in Australia and around the world. This study has reviewed the sustainability strategies of numerous universities in Australia and has identified as study cases six universities that are committed to and leading the implementation of initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality. The initiatives implemented at the selected universities were classified into eight “sustainability categories”, namely, built environment, energy, food and gardens, GHG emissions, natural environment, resource and waste management, transport, and water. Among the selected leading universities in sustainability, Charles Sturt University and the University of Tasmania (UTAS) are the only universities in Australia certified as carbon neutral. An interesting aspect of this review is the way in which universities are implementing sustainability initiatives in line with their mission and strategies. Despite striving towards the same end goal of achieving carbon neutrality, different institutions offer individually unique approaches towards sustainability. For example, UTAS values the creation, expansion and dissemination of knowledge and the promotion of continual learning, which is clearly demonstrated through its initiatives and policies. The findings in this review are critical in identifying those institutions of higher education which are role models in their strong commitment to achieving carbon neutrality. Such role model universities can pave the way for similar climate action at other universities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Patrizia Di Tullio ◽  
Matteo La Torre ◽  
Michele Antonio Rea

Traditionally, universities are committed to the missions of conducting research and teaching. Recently, they were also called to contribute to supporting sustainable development in society. Many universities worldwide have experienced sustainability and social reporting practices to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. However, while sustainability reporting represents the primary means to communicate this commitment externally, research has barely unveiled how universities use other communication technologies, such as social media. This study investigates how universities use social media to engage their stakeholders in their sustainability initiatives and how this is associated with their sustainability reporting practices. We examine some best practices from Italian public universities, which, in addition to their experience in sustainability reporting, use social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to create a dialogue with their stakeholders about sustainability. We find that sustainability reporting is often the seed to instil innovative means for stakeholder engagement through social media. The universities with long-standing and continuous sustainability reporting experience use social media to enhance their communication, engage stakeholders and thereby improve their sustainability reporting practices. More worthily, we find that social media is also used as an educational tool to make people aware and foster a culture of sustainability in society.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Rogerson ◽  
Donagh Horgan ◽  
Jennifer J. Roberts

In their natural state, wetland ecosystems provide an optimum natural environment for the sequestration and long-term storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The loss of wetlands under advancing urbanization not only diminishes this capacity for storage, but increases methane and greenhouse gases as the land is disturbed. Nevertheless, there is growing scientific interest in using artificial or constructed wetlands as a way to mitigate the impact of global climate change, with most attention on their use for water management. Using a potential integrated urban wetland site in Glasgow as a case study, this paper critically examines how artificial urban wetlands can contribute to urban net zero targets in terms of their ability for carbon sequestration, and as part of sustainability initiatives more broadly. We find there are several barriers to implementing artificial urban wetlands for carbon drawdown alone, in particular regarding land ownership constraints, uncertainties in capture efficacy and capture quantitation, and eligibility for market-based crediting schemes. These issues make it currently challenging for the carbon reduction contribution of urban wetlands to be quantified and, say, certified to generate revenue to communities through market-based carbon crediting. However, if integrated within wider community-based sustainability initiatives, artificial urban wetlands can support multiple dimensions of sustainability, creating or supporting value far beyond water management and carbon sequestration objectives. Potential co-benefits range from areas such as health and wellbeing, biodiversity, education, food security, behavioural changes, and social care. Our findings show that for these co-benefits to be identified, maximised and realised, a place-based approach to urban wetland development must be adopted, engaging stakeholders from the project outset to define and facilitate collaboration towards shared outcomes for society, community, and environment. These findings will be relevant to any urban infrastructure development seeking to meet sustainability goals beyond carbon capture.


Author(s):  
P. F. Ferreira ◽  
R. E. Silva-López

Background: Plants are important sources of therapeutic proteases with expressive activity, stability, specificity, and efficiency. These proteases are employed at low concentrations and produce lesser side effects. They have complex tridimensional structures whose maintenance is a challenge, requiring specific conditions to guarantee the biological and pharmacological activities of these compounds. Aims: To conduct a literature review about plant therapeutic proteases, their principal biochemical aspects, potentials and clinical applications, and main pharmaceutical formulations. Materials and Methods: The present study consisted of a bibliographic survey of the major plant therapeutic proteases. An investigation was performed in the PUBMED, SciELO, ScienceDirect and Academic Google databases using the keywords plant enzymes, therapeutic protease, immobilization, formulation. Results: Some plant therapeutic proteases, such as papain and bromelain, are employed to treat many diseases and conditions, but the complexity of their structures is an important limitation of their uses. Thus, the structure and activities of their formulations need to be stabilized and protected against degradation, with improved pharmacokinetics, a prolonged time of action, reduced toxic effects, and proper direction towards their therapeutic target. Nanotechnology has made it possible to manufacture drug carriers such as polymeric nano- and microparticles, hydrogels, dendrimers and liposomes which are able to increase their efficacy and clinical applicability, as well as patient compliance. Sustainability initiatives that use Green Chemistry together with nanobiotechnology have managed to reduce the risks of toxicity to organisms and the environment. Green synthesis uses lower concentrations of metal ions, water-soluble, biocompatible and non-toxic compounds, as well as seeking energy efficiency and using renewable sources of raw materials. Conclusions: Investigations about new formulations of plant therapeutic proteases using biodegradable and biocompatible polymers is of great biomedical interest because they generate less toxic new biopharmaceuticals, in addition to protecting and stabilizing the enzymatic structure.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1244
Author(s):  
Jiani Guo ◽  
Ming Zhang

As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, it is vital for planners and policy-makers to understand the patterns of urban expansion and the underlying driving forces. This study examines the spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion in the Texas Triangle megaregion and explores the drivers behind the expansion. The study used data from multiple sources, including land cover and imperviousness data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001–2016, transportation data from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and ancillary socio-demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau. We conducted spatial cluster analysis and mixed-effect regression analysis. The results show that: (1) urban expansion in the Texas Triangle between 2001 and 2016 showed a decreasing trend, and 95% of the newly urbanized land was in metropolitan areas, especially at the periphery of the central cities; (2) urban expansion in non-metropolitan areas displayed a scattered pattern, comparing to the clustered form in metro areas; (3) the expansion process in the Texas Triangle exhibited a pattern of increased development compactness and intensity; and (4) population and economic growth played a definitive role in driving the urban expansion in the Texas Triangle while highway density also mattered. These results suggest a megaregion-wide emerging trend deviating from the sprawling development course known in Texas’ urban growth history. The changing trend can be attributed to the pro-sustainability initiatives taken by several anchor cities and metropolitan planning agencies in the Texas Triangle.


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