This book explains how the traditional paradigm of private and public organizations is changing as a result of the multiple factors that are affecting the way in which goods and services are produced, and for whom they are produced. In view of these disruptive trends, the theory of the firm needs to be updated and to some extent rethought. Moreover, diverse challenges and opportunities such as climate change, aging populations, and new public accountability requirements are necessitating novel frameworks to ensure the long-term survival of public and private organizations. Against this backdrop, the authors contribute to the debate over the firm's primary interest by proposing a new way of viewing the nature of the firm and its relationship with stakeholders. In addition, they carefully analyze the challenges and opportunities mentioned above, evaluating their significance for various important aspects of organizations through different lenses. Global in scope, the book also takes the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals into account. Accordingly, it will be of interest to all readers seeking a better understanding of the evolving nature of firms and organizations in our changing world.

Modern supply chains are enjoying new opportunities for innovation and growth. Build competitive advantage, optimize cost and encourage ethical business practices with the process of strategic sourcing. Effective Strategic Sourcing brings together tools and techniques to develop comprehensive sourcing strategies and drive performance and margin improvement in an ethical, environmentally responsible way. From supplier research and risk analysis to category management and cost modelling, it answers key questions around make versus buy, outsource versus insource and RFI versus RFP. Top supply chain leaders from a range of industries offer their insights and experience in interviews covering the challenges inherent in modern strategic sourcing. The book also focuses on how supply chain and procurement professionals can address sustainability concerns by thinking globally and acting locally and aiming for net-zero carbon footprint sourcing. Learn from the experts and thrive in the 'new normal' with this essential guide to maximising the benefits of strategic sourcing.

Historical Ethnobiology presents a unique approach to analyzing human-nature interactions, using theoretical and methodological aspects to examine historical scientific knowledge. This book disseminates the notion that past local narratives of biodiversity influence the determination of both historical and modern scientific decisions. Beginning with a brief history of ethnobiology's development, this book delves into conceptual models, historical knowledge areas, and the theoretical matrix of ethnobiology. This book also focuses on the importance of memory including topics of memory production by human in different epochs and how individual memory records contribute to social history and the understanding of the past effects of human interaction with nature. Looking ahead, it discusses the importance of records such as these for determining future mankind's relationships with nature to preserve biodiversity and ensure conservation. Historical Ethnobiology is the first book to focus on past human-nature interactions and their interpretations in today's scientific culture. This book is an excellent resource for students and researchers in biology, ethnobiology, and anthropology.

This book explores the interaction between sustainability, corporate responsibility, consumers, and the market. It aims to discover if consumers are seeking out small, ethical, socially responsible firms to buy from rather than large corporations; if markets and organisations are supported by a new sensitivity to social responsibility and sustainability ideas; if the integration of corporate responsibility strategies and practices change how market sectors are assembled. Bringing together international case studies - including research on the Italian wine industry, German butchers, Spanish football, Polish marketing and the Portuguese financial sector - this book is valuable reading for scholars working on corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and good governance. Chapter 12 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book focuses on the legal and social aspects of corporate governance through doctrinal and empirical research papers presented at the 9th International Conference on Governance Fraud Ethics and Social Responsibility held at National Law University Delhi in 2018. The papers encompass the internal and external factors that affect the interests of a company's stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, suppliers, government regulators and management, and several other important players. The book provides better clarity on the concept of corporate governance and how it is intertwined with factors such as sustainability, social responsibility and the role of government, taxation and audit, and shareholder engagement.

Ecosystem management has gained widespread visibility as an approach to the management of land to achieve sustainable natural resource use. Despite widespread interest in this emerging management paradigm, Ecosystems: Balancing Science with Management is the first book to directly propose approaches for implementing ecosystem management, give examples of viable tools, and discuss the potential implications of implementing an ecosystem approach. These ideas are framed in a historical context that examines the disjunction between ecological theory, environmental legislation and natural resources management.

Emerging economies arguably have different socio-fiscal dynamics compared to developed economies. On one side they have the need for corporate interventions in national development, on the other hand, they do not have enough research to support the agenda. In recent times there has been a conscious effort to legislate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in some of these countries in order to bring about sustainable development. Yet, it is this legislation, which is debated among many others. This book provides its readers with a comprehensive interpretation of the various CSR perspectives in emerging economies through academic research and case studies from practice. It not only points out the challenges, the debates, but also the dynamics of implementation and the impact of such CSR spent. This book therefore is targeted both towards academics as well as practitioners in an attempt to bring about an active academic-industry interface as CSR as a management function is part of dynamic social science.

This book highlights cutting-edge ecodesign research, covering product and service design, smart manufacturing, and social perspectives in ecodesign. Featuring selected papers presented at EcoDesign 2019: 11th International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing, it also includes diverse, interdisciplinary approaches to foster ecodesign research and activities. In the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it addresses the need for the manufacturing industry to design innovations for sustainable value creation, taking into account technological developments, legislation, and consumer lifestyles. Further, the book discusses the concept of circular economy, which originated in Europe and aims to increase resource efficiency by shifting away from the linear economy. Focusing on product life cycle design and management, smart manufacturing, circular economy, and business strategies, and providing useful approaches and solutions to these emerging concepts, this book is intended for both researchers and practitioners working in the broad field of ecodesign and sustainability.

This is the first book to articulate how to address interlinkages among sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are keys to implementing those goals by 2030. At the heart of the book is a resilience approach to the enabling relevant systems, practices, and education and research. While SDGs are well known at different levels from local to global spheres, a major gap can be seen between goals and approaches, as approaches are lacking for addressing interlinkages among SDGs. The United Nations General Assembly in 2015 acknowledged interlinkages as being of crucial importance in ensuring the purpose of the goals. However, few actual approaches have been specified to address the interlinkages or interconnections at both the policy and practical levels. Thus, it is urgent to face the question of how to address the interlinkages by stakeholders-not only policy communities and researchers but also practitioners and students, especially innovators who can go beyond existing boundaries. By highlighting that challenge, this book lays out a path for addressing interlinkages among SDGs by applying a resilience approach to the issues of a sustainable society. The resilience approach has been developed from combinations of different modes of thinking and practices, including the systems approach, systems and design thinking, and resilience thinking and practices. Based on this overarching approach, innovators seek out the relevance of that approach to their SDGs-related practices at the system, local, and educational levels. The book therefore serves as a guide to how the resilience approach can contribute to accelerating implementation of SDGs by 2030.

This book investigates the preferences of young job seekers for different aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in comparison to other non-CSR related employer attributes. It takes into account the potential influence of cultural and socio-economic variables and provides a differentiated global perspective. In its first part the book gives an overview about the impact of CSR on employer attractiveness and explains the factors that potentially influence CSR preferences of young job seekers all over the world. In a second part the research design is outlined and employer related preferences of 4783 graduates and students coming from 22 countries across the globe are discussed. In the third part, research results are presented for different cultural clusters. The most important criteria for employer choice of respondents are reflected against the socio-economic background and against the characteristics of CSR of the countries in question. Finally, the results are summarized and implications for global employer branding are derived.

It is widely acknowledged that life has adapted to its environment, but the precise mechanism remains unknown since Natural Selection, Descent with Modification and Survival of the Fittest are metaphors that cannot be scientifically tested. In this unique text, invertebrate and vertebrate biologists illuminate the effects of physiologic stress on epigenetic responses in the process of evolutionary adaptation from unicellular organisms to invertebrates and vertebrates, respectively. This book offers a novel perspective on the mechanisms underlying evolution. Capacities for morphologic alterations and epigenetic adaptations subject to environmental stresses are demonstrated in both unicellular and multicellular organisms. Furthermore, the underlying cellular-molecular mechanisms that mediate stress for adaptation will be elucidated wherever possible. These include examples of 'reverse evolution' by Professor Guex for Ammonites and for mammals by Professor Torday and Dr. Miller. This provides empiric evidence that the conventional way of thinking about evolution as unidirectional is incorrect, leaving open the possibility that it is determined by cell-cell interactions, not sexual selection and reproductive strategy. Rather, the process of evolution can be productively traced through the conservation of an identifiable set of First Principles of Physiology that began with the unicellular form and have been consistently maintained, as reflected by the return to the unicellular state over the course of the life cycle.

The book provides a holistic and practical approach to lean management throughout the business value chain. The lean management framework and tools demonstrate the optimal design and use of methods, tools and principles for companies and organisations. The author describes comprehensively how lean management enables companies to concentrate on value-adding activities and processes to achieve a long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. A wealth of best practices, industry examples and case studies are used to reveal the diversity and opportunities of lean management methodologies, methods and principles. Moreover, the book shows how lean management principles are ultimately applied in industries like automotive, healthcare, education and services industries.

Fostering inclusive green growth in Africa means addressing existing and emerging development challenges, while efficiently managing Africa's natural capital and building resilience to environmental, social and economic risks. Although this new paradigm for development has the potential to create tremendous business opportunities, there are also challenges. This book provides empirical evidence on the conditions for the emergence of green businesses in Africa. It includes 13 case studies, which identify the determinants of small and medium-size enterprises' engagement in inclusive and sustainable growth in rural Africa, and the factors that hinder eco-innovation in business and entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore it discusses appropriate regulations and policies to stimulate the development of green business in Africa. Offering insights into the relationship between eco-innovation, labor productivity and business competitiveness in rural Africa, this book appeals to scholars, policy makers and practitioners interested in a green economy for Africa.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of and discussion about the relationship between green tourism, economic growth and globalization. It explores numerous topics relating to tourism including transport efficiency, foreign direct investment, clean energy, climate change dynamics and advances in sustainable tourism management. The book begins with discussion of sustainable tourism and economic growth, particularly focusing on management strategies. It then presents the relationship between energy use and tourism, looking at green energy and energy shock. It then discusses transport efficiency, tourism efficiency and financial growth in both developed and developing countries. This book is of interest to researchers, policymakers, and postgraduate students in the areas of energy, environmental and tourism economics.

The orangutan is the most highly endangered species of great ape. Orangutans are threatened by deforestation, poaching, the illegal pet trade, and the isolation and fragmen tation of dwindling wild populations. Their conservation is impeded by certain aspects of their ecology (e. g. , a rain forest habitat) and certain features of their life history (e. g. , an eight-to twelve-year interbirth interval). Added to the U. S. Endangered Species List in 1970, the orangutan is now clearly on the road to extinction. The number of wild orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra is currently estimated to have decreased to between 12,300 and 20,571 individuals. Only 2% of original orangutan habitat is protected and some of these areas are now being destroyed. Clearly, attention to ecology, demography, censusing, rehabilitation, and conservation is essential if the orangutan is to survive in the wild beyond the next century. The protection of orangutans is a complex, multifaceted problem, involving such pressing issues as human poverty, overpopulation, and the economic development of Southeast Asia. Although the orangutan has been placed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), more orangutans were sold illegally in Taiwan between 1990 and 1993 than are housed in all the world's zoos. In the past, scientific and public attention has centered on the African apes. For this reason, the sole Asian great ape, the orangutan, has been called the "neglected ape.

From the peat bogs and woodlands that help to secure our water supply, to the bees and soils that produce most of the food we eat, Britain is rich in 'natural capital'. Yet we take supplies of clean water and secure food for granted, rarely considering the free work nature does for Britain. In fact for years we have damaged the systems that sustain us under the illusion that we are keeping prices down, through intensive farming, drainage of bogs, clearing forests and turning rivers into canals. As Tony Juniper's new analysis shows, however, the ways in which we meet our needs often doesn't make economic sense. Through vivid first hand accounts and inspirational examples of how the damage is being repaired, Juniper takes readers on a journey to a different Britain from the one many assume we inhabit, not a country where nature is worthless or an impediment to progress, but the real Britain, the one where we are supported by nature, wildlife and natural systems at almost every turn.

Free Enterprise Environmentalism argues that laissez capitalism can address climate change more effectively than socialism and government regulation. The contributors support the role of markets, free enterprise, limited government, and private property rights in service of environmental protections. Covering topics such as extinction, overpopulation, pollution, and resources exhaustion, the contributors offer alternate solutions to environmental degradation than have been proposed by the political left.

What is nature s place in our spiritual lives?

In today s modern culture, we ve become separated from the sacredness of the natural world. This book offers a different, eye- and soul-opening way of viewing our religion: A perspective grounded in nature, and rich in insights for seekers of all faiths.

Respect for the holiness of Creation, our duty to protect the natural world, reverence for the land a focus on nature is part of the fabric of Jewish thought. Here, innovative contributors bring us a richer understanding of the long-neglected themes of nature that are woven through the biblical creation story, ancient texts, traditional law, the holiday cycles, prayer, " mitzvot" (good deeds), and community.

" Ecology & the Jewish Spirit" explores the wisdom that the Jewish tradition has to offer all of us, to help nature become a sacred, spiritual part of our own lives.

This book brings together chapters related to sustainable utilization of biological resources, including in situ and ex situ conservation of rare, endangered, and threatened plants. The title also gives a special emphasis on marine sponges and mangrove ecosystems, which are two important untapped potential resources of the marine ecosystem and play a key role in maintaining the marine ecosystem. There is an urgent need for the conservation, exploration and utilization of bioresources for the growth and survival of human beings. Due to the significant reduction in biological resources, many countries are developing strategic action plans for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources. That is where this book fills the gap by discussing the significant development of new products and methodologies for sustainable utilization of these resources. This book also unveils a world of novel bioactive molecules from medicinal plants and the marine ecosystem and explains how drug design pipelines can advance modern drug development. The target audiences for this book include biodiversity researchers who are working on technology and bioresource management issues and faculty and students in the environment research areas and Biodiversity conservation.

This book aims to quantify and discuss how societies have directly and indirectly benefited from ecosystem services in Patagonia; not only in terms of provisioning and cultural services, but also regulating and supporting services. Patagonia, a region that stretches across two countries (ca. 10% in Chile and 90% in Argentina), is home to some of the most extensive wilderness areas on our planet. Natural grasslands comprise almost 30% of the Americas, including the Patagonian steppe, while Patagonian southern temperate forests are important for carbon sequestration and storage, play a pivotal role in water regulation, and have become widely recognized for their ecotourism value. However, profound changes are now underway that could affect key ecosystem functions and ultimately human well-being. In this context, one major challenge we face in Patagonia is that ecosystem services are often ignored in economic markets, government policies and land management practices. The book explores the synergies and trade-offs between conservation and economic development as natural landscapes and seascapes continue to degrade in Patagonia. Historically, economic markets have largely focused on the provisioning services (forest products, livestock) while neglecting the interdependent roles of regulating services (erosion and climate control), supporting services (nutrient cycling) and cultural services (recreation, local identity, tourism). Therefore, the present work focuses on ecosystem functions and ecosystem services, as well as on trends in biodiversity and the interactions between natural environments and land-use activities throughout Patagonia.

Humankind's ever-expanding activities have caused environmental changes that reach beyond localities and regions to become global in scope. Disturbances to the atmosphere, oceans, and land produce changes in the living parts of the planet, while, at the same time, alterations in the biosphere modify the atmosphere, oceans, and land. Understanding this complex web of interactions poses unprecedented intellectual challenges. The atmospheric concentrations of natural trace gases-carbon dioxide (C0 ), methane (CH. ), nitrous oxide (N0), and lower-atmosphere ozone 2 2 (Os)-have increased since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Industrial gases such as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are not part of the natural global ecosystem, are increasing at much greater rates than are the naturally occurring trace gases. All these gases absorb and emit infrared radiation and thus have the potential for altering global climate. The major terrestrial biomes are also changing. Although world attention has focused on deforestation, particularly in tropical areas, the development of agriculture, the diversion of water resources, and urbanization have all modified terrestrial ecosystems in both obvious and subtle ways. The terrestrial biosphere, by taking up atmospheric carbon dioxide, acts as a primary determinant of the overall carbon balance of the global ecosystem. Although the ways in which the biosphere absorbs carbon are, as yet, poorly understood, the destruction (and regrowth) of forests certainly alter this process.

This book discusses corporate citizenship, corporate responsibility and business ethics across Africa generally, and Botswana specifically. It begins by contextualizing Botswana within the broader context of Africa, using nine other countries - Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe - to provide a comparative perspective, examining the common factor: that weak legalization makes it challenging for corporate social responsibility to be actualized.From this background, the book then discusses Botswana as a key study. Botswana has been described as 'Africa's economic miracle' due to its growing economy since independence This puts it in a unique position for the implementation and study of corporate social responsibility. The interdisciplinary team of authors employ various research methods to examine the complex relationship between business, society, corporations and social justice issues.This book will be valuable reading for any academic working on corporate social responsibility in Africa, and will present an interesting insight to an often neglected area of study. France Maphosa is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Botswana. His research interests include migration and transnationalism, the sociology of entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, urban and rural livelihoods, labour studies and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Langtone Maunganidze is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. His research interests include industrial sociology, business and society, rural livelihoods and sustainable development, and entrepreneurship.

This book provides a platform for discussing the challenges that organizations face in order to implement sustainability, ethics, and effective corporate governance, all of which are important elements of "standing out" from other companies. Examining the background of the New European Consensus on development with the new guiding motto 'Our World, Our Dignity, Our Future', the authors explore how this new legislation on sustainability issues around the world is forcing companies to deal directly with sustainability issues. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, is the international community's response to global challenges and trends in connection with sustainable development. With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core, the 2030 Agenda is a transformative political framework designed to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development globally. It balances the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, including the key issues of governance and peaceful and inclusive societies, and recognizes the essential interlinkages between its goals and targets, i.e., that they must be implemented as a whole and not selectively. The respective chapters in this volume raise a number of questions regarding companies' ability to implement sustainability, ethics, and effective corporate governance. Simultaneously, they explore how organizations must adapt to sustainability-related developments.