This book discusses recent trends and concepts in the field of biorefinery. It discusses optimal and economic strategies for converting biomass to value-added products to maximize profits with minimal environmental impact with a sustainability approach. The chapters of the book are focused on the current technologies, techno-economical aspects, life cycle assessment, and case studies. The book is divided into three sections; the first section presents strategies for the production of biofuels like bioethanol, biomethane, biohydrogen, bio-oil, gasification, etc., from the biomass in a sustainable way. The second sections review the extraction of bioactive chemicals, phenolic antioxidants, enzymes, and carboxylic acid from the biomass residue. The last section examines the utilization of biomass for the production of bioactive materials, including biofertilizers, bioadsorbents, activated carbon, nano-materials, and pigments. This book explores the relation between biofuels and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 7.

This volume examines current and previous environmental policies, and suggests alternative strategies for the future. Addressing resource depletion and climate change are pressing priorities for modern economies. Planning energy infrastructure projects is complicated by uncertainty, as such clear government policies have a crucial role to play.

This book contains practical experiences, knowledge, and insights in the evolution, formulation, and implementation of strategies and models for flexibility, innovation, and sustainable business. The book discussed the increasing significance of a flexible approach by businesses as much as possible in every area of their work-from employment policies to supply chain management (SCM). It further links this flexible approach to a sustainability strategy, which is necessary to be competitive today and in the future. This business approach is necessary to create long-term value by considering how a given organization operates in the ecological, social, and economic environment. This is linked to the next theme of the book-innovation-which is fundamental for a business to improve its processes, develop new and improved products and services for the market, increase its efficiency, and, most importantly, get better profitability. The book also delves into another buzz word in business-analytics. Companies have widely embraced the use of analytics to streamline operations and improve processes. The book explores all these critical emerging areas through the chapters in its five sections and is invaluable for management students and researchers, practicing business managers, consultants, professional institutions, and government and corporate organizations.

This edited book serves as the first instalment of a two-part title that aims to provide an academic exploration of the contemporary issues and perspectives on tourism in the Philippines. With a strong geographical focus, this book is the first country-focused volume under the series, Perspectives on Asian Tourism. Comprised of chapters based on conceptual and empirical research, this book aims to develop a foundational and practical knowledge base on Philippine tourism management. The chapters cover a range of national, regional, and local tourism management issues that cut across the following themes:* Governance issues in Philippine tourism destinations* The Tourism Act of 2009 * Tourism impacts and sustainability* Innovative tourism development strategies* Tourism marketing campaigns (i.e., It's More Fun in the Philippines!)* Philippine tourism and the ASEAN integration* Tourism and hospitality education in the PhilippinesThe contributions are drawn from the works of Filipino academics based in the Philippines and overseas institutions, and international academics researching tourism issues in the Philippines. The chapters are informed by a diverse set of disciplines including, but not limited to tourism studies, hospitality management, marketing, human resources management, public policy, environmental management, community development, and education. This edited book is divided into four parts: first, an introduction to the development of policy and contemporary management issues in Philippine tourism; second, nature-based tourism and the natural environment; third, product development and branding; and fourth, accreditation and industry standards. The volume culminates with a synthesis of the progress of Philippine tourism development and management implications using the cases and experiences outlined in the chapters. This book serves as a systematic guide to the current state of tourism development and management in the Philippines, and as essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, educators, and, more importantly, tourism policy-makers.

First Published in 2009. This title contains a diverse collection of pieces from which the reader can draw an understanding of the shape and function of the institutions discussed within, the scope of their activities, and the niche they occupy in the larger system. Werksman reveals a pattern that organizations grow and contract erratically and organically in response to competing demands, concerns and resources. This volume aims to raise questions as to whether the demands of sustainable development require a more fundamental push against the inertia of institutional culture.

The multidisciplinary edited book Visions and Strategies for a Sustainable Economy: Theoretical and Policy Alternatives provides a thorough examination - at the theoretical and, especially, policy levels - of a number of key topics related to a sustainable economy and a better society. With important contributions by distinguished academics, the book presents alternative views, provides an assessment of contemporary realities in an era of ecological emergency, and offers visions, strategies, and realistic policies towards a better economy and society while paying special attention to a "green new deal" for different areas.

With a focus on cargo transportation, this book addresses the development of approaches intended to secure an infrastructure of smart services to support the adaptive implementation of online multi-modal freight transport management processes. It discusses the development of multi-criteria decision-making components and their integration into the multi-layered computer-based information management of intelligent systems. Through detailed descriptions of various components of intelligent transport management systems, the book demonstrates how to develop the services needed in the right place and at the right time, and how to properly adapt to user needs, making necessary interventions to ensure the safety of the transportation process. Further, it describes the main ways to increase the autonomy and efficiency of user-vehicle interaction and shows how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) structural support for current and past situations in AI-based systems can help to anticipate future developments in freight transportation.

Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. It is a discipline that addresses current issues: climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. This series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then proposes alternative solutions.

This book brings into sharp focus the problems of development under conditions of structural adjustment and their relation to democratic change in Africa. Contributors to this volume are interested in specific countries such as Kenya, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, etc., but do bring to bear a rigorous comparative method which uses a political economy approach to the study of democracy, gender, industrialization, agriculture and the state. Its comparative approach in revisionist political economy allows for issues such as the new international division of labor to become central to the analysis of the relationship between developed and underdeveloped countries.

The state-centric approach, although useful, may have missed important undercurrents in civil society. An analysis of development through the state's lenses has predominated the study of Africa. The approach by contributors in this volume is equally interested in the state but is also concerned with non-state actors. This dynamic approach characterizes few texts on Africa. This work should attract those who are concerned with African development, specifically, and international political economy in general.

This book would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of each of the chapter authors. For some authors, writing a chapter was beyond their "9-5" job, and this book re?ects their commitment to sustainability at the local level for their communities. To every chapter author and their staff, friends, and families, thank you. This dynamic and paradigm-changing volume on the topic of sustainable development is focused on communities such as cities, schools, and colleges where the future of our families and children are most at risk. We must act today as each of the chapters represents in their presentations. This book marks a new era: the Third Industrial Revolution. The new age of the Third Industrial Revolution has been labeled by some as the "green era" or "green economy," but it had already started around the world, especially in Europe and Japan, for over a decade - since the end of the 20th c- tury. More signi?cantly, the book highlights people and communities who have a shared concern and vision along with the will and determination to enact programs and polices that make sustainable development real - not just political rhetoric or "branding" or even the current "buzz word" for obtaining funds and grants. The book presents "The Sequel to an Inconvenient Truth" - actual examples of how c- munities can and have changed in order to mitigate climate change. Again, thanks to everyone and their colleagues.

This collection of essays charts the development of rugby football from its origins in the English public schools and ancient universities to its acceptance in the farthest reaches of the empire. As the authors show, central to an understanding of the place of rugby in all these settings is evidence demonstrating that the game was a form of both hegemonic masculinity and homosocial behaviour, as well as a means of promoting nationalism and social control.
A major aim of the editors has been to highlight the changes and continuities which the game of rugby and its traditions of manliness and masculinity have undergone due to the effects of both time and place. The book concludes with a discussion on the current state and future of rugby, particularly of the impact of the World Cup, professionalism and commercialism on this still 'gendered' sport.

This text is concerned with how an understanding of rugby football can provide insights into what it has meant to be a man in societies influenced by the ideals of the Victorian upper and middle classes. The essays chart rugby's development from its origins in the English public schools and ancient universities to its acceptance in the farthest reaches of what was once the British Empire. Despite widespread geographical and cultural diffusion, the game remained resilient in upholding the Victorian qualities of self-sacrifice and manliness.

The aim of this volume is to foster more sustainable business models through financial markets. To that end, it is necessary to know the main global challenges facing financial markets and their impact on creating sustainable value in business models of enterprises in the context of sustainable adaptation. The book focuses on assessing the decision criteria adopted by financial markets in the process of transaction risk valuation, in terms of the presence of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, and by assessing the impact of including these criteria in the risk assessment process by financial markets in business decisions, leading as a consequence to building new value in the form of a sustainable business model. The book presents global ESG risks facing the financial markets, and discusses how ESG risks are managed and monitored, and how financial markets can measure and operationalize extra-financial risks in its assessment process. The book also analyses ESG risk implications and influences on company behavior, and the actions that companies should take considering the ESG assessment requirements of financial markets. Finally, it provides a comprehensive, structured, and systematic view of how financial markets and companies should adapt and improve their business models. The book provides unique challenges for investors, companies, financial markets, and for our society as a whole, advancing traditional risk management approaches to address global risks.

This book provides an up-to-date assessment of sustainable agri-food systems and rural development in the Mediterranean countries. It examines and reviews the impact of EU and national policies on environmental and trade issues in agricultural and rural organizations in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. The book also reflects key socio-economic and political issues such as resource management, income distribution, employment and migration trends, and sustainability aspects. It demonstrates technical and methodological tools used for the analysis and explains their application. The book presents the collective work of a research consortium funded by an EU (FP7) project.

The compelling promise of progressing profits, purpose and the planet is what drives sustainable investing. Yet the field is also packed with challenges and pitfalls for the finance industry. Sustainable Investing in Practice provides a pragmatic steer for how finance professionals can navigate the realities of ESG investing so they can achieve the impact they desire. It addresses the obvious problems - a lack of common standards, opaque vocabulary, irrelevant data - that investors face. And it explains the skewed incentives and compromises that have held sustainable investing back. Yet it does not dwell on obstacles and defeat. Instead, it shows readers how to develop sustainable strategies and improve outcomes, covering critical topics such as ESG ratings, data and disclosure policies and multi-asset portfolios, while also documenting successful practices and pointing out how to modify inadequate ones. Packed full of insightful examples, analysis and interviews from expert commentators such as Paul Polman KBE, Richard Curtis OBE, and Gillian Tett, the book provides useful ideas and plans for how to take sustainable finance forward while balancing credibility and commerciality in equal measure. Written by two pioneering leaders within sustainable investing, this is a must-read for every finance professional, investor and regulator-whether they are seeking to fast track their careers, bring commercial and sustainable learning to their organization, or upgrade their understanding of this crucial but complex topic. It will also be of interest to students taking modules on sustainable finance.

The Business of Sustainability is a core resource for policy makers, members of the development community, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives, as well as business and economics students and their professors. It contains rich analysis of how sustainability is being factored into industries across the globe, with enlightening case studies of businesses serving as agents of change. Contributing authors provide a groundbreaking body of research-based knowledge. They explain that the concept of sustainability is being re-framed to be positive about business instead of being tied to the old notion of a trade-off between business and society (that is, if business wins, society and the environment must lose), and they explore how economic development can contribute to building our common future.

The goal of this book is to improve the ability of enterprises to implement the green growth model and value chain reconstruction. China's environmental development strategies, such as carbon peak emission and carbon neutrality, have created new challenges and requirements for enterprises to "go green." In addition, anti-globalization and the complex dynamic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 have changed the operational environment that enterprises face. The application of new technologies, including the new generation of information technologies and the whole process management technology, provides solutions for the implementation of enterprises' green growth model and value chain reconstruction. Based on China's enterprise management cases, this book reveals the connotative features of enterprises' green growth model and their evolutionary regularities, the overall framework and decision optimization of value chain reconstruction under the green growth model, and the approach to implementing the green growth model and value chain reconstruction. The theoretical framework of the green growth model and value chain reconstruction established in this book has enriched and developed the research results in this field. Cases of enterprises implementing the green growth model can provide references for the green transformation of enterprises and help enterprises appreciate the synergy between sustainability and growth. This book can also serve as a research reference for scholars engaged in the field of sustainable operations, as well as decision-makers and managers of relevant government departments.

This book examines the roles of communities in the general framework of territorial innovation, particularly in the context of less developed regions. With a specific focus on Portugal, it offers conceptual improvements that will be of use to other European regions. The book will appeal to scholars and students of regional governance and politics, from public administration to economics, sociology, geography and political science, as well as to practitioners.

Such a huge number of books, journals and papers have been devoted to defining, assessing and implementing 'sustainable development' that students and other readers face information overload. Earthscan alone has published hundreds of essays and books on the subject. Now, though, the most authoritative writings have been carefully assessed and collected together in the Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Development. The contributions included span five years of the debate, and cover all the principal themes: the history of the concept; the problems in defining it; the issues surrounding it; and national and international policies and schemes to implement it. For ease of use, the essays have been split into key subject areas - such as agriculture, population and the commons - and they include practical case studies and examples, together with analyses from a number of different viewpoints from both the North and South. These seminal essays will provide readers with a unique overview of the subject, as well as the long-awaited basic course material for students of environmental studies, economics, geography, politics, planning and the social sciences.

'Sustainable development' is the catchphrase of the 1990s. Governments around the world, international institutions, local organizations and NGOs have committed themselves to its principles and have adopted policies to promote it. But 'sustainable development' is difficult to define - let alone implement - and its proponents and advocates may all interpret it in very different ways. This introductory guide provides a clear and accurate account of what sustainable development actually is. David Reid gives an overview of the history of the concept and how it has evolved in recent years, describes the obstacles to achieving sustainable development, and looks at recent progress towards implementing it - and at how much we have still to do.

Difficult ethical and political issues confront the application of scientific and technological solutions for preventing pollution from occurring. Often the questions embodying proposed solutions to known problems are ambiguous; and no singular solution can exist for all locations. Yet the common organizing principle for all solutions to environmental problems must be scientific, because only sound science can provide a rational understanding that decision-makers can use universally. The NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on Tools and Methods for Pollution Prevention (October 12-14, 1998, Prague, Czech Republic) was designed to assemble experts from NATO and former socialist countries of Eastern Europe to discuss science-based tools and methods, either available or in development, that can be used to analyze environmental impacts of manufacturing processes and manufactured products. The presentations at the workshop were written up specifically for the purpose of this book, albeit after peer reviews and thorough revisions. Most of the chapters focus on specific method development for designing environmentally benign processes or products. Several chapters take a broader view and focus on such designs from an implementation perspective, and dwell on ethical conflicts, resistance to change because of inertia or inadequate infrastructure, and on the lack of resources. We placed these chapters at the beginning of the book. The volume starts with the overview by Sikdar et aI. , who describe the scope and difficulties of pollution prevention in the manufacturing sectors.

Do new innovations and products improve our lives? Has our relentless pursuit of technological progress eliminated the blight of poverty, of inequality, of discrimination, of crime, of war? Has the advance of technology increased our happiness and led us to fulfillment and social harmony? The ads would have us think so. But not all technological innovation is desirable, and the fastest rate of change is not necessarily the best. Futile Progress explores the multiple and far-reaching ways in which our society and our environment have been affected by technological change. It reveals how far unfettered 'advances' can be blamed for environmental damage, and analyses to what extent our unquestioning acceptance of new technologies has contributed to the social insecurity, inequality and dislocation evident today. In this original and thought provoking book, Ernest Braun argues for effective safeguards against these adverse effects of technologies beneficial to society receive public support. Only if the consequences of technological change are anticipated can technology be harnessed to work for common good.

As improving energy efficiency and increasing energy R&D investment may be the main means for China's industrial sector to achieve sustainable growth, this book attempts to unify energy use efficiency and energy R&D inputs into a standardized economic analysis framework. By distinguishing between energy R&D inputs and non-energy R&D inputs, this book draws on the research paradigm of neoclassical economics to clarify the basic concepts and endogenous mechanisms of energy-saving technological progress as a logical starting point. Under the framework of the existing endogenous growth theory analysis, the heterogeneous R&D inputs are divided into two different mechanisms that affect energy use efficiency, namely factor substitution effect and energy-efficient input increase effect, and a heterogeneous R&D input is constructed. This book constructed an analytical framework for endogenous energy-saving technological progress in the industrial sector based on heterogeneous R&D inputs; it established a mathematical model for the endogenous energy-saving technological advancement of the industrial sector based on heterogeneous R&D inputs; it estimated the energy-saving technological progress rate of 37 Chinese industrial sub-sectors from 1980 to 2010; fourth, it has empirically examined the relationship between the heterogeneous R&D investment in China's industrial sector and its energy-saving technological advancement rate.

This book illustrates the importance of microbiome interactions in sustainable agriculture and the environment. The chapters of the book provide information pertaining to the vast diversity of microbiomes in many ecosystems and their functional dynamics. The book also discusses bioremediation, space microbiomes, geo microbiomes, coral microbiomes, antibiotic resistomes, and rhizomicrobiome. It also sheds light on the complex syntrophic and other symbiotic interactions between bacteria, protists, plants, and certain animals in agricultural and environmental systems. The book, in turn, provides an understanding of the adaptation, resilience, and evolution of microbial ecosystems. Further, the chapters cover metagenomics analysis of microbiomes of a novel or extreme environments, microbial resilience or temporal fluctuations, symbiosis and co-evolution of the microbiome, and novel microbial interactions in agriculture and environment. Finally, the book elucidates a comprehensive yet representative description of complex structural and functional diversity within the plant and environmental microbiomes to reveal their immense potential. This book covers United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goal 2 towards Zero Hunger.

This book highlights various methods of quantifying sustainability indicators in the food sector, highlighting the environmental indicators in the meat chain and agri-food wastes from a bio-refinery perspective. Numerous sustainability indicators that encompass all three pillars - economic, environmental and social areas - as well as individual and joint indicators (e.g. environmental and social) have been developed and quantified to date. Some of these indicators can be utilised for any industrial sector, while others are sector-specific. Behind each indicator developed, there is a unique scientific model, method or assessment technique. This book enumerates these indicators, providing details such as the concept, development methodology, assessment technique, and applications, mainly in the food industry.