This open access book reframes sustainable energy transitions as being a matter of resolving accountability crises. It demonstrates how the empirical study of several practices of legitimation can analytically deconstruct energy transitions, and presents a typology of these practices to help determine whether energy transitions contribute to sustainability. The real-world challenge of climate change requires sustainable energy transitions. This presents a crisis of accountability legitimated through situated practices in a wide range of cases including: solar energy transitions in Portugal, urban energy transitions in Germany, forestland conflicts in Indonesia, urban carbon emission targets in Norway, transport electrification in the Nordic region, and biodiversity conservation and energy extraction in the USA. By synthesising these cases, chapters identify various dimensions wherein practices of legitimation construct specific accountability relations. This book deftly illustrates the value of an analytical approach focused on accountable governance to enable sustainable energy transitions. It will be of great use to both academics and practitioners working in the field of energy transitions.

This book analyzes the implementation of CSR reporting and codes of business conduct and ethics in the legal systems of the USA, Austria and China and their enforcement in international supply chain arbitrations. The book demonstrates that long-term profit maximization is increasingly intertwined with corporate ethics and CSR policies. In order to prevent window-dressing and greenwashing, certain control mechanisms and legal standards are required along the entire supply chain. This book introduces an ethics and CSR system recommending a reward-based whistleblowing mechanism, internal oversight by a CSR and Ethics Committee comprised of independent board members and at least one sustainability expert, and an external, independent and comprehensive assurance of CSR reports provided by auditing firms or newly formed governmental agencies consisting of certified CSR experts. The author emphasizes the significance for supply chain leaders to ensure contractual enforcement of their codes of business ethics and conduct along the supply chain. Against this background, the author created a comprehensive fictitious case scenario covering a supply chain dispute arising from the breach of the supply chain leader's code of business conduct and ethics by a lower-tier supply chain member. The author acknowledges the fact that in most of the cases the governing law of international supply chain contracts is English law or law based on English law. Thus, the author discusses potential contractual claims for damages arising from a loss of profits caused by a loss of reputation resulting from violations of core provisions of the chain leader's supplier code of conduct pursuant to English law. As international supply chain disputes usually involve more than two parties, and international arbitration is the ideal means for the resolution of these disputes, the book compares the arbitration rules for consolidations and joinders of some of the most significant international arbitration institutions: SIAC, ICC, AIAC, ICDR, VIAC, CIETAC and HKIAC. The book is directed at legal practitioners, legislators of various jurisdictions, board members of corporations, ethics and compliance officers, academics, researchers and students. It is the author's main goal that the book serves as an inspirational source for the establishment or the improvement of a corporate ethics and CSR system preventing window-dressing and greenwashing and covering the entire supply chain. Furthermore, it is intended that students develop a deeper understanding for the enforcement of corporate ethics and CSR policies.

The title of this book, "Traditional Wisdom and Modern Knowledge for the Earth s Future," is from the theme of the 2013 Kyoto Regional Conference of the International Geographical Union. Over the past few decades, globalization has strengthened connections among countries and regions of the world and has greatly changed existing geographies. However, this trend has also fostered various problems on a regional or global scale, such as economic imbalance, social fragmentation, political conflicts, and environmental crises. While acknowledging the world s diversity, geography as a discipline must endeavor to resolve these problems by devising plans for cooperation and symbiotic existence of the different peoples of the world. An old Japanese proverb, "On-ko chi-shin," taken from a Chinese one, "Wengu Zhixin," says that only by exploring the old can one understand the new. People should first understand how traditional ideas, linked to interaction between society/culture and the environment, were formed in different countries and regions. Traditional wisdom, in harmony with the environment, remains prevalent. This book examines how we can mold the earth s future through such traditional wisdom and modern knowledge from the nine keynote speeches of the Kyoto Regional Conference focusing on three topics: traditional wisdom, the environment, and the Great East Japan Earthquake."

This book presents a selection of multifaceted development issues involving social, economic and environmental aspects, in order to inspire and guide implementation of the United Nations' SDGs. It focuses on economic development, human well-being and sustainable pathways, with special attention to financial and knowledge resources, as well as measurement concepts. In doing so, the book draws a distinction between sustainability and sustainable pathways by refraining from dealing with broader and more direct environmental sustainability issues like climate change, environmental degradation and sustainable energy. The choice of topics, apart from their relevance for India, was guided by their importance in connection with multiple SDG goals. In addition to revealing the intricacies of systemic relationships and the dilemmas they create in policy choices, the book examines the role of actors and the critical importance of partnerships to help readers comprehend the breadth of diversities and inter-linkages involved. The roles of the central and state governments, the parliament and the state assemblies, the civil society, UN agencies and district-level authorities are separately explored in depth. Sharing valuable insights, the book encourages policymakers, practitioners and scholars to move towards a sustainable and equitable economy, and supports them in their efforts.

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 book presents a comprehensive collection of recent research on the timely topic of sustainable development goals, with a focus on developing countries. In this manner, it furnishes interdisciplinary coverage in terms of sustainable development; it sets forth the pillars of sustainability (environmental, technical and technological, social, institutional, and economic disciplines); and it explores the adaption of these pillars for long-term sustainability. With its survey of transboundary research, experiences, and lessons learned, the book offers integrated conceptual and empirical contributions from diverse interrelated fields. Viable options are set forth for societies in transition in the twenty-first century to achieve well-being in the lives of their people through the eradication of poverty, mitigation of climate change, promotion of lifelong learning opportunities, and empowerment of society. These options also make it possible to deploy affordable energy, sustain economic growth, offer innovation, reduce inequality, and finally, to help ensure global sustainability.

This book presents the latest advances on the incorporation of sustainability in higher education. Different aspects such as the environmental, economic and social are here discussed. Several examples illustrating how sustainability in higher education is being pursued in different countries can be found in this book. Case studies include institutions from Kosovo, Brazil, Portugal, UK, Canada and USA.

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 examines how educators internationally can better understand the role of education as a public good designed to nurture peace, tolerance, sustainable livelihoods and human fulfilment. Bringing together empirical and theoretical perspectives, this insightful text develops new understandings of education for sustainable development and global citizenship (ESD/GC) and illustrates how these might impact on educational research, policy and practice. The text recognizes the ESD/GC as pivotal to the universal ambitions of UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals, and focuses on the role of teachers and teacher educators in delivering the appropriate educational response to promote equity and sustainability. Chapters explore factors including curriculum design, values and assessment in teacher education, and consider how each and every learner can be guaranteed an understanding of their role in promoting a just and sustainable global society. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers, school leaders, practitioners, policy makers and students in the fields of education, teacher education and sustainability.

This open access book compiles a series of chapters written by internationally recognized experts known for their in-depth but critical views on questions of resilience and food security. The book assesses rigorously and critically the contribution of the concept of resilience in advancing our understanding and ability to design and implement development interventions in relation to food security and humanitarian crises. For this, the book departs from the narrow beaten tracks of agriculture and trade, which have influenced the mainstream debate on food security for nearly 60 years, and adopts instead a wider, more holistic perspective, framed around food systems. The foundation for this new approach is the recognition that in the current post-globalization era, the food and nutritional security of the world's population no longer depends just on the performance of agriculture and policies on trade, but rather on the capacity of the entire (food) system to produce, process, transport and distribute safe, affordable and nutritious food for all, in ways that remain environmentally sustainable. In that context, adopting a food system perspective provides a more appropriate frame as it incites to broaden the conventional thinking and to acknowledge the systemic nature of the different processes and actors involved. This book is written for a large audience, from academics to policymakers, students to practitioners. This is an open access book.

The book presents a sequential approach for the treatment of dye wastewater, presenting state-of-the-art techniques based on recent findings. The release of these dyes into the environment is a major threat due to their toxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity and their biotransformation products. It has been at least two decades since researchers have been trying to find interactions between dye molecules and water media, and find new purification methods. This book plays an important role in this field by highlighting the cutting edge results in dye removal and remediation, and discusses in detail the application of various physical, chemical, and biological techniques for the removal of pollutants from water.

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) that was developed about three decades ago demands a broadening of its scope to include lifecycle costing and social aspects of life cycle assessment as well, drawing on the three-pillar or 'triple bottom line' model of sustainability, which is the result of the development of the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). LCSA refers to the evaluation of all environmental, social and economic negative impacts and benefits in decision-making processes towards more sustainable products throughout their life cycle. Combination of environmental and social life cycle assessments along with life cycle costing leads to life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This book highlights various aspects of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA).

This book provides detailed information on how to set up Deep Energy Retrofits (DERs) in public buildings, and shares in-depth insights into the current status of the major technologies, strategies and best practice examples of how to cost-effectively combine them. Case studies from the U.S.A. and Europe show that that Deep Energy Retrofit can be achieved with a limited core technologies bundle readily available on the market. Characteristics of some of these core technology measures depend on the technologies available on an individual nation's market, on the minimum requirements of national standards, and on economics (as determined by a life cycle cost analysis). Also, requirements to building envelope-related technologies (e.g., insulation levels, windows, vapor and water barriers, and requirements for building airtightness) depend on specific climate conditions. This Guide provides best practice examples of how to apply these technologies in different construction situations. High levels of energy use reduction using core technology bundles along with improvements in indoor climate and thermal comfort can be only achieved when a Deep Energy Retrofit adopts a quality assurance process. In addition to design, construction, commissioning, and post-occupancy phases of the quality assurance process, the Guide emphasizes the importance of clearly and concisely formulating and documenting the Owner's goals, expectations, and requirements for the renovated building during development of the statement of work. Another important component of the quality assurance process is a procurement phase, during which bidders' qualifications, their understanding of the scope of work and its requirements, and their previous experience are analyzed. The building sector holds the potential for tremendous improvements in terms of energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions, and energy retrofits to the existing building stock represent a significant opportunity in the transition to a low-carbon future. Moreover, investing in highly efficient building materials and systems can replace long-term energy imports, contribute to cost cutting, and create a wealth of new jobs. Yet, while the technologies needed in order to improve energy efficiency are readily available, significant progress has not yet been made, and "best practices" for implementing building technologies and renewable energy sources are still relegated to small "niche" applications. Offering essential information on Deep Energy Retrofits, the book offers a valuable asset for architects, public authorities, project developers, and engineers alike.

Creating sustainable fashion has never been more important. Circular Fashion provides an accessible, practical, and holistic approach to this key topic for anyone studying fashion. This introductory text to sustainability in fashion includes best practice case studies and profiles of key companies such as Patagonia, Veja, Christopher Raeburn, and Stella McCartney. It begins with an overview of the fashion business, tackling the issues of the linear production model of make, use, dispose, before introducing the idea of the circular supply chain. Circular Fashion is the must-have book for fashion students, creatives and anyone passionate about sustainability and fashion.

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 comprises select papers presented at the International Conference on Construction Materials and Environment (ICCME 2020). The topics discussed revolve around the identification and utilization of novel construction materials primarily in the areas of structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, and environmental engineering. The volume presents a compilation of thoroughly studied and utilized sustainable construction materials in different areas of civil engineering. Newly developed testing methodologies, physical modelling methods, numerical studies, and other latest techniques discussed in this book can prove to be useful for researchers and practitioners across the globe.

This book addresses, for the first time, the question of how development NGOs attempt to 'listen' to communities in linguistically diverse environments. NGOs are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they 'listen' to the people and communities that they are trying to serve, but this can be an immensely challenging task where there are significant language and cultural differences. However, until now, there has been no systematic study of the role of foreign languages in development work. The authors present findings based on interviews with a wide range of NGO staff and government officials, NGO archives, and observations of NGO-community interaction in country case studies. They suggest ways in which NGOs can reform their language policies to listen to the recipients of aid more effectively.

Achieving environmental sustainability with rapid industrialization is a major challenge of current scenario worldwide. As globally evident, industries are the key economic drivers, but are also the major polluters as untreated/partially treated effluents discharged from the industries is usually thrown into the aquatic resources and also dumped unattended. Industrial effluents are considered as the major sources of environmental pollution as these contains highly toxic and hazardous pollutants, which reaches far off areas due to the medium of dispersion and thus, create ecological nuisance and health hazards in living beings. Hence, there is an urgent to find ecofriendly solution to deal with industrial waste, and develop sustainable methods for treating/detoxifying wastewater before its release into the environment. Being a low cost and eco-friendly clean technology, bioremediation can be a sustainable alternative to conventional remediation technologies for treatment and management of industrial wastes to protect public health and environment. Therefore, this book (Volume I) covers the bioremediation of different industrial wastes viz. tannery wastewater, pulp and paper mill wastewater, distillery wastewater, acid mine tailing wastes, and many more; which are lacking in a comprehensive manner in previous literature at one place. A separate chapter dedicated to major industries and type of waste produced by them is also included. This book will appeal to students, researchers, scientists, industry persons and professionals in field of microbiology, biotechnology, environmental sciences, eco-toxicology, environmental remediation and waste management and other relevant areas, who aspire to work on the biodegradation and bioremediation of industrial wastes for environmental safety.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of corporate social responsibility and its development in Africa. It provides in-depth studies on 11 sub-Saharan countries, demonstrating that corporate social responsibility is forming and going through different stages of metamorphosis in the continent. Though corporate and individual attitudes towards sustainability in Africa still leave a lot to be desired, this book showcases how things are rapidly changing for the better in this regard. It demonstrates and provides evidence for the fact that corporate social responsibility contributes significantly to the way sub-Saharan African economies are being transformed, with service sectors expanding, commercial activities diversifying and industrial bases growing through the initiatives of small, medium and large organizations and innovators supported by widespread higher-education program rollouts. The book highlights how progressive and wide-ranging CSR approaches have emerged, and how much they differ from the obsolete approaches of the past, which promulgated negative stereotypes, marginalized communities and positioned them as victims or beneficiaries of development.

The notion of sustainable development is applied to financial activities through sustainable finance. As a result, sustainable finance attempts to produce long-term value by allocating capital to projects that, in addition to providing economic benefits, are furthermore beneficial to society and do not burden the environment.This book sheds light on contemporary challenges in sustainable finance, addressing two key perspectives: measurement and performance, and products and business models. In particular, the volume examines theoretically and empirically the relations between business models and non-financial impact, both environmental and social; as for the social goals, a special focus of the book is dedicated to the gender gap.

This book features papers addressing a broad range of topics including psychology, religious studies, natural heritage, accounting, business, communication, education and sustainable development. It serves as a platform for disseminating research findings by academicians of local, regional and global prominence, and acts as a catalyst to inspire positive innovations in the development of the region. It is also a significant point of reference for academicians and students. This collection of selected social sciences papers is based on the theme "Soaring Towards Research Excellence", presented at the Regional Conference of Sciences, Technology and Social Sciences (RCSTSS 2016), organised bi-annually by Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pahang, Malaysia.

This book provides a comprehensive review of Grain for Green, China's nationwide program which pays farmers to revert sloping or marginal farm land to trees or grass. The program aims to improve the ecological conditions of much of China, and the socioeconomic circumstances of hundreds of millions of people. GfG is the largest reforestation, ecological restoration, and rural development initiative in history, combining the biggest investment, the greatest involvement, and the broadest degree of public participation ever. The book is organised in three sections. Part One reviews the history of land management in China from 1949 to 1998, exploring the conditions that led to the introduction of GfG, and comparing it to other reforestation programs. Part Two offers an overview of GfG, describing the timeline of the program, compensation paid to farmers, the rules concerning land and plant selection, the extent to which these rules were followed, the attitudes of farmers towards the program, and the way in which the program is organized and implemented by various state actors. Part Three discusses the impact of the GfG, from both ecological and socio-economic standpoints, looking at the economic benefits that result from participating in the GfG, the impact of the GfG across local economies, the redistribution of the labor force and the sustainability of the program, in particular the question of what will happen to the converted land when payments to farmers end.

This book reviews recent research advances in sustainable agriculture, with focus on crop production, biodiversity and biofuels in Africa and Asia.

This book approaches the tourism and hospitality industry from a regional science perspective. By analyzing the spatial context of tourist travels, the hospitality sector, and the regional impacts of tourist activities, it demonstrates the value of the regional science paradigm for understanding the dynamics and effects of tourism and hospitality-related phenomena. Written by leading regional science scholars from various countries as well as professionals from organizations such as OECD and AirBnB, the contributions address topics such as migration, new types of accommodation, segmentation of tourism demand, and the potential use of tracking technologies in tourism research. The content is divided into five parts, the first of which analyzes spatial effects on the development of firms in the tourism industry, while the second approaches temporal and spatial variability in tourism through analytical regional science tools. The broader economic and social impacts of tourism are addressed in part three. Part four assesses specific tourism segments and tourist behaviors, while part five discusses environmental aspects and tourism destination policies. The book will appeal to scholars of regional and spatial science and tourism, as well as tourism specialists and policymakers interested in developing science and evidence-based tourism policies.

This book highlights the latest advancements in the use of automated systems in the design, construction, operation and future of the built environment and its occupants. It considers how the use of automated decision-making frameworks, artificial intelligence and other technologies of automation are presently impacting the practice of architects, engineers, project managers and contractors, and articulates the near future changes to workflows, legal frameworks and the wider AEC industry. This book surveys and compiles the use of city apps, robots that operate buildings and fabricate structural elements, 3D printing, drones, sensors, algorithms, and advanced prefabricated modules. The book also contributes to the growing literature on smart cities, and explores the impacts on data privacy and data sovereignty that arise through the use of sensors, digital twins and intelligent transport systems. It provides a useful reference for further research and development in the area of automation in design and construction to architects, engineers, project managers, superintendents and construction lawyers, contractors, policy makers, and students.