A Sustainability Challenge

It is now clear that human activity has influenced how the biosphere supports life on Earth, and given rise to a set of connected environmental and social problems. In response to the challenge that these problems present, a series of international conferences and summits led to discussions of sustainable development and the core dilemma of our time: How can we all live well, now and in the future, without compromising the ability of the planet to enable us all to live well? This book identifies the main issues and challenges we now face; it explains the ideas that underpin them and their interconnection, and discusses a range of strategies through which they might be addressed and possibly resolved. These cover things that governments might do, what businesses and large organisations can contribute, and the scope for individuals, families and communities to get involved. This book is for everyone who cares about such challenges, and wants to know more about them.

It is vitally important for businesses to have a holistic understanding of the many issues surrounding and shaping sustainability, from competitors to government and political factors, to economics and ecological science. This integrated textbook for MBA and senior-level undergraduates offers a comprehensive overview of the issues of sustainability as they relate to business and influence corporate strategy. It also features a wide range of cases and an extensive discussion of tools to incorporate sustainability issues into strategic decision making, helping instructors and students to build and then apply a solid understanding of sustainability in business.

This collection of essays is based on presentations given at the 4th conference in an annual endowed series held at Duquesne University, USA. It addresses emerging concerns and pivotal problems about our planet’s environment and ecology. The contributions gathered here highlight the inter-relation of topics and expertise regarding science and philosophy, ethics, religion, global issues, and generational perspectives. The book concludes with an ethical analysis of the multiple and over-lapping challenges that require urgent attention and long-term resolution. It will appeal to scholars and students in a variety of disciplines and fields that deal with the earth’s survival and flourishing.

How do universities tackle wicked sustainability challenges faced by society? The Wicked Learning Workbook is a toolkit for setting up and running an interdisciplinary master-level course in the context of real-world problems such as food waste and loss. The book offers a new pedagogical approach that we call 'wicked' because it is unorthodox, ambitious, and tackles complex problems that won’t go away. The pedagogy is also international at the course level rather than the conventional exchange semester, enabling institutions to embed international approaches to their core teaching. The Wicked Learning Workbook speaks directly to academics who are looking for solutions that provide stimuli for research and teaching while giving students an innovative, international learning experience. The approach develops student understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as broad-scale societal issues which are difficult, if not impossible, to ‘solve’. An important outcome of this approach is the laboratory-style classroom that creates opportunities for faculty, students and companies to co-create solutions that are immediately implementable. The resulting methodology is based on industry–university collaboration (such as IKEA and Nestlé). The methodology is of interest to corporate leaders pursuing sustainability goals and business transformation. Achieving sustainability requires cross-boundary, cross-disciplinary, experimental approaches that allow for scalability. Wicked problems can only be tackled with wicked solution approaches.

Sustainability has become a topic of global relevance: Corporations and other economically acting organizations increasingly need to realize economic, environmental and social objectives in order to survive. Supplementary to "classical" environmental management, realizing corporate sustainability requires comprehensive approaches which allow the integration of social and economic aspects. Such concepts can be found e.g. in international excellence models mainly based on a TQM thinking but also in the field of human factors in organizational design and management. Understood as systems approaches, they include the interests of all relevant stakeholders with a mid- or long-term time perspective and are thus highly linked with the principles of sustainable development. In this book internationally leading scientists discuss the issue of sustainability from their perspective, resulting in an innovative view on different management approaches under the umbrella of corporate sustainability.

This timely and accessible book explores the links between politics, learning and sustainability. Its central focus is the future of people and the planet itself. The challenges that we face in combatting climate change and building a more sustainable world are complex and the book argues that if we are to successfully meet these challenges we need a fundamental change in the way we do politics and economics, embedding a lifelong commitment to sustainability in all learning. We have no option but to make things work for the better. After all, planet earth is the only home we have! The book will be important reading for academics and students in a variety of related subjects, including politics, public policy, education, sustainable development, geography, media, international relations and development studies. It will also be a valuable resource for NGOs and policy makers.

A large and growing number of manufacturers are realizing the substantial financial and environmental benefits of sustainable business practices. To develop more sustainable societies, industries need to better understand how to respond to environmental, economic, and social challenges and transform industrial behavior. The objective of this book is to provide the required knowledge and accelerate the transition towards a sustainable industrial system. The book will help industries to enhance operational efficiency by reducing costs and waste. It will help them increase customer response, reach new customers, and gain competitive advantage. It offers innovation, scenario planning, and strategic analysis that goes beyond compliance, as well as case studies and remedies to the industry 4.0 challenges. Professionals, as well as students, can refer to this book to add to their knowledge on Industry 4.0 and develop new ideas and solutions to the existing and future problems.

Sustainability Challenges in the Agrofood Sector covers a wide range of agrofood-related concerns, including urban and rural agriculture and livelihoods, water-energy management, food and environmental policies, diet and human health. Significant and relevant research topics highlighting the most recent updates will be covered, with contributions from leading experts currently based in academia, government bodies and NGOs (see list of contributors below). Chapters will address the realities of sustainable agrofood, the issues and challenges at stake, and will propose and discuss novel approaches to these issues. This book will be the most up-to-date and complete work yet published on the topic, with new and hot topics covered as well as the core aspects and challenges of agrofood sustainability.