Approaches To Sustainable Development

This book documents and compares the experiences of a wide range of universities across the five continents with regard to sustainable development, making it of special interest to sustainability researchers and practitioners. By showcasing how integrative approaches to sustainable development at the university level can be successfully employed to bridge the gaps between disciplines, the book provides a timely contribution to the literature on sustainability and offers a valuable resource for all those interested in sustainability in a higher education context.

This book discusses the impacts of climate change that are already being felt on every continent and provides the scientific basis for a number of modern approaches and state-of-the art methods for monitoring the environment, social behavior and human expectations concerning protection of the environment. The book approaches these issues from the perspectives of various disciplines, from physics to the social sciences, and highlights both current challenges and future prospects. On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – 12 of which involve taking action on climate change – officially came into force. To achieve sustainable development, it is and will remain crucial to harmonize three interconnected core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.

This book aims to answer the question: how can the industry action international approaches to corporate sustainability, ultimately achieving sustainable development and overall sustainability? With this question in mind, this manuscript examines how the industry, through existing approaches to corporate sustainability, contribute to addressing conflicting demands emerging from the achievement of sustainable development in a responsible, sustainable and innovative manner. It also reviews alternative models of corporate sustainability that contribute to achieving inclusive, sustainable development globally. Chapters 2 to 4 discuss emerging approaches to corporate sustainability. Chapters 5 to 11 examine the role that the extractive industry (mining and oil) could play in the delivery of sustainable solutions for the communities and environment in selected cases, in the Americas and Africa. Lastly, the manuscript showcases international corporate sustainability and climate change practices in the forestry, agriculture, tourism and manufacturing industries within the context of Asia and The Pacific region, particularly, Nepal and Bangladesh.

A definition of sustainable development is that of the Brundtland Commission - "...development which meets the needs of the current generation without jeopardizing the needs of future generations". This volume seeks to analyze the economic basis for this definition, and to look at the critiques of the economic approach - which have their basis in growing disquiet over the role of the productive normative science driving technological change and economic transformation. The discussion is followed by studies of the application of the criteria of sustainability to rural problems in South Asia, Kenya, Nepal, and Latin America and to urban/industrial problems in Jamaica, Chile and Vietnam.

26 Circular economy and regional implications -- 27 Life cycle management for regional development in France: Example of building sector -- 28 From product LCAs to territorial LCAs: Methodological principles -- 29 Integrated life cycle and risk assessment of human health impacts in Catalonia -- 30 LCA application in regional waste management in Chile -- 31 Water footprint assessment at the regional level -- 32 Carbon footprint of biofuels -- 33 Sustainable procurement based on life cycle costing -- 34 Sustainability performance in industrial parks -- 35 Sustainable redevelopment of degraded land and landscapes -- Part V: Integrated use of life cycle approaches in key economic sectors -- 36 Sustainable agri-food chains and LCA -- 37 Integration of LCA, LCC, and SLCA methods for assessing a bioeconomy region -- 38 Responsible mining - from a life cycle to a stewardship approach -- 39 Trends and considerations of renewable energy development: A regional perspective -- 40 Closing the loop: The example of packaging -- 41 Life cycle aspects of the Walloon wood sector -- 42 Global warming assessment of Himalayan buildings -- 43 Integrated waste management and resource recovery in India -- 44 Biodiversity restoration and sustainable tourism in south-western Australia -- Part VI: Life cycle perspectives for regional socio-economic development -- 45 Synthesis - life cycle approaches and perspectives for sustainable regional development -- Index

This book documents and disseminates experiences from a wide range of universities, across the five continents, which showcase how the principles of sustainable development may be incorporated as part of university programmes, and present transformatory projects and programmes, showing how sustainability can be implemented across disciplines. Sustainability in a higher education context is a fast growing field. Thousands of universities across the world have signed declarations or have committed themselves to integrate the principles of sustainable development in their activities: teaching, research and extension, and many more will follow.

Sustainable development remains a significant issue in a globalized world requiring new economic standards and practices for the betterment of the environment as well as the world economy. However, sustainable economics must manage environmental solutions to issues on multiple levels and within various disciplines. There is a need for studies that seek to understand how environmental economics and governance within small and large sectors affect the capability and wellbeing of the global economy. Advanced Integrated Approaches to Environmental Economics and Policy: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential publication that focuses on the strategic role of environmental issues within the global economy. While highlighting topics such as complementary currency, reusable waste, and urban planning, this book is ideally designed for policymakers, environmental lawyers, economists, sociologists, politicians, academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on increasing an organization’s sustainable performance at both public and private levels.

Environmental policy.