Sustainable Development Handbook Second Edition

Gaining momentum globally, sustainable development is beginning to significantly redefine the policies of corporations and governmental entities. Updated throughout, the second edition of this popular resource includes updates on LEED® measurement and verification and a new chapter on cities and carbon reduction. Clarifying critical issues, this volume examines proven approaches as well as problems with failed initiatives. It addition to core concepts and trends, it explores specific renewable energy and environmental solutions. It examines global initiatives, local politics, and ways to effectively measure and track progress.

Rev. ed. of: Sustainable development handbook. 2008.

Years on from the 1987 Brundtland Report, it has become clear that formidable challenges confront policy makers who have publicly stated their commitment to the goal of sustainable development. This text provides an account of the progress made in fleshing out these issues.

This Handbook gives a comprehensive, international and cutting-edge overview of Sustainable Development. It integrates the key imperatives of sustainable development, namely institutional, environmental, social and economic, and calls for greater participation, social cohesion, justice and democracy as well as limited throughput of materials and energy. The nature of sustainable development and the book’s theorization of the concept underline the need for interdisciplinarity in the discourse as exemplified in each chapter of this volume. The Handbook employs a critical framework that problematises the concept of sustainable development and the struggle between discursivity and control that has characterised the debate. It provides original contributions from international experts coming from a variety of disciplines and regions, including the Global South. Comprehensive in scope, it covers, amongst other areas: Sustainable architecture and design Biodiversity Sustainable business Climate change Conservation Sustainable consumption De-growth Disaster management Eco-system services Education Environmental justice Food and sustainable development Governance Gender Health Indicators for sustainable development Indigenous perspectives Urban transport The Handbook offers researchers and students in the field of sustainable development invaluable insights into a contested concept and the alternative worldviews that it has fostered.

Environmental management is a wide, expanding, and rapidly evolving field, affecting everyone from individual citizens to businesses; governments to international agencies. Indisputably, it plays a crucial role in the quest for sustainable development. This comprehensively updated second edition explores the nature and role of environmental management, covering key principles, practices, tools, strategies and policies, offers a thorough yet understandable introduction, and points to further in-depth coverage. Among the key themes covered are: sustainable development proactive approaches the precautionary principle the ‘polluter pays’ principle the need for humans to be less vulnerable and more adaptable. Reflecting the expansion and evolution of the field, this revised edition focuses strongly on sustainable development. There has been extensive restructuring to ensure the book is accessible to those unfamiliar with environmental management and it now includes greater coverage of topics including key resources under stress, environmental management tools, climate change and urban environmental management. With rapid expansion and development of the subject it is easy for those embarking on a course of study to become disorientated, but with its well-structured coverage, effective illustrations, and foundation for further, more-focused interest, this book is easily accessible to all.

Acclaim for the first edition: ŠThe book Handbook of Sustainable Development Planning is perfect for readers in different professions who deal with planning and development management. It contains interesting theoretical considerations, provoke

"The Sustainability Handbook" covers all the challenges, complexities and benefits of sustainability for businesses, governments and organizations. It provides a blueprint for how organizations can reach or exceed economic, social and environmental excellence. It offers a host of practical approaches and tools including a model sustainability policy for organizations, summaries, tips on selecting sustainability codes, an extensive collection of metrics and a wealth of supplementary reference material. This is truly the only reference needed for every organization.

The promotion of sustainable development opens up the debates surrounding our relationship with the natural world, what constitutes social progress, and the character of development in the present and into the future. Answering the need for an introductory, comprehensive, yet critical book that explores the challenges involved in the implementation of sustainable development, this revealing text investigates this subject across different socio-political and economic contexts. It combines an examination of the institutional engagement with sustainable development at a global level, with an empirically informed discussion on challenges facing high consumption societies, economies in transition and third world countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable development. Recognizing that promoting sustainable development is a quintessentially global task, the book focuses on the authoritative Brundtland formulation of sustainable development and the role of the United Nations Summits in promoting this vision. The empirical focus of the book is complemented by strong conceptual discussions as sustainable development is explored as part of new efforts, albeit tentative, to integrate environmental, economic and (more recently) social considerations into a new development paradigm. Providing an accessible, up-to-date and comprehensive treatment of the issues surrounding the promotion of sustainable development, this unique, internationally-focused book combines a strong conceptual analysis, with wide ranging empirical focus and a wealth of case material. Including summary points and suggestions for further reading, as well as web resources and an extensive bibliography, it is ideal for students, scholars and researchers in the fields of environmental sciences, politics, sociology and development studies.