The Biosphere Rules

"In this book, Gregory Unruh introduces readers to the biosphere rules - nature-inspired principles that will transform a business from a resource depleter to a resource reuser, Reconfiguring the value chain as a value cycle, Unruh explains his five principles of sustainable business, modeled after the cyclical nature of the biosphere. Drawing on scientific evidence and the experiences of top global companies, Unruh shows how business and environmentalism are not only compatible but inherently similar." "This book presents an integrated sustainability strategy that can be leveraged across a company's product lines for profitable economies of scope and scale. Implementation leads a company inexorably toward embedded sustainability, a state in which sustainability is internalized in a company's products and disappears as a managerial concern. Showcasing the stories of successful innovators, Earth, Inc. proves that applying the biosphere rules isn't a costly sacrifice but an incredible business opportunity." --Book Jacket.

This book considers the principle of ‘sustainable development’ which is currently facing a growing environmental crisis. A new mode of thinking and positioning the ecological imperative is the major input of this volume. The prism of co-viability is not the economics of political agencies that carry the ideology of the dominant/conventional economic schools, but rather an opening of innovation perspectives through science. This volume, through its four parts, more than 40 chapters and a hundred authors, gives birth to a paradigm which crystallizes within a concept that will support in overcoming the ecological emergency deadlock.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the concept of the Circular Economy (CE), as well as an assessment of the drivers and barriers for circular practices by firms, and its implications for managers in firms and public policy makers. It includes proposals for policy frameworks and instruments that will encourage the uptake of CE practices. The book is presented in three linked parts. The first part of the book provides a broad view of the topic, put into the wider context of sustainability. In the second part, the drivers of and barriers to the uptake of the CE are analysed, with a special focus on the micro-level not seen often in the previous studies on the CE. This book is of interest to researchers, policy makers and post-graduate students in areas such as environmental management and economics.

The author of this study proposes a fundamental review of biodiversity protection policies. Instead of conservation/preservation, a shift to attention to ecosystem management with human rights and human dignity at the center is recommended. This study prescribes a comprehensive system for the protection of biodiversity. Human rights standards, free trade in wildlife and regulated free access to plant genetic resources are proposed as the elements of this system. Practitioners and scholars concerned with environmental issues, human rights, and sustainable development problems will find this work of great interest. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

This book aims to examine sustainability and spirituality philosophically with ethics as the balancing force. The goal is to reveal the important intersection between sustainability and spirituality by using spirituality as the invisible guiding hand in the quest for sustainability. The editors and contributors examine old social and economics dilemmas from a new perspective in order to provide alternative approaches to economic and social development. The enclosed contributions cover a broad range of topics such as sustainable development and human happiness, contemporary spirituality, environmental ethics and responsibility, and corporate social responsibility. In addition, the title features real-world case studies and discussion questions that inspire self-reflection and theoretical and empirical deliberation in academic courses and business seminars. Contemporary approaches to economic and social development have failed to address humankind's abiding need for spiritual growth. For material development to be sustainable, spiritual advancement must be seen as an integral part of the human development algorithm. While the policy makers and governments can play their respective role, each one of us has to consciously adopt spirituality and sustainability as a way of life. This book will rely on the spiritual power of individuals to heal themselves and the environment. Featuring interdisciplinary perspectives in areas such as science, marine biology, environmental policy, cultural studies, psychology, philosophy, ecological economics, and ethics, this book will provide extensive insights into the complimentary fields of spirituality, sustainability and ethics.