Environmental Sustainability Essays (Examples)

Environmental Sustainability

At this point in time, there is a tremendous difference in European and American approaches to environmental sustainability, with the result being that the U.S. is falling behind Europe in its ability to foster and maintain sustainable development practices. This has a negative impact on American progress, as encouraging consumptive development places the U.S. In a less competitive position than other developed nations, while saddling it with some of the drawbacks of doing business in developing nations. Sustainable development means "meeting the needs of present generations without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs- in other words, a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come" (European Commission, 2012). Sustainable development can be influenced by official policies, so that government and businesses play important roles in helping influence sustainable development, and this official influence seems to be part of why…

Environmental Sustainability in the United States

ecognizing the need for more fuel-efficient and environmentally sustainable practices, a growing number of public and private sector organizations are taking the lead in making it a priority to develop and implement these initiatives in recent years. One public sector organization in the United States that is modeling the way for others is the United States Navy which is tasked with conducting worldwide operations using a fuel-hungry fleet of modern vessels. This paper provides a definition of environmental sustainability, and examines how this concept is being applied in the U.S. today and compares this to sustainability on the global scale. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

eview and Analysis

By definition, environmentally sustainable practices are those that take into account the needs of future generations and use optimal combinations of the resources that are available in steady…

S. interests can flourish in developed and developing countries worldwide" (U.S. Department of State).

The offices inside the Bureau of OES are developing the policies of the U.S. addressing the air pollution, hazardous wastes and pollutants of all sorts based on the agreements made at "the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, the otterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, and the UN ECE Long-ange Transboundary Air Pollution Agreement" (idem). Another issue managed by the offices of the OES are those dealing with the conservation and sustainability development of the ecologically and economically important ecosystems worldwide (idem).

UNDP's Biodiversity for Development Programme helps over 140 countries to use their biodiversity in a sustainable manner and maintain it while using the natural resources. According to the UNDP, biodiversity is responsible for our very survival. The ecosystems provide the conditions for the "generation of…

Kadembo supports the efforts of Transparency International (2006) in its internationals efforts against corruption. He supports there recommends the following instruments in fighting corruption, including:

1) Transparency

2) Codes of conduct

3) Civil society participation and oversight

4) histleblower protection

5) Reducing incentives for corruption

6) Conflict of interest rules

7) Integrity pacts and debarment

8) Rigorous prosecution

In Kadembo's research, he has found that countries in Africa in which these suggestions have been implemented (at least where the intention and authority has been serious), they are effective. The tools mentioned above have a track record of starving off corruption in African countries where the implementation efforts have been genuine and thorough going. The international focus is needed to fight off efforts by the big powers who benefit from corruption to thwart such efforts (ibid, 66-67).

Given the corruption that is rife in the U.S., we really do not have…

Literature eview, Analysis and Discussion 7,500 words

This section presents a review of the recent relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning environmental sustainability in general and how environmental sustainability initiatives can help multinational corporations of different sizes and types achieve a competitive advantage in particular.

Literature eview. According to Michalisin and Stinchfield (2010), "There is widespread consensus that human activity has had a significant impact on global climatic patterns which will have important consequences for much of society. Although there has been much research on the relationship between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial performance, empirical testing of the association between proactive corporate climate-change strategies and financial (or accounting) performance is still in its infancy" (p. 123). Despite this dearth of research, these authorities speculate that firms that successfully implement strategies to lessen their effect on climate change should outperform competitors who are less proactive in such efforts (Michalsin &…

The most significant challenge was however on the sustainability and transition. It was made clear how the sustainability concept cannot be treated as a goal and that it has no end point. It is a way of life in the long-term that we may choose to follow. It was also clarified that there is need to find the limits of the planet and hence live within these limits in order to perpetuate the process of environmental sustainability. This approach to environmental conservation is prompted by the vast transitions in structures, cultures as well as practices over the last few decades. Due to the numerous transitions, I learnt that it becomes very difficult to command and control transitions bearing the numerous uncertainties with the changing times, however, it is possible to influence the pace and the direction of the transition. The transition management is a model that has been successfully used…

Big Businesses Sustainable?

Sustainable practices based on environmental regulations have been a concern for businesses, especially big businesses, in the past few decades. The significance of sustainable business practices has gained traction in the past few decades because of the enactment of regulations that seek to promote environmentally friendly practices by businesses. Countries across the world, especially developed countries, have been enacting laws that seek to help streamline business operations towards preventing and controlling environmental pollution. However, the significance of environmental sustainability in business operations has become vital in recent years (Stephenson & odriquez, 2012). This is largely attributed to the increase in social pressures for environmentally friendly and sustainable business operations. Despite these attempts, there are concerns on whether big businesses are environmentally sustainable.

Importance of Environmental Sustainability in Business Practices

As previously mentioned, environmental sustainability has become a buzz word and an important aspect of successful and profitable…

Social/Environmental Sustainability

Determining the limits of companies' corporate social responsibility is not easy. Businesses which treat corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability like any other corporate goal are on the right track. Having made that decision implies that companies should have specific targets to meet, just as they do for sales or production or other business functions. Once companies have met certain targets in both environmental and societal responsibility, then they have fulfilled their obligation to society.

So the real question is not whether all companies should do CSR. Instead the question to be debated is how to create specific CSR programs as part of their business strategy to become more competitive. The new focus in CSR is relating it to profitability (Cavett-Goodwin, 2007).

A good example of being responsible up to a point is shown by the experience of Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company which manufactures Tamiflu. After trying…

S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2000 and has since led to over 9 billion square feet of facility space being in compliance. In addition, LEED has taken on the most challenging areas of quantifying through cost analysis the contributions of these initiative to the bottom line of companies

(Haxton, Beckstead, 2008). The results have shown a 35% reduction in operating costs while reducing energy costs while also reducing emissions and harmful waste. The ability to drive down costs while attaining SBD-based strategies and objectives has also fueled greater investment in LEED as a strategy of attaining production efficiencies while at the same time increasing in-process efficiencies overall. Where LEED has also defined a series of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is in the area of interior air quality and reduction of harmful emissions both on the environment and employees. Designing a building to be LEED compatible can accomplish…

Universities Approach to Environmental Sustainability and How it Enhances Their Brand Values

There are many debates that seem to capture the attention of the world quite as spectacularly as Environmental Concerns have. The ultimate result of such a mass attention to a topic has meant that much media coverage besides the administrative and Government Level Attention has been given in this direction, with the ultimate aim of finding a solution of curbing this problem that can go on to effect the entire humankind.

Therefore it is not surprising at all that this awareness and the concern regarding the Environment has meant that there has been an overall change in the way Institutes, no matter of what category, deal with this issue. This awareness has also meant that there has been an overall change in the way policies are drafted which can impact the image of such Institutes.

Today the concept…

ottom line, firms can become more competitive with sustainable development (World usiness Council for Sustainable Development, 2002), for a wide variety of reasons, including from a cost perspective.

ibliography

1. World usiness Council for Sustainable Development. 2002. The usiness Case for Sustainable Development. On the Internet at http://www.wbcsd.org/web/publications/business-case.pdf. Last retrieved on January 12, 2012

Student 3

One explanation for which sustainable development has become such a used notion in the last years is simple: relationship management (Adams, 2006). People in the 21st century have become more and more aware of the world they live in, and, especially, of the implications of not living correctly in this environment. People understood that such implications could impact not only the generations to come, but also future generations.

With that in mind, individuals, who are also consumers, have become more and more aware of the dangers of unsustainable development and, as such, have started…

By reaching this objective, the company can also attract a larger number of investors, and increase its investment capital. In addition to this, the company can use this strategy in order to market its innovative products and services. Stonyfield Farm is another company that uses life cycle thinking and assessment techniques (Schatsky, 2012). This is intended to help the company identify packaging systems with improved environmental performance. The company managed to find bioplastic packaging materials that determine fewer greenhouse gas emissions in comparison with other materials, at reduced costs (Deloitte, 2009). Companies mostly use life cycle thinking and assessment in order to improve their product development process. In addition to this, such practices are used when companies want to build production plants and want to establish the environmental impact of their production process.

b) the need for improving environmental sustainability practices has determined companies to use life cycle thinking and…

Analysis of the Field
The concept of sustainability has gained considerable popularity in the recent past. Sustainability generally refers to the continued existence of systems and processes. Traditionally, sustainability was discussed mainly in the context of ecology and biological systems, but today the concept has stretched to entirely every discipline including management, economics, business, politics, and culture. The increasing attention on sustainability has largely been informed by the danger posed by human activities on the environment. For instance, using fossil fuels depletes the ozone layer, which in turn causes climate change. Nonetheless, from what has been achieved so far, it is evident that sustainable development is a realisable endeavour (Bowdin et al., 2011). Sustainable development basically refers to a road map for attaining sustainability in any process or activity that utilises resources. It is development that fulfils present needs without shortening the capacity of future generations to fulfil their needs.…

Corporations and Environmental Sustainability

Environmental conservation and sustainability has been viewed over the years as public relations activity and away of maintaining good relations with the community and other stakeholders like the government under c they operate. This has however significantly changed and the environmental conservation and sustainability is a social responsibility that any business or organization with a long-term vision has to take into account, plan for and effectively execute in order to not only earn acceptability by the government regulatory bodies, but also to contribute to their own future existence.

Proper and safe disposal of waste material and refuse is one of the major ways that corporations are gauged in their commitment to environmental protection and conservation. Corporations need to take deliberate steps to ensure their wastes area correctly categorized and disposed off in the recommended and approved manner. Toxic wastes must not find their way into the…

The author therefore appears to suggest that the holistic approach poses a risk of costly time delays for approval that might prove too little too late for any true difference to be possible.

Brown (2005) asserts that the political involvement of security in natural resource issues holds the risk of conflict and insecurity. Indeed, competition relates to power and control issues arise where resources are abundant, while competition for resources occur where these are scarce. Brown, like Levy, asserts that there is little question that security and environmental issues are integrated. The risk lies in whether security is specifically integrated in mitigation measures, and the degree to which this is done.

It has been mentioned above that the environment directly affects human survival and well-being. Brown further addresses the interrelation between the environment and security be asserting that they are interdependent: in other words, the environment can cause insecurity, while…

Environmental Industrial Management

Corporate social responsibility (CS) has been a hot topic in business circles for decades. The topic has gained even greater attention in the last few decades in the wake of increased attention to the impact of business activities on the environment, economy, and the society (Flammer, 2013; Schrempf-Stirling, Palazzo and Phillips, 2016). This paper discusses the principles of CS; the integration of social, economic, and environmental aspects in the organisational agenda; the importance of transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement in CS; and the notions of materiality in CS and sustainability reporting as outlined in the Global eporting Initiative (GI) G4 guidelines.

Whereas there is no commonly agreed definition, CS generally refers to the activities business organisations deliberately undertake with the aim of promoting social, economic, and environmental sustainability (Crowther and Aras, 2008). It denotes the pursuit of economic objectives while at the same time consciously pursuing social…

Although the research tools provided by the ISO 14001 framework are both qualitative and quantitative, this approach is consistent with the guidance provided by Neuman (2003) who points out that, "Both qualitative and quantitative research use several specific research techniques (e.g., survey, interview, and historical analysis), yet there is much overlap between the type of data and the style of research. Most qualitative-style researchers examine qualitative data and vice versa" (p. 16). Indeed, researchers have used qualitative and quantitative surveys to assess consumer reactions to proposed environmental initiatives at the local level (Neuman, 2003).

In fact, quantitative and qualitative research methods are characterized by a number of similarities that lend themselves to environmental systems analyses and development (as well as some differences) (Neuman, 2003). The distinct differences in the qualitative and quantitative research suggest that the use of quantitative data for environmental system development is highly appropriate, but that such…

Environmental Cues Shape Behavior

Most people spend their daily lives completing tasks, which involve waiting or queuing on a line. With this situation of waiting like at ATMs, others avoid, postpone, or even abandon their endeavors. Other people endure the wait even though they feel frustrated or dissatisfied by the experience (Horowitz, 2007).

It is evident that irrelevant environmental cues like queue barriers used in airports, banks of ATMs serve as barriers that split people waiting in two categories. The first category comprises those who are within the system and the other category involves those outside the system. In-system people show increased persistence in task completion, action initiation and overall optimism (Ahmad & Prasad, 2012).

Situational cues have a substantial impact on behavior. For instance, wine shops that play French music have demonstrated an increase in the purchase of French wine. This suggests that cues not directly connected to a…

2007).

An Interest in Sustainability

To many the term sustainability is the new buzzword, a fad which will dissipate in the complexities of the global community, and to others the concept is foreign. In either case however, the necessity of reaching out and providing information on sustainability is crucial to the amelioration of environmental, societal, and economic problems. To advance the sustainability concept it becomes necessary to limn the discussion in the context of an interconnected world in which resources are finite and demand will steadily increase. Individual countries are no longer capable of isolation to the effects of global activity. To present and teach sustainability requires a focus on interdependency and connectivity, a realization that the global environment is a central commonality to all humanity.

A conclusion which concatenates the three articles on sustainability is that existing political, social, and economic agents are not fully capable of initiating or…

Dubai should be thinking about sustainability, since the seaport expansion and modernization has been damaging to the environment over the past decade. AS more and more ships begin to use the Dubai port, and as commerce and economic activity return after the global economic recession, the environmental challenges surrounding the port will likely increase as well.

eferences

Bagaeen, Samer. (2007). "Brand Dubai: The Instant City; or the Instantly ecognizable

City." International Planning Studies. Vol. 12, No. 2. Pp. 173-197.

Balakrishnan, Melodena Stephens. (2008). "Dubai -- a star in the east: A case study in strategic destination branding." Journal of Place Management and Development. Vol. 1, No. 1. Pp. 62-91.

Betriebswirt; Dipl. And Noack, Sascha MBA. (2007). Doing Business in Dubai and the UAE. GIN Verlag: Berlin.

Burt, J; Bartholomew, A.; Usseglio, P; Bauman, A. And P.F. Sale. (2009). "Are artificial reefs surrogates of natural habitats for corals and fish in…

Citizen Groups Shaping Environmental Policy

The environmental issues have of late been a subject of concern to many people and many organizations. Governments all over the world have been under persistent pressure to implement policies and also enact laws that are friendly to the environment or are intentionally formulated to safeguard the environment. The Kyoto protocol was a pace setter in many aspects concerning the environmental care and conservation, hence many bodies borrow from it and help in the implantation of the guidelines that were outlined in that particular meeting of the global bodies and economic giants of the world. These groups that act as custodians of the environment include the citizen groups of diverse measures and backgrounds.

The citizen groups in this aspect include the industry groups, trade associations and the not-for-profit organizations. These are the renowned groups that use their influences to shape the perspectives that the government…

Strategic Review -- Whole Foods

Organizational diagnosis of Whole Foods, Inc. involved environmental and institutional analyses. The environmental analysis involved categories of political, economic, social, technological, geographical, community relation and informal sector network, seeking to discern opportunities and threats. The institutional analysis involved categories of organizational role & profile; membership; programs and services; resources and capabilities; management systems; and external links, seeking to discern strengths and weaknesses. The combined environmental and institutional analysis and their charted results the Company's nature and interactions for more fluid integration of Whole Foods, Inc. into ABC Company.

Body

Environmental Analysis

Analyzing the external forces affecting Whole Foods to see the options open to the Company (ffw.org.ph, n.d.), one can see significant opportunities and threats to the Company.

Political

Whole Foods arket, IP.LP is a U.S. based supermarket specializing in natural and organic foods and having 300+ stores in the United States, Canada and the…

Environmental Case Study (Alberta's Oil Sands)

Alberta's Oil Sands represents one of the international environmental problems facing Canada and close to seventy countries across the globe. Albert's Oil Sands proves to be a new course of political conflict within the setting of Canada and at the international level. Oil Sands development is responsible for rapid economic growth of Alberta. This creates ethical or moral dilemma because there is a massive risk in association with the development of Oil Sands within the province. Oil Sands contribute towards ecological harm thus having a negative impact on the living conditions of the individuals in the province and the entire planet. This ethical dilemma leads to mobilization processes by environmental entities to help alleviate the situation. This is because some prominent political outfits such as Peter Lougheed recognize that the rate of the development of the oil sands in Alberta is not socially or…

In this regard, Green and her colleagues emphasize that, "The corporate wealth of logging giant Gunns, Ltd. (which controls over 85% of the state's logging, is the world's largest hardwood woodchip exporter, and is worth over one billion dollars) has not trickled down into the state's economy" (2007, p. 95).

Despite the enormous range of wood products, particularly its valuable hardwoods, that could be produced from Tasmania's forests, more than 90 per cent of the country's hardwood timber is simply processed into woodchips annually, representing 5,000,000 tons of Tasmanian native forest which are then marketed to paper mills in Asia, primarily in Japan but in South Korea and increasingly China as well, accounting for around 70 per cent of Tasmania's total woodchip export production (Green et al., 2007). The sustainment practices used by the forestry industry, though, have been insufficient to replenish what is being extracted.

Forestry Tasmania. The Board…

Additionally, Bollier further states the contrail emissions to cause warmer weather.

The duration of contrails in the atmosphere can last for days, according to (Harris, Kuper, Lebel, 2010). Trails may last for days and spread over hundreds of miles. According to Patrick Minnis, senior research scientist at NASA's Langley esearch Center in Virginia, "It helped us get a very good handle on the relationship between natural cirrus clouds and contrails, and separate the two effects. We estimate that contrails have an overall warming effect which is at least the same as aircraft CO2 exhaust, if not more." (Harris, Kuper, Lebel, 2010)

The white streaks (Murray, 2006), which characterize the contrail left by a flying aircraft is suggested by Murray to be removed as a contaminant by lowering the altitude of the aircraft during flight. Additionally, "because contrails are released at high altitudes, have a more potent effect on the environment…

2007, para.7).

There are also a number of other environmental consequences to using these bags that should be considered. Plastic bags clog storm drains and they also block the natural flow of oxygen and water through the soil -- all of which contributes to placing increasing pressure on the sustainability of the environment and ecosystems. (Single-Use Plastic Shopping Bags. Presentation to the Transportation and Environment Committee, 2008)

2. The advantages of non-reusable bags

It therefore follows from the above discussion that fewer plastic bags in circulation means less toxic chemical and less pollution of the environment. As one commentator writes, "if people were to use reusable bags instead of plastic ones, dependence on these non-renewable resources would be significantly less" (Go green! Benefits of reusable bags). The increase in usage of reusable bags would also mean a significant reduction in the need for plastic -- and it must be remembered…

Environmental Crimes and Health and Safety Law Violation

With the current changes in weather patterns, strange climatic conditions and other uncontrollable natural disasters, there has been a lot of attention directed towards the environment and the way people may be contributing to the degradation of the environment in small ways that is summed up results into the disasters that we see on daily basis. The environment is becoming unpleasant on an increasing trend each and every day, this is a cause to worry about for each government that cares to see the consequences of our careless handling of the environment.

There are also man's contribution to the insecurity that surrounds us on a daily basis since people no longer care for the safety of the workers that work in their industries and sadly to some extent, some don care even about themselves and the safety that may be protecting their…

Sustainability Memo

Recommended Action

As the new Senior Vice President for Sustainability I believe the company should institute an Eco-Efficiency strategy. This innovative approach to the greening of our company, in a nutshell, is basically our firm doing more with less and becoming profitable at the same time.

Let me first say that a company should never seem to be "going green" just to look good or to give the impression of jumping on the bandwagon of the current wave of environmentalism and conservation. The idea of a company working towards sustainability is a noble idea, and while I realize there is a sense of caution within the executive management of our company, I trust that given careful thought and analysis, we can proceed in a sensible approach that will be beneficial financially and environmentally.

Eco-Efficiency in frank ordinary language simply means developing a sustainability program that clearly saves money…

Sustainability

There are several issues with respect to the Kennecott Eagle Mine proposal. The first is the rights of the Ojibway people of the area. These rights have been granted to the people in law -- the Native Americans Freedom of eligion Act of 1979, and in a treaty made between the Ojibway and the federal government in the 1840s. So there is a legal issue at play, as well as a moral issue. There is the appearance that the state's elected officials are ignoring the native claims because they are "in bed" with in the mining company, which raises the specter of corruption.

A second issue with the Kennecott Eagle Mine, there is a key environmental issue. The land has been very useful and productive land with animals and plants. Thus, environmentalists, anglers and hunters alike are in opposition to the mine. The type of mining as well is…

Environmental and Organizational Pressures Sample

Create a table where at least three (3) organizational pressures and at least three (3) environmental pressures in the organization are illustrated and rank those pressures according to their influence.

ank

Environmental Pressure

Organizational Pressure

Carbon emissions and overall sustainability

anking and promotion characteristics with the military.

Heavy bureaucracy

Dependency on natural resources and their overall depletion

The ability to attract, hire and retain talented individuals to serve in the military

Identifying and using alternative energy and packaging solutions

Cultural sensitivity and its meaning within the organization.

Describe in detail the environmental and organizational pressures that exist in the organization and how they have evolved over time.

In regards to organization pressures within the military, much has changed due to varying societal norms. What was once deemed unacceptable by society has now become acceptable for society overall. As such, these changes have manifested themselves in…

Sustainability in Iceland

It is essential that modern businesses of all sizes focus on putting the planet into the bottom line. An article from The Economist suggests that all businesses, including small businesses like the bed-and-breakfast, should focus on implementing a triple bottom line. The first two are more traditional, with the first being profit or the bottom line of the profit and loss measurements. The second is people, thus being able to be socially responsible and take care of not only the organization of society as a whole. According to this article, "The third is the bottom line of the company's "planet" account -- a measure of how environmentally responsible it has been" (The Economist, 2009). The idea here is that we must take into account our environmental impact within our balance scorecard and other business operational practices. It is crucial not only to think of a profit and…

Environmental Stewardship Project Proposal

What is Environmental Stewardship?

What are the problems?

Why do we need to be concerned about Air Pollution?

A proposed Innovative Strategy for Pollution Awareness

Today Environmental stewardship is on the rise and really needed in the community. This is because an increasing amount of people are out there making knowledgeable choices in their what they do every day, such as in the work places, and communities. These choices are considered to be good for the environment, for their finances, and for complete quality of life. By most, these actions are probably looked at as being inspiring because it shows and evidence of a developing societal commitment to environmental stewardship.

This report gives an outline of what I believe is the next step in a continuing evolution of policy objectives from pollution control to pollution sustainability and prevention. It likewise gives a reflection on the important…

Environmental Challenges Facing the Current Generation

hat are the most challenging environmental issues that will face humanity over the next 50 years? And what are the best ideas for options in the face of these challenges? hat are some companies doing to mitigate (reduce, reuse, and recycle resources) the problems on a local level? These and other issues and questions will be approached in this paper.

The Main Environmental Challenges

hile there is no one single most serious environmental challenge that all scholars, scientists, researchers, policy makers, journalists and others agree on, any cursory research into future environmental challenges and issues for Planet Earth will turn up the alarming and well-documented consequences of climate change. Of course climate change is not just a future issue but very much a current worry for citizens, scientists and policy makers. Many other critical issues are related to global climate change, including the population…

Strategic assessment

2. Project Preparation

3. Project Implementation'

4. Facility Operation

These four assessment tools are to be standalone tools that are applied at specific stages of the Gipsy Lane brickworks road extension and the industrial development project life cycle. The assessment with one of the tools has no link or dependence with earlier stages. The tools of assessment are to be designed in a manner that they are applicable throughout the planning stage up to the point of making decisions in the project life cycle (See figure 1.).

The process of protocol assessment (Source: IHA, 2010).

The tools are to undergo repeated application so as to help in the continuous improvement of the process.

Strategic Assessments section

This section is important for the assessment of the strategic basis of the Gipsy Lane brickworks project. This part is most applicable at the stage when the Gipsy Lane brickworks is still…

Sustainability Balanced Scorecard

The balanced scorecard is a tool for management that supports the positive execution of strategies instigated by the corporation. This report makes the aim to assist Wave Master Limited Company (WML) with the further analysis of sustainability. In particular, the report comes up with a strategic map for the company's objectives and thereafter creates a scheme for the formation of a sustainable balanced score card (SBSC). These strategic objectives are categorized in accordance to the perspectives of the SBSC that is suggested. The study goes on to further offer justification as to why such strategic objectives were classified and categorized in that particular manner. In concurrence with assignment two, we make the assumption that the sustainability reports and analysis made previously are appropriate and suitable to be used for this study. In developing the sustainable balance score card, the approach used in this study is that of…

" (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) Market saturation is possible according to Traventec, Ltd., due to the constant "influx of new entrants into the low cost carrier and regional space and continued expansion of existing players. When and whether market saturation is actually reached in specific regions of the world depends on how mature regional and low cost air transport is in the first place and the size of the yet under-served demographic area." (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) There is stated to be a potentially huge regional aviation market in South East Asia yet untapped with more than half of the population of the entire world within six hours flying radiuses from "Kuala Lumpur and a five hour flying radius from angkok." (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) the airports in this area have only recently been liberalized with the "international bilateral agreements and vested in the development of airport capacity." (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) When this…

Sustainability Plan

Like many companies today, Cadbury Chocolate started issuing case studies in 2008 over concerns raised over chocolate picked in the Ivory Coast that made use of child slave labor. However, in addition to the issue of the child labor, it opened a wicket of other issues that many corporations have to deal with in terms of dealing with ethical issues, sustainable technology and taking into consideration the opinions of people who were not considered stakeholders previously (such as customers and employees).

To the outside observer, this may seem to have been unnecessary. However, one must examine the issues of sustainability and responsible corporate management to understand Cadbury's strategy.

Polling and incorporating those opinions is critical to establishing a basis for establishing and executing company plans. Without considerations of sustainability, it is now becoming impossible for companies to continue with anything resembling what could be considered normal. In such…

but, one must wash the towel. The cycle continues and the family member has to choose the way of washing this cloth towel. it's embodied net energy is less than that of the paper towel. Another way of reducing the amount of energy a house expends in the window setup in that house. The larger the windows, the more light that comes into the home, and the less lighting is need to keep the house comfortable. (Steffen)

There are many ways in which humans could quicken -- in a humane way -- reindustrialization from the petroleum based overshoot industrial society of the present to a more diverse, efficient and flourishing society based on energy sources such as solar, wind geothermal, water, resource production, and creativity, as well as on such values as compassion, altruism and fairness.

Rainwater harvesting, a well-known practice in the poor economies of the world, is catching…

Sustainability Science

Phase 4 Discussion Board

The article that I will be reviewing is "Key competencies in sustainability: a reference framework for academic program development." This article was published in the journal Sustainability Science and directly covers the development of the academic discipline. The authors note that as the discipline matures into a full-fledged academic discipline, there is a need to understand the nature of sustainability science and what the key competencies are going to be to understand the discipline. The authors have studied a number of journal articles on the subject to make a determination about what competencies are required: systems thinking, anticipatory, strategic, interpersonal and normative.

The authors have a good understanding of what sustainability science is. They point out rightfully that systems thinking is critical, because sustainability science is about the systems that support human life. Strategic competencies is required because interventions are required to save us…

Environmental Material Accounting

Phosphorus (P) for sustainable use within the framework of an infrastructural system at the national level is subsequent to a filtration-based system. The topography of Australia is flat throughout south central coast and the middle south interior of the country. The coast bordering Sydney is mountainous whilst Western Australia is hilly terrain. The filtration system from a top-down perspective will flow from the mountain and hill peaks down through a filtration system that eventually bottlenecks at the coast where P. can be collected. Below is a topographical map of Australia that depicts the mountainous area near Sydney in White, the lowest lying region in darkest green, and the higher regions in lighter green to brown/yellow to tan.

Source: Macey (2005) http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Map-from-above-shows-Australia-is-a-very-flat-place/2005/01/21/1106110947946.html

"We need to be concerned about the emerging threat of phosphorus scarcity, as well as the impacts of too much phosphorus through run-off into lakes and…

The waste group contains 3 items:

AS1 -- Storing of Recyclable Household aste and Non-recyclable aste

AS2 -- Building Location aste Management

AS3 -- Composting

Issue

Measurement Criteria

Points Awarded

Household Recycling facilities

Either

Either

here the following recycling

1.8

services are given:

• 3 internal storage bins for recyclable waste with -- min total capacity of 60 ltr

-- no individual bin smaller than 15 ltr

-- all of the bins in a devoted position that is accessible to disabled people

1.8

or

or

here full recycling facilities

3.6

are provided:

• 3 internal storage bins with -- min total capacity of 30 ltr

-- no individual bin smaller

than 7 ltr

-- all bins in a dedicated position that is accessible to disabled people

or 3.6

AND EITHER

• a Local Authority collection scheme for recyclable materials covering at least three streams of waste with sufficient space for…

P&G is looking to make the Supplier Environmental Sustainability Scorecard methodology a global standard (P&G, 2010). To support this effort to make the scorecard a global baseline of sustainability measurement, P&G freely distributes Microsoft Excel models of the methodology and baseline analysis tools from their website. The foundations of the methodology can be seen in Figure 2: Procter & Gamble's Supplier Environmental Sustainability Scorecard Methodology. The key metrics measured include energy, emissions, waste, water and an environmental management system performance ranking that can be used for evaluating supplier performance within and across product categories.

P&G has also differentiated this model by rewarding excellent business performance as measured by the key performance indicators (KPIs) first, while also using the methodology to evaluate areas where performance can be improved. The use of incentives and rewards for the top 400 suppliers at P&G have been announced and are actively being applied to supplier…

Lewis Group Sustainability Model:

The Lewis Group is a retail furniture company operating in South Africa that sells its furniture to low-income customers. Notably, approximately 60% of the company's merchandise is being imported from some countries in Brazil and China. As the leading retailer of household furniture, home electronics, and electrical appliances, The Lewis Group sold its products mainly on credit through Best Home and Electric, the Lewis, and My Home Brands. The success and profitability of the Lewis Group is associated with the scope of its business and its business model. Currently, the company has more than 600 stores throughout the main metropolitan areas and has a strong presence in the rural areas in South Africa. Moreover, 56 of the firm's stores are located in the neighboring southern African nations like Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho.

The Lewis Group Business Model:

The Lewis Group business model basically revolves around…

Corporate Social esponsibility and Environmental Ethics

Abstract/Introduction -- No one can argue that the international business community is becoming more and more complex as a result of globalism. In turn, this complexity is driven by an increasing understanding of sustainability, going "green," and bringing ethical and moral philosophy into the business community. British Telecom, for instance, noted in 2007 that it had reduced its carbon footprint by 60% since 1996, setting itself a target of 80% reductions by 2016 (Hawser, 2007). Francois Barrault, CEO, BT Global Services, said that by supporting sustainability his company hoped not only to reduce its carbon footprint but also to attract younger people who prefer to work for environmentally and socially responsible companies. He didn't always think that way, though. Barrault said that when he first met former U.S. vice president and environmental activist Al Gore, who showed him pictures of icecaps melting, he thought…

The local community will know that the library and the campus in general support local businesses and local efforts. They have an excellent opportunity to build community support and rapport through purchasing locally as a part of the sustainability plan.

Community Leadership

The campus library has many reasons to commit to sustainable building design. Aside from the apparent environmental reasons, the long-term benefits to their financial well-being and contribution to the community also make this an excellent project for the library. Sustainable building design demonstrates excellent community leadership for the library. People come to the library in search of knowledge and enlightenment. esponsible building design promotes the overall goals of the library as an example of what can be achieved and as a community resource.

Sustainable building creates sustainable communities. It only takes a single act to create the need for future buildings to follow sustainable principles. This will spread…

The management was also supportive shown by will to take part in extensive inquiry. In order to attain sustainability, there is the need to incorporate holistic integration because it can lead to a sustainable enterprise. Some of the sustainable companies include such elements all around in certain aspects of development sustainability such as concern for environmental stewardship (Wirtenberg, Harmon & Fairfield, 2006).

Making sustainability the core of business strategy and the Human esource may act as fundamentals to achieving sustainability. Sustainability may also be realized by having a strategic focus, and having initiatives, around the development of the organization and management of talents in the company. The top management or the HM sees the initiatives and talents nurtured. Companies should spend time to strengthen their organizational capabilities instead of worrying about the losses incurred in a day. The acknowledgement of the H as leaders is also a key step to…

Sustainable Development

A) According to Kates, .W., Parris, T.M., and Leiserowitz, A.A. (2005). What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development is taking into account the needs of different stakeholders in order to create practices and policies which are realistic and effective.

Brundtland eport argues that environment and development are inseparable. Explain why?

The environment and development work in conjunction with each other. This is because natural resources are finite and must be sustained in a particular area (i.e. development). When there is damage to the environment, this makes it harder to manage natural resources and destroys the ecosystem. Once this takes place, is the point irreversible damage is inevitable and it devastates any kind of development that is occurring. (Kates, Parris, & Leiserowitz, 2005)

What is the standard definition of sustainable development defined by the Brundtland's report? This is the first full definition, but the definition is ambiguous. Why?

Sustainable development…

Psychology and Environmental Preservation:

Environmental Psychology and Preservation:

Environmental psychology is a field in psychology that deals with the analysis of interactions and the relations between human populations and their environments. This field is sometimes referred to as ecological psychology, environmental sociology, social ecology, ecopsychology, and environmental social sciences. The conventional emphasis of the environmental psychology has been the emphasis on how the physical environmental influences the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals. On the other hand, recent studies in the field of environmental research have begun to focus on how various human actions impact the environment. This has contributed to the increased evaluation of the natural and man-made ecological issues of the relationship of people to their environment. The analyses have adopted a crucial significance to people's quality of life and the survival capacity of human beings. As the focus of recent researches in the field of environmental psychology…

Geen" Human Resouce Pactices And Envionmental Pefomance

A numbe of entepises have histoically adopted the appoach of compliance within thei envionmental initiatives, and by consequence, ules and legislations guiding thei envionmental appoaches. Howeve, ove the last many yeas, new consume needs, consume boycotts, global envionmental standads, dynamic pefeences, and othe envionmental factos have influenced coe values and the fundamental business stategies of copoations (Daily, Bishop and Steine, 2007). Oganizations ae pat of society, and it is impeative that they function like team playes; this is whee the concept of "geen" management becomes elevant. A key schema now is that a company's outcome is stongly impacted by envionmental concens (Taiq, Jan & Ahmad, 2016).

Envionmental and human esouce (HR) management's effect in the business context elates powefully to a moe compehensive association between oganizations' economic and envionmental pefomance. In this context, it is fequently agued that impoved envionmental pefomance esults in…

sustainability equated with no growth?

The central analogy of treadmill represented in the 'Treadmill of Production' was a type of running in place as in a typical treadmill without moving forward. It symbolizes a gradual decrease in the efficiency of the productive system. The post Second World War USA's economic system was a type wherein every unit of ecosystem involved in the production system produced less support for the country's workers and their families. However for the investors, it was quite favorable as it helped in the speedier growth towards profits and returns on investments made. Its results worked wonders for the investors but spelled doom for the workers and hence sustainability is equated with zero growth. (Gould; Pellow; Schnaiberg, 2003)

Workers suffered lay-offs in the capital-intensive form of production because of the growing treadmill and the most important perspectives that they were forced to accept was that taking on…

Environmental Cues Shape Behavior and Implications for the Environment

Summer 2013

Humans are responsive creatures, and a wide array of environmental cues serves to shape human behavior. In some cases, the responses to environmental cues are strictly in the self-interests of the consumer, but in other cases, these responses can be modified to promote improved outcomes. Because people may not be able to gauge the impact of their individual behaviors on the environment, it is important to identify those environmental cues that promote and sustain environmentally responsible behaviors. To this end, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning how environmental cues shape behavior and how behavior can be modified to support sustainability to limit the negative impact on the environment. Finally, the paper provides two possible solutions that could successfully change behavior and habits to lessen negative environmental impact followed by a summary of the research and…

Sustainability in Fashion

This study seeks to answer the question of how the concept of sustainability applies to local fashion production and to explain the connection between global fashion industries and fast fashion business to the sustainability fashion products.

The Designers Speak

Sustainable fashion is defined differently depending on who is asked to define the concept. Freda Giannini, Gucci creative director defines sustainable fashion as, "Quality items that stand the test of time -- it is the concept of sustainability, symbolized by a timeless handbag that you wear again and again, and can pass on…" (Friedman, 2010, p.1)

Oscar de la Renta, designer and brand founder stated that sustainable fashion "…implies a commitment to the traditional techniques, and not just the art, of making clothes." (Friedman, 2010, p.1) Oscar de la Renta designer stated that today, she worked in the same manner that she learned first "in the anteliers of…

sustainability mean?

Sustainability has been defined in many different ways, depending on the needs of the individual, organization and their ideological orientations. One common definition is: "living within the limits; understanding the interconnections among economy, society, and environment; [and] equitable distribution of resources and opportunities" ("Definitions of sustainability," Sustainable measures, 2012). Taking only what you need from the planet and giving back as much as you can in the form of recycling, reusing, and giving careful consideration to the stress that you put upon the earth's resources are all part of living a sustainable lifestyle.

From the perspective of my profession as a marketer, it is important for me to take note of concerns about sustainability because if customers are worried about their environmental impact, than I must be worried about it. Customers are attracted to the idea that they can both consume and be 'green' the same time. However,…

This will save students the cost of printing off materials, while also saving on the amount of paper wasted in the school. In addition, providing more books and resources online, instead of in a traditional library, will cut back on paper usage and waste.

The failure to initialize this "modernization" will have severe negative effects, the largest of which will be a limited access to research materials. Library supplies are an excellent resource, but there is far more information available on online databases and journals. These online resources, however, can only exist as long as there is a demand from students and professors, and schools continue to pay for them (Williams, 2010). Staying with the traditional library form of paper-bound books will result in less funds being allocated to online databases, which would in turn cut off revenue and limit the database's expansion; e-journals will not be able to pay…

Business sustainability is about realizing the pathway to preserving and protecting profits, people, and the planet. It is expressed through a company’s focus on the triple bottom line, also defined as the management of financial, social and environmental risks, duties and opportunities. Firms that engage in sustainable practices typically have some form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) program or policy in place that allows them to support and promote initiatives that are considered to be important either to the communities in which the firm operates or else good for the overall environment as a whole. Sustainable practices that businesses focus on can include anything from “going green,” reducing one’s environmental footprint, protecting water supplies, promoting scholarships in communities where economic disadvantages are high, and so on. Engaging in sustainable practice is the essence of maintaining a commitment to culture and to one’s core values. This paper will define the term…

They want to maintain that livelihood. And for 90% of the world, being sustainable is a matter of life and death (Agnew n.d.)." To that end in 2007 they Architecture for Humanity launched the Open Architecture Network "an online, open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design" where designers, engineers, and anyone else, professional or otherwise can share their ideas, designs and plans, collaborate, manage design projects from concept to implementation and build a more sustainable future (Open Architecture Network n.d.)

In addition to Sinclair and McDonough there are a wide range of architects and designers who are beginning to understand that their role is not simply to satisfy their own egos or curiosities but rather to help facilitate the sustainability of communities and human society at large. The New York-ased consulting firm Terrapin right Green, for example, was started by four architects who recognized…

As Lisa Mastny, an expert for the Worldwatch Institute, argues that sustainable tourism has been a new approach that forces many within the tourism business to take positive steps to "become more environmentally and socially responsible" (Mastny, npg). Eco-tourism has become a modern trend not only because of pressure towards greater environmental initiatives, but that having such a practice will ensure the future sustainability of the industry itself. Mastny argues that current eco-tourism measures has restructured management and operations along environmental lines (Mastny, npg). Principally that new measures are being instituted to reduce the damage to local environments and cultures by changing the way they use water, energy and resources to reduce consumption and efficiently dispose of waste. echnologies are being developed in the past ten years to provide renewable energy use, and ecologically sound chemical management practices. he general trend of the industry is to modify its behavior to…

Sustainability More About Politics Than Science?

The environment is a word which refers to the natural effects around us including the atmosphere, seas and oceans, rocks and mountains, plants, ice formations, human beings, stars and several others. These effects are best left in their natural state because when they get disturbed, they could have serious consequences on the atmosphere, electricity, water, weather, fire and the earth's magnetism. Sadly, this is the situation of things now and these consequences are real. Several problems are facing the environment causing global adverse effects and putting the people in it at risk. This research studies these problems and determines if the scientific and political measures put in place are effective in mitigating them

Environmental issues facing the world

The disturbances in the environment have brought about noticeable changes in climate and high frequencies of natural disasters. Take for example; the problem of global warming…

individuals with the ability to understand their connection to the world around them is the fundamental characteristic of an effective environmental education. To do this successfully requires two important things: individuals that are inspired by and actively involved in the physical world around them; and institutions of learning that provide curricula delineating the individual's link to these natural systems and societies at large.

The current environmental educational system in America, for the most part, illustrates a mis-educative experience. The system is mis-educative because most learning still takes place inside a classroom. Students are not encouraged to explore their relationship with the outside world either by literally going outside or through their studies. There is little or no formal attempt to encourage students to make the connection between what they learn in mathematics, science, economics or business to other subjects or the outside world. Any learning is thus, compartmented. It is…

Environmental Concern on Green Products Purchase: Empirical Study of German etailers

Evaluation of results

The analysis exhibits various results about the perceptions of German consumers with reference to green products. The findings have been able to achieve the research objectives and test the hypothesis based on the demographic characteristics of the sample population. The results reveal that all the sample population is well educated with 84% of participants have completed the graduate programs. Thus, the participant has advanced knowledge of health benefits of green products. They also have knowledge about the impact of conventional products on the environment, which influences consumer buying decisions of sustainable products. Larsson, & Arif Khan (2011) argue that green awareness motivates consumer's choice of pursuing the green criteria, and consumer's choice of product is also influenced by earlier purchases experience. When informed consumers decide to purchase sustainable products, they search for both primary and secondary…