Showing papers on "Social sustainability published in 1999"

Sustainability Indicators: Measuring the Immeasurable?

Abstract: Praise for the first edition: 'This book should be of interest to anyone interested in sustainable development, and especially sustainability indicators. Bell and Morse easily succeed in exposing the fundamental paradoxes of these concepts and, more importantly, they offer us a way forward. Readers ... will find their practical recommendations for those attempting to do sustainability analysis in the field most welcome, which is also the book's greatest strength.' Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability 'This book makes a valuable contribution to the theory and practice of using indicators for sustainability. It introduces systems ideas and a range of tools and techniques that have the potential to broaden and deepen our understanding of a whole range of complex situations. Well worth a closer look.' Christine Blackmore, Open University 'This is a book that explores new ways of thinking about how to measure sustainability... It offers stimulating food for thought for environmental educators and researchers.' Environmental Education Research 'This book tells me, as an SI 'practitioner', where I have been and why, and more importantly how I should be thinking in order to effectively present to and empower the local community in the years ahead.' David Ellis, Principal Pollution Monitoring Officer, Norwich City Council 'A practical guide to the development of sustainability indicators which offers a systemic and participative way to use them at local scale. Our preliminary results are highly positive and the approach is applicable in many contexts.' Elisabeth Coudert, Programme Officer Prospective and Regional Development, Blue Plan The groundbreaking first edition of Sustainability Indicators reviewed the development and value of sustainability indicators and discussed the advantage of taking a holistic and qualitative approach rather than focusing on strictly quantitative measures. In the new edition the authors bring the literature up to date and show that the basic requirement for a systemic approach is now well grounded in the evidence. They examine the origins and development of Systemic Sustainability Analysis (SSA) as a theoretical approach to sustainability which has been developed in practice in a number of countries on an array of projects since the first edition. They look at how SSA has evolved into the practical approaches of Systemic Prospective Sustainability Analysis (SPSA) and IMAGINE, and, in particular, how a wide range of participatory methodologies have been adopted over the years. They also provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of projects that undertake work in the general field of sustainable development.

Critical Dimensions of Sustainability in Higher Education 1

Abstract: This chapter explor es the evolution of the concern for sustainability in higher education. It describes the origin of the Talloires Declaration as a guiding set of commitments for colleges and universities pursuing sustainability. Critical dimensions of sustainability in higher education are presented as a result of the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future's (ULSF) 2 Sustainability Indicators Project. Critical conditions determining the success of sustainability initiatives are then discussed. Two case studies of university efforts to "green" their institutions are described in light of these dimensions and conditions for success. Sustainability and Ecojustice A concern for sustainability arose in the early seventies as growing numbers of people realized that the degradation of the environment would seriously undermine our ability to ensure expanding prosperity and economic justice. The most frequently cited definition of sustainability came from the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, in its description of new directions for "our common future." Sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). A series of United Nations' conferences and NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) meetings in the 1990s have provided a major framework in which the meaning and implications of sustainability have been clarified. In these major international events, representatives of governments, business and civil society have met to wrestle with the direction of development. They produced a series of international agreements, including: Agenda 21 from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio; the Vienna Conference Tribunal on Violations of Women's Human Rights; the Cairo Consensus and Action Plan of the International Conference on Population and Development; the Copenhagen Social Summit discussions of equitable, "people-centered" development; the Beijing Commitments regarding Rights and Roles of Women in Development; the Habitat II 1 Taken from Sustainability and University Life (W. L. Filho, ed., Peter Lang, 1999). 2 The Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF), located in Washington, D.C., is an international membership organization of academic leaders and institutions committed to the advancement of global environmental literacy and sustainability. ULSF helps colleges and universities build and strengthen institutional capacity to make sustainability a major focus of academic disciplines, research initiatives, operations and outreach. The ULSF Secretariat promotes the 1990 Talloires Declaration and maintains an international network of signatories, facilitating information exchange, providing technical support, and sponsoring conferences that foster organizational and individual capacity to develop sustainable policies and practices. ULSF is the higher education program of the Center for Respect of Life and Environment (CRLE). The Center, founded in 1986, promotes the greening of higher education and fosters earth ethics to guide sustainable development.

The Local Politics of Global Sustainability

Abstract: Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Like most political issues sustainability embraces issues of economic environmental and social justice and equity. In its real sense sustainability is the scope quality richness and benignity of human culture the biosphere and the economic life man made for them and the distribution of those benefits both now and over time. In this book entitled “The Local Politics of Global Sustainability” the authors explore the political implications of ecological economics. They envision a re-energized political system based on the type of self-governance referred to as strong democracy. As politics of engagement rather than consignment strong democracy empowers citizens to participate directly in community decision-making. Using examples of communities that are experimenting with various features of strong democratic systems the book explains the crucial biophysical economic and social issues involved in achieving a sustainable world that is chosen by the people rather than one imposed by external factors.

Reconciling “weak” and “strong” sustainability

Abstract: A conceptual and analytical approach is presented to reconcile weak and strong sustainability. It involves a reconsideration of the conception of total capital from an ecological‐economic system perspective. In particular, natural capital is classified into non‐renewable resources, renewable resources that are harvested, and those that are not used in production. Strong sustainability is defined in terms of constant environmental quality. Weak sustainability is characterised by non‐decreasing value of aggregate income and environmental quality, and formalised in terms of a “preference‐based social value function”. Ecosystem resilience and basic human needs are introduced as minimum sustainability requirements, and a “sustainability‐based social value function” is proposed, which is sensitive to potentially irreversible changes at the boundaries of the restricted opportunity space. It implies higher values associated to the trade‐offs between income and the environment than the preference‐based function, and the fact that sustainable development is only feasible if both minimum criteria are fulfilled.

Sustainability and the Social Sciences: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Integrating Environmental Considerations into Theoretical Reorientation

Abstract: * 1. Exploring Uncommon Ground: Sustainability as a Concept for the Social Sciences - Egon Becker, Thomas Jahn and Immanuel Stiess * Part I: Sustainability: Linking the 'Leitbild' to Emerging Fields of Knowledge ** 2. Social Sustainability and Whole Development: Exploring Dimensions of Sustainable Development - Ignacy Sachs ** 3. Sustainability and Territory: Meaningful Practices and Material Transformation - Henri Acselrad ** 4. Sustainability and Sociology: Northern Preoccupations - Michael Redclift ** 5. Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Gender: A View from a Feminist Perspective - Rosi Braidotti ** 6. From Experience to Theory: Traditions of Social-Ecological Research in Modern India - Ramachandra Guha ** 7. The Socio-Ecological Embeddedness of Economic Activity: The Emergence of a Transdisciplinary Field - Juan Martinez-Alier * Part II: Towards Defining, Measuring and Achieving Sustainability: Analytical Approaches in the Social Sciences ** 8. The Political Logic of Sustainability - Nazli Choucri ** 9. Economic Concepts of Sustainability: Relocating Economic Activity within Society and Environment - John M Gowdy

Weak Versus Strong Sustainability

Abstract: In this fully updated and revised edition of an original and popular text, Eric Neumayer offers an authoritative contribution to one of the most important questions concerning sustainable development: can natural capital be substituted by other forms of capital? Proponents of weak sustainability maintain that such substitutability is possible, whilst followers of strong sustainability regard natural capital as non-substitutable. This insightful book identifies the critical forms of natural capital in need of preservation and evaluates the most important indicators of weak and strong sustainability.

Growth, Redistribution, and Welfare: Toward Social Investment

Abstract: Contemporary approaches to social welfare are based on the idea that the resources generated by economic growth should be redistributed to fund social programs. Although this approach has dominated social policy since the 1950s, it has been undermined by the argument that redistributive social welfare expends scarce resources on unproductive social services, maintains needy people in dependency, and stifles economic growth. Faced with need for new ideas that will legitimate social welfare, social development offers an alternative perspective on redistribution that emphasizes resource allocations to social programs that are productivist and investment oriented and that enhance economic participation and make a positive contributiontodevelopment. Elaborating this argument, this article outlines strategies for implementing developmental social programs.

Fairness and Futurity: Essays on Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice

Abstract: Introduction PART ONE 1. Sustainable Development as a Contested Concept 2. Sustainability: Should We Start from Here? PART TWO 3. Sustainable Development and Our Obligations to Future 4. Sustainability and Intergenerational Justice 5. Ecology and Opportunity: Intergenerational Equity and Sustainable Options 6. Social Justice and Environmental Goods 7. An Extension of the Rawlsian Savings Principle to Liberal Theories of Justice in General 8. Sustainable Development and Accumulation of Capital: Reconciling the Irreconcilable PART THREE 9. Must the Poor pay More? Sustainable Development, Social Justice, and Environmental Taxation 10. Ecological Degradation: A Cause for Conflict, a Concern for Survival Index

Building the 21st Century Home: The Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood

Abstract: Introduction The Origins, The flight from the city, Lost Utopias, The shaping of the English home The Influences, Conservation: Environmental pressures on future settlements, Choice: Changing household characteristics and the 21st century home, Community: Social sustainability in the suburb and city, Cost: The economies of urban development The sustainable urban neighbourhood, Urban repopulation, The Eco-neighbourhood, urban building blocks, The sociable neighbourhood, A model neighbourhood?, The process of urban generation and regeneration.

Sustainability strategies for industry : the future of corporate practice

Abstract: Sustainable development and the industrial firm the meaning of sustaining corporate environmentalism, sustainability and management studies towards sustainable production and consumption a dinosaur's durvival kit - tools and strategies for sustainability COSY (Company Oriented sustainability) cultural development strategies and sustainability - a case study of the Body Shop sustainable technology managment - the role of networks of learning backcasting - the example of susstainable washing thirty cabbages - diversity of perspective to catalyze redesing in agrochemical industry sustainable forestry management as a model for sustainable industry - a case study of the Swedish approach sustainable production paradigns for Greenfield Economics knowledge, technology and sustainability implications of sustainability for business reseach and management education.

Sustainable Agriculture: A Matter of Ecology, Equity, Economic Efficiency or Expedience?

Abstract: Sustainability is the paradigm of our time, yet its use as a guide to planning or decision making is clouded by its ambiguity and the multiplicity of definitions in use. In this paper we address the issue of how best to deal with the multi-faceted nature of sustainability. We outline each of the facets of sustainability that have been discussed in the literature, but suggest that most of them boil down to three basic concepts: environmental stability, intergenerational equity and economic efficiency. Nevertheless, it remains difficult to link the concept to practical actions and decisions. We argue that a multiple criteria decision making approach is the best solution to this problem. This is consistent with the use of “sustainability indicators,” but such indicators need to be selected carefully to be relevant to the essential elements of sustainability.

The Condition of Sustainability

Abstract: This book examines the political economy of sustainable development. The authors consider why most approaches to sustainable development have proved inadequate. Bringing together key ideas from social theory, food regimes and sustainability debates, the book presents a new and more dynamic way of thinking about sustainable development and a methodology for applying these ideas. Case study material focuses on the food system particularly the sugar industry in Australia and Barbados.

Towards Sustainable Development: On the Goals of Development - and the Conditions of Sustainability

Abstract: Preface List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Sustainable Developments as Concept and Norm W.M.Lafferty and O.Langhelle A Global Ethic of Sustainability? J.Wetlesen On Need: A Central Concept in the Brundtland Report W.Haland Sustainable Development, State Sovereignty and International Justice A.Follesdal Sustainability, Morality and Future Generations P.Ariansen The Limits of Nature N.Stenseth Nature, Market and Ignorance: Can Development Be Managed? O.Langhelle Sustainable Development: Caught Between National Sovereignty and International Challenges J.B.Skjarseth Economic Analysis of Sustainability G.Asheim Economic Initiatives and Sustainable Development: An Assessment of Initiatives and Possibilities S.Hansen Future Challenges of Sustainable Development W.M.Lafferty and O.Langhelle Bibliography Index

Social Capital, Social Liabilities, and Social Resources Management

Abstract: This chapter explores the role of social capital in human resources management. We suggest that the recent interest in social capital has neglected the possibility that social networks may contain negative ties, and that attention to these social liabilities may provide additional insights into relationships and social networks in organizations. Research focusing on the antecedents and consequences of social networks in organizations is reviewed. We consider the effects of social capital and social liabilities on’ social’ resources management outcomes such as recruitment, selection, socialization, training, performance, career development, turnover, job satisfaction, power, and conflict.

Combining Social and Ecological Sustainability in the Nordic Forest Periphery

Abstract: The growth of environmental consciousness has set challenges to the development of remote rural areas dependent on the exploitation of forest and other natural resources. The ecological modernization perspective seems to be leading to a simple disregard for the problems of societal development in these areas. The northern forests are considered to be the ‘lungs of Europe’ and a storehouse of biodiversity. The perspective of sustainable development attaches greater attention to the incomes of the local residents and functionality of communities. The article stresses that social sustainability must be taken seriously in contemplating the use of natural resources in remote rural areas and in resolving environmental problems. The empirical subject of the article is the North Karelian Biosphere Reserve. There is an appraisal of ways of using natural resources on the reserve, which are both conducive to maintaining employment and ecologically friendly. Utilization of natural resources as well as the strengthening of conservation interests have been significant supra-local actors. Thus, is it important that biosphere reserve operations attract actors from various regional levels.

The Sustainability Gap: a Practical Indicator of Sustainability in the Framework of the National Accounts

Abstract: The concept of sustainable development needs to be based on a clear definition of sustainability and how it is to be measured. This paper defines environmental sustainability as the maintenance of important environmental functions, and identifies seven sustainability principles that relate this requirement to current environmental issues. From these principles, the paper derives physical indicators of sustainability, organised according to the framework of the national accounts, which enables a "sustainability gap" to be estimated, comprising the difference between the current level and the environmentally sustainable level of the indicator in question. This physical "sustainability gap" can be given a monetary value according to the expenditure that would be necessary on abatement or restoration technologies to close the gap. Although the monetary "sustainability gap" cannot appropriately be used to adjust the national accounting aggregates, its value, and its ratio to GNP, provide useful information both to decision-makers and to the general public about the economic effort that would be required to achieve an environmentally sustainable economy.

Defining and achieving sustainable development

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper analyses the fundamental problems of defining and achieving sustainable development. A common core of the various definitions of sustainability circulating is identified. Economic and scientific approaches to operationalize sustainability generally lead to management rules, which — if obeyed — should guarantee sustainability. Since it is not possible to precisely predict the future, this scientific—technical—economic route to sustainability may fail. A second, ethical way, to sustainability which interprets sustainability as an ideal for fair play is introduced. How the two different ways may complement one another with a three-step hierarchy of political goals is elucidated.

The Multinational Corporation and Social Justice: Experiments in Supranational Governance

Abstract: The multinational corporation (MNC) is dichotomous in nature. While on the one hand it is a vehicle for private capital accumulation, when socially-embedded it may serve as a means to further social provisioning and social justice. A social economics approach to the MNC is developed to incorporate both private and social transaction costs in international production and trade where the divergence in these costs may require collective action to mitigate the effects of social dislocation. These issues are illustrated by experiments in corporate codes of conduct related to child labor and environmental sustainability. Since corporate codes may be insufficient to socially embed the activities of MNCs, efforts to develop supranational governance mechanisms to better achieve social justice are also considered.

Pathways Towards Sustainability: The Australian Approach

Abstract: Following its rise to international prominence, sustainability has become an official principle or goal in many countries. Due to contextual differences, countries have followed different paths in the pursuit of sustainability. Approachescan be classified into three categories: green planning; institutional reform; and social mobilization. None of these courses on its own is likely to achieve sustainability. Yet, countries often appear to develop a path dominated by one of these approaches. This paper focuses on Australia, sketches the extent to which green planning, institutional reform and social mobilization have been playing a role in the pursuit of sustainability, and illustrates the difficulties of developing a pathway that combines these approaches.

Sustainability and the impact of Chinese policy initiatives upon construction

Abstract: The environment has been perceived as an international issue, and ways of attaining sustainability are becoming important for countries seeking sustainable development. The international community has been active in developing policy frameworks towards achieving the sustainability, such as an ecological modernization approach and environment assessment. Developing countries deserve special attention in the effort to make sustainability an operative criterion in their development activities. Given the difficulties that developing countries are facing, their perceptions of the concept and principles of sustainability differ in various contexts from those of developed countries, and the attainment of sustainability is much more difficult. Therefore, the establishment of a global partnership is important for the vision of sustainability to be realized and operationalized in the world. The current stage of economic development in China provides an opportunity to incorporate environmental provisions into the national development strategies from a relatively early stage, rather than attempt retrofit to strategies. However, at present China's policy initiatives expressed in its Agenda 21 remains only a visionary concept. A comprehensive policy framework and realistic implementation measures are needed. The environmental impacts of the construction industry are extensive, particularly in developing countries. However, as in many developing countries, China's sustainable construction is still at its primary stage and current practice is unsatisfactory.

The green host effect : an integrated approach to sustainable tourism and resort development

Abstract: This paper offers recommendations for responsible tourism and resort development in the tropics, to both minimize the industry's negative environmental and social impacts and increase the overall positive contribution of tourism to conservation and local well-being. It describes a series of management practices and technologies that developers can use to increase the environmental and social sustainability of their developments, as well as a series of planning and policy tools for governments to guide the development of tourism in their countries. Although these tools are principally for the public and private sector, they will also be useful to groups such as non-governmental organizations, development agencies and local communities seeking to become more informed participants in tourism development.

Human numbers, environment, sustainability, and health

Abstract: The complex relationships between economic development, population size, environmental conditions, and health have long stimulated discussion Usually, however, health has not been regarded as the primary outcome of interest. For example, a prominent paper published in 1967, entitled “Health, population and economic development,” examined various inter-relationships between these three variables—with the exception of how population growth or economic development affected health.1 Similarly, the much quoted report of the World Commission on Environment and Development of 1987 paid little attention to how environmental and economic changes affect population health.2 There is need for a more critical assessment of the ecological conditions under which health gains might be both generalised to the whole human population and sustained into the future. #### Summary points The rapid increase in population which began about two centuries ago has slowed since the 1960s, and stabilisation at around 10-11 billion is now expected The disruption of natural systems on a global scale now seems a more serious potential harm from excessive numbers than does the occurrence of local difficulties in subsistence The prospect of further intensification of ecologically disruptive economic activity means that paths to sustainability will require a shared radical “greening” of productive technologies and consumption habits The main practical need, in the short term, is for indicators of ecological and social sustainability There will be substantial scope for improving population health at any level of national income, by developing social and human, rather than material, resources We have familiarity with the scientific literature on population biology, the history of human ecology, and global environmental change and its potential health consequences. We consulted mainstream authoritative texts on these topics. The extensive literature on climate change was accessed through publications of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Demographic, economic, and other characteristics for national populations are taken from …

The Factor 10/MIPS-Concept: Bridging Ecological, Economic, and Social Dimensions with Sustainability Indicators

Abstract: The present throughput economy will yield to a customised economy, in which customtailored services are more important than mass products, and access to services more important than ownership of goods. In the customised economy, the natural resources land, energy, and materials will be largely replaced by knowledge, know-how, and know-who in the process of providing wealth to people. In this paper, ecological indicators are presented which can be used to quantify the resource productivity of products, services, systems, and performances. Together with Factor 10 they form a framework which allows the operationalisation of the sustainability concept. The indicators presented fit well into the economic realities of the customised service economy.

Conceptual muddle, practical dilemma: Human rights, social development and social work education

Abstract: A clear understanding of the concept of human rights is fundamental to social work that places a priority on social development as a strategy for social justice; this paper illustrates the difficulty in applying the concept by reference to the Asia-Pacific area. Social workers should take a position on human rights and social justice, weighing conceptual, cultural and political aspects. This is a prerequisite to defining feasible strategies, based on a view of the relationships between idealism and pragmatism and between universalism and relativism. For social work educators, it is a prerequisite to curriculum design for social development.