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Governments develop policies that set strategic directions on matters of national significance, referred to in this paper as strategic policies. Australia's Commonwealth Government develops and influences national environmental an...
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Governments develop policies that set strategic directions on matters of national significance, referred to in this paper as strategic policies. Australia's Commonwealth Government develops and influences national environmental and sustainability policies despite having limited constitutional powers in the management of natural resources. The Commonwealth Government has, over the past three decades, developed strategic policies aimed at sustainably managing forests, water, soils and agricultural lands. The design and implementation arrangements of environmental policies that have endured is not well studied, and this paper addresses this knowledge gap in the context of a federal system. The National Forest Policy Statement, the National Water Initiative and the Natural Heritage Trust have endured centre-left Labor and centre-right Coalition Governments, and serve as case studies. These policies have required structural adjustments to industries to varying degrees to limit impacts on the environment, leading to contestations about policy objectives. The policy cycle serves as the primary heuristic for analysis and the research finds that policy objectives are constrained by the Commonwealth Government's limited constitutional powers on environmental matters. Its participation in strategic policies is driven through notions of resolving a crisis and the policies endure in a phase of indifference to the original policy objectives.
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The sustainability movement has more influence over company and government climate change actions than any treaty, law or regulation could possibly have, and results in quicker, measurable actions. The sustainability movement is a...
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The sustainability movement has more influence over company and government climate change actions than any treaty, law or regulation could possibly have, and results in quicker, measurable actions. The sustainability movement is alive and well, and will continue to grow despite the outcry over some countries backpedaling from the Paris Accord. When one stops to consider just how much action companies from around the world have taken toward sustainability one cannot help but be amazed that so much was done without treaties, laws and regulations to force compliance. The primary driver of action is peer pressure--that which is derived from the actions of industry, and not the actions of government. This movement, found under a company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) banner, will continue to grow by virtue of the continuous adoption of sustainability reporting, and in particular, supply chain reporting, benchmarking and risk management practices of industry, and the adoption of energy efficient (EE) projects. These actions have already resulted in significant positive changes to private company and government behavior, company value, lower emissions, greater operational efficiency, and competitive advantage. One could argue that peer pressure is much more effective than any treaty, laws, or regulations could possibly be. But, it should be noted that the term "climate change" remains a contentious issue and companies would be wise to refer to all related actions as sustainability.
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This paper investigates the sustainability initiatives of the accounting profession in support of sustainable development. This is important because the post-Rio sustainability agenda involves the role of accounting in directing c...
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This paper investigates the sustainability initiatives of the accounting profession in support of sustainable development. This is important because the post-Rio sustainability agenda involves the role of accounting in directing corporate behaviour; however, a review of critical literature indicates censure of accounting as being apathetic to society and environment. To see whether this criticism still holds, using a desktop research approach, the paper proceeds to investigate the sustainability initiatives contained in the web portals of selected accounting bodies. Findings indicate appreciable levels of initiatives to sustainable development; however, lack of standards, regulations and uniform accounting schemes still poses a challenge such that contemporary sustainability accounting appears more like a weak approximation of the triple bottom line. It concludes that accounting requires a more pragmatic response to sustainable development, as this would facilitate government and institutional policies towards sustainability, and recommends that vital aspects of response should include carbon accounting standards, regulated sustainability accounting and the formation of'engineering accounting' in order to address the challenges of climate change and carbon trading.
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PurposeThis paper aims to present the findings of an analysis of the environmentally sustainable policies and practices (ESPPs) used by independent and chain-affiliated hotels. The study aimed to ascertain the engagement of hotels...
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PurposeThis paper aims to present the findings of an analysis of the environmentally sustainable policies and practices (ESPPs) used by independent and chain-affiliated hotels. The study aimed to ascertain the engagement of hotels with ESPPs and provide tentative evidence of their commitment towards meeting the expectations of environmentally conscious stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThis study used secondary data and content analysis to examine the ESPPs of a sample of 220 hotels in Melbourne, Australia. A systematic review was conducted of hotel websites to reveal, in a tabulated way, the range of reporting of environmental material provided by various rated hotels.FindingsThis analysis suggests that environmentally friendly business practices are prominently displayed by the hotels sampled; however, independent non-chain affiliated hotels are yet to adopt ESPPs in any visible way.Originality/valueThis study was broadly informed by stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1984) and aimed to ascertain the engagement of hotels with ESPPs. While previous studies have focussed on chain hotels, this research involved a greater range of hotels of different profiles to highlight the mix of ESPPs across the hotel sector. Rather than merely examining the corporate websites of hotel companies, the research additionally examined ESPPs at the individual hotel property level, as this is where policies are implemented into practice. The extant literature to date has not studied the extent to which ESPPs are adopted by independent and chain-affiliated hotels at this level, and it is this research gap that the study addresses.
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Most developing countries, particularly Indonesia, will be facing problems of sludge pressure in the next decades due to the increase in practices of legal and illegal logging as well as land and water demands. Consequently, they ...
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Most developing countries, particularly Indonesia, will be facing problems of sludge pressure in the next decades due to the increase in practices of legal and illegal logging as well as land and water demands. Consequently, they will also be facing the challenges of soil erosion and sludge management due to increased quantities of sludge coming from several potential sources, such as activated sludge, chemical sludge, fecal sludge and solid wastes as well as erosion and sedimentation. Although the government of Indonesia has enacted laws and policies to speed up the implementation of the programs and activities related to sludge management, the detailed practice concepts in implementing the programs need to be identified. Discussion of role-sharing amongst the related government agencies, private institutions and other stakeholders is urgent for clarifying the participation of each party in the next years to come. This paper proposes a management approach and level of responsibilities in sludge management. Implementation of zero ACL zero AS and zero AP policies needs to be adopted by local and central governments. Application of sludge on the agricultural lands and other uses will promote sustainable development.
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Global concern to promote sustinable development, highlighted by the Rio and Kyoto conferences, offers the building research community an opportuntiy to become linked more closely to the policy and operational aims of governmetns ...
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Global concern to promote sustinable development, highlighted by the Rio and Kyoto conferences, offers the building research community an opportuntiy to become linked more closely to the policy and operational aims of governmetns and industry. The publication of CIB Agenda 21 provides the community with a global framework for assessing the contribution of sustainable construction, and of individual research centres, to the sustainable development aims of Agenda 21. The roles that different research sectors can play in the development of sustainability policies and practices are reviewed, and criteria for evaluating the impact of CIB Agenda 21 are suggested.
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This article presents a critical reflection on the theory and practice of social sustainability in the built environment, identifies areas of agreement and disagreement, explores theoretical and conceptual gaps and challenges, and...
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This article presents a critical reflection on the theory and practice of social sustainability in the built environment, identifies areas of agreement and disagreement, explores theoretical and conceptual gaps and challenges, and suggests practical implications for future research and urban policy. It argues that despite revisionist approaches which challenge the tripartite structure of sustainable development, social dimension of sustainability remains an essential valid pillar. Utilising a qualitative meta-analysis methodology for undertaking critical analysis of previous research and publications on the topic, key themes of theory and practice of social sustainability are identified and critically examined. Accordingly, 10 key formative characteristics of social sustainability and their research and policy implications are introduced. The article concludes with institutional observations for policy-makers to achieve greater success in addressing largely underestimated dimensions of social sustainability in urban settings.
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Ireland has experienced significant recent changes as to how the nation's water and wastewater infrastructure is managed, as a result of a national water utility, Irish Water, being founded in 2013. The management of surface and f...
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Ireland has experienced significant recent changes as to how the nation's water and wastewater infrastructure is managed, as a result of a national water utility, Irish Water, being founded in 2013. The management of surface and foul water used to be governed by local authorities, with inherently local outlooks with respect to the prevention of both pollution and flooding. The introduction of Irish Water with a more national (and global) agenda into this traditionally locally focused service has introduced an additional layer of governance. This study has used this management structure overhaul opportunity to make a critical evaluation of current sustainable stormwater management practices and policies in Ireland, using Dublin as a case study. From a combination of structured interviews and literature review, the paper evaluates the conditions that help promote effective sustainable drainage policies and implementation against those aspects that cause such infrastructure to be merely an irrelevant add-on. The key barriers to the uptake of sustainable stormwater management practices in Ireland have been summarised as well as suggestions made as to how these can be overcome. This research has highlighted the need for the engineer to play a more visible role in such matters of public interest.
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The magnitude and implicatiosn for the cosntruciton industry of reductions in carbon dioxide emissions that will ultimately be requried globally and in industrialized countries are critically examined. As a result of the problem o...
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The magnitude and implicatiosn for the cosntruciton industry of reductions in carbon dioxide emissions that will ultimately be requried globally and in industrialized countries are critically examined. As a result of the problem of climate change, these reductions are found to be in the region of 80/90/100 by 2050 - much larger than those presently udner discussion in national and global political fora. The technological feasibility of buildings with low energy requriements and lwo carbon emissions suggests that exisitng technology is capable of delivering reductions in this range.
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This work investigates the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflowing in the transport sector and its connected activities of storage and communication of 30 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developme...
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This work investigates the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflowing in the transport sector and its connected activities of storage and communication of 30 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and the carbon dioxide (CO_2) emission from sectoral fuel combustion. To this purpose, an unbalanced dataset containing statistical information, all derived from different databases of various international organizations, for the 25 years between 1981 and 2005 is analysed through the use of the econometric technique of panel data. Apart from other evidence, the empirical result shows the existence of a negative relationship, although quantitatively very low, characterizing the cumulative effect of the considered type of FDI on CO_2. This helps us to understand that the foreign investment flow arriving in the transport sector of the considered OECD receiving countries does not generate a dangerous detriment to the environment as can generally be expected. As a result, we argue in favour of those policy prescriptions suggesting its enforcement.
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