Applying DPSIR to sustainable development

The DPSIR framework was devised in the late 1990s as a tool for the reporting and analysis of environmental problems, ranging in scale from global systems to localized watersheds. Since then, international organizations have begun to apply this framework to the evaluation of sustainable development initiatives, to better understand and overcome barriers to sustainability. While this may seem a logical application for an integrated environmental assessment tool, the use of DPSIR in sustainable development will likely perpetuate the least satisfactory outcomes of development. DPSIR cannot address the impact of aggregated, informal responses on the drivers and pressures related to environmental problems and sustainability challenges. This problem is not merely an oversight of the framework, but an issue that emerges within the structure of DPSIR itself through the unexamined, unacknowledged hierarchy of actors that this framework implicitly creates with its typology. Therefore, a DPSIR-centered approach is not a new direction for development within international organizations, but instead, a reproduction of existing inequalities between actors and stakeholders within current approaches.     

Rural well-being: the push and pull and the diversity in-between

This article proposes an analytical framework for developing indicators of agriculture and rural community sustainability, including the symbiotic relationship between sustainable agriculture and rural well-being. Rural well-being offers a sustainable approach to healthy lifestyles that are based on a balance of many complex components including social, economic, and environmental issues. The United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) have taken positions on these issues. The United States Department of Agriculture is ‘committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America’ through loans and subsidies (USDA 2015). The USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program vision is to sustain ‘an enduring American agriculture of the highest quality that is profitable, protects the nation’s land and water and is a force, providing a healthy and rewarding way of life for farmers and ranchers whose quality products and operations sustain their communities and society’ (SARE 2016; Smart, Sandt and Chris Zdorovtsov 2016). UK government and non-government agencies have taken a more holistic approach to rural well-being in their efforts to achieve a more balanced social–economic–environmental state of rural well-being. The UK interpretation of Community Supported Agriculture is a tested example of this sustainable approach to fostering rural well-being (Saltmarsh et al. 2011).     

Assessing aquaculture sustainability: a comparative methodology

Little work dealing with the evaluation of aquaculture system sustainability has so far been undertaken on a global and comparative basis. Moreover, such work is mostly based on very unbalanced approaches in terms of the dimensions of sustainable development that are taken into account. The approach adopted in this article is designed to encompass all the dimensions of sustainability including the institutional one (governance). The taking into account of this latter, in particular, together with the role played by aquaculture in sustainability at the territorial level gives the approach its original and innovative nature. The process of establishing the checklist of sustainability indicators in aquaculture relies on a hierarchical nesting approach which makes it possible to link indicators with general sustainability criteria and principles. At once multidisciplinary and participatory, the approach compares several countries with highly differentiated types of aquaculture system. An original finding from this work is that the technically most intensive farming model scores better than more extensive systems, which might have been thought to be closer to natural systems in their environmental dimension and therefore intuitively more ‘sustainable’. This result suggests relating sustainability outcomes to the level of control and of devolved responsibilities.     

A comparative decision-making model for sustainable end-of-life vehicle management alternative selection using AHP and extent analysis method on fuzzy AHP

Environmental protection and sustainable development are getting increasing attention in the automobile industries. Environmental consciousness has increased, and sustainability has become an important requirement for the management of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). The proper management of ELVs can bring improved sustainability performance for any society or organisation. There are several alternative options for ELVs management such as reuse, repair, reconditioning, remanufacturing and recycling. Environmental legislation is forcing original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to manage their products at the end of their life cycle to reduce their potential environmental impact. An appropriate selection model for sustainable ELV management alternatives in the dynamic, competitive and regulatory environment can enable a firm to satisfy economic, environmental, social and technological requirements. This study proposes an integrated model to select the dimensions and criteria for evaluating sustainable alternatives for the proper management of ELVs. First, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is used to select the most important dimensions and criteria for sustainable alternative selection. Next, a hierarchy has been constructed to develop a systematic technique to solve the alternatives selection problem. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and extent analysis method on the fuzzy AHP (FEAHP) model have been used based on the hierarchy to evaluate the most suitable alternatives from the sustainability point of view. The strength of the proposed model is that it compares the results of both methods, the imprecision of experts’ opinions is considered in the evaluation process and the model is easy to use.     

Theorising pathways to sustainability

Using a Pathways approach, controversies over environmental and natural resource management are viewed as expressions of alternative, or competing, pathways to sustainability. This supports deeper understanding of the underlying causes of natural resource management controversies. The framework is composed of two elements: the STEPS (Social, Technological, and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Pathways approach and frame analysis. Many sustainable development dilemmas are played out in specific places and consequently, the Pathways approach is integrated with a place-based frame analysis. The resulting framework guides empirical investigation in place-based contexts. This theorising about sustainability science can be used to cast light on contested natural resource management issues, in this case mining in northern Sweden. By exposing the range of alternative Pathways to critical norms of sustainable development, we ascertain whether action alternatives are compatible with sustainable futures. The framework provides a way in which sustainability science can better understand the origins of natural resource management conflicts, characterise the positions of the actors involved, identify the potential for cooperation between stakeholders leading to policy resolution and judge what Pathways help or hinder the pursuit of sustainable development. In addition, it can enhance sustainability science by guiding integrative sustainability research at the project scale.     

Sustainable development: the challenge of implementation

This paper focuses on efforts to produce an operational definition of the concept of ‘sustainable development’ as articulated by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). ‘Sustainability’ has become an increasingly significant environmental issue; the problems in articulating a workable concept will differ among nations and international organizations attempting to define the term. Additionally, the term encompasses the varied fields of ecology, philosophy, and economics; every discipline imparts its own bias. Various definitions are provided and the significance and difficulty of developing an operational definition of Sustainable development is discussed. For example, sustainable development has become a ‘needs'-oriented term, an entitlement that priority should be given to the needs of the world's poor. Some argue that living standards which go beyond the basic minimum are sustainable only if consumption standards everywhere have regard for long-term sustainability. Scientifically, sustainability involves replicability and regeneration through an unforeseeable future. When prices reflect social cost and there are no externalities, optimal choices will be made between present and future consumption. Much of the debate involving sustainability involves deep-rooted fears or phobias, e.g. resource depletion, ‘energy crises’ and ‘timber crises’.     

ToSIA—A tool for sustainability impact assessment of forest-wood-chains

Within the forest sector, the sustainability concept has evolved from a narrow focus on sustainable wood production to a much broader evaluation of environmental, social, and economic sustainability for whole value chains. A new software tool - ToSIA - has been developed for assessing sustainability impacts of Forest-Wood-Chains (FWCs). In the approach, FWCs are defined as chains of production processes (e.g. harvesting-transport-industrial processing), which are linked with products (e.g. a timber frame house). Sustainability is determined by analysing environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicators for all the production processes along the FWC. The tool calculates sustainability values as products of the relative indicator values (i.e. indicator value expressed per unit of material flow) multiplied with the material flow entering the process. Calculated sustainability values are then aggregated for the segments of the FWC or for the complete chain. The sustainability impact assessment requires carefully specified system boundaries. ToSIA uses a data-oriented approach that is very flexible in the focus of the analysis and the selection of indicators of sustainability. An example of alternative Norway spruce management systems in Southern Germany and their effects on six sustainability indicators is presented. The less intensive management system with natural regeneration and motor-manual harvesting shows higher carbon storage and slightly less energy use. It creates more employment and higher labour costs, but the average rate of accidents is also higher. ToSIA offers a transparent and consistent methodological framework to assess sustainability impacts in the forest-based sector as affected, e.g. by changes in policies, market conditions, or technology. The paper discusses strengths and limitations of the approach and provides an outlook on further development perspectives of the methodology.     

Embracing diverse worldviews to share planet Earth

Leading societies toward a more sustainable, equitably shared, and environmentally just future requires elevating and strengthening conversations on the nonmaterial and perhaps unquantifiable values of nonhuman nature to humanity. Debates among conservationists relating to the appropriateness of valuing ecosystems in terms of their human utility have eclipsed the more important and impactful task of expressing conservation concerns in terms that are meaningful to diverse stakeholders. We considered the wide global diversity of perspectives on the biosocial complex—the relationships and interactions between all living species on Earth—and argue that humanity's best chance for effective conservation is to take a pluralistic approach that engages seriously with the worldviews of all stakeholders. Many worldviews—particularly those in indigenous cultures—place a higher value on the spiritual and nonmaterial aspects than what is often represented by the discourse surrounding Western conservation policy. Alternative framings of the biosocial complex that recognize nature's intrinsic value can be powerful motivators for social change and for local-scale conservation efforts. At a national and international level, changing ethical framings of human relationships with nature have started influencing conceptions of human rights relating to the environment and of the rights of nature itself. This change has led to an increased role of the judiciary in promoting environmental sustainability and promoting justice for groups who are most often affected by environmental harms. We hope our essay will motivate the scientific community to change its own perception of what a sound and sustainable relationship between humanity and other species should be and will help citizens become active environmental subjects, connected to the ecosystems around them.     

Community sustainability: a holistic approach to measuring the sustainability of rural communities in Scotland

ABSTRACT

Although sustainable development was defined in the Brundtland Report almost 30 years ago, the current usage of the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development remain highly equivocal. In the context of rural communities, multiple interpretations and weak definitions lead to confusion in understanding what comprises a sustainable rural community. Building on existing definitions (e.g. Baker’s, 2006, ‘Ladder of Sustainable Development’), models (principally, The Egan Review’s, 2004, ‘Components of Sustainable Communities’) and findings of this study, a sustainable community is defined and a holistic model of a sustainable place-based rural community is presented. This model, the sustainable community design (SCD) is used as the basis for analysing community sustainability, which is measured using mixed methods and scorecard assessment. Sensitivity of the method is demonstrated with inter- and intra-community variations in sustainability across three diverse Scottish rural communities. Intra-community variations illustrate heterogeneity in community sustainability, explain ambiguity in characterisations of an individual community’s sustainability, and highlight the importance of an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to community development. The SCD framework is presented as a useful tool for meso-level sustainability assessment and to facilitate the sustainable development of rural communities.     

Planning and implementing sustainability in higher education institutions: an overview of the difficulties and potentials

Planning in sustainable development is believed to be an important element in allowing higher education institutions to set their goals and to commit themselves towards undertaking concrete actions and measures at all levels in order to implement sustainability. Yet, there is a paucity of research that has looked at the extent to which planning can support institutions of higher education to assess their performances and to determine whether the set aims have been met. This research gap needs to be met to allow a better understanding of how planning can help to promote the integration of the three components of sustainable development – economic development, social development and environmental protection in higher education. This paper explores the challenges for planning the sustainable development in higher education, also outlining the potentials lessons learned that could assist in improving Education for Sustainable Development efforts in Higher Education Institutions. Among its main results are the fact that many universities wish to pursue sustainable development, but their efforts are hindered by lack of institutional support and planning and limited emphasis on approaches, such as problem-based learning. The universities that are engaged in the field have to face many problems, varying from limited resources to lack of trained staff. As a result, integrated approaches to sustainability become difficult to implement. Finally, the paper has identified the fact that many opportunities offered mainstream developments, such as the UN Declaration ‘The World we Want’ or the UN Sustainable Development Goals are not being put to full use.     

Conservation Success as a Function of Good Alignment of Social and Ecological Structures and Processes

How to create and adjust governing institutions so that they align (fit) with complex ecosystem processes and structures across scales is an issue of increasing concern in conservation. It is argued that lack of such social‐ecological fit makes governance and conservation difficult, yet progress in explicitly defining and rigorously testing what constitutes a good fit has been limited. We used a novel modeling approach and data from case studies of fishery and forest conservation to empirically test presumed relationships between conservation outcomes and certain patterns of alignment of social‐ecological interdependences. Our approach made it possible to analyze conservation outcome on a systems level while also providing information on how individual actors are positioned in the complex web of social‐ecological interdependencies. We found that when actors who shared resources were also socially linked, conservation at the level of the whole social‐ecological system was positively affected. When the scales at which individual actors used resources and the scale at which ecological resources were interconnected to other ecological resources were aligned through tightened feedback loops, conservation outcome was better than when they were not aligned. The analysis of individual actors’ positions in the web of social‐ecological interdependencies was helpful in understanding why a system has a certain level of social‐ecological fit. Results of analysis of positions showed that different actors contributed in very different ways to achieve a certain fit and revealed some underlying difference between the actors, for example in terms of actors’ varying rights to access and use different ecological resources. El Éxito de la Conservación como Función de una Buena Alineación de Estructuras y Procesos Sociales y Ecológicos     

Stochastic environmental research risk assessment

In a briefly approach, sustainability can be defined as the ability to achieve economic prosperity while protecting the natural systems of the planet, and providing a higher quality of life for its people. Nowadays it is a prime and very active area of research, fundamental for human development. Several concepts based on economics, social and environmental concerns have been considered in the development of sustainability indices. The sustainability concept is, not only but necessarily, dependent on “quantification of the environment health”, necessary to determine its effectiveness in achieving or increasing the environmental capacities of ecosystems, as well as to compare alternative plans and policies, to influence decision-makers.Environmental indices are a very important tool for the analysis of some environmental assessment factors, providing quantitative criteria and synthesizing the available information. A good index should be simple to use, transparent, and expandable across other issues. In particular, environmental indices are a useful tool for several audiences, to aid environmental decision making and to allow the media to keep score of and reduce complex information to a smaller, more easily retained, amount of information [Hardi, P., DeSouza-Huletey, J.A., 2000. Issues in analyzing data and indicators for sustainable development. Ecol. Model. 130, 59–65].The goal of this work is the development of environmental indices, based on stochastically simulated scenarios, using probabilistic approaches. This study was applied to assess the impact of particulate air contamination on the Setúbal Peninsula ecosystems (South of Lisbon, Portugal).     

Measuring sustainable governance in the European Union

This paper examines the problem of measuring sustainable governance in the European Union (EU-27) through the use of duality and the Slutsky equation. The proposed methodology is based on the application of a three-dimensional optimisation model, where the arguments of the objective (sustainable social welfare) function are economic goods that contribute to sustainable economic growth; environmental goods that provide for sustainable environmental protection; and social goods through which sustainable social development is achieved. The dual problem, formulated through this three-dimensional theoretical model, is solved to find the optimal solution, indicating a certain sustainability level. We suggest that this solution can be used for calculating the value of what we define here as the sustainable governmental policy indicator, which is considered to provide quantitative measurement of government policies on sustainable development within the context of ‘good governance’. Furthermore, it is suggested that the Slutsky equation can be used as a reliable method for long-term monitoring and planning of national as well as international good governance with regard to sustainable development policies. In its empirical part, the paper applies the theoretical model in an analysis of the sustainable development indicators (as set out in the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) of the EU) in Bulgaria for the period 2000–2010 and compares them to those of the EU-27.     

A sustainability index for small island developing states

This paper proposes a novel approach to measuring the progress of small island developing states (SIDS) towards sustainable development (SD) as set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Currently, these goals do not provide adequate guidance on how countries might measure their progress towards sustainability. We use these goals and a subset of their targets to develop an index with concrete targets, through the use of pertinent sustainability indicators, that SIDS should aim to achieve a sustainable society. In addition to the three categorical pillars of SD (social, economic and environmental), we included the category Climate Change and Disaster Management (incorporating Disaster Risk Reduction). The basis of our decision is that the UN and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have both recognized the vulnerability of SIDS to both environmental hazards. Our index scores a total 70 individual indicators for the four categories to track the progress of a SIDS towards a sustainable society. Using the Caribbean nation, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, as our SIDS case study, we report the average of the scores for each category to illustrate its progress towards sustainability. Overall Trinidad and Tobago is slowly progressing towards a more sustainably developed society. Our results show that the nation is only moderately successful regarding progress in three traditional pillars of SD, social, economic and environmental. However, Trinidad and Tobago scores poorly in the Climate Change and Disaster Management category and needs to improve in this area especially due to its vulnerability.     

Is software sustainability considered in the CSR of software industry?

Software is a key factor in the functioning of today’s world. Software is supposed to have some characteristics such as: reliability, security, etc., but it is not at all easy to find energy efficiency considered as being one of software’s most important features. Aspects related to Green Software have begun to be considered vital and basic, due to pressure from a society which is becoming more and more aware of environmental problems. In this paper we want to explore whether software companies, responsible for developing software, are aligning their strategies with environmental concerns. To do so, we have checked the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies of the ten most important software companies and looked at these documents with reference to the UN’s sustainable development goals. A well-defined method for carrying out the analysis of the CSR policies led the authors to identify which of the sustainability actions proposed can be classified within any of the software sustainability dimensions. The analysis of these actions shows that sustainability is considered in most of the companies; nonetheless, most attention is currently devoted to hardware-based initiatives intended to reduce the carbon footprint of the hardware resources of the companies. In addition, green software initiatives are still not the priority, despite the influence of software on energy consumption, and in spite of its impact on the environment. Using the set of actions selected, a set of specific actions for software sustainability, to be included in the CSR of software companies, has been defined.     

Conceptualizing and incorporating social sustainability in the business world

One of the most important challenges faced by business managers today is the integration of sustainability into their core functions. The contemporary enterprise is forced to leap forward from the mere adoption of green practices toward rethinking, redesigning, and redeveloping business practices in a more sustainable way. Most of the initiatives in this attempt have so far emphasized primarily the economic and environmental aspects of sustainable development and overlooked the social dimension of sustainability. As more organizations commit to sustainability, there is an increasing concern to incorporate social sustainability throughout their business operations. To conceptualize and integrate the notion, some organizations use preexisting indicators to demonstrate the value and impact of sustainability, while others look beyond the measurement of impacts by constructing their own system of indicators. This paper draws on a comprehensive literature review to determine a broadly acceptable framework of social sustainability indicators to be conceptualized and integrated into the business world. Findings suggest that economic and environmental sustainability can be driven together with core social factors including fairness and equality, poverty, health, education, delinquencies, demography, culture, and employee engagement within an organization. These results offer insight into the emerging phenomenon of formulating sustainable business strategies for organizations based on social indicators to attain the ultimate sustainable outcomes. This study is among the first to identify social sustainability indicators from societal and corporate perspectives. It offers a comprehensive social sustainability framework that may be adopted by organizations in the business world.     

Exploring the role of local community perceptions in sustainability measurements

Measuring sustainability is an integral part of decision-making processes in order to promote sustainable development. The present paper focuses on sustainability indicators as these are measured on local level and explores two main issues: firstly, the subjective measurement of indicators focusing especially on social dimensions of sustainability, secondly, the incorporation of local perceptions in sustainability assessments. These two issues are explored in the Asopos River basin in Greece, an area where significant environmental degradation has been observed in the past decades and is also under financial pressure due to the ongoing national recession. A large-scale research study was conducted measuring environmental, economic and social indicators while, at a second stage, a model was developed, estimating new indicators that incorporate local communities’ perceptions on what they considered as important for their area. The results of the study reveal that the most important indicators for the sustainable development of the area, according to locals’ perceptions, are environmental quality as well as quality of life. By contrast, trust in local and central institutions and also local enterprises were not considered as important by locals. These results illustrate the importance of combining global and national scale assessment with locally focused social measurements of sustainability in order to better understand what is important for local communities prior to embarking on public policy planning.     

Relationships of the dimensions of sustainability as measured by the sustainable society index framework

This article presents a study of the interrelationships between the different dimensions of sustainability as measured by the sustainable society index framework. We examine the statistical relationships between the four indices making up the sustainable society index framework. The analysis uses the complete existing data set provided by Sustainable Society Foundation for the years 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 and for 151 countries. While the time period where data are available is quite short, we can make some preliminary observations about the apparent trends in the interrelationships of the different dimensions of sustainability. This study shows that the three dimensions of sustainability are far from all being synergic and positively correlated. There is a strong negative correlation between human well-being and environmental well-being. This is problematic from the point of view of the Brundtland Commission’s three-pillar definition of sustainability. However, the trade-off relationship between economic and environmental development measured by the economic well-being index and environmental well-being index is decreasing and the dimensions are becoming more de-linked. This trend is promising from the sustainability perspective.     

Assessing landscape values: a proposal for a multidimensional conceptual model

To evaluate a specific form of resource management, for example, the maintenance of valuable cultural landscapes, the contributions of many different viewpoints must be considered. In this paper, a model for assessing and integrating the different aspects contributing to landscape evaluation is proposed. Some results of its use in landscape assessment in the Madrid region (central Spain) are discussed.The model takes into account five assessment dimensions which are considered to be independent—the ecological, productive, economic, social and cultural evaluative systems and it recognises and assumes conflicts and trade-offs between these components. The inclusion of the production system as an independent assessment dimension is original and is justified because it is the link that connects the ecological and economic systems. Since this dimension acts most directly on the ecosystem, the production system includes the attribute of ecological or strong (in the sense of [For the Common Good, Beacon Press, Boston, 1994]) sustainability.The evaluation method places special emphasis on defining a conceptual framework, and from this defines scenarios in comparison with which particular development models (landscape planning, resources management) can be evaluated. Seven scenarios, coming from a hypothetical, traditional sustainable scenario of resources management, are defined. One of these, the sound sustainable scenario, is defended as the only one viable in the long term, particularly in developing countries.This method was employed to evaluate the agricultural and natural landscape of the Madrid region municipalities. The multivariate approach adopted was based on the selection of indicator sets for each evaluative dimension. The structure of relationships among indicators was then analysed separately for each dimension and values assigned to the municipalities according to their position on the main axes of the multivariate analyses. Each municipality was assigned to one of the seven development scenarios by means of discriminant analysis. The approach’s greatest assets are its flexibility in the selection of the indicators and the efficacy in its monitoring and comparison of the different analysed cases once a rigorous conceptual framework was established.The paper discusses the conditions for the sustainability of the human activities and provides a method for evaluating and comparing scenarios of resources management.     

Higher education level teaching of (master’s) programmes in sustainable development: analysis of views on prerequisites and practices based on a worldwide survey

The concept of sustainable development (SD) has highly been debated since it was presented 25 years ago, with ‘hard science’ approaches on one side and more process-oriented approaches on the other side. Academic teaching in SD has emerged in response to this in very different contexts, partly mirroring this academic debate. Some master’s programmes in SD take a strong science approach, while other programmes focus on the process of implementing sustainability projects, sometimes connected with forms of action research and teaching. In this article, we identify diverse views on the concept of SD as well as views on most relevant modes of teaching. We discuss core competencies required for sustainability professionals in their working practices and we organise them in three main clusters: Know, Interact and Be (KIB). The article presents the results of a worldwide survey, which addresses these visions on the concept of SD, the capabilities needed for ‘sustainable development professionals’ and the teaching approach needed. The analysis is based on the responses of 54 lecturers and 287 students active in 34 SD master’s programmes on all continents. The results of this worldwide survey are discussed. We observe in practice some gaps between preferences and practice. Looking at what both lecturers and students see as essential topics to address, some topics get relatively less attention (like the population issue). The identified core competencies (KIB) are supported and all addressed in practice, while the ‘Be’ competencies receive relatively less attention. Suggested consequences for academic teaching include a further matching of programmes with perceived needs and bridging the gap between the experienced teaching approaches in practice with such identified needs.