Sustainable development in the mining industry: clarifying the corporate perspective

This paper examines sustainable development in the corporate mining context, and provides some guidelines for mining companies seeking to operate more sustainably. There is now a burgeoning literature that examines sustainable development in the context of minerals and mining, most of which is concerned with sustainability at global and national scales. What is often challenging to ascertain, however, from these numerous perspectives on sustainable mineral extraction, minerals and metals recycling, environmental management, and social performance, is how sustainable development applies to mining companies themselves, and what steps a mine must take in order to improve the sustainability of operations. Since mining processes have the potential to impact a diverse group of environmental entities, and are of interest to a wide range of stakeholder groups, there is ample opportunity for the industry to operate more sustainably. Specifically, with improved planning, implementation of sound environmental management tools and cleaner technologies, extended social responsibility to stakeholder groups, the formation of sustainability partnerships, and improved training, a mine can improve performance in both the environmental and socioeconomic arenas, and thus contribute enormously to sustainable development at the mine level.     

Health,Environmental and Social Justice

Health is a basic human right. Improving health requires social and environmental justice and sustainable development. The 'health for all' movement embraces principles shared by other social movements—in sustainable development, community safety and new economics. These principles include equity, democracy, empowerment of individuals and communities, underpinned by supportive environmental, economic and educational measures and multi-agency partnerships. Health promotion is green promotion and inequality in health is due to social and economic inequality. This paper shows how health, environmental and economic sustainability are inextricably linked and how professionals of different disciplines can work together with the communities they serve to improve local health and quality of life. It gives examples of how local policy and programme development for public health improvement can fit in with global and national policy-making to promote health, environmental and social justice.     

全球视角下的企业ESG绩效驱动因素解析

企业是践行可持续理念、实现可持续发展目标的重要主体。企业需要在生产经营过程中统筹提升环境（E）、社会（S）、治理（G）三个维度的ESG绩效。基于外部压力和内部实力,本文预先设定了国家背景、行业属性、金融实力三种因素驱动企业改善ESG绩效的理论假设。为检验假设,本文使用多元线性回归和多层线性模型对来自55个国家、共计6139家上市公司样本进行实证研究。结果表明,即使在控制企业规模、风险管理和社会声誉的情况下,国家可持续发展水平、行业绿色发展水平、企业金融实力仍能显著提升企业ESG绩效。其中,国家和行业变量不仅直接促进了企业ESG绩效的提升,还在更高维度上通过调节CFP-ESG的关系间接促进企业ESG绩效的提升。本研究有助于企业更好地制定实施可持续发展战略,也能为投资者评估并筛选出ESG绩效优异的企业提供科学参考。     

Procedural Integration in Support of Environmental Policy Objectives: Implementing Sustainability

Translating sustainability policy goals into concrete action has proven to be a complex challenge for government agencies, municipalities and businesses. Existing planning and decision-making methods, such as Comprehensive Planning, Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Systems, are being used to address this focus on sustainability. United States Army policy requires the use of these three procedures by installation planners and managers, providing a unique opportunity for innovation. This paper examines the applicability of these procedures for implementing the Army's sustainable operations policy goals, and explores how the current independent and disconnected implementation can be improved through integration. Included in this analysis is a review of organizational barriers to integrated planning and management. The analysis is applicable outside the Army as these three decision-making procedures are used in many contexts, and installation management shares many characteristics with local government land use planning, federal land management, and corporate business operations.     

Urban Environmental Sustainability Metrics: A Provisional Set

Designing or transforming urban areas into 'sustainable cities' is becoming an increasingly common vision. It is, however, an unrealizable vision without agreement on how to determine whether a sustainable city vision has been fulfilled. In this paper we define a provisional set of urban environmental sustainability metrics, chosen to cover the spectrum of issues related to urban areas, and to be drawn from data that are customarily available. We devise a display technique to communicate efficiently the results of a metrics evaluation to a variety of stakeholders. The approach is illustrated by applying the metrics set to Vancouver, Canada, an urban area that has expended considerable effort toward achieving its own environmental vision.     

Governing local sustainability

This paper draws upon the DISCUS (Developing Institutional and Social Capacity for Sustainable Development) research project, co-funded by the European Commission. The project was undertaken during 2001 – 2004 and involved an in-depth study of 40 European towns and cities in order to understand the institutional and social factors and conditions that might contribute to policy ‘achievement' or ‘failure' in local sustainable development policy and practice. Based on the findings of this research it proposes a conceptual framework for local sustainable development, linking the concepts of institutional capital, social capital and governance to provide a model for understanding the governing of local sustainability. The research shows that in those cases that exhibit sustainable development policy achievements, there are also greater levels of civil society activity and knowledge regarding sustainability issues, and high levels of institutional capacity. Confident local government is crucial to the development of institutional capacity and to institutional learning. One aspect of this is local authorities being equipped to address the longer-term issues and to have a strategic vision for a sustainable future.     

Sustainable value assessment of farms using frontier efficiency benchmarks

Appropriate assessment of firm sustainability facilitates actor-driven processes towards sustainable development. The methodology in this paper builds further on two proven methodologies for the assessment of sustainability performance: it combines the sustainable value approach with frontier efficiency benchmarks. The sustainable value methodology tries to relate firm performance to the use of different resources. This approach assesses contributions to corporate sustainability by comparing firm resource productivity with the resource productivity of a benchmark, and this for all resources considered. The efficiency is calculated by estimating the production frontier indicating the maximum feasible production possibilities. In this research, the sustainable value approach is combined with efficiency analysis methods to benchmark sustainability assessment. In this way, the production theoretical underpinnings of efficiency analysis enrich the sustainable value approach. The methodology is presented using two different functional forms: the Cobb–Douglas and the translog functional forms. The simplicity of the Cobb–Douglas functional form as benchmark is very attractive but it lacks flexibility. The translog functional form is more flexible but has the disadvantage that it requires a lot of data to avoid estimation problems. Using frontier methods for deriving firm specific benchmarks has the advantage that the particular situation of each company is taken into account when assessing sustainability. Finally, we showed that the methodology can be used as an integrative sustainability assessment tool for policy measures.     

Allowing for sustainable growth under drastic immigration stress in Israel

Between 1990 and 1992 Israel's population grew by almost 10%, as a result of a sudden immigration influx. A national plan was prepared to accommodate this population growth in a sustainable manner. This paper reviews how the national plan set to accommodate such population growth without imposing undue environmental hardships on either current or future generations. Using a comprehensive environmental guidelines map and adjunct measures, the plan was able to point a way by which the population increase could be accommodated without damaging sensitive natural resources, increasing pollution to unacceptable levels or aggravating population exposure to hazards or nuisances. This plan thus provides a real‐world illustration of how, with adequate institutional structure, organization, scientific base and political resolve, a large population increase can be accommodated in a manner that does not preclude sustainability notions, even in a highly vulnerable environment.     

Victoria's emerging framework of regional governance for sustainability: the case of catchment management authorities and regional catchment strategies

The aim of this paper is to presents a progress report on how a subnational jurisdiction, the Australian state of Victoria, is attempting to implement regional governance for sustainability through its catchment planning framework. The paper examines the lessons learnt from a best practice approach to the implementation of network governance to see whether there are actions that can be taken to improve regional governance for sustainability in Victoria. The authors argue that Victoria is implementing a network governance approach to natural resource management (NRM) as a significant component of sustainability and that this has certain advantages. In particular the emergence of Regional Catchment Strategies developed by the State's ten statutory Catchment Management Authorities as 'regional sustainability blueprints' is bringing a significant level of maturity to the state's governance framework. Furthermore the state is currently working to complete its governance for sustainability through new statewide integrating frameworks—an Environmental Sustainability Framework as well as a statewide Catchment Management and Investment Framework. The paper concludes that taking a network governance approach could have transformative potential but there are significant challenges ahead: the complex task of aligning of national, state, catchment and local government strategies through an outcomes focus; the scarcity of mechanisms and tools to assist in translation of strategies into integrated investment priorities; gaps in knowledge and understanding of natural resource management problems; limitations in the capacity of regional and local bodies, including local government; and getting the policy tools right within the framework. However, as the best practice examples illustrate, taking a gradual approach to the development of the institutions—building on successive wins in capacity—is the best and only way to proceed.     

The Role of Civic Environmentalism in the Pursuit of Sustainable Communities

This paper addresses public participation in sustainability initiatives and in the development of sustainable communities. In particular, it examines two models of public participation in environmental policy, referred to as 'information deficit models', and 'deliberative and inclusionary processes and procedures' (DIPS). The difference between the two models will be examined through the framework of the US discourse of 'civic environmentalism'. Using both examples and an analysis of recent literature, a distinction between 'narrow focus' and 'broad focus' civic environmentalism will be presented. It is argued that 'information deficit models' of public participation usually associated with 'narrow focus' civic environmentalism can successfully contribute to the 'environmental' aspects of sustainable communities. The paper concludes that DIPS and the greater sharing of control by citizens, non-governmental organizations and local governments offered by 'broad focus' civic environmentalism, are far more likely to result in a greater social capital, and a holistic appreciation of the inextricable links between environmental, social and economic characteristics of sustainable communities.     

The effects of community-based action for sustainability on participants' lifestyles

There has been increased interest in the role of community-based action in promoting sustainable lifestyles in recent years, but relatively limited evidence on the effects of such activity on participants' behaviours. In this paper, I present an evaluation of the effects of community-based action for sustainability on participants' lifestyles. I draw on extensive qualitative research to assess how much change participants of community sustainability projects report, what kinds of participants these projects attract and how the circumstances of these projects affect the changes that participants make. The main findings are that these initiatives have different effects on different people. Those who are new to sustainability and who are actively involved in cohesive groups, which are specifically targeting their lifestyles, are more likely to report substantial changes. I present a model to explain what change occurs, for which types of participants, in what circumstances as a result of community-based action.     

Planning Models for Sustainable Water Resource Development

This paper intends to present a critical review of the planning models that can be used for sustainable water resource development. Three types of models are identified and assessed: (1) economic analysis models; (2) decision analysis models; and (3) systems analysis models. The methodology adopted in this paper is based on first describing the different types of models and then synthesizing and evaluating these models in terms of their theoretical underpinnings, applications, strengths and weaknesses. Each model is investigated with respect to its utility in addressing sustainability in water resource management. The study concludes that decision-based and system-based models may offer a wider spectrum of concepts than economic models in addressing multi-objective, multi-actor or 'wicked' problems in water management and resource sustainability.     

Partnerships for local sustainability and local governance in a Tasmanian settlement

This research is concerned with effects and actions at the local level, where it is argued that local governing processes are key to developing sustainable communities. The roles of the citizen and of formal government are changing such that the implementation of sustainability praxis at the local level requires that citizens and governments reconsider both the meaning and techniques of governance. Indeed, how we are governed, participate in governing processes and internalise and accept the need for change will affect how local communities make constant and lasting a dynamic praxis of sustainability. Actors in local governments and communities may be crucial in this task—especially as facilitators, enablers, leaders and partners. In this paper we focus on the Huon Valley Council and some members of one of its communities. We examine how they are experimenting with partnerships as a form of governance to unify, control, mobilise and regulate the conduct of various actors, and how such partnerships may foster sustainability praxis in the Valley's diverse communities of place and interest.     

On accounting for sustainable development and accounting for the environment

Economic sustainability or intergenerational equity entails maintaining social well-being by decisions about investments in different types of assets. Under certain conditions, consumption can be sustained by depleting resources, or various kinds of natural capital, while building up other kinds of capital. Theoretically, the choices involve the use of a set of accounting prices. The question becomes one of finding and implementing accounting prices that express the roles of the various capital goods in achieving the objective of the economy.Hartwick's rule holds that an economy can be sustained if the value of the total, net investment in the economy, evaluated at those accounting prices, is zero. The rule applies to a special, abstract economic model which expresses a social objective different from the discounted-utilitarian objective on which national accounting is based. Different objectives give rise to different accounting prices. Because the prices may not be right, the zero net-investment rule using available national-accounting prices cannot generate a condition for sustaining an economy.Still, environmental accounting is a tool which, used prudently, can make an important contribution to social decision-making. This paper expands upon these ideas by discussing the incorporation of natural resource and intangible environmental costs and benefits into green accounting at the firm as well as the economy level. Common techniques of mine valuation and standard corporate accounting are the bases for this extension to the valuation of and accounting for decisions concerning the environment.     

Municipalities’ ambitions and practices: At risk of hypocritical sustainability transitions?

In contemporary planning discourse and practice, different planning ideas co-exists. How this affects the transition towards a sustainable development is an important question for both research and practice. The aim of this study is to explore potential conflicts between planning goals caught between growth-led planning and sustainability commitments in a case study of Fredericia, Denmark. The paper discusses the underlying, framing and controlling conditions for transition dynamics. The analysis builds largely on the formulated policies, strategies or national goal achievements towards sustainable futures. These are put in the context of planning and political practices, which are interpreted from a sustainability rationale. Here this study introduces hypocrisy as a theoretical-analytical perspective to dispute actual sustainability practices to respond to continuous ambivalent planning measures. The author concludes that disregarding the inherently different internal logics of growths and sustainability leads to planning paradoxes and impedes sustainable transitions pursued.     

Greening the Fife Economy: Ecological Modernization as a Pathway for Local Economic Development

Progress in the greening of UK local government has been hampered by uncertainty about the relationship between resource use and environmental protection. Ecological modernizationmay offer the most appropriateparadigm to reconcile economic, social and environmentalinterpretationsof sustainability. The transition from corporate to strategic environmental management currently being attempted by some 'green' authorities can be construed as an attempt to promote ecological modernization in the form of institutional learning. Fife Council in Scotland provides an interesting case study. Progress with corporate environmental management has become bound up with a radical devolution of decision making. Efforts to link the authority's Sustainable Development Policy to a Local Agenda 21 programme have been initiated with the piloting of sustainability indicators.     

Sustainable regeneration: a guiding vision towards low-carbon transition?

While the concept of sustainable development brings together concepts of economic, environmental and social sustainability, much has been said regarding inherent tensions between them. Conflicts between economic and environmental objectives, in particular, have been noted as restraining efforts to instigate transitions to environmental sustainability, with growth ambitions limiting environmental policy to “win–win” cases. This paper argues that they can also play complementary roles in managing transitions by creating inclusive visions for rallying actors and resources. This is explored by looking at a case of sustainable regeneration in Wales, UK. Using as a case study the Arbed scheme, an area-based project established in 2009 to retrofit housing stock for energy efficiency, this paper shows how the scheme explicitly addresses economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability; and, in particular, how sustainable development aims constituted a guiding vision that supported the formation of actor and resource networks necessary for large-scale retrofitting.     

Linking sustainable consumption and production: The government role

Achieving sustainable development depends on comprehensive approaches which integrate consumption and production initiatives. At present, sustainable consumption is being overemphasized to the neglect of the more important production side. This paper examines the role of governments in promoting sustainable consumption and production to identify gaps in national schemes which reduce their overall effectiveness. Public policy tools promoting sustainable consumption and production are discussed in terms of whether they are aimed at correcting: 1) market failures (regulations, taxes, subsidies); or 2) systems failures (labels, communications, education, public procurement). The challenge for governments is to link sustainable consumption initiatives to policies aimed at increasing the sustainability of production in the private sector in both their national and international dimensions. In this way, governments can enlist the aid of consumers in pushing producers towards sustainability and to achieve the ultimate goal of sustainable development.     

Mapping divergent concepts of sustainability: lay knowledge,local practices and environmental governance

This paper examines local sustainability concepts in Connemara, a predominantly rural region in the West of Ireland (in this paper, the term “Ireland” refers to the Republic of Ireland), to show how they are (re-)constituted through people's interactions with social and biophysical environments. We argue that these interactions produce diverse forms of lay environmental knowledge and expertise that encompass cognitive and emotional aspects, a fact that is frequently ignored in environmental policy-making which prioritises rational arguments over reactions rooted in people's sense of place and community. Local people's responses to this dominance of “official” rational-technical sustainability concepts are central to recent cases of environmental controversy and lack of compliance to environmental policies that have characterised the study area but that show many parallels to conflicts and disputes elsewhere. Drawing on rich qualitative evidence from interviews and ethnographic fieldwork, this paper demonstrates how communities' responses to environmental policies depend on how well (or poorly) sustainability concepts underpinning these policies match local people's social-ecological practices and related place-specific views of what should be sustained.     

Outsourcing sustainability: a game-theoretic modeling approach

As a response to stakeholders’ interest in sustainable products and services, an organization may change its approach to sustainability issues, from isolated social and environmental projects to corporate sustainability strategies and practices that are part of their core business. However, many of the efforts associated with these sustainability strategies cannot be directly exerted by focal organizations. We consider the situation in which a focal organization (sustainability buyer) outsources sustainability efforts to another organization (sustainability seller). While buyers cannot directly exert sustainability efforts, they can provide economic or technical support to their sellers in order to incentivize these efforts. We investigate how the effort and support decisions change according to characteristics of stakeholders, buyers, and sellers. Additionally, the presence of sustainability-minded stakeholders may lead to buyers’ competition on the sustainability effort exerted by their sellers. Therefore, we extend our analysis of sustainability efforts and incentives to the case of two competing buyers, and we determine conditions under which sharing a seller is preferred by the buyers to having a separate seller for each buyer.