Sustainable development in the Spanish region of Valencia and the social responsibility of SMEs. A multi-stakeholder vision on the role of public administrations

The complexity associated with the public and private management of sustainable development is causing the increasing involvement of various European Union governments in issues related to the social responsibility of organisations. However, the debate about the nature of this involvement is still open. The study here shows the results of a survey conducted in the Spanish region of Valencia among businesses and social agents, paying special attention to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The outcomes of the interviews display the nascent state of CSR implementation both in the companies of the region and the government initiatives related to encouraging the development of the concept.     

气候正义视域下的气候变化损失与损害救济路径分析

气候变化对生态环境和人类健康造成的影响一直受科学家和国际组织的广泛关注。在现有的科学技术无法确切论证气候变化对环境的总体影响及对小岛和低地国家带来损害情况下,该议题自提出至今的进展都举步维艰。本文对议题谈判进展及各方立场进行梳理,提出未来谈判和规则的制定应以全球气候正义为价值衡量标准,树立整体观上的气候正义理念。并对气候正义内涵进行具体解读:一是以人权保护为维度,指出保护小岛和低地国家的基本人权是实现气候正义的逻辑前提;二是指出应当基于分配正义与矫正正义的传统分析视角,将共同但有区别责任原则作为设定权利与义务分配机制时的基础标准;三是气候正义要求一国在行使权利时应遵循领土无害使用原则,负有不污染和破坏他国环境和生态的义务,如违反便可能引发国家责任或惩戒。本文进而以气候正义为价值指引提出三种救济路径:一是国家责任路径,以国际人权法、国际环境法的规则或原则为法律依据,根据一定的规则,来判断当事国的损害行为或结果是否构成国际法上的国家责任;二是国际环境规制路径,即在《联合国气候变化框架公约》(以下简称《公约》)所确立的遵约与履约机制下解决问题,利用市场机制和激励手段如基金和保险支持制度来救济或补偿损失与损害;三是国际环境争端解决路径,主要以磋商、协商、和解、谈判等非强制性方式及国际仲裁、国际司法的法律手段解决气候争端。在救济路径上,应以全球规制路径为主,以国家责任路径为补充,以环境争端解决方式为程序性保障。中国基于全球气候治理的积极推动者,应表明立场,以共同但有区别责任原则为谈判基础,加强南南合作,履行国际气候承诺,发展低碳经济,积极推进该议题的国际谈判。     

国际贸易隐含碳研究文献综述

随着全球经济化和贸易化进程的加快,国际社会对贸易中的隐含碳这一热点问题进行了大量研究.梳理了隐含碳的概念及估算方法,首先对隐含碳概念以及渊源进行阐述;其次,归纳分析3种碳排放责任的认定原则,由此判定共同负责制应是断定一国隐含碳责任的依据;第三,对目前3种估算隐含碳的方法进行比较分析;最后对贸易与环境的影响关系研究进行评述.     

公共场所特大火灾事故调研及对策分析

通过调研国内近10年来有代表性的30起公共场所特大火灾事故,对公共场所火灾事故的发生场所、原因进行了详细分析,提出几点降低公共场所火灾事故风险,减少群死群伤事故危害的对策,以期为公共场所重大火灾事故预防工作提供有益参考.     

Producer responsibility for e-waste management: key issues for consideration - learning from the Swiss experience

E-waste, a relatively recent addition to the waste stream in the form of discarded electronic and electric equipment, is getting increasing attention from policy makers as the quantity being generated is rising rapidly. One of the most promising policy options to address this issue is to extend the producers responsibility for their products beyond the point of sale, until end-of-product-life. This paper briefly introduces the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR) and its applicability in the area of the end-of-life management of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE). It then examines the decade-long experience of Switzerland in using EPR to manage its e-waste, elaborating on the experience of the Swiss system in overcoming specific issues, and finally wrapping up with a synopsis of the lessons for policy makers. We consider each issue as an enquiry of questions confronting a policy maker and the choices that may present themselves. The five issues discussed are: (i) the challenges in getting an EPR based system started; (ii) securing financing to ensure a self-sustaining and smooth functioning system; (iii) organising a logistics network for the take back and collection of the e-waste; (iv) ensuring compliance of the various actors involved; and finally (v) reducing the threat of monopolistic practices.     

Is legislation a barrier to the sustainable management of game species? A case study of wild deer in Britain

Wild game management for hunting in Western society has become increasingly complex as stakeholders have multiplied and as ‘sustainability’ influences the contemporary debate. This paper questions whether the current legal framework for game management, which has evolved from early European civilisations to focus on ‘hunting rights’, is relevant to regulate the contemporary environmental, social and economic dimensions of wild game and their management. Employing a narrative analysis to focus on deer, the study identifies key legislative tenets and highlights the pertinence of historical laws to contemporary conflicts. The analysis suggests that current legislation is increasingly divergent from contemporary trends and has created inertia with respect to sustainable deer management. The paper offers four options to redress this: state intervention; voluntary collaboration; financial incentives; and establishing a legal responsibility for management. It is concluded that significant innovation is required in one or more of these four areas to facilitate the contemporary sustainable management of wild deer in Britain.     

Adding public value: The limits of corporate responsibility

It is suggested that natural resource companies undertaking large-scale projects may be expanding the scope of corporate social responsibility by working to enhance the capabilities of the public sector. Naturally companies are concerned to protect their investments, and to ensure their viability. They will therefore invest in necessary infrastructure and facilities of all types, where those are lacking. Such investment often provides benefits to the wider community, but with a few exceptions these are normally incidental byproducts rather than inherent objectives. The motivation for companies to provide resources of all types in order to enhance the capabilities of the public sector to provide public services is usually an expectation is that the tangible benefits will exceed the costs, rather than altruism. One driving force is to secure and maintain a company's social licence to operate. More recently competition from Chinese firms is prompting private sector companies to offer comparable investments in infrastructure. It is unclear whether investment in public sector capabilities is cyclical and liable to cutbacks when market conditions deteriorate. Changing market conditions affect not just corporate willingness to spend but also host countries’ bargaining strengths. In boom periods host countries will be more able to secure straightforward financial benefits through higher tax receipts than when markets are weak. Beyond the specific needs of individual projects corporate policies are strongly influenced by the beliefs of senior managers. External pressures both from international institutions and from NGOs also drive corporate behaviour. The success of investment in public sector capabilities relies in the end on the responses of host countries, and on how closely the objectives and interests of the government are aligned with maximising the nation's long term wealth and welfare. Where they are not corporate resources may be frittered away. There are also questions over the legitimacy of corporate investments, especially by foreign-owned companies. They have a right to offer advice and protect their legitimate interests, but these may not always coincide with those of their host countries. There is a range of questions about the appropriate role of companies, which lead on to feasible and effective ways of improving weak governance.     

制度环境变迁与中国企业社会责任路径

摘要企业社会责任是指企业在创造利润、对股东利益负责的同时,还应承担对员工、社会和环境的责任,包括遵守商业道德、生产安全、职业健康、保护消费者合法权益、节约资源等.企业承担社会责任是企业为生存而适应制度环境变迁的产物.伴随着制度环境变迁,西方企业社会责任的发展经历了无意识期、启蒙期和成熟期三个阶段.建国以来,中国企业的制度环境经历计划经济体制和向市场经济体制转型时期,均出现了企业承担社会责任功能的“失范”,即计划经济时期的“企业办社会”和向市场经济转型时期下的凸显“经济人本性”.当前,企韭利益与社会利益矛盾的凸显和社会公平公正期望的提升,使企业社会责任问题在中国变得日益紧迫、上下关注.党发出了“科学发展”的号召.科学发展这一制度环境,是对中国企韭承担社会责任的期待.而中国企业社会责任的实现,则亟待制度化建设保证,即要求企业产权制度明晰化,企业社会责任法制化,企业社会责任评价体系科学化,企业社会责任信息披露制度化,企业社会责任监督主体多元化.     

Affected Ignorance And Animal Suffering: Why Our Failure To Debate Factory Farming Puts Us At Moral Risk

It is widely recognized that our social and moral environments influence our actions and belief formations. We are never fully immune to the effects of cultural membership. What is not clear, however, is whether these influences excuse average moral agents who fail to scrutinize conventional norms. In this paper, I argue that the lack of extensive public debate about factory farming and, its corollary, extreme animal suffering, is probably due, in part, to affected ignorance. Although a complex phenomenon because of its many manifestations, affected ignorance is morally culpable because it involves a choice not to investigate whether some practice in which one participates in might be immoral. I contend further that James Montmarquet’s set of intellectual virtues can provide a positive account of what it means to act as a responsible moral agent while immersed in a meat eating culture; they also represent the moral and epistemic framework for the kind of public discourse that should be taking place.     

EPR在电子废物管理中的应用

指出电子废物具有商品性、外部性、公共物品三个经济学属性,以及在市场条件下上述属性所带来的市场失灵问题。研究了延伸生产者责任的理念、框架和种类,总结了电子废物延伸生产者责任制度的两种执行方式。借鉴国外先进经验、针对我国实际现状,提出了分阶段完善我国电子废物管理体制的政策建议。