Overcoming Contradictions Between Growth and Sustainability:Institutional Innovation in the BRICS

The recent accelerated growth rates or efforts to emulate countries that have achieved a rapid pace of economic growth are widely acclaimed as means to uplift millions from poverty. In so doing, however, this rapid economic growth is most likely to coincide with unsustainable levels of consumption, place excessive pressure on life support systems and terrestrial sinks and foreshorten options for the future. Rather than pursuing the "Environmental Kuznets Curve" (EKC) hypothesis that higher income will bring with it the means to reduce the impacts of greater consumption, ecological economists assert that buying our way out of future scarcity with fast growth is indeed contradictory with sustainability. To better understand these contradictions and explore potential institutional innovations that may enable developing nations to better confront them (in effect, "tunneling under" the EKC), this article refers to recent experience in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Beginning with a brief comparative summary of major development and environmental indicators, pressures on resources and society in each of the BRICS are discussed, followed by identification of institutional and policy frameworks each country has evolved to confront the challenges of growth and sustainability. The article closes with general conclusions for further research and information sharing among developing nations.     

Innovative policy practices to advance building energy efficiency and retrofitting: Approaches,impacts and challenges in ten C40 cities

This study examines ten programmes to advance energy efficiency and retrofitting of existing, private sector buildings in C40 cities in Asia-Pacific and USA. We set out to identify differing policy approaches, together with potential impacts and implementation challenges for each. Findings unearthed six policy models – both mandatory and voluntary – with unique impacts and challenges. We demonstrate that innovation occurs without new policy inventions and largely by necessity, as new features are added and generic models are adapted to local circumstances. Our sample demonstrated experimentation with benchmarking in the USA, comprehensive regulation in Asia, and voluntary approaches in Australia. Overall, environmental impacts are particularly slow to emerge and plagued with attribution challenges. We found limited evidence of benchmarking programme effectiveness in reducing energy consumption in the short-term, but some indication of mid-term outcomes. Driven by unique local circumstances, the cap-and-trade model stood out by fostering large, sustained and attributable GHG emission reductions and retrofitting. Market and social impacts are highly significant across all programmes, highlighting needs to consider non-environmental impacts in policy evaluation. We emphasise the complementary potential of voluntary and regulatory approaches to advancing energy efficiency and climate resilience. We also underscore the potential for reporting or benchmarking programmes to later transition to models mandating performance improvements, such as cap-and-trade.     

清洁生产与企业组织创新

清洁生产是人类社会可持续发展的主要途径之一，已越来越受到各国政府与企业的重视。本文从企业文化、组织结构及企业战略等方面阐述了清洁生产对企业组织的影响。     

花江峡谷石漠化土地生态重建及其启示

尽管西南岩溶地区石漠化趋势严重,但真正做到生态、经济、社会三效益统一的岩溶石漠化生态重建模式的实践工作却做得很少。且对于这些实践活动还缺乏理论的总结和思考。花江峡谷顶坛片区,充分利用当地的适生植物资源和干热资源优势在石漠化土地上种植花椒、砂仁等喜热耐旱的经济作物,在恢复和治理生态的前提下成功调整了农业内部结构,形成以花椒规模种植为核心心的特色产业,利用雨水、坡面水、岩溶裂隙水,实行参与式社区管理,使环境、经济与社区文化得以可持续发展。“顶坛”模式是充分利用岩溶环境资源优势,高山地保护于特色农业开发之中的一个成功例子。它启示我们,岩溶石漠化土地恢复重建必须重新认识岩溶环境优势。因地制宜,对过去侧重于水土保持的传统治理模式进行创新。     

燃煤电厂烟尘超低排放技术措施研究

针对越来越严格的环保要求，介绍了原有的除尘技术，并对除尘器新技术改造方案进行了说明，其中重点对电袋复合代替静电除尘技术、在静电除尘器中增置旋转电极、更改工频电源为高频电源、在电除尘器前加装低温换热器、脱硫后增加湿式电除尘器技术等方案进行比较分析。为了达到超低排放要求，对不同的烟尘超低排放实践工艺进行了说明，并结合东部沿海地区可再生能源发展空间有限的实际情况，提出加快推广超低排放技术在现有燃煤电厂的应用，实现传统煤电产业和环保产业的转型升级。     

大数据环境下企业安全绩效管理的基础性问题*

为明晰大数据对安全绩效管理的影响，把握信息时代下企业安全绩效管理的研究方向，基于大数据时代下安全绩效管理内容，阐述数据驱动下安全绩效管理的应用优势，探讨数据驱动下安全绩效管理的研究变革，剖析大数据环境下企业安全绩效管理的数据流向，构建数据驱动下安全绩效管理的框架模型，并提出数据驱动下企业安全绩效管理应用对策。结果表明:基于大数据的安全绩效管理有助于提升企业安全管理水平，也为安全生产系统优化提供理论依据。     

宜兴市环保产业供给侧改革的启示与建议

当前我国环保产业普遍存在着企业规模较小、缺乏核心技术、中低端供给过剩、优质供给不足等现象,环保产业的供给侧水平明显无法满足日益提高的环境治理需求。以全国最大的环保产业基地宜兴市为例,分析上述问题特质及产生原因,总结政府及企业改革创新中的经验和不足,提出环保产业供给侧改革的参考对策与建议。     

中国省际间对内开放对驱动工业绿色创新空间趋同的影响

针对我国省际间对内开放度不平衡发展下工业绿色创新可能存在的地区异质性及空间趋同性,构建对内开放度评价指标体系,利用组合评价方法对30个省级单位的对内开放度进行了综合评价,并通过基尼系数等变异指标比较省际间对内开放度的地区差异,利用2005~2014年的省级面板数据建立空间计量模型检验了省际间对内开放度约束下工业绿色创新的空间趋同性.研究发现：我国省际间对内开放度在时间维度上表现出增加-降低的发展特点,而空间维度上存在东高西低的地区异质性特征.其中,东部地区间对内开放度的内部差异最大,西部次之,中部最小.我国整体及东部地区省际间工业绿色创新的分散离散程度将随时间推移而变化,但中西部地区工业绿色创新波动较大,尚需进一步调整改善;我国整体及东中西部地区工业绿色创新均会随时间推移达到一致的长期均衡,并且其邻近地区因经济发展情况、技术环境、研发水平等特征相似而呈现出的长期相互趋同.加速省际间对内开放、提高经济发展水平、适当放宽环境管制政策是促进我国整体和东部地区工业绿色创新能力提升的重要因素;提高经济发展水平和科学适宜的环境管制强度是促进中部和西部地区工业绿色创新能力提升的重要因素.省际间对内开放度的地区异质性来源及省际间对内开放约束下工业绿色创新的空间趋同情况,有利于我国在新经济形势下缩小省际间对内开放差异、加速对内开放,进一步提升工业绿色创新能力.     

政府激励企业环境技术创新的初步研究

本文分析了环境技术创新可可持续发发展战略实施的重要作用,提出了政府激励企业环境技术创新的对策建议。     

Tired of innovations? Learned helplessness and fatigue in the context of continuous streams of innovation implementation

The business environment faced by contemporary organizations is highly uncertain and constantly changing. Thus, organizations have adopted and implemented a continuous stream of innovations to achieve sustainable growth and survival. Considering the demand for additional resources to implement innovations, the present study explores organizational conditions that may lead to innovation‐targeted burnout and fatigue among employees, which impede their active participation in a subsequent innovation. To this end, we propose a theoretical framework that elucidates the effects of previous innovations on the subsequent implementation behavior of employees. We identify two dimensions of the cognitive appraisal of previous innovations (i.e., intensity and failure) that shape employees' beliefs regarding innovations, such as innovation‐targeted helplessness, which ultimately results in innovation fatigue. Data collected from 84 managers and 397 employees of Chinese and Korean organizations prove the significant role of employee perceptions of previous innovations in shaping the innovation‐targeted helplessness and fatigue of employees, which ultimately affect employee behavior toward a subsequent innovation. The present conceptual and empirical analyses suggest that given continuous streams of innovation implementation, managers should carefully consider employee's perceptions of previous innovations (i.e., intensity and failure) for successful implementation of a subsequent innovation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.