Barriers to implementing sustainability locally: a case study of policy immobilities

This study aims to contribute to the field of urban planning by applying policy mobilities and transfer theories to a case study of the Capital Regional District and its 13 municipalities in British Columbia, Canada, in order to analyse and understand the dynamics of how sustainability is governed locally, with a special focus on barriers to sustainability policy mobility. The empirical material is primarily based on interviews with key stakeholders who guide policy development and creation in the region to inform an understanding of how sustainable development initiatives are developed and shared. This study finds that while there is interest and demand in sustainability, policy-makers are frustrated with their lack of success in implementing sustainability programmes. While there are some instances of policy sharing and transfer among municipalities in the region, there is a clear desire for more exchanges which would allow municipalities to respond more effectively to the demands placed upon them. Significant barriers to policy mobility are also identified, in particular, an unclear understanding of sustainability, a culture of competition and hostility among municipalities, difficulty with the process of transfer itself, and a lack of time, money and resources. These barriers are in part a result of a broken governance structure which does not provide clear leadership to the municipalities, sets municipalities to be competitive with each other and provides ineffective support for municipalities through an unwieldy regional administrative body which is not well regarded by the municipalities.     

The response of encrusting coralline algae to canopy loss: an independent test of predictions on an Antarctic coast

We assessed whether published observations of the ecology of encrusting coralline algae (Rhodophyta) from tropical and temperate coasts could be used to predict patterns and responses on a polar coast where such knowledge does not exist. On subtidal rocky coasts near Casey, East Antarctica, we detected a strong positive association of understorey encrusting coralline algae with canopies formed by the endemic alga Himantothallus grandifolius. The experimental removal of H. grandifolius caused corallines to bleach from red to pink/white concomitant with a decline in their photosynthetic activity. The magnitude of this decline (mean ± SE = 56.85±8.43%) was remarkably similar to that observed on temperate coasts (45.98±5.91%). Positive effects of nutrient enrichment of the surrounding water, hypothesized to alleviate the negative effects of canopy loss on encrusting corallines, were not detected. Removing H. grandifolius increased the intensity of photosynthetically active radiation and ultra-violet radiation reaching the substratum by three orders of magnitude, providing the basis for models invoking enhanced irradiance as the primary cause of the negative effects of canopy loss. Striking similarities among our results and those from tropical and temperate coasts suggest that responses of encrusting corallines to loss of canopies may have predictive properties across large distances and environmental gradients (tropical–temperate–polar).     

Innovation and diffusion of clean/green technology: Can patent commons help?

This paper explores the characteristics of 238 patents on 90 inventions contributed by major multinational innovators to the “Eco-Patent Commons”, which provides royalty-free access to third parties to patented innovations on green technologies. We compare the pledged patents to other patents in the same technologies or held by the same multinationals to investigate the motives of the contributing firms as well as the potential for such commons to encourage innovation and diffusion of climate change related technologies. We find pledged patents to protect environmentally friendly technologies and to be of similar value as the average patent in a pledging firm's patent portfolio but of lower value than other patents in their class. Our analysis of the impact of the patent commons on diffusion of patented technologies suggests that making patents accessible royalty-free did not result in any significant increase in diffusion as measured by citing patents. This study, therefore, indirectly provides evidence on the role of patents in the development and diffusion of green technologies.     

Development and initial validation of an Aviation Safety Climate Scale

PROBLEM: A need was identified for a consistent set of safety climate factors to provide a basis for aviation industry benchmarking. METHOD: Six broad safety climate themes were identified from the literature and consultations with industry safety experts. Items representing each of the themes were prepared and administered to 940 Australian commercial pilots. RESULTS: Data from half of the sample (N=468) were used in an exploratory factor analysis that produced a 3-factor model of Management commitment and communication, Safety training and equipment, and Maintenance. A confirmatory factor analysis on the remaining half of the sample showed the 3-factor model to be an adequate fit to the data. DISCUSSION: The results of this study have produced a scale of safety climate for aviation that is both reliable and valid. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This study developed a tool to assess the level of perceived safety climate, specifically of pilots, but may also, with minor modifications, be used to assess other groups' perceptions of safety climate.