Over the last two decades environmental issues have become important in public and business policy. This book asks why firms sometimes voluntarily adopt environmental policies which go beyond legal requirements. It employs a new-institutionalist perspective, and argues that existing explanations, especially from neoclassical economics, concentrate on external factors at the expense of internal dynamics. Prakash argues that 'beyond-compliance' policies are due to two types of intra-firm processes, which he describes as power- and leadership-based. His argument is supported by analysis of ten cases within two firms - Baxter International Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company - including interviews with managers, and access to meetings and documents. This book therefore examines the internal working of firms' environmental policy in a theoretically rigorous way, providing a significant contribution to the theory of the firm. It will be valuable for students of business and environmental studies, as well as political economy and public policy.
Predictions are that sustainability becomes the next big topic for Human Resource Management after internationalization and globalization. This book gives new answers to these questions: - How can HRM contribute to attracting, developing and retaining highly qualified human resources over time? - How can a paradox perspective contribute to understanding and coping with paradoxical tensions? - How can sustainability be used as a ‘deliberate strategy’ for HRM? The conceptual part of the book looks at the notion of sustainability, opens it up for Strategic HRM and identifies blind spots in Strategic HRM theory. Paradox theory is introduced as an analytical framework for Sustainable HRM. Initial suggestions are made for sustainability strategies and for coping with paradoxes and tensions. The exploratory part examines how 50 European Multinationals communicate their understanding of sustainability and HRM and which HR issues and practices they are linking to the topic.
This volume examines the intersections of health care and environmental health, both in terms of traditional failures and the revolution underway to fix them. Authored by one of the pioneers in health care's green movement, it presents practical solutions for health care organizations and clinicians to improve their environments and the health of their communities.
′Today, Fair Trade finds itself at a crucial point in its evolution from alternative trading mechanism to a mainstream economic model. As the only certifier in the largest Fair Trade market in the world, TransFair USA has observed the explosive growth in consumer awareness and business interest in Fair Trade certification. New research into the progress of Fair Trade to date and, crucially, its key future directions is urgently needed. Fair Trade is therefore a valuable and timely contribution.The range and depth of the book is considerable. It is international in outlook and engages with a broad spectrum of theory and thinking. Its style is approachable yet rigorous. I would strongly recommend it to industry, academics, students, policy-makers and the interested reader in general′ - Paul Rice, CEO, TransFair USA ′This work - a powerful study of the maelstrom of issues and cross currents in the Fair Trade and Development movements is long overdue. Through case studies, quantative analysis and reasoned arguement, this work makes its case with cogent force′ - Hamish Renton, Product Manager Food You Can Trust, Tesco ′With the fair trade sector growing rapidly, it is vital that the concept is understood properly and the future potential mapped out. Fair Trade provides a comprehensive guide to all aspects of fair trade which make it a "must read" for everyone from casual buyer right through to seasoned producer. Here′s your chance to see how you can easily change the world for the better′ - Mel Young, editor-in-chief, New Consumer, Britain′s only fair trade magazine, www.newconsumer.org. Fair Trade is at a crucial moment in its evolution from alternative trading mechanism to mainstream economic model. This timely and thoughtful book looks at the strategic future for Fair Trade. Each chapter spearheads a key area of Fair Trade thinking and theory and the political, legal and economic context of Fair Trade is given careful scrutiny. Difficult questions are tackled such as `What is the role and value of corporate social responsibility?′ and `What is the brand meaning of Fair Trade?′ Throughout, readers are supported by: - Revealing case studies and useful data analysis; - Concise histories of different Fair Trade organisations; - Chapter summaries and conclusions.
Auden Schendler serves as the sustainability director of the Aspen Skiing Company, which operates the Aspen/Snowmass resort complex in Colorado. He discusses his successes and failures in promoting sustainability to illustrate the lessons he has learned. Proving refreshingly open, Schendler criticizes his colleagues, including his previous CEO, who told Schendler he could introduce a green initiative only "over my dead body." Schendler calls for transparency and an end to greenwashing, demanding that corporations, nonprofit organizations, and governmental bodies clarify which sustainability projects work and which do not, and pursue the ones that make a difference. getAbstract recommends this valuable guide to executives, government leaders and concerned citizens who want to take meaningful action against global warming.
During the last three decades, information and communication technologies have fundamentally changed the way we work, live and communicate. The ubiquity of internet services, which become increasingly interactive and complex, together with enhanced connectivity, facilitated by innovative mobile devices, induces an ever-rising demand for computing, storage and data transmission capacities. Today, information systems (IS) constitute the backbone of the globalized economy and are indispensable for modern business and production processes. At the same time, environmental sustainability has evolved as the most pressing societal challenge of the 21st century, in particular due to the looming threats of climate change. By virtue of their global influence and reach, business companies significantly contribute to the creation of environmental problems, but owing to their organizational knowledge, capabilities and resources, they also have the capacity and ability to play a key role in shaping the path towards a more sustainable development. The companies leading the way have noticed that corporate sustainability is not necessarily a burden that negatively impacts their bottom line. If strategically managed, environmental product and process innovations can decrease operational costs, enhance corporate reputation, and differentiate from competitors. With regard to environmental sustainability, IS play a contradictory role: on the one hand, the manufacturing, operation and disposal of information technology (IT) infrastructure are responsible for serious environmental impacts: from the mining of conflict minerals to carbon dioxide emissions that equal those of the airline industry to enormous amounts of toxic e-waste. On the other hand, IS are perceived as key enablers of a "green" economy: environmental management systems and the reengineering of business processes can substantially reduce the environmental impacts of business organizations, while technological innovations provide opportunities to decrease the ecological footprint of end-user products and services. Many organizations have started to implement first environmental measures to decrease IT energy consumption and to reduce operational costs, mostly in an unstructured and uncoordinated manner though. Although Green IS practices feature a considerable potential to increase corporate environmentalism while creating promising business opportunities, the adoption of enterprise-wide cross-functional initiatives aimed at implementing Green IS has been rather slow. Economic uncertainties regarding the long-term effects of Green IS adoption and the lack of appropriate management frameworks have been identified as main inhibitors of an encompassing implementation of Green IS initiatives throughout the enterprise. In this context, this thesis addresses relevant research gaps, contributes to theory development in the evolving Green IS research discipline, develops practice-oriented management frameworks, and emphasizes the importance of following a strategic approach to leverage the competitive potential of Green IS. This cumulative thesis comprises an introduction that includes a literature review and a pre-study, four theory-based conceptual research articles, and two empirical studies, one of them building on qualitative, exploratory case study research whereas the other relies on quantitative data which has been analyzed with structural equation modeling. This thesis targets four specific research goals to advance theory-building in Green IS research and to promote the adoption of Green IS in practice. First, this thesis clarifies and defines the central terms and key concepts Green IT, Green IS, Green IS strategy, and Green IS practices drawing on a transdisciplinary research approach. Second, the most important challenges and inhibitors of Green IS adoption are identified and characterized. In particular, the lack of management frameworks, which encourage a holistic implementation that follows a strategic rationale, the complexity of strategic Green IS alignment, the multi-dimensional performance impacts of cross-functional initiatives and, above all, the uncertainty relating to the business case of Green IS practices, are identified as the most pressing challenges. Third, current actions of business firms to address these challenges are examined. Building on exploratory case study research, distinctive Green IS strategies are identified in managerial practice. Most notably, the empirical insights from quantitative survey research suggest a positive relationship between Green IS adoption and firm competitiveness, thus decreasing the economic uncertainty which inhibits the implementation of far-reaching environmental initiatives. Fourth, practice-oriented management frameworks are developed. The fine-grained Green IS strategy concept advises the formulation of strategies addressing the corporate, competitive, and functional management level. The proposed typology of four Green IS strategies illustrates distinct strategic options, from which executives can choose under consideration of their competitive targets and the firm-specific context. To allow for consistency of Green IS strategies, the presented alignment framework facilitates coherence with economic and environmental corporate goals. Furthermore, the actors, roles and responsibilities relevant to the alignment process are described. In addition, a management framework for the holistic adoption of Green IS, which specifies decisive management areas and distinguishes between three degrees of environmental impacts, is presented along with a comprehensive catalogue of Green IS implementation measures. As a consequence, this research offers both empirical insights and conceptual models to advance the adoption of Green IS initiatives, thus meeting the challenges of climate change and turning corporate sustainability into a business opportunity. Informationssysteme (IS) zeigen in Bezug auf ökologische Nachhaltigkeit gegensätzliche Eigenschaften. Einerseits verursachen die Herstellung, der Betrieb sowie die Entsorgung von Informationstechnologie (IT) – Infrastrukturen schwerwiegende negative Umweltauswirkungen: Vom Abbau von Konfliktmineralien über Kohlendioxidemissionen bis hin zu beträchtlichen Mengen giftigen Elektroschrotts. Andererseits werden IS als Schlüsseltechnologien für eine nachhaltige Wirtschaft gesehen. Umweltmanagementsysteme und die Umgestaltung von Geschäftsprozessen können den ökologischen Fußabdruck von Organisationen bedeutend verringern. Zudem eröffnen technologische Innovationen neuartige Möglichkeiten, die Umweltauswirkungen von Produkten und Dienstleistungen über den gesamten Lebenszyklus hinweg zu senken. Zahlreiche Organisationen haben damit begonnen, einzelne Green-IT-Maßnahmen zu implementieren um den Energieverbrauch und operative Kosten zu senken. Allerdings verfolgen die meisten Unternehmen hierbei keinen strukturierten oder strategischen Ansatz. Obwohl Green-IS-Initiativen beachtliche Potentiale zur Verbesserung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit von Organisationen bieten und gleichzeitig vielversprechende wirtschaftliche Chancen eröffnen, schreitet die Umsetzung von bereichsübergreifenden Green-IS-Maßnahmen in Unternehmen nur langsam voran. Ökonomische Unsicherheiten in Bezug auf die Rentabilität derartiger Maßnahmen sowie der Mangel an adäquaten Management-Frameworks werden in diesem Zusammenhang als zentrale Hinderungsgründe für eine strategische und ganzheitliche Umsetzung von Green-IS-Initiativen identifiziert. Diese Dissertation adressiert diese Hinderungsgründe, schafft Schlüsselkonzepte für den neuen Green-IS-Forschungszweig, entwickelt praxisorientierte Management-Frameworks und hebt die Bedeutung eines strategischen Ansatzes bei der Implementierung von Green IS hervor. Diese Forschungsarbeit offeriert empirische Einblicke wie auch konzeptionelle Modelle um die Umsetzung ganzheitlicher Green-IS-Initiativen in Organisationen voranzutreiben. Unternehmen haben somit die Chance, den Herausforderungen des Klimawandels verantwortungsvoll zu begegnen und gleichzeitig durch eine nachhaltige Unternehmensführung Wettbewerbsvorteile zu generieren.
Discover which foreign companies are conducting or are considering conducting business in southern Africa. Abstracts of nearly 2000 firms include the locations, product lines, number of employees & the amount of assets & sales in southern Africa. For companies with non-equity links, abstracts include the name & location of the company's South African distributor or licensee. Appendices sort companies by industry sector, size & location. The "Company Watch" section identifies firms that have announced plans to establish business ties to southern Africa.
The integration of eco-friendly aspects, tools and solutions into a conventional supply chain leads to environmentally friendly global processes in the manufacturing and service industry. This book offers a selection of chapters that explain the impact of green supply chain solutions on value-making chains. The aim of this book is to help students at all levels as well as managers and researchers to understand and appreciate the concept, design and implementation of green supply chain solutions in the Industry 4.0 era.
Similarly, leadership can be seen as an obstacle to sustainable development if leaders form close circles and are not willing to share experiences with other actors; but leadership could also be considered as an important element to keep concepts and practices forward. The book holds this double perspective: explaining, mapping and analyzing different goals/formats/methods of more and less collaborative approaches, but at the same time taking a critical approach to the theme by understanding related risks, effects, prospects and corrective actions.
A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year Named one of 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 by Thinkers50 "An advocate of sustainable capitalism explains how it's done" — The Economist "Polman's new book with the sustainable business expert Andrew Winston…argues that it's profitable to do business with the goal of making the world better." — The New York Times Named as recommended reading by Fortune's CEO Daily "…Polman has been one of the most significant chief executives of his era and that his approach to business and its role in society has been both valuable and path-breaking." — Financial Times The ex-Unilever CEO who increased his shareholders' returns by 300% while ensuring the company ranked #1 in the world for sustainability for eleven years running has, for the first time, revealed how to do it. Teaming up with Andrew Winston, one of the world's most authoritative voices on corporate sustainability, Paul Polman shows business leaders how to take on humanity's greatest and most urgent challenges—climate change and inequality—and build a thriving business as a result. In this candid and straight-talking handbook, Polman and Winston reveal the secrets of Unilever's success and pull back the curtain on some of the world's most powerful c-suites. Net Positive boldly argues that the companies of the future will profit by fixing the world's problems, not creating them. Together the authors explode our most prevalent corporate myths: from the idea that business' only function is to maximise profits, to the naïve hope that Corporate Social Responsibility will save our species from disaster. These approaches, they argue, are destined for the graveyard. Instead, they show corporate leaders how to make their companies "Net Positive"—thriving by giving back more to the world than they take. Net Positive companies unleash innovation, build trust, attract the best people, thrill customers, and secure lasting success, all by helping create stronger, more inclusive societies and a healthier planet. Heal the world first, they argue, and you’ll satisfy your investors as a result. With ambitious vision and compelling stories, Net Positive will teach you how to find the inner purpose and courage you need to embrace the only business model that will matter in the years ahead. You will learn how to lead others and unlock your company's soul, while setting and delivering big and aggressive goals, and taking responsibility for all of your company's impacts. You'll find out the secrets to partnering with others, including your competition and critics, to drive transformative change from which you will prosper. You'll build a company that serves your people, your customers, your communities, your shareholders—and your children and grandchildren will thank you for it. Is this win-win for business and humanity too good to be true? Don't believe it. The world's smartest CEOs are already taking their companies on the Net Positive journey and benefitting as a result. Will you be left behind? Join the movement at netpositive.world
