This book provides a set of case studies summarising recent developing country experiences of developing and implementing national sustainable development strategies (NSDSs). These are based directly on the work of country teams that facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues on NSDSs. Drawing also from this work and from broader international experience, the early chapters explore new thinking and provide key lessons about the development, implementation and monitoring of NSDSs; and explore how the continuous improvement approach now advocated for NSDSs can link their development and implementation with the needs and opportunities for research. The book is a practical complement to the Resource Book on Sustainable Development Strategies (isn 1668215), which provides guidance on how to develop, assess and implement such strategies.
The problems related to the process of industrialisation such as biodiversity depletion, climate change and a worsening of health and living conditions, especially but not only in developing countries, intensify. Therefore, there is an increasing need to search for integrated solutions to make development more sustainable. The United Nations has acknowledged the problem and approved the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. On 1st January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda officially came into force. These goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals comprehensively addresses the SDGs in an integrated way. It encompasses 17 volumes, each one devoted to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume addresses SDG 12, namely "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns" and contains the description of a range of terms, which allows a better understanding and fosters knowledge. Concretely, the defined targets are: Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources Halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses Achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities Ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities Editorial Board Medani P. Bhandari, Luciana Londero Brandli, Morgane M. C. Fritz, Ulla A. Saari, Leonardo L. Sta Romana
This book contains a cohesive overview of the most important theories and insights in the field of business ethics. At the same time, it further tailors these theories to the situation in which organizations function, presenting criteria that can be used to measure, assess, improve and report on corporate integrity.
This book is a cornerstone resource for a wide range of organizations and individuals concerned with sustainable development at national or local levels, as well as for international organizations concerned with supporting such development. Whilst the focus is on integrated strategies for sustainable development, the approaches and methods covered are equally relevant to poverty reduction, environmental and sectoral strategies, programme development and review. Agenda 21 called for all countries to develop sustainable development strategies. For such strategies to be effective there needs to be a real commitment. In every country, government at all levels, the private sector, and civil society, must work together in a true partnership, in transparent ways which enable genuine stakeholder participation. The necessary mechanisms and processes need to be coordinated to enable continuous learning and improvement. This resource book provides flexible, non-prescriptive guidance on how to develop, assess and implement national sustainable development strategies. It sets out principles and ideas on process and methods, and suggests how these can be used. It is based on an analysis of past and current practice, drawing directly from experience in both developed and developing countries. Following a discussion of the nature and challenges of sustainable development and the need for strategic responses to them, the heart of the book covers the main tasks in strategy processes. Individual chapters offer a rich range of guidance, ideas and case studies.
This book presents an overview of the key debates that took place during the Economic and Social Council meetings at the 2007 High-level Segment, at which ECOSOC organized its first biennial Development Cooperation Forum. The discussions also revolved around the theme of the second Annual Ministerial Review, "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development."--P. 4 of cover.
This book is a cornerstone resource for a wide range of organizations and individuals concerned with sustainable development at national or local levels, as well as for international organizations concerned with supporting such development. Whilst the focus is on integrated strategies for sustainable development, the approaches and methods covered are equally relevant to poverty reduction, environmental and sectoral strategies, programme development and review. Agenda 21 called for all countries to develop sustainable development strategies. For such strategies to be effective there needs to be a real commitment. In every country, government at all levels, the private sector, and civil society, must work together in a true partnership, in transparent ways which enable genuine stakeholder participation. The necessary mechanisms and processes need to be coordinated to enable continuous learning and improvement. This resource book provides flexible, non-prescriptive guidance on how to develop, assess and implement national sustainable development strategies. It sets out principles and ideas on process and methods, and suggests how these can be used. It is based on an analysis of past and current practice, drawing directly from experience in both developed and developing countries. Following a discussion of the nature and challenges of sustainable development and the need for strategic responses to them, the heart of the book covers the main tasks in strategy processes. Individual chapters offer a rich range of guidance, ideas and case studies.
In today's highly networked and competitive global economy, mounting social and environmental problems are forcing corporations to focus on more than just their stockholders' interest in meeting bottom line profitability. More and more companies are recognizing the value of identifying and building relationships with all of their organization's stakeholders-employees, customers, suppliers, and even communities. In fact, recent research has shown that companies that treat their employees well, create jobs in the local economy, develop innovative products and services, take care of the environment, and contribute to the community, are often more profitable. In The Stakeholder Strategy, sociologist Ann Svendsen presents an effective and practical step-by-step guide that companies can use to forge a network of powerful and profitable collaborative stakeholder relationships. While some forward-thinking corporations have tried limited collaborative approaches-focusing on one stakeholder group at a time-few have taken a comprehensive and strategic approach to building relationships with all of their stakeholders, notes Svendsen. And, while considerable commitment to the idea of stakeholder collaboration exists, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding about how to develop these relationships. The Stakeholder Strategy is the first book to show business leaders and managers how to establish and maintain positive, mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships. Based on a synthesis of ideas from community relations, corporate philanthropy, stakeholder management, organizational change, sustainability, and the corporate social responsibility literature, it offers an integrated framework, as well as the practical tools for developing new kinds of collaborative relationships. Svendsen uses easy-to-grasp concepts from everyday life, such as the process we go through in finding a mate or developing a long-term friendship, to illustrate these relationship-building strategies. She lays out the steps a company should take to create a collaboration-friendly organization: establishing a social mission, values, and ethical guidelines; assessing corporate readiness for collaboration; and making changes in communication, information and reward systems to support internal and external collaboration. Featuring case study examples from companies in North America and Europe who are working to build collaborative relationships with their stakeholders, The Stakeholder Strategy is the first book to provide a detailed explanation of how to conduct stakeholder audits and social audits so that companines can evaluate their relationship-building success and keep on track.
Participatory Processes for Natural Resource Management Ortwin Renn University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany Need for analytic-deliberative processes Inviting the public to be part of the decision making process in natural resource management has been a major objective in European and American environmental policy arenas. The US-National Academy of Sciences has encouraged environmental protection agencies to foster citizen participation and public involvement for making environmental policy making and natural resource management more effective and democratic (Stern and Fineberg 1996). The report emphasizes the need for a combination of assessment and dialogue which the authors have framed the "analytic-deliberative" approach. Unfortunately, early public involvement of the public in deliberative processes may compromise, however, the objective of efficient and effective policy implementation or violate the principle of fairness (Cross 1998, Okrent 1998). Another problem is that the public consists of many groups with different value structures and preferences. Without a systematic procedure to reach consensus on values and preferences, the public's position often appears as unclear (Coglianese 1997, Rossi 1997). Participatory processes are thus needed that combine technical expertise, rational decision making, and public values and preferences. How can and should natural resource managers collect public preferences, integrate public input into the management process, and assign the appropriate roles to technical experts, stakeholders (i. e.
Governments, business, international bodies and local groups are turning to multi-stakeholder processes to find practical ways forward. This book explains how MSPs can be organized to deliver their potential for successful resolution of complex issues and for sustainable development. It includes detailed examples and provides practical checklists, explaining how to get beyond adversarial politics and achieve positive results.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent the leading governance frame with which the international community tries to address complex interconnected global issues. The SDGs can be considered the only relevant agenda for progress in the years to come.
