This illuminating new book presents a series of in-depth case studies from around the world based on numerous personal interviews with organizational leaders and focusing on their journey towards sustainability. The aim is to provide visions of a more sustainable future, and shed light on the path, milestones and solutions – in particular the management processes these organizations employed – to provide a reliable compass that others can follow. Although each organization must take steps to fit its particular circumstance, business conditions and culture, Mapping the Journey proves that valuable lessons can be learned by setting aside critique as to where these organizations may yet make progress and instead focusing on the guidelines, targets, measures of success, tools and techniques and valuable wisdom about how pioneer organisations are travelling toward a prosperous, sustainable future. Each organization included has crafted its own unique strategic responses to an identified need for increased sustainability. While none can be said to have reached the end-point of a sustainable development strategy, all have found that, by addressing the challenge of sustainable industrial practices, they have found innovative solutions, new opportunities for revenue generation, better relationships with customers, new business and product opportunities and a boost to morale from the executive ranks to front-line employees. Mapping the Journey examines both public and private organizations worldwide: SJ Rail of Sweden; Sony Corporation; SC Johnson; TransAlta Corporation; Patagonia; Henkel; Volvo; ASG; Interface Flooring Systems; Suncor; DaimlerChrysler; AssiDoman; Germany's Centre for Technology Assessment and the Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan. These case studies provide an inspiring framework of effective processes for defining a sustainable development strategy and transforming it successfully into actions and results.

Global Environmental Sustainability: Case Studies and Analysis of the United Nations’ Journey toward Sustainable Development presents an integrated, interdisciplinary analysis of sustainable development, addressing global environmental problems in the contemporary world. It critically examines current actions being taken on global and local scales, particularly in relation to the UN’s efforts to promote sustainable development. This approach is supported by empirical analysis, drawing upon a host of interweaving insights spanning economics, politics, ecology, environmental philosophy, and ethics, among others. As a result, it offers a comprehensive and well-balanced assessment of the overall perspective of sustainable development supported by in-depth content analysis, theoretical evaluation, empirical and actual case studies premised on solid data, and actual field work. Also, the book marks a milestone in placing the Covid-19 pandemic into a perspective for understanding the universality of human collective environmental behavior and action.By utilizing in-depth analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, and challenging the status quo of what is expected in the global approach to sustainable development, Global Environmental Sustainability provides the theory and methodology of empirical sustainable development which is especially germane to our advanced society today, which is deeply entrenched in a crisis of environmental morality. More particularly, it serves as a salient source of moral reconstitution of society grounded in empirical reality to liberate man’s excessive spirit of individualism and self-aggrandizement to the detriment of the environment. Epistemologically, the book furnishes a remarkable tour de force with a new level of analytical insight to help researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in sustainability and environmental science, as well as the many other disciplines involved in sustainable development, to better understand sustainability from a new perspective and provides a methodological direction to pursue solutions going forward. Provides a systematic exposition of sustainable development in all its complexity, with all the chapters complementing each other in an integral way Presents extensive empirical evidence of various environmental problems across the world including China, the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia, South America and Africa, and the extent to which the United Nations has succeeded in driving toward global environmental sustainability Provides a cogent examination of the treatment of our global commons by some of the world’s most powerful leaders Includes data from field studies and in-depth interviews with indigenous people in Borneo’s rainforests of the Malaysian state of Sarawak most affected by environmental change

This book illustrates an alternative approach to ‘state of sustainability’ reporting by presenting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary discussions on sustainability issues in the context of a developing country, Botswana. The book volume illustrates how academic publishing can supplement African governments' existing forms of reporting on sustainability by providing on-ground detailed descriptions and experiences relating to achievement of the various sustainable development goals (SDGs). In addition, this process involves, increases and enhances diversity of stakeholders that report on sustainability. Furthermore, the approach resonates with the UN’s recommendation to build local strategies for implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Conventional reporting on sustainability by most African countries is an exercise that is customarily the preserve of designated government ministries. While this form of reporting provides a consistent platform for tracking sustainable development goals, it can also benefit from juxtaposition with in-depth descriptions and experiences provided by academic publishing. Academia, through publishing, provides a framework for on-ground situation-analysis as well as in-depth descriptions of African country’s grass-root experiences, thus allowing for temporal tracking of sustainable development milestones. As this volume illustrates, experiences from the various contributors on this volume highlight different points of departure towards achieving the 2030 agenda. Topics covered include biodiversity, water management, world heritage, environment, education, tourism, gender, institutional approaches to achievement of SDGs, as well as contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGO)'s amongst others.

At first I only thought of focusing on sustainability and environmental poems, mainly because my mind is usually occupied by sustainability issues; why do they exist? What is the easiest way to make people understand? Who should be involved? How should anyone be involved? how do we solve them collectively? Being knowledgeable and passionate about sustainable development and environmental management has been both a blessing and a curse for me. A blessing because I have come to understand many of the issues especially how the social, politics, economics and environment are inseparable, and a curse because I do not have the opportunities or the power I need to be able to make a real difference and therefore it makes me frustrated. Anyway.... along the way I got distracted by political issues which are currently happening around the world but most specifically in Tanzania. It became impossible to separate sustainability, environmental management and the politics. Instead of giving in to frustration, I decided to follow through knowing that everything happens for a reason. I wanted to share the reality of my journey with you therefore I ended up producing two books instead of one as planned. Book two focuses on the journey towards sustainability ‘Politricks and Polipricks’.

World human population is expected to reach upwards of 9 billion by 2050 and then level off over the next half-century. How can the transition to a stabilizing population also be a transition to sustainability? How can science and technology help to ensure that human needs are met while the planet's environment is nurtured and restored? Our Common Journey examines these momentous questions to draw strategic connections between scientific research, technological development, and societies' efforts to achieve environmentally sustainable improvements in human well being. The book argues that societies should approach sustainable development not as a destination but as an ongoing, adaptive learning process. Speaking to the next two generations, it proposes a strategy for using scientific and technical knowledge to better inform future action in the areas of fertility reduction, urban systems, agricultural production, energy and materials use, ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation, and suggests an approach for building a new research agenda for sustainability science. Our Common Journey documents large-scale historical currents of social and environmental change and reviews methods for "what if" analysis of possible future development pathways and their implications for sustainability. The book also identifies the greatest threats to sustainabilityâ€"in areas such as human settlements, agriculture, industry, and energyâ€"and explores the most promising opportunities for circumventing or mitigating these threats. It goes on to discuss what indicators of change, from children's birth-weights to atmosphere chemistry, will be most useful in monitoring a transition to sustainability.

World human population is expected to reach upwards of 9 billion by 2050 and then level off over the next half-century. How can the transition to a stabilizing population also be a transition to sustainability? How can science and technology help to ensure that human needs are met while the planet's environment is nurtured and restored? Our Common Journey examines these momentous questions to draw strategic connections between scientific research, technological development, and societies' efforts to achieve environmentally sustainable improvements in human well being. The book argues that societies should approach sustainable development not as a destination but as an ongoing, adaptive learning process. Speaking to the next two generations, it proposes a strategy for using scientific and technical knowledge to better inform future action in the areas of fertility reduction, urban systems, agricultural production, energy and materials use, ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation, and suggests an approach for building a new research agenda for sustainability science. Our Common Journey documents large-scale historical currents of social and environmental change and reviews methods for "what if" analysis of possible future development pathways and their implications for sustainability. The book also identifies the greatest threats to sustainabilityâ€"in areas such as human settlements, agriculture, industry, and energyâ€"and explores the most promising opportunities for circumventing or mitigating these threats. It goes on to discuss what indicators of change, from children's birth-weights to atmosphere chemistry, will be most useful in monitoring a transition to sustainability.