Operationalising an Ecosocialist Approach to Sustainability Transition: A Socio-Metabolic Analytical Framework

Four Commentaries on the Pope’s Message on Climate Change and Income Inequality. IV. Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, Global Environmental Risks, and the Future of Humanity.

Purpose: This paper aims to identify social and environmental issues in value chain of food companies to create shared value. We provided most affecting social and environmental issues on businesses companies value chain; in addition to that we provided some solutions to social and environmental problems based on shared value concept. Design/methodology/approach: The authors provide a proposed approach based on the specificity of problems and issues in agricultural and global food companies. The objective is to identify environmental and social issues in food value chain in order to invest in these issues to create shared value. Findings: We found that every primary and secondary activity within food value chain is characterized by some social and environmental problems. We analyzed these social and environmental issues in every single activity. In addition to that we provided proposed solutions to these social and environmental issues using shared value concept in every single activity within company value chain. Research limitations/implications: This research paper determines social and environmental issues in value chain for food global companies; however, more research is needed to find other social and environmental issues in other sectors. Practical implications: This overview may help and give ideas to owners and managers of food companies to rethink their overall value chain by detecting environmental and social issues and used shared value concept to turn these environmental and social issues into a business opportunity. Originality/value: A unique view of value chain analyzed by identifying environmental and social issues using shared value concept.

This chapter focuses on environmental accounting on Africa, a continent with huge mineral reserves and extractive activities but with widespread pollution, social inequities and environmental degradation. It captures the centrality of natural resources to Africa and how these resources affect social, economic, environmental, political, governance, accountability, social justice and sustainability issues (e.g. climate change, deforestation and afforestation, environmental pollution, artisanal mining, accounting for water, waste management, non-degradable products, biodiversity and extinction of endangered species, erosion, drought, environmental risk, child labour, modern slavery, and social and environmental justice). We reflected on the trends and gaps in accounting research publications and captured the connections between governance, accountability, and social and environmental issues in Africa. Given the prevalence of the resource curse syndrome in Africa, this chapter reflects on and identifies the direction for future social and environmental accounting, and policy-oriented research necessary to address the urgent set of social and environmental issues if Africa is to become environmentally sustainable while meeting its Sustainable Development Goals. This chapter is a must-read for academics and students with interest in social and environmental issues in Africa.

The Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) are a set of interactive and participatory modeling approaches for dealing with unstructured complex problems, which are characterized by the existence of multiple actors, with differing perspectives and conflicting interests, trying to identify alternatives for solving a problematic situation in an environment with uncertainties. In this paper, we provide a literature review about PSMs over the last decade (2010-2020), focusing on verifying the distribution of papers according to year, journals, countries, and authors; to identify the most frequent PSMs and areas of application; and to present methodological and theoretical advances, and emerging topics. The content analysis technique was used to analyze the papers. From 2015 on there was a significant increase in the number of studies that address the PSMs and the years 2018 and 2019 concentrate around one-third of the number of papers. Most of the papers present applications of PSM in different areas that were classified into five categories: business management; environmental management; healthcare sector; social issues; and other areas. Regardless of the application area, the Soft System Methodology (SSM) is the most frequently used PSM and a discussion is provoked about this finding. The paper also presents the theoretical and methodological advances and emerging topics in this discipline.

COVID-19 has highlighted the destructiveness of modern agro-industry upon biosphere and humanity. Its contribution to environmental degradation intertwines with socio-economic inequality and labor exploitation. There are increasing calls for a Green New Deal (GND) to counter these dangers. This chapter argues that a GND for agriculture must combat environmental degradation, social inequality and labor exploitation, rather than aim to re-boot capitalist economies. This chapter identifies a number of areas for discussion and political action – reorientation of state subsidies, workers’ rights, agrarian reform, the decommodification of food, agroecology, possibilities for urban agriculture, the application of new technologies and rewilding.

Covid-19 has highlighted the destructiveness of modern agro-industry upon biosphere and humanity. Its contribution to environmental degradation intertwines with socio-economic inequality and labour exploitation. There are increasing calls for a green new deal (GND) to counter these dangers. This article argues that a GND for agriculture must combat environmental degradation, social inequality and labour exploitation, rather than aim to re-boot capitalist economies. This article identifies a number of areas for discussion and political action - reorientation of state subsidies, workers' rights, agrarian reform, the decommodification of food, agroecology, possibilities for urban agriculture, the application of new technologies, and rewilding.

BackgroundThere is limited evidence on labour exploitation’s impact on migrant health. This population is, however, often employed in manual low-skilled jobs known for poor labour conditions and exploitation risks. The lack of a common conceptualisation of labour exploitation in health research impedes the development of research measuring its effects on migrant health and, ultimately, our understanding of migrants’ health needs.AimTo develop an operational conceptual framework of labour exploitation focusing on migrant workers in manual low-skilled jobs.MethodsNon-probabilistic sampling was used to recruit multidisciplinary experts on labour exploitation. An online Group Concept Mapping (GCM) was conducted. Experts: 1) generated statements describing the concept ‘labour exploitation’ focusing on migrants working in manual low-skilled jobs; 2) sorted generated statements into groups reflecting common themes; and 3) rated them according to their importance in characterising a situation as migrant labour exploitation. Multidimensional Scaling and Cluster Analysis were used to produce an operational framework detailing the concept content (dimensions, statements, and corresponding averaged rating).FindingsThirty-two experts sorted and rated 96 statements according to their relative importance (1 “relatively unimportant” to 5 “extremely important”). The operational framework consists of four key dimensions of migrant labour exploitation, distributed along a continuum of severity revealed by the rating: ‘Shelter and personal security’ (rating: 4.47); ‘Finance and migration’ (4.15); ‘Health and safety’ (3.96); and ‘Social and legal protection’ (3.71).ConclusionThis study is the first to both generate an empirical operational framework of migrant labour exploitation, and demonstrate the existence of a "continuum from decent work to forced labour". The framework content can be operationalised to measure labour exploitation. It paves the way to better understand how different levels of exploitation affect migrant workers’ health for global policymakers, health researchers, and professionals working in the field of migrant exploitation.

There is limited evidence on labour exploitation's impact on migrant health. This population is, however, often employed in manual low-skilled jobs known for poor labour conditions and exploitation risks. The lack of a common conceptualisation of labour exploitation in health research impedes the development of research measuring its effects on migrant health and, ultimately, our understanding of migrants' health needs. To develop an operational conceptual framework of labour exploitation focusing on migrant workers in manual low-skilled jobs. Non-probabilistic sampling was used to recruit multidisciplinary experts on labour exploitation. An online Group Concept Mapping (GCM) was conducted. Experts: 1) generated statements describing the concept 'labour exploitation' focusing on migrants working in manual low-skilled jobs; 2) sorted generated statements into groups reflecting common themes; and 3) rated them according to their importance in characterising a situation as migrant labour exploitation. Multidimensional Scaling and Cluster Analysis were used to produce an operational framework detailing the concept content (dimensions, statements, and corresponding averaged rating). Thirty-two experts sorted and rated 96 statements according to their relative importance (1 "relatively unimportant" to 5 "extremely important"). The operational framework consists of four key dimensions of migrant labour exploitation, distributed along a continuum of severity revealed by the rating: 'Shelter and personal security' (rating: 4.47); 'Finance and migration' (4.15); 'Health and safety' (3.96); and 'Social and legal protection' (3.71). This study is the first to both generate an empirical operational framework of migrant labour exploitation, and demonstrate the existence of a "continuum from decent work to forced labour". The framework content can be operationalised to measure labour exploitation. It paves the way to better understand how different levels of exploitation affect migrant workers' health for global policymakers, health researchers, and professionals working in the field of migrant exploitation.

The delta areas had been significant for human development.The environmental degradation and the climate change are one of the multiple pressures experienced by urban deltas such as groundwater extractions, land subsidence affecting the provision of ecosystem services that pose extra risk in the livelihoods of the local as well on the global populations living in these areas. Nature-based solutions have proved their potential to counteract some of these pressures. The following talk brings to the fore an interdisciplinary take on the potential, the value as well as the challenges encompassed in designing, planning and governing nature-based solutions for urban deltas. . This dialogue is the transcription of a series of interviews from the guest editors, Veronica Zagare and Diego Sepulveda with the authors, held during October/November 2022. Deltas - sustainable transitions - Nature-based solutions - societal challenges

While research on universities’ role in sustainability transitions has flourished in recent years, explorations into the potential of academic internationalization for the promotion of sustainability transitions are still rare. This article aims at contributing to this incipient literature by emphasizing an underexplored property of international academic networks and transnational academic cooperation: their potential to break disciplinary and geographical barriers in the global debates on how transitions towards sustainability can be achieved. When realizing this potential, international partnerships are able to provide more comprehensive knowledge to inform sustainability transitions while shaping sustainability transitions in various places at the same time. This article pursues three objectives: First, it introduces the concept of the “global knowledge value chain on sustainability” and explores its value as a heuristic to understand global knowledge production relevant for sustainability transitions. Furthermore, it identifies two fragmentations in this chain resulting from global inequalities and specific dynamics within the global science community. Second, it confirms empirically the fragmentations of this global knowledge value chain on sustainability. Third, it provides good practice ideas on how international academic partnerships can overcome these fragmentations by drawing on the authors’ experience with the international partnership “trAndeS—Postgraduate Program on Social Inequalities and Sustainable Development in the Andean Region” carried out by the Institute of Latin American Studies of Freie Universität Berlin and the Department of Social Sciences of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru (PUCP).

This chapter seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the variety and spatial unevenness of sustainability transitions by studying Chorotega’s regional transition from livestock farming to tourism, a process that has unfolded for over four decades. We argue that agency has been mobilised across actors in multiple scales. The national government and supranational organisations initiated the transformation through policies aligning economic growth with environmental conservation, while regional and local actors, including businesses and educational institutions, have been crucial to adapt the changes. To analyse the interplay of agency at various scales, the study employs sustainability transitions and economic geography frameworks to identify how macro- and micro-level agencies influenced the initiation, evolution, and establishment of an industry that has prompted a sustainability transition in the region. Despite the green and sustainable image of Costa Rica, this chapter highlights the contradictions and limitations that sustainability transitions can face. Indeed, economic vulnerability, social inequalities, and environmental challenges persist, suggesting a need for a vision that centres around environmental and social challenges.

Systems and practices: Reviewing intervention points for transformative socio-technical change

Education for Sustainable Development Review

This chapter analyses the potential for environmental and sustainable technological transitions in Latin America. It draws particular lessons from the successful case of the policies related to the biofuel transition in Brazil, in view of that country’s long-term energy security and climate change mitigation strategies. The key elements in the approach identified are the transition from state-led to market-led innovation, the alignment between governance at global and national levels, and the importance of the connection between sectors to reinforce the innovation processes in each. These can help us to understand how to best promote future ecological innovation in the sustainability transitions in a Latin America context. The discussion indicates the extent to which imperatives around energy security and environmental sustainability can be effective prime movers for innovation, the building up of new capabilities, and, ultimately, the creation of new sources of competitive advantage in global markets.

Many of the most important business and economic risks are directly linked to environmental and social issues. This includes both threats and opportunities, not only in relation to reputation, which is often mentioned in this context, but, even more importantly, in relation to innovation capability and legislative change on inevitably more and more sustainability-driven markets. It is, however, unclear through which mechanisms such sustainability risks currently affect companies and how they can be systematically identified and managed. Based on the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, this study investigates the dynamics and implications of society’s sustainability transition from a company risk management perspective. In addition, exploratory and descriptive studies were conducted at two large product innovation companies to identify current risk management practices and preconditions for sustainability integration. The results reveal that a society moving closer towards a collapse of environmental and social systems leads to increasing sustainability-related threats for unsustainable businesses and increasing opportunities for sustainable businesses. Also, risk management is found to be a promising way for maneuvering in a smart zone between being too passive and being too pro-active in relation to sustainable innovation. The study participants at the case companies were knowledgeable about risk management in general but were largely unfamiliar with risks associated with sustainability and no processes or support tools exist to work systematically with such risks. Key steps to accomplishing an integration of a strategic sustainability perspective into risk management are proposed as: (i) identifying the effects of sustainability issues on internal and external stakeholder value; (ii) actively including sustainability in objective setting and cascading objectives across the levels of the organizational hierarchy; and (iii) developing concrete support for identifying, assessing, and managing economic sustainability risks. Thereby, companies can enhance their competitiveness while providing leadership in the sustainability transition.