Responsibility For Sustainable Development Research Articles

Decolonizing Sustainability through Co-responsibility

ABSTRACT: In this study, we focus on a key concept of sustainability: co-responsibility. To date, the traditional discussion of responsibility in sustainable development has failed to address the world's inequality, particularly the inequality in the Global South resulting from colonization. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates a considerable gap between the Global South and the Global North, both before the start of vaccination and the continuing gap resulting from vaccine distribution. We argue that the responsibility gap exists because of the lack of co-responsibility. Co-responsibility is not shared responsibility in which every individual, institution, or government takes part on the basis of a written document, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but rather is an infinite responsibility divided between several institutions or people and not bound by location. This article contributes to the discussion of sustainability's transformation from colonized to decolonized and highlights the co-responsibility approach to the idea of the development in the sustainable development discussion.

Study on the development path of low-carbon retail clusters empowered by digital empowerment

This study provides an in-depth exploration of the mechanisms by which wholesale and retail clusters in China influence green and low-carbon synergistic development. Using the system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) method combined with the theory of industrial clusters, the contribution of digital technology application, green supply chain management, consumer behaviour, and corporate social responsibility to synergistic development is analyzed. It is found that the highly clustered wholesale and retail industry has promoted supply chain intelligence and logistics optimization through the extensive application of digital technology, creating favourable conditions for synergistic development. Regarding green supply chain management, cluster companies are more inclined to adopt green measures such as environmentally friendly packaging and energy-efficient logistics, effectively reducing carbon emission levels. In terms of consumer behaviour, the increase in the clustering rate has prompted consumers to be more inclined to consume green and purchase green products, thus promoting the decarbonization of products and services. CSR practices show that highly clustered companies are more active in implementing emission reduction measures, reflecting their responsibility for sustainable development. This study provides a new theoretical perspective for understanding the intrinsic mechanism of industrial clusters in carbon emission reduction and offers feasible carbon reduction strategies for industrial practices. In the urgent global carbon emission reduction context, this study provides essential academic and practical value for promoting China's wholesale and retail industry toward more sustainable development.

The Significance of Corporate Social Responsibility in Sustainable Development: An Analysis from an Islamic Law Perspective

Objective: This research aims to investigate the role of Islamic values in shaping Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and their impact on achieving sustainable development goals. Theoretical Framework: The study addresses the increasing significance of CSR and its integration with sustainable development, particularly from the perspective of Islamic business ethics. It explores how Islamic values influence CSR initiatives, aligning them with principles that foster environmental responsibility and social equity. Method: A systematic literature review method was employed to analyze a broad range of scholarly articles and reports. This analysis focused on examining the compatibility of CSR practices with Islamic principles. Result and Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that CSR practices rooted in Islamic values have a positive impact on sustainable development. Such practices promote environmental responsibility and contribute to social equity. This research emphasizes the potential of Islamic business ethics to guide CSR strategies toward more inclusive and sustainable outcomes. Originality/Value: This research contributes to the field of CSR by highlighting the importance of incorporating Islamic principles into CSR frameworks. It underscores how such integration can advance sustainable development on a global scale.

Exploring the Link between Energy Efficiency and the Environmental Dimension of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of International Companies in Poland

This study presents theoretical and practical contributions to the environmental dimension of enterprises’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sustainable development. Interest in the environment is related to CSR through environmental cost optimization and energy-efficiency management. The practical stage of the research, obtained using the computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method, allowed for presenting case studies of the best practices used by international enterprises operating in Poland. This study describes the practical tools and advice companies can use to improve efficiency and environmental responsibility. The article is an in-depth study of the growing role of enterprises in shaping sustainable and socially responsible businesses and aims to assess the extent to which these companies prioritize energy efficiency as a part of their CSR initiatives. The authors highlight the role of energy efficiency in achieving broader corporate environmental responsibility. This research aims to encourage businesses to adopt responsible environmental strategies for a greener and more sustainable future. The implementation of this goal helped develop and indicate conclusions regarding the development of environmental tools related to corporate responsibility in sustainable development, encouraging scientific debates and promoting responsible monitoring of the implementation of this concept.

FORMATION OF ESD COMPETENCIES IN TEACHERS OF PRIMARY CLASSES IN THE PROCESS OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

The paper reveals the problem of integration of education for sustainable development (hereinafter – ESD) in the process of professional training of future primary school teachers. The questionnaire explores the key competencies of sustainable development in future primary school teachers, including systematic thinking, prognostic, law competence, competence of teamwork, critical thinking, self-awareness, integrated problem solving. The indicators of the competencies for future primary education specialists have been determined by the authors of the research.
 The experimental survey included the empirical study of the level of development of competencies in the field of ESD according to the established indicators and evaluation of the overall level of their formation. The comparative analysis of the levels of the key competencies in students of the first and the fourth year of study in the specialty of “Primary Education” in order to establish the role of university education in the investigated process. The study analyses the changes achieved in teaching of sustainable development competencies in higher education. The results demonstrated slight improvement in level of formation of sustainable development competencies in students of the final year of the bachelor’s degree in primary education, however, these changes are insignificant. The findings of the research proved that bachelor’s graduates, unlike freshmen, have higher level of skills of application of ideas of sustainable development in future professional activities (they are acquainted with methods of integration of sustainable development into primary school subjects, know how to develop educational projects on sustainable development, understand and integrate ethical principles of sustainability in professional and personal activities). However, the level of formation of systematic thinking and prognostic competence in freshmen is higher than in fourth-year students. Besides, the obtained results of the study report about considerably low level of development of skills to realise educational projects on sustainable development: only 28 % of the first-year students and 36.4 % of the fourth-year respondents gave affirmative answers.
 We revealed a positive dynamic in students’ awareness of the necessity in taking their own responsibility for sustainable development. After all, overcoming poverty, inequality, achieving peace and justice, protection of human rights and saving the planet require the generation of individual responsibility, as the agents of change, which is the pre-condition of collective progress towards the goals of sustainable development. The study found an improvement in the competencies of sustainable development in graduates of the bachelor’s degree program “Primary Education” in contrast to the first-year students. Applicants for higher education have some knowledge and orientation in the field of sustainable development, an idea of individual responsibilities for sustainability. However, according to the majority of indicators, only a small proportion of respondents (less than half) have the required level of sustainable development competencies.
 We believe that the educational program for the training of future primary school professionals and the technology of teaching higher education need to be improved. Therefore, we see the prospect of further research in the study of opportunities to improve the educational and professional program “Primary Education” in the direction of complementing its components with ideas of sustainable development, as well as the formation of skills to develop and implement educational projects in future specialists of primary education.

A bibliometric analysis of corporate social responsibility in sustainable development

The involvement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sustainable development (SD) is becoming a popular topic on research and business domain. However, the co-themed research is still rather new and hasn’t been fully studied. An in-depth bibliometric analysis using the ‘CiteSpace’ software is applied to analyze and visualize the knowledge map of the CSR research related to SD. Main findings show that the CSR involvement in SD is a lasting but recent prosperous research topic. The top 3 influential journals in this area are Corporate Social Responsibility and Environment Management; Sustainability; and Journal of Cleaner Production. Porter ME, Carroll AB, etc., are the most impactful authors. The co-author network is fragmented, while cross-national co-operations occur in groups. 11 clusters are identified to be highly concerned, among which, “stakeholder” and “NGO” are long lasting till now. 13 burst terms has changed over 15 years (2005–2019) indicated the research frontiers evolution in this field, with the earliest “sustainability” to “strategy”, “performance” and then “stakeholder”, “developing country”, “disclosure” and “supply chain management”, etc., and “climate change” being the newest but strongest. Four stages of the evolution can be identified: initial phase (1997–2004), debating phase (2005–2009), rapid developing phase (2010–2013), and research specialization phase (2014–2019). Finally, contributions, limitations and further research directions are discussed.

Teaching sustainability as a motivator for sustainable social entrepreneurship

Sustainability is an ever-present theme in many lines of research, including business and administration. Nevertheless, few studies have related sustainability with the development of sustainable social enterprises. Aiming to fill this gap, this research analysed the influence of disciplines that encourage sustainable projects in the interest of university students in their involvement in social entrepreneurship. We interviewed business management academics. The study found that the existence of disciplines related to sustainable projects encourages engagement in social entrepreneurship and also fosters an increased sense of responsibility in sustainable development. The study also revealed that the lower the average income of parents, the higher the interest of students in social entrepreneurship. The method used was the quantitative analysis of the responses and the linear regression model. The article contributes to the leaders and managers of universities and business schools in order to encourage and alert these followings about the need for investments and intentional efforts to educate and encourage teachers and students on sustainability issues so that they are motivated to create actions transformational impact, socially and environmentally responsible.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ACHIEVING

The essence of the category of social responsibility of business, its evolution and transformation of approaches to education is defined. The role and importance of business social responsibility for sustainable development is analyzed. The models of implementation of CSR models in the national dimension, at the local and regional levels are considered.

The Impact of Socio-scientific Issue Discussions on Student Environmentalism

A one group pretest-posttest design of study was used to investigate the impact of Socio-Scientific Issue (SSI) discussion on college students’ awareness of and self-efficacy toward environmental issues, responsibility for sustainable development, and environment-related activities. Thirty-nine students with different majors from a comprehensive university participated in the semester-long SSI intervention study. The teaching intervention is focused on empowering students to develop reflection and argumentation through watching contextual videos of current environmental issues, justifying personal standing position and achieving group consensus, and evaluating and critiquing peer group’s presentations. After 17 weeks of SSI discussion and argumentation, the quantitative results revealed that students’ awareness of environmental issues, responsibility for sustainable development, self-efficacy for environmental issues, and environment-related activities had been significantly promoted. Additional qualitative findings indicate that the SSI discussion has gained the leverage of changing students’ decision-making and standing position on environmental issues from emphasising economic development to supporting environmental protection and sustainability. Overall, this study provides empirical evidences and original insights about the effect of SSI discussion on environmental education through highlighting the importance of engaging students in practicing reflection and argumentation.

Responsibility for Sustainable Development in Europe: What Does It Mean for Planning Theory and Practice?

ABSTRACTResponsibility in planning for sustainable development (SD) is little conceptualised in the planning literature. This paper sets up a theoretical framework to extend its understanding by drawing on ethics and political constructions of responsibility at their intersection with planning studies and SD debates. This is then applied to explore responsibility outlooks in planning practice in Sweden and England. It is argued that planning theory needs to further engage with the ethics of responsibility in planning but also with its politics, while the variety of responsibility landscapes in planning practice calls for a re-examination of responsibilities in planning for SD.

Evaluation of product recyclability at the product design phase: a time-series forecasting methodology

Nowadays, the society is paying more and more attention to the issues that plague the environment. There is a growing need for enterprises to design and manufacture environmentally friendly products, in order to take up the responsibility of sustainable development of the society. The entire product life cycle consists of design, manufacturing, usage and recycling phases. These phases involve various economic and environmental factors that affect the recyclability of products. Previous researchers mainly focused on the single phase of the product’s life cycle. Moreover, they did not take into account the dynamic change of the recyclable material’s cost. In this paper, a time-series forecasting methodology is proposed to evaluate the product’s recyclability at the product design phase. It considers various economic and environmental factors of different stages of the product’s life cycle. In addition, a time-series forecasting method is utilised for predicting the cost of the recycled material at the product’s end-of-life. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this methodology, a case study of a cylinder engine design was presented. The results showed that the proposed methodology was fully capable of providing decision support to the designers by accessing the recyclability of the product at the design phase.

SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FROM PERSPECTIVE OF CITIZENS: SALASPILS MUNICIPALITY (LATVIA) CASE

Conditions are very different in the different parts of any country, and the quality of life as well as the impacts produced on the environment depend on a variety of local factors of environmental, economic and cultural nature, and every action must cope with such local conditions, traditions, and attitudes. Thereby one of the approaches on assessment of sustainable development could be based on subjective evaluation of citizens of certain municipality. During 2010-2012 in Salaspils municipality (Latvia) the SPIRAL methodology for measurement of subjective well-being indicators using co-responsibility approach was approbated, which was the basis for establishing the more efficient dialogue with citizens. This research showed results related to sustainable development as well – the methodology provides alternative subjective sustainable development indicators which provides the reach material for local authorities in decision-making process. Taking into account all mentioned before the purpose of paper is to analyse the results conducted during this research related to subjective sustainable development indicators contrary to objective sustainable indicators of municipality. In order to achieve the aim the tasks are formulated as follows: 1 to review theoretical background for responsible sustainable development at local level; 2 to analyse best practice of municipalities in ensuring the citizens’ engagement in promoting sustainable development in the municipality; 3 to present the methodology of conducted empirical research at Salaspils municipality on assessment the well-being at local level and relation to sustainable development. Research methods used: scientific literature studies, several stages of focus group discussions, statistical data analysis, SPIRAL methodology, scenario method. The main findings of the paper – subjective evaluation of economic, social and environment differs from objective measures. It could be explained by the fact that subjective indicators capture the satisfaction of inhabitants by certain moment. In addition, objective indicators don’t show the level of satisfaction what brings each measure unit (EUR, %, etc.). Also the subjective perceptions of inhabitants affects mentality, culture and other background factors. In addition, it is crucial for sustainable development of the territory to ensure that society is effectively involved in preparation of planning documents of the municipality. It is proposed to use co-responsibility approach in definition and implementation of activities towards sustainable development of municipality.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.9.12799

Education Capability: A Focus on Gender and Science

The focus of the paper is on the measurement of science education capability with a gender perspective and in the capability approach framework. Measuring science education capability implies going beyond the measurement of children test scores. In the capability approach, we aim at the real opportunities that children can develop later in life and therefore it is important to include some measures of non-cognitive skills. We utilize, therefore, different indicators in addition to test scores in science: enjoyment in science, interest in science, general and personal values of science, self-confidence in performing science related tasks, awareness and perception of environmental issues, and responsibility for sustainable development. We utilize the 2006 PISA survey for Italian 15 years old children because it contains a particular focus on science and we estimate a Structural Equation Model to take into account that capabilities are latent constructs of which we only observe some indicators. We also investigate the determinants of children’s science education capability in Italy taking into account household, individual and school factors. Results confirm that boys outperform girls in science education capability. Our theoretical construct for the science education capability confirms that all the indicators are relevant to measure this capability. School activities to promote sciences improve girls’ capability and interactive methods of teaching improve both girls and boys capability. The household educational resources and the household educational possession are also positively correlated with girls’ and boys’ science education capability.

Logics of business education for sustainability

This paper explores various kinds of logics of ‘business education for sustainability’ and how these ‘logics’ position the subject business person, based on eight teachers’ reasoning of their own practices. The concept of logics developed within a discourse theoretical framework is employed to analyse the teachers’ reasoning. The analysis takes its starting point in different approaches to how a business ought to or could take responsibility for sustainable development. Different approaches to business ethical responsibilities, in combination with assumptions about how educational content is legitimised and presupposed purposes of education, are used to construct logics of business education for sustainability. In the paper, the results of this analysis are presented as: the logic of profit-, social- or radical-oriented business education. Our results also show how the different logics position the subject business person differently, as one who adapts to, adds or creates ethical values. The results are first discussed in terms of how environmental and social challenges could be dealt with in the future and secondly, considering the risk of de-subjectification with regard to profit-oriented business education, the implications this may have for the educational quality itself.

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Profitability of Nigeria Banks

Bank expects to be involve and promote sustainable development through corporate social responsibility through which the organisation will behave ethically, contribute positively to the welfare of stakeholders, and improve the quality of life of the local community and society at large. This study is an empirical investigation of corporate social responsibility and profitability of Nigerian banks. To achieve the objectives of this study, data were collected from annual reports of sampled six banks, for the period of 10 years (2003–2012). Simple regression analysis was employed as a statistical technique to analyse data collected using STATA 11. The regression results revealed that there is a significant relationship between expenditure on corporate social responsibility and profitability of Nigerian Banks. The study concludes that Nigerian banks recognized the importance of corporate social responsibility for sustainable development and they are performing their obligation to the society. But little amount were spent on social responsibility, if compared with profit generated by the banks. The study recommends that government need to enact a law that will fix minimum percentage out of profit of organisation that will be spent on corporate social responsibility.

<i>Siyazama</i> Entrepreneurial Development Project: Challenges of a Community-University Partnership within a Faculty of Theology

Calls for global relevance and accountability are prevalent in private-public partnerships. Current community engagement projects in higher educational institutions reflect this focus. The academic partner can play a boundary spanning (bridge building) role in a community–university partnership. The university partner often enters the partnership without full realisation of the challenges of its role. The Siyazama Craft Project, an entrepreneurial development intervention for poverty alleviation in Stellenbosch is an example of the boundary spanning role of the academic partner in the Faculty of Theology. This intervention is in line with the community interaction policy of the faculty and the university. The Siyazama entrepreneurship project is described, and challenges experienced during the course of planning, implementation and evaluation are presented. Identification of challenges in projects of this nature could provide insight for university partners in development projects. Findings could be applied to the broader context of public-private partnerships, which form part of corporate social responsibility projects in response to needs for relevance, accountability and responsible sustainable development.

Market-Driven Management, Global Competition and Corporate Responsibility

The aim of the paper is to define the role of corporate responsibility in sustainable development of global firms. To be successful, global firms must be on the alert of emerging environmental trends and do their best to improve the corporate performance in line with key stakeholder expectations. In this respect, the management of corporate social responsibility highlights the criticality of the corporate intangible assets system and the need for overall assessment of corporate performance - not only financial performance but social too.

Dutch analysis for P-recovery from municipal wastewater

There is a considerable practical interest in phosphorus recovery from water authorities, elementary P-industry, fertilizer industry and regulators in a number of countries. Due to a handful of full-scale plants worldwide, P-recovery can be seen as technically feasible. However, the economic feasibility of P-recovery from sewage can still be judged as dubious. The most important reason for this is that the prices of the techniques (in euro/tonne P) are much higher compared to the prices of phosphate rock. In this paper an analysis is given to recover phosphate from municipal wastewater for the elementary P-industry Thermphos International B.V. and the fertiliser industry Amsterdam Fertilizers B.V. in The Netherlands. Several scenarios are evaluated and the end products of these scenarios are compared to the quality required by both industries. From a Dutch study it became clear that all end products from the final sludge treatment do not provide a good source of secondary phosphate. As a consequence of this, the most preferred possibility for P-recovery is to extract phosphate before sludge goes to the final sludge treatment. Different scenarios can be selected based on the position of P-recovery in the WWTP configuration, the type of P-recovery product, and the precipitation technique. Local conditions will determine which scenario is the most expedient. Because it is more realistic to judge a practical situation instead of theoretical estimations based on literature, some local situations have to be assessed in sufficient detail to gain more feeling for the expenses and possible savings of P-recovery. One important actor that should be involved in the process management around P-recovery, is the national government. Especially, the Government have the responsibility for sustainable development and should have attention for some stimulation of P-recovery in The Netherlands. Water authorities and the P- and fertilizer industry made already some good steps.

Sustainable development in production and consumption of products. Beyond Club of Rome and Summit of Rio: how far have we come?

This article gives an account of the state of the art of sustainable development with a focus on Germany. The discussion considers different aspects such as protection of non-renewable materials and energy, material flow management, re-use of products and environmental management under economical aspects, and leads to the recognition of a need for action. To prevent a departure from sustainable development, caused by the nations' economic fight for survival, a change in politics and education is required. Apart from technical and economical aspects, new social and ecological ways in our behaviour must be implemented. Rich industrial nations should take responsibility for sustainable development by redistribution of investments on a global basis. Investments in environmental technology in developing countries would lead to a higher reduction of emissions compared with the same amount of investment in western countries. Furthermore, the internalisation of environmental costs must be implemented, those responsible for pollution have to be liable for the resulting damage. The environment as common property needs to be valued. To strengthen the idea of sustainability the next generations should be taught this concept. The German education system needs to teach practical project work. Students should be trained in project management by working on industrial R&D problems. The organisation of a network integrating industry with schools and universities would innovate education. Such networks also need special tools for life cycle assessment in order to establish sustainable development in education systems. The practical conversion to sustainable development therefore demands severe social changes. In this article, a vision for the realisation of this task is created.

Problems of regional population growth in Serbia

The paper considers regional differences in population growth in Serbia and highlights the contrast that has emerged between Kosovo and Metohia and the other regions of the country since World War Two. Due to continuing high fertility coupled with declining mortality, growth in Kosovo and Metohia has been three times greater than in Serbia Proper and five times greater than in Voivodina, regions which have been following closely the European demographic transition. Since the population in Kosovo and Metohia is overwhelmingly Albanian these divergent demographic trends are sharpening ethnic tension as the demographic weight of the Serbs decreases in the country as a whole. At the same time the dominance of the Albanians within the province may well contribute to the independence struggle. Since the maintenance of high fertility, with a relatively slow decline - even in comparison with Albania - could be linked with externalities, it is suggested that a solution might be found in more autonomous development for the province which might bring an increase in local responsibility for sustainable development and a decrease in the currently high level of demographic investment.