Sustainability Experts Research Articles

Plausible subjective experience versus fallible corroborative evidence: The formulation of insanity in Nigerian criminal courts.

Insanity as a defence against criminal conduct has been known since antiquity. Going through significant reformulations across centuries, different jurisdictions across the globe, including Nigeria, have come to adopt various strains of the insanity defence, with the presence of mental disorder being the causative mechanism of the crime as their central theme. A critical ingredient in the Nigerian insanity plea is the presence of 'mental disease' or 'natural mental infirmity' as the basis for the lack of capacity in certain cognitive and behavioural domains resulting in the offence. Mental disorders, which are the biomedical formulations of this critical legal constituent are primarily subjective experiences with variable objective features. Using illustrative cases based on psycho-legal formulation as well as reform-oriented and fundamental legal research, it is shown that Nigerian courts have held that claims of insanity based on the accused person's evidence alone should be regarded as "suspect" and not to be "taken seriously." Thus, Nigerian judicial opinions rely on non-expert accounts of defendants' apparent behavioural abnormalities and reported familial vulnerability to mental illness, amongst other facts while conventionally discountenancing the defendants' plausible phenomenological experiences validated by expert psychiatric opinion in reaching a conclusion of legal insanity. While legal positivism would be supportive of the prevailing judicial attitude in entrenching the validity of the disposition in its tenuous precedential utility, legal realism invites the proponents of justice and fairness to interrogate the merit of such preferential views which are not supported by scientific evidence or philosophical reasoning. This paper argues that disregarding the subjective experience of the defendant, particularly in the presence of sustainable expert opinion when it stands unrebutted is not in the interest of justice. This judicial posturing towards mentally abnormal offenders should be reformed on the basis of current multidisciplinary knowledge. Learning from the South African legislation, formalising the involvement of mental health professionals in insanity plea cases, ensures that courts are guided by professional opinion and offers a model for reform.

Director Expertise and Corporate Sustainability

Abstract We show that US firms increase their sustainability performance when their directors acquire expertise through their exposure to sustainability reforms in foreign countries where they serve as directors. Our results suggest that a board that gains sustainability expertise increases a firm’s overall sustainability performance by 7.1%. The increase in sustainability comes both from improvements in environmental and social practices. Directors also consider the tradeoffs between sustainability improvements and firm characteristics, with boards having a stronger impact on sustainability in firms from clean industries and firms that face fewer operational and financial constraints.

Which attributes of audit committees are most beneficial for European companies? Literature review and research recommendations

PurposeThis paper aims to review 68 archival studies on the impact of audit committees (ACs) on firms’ consequences [(non)financial reporting, performance and audit quality] in European firms.Design/methodology/approachApplying a stakeholder agency-theoretical framework, the author differentiates between three categories of AC variables: presence; composition; and resources, incentives and diligence.FindingsThe author finds that AC composition, (non)financial reporting and audit quality are dominant in the literature review. Other inputs or outputs are either too low in amount or yielded heterogeneous results, hindering clear tendencies. However, there are indications that financial expertise is positively related to financial reporting and audit quality, in line with agency theory and European regulatory assumptions.Research limitations/implicationsIn the discussion of potential future research, the author emphasizes, among others, the need for the recognition of innovative and sustainable AC variables, inclusion of moderator and especially mediator variables and reaction to endogeneity concerns by advanced regression models.Practical implicationsAs the European Commission currently discusses extended regulations on AC duties and composition, this literature review highlights the huge impact of financial expertise on financial reporting and audit quality. In view of the increased monitoring duties of sustainability reporting, both business practices and regulatory bodies should increase the sustainability expertise of ACs.Originality/valueThis analysis makes useful contributions to prior research by focusing on attributes of AC and their impact on firms’ outputs in the European capital market, based on a differentiation between mandatory one-tier/two-tier systems and the choice model. The findings support the promotion of European evidence-based regulations, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

Preface of the 2nd Congress in Sustainability, Energy and City (CSECity’22)

The 2nd Congress in Sustainability, Energy and City (CSECity’22) was held at Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, in Ambato – Ecuador during 12-13 September 2022, and it will be organized and supported by GDEON. The CSECity’22 will bring together experts in sustainability, urbanism, energy, and industry. This multidisciplinary group of researchers will allow the transfer of knowledge between academic institutions, raise research, and analyze how intermediate cities and industries are likely to change and adapt in the coming months and years in a sustainable way. Presenting high-quality, peer-reviewed papers, the book discusses the following topics:• Sustainable• Energy• CityCSECity’22 received 108 submissions written in English by 540 authors coming from 12 different countries. All these papers were peer-reviewed by the CSECity’22 Program Committee consisting of 69 high-quality researchers. To assure a high-quality and thoughtful review process, we assigned each paper at least three reviewers. Based on the peer reviews, 10 full papers were accepted, resulting in an 9% acceptance rate, which was within our goal of less than 40%.We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the invited speakers for their inspirational talks, to the authors for submitting their work to this conference, and the reviewers for sharing their experience during the selection process.List of Organization is available in this Pdf.

Sustainable education and youth confidence as pillars of future civil society

While sustainability is at the centre of many government agendas, there is a great risk of entrusting strategic decisions to those lacking in sustainability expertise. It is therefore necessary to ensure that universities are the green engines of sustainable communities. The present study administered a questionnaire to students enrolled in a Management Engineering programme at an Italian university, to collect their perceptions of and opinions on sustainability and energy issues. Students completed the questionnaire twice: once prior to beginning and once at the end of term. The results showed that students held more sustainable attitudes at the end of term, and perceived sustainable education and youth confidence as the building blocks of future society. They also observed that decarbonisation of the Italian energy system and national energy independence would require the significant development of renewable systems and interventions to promote energy efficiency. In addition, they recognised subsidies for green production, energy communities, differentiated waste collection and professional skills training as crucial. The sustainable university should support younger generations by encouraging student engagement in real-world projects and the development of long-term, structured teacher–student relationships.

Altering regional development for sustainability: Lessons learned from strategic communications of RCE Saskatchewan (Canada) with government

An important part of successful strategies for sustainable development involves altering (or, in some cases, preventing) proposals for development that are unsustainable or have significant opportunity costs relative to more sustainable alternatives. In modern democracies, development proposals normally require formal public approvals (whether at the municipal, provincial/state, or national level) with opportunities for public and specialist input and oversight as well as legal remedies where due processes are not followed. This creates an important locus for ESD, specifically educational interventions by Regional Centers of Expertise on education for sustainable development (RCEs). RCEs are able to rapidly mobilize local, regional, and global expertise to engage such processes, frequently where there are narrow time frames and complex mechanisms for public input. The paper will use a case studies approach examining strategic communications of RCE Saskatchewan with various levels of government in proposed developments within its region in Western Canada. Despite a primary commitment of governments in the RCE Saskatchewan region to economic growth with a more limited role for sustainable development, the RCE has successfully contributed to substantially altering unsustainable development proposals in a range of areas since its acknowledgment in 2007. These proposals have included forest clear-cutting, large-scale water diversions, agricultural drainage, nuclear power, road construction, and potash mining. The RCE's interventions have been modest, involving letters and formal submissions through existing government channels aimed at public officials or elected representatives involved in key stages of decision making. This paper will document some of the main elements of the formal RCE correspondence that has lead to its strategic effectiveness including the RCE's ability to draw upon independent scholarly knowledge (including expertise about governmental processes) and legitimization of local sustainability expertise. These interventions have enabled local learning, modifications of specific development proposals, and, in some cases, system-wide transformations. Importantly, however, it highlights how an older form of university scholarship associated with the rise of the humanities, namely the art of formal correspondence or letter writing, can be customized to the goal of regional education for sustainable development.

An Integrative View of the Transformations towards Sustainability and Digitalization: The Case for a Dual Transformation

Sustainability and digitalization are two central fields of action in the manufacturing industry that are of crucial importance for future business success. While the digital transformation has been a key topic on the strategic agenda of many companies for several years, corporate sustainability transformation has become significantly more relevant in the recent past. However, since the digital transformation is still in progress, there is a need for a holistic transformation that includes both topics. Conducting this so-called dual transformation is a necessary and time-critical task for companies to keep their businesses viable. Yet, despite their relevance and intersections, digital and sustainability transformation are often considered separately in companies today.For this reason, the goal of this paper is to identify current challenges and barriers as well as to transparently disclose the potentials of the dual transformation. Therefore, an interview study with digitalization and sustainability experts from the manufacturing industry is conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Consolidating the results, an overarching framework is developed structuring the essential fields of action for the dual transformation. The results of the interview study complement preliminary work in the research field and simultaneously allow companies to better address interdependencies and synergies of the dual transformation.

Assessing the Willingness to Accept Sustainability Learning in Management and Operations in Tanzania: A Comparative Approach

This study assessed the willingness to accept sustainability learning in management and operations. Based on comparative analyses of responses from different functional areas, the study specifically assessed the readiness to accept the proposed sustainability-related themes to be learned, the likelihood of the trained personnel to benefit from sustainability-related skills and competencies, and the employability potentials of beneficiaries of sustainability learning. The study used data collected from 150 practitioners in the areas of management and operations. Analysis of variance was used to compare the differences in responses between the five functional areas. Findings indicate that respondents were willing to accept the proposed areas of sustainability learning. Also, the recipients of sustainability training accepted the likelihood to benefit from the skills and competencies. Moreover, the respondents concurred on the employability likelihood for potential sustainability learners. The study recommends that organizations and businesses undertake specific training to develop sustainability expertise in management and operations to enhance sustainable business operations.

Situation of Physiotherapy Clinics in the Community of Madrid in Relation to the Concept of Sustainability: A Survey Study

Introduction: Nowadays, it is increasingly urgent to regulate the use of the natural resources of our planet. From the field of physiotherapy, it is necessary to address this issue to ensure that our centers comply as much as possible with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Objective: To analyze the current situation in physiotherapy clinics in the Community of Madrid so as to identify whether their managers are aware of the concept of sustainability and its levels of application. Material and Methods: A survey study was carried out with the collaboration of 52 physiotherapy clinics in the Community of Madrid (Spain) to collect relevant data on sustainability. The questions were designed by experts in physiotherapy and sustainability with the aim of obtaining as much information as possible, analyzing the knowledge of sustainability and part of the goals established in the 2030 agenda. The procedures were conducted following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement and checklist, in addition to following the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the European University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain (CIPI/22.016). Results: A total of 35 questions were answered by 52 physiotherapy clinics in the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Spain) that completed the survey. In addition to the results of each question related to the concept of sustainability, significant differences were observed in the proportion of emotions detected with the NRC dictionary in the question about how waste is removed from the center (p = 0.002 and 0.008, respectively) with a higher proportion of positive feelings with emotions of joy, anticipation, confidence and surprise expressed by participants from clinics of less than 90 m2, while in those from clinics of more than 90 m2, negative feelings predominated with emotions of disgust, fear or sadness; in both cases, the effect of size was large and significant. Conclusions: Most of the physiotherapy clinics in the Community of Madrid that participated in the study are aware of the concept of sustainability. However, in practice, they do not sufficiently apply sustainability protocols in their clinics.

An integrated decision‐making framework for corporate sustainability

AbstractConcepts such as sustainability and sustainable development applied to companies have recently come under the spotlight pushed by stakeholders that are increasingly aware of the negative externalities such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and overexploitation. Several methodologies and tools have been developed encompassing standard, reporting tool, environmental, social, and governance rating tools and frameworks which are often not standardized and increase the uncertainties related to the selection of the most suitable tool or methodology to implement sustainable practices. The purpose of this paper is to design a logical tool, identified as a sustainability decision‐making framework (SDMF), that can guide companies in the process of identifying a personalized, and strategic path toward sustainable development. Specifically, SDMF supports companies in (i) the assessment of material issues and key externalities through bilateral interaction with the key stakeholders, (ii) the adoption and implementation of sustainability through a proactive approach and (iii) reporting their non‐financial externalities. Furthermore, an iterative morphological matrix was developed with the support of 20 sustainability experts and integrated within the SDMF to support the identification of the most suitable methodologies which can be used by companies to mitigate the relevant sustainability issues.

Chief sustainability officer expertise, sustainability-related executive compensation and corporate biodiversity disclosure: empirical evidence for the European capital market

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship among chief sustainability officer (CSO) expertise, sustainability-related executive compensation (SEC) and biodiversity disclosure (BD).Design/methodology/approachBased on legitimacy and upper echelons theory, this study uses both random-effects and logit regressions and looks at the 2014–2019 financial years of companies listed on the STOXX Europe 600 (1,992 firm-year observations).FindingsThe findings of this study are in line with prior research on sustainable corporate governance and indicate that CSO sustainability expertise significantly increases BD and that SEC strengthens this relationship as a moderating variable. The results of this study are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses.Originality/valueThis study makes a major contribution to prior analyses, as this appears to be the first on the link among CSO expertise, SEC and BD, as per the author’s knowledge. This study has major implications for business practice, regulators and research.

Ways of Legislative Support Improvement for the Advanced Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic

The problems of the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation have attracted regular attention of government and scientific figures over the past decades. A number of social, economic, and infrastructural problems slow down the pace of development of this vast region. Sustainability experts develop a range of legislative recommendations, that are capable of accelerating the modernization of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The range of proposed measures includes transport and infrastructure measures (for example, fixing the concept and regulation of seasonal roads, measures to expand and update the fleet of aviation equipment), design and agricultural (for example, the creation / modernization of enterprises for the processing of reindeer products, subsidies for the provision mixed fodder), social (organization of high-tech medical care, updating the system of social guarantees for northerners, development of standards for the development of the urban environment specifically for the Arctic zone) nature.

Assessment of regional development needs according to criteria based on the Sustainable Development Goals in the Meta Region (Colombia)

When a regional government considers investing funds for the sustainable development of its region, it must consider the real needs of the population and the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The identification of needs should be carried out with the support of local stakeholders representing various social groups. This paper seeks to answer the question of how to guide public investment policies at the local level, such as improving education, health, transportation and others, to better meet the SDGs. To answer this question, a multi-criteria decision-making process is followed, whereby, once the needs are classified by investment areas, they are prioritized based on criteria derived from the SDGs. The problem is complex because of the difficulty of the local stakeholder engagement process and also because of the interrelationships and influences that arise between all the elements of the decision problem: criteria and alternatives. To address this complexity, the Analytical Network Process method combined with DEMATEL will be followed. This process is applied to the case study of the distribution of funds allocated by the Government of Colombia to the Meta Region (Colombia) with the participation of 48 stakeholders to identify needs and the support of six experts in sustainability and project management for their prioritization.

Priority Products for Sustainability Information and Recommendation Software: Insights in the Context of the EU’s Action Plan Circular Economy

The diffusion of sustainable products is a global objective, particularly reflected by the UN’s vision of ensuring sustainable development. Mobilising the potential of product information’s digitalization is an important topic in this context, particularly in the EU’s circular economy plan CEAP. Cross-sector analyses on the need for digital sustainability recommendation systems and related product-specific requirements do not yet exist. Questions: This article aims to deepen the insight of information requirements and recommendation software to facilitate sustainability-oriented product decisions based on three questions: (1) to identify products specifically requiring four types of sustainability information, (2) to unveil needs for software that recommends sustainable products, and (3) to specify the information it shall provide. Method: As part of the ConCirMy recommendation system project, we conducted an exploratory survey among 134 sustainability experts from 5 circular and bio-economy networks, mainly from Germany. The results show priority products regarding four sustainability information needs and recommendation software, making specific relations between European regulation and stakeholders’ interests visible. In addition, ten factors influencing these needs and facilitating further product-related sustainability classifications were unveiled. Conclusions: Our findings reflect the significance of CEAP’s priority products regarding the need for sustainability information and provide conclusions for four target groups.

Indicators and countermeasures of modern slavery in global supply chains: Pathway to a social supply chain management framework

AbstractEven though global supply chains are (usually unintentionally) tied to slave labor, research and practice have largely ignored the issue. This is expected to change as civil society activism and new legislation increase the risk of litigation and reputational damage to supply chain partners. To deal with and combat modern slavery in the supply chain, a theory inspired social supply chain management framework consisting of indicators and countermeasures of modern slavery in the supply chain is developed. The framework is refined in a qualitative expert interview study. The theoretical framework is then evaluated by a multimethod empirical analysis that includes a multicase study based on publicly available supply chain data from 6000 media articles and company websites as well as a quantitative empirical study based on survey data from 280 corporate sustainability experts operating in global supply networks. The results show that economic, political‐legal, social, and environmental factors have a significant impact on contemporary slavery in the supply chain. The study also motivates supply chain partners to use preventative and detective measures to reduce the probability of encountering modern slavery actions in their supply chain. Theoretical and managerial implications are drawn from the findings, pointing to a holistic approach to combatting modern slavery in the supply chain.

A framework for social business models analyses

Social entrepreneurial initiatives (SEI) answer problems and needs that otherwise would remain unattended. Therefore, they provide high collective interest social value achieved by a stable, reliable, and sustainable operation. Because the economic goal is a means to accomplish the social aim, it is hard to overcome resource constraints. SEIs must prove innovation and efficiency to access funding. However, the investment criteria are usually circumstantial or abstract. Additionally, the theory lacks the recommendation to enlighten how to increase the chances to be funded. The literature does not offer consensual, consistent, empirically tested criteria to compare business models. To help address these issues, this paper provides a Delphi analysis of a social business model taxonomy. The following criteria selected interviews from a broad study: 1) have qualitative and quantitative data recorded; 2) represent different SEIs’ types in the taxonomy. Then, four invited scholars blindly reviewed the data. They are experts in social innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and social psychology. Online meetings helped to solve doubts and build synthesis. All Delphi participants described their opinion about the taxonomy fit by e-mail. Results were also compared by previous statistical classification. The Delphi process happened from December 2020 to June 2021. The similarity between statistical and analytical results indicated that the taxonomy is an efficient tool to identify and compare elements of the social business model. The study made the taxonomy easier and more replicable, providing an analytical framework. Evidence can help social agents and investors to frame information and achieve better decision-making.

Consensus-building around the conceptualisation and implementation of sustainable healthy diets: a foundation for policymakers

BackgroundHealthy and sustainable diets need to be adopted to reduce the negative impact of food consumption on human and planetary health. Food systems account for a third of greenhouse gas emissions. “Dietary Patterns for Health and Sustainability” is a World Health Organization (WHO) project that aims to build consensus among international food, health, and sustainability experts and policymakers on how to conceptualise healthy and sustainable diets and on the actions and policies that could be implemented in the WHO European Region to promote these diets.MethodsA qualitative study among European food, health, and sustainability experts and policymakers to elicit their views on multiple dimensions of food sustainability and health was carried out using a three-phase process, including semi-structured interviews, a Nominal Group Technique, and focus groups during a participatory WHO workshop held in Copenhagen. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the three data sources.ResultsThe workshop resulted in a shared understanding of the interconnected components of sustainable healthy eating habits. As a result of this understanding, a variety of potential solutions were identified, including actions across different policy domains, tools, strategic guidelines, needs, and pathways for sustainable healthy diets. The pathways included the need for a multi-stakeholder approach, as well as the simultaneous execution of an aligned and coherent mix of policies at the local and national levels.ConclusionsThe prioritised actions should be aimed at helping government policymakers promote sustainable healthy diets and make decisions on improving dietary patterns for citizens’ health and wellbeing in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the European Region.

For Goodness’ Sake: The Next Wave of CSR Research in an Impact-Oriented World

The business case for CSR is a dominant paradigm in management research which argues that organizations should pursue CSR to maximize profits. However, stakeholders increasingly demand managers consider the short- and long-term societal impact of their decisions, such that many stakeholders likely remain unsatisfied by CSR that is primarily oriented toward short-term financial goals. Given this, two dominant theoretical perspectives of CSR have emerged over time: (1) an instrumental perspective that reflects the traditional business case for CSR, and (2) a more normative injunctive perspective that argues organizations have a duty to move beyond financial goals by reducing harm and creating societal value. For this panel symposium we bring together esteemed scholars with expertise in CSR and corporate sustainability to debate whether, why or why not, and how researchers should re-conceptualize the business case for CSR by comparing, contrasting, and reconciling the instrumental and injunctive perspectives of CSR. The panel will (1) offer a current perspective on the state of the business case for CSR, its importance, and its shortcomings; (2) debate the extent to which researchers should seek to re-conceptualize the business case for CSR; and, finally, (3) propose a launching point for future research on the topic. We thereby seek to chart a path forward for researchers interested in CSR at a time when increasingly impact-oriented stakeholder demands blur the line between instrumental and injunctive perspectives of CSR.

The future of artificial intelligence in the context of industrial ecology

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) applications and digital technologies (DTs) are increasingly present in the daily lives of citizens, in cities and in industries. These developments generate large amounts of data and enhance analytical capabilities that could benefit the industrial ecology (IE) community and sustainability research in general. With this communication, we would like to address some of the opportunities, challenges, and next steps that could be undertaken by the industrial ecology community in this realm. This article is an adapted summary of the discussion held by experts in industrial ecology, AI, and sustainability during the 2021 Industrial Ecology Day conference session titled “The Future of Artificial Intelligence in the Context of Industrial Ecology.” In brief, building on previous studies and communications, we advise the industrial ecology community to: (1) create internal committees and working groups to monitor and coordinate AI applications within and outside the community; (2) promote and ensure transdisciplinary efforts; (3) determine optimal infrastructure and governance of AI for IE to minimize undesired effects; and (4) act on effective representation and on reduction of digital divides.

Sustainable expert virtual machine migration in dynamic clouds

Operation on demand flexibility in cloud computing services has resulted in great popularity and wide adoption. These services integrate thousands of computers, storage and communication networks, which implies a high consumption of electrical energy. Therefore, renewable energy-based cloud data centers are replacing traditional energy power grids. In this regard, the workload could be transferred to different nodes among different cloud data centers geographically distributed regarding renewable energy availability. In this sense, this paper presents a framework based on Cloudsim for virtual machine migrations among cloud data centers regarding sustainability optimization. Moreover, an approach for migrations among datacenters based on an expert system has been tested in several scenarios with renewable energy dynamically available. Experimental results show the improvements of the proposed framework and how expert systems can take advantage of renewable energy availability in terms of sustainability while preserving the QoS in terms of execution time.