Sustainable Stewardship Research Articles

Eco-Helping and Eco-Civic Engagement in the Public Workplace

ABSTRACTDespite growing interest in the environmental performance and management of public organizations, relatively little is known about the steps individual public employees are taking at their own discretion to promote environmental sustainability and environmental stewardship in the workplace. This article examines public employees’ participation in eco-helping and eco-civic engagement in the workplace. Eco-helping occurs when employees encourage colleagues to perform pro-environmental behaviors in the workplace; eco-civic engagement refers to employees’ voluntary participation in the organization’s pro-environmental activities. The research objective is to identify motivational and attitudinal correlates of eco-helping and eco-civic engagement in the public workplace. Findings suggest that environmental concern and public service motivation (PSM) have positive relationships with both eco-helping and eco-civic engagement in the public workplace. Organizational commitment, however, is only positively associated with eco-civic engagement. The possible meaning of these findings for future research is discussed.

Abstract 3166: Querying, viewing and analyzing colorectal cancer translational research studies in tranSMART

Abstract All translational research projects basically share the same design, which is correlating variation in disease phenotype to variation in underlying biology. Typical questions to be addressed are: ‘Which (out of thousands) biomarkers predict good/bad outcome?’ and ‘Which (out of thousands) biomarkers predict whether a patient will benefit from a particular therapy?’. In line with this concept, many research teams have generated large amounts of experimental molecular data from patient samples, yet generally this information is inaccessible for examination due to local storage of both (meta)data and the data processing workflows used. Alternatively, data stored in central databases may only be available for exploration and interpretation by data specialists, provided that the processing workflow has been published and is available. Thus, if data is not recorded and easily retrievable, validation of obtained results (e.g. promising biomarkers) may be virtually impossible. Additionally, it will be difficult to query existing data sets to answer new questions, which may lead to experiments being unnecessarily repeated and biological materials being wasted. In the Netherlands, the Translational Research IT (TraIT) project initiated by the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (CTMM, www.ctmm-trait.nl) aims to provide IT solutions to support translational research from start to end, including sustainable management and analysis of data. These data types involve the clinical, biomedical imaging, biobanking, (molecular) experimental data domains and their associated workflows. In addition to domain-specific solutions to manage these data types, the processed or ‘final’ data of these different domains will become available in the data-integration platform tranSMART for querying, visualization and analysis. To ensure sustainable data stewardship and provide easy access to existing data for the CTMM colorectal cancer project ‘Decrease in Colorectal Cancer Death (DeCoDe)’, data has been made available in tranSMART and more datasets are being added. The data encompasses both clinical and (molecular) experimental data from non-high-throughput molecular profiling (NHTMP) assays and array-based profiling techniques. It is now possible with tranSMART to explore the respective DeCoDe datasets and perform various analyses (survival, Fisher-exact tests, ANOVA, aCGH tests etc.), without needing deep bioinformatics expertise. Through metadata tags it is possible to trace back raw or pre-processed data in other tools (e.g. clinical data in OpenClinica, array-data in GEO, or histological images of tissue microarrays). Data can be examined in more detail by domain experts using tools they are familiar with or other tools provided by CTMM-TraIT. Thus, existing rich data are made findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) and source data can be traced back for customized processing. Citation Format: Mariska Bierkens, Wim van der Linden, Ward Weistra, Kees van Bochove, Jeroen A.M. Beliën, Remond J.A. Fijneman, Rita Azevedo, Jan-Willem Boiten, Gerrit A. Meijer. Querying, viewing and analyzing colorectal cancer translational research studies in tranSMART. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3166.

Processes for the sustainable stewardship of marine environments

Sustainable stewardship of the marine environment necessitates a holistic approach encompassing all the relevant drivers, activities and pressures causing problems for the natural state of the system and their impact on human societies today and in the future. This article provides a framework as well as a decision support process and tool that could guide such an approach. In this process, identifying costs and benefits of mitigation is a first step in deciding on measures and enabling instruments, which has to be accompanied by analyses regarding distributional effects (i.e. who gains or loses) related to different targets and policy instruments. As there are risks of future irreversible regime shifts and even system collapses, the assessments have to be broadened to include scenarios on possible future developments as well as ethical considerations. In particular, a deeper sustainable management strategy may be needed to respond to possible future increases in the rate of environmental change, amongst growing evidence of external pressures, interactions and non-linear dynamics. This adaptive management strategy should focus on building the resilience required to cope with and adapt to change.

The need for a holistic approach in mangrove‐related fisheries research: a specific review of the German and Brazilian research project MADAM

The main objective of the bilateral German-Brazilian mangrove development and management (MADAM) programme (mangrove dynamics and management) was to generate the scientific basis to enable the sustainable stewardship of the resources of the Caeté mangrove estuary in north-east Brazil in the sense of integrated coastal (zone) management. Main emphasis was given to fishes and crabs captured by artisanal fishermen. This paper describes the project strategy as developed and modified in the context of research results obtained over a period of 10 years. It is argued that a continuous discussion process is essential to assess the validity of the strategies formulated at the beginning of a medium-term project, particularly if the project is of an interdisciplinary nature. To achieve this, it was necessary to acquire in-depth knowledge of natural processes as well as of the relevant institutional, cultural, economic, social and political dynamics.

The heuristic‐systemic model of sustainability stewardship: facilitating sustainability values, beliefs and practices with corporate social responsibility drives and eco‐labels/indices

AbstractUsing a framework from the heuristic‐systematic model and the value‐belief‐norm (VBN) theory, this study tests consumers’ systematic conjunction of sustainability values, beliefs and practices, and examines the heuristic influence of sustainability stewardship on the consumers’ VBN framework. In this study, sustainability stewardship within the textile and apparel industry refers to approaches that can facilitate the corporate social responsible (CSR) drive and eco‐labels/indices in corporate sustainability practices. Data from 239 US college students were analyzed using a structural equation modeling method. The findings confirmed that only the CSR drive is significant as heuristic sustainability stewardship in facilitating the consumer's systematic process in the VBN framework, while eco‐labels/indices do not moderate consumers’ sustainable practices. In particular, the current CSR drives in the textile and apparel industry strengthen consumers’ values in the altruistic, self‐enhancement and biospheric dimensions, and, further, lead to the sustainability practices of eco‐citizenship, green consumption and green product purchasing, through the mediation of proenvironmental belief. Comprehending these dynamics can empower marketers and researchers to devise pertinent ideas and practical applications of sustainability stewardship to academia and to the textiles and apparel industry.

Exploring ecosystem-change and society through a landscape lens: recent progress in European landscape research

Plieninger, T., T. Kizos, C. Bieling, L. Le Dû-Blayo, M.-A. Budniok, M. Bürgi, C. L. Crumley, G. Girod, P. Howard, J. Kolen, T. Kuemmerle, G. Milcinski, H. Palang, K. Trommler, and P. H. Verburg. 2015. Exploring ecosystem-change and society through a landscape lens: recent progress in European landscape research. Ecology and Society 20(2): 5. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-07443-200205

Two Narratives of Intergenerational Sustainability

This article recognizes that institutional survival alone is an important, but ultimately insufficient, goal for public and non-profit organizations. Instead, the article approaches organizational sustainability as a two-level concept that includes both institutional survival, as a baseline for sustainability, and intergenerational or longer term sustainability, understood as the ability of public institutions to persist and fulfill their purpose in the long run. The article is based on the findings of research conducted on a variety of public and non-profit cultural organizations, including museums, music and performing arts, and literature. However, the case of museums is used to illustrate two narratives of intergenerational sustainability: institutional resilience and institutional distinctiveness. The article notes that these narratives co-exist, although at times they contradict each other. It is the task of museum managers to reconcile the tensions embedded in these narratives via sustainable management practices. The broader implication of the study is that truly long-term sustainability, which secures the rights of future generations, requires sustainable stewardship today, and organizational sustainability should be viewed not as an outcome but rather as a process and an ethic.

Vernacular Landscape Leading the Way: The Holistic Protection and Revival of Hani’s Ancient Village under the Background of Yuanyang Terraced Fields’ Register on the World Heritage

Ancient village Azheke, located in Yunnan province in China, surrounded by magnificent Yuanyang Terraced Field and lush forested Mountains, is an excellent living model of Hani people’s vernacular landscape reflecting the wisdom of sustainable land use, agricultural cultivation and stewardship. However, the overwhelming globalization and urbanization construction bring about many problems to the ancient village, such as the currently deteriorating of natural environment, the declining of the ancient knowledge and skills of agricultural cultivation, the discarding of traditional life style with meaningful distinctive traits and the oblivion of cultural identity and religious spirits. Targeting on these challenges, this paper proposes a holistic approach to revive and rescue the ancient village. From the perspective of landscape, this study divided the vernacular cultural landscape into four processes, i.e. ecological, productive, daily & social life, spatial & religious landscape processes, considering the ancient village as an organism with its living demands. Based on the methods of scenes recovery and regeneration of vernacular landscape security network, this approach restores the scenes with the critical landscape elements in Hani vulgar life and unique culture, and respectively regenerates the ecological, productive, daily & social life and spiritual & religious vernacular landscape security network, according to the study results from literature and field observation and investigation. Then, after superposing these four networkers, an integrated village conservation framework is generated, with the complete elements, perfect function and distinctive traits. This strategy leads a way for achieving the objective of holistic conservation and revival of ancient village Azheke, which provides a reference for the ancient villages conservation in the World Cultural Heritage areas of Hani Terraced fields.

Sustainable Development, Ethical Development, and Environmental Stewardship: A Liberal Foundation

This paper has three main goals. The first is to call for conceptual and terminological clarity. I argue that the term "sustainable development" should be replaced with the term "ethical development." I then argue that the term "strong sustainability" should be replaced with the term "environmental stewardship," which entails an obligation to protect the natural world that constitutes one part of ethical development. The second goal is to defend the intuitive plausibility of an obligation of environmental stewardship as an obligation that is separate from the obligation to foster the welfare of future people. Finally, the third goal is to argue that a certain form of economic liberalism (rather than utilitarianism, luck-egalitarianism, and deep ecology) can ground plausible obligations of environmental stewardship.

Restoring ecosystems, restoring community: socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of a community-based coral reef restoration project

Environmental restoration projects are commonly touted for their ecological positives, but such projects can also provide significant socioeconomic and cultural benefits to local communities. We assessed the social dimensions of a large-scale coral reef restoration project in Maunalua Bay, O‘ahu, where >1.32 million kg of invasive marine macroalgae was removed from 11 hectares (90,000 m2; 23 acres) of impacted coral reef in an urbanized setting. We interviewed 131 community stakeholders and analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data to assess human uses of the environment, assess perceptions of environmental health, and characterize social dimensions (+/−) associated with the invasive algae removal effort. Results indicate substantial direct economic benefits, including the creation of more than 60+ jobs, benefiting more than 250 individuals and 81 households. The project helped develop a skilled workforce in a local business dedicated to environmental restoration and increased the capacity of community organizations to address other threats to reefs and watersheds. Other major benefits include revitalization of Native Hawaiian cultural practices and traditions and the successful use of harvested invasive algae as compost by local farmers. Our results show the project heightened community awareness and a broader sense of stewardship in the area, creating enabling conditions for collective community action. Our findings show that restoration projects that explicitly incorporate efforts to build community awareness, involvement, and a shared responsibility for a site may ultimately create the long-term capacity for sustainable stewardship programs. We conclude by discussing lessons learned for engaging productively with communities in environmental restoration and stewardship, which remains a central focus in conservation worldwide.

Simulating wind disturbance impacts on forest landscapes: Tree-level heterogeneity matters

Wind is the most detrimental disturbance agent in Europe's forest ecosystems. In recent years, disturbance frequency and severity have been increasing at continental scale, a trend that is expected to continue under future anthropogenic climate change. Disturbance management is thus increasingly important for sustainable stewardship of forests, and requires tools to evaluate the effects of management alternatives and climatic changes on disturbance risk and ecosystem services. We here present a process-based model of wind disturbance impacts on forest ecosystems, integrated into the dynamic landscape simulation model iLand. The model operates at the level of individual trees and simulates wind disturbance events iteratively, i.e., dynamically accounting for changes in forest structure and newly created edges during the course of a storm. Both upwind gap size and local shelter from neighboring trees are considered in this regard, and critical wind speeds for uprooting and stem breakage are distinguished. The simulated disturbance size, pattern, and severity are thus emergent properties of the model. We evaluated the new simulation tool against satellite-derived data on the impact of the storm Gudrun (January 2005) on a 1391 ha forest landscape in south central Sweden. Both the overall damage percentage (observation: 21.7%, simulation: 21.4%) as well as the comparison of spatial damage patterns showed good correspondence between observations and predictions (prediction accuracy: 60.4%) if the full satellite-derived structural and spatial heterogeneity of the landscape was taken into account. Neglecting within-stand heterogeneity in forest conditions, i.e., the state-of-the-art in many stand-level risk models, resulted in a considerable underestimation of simulated damage, supporting the notion that tree-level complexity matters for assessing and modeling large-scale disturbances. A sensitivity analysis further showed that changes in wind speed and soil freezing could have potentially large impacts on disturbed area and patch size. The model presented here is available as open source. It can be used to study the effects of different silvicultural systems and future climates on wind risk, as well as to quantify the impacts of wind disturbance on ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration. It thus contributes to improving our capacity to address changing disturbance regimes in ecosystem management.

Enhancing Global Competitiveness through Sustainable Environmental Stewardship

Enhancing Global Competitiveness through Sustainable Environmental Stewardship

Pyrenean Pastoralists’ Ecological Knowledge: Documentation and Application to Natural Resource Management and Adaptation

Pastoral production systems in the Spanish Pyrenees have changed dramatically in recent decades, leading to the loss of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). We documented TEK of pastoralists from two valleys in the western Central Pyrenees of Aragon and explored its potential applications to resource management and adaptation. Pyrenean pastoralists possess extensive knowledge of relationships between terrain, climate, vegetation and animal nutrition and behavior. TEK could contribute to sustainable stewardship and facilitate adaptation by informing pasture monitoring; providing traditional practices to manage mountain vegetation; and preserving knowledge of extensive livestock production strategies, such as transhumance. Institutional barriers to applying TEK include weak economic cooperation among stockmen, their dependence on EU subsidies, and lack of voice in regional government decisions about local resources. A more collaborative, place-based stewardship of the Central Pyrenees might begin with direct involvement of pastoralists in designing monitoring of pasture conditions and vegetation type changes.

An individual-based process model to simulate landscape-scale forest ecosystem dynamics

Forest ecosystem dynamics emerges from nonlinear interactions between adaptive biotic agents (i.e., individual trees) and their relationship with a spatially and temporally heterogeneous abiotic environment. Understanding and predicting the dynamics resulting from these complex interactions is crucial for the sustainable stewardship of ecosystems, particularly in the context of rapidly changing environmental conditions. Here we present iLand (the individual-based forest landscape and disturbance model), a novel approach to simulating forest dynamics as an emergent property of environmental drivers, ecosystem processes and dynamic interactions across scales. Our specific objectives were (i) to describe the model, in particular its novel approach to simulate spatially explicit individual-tree competition for resources over large scales within a process-based framework of physiological resource use, and (ii) to present a suite of evaluation experiments assessing iLands ability to simulate tree growth and mortality for a wide range of forest ecosystems. Adopting an approach rooted in ecological field theory, iLand calculates a continuous field of light availability over the landscape, with every tree represented by a mechanistically derived, size- and species-dependent pattern of light interference. Within a hierarchical multi-scale framework productivity is derived at stand-level by means of a light-use efficiency approach, and downscaled to individuals via local light availability. Allocation (based on allometric ratios) and mortality (resulting from carbon starvation) are modeled at the individual-tree level, accounting for adaptive behavior of trees in response to their environment. To evaluate the model we conducted simulations over the extended environmental gradient of a longitudinal transect in Oregon, USA, and successfully compared results against independently observed productivity estimates (63.4% of variation explained) and mortality patterns in even-aged stands. This transect experiment was furthermore replicated for a different set of species and ecosystems in the Austrian Alps, documenting the robustness and generality of our approach. Model performance was also successfully evaluated for structurally and compositionally complex old-growth forests in the western Cascades of Oregon. Finally, the ability of our approach to address forest ecosystem dynamics at landscape scales was demonstrated by a computational scaling experiment. In simulating the emergence of ecosystem patterns and dynamics as a result of complex process interactions across scales our approach has the potential to contribute crucial capacities to understanding and fostering forest ecosystem resilience under changing climatic conditions.

Sustainability at Navistar: a model distinguished by sustainable innovation, proactive product stewardship, and sound science

While corporate sustainability is interpreted broadly to mean ensuring success in the present without compromising the future, a well-accepted workable definition has remained elusive. Sustainability is often defined using a set of criteria or metrics that address the recognised environmental, social, and economic pillars of sustainability. However, standard metrics fail to account for how companies deal with operational challenges to their sustainability and viability. As a 175 year old diesel engine manufacturer, Navistar, Inc. has developed a model to address not only the three pillars of sustainability but also its significant business challenges, including those related to health concerns over its diesel products and environmental and employee legacies. Featuring a commitment to sustainable innovation and product stewardship and reliance on sound science, Navistar’s sustainability model has evolved in response to its unique operating environment. This model illustrates the benefits of designing sustainability strategies to address specific business challenges rather than a standard set of criteria.

Compressing the business development cycle: applying stewardship design principles for commercial scale solar projects

Building on the success of its first large scale solar project in 2010, Secure Futures, LLC (‘Secure Futures’), a US solar development company, developed its second large scale solar project in 2011, in nearly half the time and four times larger than the first. Secure Futures developed Virginia’s first commercial-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power project through a unique power purchase agreement with Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) for a 104 kW system on the EMU campus in 2010. The EMU solar project took 21 months to overcome a variety of legal, financial, regulatory and tax hurdles. The second project, developed in 2011 with Washington and Lee University (W&L) in Lexington, VA for 444 kW was completed in eleven months. The company applied sustainable value (Laszlo, 2008), collaborative advantage (Kanter, 1994), and stewardship design principles (Smith, 2010) in overcoming market barriers and compressing business development cycles. This case study highlights the principles that contributed to developing two milestone projects in succession that overcame market, regulatory and financial hurdles.

An Indicator Framework for Linking Historic Preservation and Community Economic Development

A community’s history, as represented in the cultural and built environment, can serve as an important asset for economic development and sustainable stewardship. Challenges abound in linking historic preservation and community economic development, especially in communities at risk of losing their unique character and attempting to protect their special sense of place. This conceptual paper presents an indicator framework of four categories—gauging, protecting, enhancing, and interfacing—as a useful method for communities to conceptualize, address and integrate historic resources with community economic development and sustainability.

Preliminary prioritization based on partial order theory and R software for compositional complexes in landscape ecology, with applications to restoration, remediation, and enhancement

The present purpose is to provide convenient computational capability and visualizations for preliminary partial or progressive prioritization based largely on concepts of partial order theory and implemented in R software as illustrated in a context of conservation and sustainable stewardship across landscapes with ecosystem services as a complex multidimensional domain that must be placed in public and private perspective in pursuit of multi-resource management. Practical perspective is promoted by graphic visualization with local partial order modeling (LPOM) methods for screening of settings and scenarios involving interactions of ecosystem elements as evidenced by environmental indicators. ORDIT ordering and precedence plots arise from ascribed advantage as an outcome of a rating regime. Representative ranks constitute criteria drawn from the rank distribution for the case in question. Distal data are determined with regard to remediation and retention. Median mismatches reflect interplay of indicators appearing as isolated instances in plotting patterns. A suggested strategy to circumvent computational constraints is partitioning the pool of cases into collectives by clustering, pursuing classes of partitions, and then prioritizing in particular partitions. When prime prospects have been obtained, detailed determinations can be done with partial ordering procedures involving Hasse diagrams and similarly complex constructs that are difficult to apply with many cases and/or indicator criteria.

Decision making for transportation systems as a support for sustainable stewardship

PurposeThe environmental impacts of transportation are rarely brought into decision making frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a framework and tool to help in these organizational decisions.Design/methodology/approachA survey analysis was carried out amongst waste‐management companies within the project ETIENNE. Using this information, drivers and hurdles to the environmentally motivated optimization of transport were identified.FindingsThis research framework presents results of perceived hurdles in transport process optimization. Results of the research are grounded with definitions and discussion of the relevance of logistic processes.Research limitations/implicationsAnalysis provided in this paper shows that there is no practicable tool to consider environmental impacts in management decisions in transportation. Therefore, a software tool, the so‐called ETIENNE‐Tool, for the evaluation of transportation alternatives, is developed. Theoretical principles for the environmental evaluation of transport processes are also proposed.Practical implicationsOrganizational tasks – such as the selection and planning of transportation relations; employment of means of transportation; planning of locations; finally performing of operative business – can be fulfilled in a more environmentally sound manner.Originality/valueBased on the ETIENNE‐Tool and taking into consideration stakeholders' requirements, different transportation chains for one transportation task can be easily compared and transportation can be planned efficiently.

“The Hurdles Analysis” as an instrument for improving sustainable stewardship

PurposeThe management of procurement processes can be one important factor in achieving an integrated stewardship of resources. This paper's purpose is to complete an empirical study to record the current perception of hurdles in German industries.MethodologyThe questionnaire‐based survey was conducted with the major 883 large and all medium‐sized companies that are members of the “German Association of Materials Management, Purchasing, and Logistics (AMMPL)” 24 theory and experience‐based questions regarding several areas (legislation, company objectives, knowledge of products and services, costs, motivation) were asked in an explorative design.FindingsThe study identified hurdles that are perceived as significantly greater than others. There are differences in hurdles between the industries, but also within a particular industry. Medium‐sized companies feel more uncertainties regarding legislation or bemoan the absence of supportive guidelines.Research limitations/implicationsThe 24 theory‐ and experience‐based questions could not be sorted into clearly defined hurdles groups. Further research in this direction is recommended as well as in‐depth analyses of industries and actors.Practical implicationsSustained and concerted efforts to reduce the hurdles to further legislation or information campaigns initiatives on those hurdles that have been identified.Originality/valueThe paper indicates that hurdles to green procurement exist and companies have to cope in their efforts to increase their environmental responsibility. The paper provides strategies to handle and overcome such hurdles to firstly support the companies and secondly provide a basis for further in‐depth research on this topic.