Values Of Sustainable Development Research Articles

Sustainable Development of Water Housing Using the Example of Poland: An Analysis of Scenarios

At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, Polish cities began the process of returning to live by water. There is a growing interest in water reservoirs not only as places for recreation, but also as new areas suitable for living, at the very center of the city. Unfortunately, due to the lack of appropriate legal regulations, the dynamic development of floating homes (FHs) is starting to raise increasing concerns in Poland. Regardless of the potential direction of development in water construction in Poland (growth, stabilization, or regression), the question arises of “how to make the potential vision of the future of water construction in Poland consistent with the idea of sustainable development (SD)”. In order to try to answer this question, the authors of this publication indicate the future limitations of formulating a strategy for the development of houses on water in Poland, according to different domains of SD. These domains are the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental spheres. Using the states of surrounding scenarios method (SSSs for short), we developed future scenarios for FHs (an optimistic scenario, a pessimistic scenario, a surprise scenario, and the most probable scenario). Then, using five inferential methods, we defined the constraints that should be taken into account when strategizing for water construction in accordance with the values of SD.

Analysis of UNESCO ESD Priority Areas' Implementation in Romanian HEIs.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are adopting sustainable development (SD) in their strategies for the future. The roadmap by UNESCO is the path to follow to reach success. The approach is different for every HEI, thus the objective of this paper is to analyze the current state of education for sustainable development activities provided by HEIs through the eyes of the academic community (responders category: professors, researchers, associate professors). The method to conduct the study was an interview that had 40 enclosed questions and a free part at the end where the responders could bring additional information to the study if they considered it necessary. All the interviews were transcribed and given a code (e.g., RHEI1, RHEI 29) in order to perform the analysis using descriptive statistics with the help of the program MS Office EXCEL. The results showed some areas where the activities provided by HEIs need improvement and also revealed promising aspects through partnerships. Making the values of SD known to the academic and local community will help fulfill the true potential for change and future development. Moreover, the analysis showed the need to educate educators and improve their digital skills and teaching methods/techniques in order to achieve sustainable development. Another result revealed the need for improvements in HEI curricula that will contribute to gaining those skills/abilities that emerging jobs should have.

Sustainable development scores using spatial information systems-analytic hierarchy process

PurposeThis research aims to develop sustainable development scores at districts level based on weights of thirteen sub-indicators using a spatial information system.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study was conducted at seven districts in the state of Terengganu Malaysia. The evaluation was implemented using a spatial information system combined with weights of sub-indicators that were computed from the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method.FindingsIn this study the sub-indicators layers overlaid into one raster layer to produce a sustainability development score from 1 to 3 for every district. The one raster layer shows that Marang district received the highest sustainable development score of 2.284. On the other hand, Kemaman district received the poorest sustainable development score of 1.686.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study the weights that obtained from the AHP method are verified and validated using a sensitivity analysis. The scores at districts level perhaps may not be accurate due to difficulties in differentiating the variability of indicators and sub-indicators. These are among the unsettled issues that could be explored as future research direction.Social implicationsThe results would have greatly benefited the policy makers and stakeholders, particularly in planning for future development without compromising the significance of environment, social and economic indicators.Originality/valueSustainable development is one of the key elements that needs to be considered seriously in assessing development of a country. The assessment may include proposing indices for environment, social, economic indicators and related sub-indicators of sustainable development. Instead of considering specific indices for indicators, this approach departs more formally from the concept of unweighted indices at country level.

Energy efficiency compliance towards benchmarking for intermittent use religious buildings

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to assess the level of energy efficiency (EE) practices and worshippers’ comfort experience towards energy consumption of a selected energy retrofitted mosque. This study identifies whether the work was done on ad hoc or planned basis and to gauge the success level of the retrofit work.Design/methodology/approachMixed method was used in this study. A selected mosques with a capacity of more than 1,000 worshippers under the Class A of classification places of assembly with operating hour ranging from 45 to 65 h and the penarafan hijau jabatan kerja raya (pHJKR) rating tool as a benchmarking for EE assessment is used. A total of 45 respondents were involved in this study to obtain their perception on comfort experience in mosque. Meanwhile, energy audit and walk-through surveys were conducted to obtain data on energy consumption. To identify whether the work was done on ad hoc or planned basis and to gauge the success level of the retrofit work, pHJKR rating tool and efficiency standard MS1525:2019 are used for benchmarking in keeping with sustainability guidelines.FindingsThe results of this study indicated that the EE score achieved by the mosque is good while there are still rooms for improvement to increase the higher score to the pHJKR’s EE benchmarking tool.Research limitations/implicationsEE is one of the most important agenda under sustainable development initiatives. Part of the initial government strategy is to encourage the use public buildings in demonstrating initiatives for sustainable development to justify high capital resources investment. Mosque buildings have huge potential for this purpose because as religious public buildings for the majority Muslim community, their operations are fully funded from public funds. Selection of mosques is also driven by its unique intermittent energy consumption pattern, while early mosques adopted natural ventilation, modern mosques are often designed with mechanical ventilation (air conditioning).Practical implicationsAn encouragement on government initiative towards sustainable development can be escalating by producing exemplary building for intermittent use pattern categories by mosque as a model.Social implicationsSustainable development especially in EE becomes normal practices and energy and impact towards environment possibly be saved.Originality/valueSustainable development especially in EE becomes normal practices and energy and impact towards environment possibly be saved. This research is based on supportive national agenda by assessing EE measure for development of energy management in intermittent use buildings (mosque).

Decision-Tree Based Methodology Aid in Assessing the Sustainable Development of a Manufacturing Company

Nowadays, achieving the objectives of sustainable development (SD) within a manufacturing company, through introducing and integrating sustainability into a development strategy, is a key parameter in gaining a competitive advantage in the market. The objective of this study was to develop a decision-tree based methodology to facilitate SD assessment in a manufacturing company, which consists of five main components: (1) Determination of SD indicators based on literature analysis, (2) Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method which determines the priority of the SD criteria, (3) Collecting data to determine the values of the key objectives SD, (4) Using a decision tree to build scenarios of possible actions to increase the level of SD, (5) Indicating recommended actions for continuous monitoring of progress towards reaching SD objectives. In the proposed approach, the use of the AHP method allowed for indicating the most important SD indicators, which made it possible to limit the number of queries to manufacturers on data from real companies regarding the values of SD indicators. Finally, the methodology was applied and verified within a real manufacturing company in order to assist the Management Board in making projections about future actions regarding an increase in SD level.

An Analysis of Teaching Sustainable Development Values (SDVs) at Madrassah

The current study aimed to analyze prevailing notions and understanding of Madrassahs’ heads, teachers, and students about on-going teaching practices of Sustainable Development Values (SDVs). It was done by analyzing the expectation and prevalence of teaching practices of SDVs. Diversified methods’ approach was considered best appropriate, using an amalgamation of two methods known as qualitative and quantitative approaches. The population was all administrators, teachers, and students enrolled in Shahadat-ul-Alia and Shahadat-ul-Almia of the Madrassahs of the Punjab, Pakistan. The multistage sampling technique was used for the selection of the respondents. Three instruments were used: first and second instruments were self-developed questionnaires, consisting of 17 items both for teachers and students used to collect quantitative data. The third instrument which was a viable method known as interview schedule was used to gather qualitative data to triangulate the results obtained from the quantitative data. Moreover, it has been deducted from the given study that heads of departments, mentors, and learners of the Madrassahs consist of unanimous views that the expectations for teaching SDVs are significantly greater than the prevailing teaching practices of SDVs. It leads to the conclusion that there is a more need for teaching Sustainable Development Values to the Madrassah students.

Measuring CSR by Aim, Approach, and Action: Impact on Accounting and Market Performance in China

We adopt a new model called SDV (Sustainable Development Value), built upon 3A (Aim, Approach, and Action) as a strategic management process to measure CSR. We explore the CSR-CFP relationship by distinguishing accounting performance (return on assets) and market performance (risk-adjusted return on stock). Regression results from 1,245 observations of large listed companies in China from 2014 - 2019 prove that SDV has a significant positive relationship with accounting performance but no significant relationship with market performance when controlling for factors like company size and industry. However, if we divide SDV into three groups of 415 (with low, middle and high SDV), the t-test demonstrates the high SDV group has the highest market performance. The contradictory results indicate different mechanisms of CSR-CFP relationship with regards to accounting and market performance, which are further explained by the 3A model.

The Whole-Institution Approach at the University of Tübingen: Sustainable Development Set in Practice

In the following paper, we scrutinize understandings and values behind Sustainable Development (SD) in a case study of the University of Tübingen, Germany. In so doing, we adopt the perspective of the whole-institution approach of SD. We do not only analyze documents, but combine our investigations with empirical research on key actors’ understandings and values of SD, as well as the competencies and the knowledge to set SD in practice. First, we demonstrate that actors’ understandings and the values behind them at the University of Tübingen are in accord with the United Nations’ understanding of SD (‘Brundtland Report’). Second, we show that at the University of Tübingen, many actors already work in line with the whole-institution approach; this shall be further fostered and strengthened by the Competence Centre for SD. Finally, we demonstrate that both knowledge and competencies are fundamental to act for SD. It is suggested that the University of Tübingen should explicitly adopt the general understanding of SD in the above-mentioned sense, and develop a sustainability strategy, not least in order to support the actors to acquire specific knowledge to reach SD for the whole university. Finally, we discuss the potential and limits of transferring the findings to other Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and the challenges of necessary global perspectives.

Dynamics and Discourse of Governance for Sustainable Development in South Korea: Convergent or Divergent?

This paper explores the dynamics and discourse of governance for sustainable development (SD) in the formulation of the National Strategy for SD and the Framework Act on SD in South Korea. It reveals that accepted conventions regarding the relationship between governance and SD are ill-founded and that the dynamics and process of governance is in fact imbued with contradictions and tensions in the Korean context. In particular, this article underlines the two underlying causes which bring about the tension: the lack of common understanding between participants on the substantial values of SD and the lack of agreement as to the extent of power or authority which should be given to governance. The tension is differently shown as the ‘procedure orientation’ and ‘substance orientation’, based on the divergent assumptions between governance and representative democracy, different governance discourse and environmental discourse. This paper argues that the formulation process of the National Strategy and Framework Act failed to create a ‘convergent zone’ (the field of consensus) in terms of the governance arrangements (dynamics) and the common recognition of participants (discourse) where most of the actors (not only ‘procedure-oriented’ but ‘substance-oriented’) could agree with.

A prototype system dynamic model for assessing the sustainability of construction projects

There is a worldwide demand for an increasingly sustainable built environment. This has resulted in the need for a more accurate evaluation of the level of sustainability of construction projects. To do this it involves the development of better measurement and benchmarking methods. One approach is to use a theoretical model to assess construction projects in terms of their sustainable development value (SDV) and sustainable development ability (SDA) for implementation in the project life cycle, where SDA measures the contribution of a project to development sustainability and as a major criterion for assessing its feasibility.This paper develops an improved SDA prototype model that incorporates the effects of dynamical factors on project sustainability. This involves the introduction of two major factors concerning technological advancement and changes in people's perceptions. A case study is used to demonstrate the procedures involved in simulation and modeling, one outcome of which is to demonstrate the greater influence of technological advancement on project sustainability than changes in perception.

Sustainable development and sustainability as quasi‐objects of study in management

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose styles of reasoning for the characterization of sustainable development and sustainability as quasi‐objects of study for management.Design/methodology/approachThis proposition occurs in three primary dimensions: the first deals with ontological postures, the second with epistemological perspectives, and the third with supplementary conceptualizations (dominant paradigms, the meanings of sustainable development and sustainability, and the approaches to classifying sustainability).FindingsAfter the theoretical‐analytical discussion the authors present a framework that classifies different possibilities for framing sustainable development and sustainability as interesting research themes for management studies.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper considers that discussions about sustainable development and sustainability as concerns management studies need a deeper conceptual and theoretical scrutiny. This deficiency is expressed in the difficulty in identifying ontological postures, epistemological perspectives, dominant paradigms, and conceptual approaches that might allow these themes to have a greater coherence so that they may be researched within the scope of management studies.Originality/valueSustainable development and sustainability are discussed using various analytical perspectives, a consequence of the fact that these phenomena are understood and discussed by various social collectives, which contributes to an interpretive and conceptual oscillation of these themes for management. The relationship between sustainable development, sustainability, and social factions justifies their characterization as quasi‐objects of study for management. Via this characterization the authors intend to create a space for discussion aimed at presenting statements that are candidates for truth, but not as absolute or unquestionable truths.

Assessing sustainability performance of built projects: a building process approach

Existing environmental performance assessment approaches focus on the overall performance to reflect sustainability of built projects. However, the impacts caused by construction activities on the environment occur throughout a project's life cycle which may be different at different stages. Similarly, the economic benefits and social impacts from implementing a construction project may also be different in different project stages. This paper presents a model of the sustainable development value (SDV), which integrates sustainability assessment into the building process. SDV measures the significance of the concerned project to the attainment of sustainable development value at different stages of a building life cycle, and the SDV at each stage will be amalgamated into the model of sustainable development ability (SDA). SDA is used as a prototype to demonstrate the extent of sustainable performance to aid decision making. This paper presents the methodological framework of SDV and SDA, and the implementation was demonstrated using a case study.

Towards sustainable construction: promotion and best practices

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand what factors best promote or prevent sustainable construction practices and establish the consistency of how sustainability is measured.Design/methodology/approachA literature review considered the impact of the industry to sustainability and identified what action and initiatives are already in place. Through this, the main drivers, barriers, measures and benchmarks were identified. The opinions of building surveying professionals were sought and analysed.FindingsThe paper suggested that fiscal incentives/penalties and regulations help to drive sustainable construction. Such financial implications are consistent with “affordability” being the biggest barrier highlighted. The majority of respondents believed the industry is taking some account of sustainability issues, but identified that more needs to be done.Originality/valueSustainable development is an integral part of the lives and affects all aspects of business operations. This paper provides an in‐depth insight into the level of sustainable development within the construction industry, identifying implications for both the demand and supply side.

Is Sustainable Development in Multinational Enterprises a Marketing Issue?

Do Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) implement managerial strategies oriented towards Sustainable Development (SD) to respond to an essentially marketing issue? The article answers this question by showing that the commitment to SD implies an evolution of the marketing paradigm towards some more responsible marketing. More precisely, this commitment implies a vision of marketing in terms of competences, focusing mainly on the translation of SD values into customer benefits that might bring a lasting competitive advantage. It presupposes a genuine integration into the companies’ marketing strategies and implies that an essential boundary is set, satisfying customers and maintaining and improving the balance of the quality‐price‐services ratio in the commercial offer on the market.