Voluntary Commitment Research Articles

Corporate self-commitments to mitigate the global plastic crisis: Recycling rather than reduction and reuse

An increasing number of companies are voluntarily committing to help complete the transition from a linear to a circular economy, thereby curbing the global environmental pollution caused by plastics. The various endeavours are codified both by signing global commitments, like the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, and by incorporating individual plastic strategies in sustainability reports. However, a critical analysis of whether these voluntary commitments can mitigate the plastic crisis and shape the transformation towards a circular economy is lacking. This paper qualitatively analyzes the self-commitments of ten international consumer goods manufacturers and reconstructs their understanding of the circular economy concept itself as well as the related key concepts: reduction, reuse, and recycling (3Rs). It can be demonstrated that a uniform definition of the 3Rs is missing and that the concepts of reduction and reuse are mostly associated with recycling. As this prevents the rigorous implementation of a circular economy from the outset, commitments must be strictly evaluated based on unambiguous definitions and this is currently not being done.

The Use of International Human Rights Law in the Universal Periodic Review

Abstract Universal Periodic Review provides a unique insight into states’ perceptions of IHRL. States issue recommendations on fulfilling human rights obligations and commitments. HRC Resolution 5/1 sets out the bases of the reviews: the UN Charter, the UDHR, human rights instruments to which the state is party and voluntary pledges and commitments. Relevant IHL is ‘take[n] into account’. Analysing the identification of these bases of review and how they have been used in the 57,685 recommendations from the first two cycles of UPR, we demonstrate states’ understanding of the term ‘human rights’ and their preferences for certain sources of law. States have not limited themselves to the bases of review in Resolution 5/1. They have used additional materials and rejected distinctions between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ law. They have interpreted the notion of ‘human rights’ expansively but largely ignored regional human rights instruments. A body of generalised, non-specific IHRL has been recognised.

The role of non-government stakeholders in implementing the Sendai Framework: A view from the voluntary commitments online platform

One way to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 is through more effective management of the commitments, knowledge, experience, and resources of all non-government stakeholders supporting disaster risk reduction and resilience building. While governments have the primary responsibility to prevent and reduce risk, the Sendai Framework states that all stakeholders such as the private sector, non-government organizations, academia, civil society, etc. share this responsibility. Therefore, UNDRR promotes an all-of-society engagement and partnerships, which is materialized, for example, in the Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments, a platform for all stakeholders to showcase and monitor their initiatives. The platform generates new datasets that were used in this article to analyze the role and types of voluntary commitments (VCs) made by non-government stakeholders. The methodology is mainly descriptive, including a sentiment analysis. Results show that non-government organizations (50%), the private sector (13%), and other networks (11%) are the largest type of stakeholders publishing VCs. These VCs are mainly covering the hazards of flood and earthquakes on themes such as risk management, capacity development, and community-based DRR. Sendai Priority for Action 1 receives the most attention from these VCs along with Target E (and indicator E2) and SDGs 11, 13, and 17. The Philippines is one of the countries benefiting from the largest number of commitments and opportunities for collaboration among those VCs as well as other VCs at the regional and global level in terms of work with local communities and inclusiveness of people with disabilities. The resilience of communities and nations is a necessary condition for reaching the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Getting to know “who is doing what, where” can stimulate further studies analyzing a whole-of-society approach to address the systemic nature of risks and the role of non-government actors paving the way for the Sendai Framework to be implemented.

Does tax return disclosure affect information asymmetry among investors?

Tax return information is often complex and difficult to interpret. Whether its public availability benefits unsophisticated users remains an empirical question. This study examines whether public disclosure of tax return information affects information asymmetry among more- and less- sophisticated investors. I investigate the unique setting of mandatory disclosure of three bottom-line income tax items in Australia. Using a difference-in-difference design with an entropy-balanced control group, I find evidence that information asymmetry decreased after the mandatory disclosure. The effect is more pronounced for firms with a poorer information environment, with higher individual ownership, and with lower media attention. The magnitude of the postdisclosure decline in the bid-ask spread correlates with the degree of the absolute book-tax gap of tax expense. This result is concentrated among firms with only mandatory disclosure—without any voluntary commitment or voluntary disclosure. Overall, the results suggest that public disclosure of tax return information does have the potential to reduce information asymmetry among investors.

The Role of Non-State Actors in Climate Law

This chapter engages the key legal debates surrounding the role of non-state actors (NSAs) in climate law. NSAs—a wide category that reflects the expansion of international climate governance beyond the state—include entities as diverse as individuals, companies, international organizations, industry associations, cities, indigenous peoples, and civil-society organizations. Over the past decades, and especially since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the many roles of NSAs in addressing climate change have attracted significant interest from treaty negotiators, business man-agers, environmental activists, policymakers, and researchers. Seen as performing vital functions ranging from innovation and agenda-setting to implementation, monitoring, and enforcement, NSAs are widely considered as bringing about dynamic forms of climate governance. The potential of direct mitigation effort by NSAs, such as voluntary emission-reduction commitments by companies and cities, is similarly highlighted as a key component in any future solution to climate change. The growing climate action by NSAs forces a rethink of the legal underpinnings of the climate regime and opens new perspectives on the logic of NSA-driven climate governance. This chapter discusses the legal dynamics of non-state climate governance. Using three archetypical NSAs—companies, cities, and civil-society organizations—as proxies, the chapter isolates three primary debates that frame the interactions between NSAs and climate law. These debates focus on the responsibility of NSAs for causing climate change, the legal techniques of NSA governance, and the role of NSAs as agents of legal change and they reflect the rise of polycentric climate governance and illustrate the expansion of climate law beyond its original emphasis on states. However, the discussion also exposes the difficulties that emerge when embedding different NSAs in a single conceptual frame, as well as the limits of NSA-driven governance more broadly.

The Systematic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility by Small Companies

Research background: The responsibility of organizations towards their surroundings and society is a long-term strategic goal, which is supported by various projects and concepts, at the national, and global levels. The conception of sustainable development represents a model of society development, where economic and social development should be in line with the preservation of natural values for present and future generations. Purpose of the article: The concept of Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a voluntary commitment of an organization that wants to behave responsibly towards its surroundings. The concept is generally understood as a strategic initiative and it is applied mainly by large companies. Small and medium-sized companies are rather not interested in the concept, they are afraid of the burden for the company. The paper focuses on the potential of systematic use of the CSR concept by small organizations. Methods: The survey was conducted in selected small organizations. The degree of acquaintance with the principles of the concept and especially with the possibilities of the concept was determined, the current state was analyzed and activities for implementation were proposed, and indicators for long-term monitoring were proposed. Findings & Value added: CSR concept encourages the company to make a positive impact on the environment. Small organizations often apply some of its principles, unknowingly by their natural responsible behavior. However, a systems-conscious approach is important. Small businesses can use the potential of the concept and implement its principles for the benefit of themselves and their surroundings.

Gift Baskets for South Asia: Nuclear Risk Reduction and Crisis Management

Gift Basket diplomacy is an interest-based approach to negotiation that encourages voluntary commitments as incentives for cooperation. International diplomats used this approach during the Nuclear Security Summits (NSS), and it is the new standard for international cooperation. This model was successfully replicated in climate talks and led to a global effort to combat climate change. The use of house presents, and gift baskets encourages leadership and team building, to excel beyond intractable consensus-based stalemates. The Gift Basket Diplomacy model may reduce South Asia’s nuclear risk and enhance crisis management by increasing diplomatic efforts during regional party talks and cooperative engagements, by keeping negotiators on a focused path to substantive counterterrorism and border security cooperation.

The effect of job embeddedness on organizational citizenship behavior and job performance (study case: Secondary School Teachers in Najaf Abad)

The effect of job embeddedness on organizational citizenship behavior and job performance (study case: Secondary School Teachers in Najaf Abad)

Is Initial Board Certification Associated With Better Early Career Surgical Outcomes?

To determine if initial American Board of Surgery certification in general surgery is associated with better risk-adjusted patient outcomes for Medicare patients undergoing partial colectomy by an early career surgeon. Board certification is a voluntary commitment to professionalism, continued learning, and delivery of high-quality patient care. Not all surgeons are certified, and some have questioned the value of certification due to limited evidence that board-certified surgeons have better patient outcomes. In response, we examined the outcomes of certified versus noncertified early career general surgeons. We identified Medicare patients who underwent a partial colectomy between 2008 and 2016 and were operated on by a non-subspecialty trained surgeon within their first 5 years of practice. Surgeon certification status was determined using the American Board of Surgery data. Generalized linear mixed models were used to control for patient-, procedure-, and hospital-level effects. Primary outcomes were the occurrence of severe complications and occurrence of death within 30 days. We identified 69,325 patients who underwent a partial colectomy by an early career general surgeon. The adjusted rate of severe complications after partial colectomy by certified (n = 4239) versus noncertified (n = 191) early-career general surgeons was 9.1% versus 10.7% (odds ratio 0.83, P = 0.03). Adjusted mortality rate for certified versus noncertified early-career general surgeons was 4.9% versus 6.1% (odds ratio 0.79, P = 0.01). Patients undergoing partial colectomy by an early career general surgeon have decreased odds of severe complications and death when their surgeon is board certified.

Commitments to sustainable fisheries: Empty words or reality?

The Our Ocean conferences focus on voluntary commitments by different pledgers in support of actions towards a clean, healthy and productive ocean. We analysed the content and summarised the progress of implementation of the commitments related to sustainable fisheries at the Our Ocean conferences during 2014–2018. A total of 77 different entities provided commitments. Governments was the largest group (34) followed by NGOs (23). The majority (58%) of commitments were related to enforcement, transparency and cooperation. In particular, combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries and support for the port state measures process were the focus of many of the commitments. To increase transparency and effectiveness of commitments, we suggest that more emphasis should be put on documenting and evaluating the impact of commitments. There is good progress in the implementation, and the commitments are largely reality and not empty words. We consider that the commitments have been successful in terms of generating attention and providing funding of projects that are supportive of sustainable fisheries. The diversity of pledgers is large, and an objective gap analysis on requirements for achieving sustainable fisheries regionally could provide pledgers with common ground and further increase the impact of the Our Ocean conferences.

Frivilligengagemang och motståndspraktiker. Landsbygder, genus och protester i Norrlands inland

This article focuses on rural life and the voluntary commitment that it often seems to require. It builds on extensive ethnographic material collected between 2013 and 2020 in the northern inland of Sweden. The geographic conditions are marked by sparsely populated areas with villages and some smaller towns with forest industry and tourism as primary sources of income. They have also, at least since the financial crisis in the 1990s, been marked by a withdrawal of the welfare state and welfare services as well as by depopulation. The article engages with how voluntary engagement in its various forms takes shape and how its meanings are based on what the engagement implies, where it is performed, how it is expressed, as well as on who is participating. This article explores these voluntary geographies as a contested space where notions of gender both structure and become structured by neoliberal discourses of hopes as well as fears for the future.

Recent Progress Achieved by the Global Centre for Disaster Statistics (GCDS)

This study aims to clarify the recent progress made by the Global Centre for Disaster Statistics (GCDS) as presented at the GCDS session of the World Bosai Forum/International Disaster Risk Conference 2019 (WBF2019) and the subsequent expert meeting and to discuss the next step for the GCDS. The authors also attempt to grasp the position of the GCDS among the disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities worldwide to find a clue for evaluating the recent progress made by the GCDS so far. First, the authors describe a fact regarding the session and the expert meeting followed by an observation focusing on their output in a qualitative manner. Second, the authors adopt a text mining technique to position the GCDS in relation to the other global DRR activities. The results suggest that the GCDS has steadily progressed in its activities, which were evaluated positively by the stakeholders at the GCDS session of the WBF2019 and the subsequent expert meeting. At the same time, some new challenges that the GCDS should cope with in the coming years were pointed out. Furthermore, the results of text mining that examined the corpora composed of the descriptions regarding the Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments (SFVCs) of the global DRR activities support the notion that the GCDS has been conducting its activities in a relatively common and less biased manner, which are also aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR). Thus, it can be concluded that the GCDS should keep moving forward with the current momentum that has contributed to the achievement of the recent progress.

Mini Special Issue on the Development of Disaster Statistics Part 3

The Global Centre for Disaster Statistics (GCDS) at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University was established in April 2015 to support the monitoring of the global targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR). The GCDS, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is to provide support for National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) to build capacity in developing national disaster loss and damage statistics, an essential tool used in monitoring and policy making for the reduction of disaster risk. Since its establishment, the GCDS has been contributing to the implementation of the SFDRR. In 2019, the GCDS participated in the Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments (SFVCs), launched by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Although the information regarding the activities of the GCDS is described in detail in the first Synthesis and Analysis Report of the SFVC [1], one of the activities committed to in its SFVC is to publish special issues of the Journal of Disaster Research as a contribution to the development of disaster statistics. The guest editors are pleased to publish the third special issue, which contains valuable academic articles closely related to the activities of the GCDS. We hope that this special issue on the Development of Disaster Statistics makes a significant contribution to the literature on disaster statistics and accelerates its development.

Regulatory Compliance of Community-Based Conservation Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

Community-based conservation in the developing world generally puts more emphasis on voluntary commitments and compliance rather than enforcement of formal laws and regulations for the governance of protected areas. However, as with other forms of organizational management, once institutions are established, they are required to comply with all relevant, legally binding regulations. Furthermore, it is broadly assumed that compliance with established regulations is critical for good governance. In this paper, we review these matters through an empirical study of Conservation Area Management Committees’ degree of compliance with regulations under Nepalese law, within the Annapurna Conservation Area—one of the best-known community-based protected areas worldwide—based on quantitative content analysis of the committees’ meeting minutes from 2008 to 2012. According to the established rules, two to four women and one to five minorities serve as committee members in each instance. On average, fewer members than expected attended meetings, and the number of decisions made per meeting showed a curvilinear relationship with the number of members present as well as their demographic diversity. Of the 13 committees selected for study, only two met the legal mandate of holding six regular meetings annually within two-month intervals. In all the other cases, non-compliance was noted for one to all five years of the committees’ terms. In general, compliance declined over the five-year terms, and some committees were significantly less-compliant than others. Although enforceable decisions were made within both compliant and non-compliant committees, several problems of non-compliance were identified that may affect conservation outcomes. We suggest several possible reasons for non-compliance and argue that these may be symptoms of institutional weaknesses. Organizations that fail to meet their commitments risk liability and may also lose the formal legal authority to govern. Regular monitoring is recommended to address compliance issues.

An Observational Study of Telemental Care Delivery and the Context for Involuntary Commitment for Mental Health Patients in a Group of Rural Emergency Departments

Background: Rates for all-cause U.S. emergency department (ED) visits to rural critical access hospitals (CAHs) have increased by 50% since 2005. During the same time period, total number of U.S. hospital admissions for a mental health (MH) crisis has increased by 12.2%, with rural counties demonstrating the largest suicide rate increases overall.Introduction: Increasing number of rural patients are reporting need for MH care in the region's four rural EDs. Characteristics of ED telemental health services were evaluated, including MH diagnostic category, voluntary vs. involuntary commitment (IC), forensic vs. nonforensic presentation, ED throughput, disposition, and payor reimbursement.Materials and Methods: Observational 2.5-year program evaluation of telemental health care delivery for children (n = 114) and adults (n = 417) who were evaluated by a rural ED physician and received an MH diagnosis. Participants (N = 531) were treated by a licensed psychiatrist through telemental care delivery from September 2017 to April 2020.Results: Noncommitted ED MH patients (86%; n = 455) were distributed across three major diagnostic groups: (1) depression, anxiety, or other mental illness (35%); (2) substance abuse (33%); or (3) suicide risk (32%), with 47% admitted inpatients (IPs), 47% referred outpatient (OPs), and 6% admitted to CAH. Fourteen percent (n = 76/531) of ED MH patients were subsequently IC, with 67% of those assessed as needing IP care. Forty-nine percent (n = 37) of IC patients presented in police custody. Most common diagnosis for IC patients was suicidal ideation/attempt (χ2 [2, N = 452] = 12.884, p = 0.002). Admitted patients experienced significantly longer length of stay than those with OP referral (p = 0.001). Mean total payor reimbursements for ED MH care were significantly lower than actual ED costs (p < 0.001).Discussion: Innovative approaches to telemental care for IC and non-IC patients need to be piloted and comparatively evaluated in rural CAHs.Conclusion: As the gateway to critically needed MH care, rural CAHs and public services pivotal to care access (e.g., law enforcement) need additional resources and support.

What makes businesses commit to nature conservation?

AbstractTo halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, various actors including companies need to engage, but it is not yet clear what drives voluntary business commitments. We explore leverage points that might increase corporate action for conservation. We apply a structural equation model based on the theory of planned behaviour to analyse data from 618 German companies, collected through an online‐survey in 2019. We show that a favourable attitude, driven by perceived business relevance and benefit prospects, fosters engagement. Perceived difficulties, such as lacking finances and knowledge, hinder the engagement. Customers, employees and the general public are presently the only stakeholder groups that drive corporate conservation engagement. Nevertheless, the expectation levels of virtually all stakeholders were found to be quite low and as such inadequate for the ecological crisis we face. We discuss how political will and goal setting can encourage more widespread business support for the natural environment.

Decarbonization Tradeoffs: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Modeling Analysis for the Chilean Power Sector

Medium size developing countries like Chile that commit to decarbonization goals need to carefully assess the trade-offs associated to their intensity and timing, since most of the technologies required will be absorbed, not produced, by these countries. A rapid expansion of renewables in the Chilean energy matrix, mostly thanks to exceptional solar and wind resources, combined with a rapid decrease in the cost of renewable energy technologies, intensified current policy debates to reduce the role of coal, which is the largest source of CO2 emissions in the generation mix. Recently, the main generation companies in Chile made a voluntary commitment to not invest in new coal projects that do not include carbon capture and storage systems. In addition, the Chilean government announced its plans to phase out coal plants completely by 2040. In this context, the aim of this research is to study the economy-wide and emission reduction impacts of different decarbonization paths in the Chilean power sector. For this purpose, we consider dynamic simulations using a new energy-oriented version of the Computable General Equilibrium Model (CGE)- General Equilibrium Model for the Chilean Economy (ECOGEM)-Chile which is soft linked to the bottom-up engineering energy model. The results show the major impacts under both the business as usual (BAU) scenario and the coal phase-out scenario. Additionally, the study discusses to what extent the ambitious decarbonization goals of the Chilean government are coherent with the current technological limitations.

The Development and Application of a Tool for Quantifying the Strength of Voluntary Actions and Commitments of Major Canadian Food Companies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Their Products.

ABSTRACTBackgroundCanada's food supply is high in nutrients of public health concern, contributing to poor diet quality and increased noncommunicable disease risk. Food companies shape the healthfulness of the food supply, yet little is known about companies’ voluntary actions and commitments concerning product (re)formulation.ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop and apply a tool for quantifying the strength of voluntary actions and commitments of major food companies in Canada to improve the healthfulness of their products.MethodsTwenty-two top packaged food and beverage companies were selected based on Canadian market share. Recent actions and/or commitments to reduce energy/portion sizes, sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, and sugars were identified from company websites and public documents, verified by company representatives (where possible), and scored based on breadth of application across the product portfolio, magnitude(s) of reduction, measurability, nutritional significance, national/global applicability, and transparency using the Food Company Reformulation scoring tool. Companies offering beverages only (n = 4) were not assessed for sodium, saturated fat, or trans fat (re)formulation.ResultsSeventeen of 22 companies reported reductions and/or commitments concerning sodium (72.2%, n = 13/18), trans fat (61.1%, n = 11/18), sugars (59.1%, n = 13/22), saturated fat (55.6%, n = 10/18), and/or energy/portion sizes (50.0%, n = 11/22). Scores ranged from 0/155 to 122/155 for food companies (median = 49/155) and 0/65 to 42/65 for beverage companies (median = 17/65). Companies generally performed best for sodium reduction (median = 21/32; range = 0–32) and poorest for energy/portion-size reductions (median = 2/30; range = 0–24). Multinational companies had significantly higher total scores than domestic companies (P = 0.004). Higher total scores were associated with greater market shares in the beverage manufacturing sector (P = 0.04), but not packaged food (P = 0.50).ConclusionsMany of Canada's leading food companies report limited or no action to reduce nutrients of concern in their products, suggesting a need for government intervention and strengthened accountability mechanisms to encourage alignment of reformulation efforts with government and expert recommendations.

Writing and Democracy in the Early United States

Writing and Democracy in the Early United States

The determinants of voluntary climate change disclosure commitment and quality in the banking industry

Banks are both impacted by climate change and crucial for the implementation of sound practices and behaviors to combat climate change. The aim of this research is to identify the determinants of banks’ voluntary climate change disclosure and the quality of that disclosure. Using data on 117 banks from 40 developed and developed countries around the world, we use ordinary least square regression and multivariate logit analysis to show that country-level and bank-level characteristics are much better predictors of bank commitment to voluntary carbon disclosure initiatives and environmental scores than they are of carbon disclosure quality. Banks want to project themselves as good citizens when they are located in a developed and environmentally friendly country, profitable, less risky, and subject to multiple-listing constraints. However, the picture is unclear when it comes to the implementation of rigorous carbon disclosure. This study extends the current state of knowledge on the impacts of size and country-level characteristics on carbon disclosure, finding that size and national context are not independent of carbon disclosure.