scholarly journals Cause-effect analysis for sustainable development policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Cucurachi ◽  
Sangwon Suh
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Effect Analysis ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sustainability Challenges ◽  
Data Requirements

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) launched by the United Nations (UN) set a new direction for development covering the environmental, economic, and social pillars. Given the complex and interdependent nature of the socioeconomic and environmental systems, however, understanding the cause-effect relationships between policy actions and their outcomes on SDGs remains as a challenge. We provide a systematic review of cause-effect analysis literature in the context of quantitative sustainability assessment. The cause-effect analysis literature in both social and natural sciences has significantly gained its breadth and depth, and some of the pioneering applications have begun to address sustainability challenges. We focus on randomized experiment studies, natural experiments, observational studies, and time-series methods, and the applicability of these approaches to quantitative sustainability assessment with respect to the plausibility of the assumptions, limitations and the data requirements. Despite the promising developments, however, we find that quantifying the sustainability consequences of a policy action, and providing unequivocal policy recommendations based on it is still a challenge. We recognize some of the key data requirements and assumptions necessary to design formal experiments as the bottleneck for conducting scientifically defensible cause-effect analysis in the context of quantitative sustainability assessment. Our study calls for the need of multi-disciplinary effort to develop an operational framework for quantifying the sustainability consequences of policy actions. In the meantime, continued efforts need to be made to advance other modeling platforms such as mechanistic models and simulation tools. We highlighted the importance of understanding and properly communicating the uncertainties associated with such models, regular monitoring and feedback on the consequences of policy actions to the modelers and decision-makers, and the use of what-if scenarios in the absence of well-formulated cause-effect analysis.

scholarly journals Water-Energy-Food Accessibility and Tracking Progress towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in the Savannah Region of Katsina State, Nigeria

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3595
Author(s):  
Yahaya Sani ◽  
Miklas Scholz
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Pairwise Comparison ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Food Accessibility ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecological Regions ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Although remarkable progress has been achieved in reducing hunger and poverty and improving people’s health in the past couple of decades, humanity still faces considerable socio-economic and sustainability challenges. Ensuring sustainable access to safe and sufficient water, improved sanitation facilities, clean energy sources and healthy food is a necessary requirement for ending hunger and poverty, advancing health and achieving all the goals of the sustainable development agenda. Socio-economic variables are determinant factors of water, energy and food accessibility. Ecological region, income and education are measures used in this study, which aims to examine a pairwise comparison of water and energy sources, sanitation facilities and food accessibilities in six sampling communities and tracking progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG) at a local scale using nine specific SDG indicators. A study involving questionnaire administration covering 1785 households across the three ecological regions of Katsina state was performed. Two communities representing urban and rural households from each of the ecological regions were selected. An analysis of variance was used to test the equality of resource accessibility across the investigated communities followed up by a post hoc analysis to identify significant mean groups. The results showed that the overall access level to safely manage water and sanitation facilities were 16.5% and 28.1%, respectively. Access indices of 1.83 and 1.24 for electricity and cooking fuel, respectively, were calculated in the study area. The study revealed that location, education and income are the key drivers of water, energy and food access and choice.

scholarly journals Successes and Challenge in Sustainable Development Goals Localisation for Host Communities around Kruger National Park

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5341
Author(s):  
Mashudu Andra Mabibibi ◽  
Kaitano Dube ◽  
Konanani Thwala
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Host Community ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Tourism Enterprises ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Tourism has often been blamed for its unsustainable ways for a number of years now. Consequently, there have been efforts to ensure that tourism contributes to the host communities to address some of the sustainability challenges through responsible and sustainable tourism initiatives in the recent past. With less than nine years to go before the lapse of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a need to take stock of how tourism enterprises such as national parks are contributing to the SDGs. This study examines how Kruger National Parks (KNP) is assisting the host communities in meeting the SDG goals and targets. The study made use of 30 in-depth key informant interviews, field observations and critical document analysis. The study found that regardless of the challenges it faces as an organization in partnering with host communities for developmental purposes, Kruger National Park has assisted communities to meet at least 15 out of the 17 SDGs. These span from social to economic, environmental and cultural SDGs. Since KNP’s projects address host community needs, several challenges need to be dealt with to ensure the sustainability of these projects post COVID-19 pandemic, which has undermined many nature tourism establishments worldwide. Besides the pandemic, there is a need to manage community expectations with regard to how far it can address some of the challenges faced by communities.

scholarly journals A Review of Corporate Purpose: An Approach to Actioning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3899
Author(s):  
Dayana Jimenez ◽  
Isabel B. Franco ◽  
Tahlia Smith
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Journal Article ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Ethics Management ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sustainability Challenges ◽  
Business As Usual

This journal article explores Corporate Purpose as an approach to action the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It achieves this objective by presenting a review of existing literature on Corporate Purpose and SDGs from the disciplines of business ethics, management studies, economics and psychology. The review showcases contributions exploring whether and how Corporate Purpose-led strategy facilitates the operationalization of the SDGs and proposes an emerging research agenda. This article employed an inductive approach methodology through grounded theory to develop a critical analysis of scientific evidence-based work for theory construction on Corporate Purpose. One of the major findings of this review is that to achieve the SDGs companies need to shift found from the “business as usual” approach, which perceives sustainability as an externality, to incorporating sustainability factors in the company’s underlying purpose. The article also (1) identifies trends in research outputs and reveals five major antecedents of the phenomenon (drivers to purpose), (2) identifies key gaps within the existing literature, (3) distinguishes three current approaches to Corporate Purpose and (4) elaborates on current theories of Corporate Purpose and SDGs linkages to identify opportunities and aid future research. In summary, this article unpacks Corporate Purpose mechanisms to action the SDGs and stimulates academic discussion of business transformational approaches to long-standing sustainability challenges.

scholarly journals Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network—Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Ely ◽  
Anabel Marin ◽  
Lakshmi Charli-Joseph ◽  
Dinesh Abrol ◽  
Marina Apgar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Transdisciplinary Research ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Network Learning ◽  
Emergent Change ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require transformative changes at micro, meso and macro levels and across diverse geographies. Collaborative, transdisciplinary research has a role to play in documenting, understanding and contributing to such transformations. Previous work has investigated the role of this research in Europe and North America, however the dynamics of transdisciplinary research on ‘transformations to sustainability’ in other parts of the world are less well-understood. This paper reports on an international project that involved transdisciplinary research in six different hubs across the globe and was strategically designed to enable mutual learning and exchange. It draws on surveys, reports and research outputs to analyse the processes of transdisciplinary collaboration for sustainability that took place between 2015–2019. The paper illustrates how the project was structured in order to enable learning across disciplines, cultures and contexts and describes how it also provided for the negotiation of epistemological frameworks and different normative commitments between members across the network. To this end, it discusses lessons regarding the use of theoretical and methodological anchors, multi-loop learning and evaluating emergent change (including the difficulties encountered). It offers insights for the design and implementation of future international transdisciplinary collaborations that address locally-specific sustainability challenges within the universal framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

scholarly journals Into the Fray: A Call for Policy-engaged and Actionable Environmental Humanities

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-199
Author(s):  
Steven Hartman
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Environmental Humanities ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Depth Of Knowledge ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

      As European countries strive to meet their targets in support of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by UN member states in 2015, the importance of integrating all knowledge communities in coordinated responses to sustainability challenges becomes an increasing priority. The creativity and depth of knowledge within philosophical, cultural, aesthetic and historical disciplines of the humanities has been underutilized in coordinated international assessment initiatives that aim to inform policy and facilitate solutions of sustainability governance. The Environmental Humanities (EH) is a field of growing significance internationally. While it can no longer be called an emerging field, EH still holds only the promise of bringing knowledge of social and cultural systems to coordinated international efforts to address the human dimensions of global environmental change. The significant knowledge and expertise on the human dimensions of environmental change available within the EH field should be regarded as an indispensable resource to policymakers and to those on the ground who work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This essay makes a case for actionable, policy-engaged environmental humanities, an ambition that should certainly extend to the domain of the humanities more generally.

scholarly journals Intrapreneurial Self-Capital and Sustainable Innovative Behavior within Organizations

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Duradoni ◽  
Annamaria Di Fabio
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Innovative Behavior ◽  
Specific Training ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sustainability Challenges ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Mediator Variable

Innovative behavior is necessary to combat the 21st century’s sustainability challenges, as well as to ensure organizations’ longevity and success. Personality traits, such as extraversion, are strongly related to innovative behavior; nevertheless, such traits are not increasable through specific training. Intrapreneurial self-capital is a promising preventive resource to enhance people’s capability to cope with innovations. On this basis, this study analyzed, in an explorative way, the relationship between extraversion, intrapreneurial self-capital, and innovative behavior, using a sample of 120 Italian workers. A mediation model was used to assess the effects of extraversion on innovative behavior and innovative implementation behavior (outcome variables) through intrapreneurial self-capital (conceived as an intervening mediator variable). The mediation analysis highlighted that intrapreneurial self-capital is correlated with both workers’ innovative behavior and innovative implementation behavior. Therefore, implementing dedicated training on intrapreneurial self-capital could help organizations better address sustainability issues and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals introduced by the United Nations.

Action and progress on sustainability challenges: case examples from Marriott, Booking and Soneva

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 563-573
Author(s):  
Tomer Landau
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Environmental Goals ◽  
Sustainability Challenges ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide an insight on how hospitality companies engage with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and whether their corporate social responsibilities declaration and actions could achieve the targets of the SDGs by 2030 as they relate to their respective companies. Design/methodology/approach This study provides a case study analysis of three selected hospitality companies – Marriott International, Booking Holdings and The Soneva Group. The data for the study were obtained from secondary resources such as the companies’ publications and websites. It uses the module of sustainability challenges and the monitoring framework provided in the global sustainable development report 2019. Findings All the companies examined in this study are investing significant effort and resources to achieve the goals. They are focussing mainly on actions related to challenges that present high to medium levels of socio-political agreement and factual certainty. Though significant progress has been made towards achieving social and economic goals, there is still a large gap in relation to environmental goals. The efforts made solely by the hospitality companies to achieve the targets of Goal 13 are not enough, as hospitality companies cannot achieve these targets on their own. More actions and contributions from governmental and international agencies will be required. Originality/value This paper contributes to an understanding of the role that the SDGs play in the hospitality industry and how companies should engage and interact with the goals. Further research might be needed to analyse the financial implications of the SDGs in relation to the companies’ efforts and their respective investment contributions.

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