Sustainability Management Test 1 Slides A

Sustainable development

development that meets the needs of the present without comprosmising the ability of futue generations to meet their own needs

Intragenerational justice

meeting the needs of the present with overiding priority for needs for the poor

intergenerational justice

not compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs

intragenerational jsutice example

• less prevelent in many discussions

• but central in WCED report giving a voice to unprivlaged groups in the world

intergenerational justice example

• ceneters on continuous resource utilization to prevent limiatations for future generations

the paradox between intragenerational and itnergenerational justice

sustainability

challenege of sustaimability

•Balancing intra- and intergenerational justice is crucial yet difficult to achieve simultaneously.

example biofuels and bioplastics

•Favorable for intergenerational justice: Potentially carbon-neutral, reducing climate change impact compared to conventional products.

intergenerational concern

•Production may compete with staple crops for limited cultivable land.

•Risks include increased food prices or limited food supply (e.g., "food vs. fuel" debate).

lack of measurement

indicators to strictly distinguish the status of sustainability from a status of non-sustainability

•Complexity of measuring sustainable development globally and nationally

•Certain figures, however, allow an overview of the status quo of sustainability efforts

indicators for achieving intragenerational justice

•Population living in poverty as an indicator for intragenerational justice effort

•Poverty decreased significantly since industrial revolution

•However, welfare of a nation should not be measured by wealth alone

•“Human Development Index (HDI)” used as a composite figure

•Includes aspects of life expectancy, education, and living standards as a measure of welfare

•HDI increased in the majority of countries, declines in war-affected regions

Earth Overshoot Day

•Measuring status quo of intergenerational justice is less challenging

•“Earth Overshoot Day” as an exemplary instrument for calculating resource consumption

•Marks the day of overconsumption of regenerative resources

•Provides insight on the extent the present generation lives at the expense of the future

•Illustrates intragenerational justice as well: Most parts of North America or Europe, for example, grossly overconsumed their renewable resources while countries in sub-Saharan Africa refrained from overconsumption

IPAT equation

•Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology

impact

refers to the ecological footprint of any population.

•Changes in the factors population, affluence, or technology can lead to changes in the ecological footprint

Population

•Number of people influencing the ecological footprint

•Factor is determined by fertility and mortality rates

•Development of the world’s population is relatively stable / predictable

•Leverage for improvements in human impact are limited

Affluence

•Determined by the level of individual consumption

•Poorer population tends to consume less resources than the richer population, through their limited consumption

•Wealthy population can use the individual affluence for reducing their ecological footprint

Technology

•Illustrates impact per unit of consumption

•Refers to the damage caused by technologies that have been used to support human level of affluence

•This incudes energy needed to make and deliver material flows, multiplied by the environmental impact per unit of energy

technological advancements

can reduce (or increase) environmental impacts

coal technology

less deforestation

more greenhosue gas emissions

to lower imact

P- lower the consumers

A-lower the consumption

T- Produce Green

weak sustainability

the spheres of nature, scoiety, and economy colide to make sustainable developmennt

strong sustainability

big cicrcle is nature, inside is a smaller ciricle of society and then the smallest circle of economy

concept of weak sustainability

overall idea: prioritize economic issues, deal with enviormental issued as they occur

concept of strong sustainability

•Living from the “interest” of the natural capital

•No use of non-renewable resources

•Renewable resources only below regeneration capacity

•Renouncing any further growth of consumption and production due to the status quo of intergenerational justice

•No growth; sufficiency and efficiency at the individual and political level

•Rather metaphorical character

•Achievement of intragenerational justice only through a drastic redistribution of worldwide wealth

three P’s of sustainability

profit, planet, people

idea of the three pillars “economic, ecological and social responsibility”

•to make sustainable development more comprehensible and manageable at the company level

economic pilar (profit)

businesses generate profits to be sunstainable in an economic sense

Ecological pillar (planet)

focusing on issues such as achieveing resource efficiency

social pillar (people)

covers topics such as social justice and equal opportunity

the triple bottom lime

•breaks sustainable development down into an economic, an ecological and a social pillar.

the categorical imperative

a central concept of kanrian deontoloical moral philosophy used to evaluate motives for action

categorical imperative 1st formulation

act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law

example of deception- categorical imperative

according to kant, lying and deception under all circumstances are forbidden. Because if lying were to become a universal action, trust would no longer exist

Rawls theory of justice

attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and addresses the problem of distributive justice

Rawl’s veil of ignroance

a thought experiment where individuals are asked to imagine designing a society without knowing their own social position, such as their wealth, race, gender, or abilities, forcing them to create a system that is fair and just for everyone, as they could potentially end up in any position within that society.

purpose of the veil of ignorance

By obscuring personal details, the veil of ignorance encourages people to consider the needs of all members of society equally when making decisions about societal structures and policies. 

veil of ignroance image example

structural reasons for corporate responsibility for sustainability

Multinational corporations can act beyond the boundaries of individual nation states

reasons for structural reasons for corporate responsibility for sustainability

advances inforamtion and communication technology, extensive transport infrastructure, necessary capital, increased flexibility

negative rights

oare passive rights:

○The always need to be respected and never violated

positive rights

oare active rights:

○They usually require collective duties

○They require measures which lie beyond the sphere of influence of single actors

according to rawls, positive rights

o should be improved especially in burdened societies to improve their welfare

decoupling through three basic sustainability strategies

○Eco-efficiency

○Eco-effectiveness

○Sufficiency

general approach of eco-efficiency

●Aims for relative improvements through quantitative reduction of resources and emissions

cradle to grave principal

refers to the full lifecycle of a product or material, from its creation (cradle) to its disposal or end-of-life management (grave), emphasizing responsible management throughou

which factor of IPAT equation eco efficiency

tehcnology

Eco-efficiency improvements usually based on existing technologies, not on radically new innovations

eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness

general approach of eco-effectiveness

●Aims at an absolute decoupling of economic development from environmental impact

●Goal of qualitative change in material flows through a fundamental structural change towards closed cycles

cradle to cradle principle

a design philosophy that aims to eliminate waste by reusing and recycling materials. The principles are based on natural systems, where there is no concept of waste

biological loops

○Production of biological materials with subsequent processing into goods; after consumption, recycling as biological waste products in the biosphere

techological loops

○closing the loop through technological processes; considers the recyclability of materials in the first stages of products

industrial symbiosis

Companies work collaboratively together; residual products or by-products of one company become input for other companies

drawbacks of eco-effectiveness

●Provides an opportunity to fully decouple growth and development from environmental impacts

●Also, recyclable materials have a limited lifespan

●Significant technological and organisational complexity

●Eco-effectiveness often involves radically new innovations: high degree of unpredictability

general approach of sufficiency

aims for appropriate levels and forms of consumption

sufficicency in the sense of qualatative change

●Adjustment of needs or a substitution of non-sustainable by sustainable forms of consumption

which part of IPAT does sufficicnecy influence

●affluence factor via the aspiration level of consumption

●Reduction or behavioural change in consumption

absolute resource savings through quantitative reduction

●Downgrading the individual level of aspiration

classification of sufficiency approaches

absolute decoupling

achieving economic growth while simultaneously reducing resource consumption and environmental impacts in absolute terms

the rebound effect

describes situations of stagnation or increasing overall impacts desipte increased eco-efficiency, eco-effectiveness, or sufficiency

example of the rebound effect

Original Volkswagen Beetle and New Beetle consume about the same amount of fuel; overall consumption has not been reduced, improved efficiency used to improve comfort and safety