Sustainability Exam 1

UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)

A set of goals set by the UN to promote peace and prosperity for people and the planet

1. No Poverty

2. Zero Hunger

3. Good Health & Well-being

4. Quality Education

5. Gender Equality

6. Clean Water & Sanitation

7. Affordable & Clean Energy

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

10. Reduced Inequalities

11. Sustainable Cities & Communities

12. Responsible Consumption and Production

13. Climate Action

14. Life Below Water

15. Life on Land

16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

17. Partnerships for the Goals

---> build a global partnership for sustainable development to improve human lives and protect the environment

Sustainability

Social Impact

- organizational interventions designed to impact a significant social issue

Social Innovation

- Design or reconfiguration of existing social and organizational processes for social impact

Social Enterprise

- organizations that are revenue generating to sustain initiatives designed for social impact or social innovation

Sustainable Development

"sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Bruntland Report

- our common future

- defined sustainable development

- importance of the interlinkages between the economy and its dependence on natural resource systems as well as a sense of stewardship for the future and the environment

Critical Global Environmental Problems

- non-sustainable consumption & production of the Global North

- enormous poverty in the Global South

Triple Bottom Line

private sector response to critical environmental problems and climate change

3 pillars:

- Profit = economic gain

- People = Social Effects

- Planet = Environmental Quality

Rutgers Climate Action

1. Awareness

2. Policy Awareness / Influence

3. Accountability

"aims to mobilize Rutgers' academic, operational, and economic capacities to advance just, equitable climate solutions"

Complex Organization

Perrow 1993, 2006

- organizations are the key phenomena of the 20th & 21st century

- organizations are the path through which economic & social goals are achieved

3 Theories:

- Institutional Theory

- Stakeholder Theory

- CCO Theory

Organizational Sectors

Major Sectors

1. Private

- owned by founders or investors, as in widely-held corporations

- privately held

- publicly held

- small businesses to multinationals

- start-ups

2. Public

- owned by government, for example agencies and ministries

- Local

- State

- Federal

- Elected Officials

- Appointed Officials

- Staffers

3. Plural

- owned by members, as in cooperatives, or by no-one

- NPOs

- NGOs

- Social Enterprises

- Professional Associations

- Unions

- Cooperatives

- Foundations

Just Transitions

Considers CSR

Been around since the 80s to protect workers in trade unions from water and air pollution

Recently: focused on meeting CLIMATE GOALS by pivoting the whole of society to a net-zero future

International Labour Organization (ILO) = greening the economy, no one gets left behind

- redistribute resources and power to local communities

Just Capital

Considers CSR

defined by the priorities of the public; business and markets = force for greater good, driving competition to build a better future for all

Rank Companies on these dimensions:

1. Workers

2. Communities

3. Customers

4. Shareholders & Governance

5. Environment

Founded by billionaires interested in business and finance in 2014

Planetary Boundaries

Earth's Carrying Capacity

9 Categories:

- Climate Change

- Atmospheric aerosol loading

- Stratospheric ozone depletion

- Ocean acidification

- Freshwater change

- Land use change

- Biosphere integrity

- Biogeochemical flows

- Novel entities

Triple Planetary Crisis

1. Climate Change

- most pressing issue

- long-term shifts in temperature & weather patterns

- completely alter ecosystems

2. Pollution (Air)

- largest cause of disease and premature death

caused by traffic, factories, wildfires, volcanoes, mold

3. Biodiversity Loss

- decline/disappearance of biological diversity --> animals, plants, ecosystem

- biodiversity = baseline for everything on the planet; everything is interlinked

Quercus Cooperage

Industry & regional ecosystems

Actions impact NY's Hudson Valley

- Industry -->regional impact in industry innovation and infrastructure SDG

- Organization --> community partnerships, stakeholder relationships, partnerships for the goals

- Environmental benefits

- job/careers = good econ and decent work

- education/training = decent work/ industry/ transferable skills

Stakeholder Theory

a moral framework for organizations & management centered around Cooperation and Collaboration

Dimensions (3)

- Economic

- Legal

- Ethical