Delivering sustainability through the adaptive reuse of commercial buildings : the Melbourne CBD challenge

The City of Melbourne is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2020 (Arup 2008) and have set a target of adapting twelve hundred commercial buildings to incorporate sustainability initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector (AECOM 2008). In order to meet this target the City of Melbourne is taking a proactive approach to establish strategies to deliver sustainability in the built environment within the 2020 timeframe. With regards to upgrading and building maintenance 71% of investment is used for such works (Department of the Environment 2008) and the total Australian property stock was worth over $6 trillion in June 2008. Given that building services in commercial buildings typically lasts between 20-30 years and the average age of the stock is 31 years – it appears that many properties are due for adaptation and there is major opportunity for adaptation that alleviates the impact of global warming and climate change.

Uncertainty surfaces such as; how much adaptation of existing stock is typically undertaken? And is the target of 1200 adaptations before 2020 achievable? Furthermore how could the City identify which buildings are most probable to be adapted prior to 2020? This paper details the configuration of a database of Melbourne buildings populated with data about physical, social, economic legislative and environmental attributes. There is a discussion about how the database will be used to determine; how much adaptive reuse has been undertaken historically; if any triggers to adaptation can be identified; and whether any relationships between adaptation physical, social, economic, legislative and environmental attributes and adaptation exist. The relevance of this research is obvious to all policy makers where adaptation of existing commercial buildings is perceived a as key component of delivering sustainability.

Environmental sustainability change management in SMEs : learning from sustainability champions

This study identifies the change management processes involved in undertaking environmental sustainability (ES) initiatives within Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and relate these to the main attributes of learning organisations. Using case study techniques, the study draws from the change management experiences of a sample of 12 ES champions in different industries. The findings suggest that the ES champions experience four distinct change management stages in undertaking ES initiatives; namely the design, internalise, implement and evaluate stages. Each stage is also found to relate strongly with a number of key characteristics of learning organisations. Overall, the findings suggest that SMEs with strong learning organisation attributes are more likely to be successful in implementing and managing ES change initiatives. The implications of the findings are also discussed.

Fundacion Maquipucuna: an entrepreneurial Ecuadorian non-profit organisation

The purpose of this paper is to describe Fundacion Maquipucuna's community-based entrepreneurship activities. Fundacion Maquipucuna is a unique non-profit organisation in the Choco-Andes region of Ecuador. An ethnographic study and review of the literature is conducted to analyse the cacao, coffee, ecotourism and plastic thatch enterprises of Fundacion Maquipucuna. The enterprises Fundacion Maquipucuna is engaged in support the ongoing sustainability of the biodiverse ecological environment in the Choco-Andes region, which is one of the top five biodiverse hotspots in the world. On a global scale, more emphasis is being placed on promoting sustainability initiatives to preserve the environment. This paper discusses how a litre-government agency Fundacion Maquipucuna is changing from a non-profit to a for-profit structure in order to continue its community engagement projects. This paper integrates the social and community-based entrepreneurship literature to discuss how Fundacion Maquipucuna is engaging in innovative regional development that benefits the whole Choco-Andes community including the large Afro-Ecuadorian population.

The Sustainability and Evolution of Quality Improvement Programmes-an Australian Case Study

This paper presents a case study on the implementation of quality management programmes and initiatives in one manufacturing company in Australia, which has lasted for more than two decades. Using data collected through in-depth interviews, the case study describes how the company progressed from an earlier initiative based on quality control to the present initiatives that emphasize customer focus, product development, and innovation. Several important insights are drawn from the case study, including the importance of aligning the quality programmes or initiatives with a clear strategic focus. In addition, the commitment and leadership of senior management of the company has been demonstrated, particularly in the provision of resources and facilities to support the TQM programme, and also shown is how the company has been successful in maintaining its long-term commitment to quality management, which has led to an accumulation of various knowledge and competencies, which function as a valuable resource to sustain its business performance.

Producing a GIS based multiple criteria analysis tool for regional sustainability assessment: the problem of weighting

Decision support tools will be useful in guiding regions to sustainability. These need to be simple but effective at identifying, for regional managers, areas most in need of initiatives to progress sustainability. Multiple criteria analysis (MCA) is often used as a decision support tool for a wide range of applications. This method allows many criteria to be considered at one time. It does this by giving a ranking of possible options based on how closely each option meets the criteria. Thus, it is suited to the assessment of regional sustainability as it can consider a number of indicators simultaneously and demonstrates how sustainability can vary at small scales across the region. Coupling MCA with GIS to produce maps, allows this analysis to become visual giving the manager a picture of sustainability across the region. To do this each indicator is standardised to a common scale so that it can be compared to other indicators. A weighting is then applied to each indicator to calculate weighted summation for each area in the region. This paper argues that this is the critical step in developing a useful decision support tool. A study being conducted in south west Victoria demonstrates that the weights chosen can have a dramatic impact on the results of the sustainability assessment. It is therefore imperative that careful consideration be given to determining indicator weights in a way that is objective and fully considers the impact of that indicator on regional sustainability.

Developing business community portals for SMEs-Issues of design, development and sustainability

Governments worldwide are using funding initiatives to encourage small businesses to adopt e-commerce technology. In Australia both State and Federal Governments have encouraged e-commerce uptake through the funding of Internet portal developments that have a specific community or business focus. The success of such portals, as with many Web developments, has been mixed and there is little evidence of any evaluation of the effectiveness of such investments. This paper reports on research into an Australian B2B business community portal from launch to closure. A survey and in-depth interviews with portal participants were undertaken. The research sought to understand how the portal had been developed, and what factors may have contributed to its demise. The findings identified a number of factors, not discussed in the literature, that are important in portal development. These include: how the development process is undertaken; technological readiness of the small business owners; meeting business expectations; and understanding the business community stakeholders. The results from this study suggest that portal projects such as this are problematic and funding bodies such as governments need to understand the factors that contribute to success before funds are committed.

Enhancing patient engagement in chronic disease self-management support initiatives in Australia : the need for an integrated approach

♦ Although emphasis on the prevention of chronic disease is important, governments in Australia need to balance this with continued assistance to the 77% of Australians reported to have at least one long-term medical condition.

♦ Self-management support is provided by health care and community services to enhance patients’ ability to care for their chronic conditions in a cooperative framework.

♦ In Australia, there is a range of self-management support initiatives that have targeted patients (most notably, chronic disease self-management education programs) and health professionals (financial incentives, education and training).

♦ To date, there has been little coordination or integration of these self-management initiatives to enhance the patient–health professional clinical encounter.

♦ If self-management support is to work, there is a need to better understand the infrastructure, systems and training that are required to engage the key stakeholders — patients, carers, health professionals, and health care organisations.

♦ A coordinated approach is required in implementing these elements within existing and new health service models to enhance uptake and sustainability.

An index of regional sustainability : a GIS-based multiple criteria analysis decision support system for progressing sustainability

GIS (Geographical Information Systems) based decision support tools will be useful in helping guide regions to sustainability. These tools need to be simple but effective at identifying, for regional managers, areas most in need of initiatives to progress sustainability. Multiple criteria analysis (MCA) has been used as a decision support tool for a wide number of applications, as it provides a systematic framework for evaluating various options. It has the potential to be used as a tool for sustainability assessment, because it can bring together the sustainability criteria from all pillars, social, economic and environmental, to give an integrated assessment of sustainability. Furthermore, the use of GIS and MCA together is an emerging addition to conducting sustainability assessments. This paper further develops a sustainability assessment framework developed for the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority region of Victoria, Australia by providing a GIS-based decision support system for regional agencies. This tool uses multiple criteria analysis in a GIS framework to assess the sustainability of sub-catchments in the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment. The multiple criteria analysis based on economic, social and environmental indicators developed in previous stages of this project was used as the basis to build a model in ArcGIS1. The GIS-based multiple criteria analysis, called An Index of Regional Sustainability Spatial Decision Support System (AIRS SDSS),
produced maps showing sub-catchment sustainability, and environmental, social and economic condition. As a result, this tool is able to highlight those sub-catchments most in need of assistance with achieving sustainability. It will also be a valuable tool for evaluation and monitoring of strategies for sustainability. This paper shows the usefulness of GIS-based multiple criteria analysis to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of sustainability at the regional to sub-catchment scale.

Corporate sustainability : greenwash or a path to sustainable capitalism?

The problems of unsustainable development and the increased-awareness of corporate power in the global era have contributed to an agenda of corporate citizenship. This thesis explores the meanings and practices that fall under the banner of the triple bottom line of corporate citizenship through forty-two in-depth interviews with representatives from the corporate sector and NGO sector (including trade unions) in Australia. This purposive sample includes a specific range of corporate industries and NGO types, all of which have involvement with various areas of sustainability. Interviewees described their feelings and experiences in relation to the concept of the triple bottom line, the potential and limitations of this type of sustainability and the purpose and impacts of partnerships between NGOs and the corporate sector. On the basis of this research, this thesis argues that corporate citizenship is at best, a set of initiatives for making minor adjustments to the way companies perform their day-to-day operations and at worst, a program for improving corporate image rather than performance and for shifting the agenda of sustainable development toward corporate interests. While radical steps are required to achieve a sustainable society and environment, the terms of corporate citizenship offer very limited opportunities for change. The self-regulatory and market based model of citizenship does not challenge the impact of consumerism or the legitimacy of particular industry types and their products, except where threats are perceived to the longevity of the companies involved. Furthermore, while the exploitation of the environment and society has occurred as a result of corporate self-interest, corporate citizenship is justified on the same basis. The self-interest rationale and the tyranny of the economic bottom line in particular, substantially limit the fields of responsibility that can be included in the citizenship paradigm. While there are undoubtedly some well-intentioned corporate representatives who are working toward attaining a more sustainable corporate culture, the discourse is primarily used to shift the sustainable development agenda toward corporate paradigms and interests.

Acceptability, impact and sustainability of the national pilot quality assurance system for self management programs

Chronic condition self-management education and training interventions such as the Stanford Self Management Programs (SMP) have the capacity to improve health and quality of life of people with chronic conditions whilst reducing the use of health services. This is in line with the outcomes from the recent Council of Australian Governments’ meeting where it was indicated that self-management will be a centrepiece in forthcoming chronic disease initiatives.
Aim: report on a large national pilot quality assurance program involving the implementation and of an evaluation and quality monitoring system for SMPs including the provision of structured feedback to courses course leaders and service providers. During 2005/06 the quality assurance program was implemented at 11 diverse organisations across Australia. The program involved assisting organisations apply the 42-item Health Education Impact Questionnaire (HEIQ), a chronic disease health education outcome measure, and then observe and evaluate the value and impact of the quality program. Interviews with course leaders (n=60) and course participants (n=35) have elicited views about course quality and feedback processes.
Results: The evaluation revealed enablers and barriers to effective implementation and sustainability. Important enablers were:
- Course Leaders and organisations valued an Australia-wide system that provided feedback on course
quality and the impact on participants.
- Course Leaders were strongly personally motivated to respond appropriately to HEI-Q course
report feedback.
- Completing the questionnaire provided participants with the opportunity to reflect on issues that
emerge in the course content and reflect on their progression at the end of the SSMP.
Sustainability issues included:
- Organisations and course leaders require support, training and flexibility on how to administer and
manage the use of the HEI-Q.
- Availability of administrative resources in organisations to support the quality assurance activities.
- The requirement that course leaders are trained in interpreting HEI-Q course report data.
A quality improvement framework was developed which identified the actions required of key stakeholders to
support effective implementation.
Discussion: With the increasing endorsement of SMP across sectors it is important that course quality is known, is acceptable, and is communicated to stakeholders to inform and engender confidence in the SSMP. To effectively implement and sustain a quality improvement program for SMP, the processes and tools for measuring outcomes need to be responsive, flexible and easily integrated into the organisation and delivery of programs.

Community resilience, climate change, sustainability & engagement : adventures in creative project-based education on the Eyre Peninsula

Teaching sustainability ethics and creative practical technological applications holistically, in a multi-disciplinary ethos, with real community engagement is fraught with pedagogical and logistical issues. This paper reviews a highly community-acclaimed tertiary course/project, offered at the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design at the University of Adelaide, undertaken on the Eyre Peninsula in 1st semester 2009. The course successfully enhanced student appreciation of rural community capacity building and economic fragility issues while undertaking a project-based approach to interrogating and working with rural communities to devise and demonstrate potential micro-relevant design and planning initiatives that could strengthen community resilience, climate change adaptiveness, and validate natural resource management aims within townships. The project involved some 120 students in 6 host communities through 6 local municipalities with the full support of the Natural Resource Management (NRM) Board and Local Government Association (LGA).

The paper reviews the project, its historical evolution, aims, objectives, learning strategies, community aspirations and outcomes, and positions such against various professional education accreditation frameworks. The methodological learning process, including its philosophical, pedagogical and instruments outcomes are reviewed and interrogated. The student learning outcomes, University reputation impact, and community impact, professional practice knowledge and skill attributes, and instrumental outcomes are also reviewed drawing upon evidence derived from extensive meetings, questionnaire surveys, synergistic NRM-sponsored research projects, student evaluation of teachings (SELTS), and local media coverage of the project.

The project has received applause from the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), and preliminary endorsement from the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), as being integral to the School’s curriculum that achieves their professional accreditation expectations of key learning experiences relevant to climate change, master planning and design, and community engagement. The project offers a possible educational model that enriches student experience and learning and addresses recent generic university community engagement policy expectations.

Sustainable funding of health initiatives in Wonju, Republic of Korea via a tobacco consumption tax

Wonju is the first municipality in the Republic of Korea to fund the Healthy City project through municipal revenues from the local tobacco consumption tax. We investigated the process of the local tobacco consumption tax being approved as the main source of financing for the local Healthy City project. We also examined the sustainability and sufficiency of the funding by looking at the pricing policies instituted for cigarettes, smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption and revenues from local tobacco consumption as well as the budgetary allocations among programs in the city. The strong initiative of the mayor of Wonju was one of the factors that enabled the earmarking of the local tobacco consumption tax for the Healthy City Wonju project. He consulted academic counselors and persuaded the municipal government and the City Council to approve the bill. Despite the increasing price of cigarettes in Korea, adequate funding can be sustained to cover the short-term and mid-term programs in Wonju for at least 5 years of the mayor's term, because the smoking rate is persistently high. Analyzing the effects of strong leadership on the part of local authorities and the balance between revenues from the tobacco tax and the prevalence of smoking in the face of anti-smoking policies would be helpful for other countries and communities interested in developing sustainable Healthy Cities projects.

Is the grass greener on the other side? a review of the Asia-Pacific sport industry’s environmental sustainability practices

In recent years, sport entities have begun to prioritise environmental sustainability (ES) initiatives in their business strategies with the aim of minimising their environmental impact and engaging stakeholders within the ES movement. There has been minimal academic consideration of the ES movement in professional sport, particularly outside of North America and Europe. The aim of the present study is to provide an overview of the type and profile of ES initiatives being undertaken and communicated to stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region by the industry bodies. Further, the study offers a conceptual model of the global-, country-, industry- and organisational-level forces impacting these sporting organisations’ ES practices. Various communication mediums of 114 professional sport teams from seven countries—Australia, India, New Zealand, Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea—were evaluated using content analysis. The results reveal low communication of ES practices by professional sport teams in the Asia-Pacific region compared to North America. Extended findings on the existing global profile of ES engagement provide a descriptive understanding of the ES movement in the Asia-Pacific region, and contribute to the identification of possible antecedents and correlatives to be evaluated in future research.