Navigating the social dimension of sustainability decision making of mega-projects

Until recently, sustainable development was perceived as essentially an environmental issue, relating to the integration of environmental concerns into economic decision-making. As a result, environmental considerations have been the primary focus of sustainability decision making during the economic development process for major projects, and the assessment and preservation of social and cultural systems has been arguably too limited. The practice of social impact and sustainability assessment is an established and accepted part of project planning, however, these practices are not aimed at delivering sustainability outcomes for social systems, rather they are designed to minimise ‘unsustainability’ and contribute to project approval. Currently, there exists no widely recognised standard approach for assessing social sustainability and accounting for positive externalities of existing social systems in project decision making. As a result, very different approaches are applied around the world, and even by the same organisations from one project to another. This situation is an impediment not only to generating a shared understanding of the social implications as related to major projects, but more importantly, to identifying common approaches to help improve social sustainability outcomes of proposed activities. This paper discusses the social dimension of sustainability decision making of mega-projects, and argues that to improve accountability and transparency of project outcomes it is important to understand the characteristics that make some communities more vulnerable than others to mega-project development. This paper highlights issues with current operational level approaches to social sustainability assessment at the project level, and asserts that the starting point for project planning and sustainability decision making of mega-projects needs to include the preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of existing social and cultural systems. It draws attention to the need for a scoping mechanism to systematically assess community vulnerability (or sensitivity) to major infrastructure development during the feasibility and planning stages of a project.

Environmental and social supply chain management sustainability practices: construct development and measurement

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and operationalise the concept of supply chain management sustainability practices. Based on a multi-stage procedure involving a literature review, expert Q-sort and pre-test process, pilot test and survey of 156 supply chain directors and managers in Ireland, we develop a multidimensional conceptualisation and measure of social and environmental supply chain management sustainability practices. The research findings show theoretically sound constructs based on four underlying sustainable supply chain management practices: monitoring, implementing systems, new product and process development and strategy redefinition. A two-factor model is then identified as the most reliable: comprising process-based and market-based practices.

Putting the S-word back into Sustainability: Can we be more social?

In an era dominated by climate change debate and environmentalism there is a real danger that the important ‘social’ pillar of sustainability drops out of our vocabulary. This can happen at a variety of scales from business level through to building and neighbourhood level regeneration and development. Social sustainability should be at the heart of all housing and mixed-use development but for a variety of reasons tends to be frequently underplayed. The recent English city riots have brought this point back sharply into focus. The relationships between people, places and the local economy all matter and this is as true today as it was in the late 19th century when Patrick Geddes, the great pioneering town planner and ecologist, wrote of ‘place-work-folk’. This paper, commissioned from Tim Dixon, explains what is meant by social sustainability (and how it is linked to concepts such as social capital and social cohesion); why the debate matters during a period when ‘localism’ is dominating political debate; and what is inhibiting its growth and its measurement. The paper reviews best practice in post-occupancy social sustainability metric systems, based on recent research undertaken by the author on Dockside Green in Vancouver, and identifi es some of the key operational issues in mainstreaming the concept within major mixed-use projects. The paper concludes by offering a framework for the key challenges faced in setting strategic corporate goals and objectives; prioritising and selecting the most appropriate investments; and measuring social sustainability performance by identifying the required data sources

Sustainability in post disaster road infrastructure recovery projects in Queensland, Australia

between mid 2010 and early 2011, Queensland road related infrastructures were devastated by flood and cyclone related natural disasters. Responding to these recent events and in preparing for more regular and intense climate-change induced events in future, the Queensland Government is now reviewing how post-disaster road infrastructure recovery projects are planned and delivered. In particular, there is awareness that rebuilding such infrastructure need sustainable strategies across economic, environmental and social dimensions. A comprehensive sustainability assessment framework for pre and post disaster situations can minimize negative impact on our communities, economy and environment. This research is underway to develop a comprehensive sustainability element frame work for post disaster management in road infrastructures in Queensland, Australia. Analyzing the implications of disruption to transport network and associated services is an important part of preparing local and regional responses to the impacts of natural disasters. This research can contribute to strategic planning, management leading to safe, efficient and integrated transport system that supports sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes in Queensland. Within this context, this paper provides an overview of the qualitative mixed-method research approach involving literature reviews and case studies to explore and evaluate a number of sustainability elements with a view to develop operational strategies for disaster recovery road projects.

Sustainability in post disaster road infrastructure recovery projects in Queensland, Australia

Between mid 2010 and early 2013, Queensland road related infrastructures were devastated by flood and cyclone related natural disasters. Responding to these recent events and in preparing for more regular and intense climate-change induced events in future, the Queensland Government is now reviewing how post-disaster road infrastructure recovery projects are planned and delivered. In particular, there is awareness that rebuilding such infrastructure need sustainable strategies across economic, environmental and social dimensions. A comprehensive sustainability assessment framework for pre and post disaster situations can minimize negative impact on our communities, economy and environment. This research is underway to develop a comprehensive sustainability element frame work for post disaster management in road infrastructures in Queensland, Australia. Analyzing the implications of disruption to transport network and associated services is an important part of preparing local and regional responses to the impacts of natural disasters. This research can contribute to strategic planning, management leading to safe, efficient and integrated transport system that supports sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes in Queensland. Within this context, this paper provides an overview of the qualitative mixed-method research approach involving literature reviews and case studies to explore and evaluate a number of sustainability elements with a view to develop operational strategies for disaster recovery road projects.

Patterns of social capital associated with transit oriented development

In policy circles, transit oriented development (TOD) is believed to enhance social capital, however empirical evidence of this relationship is lacking. This research compares levels of social capital between TOD vs. non-TOD areas in Brisbane, Australia. Using a Two Step cluster analysis technique, three types of neighbourhood groupings were identified based on net employment density, net residential density, land use diversity, intersection density, and public transport accessibility: TODs, transit adjacent development (TADs) and traditional suburbs. Two dimensions of social capital were measured (trust and reciprocity, connections with neighbours) based on factor analysis of eight items representing elements of social capital. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify links between the distributions of the dimensions of social capital on areas defined as TODs, TADs, and traditional suburbs controlling for socio-demographics and environmental factors. Results show that individuals living in TODs had a significantly higher level of trust and reciprocity and connections with neighbours compared with residents of TADs. It appears that TODs may foster the development of social sustainability.

Megaprojects, Affected communities and sustainability decision making

Increasing scrutiny from the wider community is contributing to a shift towards the delivery and operation of major projects that meets and maintains the sustainability priorities of the community. This is especially significant for large economic projects which have a global track record of social benefit shortfalls, cost overruns, and underestimation of risks. Major industrial and infrastructure projects that cost more than US$1 billion are typically called mega-projects. Globally, investment in mega-projects has exceeded $10 trillion in the last ten years. With so many projects in the pipeline -and many taking place in emerging economies – the effectiveness of the sustainability decision making process is particularly important. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the existing sustainability decision making processes and strategies address the potential challenges facing communities affected by mega-projects. It highlights issues with current operational level approaches to social sustainability assessment at the project level, and argues that to improve accountability and transparency of project outcomes, positive externalities that flow from goods and services provided by the social and cultural systems of the community must be incorporated into decision making.

A Triple Bottom Line Planning Tool for Measuring Sustainability : A Systems Approach to Sustainability Using the Australian Dairy Industry as a Case Study

Sustainability is a key driver for decisions in the management and future development of organisations and industries. However, quantifying and comparing sustainability across the triple bottom line (TBL) of economy, environment and social impact, has been problematic. There is a need for a tool which can measure the complex interactions within and between the environmental, economic and social systems which affect the sustainability of an industry in a transparent, consistent and comparable way. The authors acknowledge that there are currently numerous ways in which sustainability is measured and multiple methodologies in how these measurement tools were designed. The purpose of this book is to showcase how Bayesian network modelling can be used to identify and measure environmental, economic and social sustainability variables and to understand their impact on and interaction with each other. This book introduces the Sustainability Scorecard, and describes it through a case study on sustainability of the Australian dairy industry. This study was conducted in collaboration with the Australian dairy industry.

Exploring how adults who work with young children conceptualise sustainability and describe their practice initiatives

The development of early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) practices with young children from birth to eight years is an emerging area in academic and professional literature. ECEfS practices reflect growing awareness of the imperative for twenty-first century societies to respond to the pressures of unsustainable patterns of living. This article contributes to the growing area of ECEfS research by exploring sustainability conceptualisations and practice initiatives as reported by early childhood teachers, educators, pre-service educators and parents in Tasmania. We do this by analysing data collected from participants who attended ECEfS professional learning workshops, entitled Living and learning about sustainability in the early years. Findings show that environmental (nature/natural) aspects of sustainability dominate these adults' practice initiatives and understandings. While many of the reported educational initiatives are to be celebrated, the authors contend that there is much work to be done to extend thinking and practice beyond the natural/environmental dimension in order to embrace holistic notions of sustainability incorporating social, economic and political dimensions.

Education for sustainability in construction management curricula

In response to the call for sustainability education in construction courses, higher education institutions have started to incorporate sustainability components into their construction courses to some extent. This research aims to investigate sustainability embedded in construction management (CM) courses using the Queensland University of Technology as a case study. A content analysis of its CM course structure, unit aims, learning objectives and lecture materials is conducted to examine the sustainability elements incorporated into the CM curriculum. The results show that the course incorporates sustainability components into the existing course structure mainly through horizontal integration, embedding sustainability into general units rather than as an add-on subject. Additionally, the sustainability topics embedded in the course cover a comparatively broad and balanced range of sustainability categories, i.e. background knowledge, policies and regulations, environmental issues, social issues and economic issues as well as technology and innovation, although social sustainability aspects need to be further strengthened. This research addresses the need for urgency in the development of an effective sustainability education framework for construction courses. It is expected that the findings from this study will facilitate the improvement of sustainability education in construction courses generally.

Enhancing information about sustainability features for sustainable housing delivery

Sustainability practices in government regulations and within the society influence the delivery of sustainable housing. The actual delivery rate of Australian sustain-able housing is not as high as other countries. There is an absence of engagement by stakeholders in adopting sustainable housing practices. This may be due, in the current Australian property market, to confusion as to what sustainability features should be considered, given the large range of environmental, economic and social sustainability options possible. One of the main problems appears to be that information demanders, especially real estate agents, valuers, insurance agents and mortgage lenders do not include sustainability perspectives in their advice or in their decision processes. Information distribution in the Australian property market is flawed, resulting in a lack of return-on-investment value of ‘green’ features implemented by some stakeholders. This paper reviewed the global sustainable development concept and Australian sustainable assessment methods. This review identified the possibility of a research project which aimed at identifying and integrating different perceptions and priority needs of the information demanders, for developing a model for the potential implementation of sustainability features distribution in the property industry. This research will reduce confusion on the sustainability-related information which can influence the decision making of stakeholders in the supply and demand of sustainable housing.

Responsabilidad social empresarial en el Grupo Éxito

El Grupo Éxito es una empresa destacada por sus logros en materia de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE), la cual cuenta con 5 pilares en los que explica detalladamente los objetivos y logros alcanzados por la compañía en esta materia. Por otro lado nos encontramos con la Guía ISO 26000, la cual explica, por medio de 7 materias fundamentales, los puntos más importantes de la Responsabilidad Social en todos los ámbitos de una organización en busca de la sostenibilidad. A medida que se conectan las ideas extraídas del Grupo Éxito y de la guía ISO 26000, se denotan similitudes y patrones que llevan a una compañía a ser responsable con el medio ambiente, los derechos humanos, sus formas de trabajo, la sociedad afectada o excluida de sus actividades y sus acciones con respecto al impacto causado dentro y fuera de la organización. Al final se encuentran las ideas para responder todas las preguntas necesarias para que una empresa como el Grupo Éxito sea un ejemplo de RSE y se obtiene como conclusión a una organización responsable en el camino de la sostenibilidad.

Globalization and new policy concerns: the WTO and the EU's sustainability criteria for biofuels

The transfer of some decision-making authority from the domestic to the supranational arena as a result of the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 potentially changed domestic policy dynamics. The WTO agreements reflect the trade policy concerns addressed in the Uruguay Round in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This article applies and adapts historical institutionalism to explain how international organizations may constrain and facilitate certain domestic policy options. It demonstrates that, while the WTO legal framework has become more receptive of environmental sustainability concerns, the social sustainability concerns that were increasingly entering the debate over biofuel policies were not easily accommodated, and this was seen as a constraint on the content of the European Union’s (EU) policy adopted in 2009. Only the environmental dimension of a broader concept of sustainability was included in the policy design.

Reengenharia social: reconstruindo o BOP em novas bases sociais

Esta pesquisa propõe um modelo teórico chamado de Reengenharia Social onde os quatro atores governo, sociedade civil, academia e empresas atuam de forma interconectada com o objetivo de promover o inferior da pirâmide para o topo. Considerou-se os conceitos de Responsabilidade Social Corporativa, Sustentabilidade e Estratégia voltados para os países em desenvolvimento sob um novo olhar para o BOP: como mercado produtivo. O modelo retrata o processo através do qual os quatro atores atuam num ciclo virtuoso com oportunidades para o inferior da pirâmide com benefícios mútuos, sugerindo como consequência a redução da pobreza. As implicações deste modelo são examinadas para futuras pesquisas no processo de redução da pobreza.