Bank efficiency in Brazil: the importance for economic sustainability

Studies on efficiency achieved greater relevance in organisations within an open market framework, which in Brazil began around 1990. The objective of this paper, applying the data envelopment analysis methodology, is to analyse the efficiency of banks operating in the country using the database termed 'the biggest banks', periodically divulged by the Central Bank of Brazil in 2010-2012. The methodology was applied to the 26 largest banking organisations via two approaches, one was financial intermediation and the other was results. In the financial intermediation approach, the efficiency increase was the highest among banks specialised in credit from 2010 to 2012. Retail banks, especially the large ones, felt most intensely the reaction of 2011, a year considered as the sector's low performance year. In the results approach, the efficiency increase was higher among retail banks. Factors such as retractions in the SELIC rate and bank spreads impacted all banks, regardless of the segment.

Management of Port Solid Waste Framework

One of contemporary environmental issues refers to progressive and diverse generation of solid waste in urban areas or specific, and requires solutions because the traditional methods of treatment and disposal are becoming unviable over the years and, consequently, a significant contingent of these wastes presents final destination inappropriate. The diversity of solid waste generated as a result of human activities must have the appropriate allocation to specific legislation in force, such as landfill, incineration, among other procedures established by the competent bodies. Thus, also the waste generated in port activities or proceeding vessels require classification and segregation for proper disposal later. This article aims at presenting a methodology for the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of solid waste port and also application of automation technology that makes possible the implementation of the same.

Biofuels Sustainability Certification Schemes: Challenges, Feasibility and Possible Approaches

The focus of this research is to develop and apply an analytical framework for evaluating the effectiveness and practicability of sustainability certification schemes for biofuels, especially in a developing country’s perspective. The main question that drives the research analysis is “Which are the main elements of and how to develop sustainability certification schemes that would be effective and practicable in certifying the contribution of biofuels in meeting the goals Governments and other stakeholders have set up?”. Biofuels have been identified as a promising tool to reach a variety of goals: climate change protection, energy security, agriculture development, and, especially in developing countries, economic development. Once the goals have been identified, and ambitious mandatory targets for biofuels use agreed at national level, concerns have been raised by the scientific community on the negative externalities that biofuels production and use can have at environment, social and economic level. Therefore certification schemes have been recognized as necessary processes to measure these externalities, and examples of such schemes are in effect, or are in a negotiating phase, both at mandatory and voluntary levels. The research focus has emerged by the concern that the ongoing examples are very demanding in terms of compliance, both for those that are subject to certification and those that have to certify, on the quantity and quality of information to be reported. A certification system, for reasons linked to costs, lack of expertise, inadequate infrastructure, absence of an administrative and legislative support, can represent an intensive burden and can act as a serious impediment for the industrial and agriculture development of developing countries, going against the principle of equity and level playing field. While this research recognizes the importance of comprehensiveness and ambition in designing an important tool for the measurement of sustainability effects of biofuels production and use, it stresses the need to focus on the effectiveness and practicability of this tool in measuring the compliance with the goal. This research that falls under the rationale of the Sustainability Science Program housed at Harvard Kennedy School, has as main objective to close the gap between the research and policy makers worlds in the field of sustainability certification schemes for biofuels.

Urban food planning, city logistics and sustainability: the role of the wholesale produce market. The cases of Parma and Bologna food hubs.

At global level, the population is increasingly concentrating in the cities. In Europe, around 75% of the population lives in urban areas and, according to the European Environmental Agency (2010), urban population is foreseen to increase up to 80 % by 2020. At the same time, the quality of life in the cities is declining and urban pollution keeps increasing in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, waste, noise, and lack of greenery. Many of European cities struggle to cope with social, economic and environmental problems resulting from pressures such as overcrowding or decline, social inequity, health problems related to food security and pollution. Nowadays local authorities try to solve these problems related to the environmental sustainability through various urban logistics measures, which directly and indirectly affect the urban food supply system, thus an integrated approach including freight transport and food provisioning policies issues is needed. This research centres on the urban food transport system and its impact on the city environmental sustainability. The main question that drives the research analysis is "How the urban food distribution system affects the ecological sustainability in modern cities?" The research analyses the city logistics project for food transport implemented in Parma, Italy, by the wholesale produce market. The case study investigates the renewed role of the wholesale market in the urban food supply chain as commercial and logistic operator, referring to the concept of food hub. Then, a preliminary analysis on the urban food transport for the city of Bologna is presented. The research aims at suggesting a methodological framework to estimate the urban food demand, the urban food supply and to assess the urban food transport performance, in order to identify external costs indicators that help policymakers in evaluating the environmental sustainability of different logistics measures

Institutional Processes and Discursive Strategies: Rhetoric and Vocabulary Analysis of CSR and Sustainability

The candidate tackled an important issue in contemporary management: the role of CSR and Sustainability. The research proposal focused on a longitudinal and inductive research, directed to specify the evolution of CSR and contribute to the new institutional theory, in particular institutional work framework, and to the relation between institutions and discourse analysis. The documental analysis covers all the evolution of CSR, focusing also on a number of important networks and associations. Some of the methodologies employed in the thesis have been employed as a consequence of data analysis, in a truly inductive research process. The thesis is composed by two section. The first section mainly describes the research process and the analyses results. The candidates employed several research methods: a longitudinal content analysis of documents, a vocabulary research with statistical metrics as cluster analysis and factor analysis, a rhetorical analysis of justifications. The second section puts in relation the analysis results with theoretical frameworks and contributions. The candidate confronted with several frameworks: Actor-Network-Theory, Institutional work and Boundary Work, Institutional Logic. Chapters are focused on different issues: a historical reconstruction of CSR; a reflection about symbolic adoption of recurrent labels; two case studies of Italian networks, in order to confront institutional and boundary works; a theoretical model of institutional change based on contradiction and institutional complexity; the application of the model to CSR and Sustainability, proposing Sustainability as a possible institutional logic.

Engineering in Transition. Approaches, strategies and technologies for implementing system innovation towards sustainability

With the aim to provide people with sustainable options, engineers are ethically required to hold the safety, health and welfare of the public paramount and to satisfy society's need for sustainable development. The global crisis and related sustainability challenges are calling for a fundamental change in culture, structures and practices. Sustainability Transitions (ST) have been recognized as promising frameworks for radical system innovation towards sustainability. In order to enhance the effectiveness of transformative processes, both the adoption of a transdisciplinary approach and the experimentation of practices are crucial. The evolution of approaches towards ST provides a series of inspiring cases which allow to identify advances in making sustainability transitions happen. In this framework, the thesis has emphasized the role of Transition Engineering (TE). TE adopts a transdisciplinary approach for engineering to face the sustainability challenges and address the risks of un-sustainability. With this purpose, a definition of Transition Technologies is provided as a valid instruments to contribute to ST. In the empirical section, several transition initiatives have been analysed especially at the urban level. As a consequence, the model of living-lab of sustainability has crucially emerged. Living-labs are environments in which innovative technologies and services are co-created with users active participation. In this framework, university can play a key role as learning organization. The core of the thesis has concerned the experimental application of transition approach within the School of Engineering and Architecture of University of Bologna at Terracini Campus. The final vision is to realize a living-lab of sustainability. Particularly, a Transition Team has been established and several transition experiments have been conducted. The final result is not only the improvement of sustainability and resilience of the Terracini Campus, but the demonstration that university can generate solutions and strategies that tackle the complex, dynamic factors fuelling the global crisis.

Recycling the city: a sustainable planning framework to reduce, reuse and recycle urban residual spaces

Cities are key locations where Sustainability needs to be addressed at all levels, as land is a finite resource. However, not all urban spaces are exploited at best, and land developers often evaluate unused, misused, or poorly-designed urban portions as impracticable constraints. Further, public authorities lose the challenge to enable and turn these urban spaces into valuable opportunities where Sustainable Urban Development may flourish. Arguing that these spatial elements are at the centre of SUD, the paper elaborates a prototype in the form of a conceptual strategic planning framework, committed to an effective recycling of the city spaces using a flexible and multidisciplinary approach. Firstly, the research focuses upon a broad review of Sustainability literature, highlighting established principles and guidelines, building a sound theoretical base for the new concept. Hence, it investigates origins, identifies and congruently suggests a definition, characterisation and classification for urban “R-Spaces”. Secondly, formal, informal and temporary fitting functions are analysed and inserted into a portfolio meant to enhance adaptability and enlarge the choices for the on-site interventions. Thirdly, the study outlines ideal quality requirements for a sustainable planning process. Then, findings are condensed in the proposal, which is articulated in the individuation of tools, actors, plans, processes and strategies. Afterwards, the prototype is tested upon case studies: Solar Community (Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna) and Hyllie Sustainable City Project, the latter developed via an international workshop (ACSI-Camp, Malmö, Sweden). Besides, the qualitative results suggest, inter alia, the need to right-size spatial interventions, separate structural and operative actors, involve synergies’ multipliers and intermediaries (e.g. entrepreneurial HUBs, innovation agencies, cluster organisations…), maintain stakeholders’ diversity and create a circular process open for new participants. Finally, the paper speculates upon a transfer of the Swedish case study to Italy, and then indicates desirable future researches to favour the prototype implementation.

Study design, baseline patient characteristics and intervention in a cross-cultural framework: results from the ADORE study

OBJECTIVE : To describe the methodology and to present the baseline findings of the Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder Observational Research in Europe (ADORE) study, the primary objective of which is to describe the relationship between treatment regimen prescribed and quality of life of children with ADHD in actual practice. METHODS : In this 2-year prospective observational study, data on diagnosis, prescribed treatment and outcomes of ADHD were collected at seven time points by paediatricians and child psychiatrists on 1,573 children recruited in 10 European countries. The data presented here from the 1,478 patients included in the analyses describe the baseline condition, initial treatment regimen prescribed and quality of life of families with children with ADHD. RESULTS : Patients had a mean age of 9.0 years (SD 2.5) and 84% were male. Physicians diagnoses were made using DSM-IV (43 %), ICD-10 (32%) and both DSM-IV and ICD-10 (12 %). Mean age of awareness of a problem was 5.1 years, suggesting an average delay of approximately 4 years between awareness and diagnosis of ADHD. Baseline ADHD rating scale scores (physicianrated) indicated moderate to severe ADHD. Parent-rated SDQ scores were in agreement and suggested significant levels of co-existing problems. CGI-S, CGAS and CHIPCE scores also indicated significant impairment. Patients were offered the following treatments after the initial assessment: pharmacotherapy (25 %), psychotherapy (19 %), combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy (25 %), other therapy (10 %) and no treatment (21 %). CONCLUSION : The ADORE study shows that ADHD is similarly recognised across 10 European countries and that the children are significantly impaired across a wide range of domains. In this respect, they resemble children described in previous ADHD samples.

Economic sustainability of the Flambeau Mine Ladysmith, Wisconsin

Today sustainable development is a very pertinent issue. Communities do not want companies, specifically mining companies, to deplete a natural resource and leave. The goal is to minimize the negative impacts of mining and the boom/bust cycles of natural resource extraction. In this study a three part framework was developed to analyze the sustainability of the Flambeau Mine in Ladysmith, Wisconsin. The first and second part dealt with an in-depth local and regional analysis and whether the community was developing within its own vision. The third part used nine sustainability measures including: 1. Need Present Generation 2. Future Need 3. Acceptable Legacy 4. Full-Cost 5. Contribution to Economic Development 6. Equity 7. Consent 8. Respect for Ecological Limits, Maintenance of Ecological Integrity and Landscape Requirements 9. Offsetting Restoration This study concluded that the Flambeau Mine was sustainable relative to the first two criteria and that it can be considered mostly sustainable relative to the nine criteria. Overall it can be stated that the Flambeau Mine was a beneficial project to the Ladysmith Wisconsin area. Additionally it appeared to decrease the public’s negative perception of mining. Recommendations for future analytical work are made. Suggestions are made as to how mining companies could increase the potential for the attainment of sustainability in projects. It is recommended that this framework be used by other industries.

Community managed rural water supply systems in the Dominican Republic : assessment of sustainability of systems built by the National Institute of Potable Water and Peace Corps, Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic economic growth in the past twenty years has not yielded sufficient improvement in access to drinking water services, especially in rural areas where 1.5 million people do not have access to an improved water source (WHO, 2006). Worldwide, strategic development planning in the rural water sector has focused on participatory processes and the use of demand filters to ensure that service levels match community commitment to post-project operation and maintenance. However studies have concluded that an alarmingly high percentage of drinking water systems (20-50%) do not provide service at the design levels and/or fail altogether (up to 90%): BNWP (2009), Annis (2006), and Reents (2003). World Bank, USAID, NGOs, and private consultants have invested significant resources in an effort to determine what components make up an “enabling environment” for sustainable community management of rural water systems (RWS). Research has identified an array of critical factors, internal and external to the community, which affect long term sustainability of water services. Different frameworks have been proposed in order to better understand the linkages between individual factors and sustainability of service. This research proposes a Sustainability Analysis Tool to evaluate the sustainability of RWS, adapted from previous relevant work in the field to reflect the realities in the Dominican Republic. It can be used as a diagnostic tool for government entities and development organizations to characterize the needs of specific communities and identify weaknesses in existing training regimes or support mechanisms. The framework utilizes eight indicators in three categories (Organization/Management, Financial Administration, and Technical Service). Nineteen independent variables are measured resulting in a score of sustainability likely (SL), possible (SP), or unlikely (SU) for each of the eight indicators. Thresholds are based upon benchmarks from the DR and around the world, primary data collected during the research, and the author’s 32 months of field experience. A final sustainability score is calculated using weighting factors for each indicator, derived from Lockwood (2003). The framework was tested using a statistically representative geographically stratified random sample of 61 water systems built in the DR by initiatives of the National Institute of Potable Water (INAPA) and Peace Corps. The results concluded that 23% of sample systems are likely to be sustainable in the long term, 59% are possibly sustainable, and for 18% it is unlikely that the community will be able to overcome any significant challenge. Communities that were scored as unlikely sustainable perform poorly in participation, financial durability, and governance while the highest scores were for system function and repair service. The Sustainability Analysis Tool results are verified by INAPA and PC reports, evaluations, and database information, as well as, field observations and primary data collected during the surveys. Future research will analyze the nature and magnitude of relationships between key factors and the sustainability score defined by the tool. Factors include: gender participation, legal status of water committees, plumber/operator remuneration, demand responsiveness, post construction support methodologies, and project design criteria.

Business and Public–Private Partnerships for Sustainability: Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility?

This article analyses public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the field of sustainable development from an international relations perspective with insights from the business and ethics literature. We argue that the role of business in these types of arrangements has not been sufficiently explored. After presenting three ways of approaching PPPs to stress the many facets of partnerships across the public–private divide, we discuss the emergence of these novel forms of governance from a demand side and contrast such a functionalist reading with the supply side. Then we look at the micro-economic incentives for corporations to engage in such endeavours. We develop arguments derived from the dominant literature to provide an analytical framework for explaining business participation. Finally, we discuss the role of PPPs in light of input and output legitimacy. We conclude by alluding to the emergence of an expectation-capacity gap and normative issues related to the global PPP architecture.

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats: A SWOT analysis of the ecosystem services framework

The ecosystem services concept (ES) is becoming a cornerstone of contemporary sustainability thought. Challenges with this concept and its applications are well documented, but have not yet been systematically assessed alongside strengths and external factors that influence uptake. Such an assessment could form the basis for improving ES thinking, further embedding it into environmental decisions and management. The Young Ecosystem Services Specialists (YESS) completed a Strengths–Weaknesses–Opportunities–Threats (SWOT) analysis of ES through YESS member surveys. Strengths include the approach being interdisciplinary, and a useful communication tool. Weaknesses include an incomplete scientific basis, frameworks being inconsistently applied, and accounting for nature's intrinsic value. Opportunities include alignment with existing policies and established methodologies, and increasing environmental awareness. Threats include resistance to change, and difficulty with interdisciplinary collaboration. Consideration of SWOT themes suggested five strategic areas for developing and implementing ES. The ES concept could improve decision-making related to natural resource use, and interpretation of the complexities of human-nature interactions. It is contradictory – valued as a simple means of communicating the importance of conservation, whilst also considered an oversimplification characterised by ambiguous language. Nonetheless, given sufficient funding and political will, the ES framework could facilitate interdisciplinary research, ensuring decision-making that supports sustainable development.

Environmental sustainability and the human element: Decision making in National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers and Practice Greenhealth subscribing institutions

Background. Various aspects of sustainability have taken root in the hospital environment; however, decisions to pursue sustainable practices within the framework of a master plan are not fully developed in National Cancer Institute (NCI) -designated cancer centers and subscribing institutions to the Practice Greenhealth (PGH) listserv.^ Methods. This cross sectional study was designed to identify the organizational characteristics each study group pursed to implement sustainability practices, describe the barriers they encountered and reasons behind their choices for undertaking certain sustainability practices. A web-based questionnaire was pilot tested, and then sent out to 64 NCI-designated cancer centers and 1638 subscribing institutions to the PGH listserv.^ Results. Complete responses were received from 39 NCI-designated cancer centers and 58 subscribing institutions to the PGH listserv. NCI-designated cancer centers reported greater progress in integrating sustainability criteria into design and construction projects than hospitals of institutions subscribing to the PHG listserv (p-value = <0.05). Statistically significant differences were also identified between these two study groups in undertaking work life options, conducting energy usage assessments, developing energy conservation and optimization plans, implementing solid waste and hazardous waste minimization programs, using energy efficient vehicles and reporting sustainability progress to external stakeholders. NCI-designated cancer centers were further along in implementing these programs (p-value = <0.05). In comparing the self-identified NCI-designated cancer centers to centers that indicated they were both and NCI and PGH, the later had made greater progress in using their collective buying power to pursue sustainable purchasing practices within the medical community (p-value = <0.05). In both study groups, recycling programs were well developed.^ Conclusions. Employee involvement was viewed as the most important reason for both study groups to pursue recycling initiatives and incorporated environmental criteria into purchasing decisions. A written sustainability commitment did not readily translate into a high percentage that had developed a sustainability master plan. Coordination of sustainability programs through a designated sustainability professional was not being undertaken by a large number of institutions within each study group. This may be due to the current economic downturn or management's attention to the emerging health care legislation being debated in congress. ^ Lifecycle assessments, an element of a carbon footprint, are seen as emerging areas of opportunity for health care institutions that can be used to evaluate the total lifecycle costs of products and services.^

Academic medical centers: A framework for strategic repositioning

This study sought to understand the elements affecting the success or failure of strategic repositioning efforts by academic medical centers (AMC). The research question was: What specific elements in the process appear to be most important in determining the success or failure of an AMC.s strategic repositioning? Where success is based on the longterm sustainability of the new position.^ "An organization's strategic position is its perceptual location relative to others" (Gershon, 2003). Hence, strategic repositioning represents a shift from one strategic position within an environment to another (H. Mintzberg, 1987a). A deteriorating value proposition coupled with an unsustainable national health care financing system is forcing AMCs to change their strategic position. Where the value proposition is defined as the health outcome per dollar spent. ^ AMCs are of foundational importance to our health care system. They educate our new physicians, generate significant scientific breakthroughs, and care for our most difficult patients. Yet, their strategic, financial and business acumen leaves them particularly vulnerable in a changing environment. ^ After a literature review revealed limited writing on this subject, the research question was addressed using three separate but parallel exploratory case study inquiries of AMCs that recently underwent a strategic repositioning. Participating in the case studies were the Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Texas Medical Branch.^ Each case study consisted of two major research segments; a thorough documentation review followed by semi-structured interviews of selected members of their governance board, executive and faculty leadership teams. While each case study.s circumstances varied, their response to the research question, as extracted through thematic coding and analysis of the interviews, had a high degree of commonality.^ The results identified managing the strategic risk surrounding the repositioning and leadership accountability as the two foundational elements of success or failure. Metrics and communication were important process elements. They both play a major role in managing the strategic repositioning risk communication loop. Sustainability, the final element, was the outcome sought.^ Factors leading to strategic repositioning included both internal and external pressures and were primarily financial or mission based. Timing was an important consideration as was the selection of the strategic repositioning endpoint.^ In conclusion, a framework for the strategic repositioning of AMCs was offered that integrates the findings of this study; the elements of success, the factors leading to strategic repositioning, and the risk communication loop. ^

A unified framework of trade in value added : physical, monetary, exchange rates, and GHG emissions

Koopman et al. (2014) developed a method to consistently decompose gross exports in value-added terms that accommodate infinite repercussions of international and inter-sector transactions. This provides a better understanding of trade in value added in global value chains than does the conventional gross exports method, which is affected by double-counting problems. However, the new framework is based on monetary input--output (IO) tables and cannot distinguish prices from quantities; thus, it is unable to consider financial adjustments through the exchange market. In this paper, we propose a framework based on a physical IO system, characterized by its linear programming equivalent that can clarify the various complexities relevant to the existing indicators and is proved to be consistent with Koopman's results when the physical decompositions are evaluated in monetary terms. While international monetary tables are typically described in current U.S. dollars, the physical framework can elucidate the impact of price adjustments through the exchange market. An iterative procedure to calculate the exchange rates is proposed, and we also show that the physical framework is also convenient for considering indicators associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.