Rethinking Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy

Rethinking Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy
Author: Maria Beatrice Andreucci
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2021
Genre: Buildings
ISBN: 3030718190

This open access book is based on work from the COST Action RESTORE - REthinking Sustainability TOwards a Regenerative Economy, and highlights how sustainability in buildings, facilities and urban governance is crucial for a future that is socially just, ecologically restorative, and economically viable, for Europe and the whole planet. In light of the search for fair solutions to the climate crisis, the authors outline the urgency for the built environment sector to implement adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as a just transition. As shown in the chapters, this can be done by applying a broader framework that enriches places, people, ecology, culture, and climate, at the core of the design task - with a particular emphasis on the benefits towards health and resilient business practices. This book is one step on the way to a paradigm shift towards restorative sustainability for new and existing buildings. The authors want to promote forward thinking and multidisciplinary knowledge, leading to solutions that celebrate the richness of design creativity. In this vision, cities of the future will enhance users' experience, health and wellbeing inside and outside of buildings, while reconciling anthropic ecosystems and nature. A valuable resource for scientists and students in environmental sciences and architecture, as well as policy makers, practitioners and investors in urban and regional development.

Rethinking Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy

Rethinking Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy
Author: Maria Beatrice Andreucci
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021
Genre:
ISBN: 9783030718206

This open access book is based on work from the COST Action "RESTORE - REthinking Sustainability TOwards a Regenerative Economy'', and highlights how sustainability in buildings, facilities and urban governance is crucial for a future that is socially just, ecologically restorative, and economically viable, for Europe and the whole planet. In light of the search for fair solutions to the climate crisis, the authors outline the urgency for the built environment sector to implement adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as a just transition. As shown in the chapters, this can be done by applying a broader framework that enriches places, people, ecology, culture, and climate, at the core of the design task - with a particular emphasis on the benefits towards health and resilient business practices. This book is one step on the way to a paradigm shift towards restorative sustainability for new and existing buildings. The authors want to promote forward thinking and multidisciplinary knowledge, leading to solutions that celebrate the richness of design creativity. In this vision, cities of the future will enhance users' experience, health and wellbeing inside and outside of buildings, while reconciling anthropic ecosystems and nature. A valuable resource for scientists and students in environmental sciences and architecture, as well as policy makers, practitioners and investors in urban and regional development.

Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis

Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis
Author: Raz Godelnik
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2021-06-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030773183

This book provides a clear, critical, and timely analysis of the state of corporate sustainability within the context of the climate crisis. It offers not only a substantive critique of the current efforts but also clarity about the changes needed and how to implement them. The book goes beyond the more common debate on shareholder capitalism vs. stakeholder capitalism to explain the shortcomings of the current approach to sustainability in business, which the author describes as sustainability-as-usual. Using strategic design lenses, the author proposes a new model of awakened sustainability, which offers a transformational shift in corporate sustainability to ensure companies fairly and effectively address the climate crisis. The book presents the numerous changes needed in the environment in which companies operate to enable awakened sustainability and how these changes can be realized. Grounded in the scientific community’s calls for urgent action on climate change, this groundbreaking text provides scholars with an evaluation of current and future trends in corporate sustainability. It connects the dots between the progress made in the last five decades and the opportunities entailed in the work on a regenerative and just vision for companies in this decade and beyond.

New Economies for Sustainability

New Economies for Sustainability
Author: Luise Li Langergaard
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2021-12-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030817431

The edited volume New Economies for Sustainability: Limits and Potentials for Possible Futures brings together a range of alternative views on economy and organization to illustrate different perspectives on how to work towards more sustainable solutions to production, consumptions and economic organization more generally. The book brings chapters from the most renowned scholars in the field, who bring their perspectives on how alternative schools theorize politics, society, organization, nature and ethics in their attempts to develop theories with a strong focus on sustainability. The book aims to contribute with a platform for gathering and collecting these theories in a pluralist economic framework, which can provide a strong alternative voice to mainstream economic theories in sustainability debates.

Rethinking Food and Agriculture

Rethinking Food and Agriculture
Author: Amir Kassam
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2020-10-18
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0128164115

Given the central role of the food and agriculture system in driving so many of the connected ecological, social and economic threats and challenges we currently face, Rethinking Food and Agriculture reviews, reassesses and reimagines the current food and agriculture system and the narrow paradigm in which it operates. Rethinking Food and Agriculture explores and uncovers some of the key historical, ethical, economic, social, cultural, political, and structural drivers and root causes of unsustainability, degradation of the agricultural environment, destruction of nature, short-comings in science and knowledge systems, inequality, hunger and food insecurity, and disharmony. It reviews efforts towards 'sustainable development', and reassesses whether these efforts have been implemented with adequate responsibility, acceptable societal and environmental costs and optimal engagement to secure sustainability, equity and justice. The book highlights the many ways that farmers and their communities, civil society groups, social movements, development experts, scientists and others have been raising awareness of these issues, implementing solutions and forging 'new ways forward', for example towards paradigms of agriculture, natural resource management and human nutrition which are more sustainable and just. Rethinking Food and Agriculture proposes ways to move beyond the current limited view of agro-ecological sustainability towards overall sustainability of the food and agriculture system based on the principle of 'inclusive responsibility'. Inclusive responsibility encourages ecosystem sustainability based on agro-ecological and planetary limits to sustainable resource use for production and livelihoods. Inclusive responsibility also places importance on quality of life, pluralism, equity and justice for all and emphasises the health, well-being, sovereignty, dignity and rights of producers, consumers and other stakeholders, as well as of nonhuman animals and the natural world. - Explores some of the key drivers and root causes of unsustainability , degradation of the agricultural environment and destruction of nature - Highlights the many ways that different stakeholders have been forging 'new ways forward' towards alternative paradigms of agriculture, human nutrition and political economy, which are more sustainable and just - Proposes ways to move beyong the current unsustainable exploitation of natural resources towards agroecological sustainability and overall sustainability of the food and agriculture system based on 'inclusive responsibility'

Regenerative and Positive Impact Architecture

Regenerative and Positive Impact Architecture
Author: Shady Attia
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2017-09-19
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 3319667181

This book is a guide to energy efficiency and environmental impact assessment in high-performance buildings projects. It compares four state-of-the-art buildings to examine the steps needed for a transition from negative impact reduction architecture to positive impact regenerative architecture, utilizing life cycle analysis. The book provides a solid grounding in the areas of energy-efficient building and building materials life-cycle assessment, discussing carbon efficiency within a wider context that includes its technical, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions and covers the key areas for green buildings performance (operational and embodied energy). The analysis and comparison of four case studies of state-of-art modern building projects in Europe and North America serve as inspiring examples for architects and building professionals in the fields of high performance buildings, ecological materials and carbon efficiency.

Futurestorative

Futurestorative
Author: Martin Brown
Publisher: Riba Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781859466308

This book brings together a selection of short contributions from thought leaders in the UK and the rest of the world (USA, China, India, Australia, NZ, Indonesia) with an overarching narrative from the author.

Sustainable Wellbeing Futures

Sustainable Wellbeing Futures
Author: Robert Costanza
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2020-05-29
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1789900956

Ecological economics can help create the future that most people want – a future that is prosperous, just, equitable and sustainable. This forward-thinking book lays out an alternative approach that places the sustainable wellbeing of humans and the rest of nature as the overarching goal. Each of the book’s chapters, written by a diverse collection of scholars and practitioners, outlines a research and action agenda for how this future can look and possible actions for its realisation.

Rethinking Strategic Management

Rethinking Strategic Management
Author: Thomas Wunder
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 423
Release: 2019-09-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030060144

This book offers innovative ideas and frameworks for sustainable strategizing to advance business by scaling-up its positive impact, which is so urgently needed at this time in the 21st century. It shows practitioners how to effectively deal with socio-ecological systems’ disruptions to their operating environments and play an active role in transforming markets toward a sustainable future. In short, the book demonstrates how to make business sense of sustainability, highlighting new approaches and examples that translate sustainability into strategy and action. The ultimate goal is to provide a path toward a thriving future for both business and society. This book was written for strategy practitioners and decision makers who want to understand why sustainable strategizing is important in today’s business world and are seeking actionable business knowledge they can apply in their companies. It was also written for students of management and can be used as a supplemental text to support traditional graduate and undergraduate management courses.

Regenerative Territories

Regenerative Territories
Author: Libera Amenta
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2022-03-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 303078536X

This open access book provides new perspectives on circular economy and space, explored towards the definition of regenerative territories characterised by healthy metabolisms. Going beyond the mere reuse/recycle of material waste as resources, this work aims to understand how to apply circularity principles to, among others, the regeneration of wastescapes. The main focus is the development over time, and in particular the way how spatial planning and strategies respond to new unpredictable urgencies and opportunities related with territorial metabolisms. The book specifically focuses on living labs environments, where it is possible to tackle complex problems through a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach - including the use of digital spatial decision support environment – which could be able to include all the involved stakeholders. Through a spatial scope of circularity, this book describes several examples including among others ideas from different contexts such as Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and Vietnam. Through including reflections on methodology and representation, as well as on solutions for circular and healthy metabolisms, the book provides an excellent resource to researchers and students.