The purpose of this study is to gain better understanding of the role of leadership in achieving sustainable business. I inquire how sustainability might be more embedded in the day-to-day operations of business beyond the rhetoric of strategic plans, vacuous mission statements and technological fixes. I am exploring how leadership might be embodied in behaviour to promote sustainable business practice. What approaches to leadership might we adopt that are more commensurate with the cyclical and relational nature of natural systems? How can we root discussions about leadership and sustainability in an understanding that both are socially constructed phenomena? This is the field to which my research aims to contribute an empirical study. What constitutes sustainable business practice remains unclear, and due to its very situated nature this is likely to remain the case. My research is prompted by reports in the literature suggesting that approaches taken to date to promote more sustainable ways of doing business have been limited and slow. Furthermore the mainly techno-centric approaches that have been applied in some cases are reputed to exacerbate the continued dualism between human activity and the environment. The leadership literature is swamped with books, conferences and workshops on the subject of sustainability. Despite this, a ‘how’ gap exists between the rhetorical ideals of sustainable business practice and their working application, which this situated inquiry addresses. This inquiry centres on a small to medium size service sector company comprising two hotels located in a small sea-side resort in the South West region of the UK. The philosophy of the company – known here for the purpose of anonymity as The Hotels – is to maintain a successful luxury hotel business whilst at the same time minimising its negative ecological impact. Undertaking a longitudinal ethnographic study, I witnessed first-hand the leadership challenges posed by working to uphold this philosophy. In conclusion, my findings do not highlight any one action, way of being or simple stepped approach. Instead they combine ways of thinking and behaviours, some of which run contrary to the dominant positivist paradigm; daring to do things differently enables a successful business to minimise its negative ecological impact.

Thesis (M. S.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Doyoyo Mulalo; Committee Member: Will Kenneth; Committee Member: Yavari Arash. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Sector sustainability strategies can provide industry sectors with a way of managing risks and opportunities, and contributing to sustainable development. The UK Government has encouraged their development in the construction industry. British Precast, as the trade association for the precast concrete industry in the UK, had undertaken to develop a sector sustainability strategy for that industry. However, the development of such strategies is a departure from the traditional role of the trade association and presented British Precast with a number of challenges. This EngD research programme was therefore established in order to address those challenges and facilitate progress towards a more sustainable precast industry. The research programme has followed a mixed method strategy of inquiry based on action research methodology, that is, a series of research cycles have been undertaken with the findings from each cycle being used to inform and guide subsequent cycles; archival analysis, survey and case study were the main research methods used. The requirement of the EngD programme to publish elements of the work in refereed journal and conference papers as the research progresses has allowed the research to be validated as scientifically satisfactory. The strategy development process combined best practice, current and emerging theory, original research, stakeholder engagement, and experience from other sectors and industries. The strategy was produced in the form of an action plan for British Precast. This plan differs from the sustainability strategies produced for other sectors of the construction products industry in that rather than simply promoting action on specific objectives, it provides British Precast with a means of engaging with the industry and its stakeholders, and facilitating progress towards a more sustainable precast industry. The action plan has been well received by the industry and its stakeholders, and there is clear evidence that it is helping to guide the business decisions of companies in the industry, and that progress towards a more sustainable precast industry is being achieved as a result. The research supporting the strategy development process has added to current knowledge and guidance on the development of sector sustainability strategies, but shown that there are limits to the influence trade associations can have over their members' actions. It has also been shown that the development of management systems, particularly environmental management systems to ISO 14001, and continuous performance improvement cultures can assist companies in managing for sustainability, supporting the findings of other studies. However, further work is needed to build support for the action plan within the precast industry, particularly amongst SMEs, to support the downstream supply chain in using precast products to deliver more sustainable construction, and to assist companies in achieving progress towards corporate sustainability. Recommendations are made for this work.

Abstract This study is to explore the cognition of local civil servants from the Kao-Kao-Ping Area on their value system of social development and sustainable local policies. Recently Taiwan government has adopted sustainable development as the ideal and direction of policy fulfillment, nontherless it seems bounded only at the central-government level Whether the local governments attentively adopt sustainable development principle and local civil servants own the cognition and understanding of sustainable development deserves further studying. Based on literature review on international and national materials, three parts of survey items were constructed ¡Vsocial paradigm of sustainability, sustainable development principles and local sustainable policies. Total 991 questionnaires were mailed and 381 valid responses were analyzed. The empirical analysis showed the local servants of the Kao-Kao-Ping Area generally posses positive cognition on sustainable development. Their perspectives on social development lean toward New Environmental Paradigm. Specifically, the perspectives can be divided into ¡§environment-oriented¡¨, ¡§equilibrium-oriented¡¨ and ¡§social norms ¡Voriented¡¨. The sustainable principles emphasized by the international societies and the central government are highly accepted, especially, the implementing directions of sustainable development. The local sustainable policies were highly recognized but with some vagueness on the position of ¡§main stream¡¨ values, such as highways or mass transportation, local place marketing, incentives to factories, local activities with international focus or unique locality. According to the study finding and the observations form the real situations, the cognition of civil servants on sustainable development is not related to the local policy practice.

Turkey, as a developing country, requires substantial amount of housing stock. TOKi (Toplu Konut idaresi &amp / #8211 / Housing Development Administration), as the pioneer housing project builder, has a great significance in the housing production of Turkey. However both in TOKi projects and in general, sustainability has not been a central issue for the architectural practice in Turkey. On the other hand sustainability is an in evitable issue when the environmental, social, cultural and economical benefits are concerned. Especially sustainability in TOKi projects has a significance due to their potential to establish a re-production model. This thesis explores the benefits of sustainability for the housing project design in Turkey. The existing situation of three different types of TOKi housing projects will be critically evaluated. In the end, it will be tried to attain proposals for the development of sustainable housing in Turkey.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, March, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O desenvolvimento sustentÃvel (DS) tem sido amplamente debatido por governos e sociedade civil nos paÃses industrializados e em desenvolvimento. A matÃria engloba questÃes complexas que devem ser tratadas de forma multidisciplinar, dado que os estudos, o planejamento e as aÃÃes devem acontecer em um contexto abrangente e sistÃmico. Este trabalho tem como finalidade propor uma metodologia que verifique o processo de qualquer projeto rumo ao desenvolvimento sustentÃvel, possibilitando assim conhecer os seus limites, por meio do cÃlculo de seu Ãndice e grau de sustentabilidade obtidos por quatro escopos â indicadores ambientais, sociais, econÃmicos e institucionais. A pesquisa foi bibliogrÃfica utilizando-se do mÃtodo sistÃmico. Para se conhecer a efetividade da proposta houve a aplicaÃÃo no projeto Cultivo de Algas Vermelhas, no distrito de Flecheiras, litoral oeste do Estado do CearÃ. A problemÃtica ambiental, embora seja comum a toda humanidade, existem diferentes maneiras de se vivenciar as relaÃÃes sociedade-natureza, por comportar diferentes grupos sociais e para cada grupo as questÃes temporal e espacial serem Ãnicas. EntÃo, o grande desafio do DS Ã como conseguir suficiÃncia, seguranÃa e vida boa para todos (desenvolvimento) dentro de regras e limites do ambiente biofÃsico (sustentabilidade). Nesse sentido, a efetividade do DS precisa estar pautada dentro dos seus prÃprios limites e os indicadores, como forma de avaliaÃÃo, podem identificar o grau de sustentabilidade a que se propÃe chegar e possibilitar um melhor conhecimento da relaÃÃo sociedade-natureza de hoje, e melhores aÃÃes para o amanhÃ. / Sustainable Development (SD) has been widely debated by government and civil society in industrialized and developing countries. The matter gathers complex question that must be treated in a multidisciplinar way, given that the studies, the plans and the actions should happen in a wide and systemic context. This thesis aims to propose a methodology that verifies the process of any project towards sustainable development, making possible to discover its limits by means of calculating its rate and degree of sustainability obtained by four scopes - environmental, social, economical and institutional indicators. The research was bibliographical, using the systemic method. To get to know the effectiveness of the proposal, there was an application in the project âCultivation of Red Algaeâ, in the city of Flecheiras, western coast of the state of CearÃ. Environmental problems, though common to all mankind, are experienced in different society-nature relationships, as different social groups are involved and temporal and spatial matters are unique for each group. So, the biggest challenge for SD is how to get sufficiency, security and good life for everyone (development) within rules and limits of the biophysical environment (sustainability). In this sense, the effectiveness of the SD needs to be put into its own limits and the indicators, as evaluation means, may identify the degree of sustainability which we aim and make possible a better knowledge of the society-nature relationship nowadays, and better actions for tomorrow.

Leading cocoa-consuming countries have declared that in the year 2020, they will permit imports of sustainably sourced cocoa beans only, threatening the sustainability of the cocoa farming business. Certification offers enhanced market access for sustainability of the business of cocoa bean producers in Ghana. The purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies that farm managers used to obtain certification for cocoa bean production. Seven farm managers of a cocoa producer's cooperative located in the eastern region of Ghana who consistently produced certified cocoa beans for at least 5 years participated in the study. Deming's quality management theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. Semistructured interviews constituted the primary technique for data collection. Additional data from UTZ-certified documents and the archives of the cooperative supported the process of achieving data saturation. Data were analyzed using Bengtsson's manifest content analysis framework of decontextualization, recontextualization, categorization, and compilation to arrive at conclusions. Three themes emerged from data analysis: training in farming practices and certification code of conduct, management discipline, and environmental and social sustainability. The implications of this study for social change include the potential that certification might influence a positive change in the farming practices of Ghanaian cocoa farm managers. Social change might be reflected in the adoption of sustainable production practices, improved living conditions of producers, and biodiversity conservation.

ABSTRACT SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT IN CITY-REGIONS: THE CASE OF IZMIR CITY REGION Nal, Seda M.S., Department of City and Regional Planning, Regional Planning Supervisor : Assist. Prof. Dr. Ela Babalik Sutcliffe July 2008, 385 pages While the vast literature on sustainable transport emphasizes certain urban development patterns as those that should be encouraged in urban planning, it is a fact that there is an increasing tendency in many urban areas in the world towards becoming a city-region. However, whether these city-region development patterns can help attain a more sustainable urban growth and transport system is a relatively less studied area in the field of sustainable transport. In general terms, the study aims to bring together these two important fields of research in the planning literature: sustainable transport and city-regions, with a view to analyze whether they can co-exist, whether their policies comply with, and complement each other, eventually whether it is possible to attain transport sustainability in city-regions. Regarding this aim, three aspects are identified as &amp / #8216 / threats&amp / #8217 / for the attainment of sustainable transport and land-use development in city-regions: 1.Increase in need to travel and car dependency due to increase in interactions and longer distances in city-regions, 2. Economic objectives for city-regions conflicting with objectives of sustainable transport, and 3. Difficulty in ensuring policy coordination for an integrated approach to sustainability due to fragmentation of governments. Two most effective ways of achieving sustainable transport, land-use planning policies and policies for improving public transport and non-motorized transport, are chosen as the main policy approaches to be analyzed. Through the analysis of planning experience in a selected case study area, the Izmir City Region, the study intends to find out whether these issues are real threats for attaining sustainable transport in city regions and whether they can be overcome.