All levels of society, individuals, businesses and governments, must be involved in order to reverse the unsustainable path that society is currently on. Though much has been written about what needs to be done, there is much less literature on how to do it. This study attempts to start filling this gap. This paper is focused on the Vision 2050 report which acknowledges the role businesses have in moving society towards sustainability. The Vision 2050 report which was released by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development explores the current reality business is facing and the opportunities that are available for them to incorporate sustainability into the mainstream of their business. The study examines how businesses can begin to integrate sustainability into their company’s operations and services, using the report for inspiration and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development as guidance. A suggested approach is presented in the form of an implementation guide, which can be used by business to help them navigate their organization, collaborate with others and to develop an action plan as they work to integrating sustainability into their operations

In the shift towards a sustainable society, there have been varying interpretations of what this will mean for the social sphere. Using the parameters for social sustainability presented in the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD), this research sought to assist sustainability practitioners in identifying and eliminating the creation of or contribution to barriers that undermine the individual’s capacity to meet their needs. In doing so, the researchers explored the processes of social systems and employed a systems thinking perspective to examine how an organization could, through the intentional structuring of its processes, work to eliminate their contributions to arriers. From this research, characteristics of processes that move an organization towards socially sustainable development were identified as cooperation, transparency, openness, inclusiveness and involvement, around which a guidebook was developed to promote organizational reflection and examination of processes in regards to these characteristics and fundamental human needs. / This thesis aims to provide useful guidance for transforming organizational processes to better reflect a consideration of human needs. It seeks to address structures which act as barriers to the capacity of people to actualize their needs, and proposes a set of characteristics of processes that help to eliminate these barriers. / <p>andbenaim@yahoo.com.br - Andre Benaim acollins01@gmail.com - Amber C. Collins lraftis@gmail.com - Luke Raftis</p>

The purpose of this paper is to give suggestions for how to preserve intangible cultural heritage (ICH) towards sustainability. We will use Tibet as a case study. Understanding the importance of ICH for tourism, we scrutinize ICH through the lens of strategic sustainable development (SSD) and use tourism as a leverage point to enter into a real life situation. ICH is the root of all cultural expression. Without guarding ICH there is little meaning to the physical culture that remains and, ultimately, tourism declines. ICH is a new topic and there is little research and few ideas as to how to guide its preservation. We offer recommendations which include identifying the stakeholders, educating them, adequate marketing research especially in tourism, investing on technology of dematerialization and searching substitutions under the guidelines of the Golden Rule within the social sustainability context. Our contributions is to build a vision of success for preserving Tibetan ICH via tourism within the constraints of the four sustainability principles, and then demonstrate some prioritized actions in order to develop towards sustainability.

Abstract: A community food system (CFS) can assist a community in satisfying human needs while also working toward a principle-based understanding of sustainability. Utilizing a whole-systems perspective and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, we identify generic satisfiers of human needs (as defined by Max-Neef: Subsistence, Participation, Identity, Idleness, Creation, Freedom, Affection, Understanding and Protection) that are affected by a CFS. Then we identify specific leverage points within the community food system that most enhance those generic satisfiers. By implementing strategies developed around those leverage points, a community food system will provide opportunities to meet Human Needs and help a community move toward sustainability. In doing so, the CFS can have a significant ―ripple effect‖ within the community, and on into society, that serves to support movement towards a sustainable future. / <p>Monique Monteverde-greenmountain@gmail.com Katie Pease-tierradiversity@yahoo.com Anthony W. (Tony) Thompson-411.tony@gmail.com</p>

Production and consumption of products contribute to the global sustainability challenge by degrading natural and social systems. This thesis focuses on branded products, which through powerful images and meanings symbolise the core business of a company and a platform of identification for its stakeholders. This study investigates the possibility to align a brand and its company with sustainability. With the help of a small branded design company in Berlin, which served as case study, a strategic management planning process was conducted and action research was used to be able to engage the participants in creating movement towards sustainability. The research shows that there are major internal and external barriers and motivations that can either hinder or inspire. The actions and approaches that were identified for a branded design company represent possible means to transform its business towards sustainability. Natural resources are decreasing relative to the growth in human population and affluence. This fuels the need to develop more sustainable products so that human needs and natural eco-systems can thrive. A branded design company has the ability to help lead society through innovating products, services, and activities towards a sustainable future.

Sustainability reporting is a vital tool to communicate an organisation’s sustainability performance to stakeholders. Sustainability reporting also allows an organisation to communicate its vision, goals and strategic plans. In order to be strategic towards sustainability, an organisation should have a vision of where it wants to go, and assess where it is today, so as to take the right initiatives towards its vision. This thesis focuses on how GRI sustainability reporting and strategic planning towards sustainability can be combined in an integrated process to help organisations move towards sustainability. The Integrated Process allows an organisation to gain a better understanding of its sustainability context; design resilient strategies in light of that context using a backcasting from Sustainability Principles approach; and report its sustainability performance and progress in bridging the gap towards sustainability, transparently to internal and external stakeholders. / <p>Edwin Janssen +31626078987 Rutger Verkouw +31624155241 Selene Kfoury +551138138481</p>

Currently supply chains are globally interlinked, involve many different stakeholders and have a significant impact on the socio-ecological system. They are associated with materials extraction, design, production methods and volume, which result in pollutants and waste as by-products. Procurement plays a critical role in this process by serving as a ‘gate-keeper’. It acts as a great leverage point to influence which products and services are selected by organisations from the assessment of suppliers’ performance. This thesis examines how supplier assessment and follow up tools and their use by the organisation itself can work towards full sustainability. At present, there is a gap in current practices, with the most notable being a lack of vision of success for sustainability, a definition of sustainability that is not communicated across the supply chain, and the adoption of a short-term perspective. We develop two applications - a Golden Standard model and Key Elements for the organisation to embody to maximise its use in order to bridge this gap. These applications can be used by organisations to tailor their supplier assessment and follow up tools to ultimately move towards a sustainable society.

The aim of this study is to define and describe a scientific problem solving capability to be used by the Institute for Maritime Technology (IMT) in its Decision Support Domain in order to provide a scientific support service to decision makers in the South African Navy. Cognisance is given to the fact that the context within which this scientific service functions is of a complex nature, and so are some of the problems which the Decision Support Domain are required to study. For this reason a methodology developed by the proponents of complexity modelling for management and organisational science, namely to approach the problem through “Perspective Filters” is used. The aim is therefore to identify emergent patterns in the development of various disciplines commonly utilised for problem solving. Their respective developments during the twentieth century are studied with this stated aim in mind. Scientific method is seen to be a dominant perspective in this pursuit. The outcome of the study is a proposed generic, pluralist scientific problem solving process which provides a stable definition of such a service despite its constantly changing environment. This greatly enhances the robustness of the service, which makes it cost-effective to develop. The definition of pluralism which is used in this study, and which underpins the definition of the capability, differs from other current dominant views of pluralism in that it upholds the realist aim of science. Although this process is developed in the specific context of IMT, its generic nature makes it a general knowledge technology for any such a service with the aim of providing a scientific service, not limited to the context within which it is developed. / Dissertation (MSc (Technology Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) / unrestricted

The goal of this thesis is to summarize the mthods of systém thinking, and to analyze the benefits of using these methods while developing and using the information system on that basis. Part of the thesis targets is the creation of models for analysis of an organisation, projection and follow-up cration of na IS. The thesis also gives the views of IS use -- there it shows models for human resources and the views of services. The benefits of this thesis is the description of the methods of systém thinking, the application disciplines and their use while creating and using the IS. Other benefit should be the possibility to quicken the IS production and to lower external effects on the process of IS creation. In the domain of IS operation, the possibility of fuction modelling and the possibility of IT department simulation will be shown. In the first part of the work the topics of system thinking is defined -- from its definition to division o the problematics. In the same part there is also shown the impact of worldview and the application desciplines are defined -- such as systém analysis, systém dynamics and systém engineering. In the second part of the thesis, the reader can find the definition and analysis of the IS production -- mostly from the view of organization, for which the IS is designed. In the last part the readers may find the view of systems thinking and its benefits in the area of IS operation -- concretely the model, that shows and decribes the possibility of simulation and follow-up optimisation in the organization.

This diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of a particular soft complex system in the company. This system is a running car service with a determined problem situation. This system and its problem is then evaluated in terms of soft systems methodology, system dynamics and critical systems heuristics. The theoretical section provides concepts to understand the complexity and also individual system approaches. As beneficial of work I consider the practical part, which is aimed to the analysis of complex real-world system using the selected approaches as well as an evaluation of these approaches. Main purpose is to bring comparisons and suggestions for improvement and also a broader view to the system. All of this increases information value of approaches and we are able to deliver more relevant information. Thesis is therefore focused not only to deal with examples from practice but also to extend the selected theories within the system approaches.