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The chapter examines and describes the impact of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) environmental provisions and the UN Global Compact initiatives on environmental sustainability of member countries at a national level and at a firm level.

Composite indexes (Human Development Index, Ecological Footprint Index, and Biocapacity) are used to determine CAFTA-DR country level sustainability. Firm level sustainability is based on a qualitative survey of companies using the Global Reporting Initiative framework and UN Global Compact participation.

Based on the methodology used CAFTA-DR member countries cannot be considered environmentally sustainable. Despite the lack of integration between initiatives proposed by different institutions, firm level sustainability trends are positive and encouraging.

Free access to Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity scores is limited. The research focused on surveying CAFTA-DR and UN Global Compact sustainability initiatives. However, there are many other entities and institutions not included in this research that also encourage sustainability.

The need of a concerted effort to align different organizations and institutions regarding sustainability initiatives in the CAFTA-DR region is apparent.

CAFTA-DR includes environmental provisions that are complementary to the UN Global Compact environmental principle. The synergies between these initiatives should be actively explored.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of green supply chain management on environmental performance (EP), operational performance (OP), and business performance in the context of a developing country, Jordan. In addition, the mediating effects of environmental and OP on the relationship between green supply chain management and business performance are investigated.

The study is based on survey data collected from 215 manufacturing firms from different industries in Jordan. Validity and reliability analyses were carried out using SPSS and Amos. Direct and indirect effects were tested using structural equation modeling.

The results revealed that green supply chain management positively and significantly affects both EP and OP. The results also demonstrated that the total effect of green supply chain management on business performance is positive and significant. The direct effect of green supply chain management on business performance proved to be negative, but insignificant. Thus, the total positive effect of green supply chain management on business performance is indirect and fully goes through EP and OP.

This study is one of the first to examine the direct and indirect effects of green supply chain management on business performance, especially in a developing country and the Middle East in particular. Furthermore, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by investigating the mediating effects of EP and OP on the green supply chain management and business performance relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to document the integration of sustainability into the accounting curriculum. Compared to many disciplines in the social and administrative sciences, the greening of the curriculum in accounting is a recent phenomenon. Nevertheless, there has been a remarkable growth in both the content and the coverage of sustainability topics integrated into the accounting curriculum.

The approach to the paper is multidisciplinary. It has combined organizational sociology and ecological anthropology approaches in the integration of sustainability into the accounting curriculum. In accounting, there is an increasing emphasis on the application of social science perspectives, particularly sociology and anthropology in curriculum development and pedagogical issues. This paper demonstrates that the influence of these two disciplines in accounting education is substantial.

Sustainability in accounting has both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, sustainability has integrated social and environmental dimensions into accounting education and research. Sustainability reporting contains information on the economic, social, and environmental activities of business organizations. In practice, sustainability has influenced the accounting standard-setting organizations in developing guidelines on how to integrate sustainability into corporate reports so that the information can be verified and certified by public accounting and regulatory organizations.

The paper is among the first to demonstrate the importance of organizational sociology and ecological anthropology for the integration of sustainability into the accounting curriculum. Both sociology and anthropology have been in the forefront of the study of ecology and natural resources management and conservation in sustainability development. The paper approaches have important implications for sustainability education and framework in accounting theory and research.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on how drinking water consumption could be potentially reduced by the introduction of dual water distribution networks. Since water of this quality is required only for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing, delivering such water for uses that require non‐drinking water quality represents a tremendous waste of water and energy, and contributes to environmental pollution.

An overview of dual distribution networks in several countries is presented. Kuwait, in which 86 percent of the freshwater network has a parallel brackish water network, is the leader in this field, with brackish water used for a range of outdoor activities. The residential sector is the major consumer of freshwater in Kuwait and the control of demand in this sector will be a key factor in curbing the overall demand, which without any demand management measures is expected to quadruple by 2025. Computer modeling based on existing water use statistics and the proposed phasing‐in of a dual distribution network for indoor use in households has been undertaken to determine how the large quantities of reclaimed can be used to reduce drinking water consumption.

The paper presents a modeling exercise that demonstrates that by using reverse osmosis (RO) treated wastewater for toilet flushing and watering the gardens, water consumption demand can be stabilized at present levels over a 20‐year period.

The paper concludes that with foresight and long‐term planning it is feasible to implement a dual water supply network in a major city, on a scale which may lead to saving up to 25 percent of drinking quality water on top of other traditional water conservation measures.

This paper aims to the environmental awareness raising as a key issue of education for sustainable development. Youth Environmental Volunteers Movement in the area of coastal oil response operations in St. Petersburg is presented in this paper as a successful initiative in the field of environmental awareness through universities and city authorities’ cooperation.

The main approach is to explore ways of environmental awareness raising through the cooperation between universities and city authorities in practice. It is shown as a system of preparation by environmental volunteers for oil recovery operations in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea. The use of a voluntary rescue movement as an organization for support state authorities is investigated.

The program for environmental volunteers' tuition was created due to mutual cooperation between universities and state authorities. The purpose is to give necessary knowledge to and skills required by experts and young people on how to run together rescue and oil spill response operations. Practical field trainings with simulated oil accidents were realized in situ on the coastal zone of the Gulf of Finland.

Coastal oil recovery operations are the key responsibility of state authorities and professional organizations in all countries around the Baltic Sea. Active involvement of young people in public participation helps to solve environmental problems at local and regional levels.

The Environmental Committee, City of St. Petersburg together with universities, provided practical implementation of the Youth Environmental Volunteers Movement. It contributes to the improvement of the marine environment and gives a necessary experience for implementation of new initiatives in the field of sustainable education and environmental protection in the Baltic Sea region.

This paper examines the emergence of collaborative watershed management in Lake Tahoe by focusing on how institutions managing coordination and conflict have changed over time. It begins by describing the evolution of watershed governance and examines the extent to which the institutional arrangement demonstrates the eight design principles proposed by Elinor Ostrom for successful common pool resource (CPR) management. The paper then develops the concept of a complex environmental commons (CEC) to differentiate the situation of Lake Tahoe from the simpler CPR dilemmas frequently discussed in the CPR literature. We then propose five additional principles that contribute to collaborative management of a CEC.

In 1994, the Executive Management Committee (EMC) of Technikon Pretoria took a strategic decision to develop educational programmes in environmental management and sustainable development. The EMC also decided to integrate these programmes with the development and implementation of an environmental management policy for Technikon Pretoria. This paper describes, in the form of a case study, the project embarked upon, which brings together the development and implementation of the curriculum, research and development, management processes for sustainability, community service and national and international cooperation. The paper discusses successes and failures, and the significant lessons that could be learnt from the experience.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the green innovation literature using a conceptual framework developed to explain the driving forces behind environmental cooperative activities of firms. The framework links motivations to the different type of partners in the context of environmental innovations.

Literature on innovation, environmental innovation, sustainable development and strategic management is examined in order to build the conceptual framework.

This paper suggests that firms cooperate with governmental agencies, NGOs, suppliers, customers and industry associations to comply with environmental laws and regulation, obtain legitimacy as well as acquire competency (i.e. access to resources such as funds, knowledge and skills). However, only competency‐oriented motivation stimulates organisations to cooperate with competitors and knowledge leaders.

The model developed is conceptual and qualitative in nature. More research that is empirical needs to be conducted to test for the validity of the six formulated propositions.

The significance of this paper is twofold. First, it integrates two different strategic management theories: resource‐based and institutional theories in explaining cooperative environmental motivations. Second, it develops a framework that provides a basis for more theoretical and empirical studies.