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1 – 10 of 14This paper discusses motorsport from the viewpoint of environmental sustainability amid growing concerns about the impact of human activity on the environment. It reviews…
Abstract
This paper discusses motorsport from the viewpoint of environmental sustainability amid growing concerns about the impact of human activity on the environment. It reviews the literature that positions motorsport in a global environmental context and explores the often used but rarely defined concept of sustainability. The author suggests that while motorsport is a significant sporting activity for economic and social reasons, there are considerable doubts as to whether it is currently managed and marketed in an environmentally sustainable way.
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In 2007, the issues of global and climate change in particular, have become major issues in the social psyche. With the United Nations declaring 2008 the “International…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2007, the issues of global and climate change in particular, have become major issues in the social psyche. With the United Nations declaring 2008 the “International Year of Planet Earth”, this paper aims to look at four recent reports and comments on how the reports aim to deal with the climate and global change challenges ahead.
Design/methodology/approach
After a brief introduction to the subject, this paper looks at each of the four reports in turn. It describes the methodology of each report and then discusses its relative strengths and weaknesses. This is followed by a conclusion on the reports as a whole and where policy makers can make improvements.
Findings
All four reports are well structured and they have certainly raised the profile and illustrated the importance of global and climate change. However, there are a number of ways each could and should be improved in future updates.
Practical implications
This paper aims to bring the reports to a wider audience and make recommendations on improvements to future reports on these important global issues.
Originality/value
The paper evaluates four recent reports on the important social issues of global change and climate change. By comparing and contrasting the reports, the paper gives an overview of what some of the larger policy makers are doing to tackle global and climate change. The paper also makes recommendations for improvements to the reports.
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The purpose of this chapter is to examine the corporate water reporting of the selected South African listed food producers with regard to the activities of measuring…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to examine the corporate water reporting of the selected South African listed food producers with regard to the activities of measuring, managing, engaging with their stakeholders, and disclosing of their water risks.
Design/Methodology/Approach
This chapter examined the sustainability and integrated reports of 14 food producer companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), for the years 2013 and 2017. The company reports were examined using the Ceres Aqua Gauge™ as the framework.
Findings
The findings of this study are that there were improvements in water disclosure from 2013 to 2017. Most companies are disclosing the basic water reporting requirements. However, critical areas around stakeholder engagement and supply chain water management were found to be lacking.
Originality/Value
This research contributes to the body of knowledge around water disclosure and increases the awareness of water scarcity and poor water quality in South Africa. Furthermore, the study highlights that the food producers could be doing a lot more with regard to water sustainability in their businesses and the country.
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Martina Flörke, Ellen Teichert and Ilona Bärlund
The aim of this study is to analyze future changes of freshwater needs in the electricity production sector and to identify hotspots where future cooling water needs may…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to analyze future changes of freshwater needs in the electricity production sector and to identify hotspots where future cooling water needs may not be fulfilled.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the goals of this study, a scenario and simulation approach was selected to estimate water availability and water uses in Europe up to 2050. Two SCENES scenarios were selected to cover a wide range of water‐related driving forces including future developments in population, GDP, electricity production, technological and structural changes, as well as climate change.
Findings
Depending on the scenario, water withdrawals in the electricity production would increase by 68 percent or decrease by 33 percent between 2000 and 2050. At the same time, water availability at low flow (Q90) would decrease because of climate change in southern and south‐eastern parts of Europe as well as in Ireland and the UK. Especially in these regions hotspots were identified where water is scarce and where growing water demand promotes water stress that may cause economic losses.
Originality/value
This paper presents hotspots of the thermal electricity production sector in Europe. In these regions water shortages were expected to lead to water stress due to climate change accompanied by increasing water demand for cooling purposes and by competing water use sectors.
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Pedro Álvarez-Suárez, Pedro Vega-Marcote and Ricardo Garcia Mira
The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse a teaching strategy designed to increase the awareness of trainee teachers and educate them with regard to sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse a teaching strategy designed to increase the awareness of trainee teachers and educate them with regard to sustainable consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
Ninety-four subjects (trainee teachers) were assessed on their knowledge of the environmental impacts of consumerism, their attitudes to sustainable consumption and their behavioural intentions before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the teaching intervention took place.
Findings
Statistical analysis of the results obtained revealed that subjects increased their knowledge of the social and environmental impacts of consumerism, became more aware of the need to take action in this regard, and developed behaviours oriented towards a sustainable model of consumption.
Research limitations/implications
The proper application of an educational strategy of this nature requires more time than that actually assigned to the teaching intervention itself. This obstacle was overcome by using the time envisaged by the European Space for Higher Education, but the outcome could not be monitored.
Practical implications
A reduction of individual and collective consumption in universities.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates the possibilities of an educational strategy that when applied to trainee teachers in higher education promotes sustainable consumption.
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Yohei Chiba, Rajib Shaw and Sivapuram Prabhakar
This paper aims to assess climate change-related non-economic loss and damage (NELD) through case studies of Bangladesh and Japan, evaluate how NELD are addressed in these…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess climate change-related non-economic loss and damage (NELD) through case studies of Bangladesh and Japan, evaluate how NELD are addressed in these countries and provide the ways forward for further improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviewed the literature to examine NELD and looked into currently available methodologies and their limitations. It reviewed governmental disaster reports and plans and interviewed with communities to understand NELD in each country’s context.
Findings
This paper indicates that NELDs are not sufficiently reported in the countries studied. Underestimation of NELD may lead to limited outcomes in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA). NELD should be measured and integrated into decision-making, through capacity-building from local to national level.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on the literature review and stakeholder consultations in the study countries. The results are specific to these countries. Readers may find them applicable to other country situations.
Practical implications
NELD-related information is directly relevant for preparing countries to achieve their sustainable development, CCA and DRR objectives as suggested by the recent international frameworks such as sustainable development goals (SDGs), Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework for DRR.
Social implications
This paper identifies several NELD indicators related to societal well-being in the study countries and beyond, and addressing them will have positive impact on the society.
Originality/value
Addressing NELD is a recent topic under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and nothing much has been done on how countries can address NELD in their developmental, CCA and DRR approaches. This paper identifies the importance of integrating NELD into decision-making and the ways forward to researchers, governments and policymakers for addressing NELD.
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Valeria Andreoni and Apollonia Miola
The increasing complexity of the present economic system and the strong interdependencies existing between production activities taking place in different world areas make…
Abstract
Purpose
The increasing complexity of the present economic system and the strong interdependencies existing between production activities taking place in different world areas make modern societies vulnerable to crisis. The global supply chain is a paradigmatic example of economic structures on which the impacts of unexpected events propagate rapidly through the system. Climate change, which affects societies all over the world, is one of the most important factors influencing the efficiency of the present economic networks. During the last decades a large set of studies have been oriented to investigate the direct impacts generated on specific geographical areas or productions. However, a smaller number of analyses have been oriented to quantify the cascading and indirect economic effects generated all over the world. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the main studies, methodologies and databases used to investigate the climate vulnerability of the global supply chain.
Findings
The great complexity of the global economic system, coupled with methodological and data gaps, makes it difficult to estimate the domino effects of unexpected events. A clear understanding of the possible consequences generated all over the world is, however, a fundamental step to build socio-economic resilience and to plan effective adaptation strategies.
Originality/value
The information provided in this paper can be useful to support further studies, to build consistent quantification methodologies and to fill the possible data gap.
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Isabelle Pignatel and Alistair Brown
This paper aims to examine the contribution made to climate change issues by the élite French accounting journals of La Revue Francophone de Comptabilité and Comptabilité…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the contribution made to climate change issues by the élite French accounting journals of La Revue Francophone de Comptabilité and Comptabilité, Contrôle, Audit, for the period 2000‐2005.
Design/methodology/approach
The climate change contributions made by top French to top Anglo‐Saxon journals are compared.
Findings
While Anglo Saxon élite journals place the natural environment outside the fold of the élite accounting academia, French élite accounting organs infuse climate change issues with subtle motives and meanings, providing symbolic power to a plethora of communicators who want to show that accounting can respond to the global environmental risks caused by human problems.
Originality/value
Stress is placed on the fact that Anglo‐Saxon accounting academics approve and endorse the present system of accounting journal ranking. It does not rank France's top journals very highly and makes no room for discourses outside the mainstream.
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