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Purpose – To examine the cost-effectiveness of UK government policy with respect to the mitigation of carbon emissions from the transport sector.

Methodology/approach – Existing policy as set out by the Department for Transport in Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future is examined. This document elaborates a Low Carbon Transport Strategy intended to achieve annual emissions savings of 17.7 MtCO2 by 2020. A wide range of policy areas where further action could be taken to reduce carbon emissions are examined and their cost-effectiveness considered.

Findings – Measures that influence behaviour including smarter choices, eco-driving across modes, freight best practice and modest price increases are highly cost-effective. More cost-effective routes to saving 17.7 MtCO2 are identified, as are further cost-effective savings.

Originality/value – It appears that government targets could be delivered and indeed exceeded at lower cost than the Low Carbon Transport Strategy. However, policy development is influenced by a wide range of factors which help to explain why cost-effective measures are not always fully exploited.

This chapter investigates how integrated reporting (IR) can contribute to a better corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation through diffusion and adoption of CSR practices and actually applying the CSR discourse. Based on innovation diffusion theory, we intend to analyse the diffusion and adoption of CSR on the grounds of IR. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that IR does indeed represent a mean of reducing the gaps between CSR discourse and its implementation. In order to select the most relevant papers in the area of CSR and IR, we applied the method of positive research. Therefore, the review of literature was made by analysing various theoretical and empirical studies. Setting the main coordinates for CSR and IR through theoretical background, we continue with an empirical analysis on 23 companies that voluntarily publish integrated reports. We intend to demonstrate that IR encourages a diffusion of CSR practices, as companies become more interested in their CSR behaviour.

This chapter compares the literature on public and private sector collaboration and considers the implications for success in collaborative relationships between the sectors. It highlights key comparative drivers of intent for both types of organization, explores the relationship between them, and proposes a framework for primary investigation based on the relationship between the key areas of competitive positioning and level of risk. A case study analysis of two complex strategic partnership initiatives in Wales,¹ both involving collaboration between local health boards, local authorities, health trusts and other statutory, voluntary and private sector stakeholders is then used to illustrate the complexity of successfully managing relationships in this context.

This contribution aims to provide multidisciplinary knowledge on the effectiveness of experimenting with nature-based solutions (NBS) for urban regeneration policy, planning, design, and governance. Specifically, the following research questions have been investigated through a cross-case study conducted in the cities of Barcelona, Copenhagen, and Marseille: What is the wider contribution of NBS for urban generation? What are the added value, the strengths, and the weaknesses of urban regeneration programs leveraging on NBS? and What is the upscale potential of NBS within selected urban regeneration programs in Europe in a post–COVID-19 scenario? The focus of the research is to create an understanding of what type of NBS development process can bring forward sustainable urban development, the different stakeholders that might be involved, the nature of their involvement, and the relationship between the actors. Three cities have been identified as most informative to explore how NBS can be valid alternatives for buildings, districts, and infrastructures redevelopment, as a starting point to foster urban resilience: Copenhagen, Barcelona, and Marseille. The results of the conducted study reveal future opportunities as well as challenges with respect to possible integrated strategies for successful codesigned and cocreated NBS for urban regeneration, especially in light of the revised post–COVID-19 pandemic urban agendas focusing on health and well-being of citizens as well as on more balanced and resilient urban built environments.

This chapter explores the CSR conceptual framework, with a particular focus on the CSR policy diffusion and integration in the corporate banking in India. In a nutshell, the research has threefold objectives, it explores: the dynamics of the CSR conceptual development, sketching out the main contextual drivers leading to CSR policy importance in developed/developing countries; the CSR evolution in Indian scenario, pointing out India’s cultural and institutional contextual factors; and the context of banking sector regulations on CSR policy and guidelines. The analysis is supported by a comparative multiple case study analysis, on three leading public banks: State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank. The rationale for case selection is based on the social and environmental implications of banking financial decisions on the matter. The banking sector is still at the initial stage of integrating CSR policies in their regulations. The findings reveal increasing attention among the banks towards the adoption of social banking regulations. There is a substantial body of empirical evidence showing that the newly CSR core values and guidelines at international level have often had little effect on CSR practice in the banking sector at the country level. The research shows that it is important to look at the CSR evolution through an integrated model of analysis, based on conceptual and empirical evidence. It pointed out an integrated model of analysis of the banking sector through the lens of comparative case studies.