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The purpose of this paper, which is the first of a two-part series, is to build upon the established research on environmental economics and sustainability theory developed by Ramsey (1928), Weitzman (2007) and Gollier (2010). The Ramsey-Weitzman-Gollier model, with the contribution of Howarth (2009) and Nordhaus (2007a, b), focuses on discount rate development for environmental and long-term assets, linking discounted utility analysis embedded in the CCAPM model of Lucas (1978) to the policy concerns associated with the valuation of public and sustainable resources. This paper further investigates these issues to the rates structure appropriate for exhaustible resources with a particular emphasis on urban land, based upon the differentiation of strong and weak form sustainability concepts constrained by the objectives of the sustainable criterion of Daly and Cobb (1994).

The paper integrates the concepts of discount rate development for environmental and long-term assets and discounted utility analysis to the policy concerns associated with the valuation of public and sustainable resources. It develops new theoretical insight in order to allow the theoretical formulation of discount and capitalization rates that can be empirically applied and tested.

The paper provides theoretical support for a new approach concerned with the development of capitalization and discount rates in the valuation of non-renewable resources. A key concern of valuing non-renewable or limited resource endowments (in space or time) is the problem of irreversible investment or irrevocable decision implementation as suggested by Arrow-Fisher (1974), Krautkraemer (1985) and Daly and Cobb (1994). It investigates the challenge with developing capitalization rates and valuation of depleting resources temporally, within the constraints of sustainability. To achieve this, an optimal control discounting procedure subject to a sustainable objective statement is employed – in this context it suggests that sustainability should be treated as an alternative to traditional growth and the maximization of near-term returns.

This paper extends the construct of developing rates structures appropriate for the valuation of exhaustible resources. It places a conceptual emphasis on urban land development. The measures developed and the insights gained may serve as a basis for future research on the optimal levels of sustainable development appropriate for different nations.

This paper aims to examine the role of technological Innovation in ensuring resource sustainability in the water, energy and food (WEF) nexus, as there exists a shortage of statistical research on the extent of the influence of technological Innovation on the WEF nexus.

The study used a quantitative research method, using a well-structured questionnaire to collect data from management staff in the WEF departments in South Africa. The collected data were analyzed by using mean score ranking, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for structural equation modelling (SEM).

The findings show that the technological process of technological innovation is significant for resource sustainability. The result also showed that technological innovations directly and statistically significantly affect WEF nexus. The EFA resulted in three components of WEF nexus product innovation, WEF nexus process innovation and WEF nexus novel innovations. Furthermore, the CFA and SEM analysis reveals that six technological innovation indicators influence the sustainability of the nexus: smart water metering technology, smart metering technology, food quality monitoring technology, agricultural technology solutions, new technological design and eco-friendly WEF products.

The sustainability of these three inevitable resources for man’s survival is dependent on technological innovations, and this study has shown the major categories of innovations needed, thus establishing a pathway for engineering design.

Sustainable shipping management (SSM) has received much attention from shipping companies in recent years. Grounded on resource accumulation and orientation perspectives, this study aims to identify the antecedents of SSM and examine their effects on the performance (i.e. shippers' loyalty and financial performance) of shipping companies.

A model comprising a network of hypotheses that specifies the relationships between the antecedents, SSM, shippers' loyalty and financial performance was constructed. Subsequently, a survey questionnaire was designed. Survey data were then collected from 294 shipping companies located in Vietnam and analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings indicate that the five antecedents have significant effects on the effectiveness of SSM. They are stakeholders' focus, strategic orientation, supply chain collaboration, sustainability resource development and sustainability technology development. Bootstrapping analysis indicates that SSM has significant direct and indirect effects on financial performance via shippers' loyalty.

Applied perspectives are complementary and offer unique explanations to SSM. However, the orientation perspective offers stronger explanation. This study also improves the allocation of resources and capabilities in managing sustainability to enhance the organisational performance of shipping companies.

This study synthesises the sustainability and strategic management literature to identify the antecedents of SSM.

This chapter is devoted to sustainable human resource management that leads to sustainable competitiveness. It features the ways human resources can be managed to carry out sustainable goals and the impact of sustainability on employees' attitudes and behaviours. The aim of this study is to explore the complex objectives of sustainability and human resource management and empirically investigate the dynamic relationship between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness in the case of 35 European countries. Our contribution emphasizes this interrelationship and its causality. For this research, we applied a vector auto-regression (VAR) model, and the Granger causality method to examine the relationship between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness. A panel data included 314 observations between 2012 and 2021. The panel VAR for analysing the impulse response function was enriched with the 5% and 95%, using Monte Carlo simulations. The research results revealed bidirectional causality in the European countries between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness. Human resources in science and technology trigger sustainable competitiveness and vice versa. As an element of originality, our study demonstrates that human resources in science and technology contribute to sustainable performance, and, on the other hand, a more competitive and sustainable environment contributes to the development of human resources in science and technology. Thus, the chapter outlines the role of human resources in science and technology with regard to sustainable human resource management (HRM), and how to navigate these objectives so that they can positively influence sustainable competitiveness.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework which sheds new light on how sustainability control systems (SCS) can be used in proactive strategic responses to corporate sustainability pressures.

Design/Methodology/Approach – Corporate sustainability pressures are identified using insights from institutional theory and the resource-based view of the firm.

Findings – The paper presents an integrated framework showing the corporate sustainability pressures, proactive strategic responses to these pressures, and how organizations might use SCS in their responses to the corporate sustainability pressures they face.

Practical Implications – The proposed framework shows how organizations can use SCS in proactive strategic responses to corporate sustainability pressures.

Originality/Value – The paper suggests that instead of using traditional financial-oriented management control systems, organizations need more focus on emerging SCS as a means of achieving sustainability objectives. In particular, the paper proposes different SCS tools that can be used in proactive strategic responses to sustainability pressures in terms of (i) specifying and communicating sustainability objectives, (ii) monitoring sustainability performance, and (iii) providing motivation by linking sustainability rewards to performance.

The purpose of this research is to determine institutional commitment to sustainability by examining Natural Resource Extension program inputs, activities, and participation.

A document analysis of Natural Resource Extension planning and reporting documents was conducted to provide contextual and historical data for the study and 58 in‐depth interviews were conducted with Natural Resource Extension personnel in the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Oregon State University Extension Service.

This research moves beyond the familiar teaching and research functions of higher education institutions and focuses on Cooperative Extension, which is the outreach arm of universities. The paper discusses challenges and opportunities associated with implementing sustainability through these outreach education programs. In both Alabama and Oregon, the Agriculture, Home Economics, and 4‐H programs dominate human and economic resource investment in Cooperative Extension. Natural Resource Extension programs in Alabama and Oregon represents 6 and 14 percent, respectively, of all program expenditures in Cooperative Extension. Both states have educational programs that address sustainability of natural resources and those programs were interdisciplinary in nature. Little evidence is found extensive participation in Natural Resource Extension programs by environmental groups, minorities, and other non‐traditional clientele. Lastly, Oregon's political context was more conducive to broadening Natural Resource Extension program work in sustainability.

Educational institutions such as Natural Resource Extension programs at universities play a significant role in educating private landowners, the public, and professionals about various aspects of forestry and natural resources. Based on this study of Natural Resource Extension programs in Alabama and Oregon, the following are needed for extension to address natural resource sustainability through its educational programs: sufficient intellectual and financial commitment to sustainability, diverse and inclusive participation in programs, and collaborative interdisciplinary programming. The analysis presented here can aid other educators as they explore sustainability through educational programming.

Since, Natural Resource Extension programs address societal concerns through problem solving, grassroots education, and research and technology dissemination, they are poised to do work in the sustainability arena. No study to date has examined sustainability from the aspect of Natural Resource Extension educators in Oregon and Alabama. An understanding of current investment in sustainability through education is fundamental to building a strong Extension program in this area.

In response to calls for conceptual frameworks and generic theory building toward the advancement of sustainability in supply chain resource utilization and management, the purpose of this paper is to advance a circular framework for supply chain resource sustainability (SCRS), and a decision-support methodology for assessing SCRS against the backdrop of five foundational premises (FPs) deduced from the literature on resource sustainability.

Taking a conceptual theory-building approach, the paper advances a set of SCRS decision-support criteria for each of the theoretical premises advanced, and applies the theory of constraints to illustrate the conceptual and practical applications of the framework in SCRS decision making.

This study uses recent conceptualizations of supply chains as “complex adaptive systems” to provide a robust and novel frame and a set of decision rules with which to assess the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, and social capital of supply chain resources from pre-production to post-production.

The paper contributes to theory building in sustainability research, and the SCRS decision framework developed could be applied in tandem with existing quantitative hybrid life-cycle and input-output approaches to facilitate targeted resource sustainability assessments, with implications for research and practice.

The novel SCRS framework proposed serves as a template for evaluating SCRS and provides a decision-support methodology for assessing SCRS against the five theorized FPs.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of human resources management (HRM) on economic sustainability in Jordanian banks. To achieve this goal, data were collected from 23 Jordanian banks listed at the ASE from 2014 to 2019.

A regression model was employed using four independent variables that represent the HRM (i.e. managing the environment of human resources, human resources acquisition and preparation, human resources assessment and development and human resources compensation) and using economic sustainability as the dependent variable. The study also controlled for banks’ age, size, leverage and return on equity.

Results show that all independent variables are positively correlated with economic sustainability. The results imply that HRM is an important tool to enhance economic sustainability within the banking sector.

This study provides practical implications for banks’ managers, future researchers and policymakers. This is achieved by investigating the impact of the independent variables, including managing the human resources environment, the acquisition and preparation of human resources, the assessment and development of human resources and the compensation of human resources on the economic, social and environmental sustainability in Jordanian banks.

Drawing on the systems theory and the natural resource-based view, the purpose of this paper is to advance an integrated resource efficiency view (IREV) and derive a composite “integrated resource efficiency index” (IRE-index) for assessing the environmental, economic, and social resource efficiencies of production economies.

Using sub-national input-output data, the IRE-index builds on the human development index (HDI) and the OECD green growth indicators by including functions for environmental resource efficiency, energy, and material productivity. The study uses multiple regressions to examine and compare the IRE-index of 40 countries, including 34 OECD nations. The study further compares the IRE-index to similar composite indicators such as the human sustainable development index (HSDI) and the ecological footprint.

The IRE-index reveals a discrepancy between social development and resource efficiency in many of the world’s wealthiest production economies. Findings also show that material productivity has been the key driver for observed improvements in IRE over time. The index is a robust macro-level methodology for assessing resource efficiency and sustainability, with implications for production operations in global supply chains.

The IREV and IRE-index both contribute towards advancing green supply chain management and sustainability, and country-level resource efficiency accounting and reporting. The IRE-index is a useful composite for capturing aggregate environmental, economic, and social resource efficiencies of production economies. The paper clearly outlines the managerial, academic, and policy implications of the IREV and resulting index.