Abstract
This concluding chapter brings together a number of key themes discussed throughout the eight preceding chapters of the book. It outlines the need to understand the sustainability transitions and associated changes at various levels and in diverse contexts to a greater depth. It calls for greater attention to the ‘green’ skills development agenda in supporting transition to a low-carbon economy in which universities occupy a prominent position. The growth-enabling approach to low-carbon and ‘green’ organisational strategies is outlined as a ‘balanced’ answer to a traditional focus on cost-cutting initiatives often associated with a low-carbon orientation. The authors argue that collaborative action and leadership for sustainability are enabling and essential ingredients of successful sustainability transitions, including the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Babcock, H.M. 2009. Assuming personal responsibility for improving the environment: Moving toward a new environmental norm. Harvard Environmental Law Review 1276 (2000): 197–201. http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/elr/vol33_1/Babcock.pdf%5Cnhttp://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/helr33§ion=6.
Benjaafar, Saif, Yanzhi Li, and Mark Daskin. 2013. Carbon footprint and the management of supply chains: Insights from simple models. IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering 10 (1): 99–116. doi:10.1109/TASE.2012.2203304.
Berners-Lee, Mike, David C. Howard, J. Moss, Kim Kaivanto, and Andy Scott. 2011. Greenhouse gas footprinting for small businesses—The use of input–output data. Science of the Total Environment 409 (5): 883–891. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.11.023.
BIS. 2015. The size and performance of the UK low carbon economy: Report for 2010 to 2013. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416240/bis-15-206-size-and-performance-of-uk-low-carbon-economy.pdf.
Borland, Helen. 2009. Conceptualising global strategic sustainability and corporate transformational change. International Marketing Review 26 (4/5): 554–572.
Chrislip, David D., and Edward J. O’Malley. 2013. Thinking about civic leadership. National Civic Review Summer 102 (2): 2–10.
Čuček, Lidija, Jiří Jaromír Klemeš, and Zdravko Kravanja. 2012. A review of footprint analysis tools for monitoring impacts on sustainability. Recent Cleaner Production Advances in Process Monitoring and Optimisation 34: 9–20. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.02.036.
Curbon Trust. 2017. Our clients-case studies. https://www.carbontrust.com/our-clients/?show=case-studies. Accessed 28 January, 2017.
Davis, Lewis. 2016. Individual responsibility and economic development: Evidence from rainfall data. Kyklos 69 (3): 426–470.
Department for Business Innovation and Skills. 2015. The size and performance of the UK low carbon economy: Report for 2010 to 2013, March 2015. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-carbon-economy-size-and-performance. Accessed 03 July, 2015.
Elkington, John. 1999. Triple bottom-line reporting: Looking for balance. Australian CPA 69: 18–21.
European Regional Fund (ERDF) 2015. Priority axis 4: supporting the shift towards a low carbon economy in all sectors, ERDF.http://www.semlep.com/resources/uploads/Low_Carbon_Economy_ERDF_Call_Specification_-_Nov_2015.pdf.Eden, S E. 1993. Individual environmental responsibility and its role in public environmentalism. Environment and Planning A 25: 1743–1758. doi:10.1068/a251743. Accessed 28 January, 2017.
Gibney, John. 2012. Leadership of place and the dynamics of knowledge. In Leadership and change in sustainable regional development, ed. M. Sotarauta, I. Horlings, and J. Liddle. Abingdon: Routledge.
Grint, Keith. 2008. Wicked problems and clumsy solutions: The role of leadership. Clinical Leader 1 (2).
Hambleton, Robin, and Joanna Howard. 2013. Place-based leadership and public service innovation. Local Government Studies 39 (1): 47–70.
International Energy Agency (IEA). 2016. World energy outlook 2016. doi:http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WEB_WorldEnergyOutlook2015ExecutiveSummaryEnglishFinal.pdf.
Ki-moon, Ban. 2011. Address to 66th general assembly of the united nations. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2011-09-21/address-66th-general-assembly-we-peoples.
Liddle, J. 2012. “Sustaining Collaborative Leadership in City Regions: An Examination of Local Enterprise Partnership in England.” In Leadership and Change in Sustainable Regional Development, edited by M. Sotarauta, Lummina Horlings, and J. Liddle. Abingdon: Routledge.
Linnenluecke, Martina K., and Andrew Griffiths. 2010. Corporate sustainability and organizational culture. Journal of World Business 45 (4): 357–366.
Liu, Miaomiao, Yining Huang, Zongwei Ma, Zhou Jin, Xingyu Liu, Haikun Wang, Yang Liu, et al. 2017. Spatial and temporal trends in the mortality burden of air pollution in China: 2004–2012. Environment International 98. Elsevier B.V.: 75–81. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2016.10.003.
Luna, H., S. Martin, W. Scott, S. Kemp, and A. Robertson. 2012. Universities and the green economy: Graduates for the future. York, UK: Higher Education Academy.
Matthews, H.S., C.T. Hendrickson, and C.L. Weber. 2008. The importance of carbon footprint estimation boundaries. Environmental Science and Technology 42 (16): 5839–5842.
McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. 2002. Design for the triple top line: New tools for sustainable commerce. Corporate Environmental Strategy 9 (3): 251–258.
Melorose, J., R. Perroy, and S. Careas. 2015. World population prospects. United Nations. 1. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004.
Panapanaan, V., and Lassi Linnanen. 2002. Management of corporate responsibility towards sustainability: Triple bottom line approach. Oikos PhD summer academy.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers. 2016. The low carbon economy index 2016. http://www.pwc.co.uk/services/sustainability-climate-change/insights/low-carbon-economy-index.html. Accessed 28 January, 2017.
The Economist. 2014. The cost of doing nothing. Climate change and the economy. http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21605936-scorched-farms-flooded-homes-and-lower-productivity-cost-doing-nothing. Accessed 30 January, 2017.
UNFCC. 2016. The paris agreement. United Nations framework convention on climate change. http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php.
United Nations. 2015. Transforming our World: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. United Nations 2015. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld/publication. Accessed 5 January, 2017.
Wiedmann, Thomas. 2009. Editorial: Carbon footprint and input-output analysis—An introduction. Economic Systems Research 21 (3). Routledge: 175–186. doi:10.1080/09535310903541256.
World Bank. 2013. Growing Green. Washington DC, USA.
Work Bank. 2015. Climate Change. Action Plan 2016–2020. Washington DC, USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Conway, E., Paterson, F., Baranova, P. (2017). The Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: A Call for Collaborative Action Towards the ‘New Normal’. In: Baranova, P., Conway, E., Lynch, N., Paterson, F. (eds) The Low Carbon Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56753-2_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56753-2_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56752-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56753-2
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)