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Sustainability Awareness: Colombia Perspective

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Sustainability, Green IT and Education Strategies in the Twenty-first Century

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

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Abstract

This study intends to provide a snapshot of the status of sustainability awareness in Colombia, its relationship with economic growth, poverty and ecology in Colombia. From the literature review those concepts and their interaction are explored, as well as the risk and opportunities of sustainability across business, society and governments. Together with the analysis of Colombia, the study will also explore the different concepts of sustainability and its evolution in the last decades. It was noticed that the concept of sustainable development was no more than a catch phrase, trying to capture the different global aspects of the environmental challenges, and the definition given by the World Commission on Environmental and Development has been the starting point for global agencies, governments and non-government organizations to establish government and business policies for environmental issues. One of the major contributions of the research is the recognition that, in addition to or in conjunction with ecological factors, there are social conditions that affect the ecological sustainability or unsustainability of the interaction between people and nature. Most significantly, people seem to be unaware that, given the rate of population growth, the subsequent increase in the consumption of resources cannot be sustained forever. From the literature review, it can be recognized that the number of scientific studies related to sustainability in Colombia is limited; most of the research so far has been done by government agencies and organizations. Nevertheless, previously studies have failed to identify the rating of sustainability awareness in the country, and the advantages and disadvantages that it can bring to organizations, government bodies and the public in general. This study was performed using a quantitative method and an online survey was distributed through email mainly among Colombian individuals living in Colombia. The analysis of the data produced three factors that can be associated with the advantages or opportunities of sustainability. The results also indicated that the same number of factors, including a major number of variables, was found for the risks associated with sustainability in Colombia. The research data and results indicate the Colombian public’s attitudes toward green products, green strategies, sustainability policies and corporate social responsibility.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Systems, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

    Juan Esteban Otalvaro Restrepo

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  1. Juan Esteban Otalvaro Restrepo
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Correspondence to Juan Esteban Otalvaro Restrepo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin University, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Tomayess Issa

  2. Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane St Lucia, Queensland, Australia

    Pedro Isaias

  3. CBS - School of Management, Curtin University, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Theodora Issa

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Restrepo, J.E.O. (2017). Sustainability Awareness: Colombia Perspective. In: Issa, T., Isaias, P., Issa, T. (eds) Sustainability, Green IT and Education Strategies in the Twenty-first Century. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57070-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57070-9_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57068-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57070-9

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