Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Achieving Environmental Sustainability

  • Chapter
The Future International Manager

Abstract

The idea of sustainable development (SD) has become popular over the last four decades and numerous interpretations have been advanced, interpenetrating economics (Daly & Cobb, 1989; Passet, 1996; Pearce & Turner, 1990; Sen, 1987) and other social sciences (Bateson, 1972; Capra, 1996; Morin, 1980; Naess & Rothenberg, 1990), as well as the natural sciences (Carson, 1962; Commoner, 1990; Lovelock, 1988; Shiva, 1992). Among the definitions offered, the most common and established is that provided in Our Common Future by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987: “[D]evelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Within this framework, since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the approach based on the “three pillars” of sustainability— which integrates economic, social, and environmental considerations into the model—has been consolidating, influencing both institutional and corporate paths (Elkington, 1994). Moreover, the equitable distribution of resources and benefits within society, and the problems of the widening gap between industrialized and developing countries have emerged as central issues of the SD agenda.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Albareda, L., Lozano, J.M., Tencati, A., Midttun, A., & Perrini, F. (2008). “The Changing Role of Governments in Corporate Social Responsibility: Drivers and Responses.” Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 347–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arrow, K., Bolin, B., Costanza, R., Dasgupta, P., Folke, C., Holling, C.S., Jansson, B.O., Levin, S., Maler, K.G., Perrings, C., & Pimentel, D. (1995). “Economic Growth, Carrying Capacity, and the Environment.” Science, vol. 268, pp. 520–1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayres, R.U. (1989). “Industrial Metabolism,” in J.H. Ausubel & H.E. Sladovich (eds), Technology and Environment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 23–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayres, R.U. (2007). “On the Practical Limits to Substitution.” Ecological Economics, vol. 61, pp. 115–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S.B. (2003). “Who Sustains whose Development? Sustainable Development and the Reinvention of Nature.” Organization Studies, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 143–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an Ecology of Mind. New York: Ballantine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capra, F. (1996). The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. New York: Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carson, R. (1962). Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiesura, A. & de Groot, R. (2003). “Critical Natural Capital: A Socio-Cultural Perspective.” Ecological Economics, vol. 44, no. 2/3, pp. 219–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Commission of the European Communities (2001). Green Paper “Promoting a European Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility.” COM (2001) 366 final, Brussels.

    Google Scholar 

  • Commoner, B. (1990). Making Peace with the Planet. New York: Pantheon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza, R. (ed.) (1991). Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza, R., d’Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O’Neill, R.V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R.G., Sutton, P., & Van den Belt, M. (1997). “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital.” Nature, vol. 387, pp. 253–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, H. (1992). Steady-State Economics. London: Earthscan Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly, H. & Cobb, J. (1989). For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, T. & Preston, L.E. (1995). “The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 65–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyer J.H. & Singh H. (1998). “The Relational View: Cooperative Strategy and Sources of Interorganizational Competitive Advantage.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 660–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyllick, T. & Hockerts, K. (2002). “Beyond the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability.” Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 130–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekins, P., Folke, C., & de Groot, R. (2003). “Identifying Critical Natural Capital.” Ecological Economics, vol. 44, no. 2/3, pp. 159–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekins, P., Simon, S., Deutsch, L., Folke, C., & de Groot, R. (2002). “A Framework for the Practical Application of the Concepts of Critical Natural Capital and Strong Sustainability.” Ecological Economics, vol. 44, no. 2/3, pp. 165–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkington, J. (1994). “Towards the Sustainable Corporation: Win-win-win Business Strategies for Sustainable Development.” California Management Review, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 90–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elkington, J. (2004). “Enter the Triple Bottom Line,” in A. Henriques & J. Richardson (eds), The Triple Bottom Line: Does it All Add Up? Assessing the Sustainability of Business and CSR. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Figge, F. & Hahn, T. (2004). “Sustainable Value Added—Measuring Corporate Contributions to Sustainability beyond Eco-efficiency.” Ecological Economics, vol. 48, pp. 173–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frosch, R.A. & Gallopoulos, N.E. (1989). “Strategies for Manufacturing.” Scientific American, September, vol. 261, no. 3, pp. 144–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frosch, R.A. & Gallopoulos, N.E. (1992). “Towards an Industrial Ecology,” in A.D. Bradshaw, R. Southwood, & F. Warner (eds), The Treatment and Handling of Wastes. London: Chapman and Hall for the Royal Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallopoulos N.E. (2006). “Industrial Ecology: An Overview.” Progress in Industrial Ecology—An International Journal, vol. 3, no. 1/2, pp. 10–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Global Footprint Network (2008). Footprint for Business. Available at: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/footprint_for_business.

  • Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (2002). 2002 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Available at: http://www.globalreporting.org.

  • Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (2006). G3 Guidelines. Available at: http://www.globalreporting.org.

  • Hart, S.L. (1995). “A Natural-Resource-based View of the Firm.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 986–1014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S.L. & Milstein, M.B. (1999). “Global Sustainability and the Creative Destruction of Industries.” Sloan Management Review, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 23–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawken, P., Lovins, A., & Lovins L.H. (1999). Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • IDEO (2006). Using Life Cycle Awareness Tools. Sustainability: A Lens for Design. Available at: http://sustainability.ufl.edu/forum/attachments/IDEO_ Sustainability.pdf.

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007). Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Available at: http://www.ipcc.ch.

  • International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) (2001). The Dashboard of Sustainability. Available at: http://www.iisd.org.

  • International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) (2007). Total Cost Assessment. Available at: http://www.bsdglobal.com/tools/systems_tca.asp.

  • ISO (2007). The ISO Survey of Certifications 2006. Available at: http://www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/certification/isosurvey.html.

  • Jennings, P.D. & Zandbergen, P.A. (1995). “Ecologically Sustainable Organizations: An Institutional Approach.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 1015–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, K. (1994). Out of Control. The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World. Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • KPMG (2005). KPMG International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2005. Available at: www.kpmg.com.au/Default.aspx?TabID=1278&KPMG ArticleItemID=1685.

  • Lovelock, J. (1988). The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovins, A.B., Lovins, L.H., & Hawken, P. (1999). “A Road Map to Natural Capitalism.” Harvard Business Review, vol. 77, no. 3, pp. 145–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Alier, J. (1987). Ecological Economics: Energy, Environment and Society. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonough, W. & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. New York: North Point Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Opportunities and Challenges for Business and Industry. World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C. Available at: http://www.millenniumassess-ment.org/en/index.aspx.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morin, E. (1980). L’Écologie Généralisée. Paris: Edition de Seuil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naess, A. & Rothenberg, D. (1990). Ecology, Community and Lifestyle: Outline of an Ecosophy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passet, R. (1996). L’Économique et le Vivant. Paris: Payot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, D.W. & Turner, R.K. (1990). Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrini, F., Pogutz, S., & Tencati, A. (2006). Developing Corporate Social Responsibility. A European Perspective. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrini, F. & Tencati, A. (2006). “Sustainability and Stakeholder Management: The Need for New Corporate Performance Evaluation and Reporting Systems.” Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 296–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrini, F. & Tencati, A. (2007). “Stakeholder Management and Sustainability Evaluation and Reporting System (SERS): A New Corporate Performance Management Framework,” in S. Sharma, M. Starik, & B. Husted (eds), Organizations and the Sustainability Mosaic: Crafting Long-Term Ecological and Societal Solutions, vol. 4 in Edward Elgar Series “New Perspectives in Research on Corporate Sustainability.” Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrini, F. & Tencati, A. (2008). Corporate Social Responsibility. Un Nuovo Approccio Strategico alla Gestione d’Impresa. Milan: Egea.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pogutz, S. (2007). “Sustainable Development, Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Need for an Integrative Framework.” Proceedings of The Greening of Industry Network Conference “Sustainable Ecosystems & Social Stewardship.” School of Business and Economics, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pogutz, S. & Winn, M. (2008). “Nature’s Limits. The Missing Piece in Theories of Corporate Sustainability.” GRONEN (Group on Organization and the Natural Environment) 3rd Research Conference “Business Sustainability: Crossing Disciplines, Sectors and Levels.” University of Cyprus, Nicosia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M.E. & van der Linde, C. (1995). “Green and Competitive: Ending the Stalemate.” Harvard Business Review, vol. 73, no. 5, pp. 120–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Post, J.E. (1991). “Management as if the Earth Mattered.” Business Horizons, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 32–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Post, J.E., Preston, L.E., & Sachs, S. (2002). “Managing the Extended Enterprise: The New Stakeholder View.” California Management Review, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 6–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, M.V. & Fouts, P.A. (1997). “A Resource-based Perspective on Corporate Environmental Performance and Profitability.” Academy of Management Journal, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 534–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaltegger, S. & Wagner, M. (2006). “Integrative Management of Sustainability Performance, Measurement and Reporting.” International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidheiny, S. (1992). Changing Course: A Global Business Perspective on Development and the Environment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seidl, I. & Tisdell, C.A. (1999). “Carrying Capacity Reconsidered: From Malthus’ Population Theory to Cultural Carrying Capacity.” Ecological Economics, vol. 31, pp. 395–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1987). On Ethics and Economics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, S. (2000). “Managerial Interpretations and Organizational Context as Predictors of Corporate Choice of Environmental Strategy.” Academy of Management Journal, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 681–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiva, V. (ed.) (1992). Biodiversity: Social and Ecological Perspectives. London: Zed Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shrivastava, P. (1995). “Environmental Technologies and Competitive Advantage.” Strategic Management Journal, vol. 16, pp. 183–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sneddon, C., Howarth, R.B., & Norgaard, R.B. (2006). “Sustainable Development in a Post-Brundtland World.” Ecological Economics, vol. 57, pp. 253–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solow, R.M. (1986). “On the Intergenerational Allocation of Natural Resources.” Scandinavian Journal of Economics, vol. 88, pp. 141–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starik, M. (2006). “In Search of Relevance and Impact.” Organization & Environment, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 431–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starik, M. & Rands, G.P. (1995). “Weaving an Integrated Web: Multilevel and Multisystem Perspectives of Ecologically Sustainable Organizations.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 908–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, N. (2006). Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change. Available at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sternreview_index.htm.

  • Tukker, A., Charter, M., Vezzoli, C., StO, E., & Andersen M.M. (eds) (2008). System Innovation for Sustainability 1. Perspectives on Radical Changes to Sustainable Consumption and Production. Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R.K. (1993). “Sustainability: Principles and Practice.” in R.K. Turner (ed.), Sustainable Environmental Economics and Management: Principles and Practice. London: Belhaven Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waddock, S. (2008). “Building a New Institutional Infrastructure for Corporate Responsibility.” Academy of Management Perspectives, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 87–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) & The World Conservation Union (IUCN) (2007). Business and Ecosystems. Markets for Ecosystem Services—New Challenges and Opportunities for Business and the Environment. A Perspective. Available at: http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/7g8VZQpq0LeF1xNwsbGX/market4ecosystem-services.pdf.

  • World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987). Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worldwatch Institute (2006). State of the World 2006. The Challenge of Global Sustainability. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • WWF International (2006). Living Planet Report 2006. WWF International, Gland. Available at: http://www.panda.org.

  • WWF International (2008). Living Planet Report 2008. WWF International, Gland. Available at: http://www.panda.org.

  • Zsolnai, L., Boda, Z., Dolegowski, T., Ims, K., Lozano, J., O’Higgins, E., & Tencati A. (2004). “Globalisation and the Community.” European Business Forum, no. 19, Autumn, pp. 22–3.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Technology and Innovation Management, Department of Management, Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Pogutz (assistant professor of Management and Innovation)

  2. EGADE, Mexico

    Carlos Romero (professor and dean of Graduate Programs)

Authors
  1. Antonio Tencati
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stefano Pogutz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carlos Romero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Business Ethics Center, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary

    Laszlo Zsolnai (professor and director) (professor and director)

  2. Institute of Technology and Innovation Management, Department of Management, Università Bocconi, Milan, Italy

    Antonio Tencati (assistant professor of Management and Corporate Social Responsibility) (assistant professor of Management and Corporate Social Responsibility)

Copyright information

© 2009 Antonio Tencati, Stefano Pogutz and Carlos Romero

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Tencati, A., Pogutz, S., Romero, C. (2009). Achieving Environmental Sustainability. In: Zsolnai, L., Tencati, A. (eds) The Future International Manager. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230274068_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation