The challenges associated with the struggles for attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and objectives are as diverse and complex as the variety of human societies, national conditions and natural ecosystems worldwide. Despite decades of economic growth and technological advances, our world is plagued by poverty, hunger, disease, conflicts and inequality, and many societies are under the strain of environmental changes and governance failure. Such global-scale challenges call for the SDGs to be translated beyond bold concepts and aspirational targets into concrete programs and feasible plans that are substantively valuable, locally acceptable, pragmatic and operationally implementable. In the pursuit of the SDGs, positive results are far from guaranteed. Success is uncertain. Instead, the path forward requires difficult learning, experimentation and adaptation by multiple stakeholders. Loss and sacrifice are foreseeable and often inevitable. This important book captures the lessons from ongoing struggles and the early successes. Productive failures and emerging practices are identified, analyzed and promulgated for interdisciplinary learning by, and for the inspiration of, like-minded individuals, organizations, communities and nations worldwide. They can also inform and enrich the curricula in universities, training institutions and schools to prepare future generations of citizens, leaders and activists with the ethos and values of sustainability and social responsibility. The book offers a platform for academics, practitioners and concerned global citizens to identify pathways forward on the immense challenges of sustainability.

In this book Ian Goldin shows how the understanding of how nations escape poverty and achieve economic and social progress has changed as the pendulum has swung from arguments for state-led development to a preoccupation with market forces.

The book explores how implementation strategies engage sub-national, regional and local actors in the promotion of sustainable development. Following the obligations incurred at the Rio Earth Summit and the related UNCED process, European states began to produce sustainable development strategies in the 1990s. Implementation efforts are increasingly using ‘new’ governance arrangements, including: use of public/private partnerships new policy tools policy transfer and benchmarking policy networks and involvement of stakeholder groups and institutional capacity enhancement. The editors, whom are leading experts on the subject, explore the nature, extent and characteristics of the new governance arrangements that have been put in place to implement sustainable development strategies and initiatives at the sub-national levels. They also examine the approaches that sub-national governments adopted towards the mobilization of ‘stakeholders’ in these initiatives and what type of non-governmental actors have become involved. In Pursuit of Sustainable Development will be of interest to students and researchers of politics, development, geography, planning and social policy.

To integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning was the overarching goal of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). This, it was believed, would ‘save the planet’, encouraging behaviour changes to allow for the development of a more sustainable and just society for all. Awareness of sustainable development has risen enormously in recent years, challenging us, as individuals and as families, workplaces, and communities (both local and global), to think about and act upon the major issue which we face. The Decade reaffirmed the United Nations’ commitment to the crucial role of education and learning in the pursuit of sustainable development, and the need for far-reaching changes in the way education is often practised. Of course, the very idea that education should be for something (whether sustainable development or anything else), remains as questionable as ever. Nevertheless the instigation of the Decade clearly recognised the need for intensified efforts to achieve sustainable development. This book reflects on the role and impact of the Decade in helping to reorient education towards sustainability, and looks forward, beyond the end of the Decade and its achievements, to contemplate the way ahead, giving special attention to case studies and the state of affairs in England. The authors offer different perspectives on the effectiveness and value of particular initiatives and practices that are responses to the Decade. This book was originally published as a special issue of The Curriculum Journal.

An essential guide to sustainable development for students and practitioners Sustainability is a global imperative and a scientific challenge like no other. This concise guide provides students and practitioners with a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action in the pursuit of sustainable development, and serves as an invaluable companion to more narrowly focused courses dealing with sustainability in particular sectors such as energy, food, water, and housing, or in particular regions of the world. Written by leading experts, Pursuing Sustainability shows how more inclusive and interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives can help you achieve your sustainability objectives. It stresses the need for understanding how capital assets are linked to sustainability goals through the complex adaptive dynamics of social-environmental systems, how committed people can use governance processes to alter those dynamics, and how successful interventions can be shaped through collaborations among researchers and practitioners on the ground. The ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students and an invaluable resource for anyone working in this fast-growing field, Pursuing Sustainability also features case studies, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading. Provides a strategic framework for linking knowledge with action Draws on the latest cutting-edge science and practices Serves as the ideal companion text to more narrowly focused courses Utilizes interdisciplinary approaches and systems perspectives Illustrates concepts with a core set of case studies used throughout the book Written by world authorities on sustainability An online illustration package is available to professors

It is increasingly apparent that human activities are not suitable for sustaining a healthy global environment. From energy development to resource extraction to use of land and water, humans are having a devastating effect on the earth’s ability to sustain human societies and quality lives. Many approaches to changing the negative environmental consequences of human activities focus on one of two options, emphasizing either technological fixes or individual behavior change to reduce environmental harms through sustainable consumption habits. This book takes a different approach, focusing on the role of environmental policy in shaping the possibilities for and creating hindrances to pursuing more sustainable use of environmental resources. This unique compilation examines environmental policy through empirical case studies, demonstrating through each particular example how environmental policies are formed, how they operate, what they do in terms of shaping behaviors and future trajectories, and how they intersect with other social dynamics such as politics, power, social norms, and social organization. By providing case studies from both the United States and Mexico, this book provides a cross-national perspective on current environmental policies and their role in creating and limiting sustainable human futures. Organized around four key parts – Water; Land; Health and Wellbeing; and Resilience – and with a central theme of environmental justice and equity, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental policy and sustainability.

Sustainable development is the central challenge of the 21st Century. How can human civilization continue to develop without destroying the natural systems on which it depends?Environmentalists tell us that capitalism is the problem because it feeds our self-interest. They tell us that we have to restrain ourselves and only consume what the Earth can sustain. Or governments must tell us what we can and cannot buy. This book uses the science of complex systems to explain why governments cannot deliver sustainability or happiness and how self-interest can be used to make society sustainable. Capitalism won the Cold War; until the Great Recession of 2008, it seemed to be the perfect system. But more of us are unhappy even as it has ravaged the planet. The central problem is the paradigm on which our social systems are founded that more (consumption, production, possessions) is always better. Based on research from political economy, philosophy, and psychology, this book shows that the problem is not self-interest. We are unhappy because we have been taught that our interests are material and that buying 'stuff' will make us happy. Yet, social pressure to consume only prevents us from satisfying our basic psychological needs and fully enjoying life. For that we need to pursue our personal well-being. Because this also reduces our material consumption, environmental sustainability comes from each of us knowing what's truly good for our selves. Even without the constant economic growth that harms the planet and damages our lives, capitalism also is sustainable. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of sustainability;civil societyactivists and social entrepreneurs; thought leaders and policymakers. .

The Pursuit of Sustainability: Creating Business Value through Strategic Leadership, Holistic Perspectives, and Exceptional Performance focuses on the hierarchical levels of sustainability, strategic leadership, holistic perspectives, strategic and financial performance. It also focuses on management constructs for developing and implementing cutting-edge solutions to the exciting opportunities and daunting challenges facing strategic leaders. It discusses the requisite strategic thinking, methods, techniques, and practices for examining, understanding, and managing in today’s complex and turbulent business world. Sustainability and sustainable development are critical for creating positive outcomes and achieving success given the dynamics of the global economy and the ongoing shifts in customer expectations, emerging markets, and the intensity of competition. The aim of the book is to articulate concepts, constructs, and methodologies pertaining to how global corporations and small and medium size enterprises can develop and deploy enhanced solutions and more integrated systems that facilitate leading change in a more interconnected and dynamic business world. The basic perspective is that insightful strategic leaders and astute professionals and their companies can enhance performance, create extraordinary value, and sustain success through sophisticated leadership, cutting-edge management constructs, and state-of-the-art systems that reach across space and time. This includes establishing metrics on how companies can measure their progress in relation to global opportunities and challenges and the needs and expectations of people and society. The book is intended to provide strategic leaders, professionals, and practitioners with the insights, guidance, and methods for developing and implementing sustainable solutions and holistic management systems without prescribing a generalized model that supposedly would fit every situation. The strategic logic is really the opposite of the prevailing mindset of the last century in which generic concepts were developed by leading theorists (academics and business leaders) who believed that they could articulate “one-fits-all” business methods and models. In today’s more complicated business world, businesses and their strategic leaders and senior professionals have to develop unique management constructs and business models for achieving the desired outcomes and sustaining success. The book describes and articulates how strategic leaders and professionals can take advantage of opportunities and challenges by addressing sustainability, sustainable development, and the pursuit of sustainability and how they can develop and deploy exciting solutions and effective systems in the quest for excellence. Excellence provides the mantra for positive change and sustainable success. The book consists of two parts. Part I examines the hierarchy of sustainability, external context, and sustainable solutions. It includes defining and examining overarching concepts and constructs pertaining to sustainability and sustainable development, highlighting the importance of the pursuit of sustainability, examining the social world and the natural environment, and discussing holistic perspectives and management constructs used to achieve sustainable success. Part II explores sustainable strategic leadership, creating business value, and management constructs pertaining to performance, vulnerabilities and sustainable success. Most importantly, Part II presents a strategic sustainability performance model that allows strategic leaders and professionals to discern where they fit in the hierarchy of sustainability.