This Element offers a thought-provoking and critical examination of corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR has entered the boardroom and become a mainstream management concept for businesses to address their ethical, social and environmental responsibilities towards society. CSR does not come without contestation, and firms engage in CSR for different reasons and exhibit different patterns of CSR activities. These activities range from sincere action with substantial social or environm...

This open access book is a compact guide to the development of sustainable business, which has become the central concept in discussions about the future development of humanity and planet earth. It provides basic terminology and concepts on sustainable business and offers insights into a new management paradigm that integrates social and environmental dimensions into business models, strategies, and operations. New business concepts such as the donut economy, the circular economy, social ...

Tomorrow’s changes are coming. With guidance from this invaluable resource, you can prepare for them today!The tumultuous changes in the business world during the last decade have forced too many to focus on the short term, rushing to figure out how to produce quarterly profits in chaotic conditions. As a result, the longer view is often obscured, leaving businesses so busy fighting today’s battles that they are completely unprepared for tomorrow’s war. The next ca...

The explosion in data volumes, processing power, and Artificial Intelligence, known as the "digital revolution", has driven our world to a dangerous point. One thing is increasingly clear: We are at a crossroads. We need to make decisions. We must re-invent our future.[This book includes 32 color illustrations.]After the automation of factories and the creation of self-driving cars, the automation of society is next. But there are two kinds of automation: a centralized top-...

For half a century the US has sat at the center of the global economic system, and Western-style capitalism has dominated. Now, it's no secret that the center of gravity is shifting. The advanced economies that in 2000 consumed 75% of the world's output will, by 2050, consume just 32%. Meanwhile, the emerging economies of the world--Brazil, India, China, and others--will surge forward.As these fast-growing, low-income economies mature, will they adopt the practices of the old guard...

A Good Disruption describes how disruptive technology can be used to combat the economic challenges of our age and sets out an inspirational vision of a more effective and sustainable growth model.Disruptive technology is one of the defining economic trends of our age, transforming one major industry after another. But what is the true impact of such disruption on the world's economies, and does it really have the potential to solve global problems such as...

Increasingly, business leaders are tasked with developing new products, services, and business models that minimize environmental impact while driving economic growth. It's a tall order—and a call that is only getting louder.In Can Business Save the Earth?, Michael Lenox and Aaron Chatterji explain just how the private sector can help. Many believe that markets will inevitably demand sustainable practices and force them to emerge. But Lenox and Chatterji see it differently...

Taking the business model as point of departure, this open access book explores how companies and organizations can contribute to a more sustainable future by designing innovative models that are both sustainable and profitable. Based upon years of research, it draws together theoretical foundations and existing literature on the topic of sustainable business alongside case studies and practical solutions. After examining the theoretical foundations of sustainable business model innovation...

This book focuses on innovation in the agri-food system and the new paradigm drawn by bioeconomic approaches and principles. It draws on contributions presented during the 29th EURAGRI annual conference held in Luxemburg (September 2015) as well as on other workshops organised as part of EURAGRI. EURAGRI is an informal gathering of EU research and higher education organisations and ministries interested in agri-food research. It works as a platform of exchange and discussion on topics of c...

Businesses are expected to act sustainably; it is also in both societal and their interests if businesses seek and grasp opportunities to develop more sustainable products or services. Leading international companies may already be moving in this direction, but many (especially smaller companies) are often held back by a lack of personnel or know how. This book has been written to overcome this deficit by providing a convenient ‘one-stop-shop’ where readers (whether they be business staff,...

This open access book represents a journey documenting the development of tools and methodologies over 3 decades and asks where the future lies. It further develops seminal work carried out under the auspices of the Capacity building in Sustainability and Environmental Management (CapSEM) project co-funded by the EU Erasmus programme from 2016-2019 as well as research projects such as IGLO-MP2020, SUSPRO, and SISVI. It gathers existing paradigms of environmental management within the relev...

Social Innovation is becoming an increasingly important topic in our global society. Those organizations which are able to develop business solutions to the most urgent social and ecological challenges will be the leading companies of tomorrow. Social Innovation not only creates value for society but will be a key driver for business success. Although the concept of Social Innovation is discussed globally the meaning and its impact on the development of new business strategies is still hea...