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8th World Sustainability Forum—Selected Papers
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8th World Sustainability Forum—Selected Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 23255

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Manfred Max Bergman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel, Rheinsprung 24, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
Interests: social transitions; empirical research on society and economy; sustainable consumption; mobility; corporate responsibility; community development; mixed methods research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

September 2020 marks the fifth birthday of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. If it were a child and given the right circumstances, it would now have developed fine motor skills, be able to stand on one foot for 10 seconds, have long conversations, and start to develop independence and responsibility. With The 8th World Sustainability Forum, we are not only celebrating a birthday, but are also taking stock of where we are in relation to a more sustainable world, what has worked, what has not yet worked, and where we need to go next.

Sustainability has gained considerable traction: Many countries have integrated sustainability and environmental protection as part of their national development agenda, many businesses have realized the considerable long-term potential in sustainable development, and many research agendas have aligned with sustainability goals. It is now time for the research, policy, and business communities to enter into an enduring dialog and to embrace greater global responsibilities. With this event, we hope to contribute to building a platform and network for a sustainability agenda that fosters partnerships among stakeholders beyond the boundaries of academic disciplines, narrow national agendas, and quarterly spreadsheets. The quest is to conceive of ways to assure long-term sustainable development for our people, our planet, as well as societal and corporate profit.

In light of the importance of developing institutional partnerships and networks, this forum will be coordinated by the MDPI Sustainability Foundation, the UN Global Compact, the Global Footprint Network, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Prof. Dr. Manfred Max Bergman
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 268 KiB  
Article
The Genesis and Performance of Gender Focal Person Structures in Rwanda and Uganda National Agricultural Organisations: A Critique
by Margaret Najjingo Mangheni, Peace Musiimenta, Brenda Boonabaana and Hale Ann Tufan
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10290; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810290 - 15 Sep 2021
Viewed by 2432
Abstract
Gender Focal Persons (GFPs) are commonly recruited by organisations as part of institutional efforts to mainstream gender. Despite their wide usage, these structures often struggle to achieve the intended goals. The underlying factors that explain their limited success are not well understood; yet, [...] Read more.
Gender Focal Persons (GFPs) are commonly recruited by organisations as part of institutional efforts to mainstream gender. Despite their wide usage, these structures often struggle to achieve the intended goals. The underlying factors that explain their limited success are not well understood; yet, this would inform strategies for institutionalising gender in research institutions. This paper traces the genesis and operationalisation of the gender focal person structures in Rwanda and Uganda national agricultural research organisations, to unearth factors influencing their performance. Results presented are based on document reviews and qualitative interviews with scientists, managers, and GFPs in the two organisations. We found that the GFPs hinged on individuals and donors, and operated in an ad hoc manner without streamlined procedures. The structures were not embedded in institutional frameworks, hence their low visibility within the organisations. They were characterized by informality, voluntarism, unclear terms of reference, and accountability frameworks. We conclude that the ineffective performance of the GFPs in both organisations is explained by the informal approach used to establish, operationalise, and nurture them. Institutionalising the structure would require that the pioneering champions and donors successfully negotiate the embedding of GFPs into the mainstream; eventually, guaranteeing allocation of adequate human and financial resources from national budgets, as well as the establishment of accountability systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 8th World Sustainability Forum—Selected Papers)
25 pages, 1291 KiB  
Article
Neuroeconomic Decisions in Cocoa Producers: Impact of Cooperative Innovation Methodology on Prospecting for Fair Trade Organic Niche as an Incentive for Agricultural Sustainability
by Isaac Zúniga Aguilar
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8373; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158373 - 27 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3449
Abstract
This article focuses on analyzing the neuroeconomic decisions in cocoa producers and the impact of this methodology on the productivity of fair trade organic cocoa producers on the population of Nuevo Bambamarca, province of Tocache, Peru. The main elements of the methodology are [...] Read more.
This article focuses on analyzing the neuroeconomic decisions in cocoa producers and the impact of this methodology on the productivity of fair trade organic cocoa producers on the population of Nuevo Bambamarca, province of Tocache, Peru. The main elements of the methodology are the incentive phase of associativity, the alignment phase to macro trends, the prospecting phase of the country to be exported to, the prospecting phase of the type of niche market, the prospecting phase of fair participation, the innovation and design phase of the prototype, the standardization phase of the raw material technical specifications for collection, the strengthening phase the producer’s commitment, the learning phase of the producer in crop management, and the evaluation phase of productivity in the field. This research study is pre-experimental, cross-sectional, explanatory, and descriptive. The experimental group made up of 20 fair trade organic cocoa producers of the Cooperativa Agroindustrial Naranjillo obtained on average a profitability of 143 EUR per campaign higher than the control group made up of 20 producers of conventional cocoa that did not belong to the cooperative who obtained a loss of −642 EUR per campaign, even with the same purchase price of 1.92 EUR per kg for both cases during the 2011 campaign. It is concluded that Hypothesis 1 is met, it shows that the cooperative innovation methodology of prospecting for fair trade organic niche encourages the productivity of producers of the experimental group with respect to the control group. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 8th World Sustainability Forum—Selected Papers)
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18 pages, 755 KiB  
Article
Exploring a Culture of Health in the Auto Industry
by Wendy M. Purcell, Brian S. Feldman, Molly Finn and John D. Spengler
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3924; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073924 - 01 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3458
Abstract
The Culture of Health framework includes four pillars of societal health and well-being influenced by business, namely: consumers; employees and workers in the supply chain; the community, and the environment. The Auto industry was an ideal crucible in which to explore the interface [...] Read more.
The Culture of Health framework includes four pillars of societal health and well-being influenced by business, namely: consumers; employees and workers in the supply chain; the community, and the environment. The Auto industry was an ideal crucible in which to explore the interface of public health with business given the confluence of the different domains in this sector. The substantial benefits of mobility, especially for the under-resourced, sit alongside negative impacts from emissions, accidents, products and services. Through interviews with 65 senior executives from seven major automakers, corporate actions reflecting health as a strategic agenda were mapped to the Culture of Health model. While most of the companies did not use the language of health explicitly in their strategy, key examples were present across all four pillars. Given the future of mobility relies on the interface of human experience with technology, it is a population-level challenge demanding system-level changes. Ostensibly, a framework for sustainability, the Culture of Health model could help the Auto industry navigate the disruption caused by the global megatrends and changing societal expectations of business in society and transition successfully to a new mobility economy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 8th World Sustainability Forum—Selected Papers)
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22 pages, 720 KiB  
Article
Avoidance of Food Waste from a Grocery Retail Store Owner’s Perspective
by Izabela Karolina Horoś and Tonia Ruppenthal
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020550 - 08 Jan 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 8672
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of food waste and potential prevention strategies from a grocery retail store owner’s perspective. We therefore conducted a case study in a German region through semi-structured expert interviews with grocery retail store owners. [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of food waste and potential prevention strategies from a grocery retail store owner’s perspective. We therefore conducted a case study in a German region through semi-structured expert interviews with grocery retail store owners. From the collected responses, we applied a qualitative content analysis. The results indicated that store owners try to avoid food waste as this incurs a financial loss for them that directly affects them personally, as opposed to store managers of supermarket chains who receive a fixed salary. The main causes of food waste in the grocery retail stores in the region surveyed are expiration dates, spoilage, consumer purchasing behavior, and over-ordering of food products. The most appropriate food waste prevention strategies developed by store owners are those based on store owners’ experience and their own management style, such as the optimization of sales and management strategies, including precise planning, accurate ordering, and timely price reductions on soon-to-be-expiring food products. The redistribution of food surpluses as donations to food banks, employees, and as animal feed further helps to reduce the amount of food waste, but not the financial loss. This study enhances the literature by revealing that grocery retail store owners have the ability and are willing to successfully implement and enforce food prevention strategies in their stores. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 8th World Sustainability Forum—Selected Papers)
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22 pages, 4902 KiB  
Article
The Impact of the COVID-19 Emergency on Local Vehicular Traffic and Its Consequences for the Environment: The Case of the City of Reggio Emilia (Italy)
by Samuele Marinello, Francesco Lolli and Rita Gamberini
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010118 - 24 Dec 2020
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 3330
Abstract
The COVID-19 health emergency has imposed the need to limit and/or stop non-essential economic and commercial activities and movement of people. The objective of this work is to report an assessment of the change in vehicle flows and in air quality of a [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 health emergency has imposed the need to limit and/or stop non-essential economic and commercial activities and movement of people. The objective of this work is to report an assessment of the change in vehicle flows and in air quality of a specific study area in the north of Italy, comparing the periods February–May 2020 and February–May 2019. Circulating vehicles have been measured at nine characteristic points of the local road network of the city of Reggio Emilia (Italy), while atmospheric pollutant concentrations have been analysed using data extracted from the regional air quality monitoring network. The results highlight a rapid decline in the number of vehicles circulating in 2020 (with values of up to −82%). This has contributed to a reduction in air concentrations of pollutants, in particular for NO2 and CO (over 30% and over 22%, respectively). On the other hand, O3 has increased (by about +13%), but this is expected. Finally, the particulate matter grew (about 30%), with a behaviour similar to the whole regional territory. The empirical findings of this study provide some indications and useful information to assist in understanding the effects of traffic blocking in urban areas on air quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 8th World Sustainability Forum—Selected Papers)
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