Chapter 4: Sustainability challenge

Question 1

What is sustainable management?

Answer 1

Management that sustains and balances social, environmental and economic capital in the short, medium and long run.

Question 2

What is sustainable development?

Answer 2

development that meets needs of present without compromising needs of future generations

Question 3

What is the triple bottom line?

Answer 3

refers to combined social, environmental and economic impacts.

Question 4

What does the Doughnut model for economic development suggest?

Answer 4

suggest that there are two fundamental aspects to achieving sustainable development: Sustainability builds on social foundation of minimum human and humane needs that need to be fulfilled while staying inside ecological ceiling.

Question 5

Which two problems should be avoided at all costs according to the Doughnut model for economic development?

Answer 5

1. Social shortfalls: repairing current shortfall in fulfilling human needs and redistribute fulfilment more evenly
2. Environmental overshoot: stop overshoot in terms of using too much natural resources

Question 5

What is a footprint?

Answer 5

sum of one or more types of environmental, social and economic impacts for one pre-defined entity. Specific type of footprint measure relationship between entity’s resource usage and planetary resource production.

Question 6

What is sustainability?

Answer 6

degree to which a situation will maintain environmental, social and economic capital.

Question 7

What are the three categories of footprint measure?

Answer 7

1. Sustainable: usage and reproduction are equal
2. Restorative: usage is smaller than reproduction
3. Unsustainable: usage is larger than reproduction

Question 8

Name the five classifications of triple bottom line management

Answer 8

1. Below-average sustainable management
2. Average-unsustainable management
3. Sustainable management
4. Neutral impact management
5. Restorative management

Question 9

What is triple bottom line management?

Answer 9

Management type that comprises practices influencing environmental, social and economic bottom lines in order to reach neutral or positive triple bottom line.

Question 9

What is below-management unstustainable management?

Answer 9

negative net-triple bottom line impact, below those of similar peers

Question 10

What is sustainable management?

Answer 10

small net negative triple bottom line impact that doesn’t exceed planetary restorative capacity

Question 10

What is average-unsustainable management?

Answer 10

net negative triple bottom line impact that corresponds to normal impact of similar peers

Question 11

What is neutral impact management?

Answer 11

neutral net triple bottom line

Question 12

What is a life-cycle impact inventory made up of?

Answer 12

1. Environmental life-cycle assessment
2. Life-cycle costing (economic impact)
3. Social life-cycle assessment

Question 12

What is a life-cycle assessment?

Answer 12

practice of mapping out environmental, social and economic impacts along the stages of production, use, and the end-of-useful life of a product.

Question 12

What is an impact?

Answer 12

negative or positive environmental, social or economic value created.

Question 13

What is restorative management?

Answer 13

net positive triple bottom line impact, replenishes at least one type of capital without depleting another one.

You cannot compensate a negative impact in one dimension of 3BL by another

Question 14

What is a life-cycle impact inventory?

Answer 14

extensive list of a company’s impacts resulting from a life-cycle assessment, summing up impacts of a business along with all products and services in its portfolio

Question 15

What are the principles of sustainable development?

Answer 15

1. Sustainable development
2. Three types of capital
3. Triple bottom line
4. Unsustainabel management has negative 3BLm sustainable management is neutral, restorative management has positive 3BL.
5. Sustainable management is process of managing to ensure neutral or positive 3BL
6. Process of sustainable management is based on product life-cycle impact assessment and can be divided in impact assessment and impact management
7. Life-cycle impact management: measures all types of impacts in all stages of life-cycle
8. Stages of life-cycle impact are 1) goal and scope, 2) life-cycle inventory, 3) life-cycle impact assessment and 4) life-cycle interpretation

Question 15

What are the three pillars of impact management?

Answer 15

1. Optimize triple bottom line: move towards sustainability
2. Eliminate waste in whatever form
3. Scale sustainable management practices to have a larger impact. Grow activities and inspire others.

Question 16

What are the steps in a life-cycle assessment?

Answer 16

1. Defining goal and scope: develop understanding of why LCA is conducted.
2. Life-cycle inventory: quantifies inputs and outputs of the product’s life-cycle.
3. Life-cycle impact assessment: to evaluate the significance of impacts listed in inventory and organize them for analysis and management purposes.
4. Life-cycle interpretation: connecting elements between life-cycle assessment and impact management.

Question 17

What are the five phases in the Kuznets curve?

Answer 17

1. Economically underdeveloped
   2, Economically developing
2. Economically developed
3. Sustainably developing
4. Sustainably developed

Question 18

What is Kuznets curve?

Answer 18

Kuznets curve helps understand the effects of future economic development and wealth inequalities and shows that environmental degradation and income inequality is going to rise and fall.

Question 19

What is economically developing in Kuznets curve?

Answer 19

increase in inequality, environmental impact starts to exceed planetary boundaries. Examples are Thailand and Brazil

Question 19

What are the hurdles in reaching sustainable development?

Answer 19

1. Vast majority of world lives in underdeveloped or developing countries. 2. No developed country has reached status of sustainably developed countries, necessary for global sustainable development.

Question 20

What does Economically underdeveloped mean in Kuznets curve?

Answer 20

criteria are bad, low consumption due to poverty so environmental degradation within planetary boundaries

Question 21

What does sustainably developing mean in Kuznets curve?

Answer 21

reached high equality, reduces country’s footprint through efficiency gains. Examples are scandinavian countries, Germany etc.

Question 22

What does economically developed mean in Kuznets curve?

Answer 22

decrease income inequality, major middle class. Negative environmental impact but decrease. Above planetary boundaries

Question 23

What does sutainably developed mean in Kuznets curve?

Answer 23

almost equal distribution of wealth and ecological footprint within planetary boundaries. No country has reached this level yet

Question 24

Name two public policies that are effective for countries in the first four phases of Kuznets curve to foster sustainable development

Answer 24

1. Economically underdeveloped and developing countries should become fast-learners in existing sustainable development practices. Aim to achieve economic growth and welfare, while keeping inequality and pollution inside sustainability threshold. 2. Economically developed and sustainably developing countries should primarily aim to increase equality and decreasing environmental impact to within planetary limits.

Question 25

What is sustainability?

Answer 25

The development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability encompasses many aspects.

Question 26

What is the difference between strong and weak sustainability?

Answer 26

In strong sustainability, we cannot swap sustainability for economic activity In weak sustainability we can

Question 27

What are the three constituent dimensions of sustainability?

Answer 27

1. Scope: What are regarded as sustainability issues (broad vs narrow) 2. Substitutability: can poor performance in one issue be compensated by good performance in another (strong vs weak) 3. Goal orientation: how do we assess sustainability (Absolute vs relative)

Question 28

What are the Earth's 4 squeezes?

Answer 28

- Human growth – 20/80 dilemma (20% caused 80% of environmental problems) - Climate – 550/450/350 dilemma (Current – expected – desired CO2 concentration) - Ecosystems – 60% loss dilemma ( - Surprise - 99/1 dilemma (99% of change comes from 1% of events)

Question 29

Name the planetary boundaries?

Answer 29

- Climate change - Freshwater change (green and blue water) - Stratospheric ozone depletion - Atmospheric aerosol loading - Ocean acidification - Biogeochemical flows - Novel entities - Land-system change - Biosphere integrity

Question 30

What does the triple bottom line consist of?

Answer 30

- People (Social capital = capital embodied in human beings - Planet (Environmental capital = natural resources) - Profit (Economic capital= assets and financial resources)

Question 31

Name the three overlaps between the elements of the 3BL

Answer 31

Overlap people and planet: bearable Overlap planet and profit: viable Overlap profit and peole: equitable

Question 32

Name to tools to reach sustainability?

Answer 32

1. Circular economy 2. Life cycle assessment

Question 33

What are the three types of loops of circular economy?

Answer 33

1. Narrowing loops: higher resource efficiency 2. Slowing loops: utiliation period of products extended/ intensified. Only for circular economy 3. Closing loops: closing loop between post-use and production through recycling. Only for circular economy

Question 34

What is ecological footprint?

Answer 34

sum of all biologically productive areas needed to meet human demand

Question 35

What is biocapacity?

Answer 35

sum of all biologically productive areas that are actually available

Question 36

What are paradoxes?

Answer 36

combination of simultaneously existing elements, features or situations which make sense in isolation but appear contradictory when juxtaposed

Question 37

Name three sustainability paradoxes?

Answer 37

1. Providing energy to the world  Fighting climate change 2. Poor working conditions  Providing income and employment 3. Offering free and convenient online services  Data privacy

Question 38

Name two ways to manage paradoxes?

Answer 38

1. Acknowledge tensions 2. Create strategies to manage tensions

Question 39

Name three key concepts in dealing with paradoxes

Answer 39

1. Acceptance: Distinguishing between two extremes of paradox and seek ways to live with the situation 2. Synthesis: Seek to accommodate opposing tension poles. Incorporating new perspectives that bring poles together while preserving their identity 3. Separation: facilitating management of paradoxes by separating the two poles spatially or temporally.