Sustainability Commons^™

Sustainability Analysis: Large-Scale Desalination Implications For Coastal California, Elizabeth H. Whitford

Master's Projects and Capstones

In response to prolonged drought, desalination is gaining popularity as an alternative water production method for fresh water. However, water desalting technology poses concerns; the process is energy intensive, creates brine waste, and has the potential to damage sensitive coastal ecosystems. Significant research is available on the technological, economic, and energy efficiency aspects of desalination, while only a small percentage of the current literature focuses on environmental impacts. This research analyzes the desalination literature holistically in terms of both energy consumption and environmental impacts by conducting 1) a historical and current state review of the sector, 2) a technology analysis …

Construction Industry: Profitable Corporate Sustainability Strategies And Processes Achieve Competitive Advantage, Chad Justin Czelusniak-Serviss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some construction industry managers lack strategies to integrate corporate sustainability strategies and processes for competitive advantage, which causes limited profitability. Grounded in the general systems theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore corporate sustainability strategies and processes senior and mid-level construction industry managers use to achieve competitive advantage in the United States. The participants were eight senior/mid-level construction industry managers from eight different construction industry organizations with at least five years of experience in the construction industry who utilized corporate sustainability strategies and processes. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Three themes emerged using thematic analysis: …

Construction Industry: Profitable Corporate Sustainability Strategies And Processes Achieve Competitive Advantage, Chad Justin Czelusniak-Serviss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some construction industry managers lack strategies to integrate corporate sustainability strategies and processes for competitive advantage, which causes limited profitability. Grounded in the general systems theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore corporate sustainability strategies and processes senior and mid-level construction industry managers use to achieve competitive advantage in the United States. The participants were eight senior/mid-level construction industry managers from eight different construction industry organizations with at least five years of experience in the construction industry who utilized corporate sustainability strategies and processes. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Three themes emerged using thematic analysis: …

Socio-Ecological Analysis Of Artisanal Gold Mining In West Africa: A Case Study Of Ghana, Richard Takyi, Rasha Hassan, Badr El Mahrad, Richard Adade

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The surge in artisanal gold mining (AGM) activities and the associated environmental impact in Ghana have elicited several stakeholders' attempts to curb the problem. However, due to little understanding of the underlying issues, these efforts have been ineffective. This study aims to use a socio-ecological framework to analyze drivers of AGM activities, the environmental pressures, the state change, their impact on human welfare, and the management response as measures (DAPSI(W)R(M)) to the problem. Evaluate AGM's impact on Ghana's ability to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Data were collected from relevant literature on the subject and analyzed with …

Employer Strategies For Improving Employee Work-Life Balance, Vernessa Lashawn Johnson-Hoffman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior leaders who fail to implement work-life balance strategies may experience reduced profits and sustainability challenges. This single case study explored employers' strategies for improving employee work-life balance. The population for the study included 4 senior leaders of a hospice care agency in North Carolina who successfully implemented employee work-life balance strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and from the review of company documents, website, and social media pages. The conceptual framework for the study was the transformational leadership theory. The trustworthiness of interpretations was supported by member checking. Four themes emerged from inductive analysis of the data: a …

Corporate Social Responsibility: Examining The Effects Of A Lean And Green Supply Chain On Bottom Line Costs And Market Valuation, Sharon Maskin

Senior Theses

This paper examines the link between a firm’s adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and the resulting monetary benefits. Specifically, it addresses four major areas of business operations that present great opportunities for supply chain cost reduction and a simultaneous decrease in environmental impact. These four areas include traditional/open-loop supply chains, product packaging waste, pollution at the manufacturing site, and logistics inefficiencies. The paper then identifies several business cases in which companies have addressed several environmental issues and driven down bottom-line costs in each of the four areas through innovation and increased resource productivity. Along with cost benefits, it …

Stakeholder Collaboration Strategies In The Hawaii Tourism Industry, Catherine Kaehu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Travel and tourism are concepts that date back to 3000 B.C. with globalization extending possibilities of travel to people across the world. Addressing stakeholder concerns is especially important in promoting the development of sustainable tourism contributing to the protection of Earth's natural resources and long-term sustainability of tourism businesses through collaboration and participation. This qualitative case study incorporated a strategic stakeholder management framework, focusing on exploring strategies that Hawaii tourism industry leaders use for increasing stakeholder participation in sustainable tourism development. The population consisted of individuals across 6 categories of Hawaii tourism industry stakeholders identified as visitors, residents, government or …

Gis Data: King George County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon A. Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie G. Bradshaw, Kory Angstadt, Karen A. Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Data

The 2017 Inventory for King George County was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® -ArcMap v10.4.1 while viewing conditions observed in Bing high resolution oblique imagery, Google Earth, and 2013 imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP).Four GIS shapefiles are developed. The first describes land use and bank conditions (King_George_lubc_2017). The second portrays the presence of beaches (King_George _beaches_2017). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines(e.g. riprap)(King_George _sstru_2017). The final shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points(e.g. piers)(King_George_astru_2017).The metadata file accompanies the shapefiles and defines attribute accuracy, data development, and any …

Summary Tables: King George County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon A. Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie G. Bradshaw, Kory Angstadt, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl H. Herschner

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Chapman University 2016 Environmental Audit: Residence Life Dining Services Equipment, Alexandra Fw Sidun, Devon T. Bloss

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Chapman University accommodates over 1700 student meal plans per day through the on-campus dining services provided by Sodexo Restaurant Services. The commercial-grade kitchens found in the Randall Dining Commons (RDC) of Sandhu Conference Center are frequently used to prepare food for students for every meal, seven days a week. The RDC kitchen facility has staff working around the clock and high consumption electrical, water, and gas appliances constantly running to parallel the high demand. The frequent use of commercial kitchen appliances results in an enormous consumption of energy and water resources leading to comparably high utility bills. Measuring the energy …

Prioritizing Management And Protection Of The Colorado River's Environmental Resources, Colorado River Research Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

4 pages.

An Enhanced Water Bank For Colorado, Anne J. Castle, Lawrence J. Macdonnell

Books, Reports, and Studies

23 pages.

Introduction and rationale -- Background on Colorado water law -- The initial Colorado water bank -- Water banks in other western states -- An enhanced water bank framework for Colorado -- Overcoming municipal preference for permanent acquisition -- Existing authority and new authority needed -- Conclusion and recommendation -- Attachment: Provisions for consideration in water bank operating guidelines.

Watershed Planning And Management In Colorado, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Books, Reports, and Studies

9 pages.

Introduction -- The watershed approach in Colorado -- Moving to the next level : implementation of the BIPs -- Possible next steps -- Conclusion.

Developing Sustainable Leadership Strategies To Increase Corporate Revenue, Linda Goulet Crosby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The business environment is in constant flux where stakeholders encourage organizational leaders to consider sustainable business tactics alongside corporate profits. While most business leaders recognize the importance of including sustainability into corporate goals, evidence suggested that only 10% have sustainable action plans in place. Using the honeybee leadership model as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the sustainable leadership strategies that business leaders from small- and medium- sized companies integrated to increase corporate revenue. These companies were B Corp certified which ensures a third party endorsement of sustainable practices. The data were collected …

Summary Tables: City Of Chesapeake, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon A. Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, David Stanhope, Karen Duhring

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Summary Tables: Accomack County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, Kory Angstadt, Christine Tombleson, Karen Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Gis Data: City Of Chesapeake, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon A. Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie Bradshaw, David Stanhope, Karen A. Duhring, Kallie Brown, Jessica Hendricks, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Data

The 2016 Inventory for City of Chesapeake was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® - ArcMap v10.2.2 while viewing conditions observed in Bing high resolution oblique imagery, Google Earth, and 2013 imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP). Four GIS shapefiles are developed. The first describes land use and bank conditions (Chesapeake_lubc_2016). The second portrays the presence of beaches (Chesapeake_beaches_2016). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines (e.g. riprap) (Chesapeake_sstru_2016). The final shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points (e.g. piers) (Chesapeake_astru_2016). The metadata file accompanies the shapefiles and defines attribute …

Managing People And Technology: The Challenges In Csr And Energy Efficient Shipping, Momoko Kitada, Aykut Ölçer

Aykut Ölçer

This paper addresses the challenges of managers in the shipping industry to implement energy efficient measures in ship operations and their roles of managing both people and technology under the fulfilment of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). An increasing pressure on shipping companies to concern about marine environment, including energy efficiency, has led managers to consider CSR as their ethical business practices. It is an accepted norm that shipping is generally the most environmentally friendly mode of transport in terms of CO2 produced per ton nautical mile. Despite an extensive amount of research available to improve energy efficiency in shipping, …

Feral Deer In The Suburbs: An Emerging Issue For Australia?, Shelley Burgin, Mariama Mattila, Daryl Mcphee, Tor Hundloe

Tor Hundloe

Deer are not endemic to Australia, but were introduced for game and aesthetics between the early 18th and 20th centuries. Until recent decades, most deer descended from these introductions. Before the 1970s when deer numbers and distribution expanded dramatically, farming was a modest enterprise. With the collapse of farming in the 1990s, large numbers of deer were deliberately released and translocated. Feral numbers and herds have subsequently expanded, and are increasingly encroaching on urban areas. As a new issue in Australia, views toward feral deer are polarized and span “welcome guest” to “major pest.” The emerging urban deer issues need …

Feral Deer In The Suburbs: An Emerging Issue For Australia?, Shelley Burgin, Mariama Mattila, Daryl Mcphee, Tor Hundloe

Daryl McPhee

Deer are not endemic to Australia, but were introduced for game and aesthetics between the early 18th and 20th centuries. Until recent decades, most deer descended from these introductions. Before the 1970s when deer numbers and distribution expanded dramatically, farming was a modest enterprise. With the collapse of farming in the 1990s, large numbers of deer were deliberately released and translocated. Feral numbers and herds have subsequently expanded, and are increasingly encroaching on urban areas. As a new issue in Australia, views toward feral deer are polarized and span “welcome guest” to “major pest.” The emerging urban deer issues need …

The Supply Chain Of Fair Trade Coffee: Challenges, Opportunities & The Future Inside A Troubled Industry, Katharine D. Lukas

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

What started as a grassroots effort to aid tradespeople in developing nations, Fair Trade and similar certification models have, over the last sixty years, successfully established themselves as a viable alternative to conventional international trade; the ongoing growth of their market share and volume emphasize the increasing market demand for these alternatives. For coffee, Fair Trade's oldest and most established commodity, over two billion pounds was sold as certified in 2012 alone and the percentage of certified coffee continues to grow in share each year (Volcafe, 2012, Fair Trade USA 2012). As Fair Trade continues to grow, so does the …

A Look At The Interim Guidelines At Their Mid-Point: How Are We Doing?, Colorado River Research Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

4 pages.

Brazilian Women Entrepreneurs: Exploring Strategies For Building Sustainable Business Organizations, Maria Ana Church

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Brazilians create an average of 1.2 million new registered enterprises annually, but some struggle to keep their business in operation. Thirty percent of the new ventures are unable to survive the first year, and 58% go out of business after the first 5 years. The goal of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of Brazilian women entrepreneurs concerning the strategies needed to build sustainable business organizations in Brazil. The individual concepts of sustainable development, sustainability, business strategies, and business models served as the theoretical foundations for the study. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 20 women entrepreneurs …

Gloucester County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Julie G. Bradshaw, Karen Duhring, David Stanhope, Kory Angstadt, Christine Tombleson, Alexandra Procopi, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The data inventory developed for the Shoreline Inventory is based on a three tiered shoreline assessment approach. This assessment characterizes conditions that can be observed from a small boat navigating along the shoreline or by using observations made remotely at the desktop using high resolution imagery. The three tiered shoreline assessment approach divides the shorezone into three regions:

1) the immediate riparian zone, evaluated for land use; 2) the bank, evaluated for height, stability, cover and natural protection; and 3) the shoreline, describing the presence of shoreline structures for shore protection and recreational purposes.

The 2014 Inventory for Gloucester County …

Charting A New Course For The Colorado River: A Summary Of Guiding Principles, Colorado River Research Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

[4] p. : color illustrations ; 28 cm.

Sustainability Efforts Of One Oil Company In Niger Delta Of Nigeria, Charles Afam Anosike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Environmental degradation and socioeconomic dilemma continue to stigmatize oil production in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Sustainability programs of oil companies often determine the improvement of living conditions in the region. This explanatory qualitative case study, guided by systems thinking theory and sustainable value framework, explored practitioners' perceptions of sustainability programs to identify its impact on business and the host communities. The research question was designed to address how sustainability efforts of a single oil company in the Niger Delta contributed to the business performance and the livelihood of the local people. Research data were gathered from a sample of …

Charles City County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Julie G. Bradshaw, Carl Hershner, Sharon Killeen, Karinna Nunez, Tamia Rudnicky, Kory Angstadt

Reports

The data inventory developed for the Shoreline Inventory is based on a three tiered shoreline assessment approach. In most cases this assessment characterizes conditions that can be observed from a small boat navigating along the shoreline. The three tiered shoreline assessment approach divides the shorezone into three regions:

1) the immediate riparian zone, evaluated for land use; 2) the bank, evaluated for height, stability, cover and natural protection; and 3) the shoreline, describing the presence of shoreline structures for shore protection and recreational purposes. GPS registered videography was used to collect data on conditions observed in the field.

Three GIS …

The Effect Of Consumerism And Regulation On Household Solid Waste Management In The United States And Germany: A Comparative Study, Amir Vafa

Amir Vafa

Private household recycling is a significant aspect of consumerism in economically developed countries and the inevitable question of household waste management has gained more importance among municipalities in recent years. The present study examined the effect of regulation on household solid waste management. Within a comparative, qualitative framework, the study explored and evaluated the pro-regulatory effects in Germany and the anti-regulatory policies in the United States by means of comparing two similar communities, Lincoln, Nebraska and Augsburg, Germany. By examining the present legislations, official documents, legal and operational procedures, and other relevant artifacts, laws, regulations and the degree of their …

Summary Tables: Charles City County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report, Marcia Berman, Karinna Nunez, Sharon A. Killeen, Tamia Rudnicky, Kory Angstadt, Julie G. Bradshaw, David Weiss, Carl Hershner

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Drinking Water Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

This document is intended to help local and regional planning agencies, and their constituent water utilities, integrate drinking water infrastructure planning and investments into plans for sustainable development. Resources listed here provide guidance on making land use decisions that protect water resources, setting adequate and sustainable drinking water rates, controlling water loss, funding water infrastructure projects, and managing water utilities.

The directory was developed by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. Through this program, EFCN is providing capacity …