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The Economics and Business of Sustainability PDF

373 Pages·2021·11.369 MB·English
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The Economics and Business of Sustainability Given the emergence of sustainability as the defning issue of our time, it is essential for university graduates, and especially business and economics students, to have a fundamental grasp of the key issues in this emerging multidisciplinary feld of study. Nemetz provides a comprehensive, detailed overview of the interlinked economic and ecological concepts central to this new discipline. Accompanying the introduction of the underlying theory is a broad array of real-world supporting data from Asia, Europe and North America. This volume also features a chapter on the threat of emerging pandemics and their signifcance for the achievement of a truly sustainable world. This book accentuates the value and importance of a strong sustainability approach in an age of climate change emergency. It is an ideal companion for instructors and students of sustainability in business, economics and related disciplines such as geography and political science. Peter N. Nemetz is Professor of Strategy and Business Economics at the University of British Colombia, Canada. The Economics and Business of Sustainability Peter N. Nemetz First published 2022 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 Peter N. Nemetz The right of Peter N. Nemetz to be identifed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Nemetz, Peter N., 1944- author. Title: The economics and business of sustainability / Peter N. Nemetz. Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable development. | Business--Environmental aspects. | Climatic changes—Economic aspects. Classifcation: LCC HC79.E5 N446 2021 | DDC 338.9/27—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021013614 ISBN: 978-0-367-77311-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-77309-0 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-17073-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003170730 Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC To my dearest wife, Roma, and daughter, Fiona, the grandest stars in my universe – may they continue to burn bright for many years to come. Contents List of fgures ix List of tables xii Other books by the author xiv Preface xv 1 Book outline, rationale and introduction 1 Appendix 1.1: A simple example of systems theory 9 Appendix 1.2: Business and ecosystems as complex adaptive systems 11 2 A brief historical overview of economic development and the environment: Pre- and post-agricultural revolution 16 3 A brief historical overview of economic development and the environment: The Industrial Revolution and sequel 36 Appendix 3.1: A short primer on input-output analysis 65 4 What are we trying to achieve? Measuring wealth and well-being 74 Appendix 4.1: The World Bank’s calculation of total wealth (World Bank 2011, pp. 142–143, reproduced with permission) 107 Appendix 4.2: Well-being indicator variables used by the OECD (2011b) 109 5 An overview of environmental economics 113 Appendix 5.1: Sulfur dioxide trading in the US 130 Appendix 5.2: Greenhouse gases and economic incentives 132 Appendix 5.3: The Toxic Release Inventory and its effects 141 6 Cost-beneft analysis and measuring environmental benefts 152 Appendix 6.1: Applying evaluation methodology – case study of the US Clean Air Act 177 Appendix 6.2: Placing a value on ecosystem services – case study of New York City’s water supply 181 Appendix 6.3: A brief overview of multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) 183 viii Contents 7 Placing a value on human life 191 Appendix 7.1: Philip Morris’ report to the government of Czechoslovakia 197 8 Some relevant ecological principles 199 9 A brief outline of ecological economics 239 Appendix 9.1: Valuing ecosystem services of North America’s boreal forest 259 Appendix 9.2: Case study of Thai shrimp farming 262 10 Risk analysis and the precautionary principle 267 Appendix 10.1: Two classic examples of risk framing 298 Appendix 10.2: The precautionary principle and global warming 300 11 Pandemics and sustainability 309 12 The path forward 317 Index 340 Figures 1.1 IPCC-predicted effects of temperature increases 5 1.2 System effects of loss of forest cover 10 2.1 Easter Island 17 2.2 Ecosphere 18 2.3 Typical predator-prey interaction 19 2.4 Typical population collapse 20 2.5 Global population estimates 20 2.6 Some exponential growth examples 22 2.7 Estimated gross world product 24 2.8 Percentage of undernourished population in the developing world 25 2.9 Population growth vs. GDP/capita in 2000 26 2.10 Selected national population pyramids 27 2.11 US national population pyramids 28 2.12 Landmarks in global economic development 30 2.13 Salinity problems in the US West 32 2.14 Colorado River fows 33 3.1 Global materials extraction 37 3.2a UK historical energy consumption 38 3.2b US energy consumption 38 3.3 UK CO emissions 39 2 3.4 US CO emissions 40 2 3.5a Traditional environmental Kuznets curves (I) 40 3.5b Traditional environmental Kuznets curves (II) 41 3.6 Revised environmental Kuznets curve 41 3.7 Ratio of male to female births as function of PCB concentration in maternal serum in the Arctic 42 3.8 The risk transition 43 3.9 The full environmental risk transition 44 3.10 CO emissions in the developed and developing world 45 2 3.11 Change in GHG and GDP by HDI groupings 46 3.12a CO emissions – China and India 47 2 3.12b CO emissions – Japan, France and Germany 48 2 3.13 UK consumption-based vs. production-based CO footprint 49 2 3.14 US consumption-based vs. production-based CO footprint 50 2 3.15 China consumption-based vs. production-based CO footprint 51 2 3.16 Total global GHG emissions 52

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