Adam Smith’s seminal work in economics suggested that the morality of a society guides the “invisible hand” that steers free trade in a positive direction.  Smith recognized the society-economy nexus and equilibrium in his economic theory as crucial to society’s socioeconomic progress.  The circular economy relates to ...

City liveability is important on various levels and impacts the daily lives of billions of people. Over 80% of global GDP is generated in cities, while consuming nearly 80% of the world's energy and producing more than 60% of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, building liveable, future-ready and sustainable ...

ESG lending has terms contractually tied to the sustainability performance of borrowing companies and enables them to credibly signal their ESG commitments to external stakeholders.  But, it has been found that the disclosure of sustainability-linked loan contractual details is generally low, with considerable variatio ...

While contributing to local democracy, this toolbox supports local governments in monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using voluntary local reviews (VLRs).  VLRs contribute to the achievement of the SDGs by evaluating and monitoring progress, demonstrating polit ...

This guidance for the hospitality industry is designed to encourage combined action across the value chain, with actions to support hotel operators, asset/building owners, and brands.  It encourages all hotels to aim for net positive environmental impacts wherever they are located and whatever their starting point.  Th ...

Sustainability principles balance the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, to guarantee its long-term sustainability.  Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process.  These guidelines and management practices published by the UNWTO are applicable to all forms of tourism in ...

It is primarily the responsibility of local governments to protect the citizens and biosphere of their communities.  To regulate the development of the built environment and land use, cities integrate sustainability into their plans and implement them through zoning and local building codes.  Increasingly, local govern ...

ESG agencies don't consider the global supply chains that support company operations when measuring and rating their ESG performance.  Where ESG rating agencies ignore supply chains, the companies cherry-pick the metrics that boost their environmental and social sustainability ratings and ESG reporting.  Biased perform ...

Current studies do not question the environmental (E), social (S) and governance (G) weightings assigned by rating agencies.  Research findings on ESG conduct and financial performance of companies are inconclusive because they depend on relatively under-explored model specifications.  Nor has research identified or ex ...

Land use must be managed and regulated to mitigate climate change, improve accessibility, enhance competitiveness, restore degraded biospheres, and promote social cohesion.  This guide shares stakeholder experiences and increases their involvement and sense of responsibility, to gain broad political support for land-us ...

The sustainable development of cities requires significant investment, particularly in social development, purification, and preservation of urban nature from anthropogenic impacts.  The analysis results in the systematization of the sustainable development criteria used in compiling the world cities rankings and deter ...

Any building can benefit from smart building innovation and approaches to deliver the best value return on investment for owners and facilities managers. This guidebook by Cundall tackles some common questions and smart building misconceptions. It explains the pathways for buildings to improve performance and the occup ...

The future of tourism and the hospitality industry increasingly depends on protecting the unique and alluring locations in which hotels are located and operate.  The Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality published by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance offers simple and practical solutions that have a net positive impac ...

Top-level science-policy documents increasingly call for urgent transformative change to address the rapidly escalating global biodiversity crisis.  The proposed actions in the new Post2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) could potentially bend the curve for biodiversity – but, only if promptly implemented and in a ...

Municipalities rely on the national governments for information, training, and financing to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  This survey cites the main challenges for Austrian municipalities in adopting and implementing the SDGs and shows the need for urgent action at local, regional and national le ...