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Abstract/Syllabus:
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Sterman, John, Rebecca Henderson, Richard Locke, and Sarah Slaughter, 15.992 S-Lab: Laboratory for Sustainable Business, Spring 2008. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed 10 Jul, 2010). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
S-Lab: Laboratory for Sustainable Business
Spring 2008
The area of each country has been distorted to represent its consumption, i.e. its ecological footprint. Countries which appear larger than normal are consuming more than their fair earth share and smaller countries are consuming less. (Image courtesy of Jerrad Pierce. Used with permission.)
Course Description
How can we translate real-world challenges into future business opportunities? How can individuals, organizations, and society learn and undergo change at the pace needed to stave off worsening problems? Today, organizations of all kinds—traditional manufacturing firms, those that extract resources, a huge variety of new start-ups, services, non-profits, and governmental organizations of all types, among many others—are tackling these very questions. For some, the massive challenges of moving towards sustainability offer real opportunities for new products and services, for reinventing old ones, or for solving problems in new ways. The course aims to provide participants with access and in-depth exposure to firms that are actively grappling with the sustainability-related issues through cases, readings and guest speakers.
Technical Requirements
Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .xls.
Syllabus
Introduction
How can we translate real-world challenges into future business opportunities? How can individuals, organizations, and society learn and undergo change at the pace needed to stave off worsening problems? Today, organizations of all kinds—traditional manufacturing firms, those that extract resources, a huge variety of new start-ups, services, non-profits, and governmental organizations of all types, among many others—are tackling these very questions. For some, the massive challenges of moving towards sustainability offer real opportunities—opportunities for new products and services, for reinventing old ones, or for solving problems in new ways. Other organizations tackling sustainability are engaged in very real struggles in which the solutions are far from obvious. Alongside our questions about the problems of sustainability and how to reconcile free-market capitalism with the need for more sustainable business practices are real questions about how to move along the path towards sustainability.
This course seeks to address these questions by providing students with:
- in-depth knowledge of the various sustainability issues we face today;
- a set of analytical tools and frameworks that will help you understand/analyze as well as impact these issues; and
- experience working with a firm or organization currently developing new business models (or reforming existing ones) in line with sustainable development.
The course aims to provide participants with access and in-depth exposure to firms that are actively grappling with the sustainability-related issues through cases, readings and guest speakers.
Given the enormous challenges we face as a society and as a species, this course is focused around the question "what can companies do?" Our hope is to explore the wide variety of ways in which commercial firms are already responding to problems like global climate change, environmental degradation and social dislocation in order to support you in crafting a response that is committed both to the reality of "the bottom line" and to the need to sustain the natural and human systems on which we all rely. The course will be taught through a mixture of case studies, readings, class discussion and class visitors. A particularly important feature is the term project — a "live" project during which participants will work in groups of three to four people with an organization that has requested the Sloan School's help in thinking through an issue related to sustainability. Prior projects have included work with large companies like Disney, Intel and Nike, smaller companies like Good Energies, GoLoCo and Green Fuel Technologies and NGOs like MiBanco.
Grading
Grading criteria.
ACTIVITIES |
PERCENTAGES |
Class participation and attendance |
30% |
Project work plan |
5% |
Intermediate report |
20% |
Final report |
45% |
Missing Class
We have designed this class as an integrated whole, and if you miss class it makes it very difficult to maintain a coherent conversation. You'll miss ideas and concepts — many of them raised by your colleagues — that are not in the readings and you'll have a more difficult time contributing to the discussion. So if for some reason you are forced to miss class (and we hope that this will be a very rare occurrence!), please let the teaching assistants know in advance. We'll ask you to write up a "two pager" — a brief response to the discussion questions for the day that you will miss — and we'll also talk about how to keep you current with the conversation. Should you miss more than one class without alerting us in advance and writing up a "two pager," you will fail the course.
Calendar
Speakers
Henderson = Rebecca M. Henderson
Locke = Richard M. Locke
Slaughter = Sarah Slaughter
Sterman = John Sterman
Course schedule.
SES # |
TOPICS |
SPEAKERS |
KEY DATES |
Framing the challenge |
I. Introduction |
1 |
Course overview |
Locke; Lorrie Vogel, Manager, Nike "Considered" Brand |
Assignment 1 out |
2 |
The state of the world |
Sterman |
Assignment 1 due |
3 |
Organizational response |
Henderson |
|
Framing a response |
I. Get your own house in order |
4 |
Redefining traditional business models |
Locke; Ricardo Marini, Banco Itau |
|
5 |
Walking the talk: sustainability and new product development |
Locke |
Project bids due two days before Ses #5 |
6 |
Sustainable retail. Can big box stores really go green? |
Sterman |
|
II. Restructure the supply chain |
7 |
Ensuring sustainability along the supply chain |
Locke |
|
8 |
Ensuring the sustainability of shared resources |
Henderson |
|
9 |
Social sustainability and labor standards |
Locke |
Work plan due |
III. Be aware of what is possible |
10 |
What is legal? What is politically feasible? |
Locke; Jeff Shames, MIT Sloan |
|
11 |
Pause for reflection: everything's connected |
|
|
IV. Build a new industry (or rebuild an old one) |
12 |
Alternative transportation networks: simulation |
Sterman |
|
13 |
Case example of alternative transportation opportunities |
Sterman |
Interim report due |
14 |
Energy efficiency as a new market |
Henderson |
Assignment 2 out |
15 |
Green buildings: new markets and services |
Slaughter |
Assignment 2 due |
16 |
Sustainable infrastructure and international markets |
Slaughter |
|
17 |
Organic foods: creation of a new industry |
Henderson |
|
18 |
Growth with vision |
Henderson |
|
V. Change the world |
19 |
Action at the macro level: setting a price for carbon |
Sterman |
|
20 |
Action at the industry and societal levels: industry collaborations, certification efforts, and partnerships with NGOs |
Locke; Peter Senge |
|
21 |
Action at the community level |
Henderson; Bill Reed |
|
22 |
Individual action |
Sterman |
Draft final report due |
VI. Summary |
23 |
Poster session: project presentations |
|
Project poster due |
24 |
Reflections |
|
Final report due |
|
|
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Further Reading:
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Readings
Course readings.
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SES #
|
TOPICS
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READINGS
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Framing the challenge
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I. Introduction
|
1
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Course overview
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Case
Locke, Richard M. "The Promise and Perils of Globalization: The Case of Nike." Chapter 3 in Management: Inventing and Delivering Its Future. Edited by Thomas A. Kochan and Richard Schmalensee. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003, pp. 39-70. ISBN: 9780262112826.
Required
"Nike, Inc. Case Summary." The NaturalStep, 2003.
"Innovate for a Better World." Nike FY05-06 Corporate Responsibility Report. Beaverton, OR: Nike, Inc., 2006. (Read chapter 4, "Considered Design and the Environment" and skim chapter 3, "Workers in Contract Factories.")
Jana, Reena. "Quality over Green: Nike's New Air Jordan." Business Week, January 25, 2008. (Skim)
Recommended
Locke, Richard, and Monica Romis. "Improving Work Conditions in a Global Supply Chain." MIT Sloan Management Review 48, no. 2 (2007): 54-62.
Roberts, Dexter, and Peter Engardino. "Secrets, Lies, and Sweatshops." Business Week, November 27, 2006, pp. 50-56.
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2
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The state of the world
|
Required
Gilman, Nils, Doug Randall, and Peter Schwartz. "Impacts of Climate Change." Global Business Network, 2007. (PDF)#
Wackernagel, Mathis, et al. "Tracking the Ecological Overshoot of the Human Economy." PNAS 99, no. 15 (2002): 9266-9271.
Holdren, John. "Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being." Science 319, no. 1 (2008): 424-434.
Recommended
Cohen, Joel. "Human Population: The Next Half Century." Science 302 (2003): 1172-1175.
Jenkins, Martin. "Prospects for Biodiversity." Science 302 (2003): 1175-1177.
Pauly, Daniel, et al. "Future of Fisheries." Science 302 (2003): 1359-1361.
|
3
|
Organizational response
|
Required
Barringer, Felicity. "In Many Communities, It's Not Easy Going Green." New York Times, February 7, 2008.
Repenning, Nelson, and John Sterman. "Nobody Ever Gets Credit for Fixing Problems That Never Happened." California Management Review 43, no. 4 (2001): 64-88. (PDF)#
Repenning, Nelson, Paulo Goncalves, and Laura J. Black. "Past the Tipping Point: The Persistence of Firefighting in Product Development." California Management Review 43, no. 4 (2001): 44-63. (PDF)#
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Framing a response
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I. Get your own house in order
|
4
|
Redefining traditional business models
|
Case
Kanter, Rosabeth, and Ricardo Reisen De Pinho. "Banco Real: Banking on Sustainability." Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-305-100, April 13, 2005.
Required
Porter, Michael, and Mark Kramer. "Strategy and Society." Harvard Business Review 12 (2006): 78-92. (PDF)#
|
5
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Walking the talk: sustainability and new product development
|
Case
Lee, Deishin, and Lionel Bony. "Cradle-to-Cradle Design at Herman Miller: Moving Toward Environmental Sustainability." Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-607-003, May 30, 2007.
Required
Walker, Brian. "You Are Only As Green As Your Supply Chain." Harvard Business Review, February 6, 2008.
Recommended
"Our Journey Toward a Better World." Zeeland, MI: Herman Miller, Inc., 2007. (PDF - 2.7 MB)#
"A Message from Brian Walker, CEO." Fiscal Year 2006. Zeeland, MI: Herman Miller, Inc., 2006. (PDF - 5.4 MB)
Svoboda, Susan. "Note on Life Cycle Analysis." Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1995. (PDF)#
Robert, K. H., et al. "Strategic Sustainable Development: Selection, Design and Synergies of Applied Tools." Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002): 197-214.
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6
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Sustainable retail. Can big box stores really go green?
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Case
Plambeck, Erica, and Lyn Denend. "Walmart's Sustainability Strategy." Stanford Graduate School of Business Case. Stanford, CA: Stanford Graduate School of Business. Case: OIT-71, April 17, 2007.
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II. Restructure the supply chain
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7
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Ensuring sustainability along the supply chain
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Cases
Reinhardt, Forest. "Nestle: Sustainable Agriculture Initiative." Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-705-018, December 10, 2004.
Lee, Hau, et al. "Starbucks Corporation: Building A Sustainable Supply Chain." Stanford Graduate School of Business Case. Stanford, CA: Stanford Graduate School of Business. Case: GS-54, May 1, 2007.
|
8
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Ensuring the sustainability of shared resources
|
Required
The Marine Stewardship Council (A): Is a Joint Venture Possible Between "Suits and Sandals?" International Institute for Management Development, December 2002.
Berkes, F., et al. "Globalization, Roving Bandits, and Marine Resources." Science 311, no. 5767 (2006): 1557-1558.
|
9
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Social sustainability and labor standards
|
Case
Bartlett, Christopher A., Vincent Dessain, and Anders Sjoman. "IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor, Cases A and B." Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-906-414; 9-906-415, May 3, 2006.
Recommended
Locke, Richard M., and Monica Romis. "Improving Work Conditions in a Global Supply Chain." Sloan Management Review 48, no. 2 (2007): 53-62.
Locke, Richard M., Fei Qin, and Alberto Brause. "Does Monitoring Improve Labor Standards? Lessons from Nike." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 61, no. 1 (2007): 3-31.
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III. Be aware of what is possible
|
10
|
What is legal? What is politically feasible?
|
Required
Elhauge, Einer. "Corporate Managers' Operational Discretion to Sacrifice Corporate Profits in the Public Interest." Chapter 2 in Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms. Edited by Bruce Hay, Robert Stavins, and Richard Vietor. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2005. ISBN: 9781933115030.
Hoffman, Andrew. "The Coming Market Shift: Business Strategy and Climate Change." Chapter 7 in Cut Carbon, Grow Profits: Business Strategies for Managing Climate Change and Sustainability. Edited by Kenny Tang and Ruth Yeoh. London, UK: Middlesex University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781904750154.
|
11
|
Pause for reflection: everything's connected
|
Required
Hardin, Garrett. "The Tragedy of the Commons." Science 162, no. 3859 (1968): 1243-1248.
Locke, Richard M. "Building Trust." Draft Article. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, 2008. (PDF)
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IV. Build a new industry (or rebuild an old one)
|
12
|
Alternative transportation networks: simulation
|
Required
Struben, Jeroen, and John Sterman. "Transition Challenges for Alternative Fuel Vehicle and Transportation Systems." Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 35, no. 6 (2008): 1070-1097.
Romm, Joseph. "The Hype about Hydrogen." Issues in Science and Technology 20, no. 3 (2004): 74-81.
Sperling, Daniel, and Joan Ogden. "The Hope for Hydrogen." Issues in Science and Technology 20, no. 3 (2004): 82-86.
Recommended
Lovins, Amory, and Brett Williams. "A Strategy for the Hydrogen Transition." Paper presented at the 10th Annual U.S. Hydrogen Meeting, National Hydrogen Association. Vienna, Virginia, April 7-9, 1999. (PDF)#
Fargione, Joseph, et al. "Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt." Science 319, no. 5867 (2008): 1235-1238.
Searchinger, Timothy, et al. "Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change." Science 319, no. 5867 (2008): 1238-1240.
|
13
|
Case example of alternative transportation opportunities
|
Required
Saillant, Roger. "What the Grand Cathedrals Tell Us about Sustainable Practice." International Journal for Sustainable Business 11, no. 7 (2004): 17-20. (PDF)#
|
14
|
Energy efficiency as a new market
|
Case
Reavis, Cate, Nick Hofmeister, and Rebecca Henderson. "Gridlogix." Draft Case. 2008.
|
15
|
Green buildings: new markets and services
|
Required
"Investing in the Environment: The Financial Industry's Approach to Green Building." Environmental Building News 16, no. 11 (2007).
Kats, Gregory. "Green Building Costs and Financial Benefits." Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, 2003. (PDF)#
Miller, Norman, Jay Spivey, and Andy Florance. "Does Green Pay Off?" Draft Article, 2007. (PDF)#
|
16
|
Sustainable infrastructure and international markets
|
Required
Kotkin, Joel. "Opinion: Road Work." Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2007.
Gertner, Jon. "The Future is Drying Up." New York Times Magazine, October 21, 2007.
|
17
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Organic foods: creation of a new industry
|
Case
Miller, Katherine, and Nancy F. Koehn. "John Mackey and Whole Foods Market." Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-807-111, April 18, 2007.
|
18
|
Growth with vision
|
Required
Porter, Michael, and Mark Kramer. "Strategy and Society." Harvard Business Review, no. 12 (2006): 78-92. (PDF)#
Elhauge, Einer. "Sacrificing Corporate Profits." New York University Law Review 80, no. 3 (2005): 733-869.
Hoffman, Andrew. "The Coming Market Shift: Business Strategy and Climate Change." Chapter 7 in Cut Carbon, Grow Profits: Business Strategies for Managing Climate Change and Sustainability. Edited by Kenny Tang and Ruth Yeoh. London, UK: Middlesex University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781904750154.
|
V. Change the world
|
19
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Action at the macro level: setting a price for carbon
|
Required
Scharlemann, J. P. W., and W. F. Laurance. "How Green are Biofuels?" Science 319, no. 5859 (2008): 43-44.
Gore, Al. "New Thinking on the Climate Crisis." TED Ideas Worth Spreading, March 2008. Video lecture.
Ball, Jeffrey. "Two Carbon-Market Millionaires Take a Hit as U.N. Clamps Down." Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2008.
———. "U.N. Effort to Curtail Emissions in Turmoil." Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2008.
"Hot Politics." PBS, April 24, 2007. Video documentary.
Meadows, Donella. "The Limits to Growth Revisited." In The Global Citizen. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1991, pp. 29-33. ISBN: 9781559630580.
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20
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Action at the industry and societal levels: industry collaborations, certification efforts, and partnerships with NGOs
|
Required
Senge, Peter. "Unconventional Allies: Coke and WWF Partner for Sustainable Water." Chapter 7 in The Necessary Revolution. New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2008. ISBN: 9780385519014.
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21
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Action at the community level
|
Required
Reed, Bill. "The Integrative Design Process: Changing Our Mental Model." Arlington, MA: LEED, April 20, 2006.
———. "A Living Systems Approach to Design." Theme Keynote Address for the AIA National Convention, San Antonio, TX, May 2007.
Playa Viva. "Playa Viva Community." Watch all seven videos by Playa Viva.
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22
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Individual action
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Required
Meadows, Donella. "Living Lightly and Inconsistently on the Land." In The Global Citizen. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1991, pp. 15-17. ISBN: 9781559630580.
———. "The Limits to Growth Revisited." In The Global Citizen. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1991, pp. 29-33. ISBN: 9781559630580.
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VI. Summary
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23
|
Poster session: project presentations
|
|
24
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Reflections
|
|
|
|
Downloads:
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1. Gilman, Nils, Doug Randall, and Peter Schwartz. "Impacts of Climate Change." Global Business Network, 2007
|
2. Repenning, Nelson, and John Sterman. "Nobody Ever Gets Credit for Fixing Problems That Never Happened." California Management Review 43
|
3. Repenning, Nelson, Paulo Goncalves, and Laura J. Black. "Past the Tipping Point: The Persistence of Firefighting in Product Development
|
4. Porter, Michael, and Mark Kramer. "Strategy and Society." Harvard Business Review 12 (2006): 78-92
|
5. Our Journey Toward a Better World. Zeeland, MI: Herman Miller, Inc., 2007
|
6. "A Message from Brian Walker, CEO." Fiscal Year 2006. Zeeland, MI: Herman Miller, Inc., 2006
|
7. Svoboda, Susan. "Note on Life Cycle Analysis." Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1995
|
8. Locke, Richard M. "Building Trust." Draft Article. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, 2008
|
9. National Hydrogen Association. Vienna, Virginia, April 7-9, 1999
|
10. Saillant, Roger. "What the Grand Cathedrals Tell Us about Sustainable Practice." International Journal for Sustainable Business 11, no. 7 (2004): 17-20
|
11. Kats, Gregory. "Green Building Costs and Financial Benefits." Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, 2003
|
12. Miller, Norman, Jay Spivey, and Andy Florance. "Does Green Pay Off?" Draft Article, 2007
|
13. Porter, Michael, and Mark Kramer. "Strategy and Society." Harvard Business Review, no. 12 (2006): 78-92
|
14. Bell, Ann Maria. "Taking Externalities Seriously: An Economic Perspective on the Precautionary Principle." Redefining Progress, 2002
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15. Murcott, Susan. "Implementation, Critical Factors and Challenges to Scale-Up of Household Drinking Water Treatment and Safe Storage Systems." Draft Article, May 2006
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16. Brown, Paige, editor. "Sustainable Agriculture and Common Assets: Stewardship Success Stories." Redefining Progress, 2002
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17. "Catalyzing Change." Stockholm, Sweden: Global Water Partnership, 2004. ISBN: 9789197455992
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18. Grayson, David, et al. "A New Mindset for Corporate Responsibility." White paper sponsored by BT and Cisco, 2008
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19. "Business Guide to a Sustainable Supply Chain." Auckland, Australia: New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2003
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Webliography:
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Related Resources
General References and Resources
Little, Richard G. "Tending the Infrastructure Commons: Ensuring the Sustainability of Our Vital Public Systems." Paper presented at the International Workshop on Integrated Life-cycle Management of Infrastructures, Hong Kong, December 9-11, 2004.
Bell, Ann Maria. "Taking Externalities Seriously: An Economic Perspective on the Precautionary Principle." Redefining Progress, 2002. (PDF)#
Commission on Sustainable Development. "Sanitation: Policy Options and Possible Actions to Expedite Implementation." United Nations report, December 2004. This report can be accessed from here, file E/CN.17/2005/3.
Kareiva, Peter, Sean Watts, Robert McDonald, and Tim Boucher. "Domesticated Nature: Shaping Landscapes and Ecosystems for Human Welfare." Science 316, no. 5833 (2007): 1866-1869.
Gleick, Peter. "Global Freshwater Resources: Soft-Path Solutions for the 21st Century." Science 302, no. 5650 (2003): 1524-1528.
Margonelli, Lisa. "Waste Not." Atlantic, May 2008.
Murcott, Susan. "Implementation, Critical Factors and Challenges to Scale-Up of Household Drinking Water Treatment and Safe Storage Systems." Draft Article, May 2006. (PDF)#
Brown, Paige, editor. "Sustainable Agriculture and Common Assets: Stewardship Success Stories." Redefining Progress, 2002. (PDF)#
"Catalyzing Change." Stockholm, Sweden: Global Water Partnership, 2004. ISBN: 9789197455992. (PDF)#
Grayson, David, et al. "A New Mindset for Corporate Responsibility." White paper sponsored by BT and Cisco, 2008. (PDF)#
"Just Good Business." Economist, January 17, 2008.
Hamschmidt, Jost. Case Studies in Sustainability Management and Strategy. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing, 2007. ISBN: 9781906093013.
Gates, Bill. "A New Approach to Capitalism in the 21st Century." Remarks at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, 2008.
Rosling, Hans. "New Insights on Poverty and Life Around the World." TED Ideas Worth Spreading, March 2007. Video lectures.
"Business Guide to a Sustainable Supply Chain." Auckland, Australia: New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2003. (PDF - 2.6 MB)#
"How Companies Think About Climate Change." The McKinsey Quarterly, December 2007.
Simpson, Sarah, ed. "10 Solutions to Save the Oceans." Conservation Magazine 8, no. 3 (2007).
Sachs, Jeff. "Bursting at the Seams." London, UK: BBC. Radio lecture.
Plan B: Adapting to a Warmer World.
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