OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Can Stakeholder Mapping and Attributes be Exploited to the Advantage of Sustainability?
Ogechi Okoro 1, Adrian France 2
1, 2 Centre for Business and Enterprise, Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Abstract: The world is witnessing appreciable advancements in different spheres of life. However, an alarm is being raised in the way society consumes finite natural resources and how such unbridled behavior has affected the world around us. Therefore, business is being held to a higher level of accountability to ensure that we do not run out of those resources. Competition is at its peak as globalization gains more visibility despite the rise of nationalism. This is presenting both opportunities and challenges for business, but the consensus is that the world needs to rethink its production, consumption, and disposal processes. Today, concepts such as Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Business Ethics etc. have been resonating in the business community. At the center of this new paradigm is the growing need to incorporate stakeholders in business policies and practices. Lately, sustainability is being echoed in most organizations through policy changes on people, planet, and profit (3Ps). As the Shareholder Primacy Norm (SPN) is being relegated to the background, sustainability is becoming a major factor on the overall relationship between business and society. Therefore, its relevance can hardly be exaggerated. This paper focuses on stakeholder mapping and attributes, and how they can be harnessed to gain stakeholder commitment to sustainability matters. Experience demonstrates how some stakeholder groups have maximized power and urgency attributes to positively influence the supply chain management behavior of some multinational organizations and acknowledges the lack of homogeneity in different sectors of the economy. Essentially, the paper explores the transferability of such approaches in all sectors to promote and maintain sustainability. Additionally, it recognizes the increasing influence of stakeholders globally and tries to examine its relevance to the concept of sustainability as it shifts from ideology to an inevitable business longevity strategy. It decomposes the different perspectives in which stakeholder groups can be used to achieve sustainability by paying attention to the 3Ps. Some setbacks experienced by companies (especially the extractive industry) in their sustainability drive have been identified. The paper concludes by highlighting extant practices and gaps in business’ approach to sustainability from both developing and less-developed nations dimension. Furthermore, it establishes a relationship between the institutional environment and embrace of sustainability. Finally, it makes recommendations that are driven by stakeholder attributes to the required awareness in the production, consumption, and disposal of goods.
Keywords: 3Ps, Business Ethics, CSR, Stakeholder, Sustainability.
Social Return on Investment on Improving Access to Sustainable Water Sanitation and Hygiene Services in Selected Health Care Facilities in Rwanda – A Reflective Baseline Analysis
Maurice Kwizera 1, Jean Lambert Sebareze 2 , Ronnie Murungu 3
1, 2 WaterAid Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
3 WaterAid East Africa, Kigali, Rwanda.
Abstract: Investment decisions in a project or program requires a judgment of whether the expected development results justify the costs. This generally and ordinarily calls for rigorous processes and systems to be institutionalized to help in projecting clear results at both output and outcome levels as well as the costs associated with achieving those results. Social Return on Investment (SROI), in this regard, is one critical measure that is increasingly being deployed by development agencies in respect of the aforementioned but also to measure the social value of interventions. This study is a reflective analysis of social impact of Water Sanitation and Hygiene services implemented by WaterAid Rwanda in selected communities and health care facilities in Rwanda. Social Return on Investment analysis was used as the assessment tool based on SROI 7 principles. The analysis has significantly helped to determine the impacts that the project has created and to identify the most productive aspects. To augment the SROI analysis core aspects of Value for Money – economy, efficiency, and effectiveness were also employed.
Keywords: Health, Hygiene, Investment, Sanitation, Social Return, Water, Rwanda
The Cost of Justice in the European Union: Budgetary Analysis of the Performance of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Dimitrios V. Skiadas
1 Chair on Budgetary Governance in the EU & Audit and
Dept of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia (GR), Thessaloniki, Greece.
Abstract: The economic impact of a well-functioning justice system has been verified in various studies identifying the strong correlations between the improvement of court efficiency and the growth rate of the economy, and businesses’ perception of judicial independence and the growth in productivity. Thus, examining the relevant performance of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is a very interesting exercise. This examination focuses on its case management process, in particular whether the procedures in place promote the efficient handling of the cases lodged and whether their timely resolution could be enhanced. The assessment and accountability tools in place at the CJEU are also examined. The examination’s findings will feed some future considerations in view of the possible roles of the CJEU in the EU institutional regime.
Keywords: Budgetary Analysis, Court of Justice, European Union, Performance
Establishing a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Policy for Urban Sustainability in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: A Theoretical Model
Robert W. Taylor 1, Hoang Nguyen Ba 2, Huy Huu Nguyen 3
1 Department of Earth & Environmental Studies, Montclair State University of New Jersey, USA.
2 Ho Chi Minh University of Transportation, Vietnam.
Abstract: Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city and the economic center of Vietnam. It has a land area of 2,095 square kilometers with a population of 8.2 million. Its increasing population growth, rural-to-urban migration, high density development in the center, huge and increasing travel demand, insufficient road infrastructure and limited public transit, present an enormous challenge for its urban planners to develop an efficient and sustainable transportation system. A city built at sea level, its faces serious climate change issues as flooding and increased carbon use add to its environmental problems. This paper provides a theoretical model for the development of a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Policy for urban sustainability in Ho Chi Minh City. This model acts as a sustainable transportation planning strategy designed to produce vibrant neighborhoods with compact, walkable, mixed-use development centered on rail and bus transit systems. The paper addresses three basic questions. First, what is Transit-Oriented Development and how is it a model for urban sustainability? For this question, a recent research literature on TOD’s is undertaken within the framework of its relevance for establishing a TOD Policy for Ho Chi Minh City. Second, how does a TOD Policy offer a solution to urban traffic problems in Ho Chi Minh City? For this question, an in-depth review of transportation problems in Ho Chi Minh City is undertaken with an analysis of how TOD’s can provide a solution. And third, how can a TOD policy be implemented in Ho Chi Minh City? For this question, a pathway to how a TOD Model can be implemented for Ho Chi Minh is presented. This model discusses the present urban planning system; the tools that exist for a TOD policy to be implemented; and the barriers to that implementation. This research project was the result of a Fulbright Specialist Program Grant provided by the United States Government.
Keywords: Development, Planning, Transportation, Urban, Vietnam