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Research that Drives Sustainability: Case Studies 2021/2022

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From lab-grown shrimp to low-emission cement and circular denim manufacturing, INSEAD faculty have produced 12 case studies examining sustainability in key sectors

As a leading global business school, INSEAD produces responsible research to inform thinking and decisions by business leaders. The school often uses these studies to teach in the case method, which encourages students to explore and think deeply about real-world challenges. By producing case studies that highlight the benefits of sustainable business practices, the school can showcase what is possible in terms of innovation and sustainability.

To support this research, the INSEAD Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society presents 12 sustainability-related case studies published during Academic Year 2021/2022. Each case addresses challenges from key economic sectors and highlights how business leaders can move towards sustainability solutions.

Cement Industry

Professor Henrich Greve focused on the Indian cement-making industry and Dalmia Cement in particular. Cement is critical for growth in the developing world but at the same time produces extensive CO 2 emissions. Cement is required for construction of essential infrastructure such as bridges, buildings and roads. Professor Greve pointed out that some firms in India’s cement industry, including Dalmia Cement, are making efforts towards sustainability goals. This case highlights that orienting a firm’s focus on sustainability releases innovation and can yield positive results even in a heavy industry sector.

Fashion is another sector with a substantial carbon footprint. In this case, Professors Atalay Atasu and Luk Van Wassenhove analysed Turkish denim manufacturer ORTA Anadolu , a company designing denim products around circular economy processes. The research focuses on circular processes that require both sustainable production and consumption. This case examines a firm taking the operational steps needed to address sustainability and promote circular fashion. “Beliefs and intent are useful, but our goal is to provide frameworks and a deeper understanding, allowing one to be an actor in the necessary transition rather than just an advocate,” Professor Van Wassenhove said.

Health Care

Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is an important target under the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In this case study , professors Stephen E. Chick and Ridhima Aggarwal discussed the Kenyan government’s pilot UHC programme launched in 2018 in four of Kenya’s 47 counties to allow access to health services. Universal health coverage will be scaled across the country based on findings from the initial pilot. “The case allows for a discussion of the design and execution of a UHC programme through the lenses of operational excellence and strategy execution,” Professor Chick explained.

Private Equity

Sustainability and ESG considerations are increasingly in focus for the investment industry as fund managers seek to account for the environmental impact of the businesses they invest in. This case study by Professor Claudia Zeisberger discussed the ESG journey of Pro-Invest Group, an investment firm that specialises in private equity real estate. The case describes how Pro-Invest Group co-founder and co-CEO Europe, Dr. Sabine Schaffer, embraced sustainability and led Pro-Invest to be recognized with the highest environmental ratings. Sustainability is an emerging priority in the private equity sector due to financial returns and benefits such as retaining staff, boosting innovation, and attracting investors. “Firms want to and need to learn about how to implement sustainability and ESG considerations into their businesses, funds and assets,” Professor Zeisberger said.

Food Systems

In a case study focused on food production. Professor N. Craig Smith studied Singapore entrepreneur Sandhya Sriram, co-founder of Shiok Meats. This innovative start-up grows seafood products, including shrimp meat, in a laboratory with an aim to reduce in environmental pressure. “The Singapore start-up was the first in the world to develop a commercially-viable way to grow shrimp meat from stem cells – meat that could be eaten without needing to kill animals,” Professor Smith said. The name “Shiok” can mean delicious in Singaporean slang.

Branding Responsibility

In a case study on condiment market, Professor Paulo Albuquerque investigated if a company’s larger sense of purpose can have a positive impact on that company’s retail sales. This case explores how Unilever Hellmann was losing its once dominant market share in European mayonnaise to its rival Kraft Heinz. Case participants discussed several options Unilever Hellmann had to gain market share back from Kraft Heinz including articulating that its brands contributed to the improvement of society.

Agriculture

In a case study on food production, Amitava Chattopadhyay discussed how Carla Barbotó and Santiago Peralta built Pacari, an award-winning ethical chocolate brand with more than 160 accolades including World’s Best Chocolate. This brand is 100% Ecuadorian from farmer to consumer and encourages farmers improve their methods and grow premium beans. The company seeks to close the vast gap between chocolate producers and consumers in Ecuador, a country where impoverished cacao farmers export beans and companies import chocolate for consumers. The case study explores how Pacari differentiated the brand in the market by embracing the values of community and sustainability.

Human Resources

In the case study, Professor Quy Huy explores the importance of people-centred growth for Haidilao , a Chinese hot pot restaurant chain. The chain built their growth on exceptional service enabled by a focus on staff welfare as outlined in SDG #8 ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’. The case study explores the factors that enabled Haidilao’s expansion, including the five-part HR system which places people first and created a corporate culture of excellence. “The secret sauce was the company’s attention to the welfare of its employees, who were encouraged to work hard to progress fast,” Prof Quy explained.

Food Industry

This three-part case study authored by Professor Stanislav Shekshnia and Professor Ludo Van der Heyden discussed Danone Group. In 1972, twenty years before the phrase “sustainable development” became widely used, Danone founder Antoine Ribaud proclaimed that corporate leaders should conduct the affairs of their companies with their hearts as well as their heads. Years later in 2019, Danone’s new leader Emmanuel Faber introduced a financial metric to track the company’s “carbon adjusted earnings per-share”. As Danone invested capital to reduce its carbon footprint, this financial metric tracked progress in reducing environmental impact. In 2020, Danone was granted enterprise a’ mission status in France, which means its social and environment objectives work in harmony with profit objectives.

Tea Production

In a case study on Dilmah Ceylon Tea , Professors Amitava Chattopadhyay and Luk Van Wassenhove discussed the organisation’s commitment to quality tea measured by taste, goodness and purpose. The company’s ethical principles are guided by the “Dilmah Standard”, which follows national and international quality systems and certifications to produce ‘single-origin tea’. Dilmah also established the Dilmah Conservation and Sustainability Unit and invests no less than 15% of its pre-tax profits into humanitarian and environmental initiatives each year. The case study explores the possibility to increase Dilmah profits and growth by leveraging the company’s focus on humanitarian and environmental issues in its brand strategy.

Business practices with a large carbon footprint or high human cost can contribute to some of our most pressing global issues. If left unaddressed, these unsustainable practices can have negative impacts on society. With the right strategies, thoughtful leadership and proactive planning, companies can move towards more sustainable business models and open new opportunities. By learning from innovative companies and seeing inspiring examples, business leaders can better understand how their company can step into the solution space.

As a champion of sustainability in business and responsible research, the Hoffmann Institute remains committed to support thought-provoking research and case studies that show a new, more sustainable path to prosperity. The latest thinking by INSEAD faculty shows that together we can change how business is done and truly make business a force for good.

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Triple Wins for Sustainable Development - case studies of sustainable development in practice

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Rebooting the Sustainable Development Goals

Despite significant improvements in some areas, the world is still far from achieving most of the Sustainable Development Agenda’s 169 targets. With six years remaining until the 2030 deadline, it is crucial to develop and implement ambitious, inspiring, yet feasible solutions to humanity’s biggest challenges.

NEW YORK – It is a truism in the business world that vision without execution is a hallucination, and execution without vision is futile. The same principle applies to global policy: ambitions without solutions are just hopes, while solutions without ambition lead to stagnation.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 are a case in point. These 17 objectives and 169 underlying targets were unanimously adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015. They constitute an ambitious agenda to address global challenges like poverty, health, gender equality, labor, education, and climate change.

With six years remaining until the 2030 deadline, the world is far from achieving most of these goals. Despite significant improvements in some areas – such as a million more children reaching their fifth birthday each year – progress has been too slow in many others.

While financing gaps are rightly often cited as a key factor, the biggest obstacle to achieving the SDGs is the lack of systematic approaches to creating scalable solutions. Slow and steady gains can lead to significant advances over time, but if progress becomes too slow, the sense of achievement and hope for the future can dissipate.

Achieving systemic gains requires boldness. In 2015, the SDGs were launched with a call for transformation. But calling for transformative solutions is easier than developing them. Although markets are powerful drivers of innovation, we need solutions capable of tackling broader public interests. Progress often requires new forms of collaboration between public, private, scientific, and civil-society institutions, or even the creation of new ones. But many organizations have difficulties updating their goals or building partnership strategies. Siloed professional communities are difficult to unite, leaving vested interests and the forces of inertia to crowd out innovation. Consequently, partnership remains more an aspirational value than a skills-based discipline, and policy debates often prioritize ideology over practical solutions.

Against this backdrop, achieving the SDGs by 2030 requires new approaches that are audacious enough to inspire but also practical enough to be viable – concepts that capture the imagination while steering implementation debates toward tangible results. This could mean anything from a new global fund designed to ensure that digital cash transfers reach the world’s poorest communities, or an “ interspecies money ” mechanism that leverages artificial intelligence to provide animals with a say on how digital currencies can be spent on their own protection. It could also mean developing a public data tool to help investors identify and avoid companies that use forced labor.

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New technologies, institutions, and approaches all have the capacity to mobilize energy and expertise to achieve common, quantifiable objectives. Crucially, the fresh approaches we have in mind must convince people to abandon current practices and pool their creativity and resources toward a greater goal.

But big ideas rarely emerge on their own. Our respective professional experiences and collaborative efforts have taught us that innovative SDG solutions must be encouraged, cultivated, and supported. As co-chairs of 17 Rooms , a partnership between the Brookings Institution and The Rockefeller Foundation, we have worked with several dozen groups of extraordinary professionals around the world on initiatives related to all 17 goals. Having watched them experiment with various approaches, we have learned a few lessons about how to drive positive change.

First, venues for cross-sector cooperation on sustainable development remain too rare. We have been struck by the sense of novelty leaders from all sectors frequently express when encouraged to craft bold actions together to achieve even individual SDG targets.

Second, how ideas are shaped matters. To create platforms for the best ideas to emerge, the world needs tools, processes, and systems that can bring together diverse views, and yet the lack of available tools for developing multi-stakeholder solutions is startling.

Third, the development and adoption of big ideas should be interlinked. Too often, experts devise new solutions without understanding the realities faced by those who would be responsible for implementing them. Conversely, policymakers often fail to seek out innovative ideas and are rarely held accountable for not doing so.

A fourth lesson concerns the need to determine early on who will pay and how. Regrettably, the SDGs were launched without sufficient agreement on funding , making even small amounts of money difficult to secure. Without adequate financing, big ideas will remain just that – ideas.

Fifth, there is no substitute for leadership. Institutions and systems are crucial for large-scale deployment, but the passion and dedication of individuals championing big ideas are much more important than a perfect strategy or project. Since roadblocks are inevitable in an age of technological disruption, policy entrepreneurs must be as agile as their counterparts in the business world in navigating constantly shifting terrain.

To be sure, some people may argue that the current geopolitical climate is too challenging to pursue big ideas or develop systematic approaches to achieving the SDGs. We disagree. If anything, today’s heightened tensions underscore the need to chart a better path forward. When the world seems stuck or off course, policy tweaks are unlikely to have a significant impact. New ideas, on the other hand, can foster a sense of opportunity and combat despair.

Lastly, private-sector and civil-society leaders are just as vital to generating big ideas as public officials. Big ideas can drive change at every level, from local councils to international forums. But achieving the SDGs requires new platforms that can foster innovation across sectors and empower relevant actors to advance solutions independently.

At 17 Rooms, we have learned from our successes and missed opportunities. With six years remaining until the 2030 deadline to achieve the SDGs, we are actively seeking big ideas. We hope others will adopt a similar approach and help all of us build platforms to facilitate innovative solutions.

This commentary draws on insights generated through the 17 Rooms Initiative , convened by the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings and The Rockefeller Foundation.

Subscribe now to gain greater access to Project Syndicate – including every commentary and our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – starting at just $49.99 .

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Book series

SpringerBriefs on Case Studies of Sustainable Development

About this book series.

The importance of sustainable development has been realized for at least 60 years, even though the vast majority of people erroneously think this concept originated with the Brundtland Commission report of 1987 on Our Common Future. In spite of at least six decades of existence, we only have some idea as to what is NOT sustainable development rather than what is. SpringerBriefs on Case Studies of Sustainable Development identify outstanding cases of truly successful sustainable development from different parts of the world and analyze enabling environments in depth to understand why they became so successful. The case studies will come from the works of public sector, private sector and/or civil society. These analyses could be used in other parts of the world with appropriate modifications to account for different prevailing conditions, as well as text books in universities for graduate courses on this topic. The series of short monographs focuses on case studies of sustainable development bridging between environmental responsibility, social cohesion, and economic efficiency. Featuring compact volumes of 50 to 125 pages (approx. 20,000—70,000 words), the series covers a wide range of content—from professional to academic—related to sustainable development. Members of the Editorial Advisory Board: Mark Kramer, Founder and Managing Director, FSG, Boston, MA, USA Bernard Yeung, Dean, NUS Business School, Singapore

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Poverty alleviation case analysis in china.

Poverty Alleviation Best Practice via Practices and SDG Strategies

• International Poverty Reduction Center In China
• Copyright: 2024

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Off-Grid Water Supply

Should It Be Mainstreamed?

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Urban Water Demand Management

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Experiences from the Pandemic Era

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Revitalising Rural Communities

• Jessica M. Williams
• Wai-Fung Lam
• Winnie W.Y. Law
• Copyright: 2021

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• Published: 08 July 2022

A critical examination of a community-led ecovillage initiative: a case of Auroville, India

• Abhishek Koduvayur Venkitaraman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8515-257X 1 &
• Neelakshi Joshi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8947-1893 2  

Climate Action volume  1 , Article number:  15 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Human settlements across the world are attempting to address climate change, leading to changing paradigms, parameters, and indicators for defining the path to future sustainability. In this regard, the term ecovillage has been increasingly used as models for sustainable human settlements. While the term is new, the concept is an old one: human development in harmony with nature. However, materially realizing the concept of an ecovillage is not without challenges. These include challenges in scaling up and transferability, negative regional impacts and struggles of functioning within larger capitalistic and growth-oriented systems. This paper presents the case of Auroville, an early attempt to establish an ecovillage in Southern India. We draw primarily from the ethnographic living and working experience of the authors in Auroville as well as published academic literature and newspaper articles. We find that Auroville has proven to be a successful laboratory for providing bottom-up, low cost and context-specific ecological solutions to the challenges of sustainability. However, challenges of economic and social sustainability compound as the town attempts to scale up and grow.

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Introduction.

Scientists have repeatedly argued and emphasized for an equilibrium between human development and the basic ecological support systems of the planet (IPCC 2014 ; United Nations 1987 ). Human settlements have been important in this regard as places of concentrated human activity (Edward & Matthew E, 2010 ; Scott and Storper 2015 ). Settlement planning has responded to this call through visions of the eco-city as a proposal for building the city like a living system with a land use pattern supporting the healthy anatomy of the whole city and enhance its biodiversity, while resonating its functions with sustainability (Barton 2013 ; Register 1987 ; Roseland 1997 ). In planning practice, this means balancing between economic growth, social justice, and environmental well-being (Campbell 1996 ). However, the concept of eco-cities remains top-down in its approach with city authorities taking a lead in involving the civil society and citizens to implement the city’s environment plan (Joss 2010a , b ).

Contrary to the idea of eco-cities, ecovillages are small-scale, bottom-up sites for experimentation around sustainable living. Ecovillages resonate the same core principles of an eco-city but combine the social, ecological, and spiritual aspects of human existence (Gilman 1991 ). Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland is one of the oldest and most prominent ecovillages in the world and has collaborations with the United Nations and was named as a best practice community (Lockyer and Veteto 2013 ).

Another notable example is the Transitions Town movement that started in Totnes, United Kingdom but has now spread all over the world (Hopkins 2008 ; Smith 2011 ). The movement focuses upon supporting community-led responses to peak oil and climate change, building resilience and happiness. Additionally, it emphasizes rebuilding local agriculture and food production, localizing energy production along with rediscovering local building materials in the context of zero energy building (Hopkins 2008 ). Ecological districts within the urban fabric are also termed as ecovillages (Wolfram 2017 ).

Ecovillages are intentional communities characterized by alternative lifestyles, values, economics and governance systems (Joss 2010a , b ; Ergas 2010 ). At the same time ecovillages are located within and interact with growth-oriented capitalistic systems (Price et al. 2020 ). This dichotomy presents a challenge for ecovillages as they put ideas of sustainability transformation into practice. We explore some of these contradictions through the case study of Auroville, an ecovillage located in southern India. A discussion on the gaps between the ideas of an ecovillage against their lived reality throws light upon the challenges that ecovillages face when they attempt to grow. We begin by elaborating the key characteristics of ecovillages in the “Characteristics of ecovillages” section. We then present our material and methods in the “Methodology” section. Furthermore, we use the key characteristics of an ecovillage as a framework for analysing and discussing Auroville in the “Auroville, an ecovillage in South India” and “Discussion” sections. We conclude with a reflection on the concept of ecovillages.

Characteristics of ecovillages

The concept of an ecovillage is broad and has multiple interpretations. Based on a reading of the existing literature on ecovillages, we summarize some of their key characteristics here:

Alternative lifestyles and values : Ecovillage can be seen as intentional communities (Ergas 2010 ) and social movements which have a common stance against unsustainable modes of living and working (Kirby 2003 ; Snow et al. 2004 ). Ecovillages advocate for achieving an alternate lifestyle involving a considerable shift in power from globalized values to those internalized in local community autonomy. Therefore many ecovillages aspire to restructure power distribution and foster a spirit of collective and transparent decision-making (Boyer 2015 ; Cunningham and Wearing 2013 ). However, it is difficult to convince many people to believe in a common value system since the vision is to establish a world that is not only ecologically sustainable but also personally rewarding in terms of self-sacrifice for a good cause (Anderson 2015 ).

Governance : ecovillages tend to rely on a community-based governance and there is an assumption that the local and regional communities respond more effectively to local environmental problems since these problems pertain to the local context and priorities (Van Bussel et al. 2020 ). In a community-based governance system, activities are organized and carried out through participatory democracy committed to consensual decision-making. However, participatory democracy has its own set of problems. Consensual decision-making is time-consuming, and the degree of participation tends to vary from time to time (Fischer 2017 ). Participatory processes have also been criticized on the grounds for slowing down the decision-making process and resulting in a weak final agreement which doesn’t balance competing interests (Alterman et al. 1984 ).

Economic models in an ecovillages : ecovillages have attempted to combine economic objectives along with the overall well-being of people and have experimented with budgetary solutions appealing to a wider society (Hall 2015 ). As grassroots initiatives, ecovillages have advocated and practised living in community economies (Roelvink and Gibson-Graham 2009 ) and have influenced twentieth century economic practices beyond their geographical boundaries (Boyer 2015 ). Due to the emphasis on sharing in ecovillages, they can be considered to accommodate diverse economies (Gibson-Graham 2008 ) where human needs are met through relational exchanges and non-monetary practices, highlighting strong social ties (Waerther 2014 ). In some ecovillages, living expenses are reduced by sharing costly assets and saving cost on building materials by bulk buying and growing food for community consumption and sale (Pickerill 2017 ). These economic models have their own merit but are perhaps insufficient for the long-term economic sustainability of ecovillages (Price et al. 2020 ). Eventually, ecovillages might have to rely on external sources to import goods and services which cannot be produced on-site. This contradicts the ecovillage principles of being a self-reliant economy, reduction of its carbon footprint and minimizing resource consumption, thus implying a dependence on the market economy of the region (Bauhardt 2014 ).

Self-sufficiency : fulfilling the community’s needs within the available resources is a cornerstone principle for many ecovillages (Gilman 1991 ). This is often achieved through organic farming, permaculture, renewable energy and co-housing. Such measures are an attempt to offset and mitigate unsustainable development and limit the ecovillage’s ecological footprint (Litfin 2009 ). The initial small scale of the community often allows for this. However, as ecovillages grow in size and complexity, the interconnectedness and inter-dependence to the surrounding space become more apparent (Joss 2010a , b ). Examples include drawing resources from central energy and water systems (Xue 2014 ). Furthermore, ecovillages might turn out to be desirable places to live, with better quality of life, driving up land and property prices in the region as well as carbon emissions with additional visitors (Mössner and Miller 2015 ). Furthermore, in their role as catalysts of change in transforming society, ecovillages need to interact with their external surroundings and neighbouring communities, the municipalities, and the state and national level policies (Dawson and Lucas 2006 ; Kim 2016 ). This is particularly relevant in the Global South, where the ecovillage development has the potential to drive regional-scale sustainable development.

The characteristics of an ecovillage, however, do not exist in a geographical vacuum. Scholarly understanding of ecovillages as bottom-up efforts to drive sustainability transitions largely draw from the experiences of the Global North (Wagner 2012 ). Such ecovillage models often challenge the dominant capitalistic paradigm of post-industrial development, overconsumption and growth. Locating ecovillages in the Global South requires an expansion or re-evaluation of their larger socio-economic context as well as their socio-ecological impacts (Dias et al. 2017 ; Litfin 2009 ) .

To build upon the opportunities and challenges of ecovillages, locating them within the context of the Global South, we present the case of Auroville, an ecovillage located in southern India.

Methodology

We use the initial theoretical framework of ecovillage characteristics as a starting point for developing the case study of Auroville. Here, we draw from academic literature published about Auroville during 1968–2021. We also draw inferences from self-published reports and documents by the Auroville Foundation. Although we cover multiple interconnected aspects of Auroville, the characteristics pertaining to an ecovillage remain the focus of our work. We review the literature sources deductively, drawing on aspects of values, governance, economics and self-reliance, established in the previous section.

We triangulate the secondary data sources against our ethnographic experience of having lived and worked in Auroville for extended periods of time (2010–2012 and 2013–2014, respectively). We have worked in Auroville as architects and urban planners. During this time, we participated in multiple meetings on Auroville’s development as part of our work. We have discussed aspects of Auroville’s sustainability with Aurovillians working on diverse aspects, from urban planning to regional integration. Furthermore, living and working in Auroville brought us in conversation with several individuals from villages surrounding Auroville, employed in Auroville. For writing this case study, we have revisited our lived experience of Auroville through memory, research and work diaries maintained during this period, photographs as well our previously published research articles (Venkitaraman 2017 ; Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). Given our expertise in architecture and planning, we have also presented the translation of the key characteristics of an ecovillage, namely, alternative values, governance and economic systems and self-reliance, in these domains.

We acknowledge certain limitations to our methodology. We rely largely on secondary data to expand upon the challenges and contradictions in an ecovillage. We have attempted to overcome this by drawing from our first-hand experience of having lived in Auroville. Although our lived experiences are almost a decade old, we have attempted to compliment it with recently published articles as well as newspaper reports.

The next section presents Auroville as an ecovillage followed by a critical examination of its regional impact, governance, and economic structure.

Auroville, an ecovillage in South India

Foundational values.

Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher and spiritual leader who believed that “man is a transitional being” and developed the practice of integral yoga with the aim of evolving humans into divine beings (Sen 2018 ). His spiritual consort, Mirra Alfassa realized his ideas in material form through a “universal township” which would hopefully contribute to “progress of humanity towards its splendid future”. Auroville was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, as a township near Pondicherry, India. Alfassa envisioned Auroville to be a “site of material and spiritual research for a living embodiment of an actual human unity” (Alfassa 1968 ). On 28 February 1968, the city was inaugurated with the support of UNESCO and the participation of people from 125 countries who each brought a handful of earth from their homelands to an urn that stands at its centre as a symbolic representation of human unity, the aim of the project. This spiritual foundation has guided the development of the socio-economic structure of Auroville for individual and collective growth (Shinn 1984 ). To translate these spiritual ideas into a material form, Mirra Alfassa provided simple sketches, a Charter, and guiding principles towards human unity (Sarkar 2015 ).

Roger Anger, a French architect translated Alfassa’s dream into the Auroville City Plan that continues to inform the physical development of Auroville (Kundoo 2009 ). The Auroville Masterplan 2025 envisions Auroville to be a circular township (Fig. 1 ) spread over a 20 sq. km (Auroville Foundation 2001 ). Initially planned for a population of 50,000 people, today Auroville today has 3305 residents hailing from 60 countries (Auroville Foundation 2021 ). Since its early days, there has been a divide between the “organicists” and the “constructionists” of Auroville (Kapur 2021 ). The organicists have a bottom-up vision of low impact and environmentally friendly development whereas the constructionists have a top-down vision of sticking with the original masterplan and realize an urban, dense version of Auroville.

A map of Auroville and its surrounding regions, with the main villages in the area

Auroville has served as a laboratory of low-cost and low-impact building construction, transportation, and city planning. Although the term sustainability has not been explicitly used in the Charter, it has been central to the city planning and building development process in Auroville (Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). Unlike many human settlements that negatively impact their ecology, the foundational project of Auroville was land restoration. The initial residents of Auroville were able to grow back parts of the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest in and around Auroville using top-soil conservation and rainwater harvesting techniques (Blanchflower 2005 ). While the ecological restoration has been lauded both locally and globally, Namakkal ( 2012 ) argues that it is seldom acknowledged that the land was bought from local villagers at low prices and local labour was used to plant the forest as well as build the initial city. At the time of writing this paper, the Auroville Foundation still needs to secure 17% of the land in the city area and nearly 50% of the land for the green belt to realize the original masterplan. However, land prices have gone up substantially as have conflicts in acquiring this land for Auroville (Namakkal 2012 ).

Governance structure

While the Charter of Auroville says that “Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole” (Alfassa 1968 ), in reality, it is governed by a well-defined set of individuals. Auroville’s first few years, between 1968 and 1973, were guided directly by Mirra Alfassa. After her passing, there was a power struggle between the Sri Aurobindo Society, claiming control over the project, and the community members striving for autonomy (Kapur 2021 ).

The Government of India founded the Auroville Foundation Act in 1988 providing in the public interest, the acquisition of all assets and undertakings relatable to Auroville. These assets were ultimately vested in the Auroville Foundation which was formed in January 1991 (Auroville. 2015 ). The Auroville Foundation envisioned a notion of a planned future, resulting in a new masterplan in 1994. This masterplan encouraged participatory planning and recognized that the architectural vision needs to proceed in a democratic manner. This prompted the Auroville community to adopt a more structured form of governance. The Auroville Foundation has other governing institutions under it, namely: The Governing Board which has overall responsibility for Auroville’s development, The International Advisory Council, which advises the Governing Board on the management of the township and the Residents’ Assembly who organize activities relating to Auroville and formulate the master plan. Furthermore, there are committees and working groups for different aspects of development from waste management to building development.

Auroville is an example of the ‘bottom-up’ approach, in the sense that developments are decided and implemented by the community and the state level and national level governments get involved later (Sarkar 2015 ). An example of this is seen in the regular meetings held by the Town Development Council of Auroville which also conducted a weeklong workshop in 2019 for the community which covered themes such as place-making, dimensions of water and strategies for liveable cities and community planning (Ministry of Human Reource Development Government of India 2021 ).

Conflicts often arise between the interpretation of the initial masterplan and the present day realities and aspiration of the residents (Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). This is often rooted in the initial vision of Auroville as a city of 50,000 versus its current reality of being an ecovillage of around 3000 people. Spatially, this unusual growth pattern has been problematic in Auroville’s building and mobility planning (Venkitaraman 2017 ). At the time of writing this paper, there is a clash between the Residents’ Assembly and the Auroville Foundation over the felling of trees for the construction of the Crown Road project inside Auroville (The Hindu 2021 ). While the Residents’ Assembly wants a re-working of the original masterplan considering the ecological damage through tree cutting, the Auroville Foundation wants to move ahead with the original city vision.

Beyond its boundaries, Auroville is surrounded by numerous rural settlements, namely, Kuyilapalyam, Edayanchavadi, Alankuppam, Kottakarai, and Attankarai. The Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG) aims to help the village communities to strive towards sustainability and find plausible solutions to the problems of contemporary rural life. In September 1970, a charter was circulated among the sub-regional villages of Auroville, promising better employment opportunities and higher living standards with improved health and sanitation facilities (Social Research Centre Auroville 2005 ). Currently, there are about 13 groups for the development of the Auroville sub-region. However, Jukka ( 2006 ) points out that the regional development vision of Auroville is top-down and does not sufficiently engage with the villagers and their aspirations.

Auroville’s economic model

Auroville has also strived to move away from money as a foundation of society to a distinctive economic model exchange and sharing (Kapoor 2007 ). However, Auroville needs money to realize its multiple land and building projects. Auroville also receives various donations and grants. During 2018–2019, Auroville received around Rs. 2396 lakhs (around 4 million USD) under Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) and other donations. The Central Government of India supports the Auroville Foundation with annual grants for Auroville’s management and for the running costs of the Secretariat of the Foundation, collectively known as Grant-in-Aid. Auroville received a total of Rs. 1463 lakhs (around 2 million USD) as Grant-in-Aid during 2018–2019. The income generated by Auroville during this time was Rs. 687 lakhs (around 91,000 USD) (Ministry of Human Reource Development Government of India 2021 ).

Presently, the economy of Auroville is based on manufacturing units and services with agriculture being an important sector, and currently, there are about 100 small and medium manufacturing units. The service sector of Auroville comprises of construction and architectural services and research and training in various sectors (Auroville Foundation 2001 ). In addition to this, tourism is another important source of income generation for Auroville. As per the Annual Report of Auroville Foundation, the donations and income have not been consistent over the years. In this regard, Auroville’s growth pattern in terms of the economy has not been linear and it does not mimic the usual growth patterns associated with the development of counterparts, in terms of capitalization, finance, governance, and on key issues such as distribution policies and ownership rights (Thomas and Thomas 2013 ).

Auroville also benefits from labour from the surrounding villages. The nature of employment provided in Auroville to villages remains largely in low-paying jobs (Namakkal 2012 ). It can be argued that the fruits of Auroville’s development have not been equally shared with the surrounding villages and a feeling of ‘us and them’ still pervades. Striving for human unity is the central tenet of Auroville (Shinn 1984 ), however, it has struggled to do so with its immediate neighbours.

Striving for self-sufficiency

Auroville has strived for self-sufficiency in terms of food production from local farms, energy production from renewable sources like solar and wind sources and waste management.

Many prominent buildings of Auroville have been designed keeping in mind the self-sufficiency principle in Auroville. For example, the Solar Kitchen was designed by architect Suhasini Ayer as a demonstration project to tap the solar energy potential of the region. At present, this building is used for cooking meals thrice a day for over 1000 people. The Solar Kitchen also supports the organic farming sector in Auroville by being the primary purchaser of the locally grown products (Ayer 1997 ). Another example is the Auroville Earth Institute, renowned for its Compressed and Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) technique, which constitute natural and locally found soil as one of its main ingredients (Figs. 2 and 3 ).

Compressed earth blocks manufactured by Auroville Earth Institute

A residence in Auroville constructed using compressed earth blocks

However, it is important to acknowledge that Auroville does not exist as a 100% self-sufficient bubble. For example, food produced in Auroville provides for only 15% of the consumption (Auroville Foundation 2004 ). An initial attempt to calculate the ecological footprint of Auroville estimates it to be 2.5 Ha, against the average footprint of an Indian of 0.8 Ha (Greenberg 1998 ). Furthermore, though Auroville has strived for material innovation in architecture, it has not been successful in achieving 25 sq. metres as the limit to individual living space (Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). This challenges the notion of Auroville continuing to be an ecovillage if it aspires to be a city of 50,000 people and might end up having substantial ecological impact on its surroundings.

Urban sustainability transformation in a rapidly urbanizing world runs into the risk of focusing on technological fixes while overlooking the social and ecological impacts of growth. In this light, bottom-up initiatives like ecovillages serve as a laboratory for testing alternative and holistic models of development. Auroville, a 53-year-old ecovillage in southern India, has achieved this to a certain extent. Auroville is a showcase of land regeneration, biodiversity restoration, alternative building technologies as well as experimentations in alternative governance and economic models. In this paper, we have critically examined some achievements and challenges that Auroville has faced in realizing its initial vision of being a “city that the world needs” (Alfassa 1968 ). Lessons learnt from Auroville help deepen our understanding of ecovillages as sites of fostering alternative development practices. Here we discuss three aspects of this research:

Alternate lifestyles and values in the context of an ecovillage : Ecovillages are niches providing space for realizing alternative values and lifestyles. However, ecovillages seldom exist in a vacuum. They are physically situated in existing societies and economies. Although residents in an ecovillage seek to achieve collective identity by creating an alternative society, an ecovillage is embedded within a larger culture and thus, the prevailing ideologies of the dominant society affect the ecovillage (Ergas 2010 ) as seen in Auroville. This can be noticed between the material and knowledge flows in and out of Auroville. Furthermore, the India of the 1970s when Auroville was born with socialist values is very different from present-day India where material and capitalistic aspirations are on the rise. These are reflected in higher land prices and living costs in and around Auroville. Amidst the transforming political landscape of India in the 1970s, there were implications which were seen in the character of architectural production. Auroville welcomed and immersed itself into this era of experimentation. These developments form an integral part of the ethos of Auroville. To achieve its initial visions, Auroville depends on multiple external economic sources. In analysing ecovillages, it is important to critically examine the broader context within which they are located and how they influence and, in turn, are influenced by their contexts.

Even though Auroville’s architects and urban planners remain committed to their belief that architecture is a primary tool of community - building, decades later, the developments seem to have progressed at a slow pace. The number of permanently settled residents in Auroville has barely reached 2000 currently and the overall urban design remains fragmentary. Despite witnessing a slower rate of progress, it has been able to sustain a culture of innovation and Auroville remains utopian in its aim to create an alternative lifestyle (Scriver and Srivastava 2016 ).

Governance, economy, and self-sufficiency in an ecovillage that wants to be an eco-city : In growth-based societies, ecovillages present the possibility of providing an alternative vision of degrowth (Xue 2014 ). However, Auroville currently functions as an ecovillage that aspires to be an eco-city as per its initial masterplan. This growth-based model sometimes conflicts with Auroville’s vision of being a self-reliant, non-monetary society. Given the urgent need to remain within our planetary limits, ecovillages like Auroville could re-evaluate their initial growth-based visions and explore alternatives for achieving sustainability and well-being. The visions of ecovillages should thus not be set in stone, but rather remain flexible to evolving ideas and practices (Ergas 2010 ).

Similarly, governance structures might need a re-evaluation with changing priorities within the ecovillage as well as a need to be inclusive of regional visions and voices. It would be intriguing to explore on what kind of governance model/leadership is best suited to fulfil the aims of an ecovillage. Auroville seems to follow the elements of sustainability-oriented governance: empowerment, engagement, communication, openness and transparency (Bubna-Litic 2008 ), yet it is seen that conflicts arise. One solution to this could be greater external engagement with government and continuing to engage the external community about Auroville. Generally, intentional communities are organized by embracing the ideology of consensus, but it remains to be seen whether the consensus decision-making model works to its full potential in the context of alternative lifestyles. When individuals seek alternative lifestyles in the current world, there is a shift from globalized values towards local community autonomy, this shift demands a need for processes that allow for a different and more equitable approach to governance (Cunningham and Wearing 2013 ).

Ecovillages in the Global South : Situating ecovillages in the Global South requires a nuanced examination of the social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability that the ecovillage aims to achieve (Dias et al. 2017 ; Litfin 2009 ). In the case of Auroville, Auroville has helped bring back ecologically restorative practices in forestry, agriculture, and architecture in the region. However, the average Aurovillian has a higher standard of living than the neighbouring villagers. This in-turn influences the material consumption practices within the community. The lessons in sustainable living, in ecovillages located in the Global South, need not be unidirectional (from the ecovillage to the surrounding society). Rather, the ecovillage also stands to lean from the existing models of low-impact living.

Ecovillages in the Global South such as Auroville face similar problems related to Governance as seen in some other ecovillages in the developed world such as The Aldinga Arts Village in South Australia (Bubna-Litic 2008 ) and in Sweden (Bardici 2014 ). However, despite the issues related to consensus in Governance, the ecovillages are noted for their sustainable innovations.

Auroville’s sustainable measures have been endorsed by the Government of India as well. The Auroville Master Plan for 2000–2025 has been dedicated to creating an environmentally sustainable urban settlement which integrates the neighbourhood rural areas. The surrounding Green Belt, intended to be a fertile zone is presently being used for applied research in various sectors such as water management, food production, and soil conservation. The results promise a replicable model which could be used in urban and rural areas alike (Kapoor 2007 ).

To address the expansion and re-evaluation of the larger socio-economic context of Auroville and its socio-ecological impacts, as enunciated by Dias et al. ( 2017 ) and Kutting and Lipschutz (2009), a proposal for a sustainable regional plan was prepared in 2012 jointly by Government of India, ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency), INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and PondyCAN (An NGO which works to preserve and enhance the natural, social, cultural and spiritual environment of Pondicherry). The report was prepared and aimed to be a way forward for unique and diverse communities to grow together as a single entity and to develop a holistic model for future development in this region. This report takes into consideration the surrounding villages and districts around Auroville: Puducherry, Viluppuram and Cuddalore (ADEME, INTACH, PondyCAN,, and Government of India 2012 ).

The concept of eco-cities in urban planning is defined as utopias, hard to achieve standards of human settlements. Ecovillages emerge as small-scale realization of the ideas of an eco-city. Over the years, the alternative practices of Auroville have served as an educational platform for researchers, students, and the civil society alike. However, realizing alternative ecological lifestyles, governance and economic system and self-sufficiency struggle with challenges and contradictions as the ecovillage interact with a larger growth-oriented capitalistic system. Although ecovillages are sites of experimentation, they are seldom insular space. Regional impacts of and on ecovillage are important in analysing their developmental trajectories. Finally, the vision of ecovillages needs to evolve as the ecovillage as well is surroundings grow and change. Experiments in ecovillages like Auroville remind us that alternative visions of human settlements come with opportunities and challenges and are a work-in-progress in achieving a more sustainable future. There is further potential to understand the consensus-based approach and the governance models in an ecovillage in a better manner.

It can be deduced from the findings that ecovillages as catalysts of urban sustainability have a lot of potentials and challenges. The potential is in terms of devising an alternate lifestyle based on an alternative style of governance while the challenges include the local ecological impact and the difficulty in consensus about certain things. There is a future possibility to explore other conditions which facilitate the mainstream translation of ecovillage practices and how future ecovillages can progress to the next level (Kim 2016 ; Norbeck 1999 ).

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Koduvayur Venkitaraman, A., Joshi, N. A critical examination of a community-led ecovillage initiative: a case of Auroville, India. Clim Action 1 , 15 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44168-022-00016-3

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Sustainable development: Principles, frameworks, and case studies

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Coined in the 1970s, the term sustainable development and the ideas behind it have enjoyed varying amounts of popularity over the years. And while dire predictions abound, the full impacts of global warming are not known, nor can they be known. What we do know is that to be sustainable, all societies must adjust to new realities, which include changing ecosystems and natural limits to growth. How do we address these issues and maintain an equitable way of life for all on the planet? Exploring the human-related aspects of sustainable development, Sustainable Development: Principles, Frameworks, and Case Studies emphasizes the need to move away from an unwanted circumstance by being systemic in our thinking instead of symptomatic. The authors argue that we cannot move away from an unwanted, negative circumstance, unless we can move toward a desired, positive outcome. The text summarizes positive approaches and presents strong theoretical and historical concepts along with salient case examples that illustrate the desired outcome of each model or framework discussed. Often ensnared in thorny political ideology, the sustainable development issue also suffers from a deep and multidimensional nature that can be intimidating. This book offers, in one volume, a broad discussion of important frameworks pertaining to sustainable development. Based on the expertise of distinguished practitioners and scholars, the book’s content includes diverse and interrelated subjects drawn from a wide range of geographical areas. It offers techniques for evaluating and applying the basic principles of sustainable development and participatory project planning to achieve economic and environmental goals.

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This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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• Case Study Computer Science 100%
• Desired Outcome Computer Science 50%
• Development Issue Computer Science 50%
• Geographical Area Computer Science 50%
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T1 - Sustainable development

T2 - Principles, frameworks, and case studies

AU - Ukaga, Okechukwu

AU - Maser, Chris

AU - Reichenbach, Mike

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2010 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

PY - 2010/1/1

Y1 - 2010/1/1

N2 - Coined in the 1970s, the term sustainable development and the ideas behind it have enjoyed varying amounts of popularity over the years. And while dire predictions abound, the full impacts of global warming are not known, nor can they be known. What we do know is that to be sustainable, all societies must adjust to new realities, which include changing ecosystems and natural limits to growth. How do we address these issues and maintain an equitable way of life for all on the planet? Exploring the human-related aspects of sustainable development, Sustainable Development: Principles, Frameworks, and Case Studies emphasizes the need to move away from an unwanted circumstance by being systemic in our thinking instead of symptomatic. The authors argue that we cannot move away from an unwanted, negative circumstance, unless we can move toward a desired, positive outcome. The text summarizes positive approaches and presents strong theoretical and historical concepts along with salient case examples that illustrate the desired outcome of each model or framework discussed. Often ensnared in thorny political ideology, the sustainable development issue also suffers from a deep and multidimensional nature that can be intimidating. This book offers, in one volume, a broad discussion of important frameworks pertaining to sustainable development. Based on the expertise of distinguished practitioners and scholars, the book’s content includes diverse and interrelated subjects drawn from a wide range of geographical areas. It offers techniques for evaluating and applying the basic principles of sustainable development and participatory project planning to achieve economic and environmental goals.

AB - Coined in the 1970s, the term sustainable development and the ideas behind it have enjoyed varying amounts of popularity over the years. And while dire predictions abound, the full impacts of global warming are not known, nor can they be known. What we do know is that to be sustainable, all societies must adjust to new realities, which include changing ecosystems and natural limits to growth. How do we address these issues and maintain an equitable way of life for all on the planet? Exploring the human-related aspects of sustainable development, Sustainable Development: Principles, Frameworks, and Case Studies emphasizes the need to move away from an unwanted circumstance by being systemic in our thinking instead of symptomatic. The authors argue that we cannot move away from an unwanted, negative circumstance, unless we can move toward a desired, positive outcome. The text summarizes positive approaches and presents strong theoretical and historical concepts along with salient case examples that illustrate the desired outcome of each model or framework discussed. Often ensnared in thorny political ideology, the sustainable development issue also suffers from a deep and multidimensional nature that can be intimidating. This book offers, in one volume, a broad discussion of important frameworks pertaining to sustainable development. Based on the expertise of distinguished practitioners and scholars, the book’s content includes diverse and interrelated subjects drawn from a wide range of geographical areas. It offers techniques for evaluating and applying the basic principles of sustainable development and participatory project planning to achieve economic and environmental goals.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055854043&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85055854043&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1201/9781439820636

DO - 10.1201/9781439820636

AN - SCOPUS:85055854043

SN - 9781439820629

BT - Sustainable development

PB - CRC Press

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Global Impact Partners SDG case study

2020-07-27T07:10:00+01:00

Signatory type: Service provider (investment advisory) Operating region: Asia Pacific Practice area: Engagement and investment decisions

Global Impact Partners advises governments, corporations, and non-profits on strategy and impact investment. We collaborate with clients who are contributing towards achieving the SDGs within sectors such as infrastructure and urban development, healthcare, sustainable technology and sustainable agriculture.

Why we focus on the SDGS

The SDGs naturally align with our ethos and provide a framework to guide project selection and indicators to measure impact. We have integrated the goals into our primary ESG framework because their ratification in 2015 reflects a broad-based global consensus on the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges. In the case of infrastructure and urban development, for example, we believe that the SDGs can provide a frame through which to identify and address the environmental challenges created by unchecked urbanisation.

We believe that applying SDG-based performance targets to projects, through the use of onsite renewable energy generation and smart grids, for example, can directly reduce the operational expenditure of the assets, demonstrating the alignment of the SDGs with commercial objectives. Taking this detailed approach, we can guide infrastructure project design teams in making changes that will optimise the sustainable and commercial outcomes of the project.

Measuring project outcomes

We take a bottom-up, indicator-driven approach to assessing the outcomes from projects. Working with the master-planning and engineering teams during the design phase of infrastructure projects, we can optimise their designs to deliver outcomes which contribute towards the SDGs. In selecting relevant indicators, we use the SDG Impact Indicators guidance published by the Sustainable Finance Platform, chaired by the Dutch Central Bank, which aims to develop “a common set of impact indicators [to] help companies to improve the disclosure of impact data to their shareholders and creditors” 1 . We evaluate which indicators are relevant, taking into account the potential for positive and negative outcomes from the project, and select those which we believe we can most influence.

Furthermore, working during the design phase allows us to ensure that the planned assets embed monitoring tools – such as sensors – to measure performance against these specific SDG targets and indicators. The monitoring tools are adapted for the specified target, whether that be measuring renewable energy generated, or proportion of wastewater recycled. Where appropriate, we also use third parties to conduct qualitative monitoring on our behalf, such as customer surveys, and publish independent reports. These tools are integrated into a centralised monitoring platform so the delivery of SDG-linked outcomes can be continually assessed and adjusted as appropriate.

Example: Orange Smart City

Orange Smart City (OSC) is a sustainable smart city development situated near Mumbai. It has been designed using an innovative approach to city planning and development that incorporates technology, design, and systems to optimise its social, environmental, and economic outcomes.

GIP was engaged by the project developer, Orange Smart City Pvt Ltd, to advise on generating impact through the project. This entailed structuring the project from an outcomes and commercial perspective, to make it attractive to investors and working with the company leading the master-planning and engineering of the site, Surbana Jurong. It also meant ensuring that sustainability was considered from the outset of the project.

The SDGs were chosen as the framework to distil Orange Smart City’s broad vision into specific social and environmental outcomes. For example, the design plan and targets for the construction of residential real estate in the city was driven by SDG indicator 11.1, which refers to the number of people with access to safe, affordable and sustainable housing. Similarly, SDG indicators on water and energy use led to the integration of smart grids, onsite renewable energy generation, and water efficiency and rainwater harvesting technology. GIP worked closely with the Surbana Jurong team on integrating these outcomes into the design, and on using technologies such as sensors and monitors to measure and report on them.

Project reporting has been built around these and other relevant SDG indicators so that there is ongoing monitoring of progress towards targets. As noted previously, this monitoring can be carried out through a mix of technology built into the different assets, surveys and other information-gathering processes by third-party organisations. Reports on these indicators are published on an online portal where investors and other key stakeholders can monitor and evaluate outcomes.

A key lesson for the team throughout this process was that the SDGs have a strong global brand across the investment community. We have found them to be an effective tool for communicating intended outcomes of projects, such as OSC, because they are increasingly recognised and understood by investors. This in turn has stimulated greater investor interest in OSC. 

1  SDG impact indicator: A guide for investors and companies (PDF, 960KB)

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Top 10 Sustainability Case Studies & Success Stories in 2024

We adhere to clear ethical standards and follow an objective methodology . The brands with links to their websites fund our research.

Environmental and social practices have a significant impact on the long-term success of businesses. Some businesses outperform others in this area, giving them a competitive advantage. We will present ten sustainability success stories to executives searching for methods to close the sustainability gap between themselves and outperformers. 

We take a holistic approach to sustainability when presenting these case studies, seeing environmental and social challenges as a part of maintaining a sustainable business (see Figure 1). We also recognize that, while technology can aid in the improvement of corporate sustainability, changing business processes can be just as successful. As a result, we will provide a variety of scenarios that fully demonstrate the ESG framework .

1. UPS ORION: Improve transportation efficiency

Transportation activities accounted for almost 30% of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. (See Figure 2). For a company like UPS, which distributes goods across regions, transportation activities make up the bulk of GHG emissions. As a result, enhancing transportation efficiency is crucial for organizations like UPS to remain sustainable.

As a solution, UPS adopted an AI system called ORION which is a route optimizer that aims to minimize the number of turns during the delivery. Initiation began in 2012 and up today UPS has been working on developing it.

ORION saves UPS 10 million gallons of fuel per year, which means that in addition to the financial benefits, it decreases UPS’s carbon footprint by 100,000 metric tonnes per year, or the equivalent to removing more than 20,000 cars from the roads.

There are public cloud route optimizer systems which businesses can deploy without building hardware. These tools help firms to use their software as a service by paying a subscription cost.

To learn more about ensuring supply chain sustainability with technology you can read our Top 5 Technologies Improving Supply Chain Sustainability article.

Figure 2: US GHG emissions.

2. IKEA IWAY: Make business with ESG oriented corporations

Supplier code of conducts are established guidelines that require other businesses to demonstrate their operations’ social and environmental impacts. The objective is to reward companies that meet strong ESG standards. It is also one of the positive governance indications for organizations, as we highlighted in our ESG metrics article .

IWAY is the supplier code of conduct of IKEA forcing suppliers to meet certain environmental and humanitarian qualities to work with. The initiative has been in place for over 20 years, and over that time, IKEA has refined it based on their prior experiences. IWAY six is the most recent version of IKEA’s supplier code of conduct, which evaluates:

• Core worker rights.
• Safety of the working place.
• Life-work balance of employees.
• Water and waste management of potential suppliers.
• Prevention of child labour. 

3. General Electric digital wind farm: Produce green energy efficiently

Wind turbine productivity varies greatly depending on the design, weather conditions, and geography of the location it is deployed. Using IoT and digital twins to collect data on each wind turbine and simulate possible modifications such as adjusting the direction of the wind turbine can assist corporations in locating their wind turbines in a wind farm more effectively (see Figure 3).

Furthermore, the performance of wind turbines declines with time and may require maintenance; employing sensors and digital twins can assist in determining the appropriate time for repair.

Figure 3: How digital twins can optimize wind turbine productivity.

The General Electric’s (GE) digital wind farms are based on these two elements. GE optimized over 15,000 turbines using sensors and digital twins technologies. Each wind farm can create up to 10% more green energy as a result of the digital wind farm initiative, which helps to enhance our worldwide green energy mix.

4. Swire Properties green building: Minimize GHG emissions

Swire Properties is a construction company that operates in China and especially in the Hong Kong area. In 2018, the company built One Taikoo Place which is a green building that aims to reduce GHG emissions of Swire Properties in order to align with sustainability goals of the company’s stakeholders.

Swire properties use 3D modeling techniques to optimize the building’s energy efficiency. Reduce electricity consumption by using smart lighting systems with sunshine and motion sensors. A biodiesel generation system has been installed in the building, which converts waste food oil into biodiesel. Swire Properties additionally uses low carbon embedded materials and a lot of recycled materials in their construction.

Swire Properties was able to cut GHG emissions intensity throughout their portfolio by nearly 20% because of the usage of digital technologies and low carbon integrated materials.

5. H&M Let’s Close the Gap: Deposit scheme for gathering raw material

In 2021, we consumed 1.7 times more resources than Earth generates annually because our economic outlook is based on production, use and disposal. Such an economy is not sustainable and that is the reason why the concept of circular economy (CE) is trending nowadays.

The most basic principles of CE is to use trash as a raw material for production through innovation, recycling, or repairing and reusing existing products.

H&M’s “Let’s Close the Gap” project began in 2013 as a CE best practice that collects and categorizes discarded clothing from customers. If the garment is in decent condition, they will restore it and find a new owner for it. If a garment reaches the end of its useful life, H&M will recycle it and reuse the material in new goods.

Customers who bring in their old clothes are rewarded with tokens that can be used to get a discount at H&M shops. Incentivizing customers creates a complete CE loop.

In 2019, 57% of H&M’s raw materials were sustainable, according to Forbes. By 2030, the company hopes to improve it 100 percent.

6. Gusto: Hiring female engineers to close gender inequality gap

Gender inequality remains a major social issue despite all the improvements. There are two common types of gender disparity in the workplace. The first is gender pay disparity, which occurs when companies pay male employees more and provide better working conditions than female employees in the same position. 

The second is occupational segregation, in which women are hired for non-technical jobs while men hold the majority of leadership roles. This was the situation at software firm Gusto, where female engineers made up slightly more than 5% of the engineering team at the beginning of 2015. 

Julia Lee , one of Gusto’s first female engineers, claimed that other engineers did not accept her ideas because she was a “female engineer.” Gusto initiated an HR drive to reduce gender inequality by prioritizing the recruitment of female engineers, prohibiting female workers from scrolling, and deleting masculine job ads like “ninja rockstar coder.”

Gusto was able to improve its female engineer ratio to roughly 20% by the end of 2015 thanks to the campaign. The average ratio among software businesses’ engineering teams was 12% in 2013, therefore this was a significant improvement in a short period of time.  

7. HSBC: ESG concerned green finance

Finance companies can help speed up the transition to sustainable business practices by supporting initiatives run by responsible businesses. By the end of 2025, HSBC has committed to investing $100 billion in sustainability projects. HSBC already has funded sustainability projects that require more than $50 billion in investment as of 2019, indicating that the corporation is on track to meet its objective.

HSBC created an ESG risk evaluation framework to assure funding for green projects in 2019. Since then, the framework has been improved. In 2021, HSBC’s ESG practices were rewarded with an AA rating by MSCI.

HSBC is also working toward a goal of using 100% renewable energy as their source of electricity by 2030. Company reduces its consumption of paper, and single used plastics for coffee and beverages.

For more information about best ESG practices you can read our Top 6 ESG Reporting Best Practices article.

8. Signify light-as-a-Service: Enhance production stewardship

The product-service system ( PSS ) is a business model in which producers acquire a product over its lifetime and rent or lease it to the users. PSS ensures product stewardship since the product always becomes the asset of the company. It encourages producers to provide high-quality, repairable items in order to extend the product’s useful life. As a result, it helps to close the circularity gap by ensuring better use of natural resources.

Signify, a luminaire producer, adopts such a business strategy where it demands a subscription fee according to usage period of their lightning systems. PSS allows Signify claims that PSS allows them to produce 0 luminaire waste and drops maintenance costs around 60%.

9. Airbus additive manufacturing: Manufacture lighter planes with 3D printing

AIMultiple expects that additive manufacturing will disruptive for the airplane manufacturing since:

• It speeds up the manufacturing of parts compared to traditional molding techniques.
• It is cheaper due to effective use of raw materials and time reduction of production.
• It enables the manufacturing of lighter parts by up to 45% , resulting in lighter planes that burn less fuel. According to Airbus, additive manufacturing technology can reduce an A320 plane’s annual GHG emissions by around 465,000 metric tons, which is roughly the same as eliminating 100,000 automobiles from the road for a year. (An average car emits 4.6 tonnes of GHG per year). 

To effectively use 3D printers Airbus partnered with Materialise , a Belgium-based technology company  that specialize in additive manufacturing.

For more information regarding improving corporate sustainability by digital transformation you can read our Top 4 Digital Technologies that Improve Corporate Sustainability article.

10. Tata Power: Solar plants on the roofs

Rooftops offer a lot of empty space that can be used to install solar panels. Such initiatives have been taken in various parts of the world. Tata Power does it in India and generates green electricity by using idle places of buildings.

In 2021, Tata Power was able to spread their program throughout 90 Indian cities, producing 421 million watts of electricity, which is equivalent to nearly 40 thousand homes’ yearly electricity use in the US. (The average annual power usage for a residential utility customer in the US was 10,715 kWh in 2020, according to the EIA .).

We expect that in the near future the cooperation between energy and construction companies will enhance the use of idle places in buildings in a more effective way. Such an industrial symbiosis reduces both sectors’ ESG risk.

For more information on the top carbon footprint calculators, check our article, Top 7 Carbon Footprint Calculator Software/Tools for Businesses .

To learn more about corporate sustainability you can contact with us:

This article was drafted by former AIMultiple industry analyst Görkem Gençer.

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4 ways big data can help fight climate change in 2024, top 6 circular economy best practices for businesses in 2024, digital sustainability in 2024: importance & top 5 digital solutions.

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A wonderful collection of case studies on corporate sustainability. I enjoyed the read. I am convicted to delve into promoting sustainability in Africa.

Hello, James! Thank you for your feedback. Awesome! That’s a great cause to pursue.

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Top 6 ESG & Sustainability Reporting Best Practices in 2024

• Open access
• Published: 09 August 2022

Social values and sustainable development: community experiences

• Walter Leal Filho   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1241-5225 1 , 13 ,
• Vanessa Levesque   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2965-3545 2 ,
• Subarna Sivapalan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6318-5637 3 ,
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• Ronald Deckert   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7329-8755 5 ,
• Valerija Kozlova   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5639-6396 6 ,
• Todd Jared LeVasseur   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7049-3021 7 ,
• Kay Emblen-Perry   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8841-650X 8 ,
• Ulisses M. Azeiteiro   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5252-1700 9 ,
• Arminda Paço   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2806-4247 10 ,
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Environmental Sciences Europe volume  34 , Article number:  67 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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This paper presents a review of the literature and trends related to social values and sustainable development and describes a set of case studies from a variety of community-based projects which illustrate the advantages that social values bring about as part of efforts to promote sustainability. Three approaches were used to develop this study: a bibliometric analysis of the topic “social values and sustainable development”, an analysis of case studies that concretely present community projects addressing social values and sustainability, and the development of a framework linking up bibliometric clusters and the cases studies.

While the bibliometric analysis revealed clusters where social values are strongly connected with sustainable development, the case studies indicated the lack of a common terminology and understanding of the relation between social values, sustainable development, and community-based projects.

Conclusions

The study concludes by suggesting a set of measures that could be deployed to better take social values into account when planning policies or making decisions related to community projects.

Introduction

September 2015 marked a significant milestone for the people, planet, and prosperity. It was during this historic occasion that United Nations Member States collectively agreed upon the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The adoption of the SDGs would see the global population come together to realize the urgent call for action to end poverty, safeguard the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity. The SDGs consist of 17 interlinked global goals that are designed to serve as a blueprint to achieve a more sustainable future for the global community, addressing among others, critical issues such as poverty, quality education, climate change, clean water and sanitation, partnerships, and sustainable communities. The emphasis of the SDGs and Agenda 2030 on addressing the dimensions of people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership is the further assertion that these aspects are crucial to the future of humanity and the planet [ 56 ].

Agenda 2030 and the SDGs are essentially a socially driven agenda, projecting—social values and trajectories. To be able to better understand the place of values within the sustainability debate, there is first a need to define social values in this context. From a sociological perspective, values are considered the foundation for the spurring of human actions. Values are also deemed to be instrumental in the development of an individual’s personal and collective identities, besides being a vital conduit for social integration [ 54 ], while being appreciated by those focused on sustainable business. According to the organization Impact [ 29 ], a social value is seen as a strategic and achievable process that involves impacting societies positively, regardless of an entity’s financial status, business direction, or size.

In a sustainable development context, values are often considered in the assessment of communities classified as vulnerable [ 51 ]. Under-development, environmental ethics, and preservation of social and cultural traditions are but some of the prevalent issues explored in the literature on this subject matter [ 57 ]. Development has had an impact on the economy and the environment. This situation generates a critical purpose to investigate, while defining and evaluating the value of development, particularly from a social stance [ 25 ].

Social values never occur in a vacuum. We are socialized into pre-existing yet malleable conceptions of community and social relations [ 28 , 40 ]. At the same time, there is a tension between autonomy and egotism, the need to create a healthy sense of individual self can conflict with the need to maintain a healthy and coherent community, with established social mores. Historically, human communities have created and policed social values that have privileged the latter—for example the hierarchical “5 great relationships” of Chinese dynasties informed by Confucianism, or the varna (caste) system of India. With the onset of violent European clearances, global colonialism and industrialization, coupled with individual is facilitated by the Protestant Reformation, the strong bonds of community values (that were also patriarchal, heteronormative, and confining for many), were sundered. This inversion of the social order flourished in the post-World War II US economy. It was based on limited affluence where individual consumers became the social model of modernism, establishing a culture that diminished all other relations. This social value of extreme individualism has in large part become globalized and has led the 2000s to anomie, dysnomia, economic crime [ 39 , 44 ], and planetary crises. It has also led to high rates of mental health, suicide, and life dissatisfaction for many, where these factors are compounded by living through environmental devastation brought by the same system of over-consumption and over-population [ 46 ]. It is in this context that the focus on social values related to healing, flourishing, and justice as well as mutual support and a sense of community become central to sustainable development and a social leg of sustainability; which is related to personal growth and being connected [ 28 ]. Therefore, all people could aim at „personal evolvement in the community “ the as English translation of the German expression “Persönliche Entfaltung in Gemeinschaft” [ 14 ], 32).

We point out, though, that social values in support of sustainable development rightfully focus on equity, inclusion, and justice, but more and more data suggest that such values must also focus on and include the natural world and the connection of humans to it, as well [ 53 ]. Additional data indicate that as long as rampant individualism and a strong anthropocentrism tethered to values of over-consumption continue to shape social values and patterns of behaviours [ 33 ], sustainable development will be very hard, if not impossible, to achieve. Thus, the question arises about what social values are being advanced that can promote sustainable development? For example, values that (1) strengthen resilience; (2) support change and transformation; and (3) advance a social basis for these two conditions that may support sustainable development. Values that activate thinking, feelings and actions and that relate to determining benign change [ 49 ] may act to overcome dysfunctional norms and values humans learned to follow in societies and communities.

Interestingly, there has not been much literature focusing on the notions of social values and sustainable development within the context of community experiences [ 22 , 48 ]. Thus, with this paper we aim at creating an avenue to explore these concepts in greater depth. More specifically, we aim to understand the extent to which the notion of social values and sustainable development have been approached and described within literature, to draw out international best practice case study examples showcasing social values and sustainable development within community-based projects, and to develop a framework integrating the best practice case studies and literature analysis.

The theoretical underpinning of our work is a three-pronged framework that considered stakeholder theory to understand how economic value is created and traded, including its links to ethics and capitalism. According to Parmar and his collaborators [ 45 ] this knowledge is necessary to assist entrepreneurs to reflect about management with emphasis on the value of goods and trading practices. Institutional theory instead is a paradigm about the more profound aspects of social structure, that focuses on the processes by which schemes, rules, and norms, become established to guide social behaviour [ 2 ]. The third prong of our framework is the point of convergence of the previous two, consisting of the theory for sustainable development as proposed by Shi and team [ 50 ]. This process is an evolutionary path that began with the single goal of using sustainably Earth’s resources, to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and most recently, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We first present a review of literature and trends related to social values and sustainable development. Following there is a discussion on a set of case studies from a variety of community-based projects which illustrates the advantages a focus on social values can bring about in promoting sustainable development. Finally, conclusions are made and some measures are listed, which may assist in deploying a better understanding of social values into account, when planning policies, or making decisions on spending, for which the sustainability of specific groups and communities may be jeopardized.

Methodology

We are interested in exploring the context in which community-based projects focused on sustainable development have explicitly assessed and incorporated social values. One method of doing so is to analyse the publications about these topics, to assess the linkages and themes within this research area. Our methodological approach occurred in three main steps:

Step 1: Bibliometric analysis of the topic “social values and sustainable development”.

Step 2: Cases studies that concretely present community projects addressing social values and sustainability.

Step 3: Framework connecting bibliometric clusters and the case studies.

Firstly, we conducted a bibliometric analysis using the software tool VOSviewer. This analysis allowed us to assess scientific investigation by using quantitative studies; it is based on the assumption that the number of citations of an article tends to reflect its impact on the scientific community [ 59 ]. Bibliometric analyses generated information about the quantity and performance of the publications, giving insights into the relations between fields of knowledge by means of the statistical analysis of co-publications and citations [ 47 ].

This bibliometric analysis included peer-reviewed publications indexed in the Web of Science (WoS). This is one of the most trusted and well-known worldwide citation databases covering multidisciplinary research. The following search string was used: TOPIC: (“social values”) AND TOPIC: (“sustainable development”). All years of the timespan available at WoS were considered (1945–2021). Only studies in English were considered, with no restrictions applied regarding document types. The search was carried out on March 2021 and returned 89 papers. In a second step, the titles and abstracts of the identified papers were checked, in order to validate their relevance and ensure their compatibility with the aims of the study. The exclusion criteria used in the study were: thematic relevance, interdisciplinarity, due emphasis to social science components under the lenses of sustainability. Based on these criteria, 74 articles were chosen for analysis. The co-occurrence analysis was performed in VOSviewer and returned a set of nodes and links. Each node is a frequently used term in the articles (analysed in titles and abstracts) and the size of the node refers to the frequency of the keyword. The distance between two nodes indicates the strength of the relation between the terms; therefore, shorter distances tend to suggest stronger relations [ 37 ]. Linked topics mean they have appeared together, and the link width is proportional to the number of co-occurrences the keywords have [ 37 , 47 ]. The minimum number of occurrences of a keyword was set to 2, resulting in 24 selected keywords. For the process of clustering, where the software grouped closely related nodes in clusters, 2 terms were defined as the minimum number of keywords per cluster and clustering resolution was set to 0.5 (as per the software guidelines, this parameter determines the level of detail of the clustering and must have a non-negative value; the higher the value, the larger the number of clusters produced).

The bibliometric analysis was complemented by a qualitative assessment of the literature that focused on a set of community projects that incorporated social values for sustainable development. In this second phase, from the results of the bibliometric analysis, we presented selected case studies of community-based projects and initiatives. Keywords addressing social values such as: equity, inclusion, justice, human rights, health, values and life quality, were considered to identify the cases, as suggested by Estes [ 17 ]. More constructs were taken into account, such as: strengthening, resilience [ 10 ], and support for change and transformation [ 32 ]. Worldwide initiatives were analysed considering the following questions: what were the project’s goals? To which results has it led, in a sustainable development context? What difference is the project making? The collected case studies were presented in a summary table containing information about the title of the initiative, the goal of the project/programme, the main results, its geographical location and a reference article.

Each reported case study was examined and assessed for its consideration of sustainability topics such as communities’ resilience, social inclusion, gender equality, eco-innovation, and for how those topics intersected with each of the four clusters that emerged from the bibliometric analysis.

For Step 3, the analysis of the results from the previous 2 steps, or phases, served as the foundation for the development of a framework, which associates the case studies (Step 2) with the clusters identified in the bibliometric analysis (Step 1).

Bibliometric analysis

The bibliometric analysis of the 74 selected articles showed that the publication on the topic of social values and sustainable development is still incipient (first publication dated 1992) and with over 60% of the publications occurring in the last 5 years.

Results of the term co-occurrence analysis are presented in Fig.  1

Output of the co-occurrence analysis

and illustrate the main topics associated with social values and sustainable development derived from the literature. Even with a modest set of references resulting from the applied search string, four primary clusters were generated from this initial classification.

The red cluster centres on ecosystem management, such as forest management, incorporating explicitly, social values and sustainable development. Ecosystem management is a concept feature that aims to protect environmental conditions by taking into account the larger ecosystem context, as well as sustainable development and thus, is inclusive of social values and needs [ 35 ]. Similarly, sustainable forest management is a practice in which protecting and maintaining forests’ values is balanced with forests’ sustainable development in a way in which various, sometimes competing, social values come into play [ 6 , 26 ].

The green cluster is focused on rural development, such as privately owned forestry, which suggests that some sustainability development researchers could be interested in the social values of rural development settings. For example, studies from Sweden and China revealed that while rural development efforts can promote sustainable development, there is often an underlying tension between urban and rural social values, suggesting a need to identify more explicitly, the role of and impacts on social value systems in rural areas [ 6 , 27 ].

The blue cluster centres on business sustainability, integrating concepts such as corporate social responsibility, stakeholder engagement (in a corporate setting), and ecosystem services. Businesses have a role to play in achieving sustainable development, and research has explored the ways in which corporate social responsibility is driven by company and stakeholder social values, as well as the challenges of creating an economically viable business while maintaining core values [ 16 , 20 , 60 ]. The small purple cluster is an offshoot of the business-centric blue cluster, with a more specific focus on social responsibility and globalization. For example, a study from Croatia explored the intersection of and tension between the dynamic changes in local economies due to globalization, especially regarding the social values and identity of rural communities that create indigenous products [ 15 ].

Finally, the yellow cluster centres around ethics and moral values. There is much interest in the degree to which ethical and moral values influence environmental attitudes, human capital, adoption of sustainable practices, and transitions to more sustainable futures [ 11 , 12 , 24 , 41 ]. These social values might arise out of religious [ 12 ], educational [ 3 ], or neighbourhood settings [ 41 ].

Case studies

Multiple case studies on social values for sustainable development in community-based projects could be found around the world. Table 1

 shows the case studies in Latin America and the Caribbean, East Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia which were considered in this analysis.

The analysis of the case studies provided in Table 2 demonstrates how any given sustainable development project can address multiple social values while addressing relevant sustainability issues.

Classification of case studies according to the proposed clusters of social values research topics (red: ecosystem management; green: rural development; blue: business sustainability; yellow: ethics and moral values)

further demonstrates the ways in which the community-based sustainable development projects often intersect multiple social value categories. The presented case studies were distributed across the main clusters identified from the bibliometric analysis. The red one represents the ecosystem management, which aims to protect environmental conditions, the green cluster centres on social values in rural development, the blue group gathers social values regarding business sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility along with the offshoot of globalization, and the yellow cluster is focused on ethics and moral values (educational, religious and neighbourhood settings).

Most of the case studies addressed social values related to more than one cluster. For instance, the corporate case called Natura and Co Commitment to Life covers strategies focused on business sustainability, rural development, ecosystem management and ethics and moral values. Withal Natura and Co, cases such as SAKSHAM, Red Rocks Initiative, FAA, INCLUDE, Equator Initiative and What’s for Dinner? point out a strong link between social values across rural development and ecosystem protection. Another meaningful string was found among business sustainability, CSR, and ethical values in view of the case studies Re-Code and the EcoInnovation District in Uptown Pittsburgh.

The implications of the results for the implementation of the SDGs are twofold. Firstly, it illustrates that much can be gained by providing an emphasis on social sustainability when it comes to realizing the SDGs. Secondly, whereas the targets of each SDG are quite specific, social sustainability permeates all of them. This includes not only socially oriented SDGs such as SDG1, SDG2, SDG4, or SDG5 for instance, but also some “technical ones” such as SDG11, SDG12, or SDG13, all of which have strong social roots.

This study has demonstrated that social values are being addressed in community-based sustainable development projects, however the social values considered herein differ depending on the focus of each project. The social values may be related, for example, to rural traditions and cultures, or to business stakeholders. Because sustainable development is locally based and context-specific, such that action and solutions are grounded in local needs [ 58 ], it follows that the social values considered would be tailored to the presenting issue.

However, it also became clear that currently, there is no a common terminology, nor a description of social values in the context of sustainable development. While the number of papers (74) identified in our bibliometric analysis does provide an insight into the broad arenas in which researchers are exploring sustainable development and social values, we are limited in our ability to draw strong conclusions about the realm of social values research in sustainable development. We note, for example, the lack of frequently used terms related to equity and justice, although we are aware that there are researchers that are exploring these topics in a sustainable development framework. This suggests that some scholars who do this type of research are using alternative terms than those we used in our search string (“sustainable development” and “social values”). For example, they might have used the term “sustainability” instead of “sustainable development” or, instead of using “social values” they used a specific social value concept they focused on, such as equity. Thus, we recommend that future research identifies the way in which specific social values are brought into sustainability and sustainable development narratives, such that future analyses can investigate more thoroughly, the ways in which social values are defined and advanced in sustainable development work.

Furthermore, the case studies that included social values in sustainable development were not taken to a broader analysis level to substantiate whether social values are being engendered to promote sustainability. Are the social values considered in rural development, business sustainability, ecosystem management, and morals and ethics likely to promote a societal basis supportive of change and transformation? Are community-based projects assessing the degree to which there is a change in social values that prioritize consumerism, for example, over social well-being? We posit that while it is essential that social values continue to be assessed and incorporated into community-based sustainable development projects as reported, a more comprehensive effort must be started to analyse the ways in which broader social values are impacting our ability to achieve sustainable development in different places around the world.

This paper explores the notions of social values in sustainable development, within the context of community experiences. The literature was reviewed and trends related to social values and sustainable development were investigated, through a bibliometric study and juxtaposed to a set of case studies from a variety of community-based projects, with the goal of illustrating the advantages of a focus on social values can bring about in promoting sustainable development. A framework has been presented that links up the bibliometric clusters and the case studies. The evidence gathered valuable data from these analyses and allow some conclusions to be made.

Firstly, the bibliometric study reveals four clusters where the featured values feature relate to sustainable development. This relationship appears in the contexts of:

Ecosystem management—where social values are evident;

Rural development—where social values in a rural development setting are apparent;

Business sustainability—where values are driven by corporate social responsibility and stakeholder values;

Ethics and moral values about environmental attitudes, human capital, sustainable practices, and a sustainable future.

Secondly, the case studies illustrate that social values are being considered in a variety of projects; the framework deployed to analyse the case studies under the headings identified above, suggests that while community-based sustainable development projects may differ in the values considered, some projects address more than one cluster.

Thirdly, it is apparent that a lack of common terminology in relation to social values in the context of sustainable development is an obstacle to the analysis of the relationship between the two.

Finally, case studies where social values and sustainable development are linked, rarely consider whether social values are being engendered, influenced, or changed as a result of community-based projects. Thus, with less understanding of value change, we may fall short of achieving sustainable development.

The paper has two main implications. The first is that it sheds light on a topic of central relevance, since social components are key elements of sustainability, both as a theme and as an area of knowledge. The second is that the information here compiled and the findings deriving from them provide a timely overview of some of the variables which characterize the extent to which social aspects influence the sustainability debate.

Our research does have some limitations. For instance, it focused on case studies as data collection instruments, and not on other empirical tools such as surveys or interviews. In addition, the range of the case studies is limited to some of the topics identified by the authors, namely rural development, ethics and moral values, business sustainability and ecosystem management. But despite these constraints, the study represents a welcome addition to the literature, in the sense that it has gathered evidence demonstrating how social values under a sustainable development perspective are perceived, and the added value this brings to community experiences.

Moving forward, some measures which may be deployed to better take social values into account, when planning policies or making decisions on spending, which may affect specific groups or communities should be:

A more systematic approach to taking social values into account when undertaking projects on the principles of sustainable development.

A greater use of indicators such as public participation and community acceptance, since some social values are not truly objective and—as such—not easy to quantify.

A more adaptable design and use of a common framework, which may cater for a more accurate measurement of considerations of social values in sustainability projects.

Employment of innovative models to promote social sustainability issues, both in communities, in schools and workplaces, in particular.

A further measure that could implemented is to design tools, which may cater to an assessment of the impacts of a project, as far as influencing social values are concerned. A due emphasis on social values may allow communities and their stakeholders to understand the advantages of pursuing sustainable development, in a way that they can relate to.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

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Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester, M11 5GD, UK

Walter Leal Filho

Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Southern Maine, 106 Bailey Hall, 37 College Ave, Gorham, ME, 04038, USA

Vanessa Levesque

School of Education, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

Subarna Sivapalan

Graduate Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Passo Fundo, Campus I - BR 285, Passo Fundo, São José, RS, 99052-900, Brazil

Amanda Lange Salvia & Barbara Fritzen

Dekan Fachbereich Technik, HFH · Hamburger Fern-Hochschule, Alter Teichweg 19, 22081, Hamburg, Germany

Ronald Deckert

Faculty of Business and Economics, RISEBA University of Applied Sciences, Meza Street 3, Riga, 1048, Latvia

Valerija Kozlova

College of Charleston, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Sustainability Literacy Institute, Charleston, USA

Todd Jared LeVasseur

Department of Management and Finance, Worcester Business School, University of Worcester, Worcester, UK

Kay Emblen-Perry

Department of Biology and CESAM – Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

Ulisses M. Azeiteiro

NECE-UBI (Research Centre for Business Sciences), Universidade da Beira Interior, Rua Marquês D’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001, Covilhã, Portugal

Arminda Paço

Department of Biology, Winona State University, Winona, MN, 55987, USA

Bruno Borsari

Department of Life and Environmental Science, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK

Chris Shiel

European School of Sustainability Science and Research, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Ulmenliet 20, D-21033, Hamburg, Germany

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WLF conceived the study. WLF, VL, SS, ALS, BF, RD, VK, TJL, KEP, UMA, AP, BB, CS wrote the main manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amanda Lange Salvia .

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Leal Filho, W., Levesque, V., Sivapalan, S. et al. Social values and sustainable development: community experiences. Environ Sci Eur 34 , 67 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-022-00641-z

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Case Studies & Projects

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• 150 best sustainable home ideas / Francesc Zamora Mola. 2013.
• 21st century sustainable homes / edited by Mark Cleary. 2011.
• 150 best eco house ideas / editor and text, Marta Serrats. 2010.
• Blue houses : sustainable homes / [editor], Cristina Paredes Benítez. 2011.
• Culture-nature : green ethics, habitat, environment / a cura di = edited by Alessandra Coppa, Fortunato D'Amico. 2010. Catalog of an the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale.
• Earthships in Europe / Mischa Hewitt and Kevin Telfer. 2012.
• Eco living / Chris van Uffelen. 2013. 124 international examples of residential architecture, from single-family homes to housing estates, that incorporate exemplary ecological living solutions, all of which take different approaches. Includes architects' index.
• Eco solutions : sustainable approaches for a bioclimatic home / editorial coordinator, Claudia Martinez Alonso; edition and texts, Marta Serrats. 2012.
• The ecological house : sustainable architecture around the world / text, Marco Moro, Beatrice Spirandelli ; preface, Ecosistema Urbano. 2011.
• Ecological living / edited by Manuela Roth ; [texts: Elke Weiler ; translations: Yannick Van Belleghem...[et al.]]. 2009.
• Environmental tectonics : forming climatic change / edited by Steve Hardy. 2008. The projects presented here emphasize multiple aspects of the environment, often addressing issues of aesthetics and pleasure alongside ethics.
• Green architecture / [editing, Chen Liu]. 2010. 42 international award-winning projects detailing award-winning reasons and materials.
• Green is beautiful : the eco-friendly house / [Claudio Santini ; text by Dafna Zilafro]. 2009.
• Green life : building sustainable cities / edited by Maria Berrini and Aldo Colonetti. 2010.
• Green houses : new directions in sustainable architecture / [editor, Josep Maria Minguet ; co-author, Óscar Mira]. 2013. Profiles eleven international projects which illustrate close co-operation between everyone involved - architects, engineers, interior decorators, landscapers and client - in all the project phases.
• Green school primer : lessons in sustainability / edited by LPA, inc. 2009. Eight case studies examining why and how schools should be made "green."
• The hybrid house : designing with sun, wind, water, and earth / Catherine Wanek. 2010.
• Inspired homes : architecture for changing times / Avi Friedman with Emma Greer. 2013.
• Innovative houses : concepts for sustainable living / Avi Friedman. 2013. Discusses and illustrates recent and notable residential trends. Organized into four broad areas of interest: demographic and social trends; design and production methods; energy and resource efficiency; and innovative landscaping.
• New natural home / Dominic Bradbury ; photographs by Richard Powers. 2011.
• Prefabulous + almost off the grid : your path to building an energy-independent home / Sheri Koones ; foreword by Robert Redford. 2012. Profiling thirty-two homes in the United States, this book explains many of the materials, systems, and techniques available to create a more energy-efficient, comfortable, and healthy home.
• Prefabulous + sustainable : building and customizing an affordable, energy-efficient home / Sheri Koones ; foreword by Robert Redford. 2010.
• Prefabulous world : energy-efficient and sustainable homes around the globe / Sheri Koones ; foreword by Robert Redford. 2014.
• Rural Studio at twenty : designing and building in Hale County, Alabama / Andrew Freear and Elena Barthel, with Andrea Oppenheimer Dean ; photography by Timothy Hursley. 2014.
• Small eco houses : living green in style / Cristina Paredes Benítez, Àlex Sánchez Vidiella. 2010.
• The sustainable Asian house / Paul McGillick ; photography by Masano Kawana. 2013.
• Sustainable design II : towards a new ethics for architecture and the city / Marie-Hélène Contal, Jana Revedin ; with the kind participation of Benno Albrecht and Elisa Brusegan. 2011. Presents the 2009 and 2010 winners of the "Global Award for Sustainable Architecture."
• Sustainable homes / [Pilar Chueca]. 2009. A sampling of highly innovative sustainable designs in the United States including upscale residences, posh cabins, and a geodesic dome.
• Geng xin Zhongguo : wei le yi ge ke chi xue de wei lai = Updating China : projects for a sustainable future = Nachhaltiges Planen und Bauen in China / curated by Li Xiangning ; edited by Li Xiangning, Christian Dubrau. 2010. Highlights 40 projects in China. Text in Chinese, German, and English.
• XS : small structures, green architecture / Phyllis Richardson. 2007.

FILMS - In-library viewing at the Media Resources Center in Moffitt Library

• Design e² [videorecording] : the economies of being environmentally conscious / director, Tad Fettig ; series producer, Elizabeth Westrate ; narration writers, Mark Decena, John Kenney ; produced by kontentreal, LLC. [Alexandria, Va.] : PBS Home Video, c2006. Watch additional episodes online .

ONLINE RESOURCES

History: Groundbreaking Books and Historic Sources

• Architecture and the urban environment : a vision for the new age / Derek Thomas. 2002.
• Big & green : toward sustainable architecture in the 21st / edited by David Gissen. 2002.
• Building cities: towards a civil society and sustainable environment / edited by Norman Crowe, Richard Economakis and Michael Lykoudis; with Mark Gage, et al. 1999.
• Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things / William McDonough & Michael Braungart. 1st ed. 2002. Focuses on the nature of sustainability and the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.
• Culture, architecture and nature : an ecological design retrospective / Sim Van der Ryn ; edited by Richard Olsen. 2014.
• Design outlaws on the ecological frontier / Chris Zelov, executive editor; Phil Cousineau, co-editor. Philadelphia, Penn.: Knossus Publishing, 2000 ed. Companion book to Ecological design [videorecording] : inventing the future . (director, Brian Danitz ; produced by Brian Danitz and Tzelovanikov ; writer, Phil Cousineau. 1994.)
• Design with nature / Ian L. McHarg. 1st ed. 1969. (Classic) Helped to define the fields of landscape architecture, urban and regional planning, and ecological design. Discussion of mankind's place in nature and nature's place in mankind within the physical sciences and humanities. Offers a blueprint for a new, healthier relationship between the built environment and nature. see also -- To heal the earth: selected writings of Ian L. McHarg / edited by Ian L. McHarg and Frederick R. Steiner; foreword by Robert D. Yaro. 1998. A retrospective collection of essays by Ian McHarg, written while he was at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Designing with nature: the ecological basis for architectural design / Ken Yeang. 1995.
• Environmental literature: an encyclopedia of works, authors, and themes / compiled by Patricia D. Netzley. 1999. Very good for historical references, includes important people, authors, events that have "advanced knowledge and changed the perception of the environment."
• The environmental tradition: studies in the architecture of environment / Dean Hawkes. 1996.
• From Bauhaus to ecohouse [electronic resource] : a history of ecological design / Peder Anker. 2010. Also available in print .
• From eco-cities to living machines: principles of ecological design / Nancy Jack Todd and John Todd. 1994.
• Gray world, green heart: technology, nature, and the sustainable landscape / Robert L. Thayer, Jr. 1994.
• Green shift: changing attitudes in architecture to the natural world / John Farmer; edited by Kenneth Richardson ; with supplementary text by Judith Farren Bradley, et al. . 2nd ed.1999.
• The greening of architecture : a critical history and survey of contemporary sustainable architecture and urban design / Phillip James Tabb and A. Senem Deviren. 2013.
• The nature of order: an essay on the art of building and the nature of the universe / Christopher Alexander. 2002. (classic) Center for Environmental Structure series; v. 9. Alexander develops a comprehensive theory of how matter comes together to form coherent structures.
• Planning for sustainability : creating livable, equitable, and ecological communities / Stephen M. Wheeler. 2004.
• A primer on sustainable building / Rocky Mountain Institute, Green Development Services; Dianna Lopez Barnett with William D. Browning. 2004. Topics include site and habitat restoration, transportation integration, edible landscapes, energy-efficient design, indoor air quality.
• Something new under the sun: an environmental history of the twentieth-century world / J.R. McNeill. 2000.
• The sustainable urban development reader / edited by Stephen M. Wheeler and Timothy Beatley. 2nd ed. 2009.
• Sustainable architecture and urbanism : concepts, technologies, examples / Dominique Gauzin-Müller ; with contributions by Nicolas Favet. 2002.
• Sustainable architecture white papers / edited by David E. Brown, Mindy Fox, Mary Rickel Pelletier.1st ed. 2000. selected essays by architects, designers on the current state of sustainable architecture and its many facets.
• Sustainable architectures : cultures and natures in Europe and North America / edited by Simon Guy and Steven Moore. 2005.
• Taking shape: a new contract between architecture and nature / Susannah Hagan. 2001.
• The timeless way of building / Christopher Alexander. 1979. (Classic). The Timeless Way of Building is the first volume of a three-volume set; Alexander presents a different perceptual framework for conceiving of, and creating architecture. In the second volume of the series, A pattern language , he discusses his own exploration of architecture within this perceptual framework and the two hundred fifty-three patterns that he has intuited. In the third volume, The oregon experiment , he explains how this "language" of two hundred fifty-three patterns was used in practice to design a building complex at the University of Oregon.
• Understanding sustainable architecture / Terry Williamson, Anthony Radford, and Helen Bennetts. 2003.
• Urban design: green dimensions / Cliff Moughtin with Peter Shirley. 2nd ed. 2005. Shows how sustainable urban design can be implemented on every scale. Second edition includes the Urban Park and Bio-diversity.

Sustainable Design should be beautiful

(Source: Fincube © 2010 )

A Case for Why Sustainable Design Must be Beautiful : Architect Lance Hosey argues that the way toward green design is through aesthetics rooted in nature.

• DIDI : Design Idea Dictionary / compilation, DAMDI Publishing Co. ; editor in chief, Pyo Mi Young. 2013. 10 volumes : color illustrations and color plans - not strictly a dictionary, more akin to a design sourcebook.
• Dictionary of architectural and building technology / Henry J. Cowan and Peter R. Smith ; with contributions by W.K. Chow et al.. 4th ed. 2004. Includes illustrations, definitions, modern terms, environmental definitions such as wind scoops, natural ventilation.
• A dictionary of environment and conservation [electronic resource] / Chris Park. 2007. Also available in print .
• A dictionary of architecture / James Stevens Curl. 2nd ed. 2006.
• Dictionary of architecture & construction / edited by Cyril M. Harris. 4th ed. 2006. Also available in print.
• Dictionary of ecodesign : an illustrated reference / Ken Yeang and Lillian Woo. 2010.
• Dictionary of environment and sustainable development / Alan Gilpin. 1996.
• The elements of architecture : principles of environmental performance in buildings / Scott Drake ; illustrations by Adam Brown and Tristan Wong. 2009.
• Elsevier's dictionary of environment in English, French, Spanish and Arabic / compiled by M. Bakr. 1998.
• The environment dictionary / David D. Kemp. 1998. Entry includes definition, illustrations and further reading list.
• The environmental regulatory dictionary / compiled by James J. King. 2005.
• Environmental encyclopedia / William P. Cunningham, et al., editors. 2nd ed. 1998. Includes definitions, cultural movements, biographies, regional events, community actions and a short bibliography for each entry.
• The Facts On File guide to research / Jeff Lenburg. 2005. Facts on File library of language and literature. Includes a chapter on "Ecology and the Environment".
• Green Building A to Z: understanding the language of green building / Jerry Yudelson. 2007. Offers the basics of green building and shows how it relates to key issues such as, water conservation, healthy buildings, use of recycled materials, reduction of carbon dioxide, and environmental site planning.
• Green cities: an A-to-Z guide / Nevin Cohen, general editor. 2010. UCB Only.
• Illustrated dictionary of architecture / Ernest Burden. 2012.
• Sustainable built environments / Vivian Loftness and Dagmar Haase (eds.). 2013. Selected entries from the Encyclopedia of sustainability science and technology.

Handbooks, Guides, and Other Selected Reference

• Adapting buildings and cities for climate change : a 21st century survival guide / Sue Roaf, David Crichton and Fergus Nicol. 2009.
• Aesthetics of sustainable architecture / edited by Sang Lee ; foreword by Kees Doevendans ; with contributions by Nezar AlSayyad ... [et al.]. 2011. Essays by leading architectural designers, theorists, and scholars.
• The Ahwahnee principles for smart economic development: an implementation guidebook / Rick Cole, et al. ; editing by Paul Zykofsky, Brad Norton and Dave Davis. 1998. Written for local policymakers, communities, regional development ideas.
• Architecture 3.0 : the disruptive design practice handbook / Cliff Moser. 2014. Focusing on the concept of disruption, the book provides a set of ideas and tools in order to create a new sustainable practice.
• Architecture in a climate of change : a guide to sustainable design / Peter F. Smith. 2005.
• The barefoot architect : a handbook for green building / Johan van Lengen. 2008.
• Be a successful green builder / R. Dodge Woodson. 2009.
• Building to suit the climate : a handbook / Gerhard Hausladen, Petra Liedl, Mike de Saldanha. 2012. A manual for integrated planning in the international context -- offers a comprehensive analysis of the interplay between climate, the building structure and the building envelope.
• Cities going green : a handbook of best practices / edited by Roger L. Kemp and Carl J. Stephani. 2011.
• Closing the loop : benchmarks for sustainable buildings / Susan Roaf, with Andrew Horsley and Rajat Gupta. 2004.
• Cohousing cultures : handbuch für selbstorganisiertes, gemeinschaftliches und nachhaltiges Wohnen = Cohousing cultures : handbook for self-organized, community-oriented and sustainable housing / ID22, Institute for Creative Sustainability, Experimentcity. 2012.
• Ecological design handbook: sustainable strategies for architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and planning / Fred A. Stitt, editor. 1999.
• The economy of sustainable construction / edited by Ilka & Andreas Ruby and Nathalie Janson. 2014. Contained within its 400 pages are essays, reports, and case studies that examine the relationship between commercial and sustainable values, and explore the paths that construction will take in the 21st century. Packed with info-graphics.
• Environmental planning for site development: a manual for sustainable local planning and design / Anne R. Beer and Catherine Higgins. 2nd ed. 2000.
• The environmental resource handbook. / 2013/14. Directory of associations, awards, research, green city rankings. Includes statistics for brownfields, air quality, children's health, drinking water, noise pollution.
• A green vitruvius : principles and practice of sustainable architectural design / Vivienne Brophy and J. Owen Lewis. 2011.
• Going green : a handbook of sustainable housing practices in developing countries / [principal author, Emma-Liisa Hannula]. 2012.
• Green building : a professional's guide to concepts, codes and innovation : includes IgCC provisions / Anthony C. Floyd and Allan Bilka. 2012.
• Green building : project planning & cost estimating : a practical guide for constructing sustainable buildings : cost data for green materials, components & systems; special project requirements; financial analysis & incentives. / 2002.
• Green building and LEED core concepts guide / U.S. Green Building Council, 2011.
• Green neighborhood development : LEED reference guide for neighborhood development / U.S. Green Building Council, 2009.
• The green studio handbook : environmental strategies for schematic design / Alison G. Kwok and Walter T. Grondzik. 2011.
• Green town USA : the handbook for America's sustainable future / Thomas J. Fox ; introduction by Daniel Wallach. 2013.
• A green Vitruvius: principles and practice of sustainable architectural design / Vivienne Brophy and J. Owen Lewis. 2011.
• Handbook of sustainable refurbishment : housing / Simon Burton. 2011.
• The HOK guidebook to sustainable design / Sandra Mendler, William Odell, Mary Ann Lazarus. 2nd ed. 2006. Shows how to integrate sustainable design strategies into projects. Includes case studies, glossary, top 10 internet resources, bibliography.
• Homes reference guide / U.S. Green Building Council. 2008.
• Home work : handbuilt shelter / Lloyd Kahn. 2004.
• How to design and build a green office building : a complete guide to making your new or existing building environmentally healthy / Jackie Bondanza. 2011.
• Modern sustainable residential design : a guide for design professionals / William J. Carpenter. 2009.
• The natural building companion : a comprehensive guide to integrative design and construction / Jacob Deva Racusin and Ace McArleton. 2012.
• Rough guide to sustainability : a design primer / Brian Edwards. 2010.
• Sustainable and resilient communities : a comprehensive action plan for towns, cities, and regions / edited by Stephen Coyle ; foreword by Andrés Duany. 2011.
• The sustainable building bible : an insider's guide to eco-renovation & newbuilding / Tim Pullen. 2011. Rev. ed. of: Simply sustainable homes. 2008.
• Sustainable building sourcebook : supplement to the Green Building Program / Austin Energy. 2000. The general sections of the Sourcebook are Water, Energy, Building Materials, and Solid Waste. Each resource section and the appendix are hyperlinked for quick location.
• The sustainable design handbook : China : high environmental quality cities and buildings / Serge Salat, editor in chief. 2006.
• Sustainable healthcare architecture, 2nd edition / Robin Guenther, Gail Vittori. 2013. Also available as an electronic resource .
• Sustainable school architecture : design for primary and secondary schools / Lisa Gelfand, with Eric Corey Freed. 2010.
• The whole building handbook : how to design healthy, efficient and sustainable buildings / Varis Bokalders and Maria Block. 2010. Originally published in Swedish in 2004.
• Sustainability Hub – Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
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Seven graduate students honored with Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (7/18/2024) – Seven graduate students advised by Department of Chemistry faculty members were recently awarded the University of Minnesota’s Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. The seven students honored by this prestigious award are Kaylee Barr, Brylon Denman, Madeline Honig, Chris Seong, Sneha Venkatachalapathy, Murphi Williams, and Caini Zheng.

Kaylee Barr , a Chemical Engineering and Materials Science PhD student, is entering her fifth year in the Reineke Group . Before making the move to Minnesota, she received her BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas. “I came to the University of Minnesota because of the department's developments in polymer science, and because I was interested in the intersection of polymer science and drug delivery in Theresa Reineke's lab,” she says. Here at UMN, Kaylee studies how bottlebrush polymer architecture affects pH-responsive oral drug delivery. This summer, she is excited to grow professionally and as a scientist in an intern position at Genentech.

Brylon Denman is a Chemistry PhD candidate in the Roberts Group . She joined the UMN community in 2020 after completing her BS in Biochemistry at St. Louis University. “My research in the Roberts group seeks to resolve regioselectivity and reactivity issues within aryne methodology via ligand control,” Brylon says. “To accomplish this task, I have taken a mechanistic and hypothesis driven approach to understand how key molecular parameters modify regioselectivity and reactivity. I hope to use the knowledge I have gained from these studies to both improve the synthetic utility of aryne intermediates, and improve the sustainability of aryne reactions.” Brylon is also passionate about sustainable and green chemistry. As a founding member of the Sustainable and Green Chemistry committee, Brylon strives to collaborate with other department teammates to strengthen the culture of green and sustainable chemistry through integration into teaching, research, and community engagement. “In my career I aim to continue this advocacy and use my breadth of knowledge to enact sustainable change at a major pharmaceutical company as emphasizing sustainability on such a large scale can lead to a large impact,” she says. As she works through her internship at AbbVie this summer, Brylon is looking towards the future to outline her next steps after graduation.

Madeline Honig first experienced Chemistry at UMN during a summer REU experience in the Bühlmann Lab . She formally joined the Prof. Bühlmann's team in Fall 2020 after earning her BA in Chemistry from Earlham College. Her research here at UMN  has focused on the development and improved understanding of polymeric membrane-based ion-selective electrodes (ISEs). “One of my projects involves developing a quantitative parameter to better define the upper detection limits of these sensors which can be used to more accurately define sensor performance and predict the working range under different conditions,” Madeline says. “This research led us to investigate the unexplained 'super-Nernstian' responses of some pH-selective electrodes and expand the phase boundary model (the quantitative model that predicts ISE behavior) to include the formation of complexes between protonated ionophores and counter-ions in the sensing membrane. ISEs have been widely used for decades in clinical blood analysis among many other applications so it's exciting that I was still able to add to our fundamental understanding of how these sensors function.” One of Madeline’s goals is to use her research to enable the development of improved sensors that can be used in a wider range of conditions. Over the course of her graduate studies, Madeline has had the opportunity to be a graduate student mentor for two other students: Ariki Haba, a visiting master's student from Japan, and Katie O'Leary, a summer REU student, who both made significant contributions to the project. “Acting as a graduate mentor was really cool and I hope I can also make graduate-level chemistry research more approachable for everyone that I work with,” Madeline says. For her significant research efforts, Madeline was also recently selected in a national competition as one of the four winners of the 2024 Eastern Analytical Symposium Graduate Student Research Award. She will accept the award in November in Plainsboro NJ at the Eastern Analytical Symposium.

Chris Seong , an international student from New Zealand and PhD candidate in the Roberts Group, came to UMN after completing his BA with Distinction in Chemistry at St. Olaf College in 2020. Chris’ overarching chemistry interests involve the development of methods to utilize naturally abundant carboxylic acids as feedstock to synthesize medicinally relevant products, which are traditionally made with non-renewable starting materials derived from fossil fuels. “My earlier work has been focused on making alkyl-alkyl bonds through decarboxylation, but lately, in true Roberts Group fashion, I have turned my attention to using a similar mechanism to do aryne chemistry,” Chris says. He is currently working to publish a paper on the aryne project that he has been working on with two talented group mates; Sal Kargbo and Felicia Yu. “I am really excited to share this cool chemistry with the world,” he says. Outside of the lab, Chris is working on expanding his network to apply for jobs in the pharmaceutical industry – specifically in the early process space.

Sneha Venkatachalapathy is a member of the Distefano Group and an international student from India. She completed her BS in Chemistry with a minor degree in Biotechnology from Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, India in 2020. “Chemistry has always been my passion since high school. I still remember my first successful brown ring test that has left a remarkable fascination and interest towards chemistry,” Sneha says. “This early fascination has driven my academic journey, guided by mentors like Dr. Subhabrata Sen, who encouraged me to pursue a PhD in the United States.” Sneha was drawn towards working in the Chemical Biology research field where she could directly contribute to developing human life. “Joining Dr. Mark Distefano’s lab at UMN provided me with the chance to collaborate with Dr. Mohammad Rashidian from Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Together, we work towards expanding the scope of protein prenylation to construct protein-based cancer diagnostic tools,” she says. Sneha’s goal for her time in the UMN PhD program is to create innovative protein-based tools for cancer detection and treatment, aiming to enhance patient’s quality of life. She says she is looking forward to continuing to develop her leadership skills as she continues her doctorate, and is also exploring future opportunities beyond UMN. “One thing that motivates me daily is the belief that my research contributions to the scientific community would enhance our understanding of cancer diagnostic methods, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes worldwide,” she says.

Murphi Williams  completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, then joined the Bhagi-Damodaran at UMN in 2020. When it comes to research, Murphi is interested in chemical biology, more specifically, looking into proteins involved in important biological problems. “One of my major projects is developing and characterizing a potential inhibitor for  Mycobacterium tuberculosis , the bacteria that causes tuberculosis,” Murphi says. “Tuberculosis is the leading infectious disease so my projects center on understanding and inhibiting heme proteins important for the bacteria. Specifically, a previous lab member identified a small molecule that I've been characterizing the activity of in cells.” Her current research goal is to express and purify the protein targets for her small molecule inhibitor in the lab to further demonstrate the in vitro activity. She is also contemplating a future career in science communication. Outside of the lab, she enjoys working on her garden. 

Caini Zheng joined the Chemistry at the UMN in 2019 after finishing her undergraduate studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She is currently a sixth-year graduate student co-advised by Profs. Tim Lodge and Ilja Siepmann . Her research focuses on the phase behavior of soft materials, including polymers and oligomers. Her DDF statement is titled "Self-Assembly of Polymers and Amphiphiles into Bicontinuous Phases". Caini is currently working on a project to elucidate the self-assembly of glycolipids through molecular dynamics simulations coupled with machine learning methods. In the future, she wants to work in the industry on bridging data science with traditional material research.

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Can concrete recycling drive sustainable development amidst road expansion in Tripoli?

July 14, 2024.

Concrete debries resulted from ongoing road expansion projects

Head of Exploration - Accelerator Lab Libya 

Lately, with the commencement of road expansion projects in my neighborhood in Tripoli, Libya, I felt optimistic that this would improve the connectivity to other parts of the city with smoother traffic flow and shorter commute times. However, I also began to ponder over the disposal of construction waste and its environmental impact. This reminded me of a moment around a decade ago during a presentation of a colleague's graduation project at the Engineering faculty, where I was first introduced to the concept of concrete recycling through case studies and promising experiments. This led me to question why such an approach couldn't be expanded on a larger scale. It also inspired me to write this blog, exploring concrete's dual role as a vital construction component and a major waste source, as well as how recycling can benefit development both economically and environmentally. 

Going the extra mile in development

Balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability is a global challenge and opportunity, and Libya is no exception. The country has recently embarked on ambitious road-building and expansion projects to support infrastructure development projects and respond to its growing population and economy. 

Since then, the issue of concrete waste management has come to the forefront, especially considering the significant amount of concrete material removed and disposed; questions arise -  instead of simply tossing this valuable material into the sea, why not consider  a more sustainable and innovative solution– concrete recycling. 

Through the innovative and sustainable practice of concrete recycling, we can go the extra mile in development, beyond the infrastructure expansion and development, we can work also towards closing the loop on material use, extending the lifespan of such resources. 

Closing the Loop - Transforming Waste into Value   

Knowledge and awareness can, of course, preserve the course and turn the tide by transforming what was once considered waste into an asset. Many countries have enjoyed economic and environmental benefits from concrete recycling. Singapore, for example, connected its city center with the north via the Central Expressway, reusing crushed demolished concrete from old structures. The Olympic Park of London was constructed for the 2012 Summer Olympics using recycled concrete in various structures and pathways, and the list goes on. 

Isn't it time to revisit the treasure trove of knowledge overlooked in the drawers and shelves of Libyan universities and institutions? By exploring these resources and embracing a commitment to sustainable environmental practices, we can uncover innovative approaches and solutions that have the potential to enhance sustainability and promote future development in Libya.