The multiple identities of sustainability

Abstract

Sustainability is one of the most complex composite constructs to have emerged in the last decade. Having a clear understanding of its meanings is critical as actions based on these understandings impact all walks of life. We track the conceptualizations and measurements of sustainable development in the areas of government, business, education, and the trades. We explore what stakeholders in these groups value in sustainability by observing where they develop initiatives, invest funds, and report progress. What emerges is a picture of diversity in how stakeholders view sustainable development, one of multiple identities, driven by distinct logics and motives. Based on these findings, we propose that, instead of reconciling these diverse perspectives, we might focus on constructing shared understandings around critical values.

Sustainable Growth in SMEs: A Review from the Malaysian Perspective

“…This is the social goals of the firm, which is, indirectly removing poverty. Ratiu and Anderson (2015) found that majority of firms in their study focus on these activities in their sustainability plans. Hence in this study sustainable growth refers to the continuous and maintainable growth of the firms from the economic perspective representing the performances from the financial, quality, environment, and social aspects of SMEs.…”

“…Irrespective of the two contradicting perspectives, the research turns to address and explain sustainability (Sartori et al, 2014). 'Sustainability' has been treated as an umbrella term that covers various issues, concepts, practices and ways of thinking (Isada & Isada, 2015) that are complex, and its concept remains theoretical and abstract leading to various research proposing different definition depending on how it is approached and perceived (Lozano, 2008;Jabareen, 2008;Barkemeyer et al, 2014;Owens & Legere, 2015;Ratiu & Anderson, 2015).…”

“…There is no consensus definition of sustainability that remains an ill-defined term (Galpin & Hebard, 2015) with more than 70 different definitions (Lozano, 2008) being proposed by various studies (Barkemeyer et al, 2014;Owens & Legere, 2015;Habidin, Zubir, Fuzi, Latip, & Azma, 2015;Ratiu & Anderson, 2015), depending on how the sustainability is approached and perceived (Lozano, 2008;Barkemeyer et al, 2014;Owens & Legere, 2015). Even though the aim of sustainability is to secure intergenerational equity, its meaning yet remains elusive (Bansal & DesJardine, 2014).…”

“…In the New Economic Model (NEM) of Malaysia (National Economic Advisor Council (NEAC), 2009, p. 11), sustainability refers to attaining the current objectives "without compromising future generations by effective stewardship and preservation of the natural environment and non-renewable resources". The term sustainability has been overused and misused by researchers (Prabawani, 2013) depending on the actors (Ratiu & Anderson, 2015) that lead to various interpretations (Morelli, 2013).…”

Prediction of Environmental Performance Indicators for Construction Sites Based on Artificial Neural Networks

“…The concept fundamentally seeks to promote balance with respect to the human, time and place; in other words, equitable allocation of the world's resources among all nations, living beings, and future generations (Yilmaz and Bakis 2015). Sustainability has become a strategy that led governments to develop policies and corporations to develop strategies (Ratiu and Anderson 2015). The construction industry is becoming aware of the importance of adopting the principles of sustainability in the sector and has been using statistical and computational methods to perform analysis to improve environmental performance.…”