This paper proposes an integration mechanism to help the owners and designers to integrate sustainability issues into design process, communicate with stakeholders and achieve consensus. Literature concerning engineer...This paper proposes an integration mechanism to help the owners and designers to integrate sustainability issues into design process, communicate with stakeholders and achieve consensus. Literature concerning engineering design, decision making and environment assessment were reviewed. Sustainability disputes in construction projects were analyzed and owners and designers were interviewed to understand the evolvement of these issues. Key success factors of other successful integration projects were also referenced. An integration mechanism including procedures was established along with traditional design process. Four integration steps were developed: organize integration team, propose integration issues, determine acceptance criteria, and evaluate alternatives; and four integration dimensions were also identified: appeals, decision making and execution, stakeholders, and experts. A matrix was formed by the four integration steps and four dimensions. A rigor index was proposed to measure the quality of the integration process. Finally, the mechanism was tested on a construction project with sustainability controversy to check its validity. The study results show that the integration mechanism can help incorporate sustainability issues and achieve consensus if followed rigorously. The integration matrix systematically examines the eight key integration factors under the four dimensions. The rigor index can explain the quality in integrating sustainability issues into engineering design. The mechanism provides a useful tool for the owners and designers to cope with the sustainability decision making difficulties.展开更多
The Malaysian government has carefully crafted policies to ensure that the nation achieves its aspirational goal to become a developed nation by 2020. Crucial for which is the success of the Securities Commission's ...The Malaysian government has carefully crafted policies to ensure that the nation achieves its aspirational goal to become a developed nation by 2020. Crucial for which is the success of the Securities Commission's "Corporate Governance Blueprint 2011" and "Capital Market Master Plan 2" designed to provide a business environment which attracts investment and talent. Somewhat overlooked in these otherwise robust policy shifts has been a critical critique of the definition, nature, and purpose of corporate governance itself. Recognizing this oversight, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, has directed that the definition of corporate governance be rejuvenated for the 21st century. This paper looks to answer that challenge by recommending the following transformational definition for corporate governance: "the proactive implementation of accountable ethical processes, procedures, and policies that inspires innovative aspirational economic activity to produce sustainable wealth and prosperity for shareholders, stakeholders, and society".展开更多
Abstract: Nowadays energy saving and environmental protection are crucial issues in the international society. One of the best solutions for both issues is to improve energy efficiency. To improve energy efficiency, ...Abstract: Nowadays energy saving and environmental protection are crucial issues in the international society. One of the best solutions for both issues is to improve energy efficiency. To improve energy efficiency, it is commonly recognized by both standards and energy sectors that Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) could play an important role . China and the USA, the top two energy consumption countries in the world, both have adopted MEPS program to address the problem of energy conservation and environmental protection. This paper analyzes and compares the two countries' MEPS programs from a historical and legal context, examining the role of different stakeholders in the process,the process, the outcomes by standards,and then makes some recommendations for both sides.展开更多
This paper shows prospective methodology as a tool to generate strategic knowledge for designing sustainable futures. The strategic prospective is a social science discipline dedicated to explore the future. Based on ...This paper shows prospective methodology as a tool to generate strategic knowledge for designing sustainable futures. The strategic prospective is a social science discipline dedicated to explore the future. Based on qualitative methods with participative experts and stakeholders, the strategic prospective allows designing different future scenarios and planning the transformation of a current situation into a desired future. To design sustainable futures, this paper proposes a four-stage methodology: understanding the context; strategy visualization; design of alternative scenarios and definition of desired future; and planning its construction. This methodology makes evident the possibility of seeking alternative scenarios for a sustainable future in different scopes, particularly, in two prospective applications: biodiversity conservation and water treatment. The outcomes of the application have allowed proposing strategies and policies for the management of environmental goods, such as environmental services and water reuse, with a long-time outlook based on a collective desired future.展开更多
In the last years, the issues regarding both sustainable development and business global responsibility have qualified the corporate governance effectiveness. Many international institutions have intervened and the co...In the last years, the issues regarding both sustainable development and business global responsibility have qualified the corporate governance effectiveness. Many international institutions have intervened and the companies, at least formally, have increased their attention to the interaction between stakeholder relationship management and economic, social, and environmental responsibility. The numerous and frequent scandals underline the discrepancy between the firms' formal statements and the substantial behaviors. Most of the companies, in the industrialized country, publish well-structured code of ethics and conduct, explicating the strategic values assigned to the global responsibility. The research considers the capability of the code of conduct to influence effectively the behaviors, in relation with the needs of transparency, sharing, coherent individual behavior, and control. In relation to the importance conferred to the sustainable development by the European Union (EU), the analysis examines listed companies with the greatest market capitalization operating in the Great Britain, Germany, and Italy, in order to verify the firms' behavioral uniformity and the effectiveness of sustainability policies. The analysis shows that the codes of ethics seem to remain only formal declarations. Conscious and rational governance not only transfers values and principles of sustainability to the firm's behaviors and its result system, but also goes beyond a mere diffusion and formalization of codes of ethics and conducts. To achieve that, it is necessary to develop productive behaviors focused on the risk control and on managing behaviors of all the organization's members, in particular in reference to the stakeholder relationship management. The codes of ethics, in fact, seem to assume a poor relevance for the corporate sustainability promotion if a correct formal structure does not occur integrated with strategies and processes which assure a constant workability. It requests especially: the ethic culture diffusion and sharing of related values and principles; definition and integration of critical success dimensions in relation to economic, environmental, and ecological responsibility; and identification of relevant ethical parameters and control of their observance.展开更多
文摘This paper proposes an integration mechanism to help the owners and designers to integrate sustainability issues into design process, communicate with stakeholders and achieve consensus. Literature concerning engineering design, decision making and environment assessment were reviewed. Sustainability disputes in construction projects were analyzed and owners and designers were interviewed to understand the evolvement of these issues. Key success factors of other successful integration projects were also referenced. An integration mechanism including procedures was established along with traditional design process. Four integration steps were developed: organize integration team, propose integration issues, determine acceptance criteria, and evaluate alternatives; and four integration dimensions were also identified: appeals, decision making and execution, stakeholders, and experts. A matrix was formed by the four integration steps and four dimensions. A rigor index was proposed to measure the quality of the integration process. Finally, the mechanism was tested on a construction project with sustainability controversy to check its validity. The study results show that the integration mechanism can help incorporate sustainability issues and achieve consensus if followed rigorously. The integration matrix systematically examines the eight key integration factors under the four dimensions. The rigor index can explain the quality in integrating sustainability issues into engineering design. The mechanism provides a useful tool for the owners and designers to cope with the sustainability decision making difficulties.
文摘The Malaysian government has carefully crafted policies to ensure that the nation achieves its aspirational goal to become a developed nation by 2020. Crucial for which is the success of the Securities Commission's "Corporate Governance Blueprint 2011" and "Capital Market Master Plan 2" designed to provide a business environment which attracts investment and talent. Somewhat overlooked in these otherwise robust policy shifts has been a critical critique of the definition, nature, and purpose of corporate governance itself. Recognizing this oversight, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, has directed that the definition of corporate governance be rejuvenated for the 21st century. This paper looks to answer that challenge by recommending the following transformational definition for corporate governance: "the proactive implementation of accountable ethical processes, procedures, and policies that inspires innovative aspirational economic activity to produce sustainable wealth and prosperity for shareholders, stakeholders, and society".
文摘Abstract: Nowadays energy saving and environmental protection are crucial issues in the international society. One of the best solutions for both issues is to improve energy efficiency. To improve energy efficiency, it is commonly recognized by both standards and energy sectors that Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) could play an important role . China and the USA, the top two energy consumption countries in the world, both have adopted MEPS program to address the problem of energy conservation and environmental protection. This paper analyzes and compares the two countries' MEPS programs from a historical and legal context, examining the role of different stakeholders in the process,the process, the outcomes by standards,and then makes some recommendations for both sides.
文摘This paper shows prospective methodology as a tool to generate strategic knowledge for designing sustainable futures. The strategic prospective is a social science discipline dedicated to explore the future. Based on qualitative methods with participative experts and stakeholders, the strategic prospective allows designing different future scenarios and planning the transformation of a current situation into a desired future. To design sustainable futures, this paper proposes a four-stage methodology: understanding the context; strategy visualization; design of alternative scenarios and definition of desired future; and planning its construction. This methodology makes evident the possibility of seeking alternative scenarios for a sustainable future in different scopes, particularly, in two prospective applications: biodiversity conservation and water treatment. The outcomes of the application have allowed proposing strategies and policies for the management of environmental goods, such as environmental services and water reuse, with a long-time outlook based on a collective desired future.
文摘In the last years, the issues regarding both sustainable development and business global responsibility have qualified the corporate governance effectiveness. Many international institutions have intervened and the companies, at least formally, have increased their attention to the interaction between stakeholder relationship management and economic, social, and environmental responsibility. The numerous and frequent scandals underline the discrepancy between the firms' formal statements and the substantial behaviors. Most of the companies, in the industrialized country, publish well-structured code of ethics and conduct, explicating the strategic values assigned to the global responsibility. The research considers the capability of the code of conduct to influence effectively the behaviors, in relation with the needs of transparency, sharing, coherent individual behavior, and control. In relation to the importance conferred to the sustainable development by the European Union (EU), the analysis examines listed companies with the greatest market capitalization operating in the Great Britain, Germany, and Italy, in order to verify the firms' behavioral uniformity and the effectiveness of sustainability policies. The analysis shows that the codes of ethics seem to remain only formal declarations. Conscious and rational governance not only transfers values and principles of sustainability to the firm's behaviors and its result system, but also goes beyond a mere diffusion and formalization of codes of ethics and conducts. To achieve that, it is necessary to develop productive behaviors focused on the risk control and on managing behaviors of all the organization's members, in particular in reference to the stakeholder relationship management. The codes of ethics, in fact, seem to assume a poor relevance for the corporate sustainability promotion if a correct formal structure does not occur integrated with strategies and processes which assure a constant workability. It requests especially: the ethic culture diffusion and sharing of related values and principles; definition and integration of critical success dimensions in relation to economic, environmental, and ecological responsibility; and identification of relevant ethical parameters and control of their observance.