The Role of Business in Global Sustainability Transformations

Table of Contents

1. A little chapter on the big picture

Robert Kozak, Anne Toppinen, Dalia D’Amato

2. Towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in business strategy and operations

Angelina Korsunova and Kaisa Korhonen-Kurki

3. Sustainable business models: state of the art and emerging avenues

Romana Rauter, Tomas Santa-Maria, and Josef-Peter Schöggl

Part 2 – Framing and managing sustainability

4. Potential of the green economy discourse to advance sustainability in business

Maria Fernanda Tomaselli, Kahlil Baker, Michael Barkusky, Noriko Kusumi

5. The circular bioeconomy: company-level strategic perspectives

Ari Jantunen and Anni Tuppura

6. Strategies for brand owners and retailers in the circular bioeconomy transition

Fabian Schipfer, Gülşah Yilan, Francesca Govoni, Piergiuseppe Morone

7. Servitization and the future of business development – Insights from the forest industry

Katja Lähtinen and Liina Häyrinen

　

Part 3 – Governance and policy mechanisms

8. The private sector engagement paradox: the proliferation of finance and market driven sustainability tools alongside the acceleration of environmental degradation

Ben Cashore

9. Intact forest landscapes and the FSC: lessons for NGO-business cooperation

William Nikolakis and Peter Wood

10. The internet of trees and networked surveillance: a multi-stakeholder effort to protect the resilience of ecosystem

Mario Schultz and Peter Seele

Part 4 – Business sustainability tomorrow?

11. The quandary of sustainability-oriented innovations

Eric Hansen, Jaana Korhonen, Rajat Panwar, Marko Hakovirta

12. Business in a strongly sustainable society?

Iana Nesterova and Ben Robra

13. The quest for the sustainable hybrid business

Ellen Stenslie

14. Sustainable futures and the changing role of business vis-à-vis with society

Index

Biography

Dalia D’Amato is an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki (Finland), and a member of the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS). Since Autumn 2022, she has been employed by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). Current research interests include solution-oriented sustainability narratives, such as the green, circular, and bioeconomy, and related societal and organisational transformations; business sustainability in the forest sector and other land use-intensive sectors; biodiversity-underpinned ecosystem services and the governance of socio-ecological systems.

Anne Toppinen is Professor in forest economics and business and Vice Dean of research affairs and doctoral education at the Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, at University of Helsinki (Finland). During 2018-21, she served as Director of the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS). Her research interests focus on sustainability pathways and resilience of forest-based value networks, corporate responsibility questions in a broad sense, and emergence of new sustainability-driven business models. She has published widely in the fields of corporate responsibility and forest bioeconomy.

Robert Kozak is a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia. His research and teaching revolve around sustainable business management and business-based solutions to complex problems related to sustainable development, forestry, wood products, and the emerging conservation economy. He was awarded the International Union of Forest Research Organization’s Scientific Achievement Award (2014), a Doctor of Agriculture and Forestry honoris causa from the University of Helsinki (2022), and the Killam Teaching Prize (2001, 2014).

"This book is a little gem! It succeeds in the ambitious task of putting together what businesses, governments, and the civil society could do in tandem – through collaborative but also adversarial action – to forward a systemic transformation toward sustainability, especially within business. The readers are offered a comprehensive understanding of theories of sustainability transformation, particularly as concerns sustainability change within business, coupled with concrete examples from different parts and contexts of the globe. If you seeking for new ideas for how to change businesses toward sustainability in a systemic setting, this is book is a perfect choice."

Minna Halme, Professor of Sustainability Management, Aalto University School of Business

"As The Role of Business in Global Sustainability Transformations sets out, a green economy based on natural capital, as well as social and human capital, is going to be essential in the global sustainability transformation. The authors delve into the challenges of this and consider some of the potential solutions for business, connecting the jigsaw of activities in an engaging overview of where we find ourselves today."

Mark Gough, CEO, Capitals Coalition

"Society must find a way to halt the climate and biodiversity crisis if we are to leave a habitable world for future generations. Sustainable business approaches are recognised as being critical for achieving that aim. This extremely timely and important book is essential reading for policy makers, academics and those working in the private sector. It provides an insightful collection of essays critically reflecting on the most prominent business pathways, opportunities and challenges to the sustainability transition."

Lyndall Bull, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Melbourne