Sustainability and Resilience Planning for Local Governments

The Quadruple Bottom Line Strategy

verfasst von: Dr. Haris Alibašić

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : Sustainable Development Goals Series

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Über dieses Buch

This book details a process of creating a long-term sustainability and resilience plan for local governments to use in designing and implementing sustainability and resilience-related policies, initiatives, and programs. It offers guidance and methods in applying sustainability and resilience strategies to attain the prosperity of organizations and communities. The recommendations in this book are based on the author's years of experience in directing applied resilience and sustainability planning for a local government, and years of research covering diverse aspects of sustainability and resilience from climate change, climate preparedness and readiness, quadruple bottom line strategy, greenhouse gas emission reduction policies, climate adaptation and mitigation to sustainable energy policies and initiatives.

Chapter one defines terms related to sustainability and resilience and addresses how the topics reshape local governments and communities. Chapter two maps out the sustainability and resilience process for organizations and communities, determining the appropriate steps to be taken at each level of sustainability and resilience planning. Chapter three identifies community and organizational level engagement, with internal and external stakeholders, including designs necessary throughout these processes. Chapter four contains measuring, tracking, monitoring and reporting methods using the quadruple bottom line strategy, and developing a sustainability and resilience progress report to ensure accountability, transparency, and good governance. Then, chapter five details the implementation of a sustainability and resilience plan once it is established, describing potential programs and initiatives to achieve sustainable and resilient communities. Chapter six describes the intersection between sustainability and resilience, and chapter seven examines the tools and resources available to create a practical sustainability and resilience plan. Chapter eight concludes the text by addressing the future of sustainability and resilience, and complexities of the modern dynamics of the interconnected systems in cities, counties, and organizations, and recommends how local government administrators in their planning methods and strategies must consider these challenges.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Defining, Initiating, and Reviewing Sustainability and Resilience Planning

Overview

The first chapter of the book is aimed at answering the underlying assumptions and inquiries about sustainability and resilience, and corresponding sustainability and resilience planning, the differences and similarities between the two, and how the topics reshape local governments and communities. In this chapter, exact terms and definition related to sustainability, the history of sustainability and Triple Bottom Line (TBL), Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL), and greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint, climate resilience and preparedness, and sustainability planning are provided. Updated definitions of sustainability and resilience with an all-encompassing review of contemporary sustainability and resilience literature are included. Also, a selective review of successful sustainability plans in various local governments across select communities in the United States is incorporated. An analytical assessment of the definitions of the Triple Bottom Line and the Quadruple Bottom Line and the historical evolution of sustainability are offered.

Haris Alibašić

2. Mapping Out the Sustainability and Resilience Process for Organizations and Communities

Overview

Building on the first chapter, the second chapter outlines and defines processes in determining the appropriate steps and resources in sustainability and resilience planning for organizations. The second chapter is intended to provide answers to the primary potentials and queries related to existing strategies plan, long-term goals, vision, values, and core mission of an organization pursuing sustainability and resilience planning. It enables the readers to understand the external and internal dynamic of organizational commitment to sustainability and resilience, threats, opportunities and to evaluate them in the context of budgetary and financial circumstances surrounding the organization. Chapter 2 maps out the sustainability and resilience planning process for organizations and communities, determining the appropriate steps to be taken at each level of sustainability and resilience planning. The sustainability planning process includes the environmental scan, mapping out the current conditions and available internal resources, and the capacity of the organization, and an analysis of opportunities that may exist in the community, region, state, and the nation.

Haris Alibašić

3. Identifying the Internal and External Stakeholders, the Level of Organizational and Community Engagement, and the Target Champions

Overview

The third book chapter covers an often-overlooked aspect of sustainability and resilience planning, stakeholder identification, and the level of staff and community engagement, including designs necessary to implementing the strategies and initiatives. A sequence of the appropriate steps in identifying internal and external stakeholders for organizational sustainability and resilience planning is explained. Similar to the process of mapping out the sustainability and resilience planning, stakeholder engagement process is multilayered, and it involves different stakeholders, internal and external. Internal stakeholders include the elected and appointed officials, staff, and part-time employees. External stakeholders are residents, community members, partners, nonprofit and business organizations and their representatives, boards and task forces, vendors, contractors, regional, state, and national organizations. The initial step to sustainability and resilience planning is to include staff, define roles and responsibilities, and identify target champions. The sustainability and resilience planning process may be used as an opportunity to empower employees to own the designated targets, promote leadership and accountability, and further the collaboration between departments.

Haris Alibašić

4. Measuring, Tracking, Monitoring, and Reporting Sustainability and Resilience Progress

Overview

The fourth chapter of the book is aimed at answering the following underlying assumptions and questions:

Why do organizations measure sustainability and resilience outcomes?
What do organizations measure to become more sustainable and increase resilience?
What are some objective sustainability and resilience measurements?
What targets are relevant to organizational sustainability and resilience planning?
What is the difference between the indicators and targets?
What are the differences and similarities in measuring and reporting the sustainability and resilience efforts in various communities?
What type of reports are the most effective ways to inform the progress of sustainability-related efforts?
How do local governments ensure transparency and accountability through their sustainability and resilience progress reports?

Haris Alibašić

5. Implementing a Sustainability and Resilience Plan: Initiatives and Programs

Overview

This chapter describes the implementation of a sustainability and resilience plan once it is established, detailing prospective programs and initiatives to achieve sustainable and resilient outcomes in communities. Furthermore, the chapter of the book defines the sustainability- and resilience-related activities, initiatives, and outcomes, the championing and implementation of the plan. Moreover, an extensive review of the implementation of resilient and sustainable energy practices, initiatives, and projects is provided. The four distinct areas of Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL) and corresponding implementation strategies are featured as social, economic, environmental, and governance functions of resilient and sustainable community planning. Contemporary cities, townships, villages, and counties implement comprehensive, quantifiable resilience and sustainability projects and initiatives with an ultimate goal of cost and carbon reduction.

Haris Alibašić

6. Examining the Intersection of Sustainability and Resilience

Overview

The objective of the sixth chapter of the book is to evaluate the effects of climate resilience, resilience, climate preparedness, climate mitigation, and climate adaptation planning processed. Climate change generates further challenges for local governments demonstrated by extreme and unpredictable weather. While the impacts of the climate change are region specific and are diverse in intensity and the impact levels, they affect all aspects of communities. This chapter describes the intersection between sustainability and resilience and how the resilience planning connects to sustainability planning within local governments. Furthermore, it evaluates strategies utilized by local governments to integrate climate resilience and preparedness into short-term and long-term organizational planning. Finally, the chapter offers an overview of the appropriate steps to integrating climate change strategies into emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation. The ultimate goals of climate resilience planning are a reduction of the operational costs, decreased negative impact on the environment, positive social effects on communities, and improved governance.

Haris Alibašić

7. Evaluating Tools and Resources for Sustainability and Resilience Planning

Overview

The seventh chapter of the book provides a cursory and illustrative review of available resources, tools, and assistance for sustainability and resilience planning for local governments to attain maximum resilience and sustain communities. Beyond consulting services, resources and tools are available at no or economically feasible cost and require internal coordination, staffing, and management. The chapter provides a brief overview of accessible national, state, and regional level resources and organizations supporting the climate preparedness and resilience efforts, including available tools for carbon footprint inventory or greenhouse gas emissions reporting. An illustrative overview of a template of a sustainability and resilience plan is provided. A template for integrating a climate readiness into emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation plan is offered.

Haris Alibašić

8. Concluding Remarks: Future of Sustainability and Resilience Planning

Overview

This chapter of the book concludes the text by addressing the future of sustainability and resilience planning, and complexities of the modern dynamics of the interconnected systems in local governments, and recommending how it is necessary for city and county administrators in their planning methods and strategies to consider these challenges. The final chapter discusses the future of communities from sustainability and resilience perspectives. Most planning efforts put forth by local governments will include sustainable and resilience components, and beyond climate change, cities and counties will face other challenges in the future. The answer to maximizing the sustainability momentum in local governments is to embed resilience into strategic initiatives and plans.

Haris Alibašić

Erratum to: Measuring, Tracking, Monitoring, and Reporting Sustainability and Resilience Progress

Haris Alibašić

Backmatter

Titel: Sustainability and Resilience Planning for Local Governments
verfasst von: Dr. Haris Alibašić
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-72568-0
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-72567-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72568-0