Elinor Ostrom examines the management of common-pool resources such as rivers, bridges and grazing areas. Ostrom discusses the ‘tragedy of the commons’ and environmental, economic and social threats to common-pool resources. Ostrom applies political and economic theory and policy literature to discuss potential solutions and challenge conventional approaches.
As industries and governments move towards the circular economy, clear and aligned direction is needed for a rapid transition to scale. This paper proposes five universal policy goals that can help governments build healthier economic recoveries and lower the costs of transition for businesses across sectors.
To overcome climate action inertia that many governments are experiencing, the paper proposes that health can be used as a core motivator for climate action. This idea is explored through the case study of the Obama administration’s climate mitigation policies.
Discusses the growth of Australia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry from 2014-2019. Finding significant growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during this period. The report provides a brief history and context of Australia’s LNG boom, explains technical aspects of the industry and outlines four factors accounting for GHG growth.
This report examines the impact of packaging materials for natural source water and soft drinks. The materials examined include plastic bottles, aluminium cans, glass bottles and multi-material cartons. To reduce impact, findings highlight that businesses should increase circularity and levels of recycled material for all material types.
Supporting post-growth transformation, this doctoral thesis posits a new theory: relationship-to-profit theory. This explains the social and ecological implications of how businesses relate to profit, and argues that for economies to be sustainable businesses and markets should treat profit as a means rather than an end-in-itself.
The paper provides an overview of the literature on Circular Economy theoretical approaches, strategies and implementation cases. After analysing different Circular Economy approaches and the underlying principles, the paper then proceeds with developing tools for Circular Economy implementation. The tools discussed include a strategies database and an implementation database.
This report analyses climate change risks to Australians’ health and finances to understand the implications climate change poses to insurers, pension providers and policy-makers. Finding that bushfires, heatwaves and infectious illnesses pose risks to human health and finances resulting in higher mortality, lower superannuation balances and lower retirement incomes.
Substantial reductions in economic growth for environmental and social sustainability may be unnecessary. Policies and market signals are required to conserve natural resources, equally distribute wealth and mitigate the impacts of climate change. It is argued that environmental and social goals are of greater importance in meeting the needs of society than economic development.
Asia Research & Engagement’s research lists the current sustainability risks pertaining to the seafood industry and responses from retailers and hotels. It builds a case for the retailers, hotels and restaurants operating in seafood supply across Asia to increase their focus on their supply chain risks and take the necessary steps to manage them.
The planetary boundaries concept presents a set of nine planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come; a 'safe operating space'. Crossing these boundaries increases the risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes.
This research identifies the potential for increased green bond issuance to support the green investment needs of large global publicly traded companies across all sectors. Comparing companies’ business as usual (BAU) to pathways aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), case studies illustrate how green bonds can support transitions to low-carbon business models.
