Progress, Pitfalls and Promise: Collaboration with the Corporate Sector within the Framework of Regional Sustainable Development Efforts Prof. Donald Huisingh The Energy, Environment and Resources Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Background Agenda 21 was officially released at the 1992, Earth Summit in Rio. It highlighted the need for cities, regions and nations to develop and implement SD plans. It also emphasized that Cleaner Production, Industrial Ecology and other preventative approaches are the preferred way to help companies and regions make progress toward SD.

What has happened since the Earth Summit? Work in the CP/IE within individual companies or groups of companies and RSIs in cities and regions has proceeded essentially independently.

Background on the CP/IE Branch /1 1.Many studies have documented economic, ecological and human health and safety benefits; 2.However, the most important critique from a SD point of view is that while individual company results are encouraging, most efforts are isolated and lack follow-up and continuity;

Background on the CP/IE Branch /2 3.As a result, the diffusion of CP and IE has been slow and a significant gap exists between expected and realized achievements; 4.Research is needed to focus on the identification and analysis of barriers to expanded and continuing CP and IE applications in companies and regions.

Background on the RSI Branch /1 1.There are thousands of city and regional Agenda 21 RSI plans ; 2.Different levels of planning:  Local SD planning: Local Agenda 21  Regional level planning based on ecosystems or political boundaries;  National SD plans around the world.

Background on the RSI Branch /2 Nine Countries - One Vision Regional sustainable development planning project in East Tennessee ECOREG Program, Finland Measuring regional Eco-Efficiency – Case of Kymenlaakso, European Union LIFE-project The establishment of regional SD indicator system Partnership for a Green City, Louisville, KY Cooperation project between the U of Louisville, Jefferson County Public Schools and the Louisville Metro Government Sustainable Whistler, Canada The implementation of the Natural Step principles in Whistler ( Canmore, AlbertaFollows the example of Whistler in implementing the Natural Step model

Background on the RSI Branch /3 Halifax Regional Municipality Sustainability analysis of the Halifax Regional Municipality based on the NS model San FranciscoSF adopted the precautionary principle and passed an ordnance updating all of its environmental regulations. Also important: Green procurement regulation ChattanoogaDowntown and Riverfront development, nationally and internationally praised SD planning process, business involvement? Seattle2005 Environmental Action Agenda. A Global City Acting Locally DenmarkSustainability planning at local municipalities based on the principles of LA21. Important role of public and business participation

Background on the RSI Branch /4 RSIs are being established within the following types of frameworks:  Agenda 21  The Natural Step Principles;  The Melbourne Principles;  The Earth Charter Principles;  The Precautionary Principle;  Bio-Regionalism Principles;  The Stakeholder Engagement and Empowerment Principles.

Background on the RSI Branch /5 Some RSI plans are being implemented; Many RSI indicators have been developed and are being used to monitor progress; Some RSI evaluations have been made but no systematic/comparative studies have been done.

Preliminary Findings on the RSI Branch /1 1.RSI approaches to SD are being promoted by international organizations and treaties; 2.RSIs are being fostered at the national, regional and city levels; 3.As a result, RSIs are being implemented in a number of countries around the world;

Preliminary Findings on the RSI Branch /2 4.The RSIs differ greatly in scope, initial motivations, objectives, environmental, economic and social settings, partners involved and results achieved; 5.The most important success factors of RSIs are related to the visions, goals, commitment and the degree and quality of participation of the different stakeholders in the long-term

Preliminary Findings on the RSI Branch /4 Challenges/Barriers 1.U.S. RSI examples reveal that long-term success is limited, especially due to short-term, ad hoc. involvement especially by the business sector in RSIs; 2.This results in vast under achievements of RSIs in many regions; 3.Most RSIs are chronically under-resourced; 4.Most RSIs receive low political priority and are not adequately integrated into true long-range regional planning and implementation programs; 5.However, there are some encouraging signs!

Research Assumptions 1.Efforts at the individual company level can benefit from a regional approach to SD, which can foster double loop learning and as a result deeper changes in the business organization; 2.This justifies a comprehensive assessment of the different RSIs, as well as the elaboration of training materials to be used for capacity building purposes.

Research Objectives 1.To develop a comprehensive, comparative assessment of different RSIs that are evolving throughout the world; 2.To develop guidance materials for establishment and support of RSIs; 3.To develop train-the-trainers courses to train local and regional RSI leaders; 4.To perform a number of trainings in the U.S., Latin America and Europe; 5.To update materials based on practical experiences and disseminate them worldwide.

Theoretical background of the research Provided by theories describing the motivation and operation of inter-organizational relationships between business organizations, such as:  Resource dependence theory  Institutional theory  Stakeholder theory  Organizational learning

Methodology of the research /1 Empirical research based on primary and secondary data collection Three questionnaires:  Exploratory questionnaire: justification of research ideas  RSI leaders questionnaire  Corporate questionnaire Analysis of data: multivariate statistical methods (e.g. regression analysis)

Methodology of the research /2 Sample of surveys: Exploratory questionnaire: about 100 experts of RSIs; RSI leader questionnaire: about 100 non- corporate stakeholders in 4-5 U.S. regions Corporate questionnaire: about 200 business organizations in the same 4-5 U.S. regions: medium and large size, manufacturing industries

Methodology of the research /3 Data to be collected: 1.Participation of businesses in RSIs:  From RSI leaders  From companies 2.Environmental/overall performance of organizations  From EPA and OHSA databases  From corporate questionnaire

Current status of the research Literature review on RSI and theoretical considerations: Exploratory questionnaire: RSI questionnaire: under preparation Corporate questionnaire: under preparation Analysis of data: June-September, 2006 Publication of findings: end of 2006

Questions for discussion /1 Regional Sustainability in general: What are the major motivation factors leading to RSIs? What kind of stakeholders are usually involved? What is their role in RSIs? What are the typical activities in RSIs? What are the most important strengths of RSIs? What are their drawbacks?

Questions for discussion /2 Corporate participation in RSIs: What are the major motivation factors of companies to participate in RSIs? What are the obstacles of more widespread involvement? How can companies benefit from RSIs? How can regions benefit from corporate partnerships? What tools can we use to foster corporate involvement?

Contact information Prof. Donald Huisingh: Dr. Gyula Zilahy:

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