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Science for Sustainable Societies
Isabel B. Franco
Tathagata Chatterji
Ellen Derbyshire
James Tracey Editors
Actioning the
Global Goals for
Local Impact
Towards Sustainability Science, Policy,
Education and Practice
Series Editorial Board
Editor in Chief
Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Ph.D., Director and Project Professor, Integrated Research
System for Sustainability Science (IR3S), The University of Tokyo Institutes for
Advanced Study (UTIAS), Chair of the Board of Directors, Institute for Global
Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan
Series Adviser
Joanne M. Kauffman, Ph.D., Co-editor in Chief, Handbook of Sustainable
Engineering, Springer, 2013
Scientific Advisory Committee

Sir Partha Dasgupta, Ph.D., Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics,
University of Cambridge, UK; Volvo Environment Prize, 2002; Blue Planet Prize,
2015
Hiroshi Komiyama, Ph.D., Chairman, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Japan;
President Emeritus, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Sander Van der Leeuw, Ph.D., Foundation Professor, School of Human Evolution
and Social Change and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, USA
Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, Dr. Eng., Member of Japan Academy; Chairman, The Japan
Prize Foundation; President Emeritus, The University of Tokyo, Japan; Japan Prize
1997
Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid, Ph.D., Science Adviser to the Prime Minister of
Malaysia, Malaysia; Founding Chair of the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); Zayed International
Prize, 2014
luis.castaneda@mineros.com.co
Editorial Board
Jean-Louis Armand, Ph.D., Professor, Aix-Marseille Université, France
James Buizer, Professor, University of Arizona, USA
Anantha Duraiappah, Ph.D., Director, UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of
Education for Peace and Sustainable (MGIEP), India
Thomas Elmqvist, Ph.D., Professor, Stockholm Resilience Center and Stockholm
University, Sweden
Ken Fukushi, Ph.D., Professor, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Vincenzo Nazo, Ph.D., Professor, The Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Obijiofor Aginam, Ph.D., United Nations University-International Institute for
Global Health (UNU-IIGH), Malaysia
Osamu Saito, Ph.D., Academic Director and Academic Programme Officer, United
Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS),
Japan
Leena Srivastava, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Energy and Resources Institute, India
Jeffrey Steinfeld, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, USA
Scope of the Series
This series aims to provide timely coverage of results of research conducted in

accordance with the principles of sustainability science to address impediments to
achieving sustainable societies – that is, societies that are low carbon emitters, that
live in harmony with nature, and that promote the recycling and re-use of natural
resources. Books in the series also address innovative means of advancing sustainability
science itself in the development of both research and education models.
The overall goal of the series is to contribute to the development of sustainability
science and to its promotion at research institutions worldwide, with a view to further-
ing knowledge and overcoming the limitations of traditional discipline-based research
to address complex problems that afflict humanity and now seem intractable.
Books published in this series will be solicited from scholars working across
academic disciplines to address challenges to sustainable development in all areas
of human endeavors.
This is an official book series of the Integrated Research System for Sustainability
Science (IR3S) of the University of Tokyo.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11884
Isabel B. Franco • Tathagata Chatterji
Ellen Derbyshire • James Tracey
Editors
Actioning the Global Goals

for Local Impact
Towards Sustainability Science, Policy,
Education and Practice
Editors
Isabel B. Franco Tathagata Chatterji
Institute for the Advanced Study Xavier School of Human Settlements
of Sustainability Xavier University Bhubaneswar
United Nations University Shibuya-ku Kakudia, Odisha, India
Tokyo, Japan
James Tracey
Australian Institute for Business
School of Engineering
and Economics
University of New South Wales
The University of Queensland
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Brisbane, Australia
Ellen Derbyshire
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law,
Business School,
The University of Queensland
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
ISSN 2197-7348 ISSN 2197-7356 (electronic)

ISBN 978-981-32-9926-9 ISBN 978-981-32-9927-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9927-6
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
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The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
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Singapore
Preface
This book explores implementation challenges of the 2030 Sustainable Development

Agenda, by specifically focusing on unique operational issues associated with each
of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In doing so, the book draws
attention toward sustainability science, education, and community capacity-building
needs related to the specific SDG targets and indicators. The target audience of the
book are sustainability leaders, namely, policy-makers, sustainable development
planning practitioners, academicians, and graduate students in various disciplinary
domains associated with sustainability science, education, policy, management, and
impact.
The Sustainable Development Agenda, which was adopted by the United Nations
(UN) in 2015, is a universal, integrated, and human rights-based program. It under-
scores links between peace, social justice, and development. Consequently, its asso-
ciated 17 SDGs are wider and much more multidimensional in scope, compared to
its predecessor program, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
(2000–2015).
The MDG program was the first concerted effort at a global scale to address
extreme poverty and basic health-care needs. The eight identified goals were man-
ageable and measurable and, most importantly, could be easily identified by a wide
range of stakeholders, across the globe. During the 15-year period, the MDG pro-
gram was able to achieve certain remarkable outcome – although the progress was
uneven. Therefore, there is a need to create a new framework to achieve inclusive
sustainable development.
The Sustainable Development Goals encompass the Millennium Development
Goals and at the same time incorporate several newer goals, such as building resil-
ient infrastructure, promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fos-
tering innovation (SDG 9); reduction of inequality within and among countries
(SDG 10); making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sus-
tainable (SDG 11); ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns
(SDG 12); etc. Table 1 shows a comparison of MDG and SDG targets.
The millennium goals expressed solidarity with the poorest and the most vulner-
able. It galvanized the global community to fight poverty and its multiple d imensions.
vi Preface
Table 1 The Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals
Millennium Development
Goals Sustainable Development Goals
MDG1: Eradicate extreme SDG 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
poverty and hunger
MDG 2: Achieve universal SDG 2. End hunger achieve food security and improved nutrition
primary education
MDG 3: Promote gender SDG 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all
equality and empower ages
women
MDG 4: Reduce child SDG 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
mortality
MDG 5: Improve maternal SDG 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and
health girls
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS SDG 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water
and other diseases and sanitation for all
MDG 7: Ensure SDG 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and
environmental sustainability modern energy for all
MDG 8: Develop a global SDG 8. Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic
partnership for development growth, full and productive employment, and decent work
SDG 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and
sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation
SDG 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
SDG 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient, and sustainable
SDG 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
SDG 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its
impacts
SDG 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and
marine resources for sustainable development
SDG 15. Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of
terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat
desertification, and halt biodiversity loss
SDG 16. Peace, justice, and strong institutions promote peaceful
and inclusive societies for sustainable development
SDG 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize
the global partnership for sustainable development
Source: prepared by authors based on open-source data available under UN
The 2030 agenda moves on from their targeted action bound programs on a wide
array of interlinked developmental concerns.
The 2030 development agenda revolves around the concept of sustainability and
also takes a comprehensive system view about the developmental paradigms.
Embedded in the concept of sustainability is the idea of striking a balance between
meaningful economic growth, environmental well-being, and social justice. Thus,
the 17 SDGs are not directed to arrive at a trade-off between competing claims
related to progress from multiple ideological standpoints. Rather, they are cross-
Preface vii
cutting, are inter-sectoral, and complement each other in many ways (Babier and
Burgess 2017). Thus, for example, provision of quality education (SDG 4) and safe
drinking water (SDG 6) to deprived areas and slum settlements helps the communi-
ties and cities become more sustainable (SDG 11), improves health conditions of
the people (SDG 3), and is also simultaneously an antipoverty (SDG 1) measure, as
it reduces livelihood vulnerabilities by building community capacity-building.
Thus, each of the SDG and targets are multidimensional in scope but also tied with
each other.
As the Sustainable Development Agenda now sets the vision for 2030 for global
action, its success depends on how far they are localized and integrated with
national, subnational, and local plans of various countries. Policy-makers, academ-
ics, educators, and practitioners have embarked in activities aimed to integrate
SDGs in policy documents, research agenda, and academic course curriculum. Yet,
a major problem confronting these actors is a lack of knowledge about the opera-
tionalization of SDGs, which compromises their ability to disseminate knowledge
in an impactful and contextualized manner. Some researchers and educators have
proactively become active participants in the implementation of the SDGs across
the world, representing a potential for global change.
Tokyo, Japan Isabel B. Franco

Brisbane, Australia
Kakudia, Odisha, India Tathagata Chatterji
Brisbane, QLD, Australia Ellen Derbyshire
Sydney, NSW, Australia James Tracey
Contents
1 Towards Impact Sustainability �� 1

Isabel B. Franco, Tathagata Chatterji, Ellen Derbyshire,
and James Tracey
2 SDG 1 No Poverty�� 5
Isabel B. Franco and John Minnery
3 SDG 2 Zero Hunger �� 23
Emily F. Creegan and Robert Flynn
4 SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being�� 39
María Belén Federico
5 SDG 4 Quality Education�� 57
Isabel B. Franco and Ellen Derbyshire
6 SDG 5 Gender Equality�� 69
Isabel B. Franco, Paulina Salinas Meruane,
and Ellen Derbyshire
7 SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation�� 85
Natalia A. Cano Londoño, Jessi Osorio Velasco,
Felipe Castañeda García, and Isabel B. Franco
8 SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy �� 105
Isabel B. Franco, Caitlin Power, and Josh Whereat
9 SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth �� 117
Ana Cristina Ribeiro-Duthie
10 SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure�� 135
Isabel B. Franco, Franz Gonzalez Arduz, and Jairo Andres Buitrago
ix
x Contents
11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities�� 153

Caitlin Power
12 SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities �� 173
Hitesh Vaidya and Tathagata Chatterji
13 SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production �� 187
Isabel B. Franco and Lance Newey
14 SDG 13 Climate Action�� 219
Isabel B. Franco, Rosemarie Tapia, and James Tracey
15 SDG 14 Life Below Water�� 229
Elisa Palomino
16 SDG 15 Life on Land �� 247
Claudia Arana, Isabel B. Franco, Anuska Joshi,
and Jyoti Sedhai
17 SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions �� 265
18 SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals�� 275
Isabel B. Franco and Masato Abe
19 Impact Sustainability: Conclusions and Lessons Learned�� 295
Ellen Derbyshire, Isabel B. Franco, Tathagata Chatterji,
and James Tracey
About the Editors
Isabel B. Franco Isabel B. Franco, PhD, is an international leader in sustainability

science, policy and practice interested in exploring the role of industry in fostering
sustainable, inclusive development. She does this through the development, refine-
ment and application of sustainability assessment, methods and techniques. She has
applied those tools to various industries such as extractives (mining, oil and gas),
higher education, finance and banking, public sector and international development
in Australia, Japan, Thailand, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Angola and Zambia. She
has been an international advisor for various international organisations, namely,
UNDP, UNESCAP, UNU and British Council. She has authored various peer-
reviewed publications and has co-authored UN Books Socially Responsible
Business: A Model for a Sustainable Future and The Corporate Agenda of
Sustainable Development. With a PhD in Governance and Sustainability from the
University of Queensland, Australia, she has managed large multilingual research
and consulting projects globally. She has also held academic appointments at the
United Nations University – Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability
(Japan), Keio University (Japan), The University of Queensland (Australia),
University of Zambia (Zambia) and Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Colombia).
She is the Founder of eWisely (Exceptional Women in Sustainability), the fastest-
growing connector of women in sustainability, globally. Her work can be consulted
on her Lab DrIsabelFranco.com.
Tathagata Chatterji Tathagata Chatterji is a Professor of Urban Management and

Governance at Xavier University, Bhubaneswar. His research interests are: urban
sustainability and the political economy of urbanization in developing countries. He
had authored two books – Local Mediation of Global Forces in Transformation of
the Urban Fringe and Citadels of Glass – India’s New Suburban Landscape. He
received the Gerd Albers Award from the ISOCARP for his research on comparative
governance. He graduated in Architecture from Calcutta University, holds a post-
graduate qualification in Urban Design from Kent State University, and a PhD in
Urban Governance and Planning from the University of Queensland. He is a member
of the Planning Institute of Australia and a Fellow of the Institute of Urban Designers.
xi
xii About the Editors
Ellen Derbyshire Ellen Derbyshire is a research analyst with an academic back-

ground in Business and Sustainability at the University of Queensland, Australia.
Currently, she is a Research Fellow at the Secretary of Mining Antioquia, Colombia.
She holds a Bachelor of International Relations, Public Policy and Spanish from the
University of Queensland and has worked on several research projects with the
United Nations Economic Social Commission Asia Pacific. Her key areas of
research are: gender and youth empowerment, strategy for sustainable business,
sustainable resource governance and education for sustainable development. Ellen
is a member of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and the Centre for
Feminist Foreign Policy.
James Tracey James Tracey is a research analyst with an academic background

in Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales, Sydney,
Australia. James has also worked extensively throughout Asia in various education
and community capacity-building-related roles. He is passionate about international
development, specifically focusing on the role of community capacity building and
the importance of environmental integrity.
Chapter 1
Towards Impact Sustainability
Introduction
Isabel B. Franco, Tathagata Chatterji, Ellen Derbyshire, and James Tracey
This book contributes to sustainability studies, as it focuses on local operationaliza-

tion of all 17 Global Goals in an impactful manner. This book is the result of col-
laborative and interdisciplinary research work by sustainability leaders from all
over the world, namely, scientists, researchers, educators and practitioners.
Disconnected educational systems and policy practices from global and local sus-
tainability trends create scepticism about the potential of the research institutions in
contributing towards policy debates and issues centring on the question of sustain-
ability, which compromise the wellbeing of all. Preliminary investigations identi-
fied that a few reasons for this were limited understanding of the context; lack of an
overall approach to sustainability, such as the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs); and inadequacies in the education sector and collaboration processes
amongst academics, educators and practitioners to achieve global sustainability tar-
gets (Franco et al. 2018; Franco and Tracey 2019).
I. B. Franco (*)
Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, United Nations University Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo, Japan
Australian Institute for Business and Economics, The University of Queensland,
Brisbane, Australia
e-mail: connect@drisabelfranco.com
T. Chatterji (*)
Xavier School of Human Settlements, Xavier University Bhubaneswar,
Kakudia, Odisha, India
e-mail: tathagata@xub.edu.in
E. Derbyshire
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, Business School, The University of Queensland,
e-mail: ellen.derbyshire@uq.net.au
J. Tracey
Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 1

I. B. Franco et al. (eds.), Actioning the Global Goals for Local Impact, Science
for Sustainable Societies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9927-6_1
2 I. B. Franco et al.
In this context, the overarching aims of this book are to provide coverage of
results of research conducted in accordance with the SDGs and to better understand
the integration of the Global Goals as an integral part of impact research, curriculum
and community capacity-building for sustainability. This book also advances
sustainability science itself in the development of both research and education mod-
els to SDGs integration in an effective manner. It does this through case studies and
original research across various topics of sustainability science, education and com-
munity capacity-building. Embracing the SDGs as a component of research and
education for sustainability may help academics and practitioners gain practical
tools to teach students on ways to cope with potential global issues. Understanding
the way that academia targets the SDGs and collaborates with external stakeholders
for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda is also important in helping plan for future
generations. The use of the SDGs as the conceptual framework of this book enables
this manuscript to develop a better and more nuanced understanding of global sus-
tainability matters and their impact on the local level. The case studies used for the
book present research and best practices that target all SDGs across various loca-
tions around the globe currently experiencing significant sustainability challenges.
The SDGs not only meet educators and scientists’ expectations, but they also
address student’s concerns regarding sustainability challenges. Students and the
broader community are more often concerned about how global sustainability issues
affect them. In response, higher education institutions have engaged in integrating
the SDGs, in curriculum and science. This approach creates a higher level of impact
amongst education institutions and their external stakeholders. This manuscript is
therefore essential for educators, scientists and trainers interested in creating impact
by integrating the SDGs in research, educational curriculum and capacity-building.
SDGs integration in curriculum fosters contemporary education practices that go
beyond traditional forms of teaching, research and capacity-building and positions
education institutions as powerful agents of global change. Embarking on more
sustainable education practices is pivotal for helping students and the broader com-
munity meet social and environmental demands and for overcoming the challenges
of socioeconomic development both at the local and global levels. The SDG
approach is rapidly changing the role of education institutions by placing them at
the forefront of sustainable development. This approach also provides a competitive
advantage to education institutions.
SDGs have been relatively well studied and documented in various fields such as
governance and business, yet more research is necessary to understand SDGs inte-
gration in education-related sectors. Although there have been many successful
SDGs integration initiatives around the globe, most of those do not align with educa-
tion, research and capacity-building agendas (Franco and Tracey 2019). Consequently,
education institutions should facilitate the embrace of SDGs in curriculum, research
and capacity-building. Accordingly, this publication aims to increase the knowledge
of educators, scientists and trainers on the SDG approach and pathways for its inte-
gration. Therefore, this book unpacks the key role this approach can play in promot-
ing impactful education, research and capacity-building practices and, ultimately, in
contributing to the SDGs. The book consists of 18 chapters targeting each one of the
17 SDGs in science, curriculum development, policy and capacity-building.
1 Towards Impact Sustainability 3
The second chapter, by Franco and Minnery, discusses anti-poverty measures

under SDG 1. Applying the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF), they explore
community capacity-building projects in resource regions. The research highlights
how the SLF shows interconnections between SDG 1 and SDG 11 in tackling mul-
tiple dimensions of poverty. The third chapter by Creegan et al. focuses on SDG 2
ending hunger and achieving food security through sustainable agriculture. The
chapter highlights the need for organic waste recycling programmes to apply locally
available resources, appropriate technologies, and localization measures based on
specific community needs assessment. The research also shows how the overlap-
ping nature between SDG 2 and SDG 6 for sustainable waste management and
water conservation measures. The fourth chapter by Belen Federico studies health
and wellbeing measures under SDG 3. By focusing on effects of ultraviolet radia-
tion on human DNA, the research reported in this chapter shows that DNA is seri-
ously damaged by higher UV radiation caused by ozone layer depletion.
The fifth chapter by Franco and Derbyshire is linked to SDG 4 quality education
and connections with SDG 17 partnerships for the goals. The chapter pays nuanced
attention to the nature and importance of limiting and fostering factors in a collabora-
tive governance scenario towards the achievement of SDG 4 quality education and in
the pursuit of education for sustainable development. Moving on, from there, the next
chapter by Franco, Salinas and Derbyshire shows how existing education practices at
higher education institutions of Latin America produce patriarchal systems detrimen-
tal for the sustainable leadership of women in male-dominated industries. The chap-
ter makes reference to SDG 5 concerns on gender equality. Chapter 7 by Cano et al.
is on provision of clean water sanitation under SDG 6. It shows how the mining
industry is confronting water scarcity challenges through efficiency in technological
applications and through the implementation of different strategies such as the effi-
ciency of resources, the optimization of process efficiency and circular economy.
Chapter 8 by Franco, Powell and Whereat explores how women can boost their
assets and capacities to cope with the effects of unsustainable energy consumption.
This capacity-building analysis primarily links up with SDG 7 affordable and clean
energy but also connects with SDG 5 gender equality and SDG 12 sustainable pro-
duction systems. Similarly, Chap. 9 although primarily addresses SDG 8 concerns
regarding decent work and economic growth but also has great relevance for SDG
12 concerns regarding production systems. Ribeiro-Duthie’s research draws atten-
tion towards economic opportunities drawn by fair trade certified small producers.
Franco, Gonzalez and Buitrago in Chap. 10 show that community capacity-building
roadmap can enhance the ability of local communities to foster innovative industrial
practices for sustainable resource development and the achievement of SDG 9
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. The following chapter by Power investi-
gates how superannuation-related social benefit schemes could further SDG 10
objectives of reducing financial inequalities.
Unlike other sustainability goal which is organized along specific sectoral indica-
tors and targets, SDG 11 objectives of urban sustainability are spatially defined.
Chapter 12 by Vaidya and Chatterji focuses on SDG 11 as the analytical framework
to explore how the transformative force of urbanization represents opportunity and
challenge to meet several sustainability challenges, such as SDG-1, poverty reduc-
tion, SDG 4 (education), SDG-5 (gender equality), SDG 6 (clean water and sanita-
tion), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), and SDG 8 (economic growth). The
following chapter by Franco and Newey looks at responsible production and con-
sumption practices under the SDG 12 umbrella. Based on a case study method, this
chapter shows how the corporate sector can contribute to sustainable community
development through a multidimensional approach to wellbeing for entrepreneur-
ship. It also provides some conceptual and practical tools towards enhanced account-
ability for sustainable production and therefore the achievement of SDG 12. Next,
Chap. 14 by Franco, Tapia and Tracey provides a capacity-building framework to
move from climate education to action and towards the achievement of SDG 13.
Chapter 15 by Palomino discusses SDG 14 target of life below water by looking
through utilization of fish skin as a sustainable raw material for fashion industry.
Fish skin leather processing could prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution
and sustainably protect marine ecosystems in order to achieve healthy and produc-
tive oceans. As such this also promotes SDG 12 targets. The fashion industry is also
the topic of discussion of Chap. 16 by Arana, Franco, et al. This chapter links to
Goal 15 Life on Land as it explores alternative organic materials and recycled pro-
cesses for the sustainable production of yarns used in the fashion industry in a sus-
tainable manner. Chapter 17 by Franco and Derbyshire makes a strong contribution
to SDG 16 as it examines the role of women in sustainable peace in the context of
resource regions. Chapter 17 explores the role of global business networks in the
pursuit of corporate accountability and sustainability reporting. The book finishes
drawing conclusions and impact sustainability recommendations.
The book highlights the value of sustainability science on newly emerging and
innovative approach towards research, education, capacity-building and practice in
order to transform rhetoric into impact sustainability while encompassing cases from
various industries, sectors and geographical contexts. The case studies are collected
from different geographical contexts and industries, provide insights into themes that
cut across sustainability science and that aid the fulfilment of the SDGs building more
resilient, sustainable, equal and inclusive societies and the environment.
References
Franco IB, Tracey J (2019) (accepted) Community capacity-building for sustainable development:
effectively striving towards achieving local community sustainability targets: effectively. Int
J SustainHigh Educ
Franco I, Saito O, Vaughter P, Whereat J, Kanie N, Takemoto K (2018) Higher education for sus-
tainable development: actioning the global goals in policy, curriculum and practice. Sustain
Sci:1–22
Chapter 2
SDG 1 No Poverty
Building Sustainable Communities: A
Framework for Supporting Community
Livelihoods and Poverty Alleviation in Resource
Regions
Isabel B. Franco and John Minnery
Abstract This chapter proposes the use of the sustainable livelihood framework
(SLF) as a powerful conceptual approach for research aimed at understanding the
interaction between global investment, local livelihoods and poverty reduction in
resource regions. The chapter applies the SLF as a tool to develop recommendations
for poverty alleviation, showing how it can contribute to SDG 1 No Poverty. The
innovative application of the SLF helps us understand the ways in which key areas
of research connect and interact as constituent components inherent in the frame-
work. This chapter also argues that this framework helps increase our understanding
of the ways communities build capacity to forge sustainable livelihoods in resource
regions. It thus presents a justification for the use of the SLF, followed by an exami-
nation of the SLF principles, their implications for communities and relevance for
empirical research in this field. The chapter also shows the way in which the SLF
can be modified for application to local circumstances through case studies con-
ducted in two resource regions of Colombia. Nevertheless, the findings of the
research can be applied to other resource locations elsewhere.
Keywords SDG 1 No Poverty · Sustainable livelihoods · Community · Resource

regions · Sustainability
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
J. Minnery
Griffith University – Cities Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

6 I. B. Franco and J. Minnery
2.1 Introduction
This chapter proposes the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) as the governing
conceptual approach to research that explores the interaction between global
resource development and local livelihoods in resource regions. It also provides
recommendations relevant to the achievement of SDG 1 No Poverty through sug-
gestions for poverty alleviation and thus contributes directly to SDG1 No Poverty.
The innovative application of the SLF helps us understand the way in which key
areas of research connect and interact as inherent constituent components of the
SLF. This chapter also argues that this framework increases our understanding of
community capacity-building for forging sustainable livelihoods in resource
regions. It presents a justification for the use of the SLF, followed by an examination
of the SLF principles, their implications for communities and relevance for empiri-
cal research in this field. The chapter shows the way in which the SLF can be modi-
fied for application to local circumstances.
The SLF is an approach to sustainable development extensively applied by aid
agencies to examine poverty issues in the developing world. In the recent years, a
wide number of frameworks have served as a platform to better understand com-
munity livelihoods in resource regions. The SLF is one such (see Fig. 2.1). Originally
developed to help address rural poverty in the Global South (Carney 2003; Rakodi
and Lloyd-Jones 2002), here it is adopted to link mining activities and community
livelihoods. The chapter also shows the way in which the SLF can be modified for
local application, in this case through two case studies conducted in Antioquia and
Risaralda, two resource regions of Colombia (Franco 2014). Nevertheless, the find-
ings of the research can be applied to other resource locations.
Resource exploitation provides both strong advantages and powerful difficulties
to the communities adjacent to the resource operations (such as mining, oil and gas).
This chapter explores the mining case. Communities are often highly dependent on
mining for employment and financial support, but this dependence comes with inev-
itable economic, social and environmental vulnerabilities. If these communities are
in the Global South, the difficulties are exacerbated because they experience unequal
access to political and economic resources, poor local governance, unbalanced
access to the resources and often, low levels of education and skills (Franco 2014).
Yet mining can also be a critical component of local, regional and national sustain-
able development.
This chapter is based on research into mining-dependent communities in resource
regions of Colombia. It focuses on community livelihoods in these resource loca-
tions and through this develops a framework to show how mining and exploration
interventions can help support communities adjacent to mining operations to main-
tain their livelihoods, meet their own development aspirations and reduce poverty.
The framework used in the chapter is based on the sustainable livelihoods approach
(Carney 2003, pp. 14–15; Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002), but it modifies this classic
approach to make it more appropriate to resource regions where mining forms a
major component of the local and regional economy.
2 SDG 1 No Poverty 7
Fig. 2.1 Modified sustainable livelihood framework. (Modified from Mandke 2007 and Rakodi
and Lloyd-Jones 2002)
The chapter provides (below) an overview of the research and introduces the case
study area. It then examines the implications of the principles underpinning the
sustainable livelihoods framework for communities adjacent to mining and thus
demonstrates how the original principles and structure of the classic SLF need to be
modified to be applied in this context. This is followed by a presentation of the
research findings, concentrating on three components of the sustainable livelihoods
framework: context, governance and livelihood assets. The original SLF structure is
shown in Fig. 2.1, and the details of how the original SLF are modified to apply to
the subject matter of the research are shown in Fig. 2.2. The ways in which it is
modified are explained more fully in the remainder of this chapter, but in summary
the contextual component and governance component of the modified SLF deal
principally with aspects particularly relevant to communities dependent on mining,
and the focus is on the community asset of human capital rather than all five forms
of asset (human capital, plus natural capital, social capital, financial capital and
physical capital) usually considered. The final section of the chapter provides
recommendations for ways of improving social sustainability for settlements and
communities in mining regions based on the key findings identified in the paper.
Fig. 2.2 Modified sustainable livelihood framework. (Modified from Mandke 2007 and Rakodi
and Lloyd-Jones 2002 (see Franco 2014))
2.2 Methodology
The research findings came from document analysis (policy analysis), face-to-face
semi-structured interviews with community, mining and government stakeholders,
field work and participant observation and group interviews in two case study areas
in Colombia. The research deals with diverse and multiple sets of data requiring the
application of the case study method. The case studies allow for detailed and
comprehensive information to be collected about a more focused issue. The research

was also organised to follow the structure of the SLF.
2.2.1 Research Overview and Case Study Areas
Colombia is located in the north of South America and has experienced an escalat-
ing mining growth over the last three decades. It is the main producer of coal in
Latin America and the twelfth largest globally, the third major producer of nickel
after Cuba and the Dominican Republic and is also known as a leading exporter of
gold and emeralds (Idarraga et al. 2010; Torres 2001; Vilora de la Hoz 2009).
Mining along with oil extraction represented 4.6% of the national GDP in 2005
(UPME 2006, p. 19). The resource boom is not particular to a specific region, with
exploration and mining operations being spread throughout the country.
The research presented here was undertaken in Risaralda and Antioquia, two
resource regions, located in the Colombian Andes mountain range. These geograph-
ical areas are some of the most active producers of minerals and metals in Colombia.
Mining and exploration projects operated in Risaralda impact on communities and
human settlements and their livelihoods in both urban and non-urban areas. Risaralda
is highly urbanised, with 665,104 (77.4%) of the total population of 859,666 living
in urban areas in 2005 (DANE 2005). With a total of 230,532 households, the aver-
age household size was approximately 3.7 persons in 2005.
The State of Antioquia is located on the North Pacific Coast of Colombia.
Antioquia has an active mining industry, as it holds the largest reserves of gold,
silver, coal, platinum and construction materials in Colombia. Mining projects cur-
rently operated by domestic and multinational companies have significant implica-
tions for local communities (Cámara de Comercio de Medellín para Antioquia
2010; Sistema de Información Minero Energético Colombiano 2010). Antioquia is
also highly urbanised with 4,340,744 (77.5%) of its population of 5,601,507 living
in urban areas in 2005 (DANE 2005). The average household size, at 3.8 persons,
was similar to that in Risaralda.
2.2.2 The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF)
The structure used to guide the research presented in this chapter was based on what
is variously called the ‘sustainable livelihoods framework’ (Hostetler 2006) or the
‘sustainable livelihoods approach’ (Mazibuko 2013). As Mazibuko (2013, pp. 174–
5) makes clear, it is not a theory or a model but ‘as a framework ... [it] helps in
considering the phenomenon and recognizing patterns’. It was used in this way in
this research. One of the core components of the framework is the notion of ‘liveli-
hood’ itself. A livelihood comprises the capabilities and activities required for the
means of living, so that ‘a livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and
recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets
both now and in the future’ for both households and communities (DFID 1999,
p. 1). The SLF was conceived as a way of thinking about the objectives, scope and
priorities for development (Carney 2003, pp. 14–15; Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002).
In 1998, the British Government’s Department for International Development
(DFID) adopted the SLF as an approach to assessing and evaluating developmental
projects funded by it. Since then several other international organisations, like the
United Nations Development Programme and the NGO and CARE, have also
adopted the SLF to undertake their projects (Carney 2003). Its potency as a frame-
work lies in the fact that it ‘recognizes that people have many capabilities, have vari-
ous assets and engage in many activities to earn their living’ as well as recognising
that ‘institutions and processes should be clearly understood’ (Mazibuko 2013,
p. 175). The focus on assets is critical (Mitlin 2003). The framework also resonates
with Sen’s (1979) approach to strengthening communities’ capabilities, for which
they need rights and opportunities.
However, despite its widespread use, it has a number of weaknesses. One is that it
neither provides an adequate role for the private sector nor provides for broader ideas
about governance dynamics (Carney 2003). The study reported in this chapter created
a modified version of the SLF that incorporated and expanded these two elements:
how private corporations take part in creating sustainable livelihoods, and a broader
understanding of governance arrangements. Researchers such as Stead (2015) have
linked governance capacity (as broadly defined) to a multinational understanding of
urban prosperity, but in this research, governance was explored within the tighter
framework of one of the elements of the SLF, namely, human capital.
This modified version of the SLF (see Fig. 2.2) structured the research reported
here. The revised framework still follows the key components proposed by Rakodi
and Lloyd-Jones (2002, p. 9), namely, the external environment; vulnerability con-
text; policies, institutions and processes; livelihood assets; livelihood strategies; and
livelihood outcomes. These key components are linked as shown in Figs. 2.1 and
2.2, but the modifications identified in Fig. 2.2 create a framework that is more
suited to understanding the Colombian mining case and the research focus specifi-
cally on human capital as an intangible asset. Such modifications to suit the relevant
context have been used by other researchers. For example, Shen, Hughey and
Simmons (2003, p. 20), in their review of the use of the sustainable livelihoods
approach in the tourism industry, referring to Cahn’s (2006) application of it to her
Samoan case studies, noted that ‘a “one size fits all” SLF approach is neither pos-
sible nor appropriate – context is important’.
The modified framework shown in Fig. 2.2 identifies the trends, cycles and shocks
that affect mining and human settlements in Colombia. Governance processes consti-
tute the core component of the policies, institutions and processes box, but in the
context of mining in Colombia, these processes incorporate the activities of multina-
tional and domestic private sector mining and exploration companies, as well as
informal mining actors. Human capital and its development are examined as the prin-
cipal focus of the livelihood assets box. Although the standard SLF normally com-
prises five forms of asset (or capital), this research focuses only on human capital in
order to reduce the potential complexity of the analysis. The modified SLF consti-
tuted a guide to organise the research reported in this paper and also served as a means
to review existing activities, understand cause and effect relationships, and provide a
structure for analysis and a checklist of ideas (Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002).
2.3 Discussion
2.3.1 SLF Application and Research Findings
This section provides a brief explanation of the elements of the SLF that were modi-
fied to enable it to be applied to the mine-based communities in Colombia. It also
presents the major research findings derived from this application. The main modi-
fications are shown in the boxes labelled ‘Context’, ‘Governance’ and ‘Livelihood
assets’ in Fig. 2.2.
2.3.1.1 Context SLF Component
The broader term ‘Context’ is used here rather than the original term ‘Vulnerability
context’ found in the SLF literature. Trends are the principal contextual factor for
mining in Colombia. Colombian settlements and communities are diverse. Hence,
mining impacts on local communities and the benefit they get from the industry are
quite different across its various regions. There are some locations where the com-
pensation for natural resource extraction has positively impacted on communities
(Warhust 2001); therefore, they cannot always be categorised as vulnerable.
According to the SLF literature, the trends can be positive or negative or national
or international and have a strong influence on community livelihoods. Trends in
mining activities include increased globalisation of production and sales, greater
need for highly capitalised production as easily exploited reserves are depleted and
changes in consumption patterns that are built on particular mineral resources, such
as demand for gold in India and increasing energy demand in the developing world
(Surborg 2012). On the other hand, cycles (referred to as ‘seasonality’ in the classic
SLF literature, such as Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002, p. 14) pertain to recurrent
economic shifts and employment opportunities. In a mining context, they also refer
to the stages of the mine life cycle (Hitch et al. 2014). The current mining boom is
fostering important global mining and exploration projects across Colombia which
have aspects of both longer-term trends and short-term cycles. These resource fluc-
tuations have had implications for the domestic economy and local communities’
livelihoods, particularly in terms of regular fluctuations in the value of minerals and
livelihood and employment opportunities.
The ‘Context’ SLF component also includes the concept of shocks. These shocks
constitute factors that might destroy community assets such as floods and droughts
but also resulting in or from conflicts or wars (Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002, p. 14).
The revisited version of the SLF proposes the Colombian internal conflict (or civil
war) as a shock. It is also argued that internal conflict and local impacts have had
serious implications for community livelihoods. The application of the SLF to the
Colombian mining context highlights that shocks, in the form of civil war and the
involvement of illegal groups, are perhaps the most sensitive issues that settlements
and communities in resource regions have to deal with and therefore deserve major
attention. The involvement of illegal groups in resource regions through informal
small-scale mining has exacerbated historical conflicts and adversely affected stake-
holder interactions. The interviews conducted for this research showed it has also
diminished the potential of enhancing community assets as a driver for social sus-
tainability (Franco 2014):
Why do you think there is violence in the world? What do you do when you have a family
to support and you do not have a job? ... you do whatever to get some income to feed your
children, right? Well, there are many people experiencing this situation in this region, even
though this is a mining region ... The situation is very complex in these towns. At least 3 to
4 people are killed every day ... This has got worse during the last three months. (NGO
Director from Antioquia, Interview, November, 2012)
Civil society actors and government representatives both agree that relationships
between companies and other stakeholders have deteriorated in the two regions. In
addition, the escalation of global mining interests in the regions is causing resent-
ment amongst legitimate small-scale miners. These groups are highly dependent on
mining which they perceive as the only employment opportunity and therefore their
only livelihood option. Consequently, legitimate small-scale miners regard the
arrival of multinational exploration and mining companies as a threat to their liveli-
hoods. This situation has increased resistance from these groups against multina-
tional companies. The whole situation has also been intensified by armed conflict.
Internal conflict dynamics have been exacerbated by illegal groups including
guerrillas, paramilitary and bacrim (criminal bands). These illegitimate actors own
small-scale mines to launder money or support their illegal businesses. In addition,
they have found the current mining boom to be the best opportunity to extort money
from companies operating in the two regions. Community livelihoods have been
heavily impacted by the indirect benefits of mineral extraction to these groups. Very
often communities and human settlements cannot actively engage in human capital/
asset enhancement initiatives as they feel threatened by these groups. On the other
hand, governments and companies are reluctant to further engage with some small-
scale miners and community members due to their suspicions of links between
locals and illegal groups. This has not only aggravated the level of discontent and
violence in remote resource areas but has also resulted in destruction of livelihoods,
since communities reap very little benefit from collaborative endeavours in these
circumstances. These limiting contextual factors have also been detrimental for the
role of the private sector in the governance environment in resource regions.
2.3.1.2 Governance: Policies, Institutions and Processes
A broader examination of the governance environment was carried out in the light
of the important component of the classic SLF of policies, institutions and processes
(PIP) (Fig. 2.1). This component deals with the governance environment in which
livelihoods are constructed (Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002, pp. 15–16). For the pur-
pose of the research reported in this chapter, governance processes include the inter-
actions between three stakeholders: government, the private sector (particularly
mining and exploration companies) and civil society (Minnery 2007). Thus, in
Fig. 2.2, this is labelled as the ‘Governance’ box.
The mainstream presentations of the SLF exhaustively discuss government and
community roles in developing sustainable livelihoods; however, they have little to
say about the private sector’s role (see, e.g. Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002). The
research reported here emphasises the critical potential importance of the private
sector in the design of sustainable livelihood options for communities and in the
opportunities to reduce poverty in resource regions. The literature on mining empha-
sises that companies have a responsibility to contribute to other economic futures in
addition to mineral extraction that in fact they have a social responsibility (Hitch
et al. 2014). Some of the incentives for private mining companies to do this include,
but are not limited to, obtaining a ‘social licence to operate’, responding to interna-
tional standards and regulatory frameworks and being accountable to their share-
holders but also to their wider stakeholders (Freeman 1984). Companies’
contributions to community livelihoods differ according to the context and gover-
nance dynamics in which they are immersed (Franco and Robertson 2014; Franco
2014):
We do not implement initiatives different from mining because we do not have direct rela-
tionship with other sectors...we think that tourism or agriculture are sectors in which we do
not fit. For this reason we focus on education for mining. (Senior Corporate Representative,
Interview, October, 2012)
In addition, it was also found that if the improvement of local livelihoods is iden-
tified as a policy goal, then companies need both to be more active in support of this
and to be more accountable to communities. This will help communities enhance
their coping capacities, which will then enable them to overcome imminent
challenges posited by the expansion of mining and exploration projects. Research
shows that while corporate social responsibility agendas are vital to help communi-
ties design livelihoods relevant to their development aspirations, in practice such
agendas have serious constraints that challenge corporate efforts (Franco 2014). In
most cases these agendas for human capital/asset enhancement are top-down
approaches intended mainly to enhance human capital to attract and retain skilled
workers for the industry.
Nevertheless, mining and exploration companies can still play a stronger role
with the implementation of bottom-up and locally driven social responsibility agen-
das. Such approaches can become some of the main enablers for local development,
poverty mitigation and overall sustainability. Developing bottom-up (economically
diversified) as opposed to top-down (mining focused) social responsibility agendas

could have positive implications for communities. In addition, the research indi-
cates that those agendas need to go beyond just mining practices and provide local
communities with alternative non-mining livelihood options, enabling an expansion
of their life plans and the enhancement of the human capital assets required to
become more sustainable during and after the life of the mine (Buitrago-Franco and
Robertson 2014).
2.3.1.3 Livelihood Assets SLF Component
Human capital is one of the core livelihood assets in the SLF. According to DFID
(1999, p. 1), a livelihood comprises the capacities required for the means of living.
This perspective positions people as active participants with a positive contribution
to make in their development rather than as passive or deprived actors starved of
assets. Community assets are diverse and vary across individuals, households and
communities. Colombian communities are often starved of financial and skilled
human capital (Cardenas 2011). Strengthening community assets can help locals
forge more sustainable livelihoods (Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002, p. 10). The clas-
sic SLF involves five forms of capital, which are human, social, physical, financial
and natural capitals (as shown in Fig. 2.1). However, the research reported in this
chapter focuses specifically on human capital. This section identifies the forms of
human capital that need to be further enhanced in resource regions of Colombia to
help communities forge more sustainable livelihoods. These are shown in Fig. 2.2,
but the justification for using them is contained in the remainder of this section.
The investigation showed that there are five main priority areas for human
capacity-building for local communities in mining resource regions. Developing
these will hopefully assist locals in forging sustainable livelihoods and so reducing
poverty. These areas are employment, education, work experience, income and
infrastructure for human capital development (Franco 2014):
I am the only miner in my family. I have three children and want them to study. I am aware
of the risks of working at the mine and I did not want them to be part of the industry. This
is a mining town... a person who does not go to school becomes a miner. Most of us do not
know anything else than mining, hence, we have to work here and sustain our family mem-
bers with the little income we get. (Community Member, Focus Group, October, 2012)
Although other components of human capital such as health and leadership are
important, improving the five identified forms of human capital seems from the
investigation to be the most effective way to strengthen the ability of communities
to cope with mining-induced changes over time. An important finding from the
research here reported was that priority areas which are the most valuable for com-
munities are those that help them achieve their own sustainable development goals.
Because of this, bottom-up human capital capacity-building approaches structured
into social responsibility agendas are more likely to create value for communities
than are top-down approaches. In those cases in which companies had embraced
community-oriented and community-driven agendas, locals claim to have become
more resilient. Communities that have been properly consulted about their capacity-
building priorities have been able to strengthen key assets, becoming more capable
of coping with mining-induced changes. However, such approaches need to be
included as constituents of both corporate and government policies. It is not solely
the companies’ responsibility to make community capacity-building available for
communities; governments also need to share responsibilities with companies in
this regard, and governments also need to consult communities. All consultation
should be genuine and not be merely the token provision of information; it should
be such that communities are involved in decision-making about matters such as
priorities for the allocation of funds.
At the corporate level, a more people-centred approach to corporate social
responsibility for community capacity-building has helped companies in mining
locations play a strong role in enhancing human capital and allowed them to con-
tribute strongly to the development of sustainable livelihoods. The implementation
of non-mining capacity-building initiatives involving the broader community was
found in the research to be more valuable for locals. There are a few cases of com-
panies driving community capacity-building initiatives that place local people at the
centre of development. These actions involve the broader community regardless of
their engagement with the mining industry. For example, there is active participa-
tion from local entrepreneurs and vulnerable groups, but with the assistance of min-
ing companies, so that they can access better business opportunities and so develop
livelihoods that do not involve mining. These activities can also have the potential
to reduce poverty.
These are examples where both corporations and governments have embarked on
socially responsible programmes based on the aspirations and expectations of com-
munities. This has had positive impacts on locals, as the resultant efforts at com-
munity capacity-building are more attuned to the context in which they are
embedded. In this approach the needs and expectations of the community are highly
valued in the implementation of community capacity-building activities. These con-
ditions have made the existing community capacity-building approaches meaning-
ful for all stakeholders but especially for communities, all of which could serve as a
valuable model for actors in other regions to follow.
As discussed earlier, the current approach in Antioquia is mainly intended to
attract and retain human capital that is skilled or trained for the mining industry.
Although there are some wider entrepreneurship development initiatives in place,
they were seen by respondents to be insufficient to face the potential challenges cre-
ated by the mining sector. In spite of corporate investments in community capacity-
building programmes and activities, those initiatives have not yet tackled issues that
were seen to be critical by the community. Development aspirations have been par-
tially achieved, but powerful mining stakeholders are not playing a sufficiently
strong role in protecting community assets or in helping to forge sustainable liveli-
hoods. In addition, the government and private sector actors involved need to take
community capacity-building more seriously and devote more resources and atten-
tion to the enhancement of community human capital assets, especially by deliver-
ing relevant training.
The research identified that there are key forms of training that can be delivered
to provide communities and human settlements with more sustainable livelihood
options. This was the case in both case study locations. Community training needs
to be implemented according to gender and context variables. For example, partici-
pants feel there is a potential for dressmaking training for females in both regions.
Funded by a Canadian company, some women in Risaralda are learning about and
participating in dressmaking. This initiative has the potential to create sustainable
value for the company and the community itself. Women are currently designing and
making company and school uniforms, so creating a valuable supply chain for the
local economy. A similar initiative is taking place in Antioquia; however, active cor-
porate engagement is needed. Women from Segovia, Antioquia, have obtained some
funding from the government, but there is minimal support from the large-scale min-
ing companies, so the initiative is under threat. Other women more actively involved
in the small-scale mining sector have been partially engaged in community capacity-
building initiatives in mining, but this is limiting their possibilities to further expand
their livelihood options beyond mining. In this context, women need to become
active participants and benefit from a range of training in both case study locations.
In addition, small-scale miners participating in existing community capacity-
building in mining need to be trained in other areas different from mineral process-
ing. Lessons can be learned from the current small-scale licensing process in
Antioquia. This process involves community capacity-building in areas like finance,
accounting, administration and literacy. However, this community capacity-building
approach should not be exclusive for small-scale miners but should be applied to the
broader community. Key findings also show that there are other forms of training
that are being delivered to the whole community, particularly in Risaralda, and that
need to be enhanced and replicated in other resource regions in Colombia. For
example, training in jewellery design not only adds value to mineral extraction but
creates alternative livelihoods for locals. Similarly, major attention needs to be paid
to existing agriculture community associations. Agriculture is a key sector in
Colombia’s economy, and so stakeholders, particularly the private sector, should
support agriculture-based livelihood options. Companies operating in Risaralda
contribute to fostering both the mining and agriculture sectors. This approach has
assisted locals in keeping their traditional skills and knowledge alive. For example,
coffee and blackberry production training has been provided by the private sector in
the Risaralda case.
2.3.1.4 Sustainable Livelihood Strategies Component
The assets available or stock of capital at the community level can be accumulated,
restored, exchanged or put to work to generate income and prevent poverty. Or they
can be depleted. The transformation of assets in any of these positive forms consti-
tutes the livelihood strategies in the light of the SLF. Such strategies are more likely
to be effective if communities become active participants in their own development.
However, this argument needs to be examined carefully, as communities might not
have the capacities or skills to develop their own sustainable livelihood strategies.
Hence, strategies in place might be temporary rather than sustainable in the long-
term. They may also be of varying degrees of relevance for locals. Following
Mandke (2007), livelihood strategies can be examined in consideration of four
aspects: combination, substitution, sequencing and clustering. These strategies will
be examined here in relation to community capacity-building to recommend alter-
native ways of creating more sustainable livelihoods for mining-based communities
and human settlements in resource regions in Colombia.
2.3.1.5 Combination and Substitution
Combination and substitution are two main strategies that can be implemented to
foster sustainable livelihoods. It is advisable to apply these two strategies according
to the context and governance environment in which the communities are embed-
ded. Combination entails examining how mining and other livelihoods coexist and
the implications of this coexistence for communities. However, assets and liveli-
hoods can also be replaced to help communities adjacent to mining operations
develop livelihoods in tune with their development aspirations in what the SLF
refers to as substitution. The Risaralda case study illustrates the successful imple-
mentation of a combination strategy in which both mining and other traditional
livelihoods like agriculture are combined to help communities become more resil-
ient to potential mining impacts.
In Risaralda, examples can be seen where mining has also been combined with
jewellery design and trade, a livelihood option that is currently adding value to
resource extraction in the region. Conversely, mining training in Antioquia is often
substituting for traditional livelihood options such as agriculture, which is compro-
mising community sustainability and even exacerbating poverty.
In this context, the implementation of an economic diversification approach cou-
pled with other initiatives such as food security and farming programmes is highly
recommended due to the likelihood that mining impacts will have many adverse
implications for livelihoods. This will allow activities like mining to coexist with
other industries and activities relevant to the local economy and will add value to
other livelihood options relevant to communities, as well as helping to ensure that
livelihood options remain open after mines have closed.
2.3.1.6 Sequencing and Clustering
Both sequencing and clustering are examined here. Sequencing relates to the
resources that need to be allocated one after the other to build livelihoods, while
clustering relates to the group of livelihood assets associated with specific liveli-
hood strategies (DFID 1999). In other words, an examination of these two concepts
accounts for existing community assets and potential strategies to further employ
these assets. Based on the key findings of the research, communities need to develop
alternative livelihoods to mining. In doing so, there are specific assets that should be
enhanced to help provide them with meaningful livelihood opportunities. As dis-
cussed earlier, five forms of human capital (income, employment, education, work
experience and infrastructure for community capacity-building) need to be further
enhanced so that locals can achieve their development aspirations.
Existing income rates are not enough to meet community members’ basic needs
or those of their families. Governments and companies (with input from communi-
ties) need to partner to formulate income generation strategies. Up-skilling commu-
nities so that they are helped to obtain higher salary rates is highly recommended, but
as shown in the research, this needs to be combined with increased opportunities to
earn incomes. This will not only create value for the community but also for the com-
pany itself in terms of goodwill and support for its community service obligations.
Employment is an asset that needs to be revisited as it can cause tensions at the
community level. Current processes intended to up-skill informal miners and the
broader community need further development in order to help locals enhance their
capacity to get gainful employment and therefore develop more resilient liveli-
hoods. The research showed that these need to be both within and outside the min-
ing sector. The participation of tertiary institutions and other educational
organisations is vital to increase both education and job opportunities and therefore
help reduce poverty.
Education is an essential asset to enhance other human capital such as income
and employment. Despite the implementation of educational policies at the regional
level, education does not always reach the broader, more localised, community. The
research showed that locals who benefit the most from educational initiatives are
those with the financial capital to be able to afford it. The scarcity of economic
resources to enable access to tertiary education is threatening community opportu-
nities to access the educational system. In addition, current vocational community
capacity-building initiatives are mainly mining-orientated, particularly in the
Antioquia case, which is becoming a limitation for locals whose livelihood options
and development aspirations are not always directly linked to the mining industry.
Thus, it is recommended that education, particularly at the tertiary level, be secured
for locals in non-mining subjects. These need to be subjects that will enhance their
ability to take up opportunities that are offered outside the mining sector.
The dearth of both gainful employment options and appropriate education is
hindering locals from gaining relevant work experience. This is leading to dimin-
ished opportunities for income generation and preventing them from employing
other human capital assets that they may have access to. Research shows that issues
relating to work experience arose from the Colombian community capacity-building
approach and the educational system itself. A more effective educational system
implemented to overcome the obstacles of limited prior learning or prior experience
faced by community members is needed. Giving credits for work experience is
essential. Tertiary education institutions need to embrace such education approaches
to help vulnerable communities from resource regions achieve their development
aspirations and reduce poverty through community capacity-building in the form of
education. Therefore, a review of existing community capacity-building approaches
needs to be carried out by national level organisations. The review should be carried
out with input from both companies and the community. It also should be followed
by targeted capacity-building at the government level, so that government organisa-
tions can effectively implement community capacity-building approaches and help
other stakeholders like companies to get actively involved in its implementation.
Stakeholders have faced serious challenges in community capacity-building
implementation due to infrastructure issues. Resource allocation for infrastructure
for community capacity-building as well as stakeholders’ responsibilities in this
domain remains unclear for some parties. Evidence shows that stakeholders are
often unaware of their potential roles and even of their legal responsibilities for
infrastructure provision. It is recommended that communities play an active role in
advising on the allocation of resources. It is equally important that both govern-
ments and companies further engage and commit to the delivery of infrastructure
for community capacity-building actions, especially where these have been identi-
fied by communities as being of high priority, thereby increasing community oppor-
tunities to meaningfully benefit from these initiatives.
2.4 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks
The strengthening or misuse of capacities or assets might bring either positive or

adverse livelihood opportunities or outcomes for communities. For instance, an
increase in economic activities can foster labour market opportunities. If communi-
ties are well equipped in terms of capacities or assets, they can gain valuable bene-
fits resulting in significant livelihood outcomes. These outcomes derive from the
combination of livelihood opportunities and community assets. Therefore, if a com-
munity’s capacities match gainful livelihood opportunities, they might be able to
increase income, improve their existing conditions and reduce poverty.
Enhancing community assets will bring positive livelihood outcomes for local
communities. In doing so and following the SLF, it is necessary to identify and use
clear links between livelihood strategies and the community assets they utilise.
Economic diversification was recommended as a combination livelihood strategy.
However, such a strategy needs to be accompanied by labour market opportunities
to enhance other assets, such as employment and income, which will improve the
community’s existing conditions. If Colombian communities (and those adjacent to
mining and exploration projects in Latin America and elsewhere) are well equipped
in terms of assets (education, employment, income, work experience and infrastruc-
ture), they are more likely to achieve livelihood outcomes that are sustainable for
the longer term and so reduce poverty across the region.
As the sustainable livelihood framework – a modified version of which was the
governing framework of the research here reported – is widely used across the
developing world, the sustainability recommendations given in this chapter are
likely to help in achieving the aims of SDG 1 No Poverty in other developing
locations and elsewhere.
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Chapter 3
SDG 2 Zero Hunger
Organic Waste-to-Resource Compost Program
Development: Cultivating Circular Sustainable
Systems
Emily F. Creegan and Robert Flynn
Abstract The backbone of society and the basis of self-sufficiency is the agricul-
tural advancement of food, fiber, fuel, and industry. However, in many non-
industrialized countries, self-sufficiency has been eroded by several factors, including
environmental impacts, lack of educational infrastructure, and inequities in resource
management and distribution. Additionally, with the rise in human populations and
climate pressures, the need to increase food production security and water conserva-
tion measures is imminent. By emulating the productivity of natural ecosystems and
returning carbon-based materials to the soil, agricultural production may be enhanced
with a reduced reliance on potentially water-polluting and often prohibitively expen-
sive synthetic fertilizers. Through various case studies showcasing the effectiveness
of educational tools, we work to demonstrate the need for more financial investment
in biomass utilization program development in order to cultivate emerging circular
economies. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of carbon and ecosystem
cycling curriculum in school settings. In situ soil application of organic materials
engenders soil carbon sequestration – a climate change mitigation mechanism – and
overall soil health and soil water conservation. Compost processing and program
development ameliorates potential organic materials pathogen transference while
mineralizing nutrients for plant uptake.
Keywords Education · Biomass utilization · Compost · Food security · Nutrition ·

SDG 2 Zero Hunger
E. F. Creegan (*)
Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University (NMSU),
New Mexico, NM, USA
e-mail: ecreegan@nmsu.edu
R. Flynn (*)
Extension Plant Sciences Department, New Mexico State University (NMSU),
New Mexico, NM, USA
e-mail: rflynn@nmsu.edu

24 E. F. Creegan and R. Flynn
3.1 Introduction
A revival of nurturing a full cycle organic waste-to-resource system, with educator,

community, nonprofit, public and private entities, and farmer collaborations, is cru-
cial to sustainable community and agricultural development. However, all stakehold-
ers should be sensitive to the desires of the local people, their culture, and society and
cognizant of available and applicable resources and technologies. Furthermore, aca-
demics should communicate with the public and extend their knowledge through
outreach services. Based on various case studies showcasing the effectiveness of
curriculum and educational tools, more financial investment in biomass utilization
education and carbon source availability is needed in developing circular economies.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 encompasses the need
to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustain-
able agriculture.” Additionally, both the UN Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) and SDG 6 highlight the need to develop more holistic waste management
and water conservation measures. These goals can be fostered by both improved soil
organic matter (SOM) practices and effective compost program development.
Compost processing is the controlled decomposition of organic materials; by har-
nessing naturally occurring bacteria, thermophilic or “hot compost” reduces organic
materials pathogen potential. Compost processing of locally produced organic waste
materials provides safe and optimal handling and processing of organic waste
streams. Compost case studies, outlining substrate and system feasibility analyses,
highlight several interrelated food-security and environmental benefits.
Living or once living materials, known as organic matter, organic materials, or
biomass, serve as a nexus for nutrient cycling, water conservation, moderation of
climate change, and food production. Human excrement, animal manures, and food
waste pose deleterious effects to watersheds and overall community health, particu-
larly in many non-industrialized regions where waste management and sewage
treatment infrastructure may be lacking. The utilization of organic waste materials
via compost processing has been shown to enhance soil and plant productivity,
increase soil water retention, sequester carbon, and decrease external synthetic fer-
tilizer and chemical inputs. This chapter provides an educational model for organic
waste-to-resource initiatives associated with food production for long-term sustain-
ability in alignment with SDG 2 Zero Hunger.
3.2 Literature Review
3.2.1 Agricultural Nutrient Sources
The soil naturally cycles and recycles organic materials in the form of leaves, twigs,
microorganisms, bird droppings, and other biota. The soil encompasses biological,
physical, and chemical components. Oxygen fills soil pore spaces among soil par-
ticles which provide oxygen to soil microorganisms and plant roots. Soil pore spaces
3 SDG 2 Zero Hunger 25
also contain water and decomposed soil organic matter adheres water molecules,
providing a water source to soil microorganisms that facilitate organic matter
decomposition, and nutrient and water availability for plant production. Around the
world, the soil plays vast and critically dynamic roles, including food, fuel, and fiber
production; water and air, contaminant filtering and conversion; a complex and
diverse biological habitat; and a building and structure platform (Brady and
Weil 2008).
Societal organic waste materials include food, landscape, animal manure, and
biosolids, which are comprised of many macro- and micronutrient sources. The
natural microbial cycling of soil organic matter improves nitrogen levels in soil,
which is often the limiting factor in non-legume plant systems. Furthermore, cycling
of organic material can also effectively decrease soil nitrogen leaching potential
(Hepperly et al. 2009). However, unlike carbon, nitrogen is not easily accessible
from the atmosphere by plants; consequently, nitrogen is synthetically produced in
mass quantities (Finn et al. 2015; Fortier et al. 2010). Carbon and nitrogen are vital
components of soil microbial functions and associated plant nutrient availabilities
(Albaladejo et al. 2008). Increasing soil organic material has been shown to increase
soil biota, facilitating plant nutrient uptake and more diverse and resilient soil and
plant systems (Brady and Weil 2008).
In many industrialized countries, macronutrients are often supplied to the crop
via synthetic fertilizer application (Creegan 2017). Synthetic fertilizers typically
provide a more immediate nutrient source to the plant (Kallestad et al. 2008).
However, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have been shown to potentially leach out of
the soil system (Omer et al. 2018). Although synthetic fertilizers supply essential
nutrients to the crop, synthetic fertilizer use can pose deleterious effects to aquatic
ecosystems (Creegan 2017). Eutrophication of surface water is due to the prolific
growth of algal blooms following increased levels of aquatic nutrient source from
landscape and agricultural runoff, and other sources (Sharpley et al. 2003). Algal
blooms deplete the water of oxygen, often resulting in high rates of aquatic life
mortality. Globally, the high-volume use of synthetic fertilizers may have poten-
tially harmful effects and may not be sustainable or economically feasible in the
long-term for non-industrialized countries.
3.2.2 E
nvironmental Factors and Food Production as Related
to Organic Materials
In 2015, organic waste, including paper and paperboard, yard trimmings, and food
products, accounted for the largest single waste stream – over 50% of all thrown
away waste – in the USA (US Environmental Protection Agency 2018). Organic
waste materials are often landfilled or incinerated, posing harmful effects to local
and global watersheds and air quality. The phrase “organic waste-to-resource” chal-
lenges the predilections of today’s world for landfilling and incinerating “waste” by
cultivating a more approach. All ecosystems utilize materials; there is no waste in
nature. Mimicking the natural environment and the regenerative processes of the
planet, organic materials can be harnessed to foster soil regeneration, promoting
sustainable agricultural practices and increased crop productivity (Rosenani et al.
2016). Organic material and healthy soils play a critical role in soil water retention
and both environmental and economic stability, particularly during drought and in
productive arid regions (Lepsch et al. 2019). Employment of soil organic matter
(SOM) can facilitate production and other associated benefits for plants, including
tree, vegetable crops, and potted plants (Brady and Weil 2008).
Organic materials (OM) utilization often promotes greater soil microbiota and
more resilient soil and plant systems (El-Gawad 2008). Healthier plants are more
resistant to pest invasion, promoting less use and reliance on pesticides and herbi-
cides. Being less reliant on external inputs may have economic benefits and pro-
motes localized community self-resiliency. An important part of this resiliency and
renewal process is safely returning nutrients to the source (soil) in the form of com-
post, as a cycle of continuous regeneration (Hepperly et al. 2009).
All life is made of carbon components. Fossil fuels are derived from highly
decayed carbon-based material. When burned for fuel, carbon is oxidized to create
carbon dioxide – the most prolific greenhouse gas on Earth. Coastal, island, and
non-industrialized countries are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. A
climate change mitigation strategy is to sequester carbon in the soil by returning
carbon-based organic materials to the source. With this, a new way of “carbon-
farming” practices can be cultivated (Velasquez-Manoff 2018).
Global methane is approximately 23 times more potent greenhouse gas than car-
bon dioxide. Methane’s annual contribution to climate change causing gases is
approximately 1/3 of carbon dioxide emissions (Henson 2014, 32). Methane gas is
produced by the anaerobic decomposition of organic materials and comes from
various sources, including landfills. Compost program development requires the
local utilization of heavy organic waste materials, decreasing both financial and
environmental costs associated with waste transportation.
3.3 Methodology
3.3.1 Case Study 1: On-Farm Organic Waste-to-Resource
The top two pecan growing regions in the USA are currently New Mexico and
Georgia. Increases in the cost of synthetic fertilizers have dramatically diminished
the profitability of growing pecans (Huang 2009; Wells 2012). Additionally, as the
pruning practice of pecan trees has become more common, the amount of carbon-
based organic waste materials has increased in the form of woody biomass.
Historically, the woody biomass was burned as the primary form of waste manage-
ment; however shredding machinery has enabled many farmers to utilize and
recycle the wood biomass back into their orchards. Wood shreddings are often
combined with manure, field green waste, food waste, or composted and incorpo-
rated into the soil.
A 4-ha block from a 647-ha pecan farm in Roswell, New Mexico, USA, was
selected to evaluate the effects of soil water, soil carbon sequestration, and nutrient
availabilities on soil properties from co-composted tree trimmings and locally
derived manure, along with direct in pecan field soil in situ applications. The farm’s
pecan biomass (a carbon source) and local dairy manure (a nitrogen source) were
incorporated in an outdoor aerobic windrow composting system. A tractor pulls a
compost turner which turns (aerates) and waters the shredded pecan biomass and
manure, facilitating microbial decomposition (Fig. 3.1). Windrow (a row of organic
material) temperatures, carbon dioxide (as a measure of microbial respiration rates),
and moisture levels were consistently monitored throughout the composting pro-
cess. The finished compost products were then incorporated into commercial pecan
orchard soil. An economic assessment and feasibility of the on-farm compost
program and finished compost product application is being assessed.
Fig. 3.1 Windrow turning

and watering
3.3.1.1 The Benefits of Composting: Safely Utilizing Organic Materials
Composting employs microorganisms naturally present in OM to decompose and

mineralize organic materials. Finished compost is recognized as a soil conditioner
that provides an organic nutrient source for soil microbial populations that assist
with plant productivity (Brinton et al. 2012). Compost is comprised of decomposed
material containing primary, secondary, and micro nutrients (Egrinya et al. 2008).
Proper composting techniques are dependent upon many factors, including OM
substrate, substrate carbon to nitrogen ratios, oxygen and moisture levels, surface
area of the OM, and the form and duration of compost processing (UMass Amherst
2018). Shredding OM substrates increases the available surface area for improved
microbial decomposition.
Microorganisms are naturally present in all life; the human body, for example, is
abundant with living bacteria. Diverse soil microbiology facilitates plant nutrient
uptake and associated plant growth parameters (Molina-Romero et al. 2017). Plant
matter and human and animal excrement is also naturally rich with microorganisms.
The compost process mimics most natural ecosystems and requires greater carbon-
based materials to lesser nitrogen-based materials for proper microbial decomposi-
tion rates (an approximate 30:1 carbon-nitrogen ratio). Examples of common
carbon-based materials include dried leaves, shredded paper and newspaper, paper
towels, and agricultural organic waste materials such as sugarcane bagasse. More
common nitrogen-based materials include “fresh” green grass, animal and human
excrement, and most fresh plant detritus, including food waste.
The more prevalent forms of compost processing include thermophilic/“hot”/
aerobic composting, anaerobic (without oxygen) composting, enclosed aerated sys-
tems (which often encompasses ventilation and/or forced aeration systems), and
vermicomposting (the employment of worms, primarily red wigglers “Eisenia fet-
ida” as the primary OM decomposers). Simplified compost processes with minimal
mechanization that may be more suitable for non-industrialized countries include
smaller-scale boxed compost systems and/or “covered” systems that encase
nitrogen-based organic materials with a locally available shredded carbon source.
Thermophilic (“heat loving”) bacteria proliferate in properly established and
maintained compost systems. Effective aerobic composting produces high tempera-
ture pathogen and weed seed killing heat created by organic exudates and action
from the rapid microbial decomposition of OM. The finished compost product is a
stable, humus-like material that can be safely handled, stockpiled, and utilized.
Conversely, simply applying organic materials to a soil, such as animal manures,
will not ameliorate potential pathogen loads or mitigate weed seed transference. To
be noted, although the finished compost product typically contains a multitude of
nutrients, it is not considered a fertilizer as the exact nutrient proportions cannot be
consistently determined.
Composting can be accomplished in small- or large-scale systems; however a
minimum of a cubic yard of initial organic substrate material is recommended for
thermophilic processing. Larger on-farm composting or compost facilities, found in
several municipalities in California (USA) and elsewhere, have been established

throughout the world. To ensure proper compost processing and reduction of patho-
gen potential, the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 has decreed
a minimum threshold compost processing temperature of 3 consecutive days of 55
degrees Celsius or higher.
3.3.1.2 Aerobic (Hot) Composting
The materials below, produced by the New Mexico State University (NMSU, Las
Cruces, New Mexico, USA) Skeen Compost Club, highlight the more common
forms of smaller-scale compost processing, compost utilization, and “troubleshoot-
ing” tips. Other Guides from NMSU include Backyard Composting Guide H-110
by John Allen and Circular CR637- Managing Organic Matter in Farm and Garden
Soils by Robert Flynn and John Idowu.
Aerobic composting is the controlled decomposition of organic materials typi-
cally by bacteria. For small-scale compost systems, basic recipes include incorpo-
rating (by turning with a shovel) nitrogen-based non-meat/non-dairy kitchen food
scraps or fresh green landscaping material in addition to a shredded carbon source
such as shredded newspaper, torn up paper egg cartons, etc. The material in your bin
should always be about as moist as a wrung-out sponge (add water to your compost
bin as needed).
Tip: Shoot for 30:1 carbon to nitrogen (incorporate much more carbon-based
material than nitrogen)
3.3.1.3 Vermicompost
Vermicomposting is a method of composting that utilizes worms (specifically red

wigglers) as the primary decomposers. Worm castings (poop!) are an excellent plant
food and fertilizer for indoor/outdoor plants and landscaping.
3.3.1.4 How to Maintain a Vermicompost System
1. Place the bin in a shady area (not too hot and not too cold, e.g., the bin can be
kept under the kitchen sink; the worms won’t leave the bin unless they are not
getting something they need).
2. Feed them a Vegan diet (non-dairy/non-meat kitchen scraps, including coffee
grounds, paper towels, tea bags – less any metal, fruit and vegetables scraps,
etc.).
3. Ensure the worms have access to sufficient air (check the bin has enough holes
for air circulation).
3.3.1.5 Harvesting and Using Compost
Harvest the finished compost by using a shovel. Harvest worm castings by hand
separating the worms from their castings. Incorporate all finished compost into
landscaping or garden spaces by top dressing and watering in or shovel-incorporating
into the soil.
3.3.1.6 Compost Bin Troubleshooting Tips
Issue Solution
Malodorous bin Cut down the amount of nitrogen-based organic material the worms are
or abundant flies receiving, increase the organic materials surface area by shredding or
chopping the material, and/or add more shredded carbon-based materials
such as paper towels
Worms exiting The bin is either too hot or too cold, or alternatively the worms too much or
the bin too little food
3.3.2 Case Study 2: A City Model
The City of San Francisco (California, USA) boasts an approximate 80% materials
diversion rate from landfills. In 2017, approximately 3 million tons of waste was
produced in the City of San Francisco, and approximately 2.5 million tons was
diverted from landfills (this material was either recycled or composted). Much of
the City's success can be attributed to a government assembly bill that mandated
promoting waste diversion. This is a fee-based program with applied enforcement.
Of these applied mandates, This includes the “door-to-door” outreach program in
multiple languages to all city sectors and educational initiatives, bin placement, and
resident access of more than 99%” of the waste diversion. The “Fantastic Three”
three bin (recycling, composting, landfilling) system for residential and waste col-
lection was initiated in 1999. The green-colored bin is the organic materials collec-
tion bin; the blue-colored bin is the recycling collection bin; and the smallest of the
three bins, the black-colored bin, is the landfill bin.
SF Environment School Education Program (SFESEP): A department of the City
and County of San Francisco credits a large part of their diversion rate success to
widespread education initiatives, including citywide public and private
kindergarten-12th grade curriculum and educational signage. The SFESEP reaches
approximately 20,000 students annually throughout San Francisco and provides
online composting curriculum. The no-cost curriculum can be found on this site:
https://sfenvironment.org/k-12.
SF Environment also provides a no-cost customizable online “Signmaker Tool”
in multiple languages; specialized (specific to materials generated in a given region)
recycling, composting, and landfilling, sign templates are available on this website:
https://sfenvironment.org/recyclingcomposting-and-landfill-signs.
3.3.3 Case Study 3: A University Model
The New Mexico State University (NMSU, Las Cruces New Mexico, USA) Skeen
Compost Club (SCC) compost program and associated organic waste-diversion
educational materials was developed in 2017 by Dr. Ivette Guzman and the author
and several past professors and current students.
SCC developed educational signage in the department kitchen that demonstrated
what can be placed in the organic materials collection bins, including paper towels,
grains, breads, coffee grounds, tea bags, and vegetable and fruit scraps. As is com-
mon in smaller-scale compost systems, this no-meat no-dairy system was estab-
lished to deter pathogen potential and potential compost processing vectors (i.e.,
rats, mice, and insects). Additional educational materials were created for the
department green house organic waste collection bins. Approximately 112 kg of
organic waste was collected and diverted from the local landfill during the in-school
months of September, October, and November in 2017, alone.
3.3.3.1 Small-Scale Waste Audit
Waste audits are important in determining total approximate waste generation and
volume estimates and can help determine the needed compost system size. Smaller-
scale waste audits can be easily conducted with the following steps:
1. Lay down three small-medium size tarps to separate organics, recyclables, and
landfill materials.
2. As a safety precaution, wear thick gloves, closed toed shoes, and long pants
while conducting the audit.
3. Separate the source material (from the waste bins), and weigh all materials on at
least 2 separate days to get a relative volume percentile for the organics, recy-
clables and landfill materials.
3.3.3.2 S
CC Small-Scale Compost Program Development Learning
Lessons
A 1-gallon organic materials collection bin system was initiated in the department
kitchen area; however, patrons were often continuing to throw-away coffee grounds
and paper towels, in particular. Two other 1-gallon organic materials collection bins
with labeled “coffee grounds for compost” and “used paper towels – to be compos-
ted” were placed in strategic locations where patron bin-use was improved. This
simple step increased the overall organic materials diversion rates.
Collected organic materials bins are weighed, and the organic material is placed
in an outdoor compost processing bin. The outdoor bin was constructed from
recycled lumber and corrugated tin tops and metal handles. The compost system
temperatures are monitored, the organic material is aerated, moisture levels are
maintained by incorporating water into the system, and the substrate surface area is
increased by chopping the material with a shovel.
3.3.4 C
ase Study 4: For-Profit Community Collaborations
Models
Sodexo Inc. is a Fortune 500 global food vendor company and provides the food
vending services for Eastern New Mexico University (Portales, New Mexico, USA).
Sodexo’s Better Tomorrow Plan is a “year-round commitment to the environment,
including waste reduction, water efficiency, energy efficiency and sustainable sourc-
ing.” A partnership has been established between Sodexo and a local pecan farmer
in creating a pre-consumer organic-waste-to-farm-resource compost program. The
University kitchen staff place all pre-consumer kitchen organic waste materials into
strategically located and labeled 5-gallon buckets with secure lids. The full buckets
are kept in the kitchen freezer and then transported to the farm for windrow compost
processing.
In 2016, Sodexo announced a commitment to “Zero Food Waste to Landfills,” in
collaboration with other businesses, government, and nonprofit organizations, in
reducing food waste in the USA by 50% in year 2030 (established by the Obama
Administration in 2015). Sodexo cites “freeing up landfill space” and “reducing
ozone-depleting methane gas emissions” as beneficial effects of reducing food
waste in landfills.
In an effort to minimize landfilled waste many restaurants are converting from
non-compostable to compostable bowls, plates, and other utensil-ware. Rubio’s
Coastal Grill has converted to offering compostable ware for much of its take-out
products, as a part of Rubio’s brand ethos and strategy. Compostable and biodegrad-
able to-go containers that are made from molded fibers prevent more than approxi-
mately 300 tons of their past alternative Styrofoam option from being landfilled,
yearly. In collaboration with compost program development companies, compost
facilities and educational initiatives, this compostable ware organic material can be
captured, diverted from the landfills, and utilized in a local community.
3.3.5 C
ase Study 5: GiveLove – Going Global with Community
Sanitation
GiveLove (www.givelove.org) is a skills training nonprofit organization committed

to the teaching and promotion of ecological sanitation (EcoSan)/humanure/biosolid
(human excrement) compost program development. Much of the information cited
here was provided by Alisa Keesey, GiveLove Program Director, and Samuel Souza,
GiveLove Research and Training Coordinator (Keesey and Souza 2018).
As stated in the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the achieve-
ment of total sanitation is to develop solid waste containment, disposal, and reuse
alternatives. GiveLove develops container/bucket-based compost sanitation toilet
systems in communities that typically practice open defecation or the use of pit
latrines. GiveLove works with the given community in identifying ongoing, easily
accessible and locally available shredded carbon sources as the carbon component
and bulking agent of the compost system. GiveLove collaborates with government
entities, communities, schools, and other nonprofit organizations to provide simple,
low-cost, extremely low technology, non-urine diverting compost toilets and on-site
compost processing (Keesey and Souza 2018).
GiveLove initiated the Green School model with the objective of developing
school-based compost toilets and hygiene programs as an entry point of more
expansive community humanure compost program development. GiveLove also
provides training on using the finished compost products to grow vegetables, trees,
and medicinal plants for consumption and sale - working to foster more resilient
and self-sufficient circular economy communities (Keesey and Souza 2018).
At schools, students, teachers, and administrators must learn how to use and
manage the compost toilets. With this, everyone learns the science of composting as
GiveLove works with all participants in on-site compost system establishment.
Projects are introduced step-by-step and initially focused on small pilot programs.
GiveLove notes widespread skepticism at the onset of the compost toilet introduc-
tion and application of the finished compost product, but full adoption is often
quickly achieved once users experience the benefits of this full cycle biosolid waste
management alternative (Keesey and Souza 2018).
The compost systems are a connecting tool for sustainable community develop-
ment and a learning-by-doing model in addressing community health impacts and
environmental challenges. The programs are designed for illiterate or low-literacy
people and for community information exchange and education dissemination. The
organization encourages hands-on, peer-to-peer learning and ongoing problem-
solving. With pathogen killing effective humanure compost program development,
the individual becomes an empowered agent of change, cultivating water purifying,
healthy soil food producing, climate change mitigating, self-reliant and resilient
communities” (Keesey and Souza 2018).
3.3.6 Case Study 6: The Need and Potential for Ghana
Ghana is a coastal nation in Central Africa, with a population of approximately 27

million, high poverty rates, and relatively low gross domestic product (GDP). With
a large portion of the population in the agricultural sector and limited agricultural
technologies and resources, the country is particularly vulnerable to climate change
impacts. Conventional agricultural practices, including the use of heavy machinery,

prolific synthetic fertilizer application, and lack of soil organic matter practices,
exacerbate climate change effects. Compost program development and finished
compost product application could facilitate climate change mitigation and resil-
iency measures.
Ghana is diverse geographically and ecologically. Much of the larger flora has
been cleared for agricultural or construction purposes and has largely not been
revegetated. Agricultural crops, including cocoa, yams, grains, timber, nuts, and
palm oil, constitute the base of agriculture of Ghana’s economy. In 2013, agriculture
employed approximately half of the total labor force in Ghana (Agriculture in
Ghana: Facts and Figures 2011). A Danish government National Climate Change
Adaptation Strategy (2016) reports that while many governments are taking initia-
tive to reduce the effects of climate change, the extreme challenges faced by the
more highly vulnerable populations are largely not being addressed (CC DARE
2016). The report cites the need for governments to be more proactive in their resil-
iency strategies rather than reactive, citing the former as far less costly.
With the growing Ghanaian population and continued food and environmental
insecurities and pressures, soil health and soil health resiliency strategies in relation
to crop productivity are paramount. Remediating and cultivating healthy soil sys-
tems begin with the renewal and regeneration of soil biomass, and the utilization of
locally sourced organic materials. This begins with available organic waste materi-
als assessment and identification. However, according to one article, reliable
national data on waste generation that will guide effective waste management, pol-
icy, and sustainable practices is “absent” in Ghana (Miezah et al. 2015). The research
comprised a national analysis of the rate of waste generated, physical composition
of the waste, and the sorting and separation efficiency of the waste. The results
showed that as of year 2015, the rate of waste generated in Ghana was approxi-
mately 0.47 kg/person/day, equating to 12,710 tons of waste per day per the current
national population. Furthermore, the study identified a significantly larger percent-
age of the total waste as biodegradable - approximately 61% of the total waste
stream (Miezah et al. 2015). Identification and subsequent composting of locally
sourced carbon-based materials, initially human and animal manures that pose del-
eterious impacts to watersheds, warrant attention.
As of year 2014, in two of the largest Ghanaian cities, over 4000 tons of solid
waste was generated per day (Monney 2014). According to Monney, this is partly
due to an “erroneous perception about solid waste” and the Ghanaian people gener-
ally viewing waste as disposable, instead of a valued potential resource (Monney
2014). The article also cites other countries, such as the Philippines and Sweden,
“making money” out of solid waste. Monney (2014) cites the overall lack in waste
management and materials utilization infrastructure, emphasizing the need to focus
on “the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing,
and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that conforms to the best principles of
public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other environ-
mental considerations” (Monney 2014).
Additionally, there may be a “huge” gap in Ghana between research and policy
(Monney 2014). Academia should be communicating with the public and offering
extension/outreach services in improved and sustainable waste management and
agriculture techniques. Academic communication with policy makers in develop-
ing climate change resiliency goals and regulations is also lacking. Monney (2014)
states the need for initial seed funding and entrepreneurial leaders to develop
waste-to-resource programs and community member biomass recycling education,
biodegradable products, facilities infrastructure, and transportation of community-
produced organic materials to the compost facility or farm. Developing these mod-
els to increase soil carbon sequestration will increase soil tilth and associated crop
productivity, creating more resilient, self-sufficient, and climatically and finan-
cially stable systems (Agriculture in Ghana: Facts and Figures 2011).
3.4.1 Fostering Circular Sustainable Economies
Closing the carbon loop, organic materials serve as a connecting link between food
production, recycling and waste management, water conservation, climate change
resiliency, self-sufficiency, and sustainability. However, in many non-industrialized
countries, self-sufficiency has been eroded by several factors, including environ-
mental impacts, lack of education and dissemination, and globalization. Additionally,
with the continued exponential rise in human populations, the need to increase food
production and water conservation measures is imminent.
By imitating the productivity of natural ecosystems and returning carbon-based
materials to the soil source, biomass utilization promotes a reduced reliance on
potentially water-polluting and costly synthetic fertilizers. There is a need for global
biomass waste volume assessments and associated waste audits. Proper compost
processing provides a safe means to utilize organic waste materials, fostering sus-
tainable landscape and agricultural practices and circular economies. Developing
educational tools and models and requiring carbon and ecosystem cycling curricu-
lum in public and private school settings are necessary components of effective
compost program development. Although advanced machinery and technologies
may be more readily available in industrialized countries, compost program devel-
opment employing locally available organic materials can and must translate to
non-industrialized countries.
A revival of nurturing a full cycle organic waste-to-resource system, with com-
munity, academia, public and private entities, and farmer collaborations, is crucial
in sustainable agricultural development. However, these measures and goals should
be culturally sensitive and predicated on available resources and technologies. As
emphasized in the Ghanaian case study, sound research must support policy devel-
opment. Furthermore, academics should be communicating with the public and
offering extension and outreach services. Based on various case studies showcasing
the effectiveness of curriculum and educational tools, more financial investment in
biomass utilization education and carbon source availabilities is needed in cultivat-
ing emerging circular, rather than linear, economies.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 encompasses the
need to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote
sustainable agriculture.” Interrelated, the UN Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) and SDG 6 highlight the need to develop more holistic waste management
and water conservation measures. Compost program development and effective
humanure program development, in particular, foster this.
Acknowledgements This research is funded by the USDA National Needs Fellow program,
Grant: #2015-38420-23706. Thank you to Bruce Haley and staff.
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Chapter 4
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being
Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on Human DNA:
A Point of View from Sustainable Healthcare
María Belén Federico
Abstract Skin cancer incidence is increasing. The WHO reports between 2 and 3
million non-melanoma skin cancers and 132,000 melanoma skin cancers globally
each year, while 1 in every 3 cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer. Several factors are
responsible for skin cancer incidence, and some of them are more easily treated than
others. Furthermore, as social and contextual factors within communities can often
hinder UV exposure reduction (e.g., the societal promotion of tanning), primary
prevention is not always sufficient. Early detection and treatments can be remark-
ably improved through a better understanding of the molecular events activated
after UV radiation reaches human cells. As such, this chapter aims to evidence how
basic research regarding the effects of UV radiation on the human genetic material
works to improve diagnostic tests and the treatment of skin cancer, thus improving
the patient’s quality of life and reducing fatalities.
Keywords SDG 3 health and well-being · Skin care · DNA damage · UV radia-
tion · Community
4.1 Introduction
Skin cancer is challenging even in countries of high incidence. Policy efforts to

reduce the toll of skin cancer now compete with other major behavioral health issues
including obesity, harmful alcohol consumption, and smoking (Gordon and Rowell
2015). Furthermore, in the last decades, social factors have heavily contributed to the
increased rate of skin cancer cases. Lifestyle and fashion trends have driven the desire
for tan skin, especially in adolescents and adults. The pursuit of a “fashionable” tan
through deliberate sun exposure or the use of sunbeds has made significant
M. B. Federico (*)
Leloir Institute Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina
e-mail: belefederico@gmail.com

40 M. B. Federico
contributions to increasing skin cancer rates around the world (Chang et al. 2014).
On the other hand, incidence will continue to increase as nations with aging popula-
tions enter the prime ages for onset of skin cancers (i.e., squamous and basal cell
carcinomas). Malignant melanoma, the most serious of all skin cancers, is also
increasing in incidence and not only arises in older adults but also in adults (Gordon
and Rowell 2015). Beyond the facts mentioned previously, increasing incidence of
UV rays reaching Earth’s surface as a consequence of the ozone hole is also increas-
ing the number of skin cancer patients. The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP 1998) has estimated every further 10% depletion of the ozone layer results in
an additional 300,000 non-melanoma and 4500 melanoma skin cancer cases. Today,
skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in fair-skinned populations in many
parts of the world (Narayanan et al. 2010).
The increase of skin cancer incidence represents a big challenge for public
health, and primary prevention is deemed insufficient to reduce that number.
Because of that situation, secondary prevention should be reinforced in order to
improve early detection and treatment and tertiary prevention to reduce the impact
of the ongoing illness. While several good diagnostic tests and skin cancer treat-
ments are available in the sanitary system today, more research is needed in order to
create better and more accuracy tools to fight against this type of cancer. Being UV
radiation the main cause of skin cancer, one of the main challenges for current and
future skin cancer research is to gain a profound understanding regarding the molec-
ular and cellular events activated in the human body as a consequence of the UV
rays. The aim of this chapter is to show how basic research regarding the effects of
UV radiation on the human genetic material can help to improve diagnostic tests
and the treatment of skin cancer, thus improving the patient’s quality of life and
reducing fatalities.
4.2.1 T
he Impact of Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation
on Human Life
4.2.1.1 Solar UV Radiation
The sun is the natural and principal source of UV radiation (Fig. 4.1). UV radiation
can be divided, according to its wavelengths, into three categories; UV-A (320–
400 nm), UV-B (280–320 nm), and UV-C (100–280 nm). About 95% of the total
UV radiation reaching Earth’s surface is categorized as UV-A, while UV-B radia-
tion accounts for the final 5% (Britt 2002). UV-A rays are absorbed by the skin and
are as such responsible for its aging and wrinkling, while UV-B radiation produces
erythema, burns, and skin cancer (Ohnaka 1993). On the other hand, UV-C rays are
absorbed by the ozone layer and therefore do not reach Earth’s surface.
4 SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being 41
Fig. 4.1 Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV radiation can be divided, according to its wave-
lengths, into three categories: UV-A (320–400 nm), UV-B (280–320 nm), and UV-C (100–280 nm).
While UV-C rays are absorbed by the ozone layer, UV-A and UV-B rays reach Earth’s surface
4.2.1.2 UV Radiation as an Issue for Human Health
Although sun exposure has positive effects on mood and stimulates production of
vitamin D, prolonged UV radiation exposure has proven to be extremely harmful
for humans. The World Environment Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992,
specifically recommended to “undertake, as a matter of urgency, research on the
effects on human health of the increasing UV radiation reaching the earth’s surface
as a consequence of depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer.” Epidemiological
and scientific evidence strongly connects UV ray’s exposure to several skin cancers
(Griffiths et al. 1998; Norval et al. 2011), and that connection has been extensively
evaluated during the last decades. Overexposure to UV radiation is the main pre-
ventable cause of skin cancers – both melanoma (the most serious type) and non-
melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) (Brown et al. 2018). Sixty-five percent of
melanoma cases are associated with exposure to UV rays, and the amount is worse
for NMSC, reaching 90%, including both basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squa-
mous cell carcinoma (SCC). NMSC has increased and is becoming more prevalent
even in younger age groups; it currently accounts for nearly 15,000 deaths and 3.5
million new cases in the United States alone, representing a major public health
concern (Kim and He 2014). A 10 % ozone depletion was found to give rise to a
16–18% increase in the incidence rate of SCC (men and women), a 19% increase in
the incidence rate of malignant melanoma for men, and a 32% increase in the
42 M. B. Federico
incidence rate of melanoma for women (Moan and Dahlback 1992). The difference
between the numbers for men and women is almost significant and may be related
to the different intermittent exposure pattern to sunlight between the two sexes.
Getting a sunburn just once every 2 years can triple the risk of melanoma (Dennis
et al. 2008). Moreover, sunburn during childhood or adolescence can increase the
risk of skin cancer later on in life (Dennis et al. 2008; Gandini et al. 2005).
Extensive research using animal models has revealed a more active role of UV-B
in the induction of skin cancer than UV-A (Roy 2017). Although solar UV exposure
is known to be associated with several health problems beyond tumor generation
(e.g., accelerated skin aging, eye diseases, and a defective immune response), this
chapter will focus on the relationship between UV rays and cancer.
4.2.1.3 S
kin Cancer: UV Radiation as a Mutagenic and Carcinogenic
Agent
The deoxyribonucleic acid molecule, better known as DNA, is a critical target for
UV radiation damage. DNA is a central component of all living organisms as it is
the genetic material responsible for guiding cell functions. DNA duplication is nec-
essary to transfer the genetic information from the mother cell to its progeny, which
means this molecule must remain unaltered to allow next cell generations to pre-
serve the information as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, there are several
DNA damaging agents which cause DNA lesions; these DNA damaging agents
include UV radiation which can generate 100,000 DNA lesions per cell per day
when exposed to peak hour sunlight (Ciccia and Elledge 2010).
The outcomes of DNA lesions differ according to their type, relative position in
the DNA molecule, and their quantity, but most are eventually repaired by one of the
multiple DNA repair mechanisms. However, damaged DNA is not always repaired
as DNA repair mechanisms are often inefficient or saturated. If a lesion goes unre-
paired, it could change the DNA’s sequence in a permanent way, which results in a
mutation. The sources responsible for the generation of mutations, such as UV radi-
ation, are called mutagenic agents (Ikehata and Ono 2011). UV radiation as a muta-
genic agent has been broadly investigated, and the lesions generated by UV radiation
on the DNA molecule will be explained in detail within Sect. 4.2.2.1. UV rays are
also classified as carcinogenic agent, i.e., they promote cancer due to the transforma-
tion of a normal cell to a cancerous cell. The International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) has extensively analyzed the carcinogenicity of UV and concluded:
“There is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of solar radiation.
Solar radiation causes cutaneous melanoma and non-melanocytic skin cancer.” The
increased rates of skin cancer in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, who have a
deficiency in their capacity to repair UV-induced DNA damage, suggests that direct
UV DNA damage may be one of the key steps in the causation of these cancers
(World Health Organization 1995). Cancer’s development is a c omplex multistage
process that implies the alteration of cellular DNA either as a result of changes to the
DNA sequence or in its structure (Griffiths et al. 1998). Thus, the mutations gener-
ated by UV radiation (mutagenic agent) can be responsible for the development of
cancer (carcinogenic agent). Skin carcinogenesis through DNA damage is thus con-
sidered a predominant paradigm for UV toxicity (Kim and He 2014).
4.2.1.4 The Necessity to Improve Skin Cancer Diagnosis and Treatments
Assessments by UNEP show increases in skin cancer incidence and sunburn sever-
ity due to stratospheric ozone depletion for at least the first half of the twenty-first
century. On the other hand, insufficient strategies regarding primary prevention
increase skin cancer incidence. Primarily, social and cultural behaviors directly
inhibit the success of skin cancer awareness campaigns. Secondly, primary preven-
tion represents the most cost-effective approach to reducing cancer and other NCDs,
and it is no clear its impact in the future years (Adami et al. 2001). Besides, despite
cancer being a global public health problem, many governments have not yet
included cancer prevention in their agendas. In fact, only a few countries, such as
Scotland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Brazil, Canada, or Australia, have
regulations regarding the use of tanning beds (Mitchell 2018; “From Australia to
Brazil: sun worshippers beware” 2009; Stark 2009). This situation heightens the
significance of secondary prevention in the fight against this type of cancer. As a
result, early detection and treatment are key components of skin cancer control,
particularly with regard to reducing morbidity and mortality in the short term
(Iannacone and Green 2014). Strategies to go deeper into the etiology of skin cancer
are needed in order to improve cancer diagnosis and treatments.
In the last few years, a strong effort has been made to elucidate the cellular
mechanisms responsible for protecting cells from cancer development after UV
radiation. UV rays affect the integrity of the genome, creating genomic instability,
a major driving force for the generation of tumors and cancer. Genomic instability
refers to alterations in the DNA molecules as a consequence of 1) errors produced
during DNA duplication, 2) lesions generated by several mutagenic agents and 3)
alterations in metabolic pathways, among others. While a considerable amount of
knowledge is available concerning the interaction of UV rays with the DNA, con-
troversy exists as to which UV-lesion constitutes the most important type of pre-
mutagenic damage (UNEP 1987). Therefore, in-depth knowledge on the underlying
mechanisms involved in the cellular response following detection and processing of
UV-induced lesions in the genome has become one of the important areas of bio-
medical research in the context of human health (Roy 2017). This chapter will intro-
duce the latest advances in some of these molecular pathways and demonstrates the
contribution of these scientific breakthroughs to the improvement of human health,
specifically in terms of secondary prevention.
44 M. B. Federico
4.2.2 Ultraviolet Radiation and DNA
4.2.2.1 UV Radiation Generates Lesions in the DNA Molecule
To better understand the effects of UV rays on DNA, it is necessary to delve into the
DNA structure. The elemental unit of the DNA molecule is called nucleotide, and it
has three components: a five-carbon sugar, a phosphate molecule, and a nitrogen-
containing base (Fig. 4.2a). DNA contains four different nitrogenous bases: the
pyrimidine bases, thymine (T) and cytosine (C), and the purine bases, adenine (A)
and guanine (G). Nucleotides bind each other through the phosphate group generat-
ing two independent nucleotide chains held together through electrostatic forces
(hydrogen bonds) between complementary nitrogen bases (Fig. 4.2b). Thymine is
complementary to adenine and cytosine to guanine. The order of nucleotides along
the chains encodes the genetic information carried by DNA. As one simple DNA
molecule has tens of millions of nucleotides long, the four-letter nucleotide alphabet
can encode nearly unlimited information. Because of its conformational structure,
the DNA is a double-helix molecule (Pray 2008).
As it was mentioned previously, UV rays damage our DNA. When cells receive
the radiation, the main lesion created is a strong aberrant link (covalent link)
between two adjacent thymines (Fig. 4.3). Two different links can be formed
between those thymines generating a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) or 6–4
pyrimidine-pyrimidone photoproduct (6,4PP) (Ikehata and Ono 2011). The CPDs
alone constitute up to 75% of the total UV-induced photoproducts (Roy 2017). Due
to this abnormal bind, those two thymines lose their interaction with the
Fig. 4.2 DNA structure. (a) The elemental unit of the DNA molecule is called nucleotide, and it
has three components: a five-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen-containing base. (b)
Nucleotides bind each other through the phosphate molecule generating two independent chains
that hold together through electrostatic forces (hydrogen bonds) between complementary nitrogen
bases. Because of its conformational structure, the DNA forms a double-helix molecule. There are
many ways to represent the DNA double-helix; the far-right diagram simplifies the DNA model, in
order to focus on the base pairing
Fig. 4.3 Thymine dimers. UV radiation induces a link (covalent link) between two adjacent thy-
mines present in the same strand of the DNA molecule. According to the position of the link, two
different dimers can be formed: cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) or 6–4 pyrimidine-
pyrimidone adducts (6–4 PPs)
c omplementary bases (in the opposite strand), and a conformational and abnormal
change occurs to the DNA molecule. This distortion in the DNA molecule can
inhibit DNA synthesis (process called DNA replication) and other important cellu-
lar events (Roy 2017). In addition, UV radiation can cause DNA damage indirectly,
by generating high intracellular concentrations of reactive oxygen species as a con-
sequence of the cellular stress response (Roy 2017; Griffiths et al. 1998).
4.2.2.2 DNA Damage Response After UV Radiation
Aforementioned, the DNA’s sequence must be kept unchanged in order to guarantee

accurate transfer of genetic information to cell progeny. Therefore, DNA lesions
generated by UV rays are a serious threat for the cell and must be repaired in order
to prevent defective genetic material. Fortunately, cells have developed a complex
and very dynamic network known as DNA damage response (DDR) which deal
46 M. B. Federico
with that situation. DDR is formed by several mechanisms which are activated to
detect DNA damage, signal its presence, and mediate its repair (Jackson and Bartek
2009). Several DNA repair mechanisms, damage tolerance processes, and pathways
to check the quality of the DNA (called cell-cycle checkpoints) are members of this
sophisticated DDR. Animal models (including genetically engineered mice and
human skin xenografts) and cell lines have been widely used to investigate the key
role of the DDR mechanisms in UV-induced skin cancer.
4.2.2.2.1 Repair of Photoproducts in Human Cells
The main mechanism responsible for the elimination of thymine dimers is called
nucleotide excision repair (NER). This pathway involves three steps: (1) the recog-
nition of the lesion (actually, the recognition of the distortion generated in the DNA
structure by the lesion); (2) the removal of a small area of the damaged DNA strand;
and (3) the resynthesis of DNA over the deleted region using the undamaged strand
as a template (Spivak 2015). NER reduces the number of mutations, by removing
most of the UV-lesions before DNA duplication begins. In fact, failures in this
repair pathway generate xeroderma pigmentosum which is associated with an
increased (>1000 fold) cancer incidence for all types of skin cancers (Griffiths et al.
1998). NER has been studied for many years, and its functions and components are
known in detail.
4.2.2.2.2 DNA Damage Tolerance Pathway
Although NER is a very efficient mechanism, excessive DNA damage can cause a
saturation of this pathway initiating DNA duplication with unrepaired DNA lesions,
jeopardizing the DNA sequence’s accuracy and cell survival. When the DNA dupli-
cation machinery abuts a photoproduct, the continuity of DNA synthesis is chal-
lenged and, if not resolved, can induce cell death. To avoid this situation, cells
trigger DNA damage tolerance pathways. Translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) is an
alternative DNA replication pathway (Bertolin et al. 2015). TLS can use damaged
DNA as template to allow the progression of DNA duplication over the lesion. TLS
is not a repair mechanism, as the lesion is kept in the DNA molecule to be elimi-
nated later (Fig. 4.4). Polymerase eta, one of the principal proteins of TLS, can
recognize a thymine dimer and add the correct bases (two adenines), unblocking
DNA replication. When polymerase eta is absent, a set of alternative TLS polymer-
ases can recognize and bypass UV-lesions, but they do not respect the bases comple-
mentarity (i.e., these backup polymerases incorporate random nucleotides, lacking
base complementarity). As a result, the TLS process avoids cell death but can induce
mutations on the DNA; thus cell viability is preserved at the expense of increased
genomic instability (Bertolin et al. 2015). The relevance of polymerase eta after UV
radiation is evince in xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XPV) patients which do not
express this protein. XPV is an inherited genetic disorder characterized by extreme
Fig. 4.4 Translesion DNA synthesis (TLS). (a) DNA duplication machinery proceeds normally
when no lesions are presented on the molecule. (b) When DNA is damaged by UV rays, (1) the
machinery responsible for the duplication of this molecule cannot work properly across a thymine
dimer, and the system is halted. (2) To deal with this situation, cells activate an alternative pathway
called translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) that recognizes the lesion and continuous replication
across it. TLS induce mutations on the genetic material but allow cell survival after UV radiation.
(3) When TLS is not available, DNA duplication does not restart, DNA can be broken, and cell will
probably die
Fig. 4.5 Double-strand
break (DSB) created as a
consequence of a
UV-lesion. DSBs can arise
during DNA synthesis as a
consequence of the stalling
of the DNA duplication
machinery at a pyrimidine
dimer. These kinds of
lesions are extremely toxic
for the cell and can induce
cell death or genomic
instability
sensitivity to the sun and increased susceptibility to skin cancers than the general
population (Cruet-Hennequart et al. 2010).
DNA duplication after UV irradiation does not uniquely depend on TLS compo-
nents. Unrepaired UV-lesions can also induce double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the
DNA molecule (Fig. 4.5). DSBs are very lethal lesions for a cell as both DNA
strands are cut, and genetic material can be lost (Figueroa-González and
48 M. B. Federico
Pérez-Plasencia 2017). DSBs are not caused directly by UV rays (Yajima et al.
2009), but they have been reported, even after low doses of radiation (Federico et al.
2016). Studies on human cell cultures showed that DSBs after UV radiation are cre-
ated when the machinery responsible for the DNA replication abuts a photoproduct
(Federico et al. 2016). Supporting the appearance of DSBs, the levels of a protein
that are activated when DSBs are formed (the histone variant H2AX) increased in a
manner dependent on UV dose. H2AX plays an essential role in the recruitment and
accumulation of DNA repair proteins to sites of DSB damage (Fernandez-Capetillo
et al. 2003). Moreover, another marker of DSBs as the phosphorylation of ATM
kinase (pATM) showed a similar pattern. During DNA synthesis, DSBs are resolved
by an error-free mechanism (i.e., a mechanism that does not alter DNA sequence)
called homologous recombination repair (HRR). The protein FANCD2, member of
a DNA repair mechanism called Fanconi pathway, promotes HRR of UV-triggered
DSBs by recruiting Rad51 into the damaged site. When FANCD2 or Rad51 are
absent, HRR is not available, and an alternative and very mutagenic pathway takes
charge of DSBs resolution (Federico et al. 2016). This alternative pathway, called
non-homologous end joining, induces genomic instability by the elimination of
some DNA fragments, the addition of extra nucleotides to the sequence, and/or the
fusion of one DNA molecule with a second one.
Fanconi anemia patients (which have failure on the Fanconi pathway) present
several skin-associated defects including hypo-/hyperpigmentation and café au lait
spots (Federico et al. 2016). These characteristics evince a central role of the Fanconi
pathway on the DDR after UV radiation.
The DNA molecule can be degraded after prolonged DNA duplication stalling,
i.e., the nucleotides of the DNA sequence are separated from each other, and the
DNA molecule is shortened (Schlacher et al. 2011). This event has also been
described after UV radiation, and Rad51 has a central role in this process. Rad51
protects DNA from degradation and avoids excessive elongation of nascent DNA
after UV rays (Vallerga et al. 2015). This mechanism is an example of the complex-
ity of DNA synthesis regulation across UV damage. Thus, more research is required
to elucidate the complex network activated when DNA is damaged by UV rays.
4.2.2.2.3 DNA Damage Checkpoint
The cell cycle is the event through which a cell duplicates its genetic material and
all its components and divides into two identical daughter cells. In order to allow a
proper cell cycle progression, cells have developed “checkpoints.” In response to
DNA damage, the cells stop cycling by activating checkpoint machinery, thus allow-
ing DNA repair systems to correct replication errors. If the DNA errors are repaired,
checkpoint signals will disappear, and the cell cycle will be restarted. If the DNA
damage cannot be properly repaired, cell fate includes cell death or replication of
aberrant DNA into subsequent cell progeny (Wang et al. 2015). Therefore, the
checkpoint system is an essential cellular component guarding the integrity of
essential genetic information. The DNA damage checkpoint network contains
sensors, transducers, and effectors. The proteins ATR and ATM are the main trans-
ducer of DNA damage. ATR responds to a broad spectrum of DNA damage, includ-
ing DSBs and a variety of DNA lesions that interfere with replication. ATR is the
main transducer after UV radiation and Chk1 is its downstream transducer. Chk1 is
exclusively associated to the maintenance of active DNA synthesis after UV radia-
tion in a manner in which Chk1 release from DNA molecule prompts TLS to avoid
replication stalling (Speroni et al. 2012). On the other hand, ATM is primarily acti-
vated by DSBs being Chk2 and p53 its principal effectors. p53 gene is one of the
most frequently mutated gene in human tumors and especially in skin cancers like
SCC, BCC, and precancerous tissues. Convincing models for the initial steps of UV
carcinogenesis, especially for SCC, already exist, based on findings that p53 muta-
tions in NMSC are detected at higher frequency (50–90%) (Benjamin and
Ananthaswamy 2007).
4.2.3 M
arkers for Skin Cancer Diagnostic, Progression,
and Treatment
With rates of skin cancer rising in many parts of the world, SDG Target 3.4 “by
2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases
through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being” is
ever more salient. As it is known that early stages of skin cancer can be cured with
good prognosis, skin cancer can be treated by means of secondary prevention as
well as tertiary prevention, which already includes therapy and rehabilitation
(Greinert 2009). The more sensitive and accurate the diagnostics and treatments, the
better results can be observed.
Traditional epidemiology uses environmental and/or lifestyle factors as markers
to evaluate the risk of some diseases or the early detection of them. For skin cancer,
the duration of exposure to sun, intensity, frequency, age at exposure’s time, skin
type, and number of nevi are considered important factors to evaluate the potential
risk of disease development (Greinert 2009). But these methods are often biased by
subjective failures to remember exact time points of appearance of, for example,
preclinical symptoms of a disease, individual behavior in the environment, and
other individual components of lifestyle (Greinert 2009). While these factors have
been used for a long time and they are already quite specific, they lack the precision
to find biological plausibility as an important criterion to assigning causality
(Greinert 2009). Thus, these markers are not the ideal tools for increasing test’s
sensitivity and specificity on the early detection stages.
In order to design better diagnosis tests and treatments, it is extremely necessary
to use “more objective” markers. In 1998, the National Institute of Health Biomarkers
Definitions Working Group defined a biological marker or biomarker as “a charac-
teristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biologi-
cal processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic
intervention.” In the last 25 years, the epidemiology area has incorporated new tools
50 M. B. Federico
in order to improve the diagnostic, prognosis, and treatments available today for
many diseases. The use of molecular and cellular biology techniques in epidemio-
logic research has initiated a new field called molecular epidemiology. Molecular
epidemiology studies the biological events that connect an environmental carcino-
gen with the occurrence of cancer by using biomarkers. Biomarkers allow to assess
exposure, internal dosage, biological effective dosage, altered structure/function,
invasive cancer diagnosis, tumor metastasis and prognosis, as well as susceptibility
(Chen and Hunter 2005). Currently, there are poor biomarkers for skin cancer diag-
nostics, progression, prognosis, and metastasis, factors which are of main interest in
secondary prevention (Greinert 2009). Few biomarkers are available to follow pro-
gression of cancer in patient populations and/or to guide decision-making with
respect to dose and administration schedule (Kirsch 2015). Thus, one of the benefits
of deepening the knowledge on the molecular events that are activated during the
DDR after UV radiation is to find better biomarkers to improve diagnosis tests,
predicting tumor response to both radiation and chemotherapy, and to develop more
precise skin cancer treatments.
4.2.3.1 DNA Repair Proteins as Markers for Skin Cancer
As it was explained in Sect. 4.2.2.2, following induction of lesions on the DNA,

cells activate a DDR in order to detect the lesions and repair them to allow the nor-
mal progression of the cell cycle. Thus, the expression of proteins involved in the
DDR may change during progression of healthy cells to malignancy (cancerous
cells) turning them into excellent biomarkers for diagnostic or prognosis of patients.
Researchers from dermatological and oncological departments have joined forces to
set up novel and more accurate skin cancer biomarkers based on the DDR activated
after UV radiation.
H2AX, a protein activated after DSBs formation – see Sect. 4.2.2.2 – has been
evaluated as possible biomarker. Whereas normal human melanocytes (skin cells
which produce the protective skin-darkening pigment melanin) displayed low-level
expression of activated H2AX (γH2AX), melanoma cell lines showed significantly
increased levels of this marker (Warters et al. 2005). Automated quantitative analy-
sis (AQUA) and Tissue Studio are commercial technologies that use digitized
immunofluorescence microscopy images to quantify protein expression in defined
tissue compartments. In a work published in 2014, these algorithms were used to
quantify H2AX activation in several cells and tissues from the skin. After standard-
izing the system with normal human fibroblast cells, 40 melanoma cells lines and 22
metastatic melanoma tissues were analyzed. This software showed a high intensity
of γH2AX on melanoma cells. AQUA also revealed high γH2AX expression in
metastatic melanoma samples similar to that seen for the melanoma cell lines,
whereas the normal surrounding tissue had significantly lower γH2AX levels
(Nikolaishvilli-Feinberg et al. 2013). Another work reported positive γH2AX and
Chk2 stain for dysplastic nevi and positive γH2AX stain for melanomas, whereas
the surrounding normal skin did not (Gorgoulis et al. 2005). Thus, it is possible that
this kind of analysis may be useful in discerning the stages of tumor progression
based on H2AX activation levels.
Another key component of the DDR that has been evaluated in the context of skin
cancer is the protein ATM, which becomes activated (pATM) upon contact with UV
radiation. The pATM expression patterns were evaluated in cultured keratinocytes,
skin explants, and a spectrum of premalignant to malignant keratinocyte skin lesions.
pATM was observed in the nucleus of a normal skin cell, 30 min after UV radiation,
and it returned to its basal localization after 2 h. On the other hand, pATM expres-
sion in precancerous keratinocyte lesions was greater when compared to the invasive
lesions where pATM was weaker (Ismail et al. 2011). These results showed a more
active DDR in the first stages of this type of cancer, which are consistent with the
hypothesis that the DDR acts as a barrier to cutaneous tumor formation. In fact, early
precursor lesions expressed markers of an activated DDR in several types of tumor,
with a diminishing response in more advanced cancers. This highlights the impor-
tance of detecting and quantifying DNA damage (Figueroa-González and Pérez-
Plasencia 2017). Although these experiments are very promising, there remain many
unanswered questions to be addressed in future studies. Beyond the DDR proteins
mentioned above, other markers involved in several cell metabolic pathways have
been characterized as biomarkers for skin cancer. The utility of all these proteins as
biomarkers needs to be validated in future clinical trials, and more research is needed
in order to introduce them in intervention programs of secondary prevention.
Skin cancer incidence is increasing. The WHO reports between 2 and 3 million non-
melanoma skin cancers and 132,000 melanoma skin cancers globally each year;
1 in every 3 cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer. According to Skin Cancer Foundation
Statistics, one in every five US citizens will develop skin cancer in their lifetime,
and more people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the United States than
all other cancers combined.
Several factors are responsible for skin cancer incidence, and some of them are
more easily treated than others. Primary prevention is not always sufficiently effec-
tive. Without adequate widespread, comprehensive implementation and primary
prevention strategies may have little effect on attitudes toward sun protection and
sunburn prevention at the community level. Social and contextual factors within
communities can also create barriers to reducing UV exposure. Moreover, better
politics to reduce the risk of skin cancer among outdoor workers is needed.
Fortunately, after WHO’s designation of indoor tanning devices as Class 1 human
carcinogens (the highest-risk level), several countries have banned indoor tanning,
specifically, Brazil and Australia. In addition, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany,
Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Finland, and
Norway prohibit indoor tanning for youth younger than 18 years old (Mitchell 2018;
“From Australia to Brazil: sun worshippers beware” 2009; Stark 2009). Although
52 M. B. Federico
important strides have been made in skin cancer prevention across several countries,
they have not been sufficient to curb the rising rates of skin cancer incidence.
The increase in harmful UV rays as a consequence of ozone hole expansion is
another key factor responsible for the rise of skin cancer incidence. Numerous
actions have therefore been taken in order to diminish this ozone depletion in the
stratosphere. While the application of the Montreal Protocol has allowed the ozone
hole to reduce and remain stable, no clear data is available regarding a reduction on
the levels of UV rays reaching the Earth’s surface. Moreover, the total reduction of
the ozone hole is expected to happen slowly due to the long half-life of ozone
depleting molecules. The WHO estimates that a 10% decrease in ozone levels will
result in additional 300,000 non-melanoma and 4500 melanoma skin cancer cases.
Beyond the serious consequences for life, skin cancer also represents a huge
problem for public health. It is clear that management of skin cancer exerts a sizable
burden on health systems. Economists in Europe believe that the current growth in
healthcare spending is not sustainable (Gordon and Rowell 2015). Skin cancer pre-
vention programs require exorbitant amounts of money, while diagnostics and treat-
ments are also expensive. In most studies, doctor visits, biopsies, surgical excisions,
therapies, and hospital stays are the major direct treatment costs related to skin
cancers. Although the costs of squamous or basal cell carcinomas per lesion are not
high, the high numbers of cancers being treated produce high aggregate costs
(Gordon and Rowell 2015).
In order to reduce the number of patients reaching advance stages of cancer, and
therefore, reduce the number of fatalities, better diagnosis and prognosis tests are
required. Early detection and treatments can be improved by a better understanding
of the events activated after UV radiation reaches human cells. Particularly relevant
is the field of the DDR after UV radiation as it helps to gain better understanding
regarding the genetic regulation and/or dysregulation which leads to skin cancer.
Research on this field has helped in the development of new biomarkers which can
be identified by modern molecular genetic methods. Until recently these biomarkers
have not been thought to be involved in progression and metastasis of skin tumors
or to be used as prognostic markers (Greinert 2009). Although these new biomark-
ers predict future and successful tests, some points need to be evaluated in greater
detail. Future research should determine (1) all the lesions generated by UV on the
DNA molecule (e.g., pyrimidine dimers, DSBs, oxidative lesion) and characterize
their role as carcinogenic agents; (2) the different effects of UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C
on the DNA molecule, malignant transformation, and skin tumor development; and
(3) biomarkers of UV exposure on early effects of the skin cancer. Also, it is impor-
tant to keep in mind that successful implementation of these diagnostic/treatment
tools will depend not only on the basic research but also on the precision value of
the test, the cost, and speed of the assay.
Acknowledgments I would like to thank Dr. Vanesa Gottifredi, Head of the Cell Cycle and
Genomic Stability Laboratory at Leloir Institute, for being an excellent mentor and transmitting
me her knowledge about DNA damage response and UV radiation.
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Chapter 5
SDG 4 Quality Education
Governing Education for Sustainable
Development: Towards Inclusive and Equitable
Quality Education
Abstract This chapter provides a contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable

Development Goal 4, Quality Education (SDG 4), through analysing stakeholder
partnerships and collaboration for the implementation of Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD). It argues that a better understanding of limiting and fostering
factors preventing greater collaboration for ESD is required in order to meet the
targets set by SDG 4 which advocates for Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education.
This chapter provides a multilevel governance analysis (global, national and institu-
tional) on ESD and key stakeholders’ perceptions on limiting and fostering factors
in collaborative governance for ESD. This manuscript also increases our under-
standing of whether ESD policy developed at the international level can be imag-
ined at the national, institutional and local levels and highlights the factors involved
in collaboration for ESD. This hopefully helps us understand how to develop rheto-
ric that can advance from policy to impact. Conclusions drawn from these analyses
highlight key inconsistencies and gaps that resulted from incompatible perspectives
and motivations for realizing ESD at all levels of governance.
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
E. Derbyshire

58 I. B. Franco and E. Derbyshire
5.1 Introduction
Education lies at the heart of Sustainable Development (SD) and is the fundamental
medium through which Sustainable Development is imagined and implemented.
Although education impacts stakeholders at the global, regional, local and individ-
ual levels, it has proven to be the most difficult to legislate, ratify, implement and
manage. The challenge does not lie in the promotion and implementation of key
education sustainability strategies. The challenge lies in securing investment, inter-
est and motivation to implement ESD. This requires a better understanding of limit-
ing and fostering factors that prevent key stakeholders from collaborating towards
education for sustainable development. Following Healey (2006), Minnery (2007)
and Franco (2014), stakeholder networks involve both collaboration and conflict.
These two aspects impact the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives and therefore
the level of relevance and success of these initiatives. Therefore, this chapter raises
the question of stakeholder collaboration for Education for Sustainable Development
as a constituent component of collaborative governance (Minnery 2007; Franco
2014). Qualitative analysis of key policies and strategies for implementation and
complexities in collaboration processes highlight key gaps and inconsistencies in
imagining global policies at the regional and local levels. Thus, this chapter pro-
poses key changes for indicators that measure and monitor the implementation of
ESD at the regional level. It also addresses the key systemic and structural limita-
tions that prevent the SDG 4 targets from being implemented by key actors in a
multi-stakeholders collaboration scenario.
This chapter is structured as follows: The first section presents a literature review
of key ideas and perspectives on ESD since 2005. This is followed by a policy
review of ESD strategies at the global, regional, local and individual level. This sec-
tion also presents a timeline of evolving strategies developed to manage changes in
politics, society, environment and the economy. It also looks at the role of stake-
holders in actioning the SDG 4 targets with respect to ESD. The third section delves
into the key challenges that ESD has faced since 2005 and presents limiting and
fostering factors in multi-stakeholder collaboration for ESD. The chapter finishes
with recommendations for impact sustainability.
5.2 The Governance of ESD: A Review of the Literature
ESD is a fundamental entity which must be ingrained into the mentality of key
actors engaged in collaborative governance for ESD. Promoting greater participa-
tion in this field requires theoretical as well as practical frameworks that empower
key stakeholders engaged in collaboration for ESD. Theoretically, ESD presents
key interlinkages with pedagogical approaches to understanding and imparting ESD
practices and values. We see the interlinkage between institutional ethos and the-
matic interest with regard to implementing ESD initiatives. 2005 to 2014 was
5 SDG 4 Quality Education 59
dubbed by the United Nations as the decade of Education for Sustainable

Development. ESD literature analysed through the lens of the SDG 4 emphasizes
the importance of collaboration for effective implementation of ESD goals and poli-
cies. The overall goal of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
(DESD) was to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable develop-
ment into all aspects of education. This educational effort encourages changes in the
behaviour of stakeholders in order to create a more sustainable environmental integ-
rity, economic viability and just society for present and future generations.
UNESCO’s final DESD Report released in 2014 presents how approaches to
partnerships evolved during the DESD. Greater inclusivity and stakeholder diver-
sity underpinned UNESCO’s ESD strategy. This encouraged the participation of the
private sector, youth and media groups. To bridge the gap between policy and prac-
tice, UNESCO emphasizes the importance of a clear research agenda, reliable mon-
itoring and evaluation mechanisms and a strong multi-stakeholder dialogue. The
development of the UN Interagency Committee for DESD (IAC), the DESD
Reference Group and the Monitoring and Evaluation Expert Group (MEEG) were
all developed to foster continued engagement between stakeholders at the global
level (governing institutions, member states), the national level (NGOs, CSOs,
NFPs), the local level (indigenous groups, faith-based community organizations),
etc. (Buckler 2014, p. 172).
There are three broad gaps highlighted across the range of literature reviewed.
The first gap presented in the research is the definitional cohesion of ESD. This
review engaged with a series of definitions that presents key limitations for interdis-
ciplinary understanding of ESD, as well as effective implementation of ESD. The
UNESCO roadmap for implementing the Global Action Programme for ESD and
the SDGs provides an explicit definition outlining the key sectoral and temporal
expectations for SD. This normative standard provides a cohesive definition that in
turn could accelerate sustainable solutions at the local level in order to increase the
participation of ESD stakeholders at multiple levels. However, in order to strengthen
multi-stakeholder networks at the local level, it is necessary to improve the quality
of local platforms for learning and cooperation.
The second gap evident in literature is temporal expectations relating to short-
term and long-term ESD implementation strategies. Critical analysis of Franco
et al. (2018), Vaughter et al. (2015), Annan-Diab and Molinari (2017) and Borges
et al. (2017) presents key short-term outcomes of ESD implementation. In all arti-
cles, there was no succinct reflection on the key expectations for the outcomes of
these studies. The general nature of temporal expectations reflected in approaches
to ESD policy advancement and implementation provides a gap in knowledge for
predicting the viability of certain approaches to ESD.
This leads to the third gap which highlights the applicability of a normative
approach to a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. The majority of the studies
reviewed were undertaken in a western educational context. This presents a gap to
understanding the viability of capacity building schemas reflecting ESD principles
in higher education institutions (HEIs) in different cultural circumstances. This gap
was raised by Ryan et al. (2010) in their assessment of Sustainability of Higher
Education within the Asia and Pacific and Franco et al. (2018). The authors drew
attention to the cultural diversity inherent in different educational contexts in Asia
and the Pacific, whilst Franco et al. (2018) provided a global overview. Furthermore,
the studies were not only reflective of a gap in understanding the diversity in cultural
conceptions of ESD but also the impact of socio-economic conditions on capacity
building efforts for ESD (Ryan et al. 2010).
5.2.1 F
actors Compromising Collaborative Governance
for ESD
Literature shows that there are three key rising factors that affect collaboration for
ESD: the rise of technology, globalization and changing demands and rising socio-
economic inequality. This section will address how ESD strategies can remain agile
to the demands of these rising phenomena. The discussion section will present addi-
tional limiting and fostering factors identified by participants engaged in ESD
Networks globally.
5.2.1.1 Technology
The rise of technology in education presents key transformations in methodology,

partnerships and demands for investors and knowledge sets. There are two sides to
increasing technology advancement which impacts ESD. Firstly are new techno-
logical innovations. These new jobs will require a broader set of skills than those we
are currently teaching in our classrooms. Technology is also changing the way we
engage with content. With the advent of big data and predictive analytics, informa-
tion is accessible—and more personalized to our needs and interests. Secondly is
the use of technology to increase educational access. Global access to education is
a major caveat to ESD implementation. However, technology has aided in increased
access to education. For example, through key organizational partnerships with
local businesses and school, the non-for-profit ‘Pencils of Promise’ has provided
access to education to more than 220, 000 children (Wittles 2015). This presents an
opportunity for governing bodies, private institutions and businesses to collaborate
at the global, regional and local levels to provide greater access to ESD.
5.2.1.2 Globalization and Changing Demands
Globalization and technological innovation have transformed the required skill sets
to succeed in today’s world of work. Extended retirement ages and career lifespans
have a great impact on how employers approach skill development in the workplace,
more specifically, with 8.5% of people worldwide (617 million) aged 65 and over. A
percentage is projected to jump to nearly 17% of the world’s population by 2050
(1.6 billion) (World Bank 2017). As the population ages, career lifespans are increas-
ing as well. Amongst global workers today, 72% plan to keep working after retire-
ment, and 58% expect to enter a new line of work to have more flexibility. Thus, the
ageing population needs continuous learning and reskilling opportunities which
technology can provide. Millennials will comprise more than one of three adult
Americans by 2020 and 75% of the workforce by 2025. This presents key challenges
for employers to manage demands for employment. Furthermore, it also increases
the standards of employers for skill sets that are agile to the changing world of work
(UN DESA 2017). Managing demands at both ends requires continued engagement
and dialogue by public and private sector actors with the working population. Due
to the challenges of accelerating environmental change, resource scarcity, increasing
inequality and injustice as well as rapid technological change, greater challenges
and opportunities for access and means of education are developing.
5.2.1.3 Rising Socio-economic Inequality
Intercountry inequality remains a persistent issue. There is a gap of 32 percentage

points between children completing primary school in low- versus high-income
countries and 52 percentage points for secondary school. Furthermore, increasing
environmental degradation and political volatility and conflict have escalated levels
of resource scarcity and human displacement. This not only impedes access to edu-
cation and basic resources but also exacerbates existing inequalities for women and
girls. As indicated by the World Bank, education gaps for women and girls directly
affect economic growth (Lusk-Stoven and Woden 2017). Thus, the interlinkage of
economic and education policies and strategies is impaired by the lack of access to
education by girls and women at the global level. Rising socio-economic inequali-
ties exacerbate pre-existing conceptions of gender roles that impede the realization
of ESD targets.
5.3 Methodology
This study utilized a qualitative strategy, involving a variety of qualitative methods

and techniques, in order to reduce methodological limitations (Singleton and Straits
2010). Triangulation was adopted to increase the reliability of the data collected
(Yin 2009). Specific techniques employed in this study include surveys, individual
interviews, literature review, focus groups, field observations and policy analysis.
The research primarily emerged through literature and policy reviews. An analysis
of secondary sources on ESD and governance for ESD was initially conducted.
Furthermore, policy analysis was also undertaken in this review and encompassed
policy reports from international organizations and sustainability policy statements
across participant higher education institutions and their stakeholders.
Researchers were also interested in reliable primary sources, particularly the per-
ceptions of various networks engaged in ESD in order to form a composite picture
of priority areas and governance for ESD gaps. Twenty-eight (28) ESD Networks
participated in a global survey translated into three languages, namely, English,
Spanish and Portuguese, to increase our understanding of the context of CSD in
non-English-speaking countries.
5.4 Discussion
This section provides a multilevel governance analysis (global, national and institu-
tional) on ESD and key stakeholders’ perceptions on limiting and fostering factors
in collaboration for ESD. It aims to better understand whether ESD policy devel-
oped at the global level can be imagined at the national, institutional and local levels
and highlights the factors involved in collaboration for ESD. Conclusions are drawn
from the literature and policy review and highlight key inconsistencies and gaps that
resulted from incompatible perspectives and motivations for realizing the SDG tar-
gets at all levels of governance. This section is also based upon research findings
from data collected through a global survey with stakeholder networks engaged in
ESD networks globally. This hopefully helps us understand how to develop rhetoric
that can advance from policy to impact.
5.4.1 Global Level of Governance
The interdisciplinarity of ESD implementation is the need to establish partnerships

with the broader community with institutional leaders promoting sustainability
plans and strategies. Furthermore, adherence to global agreements should play a
major factor in this advancement of policy. Stafford-Smith et al. highlight the inter-
disciplinarity of ESD implementation. Their research shows that key policy impera-
tives and limitations with sectorial and stakeholder diversity are evident in ESD
practice. Thus, as mentioned in our previous scholarship analysis, the UNESCO’s
roadmap, the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and now the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) provide a normative standard for policy advancement
and implementation. This normative standard provides a cohesive definition that in
turn aids in the acceleration of sustainable solutions at the local and community
levels in order to increase the participation of ESD stakeholders on multiple levels.
Stafford-Smith also suggested that in order to strengthen multi-stakeholder net-
works at the local level, it is necessary to improve the quality of local platforms for
learning and cooperation. This could aid in the integration of ESD programmes and
perspective into the planning and decision-making processes of the community.
Another issue found in the literature has to do with implementation of ESD proj-
ects. Findings show that the major challenge is to move forward with regard to policy
commitments and demonstrating projects to be fully implemented across the curricu-

lum, teaching and operations, whether in formal systems or in non-formal learning
and public awareness raising platforms. Globalization has implications for imple-
mentation and is argued to be a key factor in homogenizing approaches to education
that omit cultural and environmental identity. This highlights the challenge of global-
izing standards and implementation for education to address SDGs. Homogenizing
education through global policy agreements necessitates greater partnership and col-
laboration with actors at the regional and local levels. This also requires a better
understanding of limiting and fostering factors that prevent collaboration for
ESD. Another key gap in implementation has to do with the motivation and goals of
current governments to meet the targets and standards of ESD.
5.4.2 National Level of Governance
ESD has galvanized pedagogical innovation and education policy, including curri-
cula changes that now promote learning for sustainable development at the national
level. The national curriculum often serves as the most significant piece of educa-
tional policy and can provide the surest means to secure the implementation of
ESD. In many countries, the initial entry point of inclusion for ESD has been
National Plans for Sustainable Development. However, these mandates for ESD do
not always translate quickly into strong integration into educational policy. For
example, out of 70 reporting countries in the UNESCO survey, 66% indicated hav-
ing an ESD strategy or plan, and 50% identified the inclusion of ESD in relevant
policy; but when reporting on their major achievements during the decade, only 28
countries (40%) indicated actual integration of ESD into the curriculum or standard
teaching objectives as one of their achievements. Similarly, in a detailed review of
progress made on ESD in seven countries in Southeast and East Asia, only three
countries reported clear inclusion of ESD into recent curricular revisions even
though all countries had related policies including ESD. It is worth noting, though,
that due to the normal cycles and timing of policy and curricular revisions, it can
take several years before a country is able to achieve this type of change.
One of the obstacles to change has been the reluctance or the inability to inte-
grate social and environmental concerns into policymaking and practice. Politicians
have been slow to take up the challenge, both from lack of understanding and a
piecemeal approach to policy and from a lack of political will. Discussions in one
of the high-level groups during the UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation) ESD mid-decade Bonn Conference u nderlined
this issue when delegates identified politicians and policymakers as a key target for
ESD.
5.4.3 Institutional Level of Governance
As presented in the literature review, there are three key ideologies that underpin
education: Neo-classical, Liberal-Progressive and Socially Critical. These ideolo-
gies impact the methodology and strategy of public and private higher education
institutions (HEIs). There are two key areas of analysis for understanding ESD strat-
egy at the institutional level: access and investment. In order to understand if ESD
is being implemented, access is important. At the local level, this multi-stakeholder
analysis presents key points of disconnect amongst global, governmental and local
actors. This impairs the capacity building abilities of private institutions based on
the political and economic motivations of governments. Thus, with the hindered
interdependency of HEIs and organizations on government funding, there are tem-
poral limitations on the ease with which ESD can be implemented in the short term
in order to have more sustainable long-term outcomes. The interlinkage of educa-
tion and economic policies presents a key institutional challenge to establish a
framework that can sustainably foster ESD. This can be best managed and sustained
through greater partnerships. As presented in the section below, partnerships for
collaboration in ESD present a key opportunity to sustain strategies and means of
implementation, yet limiting and fostering factors in collaboration for ESD need to
be paid greater attention.
5.4.4 Stakeholder Networks Governing ESD
Evidence from the research indicates there are several aspects that have a substantial
impact on stakeholder networks and their interactions. These factors can either fos-
ter or limit collaboration for ESD. The principal limiting factors include but are not
limited to contextual factors, governance issues, lack of resources (both tangible
and intangible) and academic constrains. On the other hand, there are enabling or
fostering factors that have the potential to strengthen stakeholder networks and fos-
ter collaboration, such as knowledge and expertise, skills across stakeholder net-
works and research approaches and resources. These various factors are explained
further below.
5.4.4.1 Limiting Factors
Contextual dynamics have impacted on higher education institutions and their

stakeholders. Exacerbated by a long history of confrontation, some networks have
witnessed political violence in the contexts where they operate. This, unfortunately,
has influenced the ways they collaborate or do not collaborate with external stake-
holders. The ESD Network in Guatemala argues that the political context in which
they are immersed prevents them from actively engaging in sustainability initiatives
as they feel. This has not only aggravated the level of discontent in research loca-
tions but has also resulted in the destruction of potential opportunities to foster
impact sustainability research and education initiatives, since stakeholders reap
very little benefit from collaborative endeavours in these circumstances. According
to the ESD Networks in Nigeria and Mexico, these contextual factors have been
exacerbated due to ‘high level of illiteracy among the local population at the local
level’ preventing communities from becoming active participants in available sus-
tainability initiatives as well as a gender-biased culture ‘a genuine problem when
the primary researchers or project leaders are women’.
These limiting contextual factors have also been detrimental for the governance
environment and stakeholders’ interactions. Some participants in ESD Networks
from Germany, Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala describe the governance environ-
ment at HEIs as hierarchical, ‘closed’, ‘bureaucratic’ and charged by external mis-
conceptions about being very theoretical. In addition, other stakeholders agree there
is a lack of institutional support, as the government does not provide a favourable
environment for sustainability research and education. According to the ESD
Network in Brazil, ‘it is not a government priority and therefore there is lack of fund-
ing’. Yet, evidence indicates that both the role of the government and a collaborative
approach to sustainability neither provide an adequate development of sustainability
initiatives nor provide for broader interactions amongst networks. According to par-
ticipants from the ESD Networks in Brazil, Chile and Portugal, ‘individual interests’
and ‘competition between different actors’ have prevailed upon the ‘collaborative
capacity’ of stakeholder networks and their willingness to share. According to the
ESD Networks in the United States, Ecuador, Colombia and Nigeria, this has resulted
in increased workloads, difficulty in communicating and demonstrating the mutual
benefit (win-win) of sustainability initiatives, issues when establishing institutional
relationships and trust as well as unequal allocation of resources.
Stakeholder networks are active supporters of sustainability initiatives; however,
at times collaboration becomes difficult due to lack of resources: according to the
ESD Networks in Thailand and Indonesia, in some cases financial support is ‘uncon-
secutive’ or ‘unstable for longer time period’. Insufficient funding is becoming a
major issue in ESD Networks in Canada, Sweden and the United States. Limited
financial resources also compromise the expanding capacity of existing networks –
ESD Network in the United States adds. Likewise, ESD Network in Mexico argues
that dispersed funding and not funding at all are issues that have an impact on the
network itself. ESD Networks in the United States, India, Canada, Portugal and
Chile agree that lack of financial resources also compromises the availability of
other resources, such as time, information and institutional support.
Research approaches to sustainability science with a potential impact at the com-
munity level are two factors that require further attention. Regarding community
engagement, some participants acknowledge the fact that local communities find it
difficult to engage with the overall research process – at least this is the case of the
ESD Networks in Indonesia. This can be due to the fact that ‘researchers are in and
out, lacking in more permanence in the communities’, the ESD Network in Mexico
adds. In addition, ESD Networks in Nigeria, Uganda and Mexico agree that lack of
awareness of the potential impact of research projects at the community level as well
as the reproduction of traditional training and research away from community needs
exacerbates the problem. ESD Networks in Mexico, Japan, Greece and Italy agree
that further community engagement needs to be supported by interdisciplinary,
innovative and rigorous research designs with cohesive KPIs, aims and strategies.
5.4.4.2 Fostering Factors
There are various factors that can unleash the potential of stakeholder networks
globally. Participants reported on four main factors that can help stakeholders col-
laborate and engage more effectively, namely, knowledge and expertise, skills
across stakeholder networks and research approaches and resources.
Evidence from ESD Networks in Greece and Brazil indicate that stakeholder
networks have broad knowledge and expertise on sustainability and the sustainable
development goals (SDGs). According to ESD Network in Portugal and Uganda,
such knowledge is rooted on firsthand experience, projects connecting society and
the environment as well as climate change and social sustainability issues at the
local level. Research found that leveraging such knowledge and expertise across
networks can boost stakeholders’ impact on research and education for sustainable
development. ESD Networks from Nigeria, Sweden, Thailand, Germany, Ecuador
and India reported other fostering factors such as leadership, collaboration and
openness to collaborate, goodwill, negotiation skills and stakeholder’s diversity. A
successful case on ongoing stakeholder engagement and collaboration can be found
in the ESD Network in Mexico and its stakeholders:
…(the Department) … has more than 30 years working in conservation and natural resource
management projects, as well as in social development and particularly in the development
of environmental education projects. It is the Department that has the largest number of
collaboration agreements in the region with various institutions and has the coordination of
the ‘network’.
If allocated effectively, both skills and knowledge can foster impact research on
sustainability. According to participants, research is a factor that can also enable
existing collaborative initiatives towards sustainability. ESD Networks in Colombia,
Albania, the United States, Guatemala and Japan agree that research projects should
be participatory, community-focused, indigenous-orientated and context-based.
Regarding resources, only a few ESD Networks in developed locations, namely,
Italy and Sweden, have reported on availability of financial and physical resources.
Findings show that in some cases, ESD Networks in developed countries reported
better performance due to more effective allocation of resources compared to those
based in developing countries:
We have a large variety of groups, across sectors, that collaborate via many networks... 1)
We have hosted a variety of different events and collaborated with multiple partners, to
serve diverse audiences, across sectors, integrating the skills and resources of a variety of
partners, with numbers exceeding our targets. 2) Different working groups have offered
their time and expertise to plan and execute the events.
Whilst developing locations lack tangible resources, evidence from ESD

Networks in Indonesia and Nigeria indicate there is availability of human resources
with a strong interest in volunteering and becoming active participants in research
and education initiatives on sustainability, yet lack of resources, at times, prevents
them from further engaging in existing initiatives.
Education for Sustainable Development in general presents a history where equal

access, just implementation and high level of investment have proven difficult. This
section highlights some final remarks and recommendations on collaborative gover-
nance and collaboration for ESD. Education itself is complex, and ESD exacerbates
the definitional, political, financial and environmental caveats for action. This chapter
argued that partnerships and greater collaboration are imperative for realizing ESD
initiatives that aim to achieve the SDG 4 targets. Through a literature review, this
chapter analysed the key theoretical and pedagogical debates surrounding ESD and
provided an overview of current strategies at all levels of governance, namely, global,
regional and institutional levels. The chapter also identified stakeholders’ perceptions
on collaboration processes for sustainable development. This provided a deeper
understanding of the key challenges and opportunities that stakeholders face when
developing strategies agile enough to growing demands of a changing society. Thus,
one can see that Education for Sustainable Development requires not only a strong
dialogue to overcome definitional limitations but also necessitates greater collabora-
tion and stakeholder investment in order to overcome key barriers such as political
change, rapid economic growth, lack of infrastructure and a changing workforce.
Two key recommendations have emerged from this chapter. The first recommen-
dation calls for greater dialogue with local actors when developing and engaging in
ESD. More specifically, the transition from the global agreement to national policy
to stakeholder networks impact necessitates greater attention to merging normative
and holistic approaches to ESD practice and understanding at the local level. It is
advisable to take into account the limiting and fostering factors that compromise
collaboration for ESD: as per limiting factors, context, governance issues, lack of
resources (both tangible and intangible) and academic constrains, and fostering fac-
tors such as knowledge and expertise, skills across stakeholder networks and
research approaches and resources.
The second recommendation focuses on political affiliations and a better understand-
ing of ESD arrangements at all levels of governance and how they impact the culture of
ESD partnerships and collaborations for implementation. A key challenge highlighted
in this chapter is the inconsistency of understanding across a wide variety of sectors.
However, deeper knowledge about how culture impacts how different stakeholder net-
works view ESD, in general, would aid in a deeper understanding of the broader policy
environment for each network. This, in turn, can facilitate further dialogue with regard
to ESD implementation within different cultural contexts at different levels.
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Chapter 6
SDG 5 Gender Equality
Not Just a Women’s Issue: Sustainable
Leadership in Male Dominated
Industries – The Case of the Extractive Industry
Isabel B. Franco, Paulina Salinas Meruane, and Ellen Derbyshire
Abstract Male-dominated and gender-segregated fields, such as the extractive

industry, present key limitations for sustainable leadership opportunities and career
growth for women. By identifying these existing barriers and addressing necessary
actions to be taken, research findings show that success in this area largely depends
on the collaboration of multiple stakeholders, that is, governments, corporations,
higher education institutions and civil society organizations. This study will provide
a qualitative assessment of current leadership and organizational discourse in order
to build knowledge and understanding of the limiting factors and barriers that pre-
vent women from embarking on a sustainable leadership pathway in the early stages
of their career. These limiting factors are grouped into three categories, namely,
sociocultural, corporate and governance factors. Some specific challenges identified
by participants include maternal, family, cultural conceptions of gender roles and
norms as well as workplace diversity. These variables all contribute to a gender and
culturally normative ecosystem that present competitive barriers for career develop-
ment for women.
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
P. S. Meruane
School of Journalism, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
e-mail: psalinas@ucn.cl
E. Derbyshire

Keywords Leadership · SDG 5 gender equality · Higher education · Sustainable

development · Extractive industry · Career development
6.1 Introduction
Equal opportunities for greater engagement and participation in leadership roles are
not just the responsibilities of women. The limiting factors for engagement are
underpinned by a broader set of androcentric, sociocultural, governmental and orga-
nizational norms within male-dominated industries, such as extractives. Thus, the
responsibility lies in a collaborative effort between the private sector, government,
higher education institutions and civil society organizations to promote equal oppor-
tunities towards sustainable leadership of women in the extractive industry. Although
recent trends indicate an increase in participation of women in leadership roles in
male-dominated fields, these opportunities remain highly conditional and limited by
systemic conceptions of gender roles (Ibañez 2010; National Council of Innovation
and Competitiveness 2014; Council of Mining Competencies 2015; Navarro et al.
2016). The significance of this issue results from the challenges imposed on the
ability of women to gain leadership opportunities from training in higher education
through to their career transition. Issues such as lack of recognition, limited skill
development for career growth, educational barriers, work and life balance, recon-
ciliation of maternal responsibilities and career development are all underpinned by
a predominantly androcentric policy and government approaches, compromising
the achievement of the sustainable development goal 5, gender equality (hereinafter
SDG 5). Thus, a framework that promotes the interests and growth of men only
hinders opportunities for career development for women into leadership roles and
reduces industry productivity.
The persistence of these challenges is mainly due to lack of education at the cor-
porate level regarding ways of promoting sustainable leadership opportunities for
women. Research findings presented in this chapter show that the private sector and
its stakeholders require a nuanced understanding of existing challenges and oppor-
tunities to take actions that have a positive impact on women in male-dominated
industries. At the global level, the international community has developed compli-
ance mechanisms, international standards and regulations aimed to promote sustain-
able leadership of women in male-dominated fields. However, this is not only a
women’s issue as it requires multi-stakeholder collaboration. This chapter provides
a qualitative analysis of a series of interviews, focus groups, literature review and
policy analysis. The study presents key androcentric sociocultural, corporate and
governance factors that hinder the sustainable leadership of women in male-domi-
nated fields, such as the extractive industry. This analysis presents competing per-
spectives, presented in academic literature and policy discourse, to facilitate a
conversation on the value of a more inclusive approach to career development, work
dynamics and productivity for women in the extractive industry (Franco 2014).
6 SDG 5 Gender Equality 71
The sustainable leadership of women in the extractive industry has become a topic
of relevance, particularly in resource regions. However, despite the resource boom,
the challenges of a segregated industry have limited women’s options for accessing
leadership positions, at all levels, from the operational to the management levels.
There are several factors that limit the participation of women in contexts in which
leadership is perceived as more commonly a male activity (Bartel and Dutton 2001;
Eagly and Karau 2002). From their student life to their transition into the industry
and their rise within it, women face significant challenges. This has implications not
only for women but also the productivity of the industry, which will be implicated
by the lack of management strategies to address equality and sustainable leadership
for women in the workplace. The increase in costs associated with the rotation of
personnel, the time of the personnel dedicated to recruiting and training new work-
ers, the loss of knowledge and the social relations within the company are just some
of the factors that compromise the productivity of the industry due to a lack of
equality (ICMM 2003; IFC 2009, 2013).
There is a consensus in the literature that suggests the need for sustainable leader-
ship of women over time. However, to what extent the exercise of that leadership is
realized and the factors that limit the sustainable leadership of women are issues that
require greater attention (Swanson et al. 1996; Eagly and Carli 2007; Cardoso and
Marques 2008; Kark and Eagly 2010; Donoso et al. 2011; Ibarra et al. 2013; Hoobler
et al. 2016; Navarro et al. 2016; Terrill 2016; Meister et al. 2017). Swanson et al.
(1996) identified some hindering factors such as sexual discrimination, lack of confi-
dence, gender cultural roles, tensions between children and professional demands,
racial discrimination, difficulties in decision-making and lack of models or mentors,
among others. Cardoso and Marques (2008) add socio-economic, ethnic or racial and
gender factors. Donoso et al. (2011) in an investigation with Spanish university stu-
dents conclude that negative evaluation results in education processes are factors that
condition the professional career of women. The authors explain that women show
fear of evaluation due to criticism from others and the perception that they are for-
given less for mistakes, especially if they occupy a position of leadership and power.
Also, Navarro et al. (2016) highlight other challenges including motherhood, multiple
roles, gender stereotypes, promotion, working conditions, macho culture, job assign-
ments, harassment and disrespect, recruitment and selection, compensation and social
networking. The authors agree these factors constitute barriers to the incorporation of
professional women in the industry.
In the transition from student to professional, women seem to have problems
with adapting to the new environment. This is primarily related to the physiological
challenges imposed through a system that is inherently masculine (Bell and Sinclair
2016). In Chile, there are workers who have chosen to perform hysterectomies in
order to eliminate menstruation, and others have stopped breastfeeding and mini-
mized their visits to the bathroom during the workday, while others control and
masculinize their attitude, behaviours and emotions. These changes impose mater-
nal limitations, which impact the personal life of women. This aspect highlights a
distinct compromise that women consider to not be apparent in the male experience
in the extractive industry. Also, regarding the transition to motherhood, women lack
incentives to return to the company after having obtained maternity leave. This is
one of the factors that most heavily affects the sustainable leadership of women in
extractive industries, even in industrialized countries such as Australia. Women
after motherhood usually only return part-time or simply do not return at all (Terrill
2016).
Once adapted to the role of mothers, other factors emerge which influence their
leadership in the workplace. The reconciliation of work and family life is a key
struggle for women, which is deeply associated with the guilt and anguish of being
away from home and unable to exercise care for their children. According to Salinas
and Al Dajani, the greatest sacrifice for women is to get away from their families
and not be able to attend proxy meetings or school events and not being present on
important dates such as birthdays or anniversaries. This emotional pressure is exac-
erbated by work pressure and discrimination in the workplace. All these factors that
impact from the university life of women to positions of leadership in the industry
are not currently given proper consideration and therefore have a significant impact
outside and within the industry.
6.3 Methodology
The social reality of women in leadership within the extractive industry remains
volatile and organizationally subjective. Based on a qualitative methodology, this
chapter presents key discourse analysis of perceptions of female leadership at the
university, professional and sectoral levels. The research presented in this chapter
compares the perceptions of women students, professionals and relevant stakehold-
ers in the extractive industry in Chile and Colombia (Salinas and Cárdenas 2009;
Denzin and Lincoln 2012). The research design is descriptive for comparative pur-
poses between the two countries in Latin America.
The study conducted at the university level revealed that there are a series of fac-
tors that compromise women’s leadership at the organizational level. The women
interviewed noted that the dominance of masculine interests appeared early in the
classroom setting and remained evident in the workforce. This is more predominant
in the interrelationships between students and educators and employers and employ-
ees. Primarily, this was apparent through negative reinforcements and comments
made by supervisors, which increased the difficulty of carrying out their professional
practices and projects, among others (Salinas and Romaní 2017). Therefore, the focus
of this article lies in the perceptions of female students, professionals and other rele-
vant actors in the extractive industry. The challenges that women face and the assets
that they require in order to develop sustained leadership skills and career develop-
ment opportunities are also presented in this chapter. As a result, this study will iden-
tify key strategies and recommendations to overcome existing barriers, which prevent
women from engaging in a sustainable leadership path and achieve SDG 5.
6.3.1 Case Study Analysis
This study was conducted in Latin America, with a special focus on Chile and
Colombia. However, research findings can be applied to other locations in Latin
America and elsewhere. Chile, a nation with large copper reserves in the south cen-
tral region of the country, evidenced the advent of virtuous mining, which required
human talent for the long-term sustainability of operations, with women playing the
protagonists key to ensuring the success of mining projects in the long run. However,
the country is still experiencing challenges in regard to the participation and leader-
ship of women in the industry. Evidence shows that the 1996 decree banning the
entry of women to large copper deposits was repealed. Despite indications of prog-
ress in this area, it is evident that the issue of female leadership in a segregated
industry such as the extractive industry is premature (National Council of Innovation
and Competitiveness 2014). According to available information, the participation of
women is 23% in disciplines relevant to the mining industry, namely, industrial civil
engineering, civil metallurgy, civil mining, geology, civil engineering and construc-
tion prevention risk. This proportion drastically decreases in technical careers in
which women only reach 4.3% of enrolment (Higher Education Information Service
(SIES)) 2014). Research in the Colombian case, for example, shows alarming fig-
ures: the program with least enrolment by women is mechanical engineering (9%),
followed by electrical engineering (10%), electronics and telecommunications
(14%) and systems and telematics (26%) (Ministry of Education of Colombia n.d.).
Regarding employment in the Chilean case, evidence shows that women’s par-
ticipation in the workforce in the extractive industry represents 89% women super-
visors vs 69% men; 73% of women maintainers vs 49% of men; and 57% of women
operators vs 17% of men (Ramos 2017). Some initiatives implemented by the gov-
ernment to foster women’s participation are as follows: Chilean Standard
NCh3262-2012 that issues the “System of Gender Equality and Reconciliation of
Work, Family and Personal Life” (CODELCO 2017), the program “Good Labour
Practices with Gender Equality”, and “Equal Seal”, which seeks to install good
work practices in organizations, improving the incorporation of women in the
industry as well as fostering their career development (SERNAM 2015). Likewise,
the “Labour Reform” incorporates some clauses with a gender perspective and
encourages unions to modify their regulatory frameworks to guarantee the inclusion
of women in their boards (SERNAM 2017). In the Colombian case, women repre-
sent only 14.9% in the extractive industry, including small, medium and large min-
ing (ECLAC 2017). The National System for Human Capital Development provides
a general policy that aims to foster human talent for the industry and provides guide-
lines for the participation of women (Franco 2014).
6.3.2 Data Collection
For the purposes of data collection, 27 open interviews were conducted. Additionally,
two focus groups including women and key stakeholders in the extractive industry
in Colombia and Chile were also analysed. Focus groups addressed topics such as
challenges and opportunities for the participation of women in the extractive indus-
try, from higher education to employment. Interviews were conducted between May
and October 2016. The focus groups were conducted in Colombia and Chile, in the
first semester of 2017, while the data analysis and development of the manuscript
was carried out in the second semester of 2017 and the beginning of 2018.
6.3.3 Data Analysis
Discourse analysis enabled data analysis. This methodological technique was con-
ducted through a detailed reading line by line of each of the interviews. Subsequently,
a simplified version coding grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin 2002; Trinidad
et al. 2006) facilitated the development of categorical discussion either open or lat-
eral. This bi-level analysis established several key categories, which added a greater
depth of analysis to the discourse by paying specific attention to both the superficial-
structural aspects and those with the deepest roots, even hidden from the subjects
(Santander 2011). The findings are presented in conjunction with relevant literature
and field observations.
6.4 Discussion
For purposes of this study, the factors that compromise sustainable leadership of
women are a set of challenges that hinder their development at both the university
level and at the labour markets (Swanson et al. 1996; Cardoso and Marques 2008;
Donoso et al. 2011). These challenges are understood as “events or conditions,
either within the person or in their environment that hinder the progress of the
race” (Swanson and Woitke 1997: 446), that is, it is a wide range of obstacles that
interfere in the professional development of a person. In the analysis of the
research results, three types of factors were identified, namely, sociocultural, cor-
porate and governmental. Also, within these three categories, we identified eight
specific factors and possible actions to counteract the adverse effects of these bar-
riers on women and that prevent leadership at the university and the workplace:
gender equality, gender diversity, sexual discrimination, lack of trust, maternity,
working conditions, macho culture and the reconciliation of one’s personal and
professional life.
6.4.1 Sociocultural Factors
Evidence of symptoms of stress and discrimination are all changes experienced by

women due to the difficulties in adapting during higher education and making work
and family compatible. Women are asked to adapt to the industry without mourn.
The demands of a predominantly male industry have exacerbated the lack of trust
and given rise to a macho culture, both of which were identified in this study as the
most predominant sociocultural barriers. Participants in focus groups also expressed
possible actions to mitigate the adverse impact of the previously identified factors.
6.4.2 Lack of Trust
Regarding lack of trust, there were coincidences between the speeches of men and
women. Both affirm that it is a trait that is expressed in different ways since entry into
higher education, making it difficult for students to enter and stay in the industry.
Some of the discursive categories found are as follows: “they are more fragile”, “they
are afraid of the work environment”, “they are more introverted”, “they tend to keep
quiet”, “they are insecure because of their personality” and “they have less capacity to
hold back emotionally”. These factors exacerbate the perception of their male peers
who perceive them as unbelievable actors in their profession (Bartel and Dutton 2001).
… in critical thinking exercises they tend to remain silent... they are more introverted, ….
men are more critical... it seems to me. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
There is still fear among women. (Participants, group interview, Colombia)
... there is a generalised thought that women are not ready to enter this world, because they
are very fragile... men tend to think that women have less capacity to think and much less
ability to hold back emotionally when there is a crisis or an emergency. These are the big-
gest barriers that need to be overcome. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
6.4.3 The Macho Culture
The macho culture is expressed in the discourses in a transversal way; interviewed

women highlight the practices that exacerbate this cultural barrier in the classrooms:
“classmates make fun of women’s questions”; “men think women have less ability
to think.” “The boys have to accept women and leave the macho attitude”. On the
other hand, men’s speeches focus on the reactions of male students, with a certain
complacency, although they also highlight the strength of the traditionally male
culture, which is accentuated in the industry. Likewise, men and women agree on
the impact of the macho culture and the insufficient number of women to transform
the sector: “masculine vision predominates in the industry”, “the macho culture is
very predominant”, “the female incorporation in the industry responds more to

political favours than to a true intention of the companies to insert them in the work-
force” and “everything that has been done so far is insufficient”, they say. Some of
these sociocultural aspects had already been documented by Swanson et al. (1996):
The policies of the industry respond to a macho culture ... women are hired due to political
favours and not by market demand. (Participant, group interview, Colombia)
... there are more political favours than other things. Because we have seen how (the com-
pany) needs to meet certain goals, then they say “we need to have more women managers,
or super-women or women in the operation.” It is not like an internal issue for the company,
at least here in Chile. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
6.4.4 Corporate Factors
The factors that compromise the achievement of SDG 5 have an effect on women
and on the overall corporate productivity. Research findings show that the govern-
ment does not recognize the value of female labour, which prevents them from
applying to executive positions. Corporations do not adequately reward women’s
organizational skills, multitasking and commitment to the community. Corporate
factors have been identified as mainly paradigm problems of equality, diversity and
sexual discrimination. Participants in focus groups also expressed possible actions
tending to mitigate the adverse impact of these factors.
6.4.5 Gender Equality
The participants agree that the training should be the same for male and female
students. This factor is considered as a homogeneous strategy, where the students
must adapt to the “Male Mining Worker” model. The limitations that women experi-
ence not only have an impact on their behaviour but also on their physical identity
(Bell and Sinclair 2016). In this regard they specify: “training should be conducted
without gender distinction”, “mining deals equally with men and women”, “as a
policy, the treatment is the same in the race”, “care is taken not to make distinc-
tions”, “ the woman have to adapt to a system made for men “,“ she must adapt to
the mining world” and “ she must show that she possesses the same capabilities as
the man”. They even emphasize that no differences should be made, since discrimi-
natory. However, discourse analysis in the Colombian case showed that the
“machista” culture is equally responsible for creating key paradigms within percep-
tions of gender in universities and workplaces.
We guide ourselves through the curriculum, so we do not see if they are men or women,
they are a professional future, we must teach them in the same way, we explain the same to
them, what they will do, what they should do, as they should do. (Participant, individual
interview, Chile).
We are in a macho culture ... there is a long way to go. (Participants, group interview,
Colombia)
Look at the training is really for everyone, there are no branches just for women nothing,
everything is even, the training is the same, the idea is to come out of here with the same
tools and enter into equal conditions and the one that remains in the place where they work
is by their own merit. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
6.4.6 Gender Diversity
While in the Colombian case, the participants argue that the problem of gender
diversity is an issue of supply, given the scarcity of jobs for women in the sector, in
Chile there is diversity discursive in relation to this topic. The interviewees admit
that students should be foreseen in the development of personal and social skills.
Therefore, they must “strengthen their personality”, “acquire psychological and
personal skills”and “implement leadership subjects”. It is also required that they
“develop the attitude”, “the will”, “develop soft skills”, “a psychological work is
needed”, “the university should give skills to women”, “there should be a subject
that promotes the entry of women into mining” and “women must have tolerance to
frustration”, among others.
In the case of the students of the last years we try to make several soft skills talks, personal
skills so that they can perform better in any type of situation and put them in different situ-
ations, including how to negotiate salaries [...] We here give you the tools and we hope they
take advantage of all their theoretical domain and make it work [...]. (Participant, individual
interview, Chile).
Job offers for female profiles are scarce in the sector. (Participants, group interview,
Colombia).
….I remember that there was a course that helped students develop these characteristics
(soft skills). I think those are the characteristics that women have to develop. (Participant,
individual interview, Chile)
The female students made a discursive turn and questioned adaptation as a mech-
anism for the inclusion of women in the field, emphasizing gender diversity and
highlighting the particularities that women contribute to the industry: “on the con-
trary, it is men who must learn”, “they are much more careful” and “they are much
more productive”.
Instead of women adapting to language or customs, we have to bring men to the customs
and language that women have. Make them more sensitive, more understanding, more deli-
cate, so that they can empathize. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
Women are very detailed and that is what they value. In some more advanced cultures it has
been determined that women are more productive, because in some way we have much
more responsibility, we are more committed, we have the ability to analyse things in a more
different, then that adds value to the business. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
6.4.7 Sexual Discrimination
In terms of sexual discrimination, the discourses of men show a structural argument;

where this factor is adduced to systemic causes, some of the discursive categories
require: “there are few women in careers”, “women are unaware of their rights”, “
there is no will to hire women” and “there is a lack of women specialists”. Eagly and
Carli (2007) document some of these limitations and argue that one of the most obvi-
ous barriers is the fact that men expect their leaders to be women. However, in the
case of the women interviewed, predominantly critical discourses point to the pre-
vailing ideology of gender discrimination in both higher education and the work-
place. These discursive categories reflect the disadvantages faced by students and
professionals, through conditions of entry to the races, the female imagination and
occupational segregation of industry, among others. Among the discursive catego-
ries that exemplify this factor are “there are gender barriers”, “there is a detriment in
the representation of women”, “they are always offered less remuneration” and “they
think they are not ready to enter this world (extractive industry) “, among others.
There should be a way to break the paradigm and change the mentality between men and
women. (Participants, group interview, Colombia)
... there is no real intention to incorporate them strongly, if they do not ask for it. (Participant,
individual interview, Chile)
6.4.8 Governance Factors
The research findings show that the policy actions are key topics that concern most
of the participants. In terms of government relations, the research findings indicate
that the lack of collaboration between different stakeholders, government, business,
universities and civil society prevents the sustainable leadership of women in the
industry. Also, the absence of a strong government role has become unclear within
policies on gender such as a balance of family and work, policies for maternity and
child care, lack of new technologies and adequate infrastructure so that women can
hold positions that are currently considered to be masculine. The main governance
factors identified by the participants are working conditions, maternity leave, recon-
ciliation and multiple roles.
6.4.9 The Working Conditions
The working conditions are related to the currently inadequate infrastructure of

companies to successfully facilitate women incorporation in the workplace. The
working conditions are related to the currently inadequate infrastructure of
companies to successfully facilitate women incorporation in the workplace. But

also to the greater opportunities for men to occupy positions in the companies, given
that they have extra working time, allowing them to more easily meet the require-
ments of the head offices. An issue that for women is more restrictive, especially in
the case of having small children (Navarro et al. 2016). The interviewees expressed
this factor in: “there are no toilets, changing rooms, equipment problems”. The
women went further, stressing that in mining “everything is made for men: the
structure, the hierarchical base, equipment, bathrooms, etc.” and “the positions are
held by men”, among others.
Older men have that prejudice with us [...] they are used to working with men, (they say)
“stay beyond the shift because I need you” and there they stay because they have no prob-
lems, they know they have their women in the houses that are going to be taking care of the
son and they do not make problems, but in the case of the women if they say “Hey, stay”
one has already organized his schedule [...], then if they occupy more of my time to one they
complicate it, then under that point of view they say: “She does not serve me because she is
super squared in her schedule”. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
There is also a lack of investment in technology to expand the participation of women in

operational work. (Participant, group interview, Colombia)
6.4.10 Maternity
Motherhood was transversely identified by respondents. Men and women agree that
it is an obstacle that is clearly described by its impact on employment screening of
students and professionals in the field (Navarro et al. 2016): “Motherhood is the
hardest thing”, “they see their maternity as a factor that compromises their careers”,
“it is a barrier to growth at work” and “you have the vision that a woman who works
does not have to have children”.
... the problem is motherhood, several of them have compromised their careers in a certain
way… this should not be the case …. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
Public policies are discriminatory. (Participants, group interview, Colombia)
And in general they try to avoid hiring women because of the pregnancy issue, it is one of
the biggest problems we have with our female member… the issue of motherhood.
(Participant, individual interview, Chile)
6.4.11 Multiple Roles
Finally, “multiple roles” is a factor closely related to motherhood. This factor is

emphasized in the wide range of tasks that are assigned to women, highlighting the
poor compatibility between caring for children and the shift work system. This also
has to do with the variety of problems that students face: “sometimes family and
economic problems are bigger than academic issues”.
Working with women gets a little complicated… working at very long distances from the
city, the house or in the shift system often does not make them compatible when they have
children. (Participant, individual interview, Chile)
Women have skills that are valued in the industry, such as organization and multi-task.
(Participants, Gupal, Colombia)
Although the eight factors identified by the participants that compromise the sus-
tainable leadership of women in the extractive industry are clearly prevalent, they are
diverse in nature. The discursive categories analysed in each one of them show that
there are more challenges than opportunities for women to experience fair and sus-
tainable leadership in a highly segregated sectors, such as the extractive industry.
The challenges that women face in the extractive industry are determined by both
internal and external factors, namely, sociocultural, corporate and governmental.
The results show that this series of factors has a significant impact on the physical
and emotional health of women, students and professionals, also compromising the
productivity of companies and revealing the absence of governance frameworks to
effectively promote the sustainable leadership of women within the industry.
Evidence of symptoms of stress, discrimination, feelings of guilt and changes in
their feminine identity are all changes experienced by women due to the difficulties
in making family life compatible with work and when facing an environment domi-
nated by a masculine hegemony. Actions working towards the empowerment of
women who face key barriers due to their own sense of self-discrimination should
be included in corporate agendas. This needs to be mixed with public campaigns to
promote self-confidence, support networks and forums of dialogue between men
and women to create empathy and eliminate feelings of guilt, fear, inferiority and
stereotypes that dominate the perception of their role in society. These limitations
imposed by women, themselves and society indicate the sociocultural adversity
faced by women in regard to sustainable leadership.
Businesses also face losses in productivity due to high turnover rates as a result
of poor management of human capital. They also face potential fines for non-
compliance with labour standards, as well as the deterioration of community
relations. Through their corporate social responsibility agendas and strategies for
sustainability, companies are able to transform. This, in collaboration with govern-
ment, works to develop more holistic approaches that apply a sustainable lens
towards education throughout childhood and higher education institutions. This will
result in the installation of a sustainability mindset becoming naturalized within
society. The strategies of sustainability should be more inclusive and accessible for
the promotion of initiatives by civil society for sustainable leadership opportunities

for women and the achievement of SDG 5.
Other actions which companies can execute to counteract these obstacles are,
among others, the design and compliance of corporate policies that allow women to
apply for executive positions with more attractive salaries in which their academic
and professional skills are properly recognized and promoted. Such skills include
but not limit to multitasking, demonstrating a high level of commitment to the com-
pany and communities where the industry operates which according to the research
findings, in many cases, is usually greater than that of their male colleagues.
Regarding factors of governance, in spite of the principles and policies devel-
oped by international organizations to counter the adverse industry standards for
balance between family and professional life of women, the study showed that these
provisions have not been holistically incorporated in businesses or in government
policies. Both case studies addressed the political climate of sustainability gover-
nance, as well as current mechanisms for compliance established by the government
and used in industry. The study showed that a strong government presence in the
coordination with the company and higher education institutions is one of the key
requirements for institutional commitment which will be reflected in corporate poli-
cies and dialogue processes at all levels of governance: local, national and interna-
tional. The institutional commitment from different levels of governance
demonstrates the potential to create change, agreements, incentives and more inclu-
sive evaluation measures to develop indicators for flexible and non-sexist working
opportunities, as well as increased access to shifts that promote work-life balance
policies throughout maternity and child care. Furthermore, policies that contest
harassment and educational programs to break the paradigm of male providers and
female housewives are also required. Finally, policies for the inclusion of new tech-
nologies and infrastructure improvements such that women can perform tradition-
ally masculine positions and regulations to promote the selection of women through
merit and not solely through a political process would also be highly beneficial.
It is thus necessary to highlight it is not just a women’s issue but stakeholders’
responsibility, namely, business, government and civil society, to foster women’s
sustainable leadership and contribute to the achievement of SDG 5 in the extractive
industry. Therefore, the institutional commitment of all stakeholders is key to real-
izing the possibility for women to exercise gender equality.
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Chapter 7
SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
Sustainable Use of Energy and Water Resources
in the Mining Sector: A Comparative Case Study
of Open-Pit and Alluvial Mining Technology
Natalia A. Cano Londoño, Jessi Osorio Velasco, Felipe Castañeda García,

and Isabel B. Franco
Abstract Environmental impacts associated with the use of water and energy
resources are among the most significant problems for the mining industry, requiring
the implementation of new solutions in line with Sustainable Development Goal
6 – Clean Water and Sanitation. Currently, the challenge is converting mineral
wealth into development opportunities while responding to the needs of future
generations. This is specifically regarding the investment of nonrenewable resources
in the implementation of strategies to promote the efficient use of both renewable
and nonrenewable energy sources. This chapter aims to evaluate the cradle-to-gate
consumption of renewable (water) and nonrenewable energy sources in both open-
pit and alluvial mining systems. Additionally, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been
performed to both estimate and analyze their impact on water resources. This is
extended by the presentation of opposing reductive strategies including the
optimization of process efficiency and use of circular economies. This research is
significant within the Colombian context as water usage is often a determining
factor in the attainment of key environmental and social licenses. Furthermore, the
N. A. Cano Londoño (*) · J. O. Velasco

School of Mines, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
e-mail: nacanol@unal.edu.co; jeosoriove@unal.edu.co
F. C. García
Grupo Mineros, Medellin, Colombia
e-mail: luis.castaneda@mineros.com.co
I. B. Franco
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia

86 N. A. Cano Londoño et al.
results of this investigation clearly show how water usage and the magnitude of its
related impacts differ between opposing forms of extraction.
Keywords SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation · Sustainability · Water use ·

Energy use · Efficiency · Gold mining
7.1 Introduction
Despite the great efforts made by society to dematerialize, that is, to reduce the
amount of energy and materials required for economic function, through strategic
reuse and recycling of materials (Ruiz-Mercado et al. 2017), global projections indi-
cate the primary metal production is set to expand into the future. This can be seen
as a direct result of societal impacts such as population growth (Norgate and Haque
2010; Awuah-Offei 2016). However, the mining sector is under increased scrutiny to
reduce its energy consumption as well as all related environmental, social, and eco-
nomic impacts generated as a result of its operation (Norgate and Haque 2010).
Although mineral extraction is seen as an essential source of resources, it is also
deemed to have extraordinarily detrimental economic, social, and environmental
impacts on both the global and local scale (Vintró et al. 2014). While the mining sec-
tor supplies vital raw materials and energy to a large number of industries, its activi-
ties are still commonly considered to be a threat to the environment, especially due
to their related effects on the air, water, and soil quality. These detrimental effects
also include greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of ecosystems, damage to pro-
tected areas, and pollution (Vintró et al. 2014; Bustamante et al. 2017). Furthermore,
these impacts are expected to increase exponentially as globally the ore grade (metal
content) has been plummeting for some time (Hubbert 1956; Valero Delgado 2013).
Mining companies consequently face unprecedented social pressure to assume
strong commitments in responsible management of their environmental and social
environments (Botín and Vergara 2015), particularly in regard to the achievement of
the Sustainable Development Goal 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation (hereinafter SDG
6). Sustainability is becoming more and more commonly used to describe this
paradigm which supports the configuration of the environmental, social, and
economic future of humanity (Kharrazi et al. 2014).
There is a social conception that mining cannot be deemed sustainable, as its
operations have a finite lifespan, and the dependence of humanity on nonrenewable
resources cannot progress indefinitely (Sterman 2012). Additionally, as the
mismanagement of these nonrenewable resources will eventually cause them to
expire, mining is seen as having destructive environmental and social impacts
(Young and Septoff 2002). These are some of the main controversial matters that
opponents use to abort mining projects. Furthermore, the primary obstacle of mining
projects today often does not lie in the environmental license nor in the relevant
governmental operating license; it lies in obtaining a social license, a situation that
triggers social, economic, and environmental problems (Franco 2014).
7 SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation 87
The mining industry, as will be discussed throughout this chapter, can contribute
to sustainable development, in the sense that if properly managed, it can provide
long-term opportunities for economic growth and social development with
“acceptable” environmental impacts (International Council on Mining and Metals
(ICMM 2012a). In particular, mining produces minerals, metals, and energy, which
have been the central driver of development since before the industrial age (Auty
and Warhurst 1993; Trigger 2005; ICMM 2012a, b).
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an ambi-
tious set of targets for improving environmental sustainability, economic develop-
ment, social cohesion, and human development by 2030 (United Nations 2015).
The functions of these goals are eliminating poverty, combating inequalities within
and between individual countries, building righteous societies, and combating gen-
der inequality (Pactwa et al. 2018). The primary input in the gold extraction process
is water. Consumed water often comes from a variety of sources; the quality of these
sources is regularly the cause of controversial debate within the industry. Instilling
confidence of mining’s contribution to the responsible and sustainable use of this
water is instrumental in the development of the industry. Therefore, this paper
focuses on SDG 6 “Clean Water and Sanitation” (Drelich 2012).
This chapter will critically analyze the consumption of both renewable and non-
renewable resources while using life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate the indus-
try’s detrimental water impact. The methodology included in this chapter consists of
three key stages: (1) analyzing energy and mass balance of both open-pit and allu-
vial mining systems, (2) comparing data within the literature to the processing of
other minerals worldwide, (3) and estimating the detrimental water impact through
LCA and drawing comparisons between data found within the literature. The envi-
ronmental impacts included within these steps were classified through the ReCiPe
method based on 1 kg of gold as a functional unit under the Ecoindicador 99 meth-
odology, the Ecoinvent 3.1 database, and the Umberto NTX Universal Software.
This chapter will then present conclusions and strategies to achieve more efficient
resource consumption within the mining sector.
7.2.1 D
escription of Gold Mining System Technology
in Colombia: Alluvial Mining and Open-Pit Mining
One of the major challenges in mining often emerges in the extraction process.
Challenges differ depending on the type of deposit, namely, alluvial, philonian, or
spread deposits. Geological environments rely on various different extraction
systems. These also respond to specific local requirements in accordance with the
production and economic capacities and can then be used to limit the environmental
impacts experienced in the production process (Orche 1998).
This chapter presents both open-pit and alluvial mining as case studies to assess
the sustainability of gold mining. In recent years, open-pit mining has been seen as
the preferred method, while alluvial is seen as slightly less conventional (Norgate
and Haque 2012). The case study mine sites are located in Antioquia, Colombia.
The open-pit mine is located in South-East Antioquia, and the alluvial mine-site is
in North-East Antioquia.
Generally, an extractive process can be understood as inclusive of both the pros-
pecting and exploration stage and the separation of the mineral of interest. For both
systems the operational process included the cut and stripping stage, the extraction
stage, and finally the processing and transformation of a gold ingot. Data was sup-
plied annually over a 6-year period for alluvial mining and an 11-year period for
open-pit mining.
7.2.1.1 Open-Pit Mining
Figure 7.1 below depicts the open-pit mining extractive process. Land is prepared
through removal of the vegetation cover and organic soil in the clearing and stripping
stage, and residual biomass is then stored for future land restoration. Mineral
excavation is then carried out by conventional extraction methods, which may
include drilling, blasting, loading, and hauling.
Ore beneficiation is carried out through physical-chemical processes. It begins
with the size reduction of the excavated mineral by means of primary crushing and
both primary and secondary milling. Irrigation water is used in this step to minimize
the detrimental impacts of total particulate matter (PST) emitted. This stage
produces two different process lines; the first flow moves straight onto the flotation
process. The flotation process helps to concentrate the sulfide minerals containing
gold (96.3% of gold and 79.5% of silver are recovered in this stage, respectively).
Then, the mineral resulting from flotation goes through an intensive leaching
process (34.7% and 10% of gold and silver are recovered in this process,
respectively). Finally, tailings are stored in a tailing pond. Then it is directly
transported to the gold recoverable by gravity (GRG) process.
Gold and other metals extracted from both the leaching process (cyanidation)
and gravimetric separation are adsorbed on activated carbon in a carbon-in-pulp
circuit (CIP). They are then released into an elution column under certain conditions
of pressure and temperature. This gold-rich solution continues the electrowinning
process where a selective precipitation is made through electrolysis. Once the
electrowinning of gold and silver is obtained, it is sent to the casting furnace.
Assuming no losses in the smelting and casting process, approximately 1904 ton/
year of gold and 2155 ton/year of silver are produced, which amounts to around 952
gold ingots and 1077 silver ingots, with a 900 millesimal fineness.
Tailings are conformed by flotation tails. Evidence shows that 96.5% of the total
industrial wastewater is generated in the beneficiation process, with leaching and
carbon adsorption tails corresponding to the remaining 3.5%. These last two are
treated by a detoxification system, in which the solution of circuit is oxidized by
Fig. 7.1 Description of open-pit mining process
applying hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) before being stored in the tailings pool, in
which a dewatering process is undertaken and recirculation is carried out. This pro-
cess consumes 98% of the extraction and beneficiation process’ water.
Sterile carbon resulting from the elution process (gold uncharged carbon) is sent
to the carbon-reversing furnace for reactivation and reuse in the CIP process. Finally,
83.98% of the water in the entire process is recirculated.
7.2.1.2 Alluvial Mining
Figure 7.2 below presents a detailed description of the alluvial mining process. It is
important that the selected sediment deposits are conducive to the exploitation of
alluvial gold. This selection is carried out in the exploration process. After this
Fig. 7.2 Description of open-pit mining process
selection, preparation and access to the exploitation zone continues through the
clearing and stripping by suction dredgers. This process converts vegetation cover
to bare soil by cutting and removing the superficial horizons of the soil (UNDP 2016).
Mineral beneficiation activities occur simultaneously with the beginning of oper-
ations. Mineral excavation (consisting of the excavation of sand, gravel, clay, and
the mineral of interest) is carried out by dipper dredger (dredging line step), which
extracts the ore from the alluvial deposits. This is followed by an analysis of the
gold physical beneficiation by size classification (mechanical screening) and gravi-
metric concentration using hydraulic jigs and sluice boxes. As a result of the first
stages of this process, a waste line (typically a sterile material such as gravel or
sand) is produced. Additionally, a second wet process flow, which is rich in gold and
mixed with sands, ferrous metals, and other impurities, continues down the process
line in order to increase the concentration and purification of gold (flotation stage).
The 11% of ore (dry basis) enters along a continuous stage in both the beneficiation
line and the separation stage, where 99% of the process stream moisture is chemically
removed for further concentration. This process is carried out with the objective of
recovering 4% of the gold not recovered in the flotation stage. These gold-rich flows
(wet basis), which are produced in the flotation and chemical separation process,
continue in the drying line, and simultaneously the gold is separated from the
ferrous minerals which correspond to about 3% of the gold-rich flow line. The gold
obtained from these concentrates is then melted and casted. Assuming no losses in
the smelting and casting process; 3103 ton/year is melted, which amounts to
approximately 155 ingots with a 900 millesimal fineness.
Tailings generated in both the filtration-separation and chemical separation
stages are submitted to a Waste Tailings Treatment Plant (WTTP), where 99% of the
water used in the beneficiary process is recovered and reused in this same process,
together with the water obtained from dewatering the tailings pond. Ferrous metal
is then stored for future economical uses, as a coproduct of the process.
7.3 Methodology
7.3.1 Life Cycle Assessment
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental approach that considers both nat-
ural resource consumption and pollutant emissions throughout a product or activi-
ties’ entire life cycle (Blengini et al. 2012). The methodology is standardized by
ISO 14040 (ISO 1998) and made up of four stages: goal and scope definition, inven-
tory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation. For the first stage, the research’s
motivation is to determine the selection of impact categories and characterization
methods while defining the system boundaries and the functional unit. The second
step, inventory analysis, involves collating all relevant data including resource
inputs, products, and emissions. Impacts are then quantified through characteriza-
tion methods which depend on the relevant impacts of interest and the chosen
assessment method. Finally, the results are analyzed to aid in the relevant decision-
making process.
Furthermore, ReCiPe methodology (uses hierarchies, to include long-term
effects) has been chosen to include midpoint indicators, including freshwater
ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, marine ecotoxicity, marine eutrophication,
and water depletion, although these indicators are obviously only related to the
assessments relevant to water-based ecosystems.
7.4 Discussion and Results
7.4.1 Energy and Renewable Input Resources
Environmental impacts associated with energy consumption and water use are
among the most important issues for the mining industry (Pimentel et al. 2016).
Consumption of energy, nonrenewable and renewable resources (water) is clearly
emphasized for each stage listed above, with the challenge being to improve the
efficiency of both mining systems. It should also be pointed out that greater
environmental impacts are expected from the stages with the highest consumption
of nonrenewable and renewable resources. As such it is clear that the global
production-consumption cycles of minerals, water, and energy are inextricably
connected.
7.4.1.1 Energy Consumption in Mining Activity
Northey et al. (2013) suggest characterizing energy consumption by type (electrical,

diesel input for machines, gas) and electricity source (produced on-site or off-site)
to find specific opportunities for improving resource consumption and sustainability
reporting (Northey et al. 2013).
Values for direct and indirect energy consumption provide an approximation of
the electricity, gas, and energy acquired by mines or generated in situ. Figure 7.3
shows energy consumption, energy losses (38.93% of the total energy input), and
total useful energy (61.07% of the total energy input) for open-pit mining systems.
Additionally, 63.56% of the total energy consumed comes from electricity, 35.91%
from diesel, and 0.53% from gas. Highest electricity, gas, and diesel energy
consumed in alluvial mining are exhausted in the “grinding mill” stage (67.14%),
other services use 100%, and “mineral excavation” stage uses 99.41% of total
consumption for the entire process. The highest loss of energy happens in the
“services and mineral excavation” stage with a first law efficiency equal to 35.0%.
Comparatively, in alluvial mining technology, energy losses (10.93% of the total
energy input) and total useful energy (89.07% of the total energy input) are presented
in Fig. 7.4. Furthermore, 99.55% of the total energy consumption comes from elec-
Fig. 7.3 Energy consumption and loss for each stage of the process in open-pit mining technol-
ogy. (a) Energy consumption for each stage open-pit mining. (b) Energy loss for each stage of the
open-pit mine. (Note: Efficiency of first law (Cullen and Allwood 2010; Pellegrino et al. 2004;
Romero Rueda et al. 2012). Extraction (ŋ = 38%), primary crushing (ŋ = 81%), grinding mill
(ŋ = 81%), gravimetric separation (ŋ = 90%), flotation (ŋ = 72%), leaching (ŋ = 90%), adsorption
(ŋ = 55%), detoxification (ŋ = 72%), WTTP (ŋ = 90%), elution and regeneration (ŋ = 72%), casting
and molding (ŋ = 82%), other services (ŋ = 21))
Fig. 7.4 Energy consumption for each stage of the process in alluvial mining technology. (a)
Energy consumption for each stage of the process. (b) Energy loss for each stage of the process.
(Note: First law efficiency (Cullen and Allwood 2010; Pellegrino et al. 2004; Romero Rueda et al.
2012). Exploration (ŋ = 37%), stripping (ŋ = 90%), dredging line (ŋ = 90%), mechanical screening
(ŋ = 90%), hydraulic jigs (ŋ = 90%), sluice boxes (ŋ = 72%), services (ŋ = 78%), physical separation
(ŋ = 90%), filtration-separation (ŋ = 72%), chemical separation (ŋ = 72%), drying and separation
(ŋ = 90%), WTTP (ŋ = 72%), casting and molding (ŋ = 37%), tailings pond (ŋ = 72%). Energy
consumption is not specific)
tricity, 0.44% from diesel, and > 0.01% from gas. The highest electricity, gas, and
diesel energy consumed in alluvial mining are exhausted in the “clearing and strip-
ping” stage 39.43%, “drying and separation” stage 100%, and “mineral excavation”
stage 74.20% of total consumption of the entire process. The highest loss of energy
is presented in the “clearing and stripping” stage with a first law efficiency equal to
90%. However, this mining system has installed their own run-of-river hydroelectric
plant, in which 1.46E+18 kJ is generated annually, contrary to open-pit mining
where all consumed electricity is generated off-site.
7.4.1.2 Renewable Resources in Mining Activity (Water Consumption)
Regarding nonrenewable (removed material mining progress) and renewable

resources (water), Figs. 7.5 and 7.6 demonstrate the consumption of all stages of the
mineral extraction process. For both methods, the increase of gold fraction in
contrast with the decrease of sterile mineral fraction is obvious. In addition, water
consumption is evident in each stage of the process.
Both systems use a great proportion of water in the “ore benefit and metallurgical
extraction” phase. However, the highest water inputs are in the “grinding mill” stage
(3.59, E+07 ton) and the “mechanical screening” stage (7.46, E+07 ton) for open-pit
and alluvial mining, respectively.
It is noteworthy that out of the 83.98% of water consumed in the mining process,
24.65% is returned to the same catchment area. Finally, after balancing the relevant
water inputs and outputs included in the process, water consumption amounts to
4.79 E+02 ton/year for open-pit mining and 2.36 E+04 ton/year for alluvial mining.
This corresponds to 16.02% and 74.90% of the total water inputs, respectively.
However, both water recovery and the intensity of usage are dependent on cooler
climates or arid regions (Northey et al. 2013), as higher temperatures in arid regions
Fig. 7.5 Nonrenewable (inert material removed) and renewable (water) consumption in open-pit
mining technology from cradle to gate. Nonrenewable (inert material removed) and renewable
consumption is not specific
Fig. 7.6 Nonrenewable (inert material removed) and renewable (water) consumption in alluvial
mining technology from cradle to gate. Nonrenewable (inert material removed) and renewable
consumption is not specific
result in greater water loss throughout the site, via evaporation. As such this reduces
the amount of water recoverable through tailing dewatering (Castillo et al. 2001).
Furthermore, there is greater demand for water in dust suppression as soils in these
regions have lower moisture contents (Gambatese and James 2001).
Mining processes associated with other minerals including copper, iron, and
bauxite exceed the referenced consumption shown in Table 7.1; however, it is clear
that this comparison is broad and requires a more thorough study to be valid.
7.4.2 Water Impact Categories in Life Cycle Assessment
Despite the intensive water usage present in both mining technologies, this study
has not considered the full water footprint. Its analysis is based on a LCA. However,
it is only considered to be a full LCA if all of the following metrics are analyzed
(Pfister and Ridoutt 2013; Boulay et al. 2014; ISO 2014; Boulay et al. 2015): water
availability indicator, quality indicators of water degradation (eutrophication,
ecotoxicity, acidification, among others), and endpoint modeling (human health,
ecosystems, and resources) (ISO 2014). Despite this, only quality indicators of
water degradation and specific water sources will be assessed due to the following
reasons:
• According to Padowski et al. (2016), Colombia presents low values when assess-
ing global water security, underwater availability, and accessibility to water ser-
vices. Other studies approach freshwater withdrawals (Lawrence et al. 2002;
UNDP 2016).
Table 7.1 Energy and water consumption in other studies
Papua New Norgate and Haque
Open-pit Alluvial Guineaa Perúb ROWc Haque and Norgate (2014) (2012) Mudd (2007)
7 SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
Energy kJ/kg Au 1.68E+14 8.20E+13 4.72E+07 6.39E+07 1.54E+08 3.47E+08 4.65E+08 1.49E+11
Water kg/kg Au 2.51E+09 1.43E+08 1.33E+06 6.89E+07 4.28E+05 2.88E+02 2.59E+02 6.35E+05
Collection of a range of data of the Australian mining industry (Mudd 2010)
Note: Copper (6.10E+10 kJ/kg), iron (1.53E+02 kJ/kg), bauxite (5.49E+01 kJ/kg) (Norgate and Haque 2010; Norgate et al. 2007)
a
Papua New Guinea, gold-silver mine operation with refinery. From the transport of raw materials to the mine, until the refining of gold and silver (Gobain et al.
2016)
b
Peru Yanacocha Mine, cradle-to-gate from raw material until refining gold (Gobain et al. 2016), gold-silver mine operation with refinery, PE, (Author:
Matthias Tuchschmid (obsolete) active)
c
Row (rest of the world), open-pit gold-silver mine operation with refinery. This multi-output process “mining and refining, gold-silver deposit” delivers the
two coproducts: gold and silver. This data set includes the combined mining and refining of gold and silver in open-pit mines in Peru
97
• According to the water footprint framework formalized in ISO 14046 standard

for LCA. No consensus-based approach exists for applying this standard.
Furthermore, results are not always comparable when different scarcity or stress
indicators are used for the characterization of impacts (Boulay et al. 2017).
Additionally, regionalized assessment is still a challenge with current databases
and software, referring to a “global” region without specific geographic
information (Boulay et al. 2017).
• A range of methodological and data limitations hamper the efforts to conduct
water footprint studies of mining, such as private mining companies not releasing
data to the public (Northey et al. 2016). General life cycle assessment studies,
which include “water use,” are mainly focused only on water consumption and
neglect the environmental impacts of this consumption.
Table 7.1 compares the life cycle assessment water indicators of both open-pit
and alluvial mining combined with mining processes taken from the Ecoinvent 3.1
database. It shows that for all water impact categories, alluvial mining technology
presented the lowest value in relation to open-pit mining and the standard results
from Perú, Papua New Guinea, and ROW (from the Ecoinvent 3.1 database). This is
of course excluding water depletion where it obtained the highest values for its
excessive water usage.
The unusual behavior presented by alluvial mining in comparison with other
mining systems could be explained by the stark difference in its extractive technique.
Conventional extractive processes such as open-pit mining and those presented by
Ecoinvent 3.1 all seem to have similar environmental impacts as they all use a
similar conventional ore extractive method. However, it is worth noting that values
for all impact categories showed in Table 7.2 are higher for the open-pit technology
than in the Ecoinvent processes.
Figure 7.7 shows the contribution of each process to open-pit mining’s water
environmental impact categories. From the figure, 98.9% of the total impacts to the
water resource (9.63 × 104) are generated by sulfide tailings. This is a direct result
of its huge need of area and its contents of toxic substances. Tailings generate almost
99% of total impacts in the following impact categories: freshwater ecotoxicity,
freshwater eutrophication, marine ecotoxicity, and marine eutrophication.
In the case of alluvial mining technology (see Fig. 7.8), 99.9% of the total water
impacts (2.82 × 104) come from water extracted from the river to build the digging
pond and use in the physical separation of gold by gravimetric concentration, which
mainly affected water depletion. The rest of the impact categories are largely
affected by the run-of-river electricity production.
In regard to mining technologies’ impact on water resources, freshwater ecotox-
icity and marine ecotoxicity were clearly the most affected impact categories in
comparison to freshwater and marine eutrophication indicators.
It is also clear that according to the laboratory values for the tailings composi-
tion, specific substances cause the high toxicity values from the open-pit mining
process. The phosphorus content of the tailings slug contributes to nearly 75% of
open-pit mining’s impact on freshwater ecotoxicity and close to 99% of freshwater
Table 7.2 Water impact categories. A comparison of gold processes: alluvial, open-pit mining, and mining systems from Ecoinvent 3.1. database
Impact Alluvial mining Open-pit mining Ecoinvent 3.1. database Ecoinvent 3.1. database Ecoinvent 3.1.
categories technology technology Peru Papua New Guinea database ROW
Damage Normalized Normalized Normalized Normalized Normalized
categories values values values values values
Ecosystem Freshwater 1.29E+01 3.01E+00 7.39E+04 1.72E+04 1.41E+04 3.28E+03 6.33E+03 1.47E+03 1.24E+04 2.89E+03
(water) ecotoxicity (kg
7 SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
1,4-DB eq/
year)
Freshwater 4.20E-02 1.45E-01 4.94E+02 1.71E+03 3.80E+02 1.31E+03 1.70E+02 5.87E+02 3.24E+02 1.12E+03
eutrophication
(kg P-eq /m3)
Marine 1.14E+01 4.63E+00 2.11E+04 8.57E+03 1.25E+04 5.08E+03 9.07E+03 3.68E+03 1.18E+04 4.79E+03
ecotoxicity (kg
1,4-DB eq/
year)
Marine 3.94E-01 5.37E-02 8.55E+01 1.16E+01 1.06E+02 1.44E+01 1.20E+02 1.64E+01 1.26E+02 1.72E+01
eutrophication
(kg N-eq/m3)
Water 2.82E+04 4.91E+02 1.89E+01 1.23E+03 1.34E+02
depletion (m3/
year)1
99
Fig. 7.7 Water impact categories in open-pit mining technology by processes
Fig. 7.8 Water impact categories in alluvial mining technology by processes
eutrophication. Furthermore, copper contributes nearly 36% of the marine ecotoxic-

ity impact and nitrogen close to 72% of marine eutrophication.
In the alluvial mine, 83% of freshwater toxicity stems from copper, 75% of
freshwater eutrophication from phosphate, 81% of marine ecotoxicity from copper,
and finally 53% of marine eutrophication from oxides of nitrogen. These com-
pounds enter the tailings pond from use in the chemical separation process.
Renewable and nonrenewable resource consumption can be reduced through strate-

gic management of water, energy, and relevant mining materials, which can contrib-
ute to the achievement of SDG 6. Evidence shows that 83.98% of water consumption
is reused in open-pit mining, while 24.65% of water used in alluvial mining can be
returned to the same catchment area. It would also be possible to increase the energy
efficiency presented in each stage of the process through improving the adopted
technology, specifically focusing on those stages with both the highest consump-
tions (“grinding mill” and “extraction” stages in open-pit and the “stripping and
dredging” stage in alluvial mining systems) and the highest losses (“extraction and
services” stage in open-pit mining and the “exploration and services” stage in allu-
vial mining). Finally, in terms of the excavated inert material in alluvial mining, a
minimum soil tenor equal to 100 mg gold/m3 must be ensured for the extractive
activity to be technically, economically, energetically, and environmentally viable.
The same is true for open-pit mining with a minimum soil tenor equal to 470 mg
gold/ton. Furthermore, the material from the alluvial process returns to the artificial
pool, while in open-pit it is temporarily stored for beneficiation processes after the
mining system’s end-of-life (EoL) .
Open-pit mining technology presents higher values in relation to each water
resource impact category except water depletion, where it is significantly higher in
alluvial mining technology. This is due to intensive use of water resources with a
value equal to 2.82 × 104 m3/year. The total water consumed in open-pit and alluvial
mining technologies is equal to 5.70 × 107 ton/year and 9.79 × 107 ton/year,
respectively. However, in the alluvial extractive process, the amount of water
returned to the river basin is equal to 2.41 × 107 ton/year; and water recirculated into
the process amounts to 4.79 × 107 ton/year and 4.42 × 105 ton/year in the open and
alluvial systems, respectively, which reduces the water consumption values to
9.83 × 106 ton/year and 7.33 × 107 ton/year, respectively, as shown in Figs. 7.5
and 7.6.
Improvements in mining projects’ sustainability lie in the efficient use of the
resources coupled with the optimization of process efficiency. This leads to the
reduction of emissions and generated waste, therefore reducing pollution released
in the environment. With these strategies, virgin resources are diminished, which
implies a lower extraction rate. Furthermore, as waste is inherent in the process, it
cannot be avoided. As such, the project must work to improve its material recycling
and reuse strategies.
When designing the waste reuse processes, it is essential to imagine a loop econ-
omy, a regenerative system in which resource consumption, waste, emission, and
energy loss are minimized by the slowing, closing, and narrowing of material and
energy loops (Stahel and Reday 1976). This works to encourage reuse, remanufac-
turing, refurbishing, and recycling when possible. However, primary metals will be
still required throughout the transition toward a more sustainable solution, as it is
unreasonable to assume that the recycling of end-of-life (EoL) products will entirely
replace primary extraction in the near or distant future.
In order to manage the extraction of nonrenewable resources in a sustainable
manner, it is necessary to determine various factors such as the criticality of the
material for society, its economic importance, the stability of its deliverance, its
substitutability, and finally its recycling potential. By assessing these parameters,
the following strategies can be adopted to improve sustainable resource consumption,
namely, substitution of a resource for another less scarce resource, increasing
materials’ efficiency, or increasing the recyclability of resources (Henckens
et al. 2016).
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Chapter 8
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
eWisely: Exceptional Women in Sustainability
Have Energy to Boost – Contribution of the
Energy Sector to the Achievement of the SDGs
Isabel B. Franco, Caitlin Power, and Josh Whereat
Abstract The world has experienced a rapid demand of energy sources, both fossil
fuels and renewables. Nevertheless, this scenario has given rise to complexities in
resource regions, compromising how women cope with the impacts of unsustain-
able use of energy sources. Women adjacent to energy resource commonly experi-
ence loss of assets, compromising overall sustainability. Comparing two case
studies, Japan and Colombia, the research presented in this chapter argues that key
stakeholders in the energy sector, both renewables and fossil fuels, need to further
engage in the enhancement of women’s assets and capacities toward the achieve-
ment of the Sustainable Development Goal 7 Affordable and Clean Energy. Building
the capacity of exceptional women in sustainability can foster overall sustainable
development in both cases and contribute to the achievement of SDG 7 and the
Agenda 2030. Based on a qualitative methodology, this study also presents a capac-
ity-building approach toward the achievement of SDG 7 in alignment with the other
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Keywords SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy · Women · Sustainability · Latin

America · Asia-Pacific
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
C. Power · J. Whereat
Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, The University of Queensland,
e-mail: caitlin.power@uqconnect.edu.au

8.1 Introduction
There is an increased concern in the literature about unsustainable energy practices

and potential effects on vulnerable community groups, particularly on women and
girls. This study explores how women can boost their assets and capacities to cope
with the effects of unsustainable energy consumption, such as use of pollutants and
waste, use of fossil fuels, inadequate compensation for the loss of livelihood options,
and lack of corporate accountability for adverse unsustainable energy practices. In
the practicality, the international community and local stakeholders (higher educa-
tion institutions, the private sector, governments, and civil society organizations)
have joint efforts to build women’s capacity by delivering technical assistance pro-
grams under the umbrella of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particu-
larly SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy.
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy ensures access to affordable, reliable, and
sustainable energy and is crucial in achieving many of the SDGs – from poverty
eradication via advancements in health, education, water supply, and industrializa-
tion to mitigating climate change. Research shows that existing capacity-building
approaches to energy do not strategically target women and fail in incorporating
priority capacity-building areas valuable for women. However, these efforts repre-
sent a potential for fostering sustainable energy consumption patterns and therefore
overall sustainability.
By investing in capacity-building and education structures that boost women’s
capacities in line with a vision for greater access to affordable, reliable, and sustain-
able energy for women further facilitates sustainable livelihood development and
access to the rewards of the fulfillment of the global goals. This manuscript argues
that boosting women’s capacities to cope with the effects of increasing unsustain-
able energy consumption can foster overall sustainability in the long run. Based on
a comparative case study methodology, the research reported in this manuscript
identifies priority capacity-building areas valuable for women and proposes a
capacity-building approach for sustainability in selected case studies. Some of the
women participants in this study are based in locations where eWisely (Exceptional
Women in Sustainability) operates. eWisely is the largest connector of women in
sustainability with nearly 8000 leaders and followers in +60 locations. This research
has also been supported by Research eWisely Lab.
Existing capacity-building initiatives for sustainability appear to have achieved a
very low level of impact, as these actions are often disconnected to the local context
or are irrelevant for women and girls. Yet there are many unanswered questions in
this area, and the research reported in this article aims to increase our understanding
in this field. What the main capacity-building priority areas are and how valuable
they are for women are some of the questions that will be addressed in this article.
Identifying and improving core capacity-building areas seems from this study to be
the most effective way to enhance the ability of women to cope with pressing sus-
tainability challenges over time. Based on stakeholders’ perceptions in two case
studies, this article pays attention to the nature and importance of these capacity-
building priority areas.
8 SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy 107
This chapter argues that capacity-building impactful areas are those valuable for
women and the contexts they are immersed. The focus of this research is to identify
and investigate the actual level of impact of existing capacity-building initiatives,
and recommend priority areas, so that stakeholders in the case study locations can
play a stronger role in helping women boost their assets toward sustainable energy
consumption practices. This article also explores existing capacity-building
approaches to assist women in protecting their assets and capacities and reverse the
effects of unsustainable energy consumption. Scholarship debates show that
capacity-building has been a subject of analysis by scholars from various disciplines
like education, economics, and more recently sustainable development. Coined as a
long-term process to strengthen individuals’ and organizations’ skills to solve prob-
lems and achieve objectives, the notion capacity-building for women has been well
covered in the literature; however, there are few scholars who deal with its impact
to reverse unsustainable energy consumption at the local level. Although the subject
of capacity-building is appealing from a rhetorical standpoint, at the community
level, these initiatives appear to have achieved a very low level of impact, particu-
larly for women. However, why this is the case has not been explored extensively.
This research gap needs further exploration, specifically in developing contexts,
where capacity-building for women is essential in the face of escalating sustainabil-
ity issues. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the actual level of achievement of
these initiatives, to identify barriers to their impactful implementation in local
development agendas and to recommend ways of overcoming these barriers, so that
stakeholders can play a stronger role in assisting women build resilient assets and
reverse existing unsustainable practices at the local level. Following a qualitative
methodological approach, this article compares two cases, Japan, Asia, and
Colombia, Americas.
8.2.1 Women and Sustainable Energy
Unsustainable energy practices are becoming a pressing issue in the global sustain-
able development agenda. Therefore, the importance of investigating this subject
through gender lens is to further examine the effects on women and girls. Boosting
women’s capacity and assets to cope with unsustainable energy consumption pat-
terns can create a positive change in the contexts in which they are immersed
(Denton 2002). Sustainable development, one of the key buzzwords which flooded
academic literature and policy documents in the 1990s, has been reinvigorated into
a new phase of influence under the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development
Goals, 17 global aims to be achieved by 2030, the successor of the Millennium
Development Goals. “Sustainable development” is a term defined in the 1987
Brundtland Report as “development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland
Commission 1987: 41). The importance of this often-quoted statement has had a
growing influence as the threats and effects of energy issues become more evident
in the present and worrisome for the future generations.
There is an increased concern in the literature that unsustainable energy practices
have a major impact on vulnerable community groups, particularly on women and
girls. A major issue of sustainable development policies and literature is the lack of
active women’s participation and involvement and therefore their lack of capacity to
cope with unsustainable energy practices. While women’s rights have progressed
throughout the past century, there are still many gaps in the literature and active par-
ticipation in many forms across the globe. Amartya Sen (1999) posited the need for
increasing women’s agency as “women are increasingly seen as active agents of
change: the dynamic promoters of social transformation.” Sen (1999: 191) also argues
that “the survival disadvantage of women compared with men in developing countries
seems to go down sharply- and may even get eliminated- as progress is made in
women’s agency.” This statement highlights not only the importance of women’s
agency but also the vulnerability of the contexts in which women are immersed.
The complexities of the contexts in which women are embedded have escalated in
the past years due to pressing socio-environmental unsustainable practices at the local
level (Cecelski 2000; Denton 2002; Dankelman 2010; Alston 2014). Cecelski (2000),
for example, argues that from a social standpoint, “women’s economic contribution
is often unpaid, unrecognized and undervalued” resulting in a lack of investment in
technological advancements to relief their burden which limits their agency. On the
environmental domain, it is argued that “the threats posed by global warming have
failed to impress on policy-makers the importance of placing women at the heart of
their vision of sustainable development” (Denton 2002). Unfortunately, the role of
women in society and the household places them at a great disadvantage to men par-
ticularly when disasters occur, a situation that worsens during recovery stages. This
is due to the fact that women are often left with sociocultural norms and caregiving
responsibilities which reduce their mobility in seeking shelter from disaster risks.
They also lack access to energy sources, clean water, safe sanitation, and health sup-
plies which adds to their burden (Dankelman 2010). Therefore, in order for climate
change policy to be effective, it must take into account the interests of all stakehold-
ers, signifying that women and those particularly in developing countries must have
a voice in policy decisions that are more likely to affect them (Denton 2002).
Boosting women’s capacity to tackle adverse unsustainable energy practices
through supply of clean, regular energy will alleviate poverty of many people across
the world. “Difficult, time-consuming work of collecting and managing traditional
fuels (which) is widely viewed as women’s responsibility, is a factor in women’s
disproportionate lack of access to education and income, and inability to escape
from poverty” (Kaygusuz 2011: 936). In this regard, Alston (2014) argues that there
is an urgent need for gender mainstreaming in policy documents particularly those
with regard to climate change as the failure to do so “risks cementing gender
inequalities in post-disaster and reconstruction efforts because of the inherently
inequitable power relations, resource allocations and underpinning assumptions on
which responses to climate disasters are based.” Overlooking women’s agency and
their potential to cope pressing issues can become detrimental to future policy deci-
sion on climate change and overall energy sustainability (Alston 2014).
8.2.2 W
omen, Sustainable Energy, and Capacity-Building:
Making the Links
To reverse the impacts of unsustainable energy practices such as indiscriminate use of

natural resources, use of fossil fuels and pollutants, waste production, inadequate
compensation for the loss of livelihood options, and lack of corporate accountability
for adverse environmental impacts, international organizations have promoted a set of
technical assistance programs and community capacity-building initiatives in devel-
oping countries (UNDP 1997). These global actions have been the subject of analysis
by scholars from various disciplines such as education, economics, and more recently
sustainable development. Global agencies such as the United Nations (UNDP 2011)
and the scholarly literature (Loza 2004) posit capacity-building as a core area to be
addressed in both developed and developing contexts. Capacity-building initiatives
for women have become a recent subject of debate. It is argued that women, particu-
larly in developing countries, lack education, and therefore stakeholders should boost
their capacities as well as those of the broader community’s (Gylfason 2001).
While the idea of women’s capacity-building as a long-term process is appealing
from a theoretical standpoint, there are major challenges in its real-life application.
Capacity-building initiatives lack continuity due to the absence of a long-term com-
mitment, resources, coordination, and collaboration among stakeholders
(Franco 2014), relationships and dynamics of the community, management of
power and resource imbalances, and development of a community identity (Clifford
and Petrescu 2012). However, the major challenge is that institutional stakeholders
are likely to believe that they know what the impactful areas of women’s capacity-
building are. Yet, an investigation of the situation shows this is not the case. This
scenario creates confusion and resentment at the local level as institutional percep-
tions tend to overlook context-based barriers and impactful areas for capacity-
building in sustainability (Wiek et al. 2012). Instead, the scholarship argues that
community-based initiatives seem to be more effective when facing sustainability
challenges. However, the scholarly literature indicates there are gaps in this area
that need to be explored seriously (Nakata and Viswanathan 2012). On the one
hand, the literature shows that top-down capacity-building, usually implemented by
the international community to achieve sustainable development goals through
education, media, and information-intensive campaigns, can increase awareness but
is not impactful enough to reverse unsustainable energy practices. It is argued that
capacity-building, particularly for women, is perceived by locals as a product to be
sold, is usually poorly designed, and underestimates the barriers women face to
cope with unsustainable energy practices. Moreover, these initiatives fail in paying
attention to the human side of capacity-building and therefore incorporating wom-
en’s perceptions about priority areas and barriers to engage in sustainable patterns
(Kempton et al. 1985, 1992; Redman 2013; Franco 2014). On the other hand,
policy-makers lack capacity to design impactful capacity-building initiatives for
women (Mckenzie-Mohr 2000).
8.3 Methodology
This manuscript is based on ongoing research that explores the linkages among
women capacity-building and sustainability. This study is qualitative in nature and
was initially undertaken in Colombia. The Japanese case was later explored, and a
global survey was conducted to identify priority capacity-building areas on sustain-
ability for women and girls in selected locations. Survey results have been triangu-
lated through individual and group interview. Fifteen semi-structured interviews
were conducted with various stakeholders actively involved in capacity-building for
sustainability in Colombia, while ten stakeholders were approached in the Japanese
case. Literature and policy review were also conducted to explore exiting global
trends and capacity-building priority areas for sustainability. Focus groups were
also conducted and involved the participation of multiple stakeholders, namely,
higher education institutions, the private sector, governments, and civil society.
Two case study areas have been selected, Risaralda, Colombia, in the Americas,
and Okayama, Japan, in Asia due to the complexities in existing capacity-building
approaches in both cases. Women in sustainability as well as representatives from
higher education institutions and government representatives in both cases facili-
tated data collection and have been actively involved in the ongoing research.
This section aims to discuss priority areas of capacity-building to help women boost
their assets, cope with unsustainable energy practices, and realize their full poten-
tial. This section also discusses and underlines that women’s abilities can be
enhanced if priority areas are identified and adequate capacity-building is developed
and delivered in the selected case study areas. Research findings indicate that prior-
ity or impactful areas for capacity-building are those aligned with women’s aspira-
tions (Amartya Sen 1999) in collaboration with public and private stakeholders and
with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Capacity-building areas for sus-
tainability should follow the global agenda for sustainable development without
neglecting the local contexts in which vulnerable groups, particularly women, are
embedded. Neglecting local expectations hinders women’s ability to foster overall
sustainability and questions the effectiveness of existing capacity-building
approaches (Puk and Behm 2003).
8.4.1 Risaralda, Colombia
In Risaralda, Colombia, priority areas for sustainable development depend largely

on the contexts in which women are immersed. Risaralda is a region located in the
Colombian Andes in South America. This geographical area holds extensive
reserves of gold, silver, and coal. With the escalation of fossil fuel projects, stake-
holders in Risaralda have attempted to maximize social benefits for vulnerable
groups, particularly for women. While at the local level stakeholders join efforts to
develop a capacity-building approach that tackles key community issues
(Franco 2014), at the regional level, high priority areas for capacity-building in the
Americas seem to have been identified by stakeholders (Franco et al. 2018). Yet,
priority areas for women in alignment with the SDGs require further attention.
Collaboration for capacity-building for sustainability is characterized by active
community engagement. Despite the escalation of fossil fuel projects, communities,
particularly women’s capacities, have been boosted to cope with existing sustain-
ability challenges. The success in the implementation of priority capacity-building
projects depends on both state and non-state actors. Colombia is a resource country,
experiencing the scalation of large fossil fuel projects. Very often, communities
depend largely on extractive industries, and their development aspirations are usu-
ally aligned with resource extraction. The extractive industry in Risaralda has some-
how provided communities, particularly women, with capacity-building initiatives.
However, these actions are limited compared to the adverse impacts caused by the
extraction of minerals and metals.
Disruptive industries such as mining, oil, and gas will eventually affect the liveli-
hoods of women in farming, jewelry design, artisanal mining, large-scale mining,
and other economic activities. Women farmers, for example, are choosing artisanal
mining over agriculture (Franco and Kunkel 2017). Research shows that although
women’s expectations have been considered in the implementation of capacity-
building agendas, stakeholders involved, namely, governments, the private sector,
and education institutions, need to further assist women and surrounding communi-
ties in enhancing their capacities to cope with the indiscriminate use of energy
resources. This will in turn have a positive impact on women and overall community
sustainability. Women consultation in relation to their needs and expectations is
highly valued by female leaders, resulting in immediate benefits for them and the
broader community (Franco 2014). Some female coffee and jewelry producers and
women entrepreneurs have already expressed the importance of implementing
capacity-building better aligned with their development aspirations:
We have been trained in jewelry design ... the company has also provided us with some
financial assistance to attend international fairs so that we can promote and sell our prod-
ucts. (Community Members, Interview)
The role of non-state actors such as extractive industries in boosting women’s

capacity to cope with unsustainable energy consumption has been a driver to
enhance resilient women’s and community’s assets. Ensuring sustainable energy
practices does not restrict to the role of the government but also involves other par-
ties such as the extractive industry, governments, civil society, and education institu-
tions (Davies 2005; Franco 2014). Joint efforts of involved parties are further
required to help women boost their capacity and develop asset-based adaptation
strategies to cope with unsustainable energy practices:
Both, women and men have a strong sense of community. They own agriculture-based com-
munity associations that stimulate the local economy, foster employment and leadership.
For example, they own associations for blackberry and coffee production and commercial-
ization. (Corporate Representative, Interview)
Another significant finding in the Colombian case study is the active participa-
tion of the women in the formulation of sustainable development agendas particu-
larly in resource-rich regions. Women have benefited from capacity-building
initiatives helping them to cope with livelihood transformations due to the impact of
fossil fuel projects:
The company helped the municipality to open a plant for waste collection which has the
potential for generating income for women and the local community. (Community Leader,
Jewellery CBO, Interview)
Such initiatives include development activities in agribusiness, dressmaking,

jewelry, coffee production, and agriculture (Franco 2014). These initiatives are the
result of effective government-corporation partnerships and in response to requests
from women. Upfront investment in priority areas will assist women in realizing
their full potential in the case study area. Based on stakeholders’ and community’s
perceptions, these areas are income, employment, education and training, work
experience and apprenticeships, and infrastructure development (Franco 2014;
Franco and Kunkel 2017).
SDG Impact capacity-building

SDG 1 Generating and managing income
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth Employment opportunities
Work experience and apprenticeships
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Infrastructure for development
The case study showed that stakeholders should boost these areas in order to help
women become more resilient and cope with the impacts of unstainable use of
energy resources in the Colombian case.
8.4.2 Okayama, Japan
Okayama is a prefecture located in the southern part of Japan, Asia. Its economy
comprises major industries such as petrochemicals, coal chemicals, and transport
equipment, chemical, steel, and general machinery/tool. Energy consumption
patterns have increased the complexities in multi-stakeholder collaboration for
capacity-
building and education for sustainable development (Abe 2017).
Research findings show that capacity-building should focus on connecting nature

to people and sharing common ground to protect the environment. So far, the
environment is not given the right emphasis; hence many initiatives have been
undertaken so that human society and nature can thrive together. Capacity-
building for sustainability has been backed by strong government policies in
Asian nations such China, Japan, and the Philippines (Ryan et al. 2010). However,
it is argued that despite strong government support, there is a lack of collabora-
tion for capacity-building for sustainability if compared to other regions (Naeem
and Peach 2011).
Multiple stakeholders in the Japanese case are collaborating in building commu-
nity capacity in sustainability. Led by the local government, the existing approach
targets from children at early stages in the education system to adults through non-
formal education. Based on participants’ perceptions, priority areas for capacity-
building are as follows:
SDG Impact capacity-building

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation Water quality
SDG 15 Life on Land Biodiversity
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities Traditional knowledge
SDG 4 Quality Education Teacher education on sustainability
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Corporate social responsibility
Production
Although the broader community is systematically being integrated in the exist-

ing capacity-building approach to sustainability, the major challenge encountered
by stakeholders is the inclusion of women in decision-making in the identification
of capacity-building priority areas:
It is an interesting question because when we talk about the ration of participants of
community-based activities the majority are women but when it becomes of decision mak-
ing, most are men. (Higher Education Representative, Japan)
Young mothers with children are involved in community capacity-building’ because they
have more time. (Civil Society Representative, Japan)
Vague responses were also provided by participants when addressing this issue:
‘we are including these issues broadly’ – stated by one of the participants (Higher
Education Representative, Japan). However, lack of women participation in
decision-making processes around capacity-building seems a general issue and does
not only pertains to the subject of this research:
When women graduate from school they work but after giving birth their participation in
the workforce declines. When they turn 40 and their children are grown up they get a part
time job. (Higher Education Representative, Japan)
Overlooking women’s voices in the development of capacity-building approaches

to sustainability does only escalate unsustainable patterns (Kempton et al. 1985,
1992; Redman 2013; Franco 2014) but also reflects the lack of capacity to design
impactful capacity-building initiatives for women (Mckenzie-Mohr 2000). This

eventually will prevent stakeholders from fostering overall sustainability in the long
run, at least in the Japanese case.
8.4.3 A Capacity-Building Approach for Sustainable Energy
Research indicates that both cases acknowledge the participation of women in

capacity-building approaches to sustainable energy. However, the Japanese case dif-
fers from the Colombian case study in fostering women’s decision-making to cope
with sustainability challenges around energy and related issues. Interestingly,
women in Colombia are more empowered and have been able to integrate their
development aspirations in the design of existing capacity-building approaches.
While women are strategically targeted in existing capacity-building initiatives in
Colombia, in the Japanese case, the inclusion of women in capacity-building initia-
tives is mainly due to time convenience or to meeting government requirements.
Interestingly, in both case study areas, multi-stakeholder collaboration and align-
ment with SDGs are perceived as determinant factors for the success of existing
capacity-building approaches.
Research also shows that priority areas are those most valuable for women and
the broader community. This inductive derivation indicates their critical importance
to enhance women’s capacities and protect their assets. Despite other forms of
capacity-building sometimes being mentioned, these were constantly identified as
central. A capacity-building approach to sustainable energy targeting some or most
of these areas will assist women and the broader community in coping with sustain-
ability challenges in energy and related pressing issues. Figure 8.1 shows a prelimi-
nary proposal of a capacity-building approach for sustainable energy in alignment
with the SDGs. Interestingly, SDG 4 Quality Education seems to be a commonality
in both cases with education and training for women and teacher education as
impact capacity-building areas relevant for women.
Colombian Case Japanese Case

SDGs Impact Areas SDGs Impact Areas
SDG 1 No Poverty - Generating and SDG 4 Quality Education Water quality
managing Biodiversity
SDG 4 Quality Education income SDG 6 Clean Water and Traditional Knowledge
SDG 8 Decent Work and Employment Sanitation Teacher Education on
Economic Growth opportunities Sustainability
- Education and SDG 11 Sustainable Aging Communities
SDG 9 Industry, training Cities and Communities Corporate Social
Innovation and - Work Responsibility
Infrastructure experience and SDG 12 Responsible
apprenticeships Consumption and
- Infrastructure Production
for development
SDG 15 Life on Land
Fig. 8.1 Capacity-building approach to sustainable energy
The escalation of unsustainable practices in the use of energy sources is likely to

result more detrimental for vulnerable community groups, particularly for women
and girls. Successful integration of priority areas for capacity-building can boost
women’s capacities to cope with the unstainable use of energy resources. This chap-
ter recommended a strategic approach to boost women’s abilities to sustain their
assets despite the escalation of unsustainable practices in the use of energy resources.
It also highlights existing issues when integrating a gender lens perspective to
examine sustainability issues.
This chapter also indicated that priority capacity-building areas which are the
most valuable for women are those that help them achieve their own sustainable
development aspirations. Although collaboration of state and non-state actors is piv-
otal to boost women’s capacity, a bottom-up approach to capacity-building for sus-
tainability is more likely to foster overall sustainability than corporate and/or
government top-down approaches. Community-oriented and women-driven agen-
das can help women become more resilient to cope with unsustainable practices in
energy consumption or associated matters. However, such approaches need to be
also aligned with the global agenda on sustainable development. It is not solely
local actors’ responsibilities to make capacity-building approaches valuable for
women as the international community also need to share responsibilities with local
stakeholders and develop technical assistance programs accordingly.
In addition, consultation and active participation in decision-making for the
development of capacity-building approaches to sustainability need to be guaran-
teed in both cases. However, nuanced attention needs to be paid to the Japanese case
where gender inclusion issues are complex. In both cases consultation should not be
merely the token provision of information but should be such that women are
involved in decision-making about matters such as priorities for the allocation of
funds and asset transformation. Consultation processes should also include women
across the broader community to help them boost their assets and cope with unsus-
tainable energy practices in the case study locations.
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Chapter 9
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic
Growth
A Decent Day’s Pay for a Decent Day’s Work –
Lessons to Be Learnt from Fair Trade Small
Producers’ Experiences in Global Markets
Ana Cristina Ribeiro-Duthie
Abstract This chapter focuses on the Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent

Work and Economic Growth. The theoretical framework from evolutionary eco-
nomics is reviewed and used to facilitate the understanding of developing countries’
economic aspects. The relations to sustainable development actions are addressed
through case studies centred on fair trade initiatives – a market solution that links
developed and developing economies through production and trade relations based
on good market practices. In a model that seeks to address inequalities generated by
conventional trade, the fair trade standard assures stable prices and income together
with decent work conditions for small producers from developing economies. The
methodological approach of this qualitative study was a literature review associated
with a comparative analysis of case studies published about fair trade certified
small-scale producers. Small rice farmers from Thailand and small quinoa farmers
from Bolivia are presented to illustrate the potential to produce social benefits
within a sustainable development framework proposed by the fair trade model.
Drawing from both case studies, the chapter ends with recommendations for multi-
lateral trade agreements and policies design regarding agriculture development.
Keywords Economic growth · Decent work conditions · Evolutionary economics ·

Sustainable development goals · Fair trade · Social change
A. C. Ribeiro-Duthie (*)
Politics and International Relations Program, School of Social Sciences,
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
e-mail: anacristina.ribeiroduthie@utas.edu.au

118 A. C. Ribeiro-Duthie
9.1 Introduction
Conventional analysis on economic development has thus far focused on the condi-
tions and drivers that the developing economies are unable to fulfil. As such, analy-
sis regarding those parameters within the context of least developed or developing
nations will often be incomplete and sometimes counterproductive. Although some
least developed and developing economies seem to break the laws of classical and
neoclassical economics lessons to improve development in their own way – success
using such an approach requires a broader analysis of socio-economic factors.
Recognising this, one could argue that evolutionary economics is useful in the sense
that it accommodates learning and knowledge of individual actors participating
actively in real life economics. However, limitations for a holistic evolutionary anal-
ysis of the least developed and developing economies’ realities remain, despite the
contribution of evolutionary theorists in explaining the role of entrepreneurial inno-
vative solutions for existing bottlenecks for development in these countries. Some
of the solutions are from within the market despite not relying solely on market
mechanisms to succeed as a liberalist perspective would sustain.
In the end, there is no complete answer regarding which economic model would
be best suited to analyse least developed, underdeveloped or developing economies.
These terms were proposed by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
when mapping countries according to their score in the Human Development Index.
Recently the term “underdeveloped” was substituted at the UNDP classification for
“least developed countries”. However, “developing” has also been used to differen-
tiate from “developed”. As conventional analysis of the determinants of economic
development appears to fail to embrace the complexity of those countries’ realities,
it follows that conventional solutions for developmental inclusiveness may indeed
also fail. While a theoretical approach is necessary, urgent action is required to over-
come deep developmental constraints. The sustainable development goals (SDGs)
work as a call for change to these pressing issues.
Inspired by the words of the managing director of the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, at the 2017 World Economic Forum, any interna-
tional institution may contribute to address the economies “left behind”. In her
view, globalisation has been incredibly effective and is not going to be stopped;
however it is not working for all (Lagarde 2017) – which needs to be both recog-
nised and addressed. In Lagarde’s view, “globalisation is embedded in the way capi-
tal moves around, in the way in which a lot of people around the world work,
transact, move, (…) and are used to getting certain products cheaply” (Lagarde
2017). However, a big part of the world, approximately “3.6 billion people that we
are not talking about enough (…) who constitute 50% of the global economy”
(Lagarde 2017) must be included through effective actions so they too can benefit
from globalisation. According to Lagarde, the “improvement of (their) living stan-
dards depends massively on international trade (…) on participating in the global
economy” (Lagarde 2017). As the IMF managing director states: “we cannot go
ahead without them”. Lagarde highlights that “globalisation has to work for all and
9 SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth 119
to do that, changes” and efforts have to be made (Lagarde 2017 – my emphasis).

This can be heard as a call for socio-economic responsibility and sustainable
development.
The SDGs constitute a valuable guide to addressing those left behind, and the 17
SDGs capture several aspects that can be considered essential for global well-being.
In line with those concerns, it can be seen that the fair trade movement has already
started connecting many of the dots. In this case, perhaps the “effort” suggested by
the fair trade movement is that “getting products cheaply” cannot be maintained at
the expense of the 3.6 billion people who require the same decent work conditions,
stable source of income, food security and living standards improvements as every-
body else in society. Considering this, the standards for production and consump-
tion need to be raised to attend social responsibility requirements and not only to
assure cheapest prices. Sustainability certification schemes such as Fairtrade pro-
pose ethical standards for production and trade to progress the economy through
assurance of decent work conditions while respecting human rights and the environ-
ment. Fairtrade is the trademark of Fairtrade International, also known as FLO
(Fairtrade Labelling Organisation), the first fair trade certifier that established the
standards in 1988. This model has been reproduced by several fair trade organisa-
tions thereafter, following closely or not the standards, principles and values of
fairness in trade. Fair trade is used in this study to refer to the movement in general,
not alluding to any specific organisation. Fair trade “draws explicitly on civic values
and qualifications in promoting labor rights” (Riisgaard 2015, p. 124). Work, health
and safety standards are required for fair trade certification within an ambitious
agenda that is consistent with the SDG 8. As such, this chapter addresses economic
growth and decent work and its links to sustainable development actions through
case studies centred around the fair trade initiative – a market solution which links
developed and developing economies through production and trade based on market
good practices. Fair trade can be understood as an emerging “response to the nega-
tive effects of globalization” (Murray and Raynolds 2007, p. 4), not as a mere “anti-
globalization” but as a “new globalization” (Murray and Raynolds 2007, p. 6).
In its 30 years of existence, fair trade has called attention to the old economic
assumption of lowest prices being a priority, which has ensured poverty for many
working people given the slavery-like work conditions practised in the search for
profit maximisation. The practice of lowering costs at any price, with no respect for
human rights or labour policies, is addressed by the Fairtrade standards with strin-
gency and transparency, following the ILO conventions for good working condi-
tions, described below. Among the initiatives to demonstrate the global emergence
of the SDG 8, this study focuses on fair trade food production which constitutes an
inclusive decent work opportunity for rural and remote areas within the Global
South, and a potential driver of economic growth.
Hence, to assure the orientation that “the 50% of the global economy” (Lagarde
2017) must be included as more than a mere rhetoric, perhaps efforts also need to be
made regarding changing the assumptions that classical economic models rely
upon. This means to assure the 50% of the global economy left behind – by policies
and decision makers – progress, efforts must also be made by those who are
f uture-focused. This move can be surprisingly hard, as some people are attached to
beliefs and values even if those beliefs seem to be contradicted by facts. Social
change requires a dramatic change of behaviour, of course at the individual level but
also at an organisational level. Our approach is then to follow and readdress
Lagarde’s recommendation that we should “adopt the right narratives, the right lan-
guage” in order “to make globalisation work for all, not only for some happy few”
(Lagarde 2017). This chapter aims to contribute with analysis and recommendations
for policy design related to agriculture development identified through fair trade
initiatives, given its potential for economic growth and decent work conditions
assurance.
9.2.1 The Fair Trade Model and the SDG 8
Fair trade is a social movement striving to change conventional trade and promote
economic growth by exposing small producers in developing countries in global
markets. How is this proposed social change enabled? By establishing a fair price
sufficient to provide a stable income and to protect small producers from price fluc-
tuations in exchange for a production based on stringent ethical standards in line
with the fair trade certification label. Fair trade aims to promote the following values
and principles: creating opportunities for small producers in social and economi-
cally disadvantaged areas; establishing and maintaining long-term commercial rela-
tions with respect to democracy, transparency and accountability; paying a fair price
to producers; paying a social bonus for community development; pre-funding to
assure production sustainability; rejecting child labour; rejecting forced labour;
practising non-discrimination (gender, association); promoting capacity building;
and protecting the environment (FLO 2016–2017; WFTO 2016).
Welcomed by small producers and farmers associations (Carlisle 2016; Barratt
Brown 2007; Shiesari and Gruninger 2014), this alternative trade model received
positive reviews from several academic studies (Sharma et al. 2018; Englund and
Berndes 2015; Becchetti et al. 2012; Udomkit and Winnett 2002; Rice 2001) but
also criticism (Garret et al. 2016; Thavat 2011; Carimentrand and Ballet, 2010). The
fair trade movement was launched in 1988 as a solidary movement to aid coffee
farmers in Mexico. It is possible to observe the progress of a sustainability agenda
in the fair trade organisations’ corporate social responsibility reports across the
years. The consistency of the fair trade aims with the sustainable development goals
was demonstrated in a recent work from Ribeiro-Duthie et al. (2018). This evolution
can be understood as developing in line to the maturity of the concept of sustainable
development since its inception on the world stage by the Brundtland Commission
in 1987. This means that fair trade organisations have shown effective commitment
to targets expressed in the sustainable development goals (SDG) since they were
released by the United Nations (UN) in 2015. Even before that, fair trade organisa-
tions demonstrated their alignment with the Millennium Development Goals estab-
lished by UN and released in 2008. Prior to this, sustainability values were present
in case studies and social responsibility reports made available by the Fairtrade
Foundation (FF) since 2001.
The Fairtrade (and fair trade) model, through establishing a floor price above the
market price, works to address inequalities in the market and to protect small pro-
ducers from prices volatility risks. This minimum price standard assures a stable
income to small farmers, which allows them to plan and invest in their production.
Whenever the market price goes above the fair price, the market price is guaranteed
for fair trade producers. A certified fair trade producer will have the guarantee of a
buyer and assurance of a stable income from his production. This trade initiative can
make difference for small producers’ working conditions, livelihoods, their fami-
lies, the community where they grow food, the local economy and international
trade. At every level of the fair trade supply chain, a degree of social change is
shared. Half of the global population subjected to hunger is constituted by small
farmers (FAO 2012), as such the change promoted by the fair trade model, despite
viewed as small by some analysis of the movement, can have impact for small pro-
ducers and wealth generation. Fair trade constitutes less than 5% of the global trade,
while the main fair trade organisation produces revenues above USD$ 8 billion a
year (as per Table 9.1). This example shows that sustainable development innova-
tive solutions are welcome to economic growth. In accordance to Lagarde (2017),
every international institution can play a role to include those marginalised from the
global economic transactions. Small-scale farmers must not be left behind.
Fair trade related to food production is worth stressing due to constraints of agri-
cultural practices combined with realities of small producers. These include price
variations caused by supply/demand mechanisms which weakens small farmers;
small farm size which grows a smaller crop volume and exposes small producers to
loss when prices are lowered due to competition from large-scale producers who
may benefit from economy of scale; small land in remote areas facing high transpor-
tation costs with effects on distribution and final prices; lack of access to market;
and lack of information technology and literacy skills making small producers vul-
nerable in market exposure and price negotiations. This list illustrates challenges for
agriculture development and the several risks small farmers are exposed to. The
case studies selected embody a social change in process and can exemplify the
delivery of SDG 8 addressed by the fair trade standards on working conditions.
Guidelines are clearly expressed in the standards of Fairtrade for small-scale pro-
ducer organisations. According to Fairtrade International standards, requirements
Table 9.1 Demonstrating Fairtrade International revenues per year in billions of euros. Data
collected and compiled from FLO reports 2003–2004 to 2016–2017
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
$832 $1.1 $1.6 $2.3 $2.9 $3.4 $4.3 $4.9 $4.8 $5.5 $5.9 $7.3 $7.8
for certification include assurance of a detailed set of criteria which are partially
reproduced below from the latest Fairtrade version (Fairtrade 2019):
–– Freedom from discrimination based on “race, colour, sex, religion, political
opinion, national extraction or social origin”.
–– “No tests for pregnancy, HIV/AIDS or genetic disorders”.
–– “No tolerance of gender based violence”.
–– “Freedom from forced or compulsory labour”. In case such practice is identified
among the member organisations, procedures should be implemented to avoid
that adults are “employed in abusive, exploitative and unacceptable work condi-
tions as defined by ILO Conventions 29 and 105”.
–– No offer of housing conditional to employment is tolerated. “Spouses have the
right to work elsewhere”.
–– “No children under 15 years old employed”. In case such practice is identified,
remediation procedures should be placed to avoid the continuous abuse.
–– “No hazardous work for children under 18 years old”.
–– Payments are made under regular intervals and documented.
–– Salaries for workers are set at official minimum wages for similar occupations,
following national or regional average wages. In addition, “you and your mem-
bers gradually increase salaries above the regional average and the official mini-
mum wage”.
–– “Ensure that all permanent workers have a legally binding contract and are aware
of their rights and duties, responsibilities, salaries, and work schedules as part of
the legal labour contract”.
–– Ensure hiring and working conditions to subcontracted workers according to this
standard, and whenever possible assign them as permanent workers.
–– Occupational health and safety based on ILO Convention 155 is assured to all
workers.
Fairtrade International counts upon 1.5 million small producers in 74 countries.
It is worth noting that Fairtrade is not the sole fair trade organisation in the market,
but it is a primary reference point for the movement, which provides statistical data
on a regular and consistent manner, and this aspect facilitates research and
assessment.
Interestingly, the fair trade movement has been confronted regarding working
conditions exactly due to the requirement of decent and high standard work condi-
tions for small producers. In this case, the criticism is that the smallest producers
cannot afford to meet the (high) standards, or to invest in the necessary decent work
requirements, nor to change their informal work arrangements to achieve labour
rights standards (Smith 2014; Taotawin 2011; Thavat 2011). A concern that is
understandable, although those arguments can be disputed. Fair trade’s decent work
criteria can be seen by some as too strict and even unattainable, as a pattern lifted
from developed economies and transported directly to underdeveloped or develop-
ing countries. However, it is of note that work, health and safety (WHS) involve a
significant cost for any responsible business and should not be misrepresented. The
assurance of WHS should be a prime standard for anyone anywhere, and
u nfortunately it can be used as a gateway to lower production costs in conventional

practices. This type of practice is common in least developed/developing countries
given the intense job competition, unbalanced power relations and asymmetric
information. In this sense, the evolutionary perspective seems able to explain the
insight of fair trade initiatives in terms of social entrepreneurship, whose limitations
can be addressed to advance the necessary social change agenda.
9.2.2 E
volutionary Economics and Developing Economies
Constraints to Be Overcome
Given the challenging characteristics of developing or underdeveloped countries,

the approach of evolutionary economics when it integrates change appears to meet
a basic non-excludable condition for understanding the dynamics of the underdevel-
oped/developing economies. There is a trend of simply addressing non-developed
countries as developing countries – this use is followed in this study whenever pos-
sible. However, the term underdeveloped was of common use when some articles
used as reference here were published; in this case the term “underdeveloped” is
kept, with no derogatory stress to one or another. When considering economic mod-
els, classical and neoclassical economic analysis are not sufficient in explaining
underdeveloped countries’ economic challenges as they focus on market equilib-
rium and optimal conditions for operating markets.
Meeting Pareto Optimal conditions is far from feasible for underdeveloped econ-
omies, whose characteristics are remote to optimal equilibrium and skip objective
economic laws. Foster and Metcalfe (2012) contribute to outlining underdeveloped
economies features such as realities of strict markets; bounded rationality; institu-
tions poorly developed; uncertainty; and economic knowledge incomplete.
Following this analytical pathway could diversify the economic approach to such
realities. Underdeveloped/developing economies characteristics are endogenously
related to uncertainty and instability of markets. In such contexts, possible achieve-
ments of fair trade initiatives – which bring together developing and developed
economies in a viable trade model – can be understood.
As “evolutionary theories place the diversity of behaviour, rather than the unifor-
mity of behaviour” (Foster and Metcalfe 2012, p. 422), it seemed appropriate to
stress those categories as a framework in this analysis. Uncertainty – a constitutive
part of those economies – has the potential to bring a positive effect as such charac-
teristic is a great field to innovation, according to Schumpeter (Schumpeter 1939;
Dopfer 2011). In the same extent, predictability may not apply to those underdevel-
oped or developing countries, exactly because the history of their market behaviour
does not always dispose of a stable or predictable pattern to allow forecasting. This
feature may largely undermine investors’ interest and consequently credit availabil-
ity, leaving to these countries a marginal role to advance their productive processes
and to participate in international trade.
Nevertheless, under an evolutionary regard, there is hope. According to Witt

(1992), a crucial characteristic of evolutionary economics is associated with change,
as the same author explains: the emphasis is on “becoming rather than being in the
economy” (Witt 1992, p. 405). Following Witt’s insight, the inspirational factor on
the term “evolution” can be then linked to “the capacity of an economy, or some part
of it, to generate change from within” (Witt 1992, p. 406). Therefore, an evolution-
ary perspective seems more suitable in case of growth within a context that skips
from classical economic conditions to run models given the admission of variances
from inside the economy. Underdeveloped/developing economies are operating,
despite no Pareto Optimal conditions, and in some extraordinary cases, outcomes
would surpass predictions. Thus, the historical evolution of developing economies
should be regarded in their specificities.
According to a Schumpeterian perspective, while invention relies more on tech-
nological or scientific development (Research and Development), which is not
always available in underdeveloped or developing economies, innovation can be in
place with the use and application of an invention in a different manner, facilitated
by the presence of financial credit. This aspect may explain how some countries
meet the conditions to creatively innovate whereas others do not. Under the
Schumpeterian point of view from Dopfer (2011), the main aspect related to the
neoclassical model failure is this dynamic of individual behaviour not being prop-
erly considered. In the classical doctrine “the activities of individuals had no role to
play” at an objective “machinery” (Dopfer 2011, p. 105).
Dopfer (2011) compares the individual role in the neoclassical model to a pas-
sive behaviour, while in his Schumpeterian inspired model, the individual is actively
engaged in changing the reality (Dopfer 2011, p. 105), which includes economy.
This dynamic of individuals overcoming objective laws (Dopfer 2011, p. 106)
seems applicable to underdeveloped and developing economies in their peculiar
manner of improving their economies even though not fully equipped to do so. In
these instances, Schumpeter’s proposal of radical innovation may be suitable to
contemplate underdeveloped and developing economies. Evolutionary economic
perspective certainly can be complimentary and bring new insights for admitting
plasticity and uncertainty of markets as able to promote innovation.
With the Neo-Schumpeterian evolutionary economists, not only behaviour with
its potential to change over time is included in the model, but also technological,
organisational and institutional change are recognised as “the core drivers of eco-
nomic growth” (Foster and Metcalfe 2012, p. 425). From analysing underdeveloped
or developing countries, in many cases, there is no basic technological develop-
ment; organisations did not achieve a homogeneous pattern for operating when
compared to developed economies; and not all institutions accomplish with basic
needs of individuals. Despite those unfulfilled requirements, sometimes entrepre-
neurs may surpass those challenging realities creating (and innovating). According
to Schumpeter (1942), innovation occurs as a disruptive process, when energetic
entrepreneurs break the circle destroying an existing course of the economy by
introducing new combinations. The entrepreneur “revolutionizes the economic
structure from within” in a constant process of “creative destruction” (Schumpeter
1942, p. 83), and this is an essential role for economic development (Schumpeter
1952/1997).
In this sense, despite economies of underdeveloped and developing countries are
not standardised models to which classical economic laws could be applied to gen-
erate predictable patterns of solutions, their realities of uncertainty could benefit
from an evolutionary analysis as well as to contribute for building economic knowl-
edge. Based on Malerba et al. (1999), one could say that singular realities may
constitute land to grow knowledge even if based on empirical evidence. This leads
to his assumption that “theorizing” is about some particular contexts (Malerba et al.
1999, p. 37). It seems that within the evolutionary perspective, there is room to
focus on diverse realities and on what this shift may add to the understanding of
economic dynamics. Malerba et al. (1999) contribute showing through an evolu-
tionary history-friendly approach that “what economists know about the economic
world comes in the form of relatively detailed knowledge about particular contexts”
(Malerba et al. 1999, p. 37). Cimoli and Katz (2003) when analysing Latin America,
for instance, observed that “undergoing fundamental changes in the model of pro-
duction organization” were “gradually enforcing the creation of a new, more com-
petitive (…) pattern of development” (Cimoli and Katz 2003, p. 389). However,
they also observed that “productivity growth has not been rapid enough, nor has the
pattern of production specialization been transformed in the direction of activities
with higher value added” (Cimoli and Katz 2003, p. 389) in those countries. Thus,
the process of creative destruction cannot assure to this group of underdeveloped
and developing economies a macro level of stability. Of course, there remain market
asymmetries and bounded rationalities, as well as lack of institutional and organisa-
tional support to drive their process of development – which are termed meso rules,
or institutional structures (Dopfer 2011). It seems that the uncertainty of economic
environment in those countries cannot assure innovation if basic needs provided by
meso structures are not a guarantee. The entrepreneur must spend his energy fight-
ing for standards of living and working. Therefore, beyond theory, empirical evi-
dence reinforces the need of reviewing some classical concepts and recognising the
limitations of evolutionary economic approach as well.
The example of fair trade may illustrate how the alternative model addresses
innovation but also depends upon meso structures, which the trade model recog-
nises in importance by assuring them through the social premium. The fair trade
model provides stable income to marginalised producers from underdeveloped/
developing countries at one hand. On another hand, through the “social premium”,
it creates conditions to finance “meso structures” for the producer’s community
socio-economic and environmental development. However, the fair trade movement
is a singular contribution within the course of the entire economy. It seems there is
potential that the movement’s impact could be expanded with support of govern-
ment policies and multistakeholder partnerships, broadening its social change ben-
efits and sustainable development targets and vision.
9.3 Is There Anything Definitive About Fair Trade?
Despite limits for a complete analysis of developing economies’ realities, there are
contributions which facilitate the comprehension of some mechanisms in role in
such economies. Economic development has been dominated by two main compet-
ing schools of thought – Marxism and Liberalism – and both do not fully contem-
plate underdeveloped economies’ specificities. On the one hand, Marxism is
considered to reduce developing economies problems to politics constraints,
whereas Liberalism reduces the problems to market constraints.
The main critique to Marxism originates from the structuralism approach (Choat
2010), which proposes that Marxism does not go beyond its political criticism and
the strict belief in the role of state to distribute income. As a result, it does not rec-
ognise the market reality and its potential dynamics as having a distributional effect.
On another hand, an analogous criticism can be applied to the Liberalism where a
government role is undermined in favour of the “invisible hand” that would solely
allow the market flow and grow with the competition.
The higher price instead of the lowest price for products and the high standards
in which they are required to be produced and distributed within the fair trade model
is an undeniable challenge to classical economic assumptions – which has suc-
ceeded as the increasing rate of fair trade revenues demonstrates, feeding the legacy
of the ethical consumerism model. Table 9.1 demonstrates the increasing revenues
of the first entrant in the market, Fairtrade International. If there is anything defini-
tive about fair trade, it seems to be the response of consumers to sustainability
standards, reflected in the increasing rate of Fairtrade sales.
Although the wealth and income generation and allegedly changing realities of
small producers and communities, this socio-economic-environmental change is
also criticised. Fair trade faces criticism for using market tools and language to chal-
lenge the same market: the movement’s challenge to the conventional trade model
is accused of limitation because it relies upon commoditisation, and thus it is not
politically activist enough. Fair trade is accused of excessive stringency for the
small producers whose precarious conditions – financial, institutional and organisa-
tional – are out of the scope of the requirements for ethical trade. Fair trade is criti-
cised because the proposed fair price higher than market prices for products holding
the fair trade seal creates a surplus that would not return entirely to small producers,
but it is shared along the supply chain with an amount going, for example, to retail-
ers. Fair trade has been criticised for the space given to large corporations as
Starbucks and Nestle, which enjoy of the fairness halo effect of holding the fair
trade labelling but actually purchasing a very small amount of fair trade coffee
(Barratt Brown 2007). It can be observed that the movement is judged both from a
Liberal and a Marxist perspective. This reinforces the relevance of an evolutionary
perspective proposed in this analysis. Fair trade is proposed to be simply seen as an
example from within the market that uses the market language and tools to chal-
lenge the same market and produce social change. For doing so, its contribution can
be recognised as a transitional model, able to generate “change from within” and
perhaps capable of creative destruction to deliver sustainable development. Still a

fundamental question remains: how revolutionary is the fair trade movement? Has
it succeeded to include the reality of underdeveloped/developing countries, or just
by imposing the high standards of developed economies? I let the forthcoming case
studies speak by themselves, with their specificities contributing to the debate on
fair trade potential contributions for sustainable development based on empirical
knowledge.
9.4 Methodology
The methodological approach of this qualitative study was a literature review asso-
ciated with a desktop-based review of case studies for a comparative analysis about
fair trade certified small-scale producers. Small rice farmers from Thailand and
small quinoa farmers from Bolivia are analysed regarding the SDG 8 in light with
the potential of the fair trade initiative to produce positive outcomes, from which
recommendations are drawn.
9.5 Case Studies Findings
9.5.1 Thai Rice Case
Thai rice farmers are brought into evidence to illustrate the fair trade initiative
potential benefits. Findings were depicted from studies by Becchetti et al. (2012).
These small rice producers are from the northern, north-eastern, and central regions
of Thailand. They count approximately 1.100 producers who have joined Green
Net, a non-governmental organisation founded in 1993 to stand up for sustainability
practices in agriculture. Green Net was created given the concern of producers and
consumers with the use of pesticides and chemicals in the country and their impacts
over public health and environment (Green Net). The change to livelihoods of fair
trade certified small-scale rice producers was tested by Becchetti et al. (2012), what
is a rare finding related to staplefoods, being more common the studies about fair
trade top sales commodities such as coffee, cocoa and fruits.
Rice farmers in Thailand have been the target of a national government policy to
turn conventional rice farmers into organic ones regarding environmental protection
and population’s health. In 2004 the organic rice farms comprised 0.049% of all rice
farms in the country (Becchetti et al. 2012), and Thailand ranks among the world’s
top rice producers. Fair trade has worked in the country through cooperatives and
NGOs as Green Net, joining efforts to increase sustainable development farming
practices. Green Net was granted the Fairtrade (from Fairtrade Labelling
Organisation) certification in 2002.
The initial Fairtrade premium was used to buy mills and computers to assist pro-
ducers’ cooperative. Green Net operates paying the small producers in advance, and
those producers organised into groups buy the paddy and store them. Once rice is
grown, they are milled and delivered to Green Net for packaging and trade, as Green
Net receives export orders and systematises sales. Thai rice is traded with countries
as Germany, France, Italy and the UK.
According to Becchetti et al. (2012) analysis, fair trade is an opportunity to
increase the market access for small producers and to reduce the vulnerability of
producers who depend on “monopolistic transportation intermediaries” (Becchetti
et al. 2012, p. 119). Drawing from reviews, those authors rejected the existence of
stereotypical exclusive relationships between fair trade affiliated producers and the
fair trade channel, as some farmers continued to sell part of their production at the
local market and to intermediaries. Becchetti, Conzo and Gianfreda’s tested hypoth-
esis demonstrated that fair trade affiliation added economic value more than on the
control groups, showing an increase in income of fair trade affiliated producers. The
latter were able to sell a higher percentage of their production, keeping family size
and the amount for self-consumption equal in both groups compared. This meant
that 1.100 producers secured a higher income while working with assurance of a set
of good working conditions. Becchetti et al. (2012) remarked the importance of
promoting a culture of impact studies to explore further and assess this alternative
in trade.
9.5.2 Bolivian Quinoa Case
The present example demonstrates that globalisation can have side effects, and a
model to include small farmers can also increase inequalities in the presence of
economic growth. While several authors recommend impact evaluation of fair trade,
Carimentrand and Ballet (2010) stress that numerous studies about the impact of
certification schemes and fair trade exist. According to them, most studies indicate
the positive effects of fair trade on “artisans, agricultural producers, and employees”
(Carimentrand and Ballet 2010, p. 3); however their study reports on a counterex-
ample: the negative effects of quinoa peaking production to attend the fair trade
export market.
Quinoa production from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador summed 17,747 metric
tonnes in 1970. In 2005 their production together had reached 53,443 metric tonnes.
It is reported that Bolivian quinoa production has increased from the 1990 onwards,
according to Carimentrand and Ballet (2010). Thus, Bolivian quinoa production
departed from 344 tonnes in 1990, to deliver 1423 tonnes in 2000, and 7641 in 2006
(Carimentrand and Ballet 2010). In the case studied, quinoa is grown in eight
administrative provinces from the Bolivian Altiplano, and each province is divided
into municipalities that include different communities. The middle of the year 2000
is marked by the arrival of agro-industrial business hiring producers to attend large
commercial contracts given the increasing demand for quinoa in the global market.
Carimentrand and Ballet (2010) argue about the risks of mainstreaming commodi-
ties’ markets as it happened in the case of the royal quinoa grown in Bolivia. The
commodity boom in the European market led to the introduction of mechanised
cultivation to attend the sharply increased demand.
The imbalanced capacity of producers to afford mechanisation increased the dis-
parity in production. Advantages of mechanisation had effects on land ownership,
and the plain areas suitable to mechanised cultivation started being disputed. This
caused social disruption with fights for land among producers and communities. As
a result, disparities among producers have soared. The added value of the fair trade
produced quinoa was transferred to agro-industrial companies who started hiring
producers to guarantee large-scale commercial contracts. Therefore, the direct
transference of benefits to the small quinoa producers, who have assured the ethical
consumption market to the fair trade model, was diverted.
In the associations and cooperatives, models to protect small producers’ interests
by adding up strengths, there was deviation of collective interests to individual
interests (Carimentrand and Ballet 2010). In ANAPQUI (The National Association
of Quinoa Producers) and APROQUIRY (The Regional Association of Quinoa
Producers), the proportion of small producers’ participation was reduced, according
to examples provided by Carimentrand and Ballet (2010). In this case, one can see
that the associations of producers did not address collective interests, and the wild
fight for the external market created inequality due to mismanagement and priority
to commercial contracts. In short, there was a booming economic growth with rev-
enues from increasing sales but no evidence of sustainable development assured to
small producers.
Authors report that the manual practices coexist with mechanised cultivation in
the Bolivian Altiplano; as a result the disparities among different provinces and
communities in the country remain (Carimentrand and Ballet 2010). This is where
externalities of globalisation for mainstreaming a product in the absence of enough
planning and sustainable development partnerships – such as government and insti-
tutions – can lead, if stringent guidelines towards sustainability are disregarded or
misrepresented.
9.6 Discussion
From both cases one can observe a prime lesson to learn: the global market access
requires planning and surveillance under sustainable development guidelines to
avoid externalities of over production. Further analysis indicates the advantages of
assisting and protecting small farmers with price stabilisation, anticipation of pay-
ments, decent work conditions and assisted market access but also government poli-
cies and guidance with regard to environment protection and capacity building, as it
happened in the case of Thai rice farmers.
Recognising and addressing the complexity of fair trade standards, the adminis-
trative logistics required, the understanding of accountability and procurement and
the respective labour arrangements are necessary steps to enable small producers
performance to accrue benefits from the fair trade model. The returns to society can
be that regional heterogeneity within countries finds through the fair trade model for
food products a sustainable development pathway for agriculture and community
development. And this means more than economic growth and WHS standards for
rural and remote areas of peripheral countries in the globe. Here follow policy rec-
ommendation topics for government’s intervention to increase the chances of agri-
culture development related to this alternative trade model:
– Facilitate access and storage of crop seeds to small farmers.

– Act lowering input costs for small producers.
– Balance asymmetrical power relations between small-scale farmers, medium-size farmers and
large-scale agri-food enterprises.
– Agreements and surveillance to support the small farmers associations and cooperatives.
– Facilitate access to credit so small farmers can undertake long-term investments.
– Facilitate the access to processing plants.
– Provide training so small farmers develop capacity building skills.
– Provide transportation facilities to remote small farm lands.
– Technical assistance to avoid socioenvironmental disruptions.
Each of the listed topics can turn into a bottleneck for small farmers if not well
managed and also for communities where they live. However, partnerships for sus-
tainable development can turn small producers’ steps into international trade feasi-
ble with social responsibility guidelines. This is the lesson Thai fair trade certified
rice farmers demonstrated, producing great outcomes with support of government
policies. Let alone all the work that need to be undertaken by the small farmers, but
within the insightful social entrepreneurship initiative of fair trade, a stable income
and decent work conditions are secured, a great achievement for small-scale pro-
ducers’ livelihoods considering that Fairtrade standards attendance constitutes a
prerequisite to join the fair trade system and to maintain the fair trade certification
label.
Although fair trade high standards face criticism, it is not a sound solution to
lessen the robust fair trade working conditions requirements. On another hand, it is
not fair that small producers are held solely accountable for internalising the
expenses to dignify their work and add value to their production when they are sub-
mitted to meso structures out of their control. Difficulties of producers that are
related to macroeconomic structures should be addressed through partnerships for
sustainable development as per the above recommendations, with emphasis on their
capacity building. This important aspect was already remarked by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), when it stated that “provi-
sion of education in rural areas is essential if smallholders are to participate in mar-
kets, as small farmers cannot trade in sophisticated chains if they are neither literate
nor numerate” (FAO 2012, p. 30). Training is usually provided by some fair trade
organisations, but this also relies on meso structures from the localities where the
products are grown. Once more, the value of partnerships for sustainable develop-
ment can have a synergic effect.
Fair trade was presented as an example of innovation for attaining sustainable devel-
opment goals that deserved to be revisited and have its opportunities related to eco-
nomic growth and income generation in rural areas of developing economies
brought into evidence under an evolutionary economic analysis. As from the review
of empirical contributions, the success story relied on multistakeholder partner-
ships, and their outcomes cannot be disregarded as an opportunity to address those
left behind within the economic dynamics. The innovative fair trade model has been
insightful in demonstrating the range and the reach of ethical consumerism in our
contemporary society, and its attempts to address inequalities evidenced by
globalisation.
Notwithstanding the benefits of fair trade, the initiative can be improved to
increase the outcomes. If all the criticisms are to be definitive about the fair trade
movement, if fair trade is just about a niche market strategy and not a greater move-
ment for social change, if the original fair trade model is turning into a free trade and
if fair trade initiative is giving too much room for corporatisation, those constitute a
broad exploratory area for empirical research and development. If all those critics
make sense, fair trade organisations have the chance to review its pathways and
reinvent themselves to keep up with the social license conquered, in a continuous
process of creative destruction. Or the movement will tend to be replaced for a
model that readdresses its pitfalls.
The Thai rice case demonstrated the grounds to recognise the potential of fair
trade to create more jobs and to broaden decent work conditions for small producers
from developing countries involved in rice certification schemes, as well as the
associated environmental benefits, although it can be argued that these achieve-
ments are not universal when another fair trade food product as quinoa showed
diverse effects. The argument of inequalities growth associated with the quinoa case
works as a word of caution given the understandable motivation to bring high-
quality products into mainstream markets. With this in mind, there is need for more
systematic studies with different methodological approaches to assure that research
findings are available as a resource and tool for further sustainable development
actions and to assist in achieving the aims for social change brought by the fair trade
movement. In this sense, strengthening the link between actions and research is
strongly recommended.
A valuable remark is that as an alternative trade model, fair trade sheds light into
the viability of an agriculture development model that does not have to surrender
solely to the large agribusiness model to achieve economic growth. There is room
for sustainable development actions through inclusive models for small farmers
with the potential to increase job offerings and steady income sources within rural
and remote areas, as the fair trade initiative has proven. This is of great relevance for
governments’ challenge of addressing the drain of population from rural areas into
urban settings seeking desperately for income source. This is important for intra-
estate and local wealth generation. The level of fairness benefits to be obtained can
be supported through government policies to enable agriculture not only for large
agribusiness corporations but also for small farmers. Considering that trade has a
relevant role for wealth and income generation, trade agreements either on regional
or multilateral levels must be prioritised so the sustainability goals are not bypassed.
In conclusion, on a decision maker’s level, the achievements or pitfalls of the fair
trade movement may be managed to contribute further to social entrepreneurship,
assuring the SDG 8 with spillover effects for attaining other sustainable develop-
ment goals such as SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 5, SDG 10, SDG 12 and SDG 17.
Acknowledgements I acknowledge the Australian Government for the research training program
scholarship provided and my supervisors at the University of Tasmania, Dr. Fred Gale and Dr.
Hannah Murphy-Gregory.
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Chapter 10
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation,
and Infrastructure
Community Capacity-Building for Sustainable
Resource Governance in the Small-Scale Mining
Industry
Isabel B. Franco, Franz Gonzalez Arduz, and Jairo Andres Buitrago
Abstract There is a general concern in the scholarly literature pertaining to sus-

tainable resource governance and the implications for industries such as mining. Yet
there are many unanswered questions in this area, and the research reported in this
chapter increases our understanding in this regard. Our investigation has shown
there are essential capacity-building areas to trace a roadmap for sustainable
resource governance in small-scale mining (herein SSM). Improving identified
areas seems from this research to be the most effective way to enhance the ability of
small-scale miners and stakeholders to cope with pressing sustainability issues over
time. This chapter presents a capacity-building roadmap for SSM and pays attention
to the nature and importance of these areas to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goal 9 (herein SDG), Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. What makes this
research essential is its focus on the extent to which these areas are valuable for
stakeholders involved in the SSM industry. It does this through a case study in
Bolivia. This research is based on a qualitative strategy for data collection and case
study methodology.
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
F. G. Arduz
Universidad Autonoma Tomas Frias, School of Economics, Finance and Administrative
Sciences, Potosí, Bolivia
J. A. Buitrago
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, School of Engineering, Bogotá, DC, Colombia

Keywords SDG 9 · Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure · Small-scale mining

industry · Governance · Sustainability · Bolivia
10.1 Introduction
Global governance arrangements in the resource sector have imposed new respon-
sibilities on the small-scale mining (herein SSM) industry, yet they do not hold the
capacities to actively participate in such arrangements and achieve SDG 9, Industry,
Innovation, and Infrastructure. International mandates more often encourage stake-
holders to follow sustainable practices in the regions within they operate (ICMM
2005; ISO 2010; PDAC n.d.; RJC 2011). Compliance with both international and
national regulatory mandates to protect the environment and foster local develop-
ment through tax revenues and royalties are some of the emerging accountabilities
imposed on the SSM industry. However, small-scale miners wonder if these gover-
nance arrangements are valuable for them and local communities or if they should
comply with a more context-based governance framework that targets priority areas
for them (CANAMIL 2015). The absence of a sustainable SSM governance frame-
work increases existing SSM challenges threatening productivity and therefore live-
lihood options for locals. A situation that escalates discontent and tensions among
stakeholders (miners, civil society, governments, and large-scale companies)
(Franco 2014; Guzmán and Manuel 2015; Makki 2015). Based on a governance
analysis of international precepts, domestic mining policies, perceptions of small-
scale miners, and selected stakeholders, the research presented here proposes a
capacity-building roadmap for sustainable SSM governance in Bolivia. This road-
map can be applied to other developing resource economies in Latin America and
elsewhere.
Mining represents the largest source of income for small-scale miners, particu-
larly in developing resource economies. Research indicates that ungoverned SSM
escalates socio-environmental issues such as loss of livelihood options, unsustain-
able use of mercury, and loss of royalty revenues, among others (Cardenas 2011;
Franco 2014). So far, stakeholders in isolation or through collaborative processes
have implemented solutions to address these issues, namely, formal agreements
between small-scale miners and large-scale mining companies, financial support,
access to credit, capacity-building, and technical assistance, among others. These
initiatives have somehow contribute to build small-scale miners’ capacity, forge
sustainable livelihoods, and increase taxes, royalties, and income generation
(Molina-Escobar and Restrepo-Baena 2010; Ponce 2010; Veiga et al. 2001; Hilson
2006; Hilson and Banchirigah 2009; Franco and Ali 2016). However, these initia-
tives remain insufficient, particularly in the Bolivian context where issues around
SSM are greater and small-scale miners’ voices have not been heard.
10 SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure 137
The capacity-building roadmap here presented builds upon the international

experience and a governance analysis of the Bolivian context. Policies, stakeholders
(government, small-scale miners, private sector and civil society organizations), and
existing collaborative governance arrangements have been examined for the pur-
pose of this research. However, small-scale miners wonder if these governance
arrangements are valuable for them.
10.2.1 A Review of Resource Governance
Miners have proactively fostered the creation collaborative coalitions for effective
sustainable SSM governance. This emerged in response to global governance
restructuring which has pushed miners to meet unrealistic accountability mecha-
nisms, a situation that has elicited tensions within the SSM industry in developing
countries such as Bolivia. Global concerns regarding the achievement of the SDG 9
and global agendas that guide mining performance are increasingly encouraging
miners to become accountable for local operations. Lack of capacity at the local
level to meet international demands has placed miners in a disadvantaged position
to meet global requirements and account for the adverse impacts of industrial activi-
ties. This has led miners to rethink existing governance arrangements at the local
level and collaborate with other stakeholders to be able to meet international and
national mandates through relevant capacity-building initiatives.
The notion of governance as a multi-stakeholder collaboration scenario is fre-
quently based on the assumption that stakeholders participate on an equal basis in
decision-making processes and collaborate in the achievement of common goals
(Clarkson 1995; Gibson 2000; Tracey et al. 2005). However, this unrealistic multi-
stakeholder collaboration approach can be challenged due to two reasons. On the
one hand, disadvantaged stakeholders such as miners lack the capacity to negotiate
and benefit from collaborative governance processes. On the other hand, “because
the relationships amongst actors are very often driven by factors such as unequal
power relations, lack of clarity in their roles and responsibilities, and tensions that
limit the possibilities of effective collaboration” (Franco 2014: 42). In Bolivian
resource regions, these multi-stakeholder relationships are becoming more compli-
cated as miners are very often tasked with unrealistic top-down agendas. This situ-
ation is becoming unsustainable for the SSM industry as well as for surrounding
communities whose only livelihood option is mining.
The SSM industry in Bolivia is often challenged by the neoliberal rhetoric that
posits large corporations as central actors of the global and national economies. An
argument that puts more pressure on SSM as the latter has limited capacity to com-
pete with mining giants. The neoliberal argument has largely been explored in
schools of thought like economics and business ethics. In the economic realm,
Friedman’s work (1970) has been one of the most significant. It also undermined the
idea of social cohesion since they were fueled by corporate self-interest (Stilwell,
2006). Freidman’s work (1970) emphasizes the role of corporate governance to
increase shareholders’ investment returns but neglects the responsibility to develop
better relationships and collaboration between corporations and external stakehold-
ers (Franco 2014). Friedman’s contributions therefore undermined the idea of social
cohesion since they were fueled by corporate self-interest (Stilwell 2006). The reac-
tion against this neoliberal economic agenda led to local-level transformations that
encouraged private and public corporations to develop better relationships with
their stakeholders and look after their well-being (Beck 2007). However, with the
arrival of Japanese, Chinese, Canadian, and other international corporations in
Bolivia in the past years, Friedman’s neoliberal argument is becoming the norm.
Along with the proliferation of neoliberal policies driven in part by globalization,
the need to make mining actors more responsive to their external stakeholders and
establish collaborative relationships with them increased. In developing resource
economies, these responsibilities have increased not only for large multinationals
but also for small-scale miners who very often belong to disadvantaged
communities.
These governance shifts allowed miners, and the communities they belong to, to
become more active rather than remaining passive actors and foster closer relation-
ships between the community and other stakeholders like governments, NGOs, and
the private sector. NGOs were involved in governance shifts which not only
increased NGOs’ responsibilities at the global and the local level in terms of public
service provision for community sustainability but also in terms of assistance to
governments to govern natural resources and to demand corporate accountability
(Bell and Hindmoor 2009; Edwards et al. 1999).
Influenced by NGOs, small-scale miners in Bolivia have embraced emerging
governance shifts through increased accountability. They have proactively initiated
collaboration processes with external stakeholders to propose a sustainable SSM
framework relevant for all. However, in informal conversations with miners, they
perceive they still remain in a critical position. They are not only accountable for
aligning with national and international governance precepts but are also pressured
to account for the well-being of their families who in most cases belong to disadvan-
taged communities. Miners instinctively follow global governance mandates on
social accountability. However, there is a limited understanding of the potential of
SSM and the opportunities this sector could bring for all stakeholders involved.
In the literature, scholars in the business ethics domain embraced recent gover-
nance changes and challenged neoclassical theories that neglected the role of exter-
nal stakeholders in governance scenarios (Clarkson 1995; Freeman 1984; Gibson
2000; Tracey et al. 2005). One of the major representatives of this governance
approach was Freeman (1984) and his work on stakeholder theory. This theory
made room for new approaches like stakeholder collaboration and corporate social
responsibility. Freeman’s work posits the notion that corporations have social obli-
gations and therefore need to engage with external stakeholders. In the mining sec-
tor, this idea has been recently corroborated by scholars who agree that companies
have obligations to their external stakeholders who are also entitled to benefit from
the surpluses coming from corporate profit (Clarkson 1995; Gibson 2000; Tracey
et al. 2005). In part, this arises from the fact that companies are extracting resources
that can be conceived of as part of the local community. “Minerals, for example, are
envisaged as public goods owned by the state on behalf of the country’s citizenry,
and so the companies have a moral obligation to enhance the welfare of the citizens
whose resources they are extracting” (Franco 2014). In the Bolivian case, for exam-
ple, natural resources are a public resource, and so, communities need to be com-
pensated for resource extraction.
Recent shifts in governance processes in developing resource regions have led to
active engagement among stakeholders (Mate 2001; Porter et al. 2013; Hamann
et al. 2005). This approach is based on the assumption that stakeholders (including
corporations, governments, and civil society) equally participate in decision-making
processes and collaborate in the implementation of actions for the benefit of all
(Clarkson 1995; Gibson 2000; Tracey et al. 2005). While this latter understanding is
appealing from a theoretical standpoint, there are major challenges in practice, par-
ticularly in developing context like Bolivia. Scholars from schools of thought like
corporate social responsibility, development, and environmental management argue
that in reality, corporations engage with their stakeholders to pursue their own inter-
ests rather than in an effort to achieve sustainable initiatives for communities (Hilson
2006; Jenkins and Yakovleva 2006; Dartey-Baah et al. 2011). However, this is not
the case for small-scale miners coming from unprivileged backgrounds. They do
believe that collaboration is posited as a win-win relationship based on permanent
consensus. Field observations also showed that collaboration is possible if stake-
holders communicate their aspirations effectively. It also showed that tension in the
Bolivian case occurs due to lack of clarity about priority areas for SSM. Hence, this
article traces a roadmap to identify capacity-building priority areas relevant for min-
ers and stakeholders involved. The propose roadmap will hopefully overcome exist-
ing barriers in a multi-stakeholder scenario for sustainable SSM governance and
contribute to the achievement of SDG 9.
10.3 Methodology
10.3.1 Methods and Techniques
The research presented in this chapter is based on a qualitative methodological

approach for data collection and analysis. Data obtained from primary and second-
ary sources were analyzed through a qualitative research strategy; nevertheless sec-
ondary quantitative techniques have been used to assess and validate available data
where possible. This research dealt with diverse and multiple sets of data requiring
the application of the case study method. The case studies allow for detailed and
comprehensive information to be collected about a more focused issue, in this case
SSM. The collected data came from literature and policy reviews, small-scale min-
ers’ perceptions, and field observations.
Qualitative information was obtained through focus group interviews with ten
(10) regional mining chambers’ representatives and selected stakeholder respon-
dents. Following respondents’ requests, identities have been protected, and personal
details will remain anonymous. Three focus groups were undertaken with miners
and selected stakeholders at CANAMIL’s (National Mining Chamber) office. Focus
groups involved participants from Potosí, La Paz, Oruro, Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca,
and Tarija mining regions. Small-scale miners who actively participated in group
interviews were invited by CANAMIL. A governance policy analysis was also
applied to facilitate the examination of some of the data collected, such as regula-
tory frameworks, royalty reports, corporate financial reports, and other quantitative
secondary data meaningful to achieve the objective of this research. These data were
collected from well-known and reliable sources.
10.3.2 Case Selection
Bolivia was selected as a case study due to the existing governance shifts in
SSM. Bolivia is a developing resource country located on the Andes mountain range
in South America. The Bolivian mining industry consists of three subsectors: state,
private, and cooperative. State mining is represented by COMIBOL mining com-
pany, producer of tin, copper, zinc, and lead. The private mining sector integrates
medium private companies, domestic and foreign investment companies, and pro-
ducers of zinc, lead, silver, gold, copper, and antimony. SSM is part of the private
mining industry and has a diversified mining production, as it produces all minerals
and metals exported by Bolivia. SSM is mainly undertaken at COMIBOL’s sur-
rounding mining areas.
Private mining produces 70% of the GVA followed by 21% of cooperative min-
ing and 9% of state mining. Official data of SSM production and exports are not
available; however it is estimated that it represents 31.5% of the private mining
production (CANAMIL 2015). There is not a clear methodology for SSM produc-
tion calculations, particularly of cooperatives operating nearby COMIBOL. However,
miners state that levels of production and exports have increased since 2006
(CANAMIL 2015).
According to Law 535 of Mining and Metallurgy, SSM miners are considered
private agents clustered in the National Chamber of Mining (CANAMIL), an orga-
nization with autonomous management, equity capital, resources, and assets gener-
ated by members’ contributions and governed under the National Constitution
(Congreso de la Republica de Bolivia 2014a, b). Founded in 1940, CANAMIL pro-
duces a wide variety of minerals and metals such as tin, silver, zinc, lead, antimony,
wolfram, copper, gold, and other rare-earth metals. CANAMIL’s production repre-
sents 25% of the GVA. The organization currently comprises approximately 3747
miners (see Table 10.1).
Table 10.1 Regional mining Number of

chambers and number of Description small-scale miners
small-scale miners
Potosi Regional Chamber 729
(Autoridad Juridica y
Administrativa Minera South Chichas Regional Chamber 561
(AJAM) (2015) Uyuni Regional Chamber 129
North of Potosi Regional Chamber 118
La Paz Regional Chamber 945
Oruro Regional Chamber 471
Cochabamba Regional Chamber 181
Chuquisaca Regional Chamber 159
Santa Cruz Regional Chamber 386
Tarija Regional Chamber 31
Beni Regional Chamber 35
Regional Chamber Pando 2
Total small-scale miners 3757
Table 10.2 Mining exports. Mineral/metal MTF (multilateral trading facility)

Based on data from
Zinc 80,000
Ministerio de Minas y
Metalurgia de Bolivia Tin 80
Gold 3
Silver 90
Antimony 450
Lead 22,000
Wolfram 86
Copper 2216
Iron 1,760,000
Manganese 718,660
Ulexite 146, 953, 923
Boric acid 14,985,462
Salt 2,261,845
Arsenic trioxide 120,000
Baritone 30,476,000
Amethyst 182,424
Ametrine 1751
Tantalite 46,558
Others 9,000,000
The number of miners, both individuals and cooperatives, is expected to increase

up to 4000 miners over the next 2 years. SSM currently employs approximately
35,000 people and contributes to $US 20 million to the national royalty system
(Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy of Bolivia 2015). SSM exports reached 650
million in 2017. Miners produce an average volume of 300 gross tons of ore per
month (Ministerio de Minas) (Table 10.2).
Focus groups with small-scale miners showed that a capacity-building roadmap

for sustainable SSM governance has the potential to increase SSM production by
15%, increase exports and revenues, and contribute to the achievement of SDG 9.
Evidence also shows that miners value a bottom-up approach to capacity-building
rather than a top-down agenda imposed by governments or international organiza-
tions. Such a bottom-up approach will be presented and discussed in forthcoming
sections.
10.4.1 SSM Governance in Bolivia

10.4.1.1 Governance: Policy Analysis
The SSM sector in Bolivia is supported on a strong governance framework.

However, it does not necessarily mean the existing governance environment is
equally strong. Governance comprises policies and multi-stakeholder collaborative
processes (Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002; Davies 2005; Minnery 2007). These two
pillars should be strong enough to secure sustainable SSM governance. Findings
show that despite the proliferation of policies and regulations in place, multi-
stakeholder collaboration is still fragile and needs to be enhanced in priority areas
valuable for locals. Table 10.3 shows the existing policy framework that regulates
the existing SSM governance:
Table 10.3 Policy framework for SSM governance (the Authors 2017)
Policy Description
National Constitution of Bolivia Articles 369, The constitution regulates mining operations
370, 371, and 372 (Congreso Nacional de la carried out by state-owned and private
Republica de Bolivia 2009) companies and SSM cooperatives
Law no. 1777, 1997 Mining Code (Congreso Former mining code
Nacional de la Republica de Bolivia 1991a)
Law 535 of Mining and Metallurgy (Congreso Existing mining code
Nacional de la Republica de Bolivia 1991a) Replaces Law No. 1777
Decree 29272, 2007 (Congreso Nacional de la Approves the existing development plan and
Republica de Bolivia 2014a) encourages better governance through four
actions:
a) Modernization of existing legal mining
framework
b) Strengthening the role of the government as
a key actor for mining development
c) Development and diversification of Bolivia’s
mining potential
d) Strengthening of SSM
The policy framework shown in Table 10.3 is supported by various institu-

tional stakeholders. Policy analysis and field observations showed there is an
active involvement of key organizations such as the Geological Mining Service
(SERGEOMIN), the Mining Corporation of Bolivia (COMIBOL), the National
Service for Minerals Commercialization’s Control and Registration
(SENARECOM), universities, and NGOs. Although miners have initiated col-
laborative processes with these institutions, they find it difficult to convey their
governance aspirations in a multi-stakeholder scenario. Despite a strong policy
framework, SSM governance is threatened mainly by lack of miners’ capacity to
communicate SSM priority areas for capacity-building and incorporate them
into the national governance agenda. Unsustainable SSM practices, rudimentary
infrastructure and transport, lack of energy sources and water, and precarious
administrative structures are areas in which locals need to build their capacity.
Miners agree these challenges are likely to be resolved through capacity-build-
ing that target priority areas for sustainable SSM governance (CANAMIL 2015).
10.4.1.2 Governance: Stakeholder Collaboration
At the beginning of the 1990s, the government closed the National Mining Bank
(BANIM). BANIM was accountable for allocating loans to SMM. SSM loans were
paid to BANIM through mineral production and were subsequently exported and
discounted from SSM debt. This banking system became unsustainable as miners
lacked financial planning education to be accountable for debts and revenue man-
agement. BANIM was bankrupted and SSM became a high-risk debtor. In response,
the government issued Decree 22862 in 1991 to proceed with BANIM’s closure
(Congreso Nacional de la Republica de Bolivia 1991b). Subsequently, the govern-
ment proposed the creation of the mining development fund for SSM. The fund was
aimed to provide finance and technical assistance. However, the fund was hesitant
to engage with SSM, and no concrete projects were developed as debt collection
issues remained critical. At that time, SSM was still considered a high-risk debtor.
In addition to poor SSM reputation, SSM marketing and financing systems were
transferred to the private sector. This situation also jeopardized international coop-
eration’s funding for SSM.
There was no way out for miners, and international and domestic precepts kept
making them accountable for the sustainability of SSM operations. In response,
miners tapped on stakeholder collaboration for capacity-building in priority areas to
secure their only livelihood option. However, there was uncertainty about priority
areas for SSM governance and to what extent they were valuable for miners. Various
focus groups were carried out to better understand miners’ priorities and assist them
in fostering sustainable solutions to become active participants in Bolivia’s resource
governance (CANAMIL 2015).
In focus groups with leaders in the SSM industry, it was agreed that multi-
stakeholder collaboration for SSM sustainability was essential to achieve SDG 9.
Miners agreed that institutions such as SERGEOMIN, COMIBOL, and
SENARECOM, higher education institutions, and NGOs have helped the SSM
industry overcome financial and technical challenges and therefore secure their only
livelihood option. Interestingly, miners perceived that collaboration between SSM
and NGOs is beneficial for accessing financial, legal, and management
capacity-building. CANALMIN, a non-for-profit organization, for instance, signed
a cooperation agreement with the SSM sector in the mining areas of Potosi, La Paz,
Oruro, Llallagua, Atocha, and Uyuni. Likewise, the SSM sector has initiated ongo-
ing collaboration processes with the Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy, the
Ministry of Development Planning, state and local governments, and indigenous
communities. Slowly, the SSM industry has overcome past barriers and initiated a
transformation toward sustainable SSM governance. A better understanding of pri-
ority capacity-building areas for SSM governance will also contribute to the
achievement of SDG 9.
10.4.2 Roadmap for Sustainable SSM Governance in Bolivia
An analysis of SSM leaders’ perceptions yielded interesting findings in relation to a

capacity-building roadmap for sustainable SSM in the Bolivian context. While the
idea of a roadmap for sustainable SSM is tempting from a theoretical standpoint, it
is only possible if stakeholders involved work in collaboration with miners to target
priority areas for SSM sustainability. This research identified nine priority areas to
trace the path for sustainable SSM governance in Bolivia: SSM formalization, risk
prevention, sustainable development, investment and technology transfer, economy
diversification, geology and minerals processing, multi-stakeholder collaboration,
marketing, and capacity-building. The roadmap here proposed seeks to create the
foundation for sustainable SSM governance in Bolivia. Increased emphasis by
stakeholders on these priority areas has the potential to foster SSM growth and
overall sustainability in the Bolivian context: “If mining were not sustainable, it
would have already finished. This is not possible because industrial development
depends largely on minerals and metals and their transformation into goods and
finished products” (Focus Group with Miners).
10.4.2.1 SSM Formalization
Miners suggest that SSM formalization should be undertaken through concession

agreements regulated under the Law 535 of Mining and Metallurgy (Congreso
Nacional de la Republica de Bolivia 2014a, b). In this regard, miners also agree that:
this new law establishes the regulatory framework for the formalization of mining... how-
ever, the government does not have the institutional capacity to formalize SSM or the fund-
ing to support such process. Yet, a few failed attempts towards formalization have been
proposed. These have not materialized as the government does not have enough resources
to support this process and miners were not convinced this was something necessary. (Focus
Groups with Miners)
10.4.2.2 Risk Prevention
Participants agree that risk prevention is a priority area for sustainable SSM gover-
nance. Hence, it is miners’ responsibilities to adopt the procedures and protocols for
risk prevention in the use of equipment and machinery, supplies, and materials. Risk
prevention activities should be regulated under the Law 602 on risk management
issued in 2014 (Congreso Nacional de la Republica de Bolivia 2014a). In this
respect, miners added that:
The most critical issue is that the life of workers is not valued. They are treated as a dispos-
able resource. This is something that comes from the time of the colony. Recent trends show
that having a healthy and safe worker is more productive. Just a few multinational compa-
nies apply this principle partially. The ideal scenario would be to train workers on indus-
trial security providing adequate resources and technology. The SSM sector does not benefit
from this (Focus Group with Miners).
10.4.2.3 Promoting Sustainable Development
Data analysis also showed that miners are somehow familiar with concepts such as
sustainability and social responsibility. However, this does not mean they have wide
knowledge about the operationalization of these concepts: “...the government
should participate in all SSM activities…to make sure all initiatives are sustainable
over time...the law should also be considered as an essential element of sustainable
development.” (Focus Group with Miners)
10.4.2.4 Investment and Technology Transfer
Miners agree that establishment of alliances with investment firms to access funding
and knowledge transfer opportunities can foster SSM productivity. SSM leaders
expect that both private and public actors collaborate to set the institutional condi-
tions to access credit and funding opportunities: “Mining activities cannot be car-
ried out without investing in technology (both, machinery and equipment) and
financial resources, particularly in the production stage. Introducing the use of tech-
nology will improve overall productivity” (Focus Group with Miners).
10.4.2.5 Economic Diversification
Findings show that SSM has the potential to foster regional sustainability if it is
considered a complimentary economic activity. Evidence shows there is a need to
foster alternative livelihood options along with SSM to achieve overall sustainabil-
ity. More importantly, increasing the participation of indigenous communities to
discuss SSM governance priorities is a key factor for SSM sustainability: “Revenues
derived from mining, either SSM or large mining, are important to help miners plan
for reinvestment on mining and alternative activities such as transport, agriculture,
particularly in the context of mining regions” (Focus Group with Miners).
10.4.2.6 Geology and Mineral Processing
Miners perceive that capacity-building in geology and minerals processing will

assist them in becoming more effective to unleash the geological potential in
Bolivia. Similarly, they agree that stakeholders should contribute to build miners’
capacity on “the design of production plans that integrate calculations on mineral
production, prices in domestic and international markets; taxes and royalty pay-
ments; costs of supplies, materials, tools, machinery and equipment”(Focus Group
with Miners).
10.4.2.7 Strengthening Multi-stakeholder Collaboration
Multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential to guarantee sustainable SSM gover-

nance. Collaboration should involve universities, research institutions, indigenous
communities, as well as SSM leaders. “Such a collaborative approach should follow
the principles of inclusiveness and participation in alignment with the Constitution”
(Focus Group with Miners).
10.4.2.8 Marketing
Miners agree that one of the factors that hinders the success of SSM has to do with
poor commercialization and marketing channels. Designing better ways to com-
mercialize SSM production in both local and international markets will increase
production as well as the reputation of the SSM industry. “SSM produces small
amounts of mineral material, therefore it is important to conduct marketing research
to identify competitive prices and emerging markets at the national level” (Focus
Group with Miners).
10.4.2.9 Capacity-Building
Capacity-building and technical assistance can also help the SSM industry in foster-
ing sustainability. In focus groups with miners, capacity-building became a recur-
rent topic of conversation. Miners think they do not hold the capacities to face the
challenges impose by local and global demands which have somehow threatened
their ability to produce on sustainable basis. There is a common agreement among
participants that miners in isolation do not hold the financial resources to cover
training or technical assistance costs. Capacity-building in finance, use of technol-
ogy, marketing, entrepreneurship, and sustainability are also some of the priority
capacity-building areas for SSM: “One of the major weakness of SMM is that it is
based on empirical knowledge and practical experience....requiring miners to build
their capacities on drilling, mineral processing and use of technology” (Focus Group
with Miners) (Table 10.4).
Table 10.4 Roadmap for sustainable SSM governance proposed by small-scale miners in Bolivia
Priority area Actions
SSM formalization Environmental and social licensing approvals
Sustainability planning, addressing priority areas for SSM such as
geology, production, and investment
Risk prevention Management systems for risk prevention in SSM
Increasing awareness for risk prevention management in SSM
Identifying a model for SSM production for mineral traceability
Investment projects that include key areas for risk management such
as industrial safety, environmental and social sustainability, and
quality production
Developing agreements in risk prevention and in partnership with
foreign and national investors
Promoting sustainable Inclusion of good safety practices and effective community relations
development with indigenous communities
Enhance human capital and employment generation for miners and
surrounding communities
Foster entrepreneurship for SSM production
Create accountability mechanisms to comply with national
guidelines, institutional commitments, and international standards
Investment and Guarantee SSM formalization
technology transfer Technical assistance provided by external stakeholders and investors
in mining and technology transfer
Capacity-building in minerals processing and use of new
technologies for SSM development
Economic Fostering connections between mining and agriculture supply
diversification chains under the mandate of the Ministry of Rural Development and
Land
Establishing small and medium enterprises for local procurement
Creation of community councils to monitor the relationships
between SSM and native indigenous communities
(continued)
Table 10.4 (continued)
Priority area Actions
Geology and mineral Design SSM plans that set clear exploration, mining, mineral
processing processing, and marketing goals
Design a prospecting and exploration plan that involves most miners
in SSM
Capacity-building on SSM supply chains. This will contribute to
SSM growth and diversification
Designing a new administrative and accounting model for SSM
Capacity-building to increase SSM accountability
Strengthening Establishing agreements and collaboration between the Ministry of
stakeholder Mining and Metallurgy, SERGEOMIN, and SENARECOM
collaboration Establishing positive relations between SSM and indigenous
communities
Increase SSM participation in social consultation processes
Developing collaborative initiatives with public and private
stakeholders in the mining supply chain
Marketing Developing marketing plans to enhance the commercialization of
lead, zinc, and silver
Including marketing as a constituent component of SSM
Capacity-building on local and international market prices and
exports
Capacity-building Capacity-building should also be targeted to assist miners and
surrounding communities to find alternative livelihood options
different from mining
Capacity-building on sustainable production across the mining
supply chain
Capacity-building on entrepreneurship for economic diversification
Capacity-building on finance and accounting
Capacity-building on industrial safety
Capacity-building on use of new technologies
Proposing a capacity-building roadmap for sustainable SSM governance valuable

for miners and local communities in the Bolivian context has the potential to con-
tribute to the achievement of SDG 9. It will also increase SSM accountability by
maximizing royalty and taxes revenues as well as foster sustainable and innovative
mining practices. Primarily supported by the Law No 535 and the National
Development Plan, the implementation of the roadmap here proposed requires the
support of various stakeholders, namely, civil society organizations, miners, gov-
ernment, higher education institutions, and multinational corporations. Multi-
stakeholder collaboration can make a strong contribution by providing technical
assistance, financial support, and capacity-building. Likewise, it is essential to
define stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities for the effective implementation of

the roadmap. This will lead to a collaborative governance environment in which
SSM can play an active role for sustainable SSM governance. Some of the roles and
responsibilities for the implementation of the capacity-building roadmap are as
follows.
In collaboration with the government and international cooperation agencies,
this study recommends that CANAMIL monitors the implementation of the road-
map. Regional chambers and civil society organizations should also be consulted on
the implementation of the nine priority areas for capacity-building, namely, SSM
formalization, risk prevention, sustainable development, investment and technology
transfer, economic diversification, geology and minerals processing, stakeholder
collaboration, marketing, and capacity-building.
Local communities and civil society organizations operating in Bolivian mining
regions should also become active participants in proposing SSM capacity-building
areas relevant for community sustainability. Although civil society participation has
not been widely discussed in this chapter, SSM has a direct impact on local com-
munities. In most cases miners come from unprivileged communities; hence they
are directly accountable for overall community sustainability. Interestingly, findings
show that miners are aware of local development expectations and have proposed
alternative livelihood options to diminish community dependency on mining.
However, research findings show that economy diversification is the result of active
community engagement and government leadership.
Governments should assume a more active role in SSM capacity-building and
overall sustainability. Local authorities in developing resource regions are usually
criticized for their weak institutional capacity. This research has found that the
Bolivian government has wide expertise on issuing legislation for SSM governance
and overall sustainability. However, the implementation of such legislation to foster
multi-stakeholder collaboration in this area fails. This inadequate involvement in
collaborative governance arrangements is hampering the opportunities to advance
toward SSM sustainability. However, the implementation of more participatory
governance mechanisms led by the government can have a major positive effect on
capacity-building for SSM and overall sustainability. The adoption of more partici-
patory governance approaches in which the government is the key player can also
lead to improvements in government accountability and community participation
toward the achievement of SDG 9.
Regarding the roles and responsibilities of SSM in the implementation of the
roadmap for SSM capacity-building, this investigation has found that miners have
undertaken several actions to move SSM forward and improve sustainability prac-
tices, yet there is still room for improvement. Strengthening collaboration with the
government and civil society can assist SSM in overcoming this challenge. Research
also shows that SSM continues to being trapped in conventional governance mecha-
nisms hindering SSM sustainability. Context-based governance arrangements such
as the roadmap for capacity-building proposed in this chapter can lead to more
sustainable SSM and capacity-building initiatives valuable for miners and local
communities. More influential stakeholders should also facilitate the execution of
the roadmap here proposed, particularly in regard to SSM capacity-building and
multi-stakeholder collaboration for its effective implementation.
This study highly recommends SSM capacity-building in nine priority areas.
Capacity-building should also be accompanied by ongoing research undertaken in
collaboration with universities or think tanks. This will assist stakeholders in iden-
tifying early barriers and hindering factors in the future implementation of the road-
map. In this context, the role of higher education and training institutions is essential
to equip miners with the capacity to ensure overall sustainability across the nine
priority areas. This transit toward sustainable SSM governance can increase overall
productivity, boost the Bolivian economy, and contribute to the achievement of
SDG 9.
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25(3):191–202
Chapter 11
SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities
Reducing Inequalities (SDG 10) in Australia’s
Superannuation System: A Multidimensional
Approach to Achieving Female Financial
Equality in Retirement
Caitlin Power
Abstract It is well-evidenced that women earn less than men; however, the inces-
sant effects of the gender pay disparity egregiously continue into retirement. Women
in Australia retire with approximately half the superannuation balance of men; con-
sequently, this chapter is preoccupied with understanding the reasons for the gender
disparity in retirement (superannuation) savings in Australia. Using the framework
of the sustainable development goals (SDG), notably SDG 10 (reducing inequali-
ties), this chapter critically engages with how superannuation policy can be amelio-
rated and reformed to facilitate the diverse career trajectories and primary care
responsibilities many women face. In line with SDG sub-target 10.2, the empower-
ment and promotion of economic inclusion, irrespective of age, sex, race etc., this
chapter stresses the integral role that financial education and literacy play in enabling
women to better understand the vital function of superannuation savings in prepar-
ing for a sustainable retirement. Finally, the latter section of this chapter explores
how superannuation policy can be structurally amended to consider the oftentimes
broken and disparate career trajectories women face.
Keywords Reducing inequalities · SDG 10 · Superannuation policy · Retirement ·

Female financial equality · Defined benefit schemes · Australia
C. Power (*)
Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, The University of Queensland,
St Lucia, QLD, Australia
e-mail: caitlin.power@uqconnect.edu.au

154 C. Power
11.1 Introduction
It is undoubtable that the current structure of Australia’s superannuation system is

systemically biased towards women. To this end, and as a symptom of systematic
policy inadeqauicies, women are retiring with 47% less superannuation than men
(Trust 2015; Campo et al. 2015; Agency 2017; Hetherington and Smith 2017; Riach
2018; Wood 2017; Feng et al. 2019). At present, women in Australia retire with
approximately half the superannuation (super) balance of men (Black 2015;
Committee 2016; Coates 2018; Koukoulas 2018; Agency 2017). According to finan-
cial data, men aged between 60 and 64 retire with an average superannuation bal-
ance of $270,710. Conversely, women in the same age bracket retire with only
$157,050 in super (see Table 11.1) (Agency 2017; Coates 2018). Further horrifically,
according to the Association of Australian Superannuation Funds (2018) 50% of
women approaching retirement in 2014 had a low super balance of nil to $49, 999.1
Cameron (2013, p. 2) makes the salient point that ‘nowhere is the extent of gen-
der inequality more starkly revealed than in the lifetime earnings and superannua-
tion savings of men and women’. It is thus axiomatic that addressing the gender gap
in superannuation balances is vital: single and elderly women in Australia are at the
greatest risk of absolute poverty and housing stress in retirement (Coates 2018). The
2016 senate inquiry, entitled ‘a husband is not a retirement plan’, noted that ‘older
and single women are one of the fasted growing cohorts of people living in poverty’
(Committee 2016). In a similar vein, a report into the lived experiences by women
on the precarious cusp of poverty in retirement revealed the extent of structural
inequalities which women in Australia are subjected to (Parkinson et al. 2013). In
the report, women spoke of the stress of being unable to retire with one woman
acknowledging that:
We had retired at one stage and had no intention of returning to work…I was on carer’s
pension for quite a while but it just wasn’t meeting the need. We just couldn’t survive.
(Parkinson et al. 2013, p. 11)
The report also highlighted the impoverished financial circumstances in which

many elderly women in Australia live; these women used free showers at sporting
clubs, and many women adjusted their meals to suit their meagre budget:
Sometimes your food all day is a cup of tea and bread and a little butter and sometimes fruit
but you can’t buy meat and all the things you need. (Parkinson et al. 2013, p. 10)
It is indisputable that wealth inequality in retirement harms women. In this regard,

the reasons behind female financial inequality in retirement are multifaceted, how-
ever, interrupted career trajectories, the gender wage gap, and taking primary
responsibility for unpaid care work are critical explanatory factors that facilitate the
gender disparity in retirement and superannuation savings. COTA Australia saliently
emphasises that ‘the wheels of retirement income security are set in motion many
For men in the same age bracket, 33% had a low balance of nil to $49,999; see Funds (2018, p. 9).
1
11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities 155
Table 11.1 Average superannuation balances by age (2013–2014)

Age Women’s average Men’s average Gender
group superannuation superannuation Difference superannuation gap
20–24 $3941 $6265 $2324 37.1%
25–29 $14,812 $18,072 $3360 18.0%
30–34 $25,549 $36,373 $10,825 29.8%
35–39 $34,812 $55,279 $20,467 37%
40–44 $53,536 $83,565 $30,029 35.9%
45–49 $67,805 $119,500 $51,695 43.3%
50–54 $84,228 $146,608 $62,380 42.5%
55–59 $115,046 $227,765 $112,719 49.5%
60–64 $138,154 $292,510 $154,356 52.8%
65–69 $117,113 $194,633 $77,489 39.8%
70–74 $101,960 $146,165 $44,205 30.2%
75–79 $25,692 $114,937 $89,245 77.6%
75–79 $17,468 $30,026 $12,558 41.8%
80–84 $4281 $26,226 $21,845 83.7%
Total $54, 916 $98,535 $43,619 44.3%
This table has been sourced from Agency (2017, p. 5)
decades before most people even begin to think about how well they are placed to
manage financially in later life’ (McGrath 2015, p. 5). This means that many elderly
women in Australia are reliant on the age pension, which has been deemed inade-
quate and insufficient (Pattern 2016; Society et al. 2016). In a report into the ade-
quacy of the age pension, one retiree highlighted that ‘after paying major bills, we
have $180 a fortnight to live on’ (Society et al. 2016, p. 34). A similar report by the
Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia found that to maintain a modest
style of living in retirement, a single person household requires $524.30 per week
(Australia 2018). However, this estimate figure excludes rent or mortgage payments
and thus assumes that retirees own their principle place of residence outright.
Moreover, this ‘modest’ estimate is 13% more than the current age pension which
is approximately $458.15 per week (Services 2019a). It is evident that relying solely
on the age pension in retirement places elderly retirees in a precarious financial situ-
ation. Consequently, the focus of this chapter lies in understanding the contributing
factors behind the financial disparity in retirement between genders; critically, this
chapter will pay particular attention to how sub-goals of sustainable development
(SDG) 10 can facilitate a narrowing in the gender gap in super balances between
men and women.
The structural biases innate within the foundations of Australia’s superannuation
system impede upon the achievement of SDG 10 – the reduction of inequality.
Crucially, a key sub-goal of SDG 10 is to eliminate discriminatory policies in favour
of programmes which enable social protection and thus the achievement of equality.
Sub-targets 10.3 and 10.4 demand equal opportunity via the abolition of discrimina-
tory laws, policies, and practices; moreover, sub-target 10.2 advocates for the
promotion of empowerment and the economic inclusion of all, irrespective of age,
156 C. Power
gender or other status (Nations 2019). Recognising the appeals of SDG 10 and sub-
target 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4, this chapter is principally concerned with understanding
how Australia’s superannuation policy can be modified to enable the economic
equality of women in retirement. These considerations are particularly salient in
light of the conclusions arising from the 2016 senate inquiry into financial security
in retirement, which is that women are at a greater risk of experiencing poverty,
housing stress and homelessness in retirement (Committee 2016, p. 13). These
financial difficulties stem largely from the systematic inequalities embedded within
superannuation policy in Australia. For example, super payments are intrinsically
tied to paid work; consequently, women are at a fundamental disadvantage as they
are more likely to assume primary responsibility for unpaid care work over the
course of their careers (Bulbeck 2005; Agency 2017). As this chapter will investi-
gate, the accumulation of larger superannuation balances demands full-time work
and an interrupted career trajectory. In a closely related vein, the gender pay gap,
gender wealth gap, and occupational segregation further obstruct the accumulation
of adequate superannuation balances for retirement (Agency 2015, 2017; Committee
2016). These observations lead Riach (2018) to make the salient argument that
‘women’s superannuation balances are determined by relationships and cultural
expectations, among them gender inequality in family care of disabled family mem-
bers, and the division of household labour’. This quote pivotally highlights the
structural deficits present within superannuation policy. As such, it is crucial to
question how these structural biases within Australia’s superannuation policy can be
dismantled.
This chapter will explore how SDG 10 can assist with mitigating the burden of
financial insecurity that women experience in retirement in three central parts. The
first section of this chapter will explore Australia’s multi-pillar pension framework.
Crucially, this section will delve into the three pillars which support retired
Australians: the pension, superannuation, and investments or voluntary savings.
Importantly, this section will emphasise that the gradual shift towards a more pri-
vately funded (superannuation) model of retirement can be inequitable to women,
as the accumulation of a larger superannuation balance is intrinsically linked to a
full-time employment and pay. The second section explores the societal and gen-
dered impediments that prevent women from accumulating sufficient superannua-
tion for retirement. Significantly, this section emphasises that there is a confluence
of barriers which inhibit women from accumulating the same superannuation bal-
ance as men; however, there are four overarching variables which critically affect
the ability of women to accumulate super: the gender pay gap, gendered occupa-
tional segregation, the care penalty, and the gender wealth gap. The critical conclu-
sion arising from this section is that there is a confluence of distinct factors which
impinge upon female financial security in retirement, thus, tackling or alleviating
gendered financial insecurity in retirement demands a multifaceted approach.
Consequently, the third section of this chapter will consider how SDG 10 can be
employed to dismantle the inequitable barriers which prevent women from achiev-
ing financial equality in retirement. With particular reference to sub-target 10.2, this
chapter argues that there is sufficient scope to expand financial education and liter-
acy programmes, specifically so that they are more tailored to the diverse career
trajectories that women face. Under the recommendations of target 10.2, I will fur-
ther argue that financial education should be embedded within a national school
curriculum framework. Finally, this chapter will consider how sub-target 10.3 and
10.4 can be employed to dismantle the structural and systemic barriers embedded
within superannuation policy in Australia. The key conclusion arising from this
chapter is that within the framework of the sustainable development goals, there is
ample scope to use the direction of SDG 10 to develop a national agenda which will
ameliorate financial security for women in retirement.
11.2 Surveying the Literature: The Architecture

of Australia’s Retirement Policy
Australia’s retirement system is embedded within a multi-pillar structure (see

Table 11.2) (Agency 2017; Cerise 2009; T. Treasury 2009). Australia’s three-
pillared system stems from the World Bank’s Pension Conceptual Framework,
which recommends a flexible, multi-pillar model (T. W. Bank 2001, 2006; W. Bank
2008). This chapter will briefly outline Australia’s three-pillar model for supporting
and ensuring retirement, beginning with the age pension.
Table 11.2 Australia’s three-pillar retirement income stream
Voluntary savings
The Age Pension Superannuation
and assets
• Social Security • Employers are • E.g. shares, managed

Payment (publicly required to pay a funds, or cash with in
funded) designated portion a bank account
• Means tested (9.5%) of an • Investment properties
• Provides a minum employees earnings • Family home
'safety net' level of into a fund
income in retirement • Employer
contributions have
increased from 3% in
1992 to the current
level of 9.5%
This figure has been compiled using information from Agency (2017), Coates (2018), T. Treasury
(2019) and D. o. t. Treasury (2009)
158 C. Power
11.2.1 The Age Pension
The first pillar is the public age pension, provided by the government (Agency 2017;
Coates 2018). The age pension is designed as a ‘safety net’ income stream (Agnew
et al. 2013; Coates 2018). Eligibility for the age pension is determined by compre-
hensive means testing, which includes assessing eligible income and assets (exclud-
ing the family home) (Agnew et al. 2013). Eligible assets that are assessed include,
but are not limited to, investment properties, financial investments, superannuation
investments, business assets, motor vehicles, collectable items etc. (Services 2019b).
At present, the current maximum pension payment per fortnight for a single retiree
(including the energy supplement) is $916.30, and for a couple, it is $1381.40
(Services 2019a).
11.2.2 The Superannuation Guarantee
The second pillar is the mandatory superannuation guarantee, or a defined contribu-

tion (DC) scheme. While Australia’s history of occupational superannuation
schemes can be traced back to federation, the mandatory superannuation guarantee
was legislated by the federal government in 19922 (Brunner and Thorburn 2008).
The superannuation guarantee mandates for a percentage (9.5%) of an employee’s
ordinary time earnings to be paid to a nominated super fund3 (SuperFunds 2019).
Funds paid into a superannuation scheme can only be accessed at retirement age
(preservation age).4 When superannuation legislation was first introduced, the man-
datory level of employer contributions was 3%; however, the required minimum
level has gradually increased to 9.5%. By July 2025 it is expected to increase to 12%
of ordinary time earnings (Office 2019). Critically, the superannuation guarantee is
not extended to workers who earn less than $450 in salary or wages, from a single
employer, during a calendar month (Office 2018c). The total amount of super avail-
able at retirement depends upon a number of factors, such as contributions made
during an employee’s working life (concessional contributions); private
(non-concessional) contributions; the fund’s investment returns; and finally, fees
and tax paid on contributions (MoneySmart 2019).
2
Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Bill 1992
3
There are various distinct types of super funds, including industry schemes, corporate schemes
and self-managed funds; see Brunner and Thorburn (2008, p. 15) for a typology.
4
The current minimum preservation age (the age your super must be ‘preserved’ until) is between
55 and 60 depending on the year of birth; see Office (2015).
11.2.3 Voluntary Savings and Assets
The final pillar of Australia’s retirement system is private savings and assets.
Examples of items which are incorporated within this category include managed
funds; owner-occupied properties; investment properties; share portfolios; precious
metals; and cash in a bank account or term deposit (Agency 2017; Coates 2018; D.
o. t. Treasury 2009). As emphasised previously, the three pillars of Australia’s retire-
ment system are modelled on the World Bank’s recommendation of flexible multi-
pillar pension system (T. W. Bank 2001, 2006, p. xxii).
Vis-à-vis gender inequities women face in retirement, in recent decades, there
has been a gradual shift away from a predominantly state-funded pension model
towards a more privately funded system of retirement income, which can be limit-
ing to women. Brunner and Thorburn (2008, p. 43) note there has been a shift
towards a greater emphasis on self-provision in retirement, either in full or part
through the superannuation guarantee. They further note that ‘people today have a
clear understanding that superannuation and private savings will be needed if they
are to have a comfortable retirement’. The stronger emphasis on the mandatory
superannuation guarantee can be limiting to women. As the subsequent section of
this chapter will explore, the current superannuation system in Australia limits
women from accumulating an equivalent super balance as men, this is largely
because the system is designed to reward full-time work and uninterrupted career
trajectories. However, as emphasised in the introduction, women are oftentimes
handicapped from accumulating the same superannuation savings as men, as they
are more likely to take on unpaid care work, work reduced hours or leave the
workforce (Bulbeck 2005; P. Commission 2013; Agency 2017). Accordingly, the
following section will explore these elucidatory variables in greater depth.
11.3 S
uperannuation and the Gender Gap in Retirement
Income
There are several key interrelated factors that hinder the ability of women to accu-
mulate equal superannuation balances as men (Funds 2018; Hetherington and Smith
2017). These include the gender pay gap, interrupted career trajectories, family and
care commitments, gender segregation in the labour market and societal and cul-
tural factors (McGrath 2015; Committee 2016; Agency 2017; Feng et al. 2019).
Hetherington and Smith (2017) argue that the confluence of variables and diverse
circumstances mean that women’s retirement income in Australia is a wicked prob-
lem (see Fig. 11.1).
It is evident that the variety of barriers to achieving equal financial security in
retirement is multifaceted. Consequently, this section will focus on four overarching
factors which impinge upon the ability of women to accumulate sufficient super
160 C. Power
Fig. 11.1 The multifaceted sources which contribute towards female financial insecurity in retire-
ment (This figure has been sourced from (Hetherington and Smith 2017))
balances for retirement: the gender wealth gap, the gender pay gap, gendered occu-
pational segregation in the labour market and the care penalty.
11.3.1 Gender Wealth Gap
The gender wealth gap is the difference between men and women’s accumulation of
assets (Ravazzini and Chesters 2018). While the gender pay gap is oriented towards
illustrating the wealth gap in terms of wages, the gender wealth gap depicts a more
fuller picture of the economic disparity between genders. In this regard, the gender
wealth gap aims to be more all-encompassing and focuses on assets, bonds, prop-
erty, possessions, etc. (Austen et al. 2013). In Australia, the gender wealth gap
between men and women increased from 10.4% to 22.8% between 2002 and 2010
(Committee 2016). This equates to an approximate gap of $46,900 (Austen et al.
2013).5 A single male under 35 possesses assets worth $120,200 which is approxi-
5
In this study, Austen et al. (2013, p. 20) note that the increase in the gender wealth gap was pri-
marily driven by the higher rate of increase in the median value of primary home assets held by
single male households (SMHs) compared to single female households (FMH). The key conclu-
mately $56,700 (89%) more than the average single female in the same age cohort
(Austen et al. 2013; Wade 2014). According to Professor Austen, ‘the data suggests
we are going to see substantial gender wealth inequalities in old age’ (as cited in
(Wade 2014). Critically, reasons for the gender disparity in wealth accumulation are
multifaceted and diverse; for example, the gender wealth gap can be attributed to
women having lower average incomes, the gender pay gap, and biases within the
labour market such as the glass ceiling and occupational segregation (Austen et al.
2013; Ravazzini and Chesters 2018). The fundamental point is that the explanatory
factors associated with the gender wealth gap also affect female financial security in
retirement. In this vein, it is necessary to consider the gender wealth gap in conjunc-
tion with mitigating variables such as the gender pay gap and gendered occupational
segregation.
11.3.2 Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap is a critical contributor towards the gender disparity in superan-
nuation balances. The pay gap represents the difference between men and women’s
average weekly full-time equivalent earnings, expressed as a percentage of men’s
earnings (Agency 2019b). At present, women earn approximately $239.80 per week
less than men, with this figure being even greater when women’s part-time and
casual earnings are considered (Agency 2019a; Cerise 2009, p. 10). The Human
Rights Commission (2017) makes the salient point that if women were to work full-
time over a 45-year career and take no time off for parenting or unpaid care commit-
ments, they would still earn approximately $700,000 less than men. In this regard,
the gender pay gap is a punishment to women throughout their working life
(Committee 2016). This is because the accumulation of super is intrinsically linked
to paid work (Hetherington and Smith 2017). It is estimated that the gender pay gap
in average full-time earnings for full-time employees results in a 19.3% shortfall in
superannuation contributions for women compared to men (Black, 2015). However,
the gender pay gap is more multidimensional than the chasm between average
weekly full-time earnings. In this regard, the gender pay gap assumes different
forms: for example, women are less likely to occupy positions of upper manage-
ment, women are more likely to face interruptions to their careers and women are
more likely to work in an occupation or industry which attracts lower wages
(Wingrove and Ferrier 2016; Hetherington and Smith 2017). The gender pay gap
assumes a more insidious posture when it is considered alongside gendered occupa-
tional segregation and unpaid care work. Folbre (2017) makes the critical point that
when women earn less than their partners, they are more likely to take on increased
responsibility for family care. As such, it is necessary to consider how gendered
occupational segregation affects female earning capacity.
sion from their study is that the differential growth rates in the value of the primary asset type drive
the gender wealth gap.
162 C. Power
11.3.3 Gendered Occupational Segregation
Female-dominated industries and occupations attract lower wages (Committee 2016;

Agency 2017; A. H. R. Commission 2017). Jobs in the field of health care, social
assistance, education and training attract lower average remuneration than male-
dominated industries, such as construction and mining services (Woman 2017). In a
concerning vein, women constitute 60–80% of workers in lower-paid industries such
as health care, social assistance, education and training (Committee 2016; A. H.
R. Commission 2017). KPMG’s report into pay inequality in Australia revealed that
22.4% of women work in administrative positions, compared to 7.4% of men
(Wingrove and Ferrier 2016). Further to this point, there is a gender disparity between
women and men in managerial roles across all sectors; 19.5% of men occupy mana-
gerial roles compared to 11% of women (Wingrove and Ferrier 2016). Gendered
occupational segregation and lower pay in female-dominated industries mean that
women are less likely to accumulate an equal superannuation balance as men
(Committee 2016). Thus, it is clear that gendered occupational segregation contrib-
utes to, and fuels, the financial insecurity faced by women in retirement. Closely
related to gendered occupational segregation is the ‘care penalty’ faced by women:
male-dominated workplaces attract a smaller proportion of part-time employees,
suggesting that women continue to sustain the responsibility for unpaid care work
(Folbre 2017). It is noted that expectations surrounding high hours of work can deter
women from entering traditionally male-dominated industries (Folbre 2017). In sum,
occupational segregation can have a damaging impact on a female’s ability to accu-
mulate sufficient superannuation savings for retirement (A. H. R. Commission 2017).
11.3.4 The Care Penalty
There is an increased likelihood that women will take on a greater share of unpaid
care work throughout her career (Unions 2016; Agency 2017). Feng et al. (2019)
note that in comparison to OECD countries, Australian women work increasingly in
part-time employment; 52.8% (76.3%) of women with dependent children under
age 5 (ages 6–14) were employed in 2006/2007, compared to 94% (92%) of men.
This evidence supports the conclusion that mothers largely remain the primary child
caregiver. Critically, unpaid care work translates into lower superannuation savings.
Research into superannuation contributions emphasise the deleterious effects of
missing contributions in the early years of retirement savings (Warner 2014). In a
study by the Melbourne Institute, research demonstrates that when the decreased
earning capacity of unpaid care work is balanced against superannuation contribu-
tions, it translates into a $126 million gap in earnings during the period that a mother
takes maternity leave (Baker 2011b).6 Notably, as superannuation contributions are
innately linked to paid work, while a mother is taking parental leave, oftentimes she
6
Baker (2011b, p. 12) research uses sample of 80, 725 women who stopped working to have a child
and returned to work within 12 months.
is making no or reduced superannuation contributions during this period. Moreover,

when this is considered in conjunction with the wage penalty or the decreased earn-
ing capacity faced by women who take parental leave, it amplifies the absent super-
annuation contributions made during a period in which a woman takes unpaid care
leave. Saint-Martin and Venn (2010) highlight that when women take leave to care
for a newborn child, they are subject to a wage penalty, which in a deleterious man-
ner translates into a reduced earning capacity. They point out that ‘long periods of
part-time work could damage individuals’ career prospects and increase their
(women’s) risk of poverty in retirement’ (Saint-Martin and Venn 2010). In a similar
vein, Baker (2011a) highlights that following maternity leave, women often return
to work in a reduced capacity, with more than eight in ten (82%) of women return-
ing to work on a part-time basis after the birth of a child, however, this results in a
wage penalty: ‘women returning to work within 12 months of taking leave suffered
a wage penalty during the first year back at work of almost 7%, this increases to
12% in the following year’. Critically, decreased superannuation contributions dur-
ing maternity or unpaid care leave have a powerful augmented effect over later
superannuation balances, as the power of compounding returns magnifies into larger
retirement pots over time (Feng et al. 2019). Finally, societal stigma towards work-
ing mothers and stay at home fathers and the assumption that the decision to work
in a more reduced or flexible capacity is considered an individual choice further
contribute towards the insidious barriers that prevent women from achieving finan-
cial security in retirement. As the Human Rights Commission report into gender and
workplace stigmatisation emphatically encapsulates: ‘[a] women’s decisions to take
time out of paid work, to trade salary for flexibility or to work in a low paid job are
often viewed as a matter of individual choice and responsibility. Yet, these choices
are very often constrained by a range of external factors such as inflexible work-
place structures, family dynamics, cultural pressures and gendered stereotypes…the
sum of these factors could leave her in a financially improvised retirement’ (A. H.
R. Commission 2017, pp. 9–10). This quote saliently emphasises the central crux of
female financial insecurity in retirement that financial vulnerability is the result of
multifaceted variables, and in this regard, it can be described as a wicked problem
(Hetherington and Smith 2017). This conclusion leads into the subsequent section
of this chapter, which addresses SDG 10 within the context of the gender gap in
super. The following section will use SDG 10 – reducing inequalities – to highlight
that mitigating or alleviating female financial insecurity in retirement requires a
multilevel and multifaceted approach.
11.4 U
tilising the Methodological Understanding of SDG 10:
Reducing Inequalities and the Gender Gap in Super
It is undeniable that the superannuation system is not working for women (Trust
2015). Considering this conclusion, it is both pertinent and necessary to interrogate
the role of SDG 10 in alleviating the burden of female financial insecurity in retire-
ment. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10 is concerned with the reduction in
164 C. Power
inequality within and amongst countries. It is a critical preoccupation of SDG 10 to

eliminate discriminatory policies in favour of programmes that enable social equal-
ity. This is in line with sub-targets 10.3 and 10.4 which respectively call for equal
opportunity via the elimination of discriminatory laws, policies and practices;
moreover, it is also in line with sub-target 10.2 which advocates for the promotion
and empowerment of the economic inclusion of all, irrespective of age, gender or
other status (Nations 2019). As emphasised in the previous section of this chapter,
the current structure of superannuation policy is prejudicial to women and the
achievement of financial security in retirement. The accumulation of larger superan-
nuation demands a full-time work pattern and continual employment. However,
while achieving financial equality in retirement is the desirable ultimata, because of
the complexity and wicked nature of the issue, the realisation of equality in superan-
nuation balances needs a multifaceted approach (Hetherington and Smith 2017;
Jericho 2018; Riach 2018). As a consequence, this section will consider how sub-
targets 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 can be utilised to provide a platform for the reduction of
inequality in superannuation savings between men and women. The first section
will promulgate the argument that within the boundaries of sub-target 10.2, there is
a greater need to empower women and young adults through targeted financial lit-
eracy and education programmes. Finally, the latter section will consider how sub-
targets 10.3 and 10.4 can be utilised to remove discriminatory policies which hinder
women from achieving equal superannuation.
11.4.1 S
DG 10.2: Empowering Women and Young Adults
Through Financial Education and Literacy
The functioning of Australia’s three-pillar retirement system requires individuals to

be well informed and possess a sufficient level of financial literacy (Agnew et al.
2013). In a study of Australian financial literacy levels, Agnew et al. (2013, p. 8)
found that women scored lower than men in a financial literacy test. They concluded
that financial illiteracy is more prevalent amongst ‘younger individuals, women,
those with less education and those who are not employed’. Their findings are
linked to the argument that financial literacy and education play a crucial role in
ensuring adequate preparation for retirement. On a larger scale and similar vein, the
OECD, in conjunction with the International Network on Financial Education, esti-
mated that young adults are amongst the lowest levels of financial literacy (OECD
2012). For example, in Denmark, 73% of young adults have little or no knowledge
of interest rates (OECD 2012). Similarly, Ali et al. (2015) found that women have
lower levels of knowledge about the superannuation system. In a questionnaire
designed to test respondents’ knowledge in regard to super, 20% of women were
able to answer seven or more questions correctly. It is evident that there is a
decreased level of financial comprehension amongst women and young adults, and
in this regard, it is evident that there needs to be a greater emphasis on providing
tailored financial literacy.
The Victorian Women’s Trust (2015) emphasised that amongst young Australian
women, there is a lack of confidence and consequently knowledge about how to
effectively plan for retirement. In their recommendations to the Senate Standing
Committee on Economics, the trust called for more targeted communication for
women to encourage them to engage with super. Critically, they emphasised that
there is a strong impetus for super funds to customise their communication to reflect
the lived experience of Australian women, stressing that information should be tai-
lored to address barriers such as career breaks and unpaid care responsibilities. To
this end, information should be easy to understand and devoid of financial jargon.
Ali et al. (2015, p. 101) concur with this suggestion, arguing that there is a need for
more tailored information which reflects the life experiences and knowledge levels
of different demographics. Similarly, Women in Super noted that financial planning
training across Australia does not include gender awareness nor address the topic of
how gender can affect retirement planning (Wood and Buckley 2015). They argued
for greater gender-specific education which addresses insurance needs, asset alloca-
tion and the benefits of saving. It is clear there is a greater need to provide targeted
information to women and young adults vis-à-vis superannuation and how to under-
stand and engage with their super. Consequently, in 2014, The Australian Taxation
Office (ATO) launched a campaign called ‘five-step super check’, which encour-
aged women to undertake five simple steps to ensure that they increase their super
savings. The campaign used social media, proactive media, and paid advertising: it
particularly targeted women aged 25–49 (Committee 2016). However, targeted edu-
cational programmes need to be embedded within a broader financial education and
literacy framework. In this regard, several suggestions to the Senate Standing
Committee on Economics stressed that there needs to be a stronger emphasis on
financial literacy programmes in Australian schools (Committee 2016). To assist
with financial education in schools, the OECD (2012) proposes a number of recom-
mendations. For example, the financial literacy programme should be embedded
within a broader ‘coordinated national strategy’, and there should be a ‘learning
framework’ which articulates key goals, learning outcomes, content and pedagogi-
cal approaches. Finally, the OECD suggests that financial literacy should form a
‘core part of the school curriculum’. In this regard, instead of teaching financial
literacy as a stand-alone subject, it is recommended that financial concepts are inte-
grated into core subjects such as mathematics, economics, social science or citizen-
ship (OECD 2012). The payoff in investing in developing financial literacy
frameworks and programmes is ‘substantial’ (Behrman et al. 2012). In a US-based
study, Behrman et al. (2012, p. 303) show that financial literacy enhances the likeli-
hood that individuals will make contributions to their retirement savings. Similarly,
in an Australian context, Professor Carsten Murawski stressed that ‘early interven-
tion education is one of a number of avenues to systematically change peoples’
behaviour’. It is evident that within the scope sub-target 10.2, which calls for the
empowerment and promotion of the economic inclusion of all, there is sufficient
space to pay a greater heed towards developing a sustainable and comprehensive
financial education programme, particularly, a programme which focuses specifi-
cally on empowering young adults and women in key areas of retirement planning.
166 C. Power
However, it is important to recognise that financial literacy programmes are suffi-

cient to a point (Riach 2018). In order to improve equality between women and men
in retirement, it is also necessary to address the systemic barriers innate within the
current superannuation system. In this regard, it is beneficial and necessary to con-
sider how sub-target 10.3 and 10.4 can be employed to reduce the economic inequal-
ities in retirement between men and women.
11.4.2 S
DG 10.3 and 10.4: Removing Systemic Barriers
to Meliorate Superannuation Policy for Women
This section will focus on the systemic barriers of superannuation policy in

Australia; crucially, these systemic obstructions place women in a precarious disad-
vantage of being unable to accumulate adequate super savings for retirement. As
investigated in the first section of this chapter, this largely stems from the preference
superannuation policy given to full-time and continuous work. However, as women
are more likely to take parental leave, unpaid care leave or work part-time, this
inflicts a handicap upon women in accumulating the same superannuation savings
as men. As such, this section will consider how the superannuation system can be
reformed to account for the different work and career trajectories that women face.
The mechanisms that this chapter will address include increasing the low income
super tax offset (LISTO) contributions to $1000; paying superannuation during paid
parental leave abolishing the $450 minimum threshold; and finally, establishing an
independent review panel. Crucially, these mechanisms align with sub-targets 10.3
and 10.4 of SDG 10, which, respectively, call for the adoption of policies that
achieve greater equality and secure equality of opportunity (Nations 2019).
11.4.2.1 T
axation of Concessional Contributions: Increasing LISTO
Co-contributions
Concessional contributions7 are taxed at a flat rate of 15%; however, this is a puni-
tive tax for low-income earners (Funds 2018). For example, an individual earning
up to the tax-free threshold ($18,200) per annum has an income tax rate of 0%.
Similarly, an individual earning $37,000 per annum has an income tax rate of
9.65%. It is evident that the flat rate tax of 15% on concessional contributions penal-
ises low-income earners, as they lose 15% of their contribution; thus, it can be
7
Concessional contributions are contributions made into a super fund before tax. This includes
employer contributions (compulsory contributions), additional employer concessional contribu-
tions, salary sacrifice payments and contributions that are allowed as an income tax deduction.
Importantly, once the concessional contributions are in your super fund, they are taxed at a 15%
rate. Concessional contributions are distinguishable from non-concessional contributions; see
Office (2018a, b).
argued that low-income earners are not encouraged or incentivised to make addi-
tional contributions to their super. Industry Super Australia stresses that the regres-
sive nature of tax on concessional contributions provides an inadequate incentive
for low-income earners to make additional contributions to their super (Campo et al.
2015). Industry Super Australia stresses that the regressive nature of tax on conces-
sional contributions provides an inadequate incentive for low-income earners to
make additional contributions to their super (Campo et al. 2015). The Association
of Superannuation Funds (2018, p. 3) suggests that consideration should be given to
the idea of a ‘top-up’ payment or super co-contribution to incentivise low-income
earners to engage with their super. More substantially, it has been recommended
that the low income super tax offset (LISTO)8 contribution be increased to $1000
(Scheerlinck and Webb 2017). It is estimated that increasing the LISTO contribu-
tion to $1000 would produce a 14.7% increase in superannuation balances for low-
income earners, many of whom are female. Women in Super estimate that a woman
aged 25 with a starting salary of $25,000 p.a. and a projected super balance of
$205,210 would be able to increase this projected balance through the proposed
$1000 government contribution by 14.7%. They estimate that through this scheme,
the projected retirement balance would be $235, 347 (Wood 2017).
11.4.2.2 S
uperannuation Payments During Parental Leave and Removal
of the $450 Threshold
Paying superannuation payments while on Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave or

employee Paid Parental Leave would assist in narrowing the gender gap in superan-
nuation balances (Campo et al. 2015; Wood and Buckley 2015; Committee 2016;
Dyrenfurth 2018). While all employees are generally entitled to 18 weeks’
government-assisted paid parental leave, these payments do not attract superannua-
tion. Conversely, sick leave, annual leave, and long service leave all attract super
contributions. It is estimated that paying super during government paid parental
leave would increase retirement savings by 1.7% (Campo et al. 2015). In conjunc-
tion to this, removing the $450 threshold exemption would boost the superannua-
tion of women who work casually or part-time across different employers and jobs
(Committee 2016). Women in Super noted that there are many females working
part-time or casually across two or three different jobs, none of which allows them
to reach the $450 monthly threshold. Across the two or three distinct jobs, they may
cumulatively earn more than $450 a month, yet receive no super contributions from
any employer (Committee 2016). Campo et al. (2015) estimate that 250,000 indi-
viduals are excluded from superannuation contributions due to not satisfying the
$450 threshold.
8
The low income super tax offset contribution (LISTO) provides low-income earners with an
adjusted taxable income of up to $37,000 with a contribution equal to 15% of their total conces-
sional (pre-tax) super contributions. It is currently capped at $500; see Office (2017).
168 C. Power
11.4.2.3 Independent Review Panel
Finally, COTA Australia stresses that to understand the complexities that underpin
retirement income in Australia, independent and holistic commission should be
established (McGrath 2015). They argue that a retirement income review should be
composed of an independent chair and expert members: the committee should be
tasked with reviewing all aspects of superannuation and retirement policy. The
review committee should further be tasked with evaluating and optimising retire-
ment income policy in Australia (McGrath 2015).
In sum, this chapter has considered how SDG 10 can be utilised to give space and
mobility to the dismantling of systemic barriers that exist within superannuation
policy in Australia. The central conclusion arising from this section is that there is
scope to employ sub-targets 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 of SDG 10 to achieve sufficient
financial equality in retirement for women in Australia. Critically, this conclusion is
intrinsically connected to the central argument of this chapter, that is, within the
framework of the sustainable development goals, there is ample scope to use the
direction of SDG 10 to develop a national agenda which will ameliorate financial
security for women in retirement.
11.5.1 C
ultivating a Sustainable Impact: Improving Gender
Equality in Retirement Through SDG 10
This chapter was primarily concerned with understanding female financial security
in retirement – particularly with regard to the gender gap in superannuation bal-
ances. The first section of this chapter outlined Australia’s retirement and pension
system. The critical conclusion arising from this section was that the shift towards a
greater emphasis on self-provision in retirement is limiting to women. This is
because the current structure of superannuation policy in Australia privileges a full-
time and uninterrupted career trajectory; however, women are often handicapped
from achieving an equal superannuation balance as men as they are more likely to
take on unpaid care work, work in a reduced capacity (fewer hours), or leave the
workforce all together. Critically, this conclusion leads to the second section of this
chapter which offered a more in-depth explanation as to why women are disadvan-
taged in achieving sufficient superannuation balances for retirement. Pivotally, this
section emphasised that the confluence of associated variables means that the gap in
women’s retirement income can be considered a wicked problem. This section of
the chapter investigated four overarching factors that inhibit the ability of women to
accumulate equal super balances: the gender wealth gap, the gender pay gap, gen-
dered occupational segregation and the care penalty. The conclusion arising from
this section was that female financial insecurity is multifaceted and thus demands a
multilevel approach. This conclusion broached into the final section of this chapter,
which used the SDG framework to explore how superannuation policy in Australia
can be ameliorated in order to mitigate the gap in retirement savings. With particular
reference to SDG 10 – reduced inequalities – the third section emphasised that tack-
ling female financial security in retirement demanded a multi-pronged approach. To
this end, the final section utilised sub-target 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 to explore mecha-
nisms by which the gender gap in superannuation savings can be narrowed. Utilising
SDG 10.2 this section found that there is a greater need and impetus to empower
women and young adults through targeted financial literacy and education pro-
grammes, particularly, with information that will take into account the unique and
diverse life circumstances that women face. Finally, the latter section of the chapter
drew on SDG 10.3 and 10.4 to argue that discriminatory policies embedded within
the architecture of the superannuation system need to be addressed and dismantled.
Policy mechanisms that require amendment include increasing the low income
super tax offset (LISTO) contributions to $1000; paying superannuation during paid
parental leave; abolishing the $450 minimum threshold; and finally, establishing an
independent review panel. The central conclusion arising from this chapter is that
within the framework of the SDGs, there is both ample and sufficient scope to use
the direction of SDG 10 to develop a national agenda on improving female financial
security in retirement.
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Chapter 12
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities
and Communities
SDG 11 and the New Urban Agenda: Global
Sustainability Frameworks for Local Action
Hitesh Vaidya and Tathagata Chatterji
Abstract Recent global policy discourses orchestrated under the aegis of the
United Nations, such as the Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030) and the
New Urban Agenda of UN Habitat, stress upon the need for concerted focus at the
city and the community scale – not only to achieve long-term developmental objec-
tives but also to make direct tangible benefits to the quality of lives of the people.
The world at large is gradually taking an urban turn, as more and more people are
moving to the cities. Cities account for 55% of the population, produce 85% of the
global GDP but also 75% of the greenhouse gas emissions. The issues of global
sustainability cannot be addressed, without strongly addressing sustainability at the
urban scale. This chapter focuses on SDG 11 as the analytical framework to explore
how the transformative force of urbanization represents opportunity and challenge
to meet several other sustainability challenges, such as SDG 1 (poverty reduction),
SDG 4 (education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation),
SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 8 (economic growth) and SDG 13 (cli-
mate action). The research highlights research and action points for urban gover-
nance systems to mainstream sustainability concerns through their local planning
and development mechanism.
Keywords SDG 11 · New Urban Agenda · Urban local bodies · India
H. Vaidya (*)
India Country Manager, UN Habitat, New Delhi, India
e-mail: hitesh.vaidya@un.org
T. Chatterji

174 H. Vaidya and T. Chatterji
12.1 Introduction
While launching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Ban Ki-Moon, the
former Secretary-General of the United Nations, noted that ‘Cities are where the
battle for sustainable development will be won or lost’ (Fabre 2017, p. 4).
Urbanization has become a defining phenomenon of the twenty-first century, as we
are increasingly living in an urban world. In 1950, the world was predominantly
rural, as global urbanization level was 30%. By 2050, the scenario is projected to
reverse, as urbanization level is expected to reach 70% (UN 2018).
Cities are the hubs of innovation, employment and wealth generation. Urban
areas already account for 55% of the global population and produce 85% of the
global GDP. But the way the processes of urbanization are unfolding is also deeply
problematic. Urban wastes are polluting our air, water and soil resources, and cities
account for 75% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the issues of global
sustainability cannot be addressed, without strongly addressing the question of
urban sustainability.
Recognizing the importance of the cities in contemporary world, the UN General
Assembly in 2015 decided to adopt ‘sustainable cities and communities’ as a dis-
tinct goal (SDG 11) under Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030). The over-
arching aim of SDG 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable. Recent global policy discourses orchestrated under the
aegis of the United Nations, such as COP 24, Paris Agreement (UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change) and the New Urban Agenda of UN Habitat stress
upon the need for concerted focus at the city and the community scale – not only to
achieve long-term developmental objectives but also to make direct tangible bene-
fits to the quality of lives of the people.
This chapter focuses on SDG 11 as the analytical framework to explore how the
transformative force of urbanization represents opportunity and challenge to meet
several other sustainability challenges. The research highlights research and action
points for urban governance systems to mainstream sustainability concerns through
their local planning and development mechanism. The Sustainable Development
Goals have adopted a comprehensive systems approach. The targets and indicators
of the 17 SDGs are tied in such a manner that pursuance of one goal often leads to
cascading benefits. City as a spatial platform offers opportunities to address sustain-
ability concerns in a range of sectoral infrastructure domains, such as transporta-
tion, energy, water, education and healthcare through regulatory, fiscal, planning
and managerial instruments. Consequently, SDG 11 has robust linkages with sev-
eral other SDGs. For example, LED street lighting, which reduce urban municipal
expenditure, also contribute towards energy efficiency (SDG 7) and promote sus-
tainable production and consumption (SDG 12).
The global goals set under SDG 11 vitally depend on their integration with the
local developmental agenda for effective implementation and to make tangible dif-
ferences in the everyday lives of people. SDG is closely aligned with the New Urban
Agenda (NUA), which was adopted at the Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador, in
12 SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities 175
October 2016. The NUA is the guiding document for the UN system’s urban engage-
ments over the next 20 years. The signatory countries are required to frame respec-
tive National Urban Policies as a framework to drive urban sustainability targets.
Thus, the National Urban Policy can serve as the qualitative toolbox to guide and
monitor accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. It provides
a template to national government agencies to benchmark progress at different cities
and prioritize its funding mechanisms accordingly. Furthermore, it is also a road-
map for urban local bodies (ULBs) and allied agencies of urban governance, to
incorporate the SDG 11 targets through their local planning and governance
frameworks.
The contemporary global urbanization is being driven by newly industrializing
countries of Asia and Africa. The developing countries often lack adequate state
capacities to comprehensively address urban issues, and civic infrastructure gaps
are being perpetuated. Supply of new infrastructure is being quickly outpaced by
population pressure caused by natural growth as well as migration. Between 2000
and 2014, the proportion of urban population living in slums declined by 20% (from
28.4 to 22.8%) across the globe, whereas the rate of new home construction lagged
far behind the rate of urban population growth, and the number of people living in
slums actually increased from 807 to 883 million over this period (UN Habitat 2016).
Here, in this paper we focus on India to understand how SDG 11 is being imple-
mented at the national and ULB level. India had been one of the fastest-growing
major economies of the world over the past couple of decades. With 370 million
people living in the cities, it is also the world’s second largest urban system.
According to World Urbanization Prospects (2018) published by the UN, India’s
urban population is projected to further increase by 145 million between 2018 and
2030. By 2050, the urban population would increase by another 416 million – which
would 50 million more than the combined population of the United States and
Canada (UN 2018). The Government of India has aligned much of its developmen-
tal support mechanism with the SDG and also formulated a framework for integra-
tion of the same through local governance entities.
The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. The second section discusses the
concept of SDG as a systems approach by focusing between SDG 11 and other
SDGs. The third section analyses how the universal goals of SDG 11 are being
operationalized through national and local governance agencies. The fourth section
concludes the chapter by pointing out areas for further research.
12.2 L
iterature Review: A Systems Approach
Towards Urban Management
SDG 11 is a spatially organized developmental framework, which seeks to address

several interrelated issues by focusing on urban sustainability. Like other SDG goals
and targets, it is based on the systems approach with an emphasis on cross-linkages
with other developmental priorities and aims to achieve the desired level of outcome
by 2030, through a set of attainable targets and indicators designed to guide policy
actions at local levels.
The concept of ‘sustainable development’ rests on achieving balance between
economic, social and environmental objectives. Rather than maximizing gain
through one specific system, trade-offs between multiple systems and objectives are
encouraged. As Babier and Burges (2017) put it, the theory of sustainable develop-
ment is fundamentally different from capital approach which guides much of the
developmental policies in practice. Urban developmental policies, in particular, are
frequently designed to improve functional efficiency of civic infrastructure and
attract new investments. Such policies may at times meet the economic objectives
of reducing poverty and generate jobs but also end up widening social polarization
and increasing pollution. On the other hand, a sustainable economic development
approach would not only strive for efficiency, equity and poverty reduction but at
the same time take ecological footprints and social impacts into consideration. Such
comprehensive processes inter alia would involve trade-offs.
However, it has to be kept in mind that sustainability as a conceptual model faces
practical limitations in terms of applicability in policy design. The point of trade-off
between conflicting goals and priorities is negotiated at various levels of governance
hierarchy and power equations between the stakeholders involved. Therefore, pri-
orities assigned to economic environmental and equity concerns vary according to
local context. It is the place-specific political-economic scenario which dictates the
urban form through land use regulations and the planning norms. It is the land sup-
ply mechanism, which shapes urban growth pattern, whether a city would expand
outwards through monetization of peri-urban agricultural land to accommodate new
economic opportunities; or the building bye-laws could be tweaked to accommo-
date high-rise, high density to encourage transit-oriented development and compact
urban form. It is a difficult choice to make at a city level, as urban local governments
are often ill equipped to make informed decisions due to technical and financial
capacity constraints. Moreover, social (i.e. livelihood securities, polarization, gen-
trification, gender) and environmental (i.e. loss of green cover, filling up of wetlands
and water bodies, deforestation, air pollution, waste dumping) impacts of develop-
ment are seldom considered in depth. Needless to say, the problems are most acute
in rapidly urbanizing cities of the Global South.
The adaption of the Sustainable Development Goals including the stand-alone
urban goal of making cities safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable (SDG11) firmly
places urbanization at the forefront of international development policy. This recog-
nition goes beyond viewing urbanization simply as a demographic phenomenon but
rather as a transformative process capable of galvanizing momentum for many
aspects of global development. However, these goals are interconnected – often the
key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with
another.
Thus Goal 11 is most relevant and seeks to make cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable through eliminating slumlike conditions,
providing accessible and affordable transport systems, reducing urban sprawl,
increasing participation in urban governance, enhancing cultural and heritage pres-

ervation, addressing urban resilience and climate change challenges, better manage-
ment of urban environments (pollution and waste management), providing access to
safe and secure public spaces for all and improving urban management through
better urban policies and regulations. Specific targets from other goals also fall
within its purview, such as equal access to resources by all people (Goal 1), halving
the number of road accident fatalities by 2030 (Goal 3), ensuring access to safe
water and sanitation for all (Goal 6), reducing waste generation (Goal 12) and
strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards (Goal 13).
In this scenario, SDG 11 can be seen as a comprehensive template to guide urban
policy makers. The targets and indicators (as indicated in Table 12.1) are useful in
measuring welfare gains and support evidence-based policy design. It also fits in to
systems approach towards sustainable development and has substantial implications
for several other SDG aims. For example, issues related to affordable housing and
inclusive planning under SDG 11 are closely linked to the objectives SDG 1 on
eradicating poverty (Fig. 12.1).
Table 12.1 SDG 11 targets and indicators

Target Proposed indicators
12.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to 12.1.1 Proportion of urban population living in
adequate, safe and affordable housing and slums, informal settlements or inadequate
basic services and upgrade slums housing
12.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, 12.2.1 Proportion of population that has
affordable, accessible and sustainable convenient access to public transport, by sex, age
transport systems for all, improving road and persons with disabilities
safety, notably by expanding public
transport, with special attention to the needs
of those in vulnerable situations, women,
children, persons with disabilities and older
persons
12.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and 12.3.1 Ratio of land consumption rate to
sustainable urbanization and capacity for population growth rate
participatory, integrated and sustainable 12.3.2 Proportion of cities with a direct
human settlement planning and management participation structure of civil society in urban
in all countries planning and management that operate regularly
and democratically
12.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and 12.4.1 Total expenditure (public and private) per
safeguard the world’s cultural and natural capita spent on the preservation, protection and
heritage conservation of all cultural and natural heritage,
by type of heritage (cultural, natural, mixed and
World Heritage Centre designation), level of
government (national, regional and local/
municipal), type of expenditure (operating
expenditure/investment) and type of private
funding (donations in kind, private non-profit
sector and sponsorship)
(continued)
Target Proposed indicators
12.5 By 2030, significantly reduce the 12.5.1 Number of deaths, missing persons and
number of deaths and the number of people persons directly affected by disaster per 100,000
affected and substantially decrease the direct people
economic losses relative to global gross 12.5.2 Direct economic loss in relation to global
domestic product caused by disasters, GDP, damage to critical infrastructure and
including water-related disasters, with a number of disruption of basic services, attributed
focus on protecting the poor and people in to disasters.
vulnerable situations
12.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita 12.6.1 Proportion of urban solid waste regularly
environmental impact of cities, including by collected and with adequate final discharge out
paying special attention to air quality and of total urban solid waste generated, by cities
municipal and other waste management 12.6.2 Annual mean levels of fine particulate
matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities
(population weighted)
12.7 By 2030, provide universal access to 12.7.1 Average share of the built-up area of cities
safe, inclusive and accessible, green and that is open space for public use for all, by sex,
public spaces, in particular for women and age and persons with disabilities
children, older persons and persons with 12.7.2 Proportion of persons victim of physical
disabilities or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability
status and place of occurrence, in the previous
12 months
12.a Support positive economic, social and 12.a.1 Proportion of population living in cities
environmental links between urban, that implement urban and regional development
peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening plans integrating population projections and
national and regional development planning resource needs, by size of city
12.b By 2020, substantially increase the 12.b.1 Number of countries that adopt and
number of cities and human settlements implement national disaster risk reduction
adopting and implementing integrated strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for
policies and plans towards inclusion, Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.
resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation 12.b.2 Proportion of local governments that
to climate change, resilience to disasters and adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction
develop and implement, in line with the strategies in line with national disaster risk
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk reduction strategies
Reduction 2015–2030, holistic disaster risk
management at all levels
12.c Support least developed countries, 12.c.1 Proportion of financial support to the least
including through financial and technical developed countries that is allocated to the
assistance, in building sustainable and construction and retrofitting of sustainable,
resilient buildings utilizing local materials resilient and resource-efficient buildings utilizing
local materials
Fig. 12.1 Interconnections between SDG 11 and other SDGs. (Source: UN Habitat)
12.3 D
iscussion and Results: Localizing Global Development
Goals
While SDG 11 sets broad objectives, it is important to contextualize and main-

stream the universal goals into local development process, to make tangible differ-
ences in the lives of people – and here urban local bodies have crucial role to play.
To make timebound progress to achieve sustainability goals, the targets and indica-
tors of SDG 11 need to be aligned and benchmarked with infrastructure delivery
process through the local development plans and budgetary priorities. However,
incorporation of global goals into local planning and policy discourse faces consid-
erable governance and economic challenge. This section looks at how these issues
are being negotiated through the example of India.
India had been one of the fastest-growing major economies of the world over the
past couple of decades. India is also the second largest urban system in the world,
with an urban population of 377 million at an urbanization level of 31.14%, and has
three megacities with ten million plus population (Census 2011). Although in per-
centage terms India’s urbanization rate is less compared to big Asian countries like
China or Indonesia, it has started to accelerate. For the first time in history, net
population growth rate in urban areas exceeded rural population growth rate – dur-
ing the 2001–2011 census decade. It is projected that the urban population would
reach 600 million (40%) by 2031 and 850 million (50%) by 2051 (ibid).
Table 12.2 Socio-economic indicators of Indian cities (in percentage terms)

Indicators 2001 2011
Literacy rate 73.08 84.1
Urban sex ratio 841 929
Infant mortality rate 42 29
Population below poverty line 25.5 13.7
Household with safe drinking water 90 91.4
Household with electricity 91.6 97.9
Household with septic tank and flush 70.7 81.6
Source: Handbook of urban statistics (2019)
Table 12.3 Indicators selected for SDG India index

National
Indicators selected for SDG India target value
SDG global targets index for 2030
12.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to 1 Houses completed under 100
adequate, safe and affordable housing Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
for houses as a percentage of
net demand assessment for
houses
2 Percentage of urban 0
households living in slums
12.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita 3 Percentage of municipal 100
environmental impact of cities, wards with 100% door to
including by paying special attention to door waste collection
air quality and municipal and other 4 Percentage of waste 100
waste management processed
Source: SDG India Baseline Index (2018)
Urban areas face major challenges regarding provision of affordable housing and
basic infrastructure services. During census 2001–2011, although the population of
slum household percentage reduced 18.3 to 17.4, in absolute terms there was net
increase of 13,920,191 (Census 2011). Similarly, as Table 12.2 shows, socio-
economic and access to basic amenities had improved, but the shortfalls still remain.
In recent years, India’s national government has rolled out several city-centric
centrally funded missions which are in sync with the SDG 11 objectives regarding
sustainable urban development, such as Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
(AMRUT), Smart Cities Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY – Housing
for All) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission).
Two of the SDG 11 targets in particular, focusing on affordable housing (PMAY),
sanitation and access to clean water supply, are specifically covered by national mis-
sions (Swachh Bharat Mission), as indicated in Table 12.3.
However, it is important to note here that under the multilevel governance struc-
ture of the Indian constitution, responsibilities for urban development mainly lie
with the state governments and urban local bodies. Roles and responsibilities of the
national government are limited – setting directions and providing funds. Direct
implementation responsibilities lie with the institutions and agencies associated
with urban local governance, including the elected municipal governments, city
development authorities and parastatal agencies under the state governments.
Elected municipal governments enjoy constitutional status with defined roles and
responsibilities vis-à-vis the state government, following the 74th Amendment Act
of 1992. Under the constitutional devolution, the municipal governments are man-
dated to perform 18 functions, which contribute towards urban sustainability.
Recently the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has developed a
guidance for the ULB to leverage SDG 11 as a lens to address several other inter-
linked SDG goals, as outlined in Table 12.4. The ULBs, which are in the process of
preparing the statutory master plan or urban mission-linked city development plans,
have the opportunity to synchronize their plans with SDGs.
Table 12.4 Framework for sustainable urban development at ULB

What ULB can do? Action points for urban local bodies to achieve sustainability goals
SDG 1: No poverty – end poverty in all its forms everywhere
Facilitate universal access to housing and homeless shelters, water and sanitation, social
protections, etc.
Building of institutions like self-help groups
Resilience to extreme climate events and other environmental shocks
Strategies targeted towards women’s employment, access to finance and ownership and
control of resources
SDG 2: Zero hunger – end hunger, achieve food, security and improved nutrition and promote
sustainable agriculture
Enrol – families under Public Distribution Scheme (PDS), elderly people under old age
pension scheme
Ensure – growth monitoring of children under 6 years, coverage of pregnant and lactating
women, adolescent girls under ICDS supplementary nutrition programme, quality midday
meals
SDG 3: Good health and well-being – ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at
all ages
Maintain and Monitor – quality of healthcare services, overall cleanliness to combat malaria,
water-borne diseases
Ensure – improving air quality and municipal waste management, effective functioning of
health sanitation and nutrition committees and Rogi Kalyan Samiti, linkage to referral centre
and 24/7 availability of emergency services delivery infrastructure
SDG 4: Quality education – ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all
Facilitate – safe and reliable transport for children, access to entitlements like scholarships,
uniforms, text books, midday meals, etc., building of girls’ toilets to ensure retention of girls
evening and mobile schools
(continued)
SDG 5: Gender equality – achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Promote – universal birth registration, awareness against gender discrimination and
gender-based violence, gender-responsive planning and gender-sensitive budgeting, women’s
participation and leadership in ULBs
Facilitate – formation of ward, zonal and ULB cooperative samitis, comprising grassroots
level functionaries and women’s representatives from the community, gender status studies
and dissemination of findings in ULB
SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation – ensure availability and sustainable management of
water and sanitation for all
Ensure – identification of households without access to toilets and piped water, facilities for
solid and liquid waste management, water-use efficiency by rationalizing water use
Promote – hygiene education, introduction of efficient water-use technologies, ground water
recharge and permeable surfaces, awareness of the additional vulnerability of women with
disabilities and religious minorities
SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy – ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all
Ensure – universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
Facilitate solar and other renewal energy, energy audit for all electrical installations under
ULB and utility undertakings, promote use of LED lighting, promote solar and other
renewable energy in urban infrastructure
SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth – promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Map – micro, small and medium enterprises within the ULBs, informal enterprises within the
urban areas
SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure – build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Map – existing and potential industry clusters in the area and hazardous industries and
promote appropriate risk mitigation strategies
Identify and track – start-ups that could lead innovation in the area
SDG 10: Reduce inequality – reduce inequality within and amongst countries
Identify – the vulnerable groups of people, spaces and incidence of discrimination against
women, SCs, STs, minorities and persons with disabilities
Promote – enhanced representation and voice for the most marginalized groups in decision-
making, universal access to affordable housing, social services and public utilities
SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities – make cities and human settlements inclusive,
safe, resilient and sustainable
Map – access of affordable housing and basic infrastructure for all, particularly slum
dwellers and access of safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all
Identify and track – potential areas for upgrading, redevelopment and greenfield development,
environmentally sensitive development, link between infrastructure with urban land use and
vulnerability assessment
SDG 12: Sustainable consumption and production – ensure sustainable consumption and
production patterns
Ensure – identification of major solid waste and industrial waste generators, reduction, reuse
and recycle of wastes, green building construction
Promote – circular economy, ‘use, treat and reuse’ approach, eco-labelling for goods and
services, sustainable and responsible tourism
(continued)
SDG 13: Climate action – take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact
Integrate – sectoral climate change considerations into local planning
Facilitate – conducting of vulnerability assessments, make environment/climate change
impact assessment for all major projects
SDG 14: Life below water – conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development
Ensure – revitalization of waterfronts and make these assets attractive and open to public,
prevention and significant reduction of marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from
land-based activities, including industrial waste and wastewater
SDG 15: Life on land – restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forest, combat desertification, halt and reserve land degradation and halt
biodiversity loss
Ensure – integrated planning and curb urban footprint into ecological systems, balance
rural-urban linkages with minimum impacts to the terrestrial ecosystems, promote integrated
planning and curb urban sprawl, focus on mixed use and compact cities
Facilitate – urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats caused
by poor planned urbanizations
SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions – peace, justice and strong institution: promote
peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all
and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Map – accountability and transparency in urban governance
Facilitate- awareness on citizens’ rights, capacity building of municipal staff and elected
representatives, informed, active and meaningful participation of all social groups in
decision-making
SDG 17: Partnership for the goals – strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
global partnership for sustainable development
Ensure – knowledge sharing and build capacities of government officials in urban local
bodies, develop context-specific knowledge products adapted to the absorption capacity of
target audience
Facilitate – promoting information exchange and experience sharing (policy reforms, new
technologies, performance monitoring and innovative service delivery options) for
sustainable urban management
Source: Prepared by Authors – based on publicly available data sourced from the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs and UN Resident Commissioner (2018)
12.4.1 Pointers for Further Research and Action
The inclusion of SDG 11 in the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 recognizes
the importance of the cities in the global platform. The quest for urban sustainability
is not a stand-alone goal but rather an opportunity to address several other objec-
tives, such as climate change, poverty eradication, access to safe water supply,
energy demand management, social inclusion and spatial justice.
SDG 11 is also closely tied with the New Urban Agenda, which was adopted in
2016. The NUA requires the signatory countries to frame respective National Urban
Policies – as a framework to drive urban sustainability targets. The National Urban
Policy is expected to guide and monitor urban development priorities to accomplish
Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.
Success of SDG 11 will depend on the extent to which they are contextualized to
local situations and mainstreamed within local urban planning frameworks and bud-
getary constraints. The interlinked nature of SDG 11 would require an integrated
approach towards urban development, overcoming sectoral boundaries. Government
functionaries need to be equipped to build synergies within institutional boundaries
and work on new partnerships while strengthening existing institutions.
Prime responsibility regarding SDG 11 implementation lies with the institutions
of urban local governance – which includes the elected ULB, city development
authorities and various parastatal bodies providing water supply or running trans-
portation systems. In India, the lever of urban development lies with the state gov-
ernments and most of the agencies responsible for delivery of urban infrastructure
function directly under the state governments and often serve multiple administra-
tive domains. In most cases the elected ULB are weak, despite the constitutional
mandate. Therefore, the crucial onus lies at the level of state bureaucracy. In recent
years, the national government started to pay greater attention towards the cities and
channelize funds through mission-based programmes. While the projects carried
out by the mission-based programmes do fulfil several SDG priorities, they are
rolled out by specific project management units and special purpose vehicles.
Achieving inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities for all, as outlined in
Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the New Urban Agenda, requires officials to
recognize the interdependence of global goals and local actions and to follow an
integrated vision for development and urban resilience building. Such an approach
demands a paradigm shift in the way governance structures are managed not only
between national and local governments but also between local governments and
communities. To this end, decentralization and fiscal federalism that brings local
governments and users in proximity to urban services and development must be
enabled. The trust between communities and local leadership must be strengthened
through transparency and accountability seated in advocacy, data and evidence to
monitor the progress towards a common vision for the city. Local leadership must
be encouraged to innovate and leapfrog from business-as-usual tools and technolo-
gies, even if it means taking calculated risks. Metropolitan and urban local bodies in
India, thus empowered, can take on a strong leadership role in the achievement of
the Sustainable Development Goals.
City administrators and political leaders, mayors, municipal councillors and
higher bureaucracy require to be sensitized about the conceptual and operational
framework of the SDGs, interlinkages between the SDG 11 and the New Urban
Agenda and other SDGs. There is a strong need for creating awareness and building
the required capacities within the administration at the middle and upper manage-
ment level. Integrated planning involving such diverse set of stakeholders at various
governance hierarchies would require a strong institution with skilled technical
expertise in planning (economic, social, physical), management (project, finance,

operational, organizational) and governance (stakeholder engagement, inter-agency
coordination). As the SDG 11 has multiple sets of targets and indicators, database
needs to be developed to monitor progress and benchmark services being delivered
to facilitate decision-making based on ground-level inputs. Urban observatories
may be developed for dissemination of data and information sharing.
References
Babier EB, Burges JC (2017) The sustainable development goals and the systems approach to
sustainability, Discussion Paper. Economics 11(2017.28):1–23
Census (2011) Population Census 2001–11, Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
Government of India, New Delhi
Fabre EA (2017) Local implementation of the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda – towards a
Swedish National Urban Policy. Global Utmaning, Stockholm
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (2019) Handbook of Urban Statistics. Government of
India, New Delhi
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and UN Resident Commissioner (2018) Sustainable
Development Goals and Urban Local Bodies. Office of the UN Resident Commissioner, New
Delhi
Niti Ayog (2018) SDG India Base Line Index. Government of India, New Delhi
UN Habitat (2016) Sustainable development goal – 11: a guide to assist national and local govern-
ments to monitor and report SDG goal 11+ indicators. UN Habitat, Nairobi
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and Social Affairs, viewed 31 October 2018. https://population.un.org/wup/
Chapter 13
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption
and Production
Sustainable Community Development Through
Entrepreneurship: Corporate-Based Versus
Wellbeing-Centred Approaches to Responsible
Production
Isabel B. Franco and Lance Newey
Abstract This chapter aims to build new theory about the links between sustainable
community development, entrepreneurship, community wellbeing and interlinkages
between the sustainable development goal 12 (hereafter SDG 12), sustainable con-
sumption and production, and the sustainable development goal 3 (hereafter SDG
3) – good health and wellbeing. New theory is needed because multidimensional
wellbeing has not been used as an outcome variable with which to assess relative
merits or understand the intricacies of how development approaches achieve syner-
gies or fragmentation between the varying components of wellbeing. The research
presented here is based on a case study qualitative methodology strategy. Evidence
shows that resource-rich regions of Latin America are sites for sustainable commu-
nity development and responsible production by international companies. Through a
comparative case study of two resource towns in Colombia – Antioquia and
Risaralda – we find contrasting approaches with different outcomes. A top-down
corporate-based approach to sustainable community development occurred in
Antioquia but bound the future of the community to resource extraction (mining) with
limited attention to other aspects of community wellbeing. This reduced the overall
resilience and wellbeing opportunities for the community. In Risaralda, by contrast, a
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
L. Newey
The University of Queensland, Business School, Brisbane, Australia
e-mail: l.newey@business.uq.edu.au

188 I. B. Franco and L. Newey
more responsible, wellbeing-conscious approach was adopted based on local entre-

preneurship. Entrepreneurship here was not only focused on economic development
and the future self-sufficiency of the community apart from mining but was also
conscious of producing responsibly and building a greater range of wellbeing compo-
nents other than just economic. We use these results to articulate a wellbeing-centric
approach to development called Entrepreneurship for Community Wellbeing.
Keywords SDG 12 responsible consumption and production · SDG 3 good health

and wellbeing · Entrepreneurship · Wellbeing · Sustainability · Corporate social
responsibility
13.1 Introduction
This chapter asks the question: how can corporate responsible producers help under-
developed yet resource-rich towns undertake development in a way that leads to com-
munity wellbeing? Based on its rich, multidisciplinary development, in this chapter
we define community wellbeing as the capacity of a community to flourish, including
being able to fulfil important goals and persist in the face of obstacles (cf. Gough
et al. 2007). In other words, wellbeing is a resilient capacity to achieve sustainable
development aspirations (Burroughs and Rindfleisch 2002) and SDG 3 (UN 2018).
Wellbeing is multidimensional and for our purposes includes eight components: eco-
nomic, social, cultural, environmental, psychological, spiritual, material and physical
(Keyes 1998; OECD 2013; Peterman et al. 2002).1 Although the term “community”
has various meanings, in this paper we focus exclusively on communities as bounded
geographic spaces and where there is a desire to achieve collective goals. Community
wellbeing refers to the wellbeing of a distinct geographic space of people whose
fortunes are bound together (Peredo and Chrisman 2006). We also focus specifically
on noncore peripheral communities/towns outside the main metropolitan core.
Our research question then poses how communities can improve their wellbeing
across the eight components: economic, social, cultural, environmental, psycho-
logical, spiritual, material and physical. Such a view recognises that these compo-
nents are interlinked and either benefit or damage occurs depending on whether
actors, particularly corporations, are mindful of these interactions. Although a num-
ber of scholars note how “harmonic” (Misoczky 2011) and local entrepreneurship-
based (McMullen 2011; McWade 2012; Peredo and Chrisman 2006) approaches to
development aim to create a broader range of outcomes for communities, we lack a
concept which unites these various outcomes into a parsimonious and composite
measure (Dana et al. 2014; Gray et al. 2014; Huggins and Thompson 2014;
Korsgaard and Anderson 2011). We advance “wellbeing” as a concept which fills
this gap and can offer coherence to understanding how different community devel-
opment strategies achieve multiple outcomes.
1
In this chapter, when we use the term “multidimensional wellbeing”, we are referring to all eight
components listed here.
13 SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production 189
In order to advance the merits of a wellbeing-based approach, we compare and

contrast two leading methods of sustainable community development in terms of
their outcomes for community wellbeing. On the one hand, resource-rich towns can
place their hopes in the hands of multinationals who foster a local economy through
centring it on a key industry such as mining, agriculture or tourism. On the other
hand, towns may instead base their development less on any one industry and more
through the variety offered by local entrepreneurship.
Our research objective is to build new theory about the links between sustainable
community development, entrepreneurship and community wellbeing. New theory
is needed because multidimensional wellbeing has not been used as an outcome
variable with which to assess relative merits or understand the intricacies of how
development approaches achieve synergies or fragmentation between the varying
components of wellbeing.
Two case studies in the resource-rich but underdeveloped Colombian mining
regions of Antioquia and Risaralda offer research sites for a comparison between
economic-focused industry-centred approaches and more wellbeing-centric
approaches to sustainable community development. Both are noncore regions,
defined as “outside the principal metropolitan areas” (Lagendijk and Lorentzen
2007: 459). We find that the more wellbeing-centric approach adopted in Risaralda
led to better overall community wellbeing outcomes across the eight components
compared with Antioquia. Moreover, the latter’s entrepreneurship and development
were centred largely on the fortunes of the mining industry thus making its resil-
ience susceptible to the vagaries of the mining cycle. By contrast, in Risaralda,
entrepreneurship and sustainable community development were more focused on
local empowerment and leadership to chart a direction of development where min-
ing was only a part and not the core.
Our main contribution is to advance empirical evidence for an eight-component
model of wellbeing as an approach to sustainable community development through
entrepreneurship and towards the achievement of SDG 12 (UN 2018). Consistent
with research showing a diminishing returns effect between economic wealth and
life satisfaction (Easterlin 1974; Gasper 2005; Patrizii et al. 2017), the eight-
component model focuses on a wider range of elements that regions and towns must
pay attention to for the life fulfilment of their populations and responsible produc-
tion of companies operating in the region. Achieving outcomes on these eight well-
being components requires a mix of entrepreneurship types within a community
including commercial, social and institutional (Baumgartner et al. 2013). This broad
wellbeing perspective contributes to that emerging literature focused on more “har-
monic” (Misoczky 2011) and local entrepreneurship-based (McMullen 2011;
McWade 2012; Peredo and Chrisman 2006) approaches to development that aim to
create a broader range of value types in towns (Dana et al. 2014; Gray et al. 2014;
Huggins and Thompson 2014; Korsgaard and Anderson 2011).
Wellbeing thus serves as an overarching goal around which communities can
develop entrepreneurship strategies. This shifts the focus of noncore regional strate-
gies beyond just economic growth and product/service innovation to consider how
these strategies affect other components of wellbeing. This also questions the
assumption that any growth is good, responsible growth. We also know that noncore
regions need tailor-made entrepreneurship policies on account of their peculiar con-
ditions including high factor costs and remoteness (Anderson 2000). Our research
indicates that noncore regions also benefit from entrepreneurship policies which
support an overarching set of wellbeing goals. Wellbeing offers an end game for
other contextual features advocated in the literature to support entrepreneurship in
small towns including SME innovation and R&D, firm clusters, knowledge provid-
ers and innovation support institutions (Toedtling and Kaufmann 2001: 1215).
Attending to wellbeing shifts the focus of communities away from just economic
development to also build their long-term resilience through other components of
wellbeing such as psychological, spiritual, cultural and social. This wider set of
wellbeing components helps buffer noncore communities from the ups and downs
of economic cycles. Despite its increasing academic interest and movements
towards measuring the wellbeing of nations, the concept of wellbeing is yet to make
its mark on understanding sustainable development through entrepreneurship. The
concept is mentioned by development scholars, but existing wellbeing literature is
inadequately consulted, leaving the term to mis-specified use. Yet, when adequately
conceptualised, a multidimensional concept such as wellbeing can help to guide
how communities use entrepreneurship to create more balanced communities and
avoid negative externalities that can come from a failure to understand and consider
all aspects of wellbeing. We thus wish to explore how wellbeing may be used to
guide sustainable development through entrepreneurship.
In the next section, we review the concept of wellbeing and the two development
strategies of interest: industry-centred and local entrepreneurship. Our discussion
highlights how wellbeing offers a different evaluative framework for assessing the
merits of different sustainable community development approaches. We then out-
line our methodology, including a justification for a comparative theory-building
case study approach. Empirical evidence and analysis follow, illustrating how a
wellbeing-centric approach led to better community outcomes compared with more
industry-based approaches. The following section then abstracts from the case anal-
ysis to distil key theoretical variables demarcating industry-based and wellbeing-
centric approaches including analysis of their respective benefits and limitations.
Theoretical and practical implications of an entrepreneurship for community well-
being approach are presented before concluding the paper.
13.2.1 Multidimensional Wellbeing
The concept of wellbeing has gained parlance in numerous disciplines such as psy-
chology, sociology, economics, anthropology and political science in order to cap-
ture the multiple components that make up quality of life (Gasper 2004; Gough
et al. 2007; McGregor 2007; Seligman 2011; Stiglitz et al. 2010). In policy circles
Table 13.1 Components of wellbeing

Example
Component Example definition references
Economic The stock and flow of economic resources that an individual OECD (2013)
or household receives over time
Social How people come together as one community Includes Keyes (1998)
political participation, equity of opportunity, freedom,
agency, law and order
Cultural The extent to which people can actively engage with their Torjman (2004)
culture, customs, traditions and values inherent to their
specific cultural heritage
Environmental Refers to the health of the natural environment and whether Callicott (1996)
it provides the conditions to support life goals in a location
Psychological Is about lives going well. It is the combination of feeling Ryff (2014)
good and functioning effectively
Spiritual Personal search for meaning and purpose in life, connection Peterman et al.
with a transcendent dimension of existence and the (2002)
experiences and feelings associated with that search Pargament and
Sweeney (2011)
Physical Quality of physical health WHOQOL
Group (1998)
Material Whether an individual has the material assets that allow Perry (2009)
them to do and be what they seek in life
also, wellbeing is an increasing focus of national governments as a reaction against

purely economic indicators (Bleys 2012). The Report of the Commission on the
Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress initiated by the French
President Nicolas Sarkozy proclaimed that “the time is ripe for our measurement
system to shift in emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring
people’s wellbeing” (Stiglitz et al. 2010: 10).
Based on existing literature, we focus on an eight-dimensional framework of
wellbeing: economic, physical, material, social, cultural, psychological, spiritual
and environmental. Table 13.1 (see Appendix) offers definitions and example refer-
ences for each component. These components are what are known in the literature
and which have become apparent as important to wellbeing through the adverse
consequences that result in communities when they are overlooked.
This multidisciplinary approach recognises that wellbeing emerges at the inter-
section of the interrelationship between the various components. In some ways, this
interrelationship is characterised by counterbalance. If let go too far, economic well-
being depletes natural resources and environmental wellbeing. The pull towards one
whole integrated community of social wellbeing needs to also recognise the plural-
ity of cultural wellbeing. Diseases of affluence (McKeown 1988; Novotny 2005)
which accrue in wealthy economics and harm physical health require sound psycho-
logical wellbeing to rein in hedonistic tendencies. Finally, excessive materialism
requires the counterbalance of inner contentment and spiritual nourishing, which in
turn creates a more sustainable relationship with the natural environment.
We see here the seedbed of ideas for achieving quality of life in towns and how
ignorance of the principle of counterbalance can lead to considerable wellbeing
costs. There is growing recognition that economic factors alone do not contribute to
wellbeing (Diener et al. 2010). While research shows a link between income and
positive life evaluations, these results may be moderated by values (Burroughs and
Rindfleisch 2002; Ng and Diener 2014). This means that it cannot be assumed that
economic wellbeing equates to sustainable community development, at least not
without taking into account the wider value structure of the community. This is
often significant when Western conglomerates enter indigenous communities and
values collide. Clear examples here are the indigenous communities of Latin
America, which have implemented policies of buen vivir (Gudynas 2011; Monni
and Pallottino 2015; Villalba 2013), which mirror closely our eight-component
model of wellbeing. Community values captured in frameworks like buen vivir
highlight the importance of notions of balance, harmony and multidimensionality to
small indigenous towns.
Critique of Top-Down Industry-Centred Approaches
Our conceptualisation of wellbeing has important implications for understanding
how communities can develop. It also provides a wider framework for evaluating
whether the espoused sustainable community development strategies of multina-
tionals will sustainably benefit communities or not. The integration of emerging
regions into a global economy can involve certain “models of development” being
imposed from outside, which can conflict with local priorities, values and interests
upsetting social, psychological, cultural and spiritual aspects of wellbeing (Pike
et al. 2007). In turn this has led to the escalation of extreme poverty as well as
imbalanced community wellbeing and discontent (Cook 2006; Haan and Maxwell
1998; Harrison 2006; Kabeer 2000; Shankar and Shah 2003).
Poor and local communities often feel that they are not adequately consulted
and/or compensated for their loss of livelihood options (Dana et al. 2009; Surborg
2012). Large companies can be prone to management by extraction, exclusion and
expulsion (Banerjee 2011). A sense of community wellbeing at the local level can
be undermined by underestimating the significance of “place” and embedded socio-
cultural identity that resist commercial homogenisation (Dana et al. 2014). How the
local strategies of multinationals are treated by local governments is also important
as institutional strategies can help or hinder the development of entrepreneurship,
thus affecting the sustainability and evenness of development of towns (Williams
and Vorley 2015).
More specifically, large multinationals often base community development
around an industry, such as mining, tourism or agriculture, depending on the
resource supplies of a region. We refer to this as an industry-based approach to com-
munity development to connote an approach based around a key industry which
forms a nucleus for economic development. This industry-based approach can
determine path dependencies of the development of local communities leading
them on either a self-sufficient track or one that is dependent and wellbeing imbal-
anced (Williams and Vorley 2014). The vagaries of industrial cycles can leave these
communities vulnerable. Moreover, such development efforts can be lopsided
(Huggins and Thompson 2014) and exacerbate regional unevenness (Pike et al.
2007). Local economic gains can be offset if local entrepreneurs are not adequately
educated and trained to consider unintended consequences such as environmental
degradation, excessive class inequalities and perceptions of Western cultural impe-
rialism causing affront to indigenous culture and values (Banerjee 2011; Dana, et al.
2014; Misoczky 2011).
Entrepreneurship and Community Wellbeing
Traditionally, entrepreneurship refers to the formation, evaluation and exploitation
of opportunities for commercial gain (Shane and Venkataraman 2000) neglecting
sustainable paths for responsible production. The entrepreneur spots opportunities
to create financial value through innovation or doing the same things better. The
intent is for growth, traditionally narrowly defined as consisting of economic indi-
cators. However, such opportunity recognition and value creation motivations and
skills of entrepreneurs have now been extended to also include social and environ-
mental value creation – or what is commonly known as social entrepreneurship
(Bacq and Janssen 2011; Korsgaard and Anderson 2011; Nicholls 2010; Ratten and
Welpe 2011).
Entrepreneurship for community wellbeing is a further extension of this logic
that goes beyond just “social” to include a more multidimensional and holistic goal
for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship for community wellbeing is an approach
where communities (1) set multidimensional wellbeing as their goal and (2) develop
different types of entrepreneurship (commercial, social, institutional) in a way that
seeks to achieve the community wellbeing goals. As a bottom-up approach to entre-
preneurship, entrepreneurship for community wellbeing is more likely to create
value for communities than existing top-down approaches. This emerging approach
advocates for the transformation of vulnerable communities to higher states of
organisation and the realisation of their full potential (cf. Easterly 2006).
Indeed, the improved wellbeing of entrepreneurs themselves and their families
can have flow-on effects to the broader community, as occurred in Cahn’s (2008)
case study of fine mat weaving in a Samoan micro-enterprise. The latter enterprise
blended its economic activity with the cultural way of life, cultural norms, and
offered psychological benefits through status. In contrast, a village-based coconut
oil production enterprise suffered from tensions between its economic structure and
the cultural commitments of its members. The fine mat weaving enterprise enhanced
not only economic but also social and cultural assets, which seemed to improve
sustainability. Top-down approaches may miss these critical sociocultural-economic
dynamics, thus fracturing the enterprise and wider society (Peredo and McLean
2013). Entrepreneurship for community wellbeing is also based on a new set of
values focused on the community (Peredo and Anderson 2006), including the most
marginalised and exploited. This approach is also intended to imprint communities
and other stakeholders involved with strong values of egalitarianism and sensitivity
for the suffering of others (Maalouf 2014).
Empirical research in Latin America shows that communities’ lack of education
and opportunities to work for either a company or an industry relevant to the local
economy further compromises community wellbeing and escalates poverty, loss of
livelihood options and conflict (Molina-Escobar and Restrepo-Baena 2010). This

has been caused, amongst others, for irresponsible production patterns of multina-
tional companies. However, accessing education to find employment opportunities
in the mining industry is usually perceived by communities as a top-down approach
that often does not meet their development aspirations. This top-down approach to
wellbeing may in fact prevent stakeholders in the resource sector from impacting
communities in any positively responsible way (Mate 2001). Hamdouch et al.
(2016) discuss this issue. They examine how towns and communities make choices
according to their development aspirations. Empirical research also shows that there
is an untapped potential in resource regions for fostering entrepreneurship (Franco
2014) for improved community wellbeing.
Building communities’ capacity for entrepreneurship for improved wellbeing
will make a strong contribution to social sustainability in resource-rich towns. We
argue that local communities which gain resilience through a history of entrepre-
neurship can successfully cope with the global challenges posited by the mining
industry and improve community wellbeing at the local level (Gray et al. 2014;
Williams and Vorley 2014). This in turn provides them with a greater ability to be
receptive to education for entrepreneurship as an agent of change and development.
In this context, entrepreneurship for community wellbeing is an untapped agenda
for sustainable development. While a number of researchers have undertaken stud-
ies exemplifying the multiple types of value created by entrepreneurship (Gray et al.
2014; Korsgaard and Anderson 2011; Williams and Vorley 2014), we feel that well-
being can be a useful concept for the continued growth of this stream of research.
From an entrepreneurship perspective, one of the main advantages is that a wellbe-
ing approach requires a portfolio approach to community governance of entrepre-
neurship. Such a portfolio approach encourages the need for commercial
entrepreneurship, which creates primarily economic value but also social value.
However, the social value created is only that which is economically rational and
maximises profit. To counterbalance this, social entrepreneurship, including
community-based enterprises (Peredo and Chrisman 2006; Peredo and McLean
2006), can address a wider range of wellbeing opportunities by relaxing the assump-
tion of profit maximisation (Zahra et al. 2014). Here, increased value created on
non-economic components of wellbeing is deemed equally, if not more, valuable
than financial wealth maximisation. Actors thus define and perceive entrepreneurial
opportunities differently rather than just through the lens of standard economic
evaluations (Peredo and McLean 2013). This portfolio approach requires
community-level governance if the right types and spread of entrepreneurship are to
occur to maximise wellbeing (Lichtenstein and Lyons 2001).
Bringing our arguments together, we contend that resource-rich towns have
important choices to make concerning the paths of their development. The attraction
of employment and riches from mining companies can lead to imbalanced commu-
nity development from a wellbeing perspective. The concept of wellbeing provides
a framework to guide sustainable community development through entrepreneur-
ship. Moreover, community self-sufficiency beyond mining calls for entrepreneur-
ship skill-building allowing locals to determine their destiny. Such entrepreneurship
though needs to be combined with wellbeing education and governance if commu-
nity resilience and balance are to be achieved. This “entrepreneurship for commu-
nity wellbeing” approach combines and goes beyond both traditional
pure-profit-maximising entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship (Zahra et al.
2014). It includes them by fostering both in a community but also goes beyond them
to consider the interaction between and goal pursuit of multiple components of
wellbeing, not just economic or social. By taking a portfolio approach to entrepre-
neurship at the community level, it forces deeper consideration of how different
entrepreneurial initiatives not only contribute to wellbeing but how they interact
with each other in positive or negative ways, thus pushing for that analysis which
maximises overall community wellbeing (Lichtenstein and Lyons 2010).
13.3 Methodology
As wellbeing is a new way to evaluate different approaches to community develop-

ment, it is important to more closely examine how different approaches to commu-
nity development – industry-centred versus entrepreneurship – achieve or not
achieve community wellbeing. Case studies would permit deep interrogation of
locals to canvass their subjective perceptions of how these different strategies impact
their wellbeing across eight components (Eisenhardt 1989; Yin 2003). We are inter-
ested in hearing the perspectives and evaluations of various stakeholders in order to
form a composite picture of the links between sustainable community development
strategies and community wellbeing. Case studies offer this multi-stakeholder
access and investigation (Eisenhardt 1989). Moreover, case studies will permit a
longitudinal perspective to take into account long-term wellbeing.
We undertook a qualitative comparative case study of two mining towns in
Colombia. The latter is an appropriate sample because of the granularity of analysis
possible at the local level in the mining areas of the country that have gone through
resource extraction and emerging entrepreneurship. Colombia has a fraught history
of internal political conflict with weakened governance structures that have esca-
lated local struggles like civil conflict and poverty. Nevertheless, the country has
experienced escalating mining growth over the last three decades. Colombia is the
main producer of coal in Latin America and the twelfth largest globally, the third
major producer of nickel after Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
13.3.1 Case Studies
Our two comparative case studies occurred in the regions of Antioquia and Risaralda.
We chose these case study regions because they appeared to follow different paths to
sustainable community development. Antioquia pursued an industry-centric develop-
ment approach based around mining, while Risaralda was more conscious of diversity
and encouraged entrepreneurship, business diversity and community resilience while
also pursuing mining. The two cases thus adopted a different attitude and development
strategy towards mining. Different outcomes also followed with Antioquia experienc-
ing higher levels of community dissatisfaction with their approach. These differences
were made for interesting sites for research in order to better understand the links
between entrepreneurship, sustainable development and wellbeing.
13.3.2 Data Collection
Using case studies as the basic methodological approach, the analysis used a litera-
ture review, document analysis (policy analysis), stakeholder analysis, face to face
semi-structured interviews, group interviews, observations and field notes. Field
interviewing was conducted in Risaralda, Antioquia and the capital city of Bogota.
Interviews and focus group interviews with key stakeholders at the national, state
and local levels were applied to map, explore and evaluate the roles of these stake-
holders in existing approaches to community wellbeing.
All interviews were fully transcribed and resulted in an interview sample of 48
representatives from the private sector, government and civil society, drawn from
both case study areas and Bogota city where state organisations are located. The
participants were chosen as representatives of their organisation or agency. The
highest proportion of participants comes from civil society and community organ-
isations and NGOs. Twelve community members and ten representatives from civil
society organisations were interviewed. This number is followed by representatives
from government organisations. Top level government officers were interviewed
representing twelve participants. Nine company executives and private sector senior
representatives were also interviewed.
In addition to group and individual interviewing, observations and field notes
also constitute key methodological techniques for data collection procedures.
Observations helped support some of the researchers’ perceptions during inter-
views. Similarly, field notes were recorded, particularly when spontaneous events
that related to the argument that drive this paper happened in the Risaralda and
Antioquia case study areas.
13.3.3 Data Analysis
Our qualitative case study research sought to inductively build new theory concerning
the links between community development, entrepreneurship and wellbeing. Theory
building is an appropriate objective as even though each of the three main constructs
(sustainable community development, entrepreneurship and wellbeing) has an exten-
sive literature behind it, there is little known about how they intersect when con-
sciously brought together. Case studies are needed to tease out these interactive links.
As such, our data analysis followed procedures for inductive theory building
from cases as prescribed by Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, Eisenhardt
and Graebner (2007) and Yin’s (2003) chain of evidence method to analyse the case
data (also Eisenhardt 1989). The chain of evidence method calls for clear links in
moving from data to theory, recalling that our overall research question is: how can
underdeveloped yet resource-rich towns undertake development in a way that leads
to community wellbeing? Theory building is a process of data reduction based on
cause-effect evidence. Our process was to first group data into themes based on (1)
features of the community development approach adopted and (2) subjective reac-
tions of different stakeholders. From these two sets of themes, we then induced
theoretical inferences of cause-effect between features and subjective reactions.
Tables 13.2 and 13.3 record the data from this inductive theory-building process.
In this section, we summarise findings from our data analysis as indicated in the first
two columns of Tables 13.2 and 13.3. In the next section of the paper, we further
develop the theoretical inferences that emerge from this analysis and displayed in
the third column of Tables 13.2 and 13.3 and Figs. 13.1 and 13.2.
13.4.1 Antioquia
The State of Antioquia is located on the North Pacific Coast of Colombia. The
region is going through a mining boom that has increased poverty, loss of livelihood
options and civil war. This situation compromises the possibilities to promote com-
munity wellbeing at the local level:
Internal conflict dynamics have been exacerbated by illegal groups including guerrillas,
paramilitary and bacrim (criminal bands). These illegitimate actors own small-scale mines
to launder money or support their illegal businesses. In addition, they have found the current
mining boom to be the best opportunity to extort money from companies operating in the
region. Community livelihoods have been heavily impacted by the indirect benefits of min-
eral extraction to these groups. (Buitrago Franco 2014)
Antioquia has as an active mining industry, as it holds the largest reserves of

gold, silver, coal, platinum and construction materials in Colombia. The industry
also has a long history in the region. Mining projects currently operated by domestic
and multinational companies have significant implications for local communities
(Camara de Comercio de Medellin para Antioquia 2010, p. 14; Sistema de
Informacion Minero Energetico Colombiano 2010, pp. 16–17). Antioquia hosts a
diverse population inhabiting urban and rural areas. Data from the actual census
register (DANE 2010) shows that Antioquia had an urban population of 4,340,744
inhabitants and 1,260,763 people inhabiting rural areas in 2005. Out of the total
population, 51.7% were female and 48.3% male. Antioquia also hosted a total of
1,458,193 households in the same year.
Table 13.2 Community development approach – Antioquia

Mining company community
development approach Data analysis
(features) Stakeholder attitudes (reactions) (inferences)
“This is a mining town. “I think in the coming years this town Mining viewed as a
Mining is the only livelihood will disappear. Companies promised us positive source of
for 80% of community development and better opportunities economic wellbeing
members. We have for small miners. Where are the by both the mining
experiencing some difficulties multinationals that promised us companies and this
in engaging with informal employment? There are a couple of community
miners as they operate in our companies that do provide us with jobs stakeholder.
land title. However, we have but what about the other companies? However, only some
been trying to develop better For example, there are no employment seem to be reached in
relationships by providing opportunities for small miners. People terms of benefits.
them with contracts to operate live here out of ‘rebusque’ … If it is 5 Unfulfilled economic
on legal basis” (Mining or 6 pm and my children are starving wellbeing a trigger for
Company Corporate and I have not made any income during crime
Representative) the day. What do you think I should
do? I go and steal something to feed
my children, right? That is ‘rebusque’”
(Community Member).
“The idea is that locals put “Some mining towns in Antioquia have Mining companies
their skills at the company’s a strong dependence on mining. This very mining-centric in
disposal so that later on, they situation has diminished the terms of community
can get gainful employment possibilities of sustaining communities development.
opportunities … At the end of in the long-term” (Government Awareness though
the day we want communities representative) from the government
to operate the mine” representative that this
(corporate representative) limits long-term
community viability
“We do not implement HCB “Our organisation was created from the Mining-centrism of
initiatives different from need to build different livelihood the mining company
mining because we do not options. Women in this town did not triggers
have direct relationship with have any value … We were labelled entrepreneurship for
other sectors … we think that either as witches and/or prostitutes. We alternative livelihood
tourism or agriculture are have been provided with some training options
sectors in which we do not fit. by government organisations … A Women neglected in
For this reason we focus on company donated us three machines … community
education for mining” (Senior that was long time ago. There are small development and
Corporate representative) mines we have some contracts with employment
and we also get some contribution
from the government but nothing else
apart from that” (Women Community
Member focus group)
(continued)
“Nevertheless, the company’s “I am the only miner in my family. I Tension between the
human capacity building have three children and want them to aspirations of mining
(HCB) approach is a study. I am aware of the risks of companies and the
top-down mining-focused working at the mine and I did not want wishes of parents for
approach to development. The them to be part of the industry. This is their children’s futures
company has implemented a mining town… a person who does
HCB initiatives to up-skill not go to school becomes a miner.
local miners and potentially Most of us do not know anything else
engage them in large-scale than mining, hence, we have to work
mining projects. According to here and sustain our family members
the company, it has also with the little income we get”
contributed to physical (Community Member focus group)
infrastructure for the
development of
entrepreneurship HCB
initiatives” (Corporate
representative)
“We have tried to approach “I know a miner called … that earned Economic wellbeing
NGOs and CBOs to work on USD$ 700,000 after finding a gold can be short-lived
human capacity building for deposit. That happened a few years unless supported by
community entrepreneurship ago. At the present time he has a attention to education
but we have not got any handicapped daughter and lives in very in other aspects of
positive answer so far” poor conditions… when miners get wellbeing
(Senior Corporate money they spend it in a very short
representative) time. This explains why there is much
prostitution and alcoholism in the
town” (Miner and Community
Member)
“Small businesses around “Why do you think there is violence in The need for business
mining such as restaurants, the world? What do you do when you diversity, formal
laundries and transport have a family to support and you do business options,
agencies have been created… not have a job? … you do whatever to creation of an
(The) purpose (of these get some income to feed your children, economy of diverse
initiatives) is to help right? Well, there are many people businesses
community members get experiencing this situation in this
organised and stop working region, even though this is a mining
on informal basis” (Senior region … The situation is very
State Government complex in these towns. At least 3 to 4
representative) people are killed every day … This has
got worse during the last 3 months”
(NGO director)
(continued)
“The way we work is the “Other industries have been displaced Attempts at
following: We meet with 16 as companies and local traders import coordinated
majors and design initiatives goods and services, instead of investing community
intended to respond to the and supporting local production in development based on
region’s development plan. In mining towns. Sectors like agriculture regional plans
doing so, we work closely and manufacturing are threatened as The need for
with governments, companies mining companies pay higher wages to ecosystem
and mining communities to local farmers who have chosen mining development – an
agree on the development over their traditional livelihoods. In ecosystem of diverse
approach that the community addition, community members who businesses, education
needs. We try to develop have participated in educational and training and
initiatives relevant for these programmes have not been able to find government planning
communities … However, all gainful employment opportunities. Attraction to mining
cases are different. There are Most of the 600 children who finish employment creates
times when those agreements high school per year become miners industry shortfalls
are not very productive; and bartenders. These results lead to elsewhere
however, when they take questions about whether existing HCB
place, these initiatives have a approaches can create sustainable
positive impact on livelihoods in Antioquia” (Academic)
communities” (Government
Tertiary Institution Senior
Representative)
Industry-Based Development in Antioquia

The current approach to development in some locations of Antioquia led by stake-
holders in the region (companies, governments and civil society actors) is intended
to attract and retain human capital for the mining industry. A mining company rep-
resentative stated: “This is a mining town. Mining is the only livelihood for 80% of
community members” (Table 13.2, Row 1). Minimal attention has been paid by
stakeholders to wider aspects of community wellbeing and long-term resilience. For
instance, a government representative remarked that “Some mining towns in
Antioquia have a strong dependence on mining. This situation has diminished the
possibilities of sustaining communities in the long-term” (Table 13.2, Row 2). In
this context locals are becoming insufficiently resilient to withstand mining-induced
changes and have not been able to realise their full potential. “This is a mining
town… a person who does not go to school becomes a miner. Most of us do not
know anything else than mining, hence, we have to work here and sustain our family
members with the little income we get” (Table 13.2, Row 4), says a community
member. A senior Colombian government representative stated:
Global corporations invest on projects that are convenient for their business such as infra-
structure and facilities for mine’s workers rather than on more sustainable legacies for com-
munities adjacent to their operations. This corporate approach is preventing local
communities from achieving development aspirations which questions the notion of sus-
tainable and responsible mining in the region.
Table 13.3 Community development approach – Risaralda

Community development approach Stakeholder attitudes Data analysis
“We do not want mining-dependent “We are a group of twelve Economic diversity
communities. Instead, we need to community members. We got through community
develop sustainable supply chains and organised to create employment entrepreneurship
entrepreneurship amongst community opportunities in the region. We Community
members. People usually think have delivered jewellery design leadership as
competitiveness is an overnight process.courses for the community so overseer of
This is a false expectation. It is a they will be able to work with community
long-term commitment that will allow us in the future. By the end of entrepreneurship
us to forge more sustainable the year we might be able to
communities” (senior government employ more people. Our
representative) purpose is to benefit all
community members who work
with us” (community leader)
“Mining is an activity that can cause “We want mining companies to Social and
adverse effects. However, as you see we operate socially responsible. environmental
have a strong commitment to the region We want most of their wellbeing a key
… regulatory agencies have visited us employees to be locals. community value
and get surprised about our Employees should also be Company focus on
commitment to community members … equipped with suitable minimising negative
our overall goal is to provide locals conditions to perform their jobs externalities
with economic sustainable benefits” with high safety standards”
(corporate representative) (senior local government
representative)
“We have outstanding relations
with the company. They are
supporting our projects. It does
not mean we cannot perceive
their environmental impacts. We
are aware of that. However, our
relationships have been
outstanding so far” (community
members focus group)
“Locals have a strong sense of “I have been working in mining Focus on community
community organisation. They own since I was 7 years old. The self-sustainability
agriculture-based community company has provided us with through
associations that stimulate the local some resources to participate in entrepreneurship
economy and foster employment. For a dress-making course. I asked High community
example, they own associations for the company for HCB motivation making it
blackberry and coffee production and initiatives in which we women happen
commercialisation” (corporate could get some knowledge to
representative) sustain ourselves in the
long-term. The company, in
partnership with a government
VET institution, implemented
this initiative. However, we
need more of these initiatives,
as this one in Risaralda”
(continued)
Community development approach Stakeholder attitudes Data analysis
“We do not want mining and “Community members have Community
exploration companies operating in been given education in human leadership focused
Risaralda to extract our resources and relations, food security, family on capacity building
leave the town without any legacies for guidance and conflict and local business
the communities. We do not ask them resolution” (community development
for money – apart from the royalties representatives focus group) Broader wellbeing-
and taxes they are obliged to pay. focused educational
Instead, we want them to build programmes to
community capacity so that we can support social and
export our local goods internationally. psychological
This does not cost much to the wellbeing
company but benefits substantially the
community” (senior state government
representative)
“Informal miners are resistant to “Mining companies have a very Community
change in their practices and culture. good relationship with development
However, we have been able to set clear communities, particularly with approach that
agreements that benefit all parties” artisanal miners. Some of them respects local
(senior corporate representative) keep developing their cultural wellbeing
livelihoods in land owned by
the multinational”
“Corporations are open to
discuss local issues with the
whole community. This has
resulted in positive consultation
processes led by the company”
(community leader)
“Corporations are open to discuss local “We have outstanding relations Informal forums for
issues with the whole community. This with the company. They are the purpose of
has resulted in positive consultation supporting our projects. It does staying in touch with
processes led by the company” not mean we cannot perceive the psychological
(community leader) their environmental impacts. wellbeing of locals
We are aware of that. However,
our relationships have been
outstanding so far” (community
members, focus group)
The research identified three factors that are the main determinants of the inap-
propriateness of community wellbeing approaches in Antioquia: overinvestment in
irrelevant initiatives, limited understanding of entrepreneurship for community
wellbeing as an approach to development and approaches that do not reach the
broader community but only the mining industry’s current and potential employees.
These aspects have led to the escalation of social problems such as discontent and
resentment amongst locals. More importantly, it has also had adverse implications
for local economic development.
There is overinvestment in poorly focused initiatives in the Antioquia case region.
Communities have been equipped with training and education in areas they find do
not help them realise their entrepreneurship potential or access gainful employment
Key Features:
-community up-skilling for specific industry
Limitations:
-top down external imposition
-programs relevant to focal industry only
-rivet effect as community made
vulnerable to fortunes of focal industry
Benefits: leading to adverse knock-on consequences
for other sectors
-brings employment opportunities
-more
- about skill development than
-brings resources for community community
c development
infrastructure development
-less
- attuned and committed to multiple
-local economic development aspects
a of community wellbeing and their
-increased taxation revenue co-evolution
-boost to local retail trade from -community fracturing
industry employees -possible employment gender bias
Fig. 13.1 Industry-based community development
opportunities in sectors other than mining. “What is worse is that these actions are
delivered over and over, becoming a waste of resources” (Civil Society Representative,
Interview, October, 2012). There is a strong perception from government representa-
tives that there is an increasing interest coming from stakeholders, (particularly gov-
ernments and companies) in up-skilling communities: “We are interested in
demonstrating that we can do responsible mining … we want mining to provide us
with wealth. However, it is not just about money, it is also about accessing other
services such as education” (Government Representative, Interview, October, 2012).
However, the current approach is not effective for locals. The existing top-down
development approach has become a reactive rather than a proactive and genuine
approach. The research indicates that communities no longer need more initiatives
in the form of just education but need a combination of this primary asset with other
forms of human capital-like entrepreneurship, employment opportunities and
income generation (Franco 2014). This will result in the realisation of communities’
potential and the development of sustainable livelihood options different from min-
ing and more accurate to Antioquia’s context.
A second factor concerns the limited understanding of entrepreneurship for com-
munity wellbeing as an approach to development. Community wellbeing is about
Key Features:
-Multidimensional wellbeing goals
-Local entrepreneurship based on wellbeing deficiencies
-Community-level governance of wellbeing strategy
Limitations:
Benefits:
-requires high community motivation
-local empowerment of destiny
-requires 'soft' infrastructure in
-resilience through variety community
-balanced community development -requires community leadership
-reduced negative externalities
Fig. 13.2 Entrepreneurship for community wellbeing
assisting communities to meet their wellbeing needs as well as assisting them to

evolve and improve their living conditions. However, the mining industry’s narrow
understanding of the potential of entrepreneurship for improved community wellbe-
ing diminishes the possibilities of achieving locally relevant development: “We do
not implement capacity-building initiatives different from mining because we do
not have direct relationship with other sectors … we think that tourism or agricul-
ture are sectors in which we do not fit. For this reason we focus on education for
mining” (Table 13.2, Row, 3) (Senior Corporate Representative). Thus, this narrow
understanding appears to be strong at the corporate level. However, in an interview
with a miner and former educator, he strongly criticised the existing system and
expressed his concern regarding community sustainability: “communities in the
region find it very difficult to become self-sustainable. I am a miner but I do not
think mining can be a driver for development” (Community leader, Interview,
February, 2014). Another community member commented: “I think in the coming
years this town will disappear” (Table 13.2, Row 1).
Despite the large number of programmes in place, most of them target employed
miners, and only a few involve the broader community. This is a third factor that
leads to the irrelevance of many approaches to community wellbeing in Antioquia.
“A domestic mining company operating in the region is currently building capacity
of 500 miners but these actions have been wasted or misused … the domestic com-
pany has spent much money in unnecessary mining training for us” (Local Miners,
Focus Group, October, 2012). “(These) initiatives include, but are not limited to,
partnerships between mining companies and tertiary institutions to develop under-
graduate practicum projects and mining student tours” (Mining Engineering
Students from Antioquia, Focus Group, October, 2012).
However, if these initiatives do not go beyond a mining-orientated approach that
helps students become active actors in achieving their development aspirations,
these initiatives will end up in dreams of development (Murray 1997). Similarly,
mining companies in partnership with local governments are running initiatives to
build high school students’ and locals’ capacity in mining practices. Although these
actions have helped communities get a broader understanding of the industry, they
have not met the community’s expectations yet and therefore have been incapable
to foster relevant community wellbeing.
Women also have been displaced and had to turn to figuring out their livelihood
as mining employment seems to cater mainly for men. “Our organisation was cre-
ated from the need to build different livelihood options. Women in this town did not
have any value … We were labelled either as witches and/or prostitutes. We have
been provided with some training by government organisations … A company
donated us three machines … that was long time ago. There are small mines we
have some contracts with and we also get some contribution from the government
but nothing else apart from that” (Table 13.2, Row 3), says a community member.
13.4.2 Risaralda
Risaralda is a region located in the Colombian Andes mountain range. This geo-
graphical area is one of the most active producers of minerals and metals in
Colombia. According to the census, Risaralda hosted a population of 859,666 peo-
ple in 2005 (DANE 2005). Out of the total population, 665,104 people inhabited
urban areas, whereas 194,562 were located in rural areas. 51.3% of the population
was female and 48.7% male. Statistics also show that Risaralda hosted 230,532
households in urban and rural areas. With the increased mining operations, com-
munity enterprise has been more successful in gaining traction in delivering devel-
opment outcomes, and communities are more receptive to private capital as an agent
of development. “The company provided us with training in coffee making and
coffee tasting. We have also requested support from companies and governments
resulting in the implementation of jointly funded …. actions” (Community Leaders,
Focus Group, October, 2012). Research findings indicate that this approach has
positive results for communities (Buitrago Franco 2014). “We have been involved
in several … initiatives delivered by different organisations such as Artesanias de
Colombia, government-funded educational institutions and NGOs. We have experi-
enced the benefit of these initiatives. It is reflected in the products that we design”
(Community Leader, Jewellery CBO, Interview, November, 2012).
Governments, the private sector and civil society have joined in efforts to develop
relevant approaches to community wellbeing that tackle key community issues.
Following Mount and Mulc (2007) partnerships can foster community develop-
ment. “In partnership with a government-funded educational institution we are
assisting [communities] with some resources to begin their own plantations (in cof-
fee, plantain, etc)” (Corporate Representative, Interview, October, 2012). Companies
have also partnered with schools to provide children with initiatives such as reading
and writing workshops (Franco 2014). Collaboration processes are characterised by
active community engagement. Mining is part of Risaralda’s cultural and political/
economic life; however, the recent escalation of mining operations undertaken
mainly by international companies has not prevented communities in Risaralda
from creating alternative livelihoods and benefiting from resource development.
Recent development of mining and exploration projects has positioned this activity
as one of the main economic activities in the region. Operations have been under-
taken by Canadian and domestic exploration and mining companies. Metals produc-
tion in Risaralda represented 6.71% of Colombia’s total production in 2005 (UPME
2005). Effective stakeholder collaboration processes along with a long history of
entrepreneurship and economic benefits derived from mining have driven commu-
nity wellbeing. Existing exploration and mining projects have helped communities
to foster entrepreneurship and achieve their development aspirations:
I have been working in mining since I was 7 years old. The company has provided us with
some resources to participate in a dress-making course. I asked the company for … initia-
tives in which we women could get some knowledge to sustain ourselves in the long-term.
The company, in partnership with a government VET institution, implemented this initia-
tive. However, we need more of these initiatives in Risaralda. Hopefully there are more
coming up. (Risaralda Community Leader, November, 2012)
This has been possible due to some governance processes and factors in place
that have allowed companies to play a strong role in promoting sustainable com-
munity development leading to community wellbeing.
Entrepreneurship for Community Wellbeing in Risaralda
While many of the current approaches to community wellbeing face some chal-
lenges in Antioquia, key findings of this research showed that the approach to well-
being in Risaralda has helped locals develop coping capacities to deal with
mining-induced changes. A more coordinated and integrated approach to commu-
nity wellbeing is taking centre stage in Risaralda. The existing approach is based on
community needs and puts entrepreneurship at the centre of community develop-
ment. The existing developmental model has also been able to meet community
development aspirations and help communities evolve despite the adverse impacts
derived from the escalation of mining operations. A senior Government representa-
tive stated:
We do not want mining-dependent communities. Instead, we need to develop sustainable
supply chains and entrepreneurship amongst community members. People usually think
competitiveness is an overnight process. This is a false expectation. It is a long-term com-
mitment that will allow us to forge more sustainable communities. (Table 13.3, Row 1)
Mining will eventually affect the livelihood of farmers, agricultural labourers

and other rural workers whose jobs currently depend on agriculture. Farmers are
choosing mining over agriculture which might displace traditional livelihood
options in the long-term. However, it is mainly due to active community participa-
tion, broader understanding of community wellbeing as an approach to develop-
ment and good governance that stakeholders are becoming more successful in
gaining traction in delivering development outcomes. Active participation in
decision-making has also helped some communities to proactively request initia-
tives intended to positively transform their assets and help cope with potential min-
ing impacts. Collective decision-making and consensus are key drivers for an
integrated approach (Maalouf 2014) to wellbeing. This approach has also helped
many communities achieve their development goals and realise their entrepreneur-
ial potential. It has also helped companies to produce in a more responsible manner.
A community member remarked:
Locals have a strong sense of community organisation. They own agriculture-based com-
munity associations that stimulate the local economy and foster employment. For example,
they own associations for blackberry and coffee production and commercialisation.
(Table 13.3, Row 3)
Based on Risaralda’s community aspirations and expectations, corporations and

governments have embarked on social responsibility agendas in which entrepre-
neurship is a key component. This has had positive impacts on locals, as these initia-
tives are more in tune with local circumstances. Generally, entrepreneurship is itself
perceived as an approach to development by stakeholders involved. Community
consultation in relation to needs and expectations is highly appreciated in the devel-
opment of these initiatives, resulting in immediate benefits for locals. For example,
local coffee and jewellery producers, as well as women leaders, have already expe-
rienced the benefits of these initiatives: “We have trained in jewellery design … the
company has also provided us with some financial assistance to attend international
fairs so that we can promote and sell our products” (Community Members,
Interview, October, 2012). Evidence shows that if allocated effectively, financial aid
can transform livelihoods positively (Akudugu 2011).
There is a close relationship between good governance and the effectiveness of
these initiatives. Collaboration for entrepreneurship amongst stakeholders has been
a driver to enhance resilient and developed community assets (Missens et al. 2007).
Governance is not restricted just to the role of government but also involves other
parties such as the private sector (Davies 2005) and civil society (Mayer and Knox
2010). It is part of the role of these three parties to help communities develop asset-
based adaptation strategies to respond to mining impacts. Mostly, it is their respon-
sibility to assist communities to meet their wellbeing needs and improve their living
conditions. Lessons can be learnt from the Risaralda case. Approaches need to be
further developed according to community expectations and needs. This bottom-up
(community-focused) rather than top-down (mining-focused) approach to commu-
nity wellbeing is already having significant effects in many of Risaralda’s commu-
nities and equipping them with more resilient assets, helping them to realise their
entrepreneurial potential and sustaining their livelihoods in the long-term. However,

if existing top-down approaches keep being implemented, this will not only be det-
rimental for locals but also for companies operating in mining regions as it will
escalate community discontent and resentment.
Driven by strong links of reciprocity and empathy, locals more often partner with
other civil groups or local stakeholders to develop community associations. The
importance of becoming self-sustainable reinforces their desire for a high level of
economic independence and points to a need to enhance these organisations. This
will not only strengthen their capacity to respond to potential mining impacts but
also assist them in the generation of local employment. To date community-based
organisations have contributed strongly to protecting and enhancing entrepreneurial
assets in Risaralda. Community organisations provide employment opportunities to
616 households, and they expect to play a stronger role in the coming years. A rep-
resentative of one of these CBOs said: “At the present time we are benefiting 11
households through employment generation … In the future it will not only be 11
but 20, 30, 50 families benefited from this organisation” (Community Leader,
Jewellery CBO, Interview, November, 2012).
Three community organisations in particular have made important contributions
to employment generation in the region. The Association for Coffee Production and
Commercialization has benefitted 499 households with employment, while the
Associations for Blackberry Production and Commercialization and Jewellery
Production and Commercialization have benefitted 106 and 11 households, respec-
tively. Community members of these organisations have participated in entrepre-
neurship and education initiatives led by the government. According to the Ministry
of Education, 76% of former participants in these actions have been able to access
gainful employment opportunities from these initiatives (Ministerio de Educacion
Nacional 2014).
State actors have also taken part in fostering social sustainability by supporting
these organisations. The regional government often encourages exploration and
mining companies to engage with CBOs to develop entrepreneurial assets. In
response, companies have committed to supporting the community endeavours;
however, they also have a particular interest in linking community organisations’
work with company goals. Local authorities acknowledge that the mining industry
plays a key role, and actions need to be undertaken to generate mining-related
employment opportunities. Nevertheless, companies willing to employ community
members also need to contribute to community wellbeing: “We want mining com-
panies to operate socially responsible. We want most of their employees to be locals.
Employees should also be equipped with suitable conditions to perform their jobs
with high safety standards” (Table 13.3, Row 2) (senior local government represen-
tative, November, 2012).
Fostering sustainable development (Rakodi and Lloyd-Jones 2002; Franco 2014)
and wellbeing is a long-term process. Hence, if mining is to support the long-term
development of work and entrepreneurship opportunities outside mining, the indus-
try needs to come up with strategies to protect community assets and meet its expec-
tations from the start of advanced exploration through mining development stages
of the mining cycle and also after mine closure. Corporate representatives state that
“during the exploration stage (they) are hiring locals to support current drilling proj-
ects … The local community board gives (the company) potential workers’ CVs and
(the company) selects them through an internal process” (Corporate Representative,
Interview, October, 2012).
Other corporate initiatives for employment generation are based on the imple-
mentation of bottom-up approaches for entrepreneurship. However, these initiatives
are still in a very early stage, and so their impact on communities cannot yet be
measured. For example, dress-making entrepreneurship programmes in which
female leaders are participating are one of the existing bottom-up initiatives in
place: “This training will help us get employed either by the company or educa-
tional institutions to make the company workers’ or school students’ uniforms”
(Community Representatives, Focus Group, November, 2012).
Stakeholders in Risaralda have come to the realisation that natural resource
extraction has compromised physical and environmental wellbeing and therefore
communities should be compensated for by a gain in other components of wellbe-
ing. Such compensation has mainly occurred in improvements in economic wellbe-
ing with a focus on economic diversification. This has led to positive livelihood
transformations, as locals have been able to generate income from industries other
than mining.
Quinchia is a small town with a strong sense of community. Despite the long
history of conflict in this town, locals have become psychologically resilient. They
are supportive of one another and very often gather together to discuss issues rele-
vant to all. These after-work informal catch-up meetings take place at the main
square or in the public park. In those meetings, small groups of company staff, com-
munity members and government representatives get together to discuss topics that
have an impact on the community. Observations undertaken during fieldwork show
that the agreements that resulted from these informal meetings were often more
effective than those formally established and contributed to improve community
wellbeing in other dimensions, including psychological, material, cultural and
environmental.
Investments in infrastructure have advanced material wellbeing, fostered long-
term improvements in livelihoods and physically equipped educational institutions
for the promotion of cultural wellbeing in the form of education: “community
members have been given education in human relations, food security, family guid-
ance and conflict resolution” (Community Representatives, Focus Group, November,
2012). Locals have a strong perception that education in social responsibility has
assisted them cope with shocks like internal conflict. One of the respondents agrees
that being exposed to this initiative has helped him and the community organisation
he represents “prevent conflicts within (the) association” (Community Leader,
Interview, November, 2012).
Abstracting from the Antioquia case, Fig. 13.1 shows the key features, benefits
and limitations of a top-down industry-based approach to sustainable development.
Such an approach delivers mining-related benefits in the form of skill training,
employment opportunities, local boost to retail trade from miners and increased
government tax revenue for more local spending. However, interviewees strongly
lamented the mining industry-centred nature of this development approach and how
benefits are offset by costs to other aspects of wellbeing. This approach stays away
from the responsible production practices associated with SDG 12. The wider busi-
ness development of the region can be neglected, long-term prosperity made vulner-
able to the fortunes of mining, lack of local leadership and empowerment to be in
control of their destiny and too much top-down imposition. There is also a rivet
effect (Martin and Sunley 2015) as any adversity experienced by the mining sector
can have knock-on adverse consequences for other dependent sectors such as retail.
Figure 13.2 then displays the key features, benefits and limitations of the entre-
preneurship for community wellbeing approach. Based on the case data, three key
features of this approach are salient: (1) multidimensional wellbeing as the over-
arching framework for sustainable community development, (2) entrepreneurship
based on wellbeing deficiencies and (3) community-level governance of wellbeing
strategy. The Risaralda case illustrates the greater community support for this
approach and benefits in terms of resilience, community empowerment and control
and development for community wellbeing rather than just mining. From a resil-
ience perspective (Martin and Sunley 2015), an industry-based approach reduces
modularity by building tight coupling of parts of a community to a mining core.
In contrast, a wellbeing approach increases modularity by increasing the diversi-
fication of business creation, thus not locking the community’s eggs into one basket.
Davies and Tonts (2010) argue that the more diverse a region’s economy, the more
socio-economically resilient it will be (also Gray et al. 2014). Importantly also, a
wellbeing approach builds emotional resilience by not centring the community’s
psyche on economic factors alone as constituting its quality of life. This approach
leads to better outcomes for community members from a perspective which recog-
nises that wellbeing is about having, doing and being across multiple components
including economic, social, cultural, environmental, psychological, spiritual, mate-
rial and physical. Entrepreneurship for community wellbeing though requires high
levels of community engagement to make it work. This assumes a willingness and
energy in the community to implement a wellbeing development agenda in connec-
tion with the SDG 12.
Our study set about to explore how wellbeing may be used to guide sustainable
development in small towns/communities. Our comparative case study showed that
when communities have an overarching multidimensional vision for community
wellbeing, they fare better in the longer term than those who are less mindful of the
full range of components which constitute human wellbeing. Setting this overarch-
ing vision provides the framework for guiding entrepreneurship initiatives by help-
ing to identify wellbeing priorities in the community and where entrepreneurial
goods and services for wellbeing are most needed. In this way, communities develop
based on the best interests of multidimensional wellbeing and learn to connect local
business development to these community aims. Moreover, these communities
develop capabilities in understanding how the various components of wellbeing
(e.g. social, environmental, economic, spiritual) interact and thus can better syn-
chronise different types of entrepreneurial business.
Most specifically, our research findings demonstrate that stakeholders who
embark on community wellbeing development rather than industry-based capacity
building are more successful in delivering sustainable outcomes in resource regions.
This is similar to the findings elsewhere such as Dana et al.’s (2014) study of two
French villages and the impact of tourism, Gray et al.’s (2014) case study of Women
in Business Development Incorporated in Samoa and Korsgaard and Anderson’s
(2011) study of the sustainable living project of Friland. All cases demonstrate the
need for development to adopt a multidimensional wellbeing approach.
The Risaralda case illustrates that a community wellbeing approach with a focus
on entrepreneurship is helping communities become more resilient to potential min-
ing impacts. In Risaralda, examples can be seen where mining has been combined
with jewellery design and trade entrepreneurship initiatives; a livelihood option that
is currently adding value to resource extraction in the region. This has been possible
due to active community participation, broader understanding of entrepreneurship
for community wellbeing and good governance. Conversely, the existing top-down
or mining approach in some locations of Antioquia is often substituting for tradi-
tional livelihood options such as agriculture and other entrepreneurship initiatives
relevant for local communities. This is not only compromising community sustain-
ability but also jeopardising the mining industry’s opportunities to make a strong
contribution at the community level and produce in a responsible manner. This is
mainly due to overinvestment in irrelevant initiatives, limited understanding of
entrepreneurship for community wellbeing as an approach to development and
approaches to community wellbeing that do not reach the broader community but
only the mining industry and potential employees.
In this context, entrepreneurship for community wellbeing adds to traditional
discussions heralding the benefits of entrepreneurship to developing economies
(Fischer et al. 2018) and to the achievement of SDGs 3 and 12. If not undertaken
with all aspects of wellbeing under consideration, then entrepreneurship can encour-
age business types that create negative externalities such as increased inequality,
environmental degradation, indigenous colonisation, “diseases of affluence” (Ezzati
et al. 2005; McKeown 1988) and the proliferation of a consumer culture. A wellbe-
ing approach and our findings also add to discussions about regional resilience
(Davies and Tonts 2010; Martin and Sunley 2015) by extending the focus beyond
economic resilience to include multiple aspects of wellbeing resilience. Even if
adverse economic shocks occur, the effects are not just economic but affect multiple
aspects of wellbeing. A wellbeing-conscious approach can render communities less
vulnerable to external shocks through having built wellbeing capital or slack that
can buffer. Experience with wellbeing can aid recovery. Without this stock of well-
being, communities are more vulnerable to more severe adverse effects across mul-
tiple wellbeing components.
Entrepreneurship is here itself important to community and regional resilience

and overall sustainability. Developing a path dependence based on entrepreneurship
builds innovation capacity. The latter emphasises newness, change and adaptation.
Hence, a community and region improves its resilience as its history and capabili-
ties for entrepreneurship and innovation enable positive adaptations to failed sec-
tors. A wellbeing approach then encourages variety and a history of path creation,
thereby steering away from too much path dependence (Martin and Sunley 2006).
Future research can further explore how a wellbeing approach to entrepreneurial
development leads to more resilient communities and regions with less negative
externalities than those regions adopting a purely economic development logic.
Included is the need to develop a measure of multidimensional wellbeing across the
eight components conceptualised in this paper. A score for community wellbeing on
each of the eight components could be based on averaging scores of individuals.
Such a test could also serve as an ideal type where a total maximum wellbeing score
could serve as the barometer against which one could measure a total wellbeing
score for the community. Research could also test if a portfolio approach to com-
munity entrepreneurship achieves greater multidimensional wellbeing than existing
approaches which prioritise economic development. Research is also needed into
the governance required to oversee the portfolio of enterprises in the community, set
community wellbeing goals and develop entrepreneurship.
Social enterprises also have a role in entrepreneurship for community wellbeing
(Peredo and Chrisman 2006; Peredo and McLean 2006). Social entrepreneurship
can help to prioritise aspects of wellbeing in their portfolios (e.g. a focus on contrib-
uting to social wellbeing or environmental or spiritual). However, as with for-profit
entrepreneurship, there are benefits to the community-level coordination of social
entrepreneurship based on wellbeing deficiencies in the community. Such coordina-
tion keeps things focused on both community and wellbeing. Social entrepreneur-
ship literature could benefit by studying how wellbeing could become an overarching
goal and point of difference with traditional profit-maximisation entrepreneurship.
This includes study of the interactions between various components of wellbeing
and how these play out at a community level.
Corporations stand to bring useful benefits to the communities in which they
operate. Importantly though, such companies would benefit from a wellbeing-based
approach to development investment and responsible production. Investing in the
entrepreneurship skills of locals needs to be complemented with investments in
leadership and governance from a wellbeing perspective.
In this context, the implementation of an entrepreneurship for community well-
being approach coupled with other initiatives, such as food security and farming
programmes, is highly recommended due to the likelihood that mining impacts will
have adverse implications for locals. This will allow activities like mining to coexist
with other industries and activities relevant to the local economy and will add value
to other livelihood options relevant to communities, as well as helping to ensure that
improved community wellbeing remains after the mines have closed.
It is advisable to build community capacity for wellbeing-based approaches to
entrepreneurship in developing resource regions of Latin America. Existing approaches
to community wellbeing can cause tensions at the community level. Current processes
intended to up-skill informal miners and the broader community need further develop-
ment in order to help locals enhance their capacity to obtain gainful employment and
therefore foster community wellbeing. However, the participation of multiple stake-
holders is vital to foster entrepreneurship based on community wellbeing. This emerg-
ing view is likely to deliver relevant employment opportunities and prepare locals for
adverse impacts derived from the escalation of resource extraction.
Entrepreneurship for community wellbeing is an essential asset for enhancing
other human capital such as income and employment. Existing community wellbe-
ing approaches are mainly mining oriented, particularly in the Antioquia case,
which is becoming a limitation for locals whose livelihood options and develop-
ment aspirations are not always directly linked to the mining industry. Thus, it is
recommended that entrepreneurship for community wellbeing education be secured
for locals in non-mining subjects. These subjects need to enhance locals’ abilities to
take up entrepreneurship or employment opportunities that are offered outside the
mining sector.
The dearth of both gainful entrepreneurship options and appropriate education in
this field is hindering locals in achieving their development aspirations and improv-
ing community wellbeing. This is leading to diminished opportunities for income
generation and preventing them from employing other human capital assets they
may have access to. Entrepreneurship for community wellbeing should be adopted
by multiple stakeholders at all levels of governance and involve private organisa-
tions and civil society. This will help stakeholders to immerse themselves in the
contexts of the most vulnerable communities in developing resource regions and
tackle the structural disconnects (extreme poverty, inequality and conflict) that pre-
vent communities in Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America from fostering sus-
tainable wellbeing and following their dreams of sustainable development.
Acknowledgements One of the authors would also like to thank Les and Lee Boby and Reta and
Albert Basnett for the inspiration to work with communities.
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Chapter 14
SDG 13 Climate Action
Climate Education: Identifying Challenges to
Climate Action
Isabel B. Franco, Rosemarie Tapia, and James Tracey
Abstract There is an increasing consensus that stakeholders at education institu-

tions, specifically educators and students, face enormous challenges in translating
climate education into effective action. Therefore, a better understanding of these
issues – both within and beyond education institutions – is paramount. This chapter
addresses such issues within education institutions, including teachers and students
misconceptions regarding climate change, behavioural issues and social consider-
ations such as peer pressure. This investigation worked to critically analyse issues
with the current climate education scheme, whilst identifying key areas in which
improvements should be made to effectively promote climate action and contribute
to the achievement of the sustainable development goal related to climate action
(SDG 13).
Keywords Climate change · Sustainability · SDG 13 climate change · Education ·

Impact
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
R. Tapia
Exceptional Women in Sustainability – eWisely, Sydney, Australia
J. Tracey

14.1 Introduction
Globally, awareness of climate education as a key component of sustainable devel-

opment is increasing. Yet, there is still limited understanding regarding global cli-
mate precepts and challenges which impede many key actors, including educators
and students from promoting climate education (Mahat et al. 2016). The transfor-
mation of the current education system to fully integrate climate education into
curriculums and practice is essential. Such a change will hopefully aid future gen-
erations in realizing sustainable development, through inspiring the next generation
to become active participants in forging a more sustainable future for all. In this
context, climate education needs to be taken seriously to prepare students and edu-
cators to face pressing climate challenges. In doing so, the international community
has embarked on a global campaign to ‘embed education into plans and efforts to
address sustainable development and integrat[e] sustainable development into edu-
cation institutional priorities, curricular and pedagogy’ (Tilbury 2015).
As a result of this investigation, it is clear that both educators and students should
create incentives which foster sustainable consumption and behaviours through
enabling new technologies and climate considerate extracurricular activities.
Furthermore, they should also work to develop curriculums focused on scientific
research and local climate needs whilst developing teaching methodologies for cli-
mate issues which provide students with relevant practical experience. Finally they
should work to foster collaboration between schools and both public and private
stakeholders for the development of a climate-focused curriculum and the allocation
of resources to support the transition towards climate action. This chapter identifies
a series of challenges faced by education institutions in translating climate education
into action and provides policy recommendations for addressing these challenges.
14.2.1 C
limate Education to Action: Hindering and Fostering
Factors
Yet, how students and key actors can move forward from climate education to action
remains an issue inside and outside education institutions. Teachings on ‘responsi-
ble consumption’ and ‘3R reutilization, reuse and recycle’ integration in the cur-
riculum, for example, have delivered poor results in practice (Mahat et al. 2016;
Sidiropoulos 2014). Other themes such as ‘disaster risk management’ have mainly
been included in business curriculum overlooking other fields equally relevant
(Apronti et al. 2015; Brundiers 2017; Herrera 2016; Naoufal 2014; Shaw 2014).
Curriculum exploring water stream-climate nexus targets mainly coastal areas, and
issues around ‘cleaner production’ and ‘greenhouse gas emissions’ (Colliver 2017)
are still perceived as abstract themes. Due to increasing climate challenges and
scarce clarity on climate change, this chapter increases our understanding of factors
needed to operationalize climate education.
14 SDG 13 Climate Action 221
Table 14.1 Perceptions on climate education/action

Hindering Fostering Policy
Type Factor Actor factors factors recommendations
Internal Lifestyles Students Resistance to Creating an Promoting incentives to
factors sacrifice identity around change sustainable
unsustainable sustainable lifestyles and
lifestyles and lifestyles (e.g. behaviours
behaviours second-hand
(e.g. diet, shopping and
clothing) vegetarian
Lack of control food
to make consumption)
sustainable
decisions
Peer School peers Pressure from Linking Use of technology for
pressure fashion trends climate policy climate change,
(friends and to young appealing to the youth
music, amongst culture and (e.g. Tinder profile for
others) values SDGs)
Knowledge Educators Lack of Fostering Fostering first-hand
on climate understanding connections experience to
change of climate between encourage students to
change climate engage in sustainable
precepts and education and behaviours
challenges action
Climate change Train trainers Ongoing skill needs
is perceived as on climate assessment on climate
a complex change education
concept
Climate change Encouraging Integrating applied
is not a priority curriculum research into climate
in the development curriculum
curriculum on climate development
Educators’ change
scepticism on
climate change
Limited
educators’
capacity to
teach climate
change and
engaging in
innovative
methodologies
for climate
education/action
(continued)
Hindering Fostering Policy
Type Factor Actor factors factors recommendations
External Family Parents Lack of role Strengthening Family discussions on
factors dynamics models to family sustainable lifestyles
foster engagement and behaviours
sustainable around
behaviours sustainable
Sustainable behaviours
behaviours are
perceived as
expensive
Culture Community Cultural Value shift on Fostering community
constrains the youngest engagement though
generation. campaigns for
‘What is sustainable lifestyles
perceived as and behaviours
successful is
not necessarily
sustainable’
Superimposed Fostering
unsustainable community
values engagement on
Lack of local sustainable
engagement to lifestyles
foster
sustainable
lifestyles and
behaviours
Policy Market and Market trends Market and Resource allocation in
governments and marketing government the form of time and
campaigns on policies financial to foster
unsustainable prioritizing sustainable change
fast fashion and environment Implementing stronger
use of over economy policies on climate
technology education
Building on
partnerships amongst
key actors for climate
education to action
Both internal and external factors impact on the transition from climate educa-
tion to action. As shown in Table 14.1, there are three internal factors that require
nuanced attention at education institutions, namely, students’ lifestyles and
behaviours, classmates and peer pressure and educators’ knowledge on climate
change. These three factors and actors are also impacted by external factors that
emerge outside education institutions: parents’ values and family dynamics, com-
munity and cultural constrains and policy driven by the market and/or governments.
Both external and internal factors have a strong influence on climate education, and
so, integrating those at the policy level and curriculum has the potential to contrib-
ute to climate action.
Hindering Factors
Hindering factors are those that prevent key actors from engaging in climate
action. There is a consensus on resistance to sacrifice unsustainable lifestyles and
behaviours at education institutions (see Table 14.1). This is due to the lack of
incentives to change behaviours such as diet and clothing consumption patterns.
Such resistance is triggered by peer pressure at schools as well as fashion trends,
music, and use of technology, amongst others. Whilst students are trapped in an
‘unsustainable value system’ (Weber and Duderstadt 2012; Adams 2013; Waas
et al. 2012 cited by Aleixo et al. 2016), educators try to integrate the global climate
agenda into the curriculum with little success. The plethora of definitions and
approaches to sustainability-related issues such as climate change (Suleri and
Cavagnaro 2016) is interpreted by students in alignment with their own values
(Nazir et al. 2011; Sidiropoulos 2014). Climate change is therefore perceived as
an abstract theme at education institutions, and limited educators’ capacity to
teach climate change in a relevant manner has exacerbated the issue (Pfister et al.
2016).
Instead of integrating innovating methodologies in climate education, educators
provide students with solved problems. Yet, climate action occurs when asking
questions and encouraging students to find their own answers. Likewise, the ambi-
guity of the notion of climate change itself (Aleixo et al. 2016), lack of funding for
sustainability (Steele 2010; Aleixo et al. 2016), limited educator training in climate
change (Madueno et al. 2015; Martin and Carter 2015), hierarchy issues to freely
discuss climate change matters at schools (Nazir et al. 2011) and overcrowded edu-
cators’ curriculums are some other hindering factors at education institutions, to
name a few.
Outside education institutions, policymakers and key actors involved need to be
aware of the lack of role models at home to foster sustainable behaviours, an exter-
nal factor that needs to be paid nuanced attention. Parents perceive sustainable
behaviours as expensive. This barrier is also imposed by market trends and corpo-
rate misconceptions on the cost of sustainability. In addition, at the community
level, cultural constrains, superimposed values and limited local engagement around
sustainable practices diminish the opportunities for climate action.
Fostering Factors
Fostering factors in the transition to climate action vary, and it is all actors’ respon-
sibility to facilitate this transformation. Linking climate policy to younger genera-
tions’ values has the potential to create an identity around sustainable behaviours
and reduce peer pressure that impedes students from embracing climate action (see
Table 14.1). At education institutions, this should be coupled with a transformation
in the education system that challenges traditional structures and practices that do
not support climate action (Tilbury 2015). In doing so, resource allocation for edu-
cators’ capacity building on climate change curriculum in alignment with students’
first-hand experiences, across all ages and levels, is essential (Sidiropoulos 2014;
Colliver 2017). Outside the education system, this requires stronger family and
community engagement around sustainable practices such as clothing swap and
communal vegetarian food consumption to enable the value shift amongst the
youngest generations. At the policy level, this needs more effective policies and
partnerships that prioritize the environment over the economy (Steele 2010).
Based on educators’ and students’ insights on climate education to action, this chap-
ter focuses on three challenges that prevent both sets of actors from engaging in
climate action: students’ consumption patterns and behaviours, peer pressure from
classmates and educators’ lack of knowledge on climate change. Other challenges
and factors are listed in Table 14.1. These issues have a strong influence on climate
education; thus addressing these explicitly in curriculum has the potential to con-
tribute to climate action. Results presented below were obtained at a workshop led
by the corresponding author at the ‘First RCE Thematic Conference: Towards
Achieving the SDGs’. Nearly 60 educators participated from various geographical
locations globally.
Address Unsustainable Consumption Within Education Institutions
There is increasing resistance amongst students to sacrifice unsustainable lifestyles.
This is due to the lack of incentives to amend negative behaviour, mainly associated
with diet and clothing consumption. Furthermore, the growing gap between student
values and the schooling curriculum exacerbates this issue. Educators claim that
students do not identify with sustainable lifestyle, which prevents them from trans-
lating their sustainable education into the relevant climate action. Below is a short
description of factors that impact on students’ engagement in the achievement of
SDG 13.
As a result, incentives must be created to motivate students to change their unsus-
tainable consumption patterns and behaviours. Whilst education institutions are not
responsible for behaviour outside of their walls, they can incentivize behaviours that
encourage sustainable consumption. In doing so, educators and other key actors
should encourage students to engage in research through first-hand experiences
aimed to foster sustainability. It is therefore clear that building students’ capacity
such that they reconsider their consumption patterns and drift towards a sustainable
lifestyle should be imbedded into both the formal and informal schooling
curriculum.
Such incentives for students to unleash their potential and entrepreneurial skills
for advancing climate action through addressing consumption can include climate
leadership campaigns, as well as events including clothing swaps and school mar-
kets for sustainable products commercialization. Both of which work to reduce cli-
mate pressure and amend unsustainable consumption patterns. Students should also
engage in vocational programmes that address climate action in their transition
towards higher education or gainful employment in sustainability-related areas.
Peer Pressure
The pressure to follow cultural trends including the unsustainable use of technologi-
cal hardware is becoming an increasing issue for education institutions. As students
are trapped in an ‘unsustainable value system’ (Aleixo et al. 2016), thus far climate
education has been unable to address the peer pressure to follow unsustainable cul-
tural trends, including the desire for the newest phones, computers or clothing.
Creating an identity around sustainable behaviours and integrating innovative
methodologies for climate action can assist educators and key actors in addressing
these issues with students. For instance, the prevalent use of technology, whilst
represented as a social issue, can also serve as an opportunity in the sustainability
movement. A case in point is the ‘OLIO’ (The Food Sharing Revolution 2019), the
Tinder-like food sharing app. Through connecting neighbours and friends with local
shops and cafes, they promote food sharing and the reduction of food waste. As a
result, they are using the power of technology to encourage reduced consumption
for the promotion of a more sustainable future (‘OLIO – The Food Sharing
Revolution’ 2019).
Build Capacity to Educate on Climate Change
As climate change has been assigned a plethora of definitions and approaches
(Suleri and Cavagnaro 2016), students can often only relate through their own expe-
riences and contexts (Nazir et al. 2011; Sidiropoulos 2014). As a result, climate
change is often perceived as an abstract theme, which is too difficult to act upon.
This opinion is principally exacerbated by educator’s limited ability to effectively
teach climate education (Pfister et al. 2016).
Climate action generally occurs through student inquiry regarding their first-
hand experiences and encouraging learners to find their own relevant resolutions. As
a result, educators should be applying innovative teaching methodologies, which
promote these relevant context-driven solutions. In contrast, educators generally
provide students with ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions, which only widen the gap
between climate education and action. Further barriers to effective climate educa-
tion include the ambiguity of the notion of climate change (Aleixo et al. 2016), lack
of funding for both climate and sustainability education (Steele 2010), limited edu-
cators’ knowledge and training on climate change (Madueno et al. 2015; Martin and
Carter 2015), hierarchy issues that prevent free discussion of ‘taboo’ climate-related
matters including family planning (Nazir et al. 2011) and overcrowded
curriculums.
Regardless of the context, educators must be equipped with essential knowledge
to facilitate climate action integration into the curriculum. This will facilitate effi-
cient student capacity building, developing practical skills to action climate educa-
tion and forge more sustainable lifestyles. An early step in equipping educators to
do this would be to examine existing barriers to climate action within the current
curriculum. This is warranted to better understand the challenges and opportunities
arising from the interactions between students, curriculum, school policy and other
impeding factors in the transition from climate education to action. Other examples
of issues and possible ways to overcome existing barriers are presented in Table 14.1.
As education institutions don’t exist in a vacuum, educators should be given

professional development opportunities to participate in extracurricular climate ini-
tiatives that engage with the broader community. This approach can enable the
development of climate action curriculum relevant to students’ own local climate
requirements. For example, exposure to programmes such as Sandwatch will allow
students to closely relate to the issues and promote the significance of climate
action. Sandwatch is a volunteer network of schools and a community-based orga-
nization, which allows students and community members to learn how to monitor
beach environments in the local area. This works to develop awareness regarding
the fragility of their coastal environment (The Sandwatch Foundation 2018).
Furthermore, it is necessary to couple these essential actions with a complete
transformation of the education system, one that challenges traditional teaching
structures and practices, which hinder the promotion of climate action (Tilbury
2015). Such transformation requires heavy investment and resource allocation to
identify gaps in climate knowledge and capacity building.
The development of the curriculum in line with both current scientific research
and students’ contextual experiences (Sidiropoulos 2014; Colliver 2017) is para-
mount to fostering a successful transition from climate education to action. In order
to promote locally contextualized climate action, educators’ training programmes
should work with local public, private and non-profit actors to increase curriculum’s
impact on students within their specific area.
This chapter has explored several significant obstacles in the journey towards
achieving SDG 13 and therefore a successful transition to climate action. However,
the impact sustainability recommendations below work to facilitate this transition,
such that both educators and students can learn to work and live in ways which will
sustain a healthy planet for future generations (Steele 2010; Tilbury 2015).
Within education institutions, incentives must be created to help students change
their unsustainable lifestyles and behaviours. In doing so, key actors should inte-
grate innovative methodologies. For example, the predominantly unsustainable use
of technology could undoubtably shift from a sustainability concern to an
opportunity.
However, the use of new technology and teaching techniques for the promotion
of climate education must be supported by ongoing scientific research. Therefore,
the importance of connecting educators with academia to develop a relevant climate
education curriculum. Likewise, students must also become active participants in
relevant research through exposure to first-hand experiences. Additionally, an ongo-
ing assessment regarding existing sustainability skills is required to identify climate-
related capacity gaps.
Regarding external stakeholders, family and community engagement will help
facilitate a smooth transition towards climate action. Yet, these efforts require the
allocation of significant resources, and as such it is the responsibility of policymak-

ers to foster stronger policies promoting climate action. However, businesses and
governments are increasingly recognizing the value of contributing to climate
action, contributing through building on existing partnerships for investment in edu-
cation institutions, specifically those in which a lack of resources is distinctly com-
promising climate education.
The successful integration of climate education into school curriculums is essen-
tial in order to inspire the next generation to become active participants in the for-
mation of a more sustainable future. As such, we believe responsibility falls on both
educators and students to successfully facilitate this progression.
In order to facilitate this amendment, it is the responsibility of educators to
adhere to the following recommendations, and they must be equipped with the rel-
evant knowledge required to integrate climate change into the curriculum and foster
participation in extracurricular climate initiatives. Additionally they must enable
climate action coordination amongst universities, the private sector and govern-
ments. Furthermore, encouraging educators to conduct applied research skills to
examine existing barriers to climate action in their respective community would be
highly effective.
Additionally, the authors’ recommendations relevant to students include building
students’ capacity, such that they alter their consumption patterns and drift towards
more sustainable lifestyles. It is also recommended that incentives be created for
students to unleash their potential for acting on climate change; this works to
encourage students to engage in climate-oriented vocational programmes in their
transition towards higher education, helping them access employment in
sustainability-related areas.
References
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tion (DRR): linking theory with practice in Ghana’s basic schools. Sustainability 7(7):9160–
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in Spanish universities. J Clean Prod 106:34
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environmental education curriculum, vol 23. EDP Sciences, Les Ulis
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in Lebanon. J Peace Educ 11(3):279–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/17400201.2014.954359
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Group, London/New York
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value. J Clean Prod 85:472–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.040
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Tilbury D (2015) Education for sustainability. Foro de Educación 13(19):7–10
Chapter 15
SDG 14 Life Below Water
Introducing Fish Skin as a Sustainable Raw
Material for Fashion
Elisa Palomino
Abstract In recent years there has been a growing interest in fish skin – a by-
product of the food industry – as an alternative sustainable raw material for fashion.
Global production of fish has steadily increased over the last decade, and more than
50% of the total remaining material from fish capture results in 32 million tonnes of
waste. A substantial amount of this waste is the skin of the fish; only a small per-
centage of this skin is processed into leather. While, to date, the European
Environment Agency allows seafood processors to dispose of fish skins in marine
waters, this is expected to change as the decomposing organic waste can suck up
available oxygen from marine species and introduce disease into the local ecosys-
tem. Fish skin leather processing could prevent and significantly reduce marine pol-
lution and sustainably protect marine ecosystems in order to achieve healthy and
productive oceans. This paper describes the conditions necessary for the develop-
ment of fish skin craftsmanship within a Fashion Higher Education sustainable cur-
riculum. In order to enhance the innovation and sustainable design of fish leather
products, the author has developed an impactful capacity-building approach con-
necting fashion students with the Icelandic fish leather industry, which is renowned
for sustainable sourcing from Nordic fish farms, promoting the sustainable use of
ocean-based resources.
Keywords Fish skin · Food industry by-product · Sustainable management of the

oceans · Arctic economic growth of fisheries · Fashion education for sustainability
E. Palomino (*)
Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London, UK
e-mail: e.palomino@csm.arts.ac.uk

230 E. Palomino
15.1 Introduction
This chapter outlines the importance of fish skin, a by-product of the food industry,
as an innovative sustainable material for fashion. Fish skins are sourced from the
food industry, using waste and applying the principle of circular economy. None of
the fish used to make this alternative leather are farmed for their hides. They require
no extra land, water, fertilisers or pesticides to produce them, and they have low
environmental impact, unlike conventional leather (Jacobs 2018). The processing of
fish skin leather avoids throwing the fish skins into the ocean and can significantly
reduce marine pollution and sustainably protect marine ecosystems in order to
achieve healthy and productive oceans.
The Atlantic Leather tannery, located on the north coast of Iceland, has processed
fish leather since 1994, based on the ancient Icelandic tradition of making shoes
from the skins of catfish. It supports local economies by sourcing from sustainably
managed Nordic fish farming. The manufacturing of fish skin leather works with
three aspects of sustainability: the economic benefit of creating value from waste;
the social benefit of reconciling sustainability with fashionably exotic fish skin; and
the environmental benefit of producing skins without damaging biodiversity or
endangering animals.
The results presented in this study are based on the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, and they highlight the opportunity to
develop fish skin leather as a key part of achieving sustainable development of the
ocean. SDG 14 deals with the conservation and sustainable management of the
oceans, seas and marine resources, and it is strongly connected with other SDGs, in
particular SDG 2 (ending hunger and achieving food security, improved nutrition
and sustainable agriculture) and SDG 12 (sustainable production and
consumption).
Fisheries and aquaculture make a crucial contribution to global food security,
nutrition and livelihoods, but overfishing, unsustainable seafood farming practices,
ocean pollution and acidification will threaten the future of seafood availability
worldwide.
The oceans are recognised as indispensable for addressing many of the global
challenges facing the planet, from food security and climate change to the provision
of energy and natural resources. The use of the sea and its resources for sustainable
economic development (blue economy), contributing to prosperity today and into
the future (WWF 2015), is expanding rapidly, but the oceans are under stress. They
are already overexploited, polluted and confronted with climate change. As carbon
emissions have risen over time, the ocean has absorbed much of the carbon dioxide,
leading to acidification. Sea temperatures and sea levels are rising, resulting in loss
of biodiversity and habitat and changes in fish stock composition. Future ocean
development is threatened by overfishing and depleted fish stocks in many parts of
the world (OECD 2016).
Atlantic Leather, an Icelandic fish skin tannery, uses the full potential of the
ocean by taking a responsible, sustainable approach during fish skin processing and
15 SDG 14 Life Below Water 231
taking into consideration the wealth of the ocean and its great potential for boosting
economic growth, employment and innovation.
This chapter explores the qualities of fish skin leather, a by-product of the food
industry and part of the ocean economy: its capacity for creating future employment
and innovation and its role in addressing the global challenges facing oceans.
Special attention is given to the new technologies used in fish skin production, their
potential for innovation and their contribution to addressing challenges such as
energy, environment and climate change.
The World Ocean Council (WOC) has been working to advance global ocean
business collaboration to develop industry-driven solutions to sustainable develop-
ment. The Atlantic Leather fish skin tannery is playing an influential role in promot-
ing sustainable practices, producing fish skin leather that implements sustainable
concepts, reducing environmental impacts and creating social value. Creating sus-
tainable value chains within ocean and maritime industries is a key priority for the
Icelandic fishing sector. Since maritime technology has been developed in Iceland
and private companies have set more value on businesses supporting ocean sustain-
ability than before, the concept of the blue economy has received increasing atten-
tion and interest (Hansen 2018).
Atlantic Leather works with fisheries with blue technology, which considers the
intersection of the economic benefits of the ocean, environmental health and soci-
etal value in policies and best practices (Hansen 2018) and exploits the harvested
raw material of fish skin to the maximum level within its value chain. By maximis-
ing the usage of fish skin, Atlantic Leather has added value within the fishing indus-
try; the company’s efforts to utilise 100% of the raw material contribute to
maintaining fish stocks at biologically sustainable levels. Using the entire fish adds
to the value chain, benefitting fashion buyers as well as the fisheries themselves.
Since the benefits of 100% utilisation can be applied when the supplier or fishermen
are registered and connected within the value chain, this idea of 100% utilisation
helps reduce undocumented fisheries and overfishing.
The activities of Atlantic Leather which are most closely related to the relevant
SDG 14 targets are:
1. Reducing ocean acidification: Atlantic Leather reduces CO2 emissions by ceas-
ing to throw fish skins into the ocean.
2. Regulating harvesting and ending overfishing and illegal unreported fishing
practices: 100% utilisation of fish raw materials is applied when the supplier or
fishermen are registered, and this helps to decrease undocumented fisheries and
overfishing.
3. Increasing economic benefits from the sustainable use of marine resources:
Atlantic Leather develops fish skin leather while preserving environmental bio-
diversity by sourcing from Nordic sustainably managed fish farming.
4. Providing access for small-scale artisanal fisheries to marine resources/markets:
Atlantic Leather promotes value-added profits within the value chain by creating
new job opportunities for coastal dwellers using a by-product of the fishing
industry to produce fish skin leather for the luxury fashion industry.
232 E. Palomino
5. Increasing scientific knowledge, developing research capacity and transferring

marine technology: Atlantic Leather uses new technologies for the development
of sustainably produced fish skin leather.
This chapter has presented a brief introduction of the development of fish skin
use and reflected on the sustainable concepts of fish skin production in Iceland. The
study proposes that the sustainable development of fish skin as a by-product could
become an innovative sustainable raw material for the fashion industry. After this
introduction, Chap. 2 reviews the historical context of fish skin leather. Chapter 3
introduces the fish skin concepts of sustainability, the main contribution of knowl-
edge to this field, and then reviews how fish skin leather and the Atlantic Leather
tannery align with the SDG14 Life Below Water. Through the findings presented,
this chapter aims to provide insights relevant to policymakers, fish industry stake-
holders and academia and to encourage continuous improvement towards more sus-
tainable fashion practices. Chapter 4 introduces methods and methodology for the
case study and action research.
Chapter 5 presents a case study of Best Practices in Fashion Higher Education
with Arctic students. The study examines a fish skin workshop developed at the
Icelandic tannery Atlantic Leather involving fashion students from five Nordic uni-
versities, providing new data on cross-collaboration between industry and aca-
demia. Such insights will inform industry and academia how fish skin leather, a
by-product of the food industry, can better contribute to responsible marine resource
use. Chapter 6 focuses on implementing measures and recommendations for both
academia and industry, followed by the conclusions of the study.
15.2.1 Historical Context: Fish Skin Through History
Making leather from fish skin is an age-old craft practised by many societies along
rivers and coasts around the world, and there is evidence of historical fish skin
leather production in Scandinavia, Alaska, Hokkaido, Japan, north east China and
Siberia. Before synthetic fibres were invented, people clothed themselves with natu-
ral materials available in the surroundings where they lived, including fish skin
(Jiao 2012).
Arctic people display a remarkable intelligence in utilising natural resources,
reforming natural conditions, adapting to the environment and creating a better life;
in the past, this included making clothes from fish skin leather. However, the short-
age of raw materials and the omnipresence of modernity have challenged the pres-
ervation of the fish skin craft. Better access to the modern world meant that Arctic
people were able to access textiles like cotton and silk to create their clothing, leav-
ing fewer people to develop the traditional fish skin craft. There are currently only a
few people left who know how to create these fish skin garments (Campbell 2010).
Overfishing and water pollution have caused fish stocks to drop, and many Arctic
aboriginals have turned to farming and tourism to make a living, abandoning their
fish skin skills (Lin 2007).
15.2.2 Iceland’s Traditional Knowledge of Fish Skin
For much of their history, Icelanders wore shoes made of fish skins processed using
traditional tanning methods. Each shoe was cut from a single piece of fish skin, with
a vertical seam at the heel and a seam at the toe. They were soft, supple, flat-soled
traditional footwear (Mould 2018). Contemporary accounts of travels around
Iceland in the mid- to later eighteenth century describe and illustrate men wearing
traditional fish skin shoes (Hald 1972), suggesting that the working man wore them
on a daily basis. Icelanders made their shoes from wolf fish leather, and they mea-
sured distances by how many pairs of fish skin shoes would be worn out by walking
over the path.
15.2.3 F
ish Waste: Use of Fish By-Products by Aboriginal
Peoples
The use of fish by-products was well-known to aboriginal peoples in Arctic com-
munities (Hardy 1992). The specific material properties of fish skin have been
known since ancient times. Some human cultures developed unique techniques to
process fish leather from fish skin and used this leather for clothing and shoes
(Ehrlich 2015). Icelandic history, right from the settlement of Iceland in the ninth
century, has been interwoven with marine resources, and fish have been their main
source of food and income (Sigfusson and Arnason 2017a, b). Icelanders are known
for reusing everything, and they still have their ancestors’ spirit of finding the useful
in everything. Improved usage of so-called waste and other by-products could help
meet increasing demand for seafood without further stress to the ecosystem. Some
“waste” products can have a very high value if they are used. A more efficient use
of resources will benefit society, the environment and the industry’s bottom line
(Bechtel 2003).
The use of fish skin by the Arctic’s aboriginal peoples has recently been assimi-
lated as an innovative sustainable material for fashion due to its low environmental
impact. Fish skins are sourced from the food industry, using waste, applying the
principle of the circular economy (Jacobs 2018).
234 E. Palomino
15.2.4 Protecting Natural and Cultural Resources
For indigenous Arctic people, the relationship with fish, and specifically with
salmon, plays an important role in maintaining their identities as distinct cultures.
Salmon provides them with more than nutrients. It also plays a role in ceremonial
traditions, creating important ties between people and their environment.
The Arctic is undergoing dramatic climate change which threatens indigenous
people, impacting their food security and traditional knowledge systems which rely
on fishing activities for their physical, cultural and spiritual wellbeing. Coastal
indigenous peoples in the Arctic share links to marine environments, mainly through
fishing. The relationship with the sea plays an important role in maintaining their
identities as distinct cultures, but climate change is threatening indigenous people’s
ties to oceans and marine resources around the world (Yoshitaka 2017). Fisheries
management is a human security issue as well as an environmental issue, and we
need to bring social equity into global governance of the oceans, to respect coastal
indigenous peoples and their relationship with fish.
Preserving traditional knowledge with regard to fish skin is essential to the Arctic
world. This chapter seeks to draw attention to the vital importance of traditional fish
leather craft to the Arctic people as the basis of their culture and a component of
their identities and to encourage their artisans to reintroduce the skills used by their
ancestors as a tool for community development.
15.3 S
ustainability Context Icelandic Fish Skin Leather:
Concepts of Sustainability. Aligning Fish Skin Leather
with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal
14. Life Below Water
15.3.1 SDG 14.3 Reduce Ocean Acidification
Sustainable Development Goal 14:3 is “Minimise and address the impacts of ocean
acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels”.
Atlantic Leather’s production of fish skin leather using fish waste aligns with
this goal.
Global production of fish has steadily increased over the last decade, and more
than 50% of the total fish catch becomes waste material resulting in 32 million
tonnes of waste (Arvanito and Kassaveti 2008). To date, the European Environment
Protection agency allows seafood processors to dispose of fish skins in marine
waters, but this is expected to change as the decomposing organic waste can suck up
available oxygen from marine species and introduces disease into the local ecosys-
tem (EPA 2012). Unlike the EU’s fisheries policy, the Icelandic system decrees that
nonsaleable fish cannot be tossed back into the ocean but must be brought ashore
and counted towards the quota, therefore maintaining fish populations (Deliso 2015).
Fishermen create waste by using fishing methods that are not discriminating
enough or by targeting only part of the fish (e.g. roe, fins) and discarding the rest.
Fishermen and sea processors are incentivised to discard low-value species or trim-
mings to help maximise the value of their catch. Moreover, fish waste is typically
unsorted and geographically dispersed, which makes it costly to collect and process.
The high-value uses of seafood by-products like fish leather make fish skin collec-
tion and upcycling more feasible and attractive for the fishing industry (Henning,
and Jain 2017). Iceland has also made voluntary commitments to reduce marine
litter in its waters and to address acidification by producing an updated climate miti-
gation strategy by the end of 2017, in line with the Paris Agreement, with obliga-
tions of a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (Gunnarsdóttir 2017).
The technology for sustainable processing of fish leather can be of great environ-
mental benefit as well as profit for the global economy. Fish skin leather processing
could prevent fish waste ending up in marine waters and significantly reduce marine
pollution and sustainably protect marine ecosystems in order to achieve healthy and
productive oceans. Before Atlantic Leather started using fish skin to produce leather,
fish skins used to be thrown away. Now, they are a source of income for the local
people, besides avoiding being turned into biological waste.
15.3.2 SDG14.4 Regulate Harvesting and End Overfishing
Sustainable Development Goal 14:3 is “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans,
seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.
By 2020, the aim is to effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement
science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest fea-
sible time, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as deter-
mined by their biological characteristics.
15.3.2.1 Marine Biodiversity
Concentrating on improving the sustainable value chain, Atlantic Leather works

closely with the fisheries who supply them with fish skin to improve the sustain-
ability of fish resources and to unite the efforts of the world’s leading seafood indus-
tries to reduce the global extent of illegal, unregulated fisheries. These activities and
efforts have linked Icelandic private enterprises in a common movement to save
Icelandic marine biodiversity by restricting illegal fishing and undocumented fisher-
ies. The fish catch in Iceland is made in a conscious and nonpredatory way that
respects environment laws and procreation periods.
236 E. Palomino
Atlantic Leather uses fish from Nordic government regulated farms with sustain-
able management, which provides employment for local communities and a sustain-
able source of food while maintaining fish stocks. Fish is a key part of both food and
the local economy in Iceland.
The fishing is carried out in a sustainable way, under the control of government
agencies dedicated to the preservation of species and biodiversity. It helps the local
communities and respects the Nordic environmental balance. With stock sustain-
ability and the ecological effects of fishing and management systems as core con-
cerns, Iceland has become even more competitive in the global marketplace
(Sigfusson and Arnason 2017a, b).
15.3.2.2 Sustainable Management of Arctic Fisheries
As much as 40% of the ocean is heavily affected by depleted fisheries and other
human activities (UN 2018). The growth in aquaculture could put stress on the fish
industry to meet increased demand, by ignoring fishing quotas imposed by respon-
sible governments. The sustainability role of the fisheries industry is an important
issue which has to be taken into consideration as a concern about the future avail-
ability of raw material for fish (Bechtel 2003).
Fisheries are the single most important industry in Iceland, and the living marine
resources are their most important natural resources, but they are limited, and it is
important to utilise these resources in a sustainable way. In 1984, fixed quotas for
each vessel were introduced in order to control exploitation of the fish stocks
(Valdimarsson 1990). The main objective of the quota legislation was to prevent
overfishing and to encourage responsible handling of all catches and exploitation of
under-utilised marine life. There is no doubt that the quota system has had a major
effect on changing attitudes towards full utilisation of catches. The fishermen and
the processing industries are becoming more aware of the possibilities of making
marketable products from raw materials that are currently discarded, such as fish
leather. Through research and development, publicly funded institutions assist the
industry to increase the utilisation of seafoods (Bechtel 2003). Iceland, as an Arctic
coastal state, takes part in the ongoing negotiations on a new agreement to prevent
unregulated high seas fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean and has been engaged,
within the Arctic Council, in consultations on increased Arctic Marine cooperation
(Gunnarsdóttir 2017).
15.3.2.3 F
ish Skin as a By-Product of the Food Industry. Resource
Efficiency by Generating Value from Waste
Fashion is an extremely wasteful and polluting industry, creating a negative impact

on the environment and on people. The fashion industry is currently going through
a significant change in its approach towards sustainability (BCG 2017). Therefore,
the fashion industry as a whole must strive to change and rethink its raw materials
and processes. There is a trend for the adoption of new materials, which have a
lower environmental impact than their conventional alternatives (Textile Exchange
2016). Fish skin is an innovative and sustainable alternative material with a lower
environmental and social impact than conventional leather. Fish skin as a new raw
material for the fashion industry could provide a (partial) solution for aquaculture
waste, which the European Union has committed to reduce through actions in the
Circular Economy Package.
Almost half of the fish caught for human consumption is discarded before it even
reaches our shelves. This represents a significant amount of potential profit that is
effectively being thrown away. The average production of 1 tonne of fish fillets
results in roughly 40 kilograms of discarded skins. Improved usage of fish by-
product waste could help meet increasing demand for seafood without further stress
on the ecosystem. More efficient use of resources will benefit society, the environ-
ment and the industry’s bottom line. Reducing discards and upcycling by-products
will likely increase profitability (IOC 2013).
When Atlantic Leather converts the fish skins into leather, it creates new value
and far-reaching economic opportunities. Atlantic Leather has been perfecting the
fish skin tanning techniques to turn it into high-value products for non-food sectors
(fashion) by upcycling fish skin into exquisite fish leather. Recycling fish skin into
leather is eco-friendly, cost-effective and sustainable. With an estimated 43% of fish
and shellfish resources ending up as wastage, Atlantic Leather is converting once
discarded parts of the fish into desirable products and income: fashion and acces-
sories. The tannery is proud that it can reduce waste while sourcing salmon skins
from certified sustainable Nordic fisheries. Atlantic Leather is part of a group of
pioneering industry experts from Iceland involved in the commercial fishing, aqua-
culture and processing sector and the creation of value from fish processing by-
products. Companies in Iceland, the pioneers of this industry, have developed a
wide range of uses for fish waste: enzymes, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements,
cosmetics and leather goods (Sigfusson and Arnason 2017a, b).
15.3.2.4 Chrome-Free Tanned Fish Skin
The processing of leather is most commonly linked with environmental pollution.

Many of the chemicals used during tanning are toxic, with substances like mineral
salts and chromium routinely used. Environmental protection standards tend to be
insufficient in primary leather producing regions, with waste water and solid waste
from the tanning process dumped directly into rivers, devasting nearby flora and
fauna. Tanning does not just have an environmental cost; a number of the chemicals
used to tan leather are carcinogenic, endangering the health of those who labour in
tanneries (Shean 2018).
Atlantic Leather commits to SDG 14 Actions for Businesses: Record and dis-
close information on the chemical usage within products to facilitate closing the
loop. Atlantic Leather produces chrome-free fish leather using mimosa bark in a
traditional process of vegetable tanning, avoiding chromium salts, which are
238 E. Palomino
extremely toxic and polluting. Vegetable tanned fish leather is sustainable, durable
and surprisingly strong, even stronger than other kinds of leather. This is due to the
alignment of the fibres in the skin: in mammals, these run parallel to each other, but
in fish, they are in a cross-hatched pattern, making fish leather much stronger for the
same thickness.
15.3.2.5 Harnessing Renewable Energy
Iceland has a unique situation in an era when climate change is making it necessary
for countries around the world to implement sustainable energy solutions. Today,
almost 100% of the electricity consumed in Iceland comes from renewable energy.
The glaciers and rivers of the interior of the country are harnessed to generate 80%
of the country’s electricity needs through hydropower, while the geothermal fields
provide the remaining 20%. Iceland has also focused on sharing its knowledge and
technical expertise in geothermal development (Logadóttir 2015). The entire pro-
cess of producing fish skin at Atlantic Leather relies on the power of nature and is
non-impactful on the environment – even in terms of electricity consumption – as
geothermal water is used to produce fish skin leather, and their electricity comes
from a nearby hydroelectric power station.
The use of geothermal energy for fish by-products is likely to increase in the
future. The interest in Iceland is focused on the use of geothermal energy in low-
heat regions. It can be expected that the price of oil will increase more than the local
energy in the future, and therefore it is worth paying attention to the use of locally
available energy sources for the fishing industry (Bechtel 2003).
15.3.3 SDG14.9 Support Artisanal Fishermen
Sustainable Development Goal 14:9 is “Provide access for small-scale artisanal

fishermen to marine resources and markets”.
In recent history, fisheries and fish processing jobs have been in decline in
Iceland. Like many other countries, Iceland has been mindful not to overfish. With
stock sustainability and the ecological effects of fishing and management systems
as core concerns, Iceland has become even more competitive in the global market-
place by using fish by-products. Iceland has discovered one way of creating value
and jobs, especially in remote and rural areas where such opportunities are not taken
for granted (Sigfusson 2017a, b).
This approach has been beneficial to all levels of the supply chain, including fish-
ermen in remote areas who have seen the prices of fish triple in recent years due to
increased interest in value-added issues. The sustainability of the Icelandic system
means that fishermen now rank amongst Iceland’s highest-paid workers. The Icelandic
model has proved reliable, and this model could be duplicated in seafood industries
around the world, creating new opportunities in coastal areas (Sigfusson 2017a, b).
15.3.3.1 Creation of New Job Opportunities for Coastal Dwellers
Since the ninth century, Icelanders have derived vitality and stamina from fish.
Atlantic Leather has propelled a Nordic tradition to increase the utilisation and
value from fish waste to create fish leather and in so doing create new job opportuni-
ties, especially for coastal dwellers.
The Atlantic Leather tannery sits in a thriving community on the North East
coast of the island – inhabited by fewer than 3000 people – with fishing grounds
located just off-shore. Such proximity to the source means that transportation to the
point of manufacture is significantly reduced; it also presents the innovation that the
tannery only uses waste fish skins from food consumption.
Atlantic Leather creates blue tech and blue jobs in a remote coastal area promot-
ing a sustainable ocean industry. A key challenge for these coastal areas is to main-
tain the viability of the fisheries sector and to attract young people to work in it.
Atlantic Leather aims to preserve the rich cultural traditions that have been devel-
oped within the Icelandic fishing industry when processing their fish leather.
Fish leather is also benefiting other sectors, such as tourism. In 2014, Atlantic
Leather – Iceland’s last remaining tannery – opened a museum for tourists. The
museum recreates the traditional and contemporary tanning process of fish leather
and displays historical photos and implements (Deliso 2015).
15.4 Methodology
15.4.1 Study Methodology
The aim of this case study is to explore the link between sustainable materials (fish
skin, a by-product of the fish industry, as a new raw material for fashion) and trans-
ferring the intangible heritage skills of fish skin craft from Arctic ethnic minorities
to higher education fashion students from Nordic universities.
The literature review highlighted that in Iceland, as in many other countries
around the world, better utilisation of marine resources is being widely called for.
There is well-documented support for the Icelandic commitment to a sustainable
seafood sector and a reduction of seafood waste.
To reflect upon the interaction of fish skin using traditional craft techniques,
bibliographic and documentary research was initially done:
• Enquiry [Theory]. Following the workshop (see Chap. 5), data was collected
through primary and secondary sources to reveal areas of potential
development.
• Contextual and visual analysis.
• Making [Practice]. Higher education students produced fish skin samples in col-
laboration with an Arctic ethnic minority craftsperson. Photographic documenta-
tion was used for the illustration and classification of results.
240 E. Palomino
• Sharing [Dissemination]. Feedback has been sought through activities such as

conferences, published articles, teaching and communication via the author’s
website http://www.fishskinlab.com.
15.4.2 Methods
Action research was used during this study. The data was collected through:
• Archival research in museums to study traditional knowledge in fish skin
processing.
• Mapping traditional fish skin crafts to validate their technical feasibility.
• Field trip. The field trip covered the area around Sauðárkrókur on the North East
coast of Iceland.
• Workshop on fish skin leather craft to test ideas through teaching and learning,
observing students’ design approaches using fish skin as an alternative material.
• Photographs and video recording.
• A documentary filmed during the workshop, featuring interviews with students,
curators and craftsman to observe students’ development of fish skin finishes as
a form of design research.
• Sketchbook development.
• Literature review.
15.5 D
iscussion and Results: Best Practices in Fashion
Higher Education Increasing the Co-production
of Knowledge Sharing Indigenous/Traditional
Knowledge with Arctic Higher Education Fashion
Students
The Fish Leather Craftsmanship workshop was organised by the author, Elisa
Palomino, BA, Fashion Print pathway leader at Central Saint Martins, London, and
Katrin Karadottir, Programme Director in Fashion Design at Iceland Academy of
the Arts, in collaboration with Atlantic Leather tannery, with the participation of
students from Iceland University of the Arts, the Royal Danish Academy of Arts,
Boras University, Aalto University and Central Saint Martins.
In order to provide an inspiring environment in Arctic higher education, to
enhance student engagement and test a new learning experience, the author designed
a workshop encouraging Artic design students to produce fish leather designs using
traditional skills built over generations by Arctic indigenous peoples. The aim was
to promote the vast set of knowledge and skills on fish skin that the north possesses,
developing sustainable design within the Arctic’s traditional ways of life in areas
with a history of fish skin leather production, such as Iceland, Sweden, Finland and
Denmark, preserving and using fish skin cultural heritage and strengthening net-
working activity.
The workshop took place in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland, and combined learning about
traditional knowledge on fish skin tanning with studying the technological progress
of the Icelandic tannery Atlantic Leather, which has been turning local fish skin into
highly sustainable leather since 1994. A total of ten students from universities in the
circumpolar area (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland) and the UK benefited from
the workshop. A Swedish craftsperson from the Sami ethnic minority delivered the
workshop. Lotta Rhame shared traditional Sami fish skin tanning methods and
passed down the endangered fish skin craft to the next generation of Nordic students
as part of a sustainable fashion higher education programme to learn best practices
for social change and sustainability. The programme included preparation, imple-
mentation, evaluation and a follow-up phase.
The workshop was designed to build community knowledge around material
culture and to bring participant voices together to promote understanding of fish
skin craft culture, with the aim of improve knowledge of fish skin craft to address
the pressing sustainability issues in the current fashion industry and to understand
the duty to change fashion systems through education, inculcating fashion students
with the values of sustainability. The workshop aimed to develop new fashion prac-
tices, taking students out of the classroom and into nature and contributing to the
learning experience about fashion sustainability. Another important aim was to
improve the awareness and protection of traditional Arctic fish skin culture. Students
learnt traditional fish skin handicraft heritage in order to integrate it into their fash-
ion practice. According to Fletcher, participatory design and codesign structures are
key to changing fashion systems and to fostering lasting relationships between the
makers and the final product (Fletcher 2018). The workshop’s main objectives
were to:
• Map existing traditional knowledge of fish skin craft from the Sami ethnic minor-
ity in the Arctic
• Build an interdisciplinary collaborative network which intersects craftspeople
from Arctic ethnic minorities and higher education students to study fish skin
ancient traditions
• Preserve and disseminate Arctic cultural heritage connected with fish skin, pro-
moting sustainable development of their unique craft culture
• Help higher education students develop fish skin leather samples as an environ-
mentally responsible alternative material for fashion
• Enhance the visibility and attractiveness of fish skin leather as a new sustainable
material for Nordic fashion students
• Bring together sustainable methods from fashion design and traditional crafts to
foster international knowledge exchange that will develop the capacity for prac-
tice in these fields
• Identify tools about best practice on fish skin leather craft and test the ideas at
higher education fashion institutions in the Arctic and internationally, supporting
242 E. Palomino
students to engage in sustainability facilitated through the use of fish skin as an

alternative material
• Promote collaboration between industry and education in order to ensure that
fashion programmes are meeting industry needs; industry involvement to train
fashion graduates on sustainability issues; and attracting Arctic fashion students
to the maritime industry
• The workshop was 5 days long and included:
• An introduction to the sustainability background
• Lectures on historical fish skin artefacts at international museums
• A visit to the Atlantic Leather fish skin tannery
• A visit to the local textile museum
• Traditional fish skin tanning
• Sketchbook development
The workshop brought together traditional knowledge holders and community
representatives from across the Arctic in order to explore the roots of Nordic fashion
and design traditions linked with fish skin, to create space for communities, to share
wisdom, skills and techniques around fish skin processing and to co-produce new
work using both traditional knowledge and British sustainable design methodolo-
gies. The workshop promoted sustainable material engagement through a full-
immersive experience in a teaching-in-the field approach, creating a collaborative
network for further projects and setting up an international design environment for
sharing knowledge.
The workshop methodologies reflected the geographical contrasts of the area.
The harshness of the weather, the isolation and the limited availability of materials
formed a unique source of creativity and inspiration for the students during the
workshop. Fish skin was the only available material, spurring students to think cre-
atively and seek new design possibilities. Eco-consciousness played a fundamental
role in the students’ designs using remnant materials. Fish leather offers outstanding
longevity, one of the most important elements in sustainability, and has the benefit
of being a highly biodegradable natural by-product.
The object of the workshop was the preservation and dissemination of the cul-
tural heritage connected with fish skin. In order to achieve this, the collaboration
and cooperation amongst different Artic areas, universities and professionals pro-
vided a key element in the project. This was a fine example of an innovative way of
linking the preservation of traditional knowledge and culture and the development
of culturally relevant programmes for students, community involvement and the
conservation of resources. The project provided a case study for working across
Arctic universities to develop their cultural identities and foster narratives of social
sustainability. The cross-disciplinary project has created a new structure to demon-
strate how much Arctic communities have in common.
The workshop seeks to inspire fashion lecturers involved in the development of
sustainability and craftsmanship within their curriculums to implement this trans-
formative teaching and learning experience in their own practice. Hopefully, the
workshop will inspire new ideas across the student and staff communities that were
involved, which in turn may contribute to public debate on sustainability issues in

the fashion industry (Fletcher and Williams 2010). The Nordic fish skin network has
blended the highly qualified skills of a Swedish craftsperson, Lotta Rhame, with
British cutting-edge sustainable design education. Development of sustainability
within the curriculum has been identified as a high priority for students (Reid 2011),
and this project’s outputs will inform existing courses naming sustainability, as well
as a broad spectrum of design courses.
Through this workshop, the author, as a member of the London College of
Fashion, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, has brought its commitment to using fash-
ion to drive change, build a sustainable future and improve the way we live, using
human and ecological resilience as a lens for design in fashion’s artistic and busi-
ness practice (CSF 2015). The author has made a contribution to the field of Design
for Sustainability (DfS) in fashion, furthering the sense of our interconnections as
people and to our natural world. This workshop has specifically supported the fol-
lowing 4 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
• SDG 4 – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all.
• SDG 12 – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
• SDG 13 – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
• SDG 14 – Conservation and sustainable management of the oceans, seas and
marine resources.
The workshop has developed a collaboration framework between industry and
education and has managed to:
• Raise awareness on ocean-related issues and the maritime economy with higher
education students
• Create new cooperation between education and maritime industry
• Improve the employability of students thanks to the acquisition of new sustain-
ability and craft skills
• Share resources between different educational institutes and industry at the
transnational level
The case study recommends transferable skills for educational models and dem-
onstrates how relevant the indigenous fish skin knowledge in partnership with sus-
tainable design strategies can be to connect people to their culture, communities and
the environment. The case study reflects on the dialogue between indigenous crafts-
men and Nordic fashion students on common Arctic issues, in particular issues of
sustainable development, sustainable material innovation and Arctic environmental
protection, in order to restore some of the damage that has already happened to the
Arctic’s indigenous culture related to fishing rights and fish skin clothing traditions,
helping to build resilience amongst the Arctic communities. This project recom-
mends engagement with local communities and traditional fish skin knowledge
holders, laying the groundwork for an assessment that is co-produced by both tradi-
tional knowledge and British fashion education.
244 E. Palomino
The supply of fish in the oceans is not endless, and therefore we need to manage
fisheries in a more sustainable way. By developing fish skin leather, we could
achieve sustainable ocean development, optimising fisheries management and
increasing the value of the catches (Bechtel 2003). The future availability of sea-
food, however, is threatened by overfishing, unsustainable seafood, farming prac-
tices, ocean pollution and acidification. Strategies aimed at increasing the utilisation
of fish skin that would otherwise be discarded must be carefully considered. Creating
markets for fish skin runs the risk of incentivising bigger catches and creating fish-
ing pressure for species currently viewed as fish skin potential.
The Icelandic fish skin model has proved reliable, and this model can be dupli-
cated in seafood industries around the world, creating new opportunities in coastal
areas (Sigfusson 2017a, b). The project could be scaled up by developing a model
of fish leather-waste production that can be used by factories in other countries with
a big consumption of fish in their diet and countries with a history of using fish skin
leather. By doing so, indigenous fishing communities which used to subsist upon,
and dress themselves with, fish skin leather items – like the Ainu in Hokkaido, the
Nanai in Siberia and Alaska’s Inuit – will be able to reach agreements with nearby
fishing plants for the supply of fish skins to recover their ancient craft skills of tan-
ning fish skins and develop productions that will boost their economy.
Fish skin leather can be used in wallets, bags and shoes. The process is low-tech
and requires little capital, which makes it ideal for small businesses or for setup in
developing countries (Henning and Jain 2017). The overall findings align with the
Icelandic industry’s commitment towards greater sustainability. The study suggests
that there is a great financial opportunity to use fish skin as a new raw material for
fashion. Countries with both high demand and cultural reliance on fish are potential
candidates for the marketing and sale of fish skin leather. It is highly recommended
that similar case studies are developed in other fish-producing consumer areas.
The case study has also given new insights into the potential for even greater
sustainability actions through the implementation of workshops within higher edu-
cation fashion. Students have studied how fish by-products are used in the value
chain and how it demonstrates positive waste reduction.
Through examining the strategic management of fish skin, this study has out-
lined the ability for the aquaculture industry to produce more value from the same
amount of resources. In conclusion, there are economic and environmental benefits
that should be considered in order to develop fish skin further as a new raw material
for fashion.
With collaboration between industry and academia, the rise of fish skin as a new
by-product raw material for fashion will contribute to the sustainable development
and future growth of the aquaculture and fashion industries.
Acknowledgements Professor Dilys Williams, Director Centre for Sustainable Fashion at

London College of Fashion, and Simon Thorogood, Senior Research Fellow Digital Anthropology
Lab at London College of Fashion, provided overall guidance for this research.
The research has been funded by AHRC LDoc London Doctoral Design Centre Award.The
research has been funded by the EU Horizon 2020-MSCA-RISE-2018. Research and Innovation
Staff Exchange Marie Sklodowska Curie GRANT NUMBER 823943: FishSkin: Developing Fish
Skin as a Sustainable Raw Material for the Fashion Industry.
In addition, this project could not have been completed without support from the Nordic
Culture Fund, OPSTART and the Society of Dyers and Colourists’ grants to deliver the Nordic
Fish Leather craft workshop at the Atlantic Leather tannery.
The author would like to express their gratitude to the research assistant Joseph Boon for his
vast contribution to the publication, to the Swedish fish skin craftsperson Lotta Rahme, to Katrin
Karadottir, Programme Director in Fashion Design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, to the
Icelandic tannery Atlantic Leather and to the Icelandic Textile Centre. The author would also like
to thank all the student participants in the study case workshop and the photographer.
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Chapter 16
SDG 15 Life on Land
A Review of Sustainable Fashion Design
Processes: Upcycling Waste Organic Yarns
Claudia Arana, Isabel B. Franco, Anuska Joshi, and Jyoti Sedhai
Abstract The fashion industry has had a significant impact on the environment and
overall global sustainability. Evidence shows it is the most polluting industry and
the largest consumer of water, accounting for 20% of global water wastage detri-
mentally affecting both life on land and underwater. As such a few key stakeholders
in the fashion industry have begun undertaking key preventative measures. These
include but are not limited to the use of organic cotton crops, reduction of water use
throughout the production chain, the implementation of a zero-waste patternmaking
technique, second-hand shops, recycling of production materials, recycling dis-
carded fishing nets into nylon fibre and increasing the use of biodegradable fibres,
crop’s waste fibres, bio-based fibres and bio-textile processes and renewable sources
like bamboo and hemp. The review presented in this chapter examines the fashion
production cycle, the use of alternative organic materials and recycling processes
for the sustainable production of yarns whilst exploring the connections between
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 15 Life on Land and 14 Life below
Water.
Keywords Sustainable fashion · Waste · Organic yarns · SDG 15 Life on Land ·

SDG 14 Life below Water · Sustainability
C. Arana (*)
Bunka Gakuen University, Fashion Global Concentration, Shibuya, Japan
e-mail: arana@bunka.ac.jp
I. B. Franco
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
A. Joshi · J. Sedhai
United Nations University, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: a.joshi@student.unu.edu

248 C. Arana et al.
16.1 Introduction
From sourcing to post-consumption disposal and waste management, the fashion

industry compromises several forms of life on land and therefore compromises the
achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15) and SDG 14 Life
below Water (FAO, ITPS 2015). Major issues confronting the industry range from
use of raw materials, waste generation and pollution of land and water. Such issues
have profound impacts on life and are often difficult to estimate due to their com-
plexity and global reach (Šajn 2019). Introducing more efficient production pro-
cesses in the fashion industry would contribute to reducing waste and production of
greenhouse emissions and promote sustainable resource management. Whilst pro-
ducing more environmentally friendly apparel can contribute to the achievement of
SDG 15, the industry should commit to closing the whole cycle production in a
sustainable and responsible manner. This requires the participation of key stake-
holders in the industry, namely, designers, factory workers, material suppliers and
consumers, contributing in the development of new practices, behaviours, technolo-
gies and processes for recovering and reusing waste.
In this context, this chapter presents a review of fashion design processes for
upcycling organic yarn through exploring its connection to the promotion of SDGs
14 and 15. The fashion industry has grown rapidly since garments and textiles first
began mass production in the nineteenth century. It has also become the second
largest industrial consumer of water (UNECE 2019). Additionally, evidence shows
it is responsible for the production of more than 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas
emissions (UNFCCC 2018), causing severe environmental damage (Masson-
Delmotte et al. 2018). In response, stakeholders in the fashion industry have come
up with sustainability-driven innovations to address such industrial issues. Some of
these actions include but are not limited to textile production from recycled materi-
als, the use of innovative technologies in clothing production and the use of zero-
waste pattern techniques, among others. Although these practices have gained
popularity among consumers, the fashion industry as a whole is far from becoming
sustainable. This chapter presents a review of material sourcing and waste manage-
ment processes throughout the design process. The review will cover four main
stages of the fashion cycle as well as case studies examining sustainable fashion
practices and techniques. This will hopefully increase our understanding of the
development of impact sustainability solutions towards the promotion of SDG 15
and SDG 14 in the fashion industry. Thus, this review is useful for educators and
researchers working to promote sustainable fashion innovations. The chapter begins
presenting connections between the sustainability of the fashion industry, SDG 15
and SDG 14. It then provides a review of material sourcing, which consists of the
separation of materials into two groups: agriculture-sourced or natural fibre-sourced
and synthetic fibre-sourced. This is followed by a review of the production stage,
which transforms raw materials into fibres, yarns, fabrics, etc. This section also
highlights case studies exemplifying global sustainable practices, specifically
reviewing waste management practices, and finishes with a few recommendations
16 SDG 15 Life on Land 249
for impact sustainability research to further promote sustainable innovation within

the fashion industry.
16.2 T
owards Sustainable Fashion: A Literature
and Practice Review
16.2.1 Introduction
The fashion industry has a clearly negative implication on land and water ecosys-
tems, through the release of both microfibres and pollutants. The International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has calculated that 34.8% of micro-
plastics released into the oceans are due to the laundry of synthetic textiles (Boucher
and Friot 2017). Evidence also shows that for each item of clothing washed, the
amount of microfibres released into the water stream is as high as 700,000; these
microplastics then make their way through the food chain (Napper and Thompson
2016). Fashion is also the second highest industrial polluter – after the oil industry.
The pollutants released from the industry are often released in the affluent which
can consist of toxic chemicals like lead, arsenic and mercury, as well as the release
of chemical fertilizers used in the production of fibres to supply the industry. Some
other factors compromising the overall sustainability of the fashion industry will be
explored in detail in the following sections.
16.2.2 T
he Fashion Industry and Sustainability: Making
the Links
This review presents the links between the fashion industry and both SDG 14 Life
below Water and SDG 15 Life on Land. The Sustainable Development Goal report
2018 has shown that SDGs 14 and 15 are in a dire state due to increases in the
exploitation of nature, levels of pollution and the acidity of water sources (UN
2019). Marine acidity has increased by about 26% since the industrial revolution
and now faces conditions that are entirely unprecedented. Also, with the increased
rise of pollution, it has been estimated that coastal eutrophication will rise by 20%
by 2050 (UN 2019). Additionally, the increase of pollutant and microfibre levels in
the ocean has a detrimental impact on the aquatic life, including a significant impact
on relevant bioaccumulation processes. Most of these pollutants are non-
biodegradable and highly bioaccumulative (the concentration of these toxics
increases as it passes through the food chain). The fashion industry has also been
shown to emit high amounts of toxic bioaccumulators such as mercury.
Consumers’ awareness has recently increased (Kim and Damhorst 1998; Gam
2011), as consumers look to engage in sustainable lifestyles and opt for green
250 C. Arana et al.
p roducts (Diamantopoulos et al. 2003; Zimmer et al. 1994). The fashion industry is
mostly influenced by seasonal trends linked to eco-friendly purchasing behaviour
(Kunz 2005: 4). Therefore, companies are introducing sustainability as part of their
business strategy, making green products increasingly available in the marketplace
(Fraj and Martinez, 2006; Gam 2011). However, this business strategy in isolation
is not sufficient. Scholars have documented some other setbacks facing the industry
in its journey towards sustainability. Findings show that the main issues preventing
the complete integration of sustainable principles into the fashion industry include
the lack of education regarding sustainable or “green” fashion, the perception that
green fashion lacks glamour and style, the prevalence of unsustainable production
practices across the supply chain, the short life cycle of products and the limited
corporate disclosure in the fashion industry. Notable exceptions include Bono’s
Eden, the British Stella McCartney or Stewart -Brown which are perceived as sus-
tainable fashion brands (Cervellon and Wenerfelt 2012).
16.2.3 The Fashion Industry: Production Cycle
The fashion industries’ main contribution to the deterioration of both aquatic life
and life on land is in the form of water consumption and waste generation, with
huge amounts of pollutants released in the form of factory effluents. The completion
of a clothing item has a complex life cycle consisting of different phases including
resource production, fibre manufacturing, apparel assembly, transportation, con-
sumer use and finally recycling or ultimate disposal. Each of these processes can
cause environmental impacts such as resource depletion, fossil fuel emission, water
wastage and solid waste, seriously compromising the sustainability of the fashion
industry in the long term. Thus, this section presents a review of the sourcing of
materials, the production cycle and several case studies showcasing sustainability
practices in the industry.
16.2.3.1 Sourcing Materials in the Fashion Industry: A Review of Fibres
Textile production in the fashion industry also involves sewing, cutting and assem-
bling, which require a large workforce (UNECE 2019). One of the major concerns
of the fashion industry is waste production throughout the supply chain from crop
yields, yarns and textiles to pattern cutting, and the post-production stages, “about
15 percent of fabric intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor”
(Rosenbloom 2010). Findings also show that discarded clothes more often than not
end up as landfill. Most of the clothing that ends in landfills creates polluting gas
and heavy metal releases as well as additive discharges into soil and groundwater
causing soil degradation (Choudhury 2017).
Statistics show that 70% of the apparel fibres production is synthetic and non-
biodegradable and the other 30% of natural fibres are often mixed with synthetics in
the textile production phase. Blended fibres are challenging to recycle. To date,
there is no specific analytical technique to identify the type of fibre in the garment,
and chemical separation is often difficult as different types of fibre require their own
specifications (Peters et al. 2014). Likewise, current recycling methods lack effi-
ciency. For example, only 20% of the fibres in a pair of jeans can be recycled and
polyester fabrics, also difficult to recycle. Moreover, recycling requires the separa-
tion of garments into different colours which is often a very labour-intensive pro-
cess (Walker 2017).
Fibres can be natural or synthetic. Textile production is possible due to the manu-
facturing of fibres, which can be turned into yarn for knitting or weaving. Natural
fibres are either sourced from agriculture or the production of synthetic (non-
cellulosic) fibres from petroleum through chemical synthesis. However, the produc-
tion of natural fibres through agriculture consumes a significant amount of total
freshwater available for human consumption (Radhakrishnan 2017). Despite the
obvious benefits of biodegradable fibres, those demand fertilizers and pesticides,
which reduce soil fertility and consequently result in the biodiversity loss (ITPS
2015: 127). Data shows that cotton itself represents 82.7% of the total natural fibre
production for the apparel sector whilst other fibres, which are more beneficial for
the environment, represent a minority. For instance, wool represents 5.3%, flax
2.5% and cellulosic fibres 9.9% (FAO-ICAC 2013). Among all the natural fibres,
cotton has the most adverse environmental impacts, followed by polyester, acrylic,
elastane and nylon (Karthik and Rathinamoorthy 2017). In 2010, cotton represented
32.9% of the total world apparel fibre consumption (FAO-ICAC 2013). Evidence
also shows that 350 million people are engaged in cotton farming, and it is manu-
factured in 100 countries (Radhakrishnan 2017). According to UNECE (2019),
2700 litres of water are needed to produce an average cotton shirt. Additionally,
cotton farming is responsible for 24 percent of insecticides and 11 percent of pesti-
cides despite using only 3 percent of the world’s productive land (UNFCCC 2018).
As for natural fibres like cotton, the recycling process consists of cutting clothes or
textile waste and making them small enough, through stripping machines to pull
them apart into fibres and finally spin into yarns. These shorter fibres then need to
be blended with virgin cotton. Although natural fibres seem more beneficial to the
environment, they can create negative environmental impacts due to unsustainable
production practices and poor natural resource management.
On the other hand, synthetic fibres depend on the extraction of raw materials,
such as petroleum, coal and limestone, adversely impacting soil and water supplies.
Since Nylon became popular in the 1930s, its demand kept on increasing as it
became a substitute for silk due to the scarcity of the latter in World War II. Nylon
was mainly used for the production of military products like parachutes. However,
it also opened the door for other synthesized polymers derived from petroleum. By
2010 synthetic (non-cellulosic) fibres represented 70% of the world’s apparel fibre
consumption (FAO-ICAC 2013). This is a major sustainability issue, as most poly-
mers are non-biodegradable, and their manufacturing produces many harmful
chemicals and emits greenhouse gases, fostering global warming.
252 C. Arana et al.
Both natural and synthetic processes for the conversion of fibres into textiles use
natural resources in the wet-treatment phases, including bleach, dye, print and final
finishing to name a few. The mix of water and chemicals resulting from these pro-
cesses contains large amounts of dyes, diluents, bleaches, detergents, optical bright-
eners and heavy metals among others. Evidence shows that these chemicals pollute
the environment due to their high levels of acidity or alkalinity (pH)
(Choudhury 2017).
16.2.3.1.1 Natural Fibres
Cotton
Cotton represents almost 80% of natural fibres for apparel, yet it is an excessively
water-consuming crop, representing a problem for waste management. It also
involves many issues regarding pesticide control; as with the higher use of pesti-
cides, the insects’ resistance to pesticides increases, demanding more aggressive
doses resulting in a greater threat to surrounding biodiversity and human health
(Choudhury 2017). The environmental pressure of cotton industry is huge, and as
pointed out by WWF, even bringing cotton production to an acceptable environmen-
tal standard is a very challenging task (WWF 2019). Monsanto, the company that
dominates the market of genetically modified (GM) seed, embarked into the reduc-
tion of the use of pesticides. Yet, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) states that
GM is not the appropriate solution as Bt cotton contains the toxin from the bacte-
rium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) which kills some natural pests, such as the cotton
bollworm (Black 2012) (not sure if this is correct).
However, cotton production cannot solely rely on this practice as there are other
processes affecting yields, including rain distribution, soil conditions and farming
practices. Moreover, whilst some pests are controlled by Bt cotton, others will
replace them resulting in the so-called pesticide treadmill (Black 2012). Long-term
solutions lie in the use of organic fertilization, avoiding synthetic chemicals, crop
rotation and farming practices that are aligned with sustainable parameters for both
nature and human wellbeing. Farmers and supply chain members have the support
from organizations such as Better Cotton Initiative BCI, a not-for-profit organiza-
tion which offers information and training programmes on this subject.
Hemp
In 2009, at the International Year of Natural Fibres symposium, the use of hemp was
acknowledged as a natural fibre which should be used widely. Hemp’s ecological
footprint is less harmful. It grows quickly and densely and requires low-level water
consumption. It is resistant to ultraviolet radiation, is naturally anti-bacterial and
dyes well (FAO 2009). To balance the production of natural fibres, sources such as
hemp should be considered more seriously by the textile industry. In Japan, for
example, hemp has been used since the Jōmon Period for weaving clothing and
baskets (Clark and Merlin 2013). Hemp thrives with average rainfall, and its natu-
rally long fibres allow efficient spinning, using less energy during production,
reducing carbon emissions (Choudhury 2017). Unfortunately, hemp’s links with

marijuana makes its commercialization difficult. Despite this, it is by far the most
environmentally friendly fibre, and its popularity is growing. China, for example,
has become the leading producer and exporter of hemp fibres (FAO 2009).
Producers more often engage in the production of softer textured textiles through
mixing hemp fibres with cotton. CRAiLAR (2018), for example, uses an enzyme-
based process to transform blast fibres such as Hemp into softer fibres. This process
can give hemp fibres a similar feeling and appearance to cotton-based fibres.
Although there is not an exclusive process for blast fibres, these fibres including
hemp, flax, jute and kenaf are suitable for cold weather and do not require irrigation.
Blast fibres are competitive in the market, and there is no need to blend them with
others. Furthermore, this process could be mono-material or multi-material; blast
fibres used in this enzyme process are all biodegradable, becoming biological nutri-
ents during decomposition.
Mulberry
Another fibre experiencing rapid growth with high adaptability to poor soil and
climate change is mulberry. Mulberry pulp has been used to make paper in Asia,
particularly in Korea, Japan, China, Thailand and the Philippines (Muthu and
Gardetti 2016). Mulberry yarns were first used in the late twenty-first century in
Korea where manufactures and research institutions developed yarns as a ply-
twisted or filament yarn. These can be used for weaving and knitting textiles and in
the production of cooling clothing (Muthu and Gardetti 2016). Mulberry is made
using a rotary slitter and twisted. Water is added during the twisting process, so the
yarn is softer and has a high tensile strength (Park and Lee 2014). North Face Korea
and Youngone Outdoor – both multinational outdoor companies – have already used
mulberry in their products. However, Mulberry yarns, much the same as hemp, are
stiff and rough, making the textile process difficult.
These case studies clearly show there are many sustainable materials available to
the fashion industry. These in conjunction with sustainable processes could contrib-
ute towards a more sustainable fashion industry. Such practices include disuse of
synthetic chemicals that may contaminate water supplies and promotion of low-
energy textile manufacturing. Tencel fibres, known as Lyocell, are fibres produced
by the international group Lenzing, which produces wood-based viscose fibres,
modal fibres, lyocell fibres and filament yarn. Lyocell fibres are produced through
regenerating cellulose in an organic solvent, N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide hydrate.
This procedure makes textiles softer, with greater absorption than cotton (TENCEL
2018). These fibres are also “derived from sustainable wood sources – natural for-
ests and sustainably managed plantations. Wood and pulp used by the Lenzing
Group are harvested from certified and controlled sources” in Austria and neigh-
bouring countries (TENCEL 2018). Lenzing fibres are manufactured in a closed-
loop, as cellulosic fibres are fully compostable. “Cellulose disintegrates into its
native substances and prepares the ground for new plants to grow” (Lenzing 2018).
These textiles are created through the use of nanotechnology in an award-winning
solvent-spinning process which recycles water and reuses the solvent at a recovery
254 C. Arana et al.
rate of “more than 99%” (TENCEL 2018). Lenzing products including lyocell and
modal fibres are the closest example of harvesting, producing and recovering mate-
rials with less than 0.1% of negative impact in their full-life cycle. Lenzing exempli-
fies sustainable practice in the fashion industry and should thus be replicated by
other corporations.
Another case in point is soybean fibres produced by spinning the protein distilled
from the soybean. Like hemp, this fibre was used to replace cotton in the World War
II, but due to technical difficulties, its popularity quickly diminished (Fletcher
2014). In recent years, this fibre has gained strength in the textile market in China.
However, there are major concerns regarding the soybean crops intensive tilling that
require consideration.
The use of natural fibres in the fashion industry is not holistically sustainable,
and therefore complementary fibres are needed throughout the production process,
such as synthetic fibres. Below is a review of cases using synthetic materials and
how those could be integrated into the fashion industry in a more sustainable manner.
16.2.3.1.2 Synthetic Fibres
The main issue regarding the production of synthetic fibres is energy consumption.
Synthetics are made of petroleum feedstock containing chemicals harmful to the
environment. They are also the major contributors of pollutants, resulting in clear-
ing of forests for resources as well as emitting huge amount of GHGs (Superego
2018). Thus, synthetic fibres are not sustainable.
The use of antimony, for example, in the production of polyester turns into
wastewater, releasing high amounts of greenhouse gases and volatile organic com-
pounds (VOCs). “Over 70 billion barrels of oil per year are used to make polyester”
(Karthik and Rathinamoorthy 2017). Synthetic fibres, if recycled, are downcycling,
a process in which the value of a material decreases during recycling or the material
ends up in landfills. Despite being unsustainable, synthetics are essential for some
technological developments such as the design of space suits. Polyester is also used
in fibres, bottles, containers and photographic films to name a few (Karthik and
Rathinamoorthy 2017). Although polyester waste management often results in envi-
ronmental problems, if “design begins at the molecular level, synthetic products can
be conceived as technical nutrients, which are materials specifically designed to
feed or be returned to, industrial systems without any harmful effects” (McDonough
and Braungart 2002). In 2001, Victor Textiles introduced Eco-Intelligent™
Polyester. The company affirms to be the first dyed polyester fibre made of environ-
mentally safe ingredients, such as dyestuff, auxiliary chemicals and titanium- and
silica-based catalysts that replace the metalloid antimony (McDonough and
Braungart 2002). Eco-Intelligent™ Polyester is designed to have a high perfor-
mance and durability, with no limitations on colour choices, and can be woven in
any jacquard pattern. Additionally, it is a fibre-to-fibre product, safely recycled to
produce the same high-quality fibre as the original (Victor 2018). This system in
partnership with recycling technology from Unifi, a yarn manufacturer, and
Designtex, a company specializing in the design and manufacturing of electronics,

offers a solution for the environmental problems derived from the use of polyester-
related textile products.
Biopolymers and Mixed Polymers
Biopolymers do not have the same biodegradability issues as petrochemical-based
polymers. Produced from biological renewable sources including lignocellulosic
biomass, fatty acids and organic waste, these polymers are biodegradable fibres
derived from living organisms. The first biopolymers came from carbohydrate
sources including corn, potatoes and other agricultural feedstock. These are synthe-
sized as cellulose, starch, polylactide, chitin and collagen formed in the natural
environment during the growth cycles of organisms. They can be produced through
bacterial fermentation processes by synthesizing the relevant building blocks from
these sources (Karthik and Rathinamoorthy 2017). Poly- (lactic acid) or polylactide
(PLA) fibres are made of corn starch and sugar cane and can be used for textiles in
the fashion industry. Ingeo™ fibres are produced by NatureWorks, a bioplastic-
polymer manufacturing company. The company affirms that their textile products
can be used for clothing as well as household products. They can also be knitted or
weaved and resist steaming in temperatures of 80 °C for approximately 20 min.
Products can also be blended with wool (NatureWorks 2018). The company also
uses an Eco-Profile, a tool which analyses input and output data from the manufac-
turing process, such as “water to grow feedstocks, CO2 sequestered by plants,
energy to produce fertilizers, and greenhouse gases” (NatureWorks 2018). This data
is then used to measure environmental impacts including greenhouse gas emissions
and use of non-renewable energy.
Another case in point is Yulex Pure™, which is a company that produces a 100%
plant-based rubber. This fibre replaces Neoprene or polychloroprene, which is a
petrochemical substance made by chlorinating and polymerizing butadiene. The
company affirms that 99.9% of the harmful impurities (including proteins) are
removed from hevea becoming free from toxic chemicals. This has resulted in a
biodegradable, non-sensitizing natural elastomer that is suitable for over 40,000
product applications in the fashion industry (Yulex 2018).
Since the early 1900s, DuPont has developed polymers for the fashion industry.
One of such products is Sorona®, a fibre made of TPA (terephthalic acid) and PDO
(1,3-Propanediol). Bio-PDO is created through the fermentation of the crops glu-
cose and chemical synthesis. Evidence shows that 37% of the polymer is made
using plant-based ingredients. DuPont states that compared to nylon 6, Sorona®
uses 30% less energy and releases 63% fewer greenhouse gas emissions (DuPont
2018). However, this fibre is neither biodegradable nor compostable because
although Sorona® is 37% plant-based, the other 63% is petroleum-based. However,
it can be considered as an option for increasing the use of renewable sources and
energy saving in the fashion industry.
256 C. Arana et al.
16.2.3.2 Production Process in the Fashion Industry
16.2.3.2.1 Wet-Treatment
Chemical use and water consumption in the production process are two of the most
harmful environmental impacts of the fashion industry. Evidence shows that for
approximately every tonne of textile produced, 200 tonnes of water are needed for
dyeing, washing, printing, desizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerizing and the fabric
finishing processes. All these processes comprise the wet-treatment phase
(Choudhury 2017). For example, the production of a t-shirt requires approximately
2650 litres of water. Nearly 20% of this water is used for dyeing process (Lakshmanan
and Raghavendran 2017). In order to reduce the water footprint of textile products,
the industry has engaged in various technologies throughout the wet-treatment pro-
cess, such as the use of plasma, ultrasonic-assisted dyeing and the use of supercriti-
cal carbon dioxide. These innovations reduce water use significantly and save
energy in the wet-treatment process.
Plasma technology, for example, works at a low temperature and reduces the use
of chemicals. After going through plasma polymerization, the chemicals lay on the
textile surface. This process allows the fabric’s internal structure to remain unaf-
fected (Lakshmanan and Raghavendran 2017). Dyeing and finishing processes can
be done by plasma gas particles, facilitating the modification of the fabric and
improving textile characteristics and functionality. Plasma technology and
ultrasonic-assisted dyeing technology can be applied to wool, cotton and polyester
fabrics during the dry stage. These methods significantly diminish the use of huge
quantities of sodium chloride, decreasing the discharges of dyestuff and other
chemicals into wastewater (Lakshmanan and Raghavendran 2017).
The supercritical carbon dioxide method for dyeing synthetic fibres also reduces
consumption of both water and energy. Through increasing temperature and pres-
sure, it generates a liquid-gaseous state that produces supercritical fluids. Fabric or
fibres are put inside an autoclave with dye powder, then purged with carbon dioxide
(CO2) and finally preheated. Carbon dioxide is non-toxic and non-flammable and
can be recycled in a closed system (Lakshmanan and Raghavendran 2017). A case
in point is the DyeCoo textile, the “world’s first water-free and chemical-free dyeing
solution”. The CO2 is reclaimed and has a recycling efficiency of 95%
(DyeCoo 2018).
16.2.3.2.2 Green Chemistry
The discharge of harmful substances during the wet-treatment process is another

major problem confronting the fashion industry. Some corporations have engaged
in solutions to tackle this issue, including Adidas, Gap, H&M, Nike, Puma,
Taiwanese dyestuffs makers and Everlight Chemical, which committed to Zero
Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals by 2020 (ZDHC) (Choudhury 2017). Two pro-
cesses can reduce the discharge of chemicals into water streams: recycling and use
of enzymes. Enzymes can be used as substitutes for chemicals in the fashion indus-
try. They can be obtained from three primary sources: animal tissue, plants and
microbes. Enzymes are safely dischargeable after use, are biodegradable, consume
low energy and produce lower greenhouse gas emissions. A case in point is lotus
effect, a finishing treatment that alters the surface of the textile by biometric tech-
nology making the textile stain and soil-resistant (Kapsali 2012).
16.2.3.3 Product Production: Manufacturing Process
16.2.3.3.1 Design and Patternmaking Techniques
The design process also requires significant sustainability consciousness: “When

talking about sustainability-oriented design, it is quite consolidated the fact that
designers can play an important role especially in the early stages of design ... where
80% of impacts have been determined” (Marseglia 2017: 4). Design practices, such
as zero-waste patternmaking, digital printing, recycling and upcycling, have proven
to be of great value to create garments and fashion goods.
A case in point is the zero-waste design. It is a technique in which garments are
designed and produced without creating textile waste by fitting all the parts of the
pattern in one piece of the fabric. Instead of “forcing” patterns to fit together, zero-
waste design requires new approaches to patternmaking. Some designers are apply-
ing traditional pattern techniques, using the whole piece of cloth, whereas others
consider ways in which clothes should “wrap” the body rather than fit it. The zero-
waste movement has been embraced internationally and includes designers such as
Mark Liu, Julian Roberts, Holly McQuillan, Yeohlee Teng and Timo Rissanen.
16.2.3.3.2 Sewing Construction Garments
In her book Sustainable Fashion & Textiles, Kate Fletcher (2014) states that the
most common approach to tackle waste arising from the textile life cycle is to imple-
ment waste management strategies (widely known as the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, recy-
cle) (Fletcher 2014). In other words, “everything is a source for something else”
(McDonough and Braungart 2002).
There are two types of recycling: downcycling, a process in which the recovered
materials are processed into lower value products, and upcycling, in which the
recovered materials are transformed into better quality products. Some companies
have started using waste for product manufacturing. A case in point is Patagonia, a
company committed to reduce its environmental impact by producing the most eco-
sound way they can afford to. This philosophy of environmental conservation has
been used not only for manufacturing but also for branding purposes. Patagonia
uses 100% hemp textiles or hemp blended with recycled fibre textiles for manufac-
turing. The company also uses organic certified cotton, recycled wool and nylon,
among others. Patagonia has also used polyester fabrics recycled from PET soda
258 C. Arana et al.
bottles since 1993, being the first outdoor company to transform this material into
fleece (Patagonia 2018). The company also makes use of recycled blended fabrics
such as Refibra™ Lyocell made of 80% wood and 20% recycled cotton. Their prod-
ucts are fair trade-certified by bluesign®, a Swiss-based company that certifies tex-
tile manufacturing by measuring energy consumption and CO2 emissions (Power
2012). Patagonia also works with bluesign® technologies since 2000 to approve
chemicals, processes, materials and products that are safe for the environment,
throughout each step in the textile supply chain (Patagonia 2018).
Another case in point is the German company Vaude. In 2018, it received the
GreenTec Award for its sustainable Green Shape Core Collection made with bio-
based textiles, recycled or natural materials (Vaude 2018). Some of the bio-based
textiles include Tencel, PrimaLoft® and Silver Insulation Natural Blend, made of
30% kapok tree and 70% fibres. Two-thirds of recycled materials used come from
post-consumer recycled PET bottles. The company also uses the recycled material
Econyl®, a yarn made of fishing nets collected from the ocean. Vaude (2018) also
uses organic certified cotton and certified Terracare® leather which is also sustain-
ably tanned.
16.2.3.3.3 Seamless Garments, Shima Seiki Wholegarment
In clothing production, machinery has evolved considerably over the years. Hand
knitting has been industrialized by machinery capable of high speed and precise
techniques that enable mass production. Every day the evolution of more automatic,
faster, cleaner and advanced software has expanded its use in the fashion world.
Nowadays, knitting has proven to be capable of manufacturing almost any product
on the fashion market, which nobody would have otherwise thought to be possible.
For example, running shoes brands like Nike and Adidas are now using knitting in
mass production processes.
Knitting technology has reduced the processes in the production chain of cloth-
ing, avoiding, for example, weaving, cutting and, in some cases, sewing (Power
2012), especially with full garment or seamless garments machinery known as
Wholegarment technology. This technology produces complete pieces ready to
wear without requiring processes such as assembly, which results in the reduction
of post-production labour as well as cutting down production time. Power (2012)
explains that enhancements in knitting production due to technological develop-
ments demonstrate improvements in the product’s quality, raising productivity and
reducing cost “providing opportunities for new and modified products and tech-
niques through innovation; and finally, reducing environmental impact of industrial-
ized production” (Power 2012: 3).
Shima Seiki, a Japanese company, was the first to develop a fully automated
glove-knitting machine, and since then, Shima Seiki and the German company Stoll
have developed the most advanced technology on computerized machines for knit-
ting. Shima Seiki was the first to introduce whole garment machines that work with
CAD software, SDS-ONE APEX 3. This software provides a 3D simulation with
final product images and material textures. Among other advantages of this technol-
ogy, seamless production only requires the minimum amount of yarn needed, mean-
ing no material loss is generated. “The knitting industry can make a significant
contribution globally to savings in terms of energy consumption and waste through
a number of avenues including tightening internal efficiency (reducing downtime),
using indirect technology (needles and oils), implementing innovative technologies
to change the manufacturing process (less waste, reduced post knitting operations)
and reduced transport costs (complete garment for warp knitting, flat-bed knitting
and circular weft knitting)” (Power 2012: 7).
The German company Groz-Beckert, manufacturer of the circular knitting
machine needles, created litespeed® to promote environmental protection by chang-
ing the needle weight and size. This procedure reduces friction during the knitting
process, resulting in energy consumption reduction of up to 20% whilst reducing
CO2 emissions (Power 2012). However, the complexities of the knitted garment
construction and the difficulty of visualizing all the variables of the design process
have overwhelmed knitting designers as well as technicians. In knitting design, the
pattern shape and size are directly related to the material. The pattern is made by the
software, and variables such as the roller tension, loop size, stitch type, quantity of
threads by carrier, etc. need to be tested and modified for each type of yarn accord-
ing to its thickness and other characteristics. This design process is far more com-
plex than sewing and cutting which may influence the number of knitted products in
fashion collections.
16.2.3.4 Waste and Disposal
Textiles can end up in landfills and can leak chemicals thereby poisoning groundwa-
ter, streams and rivers. Urgent actions on waste management are therefore necessary
to reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Recycling is a sustainable
practice adopted by various companies, yet the major problem confronting the fash-
ion industry is related to post-consumer goods ending up at the landfill site.
16.2.3.4.1 Polyester Recycling
There are two methods of recycling in the fashion industry, namely, the mechanical
and chemical methods. In the former method only single material clothes can be
recycled. The process involves cutting them to small pieces, then ripping, spinning
and blending them with virgin fibre. After the process is completed, these products
are unlikely to be recycled for a second time. Chemical methods are often used for
recycling synthetic materials such as polyethylene terephthalate PET, but post-
consumed PET fibres are usually not recycled a second time due to various technical
difficulties. Methods of recycling PET are often carried out through solvolysis or
pyrolysis which can provide environmental solutions. The first is the degradation of
waste material by solvents including water. In the second, the degradation process
260 C. Arana et al.
uses heat in vacuum. The challenge lies in recycling polyester fibre-to-fibre in a

process that maintains the material quality. During this process, it is important to
ensure that the chemical substances utilized in this process and released to the envi-
ronment can biodegrade safely, thus, reducing energy consumption in the recycling
processes of PET bottles (Al-Sabagh et al. 2015).
The Teijin ECOCIRCLE® system “turns polyester products into raw materials,
and raw materials into products, in a never-ending ring of recycling resources. It is
used in Fibres, PET bottles and other products. This system consumes 84% less
energy and emits 77% less CO2 than the production of polyester fibres from petro-
leum” (Teijin 2006). Recycling polyester is fundamental to reducing the waste gen-
erated by petrochemical feedstock as it lacks biodegradability and also has
high-energy consumption rates. The difficulty of recycling polyester textile is that
these textiles are usually blended with different materials. One of the most common
blends is with cotton, which makes the process of recycling difficult. In order to
facilitate this process, the garment should be made entirely of polyester, buttons,
zippers, labels, etc. This is the idea of DuPont, Apexa® fibre, made of a biodegrad-
able polymer that can be spun with natural fibres such as cotton, wool, hemp and
silk. Labels, zips, tape, etc. can also be made of this polymer (Kapsali 2012).
16.2.3.4.2 Cotton Recycling
RefibraTM is a technology for upcycling cotton scraps from garment production. The
cotton is blended with wood pulp and spun to produce new virgin Tencel Lyocell
fibres to make fabrics and garments in a closed-loop production (Tencel Refibra
2018). “The leftovers from 16 virgin cotton shirts can be turned into one reclaimed
cotton shirt” (Patagonia 2018). The mechanical method used for recycling cotton
faces problems in material separation and produces lower-quality fibres during the
recycling process. The mechanical method involves carding machines that tear the
fabric apart. In this process, the fibres are shortened and blended with virgin material
(Fletcher 2014). On the other hand, the chemical method dissolves the cotton into
glucose synthetic fibre. The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel
(HKRITA 2018) developed a bioprocess that by enzymatic hydrolysis natural fibres
such as cotton are degraded into glucose. This process offers a solution to the natural
base materials (e.g. cotton) by increasing the efficiency on the recycling process as
well as improving the fibre-to-fibre life cycle. This could also be a solution for blended
textiles, which is one of the major difficulties in post-consumer waste recycling.
16.2.3.4.3 Blended Textiles Recycling
According to HKRITA (2018), their textile waste recycling process uses a biological
pretreatment method and textile separation by hydrothermal treatment, offering a
solution for recycling cotton-polyester blended fabrics. The pretreatment method
modifies the structure of the textile waste with reusable chemicals to make them
more susceptible to the subsequent hydrolysis. Enzymes, which are required for
hydrolysis, are produced through fungal cultivation; these fungi grow in the surface
of the fabric in 28 °C for 7 days. Aspergillus niger CKB is then recovered from the
hydrolysis, in which the enzyme solution is blended with the pretreatment textile
waste undergoing hydrolysis in a bioreactor. “This process hydrolyses the cotton into
soluble glucose, while the non-biodegradable material (e.g. polyester) remains intact
and is separated as a solid form by filtration” (HKRITA 2018). The polyester is then
re-spun into yarn, whilst the glucose can be converted into bio-based products. This
process provides a successful fibre-to-fibre method and is commercially viable. As
such, used textiles discarded in landfills can be converted into new high-quality prod-
ucts, reducing the production of raw material whilst saving energy and resources.
Fabrics such as Climatex Lifecycle are biodegradable fibres (wool and ramie
blend), coloured with nonharmful chemicals and manufactured without releasing
carcinogens, persistent toxic chemicals, heavy metals or other toxic substances
(Fletcher 2014). For example, “Worn Again”, a project that by 2021 expects to
launch an industrial plant which aims to separate, “decontaminate and extract poly-
ester polymers, and cellulose from cotton, from non-reusable textiles and PET bot-
tles... turning them back into new textile raw materials as part of a continual cycle…
this is the first chemical recycling technology to be Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certi-
fied” (Worn Again 2018).
A review of recycling processes in the fashion industry suggests that clothing
must be well designed to ensure that products can turn into either biological nutri-
ents or technical nutrients. When biodegradation is not possible and products need
to be reutilized or recycled for the production of new products, they are called tech-
nical nutrients. Furthermore, the aim must be to limit downcycling where possible,
as downcycled products cannot be recycled the second time the cycle is interrupted,
creating waste. The major challenge to turn textiles into biological nutrients is that
many natural fibres are blended with synthetic fibres, which cannot return safely to
the soil. In order to address this issue, the industry should align with sustainability
standards which ensure the completion of a full cycle.
Fashion textiles often have a mix of different fabrics, making them difficult to
recycle and as such contributing to its dumping as a waste material after use. As
Tierra points out, a t-shirt composed by 99% cotton and 1% of spandex could not be
recycled today and therefore would end up in a landfill or burnt in thermal power
station (Tierra 2017). Mono-materials or fabrics made only from one material could
solve the problem of recycling blended textiles. However, evidence shows that natu-
ral fibres (biodegradable) are blended with synthetics to improve quality, create
textures, colour effects, etc. (Fletcher 2014). Mixed materials are also essential in
labels, fasteners and elastic bands, etc. Production of yarn and synthetic manufac-
turing are also the most energy-consuming processes in the industry (Karthik and
Rathinamoorthy 2017). In addition, the dyeing process is a major water pollutant,
with 40% of globally used colourants containing carcinogens, making textile efflu-
ent one of the most significant causes of environmental degradation (Kant 2012).
Therefore, there is a need to reduce waste and convert it into a completely reus-
able system.
262 C. Arana et al.
There are strong connections between research and innovation in the fashion indus-
try and SDG 15 Life on Land and SDG 14 Life below Water. This review clearly
showed that major issues confronting the industry pertain to water consumption,
impact on ecosystem services, water pollution and the industries’ clear contribution
to global warming, deforestation and environmental degradation (UN 2019).
The production of raw materials, crop management and production of fibres
from petrochemicals feedstock drain natural resources in an unsustainable manner.
The fashion industry demands great amounts of water and energy whilst contami-
nating inland water sources and oceans. Moreover, clothing production increased by
“fast fashion” trends heightens soil degradation due to the use of chemically hazard-
ous components. Therefore, the fashion industry needs to embrace solutions which
promote the achievement of the SDG 15 and SDG 14 and commit to various socially
responsible practices linked to production, gender, labour, poverty issues (UNECE
2019) as well as promoting the use of alternative materials such as blast fibres like
hemp, Lyocell fibres Tencel and Yulexis. Sustainable resource management tech-
niques such as reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers are also essential for
biodiversity conservation and consequently soil improvement – thereby preventing
soil degradation.
Additionally, the use of technologies for animal and biodiversity protection
through the use of alternative animal-like materials such as ZoaTM (bioleather) is
necessary to achieve SDG target 15.6: “promoting fair and equitable sharing of the
benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate
access to such resources, as internationally agreed”. Likewise, the use of eco-
friendly techniques such as finishing plasma, ultrasonic-assisted dyeing and super-
critical carbon dioxide methods, whilst promoting effective fibre-to-fibre recycle
techniques, such as HKRITA’s technologies, can contribute to achieve SDG target
15.3, “restore degraded land and soil”. Promoting deployment of these technologies
and encouraging the sustainable use of natural resources – from design to consump-
tion– the fashion industry could lessen the impact on the life of land and below
water, achieving overall sustainability.
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Chapter 17
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions
The Untapped Potential of Women for
Sustainable Peace in Resource Regions
Abstract This chapter makes a strong contribution to SDG 16 as it examines the

role of women and livelihood options in fostering sustainable peace. Research
was conducted in rural communities in the vicinity of Risaralda, Colombia, a
resource-rich region. The results obtained are important as they provide insights
into the heterogeneous composition of communities, particularly women and their
identities, which explains contrasting perceptions towards project development.
Secondly, outcomes entail a practical dimension which suggests that in the pro-
cess of assessment, development and management of resources, differences
related to community identity, religion and context-based factors must be recog-
nized and taken into account to foster sustainable peace and overall regional
sustainability.
Keywords SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions · Women · Sustainable

livelihoods · Community · Resource regions
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
E. Derbyshire

17.1 Introduction
The notions of sustainable livelihoods and gender are taking centre stage in the
context of developing resource-rich regions, particularly those in a situation of con-
flict. Evidence shows that top-down approaches to development, which neglect
women’s development aspirations regarding their livelihood options, are consis-
tently implemented. This is not only detrimental for women but also for companies
operating in resource regions as it will escalate community discontent and resent-
ment towards the industry (Franco 2014). A situation which increases political
instability, particularly in locations with a history of armed conflict. Instead, foster-
ing the participation of women can open new paths for sustainable peace and foster
overall sustainability in resource regions.
Evidence shows that the representation of women through gender equality initia-
tives presented in the peace deal with FARC has been pivotal in the government’s
awareness of the importance of women. This recent agreement exemplifies the sig-
nificant role that gender has to play in the development of sustainable livelihoods in
Colombia’s mining regions. A 2012 United Nations analysis of 31 peace processes
between 1992 and 2011 shows that women make up 4% of signatories, 2.4% of
chief mediators, 3.7% of witnesses and 9% of negotiators (UN Women 2012). What
this means for the future of gender inclusion and the representation of women in
resource-rich regions is significant. The agreement in the Colombian case seeks to
atone destruction and limitations imposed by conflict whilst addressing inherent
inequalities for women in Colombia. As evident in Clause 5 of the agreement, “…
the sub-commission on gender to conclude the work it has been engaged in as
promptly as possible, consisting of the revision of the agreements 1, 2 and 4 of the
General Agreement with a gender-based approach” (Alto Comisionado para la Paz
2016). The first agreement is comprised by plenipotentiary members of the delega-
tions, to which other advisors decided by each party may be added, in addition to
the advisors responsible for each topic, in order to facilitate rapprochements at the
strategic level, make the warranted decisions to streamline the drafting of agree-
ments and supervise the work of the delegations. The inclusion of women in the
governmental bureaucratic processes and discussions further represents the growing
importance in women as actors in the public sphere. This change is a significant step
towards legitimizing the role of women in these mining regions. Furthermore, it
empowers women to become primary economic actors of socio-developmental
change within resource-rich regions.
The clear increase in resource development has severely impacted women and
their opportunities to fashion sustainable livelihoods. The extractive industry oper-
ating in these locations has experienced an economic boom, significant for the
global economy with revenues from the sector accounting for US$ 863 million in
2009 in countries like Colombia (Molina-Escobar and Restrepo-Baena 2010; Ponce
2010). However, evidence shows that communities have not benefited from these
economic gains (Franco 2014), a situation that causes resentment and tension at the
community level, compromising overall sustainability and the achievement of the
Sustainable Goal 16 (SDG 16), Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
17 SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 267
Integrating livelihoods of women in the extractive industry or other sectors rele-

vant for the local economy will create value for both the resource industry and
women themselves. However, stakeholders (particularly the extractive industry)
meet difficulties in pursuing such integration and building resilient assets. Women’s
livelihoods have undergone substantial transformations led by local dynamic change.
For example, violent times in Risaralda, Colombia, diminished community opportu-
nities to develop livelihood options other than mining. During times of armed con-
flict in Colombia, illegal groups tapped on revenues coming from natural resource
extraction and very often forced community members, particularly women, to
engage in illegal mining. The low income that some families received from mining
was inefficiently spent, and gender and power dynamics amongst small miners ele-
vated internal conflict in the community. In addition, “low educational level impeded
women miners effectively administering the income they got from gold extraction”
(Community Leader, Interview, November 2012). Informal miners did not know
how to handle the benefits derived from informal mining, neither did they realize the
magnitude of the social and environmental problems triggered by poor mining prac-
tices. This situation led to some local authorities partnering with community mem-
bers and other local stakeholders to provide capacity building in the form of education
(e.g. a vocational programme on making jewellery), providing women with sustain-
able human capital and therefore alternative employment and livelihood options.
Communities, particularly women, adjacent to extractive operations more com-
monly experience loss of livelihood options. Hence, there is a need to engage the
extractive industry in helping women fashion sustainable livelihoods in the regions
they operate (Franco 2014). This can create added value to the industry and local
communities, reduce tension in resource-rich regions and foster paths for sustain-
able peace through the creation of new sustainable livelihood options. Moreover,
there is a recognition that natural resources, particularly minerals and metals, will
not last for long and that local communities, mostly women, shouldn’t solely rely on
natural resource extraction in order to advance towards sustainability. The discus-
sion in this chapter is organized as follows: Sect. 17.1 introduces the literature
review, followed by the methodology and presentation of Risaralda, Columbia, the
case study area. The paper finishes with the discussion and data analysis and final
remarks on impact sustainability.
17.2.1 Sustainable Livelihoods
The world has experienced rapid resource development, particularly in developing

and less industrialized economies. The total net output of the resource sector in the
world grew by 1.7% in 2013 (UNIDO 2014). However, increased growth of the sec-
tor has given rise to complexities within the industry, leading to unsustainable
resource development at locations where the industry operates with implications for
women and sustainable livelihood options. Poor resource development practice in
rural areas poses significant caveats to social welfare services and discourages the
participation of women in local political dialogues, with educational inequalities
further perpetuating the rural land tenure. Due to gender gaps, it is often the case
that rural female household heads have limited access to land, training, financing
and other benefits that are generally available to men. Thus, public emphasis on
support and investment aimed at helping women are vital for increasing productiv-
ity and improving livelihoods for women in resource-rich regions.
Concepts like sustainable livelihoods are abound in the present-day sustainable
development (SD) literature. Whilst the notion of SD owes its origins to environ-
mental activists in the nineteenth century, in the contemporary era, SD is seen as a
broad term encompassing a wide range of social, economic, environmental and
political elements (Dresner 2008). Global organizations such as the World Bank and
the United Nations have embraced the Brundtland Commission’s definition of SD,
one that states it is “Meet(ing) the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on
Environment and Development 1987, p. 31).
Forging sustainable livelihoods necessitates placing people, particularly women,
at the centre of the resource industry. This approach transcends the notion of sus-
tainability and therefore has the potential to overcome community development
limitations (often caused by community natural resource dependence). Scholarship
in sustainability, corporate social responsibility and business ethics argues that com-
munities receiving paternalistic treatment by corporations encounter limitations in
achieving sustainable development aspirations (Cornelius et al. 2008; Jenkins 2004;
Veiga et al. 2001). Jenkins (2004, p. 26) calls this “false dependency”: a scenario in
which corporations act as providers of services and business for communities. In
reality, it only worsens the situation as communities become “mere puppets in the
regeneration game played out by large national, regional and local agencies”
(Cornelius et al. 2008, p. 358). Yet, resource industries can however significantly
contribute to helping communities, particularly women, forge more sustainable
livelihoods through integrating them into the industry or into other sectors relevant
for the local economy. This approach also has the potential to assist the industry in
fostering sustainable resource practices, creating diversified livelihood options and
reducing tensions emerging from unequal distribution of resources.
17.2.2 Women’s Sustainable Livelihoods
Forging sustainable livelihoods in resource regions can assist women in becoming

active participants in shaping their life plans and achieving their sustainable devel-
opment aspirations. It can also foster paths for sustainable peace in resource regions
commonly impacted by conflict. Recent resource development has positioned the
extractive industry as one of the major economic activities in the region. In the
Colombian case, operations have been undertaken by Canadian and domestic explo-
ration and mining companies. Metal production in Risaralda represented 6.71% of
Colombia’s total production in 2005 (UPME 2006). The extractive industry plays a
strong role in enhancing women’s human capital assets, an approach that is leading
to more sustainable livelihoods in Risaralda, Colombia. Research shows that active
engagement and empowerment of women, state government’s public policies and
effective governance arrangements are factors that have contributed to forge sus-
tainable women’s livelihoods (Franco 2014).
Risaralda’s government authorities agree that the extractive industry is essential to
meet regional competition standards and achieve the sustainable development goals,
particularly SDG 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. It is important to note
that companies are made accountable for meeting acceptable sustainable resource
development and are asked to make a strong commitment to regional development.
There are three key approaches taken by the local government to forge sustainable
livelihoods; these include education, knowledge transfers and entrepreneurship
(Franco 2014). These three pillars, as constituent components of Risaralda’s gover-
nance framework, are considered as fostering factors to develop less resource-
dependent communities and aid in creating more sustainable livelihood options.
However, we can see the transferal of economic dependency from local capacity-
building initiatives to short-term dependency on resource revenue. For areas such as
Risaralda, localization of corporate policies will provide an economic boost to grass-
roots capacity building and upskilling initiatives. Thus, the involvement of women in
the extractive industry and other local economic sectors is paramount to forging sus-
tainable resource regions and for the progress towards sustainable peace (Franco
2013). Business literature therefore recognizes the role of women participation in the
local economy, particularly in running business in nontraditional sectors such as min-
ing, construction and manufacturing. In addition, scholarly debates address concerns
regarding the lack of empowerment and poor decision-making skills in integrating
both the community and women in the local and global economy (Christensen and
Grant 2007; Mabudafhasi 2002; Muthuri 2007; Said-Allsopp and Tallontire 2015).
One of the most significant research findings in the Risaralda case study has to do
with active women engagement. Women have played a strong role in the formation
of local development agendas, becoming active participants in achieving their own
development aspirations (Franco 2014). Women have also benefited from socially
responsible practices intended to help them cope with livelihood transformations
induced by the extractive industry. Such initiatives comprise activities, like agribusi-
ness, dressmaking, jewellery manufacture, coffee production and agriculture. For
example, former informal miners and miners’ wives have been provided by the com-
pany with dressmaking training to create alternative livelihoods and realize their
entrepreneurial potential. These actions have been implemented either as a result of
effective government-corporation partnerships or as a response to women’s requests.
17.3 Methodology
This chapter is based on empirical research in Risaralda, Colombia. The selection of

the case study was based on three criteria: (1) a developing resource region, (2)
evidence of women starved for sustainable livelihood options and (3) a region which
displays both complexities and opportunities in integrating livelihoods of female

entrepreneurs in extractive industry or other sectors in the local economy. This sec-
tion also provides a more detailed description of the Colombian case study.
Colombia is a Latin American country located in the north of South America that
has experienced an escalating resource growth over the last three decades. Mining
along with oil extraction represented 4.6% of the Colombian GDP in 2005 (UPME
2006). The resource industry is also becoming one of the most representative eco-
nomic sectors in Risaralda. Only 3.6% of Colombian municipalities are both rural
and show a high human development index. Thus, many local governments in these
municipalities have succeeded in fostering sustainable resource development
through effective fiscal management and efficient public institutions. Although
some others have failed due to external factors such as armed conflict and political
instability, there are other factors which heavily influence the quality of women’s
livelihoods such as economic strength, human capital accumulation and the emer-
gence of a larger middle class of “rural” landowners. The gender gap and rurality
are key caveats to the empowerment of females in Colombia. More specifically, the
key limitations we see in resource-rich regions are evident in the monopoly of a
state-centric approach to sustainable community development.
Risaralda is located in the Colombian Andes mountain range. Mining and explo-
ration projects operating in Risaralda have impact on women and their livelihoods
in both urban and non-urban areas. According to the last census register (DANE
2005), Risaralda hosted a population of 859,666 people in 2005. Out of the total
population, 665,104 people inhabited urban areas, whereas 194,562 were located in
peri-urban and rural areas. 51.3% of the population was female and 48.7% male.
Statistics also show that Risaralda hosted 230,532 households in urban and non-
urban areas. According to the “Mission to Link Employment, Poverty and Inequality
Surveys” (MESEP), an individual is considered poor if he or she earns less than
US$103.30/month. Using this income threshold, almost half of the country’s popu-
lation lives below the poverty line. The income of the average poor Colombian is
below the poverty line by $48.10/month. The gap is even wider for the rural poor at
$51.88/month; and more significantly, rural women’s incomes are farthest below the
poverty line at $53/month. As women were the most susceptible to this “poverty
trap,” it increases the complexity of finding livelihood options and opportunities to
aid their transition out of poverty (CIAT 2013), a situation that also compromises
political instability, hence demonstrating the importance of providing recommenda-
tions that assist the stakeholders in resource regions in forging sustainable liveli-
hoods and paths to sustainable peace.
17.4 Discussion
This section aims to discuss existing approaches to help women in developing

resource regions forge sustainable livelihoods and open new pathways towards sus-
tainable peace. It is argued that women’s livelihoods are very often threatened due
to lack of sustainable assets to realize their full potential, armed conflict and
inequality (Franco 2014). The extractive industry, particularly the mining sector,
has been pivotal in protecting women’s livelihoods. However, there is still room for
improvement in helping women enhance their assets to cope with mining-induced
changes. Mining will eventually affect the livelihood of women in farming, jewel-
lery design, artisanal mining, large-scale mining and other economic activities.
Women farmers, for example, are choosing artisanal mining over agriculture which
might displace traditional livelihood options in the long term. However, the mini-
mization of the extraction industry’s detrimental effects on the community and the
fostering of opportunities for sustainable peace are mainly due to the active partici-
pation of women and the enhancement of women’s assets. Active participation of
women in income generation has also helped them proactively embark on enter-
prises, request the required resources and skills to positively transform their lives
and help them cope with potential mining impacts. Existing approaches have also
helped women achieve their development goals and forge sustainable livelihoods.
This has also assisted stakeholders in responding to conflicting demands in resource
locations.
Based on women’s expectations, the extractive industry and governments have
embarked on sustainable development agendas and mechanisms to foster peaceful
arrangements at the community level. This has had positive impacts on locals, as
these practices are more in tune with local circumstances. Female consultation in
relation to needs and expectations is highly appreciated in the development of these
initiatives, resulting in immediate benefits. For example, local coffee and jewellery
producers, as well as female entrepreneurs, have already experienced the benefits of
these initiatives:
We have been trained in jewellery design ... the company has also provided us with some
financial assistance to attend international fairs so that we can promote and sell our prod-
ucts. (Community Members, Interview, October, 2012)
There is a close relationship between good governance and sustainable liveli-

hoods for women. Collaboration for forging sustainable livelihoods of women has
been a driver to enhance resilient assets. Governance is not restricted just to the role
of government but also involves other parties such as the extractive industry and
civil society (Davies 2005). It is part of the role of these three parties to aid women
in developing asset-based adaptation strategies to help women forge sustainable
livelihoods. Furthermore, understanding the political and economic agendas of
international companies involved in operations is necessary to gage the impact and
success of sustainable livelihood development and capacity building initiatives.
Exploration projects currently undertaken by Canadian companies occupy large
areas of land that host important reserves of gold. Informal miners who previously
worked in this area are involved in ongoing negotiations with the Canadian com-
pany to explore possibilities of relocation and opportunities for their livelihood
transformations. A group of informal miners has obtained a concession to keep min-
ing the land where the Canadian company operates. Current dialogues between
small-scale informal miners and multinational corporations have a strong focus on
employment generation. A dialogue tha is necessary to enforce the necessity to

localize capacity building in a gender inclusive manner.
Lessons can be learnt from the Risaralda case and applied to other developing
resource locations. Sustainable livelihoods for women need to be further developed
according to their expectations and needs. This bottom-up economic development
approach is already having a significant effect on many women in Risaralda,
Colombia, and equipping them with more resilient assets that will help them sustain
their livelihoods in the long term.
In addition to a bottom-up approach to development, collaboration has been
essential. In 2008, government authorities extended the impact of this initiative and
agreed with communities that they were going to add sustainable value to raw
materials extracted in the region. This was the beginning of a successful multi-
stakeholder collaboration in which “governments and civil society actors partnered
to create a jewellery association—a community-based organization” (Community
Leader, Jewellery CBO, Interview, November, 2012). The association is one of a
number of income generators at the local level. At the present time, the organiza-
tion is self-sustainable and employs locals. The arrival of multinational companies
in the region has further strengthened the work of CBOs in Risaralda. A Canadian
company operating in the region strongly supports this initiative as they are keen to
“promote social sustainability in other industries relevant for the community...
[Similarly, the international corporation] is in a permanent dialogue with State
actors to know more about community’s needs and be able to assist women and
local communities increase income” (Corporate Representative, Interview, October,
2012).
Collaborative approaches for enhancing women’s assets have resulted in posi-
tive outcomes for the women involved. For example, “the company helped the
municipality to open a plant for waste collection which has the potential for gener-
ating income for the local community” (Community Leader, Jewellery CBO,
Interview, November, 2012). Ongoing collaboration between companies, educa-
tional institutions and civil society organizations has also helped women create
asset-based strategies to increase local income: “Universities located in the region
are helping us undertake market analysis to improve cost production and increase
income ... this is very important for us because we are a key stakeholder for
[Risaralda’s agriculture sector]” (Community Leader, Blackberry CBO, November,
2012).
Fashioning sustainable livelihood options for women has also been driven by the
need for economic diversification. This has led to some positive livelihood transfor-
mations, as women have been able to generate income from industries other than
mining. In addition, supported by private and government organizations, commu-
nity associations, in which women actively participate, are not only increasing
income but also fostering livelihood opportunities in jewellery design and sales.
This has reduced women’s dependency on mining and helps sustain female
livelihoods.
A community’s pre-existing vulnerabilities, as well as the complexities of the

extractive industry, are likely to result in more adverse impacts on women and their
livelihoods. Successful integration of livelihood options in the local economy faces
a number of complexities that might increase or diminish the extractive industry’s
ability to help women forge more sustainable livelihood options and respond to
conflicting demands from local actors. This chapter identified effective approaches
to sustain women livelihoods and integrate them in the local economy. It also indi-
cated that priority livelihood areas which are the most valuable for women are those
that help them achieve their own development aspirations. Because of this, women-
based approaches are more likely to create value for female leaders than corporate
and/or government top-down approaches.
In these cases, in which companies have embraced community-oriented and
women-driven agendas, women claim to have become more resilient to cope with
mining-induced transformations, including conflict. This approach has served as a
means to reduce disputes, achieve SDG 16 and sustain women’s livelihood over-
time. Women who have been properly consulted regarding livelihood priorities have
been able to strengthen key assets, becoming more capable of coping with mining-
induced changes. However, such approaches need to be included as a constituent
component of both corporate and government policies. It is not solely the resource
industry’s responsibility to make these approaches valuable for women as govern-
ments also need to share responsibilities with companies in this regard. Governments
also need to consult women and get them involved in decision-making about mat-
ters such as priorities for the allocation of funds and asset transformation.
Furthermore, these consultation processes should specifically include female min-
ers and women entrepreneurs. Similarly, major attention must be paid to the poten-
tial growth of the existing agriculture community associations, in helping women
become active suppliers for the extractive industry or other industries relevant to the
local economy. These lessons drawn from the Colombian experience can be applied
to other Latin American regions and elsewhere.
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Chapter 18
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
Global Business Networks: Accounting for
Sustainability
Isabel B. Franco and Masato Abe
Abstract Corporate accountability has expanded rapidly in recent years as a tool

that business can employ to respond for corporate performance. Nevertheless, the
exercise of corporate accountability is challenging as it requires stronger corporate
capacity and commitment to respond to external stakeholders in alignment with
voluntary regulatory norms. In response, corporate agendas are being significantly
shaped by internal and external stakeholders that are employees, suppliers, and cus-
tomers. Yet, an examination of the current status of accountability both as a histori-
cal trend and in current corporate agendas in selected cases shows an increasing gap
between policy and impact. Based on a case study method and theory building, the
research reported in this article shows the status of corporate accountability of com-
panies operating in Asia-Pacific and adhered to the Global Compact Network. It
also provides some conceptual and practical tools toward enhanced accountability,
contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG 17)
and its targets Multi-stakeholder partnerships (17.16 and 17.17) and Data, monitor-
ing, and accountability.
Keywords Corporations · SDG 17 · Sustainability · Reporting · Accountability ·

Disclosure · Global Compact Network
I. B. Franco (*)
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
M. Abe
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Macroeconomic
Policy and Financing for Development Division, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: abem@un.org

276 I. B. Franco and M. Abe
18.1 Introduction
There is a general consensus that corporations need to become more accountable to

both their shareholders and stakeholders. Limited understanding of how businesses
account for their sustainability performance and to what extent they are being truly
accountable to external stakeholders is an area that remains underinvestigated.
Corporations are more often tasked to become more responsible to external stake-
holders and the environment where they operate. This need for greater external
accountability is increasing, yet companies still hold limited capacity to duly report
on corporate performance. There is also an increasing concern among scholars and
practitioners about how businesses can become more accountable both in policy and
practice (Post 2013; Parsons 2017; Schembera 2018). While corporations are
increasingly pressured to respond for social, economic, and environmental sustain-
ability matters, there is a dearth of knowledge about the practice of accountability,
both internal and external, and to what extent it compromises stakeholders’ ability
to report successfully on sustainability performance and in alignment with volun-
tary regulatory frameworks and global accountability networks (Abe and
Ruanglikhitkul 2013; Franco 2014).
This chapter is based on three cases examined in the light of a Global Compact
Network supporting ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor stan-
dards, environmental protection, and anticorruption. The network is typically com-
plex, reciprocal, and accountability based (Gilbert and Behnam 2013). There are
cases in which these interactions are inexistent compromising members’ compli-
ance with the network. Despite the relevance of accountability for successful report-
ing, the literature on the global reporting networks remains relatively silent when it
comes to investigate the extent to which companies are being truly accountable and
in line with the network’s principles. The conditions and mechanisms that contrib-
ute to the constitution of accountability in the network are poorly understood which
is reflected in limited corporate capacity to respond to external stakeholders. The
authors argue that enhanced external accountability from signatory members and
partners of the Global Compact to external stakeholders is a precondition to foster
overall sustainability. Therefore, this research links to the Sustainable Development
Goal 17 as it contributes to the achievement of targets on Multi-stakeholder partner-
ships (17.16 and 17.17) and Data, monitoring, and accountability (Table 18.1).
Against this background, the aim of this chapter is to examine current forms of
accountability of a selected group of signatory members of the examined network.
A thorough investigation of the connection between accountability and the network
itself may help identify concrete measures for increasing accountability to external
stakeholders and increasing not only our understanding but also the implementation
of the network’s ten principles in a sustainable manner.
Based on a case study method and theory-building methodology, this manuscript
reports research on selected cases, namely, Republic of Korea, Myanmar, and Sri
Lanka. Findings also show that corporations need take accountability seriously to
truly respond for sustainability performance. Interestingly, evidence indicates that
18 SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals 277
Table 18.1 Sustainable Development Goal 17: targets

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 17) – targets
Multi-stakeholder partnerships
17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-
stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial
resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in
particular developing countries
Multi-stakeholder partnerships
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships,
building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
Data, monitoring, and accountability
17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least
developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability
of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity,
migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national
contexts
accountability in the three cases is mainly internal. In addition, in those cases in

which external accountability occurs, it is not fully exercised as companies do not
necessarily comply against the network’s principles nor display accurate account-
ability mechanisms, such as sustainability reports. The study shows that account-
ability is a premature practice and further development in this area is needed in the
selected cases.
These and other research findings are reported as follows: the first section in this
manuscript provides an extensive review of the notion accountability, its evolution,
and current debates in the corporate sector. The second section of this manuscript
presents and discusses a comparative analysis of three country cases, namely, the
Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. These three countries were selected
according to the corporate engagement and alignment with the network, stages of
their socioeconomic development, and geographical location in the Asia-Pacific
region. This manuscript finishes with conclusions and recommendations for further
research in this field.
The concept of accountability is not recent, yet it has evolved rapidly as a business
practice. Nevertheless, how accountability is interpreted and operationalized by the
corporate sector is an issue that deserves further investigation. Accountability is a
concept that has multiple interpretations that makes it a complex (Mulgan 2000) and
chameleon-like term (Sinclair 1995). Debates on accountability first took place
around 700 B.C.E in archaic literature and later on played a key role during the
ascendancy of the Athenian democracy, in medieval times before evolving rapidly
as a governance practice both at the private and public spheres.
A segment of scholars in law and ethics agree that accountability is a logical

consequence of Athenian democracy (Roberts 1982). According to Von Dornum
(1997), legal institutions that established the roots of accountability date to around
700 B.C.E. Accountability mechanisms first appeared in archaic Greek literature, in
the form of poems that encouraged the regulation of the polis’, citizens’, and offi-
cials’ behaviors. Nowadays, this characteristic can be found in accountability prac-
tices as a legal and technical tool to assess performance. Hesiod’s poems, written in
700 B.C.E, first introduced the notion of euthyna, a form of vertical accountability
to follow gods’ will. Solon’s literature pieces, written in 620–590 B.C.E, high-
lighted the importance of citizens’ participation in political systems to make public
decisions more transparent. Pindar’s victory odes in 500 B.C.E suggested the idea
of common cultural values to make citizens and officials more accountable for their
behavior. Euthyna was based on the principles of rectitude as it was applied to make
officials accountable to polis’ citizens (Von Dornum 1997). Euthyna consisted of
auditing of financial and nonfinancial dealings to guarantee citizens’ rights. It also
punished officials who behaved illegally by way of multiple accountability mecha-
nisms such as fines, imprisonment, detention, partial exclusion or expulsion, corpo-
ral punishment, or death (Foxhall and Lewis 1996).
This form of accountability was based on the principles of rectitude as it was
applied to assess official performance and procedure to make officials’ conduct
more visible for polis’ citizens. Euthyna consisted of the auditing of financial and
nonfinancial dealings in order to guarantee citizens’ rights. It also punished officials
who behaved illegally by way of multiple accountability mechanisms such as fines,
imprisonment, detention, partial exclusion or expulsion, corporal punishment, or
death (Foxhall and A.D.E.Lewis 1996, pp. 74–83). The contributions from the
notion euthyna not only constructed the concept of accountability but also sup-
ported the ascendancy and development of the Athenian democracy. The notion of
accountability in the Athenian democracy became a legal mechanism to preserve
the exercise of authority as well as a partially inclusive mechanism that allowed
polis’ citizens – except women – to get involved in public decisions. This frame-
work set in Classical Greece became the basis of the roots of medieval and more
contemporary accountability.
In Medieval England, accountability was conceived as a mode of financial regu-
latory mechanism (Godfrey and Hooper 1996). It was also applied to economic
relationships to explain the landowners’ obligation in exchange of workers’ social
protection. Likewise, it was used to explain the monarchy’s concern for strengthen-
ing financial governance and decision-making regarding land ownership (Galbraith
1961; Godfrey and Hooper 1996). Contemporary forms of accountability in the
form of financial accountability to shareholders are more common approaches than
external accountability approaches.
Contemporary approaches to accountability began with “Accountingization”
processes that facilitated interactions and trust relationships among actors (Hood
1991; Gray 1997; Power and Laughlin 2003). These approaches emerged along with
public management practices such as privatization. In 1996, the World Bank (1996)
stated that “public provision must become the exception rather than the rule.”
Privatization emerged as a new public management practice that led to public cuts
and gained status with the implementation of government reforms under the admin-
istrations of Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton Hughes 2003). Privatization encour-
aged corporations to become more responsive to external stakeholders, that is,
customers, suppliers, governments, and other civil society groups and individuals.
Accountability can be internal or external (Mulgan 2000; Stewart 1999). Internal
accountability occurs between the CEO and board chair account for financial report-
ing and guarantees profitable revenues to shareholders. This form of accountability
became the norm in the corporate sector after the publication of the Cadbury’s
Report in 1992 (Brennan and Solomon 2008). The report embraces accountability
as a corporate principle to improve corporate effectiveness (Committee on the
Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance 1992). The notion of internal account-
ability was reinforced by Friedman (1970) and other economists, promoters of neo-
liberalism between the1960s and 1970s (Eisenhardt 1989a; Wilson 1968). They
argued that the responsibility of a business is to increase profits and that corpora-
tions are not accountable to external stakeholders but only to shareholders. Internal
accountability mechanisms are presented in the form of reports from board chairs to
shareholders (Bovens 1998) and the engagement of external auditors that prove the
accuracy of these reports (Brennan and Solomon 2008).
External forms of accountability, instead, are based on the premise that society is
an active rather than a passive stakeholder entitled to request accountability by cor-
porations (Gray et al. 1997). Freeman’s (1984) work on stakeholder theory chal-
lenges conventional internal accountability practices, adding democratic, social,
and sustainability attributes to this notion. External accountability, therefore, con-
tests old business practices (Cooper 1992; Gray et al. 1997; Mulgan 2000). Under
this form of accountability, corporations are encouraged to engage with external
stakeholders, be more inclusive and sustainable, and comply against voluntary sus-
tainability accountability norms (Eisenhardt 1989a; Mulgan 2000; Cummings 2001;
Fontrodona and Sison 2006). Lack of external accountability compromises corpora-
tions’ ability to respond for their performance (Boiral and Henri 2017) resulting in
adverse impacts on the environment, local communities, and corporations them-
selves (Amer 2015).
18.3 Methodology
A multiple case study approach was used because it facilitates a comparative exami-
nation of the three regions of interest. The selection of the three case studies was
based on three criteria: (1) regions where companies adhere to the network’s prin-
ciples, (2) locations where businesses display various forms of accountability, and
(3) cases that display accountability issues. The examination of country cases first
consisted of a review of business accountability in the form of sustainability report-
ing and performance of companies adhered to the global network. Theory building
was also applied to draw inferences from the literature, and policy reviews are also
applied to examine the selected cases. Policy analysis on corporate data was
obtained from 80 companies adhered to the network.
A case study methodology was combined with theory building. The qualitative
research strategy sought to inductively build new theory concerning accountability
and reporting. As such, our data analysis followed procedures for inductive theory
building from each country as prescribed by Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic
analysis and Yin’s (2009) chain of evidence method to analyze data (also Eisenhardt
1989b). The chain of evidence method calls for clear links in moving from data to
theory. Theory building is a process of data reduction based on cause-effect evi-
dence. The process was to first group data into countries based on (1) accountability
status, (2) accountability mechanism, and (3) focus area. From these three sets of
themes, researchers then induced theoretical inferences of cause-effect between fea-
tures and available information. Tables 18.2, 18.3, and 18.4 record the data from this
inductive theory-building process. After obtaining results from separate countries, a
comparative analysis was undertaken to identify commonalities and differences.
Findings were validated whenever possible with literature and policy reviews and
presented in the discussion and in the conclusion sections.
18.4 Discussion
Accountability is an essential component of corporate governance and overall sus-

tainability. The need to make corporations more responsible for their sustainability
performance has led to the proliferation of voluntary sustainability regulations. The
examined network is one of such and establishes minimum requirements that ensure
active members are making changes that are socially and environmentally respon-
sible. The framework ensures that business practices remain transparent and acces-
sible by all shareholders and stakeholders. Based on a review of three cases, namely,
Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, this section explores to what extent
corporations aligned with the network’s principles are externally or internally
accountable and how accountability is operationalized.
The study showed that despite the existence of voluntary regulatory frameworks,
internal accountability prevails upon external forms of accountability. Three types
of external accountability mechanisms were identified, namely, sustainability poli-
cies, sustainability performance/activities, and sustainability reporting of both pol-
icy and performance. The latter concerns to corporate disclosure through
sustainability reports often aligned with the network’s principles. Sustainability
policy relates to policies or corporate statements that show corporate commitment
to sustainability. Finally, evidence indicates, however, that companies applying a
sustainability performance approach, display a plethora of scattered initiatives in
the form of corporate philanthropy reflecting a lack of a cohesive sustainability
strategy or framework.
18.4.1 Republic of Korea Case Study
The interest of Korean businesses in being seen as accountable has grown since
recent years. However, how they are exercising such an accountability is an issue
that deserves nuance attention (Sok and Whang 2014). For the purpose of this anal-
ysis, a sample of 30 companies that claim to be adhered to the network’s principles
was selected across different sectors in RoK. The status of accountability in selected
companies is shown in Fig. 18.1.
Overall, the analysis indicated that accountability is mainly internal and top-
down as companies are being mainly accountable to shareholders (Mulgan 2000;
Ospina et al. 2002) and in some cases to the government (Ministry of Legislation,
1998). Interestingly, the current form of top-down accountability, adopted by
selected companies, seems to be the norm. Yet, it is not sustainable (Abe and Franco
2017). The RoK case shows a growing gap between accountability and sustainabil-
ity performance which may compromise social viability and economic growth
within these companies.
The study found that 63% of businesses do not display any accountability mech-
anism. Eleven (11) per cent only account for sustainability performance. Twenty-
three (23) per cent of companies reviewed only present a sustainability policy or
corporate sustainability statement. Interestingly, just 3% of companies present a
sustainability report accounting for both sustainability policy and performance.
Thus, the analysis shows that only a limited number of companies take full account-
ability to external stakeholders.
Evidence shows that businesses still lack effective accountability capacity to
respond for their sustainability performance in an adequate manner. Findings show
Fig. 18.1 Accountability in the Republic of Korea. (The author 2018)
also that, very often, businesses embrace the notion of accountability to rebuild their
reputation and brand image. Accountability is therefore perceived as value-enhancer,
rather than a genuine practice to truly account for sustainability performance.
Data analysis also indicates that most of the selected companies do not have
accountability mechanisms in place. Yet, in those cases in which corporations do
display accountability mechanisms, those do not comply effectively against the net-
work’s principles. Instead, companies report on a plethora of scattered activities that
in most cases take the form of corporate philanthropy.
18.4.2 Myanmar Case Study
Research findings show that businesses operating in Myanmar experience major

difficulties to remain accountable for their sustainability performance. Societal and
organizational factors are two of the greatest challenges that need to be overcome to
enable a more ethical business culture. These challenges emerge due to weak legal
enforcement systems that are binding and high rates of the violation of codes of
conduct by organizations and individuals. Despite the strong regulatory framework,
however, enforcement lacks, resulting in poor sustainability knowledge and prac-
tice. A case in point is the Central Bank Law that mandates board directors to release
reports on monetary and financial stability (State Law and Order Restoration
Council 2013).
Surprisingly, however, a review of 35 companies shows limited capacity to
account externally for sustainability performance. Findings also show there are two
issues, businesses need to pay more attention to stakeholder engagement and trans-
parency on revenue management and reporting. Figure 18.2 illustrates the status of
accountability of selected corporations in RoK. The analysis showed that 46 percent
of businesses are not accountable externally. Accountability within this group of
companies is mainly internal. Further, 29% of the companies only display their
sustainability policy but fail in duly accounting externally for sustainability perfor-
mance. Information is reported mainly on social media channels (e.g., Facebook)
and concerns to the business itself rather than to corporate sustainability perfor-
mance. Evidence also indicates that 14% of corporations provide a list of philan-
thropic actions to account externally for their sustainability performance. However,
businesses in this range do not show a comprehensive sustainability strategy that
backs up their performance. The analysis also revealed that only 11 percent of busi-
nesses issue sustainability reports containing both sustainability policy and perfor-
mance. Some of the areas in which companies claim to be accountable for include
but are not limited to reliefs to refugees and natural disaster victims, tree planting,
community healthcare, and education. Yet, compliance with the network’s princi-
ples remains to be an issue.
Fig. 18.2 Sustainability accountability in Myanmar

Source: The author
18.4.3 Sri Lanka Case Study
Research findings revealed that companies need to become duly accountable to

external stakeholders and the environment they operate within. A sample of 20 com-
panies was selected across different sectors in Sri Lanka. The analysis shows that
42% of the companies do not exercise external accountability. Twenty-five (25) per
cent of the companies account for sustainability policy but fail in translating it into
practice. Approximately 33% of companies account for sustainability performance
usually in the form of philanthropy. It is surprising that none of the businesses
selected fully account for their sustainability performance. These results show that
internal accountability is the preferred approach to respond for corporate perfor-
mance. However, in those cases in which external accountability is exercised,
research findings showed that corporations hold limited capacity to be duly account-
able. Figure 18.3 presents the status of accountability of companies adhered to the
network in Sri Lanka.
Evidence indicates that accountability in Sri Lanka is often used to gain political
advantage, rather than as a business strategy to truly account for corporate perfor-
mance. In response to this, the government is more often playing a stronger role to
encourage businesses to boost their capacity on business ethics (Bedewella and
Fairbrass 2016).
Stronger government intervention facilitates the prevention, detection, investiga-
tion, and prosecution of the offences of money laundering and the financing of ter-
rorism, respectively. In the Sri Lankan case, government institutions undertake due
diligence measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. A
case in point is the Ministry of Finance and Planning, whose responsibility is to
Fig. 18.3 Sustainability accountability in Sri Lanka

Source: The authors
facilitate the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of the offences

related to terrorist financing. This body also ensures that corporations remain legally
accountable for their conduct.
18.4.4 Commonalities and Differences
The analysis shows there is limited corporate understanding of external account-

ability as a mechanism to respond for impacts on the environment and the commu-
nities. Accountability is a major issue in selected cases, with 63%, 46%, and 42% of
companies not displaying external accountability mechanisms in RoK, Myanmar,
and Sri Lanka, respectively. Internal accountability is therefore the most predomi-
nant approach among reviewed companies. External accountability is poorly exer-
cised mainly through social media (e.g., Facebook, websites). Companies operating
in RoK seem to be the most critical case with 63% of companies not exercising fully
external accountability.
A limited number of companies, however, issue sustainability reports in compli-
ance with the network’s principles. Selected companies operating in the Sri Lankan
case seem to face the most critical issues as evidence shows that none of the reviewed
companies have a sustainability mechanism in place or report any sustainability
policies or strategies. However, the Sri Lankan case shows dissimilar outcomes in
regard to sustainability performance with 33% of companies fully accounting exter-
nally. Yet, the nature of reported initiatives deserves further investigation as compa-
nies are adopting corporate philanthropy as an approach to external accountability.
Similarly, reported initiatives, in most cases, do not comply with the network’s
principles.
Concerning sustainability policy, the analysis shows even results among cases.
The investigation, however, found a high number of companies are not accountable
for either sustainability policy or performance. A situation that may compromise
overall corporate sustainability.
This study outlined the evolution of accountability theory and current practice in
alignment with a global network for corporate accountability. It highlighted the cur-
rent state of accountability and approaches to corporate accountability applied to
day-to-day operations in the selected cases in the Asia and Pacific region. This
research is essential for businesses and governments interested in improving corpo-
rate accountability practices. Hopefully the conclusions and recommendations
below assist stakeholders in developing business accountability practices that truly
respond to impacts on the environment and the community. The authors also hope
this research provides some conceptual and practical instruments to fully exercise
accountability, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development
Goal 17 (SDG 17) and its targets Multi-stakeholder partnerships (17.16 and 17.17)
and Data, monitoring and accountability. Although companies have a primary
responsibility to their shareholders, they are increasingly being tasked – through
international agreements and guidelines and in-country obligations with social and
environmental responsibilities to external stakeholders. In this context, companies
need to contribute to ensuring the effective development, provision, and assessment
of corporate accountability practices, which must be a constituent component of the
business strategy enabling them to become more accountable to external stakehold-
ers. Although this research focused on selected cases in Asia and the Pacific region,
the conclusions are highly likely to be applicable to other locations in the region and
elsewhere.
If the fostering of business accountability is identified as a corporate goal, then
companies need to be more active in support of this and to be more accountable to
external stakeholders. While corporate accountability agendas are vital to achieve
development aspirations and protect the environment, in practice they have serious
constraints. Lack of government support to encourage corporate accountability and
limited corporate capacity for external accountability are two of the main obstacles
that hinder business accountability practices. It is recommended that the interna-
tional community plays an active role in advising and building corporate and gov-
ernment capacity on corporate accountability. It is equally important that both
governments and companies and global business networks further engage in col-
laborative approaches to corporate accountability, especially where it has been iden-
tified as being of high priority, thereby increasing opportunities to overall
sustainability.
The study also unveiled that in doing so, governments need to engage in develop-
ing more effective regulatory frameworks to help companies comply with interna-
tional sustainability mandates such on sustainability reporting. Although companies
operating in the three cases have proactively adhere to global sustainability man-
dates, they are not obliged to be fully accountable for and report on sustainability
performance. Disconnection between sustainability practices and sustainability
mandates remains to be a critical issue. The study suggests that if business account-
ability is identified as a business strategy to account for sustainability performance,
businesses need to be both more active in support of it and more responsive to exter-
nal stakeholders and the environment they operate within. As such, there is a strong
need to enhance both businesses’ and governments’ capacity, so that businesses can
go beyond business as usual and become truly accountable for the impact of their
business operations.
Appendix (Tables 18.2, 18.3, and 18.4)
Table 18.2 Corporate accountability status in Republic of Korea

Accountability
Company Accountable mechanism Focus area
Doosan Engine Yes Website Code of conduct
Co., Ltd. (strategy and EHS (environment, health, and safety)
report) Community involvement and development
Onemount Yes Website None
NAVER Yes Website Costumer
Corporation (business Value for costumers
ethics) Respect for costumers
Costumer protection
Stockholder
Protect shareholder’s interests
Disclose management information
Partners
A win-win internet environment
Protection of partners information
Society
Abide by legal regulations and social
norms
Contribute to social development and the
creation of a healthy culture
Retain political neutrality
Employees
Respect for employees
Fair and responsible treatment
(continued)
Accountability
CJ CheilJedang Yes Website CEO’s statement:
“As illustrated by our campaign of Farmers
and CJ Happy Together,' we will strengthen
CSV (Creating Shared Value) to apply CJ
CheilJedang 's key competitiveness to
fostering the food industry ecosystem,
taking further steps from our current
corporate social responsibility activities
like donations and volunteer works”
There are no reports available to account
for existing responsible business practices
Daewoo Yes Website Sustainability management report
Engineering & C (sustainability) Social contribution
Quality management
Environmental management
Safety management
LOGOS PIT No N/A N/A
Macoll Yes Website None
Communication C
LG Chem, Ltd. Yes Website Sustainability management
(sustainability) Environment, safety, and health
Social partnership
Sustainability report
Bio Focus Co., Yes Website None
Ltd (community)
G.S. ACE Industry Yes Website Policy statement
Co Human respect and customer satisfaction
Woo Young Yes Website “Focus on talent cultivation to build a
Logistics Co (corporate sustainable development logistics service
value) company”
Panko Corporation Yes Website None
Miraeroedu Co., No N/A N/A
Ltd
Gimm-Young Yes Website N/A
Publishers
Hankook Tire No N/A N/A
Korea No N/A N/A
Transportation S
The Basic House Yes Website CEO’s message “Good Company” is the
Co., Ltd main management philosophy of The Basic
House, and with this philosophy we believe
it is possible to continuously develop and
contribute to our society
(continued)
Accountability
Bucheon City Yes No N/A
Facilities
Korea Exchange Yes Website None
Bank
JW Medical Yes Website Ethical management: JW Group strives to
Corporation become a trustworthy corporate that is
responsible for the healthy future of
citizens based on transparent and fair
management
KIRD No N/A N/A
KEOSAN Yes Website Company’s statement: Our company is a
Machinery Co, promising venture business that makes
Ltd incessant efforts to develop new
technologies to become a business focused
on respecting environment and humankind
and taking a responsibility for the
development of our nation
Saturn Bath Co., Yes Website None
Ltd
Mediana, Co, Ltd Yes Website Corporate statement: We seek to
continuously optimize our manufacturing
and business processes. We promote fair
and the best business practices. Our
ultimate goal is to earn the trust of
our customers by using our imagination
and skills to continuously offer them better
medical solutions
HMDC Co, Ltd No N/A N/A
Anyang Public No N/A None
Amenities
Asia Seed Co., Yes Website None
Ltd.
Flotron Yes Facebook None
Corporation Li
Line Reclamation No N/A N/A
Corporation
Lexcode Inc. Yes Website N/A
Table 18.3 Corporate accountability status in Myanmar

Accountability
Octagon International Yes Facebook None
Services Co., Ltd
Ayeyarwady Bank Yes Website Community participation
Asia Green Development Yes Website None
Bank L
Diamond Mercury Group No – –
of Companies
United Paints Group Co., Yes Facebook Mission statement
Ltd.
Han Investment Group Yes Facebook None
Co., LTD
YKKO Group of Yes Website Mission statement
Companies Limited
Myanmar Culinary Yes Facebook None
Holdings Company
Shwe Yaung Pya Argo Co No – –
Ltd
Best Industrial Company Yes Website –
Limited
City Mart Holding Co., Yes Website Flood victims
Ltd Tree planting
No plastic bag campaign
Mobile soup kitchen
City Love and Hope Foundation
Asia Royal Hospital Yes Website None
Myanmar Marketing Yes Website None
Research Services
Fortune International Yes Website Mission statement
Refugees of ethnic conflicts
and victims of natural disaster
Blue Ocean Operating Yes Website None
Management Co. Ltd.
Device Services Company Yes Facebook None
Limited
Parami Energy Group Of Yes Website Sustainable business practices:
Companies Transparency policy
Anti-corruption policy
Human rights policy
Policy action plan
Action plan to be released
(continued)
Accountability
Medi Myanmar Group Yes Website None
Ltd.
Max Energy Co., Ltd. Yes Website None
FAME Pharmaceutical Yes Website Mission statement on CSR
Industry (2014)
Ocean Emerald Pearl Yes Website Vision statement
Group Co., Ltd
Dagon International Yes Website Report available on healthcare
Limited and education donations
Serge Pun & Associates Yes Website Community
(Myanmar) Limited Myanmar Business Coalition on
AIDS
Cape Negrais Relief and
Recovery Committee
Anti-malaria Program
No reports available
Shwe Taung Group of Yes Website Policy statement
Companies
Scipio Services Co., Ltd. Yes Website None
Myanmar Computer Co., Yes Website None
Ltd
Myanmar Information No – –
Technology Pte. Ltd.
KMD Company Limited Yes Website Online report on compliance
with the principles of the Global
Compact
Information Matrix Co. Yes Website Report on compliance with the
Ltd. principles of the Global Compact
Mandalay Technology Yes Website None
Today Top Star General No – –
Services Company
Limited
First Ocean Breeze No – –
K.L.S Partners Co., Yes Website None
Access Spectrum Yes Facebook Code of ethics
Company Limited
Source: The authors
Table 18.4 Corporate accountability status in Sri Lanka

Accountability
Growrite Substrates Pvt. Yes Website Strategies and activities on SRB
shown on the website
Global links No – –
international
Thread Works (Pvt) Ltd. Yes Website People agenda
Solutions for aging population
Biogrow Lanka (Pvt) No – –
Diesel & Motor No – –
Engineering (2015)
Access Engineering Yes Website Sustainability statement
PLC
Tropicoir Lanka (Pvt) Yes Website Program: “Children of today”
Cargills (Ceylon) PLC Yes Website Sustainability strategy
Chemanex PLC Yes Website CSR statement
Ceylon Asset No – –
Management (2015)
Aspirations Education No – –
Lanka ORIX Leasing No – –
Com
M/s. Eswaran Brothers No – –
Hayleys PLC Yes Website Sustainability statement
Dialog Axiata PLC No – –
Brandix Lanka Ltd. Yes Website CSR strategy
Kelani Valley Plantation Yes Website Ethical business
Environment
Mabroc Teas Ltd. Yes Website CSR programs
MAS Holdings Ltd. Yes Website CSR statement
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Chapter 19
Impact Sustainability: Conclusions
and Lessons Learned
Ellen Derbyshire, Isabel B. Franco, Tathagata Chatterji, and James Tracey
This book deconstructed and re-evaluated the key issues that sustainability leaders,
namely, educators, scientists, governments, practitioners and policymakers, face
when achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The overarching aims
of this book were to provide a coverage of results of research conducted in accor-
dance with the sustainable development goals and to better understand the integra-
tion of the SDGs as an integral part of impact research, curriculum and community
capacity-building for sustainability. The impacts of climate change, unsustainable
resource development, widening of gaps between socioeconomic groups and social
conflict are pressuring sustainability leaders to collaborate and reconstruct norma-
tive approaches to developing more consistent and impactful sustainability agendas.
This stems from an inability to turn knowledge and theory into impactful outcomes.
However, quantified targets do not always mean quantified solutions, and these out-
comes are often impeded by homogenized interpretations of globalized targets.
E. Derbyshire (*)
I. B. Franco
Tokyo, Japan
Brisbane, Australia
T. Chatterji
J. Tracey

296 E. Derbyshire et al.
Thus, these 18 chapters broke down these traditional approaches and presented
innovative and agile strategies to action the SDG targets.
This material provides an original contribution to sustainability science, educa-
tion, policy and practice through breaking down and contextualizing theories,
policies and strategies for SDG operationalization and impact sustainability. In
Chap. 1, Franco and Minnery addressed SDG 1 by proposing the use of the sustain-
able livelihood framework (SLF) as a powerful conceptual approach for research
aimed at understanding the interaction between global investment, local livelihoods
and poverty reduction in resource regions. Research presented in this manuscript
with regard to SDG 2, Creegan and Flynn argued that by imitating the productivity
of natural ecosystems and returning carbon-based materials to the soil source, bio-
mass utilization promotes reduced reliance on water pollution and often prohibi-
tively expensive synthetic fertilizers. The case studies presented show the
effectiveness of curriculum and education tools in addressing the targets for SDG 2.
This research highlights the need for more financial investment in education about
biomass utilization and carbon source availabilities in emerging circular economies.
Thus, providing greater insight into alternative strategies that address the targets set
by SDG 2 Zero Hunger.
An innovative assessment of healthcare and sustainable development by Belen
Federico in connection with SDG 3 explored the effects of ultraviolet radiation on
human DNA from the point of view of sustainable healthcare. Franco and Derbyshire
analysed SDG 4 through the lens of stakeholder partnerships and collaboration for
the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development. Research argues
that greater collaboration is required in order to meet the targets set by SDG 4. Later
the piece presents investigation by Franco, Salinas-Meruane and Derbyshire linked
to SDG 5. Based on a qualitative assessment of current leadership and organiza-
tional discourse, their research explores the role of women in male-dominated and
gender-segregated fields, such as the extractive industry. The chapter builds knowl-
edge and understanding of the limiting factors and barriers that prevent women
from embarking on a sustainable leadership pathway in the early stages of their
career. SDG 6 is analysed based on the efficient use of energy and water resources
in the mining sector. This research by Cano, Velasco, Garcia and Franco identified
key environmental impacts associated with the use of water and energy resources
within the mining industry. Franco, Power and Whereat explored the linkages with
other SDGs which showed how women cope with rising complexities in resource
regions. Through the cases of Japan and Colombia, this chapter argued that key
stakeholders in the energy sector, both renewables and fossil fuels, need to further
engage in the enhancement of women’s assets and capacities towards the achieve-
ment of SDG 7. An examination of linkages with SDG 8 presented key lessons to be
learned from fair trade certified small producers in attaining economic growth
whilst maintaining decent work conditions.
Whilst targeting SDG 9, another study reported in this manuscript presented an
innovative roadmap that addressed indicators that can enhance the ability of small-
scale miners to cope with the demands of sustainability issues over time. The study
19 Impact Sustainability: Conclusions and Lessons Learned 297
showed that there are essential community capacity-building areas that can foster
sustainable community development in mining regions. Power examined SDG 10
through reduced inequalities through the lens of Australia’s superannuation system.
This review examined how SDG 10 can assist with mitigating the burden of financial
insecurity that women experience in retirement in three central parts. The results
highlight key systemic biases experienced by women in Australia’s superannuation
system. An examination of SDG 11 argued that the issues of global sustainability
cannot be addressed, without strongly addressing sustainability at the urban scale.
This study by Vadiya and Chatterji focused on SDG 11 as the analytical framework
to explore how the transformative force of urbanization represents opportunity and
challenge to meet several other sustainability challenges. Based on a multidimen-
sional approach to entrepreneurship for wellbeing and linkages with SDG 12, Franco
and Newey’s research reported in this manuscript also examined the role of corpora-
tions in fostering sustainable community development. Later, SDG 13 was presented
by Franco, Tapia and Tracey who explored the challenges of climate education
addressing remedial measures to stakeholders involved towards the achievement of
SDG 13.
The book also provided recommendations on education and research for sustain-
able fashion whilst connecting with SDGs 14 and 15. Palomino merges the fashion
and food industry together by presenting the importance of fish skin as an alterna-
tive and sustainable material source. Fish skins are sourced from the food industry,
using waste, applying the principle of a circular economy. Arana, Franco, et al.
explored the production cycle in the fashion industry and provided a critical review
of the unsustainability of existing materials and procedures and linkages with SDG
15. This review is essential for practitioners and students in the fashion industry.
Research here reported also made a strong contribution to SDG 16 by Franco and
Derbyshire who examined the role of women and livelihood options in fostering
sustainable peace. Conducted in rural communities in Colombia, the results obtained
are important as they provide insights into the heterogeneous composition of com-
munities, particularly women and their identities, which explains contrasting per-
ceptions towards project development. This investigation also provided
recommendations for further research as well as policy recommendations to be con-
sidered in the pursuit of peace and sustainability in developing resource regions.
The book finishes showcasing research that links to SDG 17. Franco and Abe exam-
ined the incidence of global business networks for corporate sustainability. This
investigation provides recommendations for sustainability managers and practitio-
ners in Asia and the Pacific on how to better account for sustainability
performance.
This compelling analysis of how sustainability science, education, policy and
practice presents key contributions that address the paradox between lack of knowl-
edge on SDG operationalization and increased need for impact sustainability prac-
tices. At the heart of this publication lies the imperative to bridge the gaps between
dialogue and constructive action. Rapid population growth, increasing resource
demand and exacerbation of socio-economic inequalities all place pressure on poli-
298 E. Derbyshire et al.
cymakers, higher education institutions, governments, business and institutions to

address these challenges. By 2030, the global world of work, political dynamics and
the global environment will be vastly different from its current state. Thus, the pur-
pose of this book is to provide sustainability leaders with analyses and tools that will
help them remain prepared and agile to meet the challenges of the post 2030 world.
Acknowledgements Dr. Isabel B. Franco, the lead editor of this manuscript, is thankful to the
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This work was supported by JSPS (Grant No.
JP17777), Project: “Stakeholder Networks for Impact Sustainability Research and Education” led
by Dr. Franco under the JSPS-UNU Fellowship.
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Chapter · January 2020

Natalia Andrea Cano Jessi Osorio Velasco

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Series Editorial Board

Scientific Advisory Committee

Scope of the Series

This series aims to provide timely coverage of results of research conducted in

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11884

Actioning the Global Goals

ISSN 2197-7348 ISSN 2197-7356 (electronic)

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

This book explores implementation challenges of the 2030 Sustainable Development

Tokyo, Japan Isabel B. Franco

1 Towards Impact Sustainability �������������������������������������������������������������� 1

11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities���������������������������������������������������������������� 153

Isabel B. Franco Isabel B. Franco, PhD, is an international leader in sustainability

Tathagata Chatterji Tathagata Chatterji is a Professor of Urban Management and

Ellen Derbyshire Ellen Derbyshire is a research analyst with an academic back-

James Tracey James Tracey is a research analyst with an academic background

Isabel B. Franco, Tathagata Chatterji, Ellen Derbyshire, and James Tracey

This book contributes to sustainability studies, as it focuses on local operationaliza-

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 1

The second chapter, by Franco and Minnery, discusses anti-poverty measures

Keywords SDG 1 No Poverty · Sustainable livelihoods · Community · Resource

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 5

comprehensive information to be collected about a more focused issue. The research

2.2.1 Research Overview and Case Study Areas

2.2.2 The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF)

2.3.1 SLF Application and Research Findings

2.3.1.1 Context SLF Component

2.3.1.2 Governance: Policies, Institutions and Processes

diversified) as opposed to top-down (mining focused) social responsibility agendas

2.3.1.3 Livelihood Assets SLF Component

2.3.1.4 Sustainable Livelihood Strategies Component

2.3.1.5 Combination and Substitution

2.3.1.6 Sequencing and Clustering

2.4 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks

The strengthening or misuse of capacities or assets might bring either positive or

Keywords Education · Biomass utilization · Compost · Food security · Nutrition ·

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 23

A revival of nurturing a full cycle organic waste-to-resource system, with educator,

3.2 Literature Review

3.2.1 Agricultural Nutrient Sources

3.3.1 Case Study 1: On-Farm Organic Waste-to-Resource

Fig. 3.1 Windrow turning

3.3.1.1 The Benefits of Composting: Safely Utilizing Organic Materials

Composting employs microorganisms naturally present in OM to decompose and

several municipalities in California (USA) and elsewhere, have been established

3.3.1.2 Aerobic (Hot) Composting

Vermicomposting is a method of composting that utilizes worms (specifically red

3.3.1.4 How to Maintain a Vermicompost System

3.3.1.5 Harvesting and Using Compost

3.3.1.6 Compost Bin Troubleshooting Tips

3.3.2 Case Study 2: A City Model

3.3.3 Case Study 3: A University Model

3.3.3.1 Small-Scale Waste Audit

GiveLove (www.givelove.org) is a skills training nonprofit organization committed

Tokyo, Japan Isabel B. Franco

1 Towards Impact Sustainability �� 1

11 SDG 10 Reducing Inequalities�� 153

2.2.1 Research Overview and Case Study Areas

2.2.2 The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF)

2.3.1 SLF Application and Research Findings

2.3.1.1 Context SLF Component

2.3.1.2 Governance: Policies, Institutions and Processes

2.3.1.3 Livelihood Assets SLF Component

2.3.1.4 Sustainable Livelihood Strategies Component

2.3.1.5 Combination and Substitution

2.3.1.6 Sequencing and Clustering

2.4 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks

3.2 Literature Review

3.2.1 Agricultural Nutrient Sources

3.3.1 Case Study 1: On-Farm Organic Waste-to-Resource

3.3.1.1 The Benefits of Composting: Safely Utilizing Organic Materials

3.3.1.2 Aerobic (Hot) Composting

3.3.1.4 How to Maintain a Vermicompost System

3.3.1.5 Harvesting and Using Compost

3.3.1.6 Compost Bin Troubleshooting Tips

3.3.2 Case Study 2: A City Model

3.3.3 Case Study 3: A University Model

3.3.3.1 Small-Scale Waste Audit

3.3.6 Case Study 6: The Need and Potential for Ghana

3.4 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks

3.4.1 Fostering Circular Sustainable Economies

4.2 Literature Review

4.2.1.2 UV Radiation as an Issue for Human Health

4.2.1.4 The Necessity to Improve Skin Cancer Diagnosis and Treatments

4.2.2 Ultraviolet Radiation and DNA

4.2.2.1 UV Radiation Generates Lesions in the DNA Molecule

4.2.2.2 DNA Damage Response After UV Radiation

4.2.3.1 DNA Repair Proteins as Markers for Skin Cancer

4.3 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks

5.2 The Governance of ESD: A Review of the Literature

5.2.1.2 Globalization and Changing Demands

5.2.1.3 Rising Socio-economic Inequality

5.4.1 Global Level of Governance

5.4.2 National Level of Governance

5.4.3 Institutional Level of Governance

5.4.4 Stakeholder Networks Governing ESD

5.4.4.1 Limiting Factors

5.4.4.2 Fostering Factors

5.5 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks

6.2 Literature Review

6.3.1 Case Study Analysis

6.3.2 Data Collection

6.3.3 Data Analysis

6.4.1 Sociocultural Factors

6.4.2 Lack of Trust

6.4.3 The Macho Culture

6.4.4 Corporate Factors

6.4.5 Gender Equality

6.4.6 Gender Diversity

6.4.7 Sexual Discrimination

6.4.8 Governance Factors

6.4.9 The Working Conditions

6.4.11 Multiple Roles