Sustainability for Decision Makers - Book + eBook

Defining what is meant by "sustainability" is the essential first step for decision‑makers considering how their business should respond to sustainability matters. Yet many struggle with a fundamental question: how do you give practical meaning to “being sustainable”?

The answer lies in business context.

The early chapters explain the multiple, and often misused, meanings of sustainability, offering structured ways to find meaning in use rather than abstraction. They introduce an ethical decision‑making framework to support this process, helping decision‑makers move from concept to clarity. From there, the book turns to the next critical step: translating meaning into a coherent sustainability strategy.

Sustainability is more than climate change alone. The chapters address a broad range of sustainability issues relevant to contemporary business, including labour rights, sustainable cities, nature‑positive approaches, greenwashing, and climate risk.

As Sustainability for Decision Makers demonstrates, sustainability is not mysterious or elusive. At its core, it is about identifying how a business can endure beyond financial sustainability alone - articulating that clearly, making deliberate choices, and executing them with intent.

CONTRIBUTORS

Principal Author/Editor

Rachel Baird is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Tasmania.

Contributing Authors

Vanessa M. Adams is a Professor in the School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences at the University of Tasmania.

Alia Alshamari is a Lecturer in Accounting at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania.

Kathleen Beyer is Associate Professor in Climate Impacts and Adaptation and Director of the Climate Futures research group at the University of Tasmania.

Emille Boulot is a lecturer at the School of Law, University of Tasmania.

Steven Burch is a lecturer in Accounting at the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance at the University of Tasmania.

Jason Byrne is Professor of Human Geography and Planning at the University of Tasmania, and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow.

Donovan Castelyn is a Senior Industry Fellow in Taxation at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, and Director of the UTAS Tax Clinic.

Francisco Gelves-Gomez is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Conservation Geography at the University of Tasmania.

Fred Gale is Professor Emeritus of Politics and International Relations in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania.

Glenn Finau is a Senior Lecturer at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics at the  University of Tasmania.

Daniel Goodwin is a Research Fellow in Renewable Energy Governance in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania.

Amrinder Khosa is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania.

Saskia Kort-Chick holds a BA (Cum Laude) from University College Utrecht; an MA (with Merit) from King’s College London; and a postgraduate certificate from Birkbeck, University of London.

Hannah Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Public Policy within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania.

Vishnu Prahalad is a senior lecturer in the school of geography, planning, and spatial sciences at the University of Tasmania.

Benjamin Richardson is Professor of Law at the School of Law, University of Tasmania.

Pooja Shah is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Australia.

Foreword by Professor Rufus Black, Vice-Chancellor, University of Tasmania

Introduction

PART 1 - FOUNDATIONS

Chapter 1: Defining Sustainability for your Organisation - Rachel Baird

Chapter 2: Power and Ethics in Decision Making - Alia Alshamari

PART 2 - SUSTAINABILITY TOPICS - CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Chapter 3: Incorporating Sustainability into Business Strategy - Glenn Finau and Rachel Baird

Chapter 4: Frameworks for Reporting and Disclosure - Steven Burch and Amrinder Khosa

PART 3 - SUSTAINABILITY TOPICS - ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL

Chapter 5: Engaging with Uncertainty in Environmental Decision Making - Francisco Gelves-Gomez, Vishnu Prahalad, Vanessa M. Adams

Chapter 6: The Nature Positive Agenda for Decision Makers - Emille Boulot and Benjamin J. Richardson

Chapter 7: How to Deliver Sustainable Cities - Jason Byrne and Pooja Shah

Chapter 8: Labour Rights - Saskia Kort-Chick

Chapter 9: Governance Solutions to the Greenwashing of Sustainability - Daniel Goodwin, Hannah Murphy and Fred Gale

PART 4 - SUSTAINABILITY TOPICS - CLIMATE

Chapter 10: Embedding Climate Action into Corporate Governance and Business Practice: From Legal Duties to Practical Implementation - Donovan Castelyn

Chapter 11: Planning for Climate Risk - Kathleen Beyer and Maria Duynisveld