This book provides a broad and insightful guide to the economic, social, and environmental concerns seen within Africa. It highlights the central economic challenges faced by African countries and outlines ways in which long-term sustainable development in Africa can be achieved. A particular focus in given to issues of poverty, inequality, and unemployment and how poor infrastructure, limited healthcare and education, and environmental deterioration are exacerbating these issues. By looking at the limited effectiveness of traditional development initiatives, a new framework for economic development is presented that focuses on community ownership and long-term sustainability and which acknowledges the history of colonisation, economic exploitation, and political instability that has held Africa back in the past.This book takes hope from countries within the Global South that have moved towards sustainable development and sets out ways in which other countries can follow them. It will be relevant to students, researchers, and policymakers interested in development and environmental economics.

This proceedings is a compilation of results from the International Multi-disciplinary Conference on “Fostering Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – New Dimensions and Dynamics”, which took place on July 27th and 28th, 2023, in Bengaluru, India. The volume presents cutting-edge research, analysis, and innovative perspectives that shed light on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It guides policymakers, researchers, academics, and practitioners towards actionable solutions for a sustainable future. In the 21st century, sustainable development is crucial to address global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, technological advancements, and innovative business. The book offers fresh insights and strategies to overcome challenges and accelerate progress towards the SDGs. The book also explores different dimensions of sustainable development, including innovative business models, technological advancements, economic growth, and environmental preservation, providing a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities. It analyzes the interconnectedness of the SDGs, guiding policymakers in effective policy design and implementation. Practical case studies and success stories from around the world demonstrate how innovative approaches have achieved tangible progress towards the SDGs. The book inspires readers and showcases the transformative power of sustainable development initiatives. The book emphasizes inclusivity and equity, recognizing the interlinkages between dimensions of sustainable development. The volume explores the challenges faced by marginalized communities, highlighting their empowerment as a catalyst for sustainable development.

It has become increasingly clear that promotion of sustainability initiatives by governments and other public institutions alone is not enough to bring about the necessary progress in tackling the ‘Grand Challenges’ of climate change and inequality. A higher level of involvement is required from companies, as the main agents of economic development. Therefore, research is needed to determine how the desired levels of sustainability can be achieved through each of the spheres (public and private) as well as by considering collaboration between both. This book analyses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability from a public-private perspective, considering the actions of stakeholders belonging to both the private and public scopes, their ability to collaborate and the paradigmatic relationship between CSR and sustainability as it moves across the public and private spheres. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainability strategy, CSR, policy and corporate governance, as well as internal and external stakeholders engaged in corporate policy and strategic management.

Sustainable (public and private) finance is closely interlinked with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The latter focus on enhancing the protection of both social and environmental assets at the local and global level, from the real economy and everyday life to financial markets and public policies, thereby laying the groundwork for a transition. Global sustainability challenges - including climate change, natural resource depletion, and rising inequality - are affecting the commercial environment and real economy in a way that presents both risks and opportunities for the private and public financial sectors. On the one hand, policymakers and investors (including banks and pensions funds) are increasingly recognizing the environment's implications for the financial sector through both physical and transitional risks, producing impacts on financial services and products, not to mention corporate governance. On the other hand, governments and European and international institutions are aware of their sustainability-related responsibilities and the consequences of their actions. Both regulate and supervise financial markets but also use their budgetary and tax policies (e.g. carbon tax) and their participation in financial markets (e.g. green bonds and development banks) to overcome sustainability challenges. Therefore, the objective of this book is to help readers understand how private and public financial systems can be modified to create better value for society through sustainable approaches and initiatives such as the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment, procurement, and budgeting.

The world organizations, including national governments, have already recognized the importance of the Aichi Biodiversity Target, the Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR), Low Carbon Society. Therefore, there is an urgent need to act locally to tackle socio-economic, socio-ecological, socio-hydrological, and environmental conservation concerns in changing environments on a local to global scale and need to promote scientific solutions and common knowledge to achieve harmony between nature and humans under the threat of global climate change and the post-Covid-19 pandemic situation. For this purpose, the SLD approach is needed towards environmental and social sustainability. However, the SLD approach is challenging in terms of supply and demand of natural resources, resource depletion, socio-economic inequality, biodiversity loss, and climate change risk from local to the global scale, which vary based on different socio-economic, political, geographical, and cultural factors. Therefore, this book will highlight the environmental and social sustainability research by taking the local/regional case study. This book would also highlights the importance of policy interface at a local to global scale for environmental and social sustainability (ESS) in changing environments.