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Sustainability brings together three dimensions: environment, economy and society, as according to the Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally, and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, governments, and major groups in every area in which humans impact the environment. To define whether an intervention or process is ‘sustainable’, these spheres must co-exist and be equally contemplated. Green roofs have been extensively studied from environmental and economic perspectives, but as far as the social dimension is concerned, the literature is limited. Indeed, to define these interventions as ‘sustainable’, the social dimension must also be investigated. Over time, Social-Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), an extension of the better-known Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), has become widespread. S-LCA allows assessing the potential impact that a production process, and consequently a product, can have on people. This paper aims to propose a model for analyzing green roofs by identifying the possible categories of stakeholders involved in the implementation process, and the impact categories to be referred to. By defining these elements, it is possible to estimate the positive or negative social impact that interventions cause. The results of the survey offer insights into social issues related to the implementation of green roofs by focusing on the stakeholders involved within the entire life cycle.

The study presented in this article adds to the body of research on the socio-cultural dimension of sustainable cit-ies by looking at the efforts of the City of Freiburg, Germany to create neighborhoods that acknowledge the im-portance of the social dimension of sustainable development. The research in this article is centered on evaluating the social responses of living in Freiburg’s two recognized sustainable neighborhoods Rieselfeld and Vauban. The study focuses on the motivational factors that prompted todays residents of the two neighborhoods to move there in the first place, their level of satisfaction living there now, and their perceived social interactions and level of community engagement. Result show that satisfaction with living in a place and reinforcing its assets through so-cial resiliency or livability can result in long-term community staying power. In general, there were few differences in preferences ratings of physical and social assets between the two communities. The levels of importance of so-cial factors contributing to place satisfaction and staying power were not significantly different in both neighbor-hoods. Having a “cluster” of social factors present that were important to residents contributed significantly to place satisfaction. In fact, survey results showed that it was these social factors that were seen as more important to place satisfaction than the physical attributes of sustainable developments.

Purpose of Review We examined recent literature on the human health impacts of natural green infrastructure (NGI). NGI refers to green space that requires less maintenance than traditional formal urban green spaces such as city parks. Where declining cities have excess land and fewer funds for land maintenance, NGI is globally emerging as a cost-effective way to convert abandoned land into useful green space producing ecosystems services. Our goal was to determine if recent studies show that NGI provides human health benefits. Much previous work shows that urban green infrastructure in general has human health benefits but we ask the question whether this specific kind of green infrastructure also provides human health benefits. Recent Findings We found 29 studies reporting positive human health impacts from NGI. Most reported mental health benefits but wellbeing, crime reduction, obesity, and recreation were also reported. These studies also reveal the specific characteristics of NGI that contribute to the positive health impacts: forests, trees, wilderness, biodiversity, and tranquility. We also found an additional 13 studies of low-maintenance greening projects on urban vacant land that all report health benefits including crime reduction, mental health, and pro-social behavior. These 42 studies utilize a variety of different research designs and metrics. Summary The recent literature indicates that NGI may be a low-cost way to convert abandoned land in declining urban areas into green space that provides health benefits to people who often lack access to green space. NGI provides benefits of mental health, wellbeing, and crime reduction that are comparable, if not better, than other, more costly urban green infrastructure.

This study aimed to validate the Mandarin translation of the Stanford Social Dimensions Scale (SSDS). The initial validation sample consisted of 480 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (M  = 9.35). Discriminant validity was appraised by comparing relevant SSDS scores among samples of children with ASD, typical development (TD) (N = 160, M  = 7.16), and non-ASD but Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs) (N = 170, M  = 5.08). Confirmatory application of the Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling indicated that a five-factor model encompassing Social Motivation (SM), Social Affiliation (SA), Expressive Social Communication (ESC), Social Recognition (SR) and Unusual Approach (UA) provided adequate to excellent fit to the data in ASD group ([CFI] = .908, [TLI] = .930, [RMSEA] = .052, [SRMR] = .028). The factor loadings of most items constituting SM, SA, ESC, and SR factors were aligned with the original factor structure in the US sample, except items on the UA factor that showed lower loadings. The internal consistency was .93-.96, and test-retest reliability was .86. Discriminate validity was excellent, with the ASD group showing significantly lower scores compared to non-ASD NDDs and TD groups. Convergent and divergent validity of the SSDS was strong, as indexed by the pattern of correlations with relevant Social Responsiveness Scale, second edition (SRS-2), and Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) domains. This study provided preliminary validation of the Mandarin translation of the SSDS by largely replicating the original factor structure and showing evidence for strong discriminant, convergent, and divergent validity. Potential areas where further refinement and potential expansion of the SSDS are needed were identified.

Purpose of Review This review highlights recent progress on how landscape pattern (composition, configuration, landscape context, keystone landscape, scaling, and nonlinearity) affects pollination, pest control, water quality, flood control, and cultural ecosystem services (ES)—landscape esthetics and recreation. Recent Findings Landscape composition and configuration showed ES-specific effects. Recent studies confirmed that pollination increased in complex, heterogeneous landscapes with more surrounding natural/semi-natural habitats. Landscape pattern could also interact with local factors to affect pollination, with stronger effects at smaller spatial scales. For pest control, a comprehensive synthesis revealed inconsistent effects of non-crop habitat composition, perhaps due to diverse responses from different enemies and pests and complex tri-trophic interactions. Spatial configuration of land-covers, connectivity, and edge effects also mattered for pest control ES. Moreover, recent studies showed that configuration of land-covers could sometimes trump composition as the primary driver for water quality. Comparing across scales (e.g., riparian vs. watershed), landscape pattern effects on water quality tended to be more pronounced at small spatial scales. For flood control, studies showed that larger and less fragmented natural covers reduced peak runoffs, with a compositional threshold ~ 30–40%. Spatial location also mattered where imperviousness concentrated closer to outlet tended to increase peak runoffs. For cultural ES, landscape esthetics and recreation showed positive correlations with naturalness composition and landscape heterogeneity. Summary Five overarching themes emerge for future research to advance understanding of landscape pattern effects on ES: (1) using social-ecological measures of ES; (2) assessing ES supply, flow, and demand; (3) considering interactions among multiple drivers across scales; (4) addressing ES interactions; and (5) enhancing predictive capacity of landscape models.

Decision makers and researchers recognize the need to effectively confront the social dimensions and conflicts inherent to invasive species research and management. Yet, despite numerous contentious situations that have arisen, no systematic evaluation of the literature has examined the commonalities in the patterns and types of these emergent social issues. Using social and ecological keywords, we reviewed trends in the social dimensions of invasive species research and management and the sources and potential solutions to problems and conflicts that arise around invasive species. We integrated components of cognitive hierarchy theory and risk perceptions theory to provide a conceptual framework to identify, distinguish, and provide understanding of the driving factors underlying disputes associated with invasive species. In the ISI Web of Science database, we found 15,915 peer-reviewed publications on biological invasions, 124 of which included social dimensions of this phenomenon. Of these 124, 28 studies described specific contentious situations. Social approaches to biological invasions have emerged largely in the last decade and have focused on both environmental social sciences and resource management. Despite being distributed in a range of journals, these 124 articles were concentrated mostly in ecology and conservation-oriented outlets. We found that conflicts surrounding invasive species arose based largely on differences in value systems and to a lesser extent stakeholder and decision maker?s risk perceptions. To confront or avoid such situations, we suggest integrating the plurality of environmental values into invasive species research and management via structured decision making techniques, which enhance effective risk communication that promotes trust and confidence between stakeholders and decision makers.

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are some of the most difficult ecosystem services (ES) to characterize and connect to specific ecosystem processes. Given their connections to human emotion, deep meaning, fulfilment and motivation, they are also crucial for human well‐being. Scholars have published hundreds of peer‐reviewed articles addressing CES in myriad ways. In this systematic review, we analyse 232 peer‐reviewed articles on CES and examine how these studies discuss the interaction between CES research and decision‐making. We describe the primary ways that scholars have addressed the relationship between CES and decision‐making, and we characterize each study with respect to how thoroughly its authors attend to the possible applications of their results. We find that 27% of papers discuss connections to decision‐making in general terms, 28% discuss specific connections to decision‐making, and the remainder mention decision‐making links briefly or not at all. We also discuss patterns based on the particular CES studied (e.g. recreation, identity); methods used; change through time; and geographical location of authors and of study sites. We end with reflections on the current state of the interface between CES (and related concepts for approaching the non‐material values associated with ecosystems) and decision‐making, and we discuss future steps to increase connections between CES and decision‐making. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Corporate social responsibility is a multidimensional concept that is often measured using diverse indicators. Composite indices can aggregate these single indicators into one measurement. This article aims to identify the key challenges in constructing a composite index for measuring corporate social responsibility. The process is illustrated by the construction of a composite index for measuring social outcomes in the electricity utility industry. The sample consisted of seventy-four companies from twenty-three different countries, and one special administrative region operating in the industry in 2011. The findings show that (1) the unavailability of information about corporate social responsibility, (2) the particular characteristics of this information and (3) the weighting of indicators are the main obstacles when constructing the composite index. We highlight than an effective composite index should has a clear objective, a solid theoretical background and a robust structure. In a practical sense, it should be reconsidered how researchers use composite indexes to measure corporate social responsibility, as more transparency and stringency is needed when constructing these tools. La responsabilidad social corporativa es un concepto multidimensional que puede medirse de distintas formas. Una de ellas es a través de índices sintéticos o compuestos, instrumentos que permiten resumir la información de múltiples indicadores en una sola medida. Este artículo pretende identificar los desafíos que se presentan a la hora de construir un índice sintético para evaluar la responsabilidad social corporativa. Este proceso se ilustra a través de la construcción de un índice sintético para medir los resultados sociales de setenta y cuatro empresas que operan en la industria eléctrica, procedentes de veintitrés países diferentes y una región administrativa. Los resultados evidencian que la escasa disponibilidad de información de responsabilidad social corporativa y sus particulares características, así como determinar las ponderaciones a asignar a los indicadores, son los principales obstáculos para elaborar el índice sintético. Subrayamos que, para que un índice sintético se construya adecuadamente, sus objetivos han de estar claramente definidos, el marco teórico en el que se apoya ha de ser sólido y, además, ha de comprobarse si dicho índice es robusto, extremo que se considera muy relevante. Las implicaciones prácticas sugieren reconsiderar cómo se usan los índices sintéticos para medir la responsabilidad social corporativa, evidenciando que es necesaria más transparencia y rigor a la hora de construirlos.

Proactive corporate social responsibility (CSR) involves business practices adopted voluntarily by firms that go beyond regulatory requirements in order to actively support sustainable economic, social and environmental development, and thereby contribute broadly and positively to society. This empirical study examines the role of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of proactive CSR on the association between three specific capabilities—shared vision, stakeholder management and strategic proactivity—and financial performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Using quantitative data collected from a sample of 171 Australian SMEs in the machinery and equipment manufacturing sector and employing structural equation modelling, we find that the adoption of practices in each CSR dimension by SMEs is influenced slightly differently by each capability, and affects financial performance differentially. The study also demonstrates the importance of the interaction between the three dimensions of proactive CSR in positively moderating the deployment of each individual CSR dimension to generate financial performance. Paying primary attention to the economic dimension of proactive CSR and selectively focusing on social and environmental elements of proactive CSR that drive and support the economic dimension are of key importance to sustainable long-term financial success for SMEs.

Corporate sustainability is considered a fundamental paradigm and solution in creating a prosperous future for organizations. However, social sustainability issues and pandemic problems from COVID-19 have affected corporations and interrupted plans for sustainable development. To date, corporate sustainability frameworks have taken a relatively narrow view of this paradigm. This study highlights serious challenges to corporate sustainability while providing a framework in an attempt to enable more sustainable business practices. To fill the gap in the literature, we have developed a framework to organize and prioritize important sustainability indicators. The first phase of the study involves the classification of 45 sub-criteria of corporate sustainability under nine main categories by using a literature review and novel Fuzzy Delphi method. The resulting categories are Corporate Governance, Product Responsibility, Transparency and Communication, Economic, Environmental, Social, Natural Environment and Climate Vulnerability, Energy Consumption along with Energy Saving, and includes Pandemic COVID-19 as a new aspect of social sustainability. Next, we applied the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (FAHP) to help determine the weights and prioritizing the criteria and sub-criteria. The results revealed that the Pandemic, along with the Natural Environment and Climate Vulnerability, ranked higher among the main criteria category. Whereas, emergency response planning, social distances, modification of working hours, and just-in-time delivery are the most influencing sub-attributes among the 45 sub-barriers of different categories. Contributions of this study include new insights regarding corporate sustainability criteria and subcriteria, application of novel methods, and integrated framework for dimensions of corporate sustainability. This study is among the first of its kind to consider the COVID-19 pandemic as an essential category and social sustainability attribute of corporate sustainable business practices. Outcomes of this study can help assist scholars, corporations, and decision-makers in understanding sustainable development initiatives while simultaneously improving social sustainability practices.