Coastal and fisheries governance
Business and Sustainability
There is increasing emphasis on the opportunities and challenges faced by business – from small companies to multinational corporations – in pursuing sustainability. The hope is that important contributions can be made by incorporating sustainability in business strategies, engaging with stakeholders and so on, but many remain sceptical of the so-called business case for sustainable business.
These debates go beyond business policies and practices to include the crucial role of investors, market institutions, government policies and laws, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. Collaboration between companies, the government and civil society is often necessary to achieve the objectives of sustainable business, as well as broader public objectives. Yet important questions remain as to when and where such collaboration is appropriate, its costs and benefits, and its success factors. This thematic area of the EEU has evolved in recent years and is now being driven by a research group at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. For more information, please contact Dr. Ralph Hamann.
Projects
- The notion of collaborative governance suggests the possibility that progress towards sustainable development can be achieved by drawing on the strengths and resources of business, government, and civil society working in partnership. It is motivated by the increasingly important and complex socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by societies at local, national, and global levels, which defy resolution by any one sector working independently of the others. Collaborative governance is therefore an integral aspect of the broader debates surrounding, inter alia, the role of the private sector in sustainable development.
- Survey of Environmental Practices and Attitudes among Wine Makers in South Africa, the US, and New Zealand
- Human Rights and Business South Africa Project
