Understanding Sustainability Principles and ESG Policies

Colin Read has been teaching economics and finance for forty years, most recently as a Professor of Economics and Finance at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. He also acts as a voice of ESG awareness on a number of corporate boards and consults on sustainability issues. He has written over a dozen books on economics and finance, with his most recent title The Bitcoin Dilemma that describes the financial benefits and environmental costs of cryptocurrencies.

• Introduction.- Definitions of Sustainability.-Competing Ideals and an Emerging Consensus.- The Science of Sustainability.- Energy and Entropy.- Technology and Engineering.- Complex Systems.- Social Responsibilities.- Emerging Sciences.- The Economics of Sustainability.- The Social Discount Rate.- Non-Renewable Resources.- Depletable Resources.- Renewable Resources.- Backstop Technologies.- The Schumpeterian Hypothesis.- The Challenge of Laissez Faire.- The Natural Resource Curse.- The Role of Government and Regulation.- Tragedy of the Commons.- Environmental Sustainability.- The Limits of Growth- Environmental Degradation.- The Earth’s Carrying Capacity.- The Ethics of Sustainability.- The Great Philosophers.- Every Seventh Generation and the Veil of Ignorance.- Close the Barn Door.- East  Meets West.- Social Sustainability.- Human Interactions and Populations.- A Clash of Cultures and Ideologies.- The Politics of Sustainability and Sustainable.- Managerial Sustainability.- Sustainable Business Practices.- Business Waves and Fads.- Green Goods and Green is Good.- The Green Supply Chain.- Sustainability Successes.- The Future.- Reporting the Triple Bottom Line.- Policy Prescriptions.- Conclusions.