An ecological analysis of four competing approaches to sustainability development. Integration of industrial ecology and ecological anthropology literature
| Pages | 18-35 |
| Published date | 01 January 2012 |
| Date | 01 January 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/20425961211221606 |
| Author | Seleshi Sisaye |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management |
An ecological analysis of four
competing approaches to
sustainability development
Integration of industrial ecology and ecological
anthropology literature
Seleshi Sisaye
Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to trace the impact that the ecological approach has in
international development programs in both the USA and Europe. It discusses the applications of
sustainability by international donor agencies among bilateral and multi-lateral organizations in
developing economies. It outlines the influence of sustainability in the US Federal Government
agencies to protect and maintain environmentally-based development programs.
Design/methodology/approach – Th e paper compares industrial ecolog y and ecological
anthropology approaches to sustainability development. It discusses their policy implications for
international development assistance programs. It describes how anthropological and sociological
approaches to sustainability have impacted the development policies and programs of bilateral and
multilateral organizations, as well as those of multi-national corpo rations.
Findings – There are common sustainability trends among the four competing donor organizations in
approaching sustainability development by bilateral and multilateral international development
organizations. These organizations – the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), the World Bank, the United Nations and its affiliated Organizations, and the US Federal
government agencies, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency – have shaped and
influenced the policies and programs of sustainability development in business organizations and in
developing economies.
Originality/value – Sustainability has been a subject of interest in international development
assistance programs in both bilateral and multilateral organizations since the 1970s. Over time , the
subject of sustainability received prominence in the developed world. It can be argued that
sustainability has its roots in the developing economy and has been adapted/modified to meet the
environmental and natural resources conservation and management policies of the developed
economies.
Keywords United States of America, Europe, Sustainable development, Resources management,
Sustainability development, Ecology and resources management, Sustainability business reporting,
Social anthropology
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Sustainability development is an interdisciplinary area of study. It is not a discipline
per se because it has no established theory and research method. It has been a subject
that has attracted many different social, biological and environmental sciences
disciplines. Historically, the subject of sustainability has its roots in the engineering
sciences, particularly in civil and agricultural engineering. When engine ers were
designing roads, bridges, dams and irrigation projects, they focussed on the long-ter m
impact of sustaining these projects without altering the livelihood of the local
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5961.htm
World Journal of Entrepreneurship,
Management and Sustainable
Development
Vol. 8 No. 1, 2012
pp. 18-35
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
2042-5961
DOI 10.1108/20425961211221606
18
WJEMSD
8,1
population. In biology, the subfield of evolutionary biology examined the issue of
sustainability among species: plants and animals. Sustainability has its original basis
in evolutionary biology which has been shaped by the Darwinian theory of evolution
and natural selection.
Research contributions
The Darwinian evolutionary approach became popular in economics (agricultural and
resource economics), sociology (rural sociology and human ecolog y), anthropology
(ecological anthropology) and organization management studies (population ecolog y)
to explain the evolutionary growth and development process of communities and
societies. The research identifies common trends of sustainability development among
these four competing approaches by bilateral and multilateral international
development organizations, the US Federal Government, and business organizations
and how has shaped and influenced sustainability policies and programs. The paper
also traces the impact that the ecological approach has in international development
programs in both the USA and Europe, its application in interna tional donor agencies
among bilateral and multilateral organizations in developing econo mies, as well as the
approaches of various US Federal Government agencies to protect and sustain
environmentally based development programs.
The paper is divided into four sections. The first section provides an overview
of ecological approaches to organization. The second outlines industrial ecology and
ecological anthropology approaches to sustainability development and their use in
international development agencies. The third section compares the four competing
approaches to sustainability with emphasis on that of business organizations, because
they shape sustainability accounting and reporting. The last section is the conclusion
which highlights current developments in accounting guideline s for expanding
comparable integrated sustainability reporting of economic, social and environmental
performances.
An overview of the ecological and environmental approaches of
organizations
The ecological approach is modeled on the Darwinian theory of evolution and natural
selection to explain societal growth and development such as competition,
environmental determinism, sustainability as well as organizational birth, decline
and death. Ecology focusses on populations of organizations and examines the effect
that the environment, market forces, technology, natural resources and geographical
locations have on organizational change and development processes. It places relative
weight on internal and external environmental conditions as the determining factors
for organizational forms and structures and for both growth and maturity as
well as mortality rates. While the subject of the study and research problems may vary
among the social science disciplines, most ecological studies have addressed
populations or groups instead of units or individuals as their basis of an alysis to study
social, economic, cultural and political systems as well as human organizations. In
essence, the ecological approach of organizations is to view communities where
interdependency relationships among multiple and diverse populations affect the rise
and fall of organizations and shape the conditions that promote their mutual
homogeneity, diversity, stability, change and growth (Astley, 1985, p. 114).
Ecology surfaced in ma ny disciplines: anthropolo gy, sociology, economics,
geography (and other related disciplines) have emphasized the imp ortance of
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Approaches to
sustainability
development
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