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Moving beyond "the" business case: How to make corporate sustainability work
(John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2023) Busch, Timo; Barnett, Micheal; Burritt, Roger; Cashore, Benjamin; Freeman, R. Edward; Henriques, Irene; Husted, Bryan; Panwar, Rajat; Pinkse, Jonatan; Schaltegger, Stefan; York, Jeff
One of the most investigated research topics in the corporate sustainability literatureis “the” business case. Long lionized for linking the profit motive to corporateenvironmental initiatives, the business case for sustainability is now vehementlycriticized. These critics generally argue for a return to the state and strongerregulatory frameworks. Others counter that because the private sector's capabilitiesare uniquely suited to realizing effective sustainability innovations and outcomes, wemust not abandon but further develop our business case understanding. In this view,firms' voluntary efforts are key for innovative solutions to sustainability problems.This article overviews and unites these seemingly disparate positions. We move thefield forward by placing in context criticisms and also opportunities for moremeaningful positive impacts from corporate sustainability. Specifically, we argue thatan effective business case orientation requires shifting to a broader “all stakeholderswin” approach. This entails impact orientation, collaborative approaches, andeconomic restraint
Prolonged deep-ocean carbonate chemistry recovery after the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
(Elsevier, 2023) Dai, Yuhao; Yu, Jimin; Ji, Xuan
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is a hyperthermal event at ∼56 Ma ago, caused by rapid and massive carbon releases into the ocean-atmosphere system. Currently, the PETM ocean acidification is mainly quantified in the surface ocean. By contrast, PETM carbonate chemistry changes of the deep ocean, a larger carbon reservoir, are largely qualitatively constrained by sedimentary calcium carbonate contents (%CaCO3). Here, we revisit a previously proposed method for quantifying Early Cenozoic deep-water carbonate chemistry, using boron to calcium ratios (B/Ca) in extinct benthic foraminifera Nuttallides truempyi (Brown et al., 2011). We show that calibrating core-top B/Ca in the extant relative of N. truempyi against deep-water calcite saturation degree (Ω, Ω = [CO32−] /[CO32−]saturated), rather than calcite saturation state (Δ[CO32−], Δ[CO32−] = [CO32−] - [CO32−]saturated) as originally proposed better reflects Early Cenozoic carbonate chemistry changes. Furthermore, we provide multiple deep-water Ω reconstructions paired with benthic foraminiferal carbon isotopes during the PETM. At two sites, deep-water Ω recovered synchronously with carbon isotopes but lagged the sedimentary %CaCO3 rebound, indicating a slower post-PETM deep-water Ω recovery than previously thought. This may imply that during the PETM recovery phase, carbon could have been injected into the ocean-atmosphere system, despite net carbon loss, over a prolonged period after the initial release. If so, during this period, carbon removal from the ocean via calcite burial on the seafloor in response to enhanced silicate weathering may be weakened, suggesting that more carbon was sequestered via other processes such as those related to organic carbon burial.
2D Weyl-Semimetal States Achieved by a Thickness-Dependent Crossover and Topological Phase Transition in Bi0.96Sb0.04 Thin Films
(Wiley-VCH Verlag GMBH, 2023) Jang, Chan Wook; Adeyemi Salawu, Yusuff; Kim, Jin Hee; Nguyen, Van Quang; Kim, Min Seop; Lee, Sang-Eon; Son, Hyebin; Kim, Heon-Jung; Rhyee, Jong-Soo; Hoa, Vu Thi; Cho, Sunglae; Lee, Jong Seok; Jung, Myung-Hwa; Shon, Won Hyuk; Jeong, Tae Jin; Kim, Sung; Yum, Han-Yup; Kim, Jung Ho; Wang, Xiaolin; Elliman, Rob; Park, Sang J.; Kim, Junseok; Jin, Hyungyu; Choi, Suk Ho
Despite theoretical expectations for 2D Weyl semimetals (WSMs), realizing stable 2D topological semimetal states experimentally is currently a great challenge. Here, 2D WSM states achieved by a thickness-dependent topological phase transition from 3D Dirac semimetal to 2D WSM in molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown Bi0.96Sb0.04 thin films are reported. 2D weak anti-localization (WAL) and chiral anomaly arise in the Bi0.96Sb0.04 films for thicknesses below ≈10 nm, supporting 2D Weyl semimetallic transport in the films. This is particularly evident from magnetoresistance (MR) measurements which show cusp structures at around B = 0, indicating WAL, and negative MR, typical of chiral anomaly, only for layers with thicknesses below ≈10 nm. The temperature dependencies of the dephasing length for various thicknesses are consistent with those of the MR. Analysis based on second harmonic generation, terahertz emission, Seebeck/Hall effects, Raman scattering, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoemission demonstrates that the Dirac- to Weyl-semimetal phase transition for films thinner than ≈10 nm is induced by inversion-symmetry breaking due to the lattice-mismatch strain between the Bi0.96Sb0.04 film and substrate. The realization of 2D WSMs is particularly significant for applications in high-speed electronics, spintronics, and quantum computations due to their high mobility, chiral spin, and topologically-protected quantum qubits.
Environmental Management Accounting - Developments Over the Last 20 years from a Framework Perspective
(Australian Society of CPAs, 2023) Burritt, Roger; Schaltegger, Stefan; Christ, Katherine Leanne
The most cited framework for environmental management accounting to date was published in the Australian Accounting Review 20 years ago. This framework has until today considerably influenced the development of the environmental management accounting field. Set against new sustainability challenges it is now time to question if the framework remains relevant or if it needs to change, and in what ways, to address the contemporary challenges now facing society. Taking stock of environmental management accounting research and practice over the last two decades, a conceptual discussion is developed which is based on extant literature and the authors’ extensive experience of the topic. Thus, the paper looks back to reflect on the developments from the perspective of the framework and looks towards how environmental management accounting could be further developed in the future. It considers the current and future potential of environmental management accounting and managers to contribute towards sustainable development. This can be through: the development of new areas of application and thematic scopes targeting aspirational sustainability goals such as those represented by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and planetary boundaries; extending spatial scope beyond the organisation into supply chains and circular systems; development of new social and environmental measures of performance to complement economic measures; providing information specific to the needs and roles of new personnel using environmental and sustainability information; and building awareness and implementing new drivers for environmental and sustainability management accounting such as AI and chatbots.
Seismic moment tensor inversion with theory errors from 2-D Earth structure: implications for the 2009-2017 DPRK nuclear blasts
(Oxford University Press, 2023) Hu, Jinyin; Pham, Thanh Son; Tkalcic, Hrvoje
Determining the seismic moment tensor (MT) from the observed waveforms with available Earth's structure models is known as seismic waveform MT inversion. It remains challenging for small to moderate-size earthquakes at regional scales. First, because shallow isotropic (ISO) and compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) components of MT radiate similar long-period waveforms at regional distances, an intrinsic ISO-CVLD ambiguity impedes resolving seismic sources at shallow depths within the Earth's crust. Secondly, regional scales usually bear 3-D structures; thus, inaccurate Earth's structure models can cause unreliable MT solutions but are rarely considered a theory error in the MT inversion. So far, only the error of the 1-D earth model (1-D structural error), apart from data errors, has been explicitly modelled in the source studies because of relatively inexpensive computation. Here, we utilize a hierarchical Bayesian MT inversion to address the above problems. Our approach takes advantage of affine-invariant ensemble samplers to explore the ISO-CLVD trade-off space thoroughly and effectively. Station-specific time-shifts are also searched for as free parameters to treat the structural errors along specific source-station paths (2-D structural errors). Synthetic experiments demonstrate the method's advantage in resolving the dominating ISO components. The explosive events conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are well-studied, and we use them to demonstrate highly similar source mechanisms, including dominating ISO and significant CLVD components. The recovered station-specific time-shifts from the blasts present a consistent pattern, which provides a better understanding of the azimuthal variation of Earth's 2-D structures surrounding the events' location.