The Three Levels of Sustainability Understanding the complexity of sustainability is crucial for the leadership of business organizations, national governments, and nongovernmental organizations. This second edition of the bestselling book The Three Levels of Sustainability uses the same interdependent three-level and three- dimensional framework as the first edition, encompassing societal, organizational, and individual levels, to clearly demonstrate what sustainability means and how to implement it. This new edition incorporates important developments in reporting and measuring, corporate behaviors, the impact of COVID-19, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. More and more societies are becoming aware of their dependence on earth’s resources. However, there is still a deep-rooted lack of awareness of the connection between society’s ambitions for economic growth, earth’s limitations, and unequal distribution of wealth. Prominent institutions and organizations and their leaders rely on the conformable belief that “more quantity” equals “more quality” and that “more growth” equals “more development”. Although some progress has been made since the publication of the first edition, the world is increasingly characterized by division, rising dissatisfaction, and growing inequality between countries, communities, and people. At the same time, it is anticipated that global warming will reach a point of no return between 2030 and 2052. The fundamental paradigm shift in the way the development process must be navigated is better served by a holistic and inclusive, multilevel and multidimensional approach meant to gradually align the critical institutional and individual factors essential to the pathway toward sustainable development. The book has been established as an excellent primer to explain the complex issues around sustainability for postgraduate and undergraduate students, as well as busy professionals and those already in management and leadership positions in the private, public, or non-profit sectors. Elena Cavagnaro is Professor of Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, and Associate Professor of Responsible Leadership Development and Sustainability in Tourism at the University of Groningen Campus Fryslân. She is Visiting Professor at the University of Derby and the University of Sunderland (UK), and the University of Bergamo (Italy). Following her understanding of sustainability as a multidimensional and multi- layered concept, her research focuses on issues where the organizational level meets the society level or the individual the organizational. George H. Curiel earned his BSc in business administration at the University of the Netherlands Antilles in Curaçao and a master’s degree in economics at Yale University. During his working life, he often played an advisory or guiding role with a focus on (sustainable) development. He served as Director of the Department of Development Cooperation for the government of the Netherlands Antilles and as National Authorizing Officer for the European Development Fund. After his retirement, he worked as part-time lecturer and advisor at the Stenden (now NHL Stenden) School of Graduate Studies, then returned to Curaçao, where he consulted as an advisor with governments and organizations in search of strategies for a more sustainable development path. George H. Curiel passed away after a short illness on his beloved island of Curaçao on March 2, 2020. “More than ever, the world is confronted with sustainable development in a heavy-handed way. Think of climate change; even the most inveterate non-believers are slowly beginning to understand that something really has to be done about the rise in temperature and its damaging consequences for the oceans and the rest of the world (drought, floods, hurricanes, etc.). This is a difficult subject for most of us. George and Elena have devoted themselves to making the subject matter manageable for general comprehension. They have concentrated on a number of aspects; savings, cultural heritage, geographical and climatic conditions and technology. Dear reader, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you and wish you much pleasure reading it.” Frits Goedgedrag, LLM (Master of Laws), Former Governor General of Curaçao “To tackle the environmental, social and economic challenges of the coming decade requires leadership, cooperation and commitment across all spheres of society. A must-read, the second edition of The Three Levels of Sustainability captures the essential societal, organisational and individual strategies and actions towards a sustainable society.” Dr. Willy Legrand, Professor, Department of Hospitality, Tourism & Event Management, IU International University of Applied Sciences, Bonn, Germany “During the sustainability course during my master’s degree, the first edition of this book was our inspiring bible. It provides scientific, yet accessible insights into the way in which we as a world population may take our responsibility. No matter how challenging. From everyone’s perspective and in the right balance.” J. Stoeltie, Manager Customer Services de Bijenkorf, Amsterdam, The Netherlands “As a practitioner in the hospitality industry, I found that these writings were incredible in their ability to speak to issues that I care about, in a manner that was appropriate and allowed me to realise my professional influence in creating value in the three levels and associated dimensions. The structure of placing theory and practice side by side allows the reader to identify with the given challenges, recognise the discussed solutions and even have the confidence to pursue them. These acknowledgments were principal in decisions taken when working on a hotel renovation project.” Thulani Xhali, Head, Employee Support Programmes, Group Finance, Nedbank Limited, Johannesburg, South Africa “We are living in a fundamental era where transitions toward more sustainable ways of thinking, producing, consuming, and living are essential for the future of our planet and for humanity. We need to govern these transitions! The multidimensional (economic, social, and environmental) and multilevel (society, organization, individual) approach proposed by this book offers a clever and inspiring model to think about sustainability in a holistic and inclusive manner. The book has proven very effective for my courses on Governing Sustainability and Sustainable Business.” Dr. Silvana Signori, Professor of Governing Sustainability, Università degli Studi di Bergamo, Italy “I would recommend this book to anyone interested in leadership and sustainability. The authors systematically build the argument that every individual has the capacity to develop on three dimensions of care. As such, the book is directly applicable to education, and I was grateful to use it as the foundation for the BSc Global Responsibility & Leadership.” Dr. Indira S.E. van der Zande, Assistant Professor, Ethics & Education, and Programme Director, University College Fryslân, University of Groningen, The Netherlands “The Three Levels of Sustainability reinforced my view that people’s intrinsic motivation should be central to the transition to a democratic, sustainable society. The experiences and actions of individuals inspire organizations to design their activities differently and, in this way, the whole society is affected and impacted. When the first edition of The Three Levels of Sustainability was published, SPARK the Movement was in its starting phase. We aimed to unleash a movement in Frisian education—from primary school to university—supporting regional learning for sustainable development and inspired by the view expressed in the book that sustainability starts and ends with people. Three years later, we have been recognized by the UN as an RCE: a regional community where building expertise for sustainable development is central. Together, we are building a new reality, aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals!” Helentje Swart, Circular Friesland Association/Booster Circular Talent, and Program leader, Spark the Movement, Learning for Sustainable Development from toddler to PhD (and beyond) “Knowledge about sustainability is essential for today’s leaders. This book by Cavagnaro and Curiel discusses the subject in a comprehensible way, even for leaders who do not deal daily with the topic. I wholeheartedly recommend the book to any leader in our society.” Prof. dr. Herbert M. Pinedo, Amsterdam Medical Center UndTherset aThndrieneg L Aedveullst oFfu Snuctsitoaninaal bLiiltietryacy Connecting TextS Feecaotnudr eEsd, Titaioskn Demands, and Respondent Skills ELENA CAVAGNARO AND SHEIDA WHITE GEORGE H. CURIEL National Center for Education Statistics U.S. Department of Education Cover image: Suppachok Nuthep/getty Second edition published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Elena Cavagnaro and George H. Curiel The right of Elena Cavagnaro and George H. Curiel to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Greenleaf Publishing Limited 2012 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-367-72624-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-72625-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-15561-4 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003155614 Typeset in Minion by Apex CoVantage, LLC The book is dedicated to all the world’s children and to the memory of my co-author George H. Curiel, who passed away on March 2, 2020. Contents About the authors xi Acknowledgments xii List of abbreviations xiv Introduction 1 Part I Sustainable society: introduction to Part I 7 1 The concern for economic growth 11 2 The concern for the environment 29 3 The concern for social development 55 4 Toward sustainable development 80 Part II Sustainable organization: introduction to Part II 133 5 The concern for profit 137 6 The concern for people and planet 162 7 Toward sustainable organizations, (Re)building organizations from sustainability principles 190 8 Toward sustainable organizations: managing, measuring, and reporting 220