ResearchSpace :: Browsing by Author "Haywood, Lorren K"

Browsing by Author "Haywood, Lorren K"

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Addressing business from a social-ecological perspective to understand and deal with risk and resilience
(2010-08) Haywood, Lorren K; Nel, D; Trotter, D
Corporate sustainability, as currently practiced, is largely directed at reducing direct and immediate environmental impacts in terms of resource consumption and waste emissions. Despite two decades of engagement with corporate sustainability, global indicators show that the impacts of human enterprises continue to threaten global economic security and sound environmental management. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found that ecosystems have declined more rapidly and extensively over the past fifty years than at any other comparable time in human history. The Ecological Footprint indicator suggests that humanity’s demand on nature exceeds the planets ability to supply natural resources by over a quarter. Since business is dependent on ecosystem services for the provision of clean water, air, productive soils and other natural resources it is imperative to understand the complex landscape in which the business operate and how global change can have a devastating economic consequences. The impacts of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which cost the US economy in the region of $150 Billion, were greatly exacerbated by the degradation of regulating ecosystems such as wetlands, river systems and natural flood plains. On the other hand, local impacts of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, which killed more than 70,000 people and cost the area an estimated more than $10 Billion, was greatly reduced in areas where healthy mangrove ecosystems had been maintained. The reality is that corporations today are facing unanticipated risks to business operations due to the deterioration of social-ecological systems upon which they depend. The immediate action for business is how to relate to today’s challenges such as pollution, rising temperatures, water shortage and crop failure to growing business activities in order to achieve economic sustainability. The complexity of the challenges facing the existence of businesses, especially in terms of fundamental uncertainty as a result of global change and unpredictability, requires a fundamental shift in the way business is conducted and how they understand and implement sustainability. Instead of reducing practices that are perceived to be unsustainable, businesses should rather be strengthening sustainability systemic underpinnings. While the concepts of resilience, shared risk, uncertainty, adaptation and ecosystem stewardship are traction, the practical application of these concepts remains poorly understood and practised. In this paper we examine the research the CSIR is doing that will develop novel approaches and tools (repackaging old tools and the development of new tools) enabling corporations to understand, quantitatively assess and strategically respond to the social-ecological risks and opportunities that underpin their business; thereby increasing their business resilience and adaptation abilities in an uncertain and changing environment.
Analysis of opportunities for biofuel production in sub-Saharan Africa
(Center for International Forestry Research, 2009-06) Von Maltitz, Graham P; Haywood, Lorren K; Mapako, M; Brent, A
The world’s population consumes more oil than any other single energy source, including coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro and renewables (EIA 2005). By 2030, global demand for oil is expected to have increased by 50 per cent (IEA 2008:116). Rising prices, concerns about energy security and acceptance of global warming impacts have sparked worldwide efforts to replace oil rapidly with alternative energy sources (IEA 2008:55). In particular, biofuels - a renewable hydrocarbon energy source derived from biomass – have much potential as a sustained alternative energy supply of liquid fuels (IEA 2008:307). Within the developing world, and especially Africa, biofuels, are also regarded as a potential mechanism to stimulate agricultural development, create jobs and save foreign exchange (von Maltitz and Brent 2008). In reaction to the initial euphoria about biofuels as a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels, numerous popular articles and scientific papers have cautioned against the global drive towards a biofuels economy, highlighting the potential impacts on food security, poor energy efficiencies and potential environmental harm (Gallagher 2008; IEA 2008: 332; Royal Society 2008). In this article the researchers analyse the opportunities for biofuel production in sub-Saharan Africa.
Application of a multi-criteria analysis approach for decision-making in the energy sector: the case of concentrating solar power in South Africa
(Multi-Science Publishing, 2012-12) Broughton, EK; Brent, AC; Haywood, Lorren K
The current decision-making processes that are involved in Environmental Impact Assessments in the energy sector of South Africa suffer from, amongst others, the lack of coherence and the integration of the opinions of decision-makers in the assessments. The processes also do not adequately evaluate the trade-offs between social, economic, political and environmental issues that are identified for proposed projects, and alternatives if applicable. This paper demonstrates the application of a multi-criteria analysis approach to address these challenges. The application is based on a proposed concentrating solar power plant, for which the Environmental Impact Assessment process has been completed.
An assessment for enhancing sustainability in rural tourism products in South Africa
(Taylor & Francis, 2020-09) Haywood, Lorren K; Nortje, Karen; Dafuleya, G; Nethengwe, T; Sumbana, F
Rural tourism contributes towards socio-economic development. In South Africa, rural areas experience significant development challenges with limited opportunities. Rural tourism as an instrumental tool against poverty requires rural tourism products to be not only viable but also sustainable. Presented is a sustainability assessment framework to assist South African enterprises to assess the sustainability of their rural tourism products (RTPs). The framework has two functions: it provides RTP operators with an understanding of all aspects of sustainability for which they are responsible and it provides indicators to measure the sustainability of the product. The indicators are presented as a sustainability scale that acts like a road map to enable operators to improve the sustainability of their RTPs in successive years. The intention and purpose of the framework is to ensure that sustainability is central to the operation of RTPs in South Africa thereby contributing toward sustainable development goals.
Building resilience into business strategy, management and reporting: Principles and maturity tool to facilitate resilience in business, 2016
(The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), 2016-09) Haywood, Lorren K; Van der Watt, C
This is a conference presentation on Building resilience into business strategy. Resilience within business is very appealing in that, it enables organisations to put sustainability into context: business is not a self-contained system but rather a contributing member of a greater social ecological system upon which their existence is dependent and upon which their activities impact – resilience enables the two-way relationship to be explored. It enables organisations to put risk into context such that they are able to adapt and anticipate risk: all risks are systematic in nature resulting from interconnected vulnerabilities that lie between relationships and feedback of social and ecological variables of the system. It enables organisations to achieve genuine value creation: combining risk management and decision making for sustainable development within the context of the limits and thresholds of a social ecological system allows creation of value both internally and externally
Business and the SDGs: Examining the early disclosure of the SDGs in annual reports
(Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2020-09) Haywood, Lorren K; Boihang, Mothusi
The private sector has a critical role in terms of countries being able to meet the SDGs. We evaluate the extent to which South Africa’s top 100 listed companies have responded to the SDGs, through a review of their early disclosure of the SDGs in their annual reports. Of these companies, only 6% and 11% in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 financial year ends respectively have incorporated the SDGs into their business model and strategies as reported. Even though there was an increase between the years, it was noted that only 2% of the companies in 2017 communicated how they incorporated and prioritised the SDGs within their business model and value creation proposition in their Integrated Report specifically. Without a defined business case for the adoption of the SDGs into business, the uptake will continue to be slower than required for the contribution of business in meeting the SDGs to be realised.
Circular economy and environmental health in low- and middle-income countries
(BMC, 2019-12) Wright, CY; Godfrey, Linda K; Armiento, G; Haywood, Lorren K; Inglesi-Lotz, R; Lyne, K; Nayna Schwerdtle, P
The circular economy framework for human production and consumption is an alternative to the traditional, linear concept of ‘take, make, and dispose’. Circular economy (CE) principles comprise of ‘design out waste and pollution’, ‘retain products and materials in use’, and ‘regenerate natural systems’. This commentary considers the risks and opportunities of the CE for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), acknowledging that LMICs must identify their own opportunities, while recognising the potential positive and negative environmental health impacts.
Contextualising risk within enterprise risk management through the application of systems thinking
(Springer, 2017-06) Haywood, Lorren K; Forsyth, Gregory G; De Lange, Willem J; Trotter, Douglas H
New and emerging risks create growing uncertainty and unpredictability within enterprise risk management. While ISO 31000:2009 is a progressive risk management framework, it is limited in its guidance on how to contextualise complex risks. The application of systems thinking to risk management provides the opportunity to better understand complexity by viewing risk and the consequence of change as part of overall system behaviour. System modelling tools enable organisations to better contextualise their risk landscape. These tools assist organisations to identify vulnerabilities between social and ecological variables in the system within they exist. Determining drivers of change leading to system vulnerabilities can assist in understanding threshold limits of the system, thus enabling the organisation to build system resilience and organisational sustainability.
Corporate sustainability: a social-ecological research agenda for South African business
(2010) Haywood, Lorren K; Brent, AC; Trotter, DH; Wise, R
In this paper authors consider the increasingly prominent expectations that business can and will significantly contribute to sustainable development. They use the framework of social-ecological systems, and the principles thereof, as a lens to evaluate the corporate approach to sustainability management through a review of the literature and a number of cases. South African business is realising that changes to the health of supporting ecosystems pose risks to business operations and long-term sustainability. From the evaluation they propose that a core limitation preventing business from making meaningful contributions to sustainability is that they are unable to sufficiently address risk and uncertainty with the reductionist toolset currently available. A social-ecological systems approach, in which a business understands that it is an integral component of the system, could help the business understand the resilience of the system in which it operates and how to adapt to risk to ensure sustainability. The authors propose a research agenda that addresses the underlying lack of integration between the natural and business science, as well as some of the practicalities of enhancing corporate sustainability management through tool development
Disaster Risk Management: Collaborative thinking to mobilise proactive support
(2023-06) Steyn, Maronel; Nortje, Karen; Haywood, Lorren K; Mathye, Salamina M
Transboundary crises such as drought and SARS-CoV-2 highlighted the need to move research into practice. Collaborative effort is required by the various role players (e.g., industry, government civil society) to build a resilient system. Using the Cape Town 2016 – 2018 “Day Zero” drought, and through thematic analysis, 17 themes emerged that provided insight into the management of disasters within the larger socio-ecological system and the various key learning for each of the four stakeholder groups (i.e., business, public, civil society and government). It highlighted similarities between Cape Town and other world cities such as Perth. Water stewardship and resilience thinking with regards to investment for disaster risk management are some of the main objectives of the Drought Guidebook.
Disaster Risk Management: Collaborative thinking to mobilise proactive support
(2023-06) Steyn, Maronel; Nortje, Karen; Haywood, Lorren K; Mathye, Salamina M
Transboundary crises such as drought and SARS-CoV-2 highlighted the need to move research into practice. Collaborative effort is required by the various role players (e.g., industry, government civil society) to build a resilient system. Using the Cape Town 2016 – 2018 “Day Zero” drought, and through thematic analysis, 17 themes emerged that provided insight into the management of disasters within the larger socio-ecological system and the various key learning for each of the four stakeholder groups (i.e., business, public, civil society and government). It highlighted similarities between Cape Town and other world cities such as Perth. Water stewardship and resilience thinking with regards to investment for disaster risk management are some of the main objectives of the Drought Guidebook.
Diversity of the practice of corporate sustainability: An exploratory study in the South African business sector
(Emerald, 2013) Haywood, Lorren K; Trotter, Douglas H; Faccer, Kristy; Brent, AC
Various driving forces originating from society, government, employees and partners are forcing business to incorporate both sustainable development in its internal operations and practices, and to align these with the principles thereof. The paper investigates the diversity of the practice of corporate sustainability in terms of the drivers thereof, where sustainability features in the actual business structure, and how sustainability is communicated. What is evident is that these are all areas of broad interpretation from the perspectives of the eleven organisations that were interviewed. However, the emphasis remains on integrating sustainability activities into how they manage reputation risk, generate cost savings, and ensure long-term profitability and competitive advantage. This is leading business to create and access new markets for greener products, improved brand credibility, price premiums for green products, and new finance sources. This suggests that sustainability is merely a business agenda to protect organisation profits and economic growth in a manner that is seen to be environmental and socially responsible.
Ensuring sustainability in developing world biofuel productoin
(2009-06) Von Maltitz, Graham P; Haywood, Lorren K; De Wet, Benita
This poster focuses on a typology of biofuel projects and how to ensure sustainability.
Environmental risk disclosure: an analysis of integrated reports of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
(2025-05) Haywood, Lorren K; Audouin, Michelle A; Funke, Nikki; Nortje, Karen; Ntshotsho, Phumza; Steyn, Maronel
A content analysis was employed to extract the strategic and material environmental risks disclosed in integrated reports by top-listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as of May 2020. Findings suggested that environmental risk disclosure was low for the year considered. The range of environmental risks listed as material and strategic, across the companies, was extremely limited, with climate risks being identified the most. The types of environmental risks disclosed by these JSE companies were found to be well aligned with the top global risks listed by the World Economic Forum in 2020. With continued and increasing global environmental degradation, together with pressure from company stakeholders, as well as recently introduced international and national guidance, it could be expected that environmental risk disclosure will improve among top-listed JSE companies. It is recommended that a review of the environmental risk landscape and disclosures of these companies is regularly undertaken.
Governance options for addressing changing forest-water relations
(International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), 2018-07) Ellison, D; Claassen, Marius; Van Noordwijk, M; Sullivan, CA; Vira, B; Xu, J; Archer, Emma RM; Haywood, Lorren K
From a systems perspective, governance represents a key driver when it comes to the potential for addressing rapid environmental, climate, social and even technological change. As our knowledge of forest-water interactions and their potential to improve human welfare expands, new opportunities emerge to optimise the strategic use of natural resources in ways that may bring multiple spinoff benefits to those who depend on these resources for their livelihood and prosperity.
Legislative challenges hindering mine waste being reused and repurposed in South Africa
(Elsevier, 2019-11) Haywood, Lorren K; De Wet, Benita; De Lange, Willem J; Oelofse, Suzanna HH
While the waste hierarchy promotes the reuse of waste there currently remains limited reuse of mine waste in South Africa. Overburden, waste rock, tailings and slag are stockpiled or disposed leading to environmental liabilities including acid mine drainage and leaching. Globally there are numerous documented uses of mine waste. However, South African waste legislation currently fails to create an enabling environment for mine waste reuse, and consequently hinder the generation of economic value from this waste stream. Mine waste in South Africa is defined as a residue, which is considered a resource of minerals for future re-mining. Being classifed as hazardous, the reuse of mining residue is legally challenging in South Africa. Furthermore legislated environmental management process promotes cradle-to-grave approaches, which is not supportive of any waste reuse initiative. Legislative authorisation falls between two government departments’ often with conflicting mandates leaving mine residue becoming trapped between being a waste and being a by-product with economic value.
Legislative challenges hindering mine waste entering the circular economy in South Africa
(2018-06) Haywood, Lorren K
Presentation on the legislative challenges hindering mine waste entering the circular economy in South Africa. Putting mine waste into perspective.
Measuring progress: Environment and the SDGs
(United Nations, 2021-01) Alva, IL; Brooks, T; Campbell, J; Comte, A; Coppens, L; Ekins, P; Elayouty, A; Fairbrass, A; Gemayel, TEI; Haywood, Lorren K
This Measuring Progress report serves two purposes. It explores the potential and limitations of using a statistical correlation analysis between indicator pairs (“state of the environment” and “drivers of change” indicators; “state of the environment” and “state of society” indicators) to improve the understanding of the interlinkages between SDG indicators. It also informs on progress being made for those SDG indicators UNEP identified as environment-related since December 2018, based on data from the SDG Global Indicators Database.
Principles for internalising systems resilience into business management and value creation
(2019) Haywood, Lorren K; Nahman, Anton; De Wet, Benita; Nortje, Karen; Van Der Watt, C; Kelling, NK
This article introduces principles for internalising the concept of social ecological systems resilience into business management and value creation. It is no longer enough for businesses to simply reduce their impact on the environment. Businesses need to refocus their strategies and management within the limits of their social ecological system, such that they not only create value for their immediate stakeholders, but also create value that enables systems resilience to be built and maintained. Resilience thinking shifts sustainability towards business operating within the limits of the social ecological system in which they exist so that business is able withstand disturbances and uncertainty in the light of global change. The intention of the principles is to improve the ability of integrated thinking and management within businesses; such that businesses expand the scope of the system for which value is created, beyond the organisation itself, to the broader social ecological system in which they operate. In light of global change, and the increasing complexity of risks with which businesses are faced, addressing the broader system is crucial in order for businesses to improve their adaptive capacity, and therefore to ensure their own long term sustainability. The principles include a systems principle, risk and adaptation principle, decoupling principle, restoration principle, well-being principle, collaborative governance principle, and innovation and foresight principle. Managers are encouraged to build these principles in their business strategies, governance, performance and integrated reporting. The principles are being developed into a maturity tool for easy application by managers.
Private sector contribution to SDG 3: Health and Well-being – a South African case study
(ASSAf, 2019-09) Haywood, Lorren K; Wright, C
Since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were globally adopted by world leaders in 20151, worldwide the private sector has openly embraced them and committed to address the SDG targets2-4. The United Nations Global Compact5 lists 10 principles that enable businesses to adopt socially responsible practices into their strategies. Similarly, the Global Reporting Initiative is an internationally recognised set of guidelines to enable businesses to report on how they address sustainability.6 While it is primarily governments’ responsibility to provide the enabling environment for SDG implementation, they will not be achieved without private sector involvement.2 Businesses have a significant role to play as engines of economic growth, employment, finance, technology and innovation. They report their social contributions in annual sustainability and integrated reports. Because a healthy population contributes to a healthy workforce, it is in the interest of business to address human health.7-9 SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being – seeks to ensure health and well-being at every life stage.10 This goal is broader than the Millennium Development Goals on child/maternal mortality and communicable diseases.11 SDG 3 includes 13 targets and 26 high-level indicators which address all major health priorities, including reproductive, maternal and child health; communicable, non-communicable and environmental diseases; universal health coverage; and access for all people to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines. Aspects of health are also captured in targets of several other SDGs.11 Interconnectedness of SDG 3 goals with other SDG goals highlights that population health is a major beneficiary of sustainable growth and central to the achievement of SDGs.12 Universal health coverage (SDG Target 3.8) is a unifying platform for making progress on SDG 313 and it emphasises the importance of universal access to health-care services. The private sector has provided financial mechanisms and has also provided expertise in enlarging human capacity and conducting research for health care.14 The contribution that the private sector can make to achieving SDG 3 is being recognised7,14 and should be reported by businesses. Through their corporate social investment (CSI) programmes, business can leverage capabilities that contribute to universal health coverage28, including innovative data collection technologies, enhanced disease surveillance, improved supply chain management practices for storage and delivery of essential health supplies. SDGs provide an opportunity for businesses to support public health through their value chains, communication activities, occupational health and safety practices, and employee benefits. By ensuring that employees have safe working conditions and access to health services, businesses build better relationships with their employees. The purpose of the current study was to understand the extent to which South African businesses explicitly report contributions to SDG global health objectives. This analysis is important because the country faces significant public health issues that cannot be overcome without private sector contribution.

Browsing by Author "Haywood, Lorren K"

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