International Conference on Sustainability 2016: Development of Interdisciplinary Approaches (ICS 2016)

Abstract:

The role of academia and practice in the interdisciplinary area of sustainability is at the core of this network building activity. Increasingly, complex and global sustainability issues present challenges to business, government, universities and civil society that they are unable to solve alone. This concerns environmental challenges such as climate change, increased CO2 emissions, energy consumption but also engages social challenges such as poverty, health and labour conditions. Research suggests that these global challenges require partnerships between private and public sectors, or multi-stakeholder initiatives that also involve non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, venture capital and universities. Thus, a demand has been placed on global researchers and experts with sustainability expertise to build long-term collaborative networks which can be drawn on to bridge “disciplinary silos” and build relevant and interdisciplinary knowledge to contribute to sustainable societal innovation.The recent call for European and US business to engage with African business partners (e.g. UN Sustainability Development Goals) has further highlighted the relevance of a view to inform and educate the next generation of young global managers at business schools and universities with skills to bridge natural science, technology and management. However, international sustainability networks and local action to actually make this happen are still in an infancy stage and has yet to be established.