Definition
“Cultural footprint” [1] was defined in June 2013, at the initiative of a group of experts from UNESCO, the OECD, the International Organisation of the Francophonie, French ministries, various companies and civil society.
They explained it as “all of the externalities, both positive and negative, generated in the cultural environment by agents’ actions”. It is considered to be positive when it enriches cultural diversity [2] or fosters cultural intensity. [3]
A second reference document published in 2017 specified that “all actors have the possibility of activating (i.e. exploring and utilizing) available cultural resources. At the same time, it is their responsibility to make a positive contribution” to that sub-stratum, to that creative atmosphere. This means that groups and individuals must “set requirements for themselves, engage based on their own singularities, and be culturally involved and invested”.
Applications
“The Cultural Footprint of the Cosmetic Sector” [3] is a document to which Gilles Andrier, Loïc Armand, Francesco Bandarin, Jérôme Bédier, Françoise Benhamou, Fouad Benseddik, Gilles Boëtsch, Dominique Bourg, Jérôme Gouadain, Maria Gravari-Barbas, Marc-Antoine Jamet, François Jullien, Pascal Lamy, Jacques Lévy, Gilles Lipovetsky, Françoise Montenay, Jean Musitelli, Patrick O’Quin, Philippe d’Ornano, Dominique Perrault, Marie-Hélène Plainfossé and Nicole Rouvet contributed. It suggests several aspects of the cultural environment where economics might be able to make a contribution: architecture, art, colours, enjoyment, ethics, heritage, imagination, learning, social skills, singularity, etc.
Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability goals, such as the current UN-level Sustainable Development Goals, address the global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.
Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. Two of these underpin our economy and society, and thus make human life possible.
Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other's differences. Moreover, it is often used to mention the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole.
The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounting system. The accounts contrast the biologically productive area people use for their consumption to the biologically productive area available within a region or the world. In short, it is a measure of human impact on the environment.
The creative industries refers to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. They may variously also be referred to as the cultural industries (especially in Europe or the creative economy, and most recently they have been denominated as the Orange Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues "that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a Just Transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive."
Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, was published on October 1987 by the United Nations through the Oxford University Press. This publication was in recognition of Gro Harlem Brundtland's, former Norwegian Prime Minister, role as Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED).
Sustainable procurement is a process whereby organizations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a life-cycle basis while addressing equity principles for sustainable development, therefore benefiting societies and the environment across time and geographies. Procurement is often conducted via a tendering or competitive bidding process. The process is used to ensure the buyer receives goods, services or works for the best possible price, when aspects such as quality, quantity, time, and location are compared. Procurement is considered sustainable when organizations broadens this framework by meeting their needs for goods, services, works, and utilities in a way that achieves value for money and promotes positive outcomes not only for the organization itself but for the economy, environment, and society. This framework is also known as the triple bottom line, which is a business accounting framework. The concept of TBL is narrowly prescribed, and even John Elkington, who coined the term in the 1990s, now advocates its recall. Indeed, procurement practitioners have drawn attention to the fact that buying from smaller firms, locally, is an important aspect of sustainable procurement in the public sector. Ethics, culture, safety, diversity, inclusion, justice, human rights and the environment are additionally listed as important aspects of SPP.
Solidarity economy or Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) refers to a wide range of economic activities that aim to prioritize social profitability instead of purely financial profits. A key feature that distinguishes solidarity economy entities from private and public enterprises is the participatory and democratic nature of governance in decision-making processes as one of the main principles of the SSE sector. Active participation of all people involved in decision-making procedures contributes to their empowerment as active political subjects. However, different SSE organizational structures reflect variations in democratic governance and inclusive participation.
Sustainability metrics and indices are measures of sustainability, and attempt to quantify beyond the generic concept. Though there are disagreements among those from different disciplines, these disciplines and international organizations have each offered measures or indicators of how to measure the concept.
Sustainability is the capacity to endure in a relatively ongoing way across various domains of life. In the 21st century, it refers generally to the capacity for Earth's biosphere and human civilization to co-exist. It is also defined as the process of people maintaining change in a homeostasis-balanced environment, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations. For many in the field, sustainability is defined through the following interconnected domains or pillars: environmental, economic and social. Sub-domains of sustainable development have been considered also: cultural, technological and political.
The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), formerly UNESCO Institute for Education, is one of six educational institutes of UNESCO. It is a non-profit international research, training, information, documentation and publishing centre on literacy, non-formal education, adult and lifelong learning. It provides services to UNESCO's Member States, NGOs, and grassroots and community organizations, as well as to partners in civil society and the private sector. The Institute works in close collaboration with its Paris headquarters, with UNESCO field offices in different countries, with sister institutes and with national and international partners.
A sustainability organization is (1) an organized group of people that aims to advance sustainability and/or (2) those actions of organizing something sustainably. Unlike many business organizations, sustainability organizations are not limited to implementing sustainability strategies which provide them with economic and cultural benefits attained through environmental responsibility. For sustainability organizations, sustainability can also be an end in itself without further justifications.
Natural capital accounting is the process of calculating the total stocks and flows of natural resources and services in a given ecosystem or region. Accounting for such goods may occur in physical or monetary terms. This process can subsequently inform government, corporate and consumer decision making as each relates to the use or consumption of natural resources and land, and sustainable behaviour.
The purple economy is that part of the economy which contributes to sustainable development by promoting the cultural potential of goods and services.
The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) is a not-for-profit regional non-governmental organization, membership-based organization headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, with the status of international organization; grouping experts together with the civil society, business community and media, to promote prudent environmental policies and programmes across the Arab region.
The Papua New Guinea Greens Party or PNG Greens are a minor political party in Papua New Guinea. Founded in 2001, the party took part in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 general elections, without winning a seat. They are a member of the Global Greens and of the Asia Pacific Greens Federation.
Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) refers to a company's duties to abstain from damaging natural environments. The term derives from corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Reshaping Cultural Policies is a report series published by UNESCO which monitors the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). The 2005 UNESCO Convention encourages its 146 parties to introduce policies for culture within a global context and commitment to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions. The second and most recent report (2018) subtitled “Advancing Creativity for Development” follows the first report (2015) with the subtitle “A Decade Promoting the Diversity of Cultural Expressions for Development”.
The International Appeal of 7 June 2020, "Towards a cultural renaissance of the economy", was signed by creatives, economists and leaders of international organizations, and was published simultaneously in Corriere della Sera, El País and Le Monde.
