A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Social construction of sustainability in water companies in the Dutch coastal zone
This article addresses the question how the concept of sustainable development is translated into the business practices of the Dutch drinking water sector. Two companies along the Dutch coast, PWN (Provinciaal Waterbedrijf Noord-Holland), and Delta (Delta Ltd), developed their own versions of sustainability, based upon their particular context and influential stakeholders. Operating in the coastal zone means that they have to deal with vulnerable freshwater systems and this leads to more use of surface water instead of groundwater. A total of 23 internal and external interviews were held within these two companies, and a group meeting of about one hour was held in each company. Respondents were mainly sought among higher management, and to check if the managers' construction of reality matched with that of the operational level, one member of the Workers Council was involved in each company. The case study of Delta shows that the concept of sustainability is used in a layered way: A person can genuinely believe in the concept, s/he may notice that the term is not always used in an honest way, but as a means to motivate activities that are not financially rewarding, and the person may use the term to manipulate others in a favourable direction.
Social construction of sustainability in water companies in the Dutch coastal zone
This article addresses the question how the concept of sustainable development is translated into the business practices of the Dutch drinking water sector. Two companies along the Dutch coast, PWN (Provinciaal Waterbedrijf Noord-Holland), and Delta (Delta Ltd), developed their own versions of sustainability, based upon their particular context and influential stakeholders. Operating in the coastal zone means that they have to deal with vulnerable freshwater systems and this leads to more use of surface water instead of groundwater. A total of 23 internal and external interviews were held within these two companies, and a group meeting of about one hour was held in each company. Respondents were mainly sought among higher management, and to check if the managers' construction of reality matched with that of the operational level, one member of the Workers Council was involved in each company. The case study of Delta shows that the concept of sustainability is used in a layered way: A person can genuinely believe in the concept, s/he may notice that the term is not always used in an honest way, but as a means to motivate activities that are not financially rewarding, and the person may use the term to manipulate others in a favourable direction.
Social construction of sustainability in water companies in the Dutch coastal zone
Soziale Konstruktion des Begriffs Nachhaltigkeit bei Trinkwasserunternehmen an der holländischen Küste
Klostermann, Judith E.M. (author) / Cramer, Jaqueline (author)
Journal of Cleaner Production ; 15 ; 1573-1584
2007
12 Seiten, 2 Bilder, 4 Tabellen, 17 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
Transport of Fine-Grained Sediments in the Dutch Coastal Zone
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2001
A review of construction companies' attitudes to sustainability
| Online Contents | 2005