Group think or shared endeavors?: Using active listening and knowledge co-creation with customers to boost sustainability and green credentials

Purpose>This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approach>This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.Findings>Active listening to customers can help drive eco-knowledge and the adoption of green and radical innovations.Originality/value>The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Gravitating toward supply chain 4.0

The present study inspects correlations among different industries' intention to tackle supply chain recovery challenges, and the correlations among diverse industries' desire to use supply chain 4.0 technologies. Primary data for the study have been accumulated through a structured questionnaire to elicit responses from supply chain managers and executives. To examine the obtained data, descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha, exploratory factor analysis, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used. There is no significant relation among different industries' intention to tackle supply chain recovery challenges and to adopt industry 4.0 technologies. However, the Food and Beverage industry showed the highest level of intention to both tackle the impact of supply chain disruption, and adopt industry 4.0 technologies to ensure more resilient supply chain post Covid-19. This study is the very first attempt to identify the intention of different industries to adopt supply chain 4.0 technologies to combat challenges stem from the supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19.

State of Praxis in The Oath of Vayuputras: An Eco-Critical Perspective

-The depletion and drying of river water across India is a growing problem in the contemporary period. The ecologists have raised a huge concern regarding the depletion of river water in India. The drying, depletion, and disappearance of the rivers in India can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization. The ecological disturbance on land resulted in the loss of the Saraswati River. Amish Tripathi is a renowned figure in the realm of popular Indian mythological fiction. He has not only re-narrated the mythology of India but has also retold the history and geological reasons for the disappearance of the Saraswati River in his novel The Oath of Vayuputras (2013). The research article views the novel from a deep eco-critical perspective to examine the rationale behind the drying and depletion of the Saraswati River due to the destructive production and disposal of Somras and its toxic waste in the river. The article aims at showing the ecological disturbance in the biosphere which is the result of the progress of the human race towards civilization. The shunning of the eco-centric attitude and the development of a capitalistic attitude in humans towards other living beings have resulted in this disrupted eco-system in the present biosphere.

Water-sanitation-health nexus in the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra River Basin: need for wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for preparedness during the future waves of pandemic

The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra River Basin (IGBRB) is a trans-boundary river basin flowing through four major countries in South Asia viz., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Contamination of surface water by untreated or inadequately treated wastewater has been a huge problem for pathogenic microorganisms in economies in transition. Recent studies have reported that sewage surveillance can provide prior information of the outbreak data, because faeces can contain the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) shed by infected humans. Hence, in this study we geo-spatially mapped the COVID-19 hotspots during the peak time in the first and second wave of pandemic to demonstrate the need and usefulness of wastewater surveillance strategy in IGBRB during ongoing pandemic. Further we discussed the status of sanitation, health and hand-hygiene in the IGBRB along with characterization of the challenges posed by the pandemic in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). Monthly Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping of COVID-19 hotspots in the IGBRB showed an increase in the spread along the direct sewage discharge points. The social inequalities expose the vulnerabilities of the urban poor in terms of the burden, risks and access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) needs. Such an evidence-based image of the actual SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the community along the IGBRB can provide valuable insights and recommendations to deal with the future waves of COVID-19 pandemic in this region that can go a long way in achieving the UN-SDGs. © 2021

Advancing Urban Water Security in the Indus Basin, Pakistan—Priority Actions for Karachi and Lahore

Despite growing recognition of solutions to water scarcity challenges, decision-makers across the world continue to face barriers to effective implementation of water planning, governance and management. This is evident in the cases of Lahore and Karachi in the Indus Basin in Pakistan and illustrated through the experiences of the provincial government departments and utilities. Water scarcity and associated challenges are continuing to impose significant costs on these cities, which continue to grow as water availability further declines, demand increases, water quality deteriorates, and infrastructure degrades. A team of Australian water experts was commissioned by the Australian Water Partnership to diagnose urban water challenges and identify priority actions for improved water security, in collaboration with Pakistani partners. This paper presents the outcomes of that work. This includes a synthesis of the published literature and data on the geographical, climatic, and water scarcity contexts of both Karachi and Lahore. It then identifies responses to water insecurity that have been considered or implemented in the past and the barriers that have inhibited the effectiveness of these efforts. Finally, it presents actions within five priority action areas that Pakistani stakeholders have identified as being most practical and impactful for improving water security outcomes.

COVID-19 lockdowns show reduced pollution on snow and ice in the Indus River Basin.

Melting snow and ice supply water for nearly 2 billion people [J. S. Mankin, D. Viviroli, D. Singh, A. Y. Hoekstra, N. S. Diffenbaugh, Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 114016 (2015)]. The Indus River in South Asia alone supplies water for over 300 million people [S. I. Khan, T. E. Adams, "Introduction of Indus River Basin: Water security and sustainability" in Indus River Basin, pp. 3-16 (2019)]. When light-absorbing particles (LAP) darken the snow/ice surfaces, melt is accelerated, affecting the timing of runoff. In the Indus, dust and black carbon degrade the snow/ice albedos [S. M. Skiles, M. Flanner, J. M. Cook, M. Dumont, T. H. Painter, Nat. Clim. Chang. 8, 964-971 (2018)]. During the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, air quality visibly improved across cities worldwide, for example, Delhi, India, potentially reducing deposition of dark aerosols on snow and ice. Mean values from two remotely sensed approaches show 2020 as having one of the cleanest snow/ice surfaces on record in the past two decades. A 30% LAP reduction in the spring and summer of 2020 affected the timing of 6.6 km3 of melt water. It remains to be seen whether there will be significant reductions in pollution post-COVID-19, but these results offer a glimpse of the link between pollution and the timing of water supply for billions of people. By causing more solar radiation to be reflected, cleaner snow/ice could mitigate climate change effects by delaying melt onset and extending snow cover duration.