Sustainability in Europe Roots and Evolution of the Current Legal Regime

This book analyses the roots and evolution of the concept of sustainability in Europe and the European Union. As sustainability has always mirrored certain value judgments on justice and priorities, it is suitable for functionalist, analytical, contextual and historical comparisons via multidisciplinary studies combining various branches of the social sciences, law, philosophy, and economics.

The aim of this book is to explore the roots and evolution of sustainability, so as to reveal how a European style of sustainability has emerged, one that is inextricably linked to our civilization and history. It identifies linear and cyclical phases with clear trends toward expanding the reach of sustainability, its subjects and their duties. The book offers a multidisciplinary, chronological and contextual overview of the evolution of sustainability until the 21st century, while also addressing its legal regime. Sustainability has many faces and needs to be approached in a dynamic manner through the lens of sustainable development or via a multi-stakeholder model that includes private subjects and corporate social responsibility.

Although primarily intended for an audience with an advanced background in law, economics and philosophy, the book will also benefit a more general audience, particularly those who want to learn where the current sustainability concerns and legal regime actually came from.

1 Introduction.- 2 Materials and Methods.- 3 Terminology and Scientific Background of Sustainability.- 4 Origins of the Concept of Sustainability.- 5 Evolution of Sustainability – From Antiquity to the 20th Century.- 6 Modern History of Sustainability.- 7 Sustainability in Motion – Sustainable Development.- 8 Engagement of Private subjects with sustainability – Corporate Social Responsibility.- 9 Enforcement of Sustainability by Investors – Environment Social Governance.- 10 Conclusions.

Dr. Radka MacGregor Pelikánová is a senior lecturer at Metropolitan University Prague (MUP) and a research lead at University of New York in Prague (UNYP), with expertise in the law, economics, management, business and intellectual property. She completed the study of law at Charles University School of Law in Prague (Mgr., Ph.D., JUDr.), Université Paris XIII – Villetaneuse in Paris (licence) and Wayne State University in Detroit (LL.M.). In addition, she completed the study of accounting at Washtenaw Community College (Accounting certificate - CTACC) and of economics at the National American University in cooperation with the UNYP (MBA). For two decades, she has been a member of the Czech Bar Association and the Michigan Bar Association. She has a strong and long-lasting experience providing clients with advice regarding intellectual property, economics and law. During the last ten years she has been focusing on academic and publication activities, especially regarding Intellectual property, EU law, Competition law, Business law, Strategic Management and Knowledge Management. In addition, she is a legal and strategic management advisor at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. She has published over twenty high quality multidisciplinary articles about sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and creating shared values (CSV) while focusing on the evolution of the interaction of their economic and law aspects in the Europe.