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Sustainability is affected by economics. To the extent that prices are the sole basis of decision-making, decisions may fail to consider the true costs of a product, leading to over-consumption, environmental degradation and human and natural resource exploitation.

The potential of the future is in the collective action of the economic agents in the present. Humans are interconnected and dependent on all the inhabitants of the earth. Our values need to reflect this connection and our economic models have to embed responsible stewardship of the planet. 

 Madhavi Venkatesan, PhD (Course creator and instructor)

Book Chapters

In the recently released book Educating the Sustainability Leaders of the Future, a chapter by Madhavi Venkatesan and students from Sustainable U. Productions (Radhika Barot, Amani Chinni, Adam Regenstrief, Priyasha Singh, Julia Sucov, and John Sun) was published. The paper, “Documentary Film and Institutional Behavior Change: A Student-Driven Mobilization for Sustainability” describes the importance of film to address sustainability issues. The authors tell the story of producing their own documentary, Plastic Linings. The film addresses the issue of convenience waste from the perspective of the cost of convenience.

 Chapter: Socially Responsible Consumption and Marketing in Practice

in Dealing with Socially Responsible Consumers: Studies in Marketing

Madhavi Venkatesan, Martina Yorde Rincon (BS Economics/Business 2023), Kathleen Grevers, Shannon M. Welch & Elizabeth L. Cline
Chapter
First Online: 01 January 2023

LINK TO CHAPTER

Article Publications

Addressing the relationship between Economics and Climate Change: A Discussion of Principles

published in February 2021 issue of Sustainability and Climate Change 

Madhavi Venkatesan, PhD
Natasha Keidl

Marketing, Recycling, and Climate Change: An opportunity

published in February 2021 issue of Sustainability and Climate Change 

Madhavi Venkatesan, PhD
Fenner Dreyfuss-Wells
Anjali Nair
Astrid Pedersen

Chiu E. (2019) Economic Equity and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_276-1

Harmer C. (2019) Social Responsibility and Sustainability. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_299-1

Karani R., Venkatesan M. (2019) Continuous Improvements and Sustainability. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_271-1

Lamberth C. (2019) Divestment and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_275-1

Lee R. (2019) Renewable Resources and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_297-1

Moore J., Venkatesan M. (2019) Stakeholder Mapping and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_302-1

Shen M., Venkatesan M. (2019) Value-Based Investments in Sustainability. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_305-1

Silverman R. (2019) Water Conservation Strategies for Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_307-1

Thornton E. (2019) Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_284-1

Walker R. (2019) Procurement Policy for Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_294-1

Madhavi Venkatesan, Julia Crooijmans
Pages 59-71

Dr. Madhavi Venkatesan and Sustainable U Productions, a Northeastern University Student Initiative, collaborated with the goal of portraying important environmental issues in film and emphasizing the importance of individual action.

On Tuesday at 6:30 pm on April 5th, 2022, their first film, Plastic Linings, a short documentary all about single-use coffee cups, premiered in Blackman Auditorium.

The film is now available on youtube at https://t.co/8Z5GoIjZbn

The documentary was followed by a panel of experts featured in the film as well as student filmmakers and environmental activists.


USSEE Virtual Conference

Five students: Lucia Moreira, Belkis Montas, Martina Yorde, Natalie Ruben, and Taber Skiba in collaboration with Dr. Madhavi Venkatesan presented at the United States Society for Ecological Economics (USSEE) Virtual Conference on Friday, April 16, 2021.
The USSEE theme is Building Resilient Economies in a Time of Uncertainty. The student’s presentation are listed individually below, representing the conference sub-theme “Natural Capital, Governance, Management, and Policy.”

Social media for social change? 
Martina Yorde, Natalie Ruben Northeastern University 
Presentation

Water market failure: Solutions in sustainable economics 
Taber Skiba Northeastern University 
Presentation

Connecting the supply chain with consumption: Can education reduce food waste? 
C. Lucia Moreira, Belkis Montas Northeastern University

Abstracts for all of the presentations can be found on the USSEE website.

CANSEE (Canadian Society for Ecological Economics) 

Students in Dr. Venkatesan’s spring 2020 Economics of Sustainability course worked on a research project focused on conscious consumption specific to the lifecycle impact of disposable coffee cups.

On June 26, 2020, the students presented their research at the CANSEE (Canadian Society for Ecological Economics) virtual conference.

In March of 2021, the paper Evaluating Conscious Consumption: A Discussion of a Survey Development Process was published in Sustainablity. Link to paper.

16 students were involved in this project. Anjali Nair (’20), Astrid Pedersen (’20), Fenner Dreyfuss-Wells (’23) will , and Vishnu Prasad are listed as lead authors along with Dr. Venkatesan.

Abstract

This paper is the outcome of a course project for Economics of Sustainability (Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts). Facilitated and under the direction of the instructor, course participants designed a survey instrument where questions and responses were developed to be indicators of behavioral bias related to the environment. The consumer good targeted in the survey was convenience-based coffee consumption and convenience was defined by the use of single-use disposable coffee cups. The discussion highlights the survey development process including literature review-based expectations specific to each question. The paper concludes with next steps, which involve the administration of the instrument and evaluation of the survey results.

©Playthink Live Sketching 2020 (playthink.com)