Sustentabilidad

Sustainable Development Sust. Dev. 16, 401–409 (2008) Published online 20 October 2008 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/sd.357

Challenges in Operating Sustainability Initiatives in Northwest Mexico
Luis Velázquez,* Nora Munguía, Andrea Zavala and Maria de los Ángeles Navarrete
Industrial and Systems Department, Engineering College, University of Sonora, MexicoABSTRACT This paper is aimed at describing the evolutive strategy that the University of Sonora is following to promote regional sustainable development initiatives in Northwest Mexico as well as debating the challenges in implementing it effectively. The institutional partnership and outreach efforts with local industries, community groups, governmental agencies, educational institutions andnon-governmental organizations comprise the provision of technical assistance, advising services, performance of demonstration projects and capacity building. There are both significant challenges and opportunities for industry facing the dilemma of compliance with environmental and occupational pressures. These challenges have serious practical and theoretical implications not only for conductingsustainability research studies but also for implementing cleaner production and pollution prevention interventions. Slowly but surely, regional sustainability leaders have increased their capacity to better respond to awkward sustainability situations; capacity building has been a central task in ensuring the use of the resources and in ensuring an adequate performance. As outlined in this paper,adequate conditions for the successful implementation of regional sustainability initiatives are not present. Low levels of awareness, lack of external drives, data uncertainty and lack of capacity have emerged as main barriers preventing success. Additional challenges to sustainability progress include lack of time, lack of interest, lack of funding and lack of training. Copyright © 2008 JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Received 11 September 2007; revised 11 February 2008; accepted 11 February 2008 Keywords: outreaching and partnership; sustainable production; Mexico; sustainability

Introduction

T

HE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN DEBATED FOR YEARS. THIS HAS BECOME AN ENDLESS DEBATE.

Bagheri and Hjorth (2007) describe sustainable development as anevolving ideal of development efforts with no end known in advance, which is characterized by its complexity and uncertainty. Like sustainable development, a sustainable community is a term of which the meaning varies according to the interest, needs and values of different societies; nonetheless, most focus on promoting a better quality of life for their

* Correspondence to: Dr. Luis Velazquez,Rio Fuerte 195 entre Ave, Nacameri y Arrollo Seco, Residencial Pima CP 83287, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. E-mail: Luis_Velazquez@industrial.uson.mx
Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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citizens. According to Keirstead and Leach (2007), cities can deliver significant quality of life improvements, but to maintain these benefits environmentalimpacts as well as social and economic inequalities must be addressed. Governments, businesses and other types of organization are increasingly using the framework of sustainable development to describe their policy-making and implementation activities (Uwem, 2007). In Europe, many municipalities are taking the commitment to implement a Local Agenda 21 (Garcia-Sanchez and Prado-Lorenzo, 2008). Moon(2007) argues that not only governments but also businesses are performing corporate social responsibility programs as a potential contribution to sustainable development. In this context, industry faces the challenge of improving productivity with the objective of prevention, minimization and/or elimination of occupational and environmental risks. Cleaner production is a concept used around the...