Cle-Anne Gabriel

This is the first book for educators that combines case pedagogy at a philosophical level with evidence from practical experience into a single volume. It is an implementation ready resource that converges with a time of change in the field of education, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This book highlights the challenges faced by renewable energy enterprises (REEs) in emerging markets, by reflecting on the enterprises’ own stories and experiences.

Research into REEs has focused largely on successful businesses and business models, and developed markets. With significant opportunities for renewable energy enterprise in emerging markets, this book presents a unique business-level perspective. It highlights the key barriers and outlines the strategic and operational… Show more

This book highlights the challenges faced by renewable energy enterprises (REEs) in emerging markets, by reflecting on the enterprises’ own stories and experiences.

Research into REEs has focused largely on successful businesses and business models, and developed markets. With significant opportunities for renewable energy enterprise in emerging markets, this book presents a unique business-level perspective. It highlights the key barriers and outlines the strategic and operational solutions for success articulated by the entrepreneurs themselves. The research draws on interviews with entrepreneurs in twenty-eight emerging markets, including Barbados, Cambodia, Chile, Ghana, Indonesia, India, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. The book concludes by summarising the key solutions for success and illustrating how successful REEs put them into practice. Show less

Among other aims, degrowth calls for a deprioritization of economic growth as primary indicator of success. However, deprioritizing economic growth is challenging because it is the antithesis of business as we know it today. Yet, in this study, we find examples of enterprises operating in the renewable energy industry in the Global South, which deprioritize traditional economic growth as their preferred indicator of success. We interviewed 30 renewable energy enterprises (REEs) on the basis of… Show more

Among other aims, degrowth calls for a deprioritization of economic growth as primary indicator of success. However, deprioritizing economic growth is challenging because it is the antithesis of business as we know it today. Yet, in this study, we find examples of enterprises operating in the renewable energy industry in the Global South, which deprioritize traditional economic growth as their preferred indicator of success. We interviewed 30 renewable energy enterprises (REEs) on the basis of an importance-performance analysis (IPA). Our findings confirm that conventional measures of financial performance are not universally applicable to all enterprises in the Global South. Specifically, we observed that the REEs that are least satisfied with conventional economic performance indicators possess two characteristics in common: (1) they have strong social motivations (e.g., energy access and poverty alleviation) and (2) they are averse to economic growth in the traditional sense. We draw insights from these REEs for the future of post-growth enterprise, including the importance of localness in success and performance appraisal as the Global South transitions toward degrowth. We also introduce 14 alternative performance indicators, suggested by the REEs themselves, which may help bring enterprises closer to post-growth orientation in the Global South. Show less

By July 29, Earth's population will have blown mother nature's budget for the entire year, plunging the planet even deeper into ecological debt.

We suggest three distribution criteria, borrowed from the foundations of the Environmental Justice (EJ) movement: need, entitlement and desert. By juxtaposing and problematising the needs, entitlements and deserts of nature and society, these criteria comprise an ethical framework for consumption Degrowth praxis in communities. We present arguments for how each distribution criterion fulfils the aims articulated in the Degrowth corpus. Based on these arguments, we propose seven justice-based… Show more

We suggest three distribution criteria, borrowed from the foundations of the Environmental Justice (EJ) movement: need, entitlement and desert. By juxtaposing and problematising the needs, entitlements and deserts of nature and society, these criteria comprise an ethical framework for consumption Degrowth praxis in communities. We present arguments for how each distribution criterion fulfils the aims articulated in the Degrowth corpus. Based on these arguments, we propose seven justice-based community action principles for redistribution under Degrowth. Show less

The natural resource based view (NRBV) suggests there are two main models used by businesses to achieve short-term sustainability outcomes. They are the product stewardship and pollution prevention models. Here is the case of a New York-based wholesaler of medical supplies. The business aims to develop a more environmentally sustainable supply chain for one of its products - an emesis basin. The emesis basin is currently only offered in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, which has… Show more

The natural resource based view (NRBV) suggests there are two main models used by businesses to achieve short-term sustainability outcomes. They are the product stewardship and pollution prevention models. Here is the case of a New York-based wholesaler of medical supplies. The business aims to develop a more environmentally sustainable supply chain for one of its products - an emesis basin. The emesis basin is currently only offered in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, which has negative effects on the natural environment. This study aimed to assess how the new business model might affect the overall life cycle impacts of this product. To achieve this, we compared the environmental impacts of the conventional product (Scenario 1– an HDPE basin) with equivalent products supplied via pollution prevention (Scenario 2 – a bioplastic basin) and product stewardship (Scenario 3 – green supply chain management and improvements) scenarios, as well as a combination scenario (Scenario 4). The results show that, in line with expectations, the pollution prevention option – switching to a bioplastic product – has the lowest environmental impacts. Unexpectedly though, the product stewardship option had a greater impact on the natural environment than the conventional HDPE, business-as-usual option. We suggest there may be greater environmental gains to be obtained by focusing on one's core business, than by extending influence across the supply chain. Show less

What are the key resources that farmers use to improve the impact of their operations on water resources? In what combinations are these resources applied to farms? This research adopted the natural resource-based view to interview nationally awarded New Zealand livestock farmers, and observe the operations on their farms, with the aim of finding out which key resources they use to achieve their sustainable water management objectives. While the extant literature suggests that human resources… Show more

What are the key resources that farmers use to improve the impact of their operations on water resources? In what combinations are these resources applied to farms? This research adopted the natural resource-based view to interview nationally awarded New Zealand livestock farmers, and observe the operations on their farms, with the aim of finding out which key resources they use to achieve their sustainable water management objectives. While the extant literature suggests that human resources are key, our findings reveal that the farmers in this study do not apply human resources in isolation: they operationalise these resources in combination with other resources. Financial and intellectual resources seem to enhance the effectiveness of on-farm human and physical resources. We infer that the best description of these resource interactions is as a ‘synergy’ of resources, rather than simply a ‘combination’ or ‘bundle’. This is because the combined effect of these synergies on the farmers’ understanding and development of natural resource management capabilities (specifically, networking, consensus building and technology capabilities) appears to be greater than if applied on their own or in smaller combinations. Show less

Against the background of mounting research suggesting entrepreneurship as a means of increasing the uptake of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in developing countries, this paper presents the findings of an exploratory investigation into the business models used by renewable energy entrepreneurs in such countries. Three different types of businesses were identified – Consultants, Distributors, and Integrators.

Renewable energy entrepreneurs in developing countries are selling and facilitating the uptake of a new technology and new ideas in an already difficult environment. We explore entrepreneurs' perceptions of the constraints they face while operating their businesses. Findings emphasised the importance of government/regulatory and local market constraints.

To date, research that could facilitate the success of renewable energy entrepreneurs in the world׳s developing regions has been fragmented across two main bodies of literature – management (specifically, entrepreneurship) and renewable energy. By conducting a qualitative review of the extant literature, I propose that the findings from both bodies of research may be distilled to six (6) key challenges: inadequate access to institutional finance; the price of renewable energy technologies… Show more

To date, research that could facilitate the success of renewable energy entrepreneurs in the world׳s developing regions has been fragmented across two main bodies of literature – management (specifically, entrepreneurship) and renewable energy. By conducting a qualitative review of the extant literature, I propose that the findings from both bodies of research may be distilled to six (6) key challenges: inadequate access to institutional finance; the price of renewable energy technologies (RETs); the lack of skilled labour; underdeveloped physical infrastructure and logistics; power/dominance of incumbents; inadequate government or policy support. Show less

The Dunedin Energy Baseline Study was a joint project between Dunedin City Council (DCC), the Otago Chamber of Commerce and the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago. It involved stocktaking and analysis of the energy inputs to the city of Dunedin, to assist with planning for the future development of the city. Dunedin city is taken as the geographic extent of the city council’s jurisdiction, i.e. including the Middlemarch, Taieri Plain and Waikouaiti regions, as well as the… Show more

The Dunedin Energy Baseline Study was a joint project between Dunedin City Council (DCC), the Otago Chamber of Commerce and the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago. It involved stocktaking and analysis of the energy inputs to the city of Dunedin, to assist with planning for the future development of the city. Dunedin city is taken as the geographic extent of the city council’s jurisdiction, i.e. including the Middlemarch, Taieri Plain and Waikouaiti regions, as well as the urban area of the city itself. The study was conducted between May and September 2015, and the data collected were for inputs of consumer energy to Dunedin for the year 2014. The study is a high-level estimation of the total amount of each energy type used within the city and, where data is available, an indication of the most significant end uses. Show less

Cite this item: Walton, S., Doering, A., Gabriel, C.-A., & Ford, R. (2014). Energy Transitions: Lighting in Vanuatu (Project Report). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/4859

The Energy Conference: Energy at the Crossroads

'BLOGSPOT' article: My research is about a thing that I have gallantly (and somewhat carelessly) dubbed “Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship” and my anxiety stems from the fact that, 43 interviews and one pending case study later, I am not entirely sure there is anyone in Renewable Energy Land who’s NOT an entrepreneur...

Engineering is an art. In any of its forms, art appeals to our senses; it simultaneously challenges and submits to our ideas of beauty. It is a product of innovation and when a significant change must be made, art both mirrors and satisfies this need. Science and mathematics are the tools of the engineer – like a painter’s paintbrush or a writer’s pen – which must be used to inspire change, particularly in times like these when the issue of sustainability has so hauntingly captured our… Show more

Engineering is an art. In any of its forms, art appeals to our senses; it simultaneously challenges and submits to our ideas of beauty. It is a product of innovation and when a significant change must be made, art both mirrors and satisfies this need. Science and mathematics are the tools of the engineer – like a painter’s paintbrush or a writer’s pen – which must be used to inspire change, particularly in times like these when the issue of sustainability has so hauntingly captured our attention. I like to think of engineering as the art of creation and invention – it has allowed mankind to continuously alter his relationship to the environment with innovations that ignited the first fires of civilisation, exploration... Show less