This study investigates managerial views of corporate sustainability under the ecosystem services perspective, which is emerging as a key paradigm worldwide for environmental management and policy making. We analyse interviews conducted with 20 managers from domestic and international forestry companies operating with a plantation-based business model in China. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data, with a focus on four key areas: 1) interviewee familiarity with the ecosystem services concept; 2) their views of corporate dependencies and impacts on ecosystem services; 3) related business risks and opportunities; and 4) viability of existing instruments and practices that can be employed in detecting and addressing business impacts and dependencies on ecosystem services. Based on our empirical findings, we further refined a conceptual framework of the impact-dependency-response process between enterprises and ecosystems services. This framework holds broader operational value for developing company response strategies to ecosystem services impact/dependence assessment, ensuring that all issues are addressed comprehensively, and that related risks and opportunities are properly acknowledged.
China's rapid economic development has improved people's living standards and has thus raised people's health awareness and environmental consciousness. Today, more and more Chinese parents have realized the growing importance of healthy and eco-friendly products for children's growth. In the past 10 years, the Chinese children's furniture market has developed rapidly, making up 9 percent of the entire furniture market in China in 2011. Because of a lack of research on the analysis of consumers' environmental perceptions of children's furniture in China, a survey in two coastal metropolitan cities of China (Shanghai and Shenzhen) was conducted at the turn of 2012 to 2013. Results indicate that 83 percent of 299 valid respondents chose solid wood as their preferred raw material for children's furniture. From the Chinese consumers' perspective, eco-friendly furniture contains the following key attributes: natural, nonpoisonous, and scentless material; adoption of environmental certification; and verification of legal origin of wood. Furthermore, there is some evidence on the linkage between consumers' lifestyle of health and sustainability and sex (females), location (Shanghai), and income (higher income). Although Chinese consumers still have low brand awareness and their price expectations on solid wood furniture are below current market prices, the market for children's furniture presents a growing high-end segment with business potential for both furniture producers and wood raw material suppliers.
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