Sustainability has become an emerging topic that shapes how firms strategize to secure better business opportunities and financial performance. The recent increase in the number and market share of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainable oriented firms whether large or small has intensified competition in this new industry. However, whether it pays to be sustainable in all market types is yet to be determined. The term 'one size fits all' does not apply to sustainability, since there are complexities that require addressing. The complexity of developing a model that is suitable enough to be called sustainable and legitimate enough to matter still requires intense deliberation by major stakeholders. Sustainability can unlock global business potential of approximately USD 12 trillion by 2030. Yet, OIC countries still lag in the SDG index and are trapped in survival entrepreneurship. This thesis aimed to shed light on the significance of developing a model that addresses the material issues according to market and firm types. The thesis also examined the relationship between embedding sustainability practices in the social, environmental and economic realms and financial performance. The study also focused on the indirect outcomes of embedding sustainability such as productivity and competitiveness. The thesis used structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to investigate whether the relationships are evident.

Humans are living in trying times, brought on mostly by their own hands. Increasing climate-related devastation, strange pandemics (e.g., Zika, Ebola, COVID-19 and Monkeypox), and wars that mostly support weapons-producing nations and the corporate/political elite have led to a widening of economic disparity and human suffering. Probably the most seriousof humanity's unbridled obsessions for more is food. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that more than 30 per cent of food is wasted in the United States and Europe alone. But has production met increasing consumption patterns? Some wealthy nations like the USA and China have increased crop yields. However, medium- to long-term yields are on the decline, affecting output and food price and severely impacting food security and poverty in developing nations. A recent study by Hasegawa et al. (2021) found that Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are most at risk of hunger over the next 30 years, resulting from uncertainties in extreme climate impact. Nevertheless, most reports will have us believe that the percentage of poverty and hunger has decreased.

Studies have shown that natural disasters could pose a spectrum of challenges to human development, especially in developing countries. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2004) estimates that low human development countries accounted for more than half of reported casualties due to natural disasters for the last two decades. The study also estimates that nearly 85 percent of the people exposed to natural disasters live in either medium or low human development countries. Other related studies have shown that corrupted officials in poor countries would increase the vulnerability of these countries to natural disasters. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the impact of human development indicators, such as income per capita and human capital development (education level), as well as corruption (a measure of governance) on fatalities and damages due to natural disasters in selected 77 developing countries. By employing the two-step system GMM estimators, we identified several economic variables that are significantly related to fatalities and property damages due to natural disasters, such as flood, storm, earthquake, landslides, drought, extreme temperature, wildfire, and volcanic eruption. By exploring the impact of economic development, population density, unemployment rate, investment, government consumption expenditure, education, openness, and corruption, on disaster preparedness, it would be useful for both government and international disaster risk reduction and mitigation agencies to re-evaluate their approach towards target recipients in the future.

While the world is yet to fully recuperate from the social and economic repercussions of COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict poses another major threat causing a humanitarian crisis and economic shock. Although the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its pledge to "leave no one behind" is a universal commitment to protect the livelihoods of vulnerable groups, the Russia-Ukraine ongoing conflict is causing immense suffering and a gloomy future for the 2030 Agenda. The purpose of this study is to provide a holistic understanding of the ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine war in SDGs progress around the world. Further, the authors shed light on how stakeholders can help engage in support of SDGs in such a challenging time.

Malaysia established its Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) to achieve sustainable economic development, with one of its primary strategic thrusts being "accelerating human capital development for an advanced nation." This study examines one aspect of human capital development by reviewing the reading habits of Malaysian youths and the conjecture surrounding a 'crisis' among youths and their engagement with reading, to foster a culture of reading to improve education, focusing on human behavioral interventions to increase environmental knowledge and awareness, and developing human capital with pro-environmental behavior. Data from 250 valid questionnaires was analyzed using the variance-based Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Dewey's Educational Theory of Constructivism and Social Cognitive Theory. The results reveal that attitude and parental influence significantly promotes reading habits, while perceived stress does not. It was also found that reading habits positively influenced the pro-environmental behavior of youths. It is hoped that this study will lead to a coherent strategy being undertaken to engage Malaysian youths not only to read but to engender a culture of sustainability and pro-environment behavior.