Disaster management has begun to examine the unique role of the private sector in disaster relief. The hotel and lodging industry is an especially critical infrastructure for community disaster relief and resilience, providing many lifeline services in addition to core skills and competencies contributing to the community’s social and human capital. Social and human capital empower the community to better cope with disturbance, and companies’ efforts to build social and human capital are often tied to their corporate social responsibility (CSR) management systems. A framework was developed to evaluate the management system maturity of the hotel and lodging industry’s CSR management for disaster relief and resilience. An analysis of three hotel and lodging corporations was performed to understand the current state of the industry. While many hotel properties are engaging in CSR activities during disaster relief, the analysis revealed that corporate management systems have room for maturation and growth to support the resilience of their community.

Based on microhistological examinations of feces, Cervus elaphus (elk) from a reintroduced herd on the Cumberland Plateau in southeastern Kentucky exhibited an annual diet of grasses (24%), forbs (27%), and browse (32%). Diets shifted seasonally, possibly in response to availability and palatability. Forbs dominated the summer diet (34%), whereas grasses, forbs, and woody browse accounted for approximately equal portions of the fall diet. Grasses (40%), and browse (46%) dominated the diet during winter and spring, respectively. Grasses were eaten less during spring (10%) than during any other month. Nutritional quality does not appear to be limiting in this growing population.

As college campuses reopened in fall 2020, we saw a large-scale experiment unfold on the efficacy of various strategies to contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Traditional individual surveillance testing via nasal swabs and/or saliva is among the measures that colleges are pursuing to reduce the spread of the virus on campus. Additionally, some colleges are testing wastewater on their campuses for signs of infection, which can provide an early warning signal for campuses to locate COVID-positive individuals. However, a representation of wastewater surveillance has not yet been incorporated into epidemiological models for college campuses, nor has the efficacy of wastewater screening been evaluated relative to traditional individual surveillance testing, within the structure of these models. Here, we implement a new model component for wastewater surveillance within an established epidemiological model for college campuses. We use a hypothetical residential university to evaluate the efficacy of wastewater surveillance for maintaining low infection rates. We find that wastewater sampling with a 1-day lag to initiate individual screening tests, plus completing the subsequent tests within a 4-day period can keep overall infections within 5% of the infection rates seen with traditional individual surveillance testing. Our results also indicate that wastewater surveillance can effectively reduce the number of false positive cases by identifying subpopulations for surveillance testing where infectious individuals are more likely to be found. Through a Monte Carlo risk analysis, we find that surveillance testing that relies solely on wastewater sampling can be fragile against scenarios with high viral reproductive numbers and high rates of infection of campus community members by outside sources. These results point to the practical importance of additional surveillance measures to limit the spread of the virus on campus and the necessity of a proactive response to the initial signs of outbreak.

This study examines social disparities in U.S. K–12 school flood exposure and the distribution of federal disaster recovery aid for affected schools. Using national datasets on school locations, flood hazards, and socioeconomic characteristics, we analyze (1) the spatial patterns of schools within 100-year flood zones, and (2) factors associated with the local receipt of FEMA recovery aid for schools. Our findings reveal substantial regional variation, with flood-prone schools concentrated in the Southern and Gulf Coast states. Local geographic conditions are consistently associated with schools’ flood exposure across most states. Schools in communities with higher poverty rates and larger Hispanic populations are more likely to be located in flood zones. Regarding recovery, greater FEMA aid is allocated to schools in localities with greater damage, larger populations, and more schools in floodplains. The relationship between social factors and aid is mixed: communities with lower incomes and larger Hispanic populations receive less school aid, yet aid levels are also positively correlated with poverty rates. This study contributes to understanding school flood exposure and social equity in disaster recovery, offering insights for policymakers, urban planners, and school administrators to develop targeted mitigation strategies and promote more equitable recovery for flood-prone schools.

The purpose of this research paper is to benchmark the evolution of reported sustainability activity in the pharmaceutical sector, which has been recognized as a leading sector in industrial sustainability. The authors examined recent published corporate sustainability activity reports for 11 pharmaceutical sector‐related companies and compared this to a similar earlier study. Sustainability related activity has increased in breadth and depth, but activity is now being shifted toward corporate social responsibility, which is reflective of corporate need to satisfy public sentiment. The paper is formed on the basis of voluntarily reported activities and published documentation, therefore, it does contain a potential for bias and “greenwashing”; however, regardless of the impetus, the integration of sustainability is still evident. The paper is of value to the practicioner and manager to benchmark the venues and activities reported for sustainability, in other words, what is the sector participating in and what is it reporting? Benchmarking of corporate practice in a sustainability leadership sector provides a glimpse into the emerging standard of practice for industry.

Communities and businesses continue to experience the effects of climate change as global temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more frequent. In the United States (US), the public sector has traditionally been responsible for mitigating these risks; however, engaging the private sector is crucial, given industrial impacts on and vulnerability to climate change. Private-sector mitigation and adaptation efforts are critical in the Great Lakes Region due to aging infrastructure as well as its economic, environmental, and political importance in the US and Canada. This study explores private-sector resilience efforts in three Great Lakes cities to identify opportunities and trends that could inform climate resilience strategies in the region. Climate-related commitments and actions of nine major firms in Toronto, Chicago, and Cleveland are evaluated in relation to seven climate resilience criteria on a five-level maturity scale from January to May 2022. The results indicate a moderate level of maturity, with efforts mainly at facility and community levels of engagement. Overall, this study suggests that major firms participate in climate resilience efforts, but to a limited extent, and may have varying priorities that affect the initiatives they pursue. This study could contribute to advancing climate resilience efforts in the public and private sectors from regional to global levels.