Sustainable Value Creation in the European Union: Towards Pathways to a Sustainable Future through Crises

The European Union Treaty after Lisbon emphasises the overarching objectives of sustainable development and a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment, high levels of environmental protection and social progress. Yet, in 2022, it is clear that these ambitions have not been fully achieved. The ongoing pandemic, the continuing fall-out from Brexit and the resulting economic damage, a Grexit avoided, and potential other exits from the EU, have come to undermine the political consensus of the idea of a European Union. Amidst these challenges, the debates on how to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals have turned towards demanding more sustainable economic policies, financial investments and business actions. The present volume provides a much-needed space for in-depth discussion of the concept of sustainable value creation and how it can be achieved within the ecological limits of our planet, through the prism of an interdisciplinary concept of sustainability.