Olaf Weber - Böcker

Social Banking describes a way of value-driven banking that has a positive social and ecological impact at its heart, as well as its own economic sustainability. Although it has a long and successful history, it has arguably never been more topical than it is now in the aftermath of the latest financial crisis. Most Social Banks came out of this crisis not only unscathed but much stronger and bigger than they were before. And contrary to their conventional peers, none of the Social Banks had to be bailed out with public funds. This increasingly attracts the interest not only of clients searching for safe and sensible ways to deposit their funds but also of conventional banks that begin to understand the potential of a more socially oriented approach towards banking.Social Banks and the Future of Sustainable Finance is the first book to deliver a comprehensive and detailed overview about the past, present and possible future of Social and Sustainable Banking for researchers, students and a professional audience. The authors are experts from research and practice and have bee involved in Social Banking for many years. Thus they combine state-of-the-art expertise with valuable insider knowledge.The book covers the following topics: the history of Social Banking, the need for Social Banking in the current economy, the particular issues of managing a Social Bank as business enterprise, Social Banking products and services, the special role of donations and foundations for financing change, the opportunities and challenges for Social Banks lying ahead, and concrete directions for the future of Social Banking. In addition to these respective analyses are many real-world examples and interviews with representatives of Social Banks. As such, this comprehensive collection delivers valuable insights for academics, students and professionals who are interested in the growing field of Social Banking.

Green finance is heralded in theory and practice as the new panacea – the ideal way to support the green transition of businesses into more sustainable, environmentally responsible forms, by means of incentivized financial investments. This handbook brings together a variety of expert scholars with industry specialists to offer the most authoritative overview of green finance to date, presenting the current situation in the field. It focuses on green finance in a comprehensive way, discussing its characteristics, underlying principles, and mechanisms.The book carefully illuminates the issues surrounding green finance and delineates its boundaries, mapping out and displaying the disparate voices, traditions, and professional communities engaged in green and sustainable finance activities. Specifically, it examines the "environmental" in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measurements, while also discussing the interplay between each measurement. It develops a range of analytic approaches to the subject, both appreciative and critical, and synthesizes new theoretical constructs that make better sense of hybrid financial relationships. Furthermore, the handbook illustrates existing best practices and theories, and critically examines the gaps to derive the necessary future research questions. It highlights the essential issues and debates and provides a robust research agenda. As such, it helps to create an effective market for the various green financing instruments through clarification and standardization.This handbook will be the standard reference work for a broad audience, encompassing scholars, researchers, and students but also interested professionals, regulators, and policymakers wishing to orient themselves in a rapidly developing and increasingly topical field.

Green finance is heralded in theory and practice as the new panacea – the ideal way to support the green transition of businesses into more sustainable, environmentally responsible forms, by means of incentivized financial investments. This handbook brings together a variety of expert scholars with industry specialists to offer the most authoritative overview of green finance to date, presenting the current situation in the field. It focuses on green finance in a comprehensive way, discussing its characteristics, underlying principles, and mechanisms.The book carefully illuminates the issues surrounding green finance and delineates its boundaries, mapping out and displaying the disparate voices, traditions, and professional communities engaged in green and sustainable finance activities. Specifically, it examines the "environmental" in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measurements, while also discussing the interplay between each measurement. It develops a range of analytic approaches to the subject, both appreciative and critical, and synthesizes new theoretical constructs that make better sense of hybrid financial relationships. Furthermore, the handbook illustrates existing best practices and theories, and critically examines the gaps to derive the necessary future research questions. It highlights the essential issues and debates and provides a robust research agenda. As such, it helps to create an effective market for the various green financing instruments through clarification and standardization.This handbook will be the standard reference work for a broad audience, encompassing scholars, researchers, and students but also interested professionals, regulators, and policymakers wishing to orient themselves in a rapidly developing and increasingly topical field.

Social Banking describes a way of value-driven banking that has a positive social and ecological impact at its heart, as well as its own economic sustainability. Although it has a long and successful history, it has arguably never been more topical than it is now in the aftermath of the latest financial crisis. Most Social Banks came out of this crisis not only unscathed but much stronger and bigger than they were before. And contrary to their conventional peers, none of the Social Banks had to be bailed out with public funds. This increasingly attracts the interest not only of clients searching for safe and sensible ways to deposit their funds but also of conventional banks that begin to understand the potential of a more socially oriented approach towards banking.Social Banks and the Future of Sustainable Finance is the first book to deliver a comprehensive and detailed overview about the past, present and possible future of Social and Sustainable Banking for researchers, students and a professional audience. The authors are experts from research and practice and have bee involved in Social Banking for many years. Thus they combine state-of-the-art expertise with valuable insider knowledge.The book covers the following topics: the history of Social Banking, the need for Social Banking in the current economy, the particular issues of managing a Social Bank as business enterprise, Social Banking products and services, the special role of donations and foundations for financing change, the opportunities and challenges for Social Banks lying ahead, and concrete directions for the future of Social Banking. In addition to these respective analyses are many real-world examples and interviews with representatives of Social Banks. As such, this comprehensive collection delivers valuable insights for academics, students and professionals who are interested in the growing field of Social Banking.

Sustainable Banking introduces business leaders and students to the many ways in which financial institutions can manage their environmental and social impact and meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations. Olaf Weber and Blair Feltmate go beyond the business case for sustainability: how managing environmental, social, and governance risk can contribute to a bank’s bottom line – to make the sustainability case for banking: how banks and other financial institutions can make a positive impact on society.In their book, Weber and Feltmate discuss the key aspects involved in making a financial institution sustainable: how to manage the direct and indirect impacts of banking activities on the community and the environment, how to minimize and mitigate the environmental footprint of internal operations, and how to account for various types of environmental and social risk in lending and project finance. They also introduce sustainable banking products and strategies being adopted by industry leaders, such as responsible investing, social finance, and impact lending.

The outbreak of SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome), an atypical pneumonia, has received much attention and coverage by the media and has consequently had a high impact on the public. The infectivity and route of transmission of the disease appear unusual, and it turned out to be a highly relevant threat for medical staff. This monograph provides comprehensive information on the newest insights into the SARS epidemic and the responsible infectious agent. Background information on Coronaviridae (coronavirus/torovirus) and coronavirus/torovirus-associated infections in humans and animals is also given. The volume will be a valuable source of information for researchers and clinicians in virology, epidemiology and biomedicine.

The study of poxviruses has a long and distinguished history that includes Jenner’s founding work on smallpox vaccination. In the more than 200 years since that time we have seen the remarkable eradication of smallpox. It is difficult to overstate the significance of that achievement. It not only removed a disease that must rate as one of humankind’s greatest scourges, but also demonstrated the effectiveness of the general principle of vacci- tion in our battles against disease. This book begins with a review of smallpox and its causative agent, Variola virus. The vaccine used in the successful smallpox eradication c- paign, vaccinia virus, is reviewed in the following chapter that describes its origin and its use as a vaccine, as well as the current understanding of the molecular biology and pathogenesis of this virus. Vaccinia virus is the most intensively studied poxvirus and the descriptions of the biology of this virus are relevant to all vertebrate poxviruses. The eradication ofsmallpox has drawn attention to the potential threat posed by other orthopoxviruses that infect humans, particularly Monkeypox virus. A description of this virus is given in the third chapter. Jenner’s ori- nal vaccine is believed to have been Cowpox virus and this virus is reviewed in the chapter by Essbauer and Meyer. Additional chapters are devoted to each of the recognized genera of the vertebrate poxviruses and a f- ther chapter describes the subfamily of poxviruses infecting invertebrates. Together these provide a comprehensive review of the poxvirus family.

Acute and chronic hepatitis and hepatitis-related diseases such as liver failure, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are among the most important causes for disabilities and death. Hepatocellular injury is due to a variety of agents including viruses, toxins, radiation, injury and drugs but also bacteria, parasites and autoimmune reactions. This volume reviews today’s knowledge about hepatitis with emphasis on comparative aspects between hepatitis in humans and animals, but also between different etiological agents. This particular viewpoint makes the book relevant for scientists from both human and veterinary medicine, gastroenterologists, pathologists, virologists and students of human and veterinary medicine.