Research Committees

RC24 Statutes were originally adopted in Madrid, July 1990, then subsequently amended in Brisbane, July 2002, and in Yokohama, July 2014.

1. GENERAL OBJECTIVE

1.1 Research Committee 24 on Environment and Society (hereafter RC24) has been established in accordance with Article 4 of the Statutes of the International Sociological Association (hereafter ISA). Its general objectives are to promote research on environment and society, and to promote the international exchange of scientific information in this field.

2. ACTIVITIES

2.1 To bring these objectives to realization, RC24 will carry out the following activities:

(a) Organize sessions at the ISA’s World Congresses of Sociology.
(b) Publish a Newsletter at least twice annually, mailed to all members in good standing, to keep them informed of ongoing and planned activities.
(c) Organize at least one mid-term conference where environmental-sociological researchers come together to exchange information and collaborate. This may be a stand-alone meeting of RC24, a stand-alone meeting organized jointly with another association, several sessions embedded within the meeting of another association, or several sessions held in conjunction with different associations (preferably not all in the same part of the world).
(d) Undertake any other activities that promote the objectives of RC24.

3. MEMBERSHIP

3.1 Any social scientist can be a member in good standing of the RC24. Members shall either be regular members or affiliated members.

(a) Regular members shall be individuals in good standing (i.e. who have paid the applicable membership fees) within both RC24 and the ISA.
(b) Affiliated members shall be:

(i) Individuals interested in the activities of RC24 and who have paid the applicable membership fee to RC24, who are not members of the ISA.
(ii) Organizations active in the practice and/or promotion of environmental sociology and who have paid the applicable
membership fee to RC24. Admittance of organizations to affiliate membership will be by a majority decision of the RC24 Board.

(c) An individual or organization which has not paid RC24 membership dues is dropped from the membership list six months after the final period paid for.
(d) A social scientist can also be declared an affiliated member in good standing of RC24 if the Board determines that s/he has appropriate qualifications for RC24 membership and deems that s/he is unable to pay RC24 dues.

3.2 All regular and affiliated members of RC24 shall be entitled to:

(a) Vote as individual members in discussions about organizational matters at Business Meetings according to the principle of "one member, one vote".
(b) Vote in Board elections, also according to the principle of "one member, one vote".
(c) Nominate themselves or others for Board membership (note that only regular individual members in good standing may be members of the Board).
(d) Participate in the scientific activities of the Research Committee.
(e) Receive the newsletter issued by RC24 free of charge.

3.3 All regular and affiliated members of RC24 shall be obliged to:

(a) Uphold the present Statutes of RC24 and to adhere to the stipulations of the present Statutes.
(b) Conscientiously fulfill the tasks entrusted to them by the Business Meeting or other bodies of RC24.
(c) Pay their membership fee for the respective period (i.e. 4 years) (see Statute 9.3).

4. BOARD

4.1

(a) The Board shall consist of six regularly elected members plus a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The most recent Past President of RC24 shall serve as an eleventh voting member of the Board. Other regular members in good standing who have previously served as President of RC24 are encouraged to join the Board as ex officio, nonvoting members.
(b) Each member of the Board must at all times be:

(i) A member in good standing of the ISA in accordance with the ISA Statutes; and
(ii) A member in good standing of RC24.

(c) No member of the Board may serve more than two consecutive terms, except for:

(i) The immediate Past President who serves one term as an ex officio
voting member of the Board; and
(ii) Persons who previously served as RC24 President and who are continuing their service as ex officio nonvoting members of the Board.

(d) The Board shall contain no more than three members from the same country. An effort shall be made to ensure a fair regional, national, and gender representation, and to ensure that each Board consists of some continuing and some new members. Board members should be nominated, above all, in recognition of their activity in and service to RC24, and of their contributions to environmental sociology scholarship.
(e) The Executive Committee of the Board shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
(f) Subject to compliance with nomination and election procedures (Statute 6), up to two people may simultaneously occupy the offices of Treasurer, Secretary, Vice-President or President. All such persons elected or appointed to serve as co-occupant(s) of an executive office become voting members of the Executive Committee and Board for the duration of their terms.

4.2. The duties of the Board are to:

(a) Organize the activities of RC24;
(b) Represent RC24 in the ISA and elsewhere;
(c) Manage the funds of RC24;

4.3 Board positions shall be considered vacant if the incumbent dies, submits a formal written resignation, is unable to perform the duties of office due to ill health or other reason, or fails to perform the duties of the office. In the case of disputes, the Board shall determine by majority vote whether Board memberships are vacant. The Vice-President will assume the duties of the President if the President is temporarily unable to serve. The Vice-President shall assume the office of President if the office of President is vacant. For offices other than that of President, an unexpired term due to a vacancy may be served by an RC24 and ISA member in good standing upon the nomination of the President and ratification by the Board.

4.4 The Board shall meet at each World Congress. Other Board meetings may be called by at least two members of the Board, at least one month before the meeting. A Board meeting can only take valid decisions if a majority of voting Board members is present. Board decisions can also be taken by mail or email ballot among the voting Board members. The Board takes its decisions by simple majority of its voting members. In the case of equal votes among the Board the President shall have the deciding vote.

5. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

5.1 The President, as chief executive of the RC, shall preside at the meetings of the Committee and its Board. The President will be responsible for seeing that the sessions of the RC at the ISA World Congress are appropriately organized. The
President will initiate and carry out policies in conformity with the RC’s purpose as specified by the Board and the membership. The President shall be RC24’s delegate to the ISA Research Council.

5.2. The Vice-President shall assist the President in carrying out the functions listed above. The Vice-President shall chair the Buttel Award Committee. S/he may be assigned additional special duties by the President. The Vice-President shall be RC24’s alternate delegate to the ISA Research Council.

5.3

(a) The Secretary is responsible for communicating the RC’s activities and plans to the members at least twice a year through the newsletter. These include the time and place, as well as the organizers, of regional workshops, ISA World Congresses, and other special meetings that are organized or co-sponsored by the RC. At the Secretary’s discretion, the newsletter may be published electronically provided that members without internet access are able to receive the newsletter through alternative means.
(b) The Secretary shall announce to the membership the time and place of general meetings, to be known as a Business Meeting. A Business Meeting shall be held in conjunction with the ISA World Congress. The Secretary, or the designee of the Secretary, shall prepare minutes of Board meetings and of Business Meetings of the RC membership for subsequent distribution and approval. Announcement of the Business Meeting shall be made by the Secretary to the RC members at least one month in advance of the World Congress, along with a tentative agenda of business.

5.4 The Treasurer shall prepare a membership list to be used for the purpose of elections, and for the purpose of RC24 membership ratification of Council actions, when membership ratification is required by the Statutes. The Treasurer will administer funds on behalf of RC24 including banking membership fees and other income and disbursing funding in accordance with the direction of the Board. The Treasurer will prepare a statement of financial affairs every four years, or at the request of the Board, for reporting to the RC.

6. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

6.1 Elections to the Board will be held every four years, within the twelve months prior to each ISA World Congress. The four-year terms of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and other Board members shall begin at the end of the Business Meeting at the World Congress immediately following their election, and continue through the Business Meeting at the World Congress held four years hence.

(a) At least twelve months prior to the next World Congress the Executive Committee of the Board shall appoint a Nominations and Elections Committee consisting of two officers or other Board members and one at-large member drawn from the RC’s membership in good standing. No member of the Nominations and Elections Committee may be a candidate for election or re-election.
(b) The duties of the Nominations and Elections Committee are to solicit and receive nominations for candidates, decide on the slate of candidates for
each office, and to oversee the election.
(c) To the greatest degree practicable, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall identify at least two candidates for each Executive Committee office (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer). The number of candidates for election to other Board memberships shall exceed the number of Board positions to be elected.
(d) Each candidate for Executive Committee and other Board positions must be an RC24 member in good standing, and also an ISA member in good standing, at the time of the election and must undertake to remain in good standing for the duration of their term.
(e) Pairs of candidates may be nominated for the positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer to function as Co-Presidents, Co-Vice-Presidents, Co-Secretaries or Co-Treasurers.
(f) Candidates may stand simultaneously for a maximum of one Executive Committee position and one other Board position.
(g) Only RC24 members in good standing have the right to vote.
(h) Elections are conducted by electronic ballot. Elections will be conducted even if the number of candidates does not exceed the number of positions to be filled. Ballots may be distributed in connection with distribution of the RC newsletter. An opportunity for write-in candidates will be provided for each Board position. Members shall be given at least two months from the date when the ballot is emailed to members until their ballots are due. Election materials shall be emailed to RC24 members in sufficient time so that the due date for receipt of ballots is at least one week prior to the beginning of the subsequent ISA World Congress.
(i) The candidate receiving the largest number of votes for President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected to office. The six Board candidates with the largest number of votes shall be elected to office, except in the case where four or more of the six candidates with the largest number of votes are from one country; in such an event, the three candidates from this one country with the highest number of votes will be elected to office, and the remaining three Board members shall be from other countries. In the event of a tie vote for the sixth Board position, all candidates tied for sixth place shall become voting members of the Board.

6.2 In the event of no nominations prior to the official election, the Treasurer will be appointed by the President subject to ratification by the Board. The term of an executively-appointed Treasurer will be four years and will normally begin and end at World Congresses. An executively-appointed Treasurer may serve up to two successive terms. If the office of Treasurer is vacant, the Secretary may assume the duties of the Treasurer, subject to ratification by a majority of the Board. If the Secretary assumes the duties of the Treasurer, the Secretary will relinquish the Treasurer’s duties upon Board ratification of the President’s nominee for the office of Treasurer.

7. BUSINESS MEETING

7.1 A Business Meeting is held at least every four years, including one at each World Congress. A Business Meeting may be held at an RC24-sponsored conference or other event between World Congresses provided that: (a) there is a quorum of Board members present, (b) at least ten other RC24 members in good standing are present, and (c) the RC24 membership is notified of the Business Meeting through the newsletter at least one month prior to the meeting.

7.2 The outgoing President shall chair the Business Meeting at the ISA World Congress through the completion of the agenda of old and new business, at which time the incoming President is installed and the incoming Board is confirmed. New business may be conducted after the installation of the incoming President and confirmation of the new Board.

7.3 Votes can only be cast by RC24 members in good standing who are present at the Business Meeting Assembly.

7.4 The duties of the Business Meeting are to:

(a) Evaluate and approve the four-year report;
(b) Discharge the outgoing Board of its responsibilities, including the financial statement;
(c) Discuss and carry motions on any other points that may arise.

7.5 Decisions in a Business Meeting are taken by simple majority. In the event of a tie vote the President shall have the deciding vote.

8. COMMITTEES

8.1 Ad hoc committees may be appointed for specific purposes by the President following ratification by the Board. The chairs or co-chairs of ad hoc committees shall report on their activities to the Board.

9. FUNDS

9.1

(a) The RC will administer its own funds. Expenses are made by the Board, or by the Treasurer on its behalf, pending authorization by the Board.
(b) A statement of financial affairs will be prepared by the Treasurer and be published in the Newsletter every four years.
(c) RC24 funds may be disbursed by the Treasurer in support of Research Committee activities [2.a-d], to facilitate the work of the Nominations and Elections Committee [6.] and ad hoc committees [8.1], and to facilitate the conduct of business by the Board or Research Committee membership.

9.2 The funds of the RC24 consist of:

(a) membership fees;
(b) revenues from conferences and other activities;
(c) ISA subventions;
(d) royalties from RC24-sponsored publications;
(e) donations, grants and other means.

9.3

(a) Membership fees for RC24 cover four-year periods and will be charged at different rates for scholars Category A, B and C countries (as defined by the ISA), students and other special needs groups.
(b) Membership fees may be changed by majority vote of the Board, following ratification by majority vote of the Business Meeting Assembly or of the membership in good standing by mail ballot. The membership fee structure will normally be reviewed, and be altered if appropriate, every four years in conjunction with the Board meeting and Business Meeting at the ISA World Congress. Current fees will be advertised on the RC24 website.

10. PUBLICATION

10.1 To the greatest degree practicable, the RC24 Secretary shall make available the current version of the Statues on the worldwide web or comparable medium. To the greatest degree practicable, the Secretary shall also make available upon request a printed copy of the Statutes to any RC24 member in good standing.

11. DISPUTES

11.1 The Board shall interpret the Statutes and rule in any disputes.

12. DISSOLUTION

12.1 The Research Committee may be demoted (to a Working Group or Thematic Group) or closed if it ceases to meet the conditions laid out in the ISA Statutes [4.3-4.4]. In the event of dissolution the net assets of the Research Committee shall be transferred to the ISA.

13. FINAL REGULATION

13.1

(a) These statutes supercede those adopted in Brisbane on 10 July 2002.
(b) These statutes were adopted unanimously by the Business Meeting at the ISA World Congress of Sociology, 15 July 2014, Yokohama.
(c) Changes in and amendments to these statutes, must be proposed in writing by the Board or by at least five RC24 members in good standing, and must be approved by two-thirds of the votes in an electronic ballot or Business Meeting.