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Purpose: In this paper, the authors take the central environmental protection inspection (CEPI) as an exogenous shock to study the reaction of the stock market in China. Using the event study method, the authors check how the first round of the first batch of CEPI supervision affects the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) of the listed firms on the Shenzhen or Shanghai stock exchange. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the authors take the first round of the first batch of CEPI supervision as a clean exogenous shock to study its effects on the capital market. The authors collect daily trading data from the China stock market and accounting research (CSMAR) database, with the sample containing 1,950 Chinese firms listed on either the Shenzhen or Shanghai stock exchanges. And detailed information on CEPI supervision is obtained from the official website of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China. The event study method is adopted to analyze the reaction of the stock market under CEPI supervision. Specifically, the authors constructed the cumulative abnormal return of each firm around the event day of CEPI. To capture the deterrent effects of CEPI supervision, the authors examine the situation of polluting and non-polluting firms in the supervised provinces, adjacent provinces and provinces that are not supervised or close to the supervised provinces, respectively. Findings: This paper throws light on the following: (1) the polluting firms in the supervised provinces were negatively impacted by CEPI within 20 trading days of the event day, and its effects spread to the polluting firms in the neighboring provinces; (2) CEPI had a favorable impact on the non-polluting businesses in the provinces that are neither supervised nor close to the supervised provinces. The authors contend that it is because the investment is being forced out of the polluting sector and into the non-polluting sector, which is more pronounced in the provinces not directly or indirectly targeted by CEPI; (3) by comparison, the "looking back monitoring of the first round" has had no discernible detrimental impact on the firms' CAR, indicating an important role of psychology anticipation of investors in the stock market performance; (4) although not physically located in the supervised provinces, the downstream enterprises of the polluting firms suffer significantly from CEPI shock; (5) the effectiveness of CEPI supervision in the supervised provinces depends on the level of local environmental regulation and the ownership structure of the company. Private firms in the provinces with stronger environmental regulations suffer more from the CEPI shock; (6) the multivariate analysis shows that while enterprises with high ROE and financial leverage may be at risk of CAR loss, older, larger firms are less likely to experience CEPI shock; (7) the study of persistent effect reveals that the strike of CEPI supervision can last for at least 10 months after the event day and deterrent effect can be spread within the whole polluting industry. Research limitations/implications: In this paper, the authors only concentrate on the market reaction within 20 trading days after the event day. An analysis of long-term effects should be valuable to get a deeper knowledge of the capital market reaction to the CEPI policy. In addition, the paper only focuses on the first round of the first batch of CEPI. Since CEPI has been built as a constant regulation of local environmental performance, further study may need to track both the reaction of listed firms and investment behavior in the capital market. Practical implications: Policy implications of the paper are as follows: First, for the policymakers, it is important to construct a constant environmental regulation system instead of a campaign movement. Second, for investors, as environmental issues are receiving increasing attention from both the government and the public, investment decisions should take into account firms' environmental performance, which can help reduce the risk from environmental regulations. Third, the firms in the polluting industry should take more action to reduce pollutant releases and adopt green technology, which is essential for sustainable development under environmental protection. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing literature in the following aspects. First, the authors provide new evidence on the effects of environmental regulations as a shock to the stock market, which has been wildly concentrated in the literature about environmental policies evaluation and capital market reaction. Second, the authors supplement the literature on green finance and sustainability transformation, which has got increasing attention in recent years. Theoretically, by guiding investment and affecting the stock market performance, environmental regulations are considered to be an efficient way to stimulate polluting firms to transform into green development. The results of the paper support this intuition by showing that the CAR of the non-polluting firms in non-supervised provinces in fact benefit from the CEPI supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to reduce the impact of disordered charging of large-scale electric vehicles (EVs) on the grid. EV is great significance for environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction to replace fuel vehicles with EVs. However, as a kind of random mobile load, large-scale integration into the power grid may lead to power quality problems such as line overload, line loss increase and voltage reduction. This paper realizes the orderly charging of electric vehicles and the safe operation of the distribution network by optimizing the dispatching scheme. Design/methodology/approach: This paper takes the typical IEEE-33 node distribution system as the research object, adopts the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm and takes the minimum operation cost, the minimum environmental pollution, the minimum standard deviation of daily load, the minimum peak valley difference of load, the minimum node voltage offset rate and the minimum system grid loss rate as the optimization objectives. Findings: Controlling the disordered charging of large-scale electric vehicles by optimizing the dispatching algorithm can realize the full consumption of renewable energy and the safe operation of the power grid. Originality/value: Results show that the proposed scheme can realize the transfer of charging load in time and space, so as to stabilize the load fluctuation of distribution grid, improve the operation quality of power grid, reduce the charging cost of users and achieve the expected research objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the impact of carbon emissions (carbon dioxide [CO2]) reduction on tax evasion behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses data from 200 countries from 2000 to 2017. The empirical analysis is based on various methodological tools, including ordinary least-squares model, fixed- and random-effects models. In addition, GMM and linear mixed model has been used for robustness purposes. Findings: The results show that carbon emissions reduction significantly affects tax evasion behaviour; when carbon emissions decrease, tax evasion behaviour increases. This indicates that the reduction of CO2 emissions is linked to significant costs, placing a financial burden on companies and leading them to evade taxes to counterbalance these costs. Practical implications: This study has important implications, as it highlights that the efforts made by countries to minimize CO2 emissions are associated with high costs and may lead to increased tax evasion, potentially contributing to countries' budget deficits. The results provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to implement effective environmental and fiscal regulations that contribute to a sustainable and eco-friendly future. These regulations can help maintain a balance between improving economic growth and ensuring the protection of the environment. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to test the impact of carbon emissions on tax evasion using macro-level data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the external effect of the economic growth target pressure of local governments on establishment-level SO2 emissions. Design/methodology/approach: Based on manually collected panel data of 74,058 China's industrial establishments and more than 330 thousand observations from CIED and ESR, the authors use a firm-fixed effect model, instrumental variables estimation and heterogeneity tests to identify the environmental externality of economic growth target pressure. Findings: The establishments in cities that meet or slightly exceed the economic growth target experience greater negative externality measured by SO2 emission intensity. This external effect is more pronounced in regions: with a strict and overweighted target setting; with stronger officials' promotion incentives; with a low degree of marketization; and in firms with great economic importance. The authors identify the underlying mechanisms of dependence on dirty industry and the relaxation of environmental enforcement. And the environmental protection constraints in 2007 mitigate the negative externality. Practical implications: The paper sheds light on to what extent economic growth target pressure has a negative externality of pollution in China and how this pressure may conflict with environmental protection. Originality/value: This paper complements prior research on the economic effects of economic growth targets, expands the knowledge on the determinants of establishment-level pollution emission from the perspective of target pressure and provides insight into the environmental externality that results from political factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper explores the beliefs and perceptions of microfinance institution (MFI) managers about environmental threats and the role that green microfinance can play in mitigating them, to assess their influence on these institutions' engagement in green activities. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on protection motivation theory, the study follows a qualitative case study approach, focusing on the MFIs of the developing country of Cabo Verde. Findings: Findings indicate that MFI managers understand and are aware of the environmental threats and identify their customers as the most vulnerable to them. They seem motivated to increase their green activity in the future as it is generally seen as effective in mitigating the problems. However, their response capacity is hindered by limitations such as a lack of financial conditions and technical environmental knowledge. Social implications: MFIs play an important role in promoting self-employment and breaking the poverty cycle, but their funds are also often used to develop environmentally damaging practices. Green microfinance can contribute to targeting a triple bottom line; considering together people, profit and the planet, provided implementation challenges are addressed. Originality/value: Although the environmental behaviour of MFIs has been previously studied, the understanding of the core beliefs of MFI managers that can support their environmental actions is still limited. Thus, the study contributes to advancing the knowledge of green microfinance by considering individual-level factors in understanding organisational greening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to advocate for innovative approaches in terms of the involvement of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the conservation of the environment, which fully considers and includes the developmental needs of indigenous communities while at the same time protecting the environment. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative study of indigenous communities and protected area (PA) authorities in Okhahlamba-Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, this paper explores the potential of the engagement of HEIs in capacitating indigenous communities to unleash their development potential towards reducing poverty and, thus accelerating the implementation of sustainable development goal one (SDG 1). Findings: The paper shows that the enforcement of stringently protectionist policies in environmental conservation in PAs does very little to address issues of poverty because it leads to the marginalisation of indigenous communities and thereby their exclusion from using resources, which should benefit them. This undermines sustainable development, particularly the attainment of SDGs such as Goal 1, which targets ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. Originality/value: Using the case of environmental management and governance of a PA in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, this paper highlights the fact that the attainment of SDG 1 can start at a micro-level and HEIs have a role to play in terms of collaborating with and understanding the needs of the rural communities so that research and innovation are geared towards meeting such needs. In this way, the paper advances the case of how the HEI-rural community-SDG 1 nexus can be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Using social exchange, signaling, job demands-resources and reformulation of attitude theories, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a research model in which green work engagement (GWEN) mediates the impact of management commitment to the ecological environment (MCEE) on green creativity, task-related pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and proactive PEB. Design/methodology/approach: Data for the paper were obtained from hotel customer-contact employees in Turkey and South Korea. The hypothesized associations were assessed via structural equation modeling. Findings: The findings in Studies 1 and 2 supported the viability of the model. Specifically, GWEN partially mediated the effect of MCEE on task-related and proactive PEB, while it fully mediated the influence of MCEE on green creativity. Practical implications: Management should invest and/or go on investing in environmental sustainability to send strong signals to employees that the organization really cares about the environment and is highly committed to the preservation and protection of the environment. With green training, empowerment and rewards, management can boost employees' GWEN, which motivates them to engage in environmentally responsible behaviors. Originality/value: The paper advances current knowledge by testing the relationship of MCEE, as appraised by employees, to their GWEN and green work outcomes. More importantly, the paper has explored the impact of GWEN in the intermediate relationship between MCEE and critical green work outcomes, such as green creativity, task-related PEB and proactive PEB. Further, the paper adds to the extant research by assessing the antecedents and outcomes of GWEN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the sustainable development strategy of green finance under the background of big data. Design/methodology/approach: From the perspective of big data, this paper uses quantitative and qualitative analysis methods to judge the correlation among green finance, environmental supervision and financial supervision. Green finance gives the entropy method to calculate the score of green finance and environmental regulation, and establishes the spatial lag model under the double fixed effects of time and space. Findings: Spatial autocorrelation test shows that economic spatial weight matrix has obvious spatial effect on green innovation. Through the model selection test, the space lag model with fixed time and space is selected. The regression coefficients of green finance, environmental regulation and their interaction are 0.1598, 0.0541 and 0.1763, respectively, which significantly promote green innovation. The regression coefficients of openness, higher education level and per capita GDP are 0.0361, 0.0819 and 0.0686, respectively, which can significantly promote green innovation. Originality/value: In view of the current situation of large-scale application of big data technology in green innovation of domestic energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises, this paper establishes a fixed time lag evaluation model of green innovation. M-test statistics show that the original hypothesis with no obvious spatial effect is rejected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Each production unit is responsible for the protection of the environment. The restricted undesirable production effects lower environmental damage. This paper emphasizes a proportional reduction of the undesirable outputs, and it supports the growth of desirable outputs as much as possible as well. The two-stage proposed model not only considers the viewpoint of the managers to follow the environmental regulations but also it assigns some bounds on producing undesirable factors according to international environmental protocols. Additionally, the restricted bounds on the undesirable outputs, in both stages, enhance the discriminatory ability of the model. Design/methodology/approach: Two-stage network structure based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied as the main methodology for this paper. The advantages of the proposed model are appointed to assess the environmental units. Findings: Comparing with the existing models, the proposed approach presents a new two-stage model to deal with the environmental issues. Furthermore, the discriminatory ability of the efficiency scores is improved. The distribution of this model is greater than the existing ones. Research limitations/implications: This paper is fully written, submitted and revised during limitations caused by coronavirus. Practical implications: The proposed method is employed in two different cases. The efficiency scores of 25 power plants and 13 poultry farms are determined. In fact, the undesirable outputs never meet zero in the process of production but they can be reduced. The results of this research support the effect of the undesirable factors' restriction on the reduction scenario. Both of the examples show that imposing the upper bounds for the undesirable products provide low-efficiency results in comparison with the existing model. On the other hand, the results cover the arguments of sustainability in the evaluation of environmental efficiency. Originality/value: In the production process, desirable outputs and undesirable factors are produced jointly so undesirable factors never meet zero. This paper develops a new two-stage method to reduce the undesirable outputs at each stage. First, the model confirms the reduction of undesirable outputs. Second, this model imposes restrictions on intermediate and final undesirable outputs according to environmental rights and the concerns of the managers. The model increases the discrimination of the efficiency assessment of real-life two-stage environmental systems as well. Then it focuses on the production of desirable outputs. The new objective function is defined according to the aim of the proposed model that not only declares better efficiency decomposition to the individual system but also the efficiency score is evaluated for each stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, the challenges of climate change and increasing price of resources have promoted enterprises based on the philosophy of sharing economy having deep impression of information and communication technology, economy of scale, stakeholders' participation and sustainable consumption. The literature shows transdisciplinary and transformative research and development in concrete areas of the sharing economy such as housing, mobility or transport, machine tool use, public spaces, etc., to support the expansion of the sharing economy ([1]; [3]; [12]). This special issue on "Sharing economy: Pathway to Sustainability" hopes to advance knowledge in the field of sharing economy to meet current and future challenges to ensure sustainable living of the society. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: In education concerning environmental issues, there are two predominant currents in the world, environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). ESD is the formal commitment and therefore promoted by the United Nations, to ensure that countries achieve sustainable development. In contrast, EE was the first educational trend with an environmental protection approach. The purpose of this systematic review that seeks to show whether the migration from EE to ESD is being effective and welcomed by researchers and especially by universities is presented. With the above, a global panorama can be provided, where the regions that choose each model can be identified. In the same sense, it was sought to determine which of the two currents is more accepted within engineering education. Design/methodology/approach: The review followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyzes parameters for systematic reviews. In total, 198 papers indexed in Scopus, Science Direct, ERIC and Scielo were analyzed. With the results, the advancement of ESD and the state of the EE by regions in the world were identified. Findings: It was possible to categorize the geographical regions that host either of the two EE or ESD currents. It is important to note that ESD has gained more strength from the decade of ESD proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. For its part, EE has greater historical roots in some regions of the planet. In turn, there is evidence of a limited number of publications on the design and revision of study plans in engineering. Originality/value: Through this systematic literature review, the regions of the world that are clinging to EE and those that have taken the path of ESD could be distinguished. Moreover, specific cases in engineering where ESD has been involved were noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer some reflection on the importance of reliable green claims to encourage sustainable production. The role of market is fundamental. Businesses and consumers are both involved in achieving environmental protection objectives. There is the real risk of the phenomenon of so-called green washing or misleading marketing. The problem arises of verifying the reliability of green claims to prevent competitive elements from become distorting factors of competition. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the analysis of a European programme, the author shows how in Italy there is a dangerous lack of consumer protection. For this reason the European and national authorities have provided that green claims must be true, reliable, verifiable and comparable, but it is necessary that consumers be protected, through a certification system that makes it possible to certify the veracity of green claims. The problem is that a number of certification systems have been adopted in Europe which undermine the competitiveness of the market for green products. Findings: This work aims to identify the tools necessary to make green indications more reliable, but above all to create a common methodology on which to base them. In this direction, companies wishing to advertise the ecological characteristics of their products should be required to provide the supporting demonstrations on the basis of a standard methodology assessing their actual environmental impact. Originality/value: This work will examine the problem of green washing and the importance of reliable green claims for environmental protection. To the best of the author's knowledge, this paper is the original work of the author and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, with the goal of reducing the fuel consumption of UAV, the engine performance optimization is studied and on the basis of aircraft/engine integrated control, the minimum fuel consumption optimization method of engine given thrust is proposed. In the case of keeping the given thrust of the engine unchanged, the main fuel flow of the engine without being connected to the afterburner is optimally controlled so as to minimize the fuel consumption. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the reference model real-time optimization control method is adopted. The engine reference model uses a nonlinear real-time mathematical model of a certain engine component method. The quasi-Newton method is adopted in the optimization algorithm. According to the optimization variable nozzle area, the turbine drop-pressure ratio corresponding to the optimized nozzle area is calculated, which is superimposed with the difference of the drop-pressure ratio of the conventional control plan and output to the conventional nozzle controller of the engine. The nozzle area is controlled by the conventional nozzle controller. Findings: The engine real-time minimum fuel consumption optimization control method studied in this study can significantly reduce the engine fuel consumption rate under a given thrust. At the work point, this is a low-altitude large Mach work point, which is relatively close to the edge of the flight envelope. Before turning on the optimization controller, the fuel consumption is 0.8124 kg/s. After turning on the optimization controller, you can see that the fuel supply has decreased by about 4%. At this time, the speed of the high-pressure rotor is about 94% and the temperature after the turbine can remain stable all the time. Practical implications: The optimal control method of minimum fuel consumption for the given thrust of UAV is proposed in this paper and the optimal control is carried out for the nozzle area of the engine. At the same time, a method is proposed to indirectly control the nozzle area by changing the turbine pressure ratio. The relevant UAV and its power plant designers and developers may consider the results of this study to reach a feasible solution to reduce the fuel consumption of UAV. Originality/value: Fuel consumption optimization can save fuel consumption during aircraft cruising, increase the economy of commercial aircraft and improve the combat radius of military aircraft. With the increasingly wide application of UAVs in military and civilian fields, the demand for energy-saving and emission reduction will promote the UAV industry to improve the awareness of environmental protection and reduce the cost of UAV use and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This uses a framework of systemic change to understand the contextual factors including stakeholder, social, political, cultural and economic, which contribute to the social and environmental narratives of a conservation organisation that has and continues to undergo transformation. Design/methodology/approach: The social and environmental disclosure annual report narratives for a 27-year period were coded to a framework of systemic change. Findings: The end of apartheid in 1994 meant that South African society required transformation. This transformation impacts and drives the social and environmental accounting disclosures made by SANParks. The social and environmental disclosures coded against a framework of systemic change, fluctuated over the period of the study as the format of the annual reports changed. The systems view was the most frequently disclosed category. The political ecology subcategory which details the power relationships showed the most disclosures. However, 25 years after the end of apartheid, the transformation process remains incomplete. Although the evidence in the paper does not support Joseph and Reigelut (2010) contention that the framework of systemic change is an iterative process, it nevertheless provides a useful vehicle for analysing the rich annual report narratives of an organisation that has undergone and continues to undergo transformation. Originality/value: This paper makes two primary contributions. First, to the limited developing country social and environmental accounting literature. Second, the development, refinement and application of a framework of systemic change to social and environmental disclosures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Through the application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study aims to explore the main determinants of higher education students' pro-environmental behavior. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was conducted among the students of a public higher education institution (HEI) in Portugal, from March to May of 2020. The data were analyzed with the structural equation modeling technique, considering environmental attitude, knowledge, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control as exogenous latent variables, and pro-environmental intention and behavior as endogenous latent variables. Findings: The results show that the students' environmental attitude and knowledge have no significant impact on their pro-environmental intention, while the students' subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have a positive impact on their pro-environmental intention. The results also reveal that the students' perceived behavioral control and pro-environmental intention have a strong and positive impact on their pro-environmental behavior. Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on the students from a single public HEI, in accounting and administration area, and deepens environmental behavior in relation to resources' consumption. Practical implications: This study provides findings that can be useful for HEIs to be more effective in their policies, strategies and practices to improve students' environmental behavior. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the literature by exploring the main determinants of higher education students' pro-environmental behavior in a Portuguese HEI and extending the TPB considering the additional variable environmental knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to know how university's strategic managers, from botacademic and administrative systems, perceive the relationship between sustainability and accreditation as sustainability incorporation and the quality of their processes are amongst the actual challenges of universities. Design/methodology/approach: This paper opted for an inductive, exploratory study using the case study approach, including 19 in-depth interviews to administrative and academic managers in a private, high-quality certified university in Colombia. The data were assessed using the content analysis methodology. The Colombian accreditation guidelines were the base to analyse the data as accreditation is part of the quality assurance system. Findings: This paper provides empirical insights into how the implementation of sustainability in universities relates to the Colombian accreditation factors. The main links found were in the areas of the university's social impact and organisational responsibility, which are highly relevant to graduates, external stakeholders and sustainability skills. Sustainable campus operation was associated with environmental management and improvement of the quality of the physical plant, with social and economic benefits in the long-term. Additionally, this research found a need for administrative and academic managers to understand and increase their commitment to sustainability. Research limitations/implications: Because it was a case study, results are not generalisable. Consequently, further research on similar lines is required to universalise the mentioned observation and results. Practical implications: The accreditation factors related to sustainability, inductively defined and exposed in this paper, provide an idea of how sustainability implementation could contribute to higher education quality assurance. Originality/value: This paper contributes to filling the knowledge gap about embedding sustainability in Latin-American universities. This paper postulates a starting point considering accreditation standards and the link of the strategic manager's perceptions of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The establishment of free trade zones (FTZs) is an important experiment as part of the reform and opening up policy. This paper aims to focus on the issue of production efficiency of environmental protection enterprises in FTZs. Changes in the external and internal environments of enterprises can easily lead to changes in the production efficiencies of enterprises. The establishment of FTZs can change the external environment of enterprises. Knowledge accumulation changes the internal environment of enterprises. However, traditional efficiency analysis has usually ignored the internal and external heterogeneity of decision-making units, resulting in the distortion of the evaluation results. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines the relationship between knowledge accumulation and development potential based on financial data of environmental protection enterprises that were listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen A stocks, from 2009 to 2016. Then, through data envelopment analysis cross-efficiency analysis of the listed environmental protection enterprises from external heterogeneity, BP neural network model is set up. Findings: The results show that the model set up in this paper is stable and reliable. The paper makes policy suggestions such as stimulating trade inside industry, quickening technological progress and enhancing environmental protection. Originality/value: This paper analyzes the economy, environmental protection, science and technology and education to simulate the external environment of enterprises. Based on the experience data from the completion of Shanghai FTZ, this paper predicts the future development potential of Hainan FTZ enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Energy conservation and environmental protection industry (ECEPI) is a strategic choice to promote energy conservation and emission reduction, develop green economy and circular economy. However, China's ECEPI is still in the stage of rapid development and the overall scale is relatively small, what development periods have the ECEPI experienced? This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of collaborative innovation evolution based on social network analysis from the perspective of multi-dimensional proximity. Design/methodology/approach: Methodologically, this study uses social network analysis method to explore the co-evolution of multidimensional collaboration networks. It divides China's ECEPI into four periods based on national policies from 2001 to 2020. This contribution constructs collaborative innovation networks from geographical, technological and organizational proximity. Findings: The results show that the collaborative innovation network was initially formed in the central region of China, gradually expanded to neighboring cities and the core positions of Beijing, Jiangsu and Guangdong have been continuously consolidated. C02F has been the core of the collaboration networks, and the research focus has gradually shifted from the treatment of wastewater, sewage or sludge to the separation field. Enterprises always occupy a dominant position in the collaboration networks. Originality/value: This research investigates the dynamic evolution process of collaborative innovation network in China's ECEPI from the perspective of multidimensional proximity, explores the community structure, important nodes and multidimensional proximity features in the network, expands the research perspective on evolution characteristics of innovative network and the research field of social network analysis. Theoretically, this study enriches collaborative innovation theory, social network theory and multi-dimensional proximity theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The quest for Africa's desire to achieve innovative and transformative ways in the use of natural resources and the implications this might have on people's lives for the present and future generations is now more critical than ever. This paper aims that in order to let African countries attain an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena, it is imperative that a coherent policy direction be set between individual countries and continental framework for participatory management of resources in order to address the global challenge of climate change. Design/methodology/approach: This article employs literature review of various sources, to get a deeper understanding of the situation of management of natural resources for sustainable development within the global and African development agenda. Findings: The literature review indicates that nearly 1 out of every 9 people on Earth go to bed hungry every night; there is a challenge of having access to safe and affordable drinking water; fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions drastically result into climate change; more than half the world's population lives in cities posing a challenge to affordable public housing, upgraded slum settlements and investment in public transport, creation of green spaces; every country in the world is witnessing the drastic effects of climate change; fish stocks are overexploited and oceans are becoming more acidic. Research limitations/implications: The study is based on findings from literature review, specifically in line with the global development agenda and African agenda on sustainable development. More studies are needed to include findings from Africa and elsewhere so as to get a clearer global perspective about resource exploitation and sustainability. Practical implications: The work is expected to provide practitioners concerned with environmental conservation and development with the theoretical and policy gaps that need to be addressed when dealing with environmental management for sustainable development. Originality/value: The review structures extant natural resource management literature and highlights its critical importance in development management research. Topical gaps in the literature are identified as areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A series of environmental pollution issues and economic improvement go hand in hand. Since financial listed companies contribute significantly to the national economic development, China has been paying increasing attention to the development of the financial industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship among the development level of the financial industry, over-investment of the listed companies and environmental pollution through a macro-level and micro-level mechanism. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, we adopt the 2011–2017 panel data of listed companies in the manufacturing industry to study the impacts of the financial industry on environmental pollution. Meanwhile, the paper uses a mediator model, and over-investment is introduced to the econometric model as a mediator to explore whether the development of the financial industry can affect the environmental pollution through over-investment. Findings: A U-shaped relationship between financial industry development and environmental pollution was observed through a macro-perspective; additionally, over-investment of the listed companies significantly increased environmental pollution, along with a significant mediator effect of over-investment. A significant positive correlation was observed between financial industry development and environmental pollution in the East region of China, while the correlation was negative in the Central and West regions. The mitigation effect of financial industry development on environmental pollution was more significant in the low-end manufacturing industry, compared with basic and high-end manufacturing industries. Originality/value: Strengthening the incentives and supervision toward company managers, reducing over-investment behaviors, encouraging suitable financial industry development to reduce financial risks, improving environmental conservation laws and regulations, and implementing stringent penalty mechanisms for environmental conservation are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a reflection on the importance of individual environmental protection, which recognizes the right of every citizen to take action to obtain compensation for environmental damage, as a damage to his or her existential condition. One of the most discussed environmental issues in Italy today is the lack of personal protection because the European legislator has provided for a public protection of environmental damage. Design/methodology/approach: Design/methodology/approach based on the analysis of a well-known environmental disaster, the case of ex Ilva, the author shows how in Italy there is a dangerous lack of protection in environmental matters that contrasts with the consideration of the environment as a fundamental constitutional value of Italian and European law and the affirmation of the principle of sustainable development. Findings: Findings the reconstruction of the environment as a common good aimed at realizing the fundamental needs of the person according to the theory of common goods and damage to the environment as an existential damage finds in the pronouncement of the European Court relevant confirmations. As a result of an individual legitimation alternative to the choice of the European legislator to confine the protection in the public sector. Originality/value: This work will examine recent Italian cases concerning environmental disaster, the case of ex Ilva. This paper is the original work of the author and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between environmental regulation, technological innovation and manufacturing quality competitiveness to provide some references for emission reduction activities and improvements in manufacturing quality competitiveness to achieve environmental protection targets and economic development as part of a win–win situation.Design/methodology/approach Based on the structure-behavior-performance paradigm and Grabowski’s research, a new empirical model was provided. The software, EViews 6.0, was used for econometric analysis. Regression analysis was adopted to explore the three indicators’ relationships.Findings First, environmental regulation can promote technological innovation effectively. Second, compared with wasted gas and wasted solids, investment in wasted water control promotes Chinese technological innovation most. Third, the impact of research and development investment, induced by environmental regulation, on manufacturing quality competitiveness is greater than that induced by non-environmental regulation. Fourth, the impact of lagged two-phase environmental regulation on manufacturing quality competitiveness is similar to that of lagged one-phase regulation.Practical implications The issue that Chinese manufacturing is facing is how to manage the trade-off between pollution control investment and improved quality competitiveness. This study enables managers to understand how to better implement environmental regulation initiatives while achieving environmental protection and quality competitiveness as part of a win–win situation.Originality/value This paper analyzes the relationships between environmental regulation, technological innovation and manufacturing quality competitiveness for the first time and provides the basic argument for integrating Chinese environmental regulation with quality competitiveness to reveal the uniqueness of the circumstances determining China’s economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the preparation and tribological performance of MoS2 nanoparticles supported on fly ash (FA) microparticles. Design/methodology/approach: FA was activated by NaOH, oleic acid and HCl to obtain three modified FA samples. Nano-MoS2 was deposited on them to form MoS2/FA additives for poly-α-olefin (PAO) modification. Tribological tests were conducted on a reciprocating rig through the ball-on-disk friction manner. Using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, Raman spectrometer and element analyzers, the products and their lubrication mechanisms were characterized. Findings: At 1.5 Wt.%, nano-MoS2 and MoS2/FA could remarkably improve the tribological properties of PAO. The nano-MoS2 deposited on the HCl-activated FA presented better lubrication performance than nano-MoS2. It could reduce friction and wear by approximately 27% and approximately 66%, respectively. The lubrication of MoS2/FA can be attributed to the formation of MoS2 and carbon containing lubricating film. Originality/value: FA was applied as a supporter to prepare MoS2/FA lubricants. The reuse of FA, a solid waste, is important for environmental protection. Moreover, MoS2/FA is more economical than nano-MoS2 as a lubricant, because it contains approximately 71% of low-cost FA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: More and more attention has been paid to the financing of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and environmental protection. Many literatures have done detailed research on them; yet, few of them studied the interaction between corporate financing behaviors and environmental concerns. This study aims to incorporate the impact of the role of data collection into the mathematical model to explore the optimal financial and ordering strategies when considering environmental protection. Design/methodology/approach: A Stackelberg game modeling and backward induction methods are used to derive the optimal equilibrium solutions, using numerical experiments to further explore the influences of various financing strategies on the green degree of product and ordering policies. Findings: No matter which financing modes the capital-constrained retailer chooses, both the loan interest rate and order quantity considering environmental protection are larger than that without environmental protection concerns. As the retailer's initial capital increases, the optimal loan interest rates under various financing modes are all decreasing. The application of big data technology would promote the environmental protection of enterprises and increase the accuracy of financing decisions. Originality/value: This paper studies financing activities of a supply chain considering data collection and environmental protection behaviors, which provides meaningful guidance for the financing and environmental decision-making of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces the special issue on environmental sustainability initiatives in higher education. Highlights the work accomplished by students on college and university campuses around the world. Notes that the papers illustrate the challenges and success students have encountered while working toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to forecast the future development of UIC technology according to the changes of IPC in different time periods. The findings also provide a theoretical basis for the UIC policymakers of energy-saving environmental protection industry. Design/methodology/approach: The present study will take energy-saving technology as an example, through using a two-mode network analysis method to build the four-stage IPC code UIC innovation-technology network, researching UIC innovation network applicant heterogeneity, UIC technology network and technology relevance. Findings: Through the establishment of UIC innovation-technology two-mode network, namely, applicant node CN and IPC node TN, this paper analyzes the important applicants, focal technologies, correlation of focal technologies and the development trends of energy saving technology in the future by using the related theories and methods of two-mode network. Originality/value: At present, only about 11% of energy-saving enterprises in China have R&D activities. The government needs to implement top-level design, improve industrial policies, strengthen investment in technology R&D and build a platform for technological innovation in energy-saving industries to support the R&D of common and key technologies in energy-saving industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose in this paper has been to draw from literature to understand the not-so-direct or non-implicit impacts of environmental regulations and propose some consequences on economic and business activity. In more general terms this research facilitates understanding on the broad concerns about the consequences of environment legislations, that is, the nature and magnitude of their capacity to produce significant change in industry and business structures in the long run, through indirect and not-so-obvious routes. Design/methodology/approach - The discussion of the indirect and unintended consequences is based on systematic review of literature that includes studies in the area of international trade, technology, interactions at the national and regional level, industrial processes and dynamics, psychology, communication and organisational systems. Findings - Review evidence reveals indirect and unintended impacts at the levels of economy and industry such as unintended negative effects on the environment itself, discrimination and additional international trade barriers, evolution of new commercial structures like secondary and used goods markets and recycling and refurbishment as a new industry, need for secondary level legislative support, decreased entrepreneurship and small firm activity, and emergence of circular supply chain models and strategic-collaborative inter firm competition models. Practical implications - The paper suggests possible future business and economic scenarios. Some of the possible models include emergence of a new industry in recycling and waste management, growth of secondary goods market for domestic consumption and trade, and emergence of a circular supply chain model where consumers and competitors play an interactive and collaborative role for survival and productivity. However it is imperative to empirically test these finds before generalisations. Originality/value - The paper is a comprehensive review of an inadequately studied theme of indirect and unintended effects of environmental regulations. As environment issues become increasingly important it becomes more and more critical for both researchers and practitioners to understand what are these indirect impacts and the directions these indirect environment impacts will compel business and economies to move towards. It sets an agenda for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the emissions of CO2 in Italy during 1861 to 2002. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is applied to explore the relationship between CO2 emission and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. An Index Decomposition Analysis (U)A) is also applied to investigate changes in emissions between 1990 to 2002. Several factors contribute to change in the emission of CO2. These factors generally include a scale effect, a technological effect and a composition effect. Design/methodology/approach - The main discussion in the paper is about the exiting of EKC in Italy and how a decomposition analysis can be used to look behind the time series of the environmental accounts. Findings - The findings in the paper indicate the typical inverted ‘U’ form of EKC is not confirmed with our data set for Italy. According our econometric results, there is a positive relationship between economic growth and CO2 following the trend, the maximum emission of CO2 per capita in Italy would be reached when the GDP per capita will be about 26900 US$ (turning point). Basically, two major forces have determined the increase of CO2 pollution in Italy over time: eco-efficiency (pollution per monetary unit of output) and volume effect (volume growth of Value Added). Practical implications - The decomposition method performed in this paper allows us to analyse which sectors are responsible for CO2 emissions and quantify the magnitude of the theoretical factors expected to influence the emission. The method used for the decomposition analysis can also be applied by countries with lack of time series Input.Output data. Originality/value - The investigation in the paper of the existing of EKC allows to know at which level of income the CO2 emissions will start decreasing in Italy. The analysis is based on a long time series (141 years). Decomposition analysis can be considered a tool, which helps to detect whether the increase of CO2 is mainly due to economic growth or technological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of top management's environmental responsibility audit (ERA) implementation on firms' investment for environmental protection in China. Design/methodology/approach: The sample comprises firms publicly traded on A-Share in China from 2011 to 2017. The authors used the ordinary least squares regression model to test the relation between ERA implementation and corporate environmental investment. Findings: Firms' environmental investment increases significantly after the ERA implementation. Compared to state-owned enterprises (SOEs), non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) are more likely to increase their environmental investment after ERA implementation. Moreover, such change is more likely for non-heavily polluting enterprises (non-HPEs) compared to heavily polluting enterprises (HPEs). Practical implications: This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the positive influence of environmental enforcement on corporate behavior, which could serve as reference for regulators on the latest environmental accounting practice in China and other emerging economies. Social implications: This paper shows that clear assignment of environmental responsibility and subsequent assessment of environmental performance are contributing factors to effective and efficient implementation of an environmental management system. Originality/value: Contributing to accounting and environmental management literature, this paper explains how mandated environmental audit incentivizes firms to deal with environmental issues. Because there is no prior research concerning the mandatory implementation of environmental audit in China, this paper is of high-innovatory value by providing a better understanding of environmental auditing and providing an economic explanation for government intervention as an effective means of mitigating environmental degradation in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how and when a reputation for corporate social responsibility (CSR) can deter dysfunctional consumer behaviors (DCBs) such as shoplifting or negative word-of-mouth (WOM) in response to firm failures. The authors predict that congruency of the CSR activities and the basis for the firm failure (e.g. environmental protection, environmental harm) provides protection for firms while incongruency (e.g. environmental protection, social harm) does not. The authors base this prediction on the process of retroactive attribution and sense-making. Design/methodology/approach: Across two studies the research finds support that a reputation for CSR can deter consumer dysfunctional behavior. Study 1 uses an experimental design with a Mturk sample, and a behavioral outcome using an overpayment situation, to examine when consumers will act honestly and recognize overpayment. Study 2 uses secondary data, across three novel data sources (Google trends data, an existing data set of consumer perceptions of CSR and Factiva to uncover press coverage of negative firm events). Study 2 examines how CSR reputation impacts consumers' participation in negative WOM in response to firm failures. Findings: Study 1 finds support for CSR congruency as a protection mechanism against dysfunctional behavior in response to negative events. The authors find that dysfunctional behaviors in conditions of congruency, while incongruent and a control condition do not provide such protections. Study 2 supports these findings using Google trends data in the form of online negative WOM. The authors find that when firms are known for their social performance, negative events in the social domain result in significantly lower levels of negative WOM. Originality/value: The current paper makes the novel prediction that consumers will use a current negative event (corporate social irresponsibility) to re-evaluate previous CSR. Thus, in contrast with prior research, the authors argue that a negative event is not affected by previous CSR but that previous CSR is affected by a negative event. Furthermore, the authors posit that the congruency between the transgression and previous CSR moderates consumer perceptions, such that incongruent CSR and transgression contexts lead to increased DCBs through consumers' retroactive sense-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and diagnosis waste management practices used by clothing manufacturing companies in Santa Catarina state Brazil.Design/methodology/approach The data for this multiple case study were obtained from interviews and by using a questionnaire to collect company data. After the analysis of the responses to questionnaires issued to 22 companies, a scoring system was developed to systematically classify these companies at either a basic, intermediate or advanced levels.Findings According to the classification used, eight companies were characterized at the basic level, eight at the intermediate level and six as advanced. Most of the companies have already implemented measures for reuse or recycling of textile scraps, probably because of the economic value added.Research limitations/implications The classification system proposed proved to be an effective tool for identifying: if each company had a plan of action involving requirements of Brazil’s National Solid Waste Policy; if the company had a management system in accordance with Law 12,305; the quality of solid waste treatment at the entire company and in its clothing sector; if the company adopted shared responsibility actions; and if it had knowledge of the negative environmental impacts.Originality/value This paper presents a classification system for companies based on a questionnaire. The system allows determining the degree of compliance with Brazilian waste management legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose So far, sustainability reporting in higher education is in a very early stage – partly, because of the lack of an established and widely recognized sustainability reporting framework for higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, a modification of the sustainability code for the use in the higher education context was recently developed in Germany. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate this modification from an academic point of view.Design/methodology/approach The evaluation of the sustainability code is based on selected reporting principles drawn from frameworks of sustainability and financial reporting.Findings The evaluation shows that to a large extent, the modification of the sustainability code for HEIs contributes to the fulfillment of the selected reporting principles. However, it also became evident that there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of clarity and the inclusion of material aspects.Practical implications The need for an implementation manual regarding the modified HEI-specific sustainability code is emphasized, as the sustainability code requires further clarification to be manageable for HEIs.Originality/value This paper provides suggestions for the further development of a sustainability reporting guideline for HEIs to enhance its alignment with both sustainability reporting principles and the needs of HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this paper is twofold as follows: first, it explores the relationship between economic growth and the environment in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in Iran, as a semi-industrialized and largest developing economy in the Middle East. Second, it investigates the effectiveness of government spending on environmental protection. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the ecological footprint data and an ARDL model to gauge the income and government spending effects on environmental improvement. This method avoids the problems associated with using the regression including a squared income. Findings: The results find no evidence for a turning point in the income–pollution relationship and no significant impact of government spending on reducing footprint. We conjecture that the structure of the economy and the weak institutional quality may explain the results. Research limitations/implications: This includes limited time series data on institutional quality indices and their small variations over time. Practical implications: Creating an environmental fund using the oil windfall and applying environmental tax/subsidies policies will help address increasing environmental challenges in energy-rich developing countries. Education and public awareness about environmental problems and their impacts on the standard of living are also nonexpensive but effective ways to increase citizen's engagement towards improving environment. Social implications: The EKC may take different forms in various countries depending on their economic structure and institution qualities. Originality/value: The paper uses the ARDL method rather than a commonly used regression with a squared income to estimate the EKC. It also uses ecological footprint as a measure of environmental damage. Exploring government effectiveness in managing public good is also novel in the empirical literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine university students' attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development and towards the need for the implementation of education for sustainable development into the higher education system. To that end, the paper explores in a process-oriented focus which drivers and barriers are experienced as being the most important ones and how they relate to one another. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on the questionnaire for the evaluation of attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development. This instrument consists of 9 batteries with 83 items presented in the form of the five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire evaluated different aspects of respondents' attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development, but students' attitudes in relation to the items from the following subscales will be presented for this paper: understanding the concept of sustainable development, position of sustainable development in the system of higher education, sources of information about sustainable development and entities responsible for sustainable development. The study sample consisted of students from the University of Novi Sad, specifically from the faculties with accredited programs in the field of humanities and technological sciences. Findings: In general, students recognized the main determinants of sustainable development and they support an integral approach to sustainability, i.e. the need to include the knowledge, values and skills for sustainable development in the higher education programs. In addition, they identified a number of obstacles and the uncertainties of overcoming them. In this regard, the students did not recognize the responsibility of the higher education institutions as the key responsibility or their own responsibility in relation to sustainable development, which can be related to their feeling of marginalization and the doubt that their behaviour and decisions can influence the development of the local society, as well as the development of the society as a whole. On the other hand, the respondents acknowledged the role, the importance and the responsibility of the mass media in the process of developing the attitudes towards and opinions about the problems related to environmental protection and sustainable development. Practical implications: The results of the study indicate the students' attitudes towards sustainable development, thus making the directions for higher education reform clearer and in line with the present needs for sustainable development in Serbia. The obtained results can serve as a recommendation to the governing structures, i.e. to the relevant ministries of education and environmental protection, as well as to the universities in terms of which direction their process of planning and creating paths of sustainability should take. This is particularly important in the case of the Republic of Serbia, which is currently in the process of joining the European Union and responding to the requirements set by the process of negotiation for Chapter 27 in terms of improving the strategic framework and plans for the education for sustainable development and building the capacities in response to climate change. On the other hand, linking the results of this research with the results of similar studies around the world contributes to the further enrichment of the scientific knowledge base in this field and confirms the need for stronger and united efforts on the path to a sustainable future. It is a fact that, regardless of the national, economic, socio-political and cultural context, there is a global lack of success in shaping a humane and sustainable relationship between man and nature. Therefore, the results of this research should be considered as an invitation for new research initiatives regarding the ways to support the positive attitudes of students towards the concept of sustainable development and to facilitate their further development in the educational process, as well as in other academic domains. Originality/value: This research is inspired by the fact that, in the Balkan countries, education for sustainable development has not been extensively discussed within the scientific discourse on higher education for sustainable development. This is one of the first papers to provide data about students' attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development and the need for its implementation in the higher education system in Serbia. The value of the paper lies in its potential to help understand the role that different drivers and barriers play in higher education for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze sustainability of the constructed projects (Djerdap 1 and 2) and feasibility of the planned ones (Djerdap 3) on the river Danube in the region of Iron Gate, with multi-criteria focus on technical, economical and environmental parameters.Design/methodology/approach The main objectives were achieved by using the methodology of a holistic multi-criteria approach. Electra method was applied. The design of the three projects on the international Danube River were analyzed, from technical, economical and environmental point of view, with the goal to manage a higher involvement of renewable resources.Findings The results of the research imply that the most profitable technical solutions cannot reach its realization and construction if the environmental quality criteria are not fulfilled and included in the multi-criteria optimization model. At the same time, the most sustainable and environmentally friendly technical solutions, such as the renewable hydro pump storage scheme, cannot be realized without proper project management and investment.Research limitations/implications The results and conclusions are valid for all the structures and projects of renewable resources, where there is a conflict to the environment. This research has implications to all decision-making processes focusing on holistic analyses of conflicted techno-economical and environmental parameters.Originality/value The value of the paper and research is in proving the necessity of simultaneous analyses of technical, economical and environmental impacts on the projects. All the results of the research are beneficial for stakeholders who intend to invest in renewable hydro energy resources, in the function of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]