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Carbon footprints (CFs) are the measure of extent of green house gases (GHGs) emitted from any organization or activity. Reporting of extent of CFs in terms of CO 2 e from educational campus may be considered as a first step towards sustainable educational practices. The present study employs a bottom up approach where CFs due to consumption of resources from each academic department is evaluated separately and net is obtained by adding contributions from individual departments. This method has the advantage of avoiding the potential overlaps in the calculation. Hence this approach to calculate carbon footprints can lead to their precise CF evaluation. In order to justify above hypothesis, CF evaluation was carried out at Shikshana Prasarak Mandali's Sir Parashurambhau College, Pune for three consecutive years starting from 2015 to 2016. The average carbon footprints over the study period were 3630.57 ± 296.79 tones CO 2 e per year with per capita emission of 0.81 ± 0.06 tones CO 2 e. The emission density determined from the average value was found to be 0.0361 ± 0.0029 tCO 2 e m−2 of the campus. It was observed that emission sources classified as scope-1, scope-2 and scope-3 contribute 28%, 48% and 25% respectively to total emission. Out of all the emission sources identified, apart from human contribution through respiration, electricity (35%), biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, stationary paper, 7%, use of chemicals in the laboratories (5%), paper for official purpose (12%), LPG (3%) and transport (27%) were main contributors. As this is a multi faculty college, science faculty contributes almost 62%, commerce 9% and arts 11% of the total emission. • Present paper highlights carbon footprints from an Indian HEI using bottom up approach. • A questionnaire based survey was used to arrive at departmental and net footprints. • Carbon footprints of HEI in India are much less as compared to developed countries. • The carbon footprints of Indian HEIs are expected to grow at 5–6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the social implications of servitization and unveils the connections between servitization and social innovation. To substantiate these claims, the research elucidates three core concepts of social innovation, namely processes, instruments, and outcomes. The processual view of social innovation examines how societal changes unfold; the instrumental view focuses on tools and mechanisms driving these changes; and last the outcomes view analyses the resultant benefits. The paper reviews systematically the literature on the social impacts of servitization and, based on the mentioned views uses the literature findings to inductively develop three propositions and demonstrate that servitization can represent a form of social innovation, thus capable of profoundly reshaping industrial societies and contributing to progress and people's well-being. In sum, the paper shows the social implications and benefits related to servitization of manufacturing firms and suggests the research priorities in this domain for servitization scholars. • The paper systematically reviews the literature to identify the social implications of servitization. • The paper uses three views to unveil the connections between servitization and social innovation. • The paper theorizes that servitization is a form of social innovation that contributes to progress and people's well-being. • The paper suggests research priorities in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dramatic increase in textile waste and the ineffective disposal of textiles as emerging global issues are driving researchers to study new ways of thinking and designing textile waste policies with the aim of conserving resources and reducing the environmental impact of textile waste. However, there is limited research that systematically and comprehensively examines the development processes of policies that govern textile waste management. It is important to identify the underlying issues and improve textile waste management systems. This paper fills this gap by presenting a comprehensive study of the development and characteristics of policies related to textile waste in China. All the major textile waste policies issued between 1991 and 2017 at the central-government level have been examined to ensure accuracy and reliability. To achieve the descriptive objective of the study, content analysis was employed, and the following conclusions were derived: (1) The number of policies has gradually increased since more stringent textile waste management was introduced in 2001, and although the Chinese government has continuously reinforced its supervision from 2010 onwards, stringency remains low; (2) most policies regulate the recycling level of the waste hierarchy, as in open-loop recycling, and only a couple of polices regulate higher levels; and (3) the highly imbalanced structure of policy instrument types has been changing, and the variety of policy instruments has peaked in recent years. This paper contributes a general and important reference relating to textile waste policies for governments and businesses in other industrialized nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buyers in developed countries often spend millions of dollars per year to ensure social compliance of their suppliers, yet the social performance of suppliers in developing countries remains poor. This paper discusses supplier social compliance in terms of adoption of public (e.g., SA 8000) and private (e.g., Walmart's supplier code of conduct) social standards and elaborates on the dynamics of standards adoption decision-making. Building upon ideas of asset specificity, social exchange, and organizational citizenship behavior, this paper develops propositions to provide an overarching framework explaining the adoption of public and private social standards. The paper shows that buyers and suppliers have different perspectives towards the adoption of public and private standards. Accordingly, the extent of supplier social compliance also varies based on the type of standard adoption. Further, adopting multiple social standards, i.e., both private and public, may not bring a corresponding increase in supplier social performance. Finally, from a buyer perspective, the selection of a particular social standard may require managing trade-offs. The findings can help managers in making better social compliance decisions. • Suppliers will prefer public standards due to their lower asset specificity. • Public standards decrease the transaction cost of the buyer. • Private standards allow buyers to customize social compliance requirements. • Public standards can trigger citizenship behavior in supplier employees. • Buyers trade-off cost with flexibility when choosing social standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Evidence suggests that manufacturing companies have tried to address the current environmental challenges derived from their operations by implementing various operational environmental sustainability approaches, including green manufacturing (GM), cleaner production (CP), green lean (GL), green supply chain management (GSCM), reverse logistics (RLs) and circular economy (CE). However, although their adoption is well documented in developed nations and few other countries, very little has been done to understand such phenomenon in a rapid developing country such as Thailand. This paper aims at filling this gap by providing light into some fundamental issues regarding the implementation of these approaches in the manufacturing sector of Thailand. A survey-based exploratory research was carried out based on 287 Thai manufacturing companies. The data was analysed using a combination of descriptive and inferential statics. The study revealed that a large amount of investment capacity, and proper training & knowledge are needed to fully implement the studied operational approaches. This resulted in some of the weakest elements of Thai manufacturing firms and hence the main barriers to their implementation. The study also showed that Thai manufacturing firms consider the impact on the environment and benefits from adopting these operational approaches as company's policy and own initiative, environmental awareness, and cost saving from conservation of energy as the main reasons for adopting the studied operational approaches. Finally, the findings also indicate that Thai manufacturing firms tend to implement them because of internal factors and that they lack of motivation from external factors and involvement from other stakeholders. The paper extends the current limited knowledge on the deployment of operational environmental sustainability approaches in Asia, and its results can be beneficial for organisations that aim at effectively adopting them to improve their operation's sustainability. Highlights • Evidence of the implementation of sustainability approaches in Thailand is limited. • Paper provides light into fundamental issues regarding their adoption. • 287 Thai manufacturing companies participated in this survey-based exploratory study. • Study reveals degree of implementation, main drivers and barriers of the studied approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest for food waste (FW) in the scientific community has been growing consistently in the most recent years. This is reflected by the number of publications (journal articles and proceedings papers) which can be accessed in the Web of Science (WoS) database. However, lacking of systematic, chronological and synthesizing studies indicating how this field has evolved over time. The main objective of this paper is to consolidate the state of the art of research on FW, based on a bibliometrics study of articles published over the past 18 years. The results are discussed under the following perspectives: chronological distribution, countries, institutions, source titles, subject categories, and author keywords. It is found that the FW research has increased rapidly over past 18 years, most notably in the last 8 years. In total, 2340 research articles were published in 801 journals and in 161 WoS subject categories. The top 7 productive countries were analyzed herein. The predominance of Chinese institutions in terms of article count and a predominance of industrialized countries' institutions in terms of citation score were compared. Finally, based on keywords analysis, it comes to the conclusion that the clean energy, treatment and valorization, and management innovation have attracted extensive attention during the past decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green finance, clean technology innovation (CTI), and environmental tax are all eco-friendly measures for diminishing environmental degradation. Few studies have examined how these variables work together to realize the object of green growth (GG). Therefore, this research aims to examine the role of the above factors in achieving GG by using 28 developed countries from 1995 to 2019. These countries have passed over a time of fast progress at the expense of heavy pollution and hence have moved their emphasis to GG. This paper starts with the construction of the GG index based on entropy-weighted TOPSIS, followed by pooled OLS, fixed effect, random effect, the two-step least-square estimator (2SLS), and the System GMM models for hypothesis testing. From the findings, it is obsense of that: (1) Green finance positively affects GG; the higher the levels of GG, the greater the enhancement of green finance on GG. (2) CTI favorably mediates the impact of green finance on GG, and the mediating effect accounts for 14.06% of the overall effect. (3) Environmental tax has a significant threshold effect on the link between green finance and CTI; when high levels of environmental taxes are maintained, the influence of green finance on enterprises' CTI is greatly strengthened, with an increase of 53%. GG will be further promoted by the advancement of enterprises' CTI. Finally, emerging counties would benefit from this study in designing frameworks of green finance, environmental tax, and CTI policies to achieve GG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained an increasing attention all over the world, but studies are mainly about developed countries. Developing countries have promoted CSR but concepts and approaches can be different from those in developed countries due to geographic, political, and economic contexts. In a unique developing country of China, the government has initially encouraged state-owned companies (SOCs) to implement CSR practices. However, no clear and commonly accepted CSR definition or concept exists. This paper develops items on CSR practices mainly based on the internationally accepted ISO26000 framework while integrating characteristics of Chinese SOCs. Statistical results of 146 usable questionnaires show that Chinese SOCs implement four types of CSR practices under the ISO26000 framework, they are those related to employee rights, consumer issues, fair operation and labor practices. Charity is a specific CSR dimension in China, but it is only implemented at the low level. Chinese SOCs have the high internal CSR values which promote most CSRs except those related to charity and employee rights. External institutional drivers for CSR practices are relatively low. Normative drivers motivate most CSR practices while competitive drivers only motivate consumer issues-related CSR practices. This paper contributes to extend previous studies mainly for developed countries to develop a CSR concept for Chinese SOCs by using both the international ISO26000 framework and considering the specific context. Statistic results identify how to motivate CSR practices among Chinese SOCs effectively, which can provide implications for not only the Chinese government, but also multi-national companies that do or plan to do business in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urban expansion and economic development has led to severe demands of energy and water resources, which poses serious challenges to sustainability and environment. Previous studies have taken more consideration of one resource flow ignoring the interconnectedness between energy and water. In this paper, an urban energy-water nexus framework is constructed considering both domestic and international trade, based on the environmentally extended multi-scale input-output (EE-MSIO) model. This method allows us to trace energy and water flows in a multi-scale economic system from production and consumption perspectives. In basis of that, the nexus strengthen indicator is constructed to evaluate the energy-water nexus of the trading regions with Shanghai city in the domestic and international trade to present the integrated environmental pressure externalized in Shanghai's rapid economic development. Findings indicate that Shanghai is a net importer of energy and water flow. This result is compatible with the fact that Shanghai is a consumer city. Additionally, the seven domestic regions in China are net exporters toward Shanghai, supporting around 55.10% of energy and 70.56% of water import flows driven by city's final demand. Shanghai largely imports flows of energy and water from Mainland China and developing regions across the globe, whereas export little to developed nations. Nexus results indicate that from consumption perspective, Hebei and Shandong are of the highest nexus strength embodied in domestic trade with Shanghai, with nearly equal contribution for both energy and water. While USA is the largest energy-water nexus node embodied in international trade with Shanghai, around 60% energy and 40% water contributed to the nexus. During these tradeoffs, Shanghai is the major beneficiary, being able to externalize environmental pressures by consumption of domestic and international exported goods and services. The study outcomes suggest that a higher coordination, together with a rearrangement of the regional trade structure, should be the key leverages for an effective management of resources and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that emphasizes sustainable and affordable energy presents a practical pathway to achieve sustainable growth. Moreover, this goal aligns with SDG 13, which focuses on climate action. Nonetheless, it is important to consider factors such as political and financial risk, as they can influence climate action efforts and the renewable energy sources adoption. Hence, this study broadens the conversation surrounding CO 2 emission reduction and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It accomplishes this by investigating the interplay between renewable energy, political risk, financial risk, and CO 2 emissions in Finland spanning from 1990/Q1 to 2021/Q4. Notably, this research distinguishes itself through its exploration of these complex connections, employing a wavelet-based quantile methodology. Unlike traditional quantile regression, which can only reveal connections between variables within each quantile, the wavelet-based quantile approach enables the simultaneous capture of correlations across quantiles and periods. The results show that in the long-term and across all quantiles (0.01–0.99), energy efficiency, specifically gas and oil efficiency, lessens CO 2. In addition, low financial and political risks improve ecological quality by lessening CO 2 across all periods and quantiles (0.01–0.99). The paper outcomes serve as a basis for formulating a policy framework aimed at achieving SDG 7 and SDG 13 in Finland. • We explore the impact of energy efficiency and country risk on CO 2 emissions. • The role of renewable energy and economic growth are also analyzed. • The Time series data of the Finland is used from 1990/Q1 to 2020/Q4. • Various wavelet-based quantile correlation is applied. • Renewable energy, oil and gas efficiency decrease CO 2 emissions in each quantile and across periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development requires more investment in sustainable companies and less in unsustainable firms. However, the factors driving sustainable investing are not well understood. To address this gap, this paper uses institutional theory to examine three determinants of sustainable investing: (1) investor commitment to sustainable investing initiatives; (2) normative pressure; and (3) home-country influences. The findings indicate that sustainable investing initiatives do not guarantee more sustainable asset allocation among members. Normative pressure correlates with reduced investment in unsustainable companies. Investors from home-countries with legal systems prioritizing diverse stakeholders, and with governments committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), tend to invest less in unsustainable companies. Conversely, investors from countries with limited SDG progress show higher investment in unsustainable firms, while those from more developed nations invest more in sustainable companies. These results highlight the need for a critical examination of institutional efficacy in promoting sustainable investing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of ecological civilization has become necessary to ensure that emerging industrialized countries can achieve healthy and sustainable development under the background of tightening resource constraints, serious environmental pollution, and the deterioration of the ecological environment. In the case of China, one representative emerging industrialized economy, this paper builds an ecological civilization performance evaluation system to measure the efficiency of ecological civilization in 30 provinces and municipalities in China by using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) game cross-efficiency model. From the perspective of the "five-in-one" approach, and by taking full account of the three main bodies of government, enterprises and residents, this paper selects nine explanatory variables, namely industrial structure and degree of marketization (Economic perspective), government environmental risk awareness and government green actions (Political perspective), residents' happiness and corporate environmental responsibility (Social perspective), culture education investment (Cultural perspective), and green travel and ecological construction (Ecological perspective). Geographically Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) is used to analyze determinants of the Chinese ecological civilization performance. The results show that China's ecological civilization performance is low, and the efficiency ranking of most provinces fluctuates greatly. The regional development of China's ecological civilization performance presents a spatial distribution pattern that was high in the east and low in the west. The impact of various influencing factors on the China's ecological civilization performance is largely positive, and indicates regional characteristics. These results not only contribute to advancing the existing literature on ecological civilization performance evaluation, but also merit particular attention from policy makers in emerging industrialized countries. • A new indicator is built to assess ecological civilization performance. • Vertical and horizontal scatter degree, DEA game cross-efficiency, GTWR are employed. • ECP measured by CCR and Game Cross have significant differences. • ECP in China is low, fluctuating greatly in ranking and obvious east-west differentiation. • The same influencing factors exert different impacts in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of food waste in developed countries is caused by households. Previous studies have focussed on explicating reasons and contexts for food waste, whereas consumer-oriented solutions still need further study. This study investigated how sociocultural meanings of household food waste reduction were negotiated in social media campaigns. It adopted an interpretive approach through a qualitative case study and utilised interviews and online materials as data. The study identified three sociocultural themes, creativity, aesthetics and ethics of food waste, interlinked through connections with food, waste and social media. The analysis elaborated how these three broader positive sociocultural meanings were used in the studied social media campaigns to (re)negotiate the food waste phenomenon. The paper proposes that highlighting positive meanings of food waste which resonate with consumers and facilitating consumer-to-consumer communications are potential ways to address sustainability issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 30 years, distance learning has rapidly spread in developed countries, and to niche markets in developing countries. In Brazil, approximately 5 million people are currently either achieving formal education or corporate training, or obtaining specific knowledge and skills on a wide range of subjects, via distance learning. Motivated by the ongoing expansion of the Brazilian federal chain of public schools, several new campuses, extra classrooms and distance teaching centers have been built, as a function of the intensive promotion of social inclusion by means of education, and specifically allocated budget. Concomitantly, a considerable number of papers discussing reduction of energy and materials consumption in university campuses have been published. Intended as a contribution to this discussion, this work evolves from a comparison of the implicit environmental cost – i.e. the use of natural resources as the prime-matter of infrastructural and operational material, and source of energy to human work-in forming management technicians in a classroom course, and in a distance learning course, obtained from the results of two case studies carried out at a Federal Institute campus in Brazil. The groups were selected for their relative closeness in proportion of attending students. Data were collected by means of measurements and interviews, and a synthesis of the use of natural resources by both modes was obtained by using the emergy accounting method, and then compared. The emergy method was also used to assess current use and underuse rates of the available infra-structural resources. Scenarios based on different numbers of students and teaching staff attending capacity for both modes, distance learning and classroom, were created and compared. Results point out that, under the current configurations, forming a management technician via distance teaching requires a 90% higher environmental support than via classroom teaching. The scenarios, however, do indicate a turning point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant progress has been made globally in the transition towards a sustainable society. Since 2007, the annual investment in renewable energy exceeded the combined investment in fossil and nuclear energy. However, for many developing countries, the balance is still in favour of conventional energy. The purpose of this paper is to understand the barriers and drivers of the global imbalance in wind energy diffusion in developing countries through a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Furthermore, it highlights the different viewpoints the literature has to offer, with the aim of understanding wind power growth from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) point of view. This is important as the sales of wind turbines are the practical building blocks of the transition towards a sustainable society. 259 factors influencing wind energy diffusion were identified and clustered into 8 categories: economic, environmental, technical potential, technological, social, regulatory, political and also an amalgam of other factors. Policymakers formed the most frequently used viewpoint, no study addressed the OEM perspective specifically. A novel closed-loop feedback system was proposed as a conceptual framework to categorize factors influencing wind energy diffusion into two types: factors related to the desire for wind energy and factors related to the mechanism for this change. This paper shows indications that economic factors are of key importance in emerging and developing countries, whereas environmental factors are not driving wind energy growth, contrary to expectations. OEM managers might consider the rebranding of wind turbine technology from "green technology" to "job-creating technology" to increase sales and stimulate a transition to a more sustainable society in many emerging and developing markets. Image 1 • 259 factors influencing wind energy diffusion were found in the literature review. • Point of view of policy makers most popular, OEM perspective missing. • Novel closed-loop feedback system was developed to understand wind diffusion. • Economic drivers dominant for emerging countries, not for advanced countries. • OEM implications: economic factors drive sustainable transition emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, about one third of food intended for human consumption is lost or wasted. The majority of this waste occurs at the consumer level, and disproportionately in developed countries. Given the strong consensus that food waste needs to be reduced, many studies have examined the reasons for food waste behavior as well as possible ways to reduce this waste. This paper sets out to study behavioral aspects to understand what shopping-related factors might influence food waste prevention behavior at the consumer level. In a survey of US consumers (sample size n = 609), this study tests several constructs by developing a structural equation model, finding that price consciousness, environmental concern, and health consciousness exert a positive effect on food waste prevention behavior, while finding a negative effect of hedonic shopping value on food waste prevention behavior. Based on these findings, this paper attempts to outline potential areas for future research as well as policy and managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial to understand corporate preferences in designing and planning new market-based instruments. Using the method of conjoint analysis, this paper evaluates corporate preferences for policy alternatives of the sectoral crediting mechanism aiming at supporting its discussions and development. Data were collected from 94 companies in all 11 prefecture-level cities of Shanxi province, China. The results confirm that companies are most concerned about three policy attributes; domestic policy instruments, the relationship with the clean developing mechanism, and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities. From the viewpoint of the Chinese businesses surveyed, the ideal policy alternative has a domestic policy instrument in which installations with voluntary targets receive tradable units, while co-existing with the clean developing mechanism, and providing opportunities to get financial and technical assistance from developed countries. Meanwhile, the coverage of the sectoral crediting mechanism could be expanded to small companies that are the most inefficient and thus have the lowest abatement costs in some sectors. The results of this study are important in light of ongoing discussions and developments of the sectoral crediting mechanism in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal waste management, especially in developed countries, has a significant impact on the environment and humans that need to be quantified and mitigated. This study aims to investigate and compare the environmental impact and occupational risks of the following three municipal waste collection methods in Italy: street bins, door-to-door collection, and a smart bins system. Six waste categories (paper, plastics, glass, metal, organic materials, and residual waste) are analysed. Environmental performances are calculated by the life cycle assessment (LCA) and material and flow analysis (MFA) methodologies. The ergonomic analysis is based on direct observation of municipal waste collectors and the application of standard assessment methods as RULA, NIOSH, and Snook Ciriello. show that the smart bins collection method is environmentally more effective in all the impact categories considered, thanks to the better quality of collected waste. The residual waste flow directed to landfills has a lower value in the case of smart bins (36.63%) in comparison with door-to-door (52.90%) and street bins (89.56%). The use of smart bins allows higher environmental benefits, passing for the Climate Change impact category from −2.80E+01 kg of CO2eq. of the door-to-door system and −2.74E+01 kg of CO2eq. of street bins to −7.13E+01 kg of CO2eq. of smart bins. Regarding the transport phase, the smart bins system determines a reduction of the impact of about 60% if compared with the door-to-door system for all the impact categories considered. On the other hand, acceptable occupational risks result in street and smart waste collection methods, while poor ergonomics conditions are observed during the door-to-door collection. Containers lifting and emptying are the most critical tasks. [Display omitted] • Smart technologies in urban waste management determines benefits in environmental terms. • Smart technologies in urban waste management preserves the operators' health condition. • Analysis of environmental impact and occupational risk of municipal waste systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Economic Energy Intensity of a country, defined as the ratio between the energy consumed and the Gross Domestic Product of a country, is a widely-adopted indicator of economic performance, often applied to sustainability analysis. The usefulness of this indicator has been challenged on the basis of the fact that the two variables making up this ratio are correlated. This implies that, when considered in isolation, each one of these two variables (Energy Consumption p.c. and GDP p.c.) maps on to typologies of socio-economic systems (e.g. developed countries vs. less developed countries), however calculating their ratio produces an indicator which does not map on to any meaningful typology of economic system (a number without an external referent). This paper checks the validity of this criticism by looking at the Economic Energy Intensity (EEI) of 133 countries over the period 1960–2009. Two approaches are used for this task: (1) an analysis at a given point in time (year 2009): after excluding countries with real GDP p.c.<5000 US$ I considered three clusters of countries with similar values of EEI. Within each cluster, when looking at similar values of EEI, we find extremely diverse typologies of economies; (2) a video showing the movement in time of 133 countries between 1960 and 2010 over the plane determined by the two variables composing the indicator. These results confirm the doubts about both the meaning and usefulness of the indicator itself. In particular this analysis indicates that the problems with the EEI indicator are generated by the attempt to compress into a single number different pieces of information referring to different dimensions (monetary and energy flows) and to different scales (the characteristics of the whole country are determined by the specific characteristics of different sectors). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper evaluates the contribution of 75 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects for technology transfer initiatives and for promotion of adoption of cleaner technologies. A documentary content analysis model was developed to acquire secondary data from the 75 Project Design Documents. Technology transfer as a benefit has only 28% share and not more than 21% of the projects led to implementation of cleaner technologies. In conclusion, CDM projects in Brazil have not encouraged a cleaner model of development through cooperation among industrialized and developing countries, as they were expected to do. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Obtaining water suitable for human consumption is an important issue in both agricultural and industrialized countries. In areas with limited water supplies, water should be carefully managed by all users instead of by only the water agency. Therefore, a water monitoring system should allow interested monitors, such as government economists, researchers and public users, to participate in managing the water quality. However, most water information is distributed in formats that are not convenient for a general holistic analysis. Moreover, interpreting the output of environmental systems involves specialized domain knowledge that is not well understood by the public. How to integrate all of the available data to provide useful knowledge and understandable conclusions to users of different backgrounds is an important issue. This paper presents a water quality 2.0 OLAP system designed for the South Water Resources Bureau (TSWRB) of Taiwan. The concept of Web 2.0 has been adopted to integrate qualified data resources. In addition, an On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) system was used to analyze data from distributed resources to increase the understanding of water quality information of non-experts. This system provides a framework for all users to collaborate in monitoring water quality and in protecting limited water resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: If resource consumption is to be reduced through economic “de-growth”, individuals in industrialized countries may have to accept a reduction in their consumption levels. In democratic societies, implementing this process requires the consent of a majority of the population. However, as long as people have high reference levels of consumption, lower consumption will induce feelings of loss, and hence evoke resistance. This paper summarizes recent experimental evidence on some of the factors that determine the utility costs involved in decreasing consumption. The results suggest that the acceptance of economic de-growth would be facilitated if people''s material aspirations were moderated, and the extent to which material achievements are emphasized in our daily environment were reduced. An analysis of the financial and economic crisis that developed during 2008 suggests that it will not contribute to either of these points. Rather, by increasing the public''s focus on the economic sphere even beyond pre-crisis levels, it may lead to a further decrease in the acceptance of de-growth policies in the population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is important to analyze why phosphorus metabolism is unsustainable in China''s modern industrial society. In this paper, the Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) approach is used to build different models of phosphorus metabolism for the following three periods: the prehuman period, traditional agricultural period and modern industrial period. Based on these models, the evolution process of phosphorus metabolism in China is analyzed from the viewpoint of its metabolic structure and intensity. The indices of intensity analysis involve phosphorus input, phosphorus circulation and recycling efficiency, phosphorus production and production efficiency, water phosphorus emission and water emission proportion, solid waste phosphorus output and solid waste discharge proportion. Through the analysis of the evolution process, the key factors that cause the lack of sustainability of phosphorus metabolism in China are identified, which can be summarized by four aspects: the increase of soil phosphorus accumulation, the increase of water phosphorus emission, the decrease of recycling efficiency and the decrease of production efficiency in croplands. Furthermore, the specific unsustainable processes of phosphor resources utilization in China are discussed. For these unsustainable processes, the relevant solutions for the phosphor resources crisis are given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Compared with the extensive research on the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality in developed countries, there is a paucity of an empirical research on studying the relation for developing countries. Based upon the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory, this paper develops regression models for investigating the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality in China. The EKC analysis based on six pollution indices is illustrated with a case study in Jiaxing of Zhejiang, China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form a strong basis of the economy in developed countries and are of growing importance in the transition economies. At the same time, SMEs significantly contribute to environmental degradation. This paper draws on a pilot survey of SMEs in the London area, examining their environmental concerns, constraints to environmental performance improvements, key incentives to caring for the environment, and the role of support initiatives and bodies in promoting best environmental practices in SMEs. The applicability of the results of this study to transition economies of Eastern Europe is examined, and further research is proposed in the region in order to test hypotheses developed by this study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the major pollutants in the atmospheric space is nitrogen oxide (NO x) emissions is, and industrialized countries are responsible for a substantial share of this air pollutant at the global level. Among developed countries, G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US) were responsible for 12% of the global nitrogen oxide emissions in 2019. Nitrogen oxide emissions increased by almost 280 times between 1750 and 2019 in this set of countries. For this reason, this study concentrates on this group of countries. Besides, it is rational to test the convergence of NO x emissions at the sectoral level for designing effective environmental policies. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the convergence pattern of aggregate and sectoral NO x emission levels in G7 countries covering long-span data, from 1750 to 2019. Agriculture, energy production, industry, residential-commercial-other (RCO), transport, and waste are the main sectors where nitrogen oxides are emitted from. For this purpose, we utilize the panel Fourier threshold unit root test, which allows for the possibility of nonlinearity in the series. Besides, the test is able to capture gradual structural changes through the Fourier approximation. The empirical results derived from the analysis indicate that all the nitrogen oxide series have nonlinear behavior. In addition, this study highlights that the convergent behavior of sectoral nitrogen oxide displays at least partial convergence for the countries examined. Besides, global (full) convergence is confirmed for agriculture, energy production, and transport sectors for the period studied. According to the empirical findings, it can be said that policymakers in G7 countries should prioritize the emission allocation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging industrialized countries are confronted with the fundamental reality of an increasingly uncertain and unstable economic policy environment. In case of China this paper examined how the transformation of inclusive green growth, from a "beggar-thy-neighbor" approach to a "neighbor-friendly" approach, can be realized. From the perspective of a "pollution paradise", this study regarded haze pollution as a mediator to examine the driving mechanism underlying the influence of economic policy uncertainty on inclusive green growth. Moreover, media attention was introduced as a moderator to explore the institutional scenario that drives inclusive green growth in China. This study used panel data from 30 provinces for the period 2006–2016, and employed the Spatial Durbin model for empirical testing. The findings showed that the influence of EPU on inclusive green growth was multi-dimensional, and this included the direct "policy-economic" effect, the partial intermediary effect of a beggar-thy-neighbor model which was reflected by haze pollution, and the moderating effect of a neighbor-friendly approach via media attention. Furthermore, the results revealed an inverted-U-shaped relationship between haze pollution and inclusive green growth. Finally, media attention can effectively regulate the negative impact of economic policy uncertainty and haze pollution on inclusive green growth, and realize the transformation of inclusive green growth from a beggar-thy-neighbor policy to a neighbor-friendly policy. This study presents a new perspective for understanding the economic consequences of economic policy uncertainty and provides an empirical framework that guide local governments about climate governance. • Examine how the transformation of inclusive green growth can be realized. • Haze pollution and media attention were introduced as a mediator and a moderator, respectively. • The influence of EPU on inclusive green growth was multi-dimensional. • There was an inverted-U-shaped relationship between haze pollution and inclusive green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different assumptions and methodologies prompt divergent policy recommendationgs for combatting climate change. Although climate scientists would like to be as precise as possible, policymakers with different attitudes towards climate change will always choose the result that matches their own value judgments. This paper discusses the impact of climate change attitudes on optimal mitigation in 15 regions. The climate change attitude is refined by a meta-analysis of 27 climate damage estimations and distilled into five damage functions. The optimal mitigation is calculated using the non-cooperative scenario of the regional integrated model of climate economy (RICE). The results show that the optimal mitigation paths in developing countries are more sensitive to climate change attitudes than they are in developed countries. In 2100, the range of optimal emissions represents 20% of the average optimal emissions by developing countries, which is twice the value of average optimal emissions by developed countries. The average social carbon cost in developing countries is 20 times higher than that in developed countries. This large uncertainty may be the combined result of high shadow prices of capital and large quantities of future emissions in these developing countries. • Climate change attitudes significantly affect the optimal mitigation path and the social cost of carbon. • Optimal mitigation path and social carbon cost are more sensitive to climate change attitudes in developing countries. • The average social carbon cost in developing countries is 20 times higher than that in developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity to generate energy from renewable sources has given rise to a flourishing research stream, especially in reference to developing countries, which are frequently the most exposed to the effects of climate change, but have limited resources for adaptation and/or mitigation policies. They therefore often benefit from monetary funds from developed countries and/or international organizations, which are qualified as Official Development Assistance (ODA). This paper assesses whether the generation of a greater share of renewable energy by a country increases the ODA allocated for energy and the environment by donor countries, and how vulnerability and social development affect the distribution of funds. A panel of 85 countries in the time span 1995–2015 was analysed. The results show that the ODA received by developing countries tends to be directly linked to their vulnerability but inversely linked to their social development. The relevance of these funds for the development of developing countries and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions also emerges. Efforts are therefore needed to provide better assistance to beneficiary countries in order to optimize the advantages resulting from the use of the resources received, starting from improving the managerial capacities of the beneficiaries to create value from these funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to evaluate the impact of the oil refinery industry on water resources worldwide from the point of view of sustainable development (SD). The local laws, reports from the industry and environmental agencies, conditions of the final disposal system were analysed. Key aspects, such as existing approaches for treatment systems, quality of treated wastewater, and ways to assure the safety of them were compared. The comparison between industrialised (represented by the USA and EU) and developing countries (Kazakhstan used as an example) shows that several obstacles, such as loopholes in legislation, historical contamination, and miscommunicating between stakeholders, exist, despite the formal promotion of the SD concept. That policy should be implemented based on the relevant scientific investigation through the possibility of integrating the respective technological development, an adequate system of environmental impact assessment, and fair operational monitoring. • Oil refineries still discharge contaminated wastewater into water bodies worldwide. • Principles of Sustainable water use for the oil refinery sector are defined. • An adequate policy regulation makes Sustainable water use in the industry achievable. • The policy should implement the Circular Economy, a fair Environmental Impact Assessment, and the transparent environmental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green public procurement (GPP) has been extensively adopted as a public administration tool for achieving sustainability outcomes. However, there is a marked lack of understanding regarding the determinants of GPP adoption beyond, that is, the characteristics of the contracting authority. Indeed, most studies have focused their attention on these micro determinants, with little being known about the macro and meso factors involved. In this paper, we contribute to the literature by analyzing macro and meso adoption factors. To do so, we explore GPP in the award criteria for twentyfive European countries as recorded in Tenders Electronic Daily database for the period 2006–2017. Our results show significant cross-country differences in GPP uptake and we identify factors beyond those of the contracting unit itself that condition GPP adoption. Specifically, more developed countries and a larger government size impact positively on GPP. GPP adoption has evolved favorably over time, and regional and local administrations show a clearer preference for GPP than is shown by national governments or EU authorities. We find that better governance is linked to GPP adoption and that larger contracts are more likely to include GPP. Our results confirm that join procurement between contracting authorities more probability to adopt GPP. Our results are useful for defining a more comprehensive decision-making framework for GPP. • Macro and meso determinants of GPP have largely been omitted from previous studies. • We explore GPP in the award criteria in the European TED database. • Size of government and economic development are positively associated with GPP adoption. • Good governance and local and regional government also have a positive impact. • Positive effects on GPP adoption over time and across-country exist as do differences by sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ascertaining cleaner production and sustainability is a major issue in the developed and developing world; income and international trade are the predominant factors behind this. This article explores the heterogeneous impacts of export product diversification, extensive margin, and intensive margins on the CO 2 emissions for developing and developed countries. To this end, the authors analyze the annual data of variables from 1971 to 2014 and employ unrestricted fixed effects and system GMM to solve the research problem. The empirics suggest that all three indicators of export diversification significantly reduce CO 2 emissions in 63 developed and developing countries as a global sample. The fixed effect models reveal that product diversification and intensive margin have a negative and significant impact in developed economies. The negative impacts of product diversification show that economic sophistication is an important tool to reduce emissions. Further, the Chow test proved the statistical difference between developed and developing economies, which contributes to policy recommendations. Based on the empirical outcomes, the study suggests innovative policies for cleaner production and industrial manufacturing purposes, making the policies more effective in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Image 1 • This study analyzes 63 countries as global sample for the period from 1971 to 2014. • The research work applied product diversification, intensive and extensive margin to understand the CO 2 emissions. • The paper used Chow test, Fixed effects, and system GMM to analyze the diversification-carbon nexus. • The empirical findings suggested negative impacts of product diversification on CO 2 emissions. • Product diversification, extensive, and intensive margins are strategic tools in developing and developed economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remanufacturing is a life cycle renewal process that is recognized as one of the most effective green strategies to attain sustainable manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to address the current challenges confronting by Malaysian remanufacturing industries and to explore its future opportunities. The research technique of this study is based on extensive scholarly literature review and scenario analysis in the field of remanufacturing. The findings highlighted five main challenges and two main future opportunities in Malaysian remanufacturing industries. The results based on scenario analysis suggested that Malaysia possessed the potential to become the center hub of automotive components remanufacturing and novel entire vehicle remanufacturing (rebuilt vehicle) in the Southeast Asia region by overcoming its current challenges. This study has shown that the challenges and opportunities in Malaysia remanufacturing industries are significantly different from the developed countries due to its distinctive business environments. The outcome of this study is to ensure the smooth implementation of the National Remanufacturing Policy and facilitate the sustainable development of remanufacturing industries in Malaysia and other developing countries with a similar business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper and nickel are important metals for our society. Developing countries depend on copper and nickel for the construction of their infrastructure. Copper and nickel are also key elements for the transition to a fossil free electric energy production, which might lead to increased demand for these metals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and at which conditions a sustainable production rate of copper and nickel can be combined with an increase of the service level of the two metals for the entire future world population to the same level as in developed countries in 2020. We consider three ambition levels with regard to a sustainable production rate for copper and nickel: 1000 years, 500 years and 200 years of guaranteed, sufficient and affordable supply to the entire world population at a service level, which, in all countries, is equal to the service level in developed countries in 2020. The conclusion is that the highest sustainability ambition (1000 years) is only achievable with a combination of an optimistically large amount of available resources in combination with a high end-of-life recycling rate. Whether the required amount of resources will be available for an affordable price, remains uncertain. • Three ambition levels with regard to long term supply of copper and nickel are considered: 1000, 500 and 200 years. • The aspiration: resources are available for the entire world population at the level of developed countries in 2020. • The amount of available copper and nickel resources is uncertain. • The resources necessary for providing the world sufficiently depend on the recycling rate and the ambition level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) have mainly focused on processes at the individual and institutional levels. The result has been a proliferation of literature on aspects of UIC implementation processes often accounting for contextual differences. A survey of previous systematic reviews showed a gap in integration of knowledge on UIC implementation processes from a holistic and economic context perspective. This systematic review of the literature seeks to cover that gap by integrating the literature on UIC implementation processes from developed and developing countries contexts. In total 68 publications were reviewed and the data extracted were qualitatively analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Three major themes are distinguished: channels of interaction, UIC mechanisms, and barriers to UIC. The channels of interaction were often presented in categories. The most comprehensive were found to be bi-directional, traditional, commercial and service channels. It was found that commercial channels are ranked by both industry and academia as the least important and the least preferred by collaboration actors. The review discerned three major forms of UIC implementation processes: (1) educational collaboration, (2) academic entrepreneurship and (3) research related collaboration. Mechanisms of implementing these three forms of interaction vary, but continuous interactions are frequently proposed as the best method of knowledge transfer, contrasting with the traditional linear view of UIC processes. Regarding barriers to collaboration, five categories of barriers (misalignment barriers; motivation related barriers; capability related barriers; governance-related barriers and contextual barriers) are identified. The review indicated also that there is still a research coverage gap in developing countries compared to developed countries, and that the educational collaboration form is somehow neglected. It is therefore recommended to use an action research approach to advance research in developing countries and to provide extra attention to educational collaboration mechanisms since this form is among the preferred means of UIC. This paper indicates that: • Topics covered by empirical literature revolve around Channels of interaction, trust formation, boundary spanning, UIC implementation mechanisms, and challenges/barriers to UIC. • The forms of interaction pertaining to the commercial channel category are not preferred by both researchers and industry members surveyed • The continuous model of collaboration can be viewed as the most adapted to the current fast changing and volatile technology environment, where demands tend to be individualized. • Different dimensions of UIC processes are observed, including individual versus institutional dimensions, direct versus indirect dimensions and formal versus informal dimensions. • UIC in lower income countries are often characterized by a weak demand in university knowledge by the industry, indirect interactions and often taking place informally. Besides, as opposed to studies in developed and emerging economies, studies in the lower income countries are rather conducted with an institutional dimension rather than individual dimension. • Barriers to collaboration are grouped into five categories: (1) misalignment barriers; (2) motivation related barriers; (3) capability related barriers; (4) governance related barriers and (5) contextual barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]