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This paper aims to identify all of the unexploited potentialities of sports activities with regard to sustainability by answering the following question: Considering the priorities that the 2030 Agenda identified with regard to sustainability, what does sport contribute to the process of transition towards a more sustainable global scenario? According to the European Union Council, sport and physical activity play a strategic role in the global challenge toward sustainability and achieving the 17 SDGs. The contribution of sport to the 2030 Agenda is indeed strategic. However, through a non-systematic review, the authors have observed almost a complete absence of SDGs within sports literature. Discussing the results through the lens of the SDGs, the authors have identified a series of qualitative and quantitative research opportunities connected with the 17 SDGs and related targets. The authors have also identified a total of 27 research hypotheses. This evidence could support academics, sports managers, professionals, and practitioners in identifying their contribution to the global priorities towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to review Latin American scientific production on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the field of education. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis is performed on WoS articles, and a content analysis is carried out on empirical articles from 2015–2022. The main findings indicate that (1) since 2016, a considerable increase in scientific production is evidenced, reaching a peak of 30 articles in 2020; (2) Brazil is the most productive and influential nation in the region; (3) in general, good levels of international cooperation are evidenced, although only Brazil and Mexico show outstanding levels of scientific cooperation with countries in the Global North; (4) most of the analyzed papers were published in education journals, with a smaller percentage in specialized higher education journals; and (5) there are two main lines of research within the empirical papers: "Curriculum, extracurricular activities, projects, and pedagogical initiatives" and "Students' behaviors, perceptions, beliefs, concerns, and level of knowledge around issues related to the SDGs". We conclude that although Latin American production has increased in the last period, contributions continue to be marginal at global levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will look over some of the most important and widely spread international commitments in terms of achieving gender equality and empowering women such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Istanbul Convention, with a particular focus pointed towards the issues in implementing these ground-breaking gender equality treaties and initiatives. The paper offers an overview of the way a specific state, Romania, manages to implement these kinds of commitments in general terms, if and how the Romanian Government has succeeded in implementing the legislative packages necessary for the harmonisation of the national legislation with the international commitments taken by the government, what statistic position among European countries does Romania occupy in terms of gender equality and what are the recommendations provided by the United Nations for dealing with Romania's gender equality issues. Lastly, a more in detail examination of the current framework used to teach gender equality in the national education system will be provided, touching on subjects such as gender balance among education staff, the cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural learning objectives set by UNESCO and how they apply to gender to gender issues in the school curriculum for all ages in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a guide for caring for the planet, guaranteeing the fundamental rights of its inhabitants and shaping sustainable economic growth. In the current context, characterised by great challenges and geopolitical conflicts, the figure of the CEO is key to driving the necessary transformation of companies and the prioritisation of their commitment to the current challenges of the world we live in. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to deepen current knowledge on the role of CEO visionary leadership in shaping inclusive and sustainable business models aligned with the goals of the 2030 Agenda. For the period 2019–2022, we study the information reported by the top 3910 companies worldwide on their contributions to the SDGs and analyse whether these commitments are determined by the structural power of the CEO within these companies. The results obtained confirm previous arguments, contradicting some of the previous evidence. In this sense, our findings show that the information disclosed by companies in relation to projects aligned with the SDGs is positively associated with leadership figures who wield power that allows them to influence the agenda and decisions made by the board of directors. The influence of leaders is reinforced in scenarios where companies excel in sustainability performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pedagogy Studies / Pedagogika is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since 2015, the intended climate actions of the Paris Agreement signatories have been reported as nationally determined contributions (NDC). These climate actions are fully aligned with the 13th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which calls for urgent action to combat climate change. The same, however, cannot be said for their relation to the other 16 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, since climate action can either enhance or compromise the prospects for SDG implementation. In light of this challenge, this paper proposes a simple method for quantifying the synergies and trade-offs between national climate actions and the SDGs. The method, referred to as Q-SCAN, makes use of a seven-step scale and the SDG Climate Action Nexus tool. The effectiveness of the method has been demonstrated on a case study of North Macedonia, a non-Annex I, Western Balkan country with a coal-intensive energy system. Based on the experience in the preparation of the country's enhanced NDC, the paper elaborates how the method can be used to contribute to the alignment of the national climate actions with the SDGs and how it can be used to improve stakeholder engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 threatens sustainable development and is a potential opportunity for downsizing the consumer economy. The virus's impacts on society are still unclear and additional contributions are required to investigate its effects on sustainable consumer behaviours. The paper aims to evaluate consumers' awareness regarding the emergency impacts on the 2030 Agenda SDGs achievement and sustainable consumption (SDG 12) in terms of societal and environmentally responsible behaviour. A qualitative study is planned to reach the research goal and 133 in-depth consumer interviews are performed. The sample is composed of young students informed on sustainability topics and issues. The thematic analysis is used to assess the data. The paper contributes to the existing literature about the 2030 Agenda and young consumers' sustainable behaviours by identifying the goal perceived by respondents as most negatively and positively impacted by the crisis and detecting those that can help overcome the emergency. Five themes (Social factors, Knowledge, Habits, Values, and Price) describing the main young consumer behaviour dimensions influenced by COVID-19 and lockdown in sustainability and social responsibility are detected. A theoretical framework is proposed to describe the effects of the five themes on sustainable behaviours. Finally, a roadmap for future research is identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeking to establish how supermarket chains have dealt with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, this paper analyzed the discourses of two cooking magazines promoted by the two major Portuguese supermarket brands: Continente Magazine, owned by the Continente chain, and Sabe Bem, supported by the Pingo Doce supermarkets. As they represent supermarket brands and the Portuguese food culture, analyzing these publications' discourses, we could identify their relationship with the sustainable principles advocated by the 2030 Agenda through its addressers' verbal and image choices. We concluded that among the several fragilities implicit in this relationship, several principles of the Agenda are kept at the edges of the magazines' discourses, including the second Sustainable Development Goal, which deals specifically with food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to promote motor activity in children with autism spectrum disorder through the development of an adapted integrated soccer project played outdoors. The project is carried out in collaboration with the nonprofit "Smile Association" of the city of Frosinone (Lazio-Italy) and the Pegaso and Parthenope Universities. The main purpose of the Smile Association is to provide an educational and sports service in an area poorly provided with opportunities for children with intellectual disabilities, allowing them to change their predominantly sedentary condition and, through corporeality, to improve cognitive, affective, and relational processes. Participation in sports activities allows for the development of motor skills, social interactions, and cognitive stimulation. There is a need for available resources and programs dedicated exclusively to children with ASD to help them develop social, motor, and cognitive skills. One of the programs that might be helpful is a structured group play program involving physical activity. In addition, through the project, a dense social network has been activated between the third sector, sports companies, and local health authorities. The project aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda in Articles 3, 4, and 11. This paper describes the correlation between learning and motor activity. According to the hypotheses of this research, integrated soccer activity implements cognitive skills, particularly those related to memory for visual stimuli and to the theory of mind, as well as sense-motor skills. Work carried out to improve attentional skills can reduce stereotypical behaviours. The results showed that continuous and regular engagement in motor activities has positive health outcomes for children with autism in terms of reduced symptomatology and improved quality of life. A total of 108 statistical units (the control group consisted of 18 statistical units, and the sample comprised 90 participants) aged 8 to 11 years were examined. The project is aimed at girls (in compliance with Art. 5 regarding gender equality); however, the participants identified by the local health authority are predominantly male. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has appeared to be inattentive towards the globally lobbied Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) movement that endeavors to leverage sport for non-sporting development, currently subscribing to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By adopting the concept of 'tiyu (体育)'—the supposed Chinese counterpart of 'sport'—which also seeks to achieve wider objectives grounded on its premise of 'body cultivation', this paper proceeds with a text-based qualitative study incorporating document analysis and literature review to examine its current links to SDP. The findings suggest that: (1) While the national development foci of the PRC have demonstrated alignment with the SDGs, its tiyu policies have not. (2) Mainstream SDP projects have failed to be accommodated in the PRC, although some non-SDP tiyu practices have shown a commitment to SDP-desired outcomes. (3) The relative lack of interest in SDP in the PRC has not prevented some tiyu scholars from heeding this movement. Accordingly, this paper assesses the prospects of changing attitudes in the PRC toward SDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies highlight the risks related to the growing water crisis, worsened by the effects of pollution, which increasingly make water sources non-potable. The current water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) approach improves resource efficiency and implements urban livability by combining natural water flows with all the scales of the urban landscape. The logistic and operational management of water disposal/treatment and distribution requires performing service design according to cities' physical and morphological features, starting from their architectural and landscape characteristics. This paper aims to prove that different landscapes can offer different inspirations and possibilities to imagine a WSUD-coherent system, fulfilling the integration requirements with the urban system. For this purpose, three case studies, differing by dimension, morphology, and urban typology, are analyzed, experimenting with circular water usage with no resource waste. This research proposes concrete actions such as conservation, restoration or addition of permeable surfaces, the installation of new accumulation and treatment systems, and the use of water-saving devices. Starting from redesigning the water system, they can also include punctual redevelopment interventions on the urban built environments and opportunities for network development with public administrations, private businesses, third-sector organizations, and end users. This experimentation has led to water savings of up to 80% of the current consumption scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has set back progress toward the 2030 Agenda. This raises concerns about the ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as outlined in this global action plan. The responsibility to act to protect the planet, eradicate poverty and improve the current and future situations of people around the world requires the commitment of all actors, especially the public and private sectors. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it aims to demonstrate the level of business commitment to the 2030 Agenda at a global level in a post-COVID period (2020-2021). Second, it aims to analyse whether this commitment, in general, and for each of the SDGs, is determined by the institutional context in which companies operate, as associated with the regulatory frameworks and cultural values of the different continents and countries (coercive and normative isomorphism). Based on a sample of the world's leading listed companies, i.e. 8,201 observations for the period of 2020-2021, the multivariate statistical technique HJ-biplot was applied to analyse whether business commitment to the 2030 Agenda is determined by the institutional context of the companies. The results show significant differences in the level of business commitment to sustainable development across regions and countries, as well as in the prioritisation of the SDGs. Countries in Asia (the Philippines) and Europe (Spain and Portugal) stand out as leaders, with the highest levels of SDG commitment. The USA and Qatar show the lowest engagement in business contribution to the SDGs. SDG 8, SDG 13 and SDG 12 appear as the top three priorities for companies in all countries. The results show that, in countries characterised by collectivism and feminism and with strong legal systems (civil law countries), companies are under greater pressure to adopt sustainable practices, which enables countries to improve their commitment to the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is recognised as an integral part of building the capacity of all ages to drive the transformation toward sustainable development. While the Hong Kong government aspires to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and has ramped up efforts to integrate sustainability into school curricula and raise public awareness through educational activities, this policy brief argues that Hong Kong's existing measures failed to empower and motivate individuals and the community to keep pace with its climate action ambition. Drawing on Sterling's framework of education for sustainability (EFS), this paper presents a diagnosis of Hong Kong's major problems in sustainability education policies and suggests that the Hong Kong government should learn from the Italian experience to take a more systemic, empowering, and democratic approach in advancing its EFS policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research tests a sustainability assessment based on the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a process of their territorialization and implementation. This process enables the development of a spatial decision support system (SDSS) that can be integrated with strategic environmental assessments in urban planning. The assessment takes place on the transversality of the sustainability concept, considering the three dimensions (environmental, social, and economic) in a single assessment through the spatial sustainability assessment model (SSAM) by integrating geographic information systems (GIS) and multicriteria analyses. Economic development, social equity, and ecological integrity represent the three common visions for rethinking peri-urban edges. The choice of key indicators is due to the possibilities for action of urban plans and the vision of SDG 11a, which aims to support 'positive economic, social, and environmental links among urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning'. In addition, they were selected to be representative of sustainable planning processes in the peri-urban area. In recognizing the limits of urban expansion processes, in the peri-urban area, it is necessary to promote a different growth based on agri-environmental values, the production of biodiversity reserves and corridors, new models of inhabiting open space, and the consolidation of civic and collective uses. The paper tests the assessment methodology in two urban plans of the Metropolitan City of Naples that address the development of the peri-urban area with different strategies. This provides insight into how to support decision-making processes so that economic development, social equity, and ecological integrity represent three common and integrated visions to enable development that is consistent with SDGs. The results show that it is possible to identify trade-offs among the three dimensions. In fact, where there are environmental subtractions necessary to accommodate peri-urban land-relation functions, these are offset by the social values of collective use and by the values of the current economy that aim to redistribute present resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although school education, including the subject of physical education (PE), has the potential to contribute to the visions set out by the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals (SDGs), little attention has been directed towards sustainable development perspectives in PE teacher education (PETE). In this explorative paper, we aimed to investigate how sustainable development perspectives are reflected in Swedish PETE course syllabi, focusing on learning outcomes. The source of data was 496 learning outcomes retrieved from PETE course syllabi at the eight Swedish PETE institutions that examine PE teachers for compulsory school grades 7−9 and upper secondary school. A qualitative thematical analysis was performed, and two educational resources developed to support how to use education in achieving SDGs were used as a guiding framework. The findings show eight learning outcomes (<2%) explicitly related to sustainable development perspectives. We found these learning outcomes in courses dealing with outdoor education, movement and health didactics, and work environment and ergonomics. Our further analysis suggests that 37 learning objectives (19% as cognitive, 43% as socio-emotional, and 38% as behavioural) and 31 competencies (35% within knowledge and understanding, 32% within skills and applications, and 32% within values and attributes) could be linked to our themes of learning outcomes. These learning objectives and competencies of the SDGs were for good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, reduced inequalities, peace, justice, and strong institutions. The main findings signal a possibility to work with the conceptualisation of sustainable development perspectives and SDGs in PETE. PETE educators should be encouraged to critically reflect on what it can mean to include sustainable development perspectives in PETE course syllabi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities are increasingly being asked to contribute to addressing the significant local and global challenges, such as those identified in the 2030 Agenda. Set in this framework, universities need to account for the social value they generate through their activities, particularly from the perspective of their contribution to different stakeholders. This approach requires, first of all, that the main stakeholders are identified. Relationship and dialogue mechanisms then need to be established which can help guide universities to choose activities which can better meet the needs of their stakeholders. The current paper analyses the potential of integrated reports, and triple bottom line reports, as an instrument for reporting on aspects that go beyond the financial sphere, including economic, social and environmental aspects. Specifically, the paper focuses on studying the viability of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for reporting the value that European universities generate for their stakeholders. The results show, firstly, that the universities in the sample do not sufficiently address these questions in their reports. Internal stakeholders are prominent in their reports, with the interaction between them and the universities being generally unidirectional. References to value generated are limited, and usually refer to the economic value. However, some examples of good practices are identified that could be used to improve standards of reporting, especially in universities committed to integrated reporting initiatives, in order to better reflect the social value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the opinions of primary education teachers in relation to school trips (outdoor learning environment). The following questions are answered: What importance do educational trips have in the context of the curriculum? Does the teacher take advantage of the resources that the environment offers? Are the contents of the curriculum taught during field trips? Are outings planned with the aim of showing students the heritage of the surrounding area? What do students' families think? In order to answer these questions, a structured questionnaire (CUELX-M ©) was designed, which was then completed by 124 primary school teachers who work in the Region of Murcia (Spain). Through the analysis of the responses to this questionnaire, a detailed study of teachers' perceptions according to age, gender and teaching experience has been carried out. The reliability of the questionnaire was subjected to expert validation by judges (content, technical and methodological aspects). The reliability of each of the dimensions was also studied, and finally, the construct validity of the scales was studied. The results of Cronbach's alpha test (=0.867) show that the questionnaire is internally consistent. 98% of the teachers participating in the study agree that school field trips should not be merely recreational and that heritage resources located in the surroundings of schools and cities should be used. However, they also point out that parents of students are sometimes reluctant for their children to participate in such activities due to their economic cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Water Resource Management relies intensive coordination, vertically across different levels of government and horizontally across policy sectors, as many decisions affecting water resources are taken outside the water sector (e.g., in agriculture, industry). Coordination problems across levels and sectors may arise due to incompatibilities of governance modes – coordinative mechanisms ranging from hierarchy, network, to market mode – employed in the often fragmented water policy domain. This paper contributes to the discussion departing from the overarching hypothesis that synergistic interplay of governance modes rather than the dominance of a single mode supports coordination. This hypothesis is rooted in the assumption that given the plurality of state and non-state actors in water governance, who are entangled in formal and informal relationships, neither the dominance of hierarchical control, market competition, nor collaboration in networks alone is capable to ensure coordination results as different modes are appropriate for different relationships within the sector. Coordination processes and results, therefore depend on the synergistic interplay between the governance modes employed. The paper presents case studies from Germany, Mongolia, South Africa, and Spain, which face different cross-sector coordination challenges. Our findings suggest that despite policy reforms for integrated water and environmental governance, hierarchy prevails in formal provisions and practices to differing degrees. We find evidence that synergistic interplay between governance modes supports horizontal coordination, which is necessary for solving nexus governance challenges. However, synergistic interplay is not sufficient to translate coordination practices to coordination outcomes. Factors such as leadership and conflicts powerfully influence the translation as well. • Synergies between governance modes affect cross-sectoral coordination processes and results. • The article presents a rigorous comparative study on five river basins worldwide. • Despite integrated management approaches, hierarchy prevails in water governance. • Horizontal coordination requires synergistic interplay of governance modes. • Conflicts over water resources and power asymmetries may render coordination ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gulf Education & Social Policy Review is the property of Knowledge E DMCC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Form@re is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

For decades, Latin America has configured educational policies which placed equity at their core, with a view to reverse inequalities and move forward in building more just and inclusive societies. This article aims to trace an analytical path that allows us to reflect upon and problematize the linkages between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and educational equity policies in contemporary Mexico. Drawing upon documentary research of educational policies in Mexico during the presidential terms of Peña Nieto and López Obrador, this paper offers and answer to the following question: What are the focal points of the educational policies regarding equity in Mexico and what are their relationships to the 2030 Agenda? Research outcomes suggest a convergence of Mexican policies with the 2030 Agenda and to a certain continuity between the current and precedeing presidential terms, yet there is an array of key issues that remain underdeveloped or underdiscussed, which, need to be addressed in more detail if greater equity is to be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equity is a priority for the development of education policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, whose intention is to contribute to the construction of fairer and more democratic societies in line with the 2030 Agenda. Tracing the path followed by national education policies, in terms of opportunities and challenges, has inspired this paper whose aim is to pinpoint the context and evolution of Colombia’s ‘Todos Aprender’ program (PTA) from an equity perspective. Using a public policy analysis methodology based on documentary review and scientific credibility criteria, the analytical hypothesis is that PTA, without being a public policy, has become a de facto public policy with an impact on improving the quality of learning of preschool and elementary school students. According to the following questions of analysis: What has been the meaning and context of PTA’s evolution? What actors have been involved in PTA during its years of implementation? What has been their role in terms of positions, interests, and tensions? PTA has attempted to provide institutional responses to the lack of quality and equity in education, with changing priorities depending on each political moment. Thus, PTA represents an adaptable reference with pedagogical power from public policy to promote preschool and elementary education in the face of the educational challenges of the 2030 Agenda, promoting actions in teacher training, educational innovation and research, and formative evaluation to promote successful learning for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will look over some of the most important and widely spread international commitments in terms of achieving gender equality and empowering women such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Istanbul Convention, with a particular focus pointed towards the issues in implementing these ground-breaking gender equality treaties and initiatives. The paper offers an overview of the way a specific state, Romania, manages to implement these kinds of commitments in general terms, if and how the Romanian Government has succeeded in implementing the legislative packages necessary for the harmonisation of the national legislation with the international commitments taken by the government, what statistic position among European countries does Romania occupy in terms of gender equality and what are the recommendations provided by the United Nations for dealing with Romania’s gender equality issues. Lastly, a more in detail examination of the current framework used to teach gender equality in the national education system will be provided, touching on subjects such as gender balance among education staff, the cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural learning objectives set by UNESCO and how they apply to gender to gender issues in the school curriculum for all ages in Romania.

In this paper, we explore Science|Environment|Health, One Health, Planetary Health, and Sustainability/Education for Sustainable Development in the context of the 2030 Agenda as four major frameworks that take a step toward investigating health from different angles to tackle the grand challenges that lie ahead of humanity. In most of these frameworks, the topic of health is no longer limited to the health of humans; it also encompasses the health of ecosystems and planetary systems. Therefore, our ways of teaching and discussing health in science education may need to be adjusted. To this aim, we first shortly characterize the four frameworks and then analyze the concepts of health, the contributing sciences, and the role of values in the frameworks. In our opinion, three main questions have to be settled: (1) Which concept of health lies at the root of each framework? (2) Which sciences should be considered when teaching about health, and what role will they take in an interdisciplinary, integrative approach and under complexity restraints? (3) What is the role of values in these frameworks, and how can the is–ought fallacy be avoided? We finally discuss our findings in light of the concept of two-eyed seeing in science education. This concept helps us disentangle and sharpen the three main questions and draw implications for teaching about health in school science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the digital competences of teachers, students, and schools contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda. That goal consists in enhancing the quality of education and offering learning opportunities. The knowledge of digital resources that teachers had and used during the COVID-19 confinement has contributed to the current awareness of the need to improve teachers' digital competence. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the digital resources that teachers participating in this research used the most in Spain between March and June 2020 due to the lockdown experienced in that country. A validated questionnaire, which was administered online in schools and high schools of the Community of Madrid, was answered by 97 teachers who were able to teach from home. The results reveal their assessment of the technological resources they used. In their opinion, the most useful were digital platforms, online classes, and videos, whereas the least useful were online tests and forums. Their answers also show that the training they received was mainly through Internet tutorials and consultations with colleagues. In order to ensure quality education, it is important to improve teachers' digital competence as a part of their training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift of sustainability paradigms within the academic context has prompted universities to develop additional accountability tools to respond to the resulting demand for information. However, in terms of social reporting, universities have complete discretion regarding the content and nature of their sustainability budgets. The resulting diversity has led to greater heterogeneity with regard to information systems, which in turn poses the risk of making reports for stakeholders difficult to understand and complicates benchmark comparisons between different institutions. This paper aims to summarize the state of the art of sustainability reporting in Italian state universities, and to assess the compliance of these reports with global sustainability trends. This is achieved by determining the extent to which the sustainable development goals, outlined by the 2030 Agenda, are integrated into the substantive indicators used in the preparation of sustainability reports. The results show that sustainability reporting in universities is still in its early stages. Although only 29 universities—which represent 42% of the total number of universities initially surveyed—have pursued a sustainability reporting process, this research highlights a gradual increase in the implementation of SDGs as a criterion for assessing sustainable performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attending both the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this review is presented, bearing in mind that green chemistry is essential to contribute to sustainability. This work has compiled all the information relating to green chemistry metrics, so that stakeholders can select an appropriate model, under the Green Chemistry Protocol, to evaluate how much green is a process. The review was organized considering the following convenient sections: the mass valuation, the recognition of the human health and environmental impact, metrics using computational programs (software and spreadsheets), and finally global metrics. This review was developed by consulting the principal databases, since the appearance of the first green chemistry textbook in 1998. A massive number of references were attained involving the keywords proposed below, with six languages observed, highlighted by the English language. It is important to emphasize that the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry are conceptual and offer little quantitative information. In addition, almost all the reported metric green propositions do not consider the 12 principles and few papers offer how to obtain an appropriate evaluation about the greenness of a research. In this sense, it is convenient to note that only in the Spanish literature are there two metrics that consider all the principles. Finally, to our knowledge, and after a deep search in the literature, it is the first review that covers the different features of green chemistry: mass, environment/human health. and in some cases, the use of computational programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mendive - Revista de Educacion is the property of Universidad de Pinar del Rio and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Coherence and coordination among interdependent policy sectors are considered key for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Literature on policy coherence argues that a lack of coordination may lead to policy incoherence; however, literature on coordination also sometimes points to the reversed causality that incoherencies in policies or in governance functions (functional incoherence) may hinder coordinated policy outcomes; in fact, these assumptions have rarely been further theorized or tested empirically. In this paper, we hypothesize the higher functional or policy coherence, the higher coordination at process level and the higher the likelihood that coordination at process level is translated into coordination at outcome level. We test this hypothesis for cross-sectoral coordination challenges among different water using sectors in six different basins located in Germany, Iran, Mongolia, Spain, and South Africa. At first glance, four cases seem to confirm the first part of the hypothesis for functional coherence and three for policy coherence. It remains difficult to establish causality. Whether functional and policy coherence translate into coordination at process level seems to depend on a functioning coordination body. We further find that functional and policy incoherencies may either lead to coordination problems (in view of conflicts of interest) or even go along with a high level of coordination at the process level, possibly to compensate for incoherencies. Neither functional nor policy coherence change the relationship of coordination at process and outcome level. To explain coordination at the outcome level, other factors need to be considered. • The paper explores how (in)coherence in policies and responsibilities affects coordination at process and outcome level. • It presents a rigorous comparative study of cross-sectoral coordination in six river basins worldwide. • Coherence may be conducive towards coordination at process level, but it remains difficult to establish causality. • Incoherencies may both hinder or stimulate coordination at process level. • Coherence in policies and responsibilities does not change the relationship of coordination at process and outcome level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administração Pública is the property of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administracao Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed in 2015 and serve as the main guide for achieving the 2030 Agenda. This paper analyses the impact of corporate governance (CG) and financial performance (FP) on SDG prioritisation, taking FP as a mediating variable and categorising the SDGs by the five pillars (5 Ps) commonly used for this purpose: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. For this purpose, structural equations (PLS-SEM) were applied, using a sample of 312 Latin-American firms. The study results show there is a positive relationship between FP, CG and SDG prioritisation. Moreover, FP has a partial mediating role in the relationship between CG and SDG prioritisation. This study is innovative in the context of emerging Latin American economies and suggests paths for future research on this topic that would be of interest to academics, regulators and industry professionals. This paper highlights the important role of CG in helping achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda in Latin America. Furthermore, the study has implications for policymakers, showing that CG may enhance companies’ FP and their commitment to the SDGs. Accordingly, regulators should establish minimum requirements for all companies regarding the structure and practices of CG. The study findings also have implications for stakeholders and responsible investors, suggesting that companies' level of sustainable development can be assessed via their CG policies.

In the last years local development has undeniably become one of the dominant elements for productivity growth strategy employment, human welfare, entrepreneurship promotion, obtaining human capital and income increase. Assuring sustainable development for a specific region is a complex process in the measure in which this process is subjected to some factors which cannot be controlled by a local, regional, or national administration. The entire post-revolution and post-accession experience, cumulate with good policy making transferred by Romania to European Union, proves that private public partnership is a viable solution for successfully solving some communitarian problems, public interests starting with social services and complex social-economic development projects including infrastructure projects. The present paper focuses on sustainable development and the specific objectives that Romania intends to achieve in order to reach a new model of development that is capable of generating high value added, is interested in knowledge and innovation, and aims to improve the quality of life in harmony with the natural environment. The paper also analyses the process of local development that Romania started in 2000 with the financial support of United Nations Development Programme - “Romania within the framework of Local Agenda 21” and continued within Regional Operational Programme 2007-2013 and now,2020-2030 Sustainable development strategy.

This paper explores the potentials and limitations of transdisciplinary research on sustainability issues characterized by extensive uncertainty and complexity. Transdisciplinary approaches that support the co-creation of knowledge in collaboration between science and society are advocated in research that aims to explore pathways for societal transformations towards sustainability. However, there is limited research on how co-creation research plays out in practice and what are its implications, in particular with regards to how data collection and analysis can be developed to increase the quality and reliability of the research, and to the roles that researchers themselves play in shaping the research. This paper makes two contributions: First, it offers insight into the design and implementation of co-creation endeavors based on scholarly literature as well as experiences from a research program that seeks to support foresight capacity for sustainable development under geopolitical uncertainties. Second, the paper elaborates methodological support for co-creation research by highlighting the potential of co-dissemination for transdisciplinarity and arguing for a systematic approach to reflection and self-reflexivity. Specifically, the paper reflects on experiences from the ongoing Mistra Geopolitics research program, which explores the intersections between geopolitics and sustainable development, and where co-creation has been at the core since the start of the program. We explore three stages in transdisciplinary research: (i) co-design of the research agenda, (ii) co-production of knowledge, and (iii) co-dissemination. Specifically, we examine the role of non-academic partners, the role of knowledge brokers and facilitation, and the need for flexibility, adaptability and reflexivity throughout the process. • Co-creation can support foresight capacity and identification of new challenges. • Flexibility, adaptability and reflexivity are key to transdisciplinary projects. • Co-dissemination can make a relevant contribution in a transdisciplinary program. • Critical assessments should be an integrated part of co-creation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successive to the Millennium Development Goals initiated in 2000, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development approved in 2015 by the United Nations affects many of the political decisions currently being made. Through this Agenda, countries commit to taking actions aimed at 17 goals, 169 targets and 232 indicators created by the UN to measure them in terms of performance. Parallel to the creation of global objectives by the UN, Eurostat established 100 indicators (many equal or similar to those of the UN) focused on the countries of the European Union to monitor their development with respect to the 2030 Agenda. The main aim of this paper is to undertake an exhaustive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Union countries with respect to these set objectives, also analyzing the convergence or divergence among EU member states. To this end, we build partial synthetic indices for each goal, taking existing information on the indicators collected by Eurostat. Our aim is to combine them into a composite index that gives an overview of the (relative) situation of each country in the EU region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be met without the private sector. In order to contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs, companies have to identify their influence and select relevant SDGs. However, so far no research has been conducted on the influence of companies or industries at the most concrete level in the SDG framework—the 247 SDG indicators. In this paper, a criteria-based approach to select relevant environmental SDG indicators for the automobile industry is developed. The three criteria—environmental impact, direct impact, and automobile impact—are defined. By means of a qualitative analysis, 31 influenceable indicators are selected and substantiated by an empirical analysis of the automobile industry's impact. These indicators belong to 12 SDGs and demonstrate the broad influence of the automobile industry. The outcome of this study is a structured procedure for selecting relevant environmental SDG indicators. This procedure can be applied by companies and can also be adapted to other economic sectors. Finally, it is possible to quantify the level of influence of the selected indicators and thus measure the contributions of companies or economic sectors to the fulfillment of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2015, the 2030 Agenda was presented, which establishes the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that all countries and stakeholders must meet by the year 2030. It is an apparently transformative and inclusive proposal; however, interpreting its essence is of notable importance for underdeveloped societies, since it reveals that the agenda favors capital management. This paper addresses, from the critique of political economy, the essence of the «new» agenda. Although it recognizes that the SDGs can constitute a step forward in overcoming many of the problems inherent to under development, it states that the SDG respond to power relations corresponding to the logic of reproduction of capital on an international scale. Fulfillment of the SDGs must have as basis the distinction between essence and appearance, only then can it truly contribute to the development of nations, and especially those that advocate the socialist alternative to the logic of capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is crucial nowadays, and among the options, biofuels are evidenced as a promising alternative to reduce the dependence of fossil fuels. However, there is a paucity of works that discuss the real impact of the biofuels on the sustainable development. This paper explores the relation between biofuels and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), seeking to present the main challenges, perspectives, and current developments discussed about them. A systematic review was performed to explore, specifically, the positive and negative impacts of the biofuels production on SDGs. The results show that biofuels contribute to achieving mainly SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), but they also cause negative impacts in other SDGs that vary according to generations. Third-generation biofuels become promising alternatives to increasing sustainable development in this sector. However, they require more research development to reduce production costs and facilitate their commercialization. The gathering of limitations and perspectives highlights a range of opportunities to the research areas that can contribute even more to increasing sustainability in biofuels production and, therefore, in the achievement of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate is the property of University of Brasilia, Center for Sustainable Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article reviews recent studies that address water sustainable management opportunities and challenges in megacities around the world, with an emphasis on the case of Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, one of the two megacities in Brazil. With reference to recent debates on water, megacities, and the climate crisis, as well as UN Water and Global Report Initiative documents, we focused on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All. The new Brazilian sanitation legal framework regulates public–private partnerships. In this context, the manuscript discusses the main question concerning water, sanitation, and hygiene that arises in the Brazilian case study: is universality possible in profit-oriented models? Through the current technical and academic literature consulted, the paper compares initiatives involving multiple stakeholder governance models that depend on private resources to implement universal access to drinking water, sanitation, and water-related extreme event controls, pointing out alternatives that can help to achieve the targets of SDG. Validation by key informants supports the synthesis of the reviewed documents, and the findings illustrate that concerted public efforts together with market mechanisms can help to overcome challenges and surpass the profit-oriented logics of private companies to achieve access to healthy and safe water, adequate sanitation, and improved hygiene, especially for vulnerable populations. This finding has transferability to other megacities in emerging countries that are facing public–private partnership debates on the provision of clean water and sanitation for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to identify a sustainability development measure. The United Nations announced 17 development objectives in Agenda 2030. This research attempts to identify a measurement which captures all of the UN objectives. It uses the Baltic Sea Region as a natural laboratory for the sustainability discussion. This paper provides an analysis of a sample from the population of 159 research papers, published between 1990 and 2019. With the application of citation count regression, the population of papers is reduced to a sample of the heterogenic papers. These papers were then analysed for the existence of an integrated sustainability development measurement. The results indicate that there is no available applied or theoretical model for an integrated measurement of sustainable development across all of the United Nation's goals. The study provides the framework for a further matrix in reference to gross domestic product. The results are robust in terms of different sample specifications. The identified research gap has a policy implication. There is a need to develop a universal and comprehensive sustainable value measure to support policymakers and their public choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The objective of this contribution is to identify, on the basis of an empirical content analysis of documents, the results of fulfilling the 2030 Agenda in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in terms of their global responsibility for fulfilling development goals, by identifying indicators for each of the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda. This was based on selective research in terms of the selected pilot indicator for each goal of Agenda 2030. These selected indicators were chosen because they best represented the social, economic and territorial problems of the countries surveyed. Their fulfilment is therefore the most important part of fulfilling the complex Sustainable Development Goals. Then a selective and complex relational comparison of the analysed countries in terms of their performance in implementation will be performed on the basis of data obtained using the SDG index. The outcome of the paper is a specification of the surveyed countries' prospects for meeting all the examined aspects of the SDG by 2030 by an arithmetic expression of their potential to reach 100% in the surveyed indicators. This paper is part of the solution of Project VEGA no. 1/0302/18 "Smart Cities as a possibility for implementation of the concept of Sustainable Urban Development in the Slovak Republic". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: This study delves into the States' accountability for health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators from 2016 to 2020. An analysis of Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) is employed as an instrument to scrutinize the alignment of States' indicators with the global indicator framework, shedding light on global health governance within the context of the 2030 Agenda and States' strategic prioritization. A curation of 60 health-related indicators from 195 VNRs, produced during the aforementioned period, is organized into thematic groups. Results: Our results highlight a concerning discrepancy in the reporting frequency of various health-related themes. The findings reveal a paradoxical coexistence characterized by the concurrent strengthening and diminution of the global health governance articulated in the Agenda's global health governance. This manifests in the increased utilization and consistency of health-related indicators over the study years, coupled with an emphasis on infectious diseases and child and maternal health indicators. Conversely, a discernible governance decline is evidenced by the inadequate representation of health-related indicators in VNRs, notably within the domains of universal health coverage and health system indicators. Furthermore, High-Income States exhibit diminished accountability. Conclusions: The VNRs unveil a paradox wherein burgeoning technical capacity coexists with governance deficits, a phenomenon attributable to both statistical capabilities and political preferences. The prevalent use of proxy indicators in VNRs oversimplifies the presentation of official indicators, thereby compromising the aspirational goal of pioneering statistical innovations for measuring intricate issues in the SDGs. In light of our conceptualization of the 2030 Agenda's global health as a regime complex governance, we advocate for comprehensive investigations into each health regime cluster. This approach aims to unravel disputes, discern patterns, and elucidate States' preferences concerning specific thematic areas. Functioning as an accountability mechanism for the Agenda's governance, VNRs underscore States' adaptability and short-term learning capabilities, offering valuable insights for identifying harmful goal prioritization. The discretionary nature of indicator selection by States in the VNRs, enabled by the Agenda's proposition of a contextual adaptation of the SDGs and a blind eye to the guideline's request to review all SDG indicators, highlights a critical flaw in the VNR as an accountability mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development emphasizes the interconnectedness of environmental issues with socio-economic development, recognizing their fundamental role in human prosperity, while the sustainable development goals (SDGs) serve as a pivotal framework globally. This study provides a critical assessment of the progress made by EU Member States in pursuing the SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) targets as set out in the 2030 Agenda. The analysis is based on official data published by the EU Statistical Office—Eurostat—and uses the AAA (Holt-Winters) exponential smoothing algorithm for the trend analysis of specific indicators. The results show significant progress during the first seven years of implementation of the Agenda 2023, while indicating concerns about the achievement of the 2030 targets in some Member States. The mapping of potentially negative trends emphasizes the need for firm corrective actions, underlining the urgency of early interventions to address expected negative developments before they have potentially irreversible consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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