Search

A transition toward a more sustainable economy requires substantial innovations. To this end, sustainability innovators need not only ideas but also financial resources. Yet, especially nascent sustainability innovators suffer from trust issues and other barriers to funding through traditional financing. In this regard, crowdfunding (CF) offers a promising approach but also creates additional challenges, such as how to phrase campaign descriptions in order to credibly communicate sustainability intentions. As CF involves complex choices, it is far from obvious how sustainability innovators can best utilize it. To address this gap, in this article, we describe a systematic literature review (SLR) that analyzed 78 relevant publications. The results of the SLR show that innovation's sustainability orientation influences the dynamics in the components of the CF system through the two key mechanisms of information asymmetries and motivational effects. Building upon this, the article presents and analyzes critical choice parameters for sustainability innovators who tap into CF, which in particular concerns the choice of CF platform, CF type, and campaign communication. Furthermore, related propositions and a research agenda on CF and sustainability are provided.

While combating the destructive effects of climate changes, calls are growing for countries to “build back better “to create a more inclusive and sustainable economy that is climate-resilient. In particular, green finance mechanisms can be employed for the green recovery toward economic growth. This article is intended to conduct a literature review on the previously conducted studies that have analysed the impact of eco-friendly financial initiatives and their impacts on economic growth. Systematic analysis of existing literature was undertaken to review the preset studies to examine eco-friendly financial initiatives on economic growth. As a result, a total of 27 studies were identified, examining the environmental variables used, the financial performance variables, and the main findings obtained by these studies. The paper offers exciting implications for policymakers, highlighting that commitment towards adopting green financial practices may positively influence economic performance.

Various approaches to the implementation of the concept of extended producer responsibility in the European Union are considered, and the features of the introduction and use of the closed-cycle economy in European countries are determined. Some examples of the impact of waste legislation on the production cycle of a product in the European Union are considered, as well as the main obstacles that manufacturers had to face when trying to introduce the extended producer responsibility concept in its current form into production. The key problems of using and implementing the concept under consideration in the economy are highlighted. The interrelation of ESG factors as guidelines for strategic development with the need for the development of mechanisms of extended producer responsibility is shown. The prospects for the development of extended producer responsibility in Russian production are also outlined.

The paper analyzes the changes in commodity market distortions, competing land use types, raw material demand for development, and rapid diffusion of key enabling technologies meeting the requirements of constant, dynamic development of major European industries. The author gives the relationship between the dynamics for mineral resources consumption growth, and changes in the conditions of production of these resources. Contains a critical review of methods for predicting the mineral resources dependency, including an estimated forecasting method based on guidelines for the evaluation of needs for natural resources and their substitutes. One of the principles is comprehensive and integrated resource recovery. In a nutshell, this new approach argues that any operation should disturb a mine site only once and extract all useful materials using an optimised integrated flowsheet. This principle also requires that all by-products and residues are (re)used and that by-products and tailings at the end of life to be ‘future-proofed’, i.e. they should retain their ability to continue to be of value into the distant future where technology/economy may make feasible their use. It is noted that access to and affordability of mineral raw materials are crucial for the sound functioning of the EU’s economy. A new 2020 list of critical mineral raw materials is presented and ways to compensate for the CRM deficit are described in detail. Separately noted that the mineral policy is needed to be meticulously treated to facilitate company investment security, streamline permitting and access to minerals in a line with the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Bioeconomy Strategy and the European Industrial Strategy. Concerning, the latest steps towards Europe economically resilient by a framework for raw materials and the Circular Economy – creation of European Raw Materials Alliance recognized as particularly effective. Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management represented as a robust, fit-for-purpose international standard for the safer management of tailings storage facilities. The argument is given that since the land issue is one of the most delicate in a densely populated areas heavily dependent on agriculture, housing, infrastructure or other nonmineral development, a fair and equitable distribution of land is important for a mineral perspective. There is also the need for strategic and open network between political, industrial and local communities through the exchange of information to enhance knowledge, experience and skills between stakeholders. Social acceptance of that idea is a fundamental element that must be addressed to develop a confl ict-free area for mineral development activities. The conclusions indicate that we would like to emphasize that the main task of today is to create an effective system for monitoring the movement of raw materials along the entire added-value chain. The ability to quickly identify and respond to challenges in mineral policy will provide leadership in EU strategic technologies and industries. This process has already started with the creation of the European Raw Materials Alliance ERMA. State institutions, businesses, scientific institutions, and civil society in the close dialogue are able to ensure sustainable development and security of civilization as a whole.

PurposeDespite the potential of open innovation (OI) to reduce barriers to the adoption of the circular economy (CE), little is known about the integration of the two themes and how OI could contribute to a more sustainable economy. The objective of this study is to investigate how OI can contribute to the adoption of the CE.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a systematic review of the literature sampled from the Scopus and Web of Science scientific databases.FindingsThe main findings of the study are (1) the utilization of OI within CE is still a recent phenomenon, one which emphasizes the collaboration between stakeholders and the co-creation approach; (2) the collaboration of stakeholders can be applied to align the objectives of interested parties, in a joint effort to resolve the environmental problems of the three levels of CE and (3) an action-creation approach can be adopted as a strategy to encourage the participation of consumers in the development of environmentally sustainable products, which may favor the transition to the CE.Originality/valueThe article presents the state of the art on the CE guided by OI, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of the correlation between the two themes. The article also shows the theoretical and practical implications for an OI-driven circular economy.

Starting from studies conducted in the field, the authors define sustainable economy as a global trend and identify co-creation power of circular ecosystem in the Republic of Moldova. Attention is paid to sustainable economy as based on managing resources in interest of not only contemporary generations, but also the future ones. The implementation of policies related to business interests should be closely linked to sustainable development of natural and socio-cultural ecosystems. The technologies of circular economy directly contribute to sustainable economy. The ecological crisis and the current pandemic situation are leading to a revision of socio-economic values that result in the need to form circular global ecosystem. The round table of 18.12.2020, organized by the authors within ASEM, confirmed that activists, entrepreneurs, academics and political decision makers, being driving forces of sustainable economy, capitalize on this global trend, co-creating the circular ecosystem.

In sustainable development, infrastructure has an important role, although infrastructure growth and investment have positive and negative impacts. Indonesia has a strategic program in the form of infrastructure improvement. However, due to the condition of Indonesia which is an archipelago, infrastructure development has only concentrated on Java, especially in Jakarta City. This resulted in a gap in infrastructure development outside of Java. This study identifies the relationship between infrastructure and the regional economy in Indonesia. Indonesia is an archipelagic country so that long-distance transportation, such as using airports, is an absolute necessity to support equitable economic activities and support sustainable development. The relationship between traffic on airports and regional economies is still debating and growing. Therefore, by looking at the characteristics of the archipelagic country, it is interesting to see the relationship between infrastructure and the regional economy in Indonesia. This research aims to provide an understanding of the effect of economic growth in airports and be able to be a stakeholder consideration to making policies about air transportation and regional economic growth evenly on island geography conditions such as Indonesia. The relationship between the two in this study is shown by looking at traffic in airports and 17 economic sectors of GRDP in six different regencies with similar characteristics. The model show the relationship in this study. This model built using a regression approach. The results of this model show the relationship between traffic in airports with regional economic sectors, especially outside the island of Java. The results of this study can be concluded that the effect is found between the economic sectors of the region on the existence of airports

The concept of the bioeconomy has risen to great popularity with governments around the world as a new paradigm for a sustainable economy. However, it is still highly contentious what the bioeconom...

L-malate is an intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid cycle which is naturally occurred in various microorganisms, and it has been widely applied in polymer, beverage and food, textile, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Driven by the pursuit of a sustainable economy, microbial production of L-malate has received much attention in last decades. In this review, we focus on the utilization of wastes and/or by-products as feedstocks for the microbial production of L-malate. Firstly, we present the recent developments on the natural or engineered metabolic pathways that dedicate to the biosynthesis of L-malate, and also provide a comprehensive discussions on developing high-efficient producers. Then, the recent achievements in microbial production of L-malate from various carbon sources were concluded and discussed. Furthermore, some abundant non-food feedstocks which have been used for microbial production of other chemicals were reviewed, as they may be potential candidate feedstock for L-malate production in future. Finally, we outlined the major challenges and proposed further improvements for the production of L-malate.

The development of efficient catalysts to break down and convert woody biomass will be a paradigm shift in delivering the global target of sustainable economy and environment via the use of cheap, highly abundant, and renewable carbon resources. However, such development is extremely challenging due to the complexity of lignocellulose, and today most biomass is treated simply as waste. The solution lies in the design of multifunctional catalysts that can place effective control on substrate activation and product selectivity. This is, however, severely hindered by the lack of fundamental understanding of (i) the precise role of active sites, and (ii) the catalyst–substrate chemistry that underpins the catalytic activity. Moreover, active sites alone often cannot deliver the desired selectivity of products, and full understanding of the microenvironment of the active sites is urgently needed. Here, we review key recent advances in the study of reaction mechanisms of biomass conversion over emerging heterogeneous catalysts. These insights will inform the design of future catalytic systems showing improved activity and selectivity.

Responsible finance ṣukūk provide market participants with a capital markets instrument through which they can fulfil the dictates of Islamic law while also participating in green, social or sustainable economic activity. However, as centres for Islamic finance (such as Malaysia and Indonesia) become prominent markets for responsible finance ṣukūk, issuances of these instruments have been noticeably slower to develop in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This has not been due to a lack of public enthusiasm for a sustainable economy from UAE authorities. However, the plethora of government sustainability initiatives, statements and targets has resulted in somewhat of a patchwork of policies, not all of which are publicly available or centrally curated. This article will aim to map the UAE’s sustainability agenda and consider where responsible finance ṣukūk fit within this agenda. Against this backdrop, it will analyse the contractual structure of the UAE’s first issuance of responsible finance ṣukūk.

Air pollution is a serious problem in many heavily populated and industrialized areas in the world. It affects vegetation, and also human health. The diversification of emission sources, among them vehicles, industrial processes, waste burnings and fuel storage, creates zones with different species and concentrations of air pollutants. In this paper was studied the excessive accumulation of toxic metals such as Al, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb in vegetation as a risk factor for ecosystem and also for human health. The purpose of the study was to establish an optimal method of determination for toxic elements accumulation in leaves, using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). These results made to suppose that, visible and analyzed responses of in in-situ exposed bio monitors compared with heavy metal accumulation depended on the atmospheric situation during the period of exposure, which could assess the efficiency of biomonitoring programs in the region. The advantage of this study consists in new and appropriate approach using a friendly methodology for air monitoring and favoring the development of a circular and sustainable economy.

This commentary lays out four challenges that currently prevent capital markets from contributing to a socially and environmentally sustainable economy. It reflects on how these can be turned into opportunities and the role of transdisciplinary research and action in promoting such change.

This study examines the relationships between sustainability technologies, auditor transition, and circular economy models. Circular economy (CE) has been visited in recent studies as a matter of necessity to procure answers to pressing issues that befalls our society, aimed at the survival of the human species. While doing so, there has been little emphasis placed on sustainable technologies that will usher auditors into the new era. Data were constructed from a symposium organized by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), where scholars and practitioners addressed the future of auditing technology, regarding, in particular, the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling (ISEAL) database official website and also interviews with experts dealing day to day with sustainability and circular economy. Discourse analysis assisted in working with these groups of data. Our findings identified 12 different relational types in our analysis, thus signaling upward trends in the preparedness of auditors in boosting sustainable technologies towards a circular economy environment. Additionally, our findings demonstrate the significant uptake of innovative tools implemented for new-generation technologies in order to enhance auditing. The findings of this study have implications for academia and practice which are aimed at technological preparedness for the transition of auditing towards CE. Finally, this paper contributes by summarizing the debate and speculations around the technologies that are driving auditing to CE.

The ambitious targets of the European Union (EU) for a greater penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) in all areas of activity have led to power systems with growing levels of variable RES (VRES) all over the EU. Considering these targets, the EU countries presented their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) with their expected capacity until 2030. The NECPs considered a relevant increase in the VRES capacity and in some cases a decrease in the capacity of dispatchable power plants. VRES have near-zero marginal costs and increase the volatility of the net-load due to the stochastic profile of their production. These characteristics increase the need to maintain fast-response dispatchable power plants to guarantee the security of supply and also decrease market prices. Thus, governments promote externalities, as capacity mechanisms and other incentives to these players, guaranteeing their economic sustainability. This study presents the optimization of the non-RES thermal capacity of the Iberian power system by 2030, considering the least-cost algorithm. Considering a cooperative scenario between Portugal and Spain, it is possible to reduce the system costs by 17.40%, the curtailments quantity by 21.93%, the number of market-splitting hours by 43.26% and the dioxide carbon emissions by 4.76%. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In this study, we analyzed the changes in South Korean and international fashion sharing websites before and after the COVID-19 pandemic to suggest ways to use fashion sharing services for sustainable fashion. Additionally, we evaluate the usability and accessibility of the site to provide usable data when configuring the fashion sharing service site. Changes in various elements of 21 domestic and foreign fashion sharing websites were analyzed. Five websites were selected and assessed for their usability and accessibility using Likert scales. Results revealed that the sharing price was approximately 30% of the selling price, and international websites offered more diverse brands, items, and sizes than South Korean websites. Regarding usability, “Rent-It” and “Rent the Runway” scored high points, and “Rent the Runway” had a high average value for accessibility. Additionally, despite the given circumstances, only two South Korean and a few international websites seemed to be advertising about hygiene, on topics such as laundry and sterilization. Therefore, in South Korea, focusing on one or two shared items, securing a wide range of brands, items, and sizes, and advertising hygiene is essential. A fashion sharing website focused on effective usability, accessibility, and product hygiene will ensure sustainable fashion sharing remains stable.

The COVID-19 pandemic has set new challenges for the HoReCa industry. Lockdowns have coincided with and strongly impacted the industrial transformation processes that have been taking place for a decade. Among the most important HoReCa transition processes are those related to the rapid growth of the delivery-food market and ordering meals via internet platforms. The new delivery-food market requires not only the development of specific distribution channels, but also the introduction of appropriate, very specific food packaging. Food packaging and its functionality are defined by the administrative requirements and standards applicable to materials that have contact with food and principally through the prism of the ecological disaster caused by enormous amounts of plastic waste, mainly attributed to the food packaging. To meet environmental and administrative requirements, new technologies to produce food packaging materials are emerging, ensuring product functionality, low environmental impact, biodegradability, and potential for composting of the final product. However, predominantly, the obtained product should keep the nutritional value of food and protect it against changes in color or shape. Current social transformation has a significant impact on the food packaging sector, on one hand creating a new lifestyle for society all over the world, and on the other, a growing awareness of the negative impact of humans on the environment and increasing responsibility for the planet. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to develop a circular economy based on the paradigm of shortening distribution channels, using local raw materials, limiting the consumption of raw materials, energy, water, and above all, minimizing waste production throughout the life cycle of products, all of which are in line with the idea of low-carbon development. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

There is growing consensus that, as the world's governments respond to the urgent requirement to transition towards a low-carbon economy, a significant proportion of existing financial assets on th...

Rhenium is a unique, valuable and extremely rare chemical element currently used as an alloying element in high-temperature superalloys for aerospace and industrial gas-fired turbines and also as a catalyst in petrochemical industry. Moving towards a more competitive and sustainable economy requires access to this metal in adequate quantities and at competitive costs. However, minerals containing rhenium are generally found in very small quantities and are currently not commercially viable sources. Thus, the method and route for the extraction of primary rhenium is dependent on other metals (copper, molybdenum and uranium) of which rhenium is a by-product. In addition, focusing on alternative sources such as recycling of rhenium from waste alloy scrap and catalysts, is continually gaining attention in the research community. This paper has focused on the assessment of secondary sources of rhenium. The historical cost and also supply interruption indicators of rhenium were examined and assessed. Finally, opportunities of recovering and reusing existing stocks through Industrial Ecology are discussed.

Real capital investments are important for a transition to a more sustainable economy and for the continuous process of creative destruction and economic development. At the same time investments h ...

In the transition to a sustainable economy, companies are increasingly adopting the goal of long-term value creation, which integrates financial, social and environmental value. However, institutional investors struggle to invest for long-term value creation and perform the social function of finance. Traditional investment approaches, based on the neo-classical paradigm of efficient markets and portfolio theory, only capture financial value in their financial risk and return space. Attempts at ESG integration are typically too shallow to overcome this problem. In this paper, we examine the set of issues that make this problem so stubborn and we outline the contours of an alternative paradigm, based on adaptive markets, that is better able to pursue long-term value creation. This long-term investment approach includes short investment chains, active management that assesses companies’ transition preparedness, concentrated portfolios, and deep engagement.

This paper is devoted to the investigation of environmental, social and governance investment (investment with ESG criterion) normative base in the context of standardization process in sustainable economy financing. Complexity of such standardization and the lack of commonly accepted regulations, indexes metrics are under discussions of scholars, which encourage the need for clear guidance in ESG investment. 651 sustainability rating products and more than 300 investment policy instruments in different countries show the need for classifying the ESG standards. The solution of this scientific and practical task is based on the developed ESG investment standards system classifications. Proposed classification incorporates such criteria as level of standards adoption, mandatory degree, sectorial specificity, degree of companies’ awareness of responsible activity, ensuring transparency and the benchmarks formation, creating the institutional support of the ESG investment standardization process in sustainable economy and making more grounded investment and regulatory decisions.

Summary Although several “renewable” strategies have been recently proposed to produce high-volume as well as new (replacement) chemicals, the identification of good targets for such strategies remains challenging. Such chemicals that are expensive to obtain today from fossil fuel feedstocks would have an advantage if produced cheaply using alternative methods in the future. In this work we identify the characteristics of such potentially promising replacement chemicals. We also identify the characteristic of promising bio-based replacement chemicals that are relatively easy to obtain through bio-conversions. This work provides insights into the development of renewable chemicals to support a sustainable economy., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Identified molecular characteristics of potentially promising replacement chemicals • Key characteristics: number of carbon and oxygen atoms and functional groups • Proposed metric for evaluating bio-based production efficiency of various chemicals, Chemical Engineering; Industrial Chemistry; Energy Sustainability

Commodification is «the transformation of goods, services, ideas and people into standardized objects of trade». The establishment of an unsustainable economic system has long been linked to the commodification of nature. This paper presents a view of commodification as a process that has applied to a growing spectrum of human affairs, which includes not only nature, goods and labor, but also our body, experiences and relationships. The enabling role of technoscience is discussed. The road to reconciliation —with nature, each other and ourselves— needs to recognize and appreciate what is unique and irreplaceable. This paper concludes with some possible roads for the use of technology as a tool for this reconciliation. Reversing this process if essential if we wish to establish a sustainable economy and a more human society.

The ocean economy and marine tourism policies are global economic concerns being looked at from a deeply holistic viewpoint. For South Asian countries, the ocean economy and marine tourism have successive socio-economic importance. The quantification of the ocean economy and marine tourism also poses some major challenges and these challenges pose limitations for policymaking by the government and other relevant agencies. The study has used the newly developed Hidden Panel Cointegration test and Nonlinear Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NPARDL) model for a relationship between economic growth and tourism is assessed. This study offers consistent and reliable results of co-integration by incorporating the findings of four approaches to co-integration. The empirical results illustrate the asymmetric relationship between ocean and marine tourism and economic growth. The findings showed that 1% increase in long term tourism economic growth is adjusted by 2.95% annually. This research paper aims to provide a policy related to South Asia's economic activities and ocean and marine tourism economic significance. Protecting local marine protected areas (MPAs) will improve the economic benefits of the ocean and the marine economy. The policy suggests that there should be a law ensuring that marine tourism is of high quality and environment friendly. This paper provides a guideline for further research with a strong emphasis on ocean-and marine-related economic development and tourism.

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 26 (5), ISSN:0948-3349, ISSN:1614-7502

The purpose of this study is to find the key factors of influence for the use and acceptance of Virtual Reality (VR) by tourists visiting National Parks in Costa Rica. The aim is to find whether tourists are willing to use VR to contribute to the eco-friendly performance of the area they visit and to determine whether they are willing to use VR in environmental tourism to protect flora and fauna. This study is quantitative and uses the theoretical Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model and a survey as the research instrument to obtain data. Data analysis was carried out using a PLS-SEM statistical analysis. The data collection procedure consisted of 50 people being surveyed in the initial pre-test phase and later 455 tourists in the fieldwork phase with national or foreign people over the age of 18 who visit or have visited the national parks of Costa Rica. The results show that there is a positive relationship between eco-friendly performance and the intention to use VR technology, as well as the actual use of VR for the benefit of the environment. The UTAUT2 model was used to find the effect of eco-friendly performance on the intention to use VR, as well as the use of this technology during visits to tourist destinations. The originality of the work is in answering the question of how to develop sustainable tourism in Costa Rica with the use of VR devices and applications that also allow the conservation of flora and fauna.

This paper focuses on green shipping and its’ influence on the sustainable economy and environmental performance. Based on the green shipping approach, this empirical study examines a survey sample of 193 responses from Portuguese and Spanish executive managers and uses exploratory factor analysis and structural equation model. The Green shipping approach supports the green theory. The results show the importance of green efficiency, green management, and pollution impact. The confirmation of the sizeable influence of green shipping on the sustainable economy and environmental performance constructs constitutes a major contribution to the literature. Green management and green efficiency contribute to controlling the impact of pollution with practical effects on economic sustainability. Another contribution arises from the fact that tax and financial incentives and environmental sustainability regulations indicate the relevance of the pollution impact and sustainable economy. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The concept of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is not new for developing countries, although many initiatives are being contemplated for potential implementation. This paper evaluates the crucial success factor for the effective execution of PPP projects and it also investigates the appropriate distribution of the risks involved in PPP projects. Quartile analysis of features has been made after a detailed literature review for risk identification. The risk severity analysis is done using a quartile assessment. The data is collected from various contractors working on PPP projects in Pakistan. The comparative analysis has been conducted using available research work on PPP in developing countries. A risk severity rank model is created using 47 key risks in PPP projects for developing countries. Finally, the top risks identified by this research are compared with the previous studies conducted in China, India and Egypt. It is concluded that inflation, revenue risk from end-user, foreign exchange fluctuation, political situation, law and order, and corruption are the major risks in developing countries for better management of PPP projects. Most of the PPP projects are public-oriented. The society of any city is directly affected by most PPP projects. This paper presents the identified key risks of PPP projects in developing countries which are mostly financial and public-oriented. This work will support the PPP concept significance, meeting United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 and 11. Recent countries’ political and economic circumstances and sustainability have transformed PPP ventures into a successful way to support the governments to develop roads, energy and facilities through private partners’ financial and technological capacities. Although PPP is used worldwide, its effective utilization in developing countries is still lacking. This paper is an enhancement to its successful use of the PPP domain for developing countries.

Transition to a sustainable economy signed by a circular vision and culture asks firms for huge investments to innovate their own management, strategies, business models, products, and marketing approaches. The Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are an important framework for businesses to change their approach and contribute positively to the global movement to fight climate change. The question is what and how micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMES) can contribute to reduce their impacts while creating more value for them and their stakeholders. This paper aims to answer to this question presenting a case study from Italy where an artisan small firm is innovating to create more positive impacts in circular terms. The focus will be on circular economy and the firms’ material and energy strategies. In doing so, the paper will try to answer the following questions: how easy is for micro and small firms to apply circular economy strategies to contribute to reduce their environmental impacts? Does their strategy coherently compose energy and material flows? The case study will refer to the fashion system in Italy.