Search

In the last few years, there has been a shift in consumer behavior toward companies adopting sustainability practices, but luxury hoteliers have not been proactive in adopting such practices. This research investigates the critical factors that impact consumers’ pro-environmental consumption behavior toward luxury hotels. In Study 1, data was collected using projective techniques (n = 46), and in Study 2, an online questionnaire-based survey (n = 272) was conducted with users of luxury hotels. Broadly, the results of Study 1 indicate that consumers associate sustainable luxury hotels with environment-friendly practices, and prefer them over others to experience guilt-free consumption. The results of Study 2 show that pro-environmental values of consumers impact their consumption behavior, both directly and indirectly through pro-environmental self-identity, psychological ownership, environmental certification, and marketer-generated content. The study contributes to the literature by identifying key factors impacting pro-environmental behavior using psychological ownership and cue utilization theories in the luxury hospitality field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peruvian aquaculture has undergone significant development in the last three decades, however Peruvian aquaculture faces, as every country does, fierce competition and environmental challenges. To overcome these key challenges, environmental certifications can be a strategic tool. This paper analyzes the implementation of environmental certificates in Peruvian aquaculture. Peruvian aquaculture companies with international environmental certificates were located and analyzed through a case study analysis based on a closed-ended questionnaire. In parallel, the same questionnaire was sent to an equal number of non-certified Peruvian aquaculture companies for comparison purposes. Analysis was carried out to characterize the Peruvian aquaculture companies that are environmentally certified and to determine the degree of concern for and commitment to the environmental problems of aquaculture. Finally, the reasons that led to obtaining the certification or not were studied, as were the elements that act as facilitators or barriers to its implementation and the future prospects for the certification of Peruvian aquaculture companies.

Palm oil is produced on plantations primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, which, historically, have been responsible for significant tropical deforestation and ecosystem loss. Driven by a shift away from hydrogenated vegetable oils and its high productivity, palm oil is now part of more than half of all packaged consumer products. Given its centrality across many supply chains, certification schemes have sought to improve environmental sustainability in the palm oil industry. Increasingly, there is an intersection between certification schemes and regulatory drivers. The recent 2023 European Union regulation on deforestation-free products has implications for palm oil and many other forest products. Environmental certification schemes, such as the one developed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, have the potential to play a critical role in the implementation of this recent policy for palm oil and can serve as model for many other commodities subject to the new Directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Environmental certification in accordance with ISO 14001 and EMAS makes it possible to understand and assess the impact of economic activities on ecosystems, as well as to set environmental goals and objectives for improving the activities of enterprises and organizations. The effects of the EMS (environmental management and audit scheme) depend on how companies decide to use them after certification. In this regard, the authors investigate the organizational climate issues associated with the use of ISO 14000 and EMAS series standards to improve the environmental efficiency of companies.Materials and methods. The methodology is presented in the form of an environmental safety model related to the enterprises and organizations, including environmental audit, environmental standardization and environmental assessment of compliance with various environmental requirements at different levels of organization of enterprises’ activities. The object of research is the international environmental standards of the ISO 14000 and EMAS series. The subject of the study is the environmental safety of negative factors in the activities of enterprises and organizations. The concept of the necessity of greening personnel training and a positively environmentally oriented organizational climate in enterprises and organizations is proposed.Results. The implementation of EMS does not always lead to an improvement in the environmental performance of companies. Some companies focus on formal criteria without taking into account real environmental problems. In addition, environmental indicators can take the form of coefficients and can be improved with unchanged or even worsened environmental impact. The organizational climate is important for the realization of EMS goals, especially the attitude of employees to the environment and environmental values. Despite limitations, EMS, environmental audit and ISO 14000 principles can help companies reduce their negative impact on the environment and increase their competitiveness, as well as make more informed choices when planning their activities.Conclusions. The importance of creating an organizational climate for the successful greening of negative factors in the activities of enterprises and organizations is emphasized. There is also a need for a more accurate assessment of the effectiveness of environmental measures when formulating environmental standards and assessing compliance with their implementation.

The scale of environmental pressure caused by the construction sector has prompted a search for new technical solutions to minimize the negative impact of this part of the national economy on the environment. The drive to evaluate the adopted solutions has led to the creation of building assessment systems - environmental certificates.

Copyright of Central Asian Economic Review is the property of Narxoz 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.)

Palm oil is produced on plantations primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, which, historically, have been responsible for significant tropical deforestation and ecosystem loss. Driven by a shift away from hydrogenated vegetable oils and its high productivity, palm oil is now part of more than half of all packaged consumer products. Given its centrality across many supply chains, certification schemes have sought to improve environmental sustainability in the palm oil industry. Increasingly, there is an intersection between certification schemes and regulatory drivers. The recent 2023 European Union regulation on deforestation-free products has implications for palm oil and many other forest products. Environmental certification schemes, such as the one developed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, have the potential to play a critical role in the implementation of this recent policy for palm oil and can serve as model for many other commodities subject to the new Directive.

In light of the gravity of environmental issues, this study investigates the influence of competitive advantage and stakeholder pressure on voluntary environmental disclosures, together with the "certification" mediating variable. The research questions and hypotheses were developed based on the essence of stakeholder and legitimacy theory, within the compass of the resource-based view. Data were collected from numerous listed manufacturing organizations and analyzed following the deductive approach. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The results show that competitive advantage influences and smoothens the attainment of environmental certificates, leading to an impression on voluntary environmental disclosures. The evidence from the study also demystifies the dominance of competitive advantage over environmental disclosures. Furthermore, the associated effect of certification upon environmental disclosure is also established and found worthy. Other factors were not found to be significant. Finally, the study also provides various insightful policy suggestions to the wide range of stakeholders. Plain Language Summary: Perceived Pressures and Motivations forEnvironmental Disclosures: The Role of Certification The main objective of this study is to find out the motivation of voluntary environmental disclosure. This study also justifies the role of authorized certifications as a mediating variable between environmental disclosure and motivation factors. According to the stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and resource-based view, this paper identified two motivation factors such as pressures and competitive advantage. Applying structural equation model on data set gathered from the listed Bangladeshi companies, the study revealed competitive advantage as a significant motivation factor of environmental disclosure while stakeholder's pressure proved insignificant. Moreover, the study also found significant relationship of acquiring certificates from authorized organisations to receive competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in the rate of environmental certification of buildings in foreign countries and Russia makes it necessary to study the role of environmental certification in construction, to highlight the degree of influence of environmental standards on architectural space. Consider the features of architectural shaping of buildings certified according to international and Russian environmental standards, and determine their new typology. In the conducted research, the percentage of architectural and technological requirements of foreign and Russian environmental standards in construction is presented. For the analysis of more than eighty environmentally certified buildings, a graph-analytical tabular form using an assessment matrix is used. The characteristic features of the objects of research are identified, similar features are generalized into groups and systematized. Typical architectural planning and engineering measures that are most often used to improve the environmental friendliness rating are identified. The impact of environmental standards requirements on spatial planning solutions is assessed. Identification of the share of architectural and engineering requirements in the assessment of objects according to environmental standards with the definition of a new typology of environmentally certified buildings is important for further improvement of the national environmental standard and the architectural space of Russian cities.

Third-party certification plays an important role in promoting Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR) activities, which usually cannot be directly observed by consumers. This article studies firms' costly abatement efforts as their ECSR, in a horizontally differentiated duopoly with asymmetric costs. We consider a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) as the external certifier to set an ECSR standard. We show that the equilibrium certification outcome depends on the cost asymmetry between the two firms as well as the relevant market dynamics (e.g., the degree of product substitutability, consumers' valuation for ECSR efforts). Specifically, when the cost gap between the two firms is sufficiently wide, the NGO would set a high standard to selectively target the more efficient firm. In this setting, we find that surprisingly, the more efficient firm can be better off when the abatement cost of its less efficient rival is reduced, provided that the competition is not too intense. We also examine mandatory certification operated by the government and show that a firm may prefer to have a strong rival staying in the market rather than a weak rival exiting the market. Our analysis provides a rationale for the (free) sharing of environmental technology patents among competing firms in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Themis: Revista de Derecho is the property of Themis Asociacion 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.)

Climate change and the consequent increase in society's environmental awareness have triggered new forms of pressure on companies and the way they face environmental sustainability. Hence, either by legal imposition or by other types of pressures, companies must incorporate the environmental impact of their activities into their responsibilities, without compromising their financial viability. Environmental certification is a common procedure for firms to improve their environmental performance, as well as increase their reputation and image. Notwithstanding, determinants for environmental certification are still poorly understood. Therefore, the present study aims to assess, from a sample of 1,917 Portuguese companies of various sectors and dimensions, the influence of some factors on the probability of a firm adopting the ISO 14001 certification. Results showed that the different variables used as measures of profitability of the firm have a positive impact on its probability of adopting ISO 14001. Other factors with the same effect include the participation of the firm in the stock market and the firm's size. This can be justified by a greater need for large firms to improve their reputation or to have access to some markets where this kind of certification is an obligation. However, it is also possible to observe a certain variation in results depending on the measures of profitability used. Another conclusion is that the fact that a firm is an exporter does not influence its probability to be certified in any of the specifications, something contrary to what has been found in the literature.

The contemplation of the sustainability seal in civil construction has a direct impact on the quality of life of its occupants, energy efficiency, and the operational economy of the residence. Also, environmental certification can be used as a marketing tool for the property, the municipality, and the quality of the urban environment. The Casa Azul Caixa Seal is a classification instrument based on socio-environmental indicators for housing development projects to find more efficient solutions in the natural resources use and to improve the quality of housing and its surroundings. The objective was to apply sustainability indicators from the Casa Azul Caixa Seal (2010 and 2020) in evaluating five single-family residential buildings completed in 2020 in the city of Concórdia, SC. The methodology is qualitative and quantitative, using the indicators of the Casa Azul Caixa Seal guide as a parameter, organized into six categories. The results showed that none of the five residences obtained the Bronze Seal, as they did not meet all the mandatory items, the sustainability standard to be certified. The highest-rated category was efficient water management, followed by sustainable production. The evidence makes it possible to conclude the probability of not having considered the criteria for obtaining the seal in developing the projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, many firms that have caused direct pollution to the environment have begun to think about the necessity of environmental management. As buildings have played an important role in environmental issues, the real estate industry can no longer ignore demands for environmental management. Research on environmental management has mainly focused on its financial implications. However, there has been no consensus in the literature about the relationship between environmental management and firm performance. By comparing portfolios of environmentally certified properties of 19 lodging Real Estate Investment Trusts, this study explores the relationship between environmental management and firm performance, while taking into account the moderating role of outside board of directors. The relationship between environmental management and firm performance appeared to have mixed results, but this study found a positive moderating effect of outside board of directors. This study provides new insights into the hospitality and the real estate literature from a corporate governance perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in the rate of environmental certification of buildings in foreign countries and Russia makes it necessary to study the role of environmental certification in construction, to highlight the degree of influence of environmental standards on architectural space. Consider the features of architectural shaping of buildings certified according to international and Russian environmental standards, and determine their new typology. In the conducted research, the percentage of architectural and technological requirements of foreign and Russian environmental standards in construction is presented. For the analysis of more than eighty environmentally certified buildings, a graph-analytical tabular form using an assessment matrix is used. The characteristic features of the objects of research are identified, similar features are generalized into groups and systematized. Typical architectural planning and engineering measures that are most often used to improve the environmental friendliness rating are identified. The impact of environmental standards requirements on spatial planning solutions is assessed. Identification of the share of architectural and engineering requirements in the assessment of objects according to environmental standards with the definition of a new typology of environmentally certified buildings is important for further improvement of the national environmental standard and the architectural space of Russian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the consequent increase in society's environmental awareness have triggered new forms of pressure on companies and the way they face environmental sustainability. Hence, either by legal imposition or by other types of pressures, companies must incorporate the environmental impact of their activities into their responsibilities, without compromising their financial viability. Environmental certification is a common procedure for firms to improve their environmental performance, as well as increase their reputation and image. Notwithstanding, determinants for environmental certification are still poorly understood. Therefore, the present study aims to assess, from a sample of 1,917 Portuguese companies of various sectors and dimensions, the influence of some factors on the probability of a firm adopting the ISO 14001 certification. Results showed that the different variables used as measures of profitability of the firm have a positive impact on its probability of adopting ISO 14001. Other factors with the same effect include the participation of the firm in the stock market and the firm's size. This can be justified by a greater need for large firms to improve their reputation or to have access to some markets where this kind of certification is an obligation. However, it is also possible to observe a certain variation in results depending on the measures of profitability used. Another conclusion is that the fact that a firm is an exporter does not influence its probability to be certified in any of the specifications, something contrary to what has been found in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental problem has become a popular research area. Efforts are being made at an international level for creating a sustainable environment. Hospitality industry is considered to be one of the main industries of a country. It makes contributions in the development of sustainable environment. Hospitality industry is adopting environmental certifications and green hotels concept rapidly. In this research, we performed bibliometric analysis of 49 articles on the topic of importance of environmental certificates for green hotels. Results indicate that majority of the journals have articles with a large number of citations, which indicates that they are high-quality journals. The results indicate that Cornell University, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and George Washington University are the institutes producing high-quality research work, as 28% of the researchers cited the articles published by the researchers of these universities. Results indicate that universities of Spain and USA are the largest contributors, as they have published 52% the total articles in the area under this study. USA and Spain are considered to be the world superpowers; their interest in this area of research unveils the importance of the topic. The authors Verma, Chan, and Rivera are the core researchers of this area, as they published 20% of the overall articles discussed in this study, which makes them the gurus of the research area.

Educational institutions certified according to international and national environmental standards in construction were studied. The equipment of schools and universities with ecological architectural and engineering solutions is analyzed. The sections of environmental standards for certification of educational institutions BREEAM Education (UK), LEED for School New Construction and Major Renovations (USA), GB/T51356-2019 “assessment Standard for green campus” (China), GREEN ZOOM “Universities, campuses and innovative scientific and technological centers” (Russia) are considered. A comparative analysis of the data of environmental certification systems with the allocation of priority areas is carried out. Using the example of Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov (Saratov, Russia), a new concept for the ecological reconstruction of General education institutions is proposed.

Voluntary environmental certification programs have been a popular tool used by governments, industry groups, and nonprofit organizations alike. A central question in the design of such programs is who should pay for them. In a context where firms respond strategically to a certification, the answer to this question is a priori ambiguous and, ultimately, empirical. This paper provides important insights on this question using ENERGY STAR, a voluntary certification program for energy-efficient products, as a case study. I show that firms are highly strategic with respect to this certification and extract consumer surplus associated with certified products via three mechanisms. They offer products that bunch at the certification requirement, differentiate certified products in the energy and nonenergy dimensions, and charge a price premium on certified products. I use these findings to motivate a structural econometric model with firms' strategic behaviors with respect to product line and pricing decisions and to investigate the incidence of a certification licensing fee to fund the certification program. This paper was accepted by Juanjuan Zhang, marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Themis: Revista de Derecho is the property of Themis Asociacion 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.)

Passenger airlines is an important sector throughout the world. However, it has faced criticism and pressure due to its harmful effects on the planet, leading airlines to adopt measures to protect the environment. As environmental responsibility can be a source of competitive advantages resulting from an improvement in image and internal technical and operational efficiency, it could increase their financial performance. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse whether their financial performance increases as a result of the competitive advantages gained from the effect of their environmental attitude on the environmental image of passengers, sustainable asset management, and employee ecological behaviour. Using the panel data technique for the 2010–2019 period, a comparison is made of certified and non-certified passenger airlines, differentiated according to ownership, routes they operate, fares, belonging to an alliance and the airline's world region. On the whole, the evidence obtained shows that while the effect of certification on the environmental image of passengers and on sustainable asset management does not increase the financial performance of certified airlines, it does so partially with respect to employee ecological performance. It could be affirmed that the funds and efforts allocated to being more respectful towards the environment do not lead to competitive advantages that could have a greater impact on financial performance. • Certified airlines do not reach a better financial performance than non-certified. • Airline passengers do not take certification into account in their booking decisions. • Sales growth is lower for certified airlines. • Certified airlines carry out a less efficient management of assets. • Personnel of certified airlines are more environmentally engaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental education provides people with the information they need to understand the causes and consequences of environmental issues, helping to promote positive attitudes toward nature. This paper uses a multivalued treatment effects model to evaluate the effects of a green school certification program on children's pro-environmental behavior in Chile. Pro-environmental behavior is measured by knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to the consumption and disposal of plastics. Results evidence a positive effect of schools' higher certification level on children's plastic waste behavior. This effect seems stronger in practices where children have more decision-making power (e.g., packing a lunch box). The observed reverse effect when switching from basic to intermediate level of certification is in line with the potential non-linear effects of environmental education on pro-environmental behavior regarding the consumption and disposal of plastic. To improve the design of the program, it is important to redefine incentives in the certification system to differentiate better the benefits of reaching each level of environmental certification • There is need to better understand the consequences of plastic pollution. • Green school certification programs play a role in promoting waste beneficiation behavior • We perform a multivalued treatment framework to evaluate the effect of the program. • We found a non-linear effect of different levels of environmental school certification. • It is important to redefine incentives so that a higher certification level is valued by school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study examines the nexus between past financial performance and the adoption of the global reporting initiative (GRI) in China. • Explores the moderating effects of environmental certification on this relationship. • Finds that the effect of financial performance on GRI standard adoption is pronounced in the context of low information transparency. • Offers new insights into the motivations behind voluntary GRI adoption in the context of China, addressing a gap in the existing literature. Numerous firms have adopted the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards to enhance sustainability. Using panel data from 2008 to 2020, we employ logit, probit, complementary log-log, and Cox survival analysis models to explore the factors which affect the adoption of the GRI standards in the context of voluntary disclosure in China. Our findings indicate that past financial performance significantly influences decisions on GRI adoption. Environmental certification moderates the effect of financial performance on GRI adoption. Notably, the cross-sectional test reveals that financial performance plays a stronger role in GRI adoption among companies with low information transparency compared to those with high information transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana 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.)

With the arising of environmental problems from the construction sector, the sustainability issues gained more space, making sustainability assessment tools emerge. These tools are based on the global definition of sustainability that meets Environmental, Economic, and Social criteria, and each system has a different and peculiar methodology. This paper aims to analyse the structure adopted by these European sustainability assessment systems: BREAM UK, DGBN (Germany), ITACA (Italy), LiderA (Portugal), and HQE (France), showing an overview of each system assisted by the SWOT Matrix, enabling the reader to better understand their differences. There are no superior or inferior systems, but each system notably performs much better in a subject or goal.

Concerns about the climate and local air impacts of emissions from the oil and gas supply chain have caused a reevaluation of natural gas’ role in a low carbon future. In response, some producers, large purchasers, and investors have pushed to certify some gas deliveries as ‘responsibly-sourced’ or ‘green’, which could give rise to a differentiated gas market. Third-party oil and gas certifications have been under development for several years, however, their focus has historically been on a broader set of societal impacts and risks, and they have typically focused on the upstream sector. Recent advances have been focused on methane emissions and supply chains into the certification process. In this paper we provide a critical review of several prominent natural gas certification processes. We do so within a broader historical context of using third-party market certifications and labels to differentiate clean vs. dirty versions of commodities.

The articleaims to explore the role of horizontal product differentiation in promoting/hindering firm's participation in environmental certification. To this purpose, we consider a differentiated duopoly model where firms compete in both prices and environmental qualities. The result shows that when the level of horizontal differentiation relative to the degree of vertical differentiation is sufficiently high, only the symmetric equilibrium where both firms choose to or both choose not to certify their products exists. Asymmetric equilibrium (vertical dominance equilibrium) occurs when the level of horizontal differentiation relative to the degree of vertical differentiation is sufficiently low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-labeling program provides fisheries a pathway to demonstrate their sustainability by undergoing an environmental certification. Like other standard-setters, the MSC’s ‘theory of change’ presumes that markets use this information to select for sustainable products, providing an incentive for producers to improve their practices and become certified. However, the underlying mechanisms which actually work to link market behavior and participation in the program in different contexts have not been systematically identified. We draw on broad MSC field experience to identify processes that have supported the theory of change in individual fisheries. Then, we develop a broadly applicable rapid assessment protocol, relying on a semi-structured interviews of key informants, to gather systematic evidence for key dynamics within the theory of change: the effects of going through MSC certification on market processes, partnerships in the fishery, and governance. In a pilot test of the protocol, we identify important common and idiosyncratic processes in three canned product fisheries: United States west coast albacore tuna, Brittany sardines, and Portuguese sardines. We find that the harvesters and buyers/processors in these fisheries sought certification primarily to expand or maintain their market share, and that certification was synergistic with stakeholder cooperation. The cases demonstrate how our rapid assessment interviews allow program participants to relate their experience in their own words yet facilitate systematic comparison to identify common mechanisms within the theory of change. We propose its wider application to systematically advance our understanding of social and economic processes that drive of eco-label interventions in different geographies and supply chains around the world.

Eco-hotels are a promising direction of the hospitality industry development. The southern region of Ukraine has all the necessary resources to create eco-hotels. The development of the concept and design of an ecological hotel has been substantiated in the article. The consumer demand for ecological accommoda-tion services significantly exceeds the supply, which is proved by the conducted surveys and analysis of the hotel services market. There are several hotels in the region that strive for environmental friendliness, but do not fulfill international conditions. Possible ways of fulfilling the criteria of the international Green Key program are being investigated to further obtain a certificate of an ecological accommodation. The concept of an ecohotel begins with environmental management and personnel environmental education. Environmental policy is about attracting consumers. The features of hotel design using modern energy-efficient building technologies, which are already used in the world and in Ukraine, have been considered. Intelligent water management systems and other waste reduction measures have been proposed to control and reduce water consumption. In south regional hotels, it is advisable to use solar energy, which is proposed to be attracted to heat water using thermosiphon solar systems. In an eco-hotel, it is necessary to properly handle waste, distribute and recycle it. Food waste is proposed to be composted and used as fertilizer. Some of the waste can be collected by a recycling company. To provide meals, a local cuisine establishment is proposed, local farmers products can be used. Sustainability has become a mandatory component of a hotel product in a successful hotel business. Hotels must strive for sustainability in order to comply with the international sustainability agenda. The creation of an eco-hotel is economically and socially efficient, thanks to the use of energy efficient technologies, the preservation of natural resources and the community ecological education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental certification acts as a sustainable practice for firms to improve their competitive advantage and its motivation has been widely discussed. However, existing researches ignore the important market driving force of green public procurement (GPP) as a policy tool. To fill this gap, this study, focusing on manufacturing firms in China and three typical environmental certifications, explores the relationship between GPP market pressure and firm's environmental certification practice based on institutional theory. Additionally, from a strategic perspective of green human resource management, this study unveils the influence mechanism of top management support in this relationship by using upper echelons theory. According to the empirical results, we find that GPP market pressure is positively associated with environmental certification practice, and top management support partially mediates this relationship. This study provides new insights into the explanation of firm's environmental certification practice, and provides practical implications for firm managers and government administrator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational institutions certified according to international and national environmental standards in construction were studied. The equipment of schools and universities with ecological architectural and engineering solutions is analyzed. The sections of environmental standards for certification of educational institutions BREEAM Education (UK), LEED for School New Construction and Major Renovations (USA), GB/T51356-2019 "assessment Standard for green campus" (China), GREEN ZOOM "Universities, campuses and innovative scientific and technological centers" (Russia) are considered. A comparative analysis of the data of environmental certification systems with the allocation of priority areas is carried out. Using the example of Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov (Saratov, Russia), a new concept for the ecological reconstruction of General education institutions is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability has increasingly become a priority for organisations. However, the public and academic attention is generally on large companies, while small and medium enterprises constitute the bulk of organisations and are arguably lagging behind. Fewer than ten per cent of total environmental certifications are awarded to small hotels. This lack of attention represents an opportunity to investigate small hotels and how to increase certification numbers. On the basis of existing literature, three overreaching factors that hold managers back from achieving certification were individuated: motivations, personal values, and barriers. To explore whether these factors play a role in small hotels too, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten hotel managers/owners in the Netherlands. The findings include the discovery of three new barriers: other priorities, negative views regarding certification, and building restrictions. More specifically, findings suggest that hoteliers do not proceed with certification because they perceive it as unambitious and meaningless, and thus not worth the effort. Simultaneously, managers seem to have a limited understanding of the scope and depth of existing certification. This study provides certifying organisations an insight into small hotel managers’ viewpoints; information that can be used to better reach this important target group.

The social component has become a more and more important variable in business management and has taken on the new mood of considering the concept of sustainability. Quality, environment and ethic have become the pillars of business management and they are strategically used by firms in almost every sector of the economic. Considering the multimodal relationship between tourism and environment and its numerous related directs and indirect environmental impacts, terms such as environment, ethics and social responsibility have become familiar in the tourism management. In the tourism sector, where there are several stakeholders and where the link with the territorial context is very strict, the adoption of socially responsible behaviour can be an opportunity to give a significant boost to the sector and, at the same time, to provide a long-term productivity. In the last years, tourism sector has experienced some series of voluntary instruments able to better communicate externally environmental and social performances. Among this, the interest of this paper has been focused on the certification systems EMAS and EU-Ecolabel. In particular, the focus of the paper is to evaluate their use as Corporate Social Responsibility instruments in the context of Italian tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association 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 Revista Turismo em Análise is the property of Revista Turismo em Analise 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.)

In addressing quality education, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of them translates the responsibility of universities into context to ensure that all students acquire the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to promote sustainability through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, respect for human rights, gender equality, the promotion of a culture of peace and nonviolence, global citizenship, and the enhancement of cultural diversity. There is some consensus in the area about the alignment between SDGs and education for sustainable development, and, in this study, we sought to develop a tool that has helped universities to contribute to an environment that is capable of strengthening a culture of ethos of sustainability. The present work has an objective to examine the environmental management system of a Brazilian university. In order to carry out this research, the design of a single study case was chosen. Multiple sources of evidence were considered, such as interviews, nonparticipant observation, and documents; all were analyzed qualitatively. For constructing the case, different data collection units were contemplated, together with management personnel, technicians, and professors. The categories of analysis arose from theoretical models already existing in the theory. The university in question is one of the largest private educational institutions in the country, and it has approximately 31 thousand students in the categories of presential and distance education. The main campus consists of a preserved area of more than 90 hectares, with lakes and green areas interconnected, which meets the criteria of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14001) since 2004. The case presents contributions in relation to the progress of sustainable universities in the national context, making it possible to qualify the necessary discussions for changes in infrastructures, curricula, teaching practices, and research that still do not address all problems that are global in scale and require more holistic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited funds available in times of financial crisis may lead hotel managers to deem environmental actions dispensable. Hence, the need to analyze whether hotels that decided to maintain environmental management measures during the 2008 crisis better withstood its negative effects. The aim of this study is to analyze whether environmental management influenced the performance of Spanish hotels during the 2008 crisis. Through the panel data technique, a comparison is made of how sales, workers and assets management affected the financial performance of hotels with and without environmental certification EMAS and ISO 14001 in the period prior to the financial crisis (2002–2007) and during it (2008–2013). The results demonstrate that, while for non-certified hotels, the effect of sales, workers and assets management on financial performance worsened in the crisis period, for certified hotels it remained the same. In addition, no evidence has been obtained to show that the financial performance of certified hotels was higher than non-certified hotels in either the period prior to the crisis or during it. Nevertheless, the general results confirm that certification permitted Spanish hotels to cope better with the crisis since the adverse effects were less severe than for the non-certified hotels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous countries have introduced energy performance certificates to mitigate the information asymmetry with respect to the thermal quality of houses. Motivated by a stylized theoretical model and drawing on comprehensive data on real estate advertisements in the German housing market, this paper investigates the causal effect of disclosing energy information on the asking prices of houses. Employing within-variation from panel data, augmented by an instrumental variable approach to isolate effects among policy compliers, our analysis demonstrates the power of mandatory disclosure rules to increase market transparency and to align prices with the energy performance of the house. Among our key results, we find that house owners reduce offer prices in response to the disclosure of energy efficiency information. Furthermore, this effect is particularly pronounced for owners who would not disclose in the absence of the mandatory disclosure policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]