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Sustainable development has become society's focal point. In this context, China's paper industry needs to be more concerned about a low‐carbon strategy. Therefore, a carbon performance evaluation system must be built to guide the low‐carbon enterprise transformation. Based on the carbon value flow analysis, this study takes JX Paper (a paper‐making enterprise) as an example to construct a carbon performance evaluation system consisting of carbon input, transfer, and output indicators. The quantitative and qualitative index weights were determined through a principal component analysis and an analytical hierarchy process. The overall carbon performance increased from 2012 to 2021, but room remains for improvement. These results show that the performance evaluation system provides a helpful reference for enterprises to identify the key factors affecting carbon emissions and evaluate their carbon performance. Moreover, objective criteria should be developed to improve sustainable enterprise carbon performance and low‐carbon competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic and comprehensive understanding of stakeholder relationships is the key component for achieving social sustainability of brownfield regeneration (BR), which has not been recognized by existing researches. Based on the widely acknowledged idea of social networks, this paper proposes a systematic research framework for the analysis of stakeholder relationships, with a focus on the dynamic and networked nature of relationships. The relationship network of stakeholders in BR is considered from three aspects: identifying the stakeholders and relationships among them, quantifying stakeholder relationships, and analyzing relationships network structure. The proposed stakeholder relationships analysis framework uses empirical methods (i.e., interviews and surveys), rationalistic methods (i.e., fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and social network analysis (SNA)) to analyze stakeholder relationships. To demonstrate the usability of the proposed framework, we apply it to the BR in China. The results show that: (1) it is feasible to mine the relationships of stakeholders from the social network perspective; (2) from the individual network aspect, the government, developers, government are at the core of the network with the highest network centrality during the recycling and contamination treatment stage, the construction stage and the use stage, respectively; (3) from the local network aspect, different cohesive subgroups with strong linkages are formed throughout the life cycle of BR; (4) from the overall network aspect, the highest density of the use stage means that there is good cohesion among stakeholders at this stage; the centralization of the construction stage is the highest, indicating that the stakeholders have relatively concentrated network power and loose relationships. The paper puts forward suggestions for improving the network structure of stakeholder relationships, including strengthening the network relationship between the government and environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs), improving the monitoring efficiency and network status of news media, establishing a construction consulting platform that effectively serves the public and end-users, forming the alliances among end-users, the public and ENGOs and enhancing the relationship network stability. Overall, this study helps to clarify stakeholder relationships by providing a systematic framework to encourage better stakeholder engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background--At present, China has made great efforts to promote the development of cultural and creative tourism in forest regions. However, there are few studies on the cultural creativity of forest resources development in academic research. And it is difficult to quantify the traditional evaluation indicators, so there is a lack of reasonable countermeasures for the development of forest regions. (2) Methods--First of all, the analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method are adopted. The evaluation index system of sustainable development of cultural and creative tourism in forest regions is composed of 5 second-level evaluation indicators of economic sustainability, social sustainability, cultural sustainability, ecological environment sustainability, management sustainability and 4l third-level evaluation indicators. Secondly, 415 valid questionnaires were distributed. Taking Longtan Village as a pilot project, this paper demonstrates the scientificity and rationality of the evaluation index system. Finally, we draw conclusions and put forward some suggestion. (3) Results--Through calculation, the ranking of evaluation indicators is as follows: ecological environment sustainability (0. 348), social sustainability (0. 253), cultural sustainability (0. 241), management sustainability (0. 093), economic sustainability (0. 065). At the same time, it is calculated that the sustainable score of cultural and creative tourism in Longtan village forest regions is 3. 930. Therefore, we believe that the cultural and creative tourism in the forest region is basically sustainable: the ecological environment of the forest region is beautiful, the government supports the development of the forest region greatly, the social governance of new and old residents is harmonious and the innovation of the leadership of the Party Committee is beneficial. However, there are also deficiencies: because it is difficult to meet the psychological demands of novelty, the participation of tourists in cultural and creative activities is not prominent. The connotation of cultural creativity in forest regions is not excavated enough, and cultural creativity and cultural exchanges need to be strengthened. What' s more, the publicity and protection of rural environment are not enough, and public health and waste disposal need to be improved. Last but not least, residents' willingness and ability to participate are not adapted. ⑷ Conclusions and Discussions--In order to improve the sustainability of the development of cultural and creative tourism in forest regions, it is suggested that the relevant departments should formulate special support policies for cultural and creative tourism in forest regions, promote the construction of infrastructure, and increase industrial support. At the same time, we should strengthen the awareness of pluralistic co-governance, smooth the ways of pluralistic co-governance, adhere to the party building to lead cultural creation, innovate the development model of forest regions, increase the publicity of cultural and creative activities in forest regions, integrate culture and science and technology, and develop new business types to enhance tourists" sense of participation and interactive experience. In addition, it is expected that the planning and design of cultural and creative tourism products, in-depth excavation of cultural connotation. And also we should strengthen environmental improvement, improve the governance capacity and effectiveness of forest regions and protect the ecological environment of forest regions. Finally, it is very necessary to attach importance to the construction of human capital, absorb compound talents and strengthen the vocational skills training of residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of sustainable development is a topic that needs to be studied, analysed, and addressed by higher education institutions. Campus sustainability assessment tools (CSATs) are commonly adopted internationally to evaluate and improve measures utilised for the development outcomes of universities. Whilst some Chinese universities have taken positive steps towards attaining sustainability in their operations, teaching and/or research, and China has come up with its own evaluation criteria for green universities, majority of their approach still have shortcomings, such as lack of multiple stakeholder involvement and a one size fits all approach to campus sustainability strategy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate two core methodological issues (top-down and non-transparent approaches and the limited consideration of context-specific issues) that impact the efficacy of CSATs in order to optimize the selection process for indicators and enhance the development CSAT for Chinese campuses and other campuses globally. Based on the widely used assessment tools (both campus and neighbourhood) in foreign countries, 147 corresponding assessment indicators in 16 domains were collated through qualitative review of existing assessment tools and the questionnaire-based analysis through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The case study campus selected was the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. The indicators to be investigated were selected based on frequency and distributed in the form of a questionnaire to the staff and students after a comprehensive stakeholder survey analysis. The staff and students were used to illustrate the high interest and high influence dynamic versus the high interest and low influence dynamic. This research was conducted to gain insight towards developing an integrated, inclusive, and context relevant CSAT. Furthermore, a new framework was developed for Chinese Campus sustainable assessment planning, using the University of Nottingham Ningbo as Case study. This framework provides step by step phases for CSAT development that includes the database phase, minimization phase, stakeholder phase and integration and implementation phase. Within these phases, factors that determined the success and failure were discussed such as issues of acceptability versus pragmatism, willingness of stakeholders to participate, weighing of indicators, stakeholder analysis and redistribution of power for the less influential. This led to the sample selection of indicators, which serve as validation of impact of this integrated methodological process. The final recommendation given is that all regions should create and provide avenues for tailored processes for the selection, weighting and criteria development of sustainability indicators and assessment tools. This needs to promote inclusivity, transparency and contextual relevance in decision making, which should be the main considerations for any truly sustainable framework. In addition, as a final measure to ensure methods such as CSATs are implemented in wider China and globally, this study identified the need for coordination, support, and participation of competent and sustainability driven leaders, government parastatals (National and provincial level), pilot demonstration, as well as data transparency throughout related campus departments. • Current assessment tools are top-down and non-transparent and limited in consideration of context-specific issues. • High interest and high influence versus high interest and low influence dynamic needs to be considered in stakeholder analysis. • Four phases for the framework are proposed: Database, minimization, stakeholder and integration and implementation phases. • China should provide an avenue for bespoke processes for the selection, weighting and criteria development of assessment tools. • For campus sustainability frameworks to be successful, participation from competent sustainability driven leaders is needed. • For campus sustainability frameworks to be successful, government support, pilot demonstration and data transparency is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Watershed ecological compensation (WEC), as a public policy for sustainability, aims at balancing the ecological environment and economic development within specific watersheds to achieve the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. This study takes an innovative approach by constructing an effective WEC policy evaluation model for the Huai River Basin based on a comprehensive evaluation system and empirical research. By systematically integrating the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of the analytic hierarchy process and descriptive statistical methods, the model provides a comprehensive evaluation of the WEC policy's influence on the basin's overall environment. The results indicate that each area related to the Huai River Basin presents a positive promotion of the ecological environment and economic development based on its comprehensive score calculated by the model. Besides, the results also reveal a noticeable reduction in major pollution elements in the Huai River Basin based on empirical research of the model, accompanied by effective improvements in water and air quality. However, the impact of WEC's policy implementation on regional economic development is relatively limited. It is found that although the WEC's policy implementation is in a favorable state, downstream cities of the Huai River Basin still exhibit a phenomenon of "free-riding". Meanwhile, the WEC's policy overlooks the focus on economic concerns and lacks robust legal safeguards. Therefore, this study further proposes constructive recommendations, including promoting collaborative governance between upstream and downstream areas, balancing environmental protection and economic development, and improving the legal system for the WEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the sustainability issues arising from construction and demolition waste management (DWM) has gained little traction due to the lack of incentives, stringent regulations, and systematic guidance. This study aims to empower systematic decision-making concerning DWM alternative selection by developing a sustainability assessment framework by coupling a modified Delphi method with the multicriteria decision analysis technique. First, the study identifies a comprehensive inventory of indicators across three dimensions of sustainability in the context of DWM. Next, the study combines a modified Delphi method with the analytic hierarchy process to validate and prioritize the selected sustainability indicators. For the first time, insights regarding the DWM sustainability indicators from China's construction industry practitioners' perspectives are elicited using a mixed method comprising online semistructured interviews and two rounds of questionnaire surveys. Experts participating in the research are mostly based in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where local governments exhaust all efforts in promoting carbon-neutral and sustainable development. The findings reveal that eight sustainability indicators were regarded as the determinants for the sustainability performance of DWM, with the global warming potential (32%), energy efficiency (16.1%) and land use (13.5%) receiving the highest preference scores (weights) based on the experts' judgment. Notably, the economic factors like the total cost (6.54%) appeared not highly prioritized by the local experts as typically did in the previous studies from developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the globe transitions to a low-carbon economy, China's renewable energy (RE) sector is crucial to attaining sustainable growth. Green financing and corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies have become increasingly important in promoting the growth and sustainability of the RE sector. In order to evaluate CSR factors and green finance strategies for effective integration in supporting the RE industry, this research employs hybrid Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Fuzzy VIekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (FVIKOR) approaches in the context of China. The FAHP method is used to determine the various CSR factors and subfactors, while the FVIKOR method is employed to prioritize the key green finance strategies. The findings of the FAHP method highlight the importance of socioeconomic development, environmental protection, and stakeholder engagement as critical CSR factors for RE sectors. Moreover, the results of the FVIKOR method reveal that innovative financing mechanisms, green bonds, and green banks emerged as significant green finance strategies for mobilizing capital and resources for RE projects. The study highlights the value of aspects of CSR and green financing techniques in fostering sustainable development in the RE industry. The results can aid in the promotion of sustainable practices and the assistance of China's transition to a more resource- and environment-wise economy by firms, investors, governments, and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seaports in China are the busiest in the world and facing challenges pertaining to environmental pollution, Green House Gases (GHG) emissions, damages to the marine ecosystem etc. To tackle these issues, the maritime community in China is looking for sustainable green solutions. One way forward is to establish green ports, but there is no reliable intelligence available on sustainability of such an idea. For that reason, this research aims to discern relevant sustainability factors for green ports development. Thereafter, the identified factors are assessed using FAHP (Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process) method of MCDM (Multi-Criteria Decision-Making). The results indicate that the factors; Environment, Digitization, Automation, and Strategy are ranked top three censorious among six identified main categories of the factors. Further, sensitivity analysis is carried out to check the robustness of the applied method. The industry managers and policy makers must attentively monitor and adopt top ranked factors to establish sustainable green practices at Chinese ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of coal consumption has become a focus of academic attention due to ecological and environmental concerns. This study proposed a method to evaluate sustainability for coal consumption by using a multiple-attribute decision-making (MADM) model. The data used are from the China Statistical Yearbook and the China Energy Statistical Yearbook over the years. The MADM model consists of attributes (standards), their importance weights, and alternatives. The comprehensive evaluation system for the sustainability of coal consumption, which was composed of four first-grade indicators including coal strength (CS), energy dependency (ED), social development level (SL), and population size (PS) and their corresponding 20 second-grade indicators, was included in the MADM model as attributes (standards). The importance weight of the attributes was determined by the entropy weight method (EWM) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), while the comprehensive evaluation of the sustainability of coal consumption in China over the years was considered as an alternative. The evaluation indices of four first-grade indicators were obtained through multiobjective optimization, and then through the weights and evaluation indices of the four first-grade indicators, multiobjective optimization was carried out for the overall objective of the comprehensive evaluation of the sustainability of coal consumption over the years, and the comprehensive evaluation indices of the sustainable development of coal consumption over the years were obtained. The results show that China's coal consumption is sustainable, with the composite assessment index rising from 0.058 in 2011 to 0.837 in 2021, an increase of 13.4 times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The groundwater resources carrying capacity is a comprehensive metric that assesses the ability of groundwater resources in a region to support industrial production and socioeconomic development. In arid regions, the calculation and analysis of the carrying capacity of groundwater resources are of paramount importance for guiding sustainable mining practices in coal mines. This study utilized a combination of the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to analyze the carrying capacity of groundwater resources in the coal mine located in northwest China. The results showed that the groundwater resources carrying capacity in the study coal mine was at a low level from 2011 to 2020 and the development and utilization of groundwater will reach its limit. The change trend of the carrying capacity showed a slight increase following a decline, with the highest value 0.5021 and the lowest 0.3518. The factors that significantly impacted the size of the carrying capacity included the total groundwater resources, the degree of groundwater development and utilization, and the per unit GDP of water consumption. To ensure sustainable development, the optimization of coal mining technology and the improvement of groundwater utilization efficiency should be promoted, while the rate of groundwater development should be slowed. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for guiding the sustainable development of groundwater resources in the coal mine of arid areas in the future and have practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rapid development of China's cultural and creative industries has given cultural fashion products, represented by China-chic (国潮) T-shirts, vitality. In recent years, with the arrival of the era of design-led emotional sensory, products with attractive and qualia characteristics have become an important tool to attract consumers and create a competitive brand. Objective: Therefore, this study aimed to build an evaluation index of the attractive attributes of China-chic T-shirt products from the perspective of attractive consumption to serve as an important basis for improving product development and thus promoting the sustainable development of China-chic T-shirt products. Methods: Firstly, a three-level hierarchical model was established for the sustainable development of China-chic T-shirt products based on literature research. Secondly, through the evaluation grid method and factor analysis method, we extracted the attractive elements and factors associated with Chinachic T-shirt products and established an objective evaluation index for the attractive attributes of China-chic T-shirt products. Twenty-five participants with different decision-making personalities tested three products with expert validity. The weights of the evaluation indexes of the attractive attributes of China-chic T-shirt products were evaluated using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. Finally, a two-factor mixed design ANOVA was conducted to check the practical value of the evaluation index of the attractive attributes of China-chic T-shirt products. Results: The results show that the evaluation indexes of the attractive attributes of China-chic T-shirt products include 7 attractive factors, including the brand image feature, perceptual association feature, beauty feature, delicacy feature, creativity feature, engineering feature, and green feature, as well as 32 attractive elements. Through an empirical application analysis, it was found that the index has an excellent ability to differentiate between the attractive characteristics of different styles of products and test participants with different decision-making personalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's leading producer of farmed aquatic food products, China faces great uncertainty concerning the further sustainable development of its aquaculture industry due to high and increasing pressure from environmental and resource constraints. To realize truly sustainable development, it is imperative to establish an evaluation system that integrates social, economic, environmental and resource criteria, and optimizes aquaculture systems through a holistic approach. Here, we used analytical hierarchy processes combined with expert judgment and objective data to assess the sustainability of 10 major aquaculture production systems (APSs) in China. Based on the evaluation results, we propose the ecological intensification of aquaculture systems (ELIAS), rationally integrating anthropogenic inputs with aquaculture ecosystem services, to improve the sustainability of APSs. The holistic evaluation system and ELIAS are fundamental and critical for the future development of aquaculture in China and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]