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This paper presents a comprehensive review of existing literature concerning the domains of accreditation and quality assurance in various sectors. Accreditation and quality assurance play vital roles in ensuring the credibility, transparency, and effectiveness of educational institutions, healthcare facilities, industries, and other domains. This paper synthesizes the findings of numerous studies, focusing on the conceptual frameworks, methodologies, and outcomes associated with accreditation and quality assurance processes. The review encompasses a wide range of perspectives, including historical context, best practices, challenges, and advancements in accreditation and quality assurance. Through a systematic analysis of these scholarly works, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of accreditation and quality assurance across diverse sectors and shed light on potential future research directions.

This paper analyses the role of libraries in the development of Open Educational Resources (OER) and, more specifically, the impact and level of implementation of UNESCO's (2019) OER Recommendation in Higher Education libraries. This study, the result of a joint undertaking between a national R&D project and SPARC Europe, is based on an online survey, disseminated amongst the European Network of Open Education Librarians (ENOEL) and uses a descriptive research methodology. The results highlight the implementation actions being taken by university libraries (n = 136) in each of the five areas of action of UNESCO's Recommendation. We find that the main contributions are being made in the areas of capacity building and Open Education policies, but that considerable work has yet to be done in terms of promoting inclusiveness and the sustainability of OER. Thus, the full implementation of UNESCO's recommendation requires a greater commitment on the part of librarians to joint actions undertaken via international networks and projects, as well as greater institutional commitment and the building of interdepartmental alliances.

Purpose: Recognising the importance of universities in the achievement of social and global objectives, this paper aims to study the relevance of the global reporting initiative (GRI) methodology for reporting University Social Responsibility (USR) activities, taking into account the specificity of higher education institutions (HEI). Design/methodology/approach: After a review of the literature and background, the European HEI reports prepared according to the latest version of GRI standards are selected and a comparative study is carried out. The analysis focusses on comparing to what extent the standards are responding to the information needs generated in the field of higher education. Findings: General issues, common to all types of organisations, are adequately reported by HEIs, but difficulties are encountered in integrating a vision that incorporates the role of their missions in standards related to economic, social and environmental aspects. Research limitations/implications: There are few GRI reports with this format and further research is encouraged as the number of reports increase. So far, major limitations have been found by HEIs to account for their societal missions when using the GRI. Practical implications: The debates on USR are promoting an increase in the number of reports on sustainability. This paper provides some examples of the use of disclosures that can be adapted in this context, to move towards the systematisation of these practices. Originality/value: This is, to the authors' knowledge, the first comparative study on the application of GRI to sustainability reports at a European level, focussing on the adequacy between disclosures and missions.

Students' action competence must be taught and developed, particularly for prospective science teachers, to have a pedagogical perspective as environmental educators. As indicated by publications in respected journals, researchers' focus and alignment on the issue of action competence are highly expected. This systematic literature review aims to compare the findings of research articles published by Web of Science-indexed journals. The keyword used to find the articles on the Web of Science's database was "action competence," which discovered 193 publications. Furthermore, 25 articles met the criteria to be analyzed. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis was the inclusion and exclusion model used. In the last three years, research focused on action competence has increased. The research employed several methods, i.e., qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and development research. Jelle Boevede Pauw and Wanda Sass were the authors who frequently published research that focused on action competence. The keyword action competence was directly associated with environmental education, sustainable development, education-based learning for sustainable development, and evaluation. The authors who published their research with this focus were from 16 countries, mainly from Europe, i.e., Sweden, Belgium, and Denmark. The continent diversity of authors who contributed articles indicated that the action competence issue had become a global concern. Furthermore, it was found that the number of non-collaborating publications (universities or countries) was higher than those collaborating, even though single authors rarely wrote the articles. The recent trend shows that publications are authored by scientists with various backgrounds such as fields, universities, and even countries. The authors of this paper developed and proposed eight ideas to be reflected by prospective science teachers or science teacher education providers in educating future science teachers concerned about action competence about sustainable development.

Peri-urban areas support a broad range of multifunctional demands for public goods. In northwest Europe, peri-urban areas tend to overlap with intensive agricultural land, resulting in conflicts between agricultural use and the public good demands of residents. Sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture might help reconcile agricultural and well-being goals, but it is unclear how the mix of actors in a peri-urban setting can trigger or restrain SI. In a Dutch case study, we explored how SI of agriculture can contribute to making peri-urban areas more sustainable, and which actors are key enabling factors for implementing SI. We used interviews, surveys, workshops, and empirical analysis to obtain insight into the stakeholder's vision of a sustainable future for the case study area, the farming system and actor network. We integrated these insights in a Bayesian Belief Network, where we linked the actor network to implementation of three SI measures (farm-level efficiency measures, small landscape elements, and direct sales), and used sensitivity analysis to model effects of support for implementation by different groups of actors. The case study has a dense stakeholder network, where, dependent on the SI measure, farmers are triggered by all actors to implement SI, or have a stronger role in uptake themselves. The sensitivity analysis suggested that the future preferred by the stakeholders requires broad support of all actors involved, with local actors without a formal role being essential for uptake. Overall, trade-offs among public goods are almost inevitable when taking up SI measures., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: In education concerning environmental issues, there are two predominant currents in the world, environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). ESD is the formal commitment and therefore promoted by the United Nations, to ensure that countries achieve sustainable development. In contrast, EE was the first educational trend with an environmental protection approach. The purpose of this systematic review that seeks to show whether the migration from EE to ESD is being effective and welcomed by researchers and especially by universities is presented. With the above, a global panorama can be provided, where the regions that choose each model can be identified. In the same sense, it was sought to determine which of the two currents is more accepted within engineering education. Design/methodology/approach: The review followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyzes parameters for systematic reviews. In total, 198 papers indexed in Scopus, Science Direct, ERIC and Scielo were analyzed. With the results, the advancement of ESD and the state of the EE by regions in the world were identified. Findings: It was possible to categorize the geographical regions that host either of the two EE or ESD currents. It is important to note that ESD has gained more strength from the decade of ESD proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. For its part, EE has greater historical roots in some regions of the planet. In turn, there is evidence of a limited number of publications on the design and revision of study plans in engineering. Originality/value: Through this systematic literature review, the regions of the world that are clinging to EE and those that have taken the path of ESD could be distinguished. Moreover, specific cases in engineering where ESD has been involved were noted.

Considered among the fastest-growing industries in the world, tourism brings immense benefits but also creates certain challenges. Conservation of natural resources is a stringent necessity, without which the extraordinary ecosystems' attributes that create the premises for nature-based tourism would reduce, alter, and subsequently disappear. The aim of the present review is twofold: gaining a general understanding of what nature-based tourism is and providing a systematic literature review of articles on nature-based tourism in European national and natural parks, with emphasis on their applicability. The articles included in the present review were selected based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The review accounts for research conducted between 2000 and 2021 and is divided into two sections: articles aimed at understanding tourists' behaviour and articles that are focused on other stakeholders or have the local communities in the foreground. While many studies are aimed at understanding tourists' behaviour as a means of improving parks' management, participatory strategies including local communities are often indicated as beneficial. The results of this paper can facilitate future research in the field and provide valuable knowledge to policymakers and any interested parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sustainability is increasingly at the forefront of the public debate in Europe and the world. However, despite this increased interest, research seems to have partially ignored the importance of its social dimension and the issues related to social equity, people care, protection and personal development at all stages of society and, consequently, of business. Accordingly, this paper aims at investigating the "soft" dimensions of sustainability, integrating its mainstream "technical storyline" with a "human/social storyline". Design/methodology/approach: In this paper a taxonomy of the main key drivers of the soft dimension of sustainability is proposed and tested on a sample of Italian companies. Through interviews with their managers, actions and needs in terms of sustainability soft drivers are identified. Findings: The achieved results demonstrated that the case companies differently integrated the soft dimensions of sustainability within their companies. All the sample companies are aware of the role of social sustainability. According to the proposed taxonomy, the systemic drivers of soft sustainability are the main shared ones. Originality/value: The paper provides new insights into the essence of the organizational soft dimensions and their centrality in the overall achievement of sustainability for companies. It also offers managerial insights into how to effectively manage these dimensions and policy implications about the need for clearer consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were approved by the UN General Assembly in 2015 has not been simple, being influenced by variety of social, economic, and logistical problems. It has also been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are to date no specific studies aimed at assessing the extent to which higher universities institutions in Europe are active in the SDGs implementation process. Departing from this research need, this paper reports on a study aimed at examining the current degree of engagement of European universities in the implementing the SDGs. By using a multi-methods approach, which entails a review of existing documents, a survey involving participants from 22 countries and case studies, the paper maps, documents and disseminates examples of what European universities are doing to implement the SDGs, the challenges they face, and the solutions being deployed to overcome them., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Copyright of Mineral Resources Management / Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi is the property of Mineral & Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences 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.)

Purpose: In the last few years, the European context has been characterised by a high degree of attention paid by policymakers, practitioners and academics to the effects related to the transposition of Directive 2014/95/EU by the member states. In particular, one the main issues of the intervention made by the European Commission is represented by the theoretical misalignment between corporate communications and actions. According to this evidence, this paper aims to shed light on this debate through a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of Directive 2014/95/EU. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis was built using panel data analysis on a sample of 813 European listed companies. Furthermore, the authors performed additional analysis and robustness checks to assess the reliability of the analysis. Findings: The analysis underlined the enabling role of the reporting scope, external assurance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees on sustainability reporting. Furthermore, the research highlighted the need to pay specific attention to the real contribution provided by companies to the sustainable development goals. Research limitations/implications: The research provided theoretical insights into the effects related to mandatory sustainability reporting, which represents an emerging field in accounting research. Practical implications: The analysis revealed the limited effects of Directive 2014/95/EU. In this regard, the paper contributes to the debate about accounting regulation in Europe. Originality/value: This paper will shed light on the role of Directive 2014/95/EU in sustainable development. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt to analyse CSR decoupling in Europe after the transposition of Directive 2014/95/EU by the member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: In recent years, rural landscapes have played an increasingly important role in the fields of tourism, cultural heritage and ecology. Rural landscape research (RLR), which is characterized by diversity and complexity, has attracted more and more attention from researchers. Objectives: This study integrated the main research contents of RLR in the past 30 years by arranging the relevant research results and analyzing the research progress of RLR in order to understand the development trend of RLR, the distribution of research power, research hotspots and frontal research. Methods: 3740 relevant literatures from 1931 to 2020 were filtrated from the WoS Core Collection Database. Those papers were quantitatively data mined and qualitatively summarized by using Bibliometrics software for mapping and analysis. Results: (1) The number of articles related to RLR increased exponentially over time. The average citations per paper increased fastest from 2002 to 2005. According to the characteristics of the number of articles and the average citations per paper, RLR can be divided into three stages from 1990 to 2020: the first stage is from 1990 to 1999; the second stage is from 2000 to 2008; the third stage is from 2009 to 2020. The second stage of RLR has attracted the most international attention among three stages. (2) According to the results of research strength analysis, Europe has a great influence in RLR. The Common Agricultural Policy and the European Landscape Convention are the main driving forces for the change of rural landscape in Europe. (3) At present, the five hotspots of RLR are rural landscape planning and management, cultural ecosystem services, urban-rural conflict, the sustainable development of rural cultural heritage landscape and the impact of landscape structure on habitat. Conclusions: Rural landscape research was originally developed based on geography and ecology but has now developed to a comprehensive research direction of multidisciplinary and multi-methods with social, economic, culture and other elements. At present, the object of RLR covers the ecological landscape, production landscape, and cultural landscape of rural landscape system; the content of RLR has shifted from static pattern of rural landscape to dynamic evolution process, urban-rural conflict, cultural ecosystem service and multifunctional landscape trade-off; the research paradigm of RLR has changed from single dimension to multi-dimensional, and combined with "3S" technology and various landscape ecological model software. The correlation and mechanism should be studied between the rural landscape multifunctionality based on the perspective of multidisciplinary research and rural landscape system in the future, and carry out dynamic monitoring and trend simulation, so as to clarify the thinking and paths of rural landscape multi-functional trade-off and guide the sustainable development of rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-Based Solutions concepts and practices are being used worldwide as part of attempts to address societal challenges but have also been criticised for not dealing with deeper transformations needed to face urgent issues including biodiversity loss, climate change and inclusion. In this paper, we explore how an inclusive, integrated and long-sighted approach, emphasising a more radical integration of nature within cities, might support the transformations needed to endure major contemporary challenges. Addressing important emerging critiques of Nature-Based Solutions, we consider the potential of a more incisive form of Nature-Based Thinking (NBT) in cities, based on more holistic perspectives. The paper draws on a reflective and iterative research process that engaged both the research and practice communities through a symposium and a series of futures workshops that together explored the potential of NBT to develop future nature-cities relations in Europe and Latin America. The results of the reflective process suggest that notions of nature with people-not for people- new organisational structures, and the intention and capacity to apply long-term perspectives, are needed when planning for NBS interventions aimed at sustainable urban development. This includes developing a cultural-structural change based on new and inclusive understandings of human-nature relations, and novel governance paradigms that allow cross-sectoral coordination and engagement of local stakeholders beyond formal organisational structures., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The discourse surrounding digital transformation (DT) and sustainable development (SD) is pervasive in contemporary business and organizational operations, with both processes considered indispensable for sustainability. The success or failure of these endeavors hinges significantly on factors such as the behavior and skill sets of individuals within organizations. Thus, the purpose of the paper is twofold: to investigate the perceptions of organizations on digital transformation and sustainable development with regards to skills and education, and, secondly, to use the insights from these perceptions as a starting point for the use of systems thinking as a tool that could assist in achieving these states. To achieve the objective, a research effort was conducted that included desktop research, interviews with experts, and the development of a survey that was disseminated across Europe with questions on digital transformation and sustainable development. Finally, a general causal loop diagram was designed, illustrating the processes of digital transformation and sustainable development within organizations from a top-down view. The study reveals commonalities between DT and SD, recognizing both processes as advantageous with shared deficiencies in specific skill sets. It highlights a synergistic relationship between initiating DT and fostering SD activities. Furthermore, the research underscores the temporal aspects of these processes, acknowledging delayed positive effects and immediate implementation costs that challenge decision-makers to balance long-term benefits with short-term viability. In conclusion, the exploration emphasizes the dynamic nature of DT and SD, urging continual attention to the evolving landscape and the imperative for a shared understanding within organizational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pension systems around Europe are being reformed for several decades already. Main objectives of the reforms are to enable people to have adequate income at retirement and to ensure the system’s financial sustainability. Many European countries implemented policies aiming at diversification of financing sources of income at older age: risk-sharing between pay-as-you-go and funded pensions is expected to help in achieving social policy objectives towards pension systems. Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) face even more challenges in ensuring adequate income at retirement. First, CEE countries were required to transform radically their economies in 1990s towards market economy, including old age pension systems. Second, in order to ensure diversified future old age pension income and attract more financial means to the system, introduction of funded pensions from scratch and ensuring as wide as possible coverage with funded pension schemes was of primary importance also. The paper discusses latest developments of retirement pension systems in Europe and state involvement in private pension schemes. In doing so, the focus is on the introduction of funded private pension schemes in selected CEE countries. In spite of initially chosen different paths for the reforms, inconsistent state policies towards funded pensions in the CEE countries resulted in similar outcomes of the reforms. The paper starts with discussion on main objectives of pension systems – enabling people to have adequate income at retirement and ensuring financial sustainability of the systems. Further, possibilities to achieve the objectives of pension reforms are analysed – diversification of income at retirement. Third part of the paper discusses prevailing debates on future of welfare state as such and individualisation trends within different European welfare state models. These debates and perceptions of population about responsibilities of a state for individual welfare affect direction of reforms and future shape of old age pension systems. Fourth part of the paper deals with state policies and tools that are used for encouragement of participation in supplementary pensions. Final part of the paper presents more detailed outline of the pension reforms in selected CEE countries and summarises particular challenges of their pension systems. The paper ends with a discussion on policy implications in relation to latest developments of pension systems in CEE countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the future challenges of strategic spatial planning in Europe in the coming decades. The paper argues that one of the core challenges for strategic spatial planning is to regain its political legitimacy. Strategic spatial planning has increasingly lost its political support after the global financial crisis in 2007–2008 and a decade of austerity policies. Strategic spatial planning must make itself relevant again by addressing the most prominent challenges for contemporary urban areas, such as the current energy crisis. The energy crisis has demonstrated the need for an even faster transition to renewable energy sources, which requires large areas for energy infrastructures on land. The paper argues that strategic spatial planning could play an important future role in supporting the sustainable energy transition by identifying appropriate spaces of production and building support for such production facilities among local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work (SW) is criticized for its (i) inconsistent ontology, epistemology, and methodology and (ii) co-dependency with the capitalist hegemony, which is the main cause of multiple crises that primarily affect the most vulnerable. Addressing these issues is of paramount importance if SW is to achieve its core mandate of promoting social change, social development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. The purpose of this paper is to assert that SW can address these issues by learning from the (i) Settlement House Movement (SHM), especially the Hull-House tradition of SW; and (ii) current endeavors of the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE). We were led to this assertion because we noticed in our research, in the area of SSE of vulnerable groups and SW, remarkable similarities and potentials of these two approaches to help transform SW. Our argument is based on data and insight gained from (i) a narrative literature review on the history of SW and the nature of SSE; and (ii) a systematic scoping review of the SSE of People of African Descent (PAD) in Europe. In this paper, we elaborate on our key arguments and provide examples and recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the emerging topics of the international debate for safe mobility in urban areas with an innovative interpretation. This is the bibliometric mapping of the most recurrent concepts (keywords) of almost 80 scientific publications. The paper framework moves from the issue of the sustainability of cities and through a mobility lens. In Europe by 2030 cities have to become climateneutral and some main urban strategy to achieve this result is focused on transport and mobility sectors. The interpretation of the bibliometric mapping results leads to highlighting the shortcomings of some topics within the scientific debate. The Qualiquantitaive Data Analysis was applied to set the interdependency among research fields and better understand the interrelation among the different topics. The key concepts of don't emerge clearly as an object of research and they will be included in future reflections about the transformative capacity of the city through sustainability and in the development of city strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Less than seven years remain for Europe to meet the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However robust and accurate methods for assessing SDG progress are currently lacking. Through the development of several SDG indices, this study addresses this critical knowledge gap by providing the means to accurately identify national 'problem areas' and thereby accelerate SDG achievement. Specifically, an indicator-based approach has been used to create a composite index containing 166 unique SDG indicators that assess a nation's SDG performance compared to the best and worst performers in the European Union (EU). Our results indicate that each EU nation is on average, 58% of the way towards the best performer in the overall SDG indicator framework. A nuanced taxonomy has been developed that allows for the assessment of SDG performance in several critical dimensions of the SDGs, including in 'Means-of-Implementation (MoI)', 'Linkage', and 'Outcome' indicators. The index's comprehensive framework allows for EU's performance in individual SDG indicators to be investigated while providing the most accurate assessment of national SDG performance, to date. Overall, the indices presented in this paper can significantly enhance the understanding of SDG performance while concurrently guiding national and EU SDG policy development., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Murphy et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the available important information on local pig breeds maintained in Europe. Genetic erosion has prompted national and international bodies to take organized action aimed at the minimization of further losses of biodiversity. Since the genetic resources of livestock ensure both food security and the sustainable development of rural areas, genetic diversity is indispensable for sufficient flexibility of future animal husbandry to adapt to changing consumer demands and climatic conditions. Therefore, the problem of biodiversity has recently become an essential part of the comprehensive international program of the World Conservation Strategy and the global idea of the so-called sustainable development. The issue of biodiversity protection occupies an important place in the provisions of the EU Common Agricultural Policy. The successive financial perspectives assume an increase in relevant expenditure from the EU and national budgets. With regard to the protection of native pig breeds, a particularly large increase in funding was recorded in 2014–2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers the problem of energy security as one of the main factors of sustainable development of European countries. Research results indicate that supply security is an important aspect to be considered when identifying threats to Europe's energy security and ways of countering them. It is necessary to develop a method for determining the sustainable power level of the gas transport system, which would reflect the relationship between accidents on main gas pipelines and their economic, environmental and social consequences. The paper presents such a method based on the systematic-functional approach, the decomposition method and the concepts of set theory; its core principles and design are revealed. The informative nature of the power level of the gas transport system development in Ukraine is proved with regards to making regulatory decisions that take into account the economic, environmental and social consequences of their influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pasos: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural is the property of Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales 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 Social Inequalities & Economic Growth / Nierownosci Spoleczne a Wzrost Gospodarczy is the property of University of Rzeszow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The economic crisis triggered by the pandemic and continued by the economic recession resulting from the geopolitical conflict worsened in 2023, generating a series of economic bottlenecks and reduced growth rates in European economies amidst financial banking instability. Currently, the social economy is analysed in direct connection with rising unemployment and inflation. As a result, the analysis in the paper is focused on finding solutions in order to recover the social economy by increasing employment and social inclusion. The statistical information come from the EU official statistical database Eurostat. The results will be useful for the identification of social policies for the recovery of the European social economy and will highlight the main directions for its sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper analyses the dramatic global slowdown of tourism caused by the pandemic and how it has provided an exceptional opportunity for the tourism sector to reassess both its priorities and practices, especially in relation to our planet and society. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides an analysis of the European Travel Commission's position regarding the development of a sustainable tourism ecosystem and the definition of new metrics to measure this transition, thus allowing European National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) to share knowledge and learn from each other. Findings: NTOs across Europe are at different stages in their journey towards a sustainable tourism development model. Some destinations are still focussing on attracting more travellers from international markets while others at a more mature stage, are switching their work towards the management of tourism flows. These latter examples support the approach that developing a tourism strategy should start with the needs of the destination, and the local people should be directly and fully involved in the tourism strategy. Initiatives such as this can support tourism decision-making based on data and firm evidence and help to address doubts and common misunderstandings around how residents feel. Originality/value: This paper highlights how the European Travel Commission, together with its members, are working towards a new world benchmark for responsible, sustainable and innovative tourism in response to exponential growth of demand, the reality of the ecological transition and the emergence of a new digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actuality of the topic of the circular economy is dictated by the need to find a solution to contemporary environmental, economic, and social problems. Nowadays, the increased urbanization rate and excessive consumption lead to high levels of pollution, the depletion, and exhaustion of the natural systems and resources, and also affect the world’s economy and the global society. Those are some of the reasons why the current economic linear model is not efficient enough from the economic and environmental perspective and there is an urgent need for a circular transition. The study's main objective is to analyze the circular transition and to provide scientific information on the possible economic effect on European businesses. In order to complete the study’s aim, the researcher has used a deductive approach by collecting primary and secondary data. The paper is divided into three main parts. The first section represents the literature review, where are given the fundamental definitions and characteristics of the concepts of circularity and sustainability. The second part introduces the key economic effects such as increasing profits, developing innovation, creation of new jobs, economic growth, and increasing company competitiveness. The last part examines five case studies in Europe in order to present how the circular model functions in practice. This part is essential because it examines some of the local progress in terms of circular transition and helps to analyze the circular model implementation. In conclusion, the paper outlines general recommendations for the future development of circular economy policies and also for business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If unauthorized resource use is prevented, managing marine resources by allocating property rights may match economic and environmental conservation incentives. However, because of the developing exploitation of marine resources and accompanying pollution, species' living conditions in Europe's waters are changing more quickly than before. By considering the roles of fisheries productivity, intellectual property rights, intellectual capital rights, market size, governance, and economic growth from 1990 to 2022, this paper aims to investigate the dynamic effect of property rights factors on the sustainability of the fisheries industry in 27 European countries. At higher quantiles, the findings showed a significant positive association between governance and fisheries sustainability adopting a new method, the MMQR with fixed effects, the Method of Moments Quantile Regression. In addition, in EU27 nations, the impact of intellectual property rights was favorable and statistically significant from the first to ninth quantiles. The findings show that the EU14 developed nations have more excellent governance and intellectual capital rights than the EU13 developing countries, significantly benefiting fisheries sustainability. In the same way that market size and economic growth condense fisheries sustainability in EU14 developed and EU13 developing countries, it has been discovered that intellectual property rights do the same across all quantiles, supporting the growth hypothesis for fisheries‐producing countries. The findings specifically show that the beneficial solid impact of intellectual property rights, market size, and economic development on the sustainability of fisheries is more significant in EU13 developing nations than in EU14 developed countries. These results provide policymakers with helpful information for promoting property rights aspects in EU14 and EU13 nations via effective green technologies in the fisheries sector to meet sustainable development objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the paper is to elaborate an empirical overview of green technological development in European regions. This is a timely pursuit considering the ambitious commitments stipulated in the recent European Green Deal to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Our analysis is organised in three steps. First, we map the geographical distribution of innovative activities in Europe and profile regions in terms of technological capabilities. Second, we elaborate a metric to identify regions' green innovation potential. Third, we check whether possessing a comparative advantage in specific, green and non-green, technological domains is associated with a region's capacity to develop green technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper will address the results gleaned from the case studies of utilizing BIM as a decision support tool for infrastructure programs within an inter-organizational context, summarize the insights from the infrastructure delivery scenarios [case studies] applicable to other national scenarios (including the USA), and, opine on multi-attribute decision making addressing the PEESTLE factors - political, energy/environmental, ethical, social, technical, legal and economic, by infrastructure-related inter-organizations. The key lessons learned deal with sustainable development and stakeholder engagement, which have an appropriate application on all types of large infrastructure projects sponsored by government entities and executed by public/private partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of elements in nature, from a pine cone's bracts to a spiral galaxy, are described by a unique mathematical relationship described by Fibonacci as adhering to the "golden ratio". In forest management, various models are used to achieve a balance between forest use and conservation that meets societal expectations in both ecological and economic terms. In Central European countries, where forest management has been subordinated to the timber industry, such a transition is still in progress, and people continue to look for an acceptable balance between forest conservation and management. The main objective of this paper is to review approaches to forest management in Central Europe with the aim of contributing to current discussions on forest management models in Europe. We anticipate that the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 will implement the billion-tree afforestation program with appropriate consideration of forest potential based on the tenets of sustainable management and that the future climate will be neutral. We hope that the forestry aspects of the strategy will provide a positive impetus to forest management by finding effective compromises between forest conservation and forest use in furthering the aims of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate characteristic differences between Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds and conventional funds across 35 different categories, including previously unexplored areas, such as fund manager skills and investment strategies. Further, we examine SRI and conventional funds globally rather than from just one country (e.g., US) or one region (e.g., Europe), covering funds listed in 22 different countries. We also adopt a new Principal Component Analysis (PCA) methodology for matching SRI funds against their conventional counterparts that significantly increases the sample size from previous studies, reducing selection bias and possibly explaining contradictory findings in the prior literature. Contributing to the literature, our findings show that: (i) SRI funds have more diversified portfolios than conventional funds; (ii) SRI funds have lower cash holdings while investing more in US equities; and (iii) SRI fund managers charge a smaller fee and are more successful in managing their portfolios. This is reassuring for investors who invest in SRI funds and for the future health and sustainability of the planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One quarter of global energy consumption goes towards meeting transport needs. In Europe, the share of energy for transport is much higher and accounts for about a third. Therefore, it is very important to monitor the sustainable development and progress of the sector. This paper seeks to develop a framework for the sustainability assessment of road transport in EU countries and to evaluate the countries' achievements in the last decade. The research adheres to the provision that the developed framework should be easily applied in future studies. Therefore, significant attention is paid to the selection of indicators and their availability, as well as the selection of the research instrument itself. The multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique TOPSIS has been applied for calculations and countries' ranking, in order to compare countries' achievements in the last decade (2010–2020). The last ten years' analysis allows us to identify the direction of individual countries in developing road transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the article is to assess the role of the green bond market in financing investment activities in the field of energy transition. Attention was focused on the European green bond market, considered the most mature and developed market for assets of this class. Design/methodology/approach: Critical analysis of domestic and foreign scientific achievements regarding the development and importance of the green bond market in the energy transition process. Analysis of secondary data from statistical reports showing the state of development and the degree of use of the green bond market in financing energy transition tasks in 2014-2022. Findings: On the basis of the conducted research, it is concluded that the European green bond market is developing quite dynamically, and its structure is dominated by issues of green bonds intended to finance expenditures supporting the energy transition process. Originality/value: The green bond market - due to its relatively short history of operation, high dynamics of value growth and internal diversification process - is a relatively new object of research in economic sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diversification practices (CDPs) are alternative strategies aimed to achieve sustainable cropping systems and food production overcoming the agro-environmental impacts of conventional cropping systems such as monoculture. Thus, this paper aims to improve the knowledge of implementing CDPs in different European pedoclimatic regions by assessing the economic performance at the farm level. CDPs are compared with conventional cropping systems and clustered in terms of their gross margin (GM) results and variations. Farm-level assessment shows that CDPs provide positive economic results, representing an adaptive management strategy for ecological transition, without compromising economic sustainability. Particularly, the main findings show that (1) the impact of diversification depends more on crop type than on the selected CDPs, (2) most farms exhibited a low GM with low economic impact, and (3) there is a great likelihood that the CDPs facilitate the buildup of more resilient farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is becoming the main character of the financial industry in Europe, especially after the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) 2019/2088, which came into force on March 10th, 2021. However, despite the top‐down indications for disclosing and reporting sustainability practices provided by this new policy, financial actors still lack a comprehensive framework on how to track and measure their social and environmental contributions within the perimeter of this novel institutional context. This paper discusses the implications for financial actors brought by the SDFR and builds a conceptual link with social impact measurement practices. In particular, the article provides a comprehensive framework that identifies strategic approaches and measurement tools for financial actors for building a more sustainable finance, that is a finance focused on the purest dimension of blended value and more attentive to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of food security in the world, including that of Europe and Central Asia (ECA), was highlighted in 2020 by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the fact that the food security status of millions of people in ECA, particularly the most vulnerable and those living in fragile contexts, would deteriorate if swift action was not taken as soon as possible became apparent. Improving cereal yield is the key for the ECA to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 2.1 to end hunger by 2030. Impressive cereal yield growth has been witnessed within the ECA from 1991 to 2020, but there is still significant variation across the five sub-regions. This paper aimed to analyze the evolutionary trends and convergence of cereal yield in countries of the ECA from 1991 to 2020 for four major cereals: wheat, maize, barley and oats. The findings show that there is strong evidence of σ-convergence and absolute and conditional β-convergence for cereal yield in the ECA, which indicates that countries with low yield in the initial stages have totally experienced higher growth rate, and yield in countries farther away from the steady-state have to have faster growth rate to converge to the steady-state. The presence of club convergence is also identified in terms of geographic location and income level, simultaneously. Therefore, cereal yield in the ECA has converged to the whole and to different groups at the same time, which provides some evidence of agricultural technology spillover effect in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy production is necessary for digital society; it is also beneficial for labor market and sustainable development. This paper examines the impact of renewable energy production on unemployment rate by employing panel NARDL-PMG and robust asymmetric quantile regression for European countries from 1991 to 2019. The results reveal that renewable energy production significantly reduced unemployment in European countries in long run. The renewable energy production effect is found significant in the asymmetric model, specifically, in European countries; a positive change in renewable energy production has a negative significant impact on unemployment, and a negative change in renewable energy production has a positive significant impact on unemployment in long run. The GDP, investment, and technology innovation process are found to be triggered in labor market by reducing the unemployment rate in the long run. In addition, the asymmetric effects of renewable energy production on unemployment growth are robust in the different quantile regression. The findings suggest some insightful policy implications for government officials and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper measures environmental efficiency and productivity change to then carry out a decomposition analysis of an environmental efficiency index and a productivity change index. The paper includes a novel comparative assessment to determine the drivers of environmental efficiency and the sources of productivity change of the manufacturing sector in Europe, Asia and the whole world. We explore the capability to convert in an environmentally efficient way, selected inputs into desirable and undesirable outputs. Our estimation results of environmental efficiency confirm that Europe is ahead the world's average. Our analysis shows, however, a slowdown of Europe compared with the productivity growth of Asia. The latter shows a better performance in management capabilities, optimal resource allocation, and economies of scale. The analysis carried out in a second stage using the dynamic effects of the generalized method of moments also shows that the annual growth rate of manufacturing value added and manufacturing exports positively influence the level of environmental efficiency in both Asia and Europe. Therefore, the internationalization and extroversion of manufacturing can be crucial for sustainable development in Europe and Asia. • Benchmarking the strategy for sustainable development in Asia and Europe. • Decomposition of environmental efficiency indices and productivity change. • Effect of manufacturing value added and exports on environmental efficiency. • Benchmarking the manufacturing sector in Asia and Europe. • Showing Asia's best practices and European pillar of industrial restructuring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2010, the European Commission launched the Europe 2020 strategy 'for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth' in the EU. Education is a major pillar of the Europe 2020 strategy due to its long-run impact on economic growth, productivity, and social cohesion. The Europe 2020 strategy established two headline targets on early leavers from education and training and tertiary educational attainment at the EU level. This paper attempts to assess the Europe 2020 strategy for the education pillar in terms of convergence across countries. Despite the fact that every country in the EU has its own national targets in these two headline indicators, progress on the achievement of the Europe 2020 strategy requires convergence. Thus, even if the EU as a whole meets its targets in 2020, the existence of a growing divide between the best and worst performing countries would cast doubt on the prospects of real economic convergence and the sustainability of the process. Our empirical findings reveal the existence of convergence clubs in educational attainment and the early leavers rate, and points towards the idea of multi-speed transitional dynamics in Europe, calling into question the convergence in educational performance in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local currencies represent an alternative to fiat money. They contribute to the development of local communities, primarily by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, which remain fundamental for the economy of every European country. The purpose of the study is to identify both ways and methods focused on supporting the implementation of the concept of sustainable development by the selected local currencies in the area of Europe, analysed in the years 1932-2020. The paper takes the form a descriptive analysis based on the studies covering Polish, Czech, Dutch, German and English source literature as well as the Community Currencies in Action (CCIA) publications, websites of the analysed local currencies and other studies in the field of financial law. The method of comparative analysis was used to examine the similarities and differences in supporting the implementation of the concept of sustainable development. The basic conclusion formulated after conducting the research is the fact that each local currency does support sustainable development in an indirect way. In addition, certain local currencies can be identified, in the case of which the support of sustainable development is the essence of their functioning. The effectiveness of the impact exerted by local currencies on sustainable development depends on the involvement of the creators of these currency systems and the specificity of the existing conditions. The ability to establish partnerships between non-governmental organisations, business entities and public administration may also play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles is the property of Asociacion de Geografos Espanoles 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 European Journal of Applied Economics is the property of Singidunum 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.)

The EU has committed to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Reaching this objective requires massive changes in the region. The biggest challenge is that the green transition happens without sacrificing economic progress and guaranteeing justice and inclusiveness. This pledge implies that every country be capable of addressing the trade-offs between targets while remaining committed towards the common decarbonisation goal. Our paper analyses the success with which countries are carrying out the energy transition. We propose an enhanced hyperbolic distance function and a stochastic frontier analysis approach to model the joint attainment of economic development, environmental sustainability, and energy equity. We apply our model to an unbalanced panel dataset of 29 European countries for the period 2005–2018. Our estimates show that the average performance of the economies has improved over time. The results also highlight the pivotal role of a sustainable economic development with clean energies for both slashing CO 2 emissions and fostering energy equity. Moreover, we find convergence in countries' performance, being this convergence slightly higher for the EU-15 countries compared to the rest. Finally, we show that a higher share of renewable energy sources helps countries that are lagging behind to reach their optimal performance level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land degradation is a complex socio-environmental threat, which generally occurs as multiple concurrent pathways that remain largely unexplored in Europe. Here we present an unprecedented analysis of land multi-degradation in 40 continental countries, using twelve dataset-based processes that were modelled as land degradation convergence and combination pathways in Europe's agricultural (and arable) environments. Using a Land Multi-degradation Index, we find that up to 27%, 35% and 22% of continental agricultural (~2 million km2) and arable (~1.1 million km2) lands are currently threatened by one, two, and three drivers of degradation, while 10–11% of pan-European agricultural/arable landscapes are cumulatively affected by four and at least five concurrent processes. We also explore the complex pattern of spatially interacting processes, emphasizing the major combinations of land degradation pathways across continental and national boundaries. Our results will enable policymakers to develop knowledge-based strategies for land degradation mitigation and other critical European sustainable development goals. This study presents an unprecedented analysis of agricultural land multi-degradation in 40 European countries, using twelve dataset-based processes that were modelled as land degradation convergence and combination pathways across the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain areas have been the testbed for sustainable development models focused on balancing their vulnerability and the value of their natural, cultural, and social resources. In these areas, the continuous adaptative interaction between bio-geophysical and socio-cultural processes assembles Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) characterized by a great diversity of ecosystems and land uses, which provide substantial support for the livelihoods of mountain communities and essential ecosystem services for uplands and lowlands. In this paper, we take value chains to be the operative units of analysis to examine human-natural systems interactions in mountain areas. Value chains mobilize resources and connect actors beyond territorial boundaries and economic sectors to generate economic, environmental, and social values. Strategies for local development of these areas should direct attention to value generation activities and require a systemic, integrated and assets-based approach which explores the potential synergies emerging from the coordination of the diversity of local specificities and considers the opportunities and threats emerging from external sub-systems. This paper proposes a novel comparative framework to characterize value chains contribution to resilient and sustainable development of SESs in mountain areas. This framework is meant for researchers and policy analysts to identify the role value chains might accomplish for a better balance between natural resource conservation and sustainable socio-economic development in European (remote) rural areas. Two mountain food value chains are used to illustrate the framework and test its efficacy. The cases depict two value chain configurations which result in different social, economic and environmental outcomes for the sustainable development of the SES. • Mountain areas provide essential public good and services to rural communities. • Strategies for mountain areas require integrated and assets-based approaches. • The coordination of local specificities and external factors must inspire mountain policies. • Value chains mobilize resources to generate socio-economic and environmental values. • Value chains can balance resources conservation and socio-economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific paper presents a practical research carried out by the authors in order to implement certain concepts of technical nature, so that those interested in this field can become aware of a certain way of exposing the problems regarding the role of technology and autonomous vehicles in the sustainable development of car transportation. According to previous research, it has been found that human error has a share of about 95% in the occurrence of road accidents in Europe, causing thousands of human lives to be taken away annually. Experts in the field say that autonomous vehicles can significantly reduce this percentage and at the same time contribute to increasing road safety. Digital technology also has its advantages and disadvantages. It helps reduce congestion and pollution in road traffic, increases access to mobility for people with disabilities, creates new jobs, brings economic growth, increases safety in road traffic but can also become dangerous when disturbances and malfunctions make their mark on artificial intelligence. We present further a technical and managerial study with engineering nuances, through which readers can look at and understand the concept of sustainable development in a global context, presenting the place, role and current stage of development of the autonomous vehicle in the road transport system. At the end, some conclusions and further research directions in the approached field are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clean technologies and infrastructure for our low-carbon, green future carry intense mineral demands. The ambition remains to recycle and reuse as much as we can; however, newly mined resources will be required in the near term despite the massive improvements in the reuse and recycling of existing end-of-use products and wastes. Growth trends suggest that mining will still play a role after 2050 since the demand for metals will increase as the developing world moves toward a per capita usage of materials comparable to that of the developed world. There are sufficient geological resources to deliver the required mineral commodities, but the need to mine must be balanced with the requirement to tackle environmental and social governance issues and to deliver sustainable development goals, ensuring that outcomes are beneficial for both the people and planet. Currently, the lead time to develop new mines following discovery is around 16 years, and this needs to be reduced. New approaches to designing and evaluating mining projects embracing social, biodiversity, and life cycle analysis aspects are pivotal. New frontiers for supply should include neglected mined wastes with recoverable components and unconventional new deposits. New processing technologies that involve less invasive, lower energy and cleaner methodologies need to be explored, and developing such methodologies will benefit from using nature-based solutions like bioprocessing for both mineral recovery and for developing sustainable landscapes post mining. Part of the new ambition would be to seek opportunities for more regulated mining areas in our own backyard, thinking particularly of old mineral districts of Europe, rather than relying on sources with potentially and less controllable, fragile, and problematic supply chains. The current debate about the potential of mining our deep ocean, as an alternative to terrestrial sources needs to be resolved and based on a broader analysis; we can then make balanced societal choices about the metal and mineral supply from the different sources that will be able to deliver the green economy while providing a net-positive deal for the planet and its people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2018 European bioeconomy strategy sets a new vision for Europe's sustainable development: a transition to regenerative resource usage that embraces circular principles. Similarly, various member states have developed national bioeconomy strategies. To be effective, such strategies require methodologically sound monitoring tools that support the alignment of national and urban policies. Indeed, cities are central to the bioeconomy, mobilizing ever increasing amounts of biogenic materials. To better understand the suitability of national bioeconomy strategies for guiding urban circular bioeconomy transitions, this paper examines the composition, features, and topical coverage of national bioeconomy indicator sets with a threefold analysis: (1) assessment of the integration of circularity principles in the sets and their alignment with existing policy frameworks; (2) appraisal of quality and the fulfillment of the sets' functional purposes; (3) evaluation of the breadth and depth of tackled issues. Of the 27 EU member states, only nine have a dedicated bioeconomy strategy, of which four propose an indicator set. While there is a general lack of sophisticated monitoring, the tools proposed after the publication of the 2018 bioeconomy strategy (Germany and Italy) follow indicator development standards rigorously. They include circularity in their notion of bioeconomy and combine indicators for a comprehensive, substantial, informative and politically relevant analysis. These characteristics strongly improve the potential for alignment and coherence with urban-level bioeconomy monitoring efforts. Although national measuring tools are not intended to cover all urban needs, the findings of this paper give insight into their remaining gaps and highlight improvement pathways for an efficient EU-wide circular bioeconomy transition. [Display omitted] • Most EU national bioeconomy strategies lack sophisticated indicator sets. • National bioeconomy strategies should favor alignment with other policy levels. • Thoroughly developed indicator sets allow targeted answers to environmental change. • Recent strategies follow indicator development standards more rigorously. • Recent indicator sets enable monitoring of urban circular bioeconomy transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a systematic literature review of how market-based instruments can influence the development of sustainable innovation. Our analysis of empirical papers published in selected peer-reviewed journals from 1992 to 2021 shows that contextual factors such as geography and industrial sector impact whether market-based instruments successfully stimulate firms to adopt sustainable innovation. Interestingly, while most of our selected papers on East Asia report positive effects of market-based instruments, about half of the papers on Europe report negative or non-significant effects. Moreover, we appear to uncover a link between the research method they use for analysis and the observed effectiveness of market-based instruments. We reflect on the limitations and bias in current methodological approaches and discuss explanations for our findings, implications for policymakers, and avenues for future research. • We review the effect of market-based instruments on sustainable innovation. • Results from 76 empirical papers show mixed effects. • The observed effect appears to depend on geography and the research method applied. • Instruments appear more effective in East Asia than in Europe. • Reported effectiveness is higher in studies using patent data versus surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]