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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).)

This paper discusses the representation of resource exploitation and consumption in German geography textbooks. The aim of the paper is to contribute to a critical and reflective understanding of the representation of resource-related issues in textbooks by analyzing two scientific debates (resource curse and actor analysis). The paper shows that all studied geography textbooks contribute to a certain degree to awareness raising in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), but references to the everyday life of students are rare. There are only few action-orientated tasks in the frame of resource exploitation and consumption in the studied textbooks. As real-world examples help develop students' critical thinking skills and shape their ideas of sustainable development, these aspects reflect a pedagogical shortcoming.

This study aims to review the scientific papers on Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) published between 2008 and 2020 and reveal changes in the area. This systematic review was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, a systematic review of papers on ECEfS was conducted according to the specified criteria, and all identified studies were evaluated descriptively. In the second stage, interventional research was evaluated, and their results were reviewed. It was seen that qualitative research methods were mostly preferred in the reviewed studies and most of them were conducted with children. It was determined that the most frequently discussed pillar is environmental. Moreover, the number of interventional research studies is limited. The research findings, it is thought that there is a need for future studies that use interventional, experimental and action research methods, holistically addressing pillars of sustainability

This article discusses the challenges and opportunities identified in the implementation of the Citylab project in Latin America during the period of 2015-2018. The project was funded by the Erasmus+ Key action 2 programme of the European Union. The project aims to innovate teaching for sustainability in higher education institutions through Problem Based Learning (PBL). Opposed to traditional teaching methods, the pedagogical approach of PBL is a learner-centred approach that takes a complex problem as point of departure instead of existing established knowledge. Since application of such learning methods is limited in Latin America, the Citylab project attempts to introduce PBL in the existing curricula of 12 Latin American universities through the implementation and development of interdisciplinary Citylab modules focusing on sustainable urban development. Citylab project will be presented. Third, we highlight some critical issues and success factors experienced during the project. The findings of this paper are based on (1) self-reported questionnaires from the partners at the end of 2017; (2) onsite visits by the authors and expert visits; (3) focus groups, interviews and conversations with project leaders of the participating institutions during the project. Depending on the institution, the project results were varying in terms of innovation and upscaling potential. Critical factors were related to the role of the project leader in the organization, the flexibility of the implementation and cultural differences. Internal regulations created both incentives and disincentives for participation. Competitive elements in the project and available resources for equipment can act as stimulators in some cases. The challenge lies moreover in detecting windows of opportunities for change in order to accomplish curriculum reform and by doing so, pursue continuation of the PBL approach after the project's horizon.

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.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to present and compare collective efforts of higher education institutions working through regional networks in introducing and promoting education for sustainable development (ESD) and environmental education (EE) in two most significant EU boarder regions. Efforts to support EE/ESD in higher education are usually undertaken at individual universities and, in some cases, at national level, still remaining very fragmented; therefore, the examples of University networks in the Baltic and the Mediterranean regions are of particular interest and importance. Both regions have regional conventions, protocols and strategies for the relevant seas, bringing EU and neighbouring countries of the regions together for the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development (SD) within which EE and ESD are embedded. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents the driving forces for the establishment, evolution and design of relevant activities of these two networks, making also a few inter-comparisons and recommendations for further improvements. Findings: Both regions, the Baltic and the Mediterranean, have multiple needs and high potential for more efficient linking of SD with higher education. Early enough it was realised that regional networking could stimulate countries and universities towards this task. Two networks were set up: the Baltic University Programme (starting already in 1991) and the Mediterranean Universities Network for SD focusing on ESD (starting in 2007). The paper reviews main activities of the networks together with lessons learned and gives directions for their future operations. Originality/value: This paper is one of the rare case studies related to higher education networking on ESD and demonstrates how networking on ESD, apart from enhancing professional development, supports also SD and promotes cooperation and peace in regions that have a history of frequently turbulent relationships.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the current and potential value of the European Virtual Seminar on Sustainable Development (EVS) as an opportunity for professional development in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for teaching staff at university level. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents and reflects on the specific case of EVS, including its competence-based approach and educational staff roles. Particular attention is paid to the development of ESD competences of tutors through participation in EVS, based on the UNECE (2011) competence framework and supported by the results from a small-scale questionnaire. Three major aspects of EVS as a professional opportunity in ESD are elaborated: EVS as an on-the-job training opportunity, EVS as an international staff mobility opportunity and EVS as an active learning and innovation community. Findings: EVS is an effective opportunity for developing a range of ESD competences, especially for junior university staff. The contribution of EVS to professional development in ESD currently extends to a partnership of ten universities from across Europe, but given its features, the EVS approach has the potential to be adopted at a much larger scale. Possible limitations in scaling up are rigid rules for integration of new courses in curricula and the need to form new EVS-like partnerships. Practical implications: This case study of EVS shows that Web-based, internationally networked courses with a pedagogical approach and design focused on ESD have a large potential in providing effective opportunities for the development of teachers' ESD competences, but to realize this potential, active uptake of the approach by the existing networks for ESD in higher education is needed. Originality/value: The paper presents a promising option to address the observed lack of opportunities within university curricula to acquire and practice ESD competences for teaching staff.

Higher education transformation in the Czech Republic has been aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Czech higher education institutions within the European context, as well as strengthening their role as the main sources of innovation for sustainable development in its economic and social dimensions. This transformation has undergone a turbulent development in last years. The paper elucidates some recent legislative amendments and aims of the Ministry of Education's development plans. We also clarify some research steps that have been undertaken to shed light on the next steps in the transformation. The problem with the reform process is that many systemic undertakings come under pressure from changes in policy cycles, governmental priorities, budgeting, and socio-demographic conditions.

Purpose: This paper aims to explain the development of an online training curriculum to enable students to acquire the transversal competences needed to work on smart cities projects. In this curriculum, a modern approach to the teaching-learning process was applied, suitable for the interdisciplinary and multinational learning challenges that smart cities impose, but within the framework of a university-industry European partnership. Design/methodology/approach: To develop the curriculum, the competences needed for smart cities, common to all disciplines and fields, had to be researched. In addition, real smart cities projects also had to be selected for work following a project-based learning methodology. For both, this study applied the Delphi method, selecting the most relevant ones based on the data obtained by performing a multi-criteria decision analysis. Findings: The procedure followed for the identification of transversal competences in a field, the design of an innovative online training program and the results of the first edition of the program are discussed. Research limitations/implications: The processes that were developed, both to detect the most relevant transversal competences and to design the online training program, could be extrapolated to other areas. Moreover, it is very likely that the competences detected in this work could also be extrapolated, for the most part, to interdisciplinary teams. Originality/value: To date, there is no European initiative addressing the challenges of smart cities that requires a major adjustment in higher education, in the relationship between universities and all the mechanisms of lifelong learning with the industry related to smart cities. This work is a pioneer in this regard.

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]

Faculty are key to bringing about 'bottom-up' change for sustainability education. Yet, research is still needed on the backgrounds and experiences of change agents in universities and the challenges they face. This study focuses on the marketing discipline, a field fraught with epistemological tensions in seeking to integrate sustainability, mainly revolving around profit maximisation and continuous consumption while living on a planet with finite resources. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability marketing academics in Australasia, Europe and North America. The contribution of this paper lies in the development of a sustainability educator typology linking why and how integration occurs. The sustainability 'transformer' wishes to engage in transformational learning, changing student mindsets, the 'thinker' wants to encourage critical thinking to bring about the discussion of worldviews, while the 'actioner' hopes 'learning by doing' (community projects) will provide an appreciation for sustainability. We discuss implications for those disciplines which struggle with philosophical tensions and colleague resistance to the integration of sustainability in the form of suggestions for professional development (i.e. creation of positive nature experiences) and pedagogical approaches (critical, transformative and community-service learning).

Climate change is a pressing issue that has a negative impact on the planet but also on public health. The healthcare sector contributes to environmental pollution, while it aims to improve health. Therefore, its environmental sustainability should be improved. This study focuses on the governance of sustainability in hospitals, since hospitals are the largest operational units in the healthcare system and can therefore make a large impact. To successfully implement and embed sustainable development through the hospital, the right governance approach is needed. This systematic literature review aims to give an overview of governance related factors that influence the implementation of sustainable development in hospitals in Europe. Following PRISMA guidelines, 2426 papers were identified and screened of which 30 were included in the analysis. In these papers, four governance related factors were identified to be important for the implementation of sustainable development in the hospital: knowledge, involvement from management, commitment from healthcare professionals, and technology use. These factors currently mostly form barriers in the implementation process. Future research is recommended on how to practically deploy these factors as facilitators for implementation. Since both involvement from management and commitment from healthcare professionals are crucial factors, further research should look into combining the input of these stakeholders in policy development., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts of interest to declare. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

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).)

Purpose: This paper aims to reflect education for sustainable development (ESD) principles and their manifestation in higher education (HE) in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries which share a similar policy situation owing to post-socialist transition processes. Design/methodology/approach: Observations from comprehensive mapping of ESD in professional development of university educators in CEE within the University Educators for Sustainable Development project provided the initial input for this research. To justify the findings, a questionnaire was distributed among informed respondents and assessed qualitatively. ESD success factors were identified to support the interpretation of the results within the overall HE policy context. Findings: Opportunities for educators' competence development are lower and less diverse in the CEE region than in other parts of Europe. Historical reasons and the policy context may contribute to this situation; the most important factor being the underfinanced HE sector which is currently undergoing profound structural transformation. Research limitations/implications: The sample of respondents is not representative; they are informed experts in ESD. The results are of an illustrative nature; different sources of information are combined to draw a broad picture. Social implications: University educators in CEE have considerable know-how and experience in ESD and thus represent significant potential for the development of this field under more favourable conditions. Originality/value: This research is based on more than two years of cooperation within a broad partnership of European universities; it represents a contribution to the debate from a specific regional perspective. It shows opportunities for critical, creative and participatory approaches in HE, analyses current trends in historical and policy contexts and provides impulses for theoretically and practically oriented efforts.

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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).)

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]

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]

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.)

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]

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]

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the state of the art in Green Leases and Green Leasing in theory and practice, while also identifying how the roles and motivations of the stakeholders of "owner/landlord", "lessee" and "facilities management" are different in a building that uses Green Leasing and Green Leases, as opposed to the one without. Design/methodology/approach: Through existing literature and existing case studies from 1995 to the present day, this paper will identify the state of the art of Green Leases and Green Leasing and the extent to which literature-based discussions have played out in their practical application in the real estate sector. The roles of key stakeholders will be analysed and then compared to the interactions and roles identified in a theoretical model that describes the same stakeholders but from a more traditional stakeholder perspective. This will be achieved through using literature from journal papers mostly from the disciplines of built environment, facilities management, finance, investment, law, management and real estate. Findings: The literature and case studies found in literature demonstrate a gradual move towards advancing Green Lease adoption and development. While the roles of key stakeholders do see a change in Green Leased buildings in terms of, for example, changing competencies for facilities managers (FMs) and more user engagement with their buildings sustainability, the literature indicated most of the changes are realised through a strengthening of existing interactions already evident in buildings without a Green Lease or Green Leasing. Originality/value: This paper provides a state of the art review on the development of Green Leasing and Green Leases in theory and practice from a stakeholder perspective. It provides possibility to expand further on the changing roles of these stakeholders in Green buildings, which in turn could also positively affect the further development of Green Leases themselves, as well as sustainable certification methodologies such as Europe's leading certification "Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method" (BREEAM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imperative conditions for sustainable development both in Europe and around the world, waste collection is a fundamental goal, one way to achieve this is to develop circular economies. In this context, the paper analyzes the evolutions of the recycling rate of packaging waste by type of packaging in Romania compared to the 27 states of the European Union, as well as to other states in Europe. The analysis revealed that, among the 30 states included in the analysis, Romania moved from 28th place in 2006 to 23rd place in 2018, but is still quite far from the European Union average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

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 paper brings into the spotlight the concept of smart city, emerging from major economic, social and environmental considerations and developed to provide new possibilities for the inhabitants, but also to limit the impact of human activities on the environment. Thus, the authors initiate a presentation of attempts to define the smart city, highlighting the six dimensions on its development in a sustainable context. Moreover, as one of the greatest challenges of mankind today is to ensure the increasing demand for energy by maintaining the balance with the environment, the paper highlights aspects regarding the use of a form of renewable energy, known as bioenergy. This is one of the key factors for ensuring the sustainable development of smart cities and beyond. Taking into account that smart cities have a smart energy approach, in the last part of the paper the authors present ways to integrate bioenergy into the functioning of such urban areas in Europe and build a map of smart European cities which make use of bioenergy in the benefit of population's consumption. [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]

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]

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]

Industrial policies are currently the focus of resurgent interest, in particular in the context of seeking to stimulate innovation. This interest has developed alongside a gradual shift in industrial policy-making capabilities to regional and local governments, such that the corresponding policies require analysis on multiple geographical scales. This paper introduces a special issue on territorial industrial development policies that are directed towards stimulating innovation. The issue has its roots in the 11th annual conference of the European Network of Industrial Policy (EUNIP), an academic network with specific interests in the analysis of industrial development and public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a special issue of the periodical discussing the governance of cross-locality networks as a determinant of local economic development. Growing awareness of the potential for cross-locality networks of business enterprises has coincided with the relationship between European economic success and the capacity of particular localities to achieve 'competitiveness.' Openness in terms of knowledge and information exchange, innovation co-operation and production linkages are crucial for the sustainable development of business enterprises.