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Purpose: This study aims to explore when and under what conditions state-owned enterprises (SOEs) become important players in orchestrating the global climate action and what their roles are as domestic or international (de)carbonizers. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper that aims to advance understanding of the role of SOEs in addressing the global climate challenge. The authors build on the institutional theory to capture the importance of home-country climate regulation mechanisms and advance knowledge on the internationalization of SOEs. The authors review the literature on the institutional boundaries that shape the environmental activities of firms at home and abroad and develop the argument on the influence of home country institutions and internationalization on the role of SOEs in the global climate agenda. Findings: In this study, the authors elaborate the SOEs' climate action matrix and offer three propositions based on the fact that SOEs' environmental strategies are driven by the interests of the state as owner and the scope of SOEs' internationalization. First, the authors propose that the level of home country's climate policy ambition explains SOEs' stance on climate action. Second, scope of internationalization explains SOEs' stance on climate action. Third, the progressive/increasing involvement of SOEs in climate action enhances the country's climate stance. Originality/value: The authors incorporate the climate argument into international business (IB) studies of SOEs' internationalization, a novel approach that helps us to advance the knowledge on the complex issue of corporate climate action. The authors argue for a dynamic and reciprocal relationship between home/host countries and SOEs' climate engagement. In doing this, the authors contribute to the IB research and policy agenda by exploring SOEs' engagement in advancing the global climate agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Humanity and all life depend on the natural environment of Planet Earth, and that environment is in acute crisis across land, sea and air. One of a set of commentaries on how service can address the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs), the authors focus on environmental goals SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 14 (life below water) and SDG 15 (life on land). This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework that incorporates the natural environment into transformative services. Design/methodology/approach: The authors trace the evolution of service thinking about the natural environment, from a stewardship perspective of the environment as a set of resources to be managed, through an acknowledgement of nonhuman organisms as actors that can participate in service exchange, towards an emergent concept of ecosystems as integrating human social actors and other biological actors who engage fully in value co-creation. Findings: The authors derive a framework integrating human and other life forms as co-creating actors, drawing on shared natural resources to achieve mutualism, where each actor can have a net benefit from the relationship. Future research questions are posited that may help services research address SDGs 13–15. Originality/value: The framework integrates ideas from environmental ecosystem literature to inform the nature of ecosystems. By integrating environmental actors and ecological insights into the understanding of service ecosystems, service scholars are well placed to make unique contributions to the global challenge of creating a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to evidence the perspectives of information professionals in the UK in relation to environmental sustainability and climate action to catalyse collaborative action. Design/methodology/approach: This study takes an interpretivist stance. Research into archive and record management literature was conducted to establish key themes on climate change within the information sector. These themes informed research questions included in a survey cascaded to UK archivists, conservators, records managers and cultural heritage professionals via national mailing lists. The results were then codified and analysed. The study had research ethics and data protection approval from University College London. Findings: Using professional ethics as a framework, this paper argues that climate action can protect records from the impact of climate change, ensuring future access. The information professionals surveyed were motivated by duties to preservation and access to mitigate the impact of the information sector on the environment. However, sector-specific climate action, such as introducing passive storage conditions or decreasing collection sizes, is limited by insufficient resources, organisational hierarchies and cultures, sector support and a perceived conflict with the duty to preservation. Originality/value: To date, there is a growing body of literature from other countries on archival practices and the natural environment. However, the UK in general and the records management sector in particular, have not yet fully engaged in the discussion. This study reviews these knowledge gaps for the UK information sector to appropriately respond to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To combat climate change and safeguard a liveable future, humanity needs fundamental and rapid social change. The purpose of this paper is to show, why and how climate communication can play an important role to nurture the public engagement needed for this change, and to explore, what higher education for sustainability can learn from climate communication. Design/methodology/approach: The scientific evidence base on climate communication for effective public engagement is summarised into 10 key principles, including "basing communication on people's values", "conscious use of framing" and "turning concern into action". Based on the author's perspective and experience in the university context, implications are explored for sustainability in higher education. Findings: The study provides suggestions for teaching (e.g. complement information with consistent behaviour by the lecturer, integrate local stories and provide students with basic skills to communicate climate effectively), for research (e.g. make teaching for effective engagement the subject of applied research), for universities' third mission to contribute to sustainable development in the society (e.g. provide climate communication trainings to empower local stakeholders) and greening the campus (develop a proper engagement infrastructure, e.g. by a university storytelling exchange on climate action). Originality/value: The study provides an up-to-date overview of climate communication research, which is in itself original. This evidence base holds interesting learnings for institutions of higher education, and the link between climate communication and universities has so far not been explored comprehensively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose A management accounting perspective that underscores a quest for reducing conventionally appraised costs, negative output costs as well as heightened eco-efficiency has been used in pursuit of the study’s two main study objectives. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, the study seeks to further understanding of the relationship between product output volume, carbon costs, and CO2 emission volume in carbon-intensive firms. Second, it identifies factors affecting climate change abatement strategies pursued by these firms. Heightening appreciation of the climate change challenge, combined with minimal CO2 emission research undertaken from a cost management perspective, underscores the significance of the study.Design/methodology/approach A triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data collected from Slovenian firms that operate in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme has been deployed.Findings CO2 polluting firms exhibit differing carbon cost structures that result from distinctive drivers of carbon consumption (product output vs capacity level). Climate change abatement strategies also differ across carbon-intensive sectors (energy, manufacturing firms transforming non-fossil carbon-based materials, and other manufacturing firms) but are relatively homogeneous within them.Practical implications From a managerial perspective, the study demonstrates that carbon efficiency improvements are generally not effective in triggering corporate CO2 emission reduction when firms pursue a growth strategy.Social implications Global warming signifies that CO2 emissions constitute a social problem. The study has the potential to raise societal awareness that the causality of the manufacturing sector’s CO2 emissions is complex. Further, the study highlights that while more efficient use of environmental resources is a prerequisite of enhanced ecological sustainability, in isolation it fails to signify improved ecological sustainability in manufacturing operations.Originality/value The paper has high originality as it reports one of the first management accounting studies to explore the distinction between combustion- and process-related CO2 emissions. In addition, it provides distinctive support for the view that eco-efficiency is more consistent with the economic than the environmental pillar of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to report on a case study concerning the development of sustainable energy partnerships involving engineering faculty and undergraduate students at the University of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Design/methodology/approach: Faculty were motivated to seek partnerships with public and private entities in the local area for the purposes of realising mutually beneficial outcomes. The educational programmes of future engineers, when sustainability is considered, are analysed. Education for sustainable development has to include multidisciplinary active learning as a desirable competence. Active learning can be obtained when problems are based on real life because they are most motivating for students. Constructive alignment component is obtained because learning objectives are linked with learning activities related to the needs of public and private entities. Findings: Through the provision of technical expertise, the adoption and success of renewable energy projects was facilitated on the one hand, while final year undergraduate students benefited in terms of hands-on experience in helping to bring these projects to life, drawing on the knowledge and skills they had acquired throughout their degree programmes. These works are addressed to students by faculty members with the aim of developing and promoting renewable energies. Outcomes from partnerships surpassed expectations; not only were different benefits realised as were initially hoped for, but this success led to partnerships being sustained over time. Originality/value: Fossil fuel-based energy systems are associated with a myriad of negative environmental and social externalities. It is difficult to overstate the importance of transitioning towards alternative low carbon energy sources for climate change mitigation which are less centralised compared to the status-quo for energy security and energy independence. By actively facilitating the development of decentralised renewable energy sources in Catalonia, the projects reported herein are of significant value in social environmental and educational terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study identified the attitudes and behaviors of college students regarding their advocacy for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Specifically, perceptions of climate change were assessed and advocacy activities were identified for climate change and/or other topics. Design/methodology/approach: Using convenience sampling, students (n = 440) from three universities in the Midwest, the USA, completed surveys assessing their level of agreement with activities related to civic engagement, climate change and policy. Semantic differential scales focused on "learning about climate change," "advocating for climate change mitigation" and "advocating for climate change adaptation." Three open-ended questions were used to identify student experiences with civic engagement and/or service-learning, as well as topics in which they advocate and how they advocate. Findings: Regarding advocacy in general, over 50% of the sample did not advocate for any topic, with 24.5% of students stating they advocated for the environment/climate change. Students who identified as female, democratic and 1st or 2nd year in school were more likely to be engaged with environmental advocacy. Regarding civic engagement, seniors were more actively engaged with their communities and also more likely to vote in local, state and national elections. Research limitations/implications: Time of data collection was a potential limitation with schools conducting data collection at different time periods. Students who identified more progressive politically were also more likely to participate in the study. Originality/value: While research exists regarding student civic engagement levels, this research project identified ways in which students engaged in advocacy, identifying potential links with civic engagement and enhanced participation in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]