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The concern to create cleaner and more ecosystem-friendly production processes has extended to the parking sector in Spain. Since the creation of the multi-level institutional framework for sustainable mobility management (mainly composed of the Infrastructure, Transport and Housing Plan 2012–2024, the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, Law 9/2006, and Law 9/2017), environmental considerations, including sustainable management certificates, have occupied a privileged place in public procedures for the management of parking structures and regulated surface parking facilities. Although there have been previous academic studies on the design and implementation of SUMPs and the growth of the parking sector, this article is novel in that it analyzes the market concentration of the parking sector in a scenario where climate change policies are crucial and the importance of sustainability certificates takes on a new meaning. Therefore, the objective of this article is to analyze whether the growing importance of environmental aspects has led to an increase in the concentration level of the parking sector in Spain. For this purpose, several concentration and stability indices are calculated. The results show that, although there are additional factors, the certification of a cleaner activity is relevant in the process of public tenders in the sector, which has served to strengthen the dominance of the most prominent companies in the sector that are in possession of environmental certificates. This shows that environmental policies can also have negative effects on the market, so the results of this analysis are of great value to policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assets under management involved in socially responsible investing almost trebled from 2007 to 2011 in Europe, led by pension funds. Such growth has encouraged the implementation of socially responsible activities by companies, which have improved their cleaner production methods in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, total water used, energy consumption and waste generated, among others. Integrating environmental, social and governance policies for cleaner production into the investment strategy of pension plans could increase their cost deriving from the screening process and/or increase the benefits, because socially responsible companies in which pension funds invest might achieve a better financial performance than traditional companies, which could in turn affect pension plans' financial performance. For this reason, the aim of this paper is two-fold: firstly, to examine the financial performance of Spanish pension plans compared to market benchmarks taking into account the category to which they belong, and the socially responsible business strategy implemented by the manager; and secondly, to analyze whether differences in financial performance exist between solidarity pension plans, ethical pension plans and traditional pension plans. To do this, we have a sample of 651 individual system pension plans. Using these sample data, we implement the robust random effects panel data methodology. The results show that ethical pension plans, which invest in companies that improve their cleaner production methods, achieve a similar financial performance to conventional pension plans, while solidarity pension plans significantly outperform conventional pension plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The focus of this study is to analyze the existence of Management Systems in the hospitality industry in Spain. This will be undertaken from the point of view of the organizational context – especially as far as environmental management is concerned – considering also its scope, implementation sequence and possible integration of different MSs. In order to study the aforementioned aspects, information from 294 hotels was used. The findings reveal differences with regard to previous research regarding other geographical areas and industries for adoption patterns and for integration of the management systems. Thus, this study contributes to a better understanding of the specific needs of the hotel industry for hotel management, consultancy firms, auditing firms and policy makers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The literature on the circular economy at the micro-level has mainly focused on the analysis of the circular business model and implementation of different circular-related practices, but the process of adoption by businesses of the circular economy is still under investigation. Therefore, through a study in the region of Aragón, Spain, the main circular economy-related activities implemented by a sample of 52 businesses are classified into four levels as an approach to the change process that firms can undergo to adopt the circular economy. In summary, it can be stated that circular economy-related activities are being introduced by businesses progressively, from a minor activity to a greater number of activities, but that these activities do not respond to the incremental closure of material loops within the circular economy framework. The applied indicators enhance the knowledge on the environmental management accounting applied to the CE for the reporting and the relations with stakeholders. In addition, the measurement of the introduction of the circular economy in different businesses is relevant for practitioners and for policy makers, in response to the institutional initiatives for the promotion of the circular economy at the territorial level. Image 10857 • The introduction of the circular economy in firms is progressive. • An integrated indicator is needed to measure the corporate circular economy. • The circular economy can be measured through the activities conducted by firms. • The sustainability reporting must include the progressive material loops closing. • Environmental accounting provides tools to measure the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]