Sustainable Development Levels and Convergence Patterns in EU Countries in 2015, 2019 and 2023

Assessing the sustainable development level of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) is of great significance for China’s sustainable development. With rich natural resources, a fragile ecological environment, and a relatively low level of economic development, the QTP is typical of regions in China where conflict between socio-economic development and environmental protection is prominent. However, there is a lack of assessment of spatiotemporal progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the QTP. To address this gap in knowledge, cluster analysis was used to quantitatively assess spatiotemporal changes in SDG indicators and sustainable development levels in different counties of the QTP from 2000 to 2020. The results show that the sustainable development level of the QTP is increasing; the growth rate of the sustainable development in 2010–2020 was three times that of 2000–2010. The level of sustainable development in the eastern region is significantly higher than that in the western region. However, while the level of sustainable environmental development is high, the levels of sustainable social and economic development remain low. Certain factors, including precipitation, slope, population density, and cultivated area, are strongly positively correlated with the sustainable development of the QTP. The findings of our study can serve as a valuable reference for other jurisdictions seeking to evaluate their evolution towards the SDGs.

Today «business-education-science» coopetition is an innovative approach to achieving sustainable development goals on different levels of economy and in various spheres of human life. In particular, there is great potential in the context of the fourth, eighth, and ninth sustainable development goals. That is why the article aims to analyze key trends and empirically prove and formalize the impact of «business-education-science» coopetition on sustainable development. The key directions of multidisciplinary study on «business-education-science» coopetition for sustainable development are determined by bibliometric analysis of 6035 documents for 38 years using the Scopus database tools and VOSviewer software. The obtained results allowed to form 7 clusters of multidisciplinary studies on this issue. A comparative analysis of Ukraine and the top 10 countries' levels of sustainable development, innovation development, and business-education competition were conducted. Besides a dynamic analysis of sustainable and innovation development in Ukraine, a dynamic analysis of business and education coopetition in Ukraine, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden was made for 2012-2021. The sample from the top 10 countries in the Sustainable Development Rating in 2021 (Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland, Ireland, and Estonia) are formed for 10 past years (2012-2021) to investigate the relationship between the level of «business – education – science» coopetition and the level of sustainable development, in particular the scores of University-Industry Collaboration Indicator and Sustainable Development Index. The Shapiro-Wilk test for normal data and Pearson / Spearman correlation analysis was used at the first stage of empirical confirmation of the hypothesis about the impact of «business – education – science» coopetition on sustainable development. In the second stage, the regression model of system dynamic panel-data estimation (The Arellano–Bover / Blundell–Bond model) is built to formalize and determine this impact. Then Arellano-Bond test for zero autocorrelation in first-differenced errors is made to show that there is no present evidence that the model is misspecified. It is proved that if the level of «business – education – science» coopetition (on the example of the score of the University-Industry Collaboration Indicator) increases by 1%, the level of sustainable development (in particular, the score of the Sustainable Development Index) will increase on 0,04% too. The obtained results could be useful for business, education, science institutions, and governance for further research and strengthening sustainable and innovation development levels.

A framework for achieving urban sustainable development goals (SDGs): Evaluation and interaction

Incorporating ecosystem services to assess progress towards sustainable development goals: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

With the increase in human activities and the acceleration of urbanization, over-exploitation of natural resources has led to a decline in ecosystem services (ESs), subsequently affecting the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). As the key ecological zone of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the stability and enhancement of ESs in the Hehuang Valley are crucial for achieving SDGs and biodiversity conservation. This study quantifies nine SDGs for the Hehuang Valley in the last twenty years. Four ecological models were utilized to compute key ESs: net primary productivity (NPP), water yield, soil retention, and sand fixation. Panel data were analyzed using a coupling coordination model to quantify the relationship between ESs and sustainable development level (SDL) in each county. Additionally, the Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model was employed to examine the correlation between ESs and SDL. The results indicate the following: (1) During the period, NPP and water yield first increased and then decreased. The capacity for soil retention and sand fixation showed an overall increase, highlighting substantial variability among counties in their ability to deliver these ESs. (2) The SDL of counties in the Hehuang Valley increased, with Xining City showing slightly higher SDL than other counties. (3) The overall coupling coordination degree among NPP, water yield, soil retention, sand fixation, and SDL in the Hehuang Valley exhibited an upward trend in the last twenty years. SDL demonstrated the highest coordination degree with NPP, followed by soil retention, water yield, and sand fixation. (4) Most counties in the Hehuang Valley exhibited a lag in SDL relative to NPP, water yield, and soil retention in the last twenty years. In the early stage, sand fixation and SDL were primarily lagging in SDL, while in the late stages, sand fixation lagged behind SDL. (5) During the period, there was an increasing negative correlation observed between the four ESs and SDL. The positive contribution of NPP and sand fixation in some counties gradually shifted to a negative effect, and the negative effect of water yield and soil retention on SDL intensified. The impact of human activities on ecosystem function hindered local SDL. This study offers scientific theoretical backing and practical recommendations for promoting SDL and biodiversity conservation in the Hehuang Valley.

Sustainable agriculture is a vital part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. While tremendous achievements in the agriculture sector in China have been made, a series of problems are challenging the sustainable development of the agriculture management and agriculture economy. In this paper, the level of sustainable agriculture development was evaluated by constructing an entropy-TOPSIS model. The sustainable agricultural development level evaluation system was subsequently established, including 4 first-level criteria (economy, society, environment and resources) and 25 second-level criteria. Corresponding data on 13 cities in Jiangsu Province, China (from 2016 to 2019) were collected. Moreover, the main obstacle factors restricting the sustainable agriculture development level were analyzed through the obstacle diagnosis model. The Tobit regression model was established for an empirical study on its influencing factors. The results showed that the agricultural sustainable development level in Jiangsu Province is going upward, and the development level gaps between various prefecture-level cities are narrowing; the output values in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery services, per capita disposable income of farmers and other aspects are the main obstacle factors for agricultural sustainable development. The research objective of this paper was to improve the index system of agricultural sustainable development, analyze the influencing mechanism and obstacle factors, and explore the promotion path of agricultural sustainable development in Jiangsu by optimizing the spatial layout. The main innovation of this paper was bringing the five interrelated and interactive dimensions of “economy, society, environment, ecology, and resources” into the same analytical framework to analyze the concept and connotation of agricultural sustainable development.

Purpose. To develop a methodological approach to assessing the level of sustainable development of a machine-building enterprise. Methodology. To achieve this goal, a set of general scientific and special methods was used: induction and deduction, logical generalization, system analysis and formalization of complex structures, economic and mathematical modeling. Findings. A methodical approach to assessing the level of the enterprises sustainable development is proposed, which involves determining the integrated indicators of development of its subsystems, the overall integrated and four-dimensional indicator of sustainable development. On the basis of integrated indicators of economic, environmental, social and energy development, calculated using BSC-model indicators, a four-dimensional indicator of the level of the enterprises sustainable development is formed, for which it is necessary to compare the degree of achievement of the goals of sustainable development of the enterprise with the previous year. This indicator allows determining further scenarios of enterprise development in accordance with the feasibility of attracting new resources and redistributing them between subsystems. This methodological approach was tried at a machine-building enterprise; the results obtained allowed us to conclude that in 2020 it was possible to achieve more goals of sustainable development in the economic and energy subsystems. The value of the integrated indicator points to a more sustainable development of the enterprise in 2020 than in 2019, the growth of the integrated indicator of sustainable development of the enterprise is due to the economic and energy subsystems. Originality. The methodical approach to the complex assessment of the sustainable development level of machine-building enterprises is improved on the basis of the developed integrated indicators of economic, ecological, social and energy development, which, unlike the existing ones, allows determining the degree of achievement of goals for each subsystem of sustainable development; identifying ways of resources redistribution between the sustainable development subsystems on the basis of a four-dimensional indicator of the sustainable development level in order to use them most effectively; outlining priorities for further development. Practical value. The use of the proposed approach will give companies the opportunity to determine the degree of achievement of goals for each sustainable development subsystem, ways to redistribute resources between them in order to most effectively use them, to form scenarios for further development of machine-building enterprises.

Agriculture is increasingly facing major challenges, such as climate change, the scarcity of natural resources, environmental degradation, labor shortages, and changing societal demands. To meet these challenges, there is an urgent need to move towards more sustainable agricultural practices. The aim of this research was to construct the evaluation index system for the sustainable development of tropical agriculture and evaluate the sustainable development level of tropical agriculture in China’s Hainan Province from 1988 to 2020. Eighteen indicators were selected from the four aspects of agricultural resources, the ecological environment, economic conditions, and social conditions to establish an evaluation index system for the sustainable development of tropical agriculture. A combination of the Coefficient of Variation Method (CVM) and the Index Weighted Method (IWM) was applied to evaluate the comprehensive index of the sustainable development of tropical agriculture. The results of our research indicate that there were significant differences in the level of sustainable agricultural development in Hainan in 2020 across counties and cities, with a downward trend from the central mountainous areas to the surrounding coastal areas. The cities and counties of Wuzhishan, Lingshui, and Qiongzhong had a high level of sustainable development, while Sanya, Dongfang, Wenchang, Qionghai, Ding’an, Danzhou, and Haikou had a low level. From 1988 to 2020, the sustainable development level of tropical agriculture in the province gradually improved, with the highest improvement value of the sustainability index (SI) in Wuzhishan, Wanning, Chengmai, Linggao, and Lingshui and the lowest improvement value of the SI in Baisha, Haikou, and Sanya. Indicators such as the use of agricultural mechanization, construction of farmland infrastructure, improvement of crop productivity, investment in science and technology, and investment in agricultural insurance played a positive role in promoting sustainable development. However, the high use of fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural films per unit area and the increase in agricultural input prices were not conducive to the sustainable development of tropical agriculture. It is suggested to strengthen the construction and protection of farmland quality, improve the farmland ecological environment, promote agricultural scientific and technological innovation, and formulate feasible policies for the sustainable development of tropical agriculture. The results provide a basic theoretical and methodological reference for achieving Hainan’s sustainable development goals and for assessing the sustainable development capacity of tropical agriculture in similar regions.

The localization of SDGs in China: System construction, status assessment and development reflection

To Achieve a Sustainable Blue Future, Progress Assessments Must Include Interdependencies between the Sustainable Development Goals

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Requires Transdisciplinary Innovation at the Local Scale

In 2021, China’s power generation industry took the lead in launching carbon emissions trading, ushering in a major challenge and opportunity for the sustainable development of power enterprises. Assessing the sustainable development performance of power enterprises has become the key to the sustainable financing and development of power enterprises in this new developmental stage. Based on the integration of the long-term UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) evaluation indicators of listed companies, this paper constructed an index system for the evaluation of the sustainable development of electric power companies consisting of 75 indicators corresponding to four dimensions: economic, social, environmental, and governance. Given the vision for the sustainable development of electric power companies, the assessment thresholds for each indicator were determined by the practical exploration and typical progress assessment of SDGs. Aggregate assessment and dashboard assessment techniques for the sustainable development of electric power companies were established, and we conducted a robustness analysis of the evaluation system. The results revealed the following details: (1) The disclosure of sustainable development indicators of Chinese electricity enterprises was 94.13%, among which the four dimensions of economy, environment, society, and governance were 99.89%, 82.62%, 94.00%, and 97.71%, respectively. (2) The aggregate sustainable development index for Chinese power companies was 59.34, and the environment, society, governance, and economic scores were 62.10, 64.49, 76.79, and 41.37, respectively. (3) Based on the results of the dashboard, investment in innovation, public welfare, emissions of greenhouse gases, and economic sustainability are the key factors limiting the achievement of sustainable development. (4) The framework’s robustness analysis showed that the results of the evaluation of this paper’s indicator framework fell within a reasonable range of variation using different ranking and weighting systems. Chinese electricity companies should comprehensively control costs and expenses, strengthen capital management, expand funding channels, focus on enhancing R&D capabilities, enhance their scientific and technological innovation management systems, and improve their disclosure of information about greenhouse gas emissions, resource consumption and use, and employee issues to improve the overall level of sustainable development. The evaluation system developed in this paper further enriches the evaluation of corporate sustainability performance. This paper explored the application of the SDG index and dashboard construction methods at the national level to the evaluation of sustainability at the corporate level, providing a clear picture of corporate performance with respect to various dimensions, issues, criteria, and indicators.

Hainan Island in southern China has strong ecological systems and natural resources relevant to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The island has been focusing on economic development and building a national park and a free trade port to improve the economy and people’s lives. However, current research on Hainan’s SDGs has mainly focused on urban-related indicators (SDG11), resulting in an incomplete evaluation across SDGs. It is necessary to establish a comprehensive assessment framework that incorporates a greater number of indicators for Sustainable Development Goals in Hainan. Based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Assessment System and the current situation in Hainan, a localized study has been conducted on indicators for Sustainable Development Goals 1–4 and 6–11. Our analysis of target scores, SDG scores, and SDG index scores shows the following: (1) The sustainable development of Hainan Island has significantly improved since 2015, with SDGs 1, 3, and 10 showing the largest improvement; (2) most cities and counties have increased their SDG index scores, with Sanya City replacing Haikou City as the top scorer in 2021; and (3) the sustainable development levels are unevenly distributed, with high levels in the north and south, stable levels in the east, and low levels in the central and western regions. Policies, such as the “Haicheng Wending” comprehensive economic circle, are promoting integration between cities and counties. The study provides a localized evaluation framework and methodology for SDGs assessment at the regional level that can serve as a reference for similar work on sustainable development in similar regions and tropical islands worldwide.

Sustainable urban development is a dynamic, continuous, and long-term process. However, only a few studies have considered the continuous changes in urban development levels over time. From a novel perspective of multivariate functional data, this study aims to analyze the sustainable development capability of cities through dynamic evaluation, and to explore the differences in the level of sustainable development of cities. Firstly, a sustainable urban development evaluation system with 18 indicators across the economic, social, and environmental indices is established. Secondly, based on the index system, an entropy weight method for functional data is developed to assign weights to the indicators. The time weight is used to consider the effects of missing values. Then, a new method of urban development level clustering is proposed. Thirdly, the differences in sustainable urban development levels among the 33 cities in China from 2005 to 2019 are analyzed, and the cities are separated into 5 categories. The results show that the coordinated development of the economy, society, and environment can promote the sustainable development of cities. The overall level of sustainable development in Chinese cities is not high, and significant differences are observed in sustainable urban development. Notable differences and significant imbalances are observed between the sustainable development level of the cities in the central and western regions of China and the cities in the eastern coastal areas. Finally, relevant conclusions and suggestions are proposed to improve sustainable urban development.

Based on new data from 2006–2015, we used the entropy method and panel data regression to analyze the spatial difference and influences on the level of sustainable development within China’s Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The main findings are: (1) During the 2006–2015 period, the sustainable development level of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration was generally low, with 69% of its cities in a phase of low-level sustainable development; however, notable spatial variation in the levels of urban sustainable development occurred mainly along the “Hu-Ning-He-Hang-Yong development belt”, with a spatial distribution that was “high in the middle and low on all sides”. (2) The industrial structure, export dependence, and land-use efficiency all had positive impacts, whereas economic growth had a negative impact, on the sustainable development level of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. (3) For the super large city, export dependence positively impacted the urban sustainable development level; for the large city, both export dependence and land-use efficiency had a positive influence, while the regulation of government had a negative influence on the urban sustainable development level; for the medium-sized city, export dependence and land-use efficiency positively influenced the urban sustainable development level, but economic growth and the regulation by government negatively influenced it.