Concept Of Sustainable Development Research Articles

The economy and the environment in debate: limits and potential for a new scenario for sustainable development and objectives

Objective: This article is a theoretical essay that presents the limits and potential of the economy in internalizing social and environmental costs, in order to try to recover the reflections on the discussion of the relationship between the economy, the environment and sustainable development. Method: In terms of methodological aspects, the research is classified as a bibliographical study, in which the source of data was obtained through secondary data, periodicals, books and other documents, the aim of which was to seek a deeper discussion of sustainable development. Results: For a long time in human history, economics has sought to achieve the status of a science through mathematical models. However, economics is immersed in the social dimension and the environmental dimension, as it uses natural resources as an input for the production process and human activities. Conclusions: In addition, it presents the trajectory of the concept of sustainable development and the accumulated contributions from world conferences to a reflection on eco-development as a new path for balanced economic growth. This essay points out that it is possible to establish an intersection between the environmental, social and economic dimensions in promoting innovative dynamics of development and sustainability, as pointed out in Rifkin's experience of the Third Industrial Revolution, the ONU contribution to contemporary times with the 2030 Agenda with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the whole of international society.

From Sustainable Development to Ecologically Sustainable Development: A Reappraisal of Section 24(b)(iii) of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996

This paper offers a conceptual analysis of ecologically sustainable development in contrast to sustainable development. The analysis focuses on ecologically sustainable development as encapsulated in section 24(b)(iii) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The paper argues that ecologically sustainable development denotes preserving earth’s ecological systems. The paper further argues that ecologically sustainable development, as contained in section 24(b)(iii) of the Constitution, requires a shift from the ambiguous concept of sustainable development to ecologically sustainable development. The paper highlights the importance of prioritising environmental concerns when considering economic or social development. In essence, the study emphasises that ecologically sustainable development, as embedded in section 24(b)(iii), seeks to sustain the environment and not development activities. The paper concludes that ecologically sustainable development is a vehicle for facilitating the necessary paradigm shift required for better environmental protection as per section 24(b)(iii).

Концепция развития местного самоуправления в условиях цифровой трансформации управления

State processes are currently regulated by conceptual strategizing, which means they rely on concepts of systematic, integrated, and consistent development in social and state spheres, e.g., municipal public administration. This research used theoretical generalizations, as well as constitutional and legal practice, to rationalize the need for a developmental concept of local government in the context of digital transformation. Acts of state strategic planning were classified according to subject and concept. Digitalization of management and local governance was described from the perspective of hierarchical subordination and strategic planning acts. The list of prospective goals and directions in the digital development of local government included: digitalizing the domestic agro-industrial complex; leveling the existing digital inequality; improving the financing of small and medium municipalities using digital systems and innovative technologies. The authors reviewed best foreign practices and modern approaches to standardization in the sphere of sustainable development concepts, which direct the regulation of local government development in the digital environment. They revealed some problematic issues of modern digital transformation of municipal government and prospective trajectories for local digital platforms.

Study of the influence of commercial activities on waste formation in Ukraine in the context of sustainable developmentment

Study of the influence of commercial activities on waste formation in Ukraine in the context of sustainable developmentment

THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS THE BASIS OF CONTINUOUS ECOLOGICAL TRAINING OF FUTURE TEACHERS

Increasing attention to the ecological training of young people in the system of modern education is one of the important problems nowadays. Guarantees of environmental protection are presented in ecological knowledge, abilities and skills, as well as in the socio-cultural behavior and worldview of the population. Therefore, one of the priority tasks of the educational system is the formation of the ecological culture of the younger generation through the implementation of a system of continuous environmental education based on the principles of sustainable development. The purpose of the article is to investigate the problem of continuous ecological training of future teachers based on sustainable development. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of scientific literature (to clarify key research concepts), systematization, and generalization (for the purpose of forming the author's conclusions). It is established that ensuring the sustainable development of society involves positive life activities of people through the creation of conditions that contribute to the harmonization of their relationships, development, and satisfaction of their needs in the socio-natural environment, providing opportunities for the formation of ecological culture in the educational sphere. The peculiarities of continuous ecological training of future teachers based on the concept of sustainable development are studied, and the content and results of this process are highlighted. The goal of continuous ecological training for sustainable development is to teach people to manage the quality of life; the formation of an ecological culture in the young generation, which involves the ecological orientation of the individual, the ability to increase their ecological education and literacy, to carry out social-ecological and ecological-project activities for the benefit of sustainable development. The main tasks of continuous ecological training are the formation of scientific knowledge and ecologically oriented knowledge, the development of environmental protection skills and abilities aimed at improving the state of the environment and improving the quality of life of people, and the upbringing of a highly educated and ecologically cultural personality. Continuous ecological education for the benefit of sustainable development originates in preschool education institutions, where for the first time children master the basics of environmental education and culture, and form an idea of their unity with nature. The next stage is general secondary education, where students form environmental competence and develop an environmental outlook. The next level of the continuous ecological education system is the higher school, where the professional ecological training of the future teacher is carried out, the value-meaning sphere of the individual is formed, social-ecological norms of professional activity are mastered.

Smart Sustainable Cities: a Meta-Analysis of Concepts and Discourses in the Literature

Objective: Establish a descriptive correlation between different concepts of Smart and Sustainable Cities, in terms of theoretical and empirical foundations and assumptions. Method: The analysis is mixed, using a Systematic Literature Review and the PSALSAR methodology - Protocol, Search, Appraisal, Syntesis, Analysis and Results. The searches were carried out on four international scientific databases and one national database, with an interdisciplinary focus, involving the areas of Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Computer Sciences, Engineering and Energy. Research Significance: The idea of making cities smart and sustainable arises from looking for solutions in the places where the majority of the population is concentrated, along with the opportunities and threats to provide sustainable development. However, the concepts and structures relating to these cities are unclear, and there is still divergent discussion about which technologies have a positive impact on society and what their effects are on the sustainability of the planet. Results and Discussion: The approaches and discourses are aligned with the concept of sustainable development, but implementation in practice depends on government policies. Several counterpoints were found in the discourses analysed, including the fact that smart cities are not necessarily sustainable, and even in cities labelled as smart and sustainable, the lack of an environmental focus was highlighted.

Spatio-temporal evolution and driving factors of green innovation efficiency in the Chinese urban tourism industry based on spatial Markov chain

Green innovation in the tourism industry is a sustainable development concept for resource conservation and environmental optimization. The effective measurement of green innovation efficiency in the tourism industry and an accurate understanding of its spatial relationship was significantly important for promoting its sustainable development. Using the SBM-undesirable model, kernel density estimation, and a spatial Markov chain, we explored the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing mechanisms of urban tourism green innovation efficiency (TGIE) in China between 2000 and 2020. We found that (1) the temporal and spatial changes of TGIE were generally at a lower than medium level and fluctuated throughout country, with a transition in the east, collapse in the middle, and stagnation in the northeast. (2) The dynamic evolution of TGIE always exhibited polarization, but regional coordination was gradually enhanced with strong stability, although it was difficult to achieve leap-forward development. The cities with spatial upward transfer were concentrated mainly in the central and western region and while there were few cities with a downward adjustment, there were obvious asymmetrical spatial spillover effects. (3) The driving factors of TGIE were the overall economic level, industrial structure, government regulation, and education level. These factors had a significant positive relationship with TGIE, while the degree of opening up to the outside world has no significant effect, but the degree of influence, mechanism, and conditions of each factor were strongly regional.

Following Your Own Course. Development of the Russian Sustainable Development Reporting Standard and its Prospects

At present, there are several initiatives in Russia aimed at organizing, stimulating, and developing the concept of sustainable development. The principal approach is the domestically developed Standard for Sustainable Development Reporting (a draft of which the editorial board got access to), which is being created at the request of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Positive Changes Journal has compiled an in-depth analysis of this document, encompassing the perspectives of all interested parties. Being unaffiliated with any of these groups, yet possessing all necessary information, we can afford to examine the situation from an objective standpoint, analyze it, and propose pertinent contributions to the standard in development.

МОДЕЛІ «ДЕРЖАВИ ЗАГАЛЬНОГО ДОБРОБУТУ» ТА ЇХНІ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ

The article examines the peculiarities of the welfare state model, which has been constantly changing, transforming, having different options for implementation, going through a crisis and post-crisis development. It is determined that only the state, in the policy of the welfare state, acts as a guarantor of social rights and opportunities for its citizens. The author reveals the types of welfare models and their main characteristics that determine the peculiarities of social policy implemented by countries. It is established that the model of the “welfare state” has experienced an economic, ideological and philosophical crisis, which has led to the need to update and modernize the conceptual foundations of its implementation. The author proves that changes in the country’s social policy allow for a clear distinction between programmatic retrenchment and systematic retrenchment, i.e., reduction of social programs or reduction of social expenditure financing in the welfare state model. The author reveals the typology of models of management of the state social policy, in particular: pluralistic, corporate, Marxist and elite models. It is proved that the main social task of the state’s economic policy is “not to distribute benefits, but to ensure the conditions of freedom and independence of individuals who are able to create these benefits and take care of themselves and their families on their own”. The modern version of the socio-economic model of the “welfare state” is to create conditions that will ensure the synergy of market self-regulation and state intervention, and can be implemented in the areas of economic freedom and personal development. In addition, the areas of development of the welfare state are: risks and innovations, social solidarity, social justice, lifelong support, distribution of difficulties between generations, which is part of the concept of sustainable development. It is established that the transformation of the welfare state model leads to a change in the mechanisms and instruments for its implementation, in particular: universalization of social expenditures; policy coherence between social, economic and environmental aspects of development; search for inclusive forms of its implementation and partnership between the State, civil society and business; identification of new directions in global and regional social policy. It is established that the choice of implementing the “welfare state” model depends on the historical, socio-cultural and economic conditions prevailing in a country and is determined by the type of its socio-political system, ideological and spiritual principles, and the peculiarities of the stage of development. Key words: welfare, state, models of the welfare state, social justice, social security.

Analysis Of the Impact of ESG Performance on Enterprise Value

Environment, Society, and Governance (ESG) are comprehensive business practice framework that requires companies to consider the environmental, social, and corporate governance structure while pursuing economic benefits. This concept has become an indispensable part of modern enterprise management and is of great significance for shaping the long-term value of the enterprise. In the field of corporate governance, ESG advocates for an efficient, transparent, and responsible management system to guide enterprise operations. Effective regulatory mechanisms, such as independent board members, improved audit procedures, and risk management strategies, are all necessary to ensure that stakeholders' rights and interests are respected and protected. In addition, companies should be committed to fighting corruption and ensuring that all stakeholders have a say in the decision-making process. ESG is an enterprise that profoundly changes business philosophy and behavior. It aims to seek a balance between economic value and social value, help enterprises better obtain and consolidate competitive advantages, promote enterprises to return to their heart and conscience, and achieve a higher level of management and profit creation. This paper analyzes the influence on the concept of corporate value and social value from three aspects of environmental protection, social responsibility fulfillment, and corporate governance, and puts forward ideas and suggestions based on the concept of sustainable development.

Pemikiran Ekologis pada Petani Kopi dalam Kawasan Hutan Konservasi di Desa Tiwingan Baru Kabupaten Banjar

The agroforestry model has ecological values, where it is practiced by farmers in Tiwingan Baru Village, Banjar Regency. This research used qualitative methods, and a phenomenological research design. The research subjects were coffee farmers in Tiwingan Baru Village. The research data were collected through observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. Data were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model. The results showed that coffee farmers in Tiwingan Baru Village implemented agroforestry farming practices supported by ecological thinking, so as to maintain the sustainability of the forest ecosystem of Tiwingan Baru Village. The agroforestry model practiced by the community manifests the environmental ethics of ecofeminism, which prioritizes care and compassion for nature. In terms of the concept of sustainable development, the forest management practices are able to: 1) maintain forest cover and avoid agricultural commodities that are bad for the ecosystem, so that the threat of deforestation can be avoided; 2) become a stable source of income for the community because the coffee commodity cultivated is an important commodity and is sustainable to the next generation; and, 3) raise awareness of the importance of institutional formation that supports the socio-economic processes of the community. The model of forest management through coffee agroforestry implemented by the community in Tiwingan Baru Village needs to be protected and sustained through strategic policies and empowerment programs. Furthermore, it is important that the forest management model is replicated elsewhere as a model of equitable and sustainable forest management.

Sustainable Development and Underexplored Topics in Canada’s Energy Transition

Canada’s energy system is undergoing a fundamental shift, which will change how Canadians produce and consume energy. The success of Canada’s energy transition will be influenced by the ability of energy practitioners to manage the tensions and trade-offs in a variety of topics. The purpose of this research was to identify topics that are relevant to Canada’s energy transition and to identify the concepts that energy practitioners are using to manage the tensions and trade-offs in these topics. According to in-depth interviews with Canadian energy practitioners in 2021, the two most important topics in Canada’s energy transition are climate change and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. In addition, according to a 2021 focus group with Canadian energy practitioners, three relevant and underexplored topics in Canada’s energy transition are environmental rights, a systemic reduction in energy consumption, and learning from the energy transition in other countries, notably, Germany. These three underexplored topics were studied by completing additional in-depth interviews in 2022 and 2023, and a causal loop analysis in 2023. This research suggests that the concepts of sustainable development and multi-level perspective are complementary, can increase understanding of important and underexplored energy transition topics, and can generate solutions to complex sustainability challenges.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The article is devoted to the search for conceptual solutions to the problem of ensuring sustainable economic growth in the new unstable economic conditions. This topic remains extremely relevant in the modern world, where various challenges are faced, such as climate change, resource depletion, population growth, increased social inequality and other problems. The authors explore the evolution of the concept of sustainable development, highlighting various essential aspects of understanding the category of sustainability. In different time periods, climate change and environmental challenges, social justice and efficiency, global cooperation and risk management, digitalization and technological innovation have consistently been at the center of the problem of sustainable development. As a result, strategies to reduce the negative impact on the environment and adapt to climate change have been replaced by strategies of green technologies, which, in turn, have been replaced by strategies of international cooperation and coordination of actions by all members of society to solve global problems of our time. The authors prove the importance of considering not only environmental, but also social aspects when developing sustainable development strategies to ensure social justice and improve the quality of life of all segments of society. In conclusion, the authors conclude that risk management related to economic instability, environmental changes and other factors requires new strategies for sustainable development, which in turn is impossible without effective public management, public involvement, and informed decision-making.

A scientometrics analysis and visualization of the ecological impact of photovoltaic projects

The topic of global climate change has heated up in recent years, and other environmental and energy-related challenges have been continuously gaining attention. At the same time, the concept of sustainable development and carbon-neutral strategies have emerged. Photovoltaic electricity is strongly promoted by pertinent policies as a high-quality substitute for conventional energy sources. Meanwhile, the potential ecological impacts of photovoltaic (PV) projects should also be noted. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive research on the ecological impact of photovoltaic projects. It is of great necessity to summarize the research status and future trends of this topic from the perspective of a literature review. Therefore, a scientometrics analysis and visualization of the ecological impact of photovoltaic projects was conducted in this study, using CiteSpace as the visualization tool. Web of Science and Scopus were selected as the databases, and the retrieved articles were analyzed using co-occurrence and cluster analysis to discover hot research subjects and evolving trends, as well as to examine institutional, national, and author collaborations. The results help in the present study field of the ecological effect of photovoltaic projects in identifying and understanding trends and patterns. This study offers theoretical support for PV site selection and ecological protection nearby. It can also motivate academics, politicians, institutions, and governments to formulate ecologically friendly roadmaps and regimes in balancing PV development and ecological protection.

Development of green pesticides from traditional Chinese medicines based on artificial intelligence and compatibility of traditional Chinese medicines

The food security of China as a big agricultural country is attracting increasing attention. With the progress in the traditional Chinese medicine industry, Chinese medicinal materials and their preparations have been gradually developed as agents for disease prevention and with antimicrobial and insecticidal functions in agriculture. Promoting pesticide innovation by interdisciplinary integration has become the trend in pesticide research globally. Considering the increasingly important roles of green pesticides from traditional Chinese medicines and artificial intelligence in pest target prediction, this paper proposed an innovative green control strategy in line with the concepts of ecological sustainable development and food security protection. CiteSpace was used for visual analysis of the publications. The results showed that artificial intelligence had been extensively applied in the pesticide field in recent years. This paper explores the application and development of biopesticides for the first time, with focus on the plant-derived pesticides. The thought of traditional Chinese medicine compatibility can be employed to creat a new promosing field: pesticides from traditional Chinese medicine. Moreover, artificial intelligence can be employed to build the formulation system of pesticides from traditional Chinese medicines and the target prediction system of diseases and pests. This study provides new ideas for the future development and market application of biopesticides, aiming to provide more healthy and safe agricultural products for human beings, promote the innovation and development of green pesticides in China, and protect the sustainable development of the environment and ecosystem. This may be the research hotspot and competition point for the green development of the pesticide industry chain in the future.

«ЦИФРОВИЙ ПОВОРОТ» В ОСВІТІ У КОНТЕКСТІ СТАЛОГО РОЗВИТКУ СУСПІЛЬСТВА

The presented article explores the integration of digital education into the concept of sustainable societal development and education relation to the formation of the "information society" and "knowledge society" processes. The term "knowledge society" is defined, emphasizing its relevance in the 2020s context. The article demonstrates that the spread of digital education is a manifestation of the "digital turn," driven by the transformation of information into a primary resource that sustains societal activities. The temporal boundaries of this phenomenon are also outlined, emphasizing that the "digital turn" represents both a quantitative and qualitative expression of the ongoing development of technologies. The main challenges associated with implementing the "digital turn" are identified, impacting the effectiveness of achieving sustainable development goals – a dynamic state of society, characterized by the rational use of resources. The significance of education in ensuring such rationality is elaborated upon. The pivotal moment marking revolutionary changes in the dissemination of digital education is identified as the onset of global quarantine measures in 2019. Digital technologies increases the speed and volume of information exchange. Simultaneously, educational information, as one of the most crucial forms, requires heightened attention in terms of quality and accessibility. The article identifies the main positive and negative manifestations of the "digital turn," critical for the construction of a "knowledge society" and the achievement of "sustainable development" goals. It is demonstrated that the attainment of the "knowledge society" and "sustainable development" states share common conditions associated with the development of digital technologies. Digital education, in particular, plays a crucial role as a condition for building a safe and predictable environment for the evolving of contemporary individual. Alongside global trends in digital education, specific features within the educational environment of Ukraine are addressed.

Global Transformations: Trends towards Increasing Instability and Sustainable Development Drivers in Current Situation

The ongoing global transformations and the high turbulence of global processes call into question sustainability of development of most countries, make it necessary to identify factors leading to instability and search for drivers of sustainable development in current situation. The conducted research allowed us to determine that the trends towards increasing instability are mainly determined by the processes of deglobalization, the dominance of maximizing production and consumption ideas, increasing social inequality, uneven distribution of resources between the environmental, social, and economic components of sustainable development, human violation of the laws of biosphere development, insufficient environmental protection measures, the consequences of recent crises, international conflicts, disadvantages of management. The considered factors of instability growth, the strengthening of their influence and the associated risks led to setting a new task: to determine what can be a driver of stability in modern difficult situation. Our study shows that positive impulses for sustainable development include: the dissemination of ideas and steps towards the implementation of the green economy; the establishment of specific deadlines for achieving targets of sustainable development by many countries; the development of technological sovereignty of countries based on a green worldview; the implementation of the concept of sustainable development not only by governments, but also at the micro level — by companies; the emergence of new financial instruments, in particular, green and social bonds to attract capital and invest in projects with environmental and social benefits; advances in the taxonomy of green finance. An important result of the study is the conclusion that despite the possibility of deceleration in certain periods, sustainable development is a long-term trend in the functioning of our civilization and further research should be aimed at improving management decisions to support it in the short and long term.

RESEARCH ON THE DYNAMICS OF THE PERFORMANCE POSITIONING OF THE TRADE IN SERBIA USING THE LOPCOW AND EDAS METHODS

Researching the dynamics of the performance positioning of trade is a very challenging, continuously current, significant, and complex issue, especially in the conditions of the application of multi-criteria decision-making methods. Based on that, this paper investigates the dynamics of the performance positioning of trade in Serbia for the period 2017 - 2022 using the LAPCOW and EDAS methods. The results of this research show the following: Serbian trade, according to the obtained results of the research on the dynamics of performance positioning using the LOPCOW-EDAS method, was the best in 2022. The following are 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017. Overall, the performance of trade in Serbia continuously improved. The factors that influenced the improvement of the dynamics of the performance positioning of trade in Serbia are geopolitical situation, economy, inflation, interest rate, employment, standard of living of the population, trade policy and strategy, foreign direct investments, new business models (multichannel sales - store and electronic, private label, sale of organic products, etc.), concept of sustainable development, energy crisis, management of human resources, asset, capital, sales and profit, digitisation of the entire business, and others. The target dynamics of the performance positioning of trade in Serbia can be achieved by effective control of these and other influential factors.

Sustainable Lighting Technology Implementation in Jelebu District Council, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

The aim of this study is to explore district council roles in sustainable development, specifically within its environmental sphere. It is focused on the district council’s internal stakeholders in understanding the relevant concepts of sustainable development. The efforts in implementing sustainable technology in its services by Jelebu District Council, one of the Local Governments located in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, was studied. A total of seven informants were purposely selected to contribute to this study. Primary data collection is done using face-to-face interview techniques to enable the informants to apprehend the real situation faced by their organization in implementing sustainable development. By utilizing the SWOT analysis technique, the result identified the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the district council in their course of implementing sustainable development. Internal and external strengths supports, and deficiencies sum up the factors that are influential for the district council. The finding shows that the district council has significant roles at the grassroots level in implementing sustainable development, especially related to sustainable technology. The study also discovered that Jelebu District Council is one of the earliest local councils in Negeri Sembilan that opted for energy-saving lighting by using a light-emitting diode (LED) in place of conventional fluorescent lights to illuminate its township area.

Redefining sustainable urban development: A critical analysis in the wake of COVID‐19

AbstractThis paper critically examines the concept of sustainable development, particularly in the context of urban challenges exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Although the concept of sustainable development has been around for more than three decades, it faces ongoing global socio‐environmental crises that have been exacerbated by the rapid spread of COVID‐19 since 2019, which has highlighted the vulnerability of urban and interconnected cities. Our approach includes a comparative literature review to analyze the evolution and critique of sustainable development, focusing on its conceptual foundations, complementary strategies, and political‐economic implications. The paper addresses the urban implications of COVID‐19, emphasizing its direct impact on the Sustainable Development Goals and arguing for a comprehensive reassessment of sustainable urban development practices. We propose a transformative agenda that recognizes local specificities and draws on cities' experiences during the pandemic to build a more equitable and crisis‐resilient global society. This research highlights the urgency to rethink current sustainable development paradigms, especially in light of the human‐environment imbalance and lessons learned from the COVID‐19 crisis. It calls for a reformed global approach that incorporates local dimensions and draws on the experience of cities to address the inequalities and crisis‐prone structures in our societies, with the aim of a fundamental shift toward a more sustainable future in the post‐COVID‐19 era.