Environmental Friendly Activities Research Articles

Green Financing and Sustainability Reporting among SMEs: The role of Pro-environmental Behavior and Digitization

Despite the iconic contribution of SMEs to national and international development, it is widely recognized that they could threaten the circular economy due to their inadequate resources. In light of this, the paper put forward the resource-based view theory in order to comprehend the motivations behind SMEs’ engagement in environmentally-friendly activities and, consequently, to get to the bottom of their sustainability disclosure. To this end, the study examined the effect of green financing on sustainability reporting phenomenon. Secondly, the mediation effect of pro-environmental behavior in the relationship between green financing and sustainability reporting was assessed. Finally, the research determined the moderation effect of digitization in the relationship between pro-environmental behavior and sustainability reporting. Data from 352 SMEs from Ghana were collected between May and June 2024, by employing the structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling, performed with Amos (v.23). The study found the effect of green financing on sustainability reporting to be positive and significant. Pro-environmental behavior was revealed to partially mediate the relationship between green financing and sustainability reporting. The relationship between pro-environmental behavior and sustainability reporting was also found to be positively moderated by digitization. The study’s findings facilitate the integration of digitization in SMEs’ operations, and could be used to foster the promotion of green financing policies among SMEs, governments, and non-governmental agencies. The outcomes of the study aim at guiding and stimulating further studies on the promising relationship between digitization and sustainability reporting in the context of SMEs in emerging economies. Future studies are encouraged to investigate how business activities are influenced by specific green financing policies such as green bond since the present research considered the general perspective of green financing.

Tangible or intangible satisfiers? Comparative study of visitor satisfaction in a nature-based tourism destination in the pre- and during-COVID pandemic

Nature-based destinations started to become objects of travel for various visitor segments during the COVID-19 pandemic. The changing environment and the travel conditions influence overall visitor satisfaction and its determinants. This study identifies the role of tangible and intangible factors in forming overall visitor satisfaction with a stay in a nature-based tourism destination and their changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A Generalized Linear Model with a logit link function was used to identify the significant satisfiers and to determine the factors that play a critical role in visitor satisfaction in the during-COVID era compared to the pre-COVID period. The results show that intangible satisfiers play a more significant role than tangible ones in the COVID time. Surprisingly, natural features are insignificant in explaining overall satisfaction at a nature-based destination in the during-COVID in comparison with the pre-COVID period. In contrast, active sports options have become a significant satisfier in the COVID era. This comparison results contribute to the current theory, and the findings indicate the practical implications for Destination Management Organisations regarding sustainable tourism development. Management implications•Destination Management Organisations (DMO) in nature-based destinations should become more conscious of changing visitor structures concerning destination satisfaction.•DMOs could focus more on promoting activities such as active sports options and tourism infrastructure than natural features regarding current visitor preferences; however, sustainability should be a fundamental goal of competitive tourism destinations.•There is a need to carefully deal with the expanding tourism infrastructure development and prevent uncontrolled growth of commercial activities and attractions that would act against the interests of residents and endanger the value of the natural environment.•DMOs should educate the changing visitors about the importance of responsible tourism.•DMOs should focus on environmental-friendly activities which do not negatively impact nature in terms of using land and natural areas for commercial activities and construction.•DMOs should make efforts to attract their environmental sensitive pre-COVID visitors and target new segments searching for health and sustainability, such as the Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) segment and the Free Independent Travellers (FIT).

Historical learning based on outdoor learning and environmental insight as implementation of the utilization of Gua Suci sites in Tuban

Cultural heritage is an important state asset which becomes the local identity of the region. Tuban is one of the areas with potential historical heritage sites. Utilization of historical heritage sites is often associated with historical learning. The purpose of writing this article is to use historical heritage sites as a learning source that can build student interest and motivation. The research method uses in this article was the literature study method as part of a qualitative method by collecting and analyzing historical source through books, articles, archives, notes and reports. The result of the study based on review literature obtained a discussion of historical heritage sites namely Gua Suci in Tuban with a combination of outdoor learning and environmental insight. Gua Suci is a man-made cave composed of karst rocks. Therefore, the activity of utilizing Gua Suci site based on outdoor learning and environmental insight is expected new atmosphere for the student with the step that has been arranged. The implementation of the outdoor learning method at Gua Suci sites has indirectly carried out environmentally-friendly activities while maintaining historical and cultural values.

Prioritising environmental activities based on their effect on improving sustainable performance in Australian logistics

ABSTRACT This paper develops a conceptual framework and empirically investigates the effects of implementing environmental-friendly activities on improving sustainable performance for logistics industry. A literature review of case-study and theory-based journal papers is the approach taken to develop a conceptual framework. An online survey of 297 senior managers of Australian logistics companies is conducted to empirically investigate the conceptual framework. This is the first study ranking nine measures of sustainable performance by AHP and using them to prioritise eight environmental-friendly activities from seven perspectives. The results show that the effects of implementing these activities on improving sustainable performance are different. The proposed conceptual framework is a basis for further research examining the relationship between implementing environmental activities and sustainable performance. This conceptual framework will enable logistics managers to evaluate their business potential to improve sustainable performance by implementing environmental activities. The result could be used by public policymakers to initiate and support sustainable development.

Synthesis of Silver Doped Titanium Dioxide by Wet-Ball Milling Sol–Gel Method for Antibacterial Application

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been extensively studied as photo-catalyst for water treatment, air purification and antibacterial applications due to its challenging properties such as chemical stability, environmental friendly and strong photocatalytic activity. However, the limitation of TiO2 on its dependent to ultraviolet radiation for photocatalytic activity is still aroused. In this study, silver doped titanium dioxide (Ag-TiO2) was synthesized by wet-ball milling sol–gel method (WBMS). Ag-TiO2 molar ratio was varied from 0% to 10% to study the effect of silver content on the synthesized Ag-TiO2 characteristics and the ability to apply on antibacterial applications. The objective of this work was to find an optimal concentration of Ag in Ag-TiO2. Characterization of the particle size, morphology, and surface area of synthesized Ag-TiO2 were discussed by techniques of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). Photocatalytic activity was investigated from degradation of methylene blue. Antibacterial activity was conducted by finding minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests performed on Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) under dark condition and under visible light. The results demonstrated that the doping of Ag inhibited crystal growth of Ag-TiO2. The smallest particle size and the highest surface area were obtained from 5% Ag-TiO2. Also, it was found that methylene blue degradation rate increased to the highest number of 1.62x10−3 min−1 when Ag concentration reached 5%, and methylene blue degradation rate reduced when Ag concentration was higher than 5%. The antibacterial activity of Ag-TiO2 was better than TiO2. The optimal concentration of 3-5% Ag-TiO2 was observed from the MIC and MBC tests.

Potential of environmental responsibility and financial potential of innovative mechanical engineering enterprises in Ukraine

In the era of sustainable economy, the environmental responsible companies provide an important background both for particular industry and national economy competitiveness. In particular, mechanical engineering plays an important role in the economy of Ukraine. In accordance with national statistic, the Ukrainian mechanical engineering provides 6.4 % in total volume of industrial products and ~4 % of the gross value added in the GDP of Ukraine. At the same time, the global mechanical engineering industry environmental friendly activity is related to SDG 9 and SDG 12. In March 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted its Programme, reaffirming the commitment to the SDGs and their importance for Ukrainian economy development. Thereby, research problem lays upon the financial potential of innovative mechanical engineering enterprises in Ukraine providing the background to increase the potential of their environmental responsibility. The paper aims to provide scientific support on mechanical engineering industry representatives that tend to be environmental friendly. The research methodology is based on Ukrainian mechanical engineering enterprises data (5 years and 337 industry representatives) processed by statistical analysis. The financial and environmental indicators are represented in results section on the basis for six groups of mechanical engineering enterprises’ analysis, namely: big unstable – 16; big stable – 17; medium unstable – 44; medium stable - 26; small unstable – 188; small stable – 46. Thus, the environmental dimension is increasingly taken into account by Ukrainian innovative mechanical engineering enterprises to be competitive. Big and medium stable enterprises are organizationally oriented to be environmentally sustainable. The main disadvantage of big and medium unstable enterprises is lack of financial resources for achieving sustainable goals. Small enterprises are lack of general capacity to conduct environmental support policy, but they are the most flexible ones that provide advantages in environmental management. The study results can be used within industrial and business programs of environmental responsible activity and its financial support. In relation to other branches or countries, more extensive study is required.

IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND PERFORMANCE ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

This study evaluated the causal effect of environmental friendly activities and resultant environmental performance of enterprises on their organizational performance. More importantly, it analyzed and empirically investigated the mediation of environmental performance in the research model which has been paid no attention to in previous studies. The final research data was gathered from 399 publicly listed enterprisesin in the three main stock markets of Vietnam. Multiple regression analyses were applied to test the causal hypotheses, while mediating procedures were employed to test statistical significance for the mediation mechanism. The empirical findings reveal positive influences of environmental responsibility on organizational and environmental performance that in turn puts a positive influence on organizational performance. Environmental performance is discovered as an entirely mediating factor in the joint research model, where environmental responsibility has no direct effect on organizational performance, but only has indirect effect through environmental performance. When included into the research model, environmental performance will transmit the whole of direct effect of environmental responsibility on organizational performance.Keywords: Environmental Responsibility, Environmental Performance, Firm Performance, VietnamJEL Classifications: Q01, Q51, E01DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.9955

The ecological situation in the Chechen Republic as perceived by its inhabitants

Human awareness of the danger of environmental problems is associated with serious difficulties. One of them is non-obviousness of human natural basis, psychological alienation from nature, a dismissive attitude towards environmentally-friendly activities. The purpose of this article is to study the attitude of people, in particular residents of the Chechen Republic, to the environmental situation in their region. The research objectives are as follows: to assess the state and dynamics of the ecological situation; to assess the importance of information on the environment for Russian citizens, to assess the sufficiency of measures taken and ways to improve the environmental situation; to study the attitude of citizens of the Chechen Republic to "ecological" behavior.

Towards Greening Decisions on the University Campus: Initiatives, Importance and Barriers

Universities as ‘small worlds’ are veritable places for promoting environmental friendly activities; being breeding grounds for future decision makers. They are characterized by activities that negatively influence our environment which are in three areas which are: energy usage, waste generation and transportation. This study utilized both exploratory and survey designs to investigate the initiatives relating to training, research, campus operation and community service, their importance and barriers to effective implementation in The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. The study found that implementing these initiatives has benefits associate with cost saving, employability, public image, quality assurance, and societal change. More than 70 percent of the respondents believed that implementing greening initiatives is very important. The study also revealed individual and institutional barriers in the achievement of this result. The most severe ones include: inadequate and sustainable awareness, ineffective policy, lack of knowledge and skills to handle relevant technology for greening. The study suggested that management should provide supports in the areas of policy-making and implementation, budgetary allocation and motivational structure to lead the way in the comity of universities.

Towards Greening Decisions on the University Campus: Initiatives, Importance and Barriers

Universities as ‘small worlds’ are veritable places for promoting environmental friendly activities; being breeding grounds for future decision makers. They are characterized by activities that negatively influence our environment which are in three areas which are: energy usage, waste generation and transportation. This study utilized both exploratory and survey designs to investigate the initiatives relating to training, research, campus operation and community service, their importance and barriers to effective implementation in The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. The study found that implementing these initiatives has benefits associate with cost saving, employability, public image, quality assurance, and societal change. More than 70 percent of the respondents believed that implementing greening initiatives is very important. The study also revealed individual and institutional barriers in the achievement of this result. The most severe ones include: inadequate and sustainable awareness, ineffective policy, lack of knowledge and skills to handle relevant technology for greening. The study suggested that management should provide supports in the areas of policy-making and implementation, budgetary allocation and motivational structure to lead the way in the comity of universities.

Chumbe Island Coral Park (Tanzania) as a model of an exemplary ecotourism enterprise

ABSTRACT Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd. (CHICOP) is the first financially self-sustaining marine protected area in the world, which was also established and managed as a privately protected area (PPA). Its model of operations and income provides unique and environmental friendly activities based on ecotourism principles. To establish whether CHICOP can be treated as an exemplary model for other ecotourism enterprises, this study – based on the core criteria of ecotourism – analyzed available source materials and verified them empirically by means of a diagnostic survey and observation. The results clearly indicate that CHICOP's numerous undertakings are characterized by a high regard for the natural, social and cultural environment, with an emphasis on ethical conduct and dedication to the Park's educational function. Multiple prestigious awards, commitment of workers, recognition from local communities and positive feedback from returning tourists provide additional confirmation that CHICOP has succeeded in meeting its objectives in a sustainable manner.

Unraveling the complex relationship between environmental and financial performance ─── A multilevel longitudinal analysis

Many business managers start to adopt environmental-friendly activities due to pressures and concerns regarding the potential adverse environmental impacts from their regular activities. However, there is no consensus regarding whether better environmental performance can lead to superior financial performance. Academic research also shows mixed or even contradictory results, possibly due to various limitations and problems. This study builds a multilevel framework to study the complicated relationship between environmental performance and financial return and synthesize those non-consensus results in many previous studies. An overall positive relationship is found between environmental and financial performance with variations across companies and industries due to the company- and industry-level heterogeneities. A negative relationship is also identified for some firms in some industry sectors. Moreover, the bi-directional causal relationship between environmental and financial performance also implies that it is necessary for companies to have sufficient financial resources in order to implement proactive environmental strategies and initiatives. The findings in this study make contributions to the literature, provide guidelines for managers and investors, and give implications for policymakers.

VISITOR SATISFACTION ATTENDING FESTIVAL IN BALI: CASE OF SANUR VILLAGE FESTIVAL 2018

Festivals or special events have been one of the fastest developing tourism attractions in many countries. Bali as tourism destination have many activities on tourism event such as festivals or special events to attract more tourists to come every year. Sanur Village Festival (SVF) declared by the government as one of the top ten national tourism event in Indonesia. SVF is an annual event since 2006. Its community event founded by Sanur Development Foundation (YPS) which is a combination of several large-scale activities involving food festival, creative economy exhibition, various contests and competitions, art and cultural attractions, music as well as various types of environmentally-friendly activities. Quality of activities and service on an event is dynamic conditions that relate to fullfill the visitors expectation. In tourism event, quality of activities and service becomes success parameter as indication of satisfaction. The aim of these research is to know the visitors satisfaction attending festival in Bali, case study of SVF 2018. Sample of the research is visitors of SVF 2018 during period 22-26 August 2018 with total 135 respondents. The method of this research is quantitative method with analysis factor confirmatory using SPSS. Using teory from Crompton (2003) there are six factors and twenty six variables that were observed. The factors and variables are convenience value (F1) through five variables, service value (F2) through six variabels, perceived price (F3) through four variables, aesthetic value (F4) through four variables, playful value (F5) through four variables and social value (F5) through three variables. Finding in this research about visitors satisfaction attending festival in Bali, case of SVF 2018 is in good condition according to the guest overall comments. The leading factor and variable are playfull value (F5) and X21 (enjoyable). The strategic implication that should be done by management of SVF or Sanur Development Foundation to the result of reserach is to maintain what has been good and improve which one is unfavourable by make evaluation and standarization of work for all vendors/ suppliers that supported the festival.Festivals or special events have been one of the fastest developing tourism attractions in many countries. Bali as tourism destination have many activities on tourism event such as festivals or special events to attract more tourists to come every year. Sanur Village Festival (SVF) declared by the government as one of the top ten national tourism event in Indonesia. SVF is an annual event since 2006. Its community event founded by Sanur Development Foundation (YPS) which is a combination of several large-scale activities involving food festival, creative economy exhibition, various contests and competitions, art and cultural attractions, music as well as various types of environmentally-friendly activities. Quality of activities and service on an event is dynamic conditions that relate to fullfill the visitors expectation. In tourism event, quality of activities and service becomes success parameter as indication of satisfaction. The aim of these research is to know the visitors satisfaction attending festival in Bali, case study of SVF 2018. Sample of the research is visitors of SVF 2018 during period 22-26 August 2018 with total 135 respondents. The method of this research is quantitative method with analysis factor confirmatory using SPSS. Using teory from Crompton (2003) there are six factors and twenty six variables that were observed. The factors and variables are convenience value (F1) through five variables, service value (F2) through six variabels, perceived price (F3) through four variables, aesthetic value (F4) through four variables, playful value (F5) through four variables and social value (F5) through three variables. Finding in this research about visitors satisfaction attending festival in Bali, case of SVF 2018 is in good condition according to the guest overall comments. The leading factor and variable are playfull value (F5) and X21 (enjoyable). The strategic implication that should be done by management of SVF or Sanur Development Foundation to the result of reserach is to maintain what has been good and improve which one is unfavourable by make evaluation and standarization of work for all vendors/ suppliers that supported the festival.

The relationship between CSR activity and sales growth in the UK retailing sector

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sales revenue of two retail companies (Marks & Spencer and Tesco) in the UK to understand how CSR activities can influence retail sales growth. Prior studies have used different theoretical and methodological approaches to report the relationships between CSR and financial performance generally as positive, negative, mixed or neutral, and these are yet to be conclusive.Design/methodology/approachClarifying the existing inconclusive results, the authors deduced donations, community work and environmental responsibility CSR activities from the literature and mapped them out onto sales revenue to formulate conceptual propositions. The authors extracted the corresponding data from the companies’ websites and financial reports, focusing on their 2006-2014 CSR and sales activities, and statistically analysed the longitudinal data with Pearson correlation coefficient.FindingsThe findings revealed positive correlations between donations and sales revenue for the two companies, which suggest that retailers’ philanthropic activities can boost sales levels overtime. Whereas the findings on the community work and the environmental-friendly activities relate either positively or negatively to sales revenue for the companies.Practical implicationsThere is an indication for retail managers to pursue philanthropic activities to effect sales growth. Retailers exhibiting features of Marks & Spencer can commit to community investment to increase revenue over time, whereas those showing features of Tesco can pledge environmental-friendly strategies to influence a stronger correlation between carbon emissions and sales revenue levels.Originality/valueThe outcomes support the extant findings that donations can improve retail sales performance, while community work and the environmental-friendly activities do not necessarily improve sales growth in the retail sector but suggest that retailers can exploit more of the ones that benefit their sales revenue levels. Theoretically, the study supports the stakeholder theory’s influence on firms’ obligation to charitable cause, community investment and environmental-friendly responsibility as CSR activities that make retailers morally responsible to their customers and society in general, whereas the sustainable development model was instrumental in retailers’ CSR activities relating to environmental protection.

Investment Attractiveness of “Green” Financial Instruments

Nowadays the largest institutional investors and exchange-traded funds invest a great part of their portfolio in the assets connected with environmental-friendly activities. “Green” financial instruments can accumulate resources for climate change adaptation and infrastructure projects in areas such as renewable energy generation, energy effectiveness, clean water, low-carbon transport, etc. Thus, the concept of sustainable development not only pay attention to the climate risks but also creates new factor of investment attractiveness and makes the investment process more conscious and less speculative. Governments are also interested in the development of “green” instruments as their can play a significant role in the adaptation to the climate change and movement of the capital flows from the financial sector into the ecological industrial projects. The study shows that the necessary funds can be accumulated successfully due to defensive character of “green” instruments and their sustainability to the market shocks.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION: A SERIOUS THREAT TO GLOBAL SECURITY

Climate Change is a concerning issue in the present world. In both, national and international forums, there have been discussions regarding climate change and environmental deterioration as a cause of insecurity. Human activities are the leading forces behind the decline of the environment as well as climate change. An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) report depicts that global temperatures are so far the warmest to have been experienced since 1885. These temperatures are expected to increase further to a margin of about 6.4oC by the year 2100 due to global warming. Global warming is instigated by the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere which ultimately leads to increase in water levels in the oceans and lakes. The resultant implications are displacement of people to other regions for safety. The natural resources are destroyed along as the natural catastrophes hit causing scarcity which leads to completion of these resources. Security is bleached at both national and international level as people scramble for the resources disturbing peace in the affected areas. Since security is a global responsibility, various countries in a specific region require an alliance for a consorted effort to avert the impending catastrophes as a result of climate change to maintain peace among its people. Developing countries are the most predisposed to these calamities, requiring that more funds be committed to facilitating environmental friendly activities and responding to risks of climate change. Article visualizations:

The Antecedents of Green Information System and Impact on Environmental Performance

As society becomes more and more aware of the negative impacts of many business operations on environment and many other aspects of society, many companies start to adopt environmental–friendly activities due to the increasing pressures and concerns. How to improve company’s environmental performance effectively is the major challenge facing many managers. This study proposes a conceptual framework to study the role of green information system in improving company’s environmental performance, and find out the antecedents in helping to create an effective green information system. By using the data collected from China, the conceptual framework is tested empirically. This study contributes to the literature theoretically and empirically and provides practical guidelines for real-world practitioner in improving environmental performance.

Sustainability strategies in the construction industry: implications on Green Growth in Nigeria

The construction industry is a major driver of economic growth. However, activities from the construction industry contribute significantly to environmental pollution and unsustainable consumption of depleting natural resources. Green growth on the other hand, is an innovative growth which motivates businesses to adopt environmental friendly activities. This paper assessed sustainability strategies in the construction industry. A quantitative research design was adopted with the use of questionnaires distributed to construction organizations in Lagos, Nigeria. Findings reveal that many of the construction organizations surveyed do not have sustainability strategies because of low awareness about sustainability issues in construction. However, of the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic and social sustainability), environmental sustainability was found to yield greatest benefit. For the construction industry to contribute to Nigeria’s green growth agenda there should be increased awareness of sustainability issues and institutional policies to drive sustainability.

Greater Port Harcourt City Urbanization Project and Its Socio-economic Effect on Affected Farming Communities in Rivers State

The study was on Greater Port Harcourt City urbanization project and its socio-economic effect on affected farming communities in Rivers State, Nigeria. Random sampling technique was used in selecting 100 farmers in farming communities affected by the project. Data were elicited with the interview schedule and analyzed with percentage and mean. The t-test was used in the test of hypothesis. Results indicated that the major social effects of the project on farming communities were conversion of farm land into building and road projects (85.00%) and reduced farm labor (70.00%). Those of economic effects were decreased agricultural output (70.00%) and high cost of land lease for agricultural production (64.00%). There was a significant difference between social and economic effects of the urban expansion project on farming communities. The study recommends the provision of farm reserved areas, enhanced environmental friendly activities, enhanced farm input supply, and provision of credit to reduce the cost of land lease for agriculture.

The antecedents of green information system and impact on environmental performance

As society becomes more and more aware of the negative impacts of business operations on environment and other aspects of society, companies have started to adopt environmental friendly activities due to the increasing pressures and concerns. How to improve company's environmental performance is the major challenge facing many managers. This study proposes a conceptual framework to study the role of green information system in improving company's environmental performance, and find out the antecedents in helping to create an effective green information system. A conceptual framework is proposed and tested empirically by using the data collected from China. This study contributes to the literature and by providing research direction and real-world practitioners with helpful guideline to build green information system.