Sustainable Development Indicators Research Articles

Analysis on the impact of smart city construction on urban greenness in China's megacities

Urban greenness serves as a key indicator of sustainable urban development, with smart city construction emerging as a primary strategy for its enhancement. However, there is little empirical evidence considering multi-dimension between urban greenness and smart city construction on the city level. This study focuses on the impact on urban greenness of smart city construction in megacities, using the difference-in-differences regression model to evaluate the impact based on urban development conditions in various aspects from 2010 to 2021 in 10 megacities in China. The results of panel data of different indicator samples show unique conclusions. First, smart city pilot policy in megacities has significant impact on urban greenness, primarily due to demographic and economic developments. Second, the impact is different between the megacity and national level, and different factors of urban greenness have different effects on smart city construction. Third, the effects are time-lagged and lasted for years, and regional heterogeneity divided by building climate zones is existed, where the effect is more obvious in city agglomeration. These findings of smart city construction reveal the unique influences on megacity greenness, and can be generalized to cities with similar characteristics accordingly.

Household fuel and direct carbon emission disparity in rural China

Universal access to clean fuels in household use is one explicit indicator of sustainable development while currently still billions of people rely on solid fuels for daily cooking. Despite of the recognized clean transition trend in general, disparities in household energy mix in different activities (e.g. cooking and heating) and historical trends remain to be elucidated. In this study, we revealed the historical changing trend of the disparity in household cooking and heating activities and associated carbon emissions in rural China. The study found that the poor had higher total direct energy consumption but used less modern energy, especially in cooking activities, in which the poor consumed 60 % more energy than the rich. The disparity in modern household energy use decreased over time, but conversely the disparity in total residential energy consumption increased due to the different energy elasticities as income increases. Though per-capita household CO2 and Black Carbon (BC) emissions were decreasing under switching to modern energies, the disparity in household CO2 and BC deepened over time, and the low-income groups emitted ∼ 10 kg CO2 more compared to the high-income population. Relying solely on spontaneous clean cooking transition had limited impacts in reducing disparities in household energy and carbon emissions, whereas improving access to modern energy had substantial potential to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions and its disparity. Differentiated energy-related policies to promote high-efficiency modern heating energies affordable for the low-income population should be developed to reduce the disparity, and consequently benefit human health and climate change equally.

THE IMPACT OF INNOVATION SUPPORT ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTERPRISES

Today, the problems of devaluation of the environment, depletion of natural resources, and social and economic crises are increasingly deepening. The issue of sustainable development at the enterprise level is becoming a necessity, not just a regulatory requirement. The critical role in this process is played by innovative support capable of reforming the existing approaches to the problems mentioned above. The study aims to determine the relationship and mutual influence between the indicators of innovation support and sustainable development of enterprises and to form recommendations based on the results using the methods of correlation analysis, multivariate regression, and case study. The study revealed a close correlation between the indicators of innovation support, which are represented in the study by the Global Innovation Index with its sub-indices, and such Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators as the “Logistics Performance Index: Quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure” and “Electronic waste (kg/capita)”. It has been determined that the first indicator is most strongly influenced by institutions and infrastructure, and the second is influenced by institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, and market structure. The recommendations formed because of the analysis include using electronic systems and resource cycles. The results obtained can be of practical importance and used by both enterprise management and government agencies to optimise the enterprise's logistics system and waste management.

Evaluation of the Impact of Informal Settlements on the Physical and Mental Health of Residents—Case Study Santa Marta—Bogotá, Colombia

The growth of the informal city in Latin America has caused its own dynamics related to urban unsustainability due to the disorderly occupation of the territory. The precarious characteristics of informal neighborhoods have increased the mortality processes in their inhabitants, increasing the poverty and marginality indexes in Latin American urban settlements. This work was developed within the international research project “Modeling informality in Latin America based on indicators of sustainable urban development. Case study Yomasa, Bogotá-Colombia”. This work was developed under the mixed research approach which allowed focusing on a nested concurrent design of dominant model (DIAC), which was carried out in the Santa Marta sector of the locality of Ciudad Bolivar, in Bogotá Colombia, with the participation of 20 people from the studied community and supported by 16 students of Civil Engineering of the Catholic University of Colombia. The work resulted in a total of 31 indicators related to neighborhood informality, 17 impacts on the territory, and 8 pathologies, establishing the intrinsic relationship between informality, poverty, and public health of the inhabitant at the urban level.

Spatiotemporal Patterns and Coupling Coordination Analysis of Multiscale Social–Economic–Ecological Effects in Ecologically Vulnerable Areas Based on Multi-Source Data: A Case Study of the Tuha Region, Xinjiang Province

Ecologically fragile areas are confronted with the contradiction between economic development and ecological protection, especially in the Tuha region (Turpan and Hami), where the extremely vulnerable ecological environment limits local sustainable development. To address this, this study utilizes POI (Point of Interest) data, land use, and socioeconomic statistical data to achieve spatial quantification of indicators on a kilometer grid scale, constructing a multi-factor, multi-dimensional evaluation system for the socioeconomic and ecological effects of sustainable development based on SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The entropy method, comprehensive evaluation method, coupling coordination degree model, and geographical detector method are used to analyze the coupling relationships between systems at different scales and the factors influencing the system’s coupling coordination degree. The results indicate that from 2010 to 2020, the economic, social, and ecological systems of the Tuha region, as well as their comprehensive scores, exhibited spatial similarity. The economic system showed an upward trend, the social system displayed an inverted U-shaped trend of rising then declining, while the ecological system presented a U-shaped trend of declining then increasing. At the county scale, the coupling coordination degree closely approximates the trend of the comprehensive coordination index, showing a continuous upward trajectory. Compared with Turpan city, Hami city, especially Yizhou district, exhibits the best development in coupling coordination degree, while the growth in coupling coordination degree is most significant in Gaochang district. The main factors influencing the degree of coupling coordination are grain production and GDP (gross domestic product). This study provides a new perspective on the quantification of sustainable development indicators, which is of great significance for balancing economic and social development with ecological protection and promoting the coupled and coordinated development of society, economy, and ecology in ecologically fragile areas.

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE DOWNTOWN STREETS OF THE UKRAINE CITIES

Annotation text. Setting the problem is a transition from the analysis of the street from the point of view of exclusively technical design or scenario, to the street as an element of the urban ecosystem. This will give impetus to the formulation of new indicators of sustainable development. Publications related to the transformation of the central streets of historical cities mainly cover individual components of sustainable development systems or are limited to purely theoretical issues regarding the design of the urban environment. At the same time, most consider the issue of the street as a transport artery, not a public space. The aim of this publication is to define and justify the principles of transformation of the downtown streets of cities with the further development of the appropriate methodology, which should combine all three directions of sustainable development - ecological, economic and social. The novelty of the publication consists in tracking the types of transformation of the downtown streets and formulating the principles of transformation of the streets in city centre. Methodical approaches and methods of transformation of downtown streets depending on various components of sustainable development - ecological, economic and social - have been revealed. It was found that the implementation of the above-mentioned principles can be achieved by changing the functional and planning organization of the street, as well as by transforming the subject environment with the help of landscaping elements - stationary, non-capital and landscaping elements. The transformations should ensure the sustainable and prospective development of the street, comfortable conditions for work, transit and recreation of people, optimal parameters of the street for transit and temporary preservation of transport. In further research, the authors intend to analyze the compliance of the tasks of sustainable development in the restoration of urban ecosystems with the identified principles of transformation of central streets and to formulate new indicators of sustainable development.

Analysis of environmental health and sustainability of Brazilian municipalities in the Baixo Pardo/Grande River Basin

Population growth, the lack of urban planning and poor sanitation infrastructure have persisted in the management of urban space when the core issue is environmental health and the sustainability of municipalities. This paper aimed to evaluate the environmental health and sustainability of the 12 Brazilian municipalities in the Baixo Pardo/Grande (SP) river basin. The exploratory approach and the case study guided the comparative analysis of sustainability through the Sustainable Cities Development Index (100 indicators) and the Brazilian Environmental Health Index (18 indicators) to obtain an integrated classification of these indices on a municipal scale. The analyses highlighted that 100% of studied municipalities reached medium level (score: 51-75) out for health and sustainability, especially to Altair and Orlândia results Bebedouro, Viradouro and Colina require careful monitoring of the following indicators sanitary sewage and vector control, water and socioeconomic resources, and water and socioeconomic resources, respectively. The basic sanitation, health diseases and infant mortality pillars relating to these indices identified seven similar indicators, that is, they measure the same aspects of the analyzes. Then, they were excluded to avoid duplication of data. The least promising results of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were Gender equality (SDG 5), Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), Protect life on Earth (SDG 15) and Partnerships and means of implementation (SDG 17). Finally, the great challenges of the Baixo Pardo Grande River Basin pointed out social, technological and connectivity issues between interinstitutional sectors from a regional perspective.

RURAL SUSTAINABILITY IN BULGARIA: MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS

Sustainable development is essential for long-term evolution of the society as a whole, considering the future generation as well. It is a key concept of the 21st century reflecting the present and the future of humanity. Within the European Union, it is of primary interest and a fundamental goal. Currently, the European Green Deal serves as a strategic framework for the transition and policy development to accomplish this goal. It recognizes rural areas as important to contribute in terms of land use, biodiversity conservation, economic activity, and prosperity of society. Rural areas are important as a main source of supplies and resources for the society and as a space for living and working. The current challenges, such as economic crises, depopulation, and climate change, may limit their sustainable development. The active rural development policy and its growing role within the European policies supports the processes of adaptation and transformation towards the sustainability goals. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach as achieving sustainability requires considering the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of rural development. It means to consider a range of social, economic, and environmental factors and their interrelationships in order to identify and prioritize sustainable development options for rural areas. Therefore, the multiple criteria analysis of the various aspects of rural development, taking into account different sustainability indicators is a required precondition. This paper assesses rural areas sustainability in Bulgaria based on the multi-criteria analysis exploring the time-related changes of the available Sustainable Development Indicators and comparing them to the observed indicators at the European level. The findings indicate progress in some aspects (ecological based on the analysis of greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from agriculture). The study also identified serious barriers in economic and social dimensions analysing the performance of rural economy, the developments in business structures, employment and unemployment rates, and the rural demography (population, migrations and at-risk-of-poverty rate). The paper concludes with recommendations for promoting sustainable development that enhance economic opportunities and improve social demography. Keywords: sustainable development, environmental sustainability, social sustainability, economic sustainability, sustainable development indicators JEL code: Q01, R51, O18

Club convergence of sustainable development: fresh evidence from developing and developed countries

Sustainability is a process that characterizes in a broad sense a nation’s ecological performance and may display a time-varying pattern. Such dynamic trajectories may vary among different countries and prompt not only intriguing questions on space–time convergence but also on the possibility of club convergence. The scope of this study is to investigate the long-run convergence pattern of 137 countries, as presented by their sustainable development index (SDI) over the period 1990–2019. The statistical–econometric analysis used to identify convergence across (groups of) countries is based on the advanced Phillips and Sul (JAE 24:1153–1185, 2009; ECTA 75:1771–1855, 2007) method. The empirical findings from our study allow us to identify two SDI convergence clubs of countries. The first and the biggest club includes mainly the developing African and Asian countries; whereas, the second club includes many OECD countries including inter alia the US, Canada, and Australia. Our analysis brings to light that the transition paths of these two clubs show a significant divergence pattern; this a-symmetry calls also into question the effectiveness of global green policies, such as the clean development mechanism as foreseen in the Kyoto protocol.

Comparative Performance Analysis of Deep Learning, Classical, and Hybrid Time Series Models in Ecological Footprint Forecasting

In a globalized world, factors such as increasing population, rising production rates, changing consumption habits, and continuous economic growth contribute significantly to climate change. Therefore, successfully forecasting the Ecological Footprint (EF) effectively indicates global sustainable development. Despite the significant role of the EF as one of the indicators of sustainable development, there is a gap in the literature regarding time series methods and forward-looking predictions. To address this gap, Ecological Footprint (EF) forecasting was performed using deep learning methods such as LSTMs, classical time series methods like ARIMA and Holt–Winters, and the developed hybrid ARIMA-SVR model. In the scope of the study, first, a spreadsheet was created using the total Ecological Footprint (EF) worldwide between 1961 and 2022, obtained from the Global Footprint Network database. Second, the forecasting performances of the ARIMA, Holt–Winters, LSTM, and the hybrid ARIMA-SVR models were compared using MAPE and RMSE metrics. Finally, the forecasting performances of the time series models were statistically validated through Wilcoxon Signed-Rank and Friedman tests. The study findings indicate that the proposed ARIMA (1,1,0) model demonstrated better performance with an average MAPE of 2.12%, compared to Holt–Winters (MAPE of 2.27%), LSTM (MAPE of 3.19%), and ARIMA-SVR (MAPE of 2.68%) methods in the test dataset. Additionally, it was observed that the ARIMA model forecasted the EF, which experienced a sudden decrease due to the COVID-19 lockdown, with a lower error compared to other models. These findings highlight the adaptability of the ARIMA model to variable and uncertain conditions.

In Search of Sustainable Economy Indicators: A Comparative Analysis between the Sustainable Development Goals Index and the Green Growth Index

The absence of globally accepted indicators for measuring progress towards a Sustainable Economy (SE) presents a significant challenge in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a timely and comprehensive manner. Despite decades of attempts to develop alternative metrics and indicators for SE and Sustainable Development (SD), progress has been incremental and incomplete. This paper aims to comparatively assess the existing metrics for measuring progress towards SE based on their completeness and utility in various SE dimensions, attributes and characteristics. It aims to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each identified metric and provide a detailed analysis of existing sustainability indices through a comprehensive literature review and analysis.. The importance and originality of our approach come from comparative analysis, mapping promising and relevant metrics identified through an extensive literature review against identified sustainability features. This paper employs the Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGI) and the Green Growth Index (GGI) and applies them to Qatar and few selected countries. Qatar is showing noteworthy progress in both indices, albeit at varying rates, but it has more room for progress by learning from other countries. This study acknowledges its limitations, including data availability for a limited period and its application to only a selected set of countries. Finally, it recommends future research to broaden the scope of analysis over an extended timeframe and to a larger group of countries, enhancing the applicability and depth of the indices.

Sustainable Development and Competitiveness: Is There a Need for GCI Reconstruction?

Abstract Starting from competitiveness as the ability of an entity (company, sector, state) to successfully increase sales on the domestic and/or international market, and through a balance surplus to create growing revenues for its company and/or residents, i.e. the entire country, the concept of competitiveness should be transformed according to today’s business conditions. Competitiveness was initially related to cost, and sales grew due to lower product prices, and later due to productivity and better product quality. Today’s consumer is not only interested in price and quality, but also in environmental sustainability and social responsibility, and customers are looking for sustainable products. This paper investigates the relationship between the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) index on a sample of 27 member states of the European Union in the period 2007-2017, with the main goal and purpose of determining the direction and strength of the relationship and creating a platform for the necessity of redesigning the GCI. The impact of climate change on the GCI was examined by the Sustainable Development Index. For this purpose, Difference GMM was used. The results show that SDG12 (waste generation) hurts competitiveness, while SDG14 (maritime, ocean conservation) has a positive impact on competitiveness. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the intersection of competitiveness and sustainability, providing a foundation for future discussions and potential reconstructions of indices that reflect the changing global environment.

System of Indicators for Sustainable Development of the National Agro-Industrial Complex

System of Indicators for Sustainable Development of the National Agro-Industrial Complex

The Relationship between Sustainable Development Index and Financial Development and Globalization in Developed and Developing Countries

This study draws attention to the importance of sustainable development goals in the growth of countries along with environmental disasters and climate events in recent years. In addition to the human development indicator, Hickel (2020) created the Sustainable Development Index (SDI), which includes the sustainable development of countries, including life expectancy, education and income, as well as CO2 emissions and carbon footprint data. This study aims to examine the relationship between SDI, Globalization Index and financial development of developed and developing countries in the 1990-2019. As a result of the Mean Group (MG) test, it is found that the error correction parameter is negative and statistically significant in developed and developing countries. As globalization increases in developed and developing countries, SDI also increases in the long run. Financial development affects SDI negatively in the long run for developed and developing countries. It is predicted that with the inclusion of all countries in the globalization process, it will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions and the achievement of the goal of sustainable development.

The Dynamics and Potential of Carbon Stocks as an Indicator of Sustainable Development for Forest Bioeconomy in Ghana

Sustainable forest bioeconomy (SFB), as a multidimensional approach for establishing mutual benefits between forest ecosystems, the environment, the economy, and humans, is a nature-based solution for a promising future. The study aims to evaluate the potential of carbon stocks (Cstocks) and variability for SFB. It is hypothesized that the decrease in Cstocks is related to an increase in population and agriculture, which caused a decrease in forest area and growing stock and consequently affected SFB. Primary and secondary data were collected from the field, national, and international databases, and analyzed using some statistical and geospatial software packages including IBM SPSS 29.0, CANOCO 5.0, and ArcGIS 10.5. The results revealed that large forest areas were converted to arable lands between 2000 and 2020. Across the forest zones, the aboveground and belowground Cstocks varied significantly, with the aboveground biomass being higher than the belowground biomass. The main drivers of Cstocks were politics and governance (57%), population growth (50%), soil degradation practices (50%), and socio-cultural beliefs (45%). Cstocks had significant negative correlation with population growth, carbon emissions, forest growing stock, forest loss, and the use of forest for biofuel. Evergreen forest zones (rainforest and moist) had more Cstocks than the moist deciduous and swamp/mangrove forests. The study demonstrated that the variability in Cstocks over the last three decades is attributed to an increase in population and agriculture, but Cstocks variability between the forest-vegetation belts could be better explained by differences in trees abundance than population. The study also revealed that the increase in Cstocks contributed to the realization of many SDGs, especially SDG 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15, which in turn support a sustainable forest bioeconomy. Future study is necessary to evaluate Cstocks in individual tree species, biodiversity, and other forest ecosystem services to promote SFB in the country.

Assessment of Türkiye's Digitalization Performance within the Framework of the UN Sustainable Development Index

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the accelerated digitalization process in Türkiye in the 2000s and the developments in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) index observed in the same period. The main question motivating the study is the nature of the effects of increasing digitalization on sustainable development. Quantitative data analytics methods were used in the study. Time series data on digitalization and SDG index for Türkiye were collected and descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were applied. The findings show that there has been a significant increase in digitalization indicators in Türkiye since the 2000s. In the same period, an increase was also observed in the SDG index. Although a positive relationship was found between the two variables, it was understood that more detailed analyses are needed to make a definitive judgment in terms of causality. The study is important in terms of raising awareness of the relationship between digitalization and sustainable development in Türkiye and guiding future research.

Spatial and temporal assessment of sustainable development indicators for the China-Pakistan transportation corridor

ABSTRACT The China-Pakistan Transportation Corridor (CPTC) has long faced great challenges in natural disasters and sustainable development. This study develops a localised indicator evaluation system for the CPTC sustainable development. It contains 27 Tier I and 8 Tier II indicators, covering 11 sustainable development goals. Based on this evaluation system, a single-goal, multidimensional, and comprehensive evaluation of the CPTC sustainable development level is conducted for 2015, 2017 and 2020. The results show that, in terms of single goals, Xinjiang has the highest sustainable development level. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the poorest level of sustainable development. The Islamabad Capital Territory is better developed for all goals, especially in SDG5, SDG8 and SDG9. Besides these three goals, SDG6, and SDG11 are more prominent in Punjab, whereas SDG2 and SDG3 performed worst. From a multidimensional evaluation, the CPTC sustainable development level has been steadily increasing. However, the social and environmental dimensions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have experienced a ‘regression’. The comprehensive evaluation results show that the level of sustainable development in all provinces of the CPTC increase, except for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This study identifies CPTC sustainability issues and proposes targeted recommendations for sustainable development.

Corporate Social Responsibility: Completeness and Transparency of Information

The article presents the results of research in the field of increasing objectivity of information on the social responsibility of the state and business reflected in the reports of economic entities. The main stages of the formation and evolution of this concept in the world scientific literature and in practice of corporate structures are shown. The purpose of the study is to determine the main directions of social responsibility of business and select the forms of their reflection in reporting. Methods for determining social responsibility in individual countries are analyzed. The specifics of its reflection in reporting during the period of centralized economic management and in the post-socialist period of development in Russia has been revealed. Based on the analysis of reports on the social activities of modern corporate structures in Russia, the need to unify and standardize the reporting of corporate structures on social responsibility is justified. The areas of activity in the field of social responsibility, reflected in the form of ESG reporting, are systematized, their specifics and algorithmization of indicators that allow assessing the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of social responsibility are provided. To systematize and classify initiatives in the field of social responsibility, methods of comparative analysis, detailing, classification and determination of the interdependence of social responsibility with the indicators of sustainable development of the organization were used. Proposals have been formulated for structuring reports on the social responsibility of corporate economic entities and management bodies at different levels, taking into account the requirements for their harmonization and compatibility when assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the state’s social activities. The materials of the article can be used in the development of internal regulations governing social responsibility reporting, as well as in organizing control of information included in the reporting and assessing its reliability.

Role of green finance and carbon accounting in achieving sustainability

This study delves into the influence of carbon accounting and green finance on the sustainable development index within a dataset of 500 Chinese publicly listed companies over the period from 2010 to 2020. Leveraging analysis conducted through the fully modified OLS methodology, the research findings unveil that the adoption of carbon accounting positively impacts the sustainable development index among these Chinese-listed firms. However, the number of employees engaged in these companies exhibits an adverse effect on the sustainable development index, and the consumption of resources, including water and electricity, demonstrates an inverse relationship with the overall sustainability of the firms. In light of these findings, the research suggests several central policies to bolster sustainable development. These include expanding green finance markets by harnessing financial technology (fintech) and big data, advancing corporate sustainability management, investing in green energy projects, and establishing an efficient green taxation system.

Impact of digital public services on governance efficiency

The impact of electronic services for citizens on the efficiency of public administration extends beyond simply digitizing bureaucratic processes. It has a positive effect on various aspects of management, ultimately increasing value for both society and the state. The purpose of the article is to quantify the degree of influence that electronic services have on several factors characterizing the public administration efficiency, utilizing the following methods: correlation analysis, factor analysis, multivariate regression, and radar method. The study found a relationship between the development level of electronic services (measured by the E-Government Index) and various indicators of public administration efficiency. The findings showed that e-government can account for approximately 57.1% variation in these indicators, but it is important to take into consideration the significant value of the standard estimation error. The study's novelty lies in its comprehensive approach to examining the various aspects of public administration efficiency regarding the development of electronic services for the population, as well as their quantitative characteristics. Further research areas will be aimed at an in-depth investigation of e-governance's impact on sustainable development and international efficiency indicators.