Involvement In Sustainable Development Research Articles

Relevance of the “Polar Index” Project for Sustainable Development of the Russian Sector of the Arctic Zone

Introduction. The following study answers the question whether the “Polar Index” project is a reliable reflection of the development of the Russian Arctic region in the field of sustainable development. Within the framework of this scientific work, the analysis of the general methodology for calculating the "Polar Index" assigned to each of the companies operating in the Russian Arctic was carried out. The analysis made it possible to understand the logic of assigning an organization to one of the three groups, depending on how active its sustainable development policy is.Materials and methods. The materials used in the given article include studies of Russian scientists devoted to sustainable development of the Arctic region, as well as the materials published on the official web-sites of Russian energy companies. In terms of research methodology, the article pays special attention to event analysis aimed at identifying and interpreting key activities and projects that are implemented by Russian companies in the Arctic zone within the framework of sustainable economic, social and environmental development. In order to do this, three Russian energy companies of different levels of participation in the development of the region were selected. Next, for each of these companies, an analysis of its actions and development strategy regarding the Russian segment of the Arctic was carried out.Results of the study. The comparison of the assessment of Russian energy companies’ activities based on the Polar Index and the conclusions regarding the effectiveness of their activities obtained as a result of the event analysis proves that the Polar Index project indeed reflects the effectiveness of the activities of Russian companies in the Arctic region, as well as the degree of their involvement in sustainable development of the polar region in question, with a high degree of reliability.Discussion and conclusion. The research revealed Russian companies, the activities of which to a substantial degree comply with all the three criteria of sustainable development, namely, economic, ecological, and social. That being said, relevant scientific research on the given subject demonstrates that the companies, which managed to achieve the best results in the given sphere, are Rosneft, Norilsky Nikel and Gaspromneft.

Arsitektur Vernakular yang Mendukung Pembangunan Berkelanjutan di Kampung Adat Tamkesi Kabupaten Timor Tengah Utara

Title: Vernacular Architecture that Supports Sustainable Development in the Tamkesi Traditional Village, North Central Timor Regency
 Indonesia has a wealth of diverse vernacular architecture. Still, in this era of openness to information and outside cultures, it seems the uniqueness of this architecture has become neglected and threatened with loss. Amid the external-internal influences that cause changes in the archipelago's vernacular buildings, the Atoni tribe in the Tamkesi traditional village responds otherwise. This paper examines how the indigenous Atoni people maintain the authenticity and sustainability of the Tamkesi traditional village, its architecture, and their involvement in sustainable development. This research uses descriptive qualitative research methods, while analysis techniques are carried out by coordinating data collection techniques through books, journals, articles, and an understanding of the theory of vernacular architecture and sustainable development. Based on the results of the analysis show that the Tamkesi traditional village is one of the oldest villages on the island of Timor, East Nusa Tenggara, which is still sustainable today and has developed from generation to generation based on the concept of local cultural wisdom and harmonization with nature.

Bibliometric Review on Sustainable Finance

Unlike conventional finance, sustainable finance seeks to integrate social, environmental, and climate change considerations into financial institutions’ business strategies. The financial system’s ability to positively respond to sustainability transition demands is contingent upon a directional transformation that involves regulatory, political, structural, theoretical, and relational shifts. Accordingly, this paper performs a quali-quantitative analysis that combines both a bibliometric method with a content analysis process to investigate the trend of sustainable finance literature in the Scopus database and provide directions for potential future research. Our bibliometric performance analysis of 723 publications reveals that the UK, China, the US, Switzerland, and Japan are the major centers of research excellence in sustainable finance. They are the most productive countries and hold the most relevant institutions. Moreover, the prevalence of transdisciplinary journals over mainstream finance and economics sources is obvious. Our network map analysis, on the other hand, shows the substantial relevancy of sustainable/green banks’ involvement in sustainable development. Nonetheless, its relatively low density underlines the existence of relevant research gaps. Therefore, we undertake a content analysis of that particular topic’s literature to derive its conceptual structure and truly understand banks’ important role in sustainability transition. Key research themes in this respect include sustainability performance and banks’ profitability associations; sustainable banks’ risk profile; determinants of banks’ willingness to introduce sustainability criteria into their business strategy; depositors’/customers’ responsiveness to banks’ sustainability performance; and relevant macroprudential regulations, monetary policies, and supervisory guidelines to sustainability transition.

Sustainable development universities: key initiatives and impact on student awareness and engagement

Purpose: This paper aimed to examine what the most important initiatives and sustainable development goals are visible in the activities of sustainable development universities (SDUs), where sustainable development issues are considered a priority in the opinion of students from in total 10 countries around the world, and how this affects the awareness and involvement of students, the main stakeholders of SDUs. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted among students at universities using the CAWI questionnaire in 2022. In the further part of the work, a statistical study was carried out using the non-parametric Pearson's Chi-square test for 2 × 2 tables and the PQStat 1.8 program from PQStat Software. Findings: The study showed that students positively perceive initiatives and sustainable development goals at universities and actively participate in them, especially at public universities. Moreover, research has shown that the university's efforts towards sustainable development increase students' awareness and involvement in sustainable development, contributing to creating a more sustainable future and "Society 5.0". Research limitations/implications: The study focused on the association between university initiatives and students' awareness and involvement, but it cannot establish a causal relationship. There might be other factors influencing students' engagement that were not explored in this research. Furthermore, the study primarily focuses on students, thereby excluding the perspectives and involvement levels of other stakeholders such as faculty, staff, and local communities. Understanding the views of these groups is critical for a more comprehensive assessment of SDUs' impact on sustainable development. Practical implications: The article can guide universities on what sustainable development activities students need and how universities can achieve sustainable development goals. Originality/value: The article fills the gap in the analysis of how the activities undertaken by sustainable development universities in the field of sustainable development affect the awareness and involvement of students. Keywords: managing sustainable development, sustainable development universities, CAWI survey, awareness. Category of the paper: research paper.

The role of universities' sustainability, teachers' wellbeing, and attitudes toward e-learning during COVID-19.

In recent years, universities worldwide have experienced rapid changes with an immense impact, which have been influenced by technological progress and the social trends of digitalization. Like all other revolutionary changes, digital transformation involves intense adjustment/readjustment. University sustainability must be the active concern of all higher education institutions. Thus, the present research aims to analyse teachers' acceptance of new technologies and the impact on their wellbeing and university sustainability. The main objective was to analyse the acceptance of technology in special the e-learning opportunities and the wellbeing of teacher in an emergent country like Romania. To achieve our goal, we created a questionnaire based on the literature, and with the help of the technology acceptance model, we tested our hypotheses. The results indicate several discontents on the part of teachers concerning adapting to new technologies and even a personal discomfort in adapting to these new technologies. Thus, we can note that wellbeing significantly influences job satisfaction and teachers' involvement in sustainable development.

Assessing the Importance of Psychosocial Factors Associated With Sustainable Organizational Development During COVID-19.

Involvement in sustainable development is a voluntary activity. Organizations apply the principles of sustainable development only when they identify several benefits. These benefits are identified, especially with the financial ones. The involvement of organizations in sustainable organizations has different intensity levels. These intensity levels are influenced by psychosocial factors (PF), attitudes toward organizational risks, and organizational and urban policies. The present paper identifies the key psychological factors involved in applying organizational sustainability principles within organizations. For this research, five groups were created for in-depth interviews with key people from Romania’s innovative companies. To identify the importance of the framework analysis factors, the Delphi method was used, in which 20 experts from different fields of activity were involved. Following the rounds involved in the Delphi method, the ranking of PF on four levels of importance was accepted, based on planned behavior and reasoned action theory. These levels were correlated with the intensity levels of involvement in sustainable development. The entire market study was conducted during COVID-19, which significantly impacted specific directions. As a result, it could be observed that motivation, learning attitude, behavior, and intention to take precedence are essential in the organizational sustainability approach.

The sustainability of French event companies: an exploratory study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and discuss the involvement in sustainable development of French event companies, mostly by identifying facilitators and barriers to their sustainability strategy. Based on the results, some recommendations are provided, which aim at increasing the sustainability of French event companies. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on face-to-face and semi-structured interviews with six directors and top managers of French event companies and a consultant in sustainable tourism. The data collected were analysed through a content analysis. Findings This paper identified different motivations and barriers regarding the involvement of French event companies in sustainability. The main motivations are personal conviction, a greater satisfaction for clients and a cost similar to the one of non-sustainable events. The main barriers are a difficulty in comparing the cost of sustainable and non-sustainable events, a low demand for sustainable events, a lower quality of materials and greenwashing, the issue of measuring sustainability and a profusion of labels. Practical implications As the directors of French event companies interviews do believe in the value of sustainability, they should educate their clients and employees towards sustainability. They should also find ways to demonstrate that the price of a sustainable event is not higher than a non-sustainable one. Originality/value This paper focusses on the sustainability of event companies in France, comparing companies that are highly involved in sustainability and others that are not involved. In the field of events research, most studies focussed on the degree of sustainability of specific events, whereas this study deals with the sustainability of corporate events companies.

A bibliometric analysis of corporate social responsibility in sustainable development

The involvement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sustainable development (SD) is becoming a popular topic on research and business domain. However, the co-themed research is still rather new and hasn’t been fully studied. An in-depth bibliometric analysis using the ‘CiteSpace’ software is applied to analyze and visualize the knowledge map of the CSR research related to SD. Main findings show that the CSR involvement in SD is a lasting but recent prosperous research topic. The top 3 influential journals in this area are Corporate Social Responsibility and Environment Management; Sustainability; and Journal of Cleaner Production. Porter ME, Carroll AB, etc., are the most impactful authors. The co-author network is fragmented, while cross-national co-operations occur in groups. 11 clusters are identified to be highly concerned, among which, “stakeholder” and “NGO” are long lasting till now. 13 burst terms has changed over 15 years (2005–2019) indicated the research frontiers evolution in this field, with the earliest “sustainability” to “strategy”, “performance” and then “stakeholder”, “developing country”, “disclosure” and “supply chain management”, etc., and “climate change” being the newest but strongest. Four stages of the evolution can be identified: initial phase (1997–2004), debating phase (2005–2009), rapid developing phase (2010–2013), and research specialization phase (2014–2019). Finally, contributions, limitations and further research directions are discussed.

Inter-Organizational Collaboration on Projects Supporting Sustainable Development Goals: The Company Perspective

There is a significant research gap in the theory of the nature of relationships between companies and other organizations (including NGOs) when collaborating on projects to support sustainable development goals. In particular, the company perspective has not yet been analyzed in depth. This paper therefore presents these relationships from the company’s point of view, and particularly in terms of how company representatives describe the roles of each partner in the collaboration and the outcomes it generates for the company. The empirical research is theoretically grounded in the Activities–Resources–Actors (ARA) model developed by Håkansson and Snehota. The study adopted a qualitative approach and was conducted using semi-structured individual in-depth interviews in 18 companies; the companies represented different industries and were involved in different types of projects related to sustainable development goals. The paper contributes to developing the theory in various ways. It contributes to the understanding of processes related to company involvement in sustainable development. It also contributes to the theory of the essence and substance of inter-organizational relationships, and specifically the ARA framework. Moreover, it explains the specificity of such inter-organizational collaborations and identifies to what extent these relationships vary from other types of inter-organizational collaboration, especially from business-to-business relationships. The paper also contributes to the discussion on the role of personal bonds within such inter-organizational relationships. The practical implications relate to the ways in which the activities and resources of a company and its partner may be combined in projects addressing social and/or environmental problems. Therefore, the paper offers guidance to companies and their potential partners interested in undertaking joint sustainability initiatives.

Insights on Sustainable Universities from Economic and Statistical Perspectives

Abstract Currently, the issues on sustainability receive extremely high interest, especially from young generation. This makes universities as key participants in sustainable development as far as they provide wide possibilities for engagement in the process. Despite many studies devoted to universities as participants of sustainable development, there still is insufficient knowledge about their contribution to the process. Mostly, studies are qualitative and consider certain examples of good practices, which do not provide insights on common and different characteristics and trends of universities’ contribution to sustainable development. This is the result of the early stage of development of the reporting about universities’ sustainable efforts what limits possibilities to carry quantitative analysis. The paper aims, first, to search for characteristics of universities’ contribution to sustainable development and, second, to detect trends by using numerical secondary data worked up in UI GreenMetric World University Ranking. The paper focuses on universities from European Union. Special attention is devoted to countries’ economic development level as far as scientific literature suggests that the level of economic development may affect involvement in sustainable development. Research findings allows to indicate that there are both common and distinct characteristics across the cases from economically high and less developed countries what is significant for further policy-making and popularizing of sustainability idea across universities in the European Union. Universities continue to improve practices and search for new accents. However, universities’ intention to report about their sustainable efforts in long-term perspective for continuing data collection must be more active.

Does gender diversity on boards influence stock market liquidity? Empirical evidence from the French market

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the gender diversity on boards and its effect on stock market liquidity in French boardrooms.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of French firms between 2002 and 2012 listed on the Paris Stock Exchange (SBF120), the study uses ordinary least squares and three-stage least squares (3SLS) regressions to address endogeneity concerns on the board gender diversity.FindingsThe results show that stock market liquidity is positively and significantly associated with the presence of women directors. The authors find that investors’ decisions vary according to their positions in the board: women independent members decrease illiquidity costs, while the presence of female inside directors increases daily trading volume. In addition, the presence of female inside directors increases the firm’s ability to implement better strategies that cope with economic, social and environmental constraints which leads investors to positively react. Surprisingly, the presence of female independent directors reduces company involvement in sustainable development projects.Practical implicationsThe empirical findings contribute to the current debate on the benefits of gender diversity on corporate boards and the effectiveness of gender-quota laws. It shows that appointing insider female’ directors incite investors to trade more stocks while appointing independents ones reduces their trading costs.Social implicationsThis paper shows that the benefits of female directors appointing depend on their independence of management team.Originality/valueThis study addresses the endogeneity between stock market liquidity, corporate governance and gender diversity. It is the first study to distinguish between the effects of women inside and independent directors on investors’ trading decisions.

Profiling research of the engineering academics who successfully promote education in Sustainable Human Development

Over the last decades, engineering faculties and universities have become increasingly engaged in integrating sustainable development into their different functions. Notwithstanding, more effort is required to effectively integrate sustainability principles as a whole-university approach, and specifically, in technical universities. Scientific literature highlights the main barriers to the success of initiatives that address this shortcoming. A better understanding of the scientific profile of the academics who engage in sustainable development activities can help to develop and promote initiatives for increasing faculty engagement in all academic functions. For this purpose, this study presents a bibliometric analysis of the scientific production of an academic community involved in a European initiative aimed at capacitating engineering academics for sustainable development. Specifically, two groups of academics with different degrees of expertise and involvement in sustainable development were characterized and compared, revealing common trends and similarities of their research production. The results have different implications for future strategies aimed at engaging specific academic profiles in the field of engineering, highlighting especially health science–related fields linked with engineering as a potential opportunity of promoting the integration of sustainable development in engineering education. Further analysis is required to determine the university rankings and their potential implications for the integration of sustainable development, as well as appropriate policies and mechanisms of faculty rewarding and promotion.

The Role of Political Divestiture for Sustainable Development

<p>In the wake of historical and political events, stakeholder pressure can trigger shareholders to divest from politically incorrect markets with the goal of accomplishing socio-political change. While mainstream development research advocates for more private investor involvement in sustainable development to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s in funding infrastructure, health, education and climate change mitigation; the following paper introduces political divestiture as an alternative means to implement sustainable development. While foreign investment can create positive conditions for improving societal development, also politically incorrect usage of funds or regulatory lacunae can do harm in the developing world. Political divestiture is portrayed as an innovative investment allocation to maximize positive development impacts of investment whilst minimizing associated risks of politically insecure markets. In an attempt to balance risk and access to capital, political divestiture is proposed as a means to implement sustainable development by removing funds from politically incorrect regimes in order to be channeled towards socially responsible and sustainable finance solutions. Future research outlooks on political divestiture as sustainable development driver comprise the antecedents and success factors as well as institutional and international frameworks to foster Financial Social Responsibility in the long-term international development domain.</p>

The Role of Political Divestiture for Sustainable Development

Globalization and socio-economic changes heralded attention to Financial Social Responsibility. In the aftermath of the 2008/09 World Financial downturn, the interest in understanding social responsibility in the interplay of financial markets and the real economy reached unprecedented momentum. In the wake of historical and political events, stakeholder pressure can trigger shareholders to divest from politically incorrect markets with the goal of accomplishing socio-political change. While mainstream development research advocates for more private investor involvement in sustainable development to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s as investments fund infrastructure, health, education and climate change mitigation; the following chapter covers political divestiture as an alternative means to implement sustainable development. While foreign investment can create positive conditions for improving societal conditions, also politically incorrect usage of funds or regulatory lacunae can do harm in the developing world. Political divestiture is portrayed as an innovative investment allocation to maximize positive development impacts of investment whilst minimizing associated risks of politically insecure markets. In an attempt to balance risk and access to capital, political divestiture is proposed as a means to implement sustainable development by removing funds from politically incorrect regimes in order to be channeled to socially responsible and sustainable finance solutions. Future research outlooks on political divestiture as sustainable development driver comprise the antecedents and success factors as well as institutional and international frameworks to foster Financial Social Responsibility in the sustainable development domains.

SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVENES – ANALISIS OF ECONOMIES AT VARIOUS LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT

Hitherto conducted analyses of international competitiveness paid special attention to economic aspects. The article places particular emphasis on other aspects of human activity that reflect people's involvement in sustainable development as well as have effect on development potential and competitive capacity of economies. The concept of sustainable development is an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of international competitiveness introduced by World Economic Forum (WEF). In 2012, WEF proposed a methodology for measuring so-called sustainable international competitiveness. The present paper is aimed at analyzing sustainable international competitiveness of five groups of states in order to identify factors favourable or detrimental to their competitive ability and potential. The analysis presented in the article indicates that only in the case of the richest and at the same time the most competitive (in conventional terms) countries, factors determining social and environmental sustainability have a positive effect on the competitive capacity and development potential of these states. As for the remaining four groups of countries, environmental and social factors contribute to limited competitive capacity and development potential of the economies.

Global sustainability pressures and strategic choice: The role of firms’ structures and non-market capabilities in selection and implementation of sustainability initiatives

Through the comparative analysis of sustainable development (SD) strategies of three Spanish electric utilities, we explore how differences in electricity production technologies and non-market capabilities of these companies resulted in substantial differences in the degree and nature of their SD involvement over time. This longitudinal study of SD strategies highlights the pluralism of SD commitment interpretations and reveals the non-deterministic nature of SD strategy evolution. While some differences in companies’ strategic choices could be explained by their existing production capacity constraints, the evolution of SD commitment interpretations and SD actions reflect strategic choices grounded in non-market capabilities of the firms.

Diffusion of sustainability reporting in universities: current situation and future perspectives

Universities play a key role in the development of society, and their involvement in sustainable development will be crucial in changing current practices in society towards sustainable development. Thus, information about the measures and actions taken towards sustainable development needs to be communicated to all university stakeholders. Sustainability reporting is a voluntary tool for disclosing efforts towards sustainable development, but little research has analysed the diffusion of sustainability reporting among universities. This study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to explain the worldwide diffusion of sustainability reporting in universities. At the macro level, regressions using logistic curves showed the stage of diffusion regarding sustainability reporting for different regions around the world. At the micro level, two types of data were analysed to assess the sustainable practices used among universities: (i) data from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting database and (ii) sustainability reports from the GRI database. The results indicate that the diffusion of sustainability reporting is still at an early stage in universities, and no massive diffusion is expected based on the current data, despite the increasing concerns about sustainability in young people and other university stakeholders. Some actions need to be taken to persuade universities to adopt reporting standards and to highlight the benefits and necessity of sustainability reporting. Some European universities, which are the most active universities in providing sustainability reports, have improved their visibility by adopting the GRI, thus increasing their endowments and facilitating their ability to raise funds for future sustainability activities.

Citizenship, civicness and social capital in local agenda 21

Local Agenda 21s are now being widely produced throughout Britain. Whilst there is wide variation in the nature of such exercises, many are exceeding original expectations and opening up important new opportunities for community involvement in sustainable development. This paper argues that, if LA21s unlock the energies necessary to engage widespread participation in local quality of life issues, they can become an influential and enduring part of the governance of the local state. This raises a number of theoretical and practical issues relating to types of citizenship, social capital, appropriate participatory mechanisms, and the respective contributions of lay and technical expertise. Individual people who are pivotal to the dynamics of local sustainability strategies must themselves be sustained and supported throughout the process.