Sustainable Priorities Research Articles

Ranking the sustainable development goals: perceived sustainability priorities in small island states

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to elicit global mobilization to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and are increasingly used in support of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Previous studies have highlighted interdependencies between SDGs, with potential interactions between four Sustainability Domains: Economy, Governance, Planet and Society. This study aimed to assess whether people’s perception of the relative importance of the SDGs reflects recognition of the need to prioritize efforts across Domains, or whether this perception is based on different valuations of the Sustainability Domains themselves. We designed an interactive online tool in which participants used the Q-sort technique to rank the SDGs according to their subjective valuation of importance. We analyzed the rankings of 108 participants, all learners at universities in three Small Island States (SIS): Aruba, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Analysis of the correlation structure among participants’ Q-sorts showed that higher perceived importance of the Society- and Economy-related SDGs 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 traded off with lower perceived importance of the Planet-related SDGs 13, 14 and 15. Furthermore, SDG rankings of learners from Aruba occurred furthest toward the Planet-based part of this trade-off axis. For ESD programs, our method provides a novel tool to identify key interactions between SDGs that may not yet be recognized by program participants. In this way, communicating the need for simultaneous action and policy development across Sustainability Domains could be specifically tailored to the local context. Such connections may increase the effectiveness of ESD in addressing the substantial sustainability challenges facing SIS.

Environmental assessments and sustainable finance frameworks: will the EU Taxonomy change the mindset over the contribution of EIA to sustainable development?

ABSTRACT Environmental Assessment is a globally mandated tool for helping to deliver sustainable development, yet decision makers frequently use it to legitimise trade-offs between socio-economic gains and environmental losses. As a result, environmental assessment is frequently criticised for its inability to prevent incremental environmental degradation. However, new frameworks stipulating what can be deemed as ‘sustainable investment’ or ‘sustainable economic activity’ for financing under sustainable finance frameworks are being developed. These are known as taxonomies of sustainable investments, and they have the potential to radically change the environmental outcomes of decision making, based on a ‘significant contribution’ and ‘do no significant harm’ approach to critical environmental components. We illustrate how they can change the mindset for the sustainable development expectations associated with policy tools like environmental assessment. Further, we demonstrate that emerging taxonomies can benefit from integration with existing environmental assessment systems. Conversely, an appropriate use of taxonomies of sustainable investments in environmental assessment systems can further strengthen the existing EA systems and allow them to better address the environmental sustainability priorities of the 21st century.

Australian adolescents’ beliefs and perceptions towards healthy eating from a symbolic and moral perspective: A qualitative study

Unhealthy food choices among adolescents are considered a significant health concern. Current rhetoric adds a moral dimension to food and considers adolescents as moral and healthy eaters or less moral or less healthy eaters. While much research has investigated the structural barriers and facilitators to healthy eating, minimal scholarship has investigated Australian adolescents' symbolic and moral boundary beliefs and perceptions of healthy eating from different socioeconomic statuses. Using Lamont’s (1992, 2000) concept of ‘moral boundary work’ and Sayer’s (2005, 2011) ideas on the moral dimensions of social class, we explore Australian adolescents' beliefs and perceptions towards healthy eating from a symbolic and moral boundary perspective. The study consisted of seven focus groups interviews (N = 27) with Australian adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 (10 male, 17 female) across three different socioeconomic status secondary schools. An inductive thematic analysis approach was adopted to analyse the data. Adolescents associated healthy eating with 1) beliefs and perceptions, 2) moral judgement, and 3) ethical eating and food sustainability priorities. Overall, adolescents constructed and applied their own moral and symbolic meanings to healthy eating. Furthermore, adolescents exerted their moral boundaries by comparing their food choices with their families and peers. Current research is mixed if adolescents from low socioeconomic status positions engage in moral boundary work. This study makes an original contribution by introducing how Australian adolescents interpret healthy eating across socioeconomic status positions. The findings from the study suggest that Australian adolescents across a range of socioeconomic statuses do and can be engaged in moral boundary work and demonstrated a sense of self-worth and dignity regarding their dietary practices.

The Futures of Europe: Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0 as Driving Forces of Future Universities

The concept of Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0 is not a simple chronological continuation or alternative to Industry 4.0 paradigm. Society 5.0 aims to place human beings at the midpoint of innovation, exploiting the impact of technology and Industry 4.0 results with the technological integration to improve quality of life, social responsibility and sustainability. This ground-breaking perspective has common points with the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It also has major implication for universities transformations. Universities are called upon producing knowledge for new technologies and social innovation. In our paper, we argue that digitalisation opens new perspectives for universities and can become one of the main drivers of their change. Incorporating the assumptions of Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0 into the universities practices and policies will allow both universities and societies to fully benefit from digital transformation. Making the human-oriented innovation as the universities trademark and developing new cooperative models will also help to achieve sustainable priorities. The use of the Quintuple Helix Model (QHM) might foster the process of necessary transformations capacities as it integrates different perspectives and sets the stage for sustainability priorities and considerations. As far as the practical goal is concerned, the paper proposes a set of recommendations for universities aiming at developing new forms and channels of distribution of education, research and innovation within in the context of QHM and Society 5.0. We call them socially and digitally engaged model.

Swedish food system transformations: Rethinking biogas transport logistics to adapt to localized agriculture

Ensuring future food and energy security will require large changes in consumption and production patterns, including enhanced animal and human excreta recycling. Although these shifts are considered in many scenario studies, their implications on the logistical requirements for effective recycling are rarely analysed. Here we translated two existing stakeholder co-designed food system scenarios for Sweden to 5 × 5 km resolution maps of animals, crops, and humans. We used optimization modelling to identify biogas plant locations to minimize transport costs and maximize nutrient reuse. We then compared scenarios, including full recycling under current landscape configuration, through Life Cycle Assessment. The reduction in meat consumption and imported food in both co-designed scenarios, by definition, led to less nutrients available in manure for recycling back on cropland, and less material available for digestion. Less excreta meant lower national benefits, for example 50% less greenhouse gas emissions savings in the most divergent scenario. However on a per transport basis the benefits of recycling were more important: recycling remained a net financial benefit even if transport costs were to increase. Although fewer biogas plant locations were necessary (184 and 228 for alternative futures, vs 236 under current conditions) to process human and animal excreta, the regional clustering of locations did not change substantially across scenarios. Regions such as Skåne and Västra Götaland consistently required the most biogas plant locations across scenarios. Focusing early construction investments in these regions would be resilient to a large array of food system futures. Our spatially-explicit open access scenario maps can be used to explore logistics for such planning, and explore the impact of landscape configuration on other sustainability priority areas.

МОДЕЛІ ПОВЕДІНКИ ІНВЕСТОРІВ НА ФІНАНСОВОМУ РИНКУ

The article summarizes the approaches to the formation of the model of investor behavior and identifies the cause and effect relationships between the actions of individual financial market players, highlights their sustainable priorities and irrational components of behavior, as well as market conditions and experience. It is argued that in unstable conditions the behavior and opinion of individual investors is transformed into collective behavior and market sentiment on the basis of which stable advantages of investors are formed: macroeconomic status, market maturity, political and social structure, values, quality of life, human capital. The characteristics of the investor behavior model that take into account both sustainable priorities and the irrational component are presented, and a detailed classification of investor behavior models is proposed. The Asian, Islamic, Latin American and post-Soviet models are singled out and characterized, the similarities and differences between them are highlighted. It is proposed to understand the model of investor behavior as sustainable benefits (risk, expected levels of return, liquidity, propensity to invest in certain financial instruments) and the consequent consistent actions of market players, as well as a set of factors that explain it, including expectations moment of time. It is substantiated that the behavior of investors is also explained by the irrational component (anomalies, stress response, etc.). It is proved that emerging markets are more volatile than developed ones, are in a state of instability and a significant manifestation of the irrational component, which must be taken into account when assessing their behavioral characteristics. The Asian, Islamic, Latin American and post-Soviet models are singled out and characterized, the similarities and differences between them are highlighted. It is established that the Latin American and post-Soviet models of investor behavior are similar in the following characteristics: low risk tolerance, high income orientation, prominent role of the banking system, concentration of property, behavioral anomalies, manipulation and corruption, high collectivism.

Local Productive Systems’ Transitions to Industry 4.0+

The paper is positioned in the emerging debate on the technological change brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, often referred to as Industry 4.0. Our analysis is at the local, sub-national level. The aim is to explore what drivers and barriers local productive systems might face when seeking to embark on transitions that reconcile smart, equitable, and sustainable priorities, under enhanced models called Industry 4.0+. The novelty of the paper is to develop such models by designing a conceptual framework that juxtaposes the drivers and the barriers of sustainability transitions with local productive systems. This novel framework suggests possible pathways that local productive systems can initiate to achieve more equitable and green outcomes for their economy and society by directing the development of digital-related solutions.

RURAL ECONOMY: DIRECTIONS OF NEW THEORIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST EUROPEAN FINANCIAL REGULATION PRACTICES

RURAL ECONOMY: DIRECTIONS OF NEW THEORIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST EUROPEAN FINANCIAL REGULATION PRACTICES

THE CLUSTER INITIATIVE AS A SPECIAL ECONOMIC PROJECT: EUROPEAN AND UKRAINIAN PRACTICES

Abstract. The article examines the European and Ukrainian practices, on cluster initiatives as a special development of economic projects. It is noted that in connection with the development and spread of globalization processes in the world increases competitiveness in the market and enterprises need to introduce new ways to strengthen the competitiveness and development of their production capacities. It is determined that the cluster is a stable system of enterprises and institutions associated with the production of innovative products, using the achievements of self-developing research institutions, training and education of research organizations and commercial structures, stimulating entrepreneurial activity in science and commercialization of progressive technologies. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the trends of the new cluster economy cause the following processes: Globalization and localization of business, production, capital, as processes of movement to integrated actions, targeted involvement of the country’s potentials, industries, priority resources. Primary sphere of exchange, increasing influence of financial authorities, financial oligarchy, financial markets as an element of supercontrol, hyper-power, centers of influence on changes in the reproduction of national products. Rapid information progress and sustainable priorities of comprehensive intellectualization of labor in all spheres of human activity, capacity building of the knowledge system and its tools of influence on the new man, etc. It is noted that world practice shows that when a cluster is created, all the industries within it begin to support each other. Competitive suppliers contribute to the development of consumer industries in the country. They provide them with technology, stimulate the development of common factors of production, and generate new producers. A single industry, competitive on the world market, can create a number of new interconnections, providing access to skilled labor, taking advantage of family diversification, or encouraging the emergence of new divorces. Overview that the development of cluster economy will contribute to the development of territorial communities and infrastructure of the regions, stimulate demand for education, now going through hard times, stop the outflow of human capital with subsequent employment in Ukraine, as well as stimulate innovation among young people, help improve their competitiveness in the global economic and political arena. Keywords: state, clusters, competitiveness, initiatives, market, support, stimulation. JEL Classіfіcatіon O30, F6, L25 Formulas: 0; fig. 3; tabl.: 0; bibl.: 10.

Critical Review of Sustainability Priorities in the Heritage Sector: Evidence from Latvia’s Most Visited Museums

A vibrant debate about the role and participation of museums in urbanisation, industrialisation, human rights protection, technological progress, climate change and other global challenges has persisted in the field of museums ever since the boom of theoretical museology, which coincided with the development of the sustainable development concept. However, often culture is considered a part of social sustainability pillar, covering manifestations such as equity, participation, social justice etc. (Murphy, 2012; Vallace et al., 2011; Cuthill, 2010) or ignoring cultural aspects altogether (Chiu, 2004). Many voices have called to promote culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development as a necessary foundation, condition or groundwork through which understandings of social, economic, and environmental sustainability may appear (Soini & Birkeland, 2014; Hawkes, 2001). Although the potential of cultural heritage institutions such as museums towards sustainable development is outlined in relevant literature, there has been no radical shift in museum practice (Ross, 2004; Simon, 2010; Nomikou, 2015). The paper aims to propose the first-ever critical review of sustainable development priorities in Latvia’s most popular museums with a view to finding out their strategic priorities and using these findings to identify today’s specific thematic development lines relevant to the museum sector within the sustainable development framework and to apply this bottom-up principle to propose potential ways to improve the general goal of Latvia’s museum accreditation system – that of promoting sustainable museum practices – with specific pointers and thematic building blocks for the broad umbrella concept of sustainable development. Research objectives include (1) conducting a critical review of relevant literature to identify the role of cultural heritage within the evolution of the sustainable development concept (2) identifying the themes of sustainable development that have been communicated as strategic priorities to stakeholders by the country’s nine most visited museums and (3) using research findings to illuminate and pinpoint a specific array of themes pursuant to the general goal of Latvia’s museum accreditation system – that of promoting sustainable museum practices – for the system to serve as a more comprehensive and targeted tool for fostering sustainabledevelopment in the heritage sector and beyond. Qualitative content analysis has been chosen to analyse museum development strategies and their collection, research, and communication policies, that is, the museum strategic documents to be submitted by the museums seeking to receive state recognition. The study covers Latvia’s nine most popular museums, whose joint annual share of visits amounts to 50% of the country’s total rate (Latvian Academy of Culture, 2018). The study reveals substantial diversity in how Latvia’s most popular museums approach sustainable development goals while also exposing a few significant downsides. According to the findings, museum priorities include (1) heritage preservation, efforts to strengthen national identity, and information and communication technology sustainability in the context of cultural sustainability, (2) financial sustainability as well as tourism- multiplication and image-building in the context of economic sustainability, (3) eco-cultural resilience and improvements in the infrastructure for better energy efficiency as well as a degree of progress towards more sustainable transportation solutions in the context of environmental sustainability and (4) physical, intellectual, socio-economic and emotional accessibility and a focus on boosting social capital in the context of social sustainability. Adjustment of accreditation requirements to meet the sustainable development priorities, at least identified within the study, should, in the long run, raise awareness within the field, enable museums to target their efforts at addressing their downsides and finding possibilities for growth in the context of sustainable development as well as foster sustainable development in the larger field of cultural heritage sites and institutions, which, unlike its kindred sector of museums, exists outside the scope of restrictions associated with accreditation. Such adjustments will help achieve a broader input from the heritage sector towards sustainable development goals.

Before and after the outbreak of Covid-19: Linking fashion companies' corporate social responsibility approach to consumers’ demand for sustainable products

The current exploratory endeavour sets out to scrutinize the relationships between the corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach of fashion companies, their strategic CSR communication, corporate reputation, and consumers' propensity towards buying sustainable products. The study elaborates on consumers' perspective on these variables, comparing two-time frameworks, before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The empirical research was performed on 977 Millennials and Gen Zers, thus extending previous studies based on the generational theory. Emphasis was placed on the fashion sector as one of the industries most challenged by the pandemic, with Italy being one of the most affected European countries. Scrutiny relied on a questionnaire-based survey; data being processed via structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The findings reveal that consumers attach great importance to the social and environmental sustainability practices applied by companies (i.e., circular economy issues, location of apparel production, organic production of raw materials, pollution generated during production, respect of workers’ rights and health, and use of recycled materials) and to the attributes of targeted products, even since the spread of the virus. The empirical evidence has substantive implications for scholars, professionals, and companies, urging that sustainability priorities are critical to favourable consumer behaviour, and implicitly to business survival.

Towards a post-pandemic policy framework to manage climate-related financial risks and resilience

ABSTRACT All G20 countries have adopted policies to tame financial instability in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-pandemic financial measures are designed to support bank lending, boost financial markets’ liquidity, reduce banks’ funding liquidity costs, and allow for a smoother transition in monetary and fiscal policies. However, when analyzed in a broader framework that considers possible interlinkages between the pandemic and threats posed by climate change, these measures are not aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Indeed, there is no evidence that recovery policies to date reflect sustainability priorities nor do they account for climate-related financial risks. The analysis carried out suggests that this failure to account for climate change could amplify the build-up of additional climate-related financial risks and of existing vulnerabilities in the financial system, leading to increased overall exposure to climate risks and thus undermining the low-carbon transition in G20 countries. Against this backdrop, the paper reviews several financial measures to avoid increasing the high carbon bias of existing policies and to explicitly address climate-related risks in the financial sector. The author proposes an enhanced macro-prudential policy framework to achieve three interrelated objectives: tackle climate-related financial risks, scale up green finance for a greener and more sustainable recovery, and preserve the global financial system’s resilience. Key policy insights A macro-prudential strategy aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement is needed to address carbon bias, avoid the increase of climate-related financial risks, and reorient financial flows towards sustainable investments. ‘Green-enhanced’ capital requirements can be used, but they need careful calibration to prevent financial instabilities, while green liquidity instruments pose fewer implementation concerns. Climate-related large exposure limits could help contain systemic risks deriving from the materialization of climate risks. Harmonized taxonomy and enhanced climate-related disclosure requirements are critical for the correct functioning of proposed climate-related financial instruments. Implementing such instruments in a post-pandemic financial policy framework could help underpin a transformative financial response to climate change while strengthening the resilience of the global financial system.

The OASIS-Sustainable Nanomanufacturing Framework (OASIS-SNF): a new simplified approach to implement sustainable production in nanomanufacturing pilot lines and evaluate its sustainable manufacturing performance

The pilot production ecosystem deployed by the EU-project OASIS consists of 12 pilot lines (PLs) for the manufacture of nanomaterials, nano-intermediates and nano-enabled products, intended for the final production of lightweight multifunctional products, based on aluminium and polymer composites, for construction, energy, automotive and aeronautics. OASIS intends to deploy this nanomanufacturing ecosystem under a common umbrella of sustainable production, to ensure a future competitive, quality, safe and environmentally friendly production of nanoproducts, in compliance with the applicable regulation. This paper introduces the new OASIS-Sustainable Nanomanufaturing Framework (OASIS-SNF) and some first results obtained during the initial stages of deployment in the PLs (diagnostic and planning stages). The adoption of the OASIS-SNF among the OASIS PLs is intended to enable them to sustainable manufacturing their nanoproducts, properly manage their sustainability priorities, and continually improve their sustainability performance (management and results).

Multi-criteria sustainability assessment and decision-making framework for hydrogen pathways prioritization: An extended ELECTRE method under hybrid information

Hydrogen has been received more and more attentions because of its advantage in terms of low environmental impact and high energy density. However, the sustainability priorities of different hydrogen production pathways have not been determined. To assist the sustainability-oriented selection of hydrogen production pathways, a prioritization framework needs to be built. However, the data collected from different sources consisting of hybrid information, such as crisp numbers, interval numbers, and fuzzy numbers, increases the difficulty of sustainability-oriented decision-making. Therefore, this study aims to develop a sustainability prioritization framework for hydrogen production pathways under hybrid information. The Z-number Best Worst Method (ZBWM) is applied to quantify the weight of each criterion from the views of decision-makers in the forms of Z-number. The ELECTRE method has been extended to prioritize the alternatives under the context of hybrid information. An illustrative case including five hydrogen production processes is used to illustrate the proposed prioritization framework from environmental, social, economic, and technical aspects, and the results show that biomass hydrogen technology is the most sustainable choice. In order to validate the feasibility of the proposed model, other three multi-criteria decision making methods were also used to determine the sustainability rankings of these five hydrogen production pathways, and the comparisons reveal that this method is feasible.

الجامعة المستنصرية / كلية الادارة والاقتصاد

In a country exhausted by conflicts, and successive circumstances weakened it, to produce a situation that is least described as "outside of time" at all levels. This research comes in the form of a scenario that shows the correct path that the Iraqi state must follow if it wants for itself and its society to return to time. He stresses that the first step of correction begins with the state itself. It is a choice coupled with the extent of the seriousness of the state in its obligations towards its citizens and people to recover and recover from the accumulated effects of conflicts. It is a scenario based on the assumption that the development state will adopt it as the ideal solution for the Iraqi economy in the post-conflict period. Research has proven this assumption. Therefore, the research recommends building a new social contract between the state and the citizen-based on: 1- human rights. 2- Governance. 3- Citizenship. 4- Participation. And adopting the state's development method with social responsibility, which aims to ensure the achievement of sustainable development priorities.

Corporate Sustainability and COVID-19: Analyzing the Impacts of the Outbreak

Corporations and their sustainability efforts are affected by external concerns, such as the COVID-19 outbreak. Corporations' sustainability driving forces have been considered to be equally by external stimuli and internal factors or mainly by internal factors, with some external stimuli. Most corporate sustainability efforts have focused on internal changes. External events, such as COVID-19, can result in the corporation disappearance. A survey was developed to investigate this phenomenon, of which 115 responses from corporations were obtained. The results show that COVID-19 changed their sustainability priorities, with the economic ones increasing, followed by the social ones, but the environmental ones decreasing considerably. Additionally, COVID-19 made corporations more aware about external stimuli on drivers for and barriers to sustainability. The results also show that employees are informed and engaged in sustainability issues, but do not receive enough training about them. The corporation system elements were affected negatively, with the exception of organizational systems that had more positive impacts than negative ones, and emerged to be the most central element. The results show that corporations must have a holistic approach, i.e., they have to consider the system elements and their connections, as well as internal factors and external stimuli (or events such as COVID-19), when addressing sustainability issues. Employees are key in this process, who need to be sustainability literate to make corporations more resilient and be prepared for future sustainability challenges.

Sustainable value mapping and analysis methodology: Enabling stakeholder participation to develop localized indicators mapped to broader sustainable development goals

The need for sustainability and social responsibility investments is magnified as the world faces a significant loss of ecosystem function and biodiversity. Unfortunately, current assessment and decision-making support tools used to establish local sustainability priorities have limited efficacy. Thus, there is a critical need to design decision-making support tools and assessment models that appropriately fit a specific context. Essentially, they must be more effective in directing our investments in sustainability and social responsibility, both of which influence our future global economic growth. The sustainable value mapping and analysis (SVMA) methodology, presented for the first time in this work, is a tool to engage multi-stakeholder groups in a strategic assessment of the social, environmental, and economic priorities and needs within supply chain operations. This paper introduces the SVMA methodology and applies it to two case studies, California almond growing and California winegrowing systems. The results point to the efficacy of the SVMA and opportunities to use it to develop and evaluate localized sustainability performance and outcomes against broader sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Sustainability in Complex Agriculture Projects: A Study of Agile Agricultural Co-operative Institutions

Agriculture projects directly affect the welfare of over half the world’s population and are a crucial component of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The realisation of such projects and hence sustainability are often delivered through alternative institutions like Agricultural Co-operative Institutions (ACIs). Agriculture projects are highly susceptible to environmental, social, and economic pressures such as climate change, cyclical pandemics, market disruptions, and diminishing arable land. These issues are becoming increasingly vital in dint of the fact that population growth is placing increasing pressure on resources and sustainable priorities. However, recent reviews indicate a significant paucity in the extant literature on agriculture projects. The dispersion and disparity nature of agriculture projects and their stakeholder and the unique organisational form of ACIs highlight a pressing need for academic research to examine agriculture project management practices and their sustainability from an institutional perspective. Therefore, this research aims to respond to this gap in the literature by drawing on Institutional Theory through multiple case studies of contemporary ACIs in China, which are often viewed as valuable solutions to deliver agriculture projects benefiting communities, especially those in emerging markets. Initial findings from two rounds of fieldwork and a systematic literature review suggest that ACIs as value-based organisations embedded within institutional contexts help stimulate elements of agility in project management processes. This results in the successful delivery of sustainable outcomes for both ACIs and external stakeholders. ACI managers can also stimulate innovative outcomes across broader sustainable agriculture projects, especially with enhanced agility against disruptions. This paper generates a novel and interdisciplinary contribution to project management discourse and knowledge, and provides practice-based management and policy development for future application.

Sustainable Agile Project Management in Complex Agriculture Projects: An Institutional Theory Perspective

Complex agriculture projects directly affect the welfare of over half the world’s population, are a key Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), and account for the single most extensive human activity across 40% of the world’s surface. Furthermore, they are highly susceptible to environmental, social, and economic pressures such as climate change, cyclical pandemics, market disruptions, and diminishing arable land. These issues are also becoming increasingly vital in dint of the fact that population growth is placing increasing pressure on sustainable priorities. However, a recent scientometric review indicates a significant paucity in the extant literature on agriculture projects, with a pressing need for further research to examine sustainable project management practices from an institutional perspective. This research, therefore, aims to respond to this gap in the literature by drawing on Institutional Theory through a multi-case study of Agriculture Co-operative Institutions (ACIs). These are often viewed as valuable vehicles to deliver agricultural projects which can benefit communities, especially in emerging markets. Initial findings from two rounds of fieldwork as well as an extensive literature review suggest that ACIs as value-based organisations embedded within institutional contexts help stimulate elements of agility in project management processes, to deliver sustainable outcomes for their members and external stakeholders. Agile ACI project managers can also stimulate innovative outcomes across broader sustainable agriculture projects. It is the aim of this research also to undertake a larger cross-country comparison with international research cases. Therefore, this study will aim to not only contribute to critical project management discourse and knowledge but also to uncover agile project management practices for future pressing policy development and implementation to help foster greater sustainable agriculture project processes.

Is Environmental Sustainability Taking a Backseat in China after COVID-19? The Perspective of Business Managers

China’s quick economic recovery from COVID-19 has presented a narrow but vast opportunity to build an economy that is cleaner, fairer, and safer. Will China grab this opportunity? The answer rests with both business managers and the government. Based on a questionnaire survey of 1160 owners and managers of companies headquartered in 32 regions of China and covering 30 industries, this paper explores how COVID-19 has impacted Chinese business, especially with regard to the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental). The results suggest that Chinese companies’ sustainability priorities have been shifted towards the social dimension both during COVID-19 and into the post-pandemic phase, regardless of the type of ownership, company size, or market focus (domestic, overseas, or mixture of the two). However, all types of company prioritize the need for economic sustainability in the post-pandemic phase and in relative terms the importance of the environmental dimension has been diminished. Hence the potential for a post-pandemic environmental rebound effect in China is clear. But it does not have to be the case if Chinese businesses and the government take actions to change its recovery plans to embrace the environmental dimension of sustainability. The paper puts forward some suggestions and recommendations for businesses and the government.