Sustainability-related Activities Research Articles

Digitalisation and sustainability measures at the firm level

The paper analyses the “twin transition” of digitalisation and sustainability at the firm level. Operational definitions of digitalisation and sustainability allowing the development of fitting empirical indicators are discussed. The possible technical and social transmission channels of the effects of digitalisation on a sustainable firm development are analysed. Less energy consumption induced by intelligent sensoring systems, the reduction of meetings in presence by video conferences or the promotion of home office work leading to less travel activities may lead to a more sustainable production. Digitalisation might also act as pre-condition of eco-process innovations (e. g. the introduction of intelligent control systems leading to material and energy savings). The empirical analysis is based on firm data of the recent Eurobarometer 486/2020 of the European Commission. The econometric results show that “digitally active” firms seem to be more sustainable for all available indicators, but the marginal effects considerably differ between measures such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, or the use of smart devices and intelligent sensors for the various sustainability-related activities of the firms.

People Powering Progress: How Human Resource Influences Your Company’s Digitalization and Sustainable Growth

The digital world holds many opportunities and challenges for us. These changes affect all the basic pillars of sustainability, including the economy, society, and the environment. They primarily affect companies, specifically their productivity and profitability, so it is not an exaggeration to say that nowadays, we can consider the digital maturity of companies as one of the driving forces of the economy. The research aims to prioritise the digital competence of the workforce among the indicators of digital maturity, which, based on my hypotheses, has the greatest impact on the profitability of businesses. Another main research goal is to map the cognitive sustainability-related activities of human resources employed by companies and then present the relationship between digital maturity and sustainability through human resources. In this study, the digital maturity of companies was assessed, especially the role of human digital skills in productivity based on Maslow’s business pyramid and a SWOT analysis. I compared the cognitive sustainability-related activities of human resources and examined how this affects the company’s effectiveness.

Evaluation of Technology-Based Sustainable Practices in Logistics Service Providers by Content Analysis and SWARA Method

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of sustainability-related activities of Fourth Party Logistics (4PL) service providers and their technologically based solutions. Methodology: It aims to evaluate alternative approaches and measure the relative importance of the technology solutions preferred by 4PL service providers within the context of sustainability efforts, first by content analysis and then by using SWARA method, in order to assess the technologically based solutions and sustainability potentials of 4PL service providers. Findings: The information on the websites was therefore assembled in light of the data obtained, and a situation assessment was made. In the context of this study, it has been found that "Data-Driven Decision Making" possesses the highest level of significance among technology-based sustainable practices. “Vehicle Tracking Systems Technology”, on the other hand, has been ranked as having the least amount of significance. Originality: This research evaluates digital sustainable activities on 4PL enterprises, in contrast to earlier studies. We can therefore learn more about how contemporary technology and sustainable practices converge in the logistics sector by examining the effects of digital sustainable activities on 4PL enterprises.

Green-Smart University Campuses: The Mediating Role of Student Engagement in Enhancing Corporate Image

This study investigates the motivating factors influencing university students’ participation in the Green-Smart Campus initiative. The model examines variables from the student’s perspective, with a green-smart campus as the exogenous variable, encompassing energy efficiency sustainable buildings, sustainable transportation, waste management, and water management. Data was collected via an online questionnaire from 1,000 participants, undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Jordan, using random sampling. After excluding 56 incomplete responses, regression analysis was conducted on 745 valid responses to explore the relationships between variables. The research reveals a significant positive impact of the Green-Smart Campus initiative on student engagement and the university’s corporate image. Institutions promoting green practices, like recycling programs and eco-friendly transportation options, experienced higher student engagement levels. Engaged students felt connected to the institution and actively participated in sustainability-related activities, enhancing the university’s corporate image. Student engagement was found to mediate the relationship between the Green-Smart Campus initiative and the university’s corporate image. Engaged students played a crucial role in translating sustainability initiatives into an enhanced institutional reputation by sharing positive experiences and advocating for the institution.

The independent and moderating role of choice of non-financial reporting format on forecast accuracy and ESG disclosure

Over the last two decades, the non-financial disclosure requirement has become a major concern for companies, consumers, governments, and policymakers. While compelling evidence has accumulated over time on the positive effect that moving away from disclosing non-financial information within mandatory financial statements, conflicting findings have emerged on the relative merits that choice of non-financial reporting format, in particular between sustainability and integrated reporting, can have on analysts' forecast accuracy. In addition, recent evidence from a non-voluntary setting has suggested that such choice could influence the effect of ESG disclosure and consequently reduce information asymmetry. Aiming to shed some light on these propositions within a voluntary setting, we conducted an empirical study focusing on a representative sample of listed European companies. We retrieved and analysed the last ten years (2012–2021) of publicly available financial information about the top 600 companies listed in the Eurostoxx. Our findings indicate that both a sustainability and an integrated report are significantly associated with improved forecast accuracy, relative to an annual report. We also find that ESG disclosure is significantly moderated by such choice. The environmental pillar score was found to strongly and positively affect forecast error, independently from other controls including the social and governance pillars. For companies opting to disclose non-financial information within an annual report, alternative forms of communication will therefore become critical to ensure that financial analysts, and ultimately investors, are informed about the company's sustainability-related activities and plans. Future research should be directed at examining the magnitude and direction of these effects among small and medium-size listed companies and in other decision-making settings to test the generalisability of these findings.

Integrating Sustainability into your value stream

The year 2030, when the first regulatory climate targets will likely be required to be implemented in Australia, is less than eight years away. Increased shareholder focus along with regulatory and societal pressures means that whilst most Oil and Gas producers have introduced emissions-related targets, implementation has proven more difficult – let alone harnessing this evolution holistically across existing and new energy assets. Given the embryonic nature and ambiguity of Sustainability in many organisations, there is a need to identify how Sustainability-related activities and targets intersect with the current and future value chain of the business. Establishing a clear understanding of the broader organisation’s perception of Sustainability allows for the design and implementation of an integrated roadmap, which combines the technical projects associated with emissions reduction along with critical enabling activities to embed Sustainability as a value driver, rather than a discrete function. The audience will gain insights on how to de-risk the achievement of 2030 regulatory climate targets by adopting an integrated approach to Sustainability and our lessons learnt on how to ready the organisation and deploy this approach.

Statistical analysis of the university sustainability in the higher education institution a case study from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan

Educational institutions can incorporate the idea of sustainability at the grass root level for any society. This study is part of an effort to get insight into the campus sustainability in one of the Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. Aim is to investigation university students' and faculty members insight regarding sustainability. Thus, questionnaire-based survey followed by statistical inference was conducted for the potential outcomes. The questionnaire is comprised of 24 questions, 05 of which are on demographics and the remaining 19 are about sustainability. The sustainability related questions focused mostly on the respondents' knowledge, understanding, and interest in sustainability. A handful of the other questions in the questionnaire were tailored to the university input to achieve sustainability. The dataset is manipulated with basic statistical and computational approaches, and the results are analyzed using mean values. The mean values are further classified into flag values of 0 and 1. Flag value 1 indicates a good marker of the received response, while flag value 0 indicates the least amount of information included in responses. The results show that respondents' knowledge, awareness, interest, and engagement in sustainability are significantly sufficient, as we obtained a flag value of 1 for all questions about sustainability. The study's findings, on the other hand, indicated that the institution is lagging in terms of supporting, disseminating, and implementing campus-wide sustainability-related activities. This study is one of the first initiatives to provide a baseline dataset and substantial information to go a step further in achieving the bottom-line target of being and acting sustainable in the HEI.

Preliminary Study on Website Disclosures for Sustainability Reporting of Islamic Religious Institutions

Public sector organizations play an essential role in supporting the government’s commitment to sustainable development. These organizations are expected to disclose more social and environmental information than private companies due to public contracts. Malaysian State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) is one of the government agencies responsible for distributing and disseminating adequate and accurate information to various stakeholders, especially the public. These SIRCs frequently organize sustainability-related activities as part of their corporate social responsibility agenda and have a vast potential to contribute by disseminating sustainability-related information on their websites. However, the extent of sustainability website reporting by the SIRCs remained largely unaddressed. Drawing from the literature, this preliminary study proposes a website disclosure index for sustainability reporting by the SIRCs in Malaysia. A content analysis on three SIRCs websites representing three regions in Malaysia have been performed. A total of sixty-seven disclosure items were used as indicators during the website content analysis. Key findings indicate that more effort needs to be initiated by SIRCs in supporting a unified digital reporting that promotes accountability and transparency among government agencies. Nevertheless, the proposed website disclosure index may assist in formulating policies to encourage the use of SIRCs’ websites to report sustainability information to the public. This study provides valuable input in supporting the government’s aspiration to develop future strategies for achieving Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and adds to the limited literature on the website sustainability reporting by the public sector. Future research may use a larger sample of SIRCs to validate the disclosure index proposed in this study.

When brands behave badly: signaling and spillover effects of unethical behavior in the context of triple bottom line sustainability

PurposeThe triple bottom line of sustainability performance is well known; however, little research links it to consumer brand perceptions and intentions. This is important because consumers believe that brands should develop sustainability strategies and conduct business in ways that support those strategies. Using the theoretical lenses of signaling theory and spillover effects, this study aims to examine the impact of negative messages about brands’ triple bottom line sustainability activities on consumer perceived brand ethicality, perceived product quality and purchase interest.Design/methodology/approachThis research includes two lab experiments with the US participants.FindingsWhen brands have sustainability failures, consumers feel the firm is less ethical, its products are lower in quality and purchase interest suffers – regardless how the failure relates to the triple bottom line (environmental, social or economic). These effects are moderated by brand familiarity and the message source. Brand familiarity seems to protect a firm’s ethicality image as does when the information comes from a corporate source, contrary to the prevalent literature.Originality/valueUnlike most sustainability research, this study provides comparison effects across all three dimensions of the triple bottom line. In doing so, this study highlights nuances in how consumers connect brands’ sustainability-related activities with perceptions about ethics and brand expectations. This research also contextualizes the findings through brand familiarity and message source and contributes to the growing body of literature on sustainability branding.

Urban Communities for Transition toward Sustainable Behavior in the Context of Authoritarianism: Analysis of Non-Profit Community-Based Organizations in Budapest, Hungary

Communities can play an important role in the transition toward sustainable living; however, a meso perspective bridging individual behavior and social context has rarely been applied. To address this issue, our study introduces the broad landscape of nonprofit community-based organizations as meso-level entities whose activities relate in one way or another to sustainability. Through an exploratory study relying on in-depth interviews, we examine the meaning of community and the role of sustainability in the operation of these communities. The emergence of a new authoritarianism in Hungary gives a special context for the study and enables identification of the characteristics of urban communities from “illiberal democracy.” The findings indicate the presence of five different types of community-based organizations with sustainability-related activities. We argue for the analytical usefulness of a meso-level perspective and for the importance of researching how community-based organizations help individuals in transition to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Practical Applications of ESG and Alternative Data: Capturing Corporates’ Sustainability-Related Activities with Job Postings

In <b><i>ESG and Alternative Data: Capturing Corporates’ Sustainability-Related Activities with Job Postings</i></b>, from the Winter 2022 issue of <i>The Journal of Financial Data Science</i>, <b>Arik Ben Dor, Jingling Guan, Adam Kelleher, Adam Lauretig, Ryan Preclaw,</b> and <b>Xiaming Zeng</b>, all at <b>Barclays</b>, find that ESG job posting data can serve as a leading indicator of future changes in firms’ ESG ratings. Firms with higher posting intensity were more likely to experience subsequent ESG rating improvements and they enjoyed better stock performance in the two to three years following the posting date. The authors also find statistically significant alphas in multifactor models for a particular type of long–short strategy based on ESG hiring interests. Using fuzzy matching and other natural language processing techniques to match job posting data with S&amp;P 400 and S&amp;P 500 companies, the authors determine the extent of ESG hiring interests among these companies.

An Exploration of the Relationship between Sustainability-Related Involvement and Learning in Higher Education

Higher education institutions are charged with developing civically engaged leaders to address the pressing issues facing the country and the world. While existing literature suggests institutional practices, such as promoting co-curricular involvement, hold promise for fostering key learning outcomes, educational literature suggests the benefits of participation may not be shared by all students. Using structural equation modeling, we examine the role of background characteristics (i.e., race/ethnicity and gender) and co-curricular participation in sustainability-related activities in fostering climate change leadership development and sustainability activism. We find that women reported significantly higher systems thinking, futures thinking, leadership development, and activism. Additionally, our results suggest systems thinking and futures thinking are key learning outcomes related to students’ climate change leadership development and activism. Moreover, we find a small negative relationship between sustainability literacy and leadership development and activism, suggesting there might exist an inflection point at which more knowledge about climate change and sustainability issues makes students less likely to engage in leadership and activism behaviors. We discuss the implications of this work for sustainability education pedagogy in higher education.

Improving Green Building Project Management Processes through the Lean Approach

Question: Using a Lean approach to classify issues, or wastes, experienced during the different design processes, what sustainability-related activities affect the project design development stage. Purpose: The objective of this paper is to create a new lean-based approach to analyze the design process and quantify the negative effect of detected project-management issues on the project’s main resources, categorized through three different variables: costs, time and sustainability. Research Method: The research makes full use of a Lean approach intended as a standardized method to identify project wastes, classify the issues experienced during the different design processes and ultimately propose possible solutions for process optimization. The Lean approach was used as the basis to study four case studies wherein real projects were developed in different European countries under the LEED and BREEAM reference standards. The projects were analyzed against a set of guidelines developed by the Researchers with the aim of avoiding the replication of such issues in future projects. The analysis took into consideration all sustainability-related activities that affected the project design development. Findings: By identifying and estimating the effects of each issue on the project variables, researchers could rank their negative impact on the project budget, schedule and level of sustainability. The ranking allowed isolating which issues, or categories of issues, had the worst impact on the overall project from both qualitative and quantitative points of view. These research goals were achieved through the implementation of the Lean method and philosophy. Limitations: Among the main challenges related to time-variance analysis. Estimating the delay of single activities impact was sometimes difficult and ambiguous because it relied on other activities for which dependency could not be calculated. Limitations related to cost-variance analysis involved indirect costs that were difficult to estimate because they were neither related to any written document nor any formal activity or event of the project. The present research takes into consideration only four case-study projects and therefore the related conclusions cannot be generalized for all building projects. Implications: Applying the ranking of the issues identifies to a real project development with limited resources, it would be possible to highlight which problems should be addressed first in order to avoid, or at least limit, their negative impact on the project establishing a set of guidelines for future projects. Value for authors: This study sets the basis for several other research studies in relationship with green-building developments and lean approach. Keywords: Lean Construction, Lean Thinking, Design, Green-Building; Development, Sustainability; Project Management; Waste Paper type: Full paper.

Sustainability reporting based on GRI standards and corporate financial performance: a study on selected listed companies in Sri Lanka

Sustainability Reporting (SR) is followed by the organizations in the contemporary world. The main objective of the organizations is getting growth consistently and sustaining for a long period of time. In today’s changing and complicated business world, the Sustainability related activities have an impact on Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) of companies. Therefore, this study intends to examine the impact of SR on CFP of Listed Companies in Sri Lanka. Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE) and Net Profit Margin (NPM) are used as dependent variables to measure the CFP whilst Economic Performance Disclosure Index (ECN), Environmental Performance Disclosure Index (ENV) and Social Performance Disclosure Index (SOC) are used as independent variables to measure the level of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) based SR. This study considers the companies listed on Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) for the period from 2016 to 2019 and uses secondary data gathered from the annual reports of these companies. The data is analysed by means of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis using the software E Views 8. The results of the Pooled OLS model regression analysis show that ENV and SOC have significant negative impact on ROA, while ECN has insignificant impact on ROA. Further, ECN and ENV have an insignificant impact on ROE. However, SOC have significant impact on ROE. Similarly, ECN, ENV and SOC also have a significant impact on NPM at 5% significance level. Based on the correlation analysis, the results show that only SOC have significant negative relationship with ROA and NPM at 5% significance level. The findings of the study have an important implication for the management of the companies and other interested parties. Further researches can be extended by choosing more time periods of data and choosing other indicators of CFP.

THE SUSTAINABILITY OF BAMBOO MATERIALS IN THE BUMI PEMUDA RAHAYU BAMBOO HALL BUILDING

Abstract - The issue of global warming strongly encourages architects to use sustainable materials to preserve nature. Bamboo material is an ecological and sustainable material. Bamboo is also predicted as a future material. The strengths and advantages of bamboo are very likely to be used as a building construction material. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for bamboo material to be used inappropriately so that it does not optimize the ecological and sustainable properties of bamboo. The object of study chosen was the Bumi Pemuda Rahayu bamboo hall. This object is close to the concept of sustainability as seen from the function of the building, which is a co-creating space that prioritizes sustainability-related activities.&#x0D; This research uses qualitative-quantitative methods that will compare the theory regarding the concept of sustainability of materials related to the building material life cycle with the data obtained. The concept will be divided into three aspects, namely design aspects, construction aspects, and maintenance and renovation aspects. These three aspects can be examined by knowing the object data related to these aspects. The results of the study will answer whether the use of bamboo material in the object of study is in accordance with the concept of sustainability of the bamboo material.&#x0D; The analysis of the design stage pays attention to material selection, material preservation, how to optimize the age of bamboo and the selection of a structural system. The construction stage is analyzed by considering the type of connection used. The maintenance and renovation phases are analyzed by paying attention to how to renovate the bamboo structure and post-construction maintenance of the building.&#x0D; This building is appropriate in choosing the type of material, applying preservation of bamboo materials, and successfully preventing bamboo from environmental influences in order to reach its optimal age. In terms of structural system selection, this building is also appropriate by applying the arc rod structural system. Bolted joints are appropriate for complex structural systems, it's just that there must be special treatment at the base of the arc structure that receives the greatest load due to cracks. Renovation and maintenance aspects must be considered again because this building will have difficulty if you have to do renovations, especially on the arc structure. Maintenance that is rarely performed can also reduce the life of the building.&#x0D; &#x0D; Key Words: bamboo, sustainable materials, Bumi Pemuda Rahayu

ESG and Alternative Data: Capturing Corporates’ Sustainability-Related Activities with Job Postings

The emergence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing resulted in a flurry of studies examining the effects of incorporating ESG considerations on portfolio performance. Limited attention, however, was given to analyzing corporate activities related to ESG and sustainability. The authors employ a novel dataset of over 200 million job postings by US firms since 2014 and use natural language processing to identify ESG-related openings and assess companies’ planned ESG activities. Using the job posting data allows one to learn about and monitor planned sustainability-related corporate activities based on firms’ actions, rather than relying solely on their announcements (i.e., what firms do as opposed to what firms say they do). The authors find that ESG job posting data can serve as a leading indicator of future changes in firms’ ESG ratings. Firms with higher abnormal ESG hiring posting intensity were more likely to experience subsequent rating improvements and enjoyed better stock performance 2–3 years following the posting date.

Chinese textile and apparel manufacturers' moral duty positions, goals and structures toward sustainability

PurposeUsing the moral responsibility theory of corporate sustainability (MRCS) framework , the study examined Chinese textile and apparel (T&amp;A) manufacturers' moral duty positions, goals and structures toward sustainability, with a goal of creating a spectrum of corporate sustainability (CS) performance.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey method was employed to investigate participants' views on their companies' perceptions, goals and structures toward each of the listed sustainability-related activities.FindingsThe results showed that all participants expressed their companies have moral responsibilities toward some aspects of sustainability. Particularly, they viewed that their companies emphasize labor relations (LR) and righteous operation (RO) activities over environmental protection (EP) or public welfare involvement (PW) activities when fulfilling their sustainability responsibilities. After analyzing each response by following MRCS, 41 companies were categorized as occasionally sustainability corporations. The remaining 259 responses were categorized as consistently sustainability corporations in selective areas.Originality/valueThe study for the first time revealed the sustainability-related activities that most respondents in Chinese T&amp;A manufacturing industry perceived as perfect or imperfect duties. Findings add knowledge to the area of corporate moral responsibility toward sustainability and show a spectrum of Chinese textile and apparel manufacturers' sustainability performance, empirically supporting MRCS.

Detection of Potential Controversial Issues for Social Sustainability: Case of Green Energy

More and more people are involved in sustainability-related activities through social network to support/protect their idea or motivation for sustainable development. Understanding the variety of issues of social pulsation is crucial in development of social sustainability. However, issues in social media generally change overtime. Issues not identified in advance may soon become popular topics discussed in society, particularly controversial issues. Previous studies have focused on the detection of hot topics and discussion of controversial issues, rather than the identification of potential controversial issues, which truly require paying attention to social sustainability. Furthermore, previous studies have focused on issue detection and tracking based on historical data. However, not all controversial issues are related to historical data to foster the cases. To avoid the above-mentioned research gap, Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an essential role in issue detection in the early stage. In this study, an AI-based solution approach is proposed to resolve two practical problems in social media: (1) the impact caused by the number of fan pages from Facebook and (2) awareness of the levels for an issue. The proposed solution approach to detect potential issues is based on the popularity of public opinion in social media using a Web crawler to collect daily posts related to issues in social media under a big data environment. Some analytical findings are carried out via the congregational rules proposed in this research, and the solution approach detects the attentive subjects in the early stages. A comparison of the proposed method to the traditional methods are illustrated in the domain of green energy. The computational results demonstrate that the proposed approach is accurate and effective and therefore it provides significant contribution to upsurge green energy deployment.

Positivity and Negativity Dominance in Citizen Assessments of Intergovernmental Sustainability Performance

AbstractUnderstanding how the public assesses the performance of complex, intergovernmental efforts such as sustainability is critical for understanding both managerial decision-making and institutional design. Drawing from the performance and federalism literature, this study investigates the role that distinctive elements of negativity bias play in citizen assessments of intergovernmental performance. In three survey experiments, this study exploits a well-known intergovernmental initiative to explore the effects of episodic performance information on citizen support for varying sustainability-related activities. Two inter-related research questions are addressed. First, does the positive or negative valence of citizen performance assessments vary with the type and scope of activity? Second, does positive or negative performance information tend to dominate in more realistic scenarios in which both types of stimuli interact? The results advance theoretical understanding of public performance with evidence that the type of activity can influence citizen assessments both positively and negatively. Additionally, partisan cues can overwhelm otherwise positive views of performance in some contexts, a concept described in the psychology literature as negativity dominance. The findings add important insights by showing that biased reasoning of citizens is not just a blanket affective association with constant treatment effects across any type of governmental effort, but is contingent on both the activity and political context.

Stakeholders’ Interests in Developing an Energy Ecosystem for the Superblock—Case Hiedanranta

Policy objectives aimed toward zero-energy buildings call for the utilization of building-integrated renewable energy and distributed energy resources (DER). To enhance the utilization of DER, previous literature proposed the concept of an integrated community energy system (ICES). This research suggested using superblocks (units of multiple urban blocks) to define geographical limits, social contexts, and possibly common administrations for ICESs along with other living- and sustainability-related activities in an urban context. Through interviews with key stakeholders and an analysis, this research investigates the applicability of the superblock-ICES as a way of reaching the low-carbon objectives in the Hiedanranta brownfield development project in the city of Tampere, Finland. This research confirms that the driving forces of community-based solutions are economic benefits, technical development, and objectives of sustainability, and reveals or confirms that social acceptability, missing planning practices, economic risk, and missing or hindering legislation are the main issues or barriers of superblock-ICESs. For a wider adoption of superblock-ICESs, this research suggests cross-disciplinary piloting, together with developing planning practices and simulation tools. In Finland, legislative reforms are needed to remove the barriers and clarify issues related to security, reliability, customer protection, and public interest in governing a locally and collectively owned energy system.