Tool For Sustainable Development Research Articles

An interdisciplinary framework to define strategies for digitalization and sustainability: Proposal of a ‘digicircular’ model

The criteria of economic, social, and environmental sustainability defined by the United Nations and consolidated in Agenda 2030 must become a ‘lighthouse’ to promote the use of digital technologies as an essential tool for sustainable development. Thus, the role of decision makers must therefore be oriented to promote technological development towards a sustainable world. However, any technological innovation, even the best, can give negative effects if not applied with a perspective on sustainability. This is increasingly evident with the growth of globalization. Thus, the aim of the present research is to identify challenges to achieve Circular Economy and Bioeconomy in a digital era and to define a blueprint for a ‘digicircular’ transformation. An integrated and interdisciplinary framework is proposed to prioritize digital capabilities which are hindering the digicircular economy implementation. An interdisciplinary and multicriteria tool to enable a digicircular model is developed. Bloomberg's environmental and Corporate Knights Global Sustainability Score which use private and public information from companies served for define the research model.

The Effectiveness of Environmental Assessment as a Sustainable Development Tool in Developing Countries: Case of Cameroon

In the last few decades, there has been increased worldwide awareness of the necessity to consider development from a holistic perspective, for human development without adequate environmental protection is undermined. Cameroon, like many other developing countries has made great strides in establishing and putting in place an environmental assessment system to mainstream environmental concerns into development initiatives. The full realization of this goal, however, depends on the effectiveness of the exercise which hinges principally on the provisions of relevant legislation, the institutional framework, the procedure and practice of the assessment process. Environmental assessment in many developing countries is fraught with a plethora of setbacks which can jeopardize the full contribution of the exercise to the attainment of the sustainable development goals, if not taken care of. Based on experience and field research, this study examines the current practice of environmental assessment in Cameroon, the difficulties encountered in developing countries, the chances of environmental assessment contributing to sustainability and makes recommendations on how to improve the practice in developing countries.

Silk Road Heritage Branding and Polycentric Tourism Development

Cultural heritage, considered as a tool for sustainable tourism development and place branding, makes a destination appealing to visitors; hence, cultural heritage tourism can be a driving force for economic growth in cities and regions. Polycentricity is a useful multi-scalar concept in spatial theory that describes how adjacent urban centers can interact with each other, creating synergies and generating broader spatial networks. Cultural heritage and tourism, perceived as important factors of integration in a polycentric spatial structure, can further promote regional branding strategies. In this paper, a polycentricity index is introduced as a methodological tool for networking cultural heritage destinations, with an application to the Silk Road heritage. Silk Road cultural assets traced on the historical Silk Road routes linking East and West, can serve as tourist attraction poles and as an essential component for branding destinations through networking at various spatial scales. The Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece, endowed with a plethora of Silk Road cultural assets, most of which are still untapped, is used to highlight the proposed methodology. The ultimate objective is the designation of polycentric destination networks based on Silk Road assets, in order to build regional branding opportunities over the Region.

Geotourism—Examining Tools for Sustainable Development

From the middle of the 1990s, geotourism was introduced through the first geotrails, their evolution, and the first geopark worldwide in Gerolstein/Vulkaneifel, Germany. The latter is one of the founding members of the European Geoparks Network, which was established in 2000 at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin. The main goal of the first geopark was to link geological heritage with tourism in a rural area that was trying to create new perspectives to inspire young people to stay in their home territory. Geotourism was initiated as part of sustainable tourist development and for future sustainable development at that time in the Gerolstein region. The first steps to implement the Gerolstein/Vulkaneifel Geopark, Germany, were taken in 1992. The core aspects included geological heritage, science transfer, and education as tools for developing geotourism in the broad sense and integrating local people and municipalities in the geopark activities of the rural region. Close collaboration with the local and regional tourism organizations highlighted the need to both define tools and demonstrate their success. Up to now, practice has shown that such success can be demonstrated by the infrastructure created, as well as adjacent measures and activities. A network of factors was determined to play a significant role in ensuring the successful sustainable development in a geopark across the field of geotourism. There are many activities and publications on geological heritage, geosite assessment, significance, and use, but there are fewer which reflect on the network of factors highlighted in this contribution which were first presented in 2002. In many publications and investigations, one factor in particular is emphasized, e.g., infrastructure development, such as panels or other items. Not all of the mentioned factors, however, are being addressed. As a result, a selection of good practice examples of UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGP) working on the network-oriented conceptual basis has been studied here, in line with the conceptual principle set forth about 25 years ago. The geopark examples in this study include Lesvos Island UGGp (Greece), Naturtejo UGGP (Portugal), Vulkaneifel UGGp (Germany), and Hong Kong UGGP (China), as well as the example of the Messel Pit World Heritage Site (WHS) (Germany). The latter was integrated to present an example which is not a geopark, showing that this concept can also be transferred to a WHS as a tool for sustainable development according the UN 2030 Agenda. The information on the development of the selected examples was obtained by visiting the geopark territory and from the geopark’s websites and published material as a combined methodology.

Analysis of financial technologies as a tool for sustainable development

The organization of the finance area is a challenge for companies in any sector. Balancing costs and income is one of the prerequisites for those looking for better profit margins, but it requires the administration of various aspects that do not always fit into a simple financial equation. Different processes and possibilities need to be explored. As you can see, money is the main character in this section. Here you will find articles on the organization of the income and expenses of your business. Working capital (also called working capital), bank credit, cash flow management and taxes are also topics covered in our practical advice. Some recommendations related to accounting are also presented. All this to help you perfectly control the financial operations of your company. And allow you to adapt the equipment and resources so that finances are in order and can consolidate the results and achievements of the rest of your business.

Business Tourism as an Instrument for Changing the Image and Sustainable Metropolisation of Postindustrial Cities as Exemplified by the City of Katowice in Poland

Postindustrial agglomerations struggling with image deficits and environmental problems are looking for new development paths to take. One of these paths can bring about the development of business tourism, including the industry of the organisation of meetings and events. The unique and attractive character of the place can favour taking such a direction. The business tourism sector can therefore become an instrument contributing to the sustainable metropolisation of the city by building up its position in the global network of flows. The development of the meetings and events sector allows, therefore, for a change of image, for a re-evaluation of endogenous resources, including those relating to the industrial past, and for tapping into the unlimited resources of the global network. Increased attention in this network may lead to an influx of more events, and of investors as well. Replacing heavy industry with an enlarged service sector and modern industry based on flexible and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises fosters sustainable development. The meetings and events industry can become a tool for sustainable development and the promotion of its ideas, related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The trajec-tory outlined above seems very promising. However, to some extent, it is just a hypothesis. The author undertakes to test it on the example of Katowice, a former industrial city which has decided to follow the route outlined above to become a city that hosts many events, including the COP24 summit in 2018. In the article, the author presents empirical research studies whose authors tried to determine whether the path the city has chosen has a real impact on its image and development. The author also deals with the question of the sustainability of such a development path and the conditions for its self-support in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. © Autorzy 2021

Spori turizam - tržišna niša održivosti Moonlight farm kuće "Barouk area"

Slow tourism is one of the new trending concepts that bring the concept of slowness into tourism practices in the way that tourists appreciate local food, culture, heritage, and sustainability. Destinations adopting principles of slow tourism tau reduce the financial leakage of the suppliers and generate more income and employment to the locals. Thus, the case of "Moonlight farm and Resort at Barouk" area, is the core topic for this study to understand the relation between slow tourism, sustainable development and ecology, which has the roots in interest for locality, community, and green travel. The main research question is ,,How can slow tourism be a tool of sustainable development?". In order to answer this, a mixed-method approach was conducted through the use of two questionnaires addressed to tourists visiting "Moonlight farm " and residents in Barouk area. Additionally, an interview with the owner provided significant insight into the topic. The analysis of the results was beneficial in understanding the perceptions and motivations of tourists and helping promote slow tourism in this area.

Challenges of sustainable and equal development of regions in Georgia

In the present paper is analysed opinions about the tools for sustainable development and the ways to reduce inequality. Has been estimated the importance of regional development programs and strategies as the settlement of the economic and social issues, provided proof of their role in the effective development of regional economic policy. Has been determined the concentration level of economic activity by regions using distribution index to estimate equal development of regions. Has been made the conclusion that none of the regions of Georgia is notably specialized. The concentration level of business sectors in regions is substantiated by the distribution curve. In distribution curve was considered retail and wholesale distribution, as an example of maximally near to ideal distribution. It is proved by the analysis of distribution of curves, that the concentration level of business sectors in Georgian regions is quite unequal and none of them could be highlighted in industry specialization. The paper identifies the problems related to sustainable and equal development of regions, provided conclusions and recommendations to settle the mentioned issue by their estimation. In the process of study has been determined the factors of endogenous development of regions and advisable to improve the quality and efficiency of regional development institutions through the development of trial-programs for regional development.

Enterprise Business Architecture as a Tool for Sustainable Development in an Enterprise - case study

Digital technologies, treated in the article as a combination of information, processing, communication and technology, contribute to significant transformations in business models, business processes, products, services and relations with customers and other stakeholders. Due to the widespread realization of the real need to introduce information and communication technologies to enterprises, the digital transformation of companies continues. This situation prompts reflection and rethinking the strategies of enterprises subject to the process of digitization and at the same time participating in the network. This issue can be considered from the perspective of business ecosystems in which the exploration of organizational strategy problems increases significantly]. In addition, ecosystems are increasingly taking a digital form, which means sharing the standards of digital platforms (e.g. Google’s advertising ecosystem, Apple Appstore, Netsprint Audience) in order to achieve mutual benefits for participants. The digitization process influences the strengthening of inter-organizational relations between the participants of the business ecosystem, but is also an important determinant of changes in the area of competition and organization of various sectors. Companies, consumers, and products and services are massively connected via digital networks, which leads to increased network effects and joint value creation in ecosystems. The aim of the article is to conceptualize the digital strategy of business in enterprises that are participants of the ecosystem. The study is theoretical and conceptual in nature, and the research method used is the analysis and critique of literature. The article consists of two parts. The first part is devoted to discussing the digital business strategy. The second presents the properties of the business ecosystem, an enterprise ecosystem strategy rarely described in the management science literature, and discusses the strategic aspects of adopting a digital strategy by enterprises participating in the digital ecosystem. The summary presents the main conclusions of the considerations and sets out the directions for further research.

Evaluating urban agriculture program effectiveness using CIPP model: a review

The art of planting, preparing, and distributing food around urban areas is known as urban agriculture, farming, or gardening. Individuals and organizations generally work in urban agriculture for general purposes: 1) enhancing their own health and economic circumstances; 2) improving their communities’ access to nutritious food; 3) enhancing their community wellbeing; and 4) developing a community and ecosystem. The Urban Agriculture Program (UAP) has been set up by the Department of Agriculture (DOA) Malaysia since 2014 to facilitate and transfer information regarding urban farming practices to the community. However, the program was less effective and had a low success rate due to the local community's minimal participation, slow development, and sustainability of the agriculture community gardens. This article primarily examines the UAP implementation based on the four components of the CIPP Evaluation Model: Context, Input, Process, and Product. The UAP is a sustainable development tool that can provide food or related services within or on the edges of urban areas. Malaysia addresses food security by providing urban dwellers with adequate nutritious, safe, acceptable, and cost-effective food. Therefore, the study is relevant as achieving food security and nutrition that has been set in the urban agriculture program outcome by 2025.

Higher education as a sustainable development tool

The article is devoted to the assessment of the role of higher education in ensuring socio-economic sustainability of society development. Based on the analysis of international and Russian legal acts, it identifies the main indicators that allow analyzing the impact of higher education system on the implementation of sustainable development goals. Particular attention is paid to assessment of accessibility of education. Based on the analysis of statistical data, it is concluded that there is a problem of differentiation of regions and territories in terms of access to higher education due to uneven location of educational institutions, different density of students, low inter-regional mobility of population and disproportions in incomes of the population. Regional differentiation in access to higher education in Russia leads to a number of socio-economic problems that reduce the sustainability of regional development, including the outflow of young people and uncompensated labour migration.

Management tool of urban sustainable development: establishment of an economy-resources-environment system dynamics model

Economy-Resources-Environment (ERE) system is considered as a complex component for sustaining the urban development. System dynamics (SD) is a method to explain the behavior of complex component. According to the conceptual framework of urban sustainable development, this paper takes Chongqing of China as case study to develop an ERE-SD model for simulating the feedback process of economic development with resource restriction and environmental degradation. Firstly, conceptual framework and structure of ERE-SD model is established, and model test is carried out. Secondly, five scenarios, named natural growth, resource restriction, environment protection, smart development and economy, are selected to forecast the future results. Finally, the optimization scenario is selected for improving urban sustainable development. The results illustrate that the GDP level in five scenarios decreases in the following sequence: economy -, economy +, smart development, environment protection, resource restriction, economy -, natural growth; the net GDP level in five scenarios decreases in the following sequence: economy +, resource restriction, smart development, environment protection, economy -, natural growth. The adjustment of the economic development path is necessary to access sustainable development in Chongqing.

Spatial Distribution Model for Targeting the Support for Cultural Institutions’ Development: A Case Study of Slovakia

Culture is one of the main tools for developing regions and reducing regional disparities. It is a significant job creator; it participates in social cohesion representing a catalyst for economic growth. In practice, when boosting the potential of cultural and creative industries, we encounter an insufficiently developed approach to evaluating the initial conditions for the allocation of financial resources for its development. This paper’s objective is to identify, map, and analyse spatial concentration of cultural institutions in Slovakia. The intention of the analysis was the identification of regions and districts with the potential for full use of cultural capital as a tool for sustainable regional development as well as the setting of cultural policy. The cluster analysis pointed out significant differences in the representation of cultural institutions in individual regions and districts of Slovakia. The regions with the most desirable results (e.g., Bratislava, Trnava, or Nitra) have some common characteristics linked to the local context, such as historical development, good infrastructure, concentration of educational institutions. The results also confirmed the assumption that within the regions, cultural institutions will be concentrated in larger district cities, specifically in the case of Bratislava even inside the city. From the cluster analysis it is possible to observe a “belt of districts” of Southern, Central, and Eastern Slovakia, which do not have sufficient cultural infrastructure. Since the process of shaping the supportive policy for cultural industries is now ongoing in Slovakia, we consider mapping the situation as one of the key elements in the policy-making process.

Financial and Analytical Tools for Sustainable Business Development in Mining Region

The stability of economic entities is the ground for sustainable development of the region. It is customary to group indicators of sustainable development of economic entities in economic, social and environmental terms. The analysis of the economic activity of a typical business unit in an extractive region was carried out based on financial and public non-financial data using the methodology of financial analysis. The authors identified the main development trends and risks of the economic entity.

Digital tools for marine activities sustainable development under climate change and COVID-19

There are presented digital tool development results for the sustainable development of marine activities adapted to climate change and COVID-19 conditions. Arctic and Subarctic are selected as main area of sustainable development of marine activities. Digitalization of geoinformation support for the sustainable development of marine activities is main direction of the research. Aim of the study is to create digital tools of geoinformation support for sustainable development of marine activities, taking into account the above factors. It is proposed to use open-source geoinformation online platforms while the sustainable development of marine activities in the Arctic and Subarctic in the period of Industry 4.0 in the context of climate change and COVID-19. Examples of the use of the proposed digital platforms are considered. The results of the research can be used for educational purposes, as well as be useful for private investors, state and municipal organizations.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ УПРАВЛІННЯ РЕВЕРСИВНИМИ ПОТОКАМИ У ЗАМКНЕНОМУ ЛАНЦЮЗІ ПОСТАЧАНЬ

The article proposes the use of the sustainable development, reverse and green logistics tools for effective development of a responsible supply chain management system. The object of research is the reverse and green logistics. The purpose of the study is to analyze the theoretical basis of the reverse and green logistics interaction in order to substantiate the optimal structure of the supply chain, taking into account its impact on the components of sustainable development. Methods of the study are the analytical approach and mathematical methods. The traditional supply chain aims to lower the cost and improve the efficiency of supply chain enterprise so as to maximize the economic benefits. Closed-loop supply chain also seek to maximize economic benefits, to decrease the consumption of resources and energy and to reduce the emissions of pollutants - all in an effort to create a socially responsible enterprise, and to balance the economic benefits, social effects and environmental effects. To improve the management of reverse flows, the authors of this article propose to integrate the principles of sustainable development in the activities of companies that are part of the supply chain, it will protect the company's reputation and brand value and increase the efficiency of the supply chain. Also, it will help minimize the costs of environmental, social and economic impact. For continuous monitoring the situation related to the imbalance of the links in a closed-loop supply chain are offered an algorithm of using the bottleneck method. The results of the study can be recommended for implementation in organizations that are directly involved in bringing the material flow from supply to consumption. KEYWORDS: REVERSE LOGISTICS, GREEN LOGISTICS, CLOSED-LOOP SUPPLY CHAIN, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

АГЕНТ-ОРИЕНТИРОВАННОЕ МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЕ КАК ОСНОВА УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ ЭКОНОМИКИ

Agent-based (simulation) modeling is one of the methods of studying complex systems, processes, and phenomena in various spheres of human activity: business, service, manufacturing, science, medicine, transport services, and logistics. In this study, a model is built – an approximation to a real object (system, process), especially in relation to the most important economic properties for the study. By experimenting with the model, you can extract indicators that are of interest for the functioning of the real enterprise system. Having obtained sufficiently stable statistics from these data, you can use it in the future for economic planning or forecasting, which is an essential tool for sustainable development in general.

Theoretical aspects of innovation management

In recent decades, the need to theorize and practise innovation has become apparent to many domestic and foreign companies. The process of introducing innovation mechanisms differs from company to company. Businesses and innovation theory experts do not yet agree on the methodology for implementing innovation effectively. The increasingly competitive environment of the world encouraged many companies to move towards innovative development. Innovation became an important tool for sustainable development for many companies in an unstable and rapidly changing external environment. Innovation is used to create a new product or develop a process to increase a company’s profits and strengthen its market position. The term “innovation” has a different understanding today, depending on the area of application: firms or sectors. The article examines the theoretical concepts of innovation.

Оценка ресурсной эффективности: тренды и методы

Resource efficiency is a key factor in the transition to a sustainable future. Its main objective is to decouple the depen-dence of economic activities and human well-being on the use of natural resources and environmental impacts. The author highlights the approximate stages of progress towards this goal in the frame of important international events and documents adopted within recent 15 years. These are – “Resource efficiency improvement as the main tool for sustainable development”; “Towards scenario of sustainability – increase of resource use efficiency and introduction of sustainable consumption and production patterns”; “A new green deal – decarbonization (achieving carbon neutrality) and a cyclical economy”. The features of Russian new climate agenda are shown. The paper presents the main indicators of resource productivity and intensity of resources use, decoupling and adjustment of the gross savings methods. The latter make it possible to assess the relationship between the economic result and environmental impact. Resource decoupling and impact decoupling have been tested in assessment of efficiency of forest and water resources use and the regional ecological situation. The author evaluated the method of calculation of adjusted net savings. The analysis of the World Bank scheme and methodological adaptations for the Russian regions and the Komi Republic allowed making a conclusion about the subjectivity of the results. At the same time, the methodological studies carried out on the regional valuation of the components of the net savings index – ecosystem services, depletion and regeneration of forest resources, damage to public health caused by environmental hazards is commendable and should be continued.

Contradictions and barriers to sustainable development of territories

The aim of the study is to identify contradictions and obstacles to the transition to sustainable development in the territories. The methodological framework is analysis and synthesis, the concept of sustainable development, institutional analysis approaches, limited rationality and opportunism in behaviour, ideas about stakeholders, and systematic and scenario-based approaches. The Sustainable Development Goals reflect interests of the world’s population. However, the search for consensus on a strategy to achieve them is hampered by existing and emerging contradictions. The paper describes the practice of formulating a compromise on the environmental situation in the territory. The analysis of factors is presented in the context of theoretical constraints, interests of various territories and social groups. Gaps and various contradictions have been identified in the implementation of sustainable development concept in the territories. The contradictions between components of sustainable development; the essence of sustainable development tools; the competitiveness of the territory’s products and an effective system of internalization of externalities; various stakeholders are considered. The territories’ transition to sustainable development requires the removal of considered and potential contradictions. Possible directions for this are presented.