US Green Research Articles

Transparency, Authenticity, and Effective Engagement: The Role of Board Directors in Countering Greenwashing

John Pabon is chair of The Conference Board's Asia Sustainability Leaders Council, on the board of advisors to the US Green Chamber of Commerce, and author of The Great Greenwashing: How Brands, Governments, and Influencers Are Lying to You. In this article, he discusses the concept of “greenwashing” and the ways boards can protect their organizations against it.

What attributes affect customer satisfaction in green restaurants? An aspect-based sentiment analysis approach

ABSTRACT Amid a heightened focus on sustainable consumption, restaurants are increasingly adopting green practices. Yet, understanding determinants of satisfaction in green restaurants remains unexplored. Analyzing 85,337 TripAdvisor reviews from US Green Restaurant Association certified restaurants, and leveraging BERTopic and aspect-based sentiment analysis, our study reveals previously unidentified subtopics, like “pet-friendly,” and indicates that after food, value, and service, green attributes significantly affect satisfaction, surpassing atmosphere. Additionally, we studied ramifications of not mentioning aspects in reviews, showing an insignificant difference in satisfaction between reviews without green attributes and those with neutral sentiment scores, highlighting the importance of promoting and delivering green initiatives.

Assessment of Green Growth in the Baltic States

EU Green Deal and US Green New Deal strategies indicate that green growth is at the center of the policy agendas of many developed countries and regions. The green growth is a key element in achieving sustain- able development. Green growth is an economic growth strategy that prioritizes human development while guaranteeing that natural resources continue to provide environmental services to the current and future generations to achieve their sustainable development. There are many definitions of green growth, and many indicators and measures have been developed to assess green growth results for countries. The paper aims to analyze green growth indicators and measures and develop a case for a comparative assessment of green growth achievements in the Baltic States. The Baltic States were ranked based on their achievements accord- ing to specific dimensions of green growth, and policy recommendations to promote green growth were developed based on conducted research.

The Role of Fallows in Sustainable Development

Abandonment of crop production on agricultural lands for several or more years is a widespread practice not only in Europe but also around the world. Economic and political considerations lead to the abandonment of crop production on the poorest lands, although sometimes agriculturally valuable lands are also excluded from farming. Fallow land can be afforested, designated as a dedicated protection area, exposed to natural succession, or used to grow biomass for energy purposes. However, the most important role of agricultural land should be to ensure food safety. The set-aside land with high production potential should be treated in a special way. While lying fallow, the soil can have its fertility sustained or even improved considerably. To this aim, uncultivated land should be properly protected by growing a permanent cover of plant species which will have a positive influence on the soil’s physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Depending on the geographical location, different plant species will have a beneficial effect on set-aside soil. Given economic and environmental considerations, the best solution is to sow a mixture of grasses and legumes, which can improve substantially the biodiversity on fallow fields, raise the soil’s fertility, ensure high CO2 sequestration ratios, and influence beneficially the soil’s nutritional status and nutrient management. Soil protection can be provided for many years with little effort. The most recent reports implicate that it is possible to achieve several economic and environmental aims simultaneously in the course of the management of land excluded from agricultural production. These aims include the improvement of biodiversity, control of greenhouse gas emissions, generation of energy, and readiness to resume production of commodity plants. Proper management of fallows corresponds well with the challenges defined in the Green Deal for Europe or the US Green New Deal.

Retracted: China’s Green Bond Market: Structural Characteristics, Formation Factors, and Development Suggestions—Based on the Comparison of the Chinese and the US Green Bond Markets Structure

Retracted: China’s Green Bond Market: Structural Characteristics, Formation Factors, and Development Suggestions—Based on the Comparison of the Chinese and the US Green Bond Markets Structure

Principles of sustainable development in family leisure centers

The article examines the principles of sustainable development, which dictate new approaches and tools for the design of modern multifunctional family leisure centers in the conditions of a metropolis. The study is aimed at determining the approaches and principles that must be used in the modern architecture of family leisure centers in order to meet global demand and the requirements of sustainable development, which are guided by the UN and other world public organizations. The use of ecological and energy-saving means in the process of designing multifunctional family leisure centers, aimed at achieving the durability of buildings, reducing operating costs, reducing the cost of construction, influencing the awareness of the population about reducing the level of pollution, is based on ecological principles and careful management of natural resources and autonomy.
 The new challenges of time and the high rhythm of life in cities require in the future an increase in the quality and number of recreation places, facilities for recovery and spending time together, namely multifunctional family leisure centers. Meanwhile, high standards and requirements for the design and architecture of new buildings, dictated by the principles of sustainable development, require new design, engineering, innovative solutions and approaches. The world began to change more rapidly in the last 30 years, and its population must quickly adapt to new conditions. At the same time, there are some things that do not change or change very little: the insolation of the sun, the speed of the wind, the physical characteristics of concrete and metal, and others.
 Thus, architects can create buildings and projects using modern technologies, principles and tools of sustainable development, and as a result, these projects can be durable and can be called sustainable. There are many systems for assessing the sustainability of buildings around the world. In addition to the US Green Building Council, which administers the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Efficiency (LEED) system, there are other rating systems that have been developed to measure the level of sustainability of buildings and provide best practice experiences with the highest level of certification.

The Green Party and Germany’s Environment: Integration, Influence, and Comparisons

The German Greens are helping Germany continue its legacy of being eco-friendly. This paper covers the history of the German Green Party. It will evaluate the success of the party and the reasons for its success. In addition, it will compare the German Greens to the United States Green Party in terms of their vote wins in elections and impact on their respective countries’ environments. The German Greens are known to be highly successful, forming coalitions with several big-name German parties. The party won 20.5% of votes in the 2019 European Election. In comparison, the US Green Party is not as well known. It was found that the German Green Party won a steadily increasing number of votes in every election, while the US Green Party had an overall decrease in the number of votes won every election. In addition, Germany has decreased its carbon dioxide emissions since 1971, while the US yearly carbon emission totals have increased. Because the Green Parties from the two countries have very similar policies, the reasons for their gap in success will be explored. In doing this, the conditions and actions required to form a highly dynamic political party will be indicated. Given the imminent problem of environmental degradation, this research endeavor would help countries and political parties understand how to properly care for the planet. It will also examine the direct impact of the strength of a political party on its country’s culture.

The extreme return connectedness between Sukuk and green bonds and their determinants and consequences for investors

This study aimed to investigate the return connectedness between Sukuk and green bonds at the middle, left and right tail using the new quantile-based connectivity methodology from Ando et al. (2018). We find that the average level of connectedness estimated at the mean/median is lower than that estimated at the left and right quantiles. Therefore, return connectedness between Sukuk and green links is higher in the left and right tails, indicating that the application of the mean-based connectivity measure is inappropriate. Next, we show that the connectedness of returns varies over time but varies less in the tails. In particular, the dynamic connectivity analysis indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the Sukuk and green bond markets. The Return connectedness driver's analysis shows the importance of macroeconomic conditions, particularly in the middle and lower quintiles. The US dollar bodes well positively for both bears and bulls, while uncertainty in equity markets amplifies return spillovers in the lower quintile. Moreover, the weak return spillovers between Sukuk and green bonds indicates that there is indeed an opportunity for optimal asset allocation. The highest hedging efficiency can be achieved by taking short positions in US Green Bonds.

China’s Green Bond Market: Structural Characteristics, Formation Factors, and Development Suggestions—Based on the Comparison of the Chinese and the US Green Bond Markets Structure

Since 2012, green bond markets have boomed worldwide, particularly in the European Union, the United States, and China. Under this background, the researchers use the methods of literature research, qualitative analysis, and descriptive research to compare the structure of Chinese and American green bond markets and analyze their differences from the perspective of historical evolution, issuance standards, and market operation characteristics. The researchers believe that China’s bank-oriented financial structure and America’s market-oriented financial structure are the main reasons for the difference between the two countries. The researchers then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of China’s green bond market and conclude that the advantages of China’s green bond market structure lie in low risk and close relationships between banks and enterprises, while the disadvantages lie in low financial efficiency and give relevant suggestions. This article makes up for the lack of cross-country comparison in the existing research on the green bond market and provides a qualitative research perspective. The suggestions put forward have specific policy significance for developing the green bond market in China and other developing countries.

The Pricing and Ownership of US Green Bonds

We review the pricing and ownership of green bonds, whose proceeds are used for environmentally focused purposes. After presenting an overview of the literature on green securities and green bonds in particular, we summarize the US corporate and municipal green bond markets. Green municipal bonds provide the best opportunity for detailed empirical study of how pricing and ownership differ from those of ordinary bonds. Green bonds are issued at a small premium of several basis points over similar ordinary bonds except when they are issued simultaneously with ordinary bonds from the same issuer; in that situation, a premium emerges over time on the secondary market. Green bonds, especially small or nearly riskless ones, are also more closely held than ordinary bonds. These facts are consistent with a simple framework that incorporates assets with nonpecuniary utility.

Market Transformation Towards Sustainability in Saudi Arabia: A Comparison Between Mostadam And LEED Rating Systems

The Saudi Vision 2030 launched several visualization programs, including the housing program, to create a vibrant environment for families and society. The Ministry of Housing created Mostadam, a national green building rating system that Sustainable Building operates to achieve this aim. Previously, buildings in Saudi Arabia were primarily certified using the US Green Building Council's LEED Rating system. (USGBC). The study investigates the market transformation towards sustainability in Saudi Arabia by comparing Mostadam and LEED. The study's main objectives are to compare Mostadam and LEED in terms of rating systems, certification levels, and the weight of categories offered in the two rating systems. The market transformation is investigated by using comparative analysis. Results showed that the Mostadam rated building is more adapted to the Saudi construction industry, and this is because awareness about building sustainability transformed the market towards more sustainable construction.

Green Bills for Green Earth: How the International Trade and Climate Regimes Work Together to Save the Planet

Through their Intergovernmental Panels on Climate Change, the scientific community tells us that we are heading towards a climate catastrophe. As a result, various countries are offering various promising and novel policy instruments to mitigate climate change and continue to grow macroeconomically, as we witnessed in the Glasgow Conference of the Parties in 2021. In other words, finding ways to grow economically while, at the same time, protect the environment and mitigate climate change. In that spirit, this article first provides an overview of the global trade and climate regimes. It then offers an analysis of how the World Trade Organization (WTO) globally and the European Union (EU) regionally might combat climate change in remarkable ways. The article also provides an analysis of European Green Deal and the US Green New Deal (GND), two encouraging policy instruments to help mitigate climate change ambitiously. Finally, the article provides a thorough assessment of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). European Green Deal, US Green New Deal, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, carbon pricing, GATT general exceptions, non-discrimination principle in GATT

Major Media Outlets and Climate Change Action: Comparing US Media Coverage of the Green New Deal

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the CNN and Fox News coverage of the US Green New Deal (GND) introduced in 2018 by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Senator Edward J. Markey and discerns how partisan ideologies are shaping media coverage. Our content analysis of 53 news videos identifies themes, actors, and tones that contextualize the landscape of the GND media representation and examines how these elements may indicate presence of political polarization. The greatest indications of polarization were seen in CNN’s and Fox News’s coverage of sub-themes, actors, and tones. The sub-themes under economics, politics, and climate received the most coverage. On both channels, AOC receives significantly more attention than any other actor. Fox News tends to portray the GND negatively, while CNN’s coverage is more positive or neutral. The study highlights the value of studying additional indicators in detail (sub-themes, actors, and tones) to paint a broader picture of political polarization. Political polarization of media content means different audiences are presented with diverging coverage, which can influence their perception and opinions.

LEED-CI V3 AND V4 GOLD PROJECTS FOR OFFICE SPACES: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHANGHAI AND CALIFORNIA

ABSTRACT The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is currently progressing from version 3 (V3) to 4 (V4) with the aim of reducing environmental damage in the global construction sector. The LEED Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) subsystem is widely used for office spaces, particularly in Shanghai and California. Comparing Shanghai and California in terms of LEED-CI projects can shed light on the ability of the LEED-CI subsystem to adapt to local green building standards and local environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the difference between V3 and V4 LEED-CI Gold office projects using a comparison between Shanghai and California. The US Green Building Council and the Green Building Information Gateway databases were used to source LEED-CI V3 and V4 Gold office projects. The natural logarithm of the odds ratio and Fisher’s exact 2 × 2 tests with a mid p-value were used to evaluate the binary data, while the Cliff’s δ and exact Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney tests were used to evaluate the ordinal data. The results show no difference between Shanghai and California in terms of LEED-CI V3 Gold office projects in the five main LEED-CI categories. The shift from V3 to V4 LEED-CI Gold office projects is increasing the difference between Shanghai and California in terms of the following LEED-CI categories: location and transportation, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, and materials and resources. Therefore, as compared to V3, V4 for LEED-CI Gold office projects demonstrated greater adaptability to local green building standards and environmental conditions.

A review of techniques and errors involved in sound isolation testing

Construction industry design standards are increasingly calling for new construction to be inspected and tested for compliance with design specifications after the project is built; otherwise known as the commissioning process. As part of this trend, owners, sensitive to the acoustics of their facilities, are seeking confirmation via measurements that their buildings meet sound isolation and background noise requirements, particularly when pursuing certifications under the US Green Building Council LEED standard, the WELL Building Standard, or other green building or wellness standards. In general, the error of sound isolation measurements is not officially established. This poses challenges to designers tasked with specifying assemblies and components to meet field verification requirements. This paper will briefly review current research and standards on the error of measurements such as Noise Isolation Class (NIC) and the Weighted Level Difference (D) and discuss example design standards and guidelines which do or do not account for this error. It will also propose further research topics to better define the error in sound isolation measurements and best practices when establishing or designing to sound isolation criteria in new or renovated buildings.

Effect of geographic distance on domestic trade: A case of the US Green industry

AbstractThe prediction that the effect of geographic distance as a barrier for trade will decrease over time and eventually be eliminated as a result of technological developments has been proposed for decades. However, empirical evidence suggests the negative effect of geographic distance persists in both international and domestic trade. This study uses data from a national survey of nursery and greenhouse growers in the United States to investigate the effect of geographic distance on trade. We model trades as a two‐step process in which selling firms and buyers were matched first, and then a positive trade flow occurs conditional on the match. This process leads to a simple zero‐inflated estimation strategy and provides a meaningful interpretation of the zero‐trades. We demonstrate that this approach predicts the overall trade flow better than the Poisson or Gamma Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PML) approach, due to its ability to predict zero trade flows more accurately. The empirical results indicate the effect of distance on trade volume is large and statistically significant. In addition, firms trade almost exclusively with partners in the home state or in states with branch offices. We find that social media and website advertising is much less effective in increasing the trade flow than traditional advertising channels. [EconLit Citations: Q17, Q13].

The development of a Nexus based green architecture ranking system in Iran

The concept of green architecture, also known as "sustainable development" or "green building," is the theory, science, and style of buildings designed and built based on environmentally friendly principles. Green architecture seeks to minimize the number of resources used in the construction, operation, and management of the building and limit the damage caused to the environment by spreading, pollution, and waste of building components. New water and materials are used to design, build, operate and conserve building energy and generate large amounts of waste that negatively affect health and the environment. To limit these effects and design environmentally sound and resource-efficient buildings, the concept of "green building systems" needs to be introduced, clarified and understood, and practiced. One of the solutions is to use green building methods in the construction industry in today's world. Demand for sustainability as a definitive solution to all environmental challenges Inspired by this research to emphasize the priority of increasing sustainable environmental productivity to reduce carbon emissions to discuss and demonstrate sustainable buildings in Iran (new and existing) and Presenting the principles of energy audit used in them and their performance toward standards. Meanwhile, Iran is ranked as one of the good countries in building growth and green energy in the Middle East and other countries, according to the US Green Building Council's ranking of energy consumption, renewable energy, and recycled materials in 2015-2016.

A performance assessment on Compressed Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) using geo – polymeric binders

The development of the country mainly depends on Rural Development. About 55% of rural peoples still live in earth building. According to the US Green Building Council, the building sector accounts for 39% of the global emission of CO2. If new technologies were not adopted means the emission could be doubled by the year 2050 according to United Nation Environment Program (UNEP). New technology is required to sustain the environment and earth materials. In India, One of the recently developing technology is Compressed Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB). This CSEB technology replaces the usage of conventional burnt clay bricks. In this Context, The earth materials are not widely used in CSEB because it includes the vital part of industrial wastes. The characteristics of CSEB with Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS), Fly Ash of class-F and coir fiber are to be investigated. Nowadays, the controlling, management and disposal of waste materials are a difficult task. The Flyash-F is an industrial waste material that is obtained from a thermal power plant and it contains a low amount of CaO. GGBFS is also an industrial waste obtained from the quenching molten iron slag in steel industries. About 20-25% of dry volume soil is replaced by a combination of Flyash and GGBFS with the addition of a geopolymer solution. Both the waste materials bring the CSE-Block as eco-friendly to the environment and cost-effective. Besides, The CSEB exhibits high strength, low creep, very minimum water absorption and good erosion resistance. In this paper, we are experimentally investigating the compressive strength and water absorption nature of CSEB with varying ratios of binders and Geo-Polymeric solution.

Consumer and Producer Perceptions and Preferences for Pollinator Friendly Labeling Practices in the US Green Industry


 
 
 
 
 
 
 Increasing consumer interest in sustainable products and in protecting bees and other pollinator insects may be reducing demand for plants grown using neonicotinoids. This 5-page fact sheet written by Hayk Khachatryan, Xuan Wei, and Alicia Rihn and published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department summarizes consumer and producer perceptions about neonicotinoid-related regulations and labeling practices and identifies discrepancies between consumer and producer preferences for different pollinator friendly labeling phrases.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe1083
 
 
 
 
 
 

Development Trend and Segmentation of the US Green Building Market: Corporate Perspective on Green Contractors and Design Firms

In the past decade, the architecture, engineering, and construction industry has witnessed increasing growth in the green building market and continues to expect a promising future. Although companies in the industry have played a significant role in developing the green building market, scarce studies have analyzed changes in the market from the perspectives of these corporations. Also, few studies classify green building companies by characteristics. To fill these gaps of knowledge, we explored the characteristics of the US green building market from a corporate perspective, specifically investigating green contractors and design firms. We first collected data of 464 top US green building companies identified by the Engineering News-Record over the past decade and explored the development trend of the green building market, based on the green revenue generated by these companies. We found that the general growth trend in the US green building market in the past decade could be divided into three stages: a rapid-growth stage (2000–2008), a steady-growth stage (2009–2013), and a maturity and transformation stage (2014–2016). We then categorized the 464 organizations into three groups with distinct characteristics by k-means cluster analysis techniques, including mature green building companies, sector-oriented green building companies, and primary-stage green building companies. This study provides the academic and practitioner communities with a holistic understanding of the development of the US green building market from the view of burgeoning companies. Corporate-level management systems and sustainable practices of the three clusters of green building companies also provide guidance for construction companies in the various stages of transformation towards sustainability to adopt different strategies.