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ESG and the Net Zero Transition: Operations and Innovation for Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2026) | Viewed by 1264

Editors


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Guest Editor
Business School, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Interests: sustainability; strategic management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Business School, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Interests: corporate governance; earnings management/quality; disclosure quality; sustainability reporting; FDI and business ethics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Businesses play a pivotal role in addressing climate change, environmental degradation, and social inequalities. The environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework offers a crucial foundation for measuring progress and managing corporate initiatives aimed at fostering a sustainable society. As achieving net-zero emissions emerges as a defining goal, there is a growing need to comprehend how ESG strategies and practices align with and drive the net-zero transition.

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore how the ESG pillars—individually and collectively—contribute to achieving net-zero, and what operational strategies and innovations are required to achieve sustainability goals.  

We invite original research, applied articles, case studies, and systematic reviews that advance the understanding of how ESG practices facilitate net-zero transition, operational transformation, and innovations for sustainability. Contributors may address, but are not limited to, one or more of the following areas:

  • Individual and collective impacts of ESG pillars on achieving the net-zero outcomes
  • Operational models that support ESG implementation and decarbonization efforts
  • Innovations that enable ESG-driven pathways to sustainability
  • The role of ESG metrics, disclosure practices, and climate actions
  • The relationship between corporate governance and climate goals
  • Cross-sectoral and global perspectives on ESG and net-zero transitions
  • Sector-specific studies on net-zero transitions
  • Case-based insights on ESG integration within net-zero strategies across various sectors

Invitation for Submissions:

This Special Issue seeks interdisciplinary perspectives and welcomes submissions from fields such as sustainability science, operations management, economics, business, policy, and environmental studies.

Dr. Shahid Md Shahiduzzaman
Dr. Omar Al Farooque
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ESG
  • net zero
  • sustainability
  • operations
  • innovation
  • corporate strategy
  • sustainable investment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 1879 KB  
Article
ESG-Aligned OER Innovation for Sustainable Teacher Education
by Gideon Petrus van Tonder and Nicolaas van Deventer
Sustainability 2026, 18(11), 5761; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18115761 - 5 Jun 2026
Viewed by 333
Abstract
Many South African schools face educational resource shortages that hinder effective teaching and learning. This study investigates a community-driven Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative implemented within a teacher education programme at a South African university, where Bachelor of Education (BEd) students (n = [...] Read more.
Many South African schools face educational resource shortages that hinder effective teaching and learning. This study investigates a community-driven Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative implemented within a teacher education programme at a South African university, where Bachelor of Education (BEd) students (n = 400) from first to fourth year across the Vanderbijlpark and Potchefstroom campuses were engaged in designing sustainable Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) from recyclable materials. A purposively selected qualitative subsample (n = 53) participated in the study. Framed within an interpretivist and qualitative phenomenological design, data were collected through structured written reflections capturing participants’ experiences of the project. The findings show that creating OER from recyclable materials strengthened resourcefulness, collaboration, and awareness of educational inequality, while also encouraging more accessible and context-responsive teaching practices. The study contributes to understanding how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-aligned operational innovation can foster self-directed learning and sustainable teacher education in under-resourced contexts. Full article
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