Search Results (10)

This study compares environmental goal-setting and monitoring priorities of EMAS-registered and non-EMAS organizations in the European Union. Using a dataset of 847 organizations and exploratory factor analysis, it examines differences in the structure of environmental objectives and indicators. The results show that EMAS-registered organizations prioritize operational performance and continuous improvement, while non-EMAS organizations focus more on regulatory compliance, awareness-building, and external communication. EMAS participation is associated with a more integrated and strategic approach to environmental management, linking objectives with measurable performance indicators. In contrast, non-EMAS organizations often adopt more symbolic or externally oriented practices driven by legal and reputational concerns. To isolate the effects of formal verification and transparency, ISO 14001 certification is not treated separately; instead, EMAS organizations are compared with all non-EMAS entities. The findings provide new empirical evidence on how voluntary environmental schemes shape organizational behavior by improving alignment between goals and indicators. They also offer practical guidance for organizations preparing for the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), highlighting EMAS as a model for credible, performance-based environmental reporting. Full article

Waste management is a vital component of modern economies, requiring not only technological solutions, but also economic and social approaches that reflect human needs while minimizing environmental harm. Within the European Union, sustainable development remains a central objective, promoting strategies in which waste is not merely disposed of, but is also recovered and reused whenever feasible. Landfill gas, primarily composed of methane, can be captured and managed in a controlled way. If left unregulated, methane emissions present serious risks to human health and contribute significantly to environmental degradation. At the same time, methane represents a valuable yet underutilized renewable energy source. In Poland, emission monitoring is conducted through the National Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, which operates as part of a broader European system. Landfill operators must report methane emissions and pay associated environmental fees. This study aimed to estimate methane emissions across Polish voivodeships from 2019 to 2023, considering both economic and social dimensions of sustainability. The analysis relied on official register data and landfill documentation, enabling evaluation of reporting accuracy and regulatory effectiveness. The findings indicate that current policies insufficiently encourage emission reductions, highlighting the need for systemic reforms, improved transparency, and clearer regulatory thresholds to drive meaningful environmental progress. Full article

The textile and clothing industry has historically exerted a significant negative impact on the environment. Excessive water consumption, chemical pollution, and soil degradation are just a few of the pressing environmental concerns linked to this sector. Addressing these issues has become a priority not only for regulatory bodies, at the National and European levels, but also for the industry itself. More recently, growing attention has turned to reducing the huge volume of waste generated by consumers’ unbridled purchase of clothing. In this context, the Circular Economy (CE) and the Digital Product Passport (DPP) have emerged as complementary approaches for improving product circularity, transparency, and traceability. However, in the textile and clothing sector, their effective implementation also depends on consumer participation in practices such as prolonged use, repair, reuse, and responsible end-of-life management. This article presents EcoProve, a gamified platform designed to encourage consumer engagement with CE practices through smart wardrobe management. The platform allows users to register garments, track usage, record maintenance and repair actions, and document sharing, donation, remaking, and recycling activities. These functionalities aim both to promote more sustainable clothing-related behaviours and to support the structured recording of use phase data relevant to DPP-oriented lifecycle information. This study reports the development and pilot validation of the platform with end users. The results suggest positive effects on environmental awareness, perceived understanding of sustainable textile-related practices, and initial self-reported changes in habits associated with clothing use and disposal. The findings support the potential of gamified digital platforms to foster consumer participation in CE systems in the textile and clothing sector while also indicating the need for broader and longer-term evaluations. Full article

The transition to low-emission road transport in Europe depends not only on the growth of plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) uptake, but also on the timely expansion of publicly accessible charging infrastructure. This article provides a descriptive and diagnostic assessment of the relationship between electrification dynamics and public charging infrastructure development in Europe. The analysis combines a long-run descriptive window (2015–2024, with 2025 treated separately as a scenario observation) and a core diagnostic window (2020–2024) for which a consistent proxy of potential infrastructure strain—plug-in vehicles per public recharging point (VPP)—is available. The results show a strong increase in PEV share in new registrations, from 1.0% in 2015 to 20.92% in 2024, while the number of public recharging points rose from 67,064 to 900,000 over the same period. In the core sample, VPP declined from 15.24 in 2020 to 13.92 in 2024, which is consistent with a catch-up phase in infrastructure deployment after 2021. At the same time, the short-window relationship between PEV share, infrastructure scale and average CO₂ emissions of newly registered cars remains weak and unstable, indicating the role of additional structural factors. The article contributes a transparent, replicable indicator-based framework for describing infrastructure strain in aggregate European data. In policy terms, the findings support a shift from simple point-count targets toward functionally and spatially differentiated infrastructure planning, including interoperability, power structure, and accessibility in underserved areas. Full article

Efficient documentation and traceability of construction waste are essential for meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy. In Poland, the national Database on Products, Packaging, and Waste Management (BDO) serves as the central platform for recording and reporting waste flows, including those generated by the construction sector. However, its current structure imposes substantial administrative burdens, particularly on large-scale projects involving thousands of waste transports. This study examines the documentation workflow within the BDO system as applied to construction activities. Using process mapping, field studies, and interviews, the research identifies key bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement, especially through automation enabled by the integration of external applications connected to BDO via its public Application Programming Interface (API). Among nine identified systems, one was selected due to its comprehensive functionalities tailored to construction-sector needs. A study involving thirty users demonstrated that implementation of this system reduced the time required to issue a Waste Transfer Card (KPO) by 77% and fully automated entries in the Waste Records Register (KEO). As a result, the average administrative workload decreased by 87%. For a representative demolition company generating approximately 46,000 KPOs annually, the total time savings correspond to 8.2 months of full-time administrative work. This reduction translates into annual savings exceeding PLN 47,000 and yields a return on investment of over 100% within the first year. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the system’s effectiveness decreases with lower documentation volumes. The findings confirm that targeted automation and improved interface design can significantly enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and transparency of construction waste documentation. Full article

The strategic goal of the transition to a low-carbon economy in Russia requires the active integration of forest-climatic projects into regional sustainable development strategies, especially for areas with high agricultural pressure such as the central forest-steppe of the European part of the Russian Federation. The region contains over 18 million hectares of forest land, which is approximately 2.1% of the area of Russian forests, and intensive agricultural development increases the need for innovative approaches to restoring forest ecosystems. The work uses indicators of the state forest register, data on 18 reforestation projects and 22 afforestation projects, and the results of forecasting the dynamics of greenhouse gas absorption until 2030. It is estimated that by 2030, the sequestration potential of the forests of the central forest-steppe can be increased by 28–30%, which will neutralize up to 12% of emissions from industrial enterprises in the region. In the paper, to unify the assessment, it is proposed to use the carbon intensity factor of investment costs, which, in a number of implemented projects, ranged from 1.2 to 2.7 RUB/1 kg CO₂ eq., reflecting the cost of achieving one ton of absorbed CO₂ equivalent. At ratios above 1, the economic value of the carbon units created exceeds investment costs by at least 20%. Environmental–economic modeling showed that with an increase in the forest cover of the region by 1% (180 thousand hectares), the annual absorption of CO₂ increases by approximately 0.9–1.1 million tons, and the increase in potential income from the sale of carbon units could amount to 1.6–2.2 billion RUB per year at the current price of 1.8–2 RUB/kg CO₂-eq. The use of an integral criterion of environmental and economic efficiency helps increase the transparency and investment-attractiveness of forest-climatic projects, as well as the effective integration of natural and climatic solutions into long-term strategies for the sustainable development of the Central Forest-Steppe of Russia. Full article

This research focuses on examining the responses of interest groups listed in the European Transparency Register to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war. Its aim is to investigate the nuanced reactions of 2579 commercial and business associations and 2957 companies and groups to the recent conflict, as expressed through their X (Twitter) activities. Utilizing advanced text mining and NLP and LDA techniques, this study conducts a comprehensive analysis encompassing language dynamics, thematic shifts, sentiment variations, and activity levels exhibited by these entities both before and after the outbreak of the war. The results obtained reflect a gradual decrease in negative emotions regarding the conflict over time. Likewise, multiple forms of outside lobbying are identified in the communication strategies of interest groups. All in all, this empirical inquiry into how interest groups adapt their messaging in response to complex geopolitical events holds the potential to provide invaluable insights into the multifaceted role of lobbying in shapi ng public policies. Full article

In the intricate and multifaceted landscape of the European construction process, where the development and governance of the European Union take shape through a myriad of policies, institutions, and stakeholders, this study delves into the role of lobbies affiliated with the European Transparency Register. It focuses on the relationship between the utilization of social media platforms and the representation costs among interest groups. Analysis of data from 12,430 groups, encompassing website presence, social media engagement, and declared representation costs, reveals that 97.14% of groups maintain websites, while 67.52% actively use social media platforms. Among groups disclosing representation costs, the mean is EUR 181,333, with a median of EUR 74,999. Multiple linear regression analysis uncovers a positive association between Twitter and YouTube usage and representation costs, while Facebook usage demonstrates a negative correlation. However, no statistically significant relationships are observed for Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. These findings offer insights into the potential impact of social media on representation costs for interest groups. Full article

Vitamin supplements are over-the-counter medications consumed by the majority of adults. Given that many supplements may be ineffective and/or associated with adverse events, compliance of the registered trials to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) rule for prompt reporting of the results is of crucial importance for consumers’ health. The present retrospective study was designed to evaluate compliance with the European Union (EU) requirement to post the trial results to the EU Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT) and assess the trial characteristics associated with this compliance. Three independent researchers searched the EudraCT for completed trials on vitamin supplements performed on humans. A total of 144 completed trials involving 40,464 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria. For 45.7% of these, results were due. Trials funded by the industry had approximately quadruple chances of being published, adjusting for their design, masking, comparator, and participant age group. Moreover, trials testing vitamin supplement safety are more likely to report their findings as compared to vitamin efficacy. Many vitamin supplementation trials registered in the EudraCT failed to report their results and adhere to the EMA regulations. Stricter regulations should be imposed concerning trial results reporting to increase transparency and public trust. Full article

This study focuses on the transparency of financial reporting on emission allowances (EA) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). In particular, the different accounting treatments adopted by standard setters and professionals were analyzed to evaluate the influence of regulation in the transparency of financial reporting on EA and GHG emissions. Based on a sample of 85 companies registered with the Portuguese, Spanish, and French National Plans of Allocation (NPAs), data collected from the annual reports were analyzed for the 2008–2014 period. The results were obtained based on descriptive, logistic regressions and panel data statistical techniques, and they show that better levels of transparency of financial reporting on EA and GHG emissions are conditioned by a variety of accounting policies, which compromises the comparability of the financial information. The adoption of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) standards set lead to a greater dispersion in the choice of the accounting approach and a higher probability of not disclosing any information, as well as adopting off-balance sheet policies. Therefore, the regulatory factor is a determinant of the level of transparency of financial reporting on EA and GHG emissions, contributing to reduce strategies of omission. Full article