Search Results (771)

Previous survey research has documented that consumers place value on socially responsible firms. This support includes the intention to be more loyal to these firms and also the willingness to pay higher prices for their products. Our study connects the customer intentions documented in survey research with actual measures of financial performance from published financial statements. The study uses gross profits scaled by total assets as a proxy for customers’ willingness to pay higher prices and sales increases as a proxy for loyalty. Additionally, the study examines differences in the aforementioned measures between customers in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) segments. These differences have been documented in studies that suggest customers in these segments value different characteristics of suppliers when making their purchases. Finally, customers must be made aware of a firm’s sustainability practices; therefore, the study looks at three different approaches firms use to communicate the quality of their sustainability practices. These approaches include external assurance of the social responsibility report, the auditor’s review of the firm’s internal controls, and the firm’s advertising intensity. Data used in this study includes financial performance measures of North American firms and corporate social responsibility data from disclosures collected by the Global Reporting Initiative. Using ordinary least squares, the results suggest that customers require some sort of assurance of a company’s socially responsible disclosures when making decisions about whether to support the company. Full article

As a critical ecological barrier in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwestern China, the spatio-temporal evolution of vegetation carbon sequestration in the Hexi Corridor is of great significance to the ecological security of this region. Based on multi-source remote sensing and meteorological data, this study integrated second-order partial correlation analysis, ridge regression, and other methods to reveal the spatio-temporal evolution patterns of Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) in the Hexi Corridor from 2003 to 2022, as well as the response characteristics of GPP to air temperature, precipitation, and Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD). From 2003 to 2022, GPP in the Hexi Corridor showed an overall increasing trend, the spatial distribution of GPP showed a pattern of being higher in the east and lower in the west. In the central oasis region, intensive irrigation agriculture supported consistently high GPP values with sustained growth. Elevated air temperatures extended the growing season, further promoting GPP growth. Due to irrigation and sufficient soil moisture, the contributions of precipitation and VPD were relatively low. In contrast, desert and high-altitude permafrost areas, constrained by water and heat limitations, exhibited consistently low GPP values, which further declined due to climate fluctuations. In desert regions, high air temperatures intensified evaporation, suppressing GPP, while precipitation and VPD played more significant roles. This study provides a detailed analysis of the spatio-temporal change patterns of GPP in the Hexi Corridor and its response to climatic factors. In the future, the Hexi Corridor needs to adopt dual approaches of natural restoration and precise regulation, coordinate ecological security, food security, and economic development, and provide a scientific paradigm for carbon neutrality and ecological barrier construction in arid areas of Northwest China. Full article

Innovation is central to the Zero Hunger agenda, yet its distributional links to agricultural performance and policy in Eastern Europe remain unclear. This study investigates whether national innovation performance, proxied by the Global Innovation Index, is associated with agriculture’s macroeconomic weight and with public budget orientation in Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia across the past decade and a half. Using panel quantile regression with country fixed effects and bootstrapped standard errors, we estimate effects at the lower, median, and upper parts of the outcome distributions for three indicators: agriculture value added share of gross domestic product, the agriculture orientation index for government expenditures, and the agriculture share of government expenditure. Results show a robust negative association between innovation and the agricultural share of gross domestic product that strengthens toward the upper quantiles, consistent with structural transformation that reallocates value added toward higher-productivity sectors. For the orientation index, innovation is unrelated at the lower and median parts but becomes positive in mid–upper regimes, fading again at the extreme upper tail. No systematic relationship emerges for the budget share. Land endowment is positively associated with agricultural weight, while population size is negatively associated. We conclude that economy-wide innovation aligns with structural change, whereas shifting agricultural budget shares requires targeted, sector-specific policy instruments. Full article

Traffic accidents remain a major global burden, causing mortality, disability, and socio-economic losses that hinder sustainable development. Beyond human suffering, crashes place long-term pressures on health systems, labor markets, and national economies, disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income countries. Estimating the true societal costs of accidents is therefore essential for designing effective, equitable, and sustainable road safety policies. This study applies the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) method to evaluate the external costs of traffic-related deaths and injuries in Türkiye between 2008 and 2018. By incorporating material and immaterial losses, the WTP framework captures a broader spectrum of impacts than traditional approaches, offering valuable insights into the scale of welfare losses and the value of risk reduction. The findings reveal that external costs rose substantially over the decade, from 1.63% to 2.72% of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), underscoring that economic losses from road crashes are growing faster than the economy. These results highlight the need for systematic interventions that integrate road safety into national sustainability agendas, including safer infrastructure, behavioral programs, advanced vehicle technologies, and efficient emergency response systems. The evidence presented strengthens the case for prioritizing traffic safety as a fundamental component of sustainable transport and public health strategies. Full article

The macro-economic growth rate of Peru is analyzed for sensitivity to climatic conditions. Year-on-year fluctuations in the inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) per capita over the period 1970–2024 are subjected to correlation and composite statistical methods. Upturns relate to cool east Pacific La Niña, downturns with warm El Niño. Composites are analyzed by subtracting upper and lower terciles, representing a difference of ~USD 40 B at current value. These reveal how the regional climate exerts a partial influence among external factors. During the austral summer with southeasterly winds over the east Pacific, sea temperatures undergo a 2.5 °C cooling. Consequently, atmospheric subsidence draws humid air from the Amazon toward the Peruvian highlands, improving crop production. Dry weather along the coast sustains transportation networks and urban infrastructure, ensuring good economic performance over the year. The opposing influence of El Niño is built into the statistics. A multi-variate algorithm is developed to predict changes in the Peru growth rate. Austral summer winds and subsurface temperatures over the tropical east Pacific account for a modest 23% of year-on-year variance. Although external factors and the varied landscape weaken macro-economic links with climate, our predictors significantly improve on traditional indices: SOI and Nino3. Adaptive measures are suggested to take advantage of Southern Oscillation’s influence on Peru’s economy. Full article

During the past two decades, researchers and professionals have increasingly explored the financial and macroeconomic implications of sustainable business practices, particularly through the lens of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. This review synthesizes evidence from financial economics and sectoral labor analysis to assess the impact of ESG performance and green employment on corporate financial performance (CFP) and broader economic growth. Using a discounted cash-flow framework and sectoral panel data from European economies (2008–2023), the findings reveal that robust ESG practices improve operating profits, reduce financial risk and support higher dividend distributions, while green jobs contribute significantly to Gross Value Added (GVA) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with each additional green job adding approximately EUR 101.920 to GVA and EUR 135.000 to GDP, in annual terms. Sectoral impacts are especially pronounced in construction, energy, and financial services, with annual contributions ranging from EUR 10.4 to EUR 11.1 million in GVA and EUR 13.7 to EUR 14.8 million in GDP. These results underscore the dual role of ESG as a financial indicator and strategic sustainability tool, advancing key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The integration of green employment metrics into national productivity frameworks and corporate ESG strategies offers practical guidance to policymakers, investors, and cross-sector partners committed to sustainable development. Full article

Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination generates a concentrated brine byproduct rich in dissolved salts and minerals. This study presents an extensive economic and technical analysis of recovering all major ions from SWRO brine, which includes Na, Cl, Mg, Ca, SO₄, K, Br, B, Li, Rb, and Sr in comparison to conventional mining and chemical production of these commodities. Data from recent literature and case studies are compiled to quantify the composition of a typical SWRO brine and the potential yield of valuable products. A life-cycle cost framework is applied, incorporating capital expenditure (CAPEX), operational expenditure (OPEX), and total water cost (TWC) impacts. A representative simulation for a large 100,000 m³/day SWRO plant shows that integrated “brine mining” systems could recover on the order of 3.8 million tons of salts per year. At optimistic recovery efficiencies, the gross annual revenue from products (NaCl, Mg(OH)₂/MgO, CaCO₃, KCl, Br₂, Li₂CO₃, etc.) can reach a few hundred million USD. This revenue is comparable to or exceeds the added costs of recovery processes under favorable conditions, potentially offsetting desalination costs by USD 0.5/m³ or more. We compare these projections with the economics of obtaining the same materials through conventional mining and chemical processes worldwide. Major findings indicate that recovery of abundant low-value salts (especially NaCl) can supply bulk revenue to cover processing costs, while extraction of scarce high-value elements (Li, Rb, Sr, etc.) can provide significant additional profit if efficient separation is achieved. The energy requirements and unit costs for brine recovery are analyzed against those of terrestrial or conventional mining; in many cases, brine-derived production is competitive due to avoided raw material extraction and potential use of waste or renewable energy. CAPEX for adding mineral recovery to a desalination plant is significant but can be justified by revenue and by strategic benefits such as reduced brine disposal. Our analysis, drawing on global data and case studies (e.g., projects in Europe and the Middle East), suggests that metals and salts recovery from SWRO brine is technically feasible and, at sufficient scale, economically viable in many regions. We provide detailed comparisons of cost, yield, and market value for each target element, along with empirical models and formulas for profitability. The results offer a roadmap for integrating brine mining into desalination operations and highlight key factors such as commodity prices, scale economies, energy integration, and policy incentives that influence the competitiveness of brine recovery against traditional mining. Full article

This study examined the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving mechanisms of ecosystem service value (ESV) in Wuhan from 1985 to 2020. Using multi-temporal land-use data, remotely sensed vegetation indices, and socioeconomic statistics, we estimated the ESV with an improved equivalent-factor method and analyzed its drivers using a Geodetector and geographically weighted regression (GWR). Over the 35-year period, total ESV for Wuhan showed a mildly declining trend, decreasing from CNY 37.464 billion in 1985 to CNY 36.439 billion in 2020. Waterbodies contributed the largest share of ESV, followed by croplands and forests. In the urban core, ESV declined significantly, with low-value zones expanding outward from the city center. Spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed significant “high–high” and “low–low” clustering. Geodetector results indicated slope, elevation, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as the primary natural drivers, with human footprint, gross domestic product (GDP), and population density acting as important socioeconomic auxiliaries. Interactions between natural and socioeconomic factors substantially increased the explanatory power. Furthermore, GWR revealed pronounced spatial heterogeneity in the sign and magnitude of the factor effects across the study area, underscoring the complexity of ESV drivers. These findings provide quantitative evidence to support spatially differentiated ecological planning and conservation strategies during urbanization in Wuhan and the broader mid-Yangtze region. Full article

The presence of toxic elements in drinking water poses important risks to human health. Among the diverse methodologies available to remove these elements from water, adsorption methods are among the most effective; however, many adsorbent materials are either costly, not widely available, or difficult to handle. This work focuses on the application of a new natural geologic material, named “V” material, to prepare an adsorbent substrate applied to water treatment, using its adsorption properties to remove metallic species from aqueous media. The geologic material is a thermally and mechanically resistant material, composed basically of quartz, iron and aluminum oxides, with amphoteric properties. A granular medium or substrate was prepared via thermal treatment using three granulometric fractions of the material: the smaller fraction, less than 250 μm, named the fine fraction, VFF; from 250 μm to 425 μm, named the medium fraction, VMF; and from 425 μm to 1200 μm, named the gross fraction, VGF. The experiments were carried out on both alkaline-treated and non-treated substrates, named activated and non-activated substrates, respectively. The BET and external surface, as well as the pore volume, increased significantly after the calcination process. The adsorption isotherms pointed to a strong interaction between metallic ions and activated substrates, in contrast to the non-activated substrate, which showed much less affinity. This type of isotherm is associated with specific adsorption, where the adsorption occurs chemically between Cu²⁺ ions and the substrate surface, basically composed of amphoteric metallic oxides. The adsorption data fit fairly well to the Freundlich and Langmuir models, where the K values are higher for activated substrates. According to the Freundlich K values, the copper adsorptions on the activated substrates were higher: 5.0395, 3.9814 and 4.2165 mg/g, compared with 0.3622, 1.8843 and 0.4544 mg/g on non-activated substrates. The pH measurements showed the production of 0.56 and 0.10 μmol H⁺ during the adsorption reaction on the activated substrate, following the theoretical model for the chemisorption of transitional metals on amphoteric oxides. These results show the potential applicability of this kind of substrate in retaining transitional metals from polluted drinkable water at low cost. It is environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and available for rural media and mining-impacted regions. Full article

Air pollution imposes significant economic burdens due to its adverse health effects. This study estimates the economic cost of premature mortality from PM₁₀ and ground-level O₃ exposure in the Greater Athens Area (2001–2019), using the value of statistical life and willingness-to-pay methods. Despite low PM₁₀ levels in 2011, rising O₃ concentrations from 2015–2019 correlated with increased cardiorespiratory mortality costs. The average cost reached €1253 million per 100,000 people. Results suggest air pollution mortality costs follow Gross Domestic Product (GDP) trends, underscoring the economic and public health value of improving air quality. Full article

Agricultural trade not only facilitates the exchange of final products but also leads to the indirect transfer of arable land resources involved in their production processes across countries. These indirect flows are commonly referred to in the literature as virtual land flows or virtual land trade. An in-depth understanding of the factors influencing virtual land flows is crucial for both the management of these flows and the sustainable and efficient allocation of limited arable land resources on a global scale. The objective of this study is to identify the key determinants that influence virtual land flows in Türkiye’s trade of plant-based agricultural products. To achieve this, the virtual land trade balance for Türkiye was computed by estimating the import and export volumes of virtual land from 1986 to 2019, based on crop, year, and country-specific yield values. Subsequently, the relationship between Türkiye’s virtual land trade balance and macroeconomic and environmental variables—such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the real effective exchange rate, annual total precipitation, per capita arable land, and fertilizer usage—was investigated using the ARDL bounds testing approach. The findings of this study indicate that the most significant factors influencing Türkiye’s virtual land flows are per capita arable land endowment and fertilizer usage. This result highlights the strong relationship between virtual land flows and variables related to productivity and natural resource endowment, while also emphasizing the importance of integrating sustainability considerations and environmental impacts into contemporary agricultural policy frameworks. Elucidating the dynamics of virtual land trade is a pivotal step toward ensuring the long-term sustainability of international agricultural trade, as well as the equitable and efficient allocation of arable land resources. Furthermore, it represents a fundamental strategy for global agricultural production, offering critical insights for shaping future agricultural policy and practice at the global level. Full article

The livestock sector in Serbia has been experiencing a prolonged period of structural and economic challenges, characterized by decreasing animal numbers, low productivity, and reduced competitiveness in both domestic and EU markets. This study analyses the key structural, technological, economic, and policy factors shaping these trends to provide strategic recommendations for sustainable sector revitalization. The methodology integrates macroeconomic analysis, agricultural economic accounts, and international trade data, applying regression modelling to examine relationships between domestic food prices, exchange rates, and agri-food import volumes. The results indicate that livestock’s share of agricultural gross value added remains below 35%, significantly lower than EU averages, while export quotas remain underutilized and the trade balance for animal products is persistently negative. Contributing factors include fragmented farm structures, outdated production technologies, limited adoption of innovations, demographic decline in rural areas, and insufficient alignment with EU CAP Strategic Plans and Green Deal objectives. Climate change impacts, such as droughts and heat stress, alongside animal disease outbreaks and macroeconomic pressures, further exacerbate these vulnerabilities. The study recommends modernizing production systems through investment in technological upgrades, strengthening farmer organizations and cooperatives, enhancing biosecurity and animal welfare standards, and improving policy frameworks to align with EU sustainability objectives. Emphasis is placed on developing integrated approaches that simultaneously address productivity, economic resilience, and environmental sustainability. Implementing these strategic measures is essential for enhancing food security, supporting rural development, and ensuring Serbia’s successful integration into the EU market as part of a more sustainable and resilient agri-food system. Full article

This research objective is to overcome the shortcomings of the updated values added of the System of National Accounts 2025 (SNA 2025) in order to measure the spatialized total sustainable social income from forest ecosystems through an experimentally refined System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (rSEEA). Sustainable income measured at observed, imputed, and simulated market transaction prices is defined as the maximum potential consumption of products generated in the forest ecosystem without a real decline in the environmental asset and manufactured fixed capital at the closing of the current period, assuming idealized future conditions of stable real prices and dynamics of institutional and other autonomous processes. A key finding of this research is that sustainable income extends the SNA 2025 net value added by incorporating the omissions by the latter of environmental net operating surplus (or ecosystem service in the absence of environmental damage), ordinary changes in the environmental asset condition and manufactured fixed capital adjusted according to a less ordinary entry of manufactured fixed capital plus the manufactured consumption of fixed capital. Sustainable income was measured spatially for 15 individual products, the area units being the map tiles for Andalusia, Spain, Stone pine forest (Pinus pinea L.) canopy cover was predominant, covering an area of 243,559 hectares. In 2010, the SNA 2025 gross and net values added accounted for 24% and 27%, respectively, of the Stone pine forest sustainable income measured by the rSEEA. The ecosystem services omitted by the SNA 2025 made up 69% of the rSEEA sustainable income. Full article

Context: It has been claimed that recently, in England, the places with the greatest amount of housing built were the places that least needed them. This is an accusation that has echoes in a number of countries around the globe. The lack of construction leads to greater unaffordability and a lower level of economic activity than could have been achieved if labour, particularly those with high human capital, was not so constrained as to where they could afford to live. The recent National Planning Policy Framework for England imposes mandatory targets on housing planning authorities. As such, the following question is raised: will the targets result in additional residential homes being located in places of greater need than the prevailing pattern? Research Questions: The paper sets out to consider the spatial mismatch between housing additions and national benefit in terms of unaffordability and productivity. Specifically, do the concentrations of high and/or low rates of the prevailing rates of additional dwellings and the target rates of adding dwellings correspond with the clusters of high and/or low unaffordability and productivity? A further question considered is: does the spatial distribution of additional dwellings match the clusters of population growth? Method: The values of the variables are transformed at the first stage into Anselin’s LISA categories. LISA maps can reveal unusually high spatial concentrations of values, or clusters. The second stage entails comparing sets of the transformed data for agreement of the classifications. An agreement coefficient is provided by Fleiss’s kappa. Data: The data used is of additional dwellings, the total number of dwellings, population estimates, gross value added per hour worked (productivity data), and house price–earnings ratios. The period of study covers the eight years prior to 2020 and the two years after, omitting 2020 itself due to the unusual impact on economic activity. All the data is at local authority district level. Findings: The hot and cold spots of additional dwellings do not correspond those of house price–earnings ratios or productivity. However, population growth hot spots show moderate agreement with those of where additional dwellings are concentrated. This is in line with findings from elsewhere, suggesting that population follows housing supply. Concentrations of districts with relatively high targets per unit of existing stocks are found correspond (agree strongly) with clusters of house price–earnings ratios. Links between productivity and housing are much weaker. Conclusions: The strong link between targets and affordability suggests that if the targets are met, the claim that the places that build the most housing are the places that least need them can be challenged. That said, house-price–earnings ratios present a view of unaffordability that will favour greater building in the countryside rather than cities outside of London, which runs against concentrating new housing in urban areas consistent with fostering clusters/agglomerations implicit in the new modern industrial strategy. Full article

In recent years, China’s rapid economic growth and urbanization have heightened the conflict between economic development and resource sustainability, leading to severe urban water challenges, including scarcity and environmental degradation. This study proposes a quantitative model that integrates the “Human-Water-City” (HWC) feedback mechanisms to assess and measure urban comprehensive water resources and environmental carrying capacity (CWRECC), aimed at addressing urban water sustainability challenges. The CWRECC integrates water quantity and quality dimensions following the principles of the “Cannikin Law”—selecting the lower envelope between water resources and water environment carrying capacities, which emphasizes the importance of weaknesses in enhancing the overall system. The maximum sustainable population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) under the CWRECC constraints can be obtained using this quantitative method. A case study was conducted in Wuhan City. The results show that Wuhan has abundant water resources. From 2013 to 2020, if only considering the water quantity aspect, the water resources carrying capacity could support a population ranging from 22.63 to 61.17 million and a GDP between 1946.6 and 7988.9 billion yuan, maintaining a sustainable state throughout the period. However, when considering both water quantity and quality, the CWRECC revealed an overloaded state in 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019, primarily attributable to significant water environmental issues. In 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019, the quantified CWRECC could sustain populations of 9.88 million, 10.01 million, 10.33 million, and 10.57 million people, and support a GDP of 849.5 billion, 976.5 billion, 1402.9 billion, and 1538.9 billion yuan, respectively. Both the population and GDP capacities fell short of the actual recorded values for those years. The findings demonstrate that Wuhan needs to make greater efforts in water environmental protection to sustain the harmonious development within the HWC. This empirical study highlights the model’s potential to provide a scientific foundation for urban water resources management and environmental protection strategies. Full article