Search Results (48)

Future shortages of minerals essential for green technologies have driven the search for new supply sources. In this context, deep-sea mining (DSM) has emerged as an innovative alternative for accessing strategic metals such as manganese and cobalt, among others, through the exploitation of deposits including polymetallic nodules, ferromanganese crusts, and seafloor massive sulfides. However, while DSM could help meet the growing demand for minerals, it also presents significant challenges and opportunities. This study compiles and analyzes scientific publications on DSM to assess its potential effects. It reviews the main environmental impacts and, in addition, proposes a systematic classification of them. It also addresses the social and economic effects associated with this activity, considering human dynamics and the factors that shape its long-term viability. The results indicate that, although DSM may offer advantages over terrestrial mining, it still lacks a robust framework to mitigate impacts and anticipate future consequences. Unlike previous reviews focused on partial dimensions of sustainability, this work integrates environmental, social, and economic dimensions through a systematic impact classification. Critical challenges remain in ecological understanding, environmental monitoring, and long-term socio-economic assessment, alongside an international governance framework that is still nascent, reinforcing the need for interdisciplinary research. Full article

Emerging markets face growing pressures to integrate sustainable English business practices while maintaining economic growth, particularly in addressing environmental challenges and achieving carbon neutrality goals. English Financial information extraction becomes crucial for supporting green finance initiatives, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance, and sustainable investment decisions in these markets. This paper presents FinATG, an AI-driven autoregressive framework for extracting sustainability-related English financial information from English texts, specifically designed to support emerging markets in their transition toward sustainable development. The framework addresses the complex challenges of processing ESG reports, green bond disclosures, carbon footprint assessments, and sustainable investment documentation prevalent in emerging economies. FinATG introduces a domain-adaptive span representation method fine-tuned on sustainability-focused English financial corpora, implements constrained decoding mechanisms based on green finance regulations, and integrates FinBERT with autoregressive generation for end-to-end extraction of environmental and governance information. While achieving competitive performance on standard benchmarks, FinATG’s primary contribution lies in its architecture, which prioritizes correctness and compliance for the high-stakes financial domain. Experimental validation demonstrates FinATG’s effectiveness with entity F1 scores of 88.5 and REL F1 scores of 80.2 on standard English datasets, while achieving superior performance (85.7–86.0 entity F1, 73.1–74.0 REL+ F1) on sustainability-focused financial datasets. The framework particularly excels in extracting carbon emission data, green investment relationships, and ESG compliance indicators, achieving average AUC and RGR scores of 0.93 and 0.89 respectively. By automating the extraction of sustainability metrics from complex English financial documents, FinATG supports emerging markets in meeting international ESG standards, facilitating green finance flows, and enhancing transparency in sustainable business practices, ultimately contributing to their sustainable development goals and climate action commitments. Full article

This study conducts a comparative assessment of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integration strategies of three leading companies in Hong Kong—H&M Group, China Gas Company Limited (Towngas), and MTR Corporation Limited (MTR)—each operating in distinct sectors with unique sustainability challenges and opportunities. The analysis adopts the Challenge–Evaluation–Planning–Action–Review (CEPAR^®) framework developed by the International Chamber of Sustainable Development to examine how these companies identify and evaluate ESG-related risks, formulate action plans, implement sustainability initiatives, and refine their strategies. The findings reveal H&M’s strong emphasis on sustainable fashion, with a target of using 100% sustainable materials by 2030 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 56%. Towngas faces the complex challenge of transitioning from fossil fuels to cleaner energy and is investing in zero-carbon technologies to meet regulatory standards and stakeholder expectations. MTR focuses on sustainable urban development and efficient mass transit, prioritizing community engagement and reducing environmental impact. This study underscores the importance of sector-specific ESG approaches tailored to a company’s operational context. It also demonstrates how ESG integration is enhanced by proactive planning, transparent reporting, and alignment with long-term corporate values. By showcasing both successful practices and areas requiring further attention, this research contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable business practices in Hong Kong. Moreover, it provides actionable policy implications for government agencies and regulatory bodies. The insights gained can inform strategic decision-making across sectors and support the development of a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economy aligned with Hong Kong’s long-term climate and governance goals. Full article

Air quality and environmental issues have gained attention from countries and organizations worldwide over the past several decades. In recent years, carbon peak and carbon neutrality have been mentioned at many international conferences and meetings aimed at reducing and controlling environmental challenges. This study focuses on trend analysis and expectations for the duration of control for environmental air quality (EAQ) indicators, assesses the current EAQ conditions across global countries, and presents reasonable suggestions for environmental control. The study begins by examining the annual, per capita, and per square meter (${\mathrm{m}}^2$) carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission peak and standardizations, where carbon standardization is a replacement for carbon neutrality. A similar quantitative methodology was employed to assess classical air quality factors such as sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x). The findings suggest that the average control year length (ACYL) of NO_x is longer than that of SO₂, and the ACYL of SO₂ is, in turn, longer than that of CO₂. From an energy structure perspective, regressions results indicate that biofuel and wind power contribute to improvements in EAQ, while coal, oil, and gas power exert negative impacts. Moreover, a long-term EAQ model utilizing an adjusted max–min normalization method is proposed to integrate various EAQ indicators. This study also presents an EAQ ranking for global countries and recommends countries with critical EAQ challenges. The results demonstrate that it is plausible to control EAQ factors at an excellent level with advances in control technologies and effective measures by government, industries, and individuals. Full article

Traditional horticultural information systems lack fine-grained, transparent on-farm event traceability, often providing only high-level post-harvest summaries. These systems also fail to standardise and integrate diverse data sources, ensure data privacy, and scale effectively to meet the demands of modern agriculture. Concurrently, rising requirements for global environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance, notably Scope 3 emissions reporting, are driving the need for farm-level visibility. To address these gaps, this study proposes a novel traceability framework tailored to horticulture, leveraging global data standards. The system captures key on-farm events (e.g., irrigation, harvesting, and chemical applications) at varied resolutions, using decentralised identification, secure data-sharing protocols, and farmer-controlled access. Built on a progressive Web application with microservice-enabled cloud infrastructure, the platform integrates dynamic APIs and digital links to connect on-farm operations and external supply chains, resolving farm-level data bottlenecks. Initial testing on Victorian farms demonstrates its scalability potential. Pilot studies further validate its on-farm interoperability and support for sustainability claims through digitally verifiable credentials for an international horticultural export case study. The system also provides a tested baseline for integrating data to and from emerging technologies, such as farm robotics and digital twins, with potential for broader application across agricultural commodities. Full article

Achieving the ambitious economic, social, and environmental goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires strategic digital governance improvements that promote long-term and equitable participation in emerging technologies. However, research lacks clear confirmation regarding how governments’ varied policy investments in spheres, like infrastructure expansion, skills programming, and cybersecurity, specifically contribute to holistic sustainable development progress monitored across international benchmarks. Addressing persistent uncertainties, this study statistically modeled if national expenditures directed toward information and communications technology (ICT) access, digital literacy initiatives, and online privacy protections predict higher performances meeting SDGs longitudinally. Analyzing recent country-level data across 27 European nations, structural equation modeling uncovered positive relationships between all three complementary digital governance priority areas and national SDG Index achievement over time. Beyond theoretically validating the instrumental role of availability, capabilities, and security advancements for balanced digitization, findings offer policymakers vital empirical guidance to amplify social returns on ICT investments. The results also demonstrate practical tools to track implementation impacts amidst unrelenting technological shifts. Ultimately, equitably mainstreaming technologies’ vast problem-solving potential necessitates evidence-based digital governance carefully expanding equitable participation. This work aims to equip leaders to purposefully craft enabling, empowering ICT policy ecosystems advancing urgent development aims. Full article

Pandemics of infectious disease and growing anti-microbial resistance (AMR) pose major threats to global health, trade, and security. Conflict and climate change compound and accelerate these threats. The One Health approach recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, but is grounded in the biomedical model, which reduces health to the absence of disease. Biomedical responses are insufficient to meet the challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent example of the failure of this biomedical model to address global threats, the limitations of laboratory-based surveillance, and the exclusive focus on vaccination for disease control. This paper examines the current paradigm through the lens of polio and the global campaign to eradicate it, as well as other infectious threats including mpox and drug-resistant tuberculosis, particularly in the context of armed conflict. Decades before vaccines became widely available, public health measures—ventilation, chlorination, nutrition and sanitation— led to longer, healthier, and even taller lives. Chlorine, our primary tool of public health, conquered cholera and transformed infection control in hospitals. The World Health Organization (WHO), part of the One Health alliance, focuses mainly on antibiotics and vaccines to reduce deaths due to superbugs and largely ignores the critical role of chlorine to control water-borne diseases (including polio) and other infections. Moreover, the One Health approach ignores armed conflict. Contemporary wars are characterized by indiscriminate bombing of civilians, attacks targeting healthcare, mass displacement and lack of humanitarian access, conditions which drive polio outbreaks and incubate superbugs. We discuss the growing trend of attacks on healthcare and differentiate between types: community-driven attacks targeting vaccinators in regions like Pakistan, and state-sponsored attacks by governments such as those of Syria and Russia that weaponize healthcare to deliberately harm whole populations. Both fuel outbreaks of disease. These distinct motivations necessitate tailored responses, yet the WHO aggregates these attacks in a manner that hampers effective intervention. While antimicrobial resistance is predictable, the escalating pandemic is the consequence of our reliance on antibiotics and commitment to a biomedical model that now borders on pathological. Our analysis reveals the international indenture to the biomedical model as the basis of disease control is the root driver of AMR and vaccine-derived polio. The unique power of vaccines is reduced by vaccination-only strategy, and in fact breeds vaccine-derived polio. The non-specific effects of vaccines must be leveraged, and universal vaccination must be supplemented by international investment in water chlorination. This will reduce health costs and strengthen global health security. While vaccines are an important weapon to combat pandemics and AMR, they must be accompanied by the entire arsenal of public health interventions. Full article

Purpose: the purpose of this study is to investigate whether corporate governance mechanisms and attributes influence the sustainability performance of companies included in the BIST 50 Index. Results and contributions: Regression analysis showed that there was a significant positive influence of board tenure on sustainability performance and all its types; board size on environmental performance; and a dummy variable for board evaluation externally facilitated and company size on sustainability, environmental, and social performance. A significant negative impact of director attendance at board meetings on social performance was also revealed. This study contributes to the literature on the role of corporate governance in achieving the SDGs for BIST 50 Index companies, highlighting the significant impact of its individual indicators on the achievement of sustainability performance. Methodology: The authors reviewed 45 sustainability reports of BIST 50 Index companies for 2023. Four indices—Sustainability Performance, Environmental Performance, Social Performance, and Corporate Governance Performance Indexes—were developed to characterize sustainability performance and its types based on a content analysis of sustainability disclosures. To analyze the influence of mechanisms and characteristics of the corporate governance system on sustainability performance, eight independent variables were used: board size, number of board meetings, director attendance at board meetings, board independence, board tenure, a dummy variable for board evaluation externally facilitated, a dummy variable for internal auditors present, and a dummy variable for CEO and Chair functions combined. Two control variables, company size and leverage, were used as well. Gap: Today, the scientific literature has no universal approach and understanding of how the corporate governance system should be developed to improve sustainability performance or its individual components. Relevance: Development of a corporate governance system is one of the ways to increase the level of sustainability performance of companies. Impact: The results of the study made it possible to produce several recommendations (expand the number of board members, develop an effective procedure for regular changes of general directors in company boards, introduce independent external control tools in the corporate governance systems of companies) that will lead to the achievement of SDGs 5, 8, 16. Full article

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Composite Rating denotes corporations’ capability for supporting sustainable development activities, social responsibility, and transparent and ethical governance. It aims to inform investors and stakeholders about the company’s sustainability and social responsibility risks. ESG has increasingly become an informal yet significant driving force in promoting sustainable green innovation within the diversified co-governance environmental management system. This paper examines the dynamic relationship between ESG performance and sustainable green innovation practices in Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022. The results show a positive correlation between ESG performance and the level of corporate sustainable green innovation. They also validate the moderating roles of informal external pressure and internal development demands. While the moderating effect of public environmental concern (PEC) is not significant, corporate digital transformation (CDT) significantly and positively moderates the relationship between ESG performance and sustainable green innovation. These findings offer policymakers and corporations a means to formulate a framework to shape the conduct of corporations to meet the market’s green development needs and to establish instruments that promote green innovation. Full article

While the textual attributes of corporate financial documents, such as annual reports, have been extensively analyzed in the academic literature, those of corporate sustainability reports, which serve as a critical channel for nonfinancial disclosure, are relatively under-explored. Given the increasing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in corporate strategy and stakeholder evaluation, understanding the role of textual attributes in sustainability reporting is crucial. This study examines 10,021 hand-collected sustainability reports from Chinese firms between 2009 and 2021, focusing on six key textual attributes: length, readability, tone, boilerplate language, redundancy, and completeness. Using computational linguistics, we analyze how these attributes evolve over time and their impact on ESG ratings provided by both international (MSCI, FTSE) and domestic (SNSI) agencies. Our findings reveal that the length and completeness of sustainability reports significantly influence ESG scores across agencies, demonstrating a shared appreciation for detailed and transparent disclosures. However, international and domestic rating agencies exhibit differing responses to attributes like tone, boilerplate language, and redundancy. These differences highlight variations in evaluation standards, methodologies, and value orientations between global and local stakeholders. The results emphasize the need for firms to tailor their sustainability disclosures to meet diverse stakeholder expectations. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on nonfinancial reporting by providing empirical evidence on how specific textual characteristics of sustainability reports can shape ESG evaluations, offering insights for both corporate communicators and policymakers. Full article

The success of marine environmental regulations in terms of social challenges in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries is the main subject of this study, which compares and contrasts them with an eye toward sustainability, the integration of digital technologies, environmental law, and reducing ecological degradation. Environmental solid governance is essential as BRI countries increase their marine activity, an important part of the world economy by systems thinking; the marine industry includes a broad range of operations about the ocean and its resources through social challenges to promote environmental legislation in terms of emissions in the countries participating in the BRI. This study evaluated the effects of institutional quality and technical advancements in marine policies between 2013 and 2024. This project aims to examine how various policy contexts relate to marine conservation, how well they comply with international environmental regulations, and how digital technology can improve the monitoring and implementation of policies through systems thinking. This study aims to determine common obstacles and best methods for enforcing marine policies by examining research from different BRI countries. The results deepen our understanding of how these policies can be best utilized to meet sustainable development objectives while preventing the degradation of marine ecosystems due to economic growth and business. Full article

Greenhouse gas emissions are a major factor contributing to global climate change and have received extensive attention from policymakers worldwide. As a cornerstone of China’s industry and a critical foundation of the global manufacturing sector, the introduction of carbon policies could increase production costs and reduce international competitiveness, thereby impacting its stable development. How can carbon emissions be reduced to meet the environmental standards of the international community while maintaining global market competitiveness? This paper develops a comprehensive set of indicators to assess the industrial resilience of the ferrous metal smelting and rolling industry. These indicators focus on the industry’s development capacity, market demand transformation, potential for technological innovation, and ability to adapt to external shocks and recover autonomously. Using the difference-in-differences (DID) model, it quantifies the effects of carbon policies from China and the EU on the industry’s resilience and examines adaptation mechanisms within the industrial chain. It is found that ferrous metal smelting and rolling industrial resilience has been strengthening, significantly influenced by national research and experimental development (R&D), gearing ratio, and government science and technology investments. China’s domestic carbon policies and the EU’s carbon policy have profoundly impacted the resilience of China’s ferrous metal industry, fostering green innovation and the transition to a low-carbon economy while ensuring industrial stability and competitiveness. Full article

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are crucial in evaluating a company’s value. High ESG scores reflect ethical practices, social responsibility, and effective governance. This paper examines the impact of ESG criteria on firm value within the airline industry, focusing on their influence on operational efficiency, risk reduction, and financial performance. Using panel data analysis, the study evaluates ESG scores from 32 airline companies over the period of 2018–2023, with an explanatory power of 36.5%. The research explores how integrating environmental, social, and governance factors into strategic management can foster sustainable competitive advantage. It focuses on utilizing internal resources, meeting the needs of various interested parties, and balancing financial, social, and environmental performance. The findings indicate that while ESG practices enhance firm value through improved efficiency and risk management, they do not always lead to higher short-term firm value. Moreover, the study underscores the significance of governance in the airline industry, where robust governance structures can mitigate risks but may also increase costs. This research contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the link between ESG performance and firm value in the airline industry, emphasizing the importance of integrating ESG principles into strategic management for long-term sustainability and financial success. Full article

The development of sustainable tourism has various stakeholders such as local residents, businesses, governments, visitors, travel agencies, and tourism companies. Tourism destinations need to be protected not only to ensure a better travel experience but also to ensure that they can be enjoyed in the future. This study explored the degree of influence of key stakeholders such as the government, travel agencies, local residents, and tourists on the development of sustainable tourism in Haikou, the capital city of the island province Hainan, China. This city is rich in tropical natural resources and offers unique opportunities for the development of tourism. In 2018, Haikou was selected as one of the first “International Wetland Cities” by the 13th United Nations Ramsar Convention. However, the high dependence on tourism and centralized consumption have caused several ecological and environmental problems in Haikou. An online questionnaire survey of 419 stakeholders was conducted, and factor analysis was used to identify five dimensions. The structural equation modeling method was used to explore the degree of influence of different relationships on sustainable tourism development in Haikou. The results indicated that key stakeholders are most concerned about tourism awareness, ecological protection, and sociocultural development. Therefore, further efforts to promote and develop tourism must focus on ecological and environmental protection. Creating positive travel experiences and managing tourism wisely can meet the demands of today without compromising the future. Full article

The adoption of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles has pressured firms to change their internal operations, creating conflicts regarding meeting sustainability standards. This study uses paradox theory lens to examine conflicts in ESG integration in a business model and explore resolution strategies. We used the case study of a top ESG leader in the information and technology sector—the Ricoh Group. We identified conflicts for environmental, social, and governance factors and found they adopted a synthesis strategy for conflict resolution for all ESG issues. ESG conflicts were resolved by emphasizing that ESG practices are a global requirement with ESG department support and management power. Environmental conflicts were resolved through shifting from cost-of-capital-centric to market-competitiveness-centric. Additionally, social conflicts were resolved through feedback on market needs. We state that using the ESG framework as a promise for future finance, where its adoption of ESG practices may positively impact future financial performance and might support the integration process. We stress the importance of constant feedback with all divisions about ESG regulations and their status and progress toward achieving ESG goals. We further highlight conflict-resolution strategies adopted to support the integration of the ESG framework into the business model. Full article