Search Results (358)

This study analyzes the feasibility of energy mixes composed of different shares of various types of power generation units, including photovoltaic (PV) and wind farms, hydropower, fossil fuel-based plants, and nuclear power. The analysis uses the concept of Energy Return on Investment (EROI), which is considered the most reliable indicator for comparing different technologies as it measures the energy required rather than monetary costs needed to build and operate each technology. Literature-based EROI values for individual generation technologies were used, along with the minimum EROI thresholds for the entire energy mix that are necessary to sustain developed societies and a high quality of life. The results show that, depending on the assumed minimum EROI value, which ranges from 10 to 30, the maximum share of intermittent renewable energy sources (IRESs), such as PV and wind farms, in the system cannot exceed 90% or 60%, respectively. It is important to emphasize that this EROI-based analysis does not account for power grid stability, which currently can only be maintained by the inertia of large synchronous generators. Therefore, the scenario with a 90% IRES share should be regarded as purely theoretical. Full article

This article presents an innovative model for managing cash logistics, grounded in the 4P concept of supply chain management. The 4P framework encompasses four interconnected elements: Product, Players, Processes and Policies. Developed with a focus on sustainability the 4P Cash Logistics Model is based on empirical research conducted in Poland, involving key participants in the cash supply chain—the central bank, commercial banks and cash handling companies. It also incorporates, albeit less explicitly, the perspectives of merchants and consumers as end-users of cash, offering a comprehensive view of the cash cycle management. The 4P Cash Logistics Model has been designed in a country-agnostic manner, employing the concept of a control tower, with the central bank positioned as the integrator of the cash supply chain. This paper proposes several improvements to cash logistics, including the introduction of a standardised electronic bank deposit slip and a multilateral platform for exchanging information on cash stocks and flows and for trading monetary value between banks and cash handling companies. Full article

The ability of the agriculture sector, which is exposed to climate hazards, to cope with climate challenges and to strive in spite of them, is conceptualized as the resilience of agriculture. In enhancing climate-resilient agriculture, the cash reserve ratio (CRR) is generally perceived to serve two crucial functions: first, encouraging banks to allocate credit to agriculturalists for climate-resilient agricultural practices; second, enhancing agriculturalists’ ability to sustain agricultural output growth in spite of climate crises. In light of this, we conducted an ex post evaluation of the effect of the currently in-use CRR on bank loans to climate-challenged Nigeria’s agriculture sector for climate-resilient agricultural practices. Additionally, this study investigates the CRR’s impact(s) on agricultural output growth amidst climate challenges. Other additional independent variables include monetary policy rate, government capital expenditures on agriculture, and government recurrent expenditures on agriculture, as well as temperature, precipitation, and the renewable energy supply. Using annual data from 1990 to 2022, the results from an autoregressive, distributed lag approach suggest that the standard CRR stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria in the present era of climate change cannot entirely sustain climate-resilient agriculture, evident in the present study’s discoveries on its inability to perform its two major functions (credit and growth) in enhancing agricultural resilience. These findings highlight the need for the green differentiation of the CRR to ensure its effective utilization in enhancing climate resilience. Full article

The forestry sector is increasingly dealing with a significant lack of labor and faces the difficult task of securing a professional, stable and sustainable manpower. In this study, different strategic directions for strengthening forestry workforce sustainability are presented and evaluated. The considered strategic directions were developed with respect to forestry employees’ views on necessary measures for making the forestry occupation more appealing. Those measures were observed in three categories: (I) stronger recruiting, (II) stronger retention and (III) higher work commitment. The findings of the survey and other performed analyses resulted in the creation of four different strategic directions: (1) the direct financial strategy, implying increased direct monetary compensation as the main instrument and putting focus on labor productivity; (2) the indirect financial strategy, stressing worker wellbeing through indirect material benefits and aiming at performance quality; (3) the educational strategy, focusing on worker training and education and (4) the technical–technological strategy, aiming at the increased utilization of modern machinery and advanced technologies in forest operations. The results of the study include a comparison of the defined strategies by SWOT analysis and the construction of An analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model as the multi-criteria tool for strategy evaluation. Considering the possibility and conditions of its implementation in the national forestry sector, the technical–technological strategy has been evaluated as best option to pursue. The objective of the study is to contribute to enhancing the sustainability of forestry workforce by defining critical issues and pointing to specific cornerstones that can assist in formulating effective future policies and strategies in the forestry sector. Full article

The work presented in this paper is a contribution to the practical implementation of the “sustainability” concept, which is tightly connected with “resource thriftiness”, i.e., with reduction in the anthropic extraction of the irreplaceable supplies of fossil materials—ores and fuels—contained in the Earth’s crust. The saving is tied with “environmental conservation”, which is another concept embedded in the definition of sustainability. This paper starts from the assumption that the best measure of “resource consumption” is the total equivalent primary exergy extracted from the biosphere. The question is, then, while it is evidently correct to include social, ethical, and monetary matters into the definition of “sustainability”, what about the required resource consumption? To answer this question, the dynamic balances of a society represented as a thermodynamic system were examined to show that a “sustainable state” can be reached under two necessary conditions: first, the supply must consist only of renewable resources; and, second, the rate of such a supply must be higher than a certain threshold that can be attributed a physical significance. The procedure outlined in this paper leads to a rigorous definition of a society’s “thermodynamical degree of sustainability”, which is based solely on the primary renewable and non-renewable exergy inputs, as well as on the final exergy consumption. Some examples of applications to industrialized and non-industrialized countries are also presented and discussed. Full article

Digital agriculture has rapidly developed in the last decade in many countries where the share of agricultural production is a significant part of the total volume of gross production. Digital agroecosystems are developed using a variety of IT solutions, software and hardware tools, wired and wireless data transmission technologies, open source code, Open API, etc. A special place in agroecosystems is occupied by electronic payment technologies and blockchain technologies, which allow farmers and other agricultural enterprises to conduct commodity and monetary transactions with suppliers, creditors, and buyers of products. Such ecosystems contribute to the sustainable development of agriculture, agricultural engineering, and management of production and financial operations in the agricultural industry and related industries, as well as in other sectors of the economy of a number of countries. The introduction of crypto solutions in the agricultural sector is designed to create integrated platforms aimed at helping farmers manage supply lines or gain access to financial services. At the same time, there are risks of illegal use of computing power for cryptocurrency mining—cryptojacking. This article offers a thorough risk assessment of cryptojacking attacks on endpoint systems, focusing on identifying critical vulnerabilities within IT infrastructures and outlining practical preventive measures. The analysis examines key attack vectors—including compromised websites, infected applications, and supply chain infiltration—and explores how unauthorized cryptocurrency mining degrades system performance and endangers data security. The research methodology combines an evaluation of current cybersecurity trends, a review of specialized literature, and a controlled experiment simulating cryptojacking attacks. The findings highlight the importance of multi-layered protection mechanisms and ongoing system monitoring to detect malicious activities at an early stage. Full article

The transition to sustainable transport poses significant challenges for urban mobility, requiring shifts in fuel consumption, emissions reductions, and economic adjustments. This study conducts a scenario-based analysis of Budapest’s transport energy consumption, emissions, and monetary implications for 2020, 2030, and 2050 using the Budapest Transport Model (EFM), which integrates COPERT and HBEFA within PTV VISUM. This research examines the evolution of diesel, gasoline, and electric vehicle (EV) energy use alongside forecasted fuel prices, using the ARIMA model to assess the economic impact of transport decarbonisation. The findings reveal a 32.8% decline in diesel consumption and a 64.7% drop in gasoline usage by 2050, despite increasing vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT). Electricity consumption surged 97-fold, highlighting fleet electrification trends, while CO₂ emissions decreased by 48%, demonstrating the effectiveness of policies, improved vehicle efficiency, and alternative energy adoption. However, fuel price forecasts indicate significant cost escalations, with diesel and gasoline prices doubling and CO₂ pricing increasing sevenfold by 2050, presenting financial challenges in the transition. This study highlights the need for EV incentives, electricity price regulation, public transport investments, and carbon pricing adjustments. Future research should explore energy grid resilience, mobility trends, and alternative fuel adoption to support Budapest’s sustainable transport goals. Full article

The optimum choice of safety measures (SMs) within constraints is necessary for effective risk management in occupational health and safety (OHS). The stochastic nature of safety interventions is frequently overlooked by traditional approaches such as deterministic models and risk matrices. This study presents a novel stochastic knapsack model that maximizes the overall expected benefit during a risk assessment period considering budgetary constraints and the interdependencies between risks and safety measures. Two models are developed as follows: a one-to-one relationship model assuming independent risks and a multiple-relationship model accounting for interdependent safety measures. The suggested model’s real-world implementation is illustrated through a case study in the retail industry. The results demonstrate the model’s ability to efficiently prioritize SMs, showing an 18% reduction in objective function value and an average risk reduction of 29.5 per monetary unit invested, compared to 26.2 for the deterministic model. A more realistic and flexible framework for safety investment planning is offered by the analysis, which emphasizes the benefits of including stochastic components and interdependencies in decision-making. By addressing the significant drawbacks of deterministic models and providing a flexible, data-driven framework for safety optimization, this study adds to the body of literature. The suggested model is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDGs 3, 8, 9, and 12. Its adaptability contributes to achieving SDG 13, emphasizing possible uses in risk management for climate change. This study shows how decision-making that is structured and aware of uncertainty can support safer, more sustainable industrial processes. Full article

Urbanization has significantly transformed ecological landscapes and created challenges in sustaining both environmental functionality and cultural values. In response, China’s Sponge City Infrastructure (SPI) aims to enhance urban water resilience by integrating green and blue infrastructure. While the ecological benefits of SPI have been widely studied, the cultural ecosystem services (CES) it provides remain underexplored. This study systematically reviews 61 empirical articles to evaluate how CES has been addressed in SPI-related research. Bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify CES research trends and to systematically categorize CES types, assessment methods, and evaluation indicators in SPI-related studies. The findings reveal a dominant use of non-monetary assessment methods, led by questionnaire surveys (47.5%), while monetary approaches were rarely applied. However, several limitations were identified, including the geographic concentration of studies in a few major cities, the scarcity of research on abstract CES categories (e.g., inspiration and sense of place), and the lack of measurable indicators in nearly half of the reviewed studies. To address these issues, this study proposes a context-specific CES assessment framework aligned with China’s socio-cultural conditions and planning priorities in sponge city development. The framework, based on the reviewed literature, provides a preliminary tool for evaluating CES in sponge city contexts. This work contributes to the integration of cultural ecosystem services into urban ecological planning and offers insights for sustainable development in rapidly urbanizing regions. Full article

Confronted with the climate emergency, reducing CO₂ emissions has become a priority for all nations of the world because the follow-up of humanity depends on it. Most European Union (EU) member states have pledged to cut their net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and reach full carbon neutrality by 2050, using 1990 as the baseline year. Despite this common effort, there is still a lack of effective decision-making on carbon neutrality strategies applied throughout the life cycle of a building in all EU countries. A common strategy is proposed in this study to fill this gap in the literature. The building sector is a real lever for reducing the carbon footprint and saving energy. Currently, the methodology for achieving large-scale carbon neutrality is well established. However, there is only a limited number of experts worldwide who have mastered this technology, making it challenging to develop a standardized approach for all nations. The absence of extensive, regular, and consistent data on carbon emissions has considerably hindered the understanding of the root causes of climate change at both the building and neighborhood levels. Is it not it time to break this barrier? With this in mind, this study was carried out with the intention of proposing a common method to achieve carbon neutrality at the neighborhood scale in European Union countries. The most significant parameters having a direct impact on carbon emissions have facilitated the adaptation of the three types of neighborhood in the different capitals of the EU countries, in particular, local building materials, microclimate, the energy mix of each country, and the mode of daily transport. The life cycle assessment of the three districts was conducted using the Plaides LCAv6.25.3 tool in combination with Meteonorm software version 8.2.0, considering a 100-year lifespan for the buildings. In addition, the cost of the various environmental impacts is assessed based on the monetary indicators for European Committee for Standardization indicators method. The main results showed that the distribution of carbon dioxide is 73.3% higher in urban areas than in sustainable neighborhoods and 39.0% higher in urban districts than in rural districts. Nearly zero emissions in the next decade are again possible by applying the scenario involves global warming combined with the complete (100%) renovation of all buildings and the transition to 100% electric vehicles along with the use of solar panels. This strategy makes it possible to reduce between 90.1% and 99.9% of the emission rate in residential districts regarding EU countries. Full article

Education plays an essential role in ensuring the social sustainability of blood donation. As altruism may be insufficient to support donor engagement, this study assesses the effectiveness of incentives on ensuring the social sustainability of blood donation. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 319 medical students about socio-demographic variables, donation frequency, altruism dimensions (impure, self-regarding, reluctant, egalitarian warm glow, and kinship), the perceived importance of monetary (travel compensation, meal vouchers) and non-monetary incentives (free blood screening, paid leave, refreshments, recognition gifts), and willingness to donate during a blood donation social marketing campaign in November 2021 and November 2022. Data were analyzed in SPSS 20 using chi-square, ANOVA tests, and multiple regression models. The key findings indicate no significant associations between donor categories and incentives, but meal vouchers, free medical testing, refreshments, and recognition gifts were linked to self-regarding altruism. Additionally, neither incentives, altruism dimensions, nor their interaction predicted willingness to donate blood. These findings highlight the need for education-driven approaches to ensure a long-term commitment of blood donors, by integrating educational, sustainable curricular or extracurricular activities. Integrating blood donation awareness into formal education may cultivate a culture of civic responsibility, expanding the donor pool and strengthening the social sustainability of blood donation. Full article

The environmental impact of beef cattle production varies significantly across farming systems, influenced by factors like feed, management practices, and land use. By applying the LCA perspective with “from cradle to farm gate” boundaries and using the CAP’2ER^® tool, this study evaluates the carbon footprint of two farming models in Italy: a semi-extensive cow-calf beef production and an intensive farm for calf fattening. The carbon footprint was calculated using two functional units: kilograms of live meat gross production (LMGP), and a monetary unit. The first model showed a lower carbon footprint, with 13.4 kg CO₂eq/kg LMGP and 1.96 kg CO₂eq/EUR, compared to the second one 19.2 kg CO₂eq/kg LMGP and 5.20 kg CO₂eq/EUR. The use of monetary value as a functional unit is rarely explored in the literature, since most studies have focused on weight-based metrics, favoring intensive systems with longer lifecycles compared to extensive farming. Furthermore, contrary to findings in the literature for semi-extensive systems like adaptive multi-paddock grazing, the tool used for the calculation did not detect any carbon sequestration. These findings highlight the need for further investigation into diverse functional units to assess the environmental and economic performance of farming systems. Expanding this approach could inform policies and consumer decisions, promoting sustainable beef production aligned with climate goals and the European Green Deal agenda. Full article

The relationship between inflation and foreign direct investment (FDI) is not clear-cut in theory. In the U.S., rising inflation coupled with increased economic recovery boosted FDI immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic but suppressed it afterwards. To shed light on the relationship between inflation and the resulting contractionary monetary policy and FDI, three key propositions were put forth for investigation. The propositions rely on relevant scientific literature showing that (1) although the connection between FDI and inflation is complex, a high and sustained inflation depresses incoming FDI due to increases in uncertainty and guarding government policies; (2) there exist significant location-based differences in how this connection manifests; and (3) high inflation and subsequent policies motivate FDI-related strategic action. Thus, we propose that new FDI is expected to be negatively affected by the rising entry cost associated with an inflationary economy that adopts anti-inflationary policies. Second, there exists heterogeneity in the effects of inflation on new FDI across subnational economies with various local characteristics. Third, existing FDI demonstrates strategic actions and expansion at the subnational location and beyond, even under inflationary pressure. We employ a positive comparative analysis based on descriptive statistics and qualitative interpretation of data to examine the status and activities of both new FDI (using subnational aggregated data) and existing foreign businesses (using firm-level data) in the state of New Hampshire during the recent inflation surge of 2022–2023. Our analysis provides empirical evidence supporting our propositions. Key implications are that, during challenging times of inflation and recovery, business leaders and economic development professionals should anticipate strategic actions to expand markets, products, operations, and partnerships. Leaders and professionals should act to take advantage of business actions outside the subnational location, as more companies look to strengthen and diversify their national and international networks. Full article

This paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating that behavioral macroeconomic models better explain macroeconomic volatility in emerging economies compared to traditional rational expectations frameworks. We explore behavioral macroeconomics as a foundation for sustainable economic policies by comparing New Keynesian models under rational expectations and behavioral heuristics across multiple economies. The model parameters are estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) for rational expectations and the Simulated Method of Moments (SMM) for the behavioral framework, evaluating their ability to replicate empirical second moments of output, inflation, and interest rates. The GMM, suited for linear models, provides analytical solutions, ensuring computational efficiency, while the SMM, designed for non-linear models, enables greater flexibility by generating simulated data and departing from restrictive DSGE assumptions. Our findings reveal that the behavioral model—incorporating heterogeneity, heuristic switching, and bounded rationality—better captures the persistent and volatile macroeconomic conditions observed in Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies. In contrast, rational expectations models perform better in advanced economies, where agents rely more on forward-looking information. These results emphasize the need to integrate behavioral features into macroeconomic modeling to enhance empirical accuracy and inform sustainable monetary policy tailored to diverse economic environments. Full article

One of the unexpected consequences of interregional integration is the risk of environmental degradation. The lack of barriers for goods, services, and economic resources within the area of integration association results in monetary expansion and facilitates economic growth. Indeed, the further consequence is environmental degradation in accordance with the Kuznets environmental curve hypothesis. Therefore, the dynamics of trade turnover and the GDP of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries for 2023, the lack of the environmental empirical studies in the EAEU, and the impact of integration processes on environmental quality within the integration association are extremely relevant. The aim of this study is to identify the impact of integration spillover effects on the ecological footprint of five EAEU countries between 1992 and 2023. In order to achieve this research objective, an analysis sequence was carried out through the following steps: analyse the stationarity of the variables; check for cross-sectional dependence; evaluate the consistency of an estimator; calculate the Moran’s I index; estimate research results using the Spatial Error Model (SEM), Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR), and Spatial Dubin Model (SDM), or eliminate the spatial models; analyse and diagnose the model; correct multicollinearity. By applying the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) model (the model obtained showed a high coefficient of determination R-squared ~69%), the results are summarised: (1) Economic growth and integration processes have a positive and statistically significant impact on ecological footprints. (2) Financial development does not have a long-term statistically significant impact on environmental quality in the EAEU countries. These findings underscore the urgent need for a sustainability-oriented approach to economic integration within the EAEU. This study proposes a comprehensive roadmap for policymakers, emphasising the integration of green finance mechanisms, the adoption of sustainable trade practices, and the establishment of a regional environmental governance framework. Full article