Search Results (88)

As climate change intensified water scarcity in Southern Europe, tourism-dependent regions such as Portugal’s Algarve faced growing pressure to adapt their water management systems. This study investigated how hotel groups in the Algarve have adopted and communicated water reuse technologies—specifically desalination and greywater recycling—under environmental, institutional, and reputational constraints. A comparative qualitative case study was conducted involving three hotel groups—Vila Vita Parc, Pestana Group, and Vila Galé—selected through purposive sampling based on organizational capacity and technology adoption stage. The analysis was supported by a supplementary mini-case from Mallorca, Spain. Publicly accessible documents, including sustainability reports, media coverage, and policy frameworks, were thematically coded using organizational environmental behavior theory and the OECD Principles on Water Governance. The results demonstrated that (1) higher organizational capacity was associated with greater maturity in water reuse implementation; (2) communication transparency increased alongside technological advancement; and (3) early-stage adopters encountered stronger financial, regulatory, and operational barriers. These findings culminated in the development of the Maturity–Communication–Governance (MCG) Framework, which elucidates how internal resources, stakeholder signaling, and institutional alignment influence sustainable infrastructure uptake. This research offered policy recommendations to scale water reuse in tourism through financial incentives, regulatory simplification, and public–private partnerships. The study contributed to the literature on sustainable tourism and decentralized climate adaptation, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 6.4, 12.6, and 13. Full article

In the current context, where environmental concerns are gaining increased attention, the transition toward sustainable urban mobility stands out as a necessary and responsible step. Technological advancements over the past decade have brought private autonomous vehicles, particularly those defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers Levels 4 and 5, into focus as promising solutions for mitigating road congestion and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the extent to which Autonomous Vehicles can fulfill this potential depends largely on user acceptance, patterns of use, and their integration within broader green energy and sustainability policies. The present paper aims to develop an integrated conceptual model that links behavioral determinants to environmental outcomes, assessing how individuals’ intention to adopt private autonomous vehicles can contribute to sustainable urban mobility. The model integrates five psychosocial determinants—perceived usefulness, trust in technology, social influence, environmental concern, and perceived behavioral control—with contextual variables such as energy source, infrastructure availability, and public policy. These components interact to predict users’ intention to adopt AVs and their perceived contribution to urban sustainability. Methodologically, the study builds on a narrative synthesis of the literature and proposes a framework applicable to empirical validation through structural equation modeling (SEM). The model draws on established frameworks such as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior, and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, incorporating constructs including perceived usefulness, trust in technology, social influence, environmental concern, and perceived behavioral control, constructs later to be examined in relation to key contextual variables, including the energy source powering Autonomous Vehicles—such as electricity from mixed or renewable grids, hydrogen, or hybrid systems—and the broader policy environment (regulatory frameworks, infrastructure investment, fiscal incentives, and alignment with climate and mobility strategies and others). The research provides relevant directions for public policy and behavioral interventions in support of the development of clean and smart urban transport in the age of automation. Full article

Addressing climate change requires deeper insight into the psychological drivers of pro-environmental behavior. This study investigates how personality traits, climate-related emotions, and demographic factors can predict sustainable consumption and climate action participation using a Bayesian regression approach. Drawing from the HEXACO personality model and key emotional predictors—Climate Change Worry (CCW) and environmental empathy (EE)—we analyzed data from 604 adults in Greece to assess both private and public climate-related behaviors. This research is novel in its integrative approach, combining dispositional traits and affective states within a Bayesian analytical framework to simultaneously predict both sustainable consumption and climate action. Bayesian model testing highlighted education as the most powerful and reliable predictor of sustainable consumption, with increasing levels—namely Doctoral education—linked to more environmentally responsible action. CCW produced small but reliable effects, supporting hypotheses that moderate emotional concern will lead to sustainable behavior when linked to efficacy belief. The majority of HEXACO traits, e.g., Honesty–Humility and Conscientiousness, produced limited predictive power. This indicates in this case that structural and emotional considerations were stronger than dispositional personality traits. For climate action involvement, Bayesian logistic models found no considerable evidence of any predictor, corroborating the perspective that public participation in high effort action is most likely to rely on contextual enablers instead of internal sentiments or attributes. A significant interaction effect between education and gender also indicated that the sustainability effect of education is moderated by sociocultural identity. Methodologically, this research demonstrates the strengths of Bayesian analysis in sustainability science to make sensitive inference and model comparison possible. The results highlight the importance of affect-related structural variables in behavioral models and have applied implications for theory-informed and targeted climate education and communication interventions to enable different populations to act sustainably. Full article

Although the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is well underway and expected to continue in global car markets, most vehicles on the world’s roads will be powered by internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, possibly well past 2050. Thus, good environmental performance and effective emission control of ICE vehicles will continue to be of paramount importance if the world is to achieve the stated air and climate pollution reduction goals. In this study, we review 228 publications and identify four main issues confronting these objectives: (1) cheating by vehicle manufacturers, (2) tampering by vehicle owners, (3) malfunctioning emission control systems, and (4) inadequate in-service emission programs. With progressively more stringent vehicle emission and fuel quality standards being implemented in all major markets, engine designs and emission control systems have become increasingly complex and sophisticated, creating opportunities for cheating and tampering. This is not a new phenomenon, with the first cases reported in the 1970s and continuing to happen today. Cheating appears not to be restricted to specific manufacturers or vehicle types. Suspicious real-world emissions behavior suggests that the use of defeat devices may be widespread. Defeat devices are primarily a concern with diesel vehicles, where emission control deactivation in real-world driving can lower manufacturing costs, improve fuel economy, reduce engine noise, improve vehicle performance, and extend refill intervals for diesel exhaust fluid, if present. Despite the financial penalties, undesired global attention, damage to brand reputation, a temporary drop in sales and stock value, and forced recalls, cheating may continue. Private vehicle owners resort to tampering to (1) improve performance and fuel efficiency; (2) avoid operating costs, including repairs; (3) increase the resale value of the vehicle (i.e., odometer tampering); or (4) simply to rebel against established norms. Tampering and cheating in the commercial freight sector also mean undercutting law-abiding operators, gaining unfair economic advantage, and posing excess harm to the environment and public health. At the individual vehicle level, the impacts of cheating, tampering, or malfunctioning emission control systems can be substantial. The removal or deactivation of emission control systems increases emissions—for instance, typically 70% (NO_x and EGR), a factor of 3 or more (NO_x and SCR), and a factor of 25–100 (PM and DPF). Our analysis shows significant uncertainty and (geographic) variability regarding the occurrence of cheating and tampering by vehicle owners. The available evidence suggests that fleet-wide impacts of cheating and tampering on emissions are undeniable, substantial, and cannot be ignored. The presence of a relatively small fraction of high-emitters, due to either cheating, tampering, or malfunctioning, causes excess pollution that must be tackled by environmental authorities around the world, in particular in emerging economies, where millions of used ICE vehicles from the US and EU end up. Modernized in-service emission programs designed to efficiently identify and fix large faults are needed to ensure that the benefits of modern vehicle technologies are not lost. Effective programs should address malfunctions, engine problems, incorrect repairs, a lack of servicing and maintenance, poorly retrofitted fuel and emission control systems, the use of improper or low-quality fuels and tampering. Periodic Test and Repair (PTR) is a common in-service program. We estimate that PTR generally reduces emissions by 11% (8–14%), 11% (7–15%), and 4% (−1–10%) for carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), respectively. This is based on the grand mean effect and the associated 95% confidence interval. PTR effectiveness could be significantly higher, but we find that it critically depends on various design factors, including (1) comprehensive fleet coverage, (2) a suitable test procedure, (3) compliance and enforcement, (4) proper technician training, (5) quality control and quality assurance, (6) periodic program evaluation, and (7) minimization of waivers and exemptions. Now that both particulate matter (PM, i.e., DPF) and NO_x (i.e., SCR) emission controls are common in all modern new diesel vehicles, and commonly the focus of cheating and tampering, robust measurement approaches for assessing in-use emissions performance are urgently needed to modernize PTR programs. To increase (cost) effectiveness, a modern approach could include screening methods, such as remote sensing and plume chasing. We conclude this study with recommendations and suggestions for future improvements and research, listing a range of potential solutions for the issues identified in new and in-service vehicles. Full article

Vehicle congestion and the environmental problems associated with the increasing vehicle fleet have led stakeholders to create solutions to these problems. Park-and-Ride (P&R) facilities are provided as a solution for public transportation to avoid increasing vehicular flow and using private vehicles. However, the optimal location of these facilities is still a challenge to be considered. Therefore, this article aims to present a systematic review of the mathematical models applied for P&R localization, using the PRISMA protocol to ensure a comprehensive analysis. A total of 44 articles between 2002 and 2025 were identified into four categories: decision support models, econometric models, optimization models, and other models. The review also examines the term distribution of urban contexts where the mathematical models are applied, distinguishing between Global North versus Global South urban contexts. The results showed the efficiency of mathematical models within the decision support models category due to their integration with multiple criteria. The econometric models analyze factors influencing user behavior, while the optimization models improve and optimize the efficiency of transport networks despite facing computational challenges. Finally, other models, such as multilevel programming and fuzzy logic, offer adaptive solutions for highly variable urban environments. The primary contribution of this study is its comprehensive application of the mathematical models used for the location of P&R facilities. This offers a systematic approach for anticipating future urban situations, developing supporting policies, and analyzing their effects. Full article

Cities’ role as major hubs of human activity and economic development is essential in attaining sustainable development, fostering a balance between economic, social, and environmental development, especially in light of the growing concern over Anthropocene-induced environmental issues like global warming and climate change. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a historic call for coordinated international action in this area, with SDG 11 specifically identifying “Sustainable Cities and Communities” as a primary objective. Therefore, it is clear that a paradigm shift in our approach to these challenges in terms of our thinking, sensibility, behavior, and responses is necessary. Implicitly, in view of their pivotal role in environmental sustainability, development of “smart” cities as healthy, citizen-friendly, economically viable, and sustainable cities for our future generations in today’s globally integrated world, as predominant centers of human settlement and activity with multinational enterprises driving economic growth, gains the immediate attention of researchers. In this light, this study aims to identify and thereafter prioritize key indicators of a smart city using the structured and consistency-focused best–worst multi-criteria decision-making (BWM) method, suitable for expert-driven decision-making with limited comparisons. While the UN’s SDG 11 promotes safe and resilient cities, our findings suggest a disparity in how local officials prioritize certain dimensions such as safety or recreation. This disconnect warrants closer examination of localized policy drivers. The findings of this study indicate that according to experts, among others, the priority themes are, in order, water and sanitation, wastewater, health, the environment, and the economy. Thus, these represent a key take-away for multinational enterprises for identifying and assessing significant thrust domains and areas of opportunity for intervention and contribution to the UN SDGs. It also enables a replicable framework for synergy between the public and private sectors towards contrastive intervention in other cities across the globe. Full article

This article presents the role of environmental attitudes and self-efficacy in shaping the behavioral expectations of business students in Southeast Europe regarding extreme climate events. Conducted across twelve public and private business schools in five countries, the study provides a baseline for comparison with similar empirical research. Using multiple linear regression, we analyze the relationship between the pro-environmental attitudes and environmental self-efficacy to the students’ climate change expectations. Our results indicate that pro-environmental attitudes significantly predict the students’ expectations of extreme climate events, while environmental self-efficacy plays a secondary but statistically significant role. These findings extend the extant literature by focusing on the role of sustainability in business school curricula and the potential positive outcomes of experiential learning methods and approaches. Full article

Promoting pro-environmental behaviors among individuals in the community is crucial to increase community resilience and to address environmental challenges. However, a persistent intention–behavior gap often exists, particularly in separate private or public spheres. Historically, addressing this gap has involved focusing on single moderating variables such as environmental knowledge or environmental risk perception. Yet, few studies have examined it in both spheres under the combined moderating influence of two variables. Our research plans to bridge this gap by exploring pro-environmental behaviors in the private and public spheres using conditional process models under the joint moderating effects of EK and environmental risk perception. Our findings reveal a larger intention–behavior gap in the public sphere compared to the private sphere, which highlights the greater challenges in translating environmental intentions into collective actions within the community. In private sphere behaviors, we observe the most significant positive moderating effect on intention–behavior alignment when individuals possess high environmental knowledge coupled with low environmental risk perception. This combination facilitates the bridging of the intention–behavior gap, fostering individual actions that can contribute to community resilience. Conversely, in public sphere behaviors, optimal alignment occurs when both environmental knowledge and risk perception are high, facilitating the translation of intentions into actions. These insights offer targeted policy recommendations for governments and policymakers, contributing to a deeper understanding of increasing community resilience. Full article

Since adolescents are the adults of tomorrow, they are key players in increasing climate change awareness and the adoption of environmentally friendly transportation. Therefore, it is essential to understand the current and future transportation choices of adolescents in order to provide sustainability guidance to schools and communities. To this aim, a questionnaire based on the Theory of Planned Behavior was administered at school to 382 Brazilian students with an average age of 16.36 years. Regarding the results on current transportation choices, students attending public schools commute more often without adult supervision than those attending private schools and tend to travel in a more environmentally friendly manner. In terms of future transportation choices, attitudes, subjective norms, and active participation in environmental groups have a significant impact on adolescents’ intentions to choose a more sustainable mode of transport to get to work in 15 years’ time. Taking into account the socio-economic level, the results are discussed in terms of the need for awareness raising, such as education for sustainable development, and possible interventions to encourage more environmentally friendly transport choices. Full article

This study explores the transportation behaviors of university students residing in dormitories in Kütahya, Türkiye, emphasizing their preferred modes for educational trips. Utilizing a Multinomial Logit model, the research analyzes the influence of socio-demographic factors, trip characteristics, and environmental perceptions on mode choice. The results indicate that public transport and walking are the predominant modes, with significant negative associations being observed between car ownership and the likelihood of choosing these sustainable options. Key findings reveal that, as trip distances increase, students are more likely to use public transport, while higher income levels decrease reliance on both public transport and walking. Male students demonstrate a higher preference for these modes compared to female students. Environmental perceptions, including feelings of safety and satisfaction with infrastructure, play a critical role in shaping transportation choices, highlighting the need for improved lighting, walkability, and public transport quality. These insights have important implications for transportation policy, suggesting that reducing private vehicle reliance and enhancing public transport services can significantly promote sustainable travel behaviors. Overall, the study underscores the importance of comprehensive transportation policies that not only enhance infrastructure and service quality but also consider environmental perceptions and safety to promote sustainable travel behaviors among university students. Full article

Pesticides are essential to modern agriculture, significantly enhancing crop yields and quality to ensure global food security. Their critical role in preventing hunger is highlighted by the notable increase in global pesticide trade over the past decade. In Indonesia, pesticide usage has surged, with a 24% rise in registered pesticide formulations between 2017 and 2021. However, this increase presents challenges, particularly in the disposal of empty pesticide containers (EPC), which pose substantial environmental and health risks if improperly managed. To address this, a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) is proposed as an effective, eco-friendly solution for the management of EPC waste. This study evaluates the implementation of a CLSC for EPC in Indonesia, employing rich picture analysis and stakeholder interviews to identify key challenges, opportunities, and strengths. Notable challenges include regulatory gaps, financial and operational feasibility, and limited farmer engagement. However, opportunities exist in enhancing environmental sustainability, generating economic benefits, and gaining support from industry groups. One key strength is the widespread practice of triple rinsing among farmers, with 62.63% of respondents already adopting this method. This study underscores the important of establishing clear and enforceable regulations, introducing financial incentives and supportive policies, promoting public–private partnerships, creating targeted behavior change interventions, and ensuring organizational commitments and training programs. These insights are crucial in developing a sustainable CLSC, ensuring both environmental and economic benefits. Full article

Environmental awareness and behavior play a crucial role in the improvement of the environment. Five dimensions of environmental awareness are considered here including environmental values, environmental knowledge, environmental responsibility, environmental ability and environmental concern while we also distinguish between private and public environmental behaviors. Based on data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2003, 2010 and 2021, this research investigated changes in Chinese residents’ environmental awareness and environmental behavior and the relationship between them. The relevant empirical methods were the MV-Probit model, the Poisson model and a mediating effect model. The results are as follows: (1) From 2003 to 2021, environmental awareness of the public has improved significantly. Among them, environmental values, environmental knowledge and environmental concern have increased by 24.5%, 12.6% and 12.77%, respectively, while environmental capacity has decreased by 7.27% from 2010 to 2021. The eastern region of China has the highest score of environmental awareness, while the western region has the lowest one. (2) From 2003 to 2021, the public’s green consumption behavior changed from more than half of the public never consuming green products in 2003 to nearly 75% always or often consuming green products in 2021. Increases in recycling were also found over time. However, the participation rate in public environmental behavior declined. In 2021, environmental behaviors were lowest in the eastern region and highest in the western region. (3) Environmental responsibility, environmental concern and environmental capacity direct and indirectly affect private and public environmental behaviors and the number of environmental behaviors through the willingness to protect the environment, which plays a semi-mediating role. Environmental knowledge only has a direct impact on private green consumption behavior. (4) There is a correlation between public and private environmental behaviors. Given the results of this study, a series of policy implications and recommendations are provided. Full article

Despite the lengthy history of the research on destination image from various perspectives, how pro-environmental destination image promotes resident environmental citizenship behavior remains underexplored. Grounded in the cognition–affect–behavior (CAB) model, this research investigated the translation of pro-environmental destination image into resident environmental citizenship behavior via satisfaction and pride. Data were collected using an intercept survey approach from a tourism village recognized as one of the best in the world by UNWTO. The results indicated that a pro-environmental destination image has a positive impact on resident environmental citizenship behavior in the private and public domains. Furthermore, resident satisfaction and pride serve as mediators between pro-environmental destination image and resident environmental citizenship behavior. This research contributes to the literature on resident environmental citizenship behavior by considering the role of pro-environmental destination image. The findings provide practical implications for fostering environmental citizenship behavior through the presentation of pro-environmental images to residents and eliciting their positive emotions. Full article

Understanding the psychological drivers of pro-environmental behavior across different socioeconomic statuses (SESs) is crucial for effectively addressing environmental challenges. To assist businesses and management departments in adequately identifying the psychological characteristics of target consumer groups from different SES backgrounds, our research manipulated subjective SES through three experimental studies to investigate the influence of subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior. Studies 1 and 2 adopted online experiments to examine the influence of subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior within the private sphere and the public sphere. Subsequently, Study 3 further investigated the psychological mechanisms through which subjective SES influences pro-environmental behavior. These results indicated that individuals from high SES backgrounds exhibit a greater propensity for green consumption behavior and contribute more financially to environmental organizations than those from low SES backgrounds. In addition, these studies further elucidated that the sense of control and life history strategy sequentially mediate the relationship. These findings provide empirical evidence for understanding whether and how subjective SES influences pro-environmental behavior, and enriching the theoretical framework of the relationship between subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior. Full article

Enterprises increasingly publish sustainability reports to address concerns about their environmental and social impact. However, the voluntary nature of these reports and the lack of independent auditing often lead to skepticism regarding their authenticity, with some perceiving them as mere marketing or greenwashing tools. This study aims to investigate whether the publishing of sustainability reports truly reflects transparency and responsible behavior. The relationship between the publishing of sustainability reports, environmental responsibility policies, and transparency policies is analyzed. The research was conducted in Uruguay. A quantitative methodology was used. The sample was made up of a group of companies that evaluate their social and environmental responsibility practices. This is a non-probabilistic sample, which includes companies that publish sustainability reports and companies that do not publish them. The environmental responsibility and transparency of both groups were compared. Thirteen indicators were used to measure environmental responsibility, and eight indicators were used to measure transparency. To evaluate the relationship between the variables, different statistical techniques were used: chi-square, difference of means test, and simple correlations. Our findings reveal that: (1) enterprises publishing sustainability reports tend to have more developed environmental responsibility policies and greater transparency compared to those that do not publish, and (2) interestingly, the choice of reporting standards, particularly the Global Reporting Initiative, does not significantly impact the observed outcomes. Furthermore, the relationship among report publication, environmental responsibility, and transparency is influenced by enterprise size but remains unaffected by public trading status or capital origin (local or international). Despite its methodological limitations, this work contributes to the debate on the sincerity of companies that publish sustainability reports. Its results contribute to reducing the skepticism and distrust that exists about these reports. Also, the work contributes to the study of the relationship between environmental responsibility and the publishing of reports because it included segments of companies that are not considered in most research: medium-sized companies and private companies that are not listed on the stock market. Full article