Search Results (15)

Adequately incentivizing firms to implement green technological innovation (GTI) is pivotal to achieving sustainable development. Green factory certification, a prominent example of voluntary environmental regulation, has garnered significant attention in both theoretical and policy concerns regarding its impact on green technological innovation. Leveraging green factory certification as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper utilizes a multi-timepoint difference-in-differences (DID) approach to systematically investigate its influence on firms’ green technological innovation. The findings reveal several important insights. (1) Green factory certification significantly enhances firms’ green technological innovation capabilities, facilitating substantial enhancements in both the quantity and quality of green technological innovation. (2) Mechanism analysis indicates that green factory certification promotes green innovation via three key channels—promoting the digitalization level, strengthening ESG practices, and facilitating financing constraints. (3) The green innovation incentive effects of green factory certification are particularly pronounced among firms in the eastern region, non-state-owned entities, and those exhibiting lower pollution levels. These findings underscore the critical role of green certification systems in fostering corporate green development, offering both theoretical insights and practical guidance for firms undergoing green transformation while contributing to the broader goal of sustainable development. Full article

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) represent an innovative approach to thinking and designing cities sustainably, in compliance with the European Union energy strategy. This strategy integrates sectors such as urban planning, energy, and construction to synergistically address energy and environmental challenges. Studies on sustainability assessment systems applied in PEDs evidenced that they focus mostly on energy aspects, while few include a comprehensive life cycle assessment of equivalent CO₂ emissions, considering the building component and the impacts of the materials used. Additionally, most assessments are conducted on the urban and district scale, such as Neighborhood Sustainability Assessments (NSA), which begin to correlate PEDs with the dynamics of selecting sustainable materials for green-certified projects, analyzed throughout the entire life cycle, relying on the adoption of Green Building Rating Systems (GBRS) at the building scale. To explore the impact of environmentally friendly (i.e., ‘green’) GBRS certifications in the selection of building materials and products according to sustainability criteria, and to encourage their use in projects explicitly referring to PEDs, this study analyzes the technical solutions implemented in two significant residential building renovation projects in Italy from a PED perspective. It proposes a classification system based on the required targets of energy efficiency, energy production, and energy flexibility. The results include the definition of an expandable portfolio of technical solutions, an analytical comparison between the materials used in the energy renovation projects of the case studies examined, and the sustainability criteria provided by voluntary ’green’ certification tools (GBRS). The collected evidence offers an operational framework that confirms the positive impact of GBRS certifications and the related selection of materials on sustainable urban development, contributing to the scientific debate on PEDs. Furthermore, the use of voluntary ’green’ certifications at the building scale can be encouraged in the context of the transition towards PEDs, aiming to identify specific criteria and indicators for the selection of building materials to be integrated into future PED certifications. This aims to contribute to creating energy self-sufficient urban areas, focusing on sustainability, efficiency, and innovation, in line with global emission reduction and climate change mitigation goals. Full article

The main objective of this article is to define the current legal and economic framework for conducting activities in the field of carbon farming and the carbon certificate system in Poland. The research was conducted using desk research, and the legal acts in force in the EU and in Poland, as well as planned ones, were analyzed. The statistical data from Eurostat, the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), Statistics Poland, and The Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA) were analyzed. In the European Union, agriculture is responsible for 11% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while in Poland, where the vast majority of these emissions are related to animal production, it is responsible for 8.5%. To ensure sustainable growth, it is necessary to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture. Work is underway in the EU to prepare legal regulations specifying the principles of carbon farming and introducing carbon certificates. The shape of this system is not yet precise, disputes within the EU bodies are related to the system of financing carbon farming, and certification principles. The presented assumptions raise great doubts among scientists. However, a voluntary certification system is in operation and starting to be used by Polish farmers. In Poland, from 2023, carbon farming is directly linked to the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy, where PLN 2.78 billion has been allocated for the “Carbon farming and nutrient management” eco-scheme, which constitutes 64% of the funds for financing eco-schemes. The carbon farming system requires further strengthening and development. The most important factor was considered to be increasing the involvement of farmers, through appropriate financial incentives and increasing their knowledge. Further research directions should focus on long-term economic aspects in addition to environmental and technical aspects. Full article

Environmental degradation is an important issue facing the world today. Microcosmically, green technical innovation is needed to decrease environmental pollution. Therefore, exploring the relationship between the two is of great significance for promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. Thus, this research elucidates the interaction between green innovation (GI) and environmental regulations (ERs). This study utilizes the fixed effects model to examine how government environmental protection subsidies (EPSs) in market-incentive ER and environmental management system certification (EMSC) in voluntary participatory ER affect GI among listed companies in China. The sample observation period is from 2012 to 2021. Additionally, the impact of corporate governance (CGL) and environmental information disclosure (EID) on the relationship between ERs and GI within businesses is investigated. The empirical results show that both government environmental protection subsidies and environmental management system certification positively affect green innovation, and both corporate governance and environmental information disclosure positively moderate the impact of government environmental protection subsidies and environmental management system certification on green innovation. The above empirical results are still valid after a robustness test and can guide the formulation of government ERs, as well as corporate strategies for environmental management and GI. Full article

The palm oil industry, integral to Indonesia’s economy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), faces emerging economic, environmental, and social challenges. These compel the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, particularly in light of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification system’s implementation by 2025. This study develops a model integrating Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior and Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theory to elucidate factors influencing farmers’ adoption of sustainable palm oil farming. Data from 300 palm oil farmers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicated significant positive effects in terms of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, relative advantage, compatibility, and trialability on sustainable practice adoption, while the complexity negatively influenced adoption. These findings underscore the need to address farmers’ motivations, social norms, perceived control, and practice advantages for successful implementation. The study offers critical insights for policymakers and practitioners to formulate strategies that encourage the voluntary adoption of sustainable practices, balancing farmers’ needs and environmental sustainability. Full article

Organic farming, characterised by environmentally friendly and sustainable agricultural practices, has gained significant attention throughout the years due to its potential to address critical issues such as food security, environmental sustainability, and public health. Voluntary certification systems play a pivotal role in ensuring the integrity and quality of organic products in the market. Understanding the research landscape surrounding organic farming and voluntary certifications is of paramount importance for scholars, policy makers, farmers, and consumers. In this context, the present study utilizes a bibliometric approach to achieve a deeper understanding of the trends, key contributors, and key terms in these domains via a bibliometric analysis in order to contribute to the broader goals of promoting sustainable agriculture and informed consumer choices. The evolution of the field is traced, shedding light on seminal papers, influential authors, and prolific journals. The research type is quantitative, using Web of Science, VOSviewer, and bibliometric study as instruments. The results show that, for both terms “organic farming” and “voluntary certifications”, papers usually involve three or more authors and use other sources as the unit of analysis, leaving room for improvement and the filling of a gap in the specialty literature. This insight can guide future researchers and policymakers in focusing on critical areas within organic farming and certification systems, further advancing the field and addressing pressing issues related to sustainability, quality, and consumer awareness. Full article

Ecolabeling can complement more conventional policy instruments such as taxes and subsidies to stimulate more sustainable development of the economy. However, in practice, ecolabels may not always comply with legal requirements in terms of reliability, accuracy and clarity, and sometimes deliberately mislead the consumer. In Russia and many other developing countries, the problem of inaccurate information on the environmental properties of goods and services is still not recognized. The only regulatory document that currently defines the basic principles for developing and using environmental labels and declarations is the national versions of international standards ISO 14020/14021/14024/14025-Environmental Labels Package. This paper contributes to the literature in two main dimensions. It assesses the degree of prevalence of ecolabeling in the Russian market of everyday goods and the reliability and informational content of frequently used labels (supply-side research). Second, it estimates the consumers’ awareness and reaction to ecolabeled products (demand-side research). The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that low consumer awareness keeps the level of greenwashing low, but at the same time does not stimulate eco-innovations. We suggest developing smartphone applications that allow buyers to check the compliance of ecolabels on a product with ISO standards directly during the shopping process. We propose to use this approach as a cost-effective and straightforward way to simultaneously raise consumer awareness of ecolabeling and reduce the likelihood of greenwashing. Full article

Considering internationally accepted voluntary standards of an environmental management system (EMS) as tools that can help businesses meet the agenda for sustainable development and environmental wellbeing, this study aims to examine selected firm characteristics and financial performance that are potentially related to decisions of business entities in the matter of voluntary EMS implementation. We conduct empirical research based on logistic regression to study Slovak firms that are or are not certified according to ISO 14001 and EMAS standards. Our results suggest that there are several factors potentially determining the positive company choice to adopt voluntary EMS. We have confirmed the positive effect of firm size and research and development, however, we were not able to confirm the effects of foreign ownership and profitability effects. In the case of indebtedness, we have found a stronger negative effect of long-term debt. Our results also suggest a positive effect of owning a website, where companies can share information about their certificates. On the other side, especially younger companies tend to be interested in voluntary EMS. Full article

With growing awareness of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, much effort has been made to achieve “sustainability” in the building sector. Across the globe, many architects and building owners are striving to realize mandatory or voluntary building certification, in order to affirm the environmental performance of their buildings. Various sustainable design strategies and green building technologies have been adopted to improve buildings’ environmental performance as well as to achieve higher levels of certification. These technologies and strategies could affect building occupants’ satisfaction as well as productivity. This paper presents the results of post occupancy evaluation (POE) surveys to investigate occupants’ awareness of various green building technologies and their satisfaction levels and causes of dissatisfaction for selected technologies. A questionnaire survey was conducted for an office building in Korea that had received the highest grades in rating and certification systems. Some technologies showed higher levels of awareness and satisfaction, but there were also a few technologies with lower levels of satisfaction than we had expected. If these technologies are applied to buildings in the future, after improvisation or modification based on the POE results, it could serve as an effective strategy to increase people’s satisfaction as well as improve environmental performance. Full article

From the comparison of regulations and/or standards for the organic, conventional and/or integrated citrus production method and a voluntary certification, it emerges that farms certified with voluntary non-regulated certification systems, such as the IFA FV GLOBALG.A.P, are obliged to take into account the highest number of aspects, reported in a more complete register, than the organic ones. Moreover, this is also supported by a continuous-time planned process of revision and updating of the applicable versions of the standard. The environmental impact of the food production, the safety aspects of food products, as well as the health, ethics, and safety aspects of workers, are largely considered and inspected in the GLOBALG.A.P., while the organic system, despite the IFOAM suggestions and indications, is only considered partially. This means that, from a practical point of view, the organic product can be considered “clean and safe”, but not more environmentally friendly than the GLOBALG.A.P. products. Full article

In the last decades, the European Union (EU) agricultural policy has encouraged extensive livestock farming systems as a sustainable way of production, while more recently, voluntary certification schemes on mountain origin and autochthonous breeds have been put in place to further contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and economic activity in mountainous areas. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to investigate the role of the mountain origin and local autochthonous breed certification on urban consumer’s acceptability; and second, to compare consumer’s overall acceptability at central location versus home-based. These two specific objectives are designed to better ascertain the suitability of these voluntary certifications as a marketing tool that helps to bridge the gap between urban consumers’ beef choices and rural sustainability. Main methods of analysis included internal preference mapping and cluster analysis. Findings suggested that both claims, mountain origin (Pyrenean in particular) and autochthonous breed conveyed relevant information to consumers at the moment of testing, while the former played a stronger role on hedonic valuations. We have found that the environmental setting significantly influences acceptability with higher ratings obtained in the home test. A small niche market for Pyrenean cattle breeders was also detected, while reaching the larger and more product involved segment of urban consumers would require further marketing actions. Full article

Forest certification as a voluntary verification tool has been providing an independent assessment of sustainable forestry practices and thus confidence in sustainability benchmarks for over 20 years. Using either the international or national approaches and initiatives, two main forest certification systems, PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), have spread in a number of countries worldwide. The specifics of local conditions in the forestry sector have to be taken into account when implementing the certification context in a given country or a region. Apart from the natural conditions, institutional structure, or legislative framework, it is also the local and national stakeholders and their perception of this issue that provides the background for the implementation of the certification criteria. The main objective of this study is to examine the general understanding of the certification concept as an environmental, economic, and social tool, and to determine the incentives of forest owners in Slovakia for sustainable forest management (SFM) certification. In addition, the benefits and problems arising from participation in certification were identified and differences reflecting the ownership structure of forests, size of forest area, and participation in a particular certification programme were analysed. Results indicate that certified forest owners, unlike non-certified, demonstrated a high level of understanding of the SFM certification concept. Certified entities mainly consider forest certification as their commitment to environmental responsibility and a tool for improving external company image, promoting sustainable utilisation of forest resources, and improving forest management practices. The main benefits are linked to the possibility to demonstrate forest management practices, a better understanding of the forest management concept, and improvement of forest management practices. PEFC users perceive more benefits following from certification; the most important are those associated with non-economic values, while FSC-certified forest owners perceive mainly economic benefits connected to market penetration, increased sales volume, and potential price premiums. The key problems associated with certification relate to duties to ensure compliance with certification criteria by contractors and administrative difficulties. Respondents reported minimum price premiums for the sale of their certified timber. Additionally, the findings of the study pointed out that a nationally developed certification system can better recognise the roles and objectives of forest certification in the context of forest policy. Full article

The building industry is currently strengthening the building life cycle assessment (LCA) criteria of the green building certification system to encourage carbon emission reduction. However, the voluntary approach of the LCA criteria does not provide sufficient incentive to effectively drive green building construction. Furthermore, additional costs associated with green building construction are not given enough weightage, thus hampering the incorporation of green building technologies. This study developed a Green Building Index (GBI) Certification System to effectively reduce carbon emissions in South Korea’s building industry. Consequently, the assessment areas for green buildings were divided into a carbon emission index, a building habitability index, and a carbon economic index, and assessment methods were suggested for each area. In addition, eco-efficiency, which represents an environmental value, was incorporated into the three indices from the perspective of green building certification and used to estimate a GBI that represents overall building sustainability. This GBI was then integrated into an overall GBI Certification System, and a case study was used to evaluate its applicability. The results indicate the validity of the proposed GBI Certification System, which promotes voluntary carbon emission reduction by evaluating cost effectiveness based on life cycle carbon emissions and carbon economic efficiency. Full article

Voluntary environmental management systems (EMS) based on the international standard ISO 14001 have become widespread globally in recent years. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of voluntary management systems on energy efficiency in the Swedish manufacturing industry by means of objective industrial energy data derived from mandatory annual environmental reports. The study focuses on changes in energy efficiency over a period of 12 years and includes both ISO 14001-certified companies and non-certified companies. Consideration is given to energy improvement efforts in the companies before the adoption of ISO 14001. The analysis has been carried out using statistical methods for two different industrial energy parameters: electricity and fossil fuel consumption. The results indicate that ISO 14001 adoption and certification has increased energy efficiency regarding the use of fossil fuel. In contrast, no effect of the management systems has been found concerning the use of electricity. The mixed results of this study are only partly in line with the results of previous studies based on perceptions of company representatives. Full article

Owners and municipalities face the choice to renovate or rebuild buildings in order to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. The process of upgrading the existing building stock can be supported by land management tools, i.e., municipal energy plans (MEP) or sustainable building codes (BC), that municipalities use to plan, check and monitor actions taken. Many local and regional authorities are involved in the Covenant of Mayors supported by the European Union (EU): the sustainable energy action plan (SEAP) is the key document in which the Covenant signatory outlines how it intends to reach CO₂ reduction target by 2020. Sustainability at the urban scale is also supported by voluntary certification schemes such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)^® for neighbourhood development proposed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) Communities proposed by UK Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development proposed by the Japan GreenBuild Council. The fact that there are so many tools to manage urban sustainability is positive, but what happens when multiple tools are applied to the same territory? Overlap, redundancy, and conflicts in management may be critical elements. The purpose of this article is to analyze these critical issues, highlighting the elements of integration and possible synergies for effective management of sustainability at the local level. Full article