A Small Beautiful Example of Sustainability in the Heart of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has diligently started pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations in 2015. While making progress and being aware of it, will be a shot in the arm, with success breeding more success, the journey may seem daunting at times. However, the journey – sustainable development towards the targets set – is what matters more than the final destination, as philosophers and savants often remind us. This article, while dwelling on sustainable development in this southern-African landlocked country in general, presents a beautiful example of a collaborative venture, undertaken by dedicated and determined international partners, and predicated on SDG#4 (Quality Education) and SDG#5 (Gender Equality), and harnessing the complementarities and synergies with the other SDGs, which set root during the COVID-pandemic, in Mwenezi in southern Zimbabwe. The pandemic while being a scourge, tended to have some silver linings to it, as it gave birth to many collaborations and made human beings realise that one's own happiness is dependent to a very great extent on that of others. This venture emphasizes girls' education and skills-development, which open the doors, synergistically, to sustained growth, development and progress. Education, indisputably, is a key component of the freedom necessary to live a life of value. To quote Nelson Mandela, "It is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”. © 2023, Scientific Publishing House of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University. All rights reserved.

Accounting and Analytical Management of Sustainable Business Development and ESG Management in Russia and East Asia

The current global economic environment demonstrates a high dynamic of global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a comprehensive recession, the consequences of which can be severe. This has raised interest in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of three aspects: whether it is possible to achieve the SDGs after the 2020 recession, the main ways out of the recession based on achieving the SDGs, and the prospects for adapting the SDGs and ESG management to the current global realities. The Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China have substantial backlogs and significant interest in achieving the SDGs. The present study examines the methodological aspects of including indicators in the SDGs in terms of traditional and new indicators. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Ensuring self-sustainability in decentralized communities through solar cookers combined with food dryers

In the background of the COVID 2019 pandemic, the importance of developing realistic and efficient decentralized energy solutions is one of the essential requirements. This paper presents the performance of a small-scale solar box cooker cum dryer (SBCD) for decentralized communities and domestic scale applications. The drying process in SBCD uses a simple and effective method for moisture removal. It enables de-moisturization of the cooker interior, allowing efficient use of SBCD for the simultaneous dual-mode operation of cooking and drying. Cooker Opto-thermal Ratio (COR) as a thermal performance parameter and glycerin as a test load enable cooking process analysis. COR-based objective parameters (OPs) realistically comment on the cooker performance in the dual-mode operation. Drying kinetic studies describe the drying performance of the device. The levelized cost of cooking meals (LCCM) allows understating of the economics of SBCD. The mean value of COR for the cooker is 0.104 ± 0.0028 (m2·°C)/W with a percentage standard deviation of 2.69%. The experimental values of OPs, reference cooking time, and maximum achievable load temperature varies between 74 and 86 min and 103–111 °C, respectively. Thus, SBCD cooks in approximately 80–90 min and dries ∼ 100 g of food products simultaneously with 70–80 % moisture removal. The LCCM for SBCD is $ 0.0174 per meal. Thus, SBCD depicts a realistic solution for ensuring self-sustainability in decentralized communities.

Localizing the sustainable development goals: A multivariate analysis of Spanish regions

Based on the content analysis of the websites of 102 Spanish municipalities related to actions aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the X-STATIS technique was applied to analyze the status and dynamic evolution of commitment to the SDGs in regional and local governments over the period of 2016-2021. The results show a low but increasing level of SDG commitment, which also varies significantly across municipalities and regions, as well as by SDGs, which can be attributed to the influence of several sociodemographic factors, such as the number of inhabitants, dependent population and population density. SDG8 and SDG11 stand out as the main priorities of the municipalities, while initiatives related to SDG5, SDG6 and SDG 17 are the least prioritized. The COVID-19 pandemic has marked a turning point in this regard, with greater importance being given to the SDGs more related to people and prosperity. Our findings help citizens and public authorities to understand sustainable regions and municipalities, assess their performance in relation to different dimensions of sustainability and identify key challenges for future improvements. Specifically, the results suggest that public policies should promote actions related to gender equality, drinking water and sanitation and partnerships, as well as favor investment in the regions and municipalities that are lagging behind, in order to improve their level of commitment to the 2030 Agenda and reduce inequalities. From an academic point of view, our results open a door for the analysis of possible trajectories in the implementation of the SDGs at regional and local levels and the study of their determinants. © 2023 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.

Applications of Multi-omics Approaches for Food and Nutritional Security

Food systems are constantly changing to accommodate the advancement of societies. Increased challenges, including the World Wars, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have stimulated the improvement of the economics, quantity, and quality of food around the globe. Food security was introduced to alleviate and eradicate hunger and poverty with an aim to provide access to enough food and calories to everybody all the time. In society, this was translated to an increase in food rich in carbohydrates but not specifically all the nutrients and minerals required for healthy growth and development. Agriculturally, this has resulted in a rise in large-scale production of starch and filling food that can be used as staples worldwide. While hunger is not a problem in most countries, malnutrition is rampant on many levels. There are several cohorts of people suffering from metabolic disorders related to an imbalance in nutrients, including diabetes, obesity, and anemia, amongst others. The introduction of nutritional security is to ensure that everybody has access to nutrients from all food groups;this means proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins, and minerals. Rapid development in omics research has resulted in high-throughput techniques that can profile the makeup of crops, environmental samples, food, and human biofluids. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics all explain how the different systems behave. Multi-omics is the assembly of all the complex data recorded to explain what is happening at a macroscale. This chapter provides an overview of the most up-to-date applications of multi-omics in food and nutrition security. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

Sustainable Thematic Investing: Identifying Opportunities Based on an Analysis of Stewardship Reports

Globally, a growing number of stakeholders recognise that sustainability determines success on multiple levels. Therefore, asset managers in developing and emerging countries increasingly focus on sustainable investment opportunities. While institutional investors largely centred on governance considerations pre-2020, the Coronavirus pandemic highlighted substantial social and environmental concerns at companies worldwide. As South Africa is the most unequal country globally according to the World Bank, decisions made by local institutional investors can have significant implications for individuals and environments where capital is invested. The objectives of this study were hence to analyse the sustainability themes on which South African asset managers focused in their stewardship reports and to explore the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that they addressed through their investment mandates. A content analysis was performed on stewardship reports that were published in 2020 and 2021 to consider the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. The findings indicate that prioritised sustainability themes include climate action, infrastructure development and social considerations. The considered asset managers accordingly focused on addressing climate action (SDG 13), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), and affordable and clean energy (SDG 7). Promising investment opportunities in companies that address key social issues, including the health and well-being of society (SDG 3) and broadening access to quality education (SDG 4) were also highlighted. The leaders of local investee companies are thus encouraged to ensure concise, transparent reporting on these material matters to enhance communication and engagement with institutional investors and other key stakeholders. This study offers a novel perspective on sustainable thematic investing in a highly unequal society.

Performance of Conventional and Sustainable Index in Pre and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis

Purpose: There has been a significant increase in the demand for ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investment by investors in recent years. Investors are recognizing that companies that prioritize ESG factors in their operations are more likely to be sustainable and resilient in the long term. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the ESG-responsible firms are performing better than the other firms in the pre-COVID and during the COVID periods. The paper also tried to investigate the impact of COVID-19 cases on the index movement. Methodology: The study employed the descriptive analysis on the financial data of NSE NIFTY 500 and NIFTY 100 Enhanced ESG index. The EGARCH model was applied to estimate the effect of COVID-19 on the volatility of the NIFTY 100 Enhanced ESG index. Findings: The results showed that there was no leverage effect in the ESG index in both periods. That means that the ESG Index can act as a cushion during the pandemic period. The ESG Index outperformed the conventional market index, thus acting as a COVID-19 safe asset class. This gives an opportunity to investors and fund managers to diversify their risk by acting sustainably responsible for society. Practical Implications: This study compared the performance of ESG-indexed firms with that of other firms in the pre-COVID and during COVID time period to check whether there was any difference between them. This study provided empirical evidence for practitioners, policymakers, and academicians in support of ESG investment as it showed that the ESG Index performed better than the conventional index during the COVID period. Originality: This study used secondary data to study the performance of the EGS firms in the pre and during COVID period in order to compare with the other firms. In the context of India, this study may be the first one to compare the performance of the ESG firms with the normal firms in the pre and during the COVID period. © 2023, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Integrating the United Nations' sustainable development goals into virtual exchange

This chapter focuses on how to integrate synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC)-based virtual exchanges into coursework in teacher preparation programs in higher education. During their 6-week virtual exchange, participants met with partner(s) to discuss their ideas about the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to recording their SCMC sessions, participants also completed online worksheets to reflect on their SDG discussion. By focusing on creating activities that coincide with the United Nations' SDGs in a virtual exchange, results showed that participants raised their awareness about the SDGs and created a critically sensitive critical lens, which impacted their learning. In addition to developing content knowledge, these programs were able to internationalize the higher education curriculum through virtual exchange. Students were able to discover things about themselves, their partners, their coursework, and the SDGs with "new eyes." With the recent rush to digital transformation caused by COVID-19, synchronous virtual exchange programs appear to be even more valuable as collaborative learning models. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.

Water's Cross-Cutting Nature in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Water is fundamental to sustainable development, a natural resource integral to the continued existence of all living species. Unfortunately, it is also the resource which has been most widely misused, mismanaged, and driven the global community to a water crisis, through its unfettered, irresponsible exploitation. The author's attempt through this chapter is to present the cross-cutting role that water plays in fulfilling achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. These ambitious goals are ideals for any civilized society in an attempt to eradicate poverty and ensure food security, health, education, gender parity, livelihood generation, peace, and justice. The author underscores the significance of water as the connector to ultimately arrive at the successful completion of all targets set in 2015, over a period of 15 years. As we recover from the global Covid-19 pandemic, the need for sustainable, renewable, and clean water and energy has been highlighted by international bodies. The author presents the case study of Meghalaya State in North-East India as an example of integrated synergies among water, food, livelihood, education, gender equality, and ecosystem restoration to achieve peace, partnership, and prosperity. India Water Foundation in collaboration with Meghalaya Basin Development Authority ideated upon what is now the Integrated Basin Development Livelihood Promotion Programme (IBDLP) that transformed a subsistence-based community into entrepreneurs, empowered with entrepreneurial capacity as they took ownership of their lands for optimum, sustainable utilization. This serves as an example for regional South-South cooperation and implementation in neighboring states through localization and ecosystem-based adaptation. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.

Achieving Zero Stunting: A Sustainable Development Goal Interlinkage Approach at District Level

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide an integrated framework of targets and indicators, including the elimination of stunting, to support better development planning. Indonesia faces a significant challenge as it ranks fourth globally in terms of stunting prevalence, exacerbated by disparities across regions, gender, and socioeconomic status, further compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Given the interlinked nature of SDGs, this study provides empirical support for the prioritization of SDG indicators, primarily in the context of stunting elimination at the district level in Indonesia. This study employed a combination of economic complexity and network theory, utilizing data from a comprehensive set of 54 indicators spanning 28 targets within 13 SDG goals in 514 districts. The analysis is based on network metrics, including revealed comparative advantage (RCA), proximity, centrality, and density to establish the SDG interlinkage network and identify key priority indicators. The findings highlight the importance of prioritizing indicators such as civil registration, health facilities and services, access to basic facilities and housing, and access to ICT in efforts to reduce stunting, particularly among disadvantaged households. Given the unique resources and capacities of each region, our analysis offers district-specific prioritization strategies for stunting elimination.

Global Green Bond Market Amid Global Turbulence

Amid the recent turbulence in the global economy, it seems very important to continue following the global environmental course. The COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions and overhaul of global supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and energy inflation of 2022 are holding back the progressive development of the world economy, which needs financial resources to continue the energy transition and other sustainable transformations. Green bonds attracted significant funds even before the pandemic. Thus, it seems timely to assess the impact of the main factors of global turbulence on the global green bond market and, based on the available data, predict the probable direction of the development of the global green bond market. The methods of analysis include general scientific, statistical, and econometric methods based on data from the Climate Bond Initiative, the World Bank, and S&P Global—power trend, logarithm, and the least squares method. The analysis showed that the challenges of adapting green bonds to the new global environment are out of the question. During COVID-19, there was a large-scale increase in issues and interest in green bonds caused by government incentives and the global financial market trends during the pandemic. In 2022, additional force majeure and more fundamental factors, such as global inflation and changes in the direction of monetary regulation frameworks in developed countries, have been added to the need to fight global warming. They had the opposite effect. However, econometric modeling shows an upward trend for the global green bond market, at least in the short term. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Evaluating the Factors Affecting Electric Vehicles Adoption Considering the Sustainable Development Level

Electric vehicles are an important part of governments' environmental policies, and therefore understanding the factors affecting their market share is very important. So, this research is designed to investigate the factors affecting electric vehicle adoption, considering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable development level. Effective factors have been investigated in three categories. One is the characteristics of electric vehicles;the other is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand for these vehicles;and finally, the impact of the level of sustainable development of countries on adopting electric vehicles. Our analysis method is based on grey econometric and grey regression methods. The results show that vehicle dimensions, battery warranty conditions, battery life, and charging facilities are effective factors in the field of vehicle characteristics that can increase the adoption of electric vehicles. Also, the analysis shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the adoption of electric vehicles. Finally, we have shown that the market share of electric vehicles is higher in countries with a higher sustainable development level because of better economic, social, and cultural infrastructures.

Middle East and North African Health Informatics Association (MENAHIA)

The region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is diverse and retains a superior growth potential. It benefits from a privileged geographical location with big markets, a young and growing educated population, and competitive advantages in several industries. Regardless of their differences, countries face shared concerns, most notably in health. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, MENA countries enact reforms to create a more robust and inclusive digital health systems to increase growth, development, and integrity. Throughout the coordinated containment and mitigation efforts, most of the countries have integrated digital technologies into the health systems. These procedures include digital government initiatives, the introduction of digital health training courses, live video surgeries and virtual patient monitoring, rural and remote telemedicine programs, and the development of a national electronic health records (EHR) system. Each country took necessary actions to address equity, literacy, and development of resilient health systems. The nine featured countries in this report illustrate the diversity among the MENA region and account for major opportunities and achievements as well as promises and challenges that digital health presents for its populations. © 2022 IMIA and Georg Thieme Verlag KG.

Social and Educational Challenges for Primary Education in Spain in the Sdgs

The main objective of this article is to show the challenges faced by primary schools in Spain, included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in the post-covid era. Challenges that range from the training and preparation of teachers in digital skills to the availability of digital resources in schools and in the homes where primary school students spend their lives, as well as additional specific digital training for mothers-fathers and for the students themselves. The objective is to generalize the familiarity of students, mothers-fathers, and teachers with digital devices and with the telematic learning model, not as a substitute for face-to-face teaching, but as training support for face-to-face teaching. The data we use comes from the TIMSS 2019 Report microdata file, published by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement OEA) in December 2020, with a sample for Spain of 501 primary schools and 9,555 students. This database allows us to contextualize the digital capacities of schools, teachers, and students (with answers from families) of primary education in Spain, just before the pandemic, and, with it, show the challenges that face in its future, in accordance with the SDGs.

Fit for purpose? The patents regime, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and sustainable development

This article uses data from several publicly available databases to show that the distribution of intellectual property for frontier technologies, including those useful for sustainable development, is very highly skewed in favor of a handful of developed countries. The intellectual property rights (IPR) regime as it exists does not optimize the global flow of technology and know-how for the attainment of the sustainable development goals and is in need of updating. Some features of the Fourth Industrial Revolution imply that the current system of patents is even more in need of reform than before. COVID-19 vaccines and therapies and the vast inequality in access to these has highlighted the costs of inaction. We recommend several policy changes for the international IPR regime. Broadly, these fall into three categories: allowing greater flexibility for developing countries, reassessing the appropriateness of patents for technologies that may be considered public goods, and closing loopholes that allow for unreasonable intellectual property protections.

A paradigm shift in sustainable use of natural resources and their ecosystem services

The sustainable development of natural resources along with interconnected crises of climate change, economic recession, food insecurity, increasing fuel consumption, and inflation in commodity prices have become hot burninign issue from last few decades, which have the greatest and most devastating impact on society's poor families. The theme of this chapter is to focus on the global issues of sustainable development, including knowledge of the interconnected crises in climate, energy, economy, poverty, and social injustice. This book chapter examines how practical science can be applied to real-world conservation and development problems to interpret natural resource management for those who must manage complex natural resource systems. It includes a significantly extended discussion of ecosystem assessment in which poverty, education, tradiation and other factors remains central concern to sustainable development. Finding solutions to and prevention of these crises necessitate interconnected and interdisciplinary thinking, which is also at the heart of sustainable development. The chapter takes a fresh look at the problem of attaining lower-carbon growth, climate adaptation, and the consequences for the long-term development of rapidly expanding economies. It investigates how these concerns are prompting serious reconsideration of what sustainable development is, what it should be, and how sustainable development policies and processes are being reassessed. It provides a concise, well-illustrated, and understandable introduction to the challenges and prospects of sustainable development, with a focus on developing countries. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multisectoral action towards sustainable development goal 3.d and building health systems resilience during and beyond COVID-19: Findings from an INTOSAI development initiative and World Health Organization collaboration.

This article is part of the Research Topic 'Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict'. As the world faces global health crises such as pandemics, epidemics, climate change and evolving disease burdens and population demographics, building strong and resilient public health systems is of critical importance. The need for an integrated approach to building health system resilience; the widening of inequalities; and fears of vulnerable populations being left behind are critical issues that require Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) enquiry as independent public oversight bodies. Each country has a Supreme Audit Institution with a remit to audit public funds as an effective, accountable, and inclusive institution. Government audits are key components of effective public financial management and Good Governance. SAIs contribute to the quality of government engagement and better state-society relations through their work. As SAIs provide independent external oversight and contribute to follow up and review of national targets linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their respective countries, they can play an important role in national recovery efforts. WHO and INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) have been collaborating in facilitating SAIs' audits of strong and resilient national public health systems linked to the national target of SDG 3.d in 40 countries across Africa, Americas, Asia and Oceania between 2021 and 2022. This paper aims to convey key lessons learned from the joint multisectoral collaboration for facilitating the 3.d audits that can contribute to building health systems resilience in ongoing recovery efforts. The collaboration included facilitation of the audits through professional education and audit support using a health systems resilience framework. The 3.d audits are performance audits and follow IDI's SDG Audit Model (ISAM). Following the ISAM implies that the SAI should focus on a whole-of-government approach, policy coherence and integration, and assess both government efforts at 'leaving no one behind' and multi-stakeholder engagement in implementing the chosen national SDG target linked to 3.d. WHO's Health Systems Resilience team has supported IDI and SAIs by delivering training sessions and reviewing working papers and draft reports of the SAIs from a health systems resilience perspective. IDI has provided the technical expertise on performance audits through its technical team and through in-kind contributions from mentors from many SAIs in the regions participating in the audit. In the 3.d audit, SAIs can ask how governments are acting to enhance capacity in some or all of the following, depending on their own national context and risk: forecasting, preventing and preparing for public health emergencies (PHEs) and threatsadapting, absorbing and responding to PHEs and threatsmaintaining essential health services in all contexts (including during emergencies/crises). The audits are expected to highlight current capacities of health systems resilience; the extent to which a whole-of-government approach and policy coherence have been utilised; and government efforts related to multistakeholder engagement and leaving no one behind in building health systems resilience related to progressing towards achieving the national target linked to 3.d by 2030. An overall positive achievement noted was that undertaking a complex health audit in the middle of a pandemic is possible and can contribute to building health systems resilience and recovery efforts. In their review of audit plans, draft summaries, and other work by the SAIs, both WHO and IDI have observed that SAIs have used the training and supplementary materials and applied various parts of it in their audits. This collaboration also demonstrates key considerations needed for successful partnership across multisectoral partners at global, regional and national levels. Such considerations can be applied in different contexts, including socioeconomic and health system recovery, to ensure whole-of-society and whole-of-government action in building health systems resilience and monitoring and evaluation to maintain and accelerate progress towards the national target linked to SDG3.d, health security and universal health coverage (UHC), as well as broader socioeconomic development.

Analysis of the Features of Sustainable Development of the Mercosur Countries in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to identify the features of sustainable development of the MERCOSUR countries in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use comparative and retrospective analysis to identify the distinguishing characteristics of countries meeting the sustainable development goals. The objects of research are the MERCOSUR countries. Findings: It has been established that Uruguay is the undisputed leader in sustainable development in the context of COVID-19. Two countries: Brazil and Venezuela slowed down the pace of implementation of national sustainable development strategies due to the pandemic and other reasons. Originality/value: According to the results of the analysis, it was revealed that countries that have long-term national strategies for sustainable development are more stable in achieving sustainable development goals. The size of a national economy does not guarantee that it can successfully overcome an external shock such as the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

SDGs, COVID-19 and institutional pressures on organizations

PurposeThis article answers the following research question: How do institutional pressures influence the re(actions) of organizations in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic?Design/methodology/approachThe present research was conducted through the search and review of online secondary sources based on a critical and exploratory analysis. The data were obtained from the Global Compact Brazilian Committee (Rede Brasil do Pacto Global, in Portuguese) and analyzed by means of qualitative content analysis with the support of the ATLAS.ti software.FindingsThe results have showed the role of organizations in dealing with the impacts provoked by the current COVID-19 scenario. However, the association of actions implemented by organizations is evident in some SDGs, but not in all and not with the same intensity. There is a higher incidence of SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), which is linked to 278 actions. Regarding institutional pressures, we noticed a higher incidence of normative pressures, which may indicate a sense of responsibility towards employees and other stakeholders related to the prevention of the impacts caused by the pandemic.Practical implicationsThe findings presented here can encourage companies to better direct their efforts to fight the virus without neglecting the 2030 Agenda.Social implicationsThe authors intend to encourage institutions that may exert coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures to recognize the impacts of their influence and better direct it to the interests of society during and after the pandemic.Originality/valueThis research investigates organizational actions in the context of COVID-19 from an institutional theory perspective.