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We employed publicly available user-generated content (UGC) data from the website Tripadvisor and developed an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model using the R language to analyze the seasonality of the use of urban green space (UGS) in Okinawa under normal conditions and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The seasonality of the use of ocean-area UGS is primarily influenced by climatic factors, with the peak season occurring from April to October and the off-peak season from November to March. Conversely, the seasonality of the use of non-ocean-area UGS remains fairly stable throughout the year, with a relatively high number of visitors in January and May. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted visitor enthusiasm for travel, resulting in significantly fewer actual postings compared with predictions. During the outbreak, use of ocean-area UGS was severely restricted, resulting in even fewer postings and a negative correlation with the number of new cases. In contrast, for non-ocean-area UGS, a positive correlation was observed between the change in postings and the number of new cases. We offer several suggestions to develop UGS management in Okinawa, considering the opportunity for a period of recovery for the tourism industry.
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The economic recession caused by the restrictions on the spread of the Coronavirus disrupted the economic life of many countries. The primary purpose of the paper is to measure the impacts of intra-regional trade and investment on the green recovery of five Central Asian economies over 2010–2021 through employing annual data and the panel co-integration approach. The results confirmed that the degree of green trade openness positively and significantly affects the green recovery. The estimated coefficient of direct foreign investment is negative. The patent coefficient is not statistically significant, and the official exchange rate has a positive effect. Financial development has a positive and significant coefficient. The paper has several policy implications, such as enhancing green FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), supporting green innovation, and promoting green trade liberalism for scholars and policymakers. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
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PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to determine the profile of dairy product consumers in the organic market.Design/methodology/approachThe study was based on a survey questionnaire developed by the author and administered to a total of 1,108 respondents. The statistical analysis (including descriptive statistics, the analysis of the discriminative function and the Chi2 test was performed with the use of Statistica 13.1 PL. The respondents' gender was the factor behind the differences in how they behaved.FindingsThe consumers indicated the channels they rely upon to find information on organic dairy products;in addition to trusting the opinions of their family members and experts, they also use web platforms. Further, they specified their preferred locations for buying favorite products during the pandemic: specialized organic food shops, large distribution chains and online stores.Practical implicationsThese outcomes will help in identifying target consumer segments and information channels for specific information and advertising messages. They also form an important resource for developing some potential strategies which the supply chain stakeholders could implement to promote organic consumption of dairy products.Originality/valueThis study identifies consumers' preferred dairy products;motives for purchasing organic dairy products;barriers that consumers believe exist in the market;sources of knowledge about products purchased by consumers;and consumers' preferred channels for purchasing organic dairy products. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study of dairy product consumers in the organic market in Poland.
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Summary Granular energy technologies with smaller unit sizes and costs deploy faster, create more jobs, and distribute benefits more widely than lumpy large-scale alternatives. These characteristics of granularity align with the aims of fiscal stimulus in response to COVID-19. We analyze the technological granularity of 93 green recovery funding programs in France, Germany, South Korea, and the UK that target £72.9 billion for low-carbon energy technologies and infrastructures across five emissions-intensive sectors. We find that South Korea's "New Deal” program is the most technologically granular with strong weighting toward distributed renewables, smart technologies, electric vehicle charge points, and other relatively low unit cost technologies that are quick to deploy. The UK has the least granular portfolio, concentrating large amounts of public money on small numbers of mega-scale energy projects with high implementation risks. We demonstrate how technological granularity has multiple desirable characteristics of green recovery: jobs, speed, and distributed benefits.
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The goal of this book is to improve the ability of enterprises to implement the green growth model and value chain reconstruction. China's environmental development strategies, such as carbon peak emission and carbon neutrality, have created new challenges and requirements for enterprises to "go green.” In addition, anti-globalization and the complex dynamic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 have changed the operational environment that enterprises face. The application of new technologies, including the new generation of information technologies and the whole process management technology, provides solutions for the implementation of enterprises' green growth model and value chain reconstruction. Based on China's enterprise management cases, this book reveals the connotative features of enterprises' green growth model and their evolutionary regularities, the overall framework and decision optimization of value chain reconstruction under the green growth model, and the approach to implementing the green growth model and value chain reconstruction. The theoretical framework of the green growth model and value chain reconstruction established in this book has enriched and developed the research results in this field. Cases of enterprises implementing the green growth model can provide references for the green transformation of enterprises and help enterprises appreciate the synergy between sustainability and growth. This book can also serve as a research reference for scholars engaged in the field of sustainable operations, as well as decision-makers and managers of relevant government departments. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.
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In Cebu, Philippines during the pandemic, hospitals were full and would no longer accept patients, which led the researchers to make a study on shipping containers converted to hospitals, isolation, quarantine, and other livable facilities to address the problem. If another wave of the virus comes, the facility is already in place to accommodate patients. Numerous studies have been conducted about shipping containers on their functionality, performance, and quality but there is no study about its marketability to target markets. The study determined the marketability of shipping containers converted into livable facilities for commercialization based on the following objectives: i) the four Ps of marketing, ii) industry and competitor analysis, iii) challenges and opportunities, and, iv) to propose recommendations on developing the converted shipping containers into livable facilities. There were two hundred thirty-nine respondents. The study used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. The study found a high demand for shipping containers to be converted into livable facilities which could be a profitable business once commercialized. © 2023 The Authors. Published by IASE.
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PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationships among monetary cost (stimulus), perceived greenwash fear, attitude and perceived behavioural control (organism-related factors) and green hotel patronage intention (response) using the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model.Design/methodology/approachA total of 262 valid questionnaires were collected. Data were collected using the purposive sampling method and tested using the partial least squares (PLS) approach.FindingsMonetary cost is positively related to only one organism-related factor which is perceived greenwash fear. All organism-related factors are positively related to response, which is green hotel patronage intention. Attitude mediates the relationship between perceived greenwash fear and green hotel patronage intention, as well as perceived behavioural control and green hotel patronage intention.Research limitations/implicationsA longitudinal study can be performed in the future to observe the actual green hotel patronage behaviour of customers.Practical implicationsGreen hoteliers should focus on the development of communication strategies to enhance their corporate reputation. Green hoteliers also need to build trust by showing their green initiatives are genuine, identify consumers who are willing to pay more for green hotels and offer promotions with price incentives such as frequency discounts, coupons and rebates to increase interest and trialability.Originality/valueFew studies have focused on the use of monetary cost as a stimulus in the S-O-R model to predict green hotel patronage intention. This study also tested the mediating effect of attitude, one of the organism-related factors, in the model.
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Evaluation and selection of eco-innovation strategies is a significant and complex strategic decision, and despite the relevance and interest in the field of eco-innovation, the area of eco-innovation strategies has not been explored in depth in the scientific literature. Therefore, in this study, we propose an integrated approach to evaluating eco-innovation strategies from the perspective of strategic green transformation that helps decision-makers evaluate and select eco-innovation strategy aiming to achieve a competitive advantage. For this study, we adopted a validated multi-criteria decision-making methodology (MCDM) by combining Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The reliability of the proposed framework was tested and applied in the context of the Lithuanian furniture industry. This study offers three contributions and provides a comprehensive and profound insights into eco-innovation strategies. First, this study conceptualizes eco-innovation strategy from the perspective of strategic green transformation and proposed a novel definition and classification of eco-innovation strategies leading to competitive advantage. Second, this study proposes a novel approach to the evaluation of eco-innovation strategies taking into account micro-, meso-, and macro-level environmental factors. Third, the findings of this study provide implications for scholars and decision-makers in the field of eco-innovation strategy and set an agenda for future research.
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Achieving a just transition to a low carbon economy and society, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is arguably one of the greatest policy challenges facing governments. It is also of deep concern to businesses, employees and the organisations that represent them. Much of the focus, particularly at policy level, has been on the potential of this transition to create new jobs especially through the growth of renewable energy and clean technology. In this paper, we argue that this focus on ‘green jobs', and in particular new green jobs, grossly underestimates the skills needs of a future workforce able to deliver a transition to a more sustainable low-carbon economy. The focus of this study is to gain an understanding of what skills are required to support the transition beyond these sectors. It critically reports on the results of a series of in-depth interviews with senior managers in key organisations within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, UK. It sheds a light on the significant employment transitions taking place in organisations who are not specifically focused on delivering ‘green' products or services. It finds widespread acknowledgement of the importance of a green recovery, albeit predicated by economic growth. The key skills needs reported, at all levels were likely to be ‘soft' transferrable skills rather than ‘hard' technical skills. COVID-19 was recognised as both a disrupter and as a catalyst for a green transition.
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Low quality of the air is becoming a major concern in urban areas. High values of particulate matter (PM) concentrations and various pollutants may be very dangerous for human health and the global environment. The challenge to overcome the problem with the air quality includes efforts to improve healthy air not only by reducing emissions, but also by modifying the urban morphology to reduce the exposure of the population to air pollution. The aim of this contribution is to analyse the influence of the green zones on air quality mitigation through sensor measurements, and to identify the correlation with the meteorological factors. Actually, the objective focuses on identifying the most significant correlation between PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations and the wind speed, as well as a negative correlation between the PM concentrations and wind speed across different measurement locations. Additionally, the estimation of slight correlation between the PM concentrations and the real feel temperature is detected, while insignificant correlations are found between the PM concentrations and the actual temperature, pressure, and humidity. In this paper the effect of the pandemic restriction rules COVID-19 lockdowns and the period without restriction are investigated. The sensor data collected before the pandemic (summer months in 2018), during the global pandemic (summer months 2020), and after the period with restriction measures (2022) are analysed.
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Nowadays, the social dimension of product sustainability is increasingly in demand, however, industrial designers struggle to pursue it much more than the environmental or economic one due to their unfamiliarity in correlating design choices with social impacts. In addition, this gap is not filled even by the supporting methods that have been conceived to only support specific areas of application. To fill this gap, this study proposed a method to support social failure mode and effect analysis (SFMEA), though the automatic failure determination, based on the use of a chatbot (i.e., an artificial intelligence (AI)-based chat). The method consists of 84 specific questions to ask the chatbot, resulting from the combination of known failures and social failures, elements from design theories, and syntactic structures. The starting hypothesis to be verified is that a GPT Chat (i.e., a common AI-based chat), properly queried, can provide all the main elements for the automatic compilation of a SFMEA (i.e., to determine the social failures). To do this, the proposed questions were tested in three case studies to extract all the failures and elements that express predefined SFMEA scenarios: a coffee cup provoking gender discrimination, a COVID mask denying a human right, and a thermometer undermining the cultural heritage of a community. The obtained results confirmed the starting hypothesis by showing the strengths and weaknesses of the obtained answers in relation to the following factors: the number and type of inputs (i.e., the failures) provided in the questions;the lexicon used in the question, favoring the use of technical terms derived from design theories and social sustainability taxonomies;the type of the problem. Through this test, the proposed method proved its ability to support the social sustainable design of different products and in different ways. However, a dutiful recommendation instead concerns the tool (i.e., the chatbot) due to its filters that limit some answers in which the designer tries to voluntarily hypothesize failures to explore their social consequences.
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PurposeThis research aims to profoundly investigate the post-COVID-19's opportunities for customer-centric green supply chain management (GSCM) and perceived customer resilience by studying the correlation between fear-uncertainty of COVID-19, customer-centric GSCM, and the perceived customers' resilience. Moreover, to examine how the perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities moderates the relationship among the variables.Design/methodology/approachIn this study partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted on a sample of 298 managers and customers in the Egyptian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) market for data analysis and hypotheses testing.FindingsPreliminary results indicate that the fear-uncertainty of COVID-19 positively affects customer-centric GSCM. Also, external CSR moderates the association between fear-uncertainty towards COVID-19 and customer-centric GSCM. However, internal CSR does not moderate this relationship. Customer-centric GSCM has a significant positive impact on the perceived environmental and social resilience. However, it has an insignificant effect on the perceived financial resilience. Also, customer-centric GSCM has a significant mediation outcome on the relation between fear-uncertainty of COVID-19 and the perceived environmental and social resilience. However, this relation is insignificant regarding the perceived financial resilience.Practical implicationsManagers could develop a consistent strategy for applying CSR practices, providing clear information and focusing on their procedures to meet their customer needs during COVID-19. Governments and managers should develop a consistent strategy to apply customer-oriented green practices to achieve customers' resilience, especially during the pandemic.Originality/valueBased on the "social-cognitive,” "stakeholder” and "consumer culture” theories, this study shed light on the optimistic side of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it also brings the concepts of social responsibility, resilience and green practices back into the light, which helps in solving customers' issues and help to achieve their resilience.
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The article describes the world's experience in developing the solar industry. It discusses the mechanisms of state support for developing renewable energy sources in the cases of five countries that are the most successful in this area—China, the United States, Japan, India, and Germany. Furthermore, it contains a brief review of state policy in producing electricity by renewable energy facilities in Kazakhstan. This paper uses statistical information from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), British Petroleum (BP), and the Renewable Energy Network (REN21), and peer-reviewed sources. The research methodology includes analytical research and evaluation methods to examine the current state of solar energy policy, its motivators and incentives, as well as the prospects for its development in Kazakhstan and in the world. Research shows that solar energy has a huge development potential worldwide and is sure to take its place in gross electricity production. This paper focuses on the selected economic policies of the top five countries and Kazakhstan, in what may be considered a specific research limitation. Future research suggestions for the expansion of Renewable Energy (RE) in Kazakhstan could include analysing the impact of introducing dedicated policies and incentives for solar systems and exploring the benefits and challenges of implementing large RE zones with government–business collaboration.
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To regain overall well-being in the post-pandemic era, the priorities should not be only economic growth but also human physical and mental health. This study investigates how to incorporate the concept of well-being into the circular economy to facilitate the pursuit of individual/personal and social growth, and sustainable consumption. We begin with a systematic search of the literature on well-being and sustainable product–service systems, model the well-being components in peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing and reuse platforms, and propose design guidelines for platform development. According to our findings, (1) allocentric well-being components (such as gratitude, contribution, and altruism) serve as the antecedents of sharing behaviors, while egocentric components (such as pleasure and attachment) serve as the consequences, and (2) information sharing is crucial to initiating the flow of well-being perceptions and sustainable sharing and reuse behaviors. Based on the findings, we suggest a data-driven approach and active inference theory to facilitate related studies. This study sheds light on the potential to develop well-being within the circular economy and facilitate the sustainable working of the sharing and reuse ecosystem.
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The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has left its mark on humanity as a whole. Consumers have reflected on their lifestyles, which has led them to prioritize health, well-being, and care for the environment by deciding to buy healthier products. Green Marketing is a strategy for the organizations that commercialize healthy or ecological products. This study seeks to determine the relationship between green marketing, its dimensions, and the commercialization of companies. The research is descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational;a questionnaire consisting of 25 questions was applied to 133 consumers of a company dedicated to the production and sale of organic products in the city of Cajamarca, Peru. The results obtained show the existence of a direct and significant relationship between green marketing and the commercialization of healthy food (0.649). The findings of this study are important for companies in the sector since they conclude that consumers of healthy products in the food industry value a brand based on the green marketing tactics they perceive. Green marketing represents an opportunity for companies that want to successfully commercialize their products. Copyright © 2022. Miranda-Guerra María del Pilar, Bardales Aste Antonella, Paredes Arbildo Fiorella Lisbeth and Esparza Huamanchumo Rosse Marie.
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Italy's digital Covid certificate, known nationally as the ‘Green Pass,' was enforced through unusual restrictions for a liberal democracy, as part of the government's effort to bolster the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Since July 2021, the Green Pass provided the main authorizing tool for the public to access a wide spectrum of social spaces and activities, from leisure to public transport and from education to workplaces. The Green Pass therefore served as a normative technology, and triggered intense political controversy and heated debates in the Italian public discourse. In constructing claims about the Green Pass, advocates and critics alike co-produced normative arguments with understandings of scientific evidence. Notably, they articulated competing framings around: conceptions of freedom during a pandemic;what should be considered as ‘evidence that matters' regarding the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines;value-laden projections of vaccination as either a solidaristic practice or an act of self-protection;the proper relationship between the state and its citizens;and the most appropriate modes of public health intervention. Accordingly, Italy's Green Pass offers a revealing case study for probing the implications of a normative technology with respect to public health effectiveness and the safeguarding of individual and social rights. It also provides an opportunity for scrutinizing the (re-)structuring of scientific and public health governance in a major Western democracy during a public health crisis. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed progress to the achievement of net-zero and sustainability goals. In particular, emerging economies may benefit greatly from the cooperation of banking institutions in promoting green recovery. This study focusses on banking institutions in South Asian countries that boost the intermediary financial spread, according to a thorough sample of banks from 2011 to 2021. The analysis employs the data envelopment analysis method, and the results are robust. In addition to these characteristics, we also consider aspects such as urbanisation, industrialisation, and population expansion. Banks may play a significant role in facilitating the realisation of environmental targets because of the clear advantages of the results, which provide comfort for green recovery. As green financing may lead to more efficient and robust financial systems, the results provide strong evidence for policymakers, financial institutions, and the financial sector.
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Smart Supply Chain has been evolving with the use of base technologies and front-end technologies, allowing the development of digital solutions for companies. Besides these technological aspects, companies should create a digital transformation strategy to boost the development of their Smart Supply Chain. Even though creating a Smart Supply Chain is vital for companies enabling their competitiveness in the market, some companies are also applying green supply chain internal and external practices to recover from the COVID-19 outbreak. These green practices are essential for companies to guide their supply chain activities to ensure competitive advantage. We discuss when companies develop Smart Supply Chain to meet Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM), a Smart GSCM is configured to reach sustainable performance goals and to decrease COVID-19 impacts. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Concerns about the global environmental situation are leading to a search for new climate solutions, one of which is to stimulate an energy transition at the global level by expanding the use of alternative energy sources and introducing smart energy-saving technologies. Significant financial resources are needed for this purpose. Therefore, it is vital to assess the prospects for alternative energy in the post-COVID economy by analyzing the current state of this segment of the global energy market and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on it. The research uses statistical data from the World Bank, the International Energy Agency, and Bloomberg Information and Analysis Agency. The authors apply the methods of retrospective and comparative analysis and the least squares method. The analysis showed the growing importance of alternative energy, especially in developed countries, the serious impact of global energy inflation, and the favorable prospects for renewable energy sources in general. The study has drawn conclusions about the possibility of increasing investment in alternative energy. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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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.