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Heading toward to a Sustainable World: Ecological Footprint and Energy Consumption

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Ecology and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 22433

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Samia Nasreen

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan
Interests: resource economics; environment economics; energy economics; sustainable development

Dr. Aviral Kumar Tiwari

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya, Bihar 824234, India
Interests: sustainability; SDGs; resource economics; environment and energy economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last 50 years, humanity’s Ecological Footprint has increased by nearly 190%, indicating a growing imbalance in the human–environment relationship, coupled with major environmental and social changes. Our ability to live within the planet’s biological limits requires not only a major rethinking of how we produce and distribute ‘things’ but also a shift in consumption activities. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide knowledge basis efforts to manage environmental system, improve environmental quality and energy sustainability aligned with Goal 7 and Goal 13 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure clean energy access to more than 3 billion people around the globe and to take urgent action to combat environmental changes and its impact.

This Special Issue welcome research articles, conceptual analysis articles and review articles on ecological application/conservation; ecological management; environmental ecosystems (water, air, soil); environmental quality; development of methods for environmental quality management (new procedures, characterization techniques, monitoring methods, governing standards, etc.); environmental system modelling and optimization; environment and socio-economic development; energy resources; energy usage; energy efficiency; and policies in support of Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13.

This Special Issue welcomes the publications from the 3rd Rajagiri Management Conference on "Sustainable Development Goals in Post-pandemic world": https://www.rajagiribusinessschool.edu.in/event/3rd-rajagiri-management-conference.

Dr. Samia Nasreen
Prof. Dr. Aviral Kumar Tiwari
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

environmental ecosystems (water, air, soil)
environmental quality
environmental impact assessment
natural resource management
ecological application/conservation
environment and socio-economic development
renewable and non-renewable energy resources, technologies, conservation and storage
energy and socio-economic development
planet earth, the environment and natural resources
strategies for sustainable business models
crisis management
sustainable consumer culture
sustainable tourism
developments on CSR
reduce, reuse and recycle policies for circular economy and climate

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 463 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Media and Impact of Altruistic Motivation, Egoistic Motivation, Subjective Norms, and EWOM toward Green Consumption Behavior: An Empirical Investigation

by Arun Kumar and Mrinalini Pandey

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4222; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054222 - 26 Feb 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6352

Abstract

Nowadays, green consumerism is a global trend in the era of the 21st century, prompting businesses to become more environmentally conscious and to build a robust green product range to meet the demands of new customers. This tendency has been aided by social media, which has influenced customers’ buying intentions to be more ecologically responsible. The current study investigates the effects of web-based media on motivation, i.e., egotism and altruism and, subsequently, its effect on the intention of green buying. This paper also attempts to assess the impact of subjective norms on the intention of green buying and, subsequently, its effect on green purchase behavior by incorporating the construct EWOM. Administering the structured questionnaire, 362 young Indian customers’ responses were collected. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach was applied to test the suggested conceptual model based on empirical research. The findings point to the significance of social media in terms of altruistic motivation, egoistic motivation, and subjective norms, s well as the job of these components as predecessors of green purchasing intention and, subsequently, purchase behavior. The findings also demonstrate the impact of EWOM in influencing buying decisions. The findings of this paper demonstrates that social media, as a well spring of information, contribute pivotal ingredients in the establishment of consumer motivation. These consumer motivations with subjective norms play an essential role in positive green purchase intention. Green buying intention and EWOM had a favorable influence on buying behavior, according to the findings. The findings are important for marketers who would like to improve their social media communication tactics in order to raise customer motivation and buying intention, as well as buying behavior, for green products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heading toward to a Sustainable World: Ecological Footprint and Energy Consumption)

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12 pages, 273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Corporate Social Responsibility Fuel Firm Performance? Evidence from the Asian Automotive Sector

by Minimol M. Chandrasekaran

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15440; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215440 - 21 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2313

Abstract

Corporations are now expected to self-regulate in order to uphold their social obligations to society. This is known as the social responsibility of corporations or corporate social responsibility. CSR helps a business to be mindful of the impacts it has on the economy, society, and environment. The most important CSR component for the automotive industry is unquestionably environmental responsibility. Despite the fact that many businesses still place a strong emphasis on economic responsibility, it is widely acknowledged that all three CSR elements are essential for the success of a firm. This study’s objective is to look into the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on business performance in the automobile sector, with an emphasis on Asian nations. Sample companies were selected from the Thomson Reuters database according to the data availability on corporate social performance and firm performance for more than 10 years. Data analysis was performed using the software STATA. Fixed and random effects panel regression models were used to analyse the relationships. The findings of this study are consistent with the idea that corporate social responsibility considerably improves the performance of automobile companies. The study concludes that companies need to focus more on CSR spending, as it improves the financial performance of the company. The study contributes to the existing literature as it validates the strong relationship between CSR components and firm performance in the automobile sector, which has not been much explored in the extant literature. The results of the panel data regression demonstrated that not only the environmental score is significant in determining the firm performance; other components such as social and governance scores are also equally important in achieving the desired firm performance, which is totally against the common notion that since automobile firms cause much damage to the environment, they need to focus only on environmental aspects through their CSR initiatives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heading toward to a Sustainable World: Ecological Footprint and Energy Consumption)

15 pages, 433 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interplay of Workplace Sustainability, Sustainable Work Performance, Optimism, and Resilience: The Moderating Role of Green Creativity in Luxury Hotels

by Teena Bharti, Satish Chandra Ojha and Aviral Kumar Tiwari

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15097; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215097 - 15 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1958

Abstract

This research study validates the importance of addressing employees’ workplace sustainability through agentic traits such as optimism and green creativity, which motivate employees to perform and deliver in an organization. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 485 employees of various luxury hotels in India, applying PROCESS Macro to test the conceptual model, which was proposed for this purpose. The study’s findings add to and go beyond earlier research in the expanding field of workplace sustainability. Research in the field of sustainable goals is still in its infancy; however, through the establishment of various novel connections, this study contributes to our theoretical understanding of this area of study. Moreover, the paper outlines key managerial implications in helping comprehend how to build and maintain a positive outlook and inculcate creativity for sustainable work performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heading toward to a Sustainable World: Ecological Footprint and Energy Consumption)

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16 pages, 1886 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Spatial and Temporal Changes of Natural Capital in a Typical Semi-Arid Protected Area Based on an Ecological Footprint Model

by Parvaneh Sobhani, Hassan Esmaeilzadeh, Seyed Mohammad Moein Sadeghi, Isabelle D. Wolf, Yaghoub Esmaeilzadeh and Azade Deljouei

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10956; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710956 - 02 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1522

Abstract

Exploring spatial and temporal changes in protected areas (PAs) is essential for protecting natural capital and creating a harmonious relationship between humans and nature. This study has assessed land use/land cover (LULC) changes in the Jajrud, a Protected Area with a semi-arid climate zone in Iran (covers an area of 18,814 km²), to assess the sustainability of the use of natural resources using Landsat imagery from 1989 to 2018. Likewise, Ecological Footprint accounts (including the sum of biological, freshwater, energy, and pollution) and changes in the per-capita Ecological Carrying Capacity were investigated to uncover Ecological Deficits. The Ecological Pressure Index was used to explore driving factors of natural capital utilization in each of the various identified zones. Between 1989 and 2018, high-density pastures decreased the most in Jajrud, while built-up land increased the most. Likewise, the Ecological Footprint increased while the Ecological Carrying Capacity decreased, increasing Ecological Deficit quantities. Driving factors for the use of natural capital differs among the various zones due to differing management goals, type of uses, and human activity development. As supply and demand for natural resources were clearly out of an imbalance between the supply and demand of natural resources and exceeded the maximum tolerable limits in Jajrud, a change in production and consumption patterns is necessary. This case study has practical importance for establishing mathematical models to reveal the patterns of LULC, ecological footprint, ecological deficit, and ecological pressure indices in a typical PA in a semi-arid region of Iran. Our approach is advisable for semi-arid PAs in Iran and regions with similar attributes in other countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heading toward to a Sustainable World: Ecological Footprint and Energy Consumption)

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16 pages, 735 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors That Influence the Safe Disposal Behavior of E-Waste by Electronics Consumers

by Mohammed Laeequddin, Waheed Kareem Abdul, Vinita Sahay and Aviral Kumar Tiwari

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 4981; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14094981 - 21 Apr 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5116

Abstract

This study investigated the factors that influence the safe disposal intention and behavior of consumers, considering the mobile phone as an example. Specific hypotheses linking the factors that influence safe disposal intention and behavior with the support of extant literature on theories of reasoned action and planned behavior were developed. A questionnaire was designed based on the following factors: awareness, convenience, subjective norms, producer interventions, and regulations that influence the intentions and behavior of consumers in the safe disposal of e-waste. The data was collected by conducting a cross-sectional survey in India. The collected data was analyzed for descriptive statistics and measurement properties and further tested the hypotheses using partial least squares-structural equations modeling (PLS-SEM). All the measures used in the study were found to have satisfactory reliability and validity testing. The findings of hypotheses testing suggest that the factors such as awareness (Std. coefficient = 0.109 with p value < 0.05 level), convenience (Std. coefficient = 0.341 with p value < 0.01 level), subjective norms (Std. coefficient = 0.242 with p value < 0.01 level), producer interventions (Std. coefficient = 0.228 with p value < 0.01 level), and regulations (Std. coefficient = 0.148 with p value < 0.01 level) were found to significantly impact safe disposal intentions. However, the direct effect of regulation on safe disposal behavior was found to be non-significant (Std. coefficient = 0.091). Therefore, the significant finding of our study is that without the intention of behaving in a certain manner, the direct regulations may not influence the consumers to behave as intended. Our study’s results emphasize two areas that may trigger the consumer’s intentions for safe disposal of e-waste. First, the social norms, and second, the importance of producer responsibility in creating the required reverse logistics infrastructure and clear communication to customers for the safe disposal of e-waste. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heading toward to a Sustainable World: Ecological Footprint and Energy Consumption)

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13 pages, 922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Econometric Assessment of Institutional Quality in Mitigating Global Climate-Change Risk

by Anam Javaid, Noman Arshed, Mubbasher Munir, Zahrahtul Amani Zakaria, Faten S. Alamri, Hamiden Abd El-Wahed Khalifa and Uzma Hanif

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 669; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020669 - 07 Jan 2022

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3046

Abstract

Background: Environmental deterioration is the alarming situation that results from rapid urbanization and development. The rising temperature and climate volatility are accounted for by the massive carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The research on climate-change mitigation is trying to curtail the situations before they become irreversible and unmanageable. This study explores the role of institutions in mitigating climate change by moderating the impact of environmental quality on climate change risk. Methodology: Global data sets have been collected from world big data depositories like the World Economic Forum (WEF), the World Development Indicators (WDI), and the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG). Countries that are listed in WEF were used as the sample of the study. An analysis was based on 114 countries that are based on the availability of data. For estimation, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, change effects, and a Panel Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) model were used for estimating the results. Results: The global assessment indicates that CO₂ emissions increase the climate risk, but its impact can be reduced by increasing the quality of institutions. Additionally, an increase in renewable energy consumption and economic growth reduces the climate risk. Implications: It is an instrumental study that empirically investigated the role of institutions in reducing climate risk by moderating CO₂ emissions. The results of this study will help policymakers to formulate policies regarding environmental protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heading toward to a Sustainable World: Ecological Footprint and Energy Consumption)

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