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This study aims to analyze the implications of the recent European Union Regulation 2023/1542 on the circular economy and stakeholder strategies within the electric vehicle lithium-ion battery (EV-LIB) sector. It aims to explain the policy intentions, recommend practical strategies for stakeholders and examine how the new regulation exerts pressure on stakeholders to transition from older directives to more sustainable practices and operational standards, while also highlighting policy gaps.

The research employs a dual-method approach, combining text analysis of EU legislation with semi-structured interviews of industry stakeholders. This methodology allows for a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory impacts by integrating legislative intent with practical, on-the-ground insights from key players in the EV-LIB sector.

Our findings show that the three aggregated dimensions of operational sustainability, R&D and new technologies and collaborative dynamics are the key dynamics underlying the intended outcomes. The findings also highlight the policy’s historical development, the stakeholder categories, the implications for each and practical recommendations in responding to the policy requirements. Additionally, the findings identify policy gaps, such as weak incentives and broad economic operator classifications, with examples from international markets. The regulation creates proactive stakeholders driving innovation and collaboration and reactive ones adapting to changes, where static implicit implications may affect their viability by imposing unequal burdens.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to analyze the new EU Regulation 2023/1542, offering novel insights into the strategic responses required by stakeholders to adapt to the regulatory pressures. By focusing on the latest regulatory framework and its practical implications, the study bridges the gap between policy and practice, providing valuable guidance for industry players navigating the evolving regulatory environment.

• (1)

  EU’s policy shift from Directive to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 has extended implications on the Electric Vehicles battery sector.

• (2)

  Duel qualitative methods of text analysis and semi-structured interviews validated three aggregate dimensions and policy gaps.

• (3)

  R&D with advancing technology, Operational sustainability and safety and Collaboration dynamics are dominating the scene.

• (4)

  Emergence of Proactive vs Reactive stakeholder dynamics.

• (5)

  The broad classification of “economic operators” and insufficiently detailed incentives, hinting at potential competitive imbalances and underexplored roles of end-users in achieving circular economy goals are appearing policy’ gaps.

EU’s policy shift from Directive to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 has extended implications on the Electric Vehicles battery sector.

Duel qualitative methods of text analysis and semi-structured interviews validated three aggregate dimensions and policy gaps.

R&D with advancing technology, Operational sustainability and safety and Collaboration dynamics are dominating the scene.

Emergence of Proactive vs Reactive stakeholder dynamics.

The broad classification of “economic operators” and insufficiently detailed incentives, hinting at potential competitive imbalances and underexplored roles of end-users in achieving circular economy goals are appearing policy’ gaps.

In this case study, we examine how a citrus peel valorising company based in the Netherlands was able to adopt a circular business model while navigating regulatory, managerial, and supply chain-related barriers.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews with key personnel in the company, notes from field observations, photographs of the production process, and documents from a legal judgement served as data for this single, qualitative case study. Data were coded inductively using the in vivo technique and were further developed into four themes and a case description.

Results from our study indicate that the regulatory and political contexts in the Netherlands were critical to the company’s success. Like in the case of most fruitful industrial symbioses, partnerships founded on mutual trust and economically appealing value propositions played a crucial role in ensuring commercial viability. Collaborating with larger corporations and maintaining transparent communication with stakeholders were also significant contributing factors. Lastly, employees’ outlook towards circularity combined with their willingness to learn new skills were important driving factors as well.

In addition to expanding the scholarship on the adoption of circular business models, this research offers novel insights to policymakers and practitioners. It provides empirical evidence regarding the importance of public awareness, adaptable legislation, and harmonised policy goals for supporting sustainable entrepreneurship in the circular economy.

This paper investigates strategies for addressing the global challenge of food loss and waste (FLW) within the food industry. It examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and state regulatory interventions for reducing FLW.

This mixed method study utilizes a unique panel dataset which includes the 150 largest food industry companies in Italy, Norway and the UK. It combines quantitative data analysis with qualitative insights derived from corporate strategies and corporate communications.

The analysis reveals that food companies with an established CSR strategy and in particular companies whose CSR reports highlight their environmental and social achievements are more likely to achieve in effective FLW reduction. Additionally, national-level regulatory interventions guided by European Union waste strategies act as pivotal benchmarks and encourage stricter corporate food waste management policies.

This research underscores the significance of CSR strategies and effective state regulation in the fight against FLW and offers policymakers and businesses valuable insights enabling development of robust strategies.

By emphasizing the interplay between CSR and regulatory intervention, this research contributes to the achievement of a more sustainable and efficient global food system that addresses both economic and ethical concerns and could have far-reaching societal and environmental implications.

The paper sheds light on the interplay between CSR initiatives and regulatory interventions for tackling FLW and emphasizes their synergistic impact on sustainable practices within the food industry.

This study's purpose is to collate data on the existing Green Public Procurement (GPP) legal policies, frameworks and initiatives at the global level and, second, to identify the conditions required for implementing green procurement practices and programs in developing countries such as India. A structured literature review was conducted using the search terms ‘Green Public Procurement’, 'Policy’ and ‘India’. Reports, technical papers and articles in a language other than English were excluded from the search. Finally, 20 papers were shortlisted and reviewed. The study found that GPP has begun taking shape globally and necessitates capacity building at many levels, including knowledge sharing, sourcing resources, fiscal re-distribution and public awareness. National governments emerge as key players in facilitating sustainable procurement, while international bodies continue to develop prospective policy frameworks. However, GPP is at its nascency in India and will require significant pre-assessment and planning to standardize itself among big and medium enterprises. While GPP allows for environmental consciousness, its use in India also presents the potential for innovation and expanding the consumer market. Its establishment requires the government to implement a centralized body that directs GPP activity, incentivizes green technology and develops policies favouring multi-level collaboration. Further research can involve in-depth interviewing of key people in Public Procurement (PP) processes to gauge the preparedness and seriousness of the government to undertake green procurement and understand the inherent challenges in transitioning to more sustainable procurement modalities.

The purpose of this study is to explore the awareness, perception and attitude of consumers from Georgia toward smart, active and intelligent packaging of food products.

This study is based on a quantitative research method using a survey questionnaire tool to gather data from consumers in Georgia.

The scope of the sample is restricted to only one developing country. Yet, the research results are still significant in creating knowledge about innovative food packaging from different country contexts and to understanding the acceptance of intelligent active packaging by consumers.

Intelligent packaging facilitates companies with their sustainability efforts by reducing waste and environmental impact. It increases the desirability of products as responds to customer demands and leads to consumer satisfaction. Intelligent packaging can increase trust in bioproducts; for example, it is possible to track and check or monitor the origin of a product and prove that the product producer has really manufactured a bioproduct.

The study contributes to the discussion of the applicability and use of packaging with enhanced features in the food industry. In this respect, the performed pilot study fills the gap in the packaging literature by investigating consumers’ perspectives on intelligent packaging in Georgia – a non-EU, post-soviet, developing country.

While research on sustainability reporting in the construction industry has already provided comprehensive findings, the purpose of this paper is to answer the question of how construction companies anchor the topic of sustainability in their strategic and operative management control practices. The implementation of sustainable business models and sustainability strategies requires proper management control instruments or mechanisms that support the transformation process or make it possible in the first place.

A qualitative content analysis based on deductive and inductive procedures was conducted. 39 sustainability reports published by the largest construction companies in the EU were examined.

Valuable insights are provided by showing which control instruments and mechanisms are used to improve corporate sustainability performance as well as how these are linked systematically. The results show that the focus is on strategic planning, cultural and administrative controls, while short-term targets, which could set out the path to achieving the long-term sustainability goals set, are often not reported. Strategic stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory provide explanations for the use of management control practices identified.

Previous studies often focus on selected single control practices and miss holistic approaches for investigating corporate sustainability in construction companies. Furthermore, theoretical perspectives with instrumental and socio/political views on corporate sustainability help us explain the control practices applied. Moreover, practitioners, standard setters and legislators can use the findings for sustainability management or for developing standards and legislation.

This paper aims to explore why a country with significant under-investment in water infrastructure has not successfully imposed domestic water charges. Drawing on an economization lens, it examines how an economy emerged in the imposition of water charges but was subsequently hidden due to their politically motivated suspension.

Drawing on documentary evidence, a theoretically informed examination of the “economization” process is set out. This examination recognizes the central role sustainability plays in water management but illustrates how sustainability must be integrated with environmental, social, economic, cultural and political factors.

The findings set out the challenges experienced by a state-owned water company as they attempt to manage domestic water charges. The paper reveals that while the suspension of water charges has hidden the “economy” within government subvention, the economic and sustainable imperative to invest in and pay for water remains, but is enveloped within a political “hot potato” bringing about a quasi-political/quasi-economic landscape.

The findings demonstrate how the effective and sustainable management of domestic water supply requires collaboration between multiple participants, including the government, the European Union, private citizens and the water protest movement.

While highlighting the challenges faced by a country that has seriously under-invested in its water resources, the paper reflects the societal consequences of charging individuals for water, raising important questions about what water actually is – a right, a product or a political object.

Showing how an economy around domestic water supply in Ireland was revealed, but subsequently hidden in “the political”, the paper illustrates how sustainability is as much about economics and politics as it is about ecological balance and natural resources.

This study aims to understand why some social and environmental reporting (SER) regulations are more successful than others in modifying collective corporate reporting behaviour and expectations. More specifically, it presents a qualitative and historically informed exploration of the construction of the enabling conditions for corporate adoption of SER regulation in a national context.

Drawing on insights from structuration theory and the sociological approach to legal studies, the authors examined the normative persuasion of the first regulation in Spain requiring firms to disclose social and environmental information in a stand-alone report: Article 39 of the Spanish Sustainable Economy Law. The case study is based primarily on 38 semi-structured interviews with relevant actors involved in this SER regulation from 2008 to 2014. Other sources such as legal and policy documents, historical documents, books, press reports and field notes from attendance at technical meetings related to the phenomenon under study help inform and complement the analysis of the interviews.

The analysis reveals that the agency of regulators, regulatees and other relevant actors involved in the SER regulation led to the law becoming a dead letter. However, only by examining the structural circumstances, shaped by history and socio-economic context, can the authors understand how the normative persuasion of law is constructed or undermined.

The study underscores the importance of the national context in developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) regulation and the crucial role of history. The results of this research also suggest that significant progress towards a more transformative CSR regulation cannot be achieved without the support of enabling structures/

Recent SER regulations (European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and IFRS sustainability standards, to mention those that are gaining most traction) may not achieve sufficient compliance if those responsible for drafting them do not ensure that the conditions for the emergence of regulatory persuasion are met. Regulators must therefore have a profound understanding of how these conditions are constructed as part of a historical process inextricably linked to the social structures of the environment in which the law is to be applied.

The study reveals the changing landscape of corporate social responsibility, where scientists, academics, NGO activists and civil society organisations struggle to gain some agency in a field populated by actors, such as trade unions or employers, who were constitutive of Western industrial liberal democracies.

This study presents an in-depth and historically grounded analysis of the dynamics involved in creating the conditions that lead to successful SER legislation in a national context.

In a world with over 8 billion people, ensuring sustainable food sources is paramount. This chapter explores the pivotal role of aquaculture in addressing the challenges of marine conservation and sustainable resource use. Aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 14, aquaculture emerges as a solution to relieve pressure on wild fish stocks and enhance food security. The chapter emphasises the rapid growth of this sector and underscores the importance of international cooperation and policies like the Global Ocean Treaty in ensuring marine biodiversity. While acknowledging the potential of aquaculture, the chapter delves into environmental concerns surrounding fishmeal and fish oil in feed. It advocates for innovative technologies and ingredients to establish a circular bioeconomy. The significance of higher education in advancing sustainable aquafeed technology, breeding, and genetics is highlighted, with a discussion on milestones achieved by experts like Dr John E. Halver and Professor Simon J. Davies. Examining technological advances, the chapter explores molecular genetics, transgenics, and gene editing, particularly CRISPR biosciences, as transformative tools for enhancing aquaculture productivity and sustainability. Environmental impacts are addressed, proposing solutions such as Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and Multitrophic Aquaculture Systems (MTA) to minimise ecological footprints. Throughout, there is a strong emphasis on the integral role of research and education in fostering sustainable aquaculture practices. The chapter advocates for specialised courses and programs in higher education to prepare the next generation for the challenges and opportunities in aquaculture, ensuring its contribution to global food security and environmental stewardship.