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The essence of finance has become essential in the sustainability discussion in recent times as a result of the capital intensive nature of sustainable projects. This has motivated financial experts and institutions to develop various financial instruments and mechanisms to further advance the course of protecting the environment, and decreasing the release of excess carbon and GreenHouse Gases. This is to also provide the opportunity for funding Green or sustainable infrastructure development. This chapter advances a discourse on matters relating to sustainable financing of infrastructure projects. The fundamentals of sustainable or green funding of infrastructure projects, and sustainable schemes of financing green infrastructure projects are discussed.

Tourists’ irresponsible behaviours (e.g. damaging flowers, writing and painting on the walls and throwing waste material in the water and around the sea site) damage the coastal environment. The irresponsible behaviour of tourists has raised concerns about the sustainability of the coastal tourism environment. The purpose of this study is to identify and explain the behavioural patterns of tourists that can influence the environmentally responsible behaviours (ERBs) of tourists, particularly in the context of coastal tourism. The study aims to provide a theoretical and practical explanation of destination image and perceived destination value (PDV) in shaping ERB with the mediating role of destination social responsibility (DSR) among tourists at the coastal touring destination.

The study used a quantitative research design and data were gathered from the five beaches in Karachi. Structured equation model was used to analyse the direct and mediating effect while stepwise regression was used to analyse the moderating effect of DSR. The results of the direct effect showed that cognitive image has a significant effect on the affective image, while the insignificant effect on conative image and ERB. While the affective image has a significant effect on conative and ERB, and finally, results showed a significant effect of conative image on ERB. Results of the study revealed that PDV significantly mediated the relationship between cognitive, affective and conative destination image and ERB. Finally, the study’s results revealed that DSR has significantly moderated the relationship between affective, conative destination image, PDV and ERB.

The results are divided into three categories, direct effect, mediating effect and moderating effect. The results of the direct effect showed that cognitive image has a significant effect on the affective image, while the insignificant effect on conative image and ERB. While affective image has a significant effect on conative and ERB, and finally, results showed a significant effect of conative image on ERB. It is found in the results that PDV significantly mediated the relationship between cognitive, affective and conative destination image and ERB. Finally, the study’s results revealed that DSR has significantly moderated the relationship between affective, conative destination image, PDV and ERB.

First, data has been collected from a single geographic area of Pakistan. Therefore, cross-country data are required to compare the ERB of tourists. Second, only local respondents are considered in the study; future studies may include foreign tourists as well. Finally, data has been collected during one month in summer, which may have measured the experience of only summer. The respondent may have different perceived values and destination images during winter. The future study may split data collection into summer and winter to cover diverse perceptions of tourists.

It is almost impossible for coastal destinations to achieve a competitive advantage without attaining sustainable coastal environments. Clean and green beaches and responsible behaviour towards marine mammals can only be achieved through tourists’ ERB. This study has major contributions towards society by reserving the natural environment of coastal areas.

This research will significantly contribute to the existing literature by extending the ERB knowledge through the theoretical lens of cognitive-affective-conative models and social expectancy theory. Moreover, PDV as a mediator and DSR as a moderator will enhance the understanding of ERB and extend the existing literature. Further research has provided a strong understanding of how cognitive, effective and conative image helps in influencing the ERB of tourists. Moreover, research will benefit destination managers and policymakers to enhance the image and perceived value of touring destinations. Finally, this study is a unique attempt to present a comprehensive model which could be applicable to diverse situations and areas.

Sustainability is increasingly at the forefront of the public debate in Europe and the world. However, despite this increased interest, research seems to have partially ignored the importance of its social dimension and the issues related to social equity, people care, protection and personal development at all stages of society and, consequently, of business. Accordingly, this paper aims at investigating the “soft” dimensions of sustainability, integrating its mainstream “technical storyline” with a “human/social storyline”.

In this paper a taxonomy of the main key drivers of the soft dimension of sustainability is proposed and tested on a sample of Italian companies. Through interviews with their managers, actions and needs in terms of sustainability soft drivers are identified.

The achieved results demonstrated that the case companies differently integrated the soft dimensions of sustainability within their companies. All the sample companies are aware of the role of social sustainability. According to the proposed taxonomy, the systemic drivers of soft sustainability are the main shared ones.

The paper provides new insights into the essence of the organizational soft dimensions and their centrality in the overall achievement of sustainability for companies. It also offers managerial insights into how to effectively manage these dimensions and policy implications about the need for clearer consideration.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discussion surrounding the definition of accounting proposed by Carnegie et al. (2021a, 2021b) and further elaborated by Carnegie et al. (2023) from/under an institutionalist political-economy (IPE) based foundation and to specifically extend this approach to the arena of social and environmental accounting (SEA).

By adopting an IPE approach to SEA, this study offers a critique of the use of the notion of capital to refer to nature and people in SEA frameworks and standards.

A SEA framework based on the capabilities approach is proposed based on the concepts of human capabilities and global commons for the purpose of preserving the commons and enabling the flourishing of present and future generations.

The proposed framework allows the engagement of accounting community, in particular SEA researchers, with and contribution to such well-established initiatives as the Planetary Boundaries framework and the human development reports initiative of the United Nations Development Programme.

Based on the capability approach, this study applies Carnegie et al.’s (2023) framework to SEA. This new approach more attuned to the pursuit of sustainable human development and the sustainable development goals, may contribute to turning accounting into a major positive force through its impacts on the world, expressly upon organisations, people and nature.

This paper aims to understand whether, and if so how, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) influence large companies’ adoption and implementation of a broader corporate purpose, beyond profit maximization.

Adopting a multiple-case study method, data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 28 managers from 16 large companies in Australia and Japan, and from secondary sources. Grounded theory methods were used to analyze the data and draw out key findings.

The study revealed the influence of the SDGs on corporate purpose depends on the SDG integration level: where and how the SDGs are integrated into management practices. The influence was more significant when the companies implemented the SDGs at a normative level compared to those implementing the SDGs at a strategic and/or operational level.

Due to the exploratory nature of the study, the sample size is limited and covers only companies in two countries. Future studies could examine the validity of the findings and the explanatory model by testing with a larger sample and expanding the scope into different countries. The study provides practical implications on how large companies’ could scale up their contributions to achieving the SDGs.

While the extant literature suggests a simple relationship between sustainability (the SDGs) and corporate purpose, this paper identified a more complex relationship. It presents in a multi-pathway model that explains the relationship, based on empirical evidence from 16 large companies in two different institutional contexts.

This study aims to explore the impact of regional green economies and communities on global sustainability. This study attempts to show if the empirical results align with the regional sustainable development policy and practices.

Empirical analyses are conducted through time-varying correlations, structural break tests and volatility modeling. As a public health indicator, the community variable is proxied by the daily COVID-19 cases.

According to the results, the US green economy and global sustainability relationship exhibit a greater variety than that of Europe and Asia regions. Volatility modeling reveals that green economies are significant variables for each region in accounting for the changes in global sustainability. Europe and Asia have the highest and lowest effects in this interaction, respectively. The results are consistent with the carbon emission statistics of the regions studied and the government’s efforts to promote sustainable development. Furthermore, this study supports the efforts of the European Union to tackle climate and environmental issues, as well as create a resource-efficient economy and truly prosperous society.

This study presents empirical findings concerning global sustainability by providing evidence from three regions. The outcomes on the extent of regional contribution to global sustainability may lead the policymakers to develop new strategies in the management of turmoil periods such as a pandemic.