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1 – 10 of over 35000Abstract
Purpose
Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), one of the major forces in environmental protection, have developed rapidly in the past few years, especially in developing countries such as China. This paper aims to reveal how the ENGOs select their focuses, specifically if they only concentrate on one focus or on contexts in which they obtain various focuses and the motivations behind their choosing strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research interviewed 103 leaders of ENGOs covering every province in mainland China and adopts existing theories of NGOs alongside diversification strategy from a management perspective.
Findings
The results showed that most Chinese ENGOs now tend to be diversified but face different challenges. This research highlights the importance of ENGOs’ resources and capacities in facing current challenges and suggests directions to improve their diversification strategy.
Originality/value
This research adds value to the research of environmental NGOs and gives suggestions to environmental NGO practitioners, in particular to those in emerging markets.
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Keywords
Xiting Wu, Qun CAO, Xiaoping Tan and Liang Li
This paper aims to examine the relationship between the audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability and environmental governance, as well as the internal…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between the audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability and environmental governance, as well as the internal mechanism of audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability that plays a role in national environmental governance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on city-level panel data from 2012 to 2015, this paper adopts a difference-in-difference model to examine the role of government audit in national governance from an environmental perspective. Furthermore, using a mediating effect model, the study sheds light on the internal mechanism of audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability that plays a role in national environmental governance.
Findings
This paper finds that: the implementation of the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability has significantly improved the water quality of the pilot area, but its effects on waste gas and smoke are not obvious; environmental supervision partly plays a mediating role in the improvement of regional environmental governance by the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability; the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability can complement the incentive mechanism of promotion. The older the local officials are, the more obvious the effect of the audit of outgoing leading officials’ natural resource accountability on the environmental quality of the pilot areas is.
Originality/value
This paper reveals the role of government audit from the perspective of environmental governance. It provides empirical evidence for policy regarding the audit of outgoing leading officials' natural resource accountability.
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Evelize Culpi Mann, Heitor Murilo Gomes, Amanda Jasmine Williamson and Manuel Castelo Branco
This study aims to investigate whether Brazilian companies have increased their reporting on biodiversity within the past decade and whether reporting practices are linked to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether Brazilian companies have increased their reporting on biodiversity within the past decade and whether reporting practices are linked to the government's stance on environmental protection, media coverage and industry biodiversity risk.
Design/methodology/approach
Using content analysis and ordinary least squares regression models, the authors examine sustainability reports from Brazilian listed and non-listed companies from 2010 to 2020.
Findings
This study’s empirical analysis indicates that companies have decreased their reporting on biodiversity over the decade. Findings suggest that biodiversity reporting is associated with the level of scrutiny from external constituents, such as industry biodiversity and the president's own public policy agenda and partially by media coverage.
Originality/value
The literature seems to lack an understanding of how political factors may drive social and environmental reporting practices, especially biodiversity reporting. This study addresses this issue by examining the relationship between the government's stance on environmental protection. By focusing on biodiversity reporting in an emerging country like Brazil, this study also generates insights into a highly impactful yet under-researched context.
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Qin Wang, Hui Gao, Fushuan Wen, Iain MacGill and Jiansheng Huang
The purpose of this paper is to overview the development of China's emission trading, which is transforming environmental policy measures from traditional command and control…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to overview the development of China's emission trading, which is transforming environmental policy measures from traditional command and control regulations to business‐led decision making within government initiated environmental markets, and investigates the main factors that affect China's policy making with regards to further climate changes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the authors' review of the literatures on emissions trading program in China and their critical analysis.
Findings
Initially China's environmental protection policies were focused principally upon the reduction of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions for improving air quality. Since the authorization of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, project‐based activities such as Clean Development Mechanism producing carbon credit developed rapidly. However, the implementation of carbon dioxide emission trading is still under discussion and research is much inferior to that of SO2 emission trading. The barriers of and suggestions for designing future emissions trading market are also discussed.
Originality/value
This review helps to raise awareness and understand possible scenarios for emission trading in China.
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Anitha Moosa and Feng He
This paper aims to explore how environmental management practices impact different dimensions of corporate sustainability. It also explores the mediating impact of environmental…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how environmental management practices impact different dimensions of corporate sustainability. It also explores the mediating impact of environmental regulation and reports on the relationship between environmental management practice and corporate sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
A brief focus group discussion and a preliminary test were conducted through a focused group meeting with industry experts before data were collected from senior management of 116 registered operations in the hospitality and tourism industry in the Maldives. To analyse the data, a mediation model is proposed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling.
Findings
Results showed that environmental management practices have a direct and positive effect on corporate sustainability. Furthermore, environmental regulation and reporting positively mediate the effect of environmental management practices on corporate sustainability. Among the sustainability dimensions, it is important to note that the social sustainability aspect has the highest impact, followed by the economic and environmental aspects of corporate sustainability.
Practical implications
Findings provide empirical evidence in understanding achieving corporate sustainability through environmental management practices. The study is practical for stakeholders and policymakers to follow through with the environmental regulations and be transparent on environmental reporting measures that impact overall sustainability.
Originality/value
This study serves as noteworthy research for stakeholders to evaluate against regulatory and reporting requirements for businesses they invest in the future. It adds value to the literature and attempts to advance environmental management and sustainability research in the context of small island developing states.
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Ivan Kovac, Ante Vuletic and Danijel Mlinarić
The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate environmental responsibility of Croatian road freight transport companies. Additionally, enterprises' ecological…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate environmental responsibility of Croatian road freight transport companies. Additionally, enterprises' ecological responsibility is established in relation to company size.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data was collected through a questionnaire. For this research, 150 Croatian road freight companies were randomly selected, of which 58 completed the questionnaire. Regression and variance analyses were conducted to analyse the data.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that the companies' level of ecological sustainability reflects their established organisational culture. Companies with more employees and higher revenues had a higher level of ecological responsibility.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the small sample size, the generalisability of the results is questionable. The results of the primary research confirmed that as the company size increased, so did its established organisational culture regarding ecological sustainability. A higher level of ecological sustainability would provide better financial results and other advantages for small companies.
Originality/value
The theoretical contribution of the paper is presented in the literature review, which provides a summary of the importance of establishing sustainable policy for transport companies. Due to the creation of the Croatian road freight market and pressures created by new competitors from the other member countries of European Union, Croatian road freight companies must understand the positive connection between ecological sustainability and an established organisational culture.
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Kusnikamal Taygashinova and Alfiya Akhmetova
The purpose of this paper is study the peculiarities of environmental controlling in the context of the implementation of the sustainable development strategy and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is study the peculiarities of environmental controlling in the context of the implementation of the sustainable development strategy and the systematization of methods, functions and tools, as well as consideration of the possibility of applying environmental controlling methods in the organization through the consideration of environmental costs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors solved the following problems. The authors defined the essence of the concept of “environmental controlling;” conducted an analysis of methods, functions and instruments of environmental controlling; investigated the possibility of accounting for environmental costs as an instrument of environmental controlling; and systematized approaches of using the tool of accounting for environmental costs at enterprises.
Findings
The approaches to accounting for environmental costs differ in the degree of integration into the existing accounting system and in the frequency of accounts handling (one-time or regular). One-time solutions to accounting for environmental costs (e.g. environmental design calculations) are calculations conducted independently of traditional accounting. Their advantage lies in the fact that they can be formed and used without affecting the existing cost accounting system. However, they generate additional costs and generally receive less recognition than integrated solutions. Accounting for environmental costs is an integrated part of the existing and regularly conducted accounting system.
Research limitations/implications
Accounting of environmental costs has broad prospects for use in enterprises as an environmental controlling instrument for the improvement of management efficiency and quality.
Originality/value
Accounting for environmental costs is necessary as an instrument of environmental controlling in order to obtain information on the enterprise interdependencies between costs, revenues, consumption of raw materials and energy as well as environmental protection measures. In addition, the consideration of environmental costs can serve companies as a source for the identification of the potential to reduce the cost of output products.
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Sui Pheng Low, Jun Ying Liu and Peng Wu
The Sino‐Singapore Tianjin Eco‐city Project, the agreement of which was signed in 2007, is an important milestone that would further cement ties between Singapore and the People's…
Abstract
Purpose
The Sino‐Singapore Tianjin Eco‐city Project, the agreement of which was signed in 2007, is an important milestone that would further cement ties between Singapore and the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Eco‐city Project will be used to showcase the latest green technologies adopted in buildings with a view to reducing the adverse effects of global warming, carbon emissions, and climate change; leading in the process to sustainable facilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the institutional compliance framework for transferring environmental sustainability regulations from Singapore to China.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines the current environmental sustainability regulations that are already in place in Singapore, with a view to possibly transfer these regulations as well as the supporting green technologies, codes and practices to the joint Sino‐Singapore Eco‐city Project in the PRC. The study proposes an understanding of the institutional compliance framework to facilitate this transfer.
Findings
There are existing statutory provisions within the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) in the PRC that encourage the use of solar and renewable energy with a view to fostering sustainable construction, including provisions dealing with water pollution. However, beyond these generic areas, it appears that statutory provisions within the MEP do not institutionalize the same level of details that can be found in Singapore relating to the conceptualization, design and construction of sustainable facilities. Hence, transfer of such provisions from Singapore to the Tianjin Eco‐city Project can be facilitated through an understanding of the institutional compliance framework from the Chinese side.
Research limitations/implications
The environmental sustainability regulations that are already in place in Singapore will be examined in the paper. The study explains the reasons why these regulations were implemented in Singapore, and the framework within which such provisions may be transferred to the Tianjin Eco‐city Project.
Practical implications
The paper observes that while the legal systems in both Singapore and the PRC may be different, it would be strategic and expedient for the Chinese partners in the Eco‐city joint project to familiarize themselves with the environmental sustainability regulations within Singapore's jurisdiction with a view to possibly adopting them in the PRC through the institutional compliance framework.
Originality/value
Singapore is probably the first and only country in the world to enact building regulations pertaining to environmental sustainability with attendant inputs from an appropriate Code for Environmental Sustainability of Buildings and the Green Mark Scheme. The successful completion of the Tianjin Eco‐city Project could provide a role model for further development of Eco‐cities in the world, leading to greater emphasis to be placed on sustainable facilities anchored on the institutional compliance framework.
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N. Mohan Das Gandhi, V. Selladurai and P. Santhi
Modelling of sustainable development is essential, as environmental protection is regarded as a top global priority in the twenty‐first century. The basic objective of this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Modelling of sustainable development is essential, as environmental protection is regarded as a top global priority in the twenty‐first century. The basic objective of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework, named the Four Forces model for diagnosing the process of sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
Michael Porter's Five Forces model serves as a starting‐point to derive the Four Forces model. The Four Forces model, which is developed based on Back Casting technique, shows the transformation process from current unsustainable development to future sustainable development through environmental degradation, greening force and greening process. These five major components are related based on cause and effect.
Findings
The paper reveals that a clear understanding of the transformation process and their integration is necessary for successful implementation of sustainable development projects, as the transformation is a continuous process. The Four Forces model is a generic and contribute towards a richer understanding of sustainable development process.
Research limitations/implications
The suggested conceptual model provides a holistic view of sustainable development and does not attempt to provide a detailed, step‐by‐step approach for implementing sustainable development in industries. This paper helps to initiate future studies in this area.
Originality/value
In line with Michael Porter's three generic competitive strategies, this study analysis various greening strategies and greening tools and also recommends the Green Productivity as a better tool for implementing sustainable development in industries. The model can be used as a framework for further development of a practical sustainable development system in industries.
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Mengjie Xi, Wei Fang and Taiwen Feng
Drawing upon social capital theory, this research aims to explore the influence of three dimensions of green intellectual capital (GIC) (i.e. green human capital [GHC], green…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon social capital theory, this research aims to explore the influence of three dimensions of green intellectual capital (GIC) (i.e. green human capital [GHC], green structural capital and green relational capital) on green supply chain integration (GSCI) (i.e. green supplier, internal and customer integration), and the mediating effect of supply chain transformational leadership (SCTL).
Design/methodology/approach
To verify the hypothesized relationships, the authors conduct hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping method with two-waved survey data collected from 317 Chinese manufacturing firms.
Findings
The findings suggest that both green structural and relational capital positively influence three dimensions of GSCI, while GHC only positively affects green internal and customer integration. In addition, SCTL mediates the impacts of green structural and relational capital on three dimensions of GSCI and mediates the impacts of GHC on green supplier and internal integration.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the GSCI literature and practice by deeming GIC as an intangible resource that can enhance GSCI and revealing the mediating role of SCTL.
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