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The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the development of a recovery-oriented training programme for mental health care-givers. It also considers the effectiveness of using participatory research methods that promote involvement of people with diverse expertise to co-produce this programme. It presents a rationale for developing recovery-oriented training, which employs blended learning, comprising face-to-face and e-learning.

A small advisory group consisting of professionals, experts-by-experience (service users) and -by-caring (care-givers) and an academic developed a blended learning programme about the recovery approach for mental health carer-givers. This paper details the participatory approach supported by an action research cycle that contributed to the design of the programme, and the specific impact of experiential knowledge on its development.

Reflections on the advisory group process are described that led to the co-production of the course. This leads to consideration of the value of using this research approach to develop a carer-focused programme. The content of the recovery-oriented training programme is presented which adopts blended learning. This leads to discussion of potential of this format to improve carers’ access to training.

It is proposed that this recovery-oriented course, building on a previous study, has the potential to positively influence outcomes for the training programme participants (the care-givers) and the person they support. It is suggested that blended learning may in part overcome some of the barriers carers experience to accessing and participating in traditional interventions. Reflections on the process of co-production underline the value of participatory research in designing this recovery-oriented course for carers.

The vast amounts of waste generated today threaten economies and societies due to high environmental and management costs. The aim is to investigate the short- and long-term patterns of municipal waste generation (MWG) in response to socio-economic and demographic growth variables at national and regional levels.

A panel data approach employing ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects (FE), random effects (RE), fully modified least squares (FMOLS) and error correction model (ECM) techniques. A sample of 28 European countries (2000–2020) and 44 European Union (EU) regions (2000–2018) were selected.

During periods of economic growth and higher employment rates, consumer confidence tends to increase, leading to elevated levels of consumer spending and consumption. Intensification in the production factors, specifically capital and employment, results in an upsurge in MWG, thereby creating a cycle where waste generation becomes deeply entrenched in the economic system in both the short and long terms. Rapid population growth, attributed to higher fertility rates, is associated with increased MWG. At the regional level, a double-aging process and a shift toward an aging population exert less pressure on MWG in both the short and long term. Promoting higher levels of environment-oriented human development yields various benefits, including the generation of greater knowledge spillovers, enhanced environmental literacy, a shift toward circular thinking and the promotion of greener entrepreneurship. Increased R&D expenditures facilitate the development of innovative waste reduction technologies, fostering improvements in waste management techniques, recycling processes and the utilization of sustainable materials.

The research examines the short- and long-term adjustments of MWG in response to changes in macroeconomic variables from low aggregation (countries) to high aggregation (regions). By analyzing the relationship between economic growth, urbanization, healthcare system quality, labor market functioning, demographic trends, educational level, technological advancement and MWG, the study fills a research gap and enhances understanding of waste management interventions. However, data availability and waste statistics accuracy should be considered. Future research could explore the relationship between macroeconomic variables and waste generation in sectors beyond MWG, such as industrial or construction waste, for a more comprehensive understanding of waste generation as a whole.

The positive correlation between economic activity levels and waste generation in both the short and long terms, emphasizes the criticality of investing in waste reduction and recycling infrastructure to mitigate landfill waste. The negative correlation between population density and waste generation stresses the importance of strategic waste facility placement in low-density areas. To effectively manage higher MWG, tailored waste collection systems and initiatives promoting healthy lifestyles are of immense importance. The positive relationship between employment rates and waste generation underscores the necessity of waste reduction programs that generate employment opportunities. The positive correlation between fertility rates and waste generation emphasizes the need for the expansion of extended producer responsibility programs to include products and materials specifically associated with families and child-rearing. Education campaigns and governmental support for research and development (R&D) in waste reduction technologies are also integral components of an effective waste management strategy.

The short- and long-term adjustments of MWG reacts to shifts in macroeconomic variables from low aggregation (countries) to high aggregation (regions). Previous research has neglected the long-term information contained in variables by not incorporating the lagged error correction term (ETM). Neglecting this aspect could result in imprecise estimates of the elasticities.

Construction materials mostly affect the environment during the first stages of their life cycle. Their placement during the construction stage is of equal importance as it affects their environmental impact during the stage of use and the final stage of demolition and rejection. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the environmental impact of different construction details, which are typically used for different city surfaces in Greece.

The analysis of the environmental impact of construction details is both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative analysis is mainly based on embodied energy calculations of different possibilities of placement. The qualitative analysis of the different construction details considers other environmental issues, such as the water cycle in cities and the possibility of reuse and recycling, which are strongly influenced by the way materials are attached to the building shell or general substrate. All the data are gathered from bibliographical sources.

For urban open spaces and flat roofed buildings, the placement of various materials with and without the use of cement‐based mortars reveals significant differences in the environmental impact. The same applies to building façades with the current construction (cement‐based mortars or synthetic resins) compared to the ventilated façade system.

Architects and designers can use the methodology and the findings of this study in order to carefully design the construction details of building façades and flat roofs, and urban open spaces.

The study points out the significance of the construction stage in the evaluation of the environmental impact of materials in Greece, where there is extensive use of cement mortars and concrete in the construction of the paving of urban open spaces.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are critical in the sustainability agenda, not only as catalysts for promoting sustainability practices but also because their activities have substantial social, economic and environmental impacts. Yet there is limited research that examines their sustainability performance. This paper aims to investigate the factors that are associated with sustainability performance in HEIs. Specifically, drawing from the stakeholder theory and exploiting Ullmann’s (1985) conceptual framework, this study examines the association between sustainability performance and stakeholder power, strategic posture and financial slack resources.

The authors draw the sample from the People & Planet University Green League Table for the period 2011–2019 and use the generalised estimating equations for the modelling approach.

This study finds that stakeholder power, in particular, funding grant income, tuition fee income and student and staff numbers, are positively associated with sustainability performance. In relation to strategic posture, this study finds that sustainability performance is negatively associated with governing body independence and gender diversity, and positively associated with internal structures. Finally, regarding financial slack resources, this study finds that surplus income (staff costs) is positively (negatively) associated with sustainability performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research contributes to several existing literature focusing on the not-for-profit sector by documenting, for the first time, the role of stakeholder power, strategic posture and slack financial resources on sustainability performance.

The paper includes relevant implications for HEI managers and regulators for promoting sustainability.

These results contribute to the literature on the factors influencing sustainability performance.

The purpose of this paper is to inform the business management literature that focuses on the perceptions of business professionals towards the multidimensional and highly complex concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

This study is based on a sample of 118 Greek business executives/middle managers having different functional positions. A questionnaire based on the works of Quazi and O’Brien (2000) and Welford et al. (2007) was designed and used for data collection.

Key findings denote occupational health and safety, benign environmental management as well as responsible production methods as the top CSR priorities. Two different CSR viewpoints emerged from the factor analysis reflecting a pragmatic and a more socially responsive interpretation of corporate responsibility. Cluster analysis confirmed such contrasting perspectives allowing the partition of data in distinctive groups according to the relative inclination on either of the identified viewpoints. Similarity measures obtained from cluster analysis also verified the different CSR positions.

The paper explores CSR perceptions, as predictor factors of CSR performance, in three different groups of Greek business professionals. It contributes to the literature of CSR perspectives from South-East European countries where there is a distinct lack of empirical studies on managerial attitudes.

The chapter aims to analyse the influence of the board of directors on transparency and integrity in hybrid organisations like state-owned enterprises. The effect of several characteristics of directors on the board’s effectiveness was assessed. The empirical analysis was based on 60 Italian listed and non-listed state-owned enterprises. Each enterprise’s website was individually examined and coded to obtain two self-constructed indexes on transparency and integrity, and a regression model was created to test the hypotheses.

The ‘knowledge structure’ of interlocking directors and board compensation were found to be both positively related to the level of commitment among state-owned enterprises to transparency and integrity. Skill and gender diversity on the board had no significant impact. The analysis used data from a one-year period but dealt with hidden and complex phenomena like corruption. Future longitudinal studies and qualitative approaches would provide more comprehensive insights into the relationship between the board of directors, transparency and integrity over time.

Policymakers and all those involved in the appointment of directors to state-owned enterprises should be aware that some features of board members may affect the levels of organisational transparency and integrity. The chapter contributes to the literature on governance of state-owned enterprises, emphasising the board’s role and its effectiveness in sustaining transparency and integrity.

The discipline of business process management (BPM) is challenged by investigating how work is performed in organizations while simultaneously recognizing preeminent environmental issues. Although organizations have become more open to the ecological impact of business processes through Green BPM, research in this field and guidance for practitioners remains relatively limited. Therefore, this study aims to extend and translate the conventional perspective on business process maturity towards green business process maturity levels.

The authors bridged product-focussed and process-focussed environmental management practices by surveying ecolabels against theoretical capability areas for business process maturity. Since ecolabels are instruments to develop environmental-friendly products and services, the authors looked at the underlying processes to produce such green outcomes. By surveying 89 ecolabel organizations, the authors had indirectly access to an international set of companies, operating in distinct industries and producing a wide variety of green products and services.

The authors statistically uncovered a classification of four groups of ecolabels based on the process capabilities, each representing a distinct green business process maturity level. The four levels are “Green BP immaturity”, “Green BPL maturity”, “Green BPM maturity” and “Green BPO maturity” and align with well-established concepts in the business process literature and profession.

Scholars are encouraged to elaborate on the identified maturity levels in order to build and test a green business process maturity model, whereas practitioner-related advice is provided based on possible green business process maturity journeys towards excellence.

In the Covid-19 pandemic era, corporate responsibility and accountability for maintaining employee health and safety, particularly from this pernicious virus, have become a matter of major social and economic importance. From an accountability through action perspective, this study aims to set out to evaluate the potential occupational health and safety accountability consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This paper is based upon purposive sampling of several sets of publicly available data including published research literature addressing corporate social responsibility and accountability, and the literature more specifically addressing occupational health and safety (OHS) and its reporting. Also included are recent Web-based reports and articles concerning Covid-19-related OHS government and industry sponsored guidelines for employers and their workplaces across the UK and Australia.

The findings of this research highlight that firstly, the extant literature on OHS has been predominantly functionalist in its approach and that accountability through action provides an opportunity to make employers more visibly accountable for their response to Covid-19. Secondly, the paper highlights that despite recent progress on OHS issues significant concerns remained in the pre-Covid-19 era and that emerging regulations and legal obligations on employees have the potential to make OHS issues a prominent part of corporate social responsibility research.

Disease and mental health statistics reveal the potential significance of their expansion in the Covid-19 environment, and regulatory and legal liability concerns emerge as potential drivers of renewed corporate as well as researcher attention to OHS issues. Implications for the emergence of a broader range of accountability forms and visibilities are also canvassed.

Literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has given much attention to the impact of CSR initiatives on business performance. However, managing customers’ attributions to the company’s social activities are also needed. This study aims to extend the existing knowledge by examining the role of social justice as a moderating variable in the relationships among corporate brand image, CSR motive, corporate brand trust and loyalty.

The research data were collected from a sample of 710 respondents in Indonesia through an online survey. The variables used in this study’s questionnaire were adapted from previous studies. The focus of the survey was a COVID-19-related social activity conducted by the biggest private telecommunication company in Indonesia. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

The results showed that social justice moderated the relationship between corporate brand image and CSR motive. Also, social justice that revealed fairness in social life could influence how customers respond on company social activities and thus create corporate brand trust and loyalty.

This study focused on only one company and one type of CSR activity (i.e. philanthropy) that might limit its generalizability. Future studies can focus on other types of CSR activities from various companies and industries.

In designing their social activities, companies must consider the importance of social justice. Companies need to address customers’ concerns toward social and society problems, especially to overcome social, environmental or health problems. Hereinafter, companies must design CSR activities that establish and accentuate their value motives by creating communication through media and public relations activities to symbolize their high concern for social problems or disasters.

Most previous studies consider the outcome of social activities and their impact on business performance. This study focuses on the impact of corporate brand image and social justice (as an individual characteristics) on CSR (social activities) and how it can further enhance business performance (corporate brand trust, corporate brand image, loyalty) and enrich CSR research in emerging economies.