Search results

The purchasing power of public sector organizations can be used to promote strategic policy objectives such as sustainability, innovation, and the concept of circular economy (CE). In Denmark, total greenhouse gas emissions from public procurement (PP) activities comprise approximately 12 million tons CO₂eq/year. Thus, if sustainability criteria and CE are considered in PP, there is a potential for environmental savings and for driving innovation toward circularity. Directive 2014/24/EU on PP makes it possible to include sustainability criteria or CE in public tenders. In order to aid this process, the case company Vraa Dampvaskeri has, together with researchers from Aalborg University, developed a guide for sustainable PP focusing on workwear and laundry services. In this chapter, we explore how this guide has been used in practice. This includes a consideration of the way in which such a guide can aid the process of setting sustainable and circular criteria in public tenders, thus supporting a transition to CE. Although the guide is now supported by national criteria for textiles in the Danish Partnership for Green PP, these tools cannot stand alone, as their use by PP officers is voluntary. Market engagement is imperative for inclusion of sustainability and CE in tenders, and the involvement of user groups is essentially important.

Purpose – This chapter develops the case for a global Greenscape. It introduces the green global marketplace (Greenscape) to better understand the global green market.Design/methodology/approach – The chapter introduces current green market practices and adopts case study methodology to present three distinct green cases related to renewable energy, process technology and wastewater recycling and their international market activities. The chapter offers discussion on findings and incorporates the novel technique of discourse analysis using Leximancer 3.0.Findings – The case shows how the Greendex Report (2012) positions Brazil, India, China and Russia at the top of the markets for green product penetration. The developed nations of USA, France and Canada make up the bottom rankings. The chapter finds essential elements for creating the global Greenscape and marketing of green technologies.Research limitations/implications (if applicable) – Empirical research testing success pathways and destination opportunities is desirable.Practical implications (if applicable) – The ‘success and failure criteria’ identify how planning, patent and partnerships are essential for successful entry. Specific market research on G(reen) markets, market information, marketing functions for market entry and market diffusion for renewable products and process technologies such as supply chain elements, and how these interrelate with achieving sustainability goals is essential for successful entry.Originality/value of chapter – The chapter offers a novel and original approach to international green market penetration and offers analysis related to the new world BRIC countries that have been little explored.

The environmental performance of organizations has come under public policy limelight since the phenomenal increase of natural resource degradation and industrial waste. Thus, green concepts have been put forward, but the implementation of green practices faces many barriers and challenges. These barriers require attention as organizational practices are negatively affecting the environment leading to global warming and climate change. Therefore, this chapter systematically identifies four internal barriers including inadequate management commitment and support, insufficient technology competence and infrastructure, financial constraints, the uncertainty of economic benefits, and eight sub barriers within an organization concerning green concepts implementation. Moreover, this chapter also identifies four external barriers including lack of stakeholder's interest, inadequate environmental administrative support, scarce academic research, and lack of green collaborative practices, and eight sub barriers outside an organizational context concerning green concept implementation. The barriers in this research were identified by reviewing the existing literature on the topic. This chapter advances the green literature by identifying multiple barriers and challenges to the successful implementation of green concepts in organizations. This is of significance as if these barriers are tackled strategically, it would reduce environmental degradation problems and help make financial gains. Moreover, this research can help managers understand the key barriers to green concept implementation and provide guidance to them when attempting to implement green practices in their organizations. This research would also motivate researchers to extend further investigation on how to overcome such barriers and find out strategies to mitigate the barriers to green concept implementation to effectively address environmental issues.

This chapter stands for justification of growing demand for supporting new theoretical and methodological approaches in development of an actual green economy’s financial framework taking into consideration modern growing risks in the ecological, economic, social, and geopolitical environments. A notable increase in environmental expenditures of both national economies and international financial institutions is determined by the global state of the economy. The climate change has been caused by escalating the energy supply struggle, the nature exhaustion, and the need for providing balance to the market stating green economy regulators. The main aim of this chapter is to study the trends and the key state green finance regulation points. The research goal could be achieved through highlighting the nature of green finance and its framework; studying the concept of green finance and innovative financial tools’ development, providing green economy’s development; and spotting trends and imperatives of regional regulation of green finance. This chapter highlights the necessity for implementing complex systemic and methodologic approaches in making the green finance framework, summarizing leading practices in green funding and green economy’s funds raising, considering limits in green finance tools’ utilization in current conditions, strengthening the power of both federal and regional authorities in solving financial problems of energy saving, and extending the practices of companies and institutions’ green financial tools’ utilization. The necessity for a green sustainable development across the globe has driven this research to use different types of instruments to point out the benefits of such a development. In addition, green finance state regulation tools have been proposed.

Economic and market-based instruments are not “the” answer for nature-based solutions (NBS) in cities, but they are “part” of the answer. Regulatory instruments are needed when specific behaviors must be avoided. Voluntary instruments may be effective, especially at the local scale, but do not often guarantee the pursued performance result. Economic instruments, if well designed, implemented, and used, often have a comparative advantage in terms of efficiency and performance. They are also a source of funding for financing NBS. Too many policy experts and decision-makers are ready to propose public expenditure and subsidies, including for urban policies, and for policies in favor of natural capital, ecosystems services, and biodiversity. Yet, they too often forget to indicate where the revenues to finance the initiatives must come from, however excellent and ambitious they might be. Without using also economic instruments in the policy portfolio, many objectives for sustainable cities will be much more difficult to achieve, especially in the perspective of the Paris Agreement on climate change and of the UN Agenda 2030 with its Sustainable Development Goals.