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The purpose of this study is to assess the level of adjustment of the activities of health tourism and hospitality enterprises to the sustainable development criteria developed by the global sustainable tourism council.

The main research method used in this study was a diagnostic survey – an in-depth interview. This research was conducted among managers of 18 of the largest enterprises that conduct tourism and wellness activities in Polish health resorts.

The analysis of the research results indicated that only every other surveyed health resort entity implemented a sustainable development system or program. Most health resort entities undertook initiatives to support the local community in the field of education, health, sanitary safety and mitigating the negative effects of climate change. The respondents also unequivocally stated that they used good practices in promoting cultural heritage among health resort guests. Almost all of the analyzed enterprises applied solutions aimed at saving natural resources, i.e. reducing unnecessary purchases and saving electricity and water. Participation in programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and means of transport usage was very rarely declared.

It is recommended to include environmental issues in the business models of health tourism entities, e.g. by including them in the strategy, including mission, communicating pro-environmental goals and actions to stakeholders, and applying environmental management systems and concepts.

The research problem is a strong point of the work, as the issue of sustainable development of tourist organizations has rarely been discussed so far. Health resorts were also not considered the subject of research in this area. In this research, the authors assessed the degree of compliance of health tourism enterprises with the requirements of sustainable development, which is a contribution to the science system.

The aim of this paper is to explain the strategies and activities of a main technical University in Iran (Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT)) toward sustainable development goals.

In this paper, three main strategies of AUT to achieve sustainable developments goals in engineering education are explained. In addition, the main obstacles of these programs including the budget limitation for implementation of main activities related to sustainable development and difficulties in official procedure for the change of educational system is also explained.

The study of strategies and activities of a university can provide useful information for other universities (especially in developing countries) that like to promote their activities toward sustainable development goals. According to the final results, international education of engineering students and teachers, especially those who are living in developing countries, have an important role in promoting their environmentally aware attitudes, skills and behavior patterns help their societies make the transition to sustainable development.

As earlier mentioned, these experiences are useful for the universities that like to promote their education system toward sustainable development. In addition, it is necessary to think about solving the main obstacle of these activities especially in the universities of developing countries. Further, action should be taken toward international cooperation of universities in order to improve their educational system, which will be suitable for the new millennium.

This paper describes the strategies, activities and main obstacles of a main technical University that has adopted the strategy “pioneer of sustainable development” in Iran for the next decade. The paper mainly focuses on experiences regarding these activities.

The growing public concern that private corporations should not only earn reasonable profits and provide fair returns to shareholders, but also operate as good corporate citizens and socially responsible organizations, has spread to the largest transnational corporations (TNCs), and seems to have been taken up by companies in both richer and poorer countries. Sustainable development calls for people and organizations to meet their present needs in such a way that does not hinder future generations’ ability to do the same. Many TNCs are creating voluntary environmental programs to manage more effectively the environmental impacts of their plants, facilities, and operations. These initiatives are especially important in developing countries with hazardous environmental conditions, social conditions, and non‐existent or poorly implemented regulatory protection.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) should play a fundamental role in achieving the international 2030 sustainable development (SD) agenda. Quality education is the fourth of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and one of the targets related to this is to ensure that by 2030 all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote SD. Therefore, the SDGs provide a motive for HEIs to integrate SD concepts into their day-to-day practices. This study aims to introduce a framework for HEIs’ sustainable development assessment. Such a framework guides HEIs and educational leaders to support their countries’ commitments to achieving the SDGs.

This paper presents the results of a case study analysis of the role and successful techniques of HEIs in achieving SD in three countries, namely, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Primary data was collected by semi-structured interviews with three Cairo University officials, while secondary data was collected by reviewing the universities' official websites, reports, publications and related papers. This study introduces a novel framework for HEIs' SD analysis and assessment, which guides HEIs and educational leaders to support SD to fulfill their countries' commitments to achieving the SDGs. This framework is based on the following five categories: strategic direction and institutional working practices, supporting students, supporting university staff competencies, supporting society's stakeholders and networking and sustainable campus. Consideration is given to the potential role of HEIs to support SD in each of these areas.

Cairo University could learn from the novel and pioneer practices of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and the University of Tokyo to fill in the gaps it has in different roles. It can also put more effort into adopting the suggested higher education programs of Egypt's Vision 2030.

This paper is limited to a case analysis comparing three countries, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Second, this study has not considered school education, which is equally essential in countries' SD.

HEIs can use the framework and the findings in this paper to evaluate their current roles in supporting SD, identify the gaps and take actions accordingly to address their weaknesses.

The paper compares three universities, one in each of the case study countries. It draws conclusions that identify ways in which the paper's framework and findings can guide SD practice in HEIs internationally, especially those in the developing world.

The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of environmental development in view of the Islamic ethical responsibilities, and the extent to which businesses should be involved in environment development activities will be addressed.

This study integrates the mainstream and Islamic positions on the subject of the environment and sustainable development based on published literature and argues that whichever definition of environmental development one might subscribe to eventually each arrives at an environmental concern. It takes inspiration from the verses of the Holy Quran and ethics of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in respect of environment and business that indicate a way out of this impasse.

This study shows that the Islamic approach is more agreeable to environmental protection, and the issues associated with environmental and sustainable development have moral, ethical and social responsibilities, and the businesses should have on intense commitment to Islamic ethics in justice and welfare of human beings. Because of environmental ethics in Islam, and the value chain of suppliers through customers, businesses should be aware of the environmental aspects and impacts of their companies.

This paper enhances the understanding of Islamic ethical responsibilities in business, environmental and sustainable development and attempts to show attributes of the various levels of behaviour of an organisation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine sustainability-related challenges in the two Western Balkan countries – Albania and Kosovo. It discusses the opportunities of local higher education institutions (HEIs) taking responsibility to tackle these challenges by providing professional development through science–society collaboration in innovative training sessions for university educators.

A literature review on actual challenges and transformations of higher education for sustainable development (ESD) in Albania and Kosovo will be the starting point of this paper. Subsequently, experiences from the on-going European Union (EU) project “ConSus” will be used to draw both a competence framework for ESD within science–society collaboration based on the training sessions, as well as possible scaling opportunities.

The paper draws possible approaches of training sessions for university educators promoting sustainable development and science–society collaboration in higher education. They will be concluded by addressing possible scaling opportunities of the project’s activities.

The experiences of the ConSus training sessions will outline competences of university educators in ESD gained in relation to transdisciplinary collaboration in research and teaching.

The paper will contribute to ESD approaches in higher education in Albania and Kosovo. Furthermore, scaling possibilities will be discussed to systematically implement ESD approaches also in higher hierarchical levels and other HEIs.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of farm-to-table (FTT) activities in agritourism towards sustainable development based on three agritourism farms in Brunei.

The study is based on qualitative data using semi-structured interviews with 23 participants involved in the management of the farms. In-depth interviews are considered the most appropriate approach to gain the unexplored perspectives of the agriculture community at the three agritourism farms.

The study found that FTT activities imparted in agritourism contribute towards sustainable development economically, socially and environmentally. FTT leads to the establishment of small medium and micro enterprises, which, in turn, creates employment for the local people. It also plays a part in preserving the ethno-culinary heritage of indigenous food, promoting food localism and sustainable agriculture. These findings suggest that FTT activities play an important role in revitalizing the local community. The outcome of this empirical research may enable planners to better formulate regional policy based on a balanced approach taking into account the three dimensions of sustainability towards agritourism development. From a theoretical standpoint, this study adds value to the literature by identifying the contributions of FTT activities towards sustainable development emphasising on the consumption of local ethnic food and food localism.

The contributions of agritourism for local farms has not been extensively discussed especially in Brunei’s local agriculture industry. This study will provide evidence that FTT activities contribute towards a moderate form of food activism; one that re-forges the disrupted linkages between people, nature and cultural heritage.

在农业旅游可持续发展中农场到餐桌活动的作用

本文的目的是利用三个汶莱农业旅游农场来评估农场到餐桌 (FTT) 活动在发展农业旅游可持续中的作用。

该研究基于对参与农场管理的 23 名参与者进行半结构化访谈的定性数据。 深入访谈被认为是获得三个农业旅游农场农业社区未探索观点的最合适方法。

结果表明, 农业旅游中的 FTT 活动有助于经济、社会和环境的可持续发展。 FTT 导致中小型企业的建立进而为当地人民创造就业机会。 它还在保护民族烹饪文化遗产的土著食品、促进食物本地化和可持续农业方面发挥作用。 这些发现表明 FTT 活动在振兴当地社区方面发挥着重要作用。 这项实证研究的结果可使规划者能够更好地制定基于平衡方法的区域政策, 同时考虑到农业旅游可持续性发展的三个维度。 理论来说, 本研究通过确定 FTT 活动对可持续发展的贡献, 强调当地民族食品的消费和食品地方主义, 为文献增加了价值。

农业旅游对当地农场的贡献尚未得到广泛讨论, 尤其是在文莱当地的农业产业中。 这项研究提供的证据表明 FTT 活动有助于适度形式的食物激进主义; 一种重建人、大自然和文化遗产之间被破坏的联系的方法。

El propósito de este documento es evaluar el papel de las actividades de agroturismo «de la granja a la mesa» (FTT, por sus siglas en inglés) hacia el desarrollo sostenible con base en tres granjas de agroturismo en Brunéi.

El estudio se basa en datos cualitativos mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas con 23 participantes involucrados en la gestión de las granjas. Las entrevistas en profundidad se consideran el enfoque más apropiado para obtener las perspectivas inexploradas de la comunidad agrícola en las tres granjas de agroturismo.

Los resultados sugieren que las actividades FTT impartidas en el agroturismo contribuyen al desarrollo sostenible desde el punto de vista económico, social y medioambiental. Estas actividades conducen a la creación de pequeñas y medianas empresas y microempresas, lo que a su vez crean empleos para la población local. También desempeña un papel en la preservación del patrimonio etno-culinario de los alimentos indígenas, promoviendo el localismo alimentario y la agricultura sostenible. Estas conclusiones sugieren que las actividades FTT desempeñan un papel importante en la revitalización de la comunidad local. El resultado de esta investigación empírica puede permitir a los planificadores formular mejor una política regional con base en un enfoque equilibrado que tenga en cuenta las tres dimensiones de la sostenibilidad hacia el desarrollo del agroturismo. Desde un punto de vista teórico, este estudio agrega valor a la literatura al identificar las contribuciones de las actividades FTT al desarrollo sostenible, haciendo hincapié en el consumo de alimentos étnicos locales y el localismo alimentario.

Las contribuciones del agroturismo para las granjas locales no se han discutido ampliamente, especialmente en la industria agrícola local de Brunéi. Este estudio proporciona pruebas de que las actividades FTT contribuyen a una forma moderada de activismo alimentario que restablece los vínculos perturbados entre las personas, la naturaleza y el patrimonio cultural.

This paper seeks to create the context within which research into how higher education institutions (HEIs) might engage with the goal of sustainable development. In particular, the paper outlines the context in which papers in a special section on this topic might be understood as well as developing propositions for how a research focus might emerge in this area. The paper, therefore, seeks to contribute to discussions about whether, under which circumstances and how social accountability and engagement processes focusing on sustainable development might trigger, frame and/or promote change processes in HEIs. The papers that compose this special section are also introduced and future research avenues offered.

Literature review

Despite a dearth of literature in the area of HEI responsiveness to sustainable development (and leaving side education/learning and research for sustainable development), numerous points of intersection exist. Foremost among these is the role of HEIs as shapers of the values of society (and a place for debates about these values). In addition, HEIs are substantive organisations with sustainable development impacts. The paper suggests, however, that understanding HEIs and self-consciously seeking change in their activities has to seriously engage with the characterisation of these organisations as loosely coupled systems.

The paper discusses the distinctive characteristics of HEIs and considers the higher education context as a challenging case to explore the capacity of social accountability and stakeholder engagement to foster change towards the goal of sustainable development.

The purpose of this research paper is to explore the understanding of sustainable development and sustainability reporting concepts among Malaysian local authorities' personnel.

The research involved interviews with 23 respondents from 16 selected councils in Malaysia. Interview results were analysed by using the interpretive textual analysis.

The meaning of the sustainable development concept is quite broad from the local authority's perspective in Malaysia. Local authorities' personnel view sustainable development as: societalist, ecologist and individualist. Only staff directly involved in the sustainable development activity implementation understood the meaning of the sustainable development concept. The respondents indicated the importance of educating people on the awareness of sustainable development in their understanding on this concept. Consistent with the western values, 13 councils (81 per cent) agreed with the definition by GRI.

The research is restricted to Malaysian local authorities and is descriptive in nature. The findings are limited to case studies in several states, thus generalizing the results is not possible at this stage.

There is a deeper appreciation of where local authority personnel gain their understanding of sustainable development issues, and how they participate in the discourse around sustainable development.

Very little research has been undertaken into how local authority personnel gain their knowledge, either about sustainable development and sustainability reporting or about their views on the subject. The research attempts to fill this gap and the way for similar work to be undertaken overseas. Accordingly, this paper calls for further discussion on local authorities' role in achieving sustainable development and on the public sector interpretation of sustainable development in general.

Following the scarcity of studies in the developing countries, particularly Africa, on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable community development, this paper intends to examine the case of a major cement company, WAPCO plc, and its host communities.

A total of 15 CSR factors covering the three elements of sustainable development (economic, social and environment) were adopted, and with data extracted from the company's annual reports the contributions of WAPCO to sustainable development in the host communities in Nigeria were analysed.

Analysis of 15 CSR factors shows that WAPCO has gone beyond assistance and community development per se to sustainable development in the host communities; its recent inclusion as a member of Lafarge SA may have attributed to this. However, the position of WAPCO seems not to be clear in the area of social and environmental reporting, and codes of conduct on bribery and corruption. Some areas such as health seem not to be given priority in the WAPCO's CSR expenditure. Further, WAPCO's CSR activities are observed to be directly related with its turnover; however, CSR as a ratio of turnover is less than 0.5 per cent throughout the study period.

The limitation of this study lies in the fact that although the firm used as a case study accounted for over half of the output in the industry, this study is based on a single firm in the cement manufacturing industry. Besides, data extracted from the company's annual reports are taken as given. Thus, caution needs to be exercised in the interpretation and generalisation of the results and conclusions/recommendations.

WAPCO and polluting firms in general should devote more resources to CSR activities. Besides, there is the need to design a clear policy/strategy and enforcement mechanism in the area of social and environmental reporting, and codes of conduct on bribery and corruption. The area of health needs to be given priority in a firm's CSR expenditure and regulations.

The study adopts both theoretical and empirical approaches to analyse the contributions of a firm (which generates negative externalities) to sustainable development of its host communities so as to forestall crisis between the two stakeholders. To the authors' knowledge, no previous study in a developing continent such as Africa has taken such an approach to analyse the case of a firm in the cement industry.