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Since the 1970s, the sustainable development was developed from science and environmental crusade. Since then, there were many programs done in the field but not named as “Sustainable Development.” The environments have affected because of the process of the development which was noticed by the world community. Malaysia has made a commitment to the 2030 Agenda in September 2015 for the future of mother earth. Despite the increasing attention toward sustainable development and circular economy across the world, understanding of the potential sustainability synergy among developing countries remains sluggish. This chapter therefore briefly discusses the development of circular economy within developed and developing countries. The chapter then narrowed the discussion toward Malaysian practices of the circular economy. Malaysia also recorded among the countries that faced waste management issues in Asia. The detailed discussion includes Malaysian acceptance and initiatives in reaching a circular economy within the past years, present, and future. The discussion surrounds the circular economy practiced by Malaysian industrial players as well as government's initiatives in encouraging and educating Malaysian toward embracing the idea of circular economy and sustainable consumption. As most countries embrace green technologies, Malaysia has taken proactive steps toward adopting green technology. Among the four main policy priorities are energy, environment, economy, and social, the key to green technology in driving the country's economy while promoting sustainable development. In fact, the major economic drivers of the Malaysian economy involve industrial activities such as palm oil, mining, and manufacturing, which are now beginning to take steps toward the development of green technology development. The application of green technology can provide a balance between economic development and environmental preservation as well as solutions to climate change issues. The initiative aims to make Malaysia one of the best countries in the world with sustainable economic growth, innovation, and prosperous citizens by 2050.

Section 6.1 explores the prerequisites for the formation and features of the development of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Republic of Belarus, which is a complex of scientifically grounded directions for solving national problems that are closely interrelated with world development. During the years of the state sovereignty of Belarus, three national strategies of sustainable development were developed and adopted by the government. The strategic goal of sustainable development in the latter national strategy is to ensure high living standards of the population and conditions for the harmonious development of the individual through the transition to a highly efficient economy based on knowledge and innovation, while maintaining a favorable environment for current and future generations. The objectives of sustainable development, defined in the strategy for the first five years, are detailed in the National Action Plan for the Development of a Green Economy in the Republic of Belarus until 2020.

In Section 6.2, it is noted that the green economy is becoming a new engine of growth, contributes to the creation of decent jobs, and is a vital factor in the eradication of poverty and destitution. The main factors of the transition to a green economy and the main directions of its development in the Republic of Belarus are outlined.

In Section 6.3 the features of the concept of circular economy and the formation of business models for its implementation are analyzed. The study concluded that the concept of sustainable development is a theoretical model of the desired future of mankind, and the green and circular economies provide very specific projects for the practical implementation of the sustainable development paradigm.

Perhaps the weakest dimension of the ‘triple bottom line’ understanding of sustainable development has been the ‘economic’ dimension. Much of the thinking about the appropriate ‘political economy’ to underpin sustainable development has been either utopian (as in some ‘green’ political views) or ‘business as usual’ approaches. This chapter suggests that ‘ecological modernisation’ is the dominant conceptualisation of ‘sustainable development’ within the United Kingdom and illustrates this by looking at some key ‘sustainable development’ policy documents from the UK Government. Although critical of the reformist ‘policy telos’ of ecological modernisation, supporters of more radical version of sustainable development also need to be aware of the strategic opportunities of this policy discourse. In particular, the chapter suggests that the discourse of ‘economic security’ ought to be used as a way of articulating a radical, robust and principled understanding of sustainable development, which offers a normatively compelling and policy-relevant path to outline a ‘green political economy’ to underpin sustainable development.

The main objective of this chapter is to figure out various challenges emerging, or transition economies face in fostering sustainable finance. In this regard, extensive review of the extant and relevant literature is conducted with specification of time range, online database, and keywords. The findings suggest the various financing barriers experienced by emerging and transition economies in implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Furthermore, this chapter triggers further debate on green financing initiatives that can help in dealing with the challenges of sustainable finance. It is found that green financing initiatives offer significant solutions in emerging and transition economies. In addition, this chapter provides policy implications to academia, practitioners, financial institutions, and government agencies to promote sustainable finance.

Emerging markets are said to have sustained relatively well in the recent global crisis. There are several factors that help explain this popular view, such as, for example, perceived separation from key international financial centres. Still a lot is to be digested in the crisis aftermath with immediate implications for financial markets and real economy. This chapter offers a unique insight into dynamics within transition economies via an extended blended fiscal–monetary policy rules model with possibility of foreign reserves targeting and foreign currency-denominated debt dynamics. Calibration is based on actual data and is done under various targets and financial risk conditions. Prudent monetary policy and fiscal policy initiatives within current context drive the choice of targets. That may help dampen negative impacts of the crisis and thwart potential currency run. This chapter advances three possible post-crisis scenarios, each with unique solution for reserves, exchange rate, sustainable debt and output levels. Categorizing between net exporters and net importers based on countries' external positions, group-specific results are derived. While both groups are susceptible to exchange-rate risk affected by a multitude of shocks due to their fragile financial system, net importers risk high inflation, but net exporters over-borrowing. This chapter contributes to the literature on global financial crisis, macroeconomic policy, and role of nominal targets and foreign reserves in emerging markets.

This chapter will discuss understandings of forms of sustainable political economy within the context of sustainability in the community. Essentially, it will examine the issues which emerge when a community favours a green economic model within the context of the now largely discredited neo-liberal framework that never valued notions of sustainability, and is now largely in crisis due to the market decline and ‘credit crunch’. In addition, the section will outline the significance of community-based political economy for the development of sustainable forms of justice. A sustainable form of political economy incorporates particular concerns, such as ‘the geographical scope of production for local needs, and the exposing and combating the institutions and power structures that lead to poverty and lack of local control’ (Kennet & Heinemann, 2006, p. 78). Under the neo-liberal system, a dichotomy existed between community development and the dominant, yet ultimately unsustainable, growth-based form of political economy.

Adopting an EU policy lens, this chapter primarily addresses the proposed pivotal role of firm-level innovation capability (FLIC) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a stimulant of sustainable development (SD) and green growth in Ireland/Wales. The chapter specifically examines the scale and scope of the green economy (GE), and considers the importance of organizational inherent “green” innovation capabilities (GICs) to achieve it. Underpinning the study is the methodology and concept of utilizing a facilitated cross-border multi-stakeholder learning network to enable knowledge transfer and exchange practices to flourish between partners, acting as a significant predictor of the development of SME GICs structures. Specifically, against the backdrop of the Green Innovation and Future Technologies (“GIFT” hereafter) INTERREG 4A Project, the research assesses how academic–industry partner exchange and inter-group learning and cooperation facilitates the development of GICs in smaller enterprises to realize a sustainable smart green economy in Ireland.