Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

Villabruna, Vinicius Elias; Hluszko, Cleiton; Rossi, Daiane; Barros, Murillo Vetroni; Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee; Lermen, Fernando Henrique

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-07-2023-0222

Seaports are vital in facilitating sustainable development, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors significantly impact an organization’s performance. Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate barriers and strategies of green investments to promote ESG practices within the seaport sector.Design/methodology/approachTo fulfill this aim, a systematic literature review, interpretive structural modeling and the matrix of cross-impact multiplications were applied to classification analysis.Findings12 barriers were prioritized and categorized by experts in a focus group to optimize efforts and define the materiality of these barriers in implementing ESG strategies within seaport companies.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study provide an alternative approach for ESG management in the context of seaports that can be applied in different regions by experts' opinion assessment.Originality/valueNo prior studies assessed the barriers and strategies for green investments in ESG from the port sector perspective.

Ali, Minhaj; Kirikkaleli, Dervis

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-09-2023-0310

In order to achieve sustainable development objectives, safeguard the ecosystem, combat global warming and preserve biodiversity for a more sustainable and secure future, the ecological footprint (EF) must be reduced. Therefore, embracing holistic methods, emphasizing renewable energy (RN) and environmental taxes (ET) is crucial. Therefore, the present study aims to capture the effect of ET and RN on EF in Germany.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this aim, the novel Fourier-based Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ADL) cointegration and the time and frequency-based connections among the variables are investigated in this work throughout the 1994–2021 time span using the wavelet analytic methods, including wavelet power spectrum (WPS) and wavelet coherence (WC) methods, respectively.FindingsThe study’s results express that (1) RN, ET and EF are cointegrated in the long run; (2) EF and RN have volatility; (3) RN use in Germany prevents environmental deterioration and (4) ET decreases EF.Practical implicationsThe research findings imply that Germany needs rigorous environmental restrictions and enforcement of alternate energy sources for energy use plans and sustainable production objectives.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, the effect of RN and ET on EF in Germany has not been comprehensively explored by using newly developed econometrics techniques and a single dataset. Therefore, the study provides important policy implementations for the German government and is also likely to open debate on the concept.

Nguyen, Van Cam Thi; Le, Hoi Quoc

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-09-2023-0325

This study is intended to analyze the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, technological innovation, renewable energy consumption and financial development on carbon dioxide emissions in emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachThe present study adopts the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration technique for the annual data collection of Vietnam from 1990 to 2020.FindingsThe results of the study unveil that renewable energy consumption, the interaction between renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure and financial development have significant predictive power for carbon dioxide emissions. In the long term, renewable energy consumption, export and population growth reduce CO2 emissions, whereas the interaction between renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure and financial development increases CO2 emissions, while ICT infrastructure does not affect emissions. In the short run, changes in ICT infrastructure contribute to carbon dioxide emissions in Vietnam. In addition, changes in renewable energy consumption, financial development, the interaction between ICT infrastructure and renewable energy consumption and population growth have a significant effect on CO2 emissions. Notably, technological innovation has no impact on CO2 emissions in both the short and long run.Originality/valueThe current study provides new insights into the environmental effects of ICT infrastructure, technological innovation, renewable energy consumption and financial development. The interaction between renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure has a significant effect on carbon dioxide emissions. The paper suggests important implications for setting long-run policies to boost the effects of financial development, renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure on environmental quality in emerging countries like Vietnam in the coming time.

Sampaio Brasil, João Eduardo; Piran, Fabio Antonio Sartori; Lacerda, Daniel Pacheco; Morandi, Maria Isabel Wolf; Oliveira da Silva, Debora; Sellitto, Miguel Afonso

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-08-2023-0266

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of a Brazilian steelmaking company’s reheating process of the hot rolling mill.Design/methodology/approachThe research method is a quantitative modeling. The main research techniques are data envelopment analysis, TOBIT regression and simulation supported by artificial neural networks. The model’s input and output variables consist of the average billet weight, number of billets processed in a batch, gas consumption, thermal efficiency, backlog and production yield within a specific period. The analysis spans 20 months.FindingsThe key findings include an average current efficiency of 81%, identification of influential variables (average billet weight, billet count and gas consumption) and simulated analysis. Among the simulated scenarios, the most promising achieved an average efficiency of 95% through increased equipment availability and billet size.Practical implicationsAdditional favorable simulated scenarios entail the utilization of higher pre-reheating temperatures for cold billets, representing a large amount of savings in gas consumption and a reduction in CO2 emissions.Originality/valueThis study’s primary innovation lies in providing steelmaking practitioners with a systematic approach to evaluating and enhancing the efficiency of reheating processes.

Saci, Fateh; Jasimuddin, Sajjad M.; Zhang, Justin Zuopeng

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-02-2023-0060

This paper aims to examine the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and systemic risk sensitivity of Chinese listed companies. From the consumer loyalty and investor structure perspectives, the relationship between ESG performance and systemic risk sensitivity is analyzed.Design/methodology/approachSince Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG officially began to analyze and track China A-shares from 2018, 275 listed companies in the SynTao Green ESG testing list for 2015–2021 are selected as the initial model. To measure the systematic risk sensitivity, this study uses the beta coefficient, from capital asset pricing model (CPAM), employing statistics and data (STATA) software.FindingsThe study reveals that high ESG rating companies have high corresponding consumer loyalty and healthy trading structure of institutional investors, thereby the systemic risk sensitivity is lower. This paper reveals that companies with high ESG rating are significantly less sensitive to systemic risk than those with low ESG rating. At the same time, ESG has a weaker impact on the systemic risk of high-cap companies than low-cap companies.Practical implicationsThe study helps the companies understand the influence of market value on the relationship between ESG performance and systemic risk sensitivity. Moreover, this paper explains explicitly why ESG performance insulates a firm’s stock from market downturns with the lens of consumer loyalty theory and investor structure theory.Originality/valueThe paper provides new insights on the company’s ESG performance that significantly affects the company’s systemic risk sensitivity.

Guo, Jianfeng; Yang, Xiaohan; Yao, Sihang; Gu, Fu; Zhang, Xuemei

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-08-2023-0281

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of positive-framed and negative-framed green advertising on pro-environmental WTP. This study also explores the impacts of regulatory focus, environmental concern and pleasant level on green advertising effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from a within-participant between-group online experiment in China. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) is employed to investigate the impact of green advertising on WTP. Grouped regression and mediation analyses are conducted to explore the influences of regulatory focus, environmental concern and pleasure on advertising efficacy.FindingsThe experimental outcomes indicate that green advertising significantly increases participants’ pro-environmental WTP, and negative-framed advertising is more effective than its positive-framed counterpart. Prevention focus heightens receptivity to green advertising, and the relation of environmental concern to advertising effectiveness is inverted U-shaped. Pleasure mediates the effect of green advertising on the WTP, and this mediating role is influenced by emotional intensity when advertising is negatively framed.Originality/valueEvidence suggests that green advertising may propel pro-environmental WTP by raising environmental awareness, but such a relationship remains severely understudied. As such, this study pioneers in exploring the impact of different-framed green advertising on pro-environmental WTP, extending the concept of green advertising to environmental management. By considering the influences of regulatory focus, environmental concern and pleasure, this study raises practical implications for designing green advertisements, such as increasing the usage of visual elements.

Rüdele, Kai; Wolf, Matthias; Ramsauer, Christian

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-07-2023-0195

Improving productivity and efficiency has always been crucial for industrial companies to remain competitive. In recent years, the topic of environmental impact has become increasingly important. Published research indicates that environmental and economic goals can enforce or rival each other. However, few papers have been published that address the interaction and integration of these two goals.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, we identify both, synergies and trade-offs based on a systematic review incorporating 66 publications issued between 1992 and 2021. We analyze, quantify and cluster examples of conjunctions of ecological and economic measures and thereby develop a framework for the combined improvement of performance and environmental compatibility.FindingsOur findings indicate an increased significance of a combined consideration of these two dimensions of sustainability. We found that cases where enforcing synergies between economic and ecological effects were identified are by far more frequent than reports on trade-offs. For the individual categories, cost savings are uniformly considered as the most important economic aspect while, energy savings appear to be marginally more relevant than waste reduction in terms of environmental aspects.Originality/valueNo previous literature review provides a comparable graphical treatment of synergies and trade-offs between cost savings and ecological effects. For the first time, identified measures were classified in a 3 × 3 table considering type and principle.

Hossain, Md. Khalid; As-Saber, Sharif Nafe

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-09-2023-0324

The paper aims to investigate key aspects of climate change adaptation strategies of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) across two different climate-vulnerable country contexts, developed, i.e. Australia and developing, i.e. Bangladesh, while identifying the key factors affecting the formulation and implementation of such strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses a qualitative research method using interviews and document analysis while considering distinctive factors manifest in Australia and Bangladesh and focussing on the agricultural seed business sector.FindingsThe research reveals that no specific pattern of adaptation strategies exists across MNCs. They either follow a proactive “deliberate” strategy or a reactive “emergent” strategy. MNCs also follow a distinct strategy, “subliminal”, i.e. unintended or inadvertent strategy, by following the “business as usual” approach.Practical implicationsIn recent years, many MNCs have started embracing strategies to reduce their negative environmental footprint but barely adopted any formal strategies to adapt to climate change impacts on their business operations. This study provides insights into the existing climate change adaptation strategies of MNCs, which could be beneficial for companies in better planning and implementing their existing as well as future climate change adaptation strategies.Originality/valueBased on a developed-developing country comparison and together with a novel focus on the agricultural seed business sector, the paper has used a variety of business strategies in providing insights and understanding of the status of MNC climate change adaptation strategies. The research has identified and coined the term, “subliminal” or unintended strategy as a new addition to the MNC adaptation strategy literature.

Akisik, Orhan

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-08-2023-0286

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between pollutant emissions, financial development and IFRS in developed and developing countries between 1998 and 2022.Design/methodology/approachData were obtained from World Development Indicators and World Governance Indicators of the World Bank.FindingsUsing FGLS and GMM estimators, the results provide evidence that financial development has a significant positive impact on a variety of pollutant emissions. However, this positive impact is moderated by IFRS for the overall sample and country income groups.Practical implicationsGovernments and regulatory organizations should support companies’ investments in clean energy and technologies to slow down environmental degradation. Tax credits and subsidies may be helpful to achieve this goal. Also, governments may encourage companies to cooperate with universities and research institutions to develop environment-friendly production and distribution methods to reduce pollution. Although stakeholders may obtain information about environmental issues in financial statements that are prepared in accordance with IFRS, there is a need for standardization of their contents.Social implicationsGreenhouse gases are major contributors to climate change and global warming. In addition to private costs borne by producers, the production and consumption of products have social costs arising from pollution that affects air, water, and soil. Pollution adversely affects people's physiological and psychological health, which decreases labor productivity, thereby leading to a decrease in economic growth. Originality/valueAccording to the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of IFRS on the relationship between financial development and pollutant emissions.

Silva, Jorge Alejandro

2024 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/meq-08-2023-0243

The purpose is to conduct a systematic review of circular water management and its role in improving water availability amid increased demand and decreased supply.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was implemented, which helped in the identification, selection and critical appraisal of the various research to answer the research question. It was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) statement. The review was conducted mainly on Web of Science and Scopus databases between November 20 and December 8, 2022, with search strategies involving free-text searching, phrase searching, truncation and Boolean operators.FindingsThe search process yielded 46 articles exploring circular water management. The findings reveal that circular water management offers more promise than linear or business-as-usual approaches. There are various circular water management models, although most of them emphasize a shift from the “take, make, consume and waste” principles. Contrarily, the success of the circular water management framework hinges on its ability to embrace resilience based on changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, the model focuses on improving inclusiveness with various stakeholders working together to improve water management.Originality/valueThe research is the first of its kind as it identifies a critical gap, the imperative need to develop a universal framework that can significantly advance the comprehension of circular water management.