Sustainable development and innovations- how they work together?

Purpose: The main purpose of the paper is the elaboration and verification of a comprehensive proposal for measuring the results achieved by selected global economies in the area of sustainable development and innovation. Approach/Methodology/Design: To compare the results obtained by EU countries the multi-criteria taxonomy methods were used. The basis of empirical research are the indicators used by the European Commission to monitor the progress in the implementation of the Strategy for Sustainable Development – Agenda 2030 and the indicators used to assess the level of innovation published in European Innovation Scoreboard. Findings: The results of the research can be divided into two parts. In the first one the rankings of EU countries were built separately for each analyzed dimension of sustainable development and the area describing the level of innovation. In the second one the values of taxonomic measures of development were used to divide EU countries into groups characterized by similarity within all considered areas of sustainability. As a result, typological groups were obtained that differed both in number and composition. Practical Implications: The presented results are important for individual countries as well as for organisations as EU, in which internal cohesion is one of the strategic development goals. The results can also used to assess the effects of implementing the assumptions of the "Green Deal" strategy, currently being developed in the EU. Originality/Value: The added value of the paper is the research findings focused on the assessment of development of EU countries in two most important areas of functioning. In the literature, these areas are usually considered separately. In the paper, the authors decided to compare the results in these two areas analysed together and treat them as one of the important development directions of EU countries.peer-reviewe

Institutions in the context of implementing the CSR concept and social trust

Purpose: The purpose of considerations undertaken in this paper is to emphasize the importance of public trust in institutions and to draw attention to the important (but often marginalized) relationship between institutions and the implementation of the CSR concept. Approach/Methodology/Design: The following research methods will be used in the article: wide range review of literature sources, descriptive method and selected methods of descriptive statistics (taxonomic measure of development and measures of correlation). Findings: The presented analysis shows that the perception of benefits associated with integration with the EU is not conditioned by trust in it as an institution. Importantly, trust in the EU is not affected by respondents’ perception of national and regional centers of power. Practical Implications: Changes in economies that took place recently caused the need for an interdisciplinary approach to economic research and a new definition of economics as a research field. They also make it necessary to recognize and identify social, economic, technical and cultural issues. The subject matter discussed in the paper refers to issues related to social initiatives such as the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the importance of institutions in the effective implementation of the CSR idea. The analyzed issues are considered in the cultural and institutional cognitive perspective. Originality/Value: The article raises an important social problem of public trust in institutions and the impact of institutions on the speed of dissemination of the concept of corporate social responsibility.peer-reviewe

Global demographic trends and effects on tourism

Purpose: The main purpose of the paper is to try to assess the impact of demographic phenomena on the development of tourism in the world. It also attempts to describe the role and significance of transformations affecting tourist trips and highlights the most interesting problems and dilemmas that may become the subject-matter of further studies and investigations. Design/Methodology/Approach: Basic dynamics and correlation indicators were used in the research. Statistical data was taken from reports of the United Nations and World Tourism Organization. Findings: The results of a correlation analysis indicate that among the demographic factors, the greatest impact on the intensity of tourist traffic is primarily the extension of the life of the population.The demographic profiles of individual tourism market segments will lead to a clear differentiation of the services offered by tourism enterprises. Some other tendencies observed currently are the growing significance of one’s own safety, the increasing ethical concerns related to environmental protection, and the growing tendency to engage in interactive communication. Practical Implications: The presented results are important for individual countries as well as for global organisations. The detailed conclusions drawn from this study can be useful in developing the optimal tourist offers for the different demographic target groups, particularly the elderly, whose share will keep growing due to the general aging of the global population. Originality/Value: The added value of the paper is an attempt to systematize knowledge about the most important aspects of the present demographic changes and their effects on the development of tourism. It also describes the role and significance of transformations affecting tourist trips and highlights the most interesting problems and dilemmas that may become the subject-matter of further studies.peer-reviewe

The role of sustainable finance in achieving Sustainable Development Goals: does it work?

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund reported that the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires an escalation of development finance. The report Scaling Finance for the Sustainable Development Goals highlighted the urgency of the efforts to realize SDGs in encouraging financial innovation to move quickly. Even if the role of finance in achieving SDGs is unquestionable, few scientific studies have addressed these issues. We tried to fill the existing research gap. In this study, we examined the link between sustainable finance and SDGs based on European Union countries belonging to the OECD. We present a new and the original research approach. We assumed that the sustainable finance model plays a fundamental role in implementing SDGs (all SDGs were analysed except for SDG 6 and SDG14, due to lack of statistics were not analysed) and ensuring that social and environmental sustainability are reflected in SDGs. The results of this study show that the more sustainable the finance model, the better the achievement of SDGs in the group of analysed countries. We found a strong link between sustainable finance model and social sustainability (SDG1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 16); environmental sustainability (SDG11, 12, 13, 15) and economic sustainability (SDG8, 9, 17). First published online 3 December 202

The similarity of European Union countries in terms of the structure of the unemployed

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to assess the degree of similarity in the structure of the unemployed according to various categories (gender, age, education, the duration of unemployment) in the EU countries. Approach/Methodology/Design: As a research tool, the vector elimination method was used, which facilitates a division of a set of objects into subgroups with similar structures. Statistical data on the structure of the unemployed due to selected features in 28 European Union countries come from the Eurostat database and relate to 2018. Findings: The spatial distribution of groups of EU countries in 2018 confirms the authors' observations formulated at the beginning of the work that the structures of the unemployed by selected categories are similar in most countries, but it is also possible to distinguish countries in which these structures are significantly different. Practical Implications: The knowledge about the regularities of the structures of the unemployed in individual EU countries is necessary when developing strategies to combat unemployment, especially among people in a particular situation on the labor market. Originality/Value: There are no comprehensive analyzes in the literature to determine the similarity of the structure of the unemployed in EU countries, taking into account various demographic features that are typically taken into account in this type of research (e.g., gender, age, or level of education). The presented studies fill a gap in this area, they can also complement existing studies focusing mainly on the level of unemployment.peer-reviewe

Finance, Sustainability and Negative Externalities: An Overview of the European Context

[Abstract]: The goal of the paper is to examine the relation between finance and sustainability, with a special emphasis on the impact of negative externalities. Sustainable development as a concept aims to mitigate negative externalities. Conventional finance offers no room for the environment and society. Therefore, three-dimensional sustainable finance has appeared. This paper is the first original attempt to examine the relationship between: financial, economic, environmental and social development indicators from the sustainability perspective, with a special focus on externalities. To study the disparities between the European Union (EU) countries belonging to the OECD in the field of sustainable development and sustainable finance, the multi-criteria taxonomy was used. The basis of the analyses was the indicators transformed according to the relative taxonomy method. The database, based on Eurostat, contains indicators describing pillars of sustainable development such as: economic (12 indicators), social (28), environmental (7) and sustainable finance (16). The study analyses the sample of 23 countries in 2007, 2013 and 2016. The results confirm a positive relationship among the analysed indicators. On the basis of 62 statistical features selected according to the statistical methods, 7 groups of countries were obtained in 2007 and 2013 and 8 groups in 2016. In the case of Scandinavian countries, one can observe a permanent separation of economic growth from its negative impact on the natural environment. Such dependencies are no longer so obvious in the case of other EU countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Therefore, attention should be paid to the most economically developed countries in Western rankings in the case of economic, social and very often also financial results correspond to much worse results in the case of environmental development

Evaluation of rhodamine b photocatalytic degradation over batio3-mno2 ceramic materials

This research was funded by UIDB/50006/2020 with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds and from the Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry of Lodz University of Technology. Susana L.H. Rebelo and Iwona Kuźniarska-Biernacka thank FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) for funding through program DL 57/2016–Norma transitória (RE-QUIMTE/EEC2018/30 (SLHR) and REQUIMTE/EEC2018/14 (IKB)).Ferroelectric ceramics (BaTiO3_MnO2 ) with different Mn admixtures were prepared using solid-state synthesis. Elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and impedance spectroscopy confirmed that the BaTiO3 and MnO2 coexisted in the ceramics. In addition, the high purity and homogeneity of the element distributions in the ceramic samples were confirmed. The adsorptive and photocatalytic properties of the BaTiO3 (reference sample, BTO) and BaTiO3_MnO2 materials (BTO_x, where x is wt.% of MnO2 and x = 1, 2 or 3, denoted as BTO_1, BTO_2 and BTO_3, respectively) were evaluated using Rhodamine B (RhB) as the model dye in a photocatalytic chamber equipped with a UV lamp (15 W) in the absence of additional oxidants and (co)catalysts. No adsorption of RhB dye was found for all the materials during 360 min (dark experiment). All samples were photocatalytically active, and the best results were observed for the BTO_3 material, where RhB was 70% removed from aqueous solution during 360 min of irradiation. The photodegradation of RhB in the presence of MnO2-modified BTO ceramics followed a pseudo-first order model and the rate constant of BTO_3 was about 10 times higher than that of BTO, 2 times that of BTO_2, and 1.5 times that of BTO_1. The photocatalysts could be successfully reused after thermal activation. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Published under the CC BY 4.0 license.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia RE-QUIMTE/EEC2018/30, REQUIMTE/EEC2018/14; Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry of Lodz University of Technology; Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Financial and energy markets - a sustainable approach. Perspective of European countries belonging to the OECD

Purpose: This paper sets out to explore the relationships between a sustainable energy market and a sustainable financial market and energy market. The specific research objectives were: to explore whether sustainable finance only correlates with a sustainable energy market, or perhaps this relationship also exists with the traditional energy market, to identify the groups of countries for which there are correlations between the study categories. Design/Methodology/Approach: The empirical analysis is based on data from 2008, 2014, and 2018, as related to the energy market, sustainable energy, and sustainable finance for 28 European countries belonging to the OECD. A taxonomic development measure based on the reference method in the positional approach using the Weber median was used. Findings: The results confirmed the existence of a positive correlation between the energy market and the financial market in a sustainable approach. No such relationship was demonstrated for all three categories at the same time, i.e. energy market, sustainable energy market and sustainable finance. Practical Implications: This research is important for the policies of financial institutions and financial markets from the point of view of developing products and services for sustainable financing, so as to change the structure and improve the effects related to social responsibility (ESG risk reduction). Originality/value: This study examines whether relationships exist between a sustainable energy market and sustainable finance and the energy market in the traditional approach.peer-reviewe

The financial situation of enterprises in the clothing and footwear sector in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to try to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the financial situation of enterprises in the clothing and footwear sector. Companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange were used as a case study. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used a synthetic measure based on the zero unitarization method, which allowed for the classification of the surveyed enterprises from the point of view of their financial condition. Findings: The methods used in the paper turned out to be a helpful tool in determining the financial condition of companies. They showed significant changes resulting from the spread of COVID-19. As the pandemic situation is still not stabilized, such analyses as in this article should be continued in the coming years. That will enable the observation of regularities or their absence, especially after the pandemic has ended. Practical Implications: The results of this kind of research can help managers, as well as current and potential shareholders, understand how the pandemic affects the company and its financial implications. Such information will help make decisions about future activities. Thus, the study fills the research gap in this area. Originality/Value: The article contributes to the current scientific discussion on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial situation of companies in the world.peer-reviewe

Diagnosis of socio-economic development of the European Union countries

The main purpose of the paper is an assessment of current level of socio-economic development of EU countries. In situation of many difficult changes, which could complicate the further EU’s situation, the analyses provided in these areas are important. Due to large differences in the social and economic development of EU countries, the multi-criteria taxonomy was used to compare the situation in both of these areas. The authors decided that the basis for the analyses will be the indicators transformed according to the relative taxonomy method. The results confirmed the relatively large differences between EU countries especially in the area of economic development