Just a passing fad? The diffusion and decline of environmental reporting in the Finnish water sector

Originality/value - The paper provides new insights into public sector sustainability reporting and presents reasons for its decline. In addition, the analysis illustrates the applicability of Abrahamson&#39;s typology of innovation diffusion to the study of social and environmental reporting practices.</p

Enabling sustainable food transitions in schools: A systemic approach

Purpose Recent reviews and reports have highlighted the need for integrated, context-specific efforts to enable sustainable food transitions. This study aimed to identify pathways to promote healthier and more environmentally friendly food practices in school contexts, with a focus on increased plant-based eating. Design/methodology/approach The study used a systemic approach with data collected from relevant stakeholders in an EU country (Portugal) at diverse levels of influence in the school meals system (i.e. proximal, intermediate, distal; from end-consumers to food providers, market actors, civil society organizations, and policy and decision-makers). Data from individual interviews (N = 33) were subjected to thematic analysis. Findings Meat-centric cultural perceptions of a ‘proper meal’ can be a socio-emotional barrier for sustainable food transitions in schools. Main pathways identified to unlock these transitions included: (1) Levering orientations toward ethical and environmentally beneficial consumption; (2) Improving and increasing the offer of plant-based meals; and (3) Mobilizing local communities and society. Originality/value The current findings suggest that promoting healthier and more environmentally friendly food practices in schools requires systemic, integrated approaches which focus on food consumption, food provision, and the broader political and sociocultural environment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Plant-based school meals as levers of sustainable food transitions: A narrative review and conceptual framework

Current food systems face immediate and complex challenges in feeding a growing global population. It is necessary to mitigate the environmental impact of food systems while ensuring food security across the globe. Drawing on the example of recent multi-sectoral approaches which focus on the interconnections between public health and the environment, this work offers a narrative review and broader conceptual framework advancing two propositions. The first is that school meals systems have the potential to help enable sustainable food transitions. The second is that favoring well-planned plant-based meals in schools may strengthen this potential. The review and resulting framework highlight the relevance of seeking transdisciplinary dialogue and considering diverse sectors of society, such as public health, the environment, social protection, economic development, and community welfare. We review possible health benefits as well as possible economic and environmental outcomes, especially if school meals are sourced mainly from local communities and eco-friendly agricultural practices. Cross-sectoral implications related to social protection and community welfare are also identified and discussed, as well as potential pathways for materializing sustainable food transitions in schools.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A quest for effective water governance: look who's leading the WPI

Several developing countries are currently planning or implementing water sector reforms. Ensuring the sustainability of these processes requires taking into account also the complex institutional structure surrounding water services, consisting of the various organizations with their roles and responsibilities, as well as legislation related both directly and indirectly to water services. The effectiveness of a country’s water governance structure is reflected in the water poverty index formulated by the World Water Council and the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. According to the index, Finland is the richest of 147 countries in terms of water resources, access, capacity, use and environmental sustainability. Therefore, those responsible for restructuring water resources and water services management in developing countries might find it useful to study Finland’s water governance and business models. Even though the institutional arrangements would not be identically replicable, they present an example of an enabling environment for successful water governance

Citizen Attitudes to Farm Animals in Finland – A Population-Based Study

Citizen attitudes and opinions form an important driving force for improvements in the ethical status of farm animals in society. Hence, it is important to understand how attitudes to farm animals vary in society and what factors, mechanisms and social processes influence the development of these attitudes. In this study we examine the relative importance of socio-demographic background, animal related experiences and social-equality attitudes in the formation of attitudes to farm animals in Finland. The research is based on a nationwide survey (n = 1890). Our research findings suggest that female gender, young age, urban residency, a non-farming background and social-equality attitudes are linked to greater concern for farm animals. A farming background, valuing social equality, and gender have the strongest connections to farm animal attitudes, followed by age and place of residence. Having a companion animal and education level have a relatively modest connection to attitudes to farm animals. In order to accumulate comparative evidence of social-group differences in attitudes to farm animals, further research should continue to develop improved indicators for attitudes to farm animal welfare and rights. Moreover, explanations for social-group differences in citizen attitudes to farm animals should be subjected to further empirical testing.</p

The future of public sector accounting research. A polyphonic debate

PurposeThe purpose of this polyphonic paper is to report on interdisciplinary discussions on the state-of-the-art and future of public sector accounting research (PSAR). The authors hope to enliven the debates of the past and future developments in terms of context, themes, theories, methods and impacts in the field of PSAR by the exchanges they include here. Design/methodology/approachThis polyphonic paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach. It brings into conversation ideas, views and approaches of several scholars on the actual and future developments of PSAR in various contexts, and explores potential implications. FindingsThis paper has brought together scholars from a plurality of disciplines, research methods and geographical areas, showing at the same time several points of convergence on important future themes (such as accounting as a mean for public, accounting, hybridity and value pluralism) and enabling conditions (accounting capabilities, profession and digitalisation) for PSA scholarship and practice, and the richness of looking at them from a plurality of perspectives. Research limitations/implicationsExploring these past and future developments opens up the potential for interesting theoretical insights. A much greater theoretical and practical reconsideration of PSAR will be fostered by the exchanges included here. Originality/valueIn setting out a future research agenda, this paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism in the interdisciplinary research community interested in PSAR in various contexts. The discussion perspectives presented in this paper constitute not only a basis for further research in this relevant accounting area on the role, status and developments of PSAR but also creative potential for practitioners to be more reflective on their practices and also intended and united outcomes of such practices

Intergenerational equity in municipal accounting: New Zealand 1910s

Accounting for fixed assets by municipalities has been discussed in the accounting history literature previously. This paper addresses two issues related to accounting for fixed assets not previously discussed; the influence of the principle of intergenerational equity on local government accounting, and the influence of users of accounting information in accounting policy making in government accounting. The paper identifies that users of accounting information have had significant influence in a debate on government accounting policy, and that the principle of intergenerational equity was given a position of high importance in the debate, but not an unchallengeable position. The motivation of the users of accounting information to engage in the debates is identified as a form of civic duty, which is consistent with the ethical imperative in ensuring intergenerational equity

The moral mechanism of counter accounts : The case of industrial animal production

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