Assessing the Sustainability Index of Part-Time and Full-time Hazelnut Farms in Giresun and Ordu Province, Turkey

The study's primary purposes were to assess the sustainability index of hazelnut farms and explore the effects of part-time and full-time farming types on sustainability index in hazelnut production in the Giresun and Ordu Province of Turkey. One hundred fifty-two hazelnut farms were selected using the stratified sampling method, and data were collected. Several steps were taken, including using factor analysis after standardizing the variables to determine their weights to calculate the composite hazelnut farms sustainability index. The research findings showed that overall hazelnut sustainability scores of farms varied from 0.28 to 0.59, and the average score was 0.44 at sampled farms. The composite hazelnut sustainability index was at an unsatisfactory level. The social and economic sustainability index value of farms was equal, and they were higher than the environmental index value. The values were 0.50 and 0.30, respectively. While the economic sustainability index score of full-time farms was higher than that of part-time farms, and part-time farms had higher environmental sustainability index scores than that of full-time farms. Social sustainability scores were not different in terms of farm type. It was recommended that when designing and regulation support policies, policy-makers should differentiate part-time and full-time hazelnut farming. Training and extension programs must be planned to increase the level of knowledge of every willing farmer. In addition, training and certification programs must be implemented to enhance the quality of the foreign labor force.

Innovations and eco-sustainability: exploring the role of organizational environment

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the contribution of the diffusion of innovation framework to eco-sustainability. It examines the interplay of organizational environment, innovation and innovation adopters’ characteristics on the diffusion of environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The data for empirical validation were obtained through an offline survey from the hospitals. The proposed conceptual framework was tested using the hierarchical regression analysis technique. Findings The results show that diffusion of innovation characteristics and organizational environment significantly influence the environmental sustainability index. The adopters’ characteristics do not have any direct effect on the environmental sustainability but this effect becomes significant in the presence of a favorable organizational environment. Practical implications Focusing on innovations that offer an advantage over the existing processes, are compatible with the existing system, are uncomplicated and simple to implement and can be experimented before full implementation may greatly accelerate the adoption of eco-innovations in hospitals. Fostering an organizational environment where employees are encouraged and rewarded for contributing to sustainable innovations can play a substantial role in the implementation of environmental sustainability innovations. Originality/value This study is an original contribution as it advances the limited understanding of the predictors and moderators of environmental sustainability in hospitals.

Agri-Environmental Sustainability of Indian Agriculture: A State Level Analysis

Improving economic viability of Indian agriculture is contingent upon agri-environmental sustainability (AES). Objective assessment of environmental costs of agriculture is lacking in India. Unless internalise environmental impacts of agriculture will be borne by the society at large, in terms of depletion and degradation of water resources, land degradation and emissions of greenhouse gases, etc. To assess AES of Indian agriculture, the present article builds a comprehensive agri-environmental sustainability index (AESI) based on 40 agri-environmental indicators. The study captures both spatial and temporal aspects of AES by covering 17 major Indian states over 24 years (1990–1991 to 2013–2014). The estimated AESI scores are validated with outcome indicators (e.g., groundwater depletion, depletion of soil nutrients). The results show that states having higher score in Sustainable Irrigation Index are facing lower fall in groundwater level and there are negative correlations across sub-indices of AESI and macronutrient deficiencies in soil. An inverse relationship between AESI scores and agricultural intensity (as measured by average productivity of foodgrains in kilograms per hectare) is also observed. The study comes out with policy suggestions which could help to attain AES of Indian agriculture.

Assessment of Global Sustainable Development, Environmental Sustainability, Economic Development and Social Development Index in Selected Economies

This study assesses the association of sustainable development (SD) with environmental technologies, forest area and developmental indictors in selected 39 economies. It develops global sustainable development index (GSDI) as an integration of environmental sustainability index (ESI), economic development index (EDI) and social development index (SDI) during 2000-2016 using composite Z-score technique. Thereupon, it explores the influence of environmental technologies, deforestation, ESI, EDI and SDI on GSDI using country-wise panel data. The results infer that there exists a high inequality in SD due to diversity in socio-economic structure of selected countries. Most developed economies have a better position in SD due to their relatively better position in environmental, economic and social developmental related variables. India, South Africa and Tunisia have low values of ESI, EDI and SDI, thus, these countries are in worst position in SD. Empirical results exhibit that SD is positively associated with environmental, economic and social development, forest area and environmental technologies. It recommended that protection of forest area maintains the quantity and quality of natural resources and provide ecological security. Accessibility of electricity for all community, discovery of environmental technologies, use of green technologies in production activities may be effective to increase socio-economic, environmental and sustainable development.

Evaluating the Environmental Sustainability of Smart Cities in India: The Design and Application of the Indian Smart City Environmental Sustainability Index

There is a growing consensus that the initiatives taken under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) in India should be used as an opportunity to prepare models for Environmentally Sustainable Smart Cities (ESSC). While developed countries have earlier worked towards Sustainable Cities and now are moving towards Smart Sustainable Cities, the conditions in developing countries are different. In their current form, SCM guidelines appear to emphasize more on social and economic development along with governance issues using modern tools of information and communication technology (ICT). To ensure environmental sustainability of such large-scale development planning, after a two-stage screening process, 24 environmental indicators have been finalized (including 11 from the existing guidelines), which can be used to monitor various environmentally sustainable elements of smart cities. Accordingly, in the present study; a tentative framework has been developed using these indicators to arrive at a Smart City Environmental Sustainability Index (SCESI) on a 0–100 increasing scale, and the city’s environmental sustainability has been classified under five categories: Excellent; Good; Fair; Poor or Critically Low; based on decreasing SCESI. Using this framework, five Indian cities, which are currently being developed under SCM (Delhi; Patna; Allahabad; Varanasi; and Bhubaneswar), have been examined. The analyses indicate that while three of them (Delhi, Allahabad, and Bhubaneswar) are found in the Fair (SCESI = 40–60) category of environmental sustainability, two (Varanasi and Patna) are in the Poor (SCESI = 20–40) category. The SCESI developed may be used as a monitoring and diagnostic tool for planning and managing services connected with the environment surrounding human life.

A quantitative assessment of the environmental sustainability of UCG and CO2 storage

In this study, an innovative numerical model was developed to quantify the environmental sustainability situation of in situ underground coal gasification (UCG) and the CO2 storage process, which is expressed in terms of the environmental sustainability index (ESI). This approach is based on four environmental indicators: rock and soil, groundwater, surface water, and atmosphere. Based on the ESI values, the methodology proposed herein is used to classify the environmental sustainability state of the UCG process and its corresponding threshold limit value. Finally, the developed mathematical model was applied to possible European coal deposits, specifically in a Bulgarian coal basin. Research efforts have focused on the development of a mathematical model for environmental impact assessments to pave the way for full-scale trial and commercial applications.