The article analyses sustainable economic development of EU countries according to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), by using indices of integrated sustainable development and environmental footprint. Sustainable economic initiatives can be driven by economic, environmental and social aspects, applying principles of innovation and knowledge. However, development requires skills, human and financial resources; in turn, it increases productivity, efficiency, competitiveness, profit, and promotes a better working environment. In general, sustainable business initiatives contribute to SDGs and reduce the environmental footprint. The scientific problem is how to develop a sustainable economy while ensuring the achievement of SDGs and at the same time reducing the environmental footprint. The object of the scientific research is the evaluation of sustainable economic development through the analysis of integrated sustainable development indicators. The aim of the research is, upon the evaluation of SDGs and environmental footprint indices as well as the analysis of the integrated sustainable development indicator, to identify the opportunities for sustainable economic development in the EU countries. The research has been carried out by analysing the scientific literature, and applying SDGs and environmental footprint methodology to calculate individual and integrated sustainable development indices. The results have shown that despite the disparity of SDG indices, the overall value of the integrated sustainable development indicator is distributed quite evenly among the EU countries. The impacts from each of the SDG indices range from 11% to 31% but the environmental footprint index has the greatest impact on the sustainable development of a country—up to 31%.
The environmental footprint (EF) indicator has emerged as a tool to measure human demand for productive land and water and it is used for the evaluation of the impact of products or economic activities on the environment. There are many indicators that are used in the decision making for the investment in the power sector, however, predominant are the economic indicators which underestimate the depreciation of natural capital (environment) and the value added generated by the public services. Many research studies have been carried out in an attempt to demonstrate the versatility of the EF by extending its applicability not only to environmental assessment, but also to use it, among other economic indicators, when assessing sustainable investment. Sustainable investment (SI) combines fundamental analysis and engagement with an evaluation of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors. The purpose of this article is, upon evaluating the EF, to identify the opportunities for the EF reduction through sustainable investment in the electricity production sector in EU countries. Environmental footprint analysis has been performed by using sustainable process index program SPIonExcel (SPI), which is one of the methods in the EF family. SPI is a useful tool for assessing ecological problems and finding sustainable solutions in the life cycle of energy production process. This research has revealed that the function of the footprint reduction depends directly on investments in renewable energy source (RES) technologies, but not all investments can be sustainable. Countries mainly invest in the development of wind energy and solar PV technologies and gradually reduce their inland production capacities from fossil fuel. Although SI in RES technologies reduces the EF, this is not enough to reduce it substantially because there are limitations for installing new power capacities. Consequently, countries tend to invest in the development of electricity networks. The conclusion can be drawn as follows: the reduction of the EF of electricity could be achieved by developing RES technologies since the major part of electricity is produced by using non-renewable resources. It is essential to develop new technologies as soon as possible in order to reduce EF as much as possible, and this can only be achieved through systematic sustainable investment.
Effective management of agricultural machinery helps to save financial and material resour-ces, and also reduces environmental pollution. Traditional environmental impact assessment me-thods do not involve the life cycle analysis, so environmental footprint method can help to evaluate farming, identifying threats and measures of mitigation the negative impacts. Growing amount of tractors used in agricultural sector increase the negative impacts to environment, so it becomes im-portant to properly assess farming. The aim of this paper is to determine the environmental footprint of wheeled tractors of Lithuanian farmers and agricultural companies and its development trends using sustainable process index method. The object of the research is the environmental footprint of wheeled tractors used for farming in Lithuania. Investigation showed that field works of tractors ac-counts the largest share of the total environmental footprint. Environmental footprint of tractors’ field works mainly depends from the type of fuel used which is directly dependent on the tractor's power and workload, consequently a change of fuel type, tractor type and work load can reduce en-vironmental footprint of tractors.
Straipsnyje analizuojami darnaus vystymosi įgūdžiai ugdymo įstaigose. Atliktas ugdymo įstaigų veiklų ekspertinis ir poveikio aplinkai vertinimas, taikant ekologinio pėdsako metodą. Skatinant ugdymo įstaigų bendruomenes domėtis aplinkos apsauga ir ugdyti darnaus vystymosi įgūdžius, nuo 2015 metų vykdoma Darnios mokyklos programa, kur dalyvauja įvairių lygių Lietuvos ugdymo įstaigos (nuo ikimokyklinio, bendrojo, profesinio lavinimo iki neformaliojo ugdymo) ir joje dirbantys (besimokantys) bendruomenės nariai. Darnaus vystymosi įgūdžiai analizuoti, įgyvendinant naujas praktines veiklas, kurios mažino ugdymo įstaigų ekologinį pėdsaką. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad aktyviausios bendruomenės buvo tos, kurios į veiklas įtraukė daugiau dalyvių ir socialinių partnerių. Darnaus vystymosi įgūdžių formavimo procesas sudarė sąlygas į aplinkosauginio ugdymo veiklas įtraukti įvairaus amžiaus ir grupių žmones. Vykdytos aplinkosauginės priemonės bendruomenėms padėjo aktyviau dalyvauti vykdant aplinkosauginius projektus ir suprasti poveikio aplinkai pasekmes. Dalyviai atsakingiau vertino aplinką ir stengėsi labiau tausoti išteklius.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.