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Both people and things are becoming smarter by the day. Industrial evolution at the peak of the 4.0 phase and indications of 5.0 phase are fascinating. In these circumstances, fulfilling the demand for energy is a challenge faced by countries all over the world. Upgrading the current energy distribution systems with smart grids and smart meters are steps towards facing this challenge, especially for Poland, which is primarily relying on conventional sources of energy. For any innovation or new technology, creating public awareness and consumer acceptance enhances the chance for a fruitful deployment. To achieve this, various communication channels are adopted and social media is found to be one of the most effective tools for it. This study discusses the awareness level and consumer acceptance of social media users in Poland. The source through which they receive information regarding electricity in general and smart meters (SM) in particular and their preferences and willingness about the installation of SM under various conditions are discussed in detail. Findings show that there is low level of public awareness among the respondents which causes them to develop myths, fears and doubts about SM installation in their households. More effort is required from the government as well as from the energy companies in order to increase the public awareness which will result in an increase in consumer acceptance. Based on the results, the article also contains recommendations that can be used by governments as well as energy companies to create a positive feeling about SM to affect consumer behavior.

The problem of diminishing resources on our plant is now getting due attention from the governments as well as scientists around the world. The transition from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE) is now among the top priorities. This article discusses the implementation of the circular economy paradigm in Poland through the analysis of the existing and planned mechanisms, and actions taken by the Polish government which can be replicated by other young European countries. Further, the article discusses the direction of change and projected measures planned by the Polish government to improve the quality of municipal solid waste management. In this context, profitability analysis is carried out for two methods of waste processing (incineration and torrefaction) intended for small municipalities and settlements in which district heating and trading of generated electricity are not feasible. The results of the analysis shows that torrefaction is clearly a more desirable waste processing option as a step towards the implementation of CE for civic society in the urban context, as well as profitability, in comparison to incineration. The analysis accounts for several scenarios before the lockdown caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic and after it was lifted.

Although eco-friendly (pro-environmental) behaviour in tourism has attracted interest among practitioners and scholars, little is known about the influence of these attitudes on the choice of eco-friendly destinations, especially in the context of emerging tourist markets such as India. Thus, this article aims to verify a model of the relationships between attitudes towards the environment and eco-friendly tourism, social and personal norms regarding environmentally responsible behaviour, perceived behavioural control, behavioural intentions regarding eco-friendly destinations and the willingness to pay for such trips using the theory of planned behaviour. The study used an online survey conducted with 598 Indians. The relationships between the variables were analysed using PLS-PM. The most important results indicated that (1) there are significant relationships between the attitude towards the environment, the attitude towards an eco-friendly destination, social and personal norms and behavioural control and intentions regarding travelling to eco-destinations and (2) well-educated young Indian consumers expressed a positive attitude towards eco-friendly destinations; however, there was only a very weak relationship between this attitude and willingness to pay more for trips to them. These findings are valuable for pro-environmental planning and the growing green market/economy, as well as for the discussion on the future of pro-environmental tourism development.

This papers focuses on the smart meters' roll-out in India -third largest economy, one of the developing countries with the fastest economic growth rate and third largest power producing nation. The Indian power system is weak and experiences severe problems and challenges that could be solved by means of the smart grid approach and broader implementation of smart meters (SM). Within this study, we focus on the consumers' preferences regarding SM. An empirical study has been conducted among Indian social media users, who are predicted to be potential early adopters or innovators in case of SM further market penetration. By dividing the respondents into a few market segments, the study highlights differences between consumers already having SM installed at their household, consumers in the process of installing SM, consumers who would like to have SM in the future, and consumers' preferences based on potential benefits and information availability. The study also outlines the profile of consumers who currently have SM installed in their household. Results show that tech-savviness of India's consumers, common access to the Internet for citizens, possession of smart phones by most of the population and ambitious goals of the Indian government, are a very productive mix for a nation wide roll-out of SM in India in the coming years.

Increasing the efficiency of electricity transmission is nearing the top of the agenda in many countries around the world. Turkey, the world’s most newly industrialized country, is no different. Modernizing the current transmission grids to smart grids (SG) and the national rollout of smart meters (SM), are some of the measures taken by the government to meet the growing demand for electricity. Consumer acceptance and engagement are among the most important elements for the success of SG and SM, however, there have not been much studies done among Turkish electricity consumers. This purpose of this study is to fill this void, by detailing the attitudes, awareness and expectations among Turkish citizens regarding SM and listing recommendations for energy companies based on the findings. Through an online questionnaire, responses from 504 social media users were collected and analyzed. Results show that the consumers are open towards the acceptance of SM, but there is a need to raise awareness and knowledge through proper communication channels. The study has also revealed that a range of conventional and digital channels need to be actively used in order to enhance consumer willingness to accept SM. Increasing social interactions regarding SM is one of the key recommendations detailed by the authors.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and is currently facing some challenges, such as pollution and a growing energy demand. One of the solutions to these problems is upgrading the electricity transmission and distribution system to avoid losses of energy, and encourage consumer engagement in energy saving as well as energy generation. The government of Indonesia has initiated projects for smart grids and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), but consumer awareness and willingness to accept these new technologies is still uncertain. This study focused on analyzing consumers’ knowledge and willingness to accept one of the key components in grid modernization, being smart meters (SM). An online questionnaire was used to record responses from 518 social media users from different parts of Indonesia. The analysis shows that, among social media users who are seen as early adopters of technology, there is certainly a lack of awareness about SM, but they are largely open towards the acceptance of SM. Based on the findings, we have also drawn recommendations for energy companies, which would help in raising consumer awareness, as well as acceptance of SM in Indonesia.

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