Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to study the possibility of promoting certified timber coming from sustainable managed forests, in order to support Greek enterprises and the institutions of the Greek timber sector involved to apply effective green marketing methods and policies. Design/methodology/approach-Based on a prototype questionnaire, specifically structured for the aim of the research, 55 responses were collected from Greek timber enterprises in April 2009. The questionnaires were processed and analyzed with the statistical program SPSS of ver17.0, using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The main purpose was the investigation of knowledge, use and promotion of certified timber that emanates from forests under sustainable management, thus planning the green marketing. Findings-The Greek enterprises of the timber sector expressed a great interest in the protection of forests all over the world, ranging from illegal loggings to their rational management. At the same time, in their overwhelming majority, they strongly support the certification of the sustainable management of Greek forests. These enterprises believe that the movement of green buildings has also reached Greece, albeit at a slow pace, and forecast that green consumers are prone to offer an additional percentage of about 6 per cent on price, in order to buy certified timber products. Companies trust to a high degree most institutions of higher education (universities and technological institutions) for the promotion of certified timber products and propose their publicity through newspapers and magazines, as well as through internet portals of close contact. Finally, the paper discusses reflections and forecasts on the growth of this new market of timber. Practical implications-The results offer precious knowledge on the market of certified timber and its future developments in the following five years, which can assist both enterprises and the institutions involved in strategy forming and decision making, in order to gain an important share of the market of green consumers. The paper also proposes effective green marketing applications. Originality/value-This is the first research on green marketing and the promotion of certified products of timber in the Greek market, while similar work is very limited even at an international level.
Acknowledging the importance of water resources protection and sustainable management, the European Parliament enacted directives based on the "polluter-pays" principle aiming for "environmental damage" protection and restoration of water resources. The main aim of this paper is to examine, for the first time in Greece, the possibility of achieving environmental goals, such as reduction of agrochemical pollution and irrigation water use, alongside with the farmers' willingness to undertake the environmental costs arising from their activity. In a questionnaire survey, conducted using a "state preference" method, participants were asked to respond on whether they are willing to absorb an "environmental charge" for the protection and restoration of surface and ground water. It is an essential precondition to understand the factors that affect taxpayers' willingness to participate in the Water Framework Directive, as they are expected to cover the cost of its implementation. The identification of the driving forces that affect stakeholders' environmental decisions can emerge as an important and useful tool in extending public participation in the Water Framework Directive.
The role of a forest sector in the transition to a circular economy (CE) is critical. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to summarize the main findings of the most important published articles and to provide insights on the interdisciplinary space at the interface of concepts related to a forest-based CE. Moreover, it attempts to assess the challenges raised from adopting the CE in forest sector. Through a systematic literature review, 69 scientific publications were selected and evaluated by two sights: (i) a descriptive analysis and (ii) a cluster analysis of the keywords related to the forest-based CE. The study highlights the need for additional survey on optimizing the interaction between forest ecosystem services and circular economy. Further discussion is also needed about the relations of the key factors associated with the forest-based circular economy, as they emerged from the cluster analysis and the co-occurrence network map.
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