Parameters of Sustainable Development: Case of Arctic Liquefied Natural Gas Projects

Abstract

Effective management of the social and economic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is today a significant scientific and practical task. It requires an integrated approach to meet the expectations of the state, business and society. The main drivers of growth for remote Arctic territories are large investment projects, which not only create production and sectorial results, but also stimulate the development of related sectors of the economy. Additionally, they contribute to the formation of modern infrastructure in the region and create conditions for the broad introduction of innovative technologies. The current problem with territorial development strategic planning is the assessment of the results that have been achieved. This includes approved lists of indicators that do not allow for a full assessment of the impact of the implemented projects. Assessment on the achievement of the region goals is also murky. This indicates a lack of consistency in regional development management. This article defines the importance of the indicators for an assessment of sustainable development management. The model of achieving external effects in project activities is described. The concept of sustainability of large-capacity complexes for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is also formulated. Based on the needs of micro- and macro-environment projects, a list of indicators for assessing the sustainability of LNG projects has been proposed. On the basis of the proposed indicator list, a sustainability analysis of three Arctic LNG projects was carried out. Based on the example of LNG production, it was concluded that approaches to assessing the sustainable socio-economic development of the Arctic region and its industrial systems are interrelated, but there are differences between them.

Digital Transformation and Sustainability Factor Cases from UAE

“…With rising awareness and concerns to address social, environmental, and economic issues, the need for sustainability is no longer a way for companies to secure competitive advantage and single themselves out from the market, but rather a necessity to meet stakeholders' and customers' expectations. Numerous studies illustrate how organizations seeking to achieve sustainable outcomes have realized the importance of undergoing a digital transformation in their internal operations and customer-facing external experiences (Esses et al, 2021;Cherepovitsyn & Evseeva, 2021). Bican and Brem (2020) explain the interrelationship between digital solutions and sustainability thanks to the higher degree of accuracy, standardization, and transparency technologies offer.…”

“…Examples derived from Burberry, Starbucks, and L'Oreal reveal that the digital transformation criteria include improved user experience, which relates to organizational sustainability of efficiency, effectiveness, and building trust with relevant stakeholders (Morakanyane et al, 2020). The interrelationship between digital transformation and sustainability is agreed by multiple sources, with business strategies complimenting social and environmental factors (Morakanyane et al, 2020;Jakšić et al, 2018;Cherepovitsyn & Evseeva, 2021).…”

The Adaptive Engineering Asset Management Framework for Sustainable Gas Terminal Infrastructures

“…The logical sequence for assessment of project LNG infrastructures such as follows [22]: (1) analysing the current needs of stakeholders from business society perspectives; (2) identifying the risk and opportunities related to the project goals; (3) formulating the indicators of the sustainable performance; (4) indicating weightage to the groups of criteria; and (5) evaluating the project on the development of indicators using normalisation methods. The results aimed to obtain a minimum negative impact on the environment, develop an infrastructure framework, maximise the economic interests of project participants, and optimise the use of natural resources for sustainability [22].…”

Energy Resources Exploitation in the Russian Arctic: Challenges and Prospects for the Sustainable Development of the Ecosystem

“…The Arctic produces about 83% of natural gas and 17% of oil, and unique projects for the liquefaction of natural gas (LNG projects) [19,64] are being implemented, providing a significant share of national income and all-Russian exports. Significant oil and gas projects in the Russian Arctic are presented in Appendix A (Table A1) [64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71]. In Appendix A, the authors divided projects into three types: the first type-projects for the development of onshore hydrocarbon fields (all projects are in operation or completed); the second type-LNG projects (a fairly new initiative for the Russia Arctic, one project is in operation); the third type-projects for the development of offshore hydrocarbon fields (one project is in operation).…”