The level of implementing sustainable development goal "Industry, innovation and infrastructure" of Agenda 2030 in the European Union countries: Application of MCDM methods

Abstract

Research background: Sustainable development of the modern world represents an opportunity to preserve economic growth and technological progress, as well as social development, without limiting the possibilities of this development for past generations. The directions of this development are included in the 17 goals and 169 tasks of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The achievement of these goals and the implementation of the adopted tasks is a huge challenge for individual countries and regions. This also applies to the European Union (EU), where economic development is closely linked to environmental protection and social inclusion. Of key importance in this context is Objective 9 of Agenda 2030, and thus its level of implementation in the EU-27 countries is the aim of the research presented in this paper. Purpose of the article: The research involved assessing the level of EU countries in terms of building stable infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation, i.e., the main areas of Goal 9 of Agenda 2030. Methods: The assessment was based on the EU?27 countries' sustainable development index (SDG9) determined with the use of 14 indicators characterizing these areas between 2015?2020. The basis of the developed methodology was a multi criteria decision making approach (MCDM methods). TOPSIS, WASPAS and EDAS methods were used to determine the sustainability index, and the Entropy, CRITIC and standard deviation (SD) methods were used to determine weights for the adopted indicators. In addition, the use of the Spearman's and Kendall's Tau non-parametric tests enabled the analysis of the relationship between the SDG9 index and the basic economic, environmental and energy parameters, as well as the digitalization of the countries under study. Findings & value added: The results show that the EU?27 countries vary widely in terms of implementing Sustainable Development Goal 9 of Agenda 2030 over the analyzed period. Now, the most advanced in this respect are Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden. By contrast, substantial problems are found in Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, and Lithuania. The results also provide an opportunity to trace changes in the value of the designated index in individual countries, and in groups of countries of the "old" and "new" EU. These results significantly enrich the knowledge of the effectiveness of implementing Goal 9 of Agenda 2030 in the EU?27 countries and the relationship between the development of individual countries and sustainable development economy. These findings can also be used to create new EU?27 strategies for sustainable and solidarity-based development of the whole EU. In addition, the results can be helpful to decision-makers as they highlight important indicators related to innovation, industrialization and infrastructure that should be considered when formulating a country's sustainable development strategy. The added value of the study is the research procedure presented, which can be used in analyses on the study of various issues related to sustainable development for other groups of regions.

The Well-Being-Related Living Conditions of Elderly People in the European Union—Selected Aspects

“…The second reason is that it is very easy and straightforward to use. Although it was meant to be used in decision theory, it could also be used in applications of multivariate statistical analysis [77][78][79][80]. There are other possible linear ordering methods that can be used in creating rankings of objects.…”

Sustainability in Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: A MCDM Based Performance Evaluation of European Union and Türkiye for Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9)

“…Taking into account the works of Szopik-Depczyńska et al (2018) and Stoenoiu (2022), it can be asserted that the primary objective of the first analysis in this study is to present an updated version using the most recent dataset and employing a distinct methodological approach. Similarly, by utilizing VIKOR and MAIRCA methods, this research offers an alternative analysis compared to the study conducted by Brodny and Tutak (2023), which employed TOPSIS, Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS), and EDAS methods. Regarding the second analysis, which also includes Türkiye and the available dataset, this study aims to investigate Türkiye's current ranking in comparison to the EU countries.…”

How does the circular economy achieve social change? Assessment in terms of sustainable development goals

“…The common guidelines between the SE and CE models focus on collaborative and symbiotic governance measures that allow the introduction of business models in these enterprises. Among the points both models have in common, the following stand out (Villalba-Eguiluz et al, 2020;Dantas et al, 2021;Pollard et al, 2023;Brodny and Tutak, 2023b): (i) The principle of cooperation and collaboration in the face of free market competition. (ii) The need for regional and industry networks, prioritizing aspects of a local or regional scope.…”

“…The use of ICT tools is also missing, such as circular resources, capable of supporting circularity and generating circular value creation, as well as the identification of sustainable communities with a valuegenerating product-service orientation (Pollard et al, 2023). It should not be forgotten that innovation plays an important role in this transition toward a CE that promotes the development of new technologies, the creation of more efficient and sustainable production processes, and business models and practices that facilitate the reduction, reuse and recycling of resources, as well as reduction of the environmental impact (Ghisellini et al, 2016;Brodny and Tutak, 2023b). Innovation in the design of products and services will at the same time create more durable, repairable and recyclable products, facilitating the transition to a CE (Kirchherr et al, 2017).…”

“…Innovation also can drive the creation of new business models that promote circularity, on-demand production and product services (Geissdoerfer et al, 2017). In terms of collaboration and co-creation, open innovation and collaboration between different actors (i.e., companies, governments, academic institutions and civil society) can boost CE by promoting the exchange of knowledge, resources, best practices and co-creation of sustainable solutions (Schiederig et al, 2012;Brodny and Tutak, 2023b). Economic and employment growth will be achieved with all of the above, important factors derived from successful innovation and in line with the 2030 Agenda (Szopik-Depczynska et al, 2018).…”