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SUSTAINABILITY FACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT TEAMS

Author(s): Leonilde Reis,Clara Silveira,Renato Duarte / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Today almost all organizations, according with their business specificities, support their business activity within the Information Systems. In this sense, the most common business processes of organizations are supported by generic software products, also called Enterprise Resource Planning. In this paper are referred a set of good practices for the implementation/configuration of generic software products, in international projects. The methodology adopted focuses on the literature review in the thematic of Sustainability factors in International Project Teams, as well as on the presentation of good practices based on the lessons learnt from proven methodology. The contributions of this work focus on considerations in the area of project implementation procedures, and requirements of the business processes, the system configuration, as well as training. The paper’s conclusions emphasize the importance of applying good support management in international project teams, including concerns of sustainable development objectives in the economic, technical, social, human/individual and environmental aspects.

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Политически брифинг № 106 на CSD: ЗА ЦЯЛОСТНО ЗЕЛЕНО ВЪЗСТАНОВЯВАНЕ НА БЪЛГАРИЯ

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The European Green Deal is potentially the strongest instrument for reversing climate change and for increasing the energy security of the EU and its members. Yet, the drive towards decarbonization supported by funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Next Generation EU will have to overcome the considerable headwinds of climate skepticism and opposition in EU societies, fueled by domestic and foreign political pressure. // The EU has provided the Bulgarian government with unprecedentedly large resources for decarbonization. But without strategic vision, they would line the pockets of the country’s powerful energy lobbyists with strong links to Russia. The last version of the NRRP sent for approval to the European Commission was a step in the right direction. The Plan has a better macroeco№mic basis than previous versions, and the focus on in№vation and the energy transition is much stronger. However, the new NRRP still does №t rein in state capture practices in the energy sector, which have prevented the low-carbon transition from taking firm roots so far.

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CSD Policy Brief №. 108: EU Energy and Climate Security Strategy to Counter the Russian Aggression in Europe.

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The Russian invasion in Ukraine and the resulting energy and geopolitical crisis have clearly demonstrated that accommodating Russia, even when its foreign policy undermines European security, is № longer defensible. The Russian aggression in Europe and the critical dependence on Russian oil and gas imports have clearly demonstrated the need for a new European energy and climate security strategy. European governments are №t only struggling to guarantee a reliable and cheap supply of energy but are also failing to overcome a fossil fuel lock-in. // The most effective way to stop the Kremlin’s aggression is for Europe to ban oil and gas imports from Russia that could cripple the Russian eco№my in 8 to 11 months. This needs to be accompanied by emergency measures to protect vulnerable consumers and alleviate Europe’s critical vulnerabilities before the next heating season. In the long run, a full fossil fuel phase-out is the most sustainable way to improve energy and climate security. Decarbonizing energy markets will also deliver a blow to the Kremlin’s eco№mic and political influence in Europe.

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FINANCIAL INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCE – CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS

Author(s): Nadya Velinova Sokolova / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Transitioning to a sustainable future with inclusive, green economies, financial innovation and resilient ecosystems requires huge investments. The development of suitable framework conditions is a requirement for encouraging private financial market players towards sustainability. A key requirement for the development of a sustainable financial system is a uniform taxonomy of sustainability. Ongoing research highlights how the adoption of new technologies can contribute to improved environmental outcomes and it is also argued that investments by firms in sustainable strategies should generate positive returns in terms of competitivity The purpose of this article is to present the impact of evaluation of financial innovation in the context of sustainable development, the challenges of assessment of financial innovation in the process on management and analyses. The results of the study show that the findings confirm that green innovation is indeed an extremely complex phenomenon.

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BRIDGING THE GAP: FINANCING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Author(s): Nikolay Yordanov,Kamelia Asenova / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The adoption of a circular economy (CE) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is a vital approach for achieving sustainable development. However, it has substantial financial obstacles, specifically in obtaining sufficient finance. This paper examines the function of green bonds as a fundamental financial tool to address the financing gap with respect to the CE in CEE. We analyze the current state of green bond markets in the region. By conducting research of green bond issuances, we investigate the effectiveness, difficulties, and future possibilities of green bonds in promoting the circular economy agenda. The results suggest that although green bonds have begun to acquire popularity, there are significant possibilities for expansion and improvement. The paper provides strategic ideas for policymakers, financial institutions, and enterprises to effectively utilize green bonds in expediting the shift towards a circular economy in CEE.

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EXPLORING SOUTH AFRICA AS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY: A PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Author(s): Da-Nina Rose / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The concept of circular economies is gaining prominence in political debate and corporate discourse globally as a sustainable development model that aims to improve resource productivity, promote sustainable consumption and production, and reduce environmental impacts. In South Africa, the adoption of circular economy principles is seen as a promising pathway to address environmental and resource management challenges while fostering economic growth and sustainability. This paper considers how South African organisations are using circularity to establish competitive advantage for their operations and the greater society.

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DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY: THE NEXUS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND INNOVATION, THE EXAMPLE OF SINGAPORE’S DEVELOPMENT AS A LEADING MODEL

Author(s): Violena Hubenova Nencheva / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In a world marked by burgeoning populations, finite resources, and escalating environmental concerns, the traditional linear economic model of take-make-dispose is proving unsustainable. Enter the circular economy, a transformative concept reshaping the way we produce, consume, and discard. At its core, the circular economy aims to decouple economic growth from resource depletion by designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. Yet, the realization of this vision hinges not only on visionary principles but also on the relentless pursuit of innovation. Innovation lies at the heart of the circular economy, driving its evolution from theory to practice. It encompasses a spectrum of advancements spanning technological breakthroughs, business models, policy frameworks, and societal shifts. Through innovation, we reimagine products as services, embrace renewable energy sources, harness digital technologies for resource optimization, and forge symbiotic relationships within ecosystems. Moreover, innovation fosters resilience, empowering businesses to adapt to shifting market dynamics, regulatory landscapes, and consumer preferences.

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Behavioral Insights fostering ‘Pay for Sustainability’ Remuneration Schemes

Author(s): Julia M. Puaschunder / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In the aftermath of the 2008/09 World Financial Recession as well as after the COVID-19 external economic shock fallout, the stakeholder interest in integrating social considerations in corporate and finance market endeavors has risen steadily. The looming climate change crisis has exacerbated the call for sustainability in economics, finance and professional governance and leadership. In the USA and Europe, Green New Deals are governmental projects to imbue sustainability practices in corporate and financial sector activities. In the area of capital market supervision in the USA, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed mandatory disclosures regarding climate change risks in the wake of attention to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). In Europe, the European Sustainable Finance Taxonomy classifies industry’s CO2 emission levels in order to use transparency to curb environmentally-harmful activities for the sake of sustainability. Financial Social Responsibility continues to grow in qualitative and quantitative terms, foremost in Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). The corporate sector has responded to all these sustainability trends with the concept of ‘Pay for Sustainability’ as an executive compensation form that either lowers variable pay if sustainability is not implemented or provides executive bonuses for pro-active sustainability integration into corporate activities. This paper addresses contributions of behavioral economics for improving the acceptance and efficiency of ‘Pay for Sustainability’ remuneration schemes in three features: (1) Socio-psychological aspects of remuneration that heighten social status and social belonging imbuing meaning and purpose to work; (2) Temporal bundling strategies that help decision makers envision now and the future at the same time, which helps aligning short-term with long-term goals of corporations; (3) Prospect Theory’s insights that losses emotionally loom larger than gains, which provides valuable communication nudges for outlining the intangible emotional value of sustainability care. Overall, this article discusses the current state of ‘Pay for Sustainability’ remuneration and highlights positive affirmation and communication nudges to work with social status-enhancing behavioral communication features that boost the positive acceptance of and reaction to ‘Pay for Sustainability.’

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The Role of the Energy Cooperatives in the Decarbonization Process : Scientific Conference

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The coming decades are expected to be critical for the transformation of the energy system worldwide and the energy communities have the potential to be an integral part of the transition towards decarbonisation. In some European countries, such as Italy, active energy communities have been in place for years, while in Bulgaria they have yet to develop. This in turn provides opportunities for investment and business niches. In this context, it is important to explore the experience of Italy, USA and other countries having this type of working structures for years.

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GREENWASHING, CONSUMERS BEHAVIOR AND THE IMPACT ON COMPETITION POLICY

Author(s): Lucia IRINESCU / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Climate change is increasingly affecting people's lives in all sectors. Experts areincreasingly saying that we are heading for a global crisis. Greenwashing is the processof conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’sproducts are environmentally sound. Greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiatedclaim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentallyfriendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do. In orderfor consumers to be empowered to take better-informed decisions and thus stimulate thedemand for, and the supply of, more sustainable goods, they should not be misled about aproduct’s environmental or social characteristics or circularity aspects, such asdurability, reparability or recyclability, through the overall presentation of a product.Comparing products based on their environmental or social characteristics or circularityaspects, such as durability, reparability or recyclability, is an increasingly commonmarketing technique that could mislead consumers, who are not always able to assess thereliability of that information.

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BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP: INSIGHTS FROM THE PACT FOR SKILLS AND THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE FOR APPRENTICESHIPS

Author(s): Larisa Panait / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In 2023, 42 occupations were classified as experiencing shortages. Moreover, 74% of European SMEs reported difficulties in finding workers with the right skills according to the Eurobarometer for the European Year of Skills. This highlights the critical need for initiatives like the Pact for Skills and the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA), which offer opportunities for individuals through apprenticeships, upskilling, and reskilling initiatives. The Pact for Skills is a flagship action under the Skills Agenda and supports public and private organisations in adapting to green and digital transitions. The 20 Large- scale Skills Partnerships (under the Pact) pledged to train over 25 million adults by 2030, enhancing sector-specific skills development. EAfA brings together governments and stakeholders to enhance the quality, supply, and image of apprenticeships in Europe, while promoting apprentice mobility. This article analyses the monitoring and annual surveys from 2023 (Pact for Skills) and 2022-2023 (EAfA) to assess the impact and outcomes of these initiatives. The analysis reveals significant impacts on skills development, with the Pact reaching nearly 1.5 million individuals in 2023 and EAfA facilitating the creation of more than 509,000 apprenticeship places between June 2022 and August 2023. High engagement and substantial investments were noted, with EUR 151 million invested by Pact members. However, financial and human resource limitations, along with administrative challenges, were common obstacles. Successful strategies included stakeholder cooperation, digital project implementation, and international collaboration, with high satisfaction reported for support services and resources.

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GREEN SKILLS AND SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION: LESSONS FROM A MULTI-COUNTRY PARTNERSHIP

Author(s): Larisa Panait / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

According to the United Nations, over 55% of the world's population currently resides in urban areas, and this figure is projected to rise to nearly 70% by 2050. This rapid urbanisation underscores the urgency of transforming urban environments to be greener and more sustainable. One pivotal aspect of this transformation is the development of skills within the green education sector. Green education equips individuals with the skills necessary to address environmental challenges and fosters innovation in sustainable practices. This article explores the impact of the European Platform for Urban Greening (EPLUG), a Centre of Vocational Excellence, an initiative of the European Commission. EPLUG represents a public-private partnership across Romania, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Spain, and Czechia. EPLUG partners include (vocational) education and training providers, NGOs, companies, European associations, and public authorities. This multi-country partnership enhances learning by allowing partners to share resources and best practices, thereby enriching the educational experience and fostering a more cohesive approach to sustainability. This article investigates the key successes of the EPLUG project, focusing on the enhancement of green skills and sustainability education. Through interviews with various stakeholders from different countries, the article examines a) the added value of collaboration at national, regional, and European levels; and b) examples of green skills and education initiatives. The findings underscore how such partnerships facilitate better skilling, upskilling, and reskilling to meet the challenges posed by the green transition, climate change, among others. Some countries are transforming green curricula with new technologies, while others are expanding green education to broader audiences through public learning experiences or integrating new professional qualifications.

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Innovative Development of Agricultural Business and Rural Areas : Fourth International Scientific Conference IDARA - 2024

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The conference proceedings include the papers presented at the fourth consecutive International Scientific Conference, "Innovative Development of Agrarian Business and Rural Areas", organized by the Department of "Economics of Natural Resources" of the University of National and World Economics on October 3 and 4, 2024. The development of agrarian business in the conditions of the Common Agricultural Policy, the processes of digitization and globalization, climate changes and others posed a number of challenges to agrarian business and rural areas. They led to the need to look for new solutions in the field of policies, business models, the transition to a green economy, bio-economy, circular economy and others. The topic of the scientific conference aroused wide interest in the scientific community. Requests for participation in the conference were received from 63 authors with 40 abstracts of reports. After checking for originality and 2 anonymous reviews, 32 papers with 52 authors were included and presented in the conference program. A significant part of the authors (42.3%) are researchers and teachers from seven European countries. In the plenary session and at the meetings sections, were presented reports in several thematic directions: Digitization, diversification and sustainable growth in rural areas; Innovative business models for the development of agrarian business and rural areas; European and national policies for innovative development of agriculture and rural areas; Bioeconomy, green architecture and business; Innovative approaches to agricultural and rural management.

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ИНФОРМАЦИОННИ И КОМУНИКАЦИОННИ ТЕХНОГИИ В БИЗНЕСА И ОБРАЗОВАНИЕТО

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Bulgarian

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference “Information and Communication Technologies in Business and Education” which took place at the University of Economics – Varna, Bulgaria, 18 October 2024.The international scientific conference is dedicated to the 55th anniversary of the Department of Informatics at the University of Economics – Varna. The included papers describe recent scientific and practical developments in the field of information and communication technologies, information systems, and their applications in business and education.

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Overcoming barriers to unlock potential for a Just Transition in Czechia

Author(s): Jonathan Lyons / Language(s): English

The impacts of the climate change have become increasingly apparent in the past years, as the extensive greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide and methane, released by burning fossil fuels are warming our atmosphere more than necessary. This warming is taking a catastrophic toll on our planet and our daily lives and is getting worse every year. The European Environmental Agency warns of extreme drought, flooding, heatwaves and forest fires across Europe.2 These events are increasing in frequency and intensity because of climate change and are causing significant damage and loss. In the summer of 2022, over 60 000 people died from heatwaves3, an area more than twice the size of Luxembourg burned in forest fires4, the bed of the river Loire dried up completely forcing nuclear power plants in France to close down and Czechia experienced flash flooding over summer which destroyed people’s property, infrastructure, human health and food costing billions in damages. These are just a few examples showing how Europe and Czechia are ill-prepared for the consequences of climate change.

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Co čekat od nového klimaticko-energetického balíčku Fit for 55?

Author(s): Lucie Vinařská / Language(s): Czech

In July, the European Commission is expected to present the long-awaited climate and energy legislative package called »Fit for 55«, which refers to a new climate target for 2030. In December 2020, the European Union approved an increase in the 2030 emissions reduction target from the original 40% to the new 55% (compared to 1990 levels). With this step, the EU wants to move closer to its declared goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Therefore, high hopes are placed on the new Fit for 55 package. However, the question remains what reforms the legislative package will bring and what this will mean for the Czech Republic.

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Jaké klima přinesou německé a české volby?

Author(s): Lucie Vinařská / Language(s): Czech

Climate change has become one of the most important topics of our time. A recent IPCC report called the last 5 years the warmest years in history, once again confirming the urgency of the ongoing climate crisis. To avert the worst-case scenarios, systemic changes are needed, which now lie mainly on the shoulders of politicians. The long-awaited parliamentary elections, which will be held in the autumn of this year in both the Czech Republic and neighboring Germany, may be an opportunity to change current policies. Although we face climate change together as member states of the European Union, the emphasis on combating climate change is emphasized with varying degrees of intensity in the Czech Republic and Germany. What are the fundamental differences in the approach of Czechs and Germans to climate policy? What is the prevailing political climate in the countries and do we still have a chance for change?

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Green Transformation: reconfiguration of consumption in Norway and the Czech Republic in a more sustainable direction. Comparisons and identification of knowledge gaps

Author(s): Vít Havelka,Torvald Tangeland,Petr Soukup,Nikola Horejs,Pål Strandbakken / Language(s): English

The following paper is a part of the project Green Transformation: Sustainable Consumption and European Single Market policies supported by the Norway Grants in the Czech Republic. The project aims at strengthening the cooperation between Consumption Research Norway (SIFO) at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, STEM and Charles University in sociological research concerning European integration, de-carbonisation, sustainability, and the role of consumption in relation to climate change. We expect that the following research note will become a baseline for our future joint research in the aforementioned areas. The goal is to fill the current gaps in knowledge so that policy makers and scientists have sufficient amount of data to propose climate neutral and sustainable policies.

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The Future of Energy Poverty: Will the Social Climate Fund be enough for a Just Transition?

Author(s): Katharine Klačanský / Language(s): English

A just transition towards a green economy is one that leaves no one behind. In 2020, a European Union (EU) wide survey concluded that over thirty-million people within the EU population are unable to properly heat their homes. On the one hand, decarbonising the EU’s energy system is critical in reaching the EU Green Deal’s climate objective of carbon neutrality by 2050 and reducing emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels, as presented in the Fit for 55 package by 2030. On the other hand, vulnerable citizens in low-income families, who are already feeling the brunt of the incline in energy prices, will be impacted even more as they have less resources and finances to move away from fossil fuels. The ecological transition, therefore, is not cost-free and comes with several challenges that need to be addressed to ensure the social and economic welfare of all European Member State (MS) citizens are met.

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Reforma systému obchodování s emisními povolenkami EU ETS

Author(s): Kateřina Davidová / Language(s): Czech

In June this year, the European Commission is to present the expected package of changes to climate and energy legislation, the so-called Fit for 55, which is intended to help the European Union implement the newly increased target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990). The reform of the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), which will be presented and discussed as part of this package, will play a key role in meeting the common European climate goal. With the rising price of allowances, it can be expected that the impact of the EU ETS on the economic and environmental decisions of states and companies will continue to increase. It is therefore crucial how this system will be set up in the coming years.

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