Issue #1 (Volume 15 2024)

This bibliometric study seeks to analyze the intellectual structure and development of green finance research over a nearly 30-year period. Using Scopus data, a comprehensive analysis of 1,487 English-language publications on green finance was conducted. The scope of the analysis spans the years from 1997 to 2024. The analysis investigates numerous facets of green finance scholarship, such as publication and citation trends, influential works, authorship networks, geographic concentrations, conceptual links, and developmental phases. Since 2015, the number of publications and citations has increased significantly, indicating a significant rise in academic and industry interest. China is the leader in terms of research output and influence, demonstrating its dominance in the field. However, it is essential to note that other Asia-Pacific countries, such as Japan and Malaysia, have also made significant contributions to the field. Public policies, government initiatives, and the participation of the private sector are crucial to accelerating green investments and promoting sustainability, as evidenced by numerous citations to scholarly works on the subject. The study investigates a number of prospective future research avenues, including green bonds, green credit policies, green investment, green financial regulation, and green financial technology applications. Despite its heavy reliance on English-language Scopus sources, this quantitative longitudinal mapping provides valuable insights into the emergence and evolution of green finance as a significant multidisciplinary research field.

Acknowledgment
It is essential to express gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of this study, particularly those at the Ho Chi Minh University of Banking, Vietnam.

The limited infrastructure of charging stations, which is crucial in route planning and total journey time and creates uncertainty in efficiency and operating costs, calls for new economic and statistical methods in sustainability development and environmental economics. This paper aims to examine the challenges of integrating electric vehicles into freight transport to improve distribution logistics’ environmental sustainability, which represents one of the pathways for reducing environmental risk.
The analysis results underscore the inadequacy of the truck charging station network in the Czech Republic. This insufficiency presents an opportunity to enhance environmental sustainability and reduce carbon emissions through strategic analysis and optimizing charging station locations. The difficulty of identifying optimal locations for these stations, given truck availability, requires using multi-criteria decision-making techniques such as the Analytical Network Process (ANP).
Municipalities with limited access to existing logistics facilities were considered during the simulation. This way, 15 new locations were identified for municipalities with insufficient distance to a charging station.
By implementing the ANP method, the study contributes to a more environmentally sustainable transportation infrastructure, highlighting the potential for significant reductions in carbon emissions through improved charging station networks. These results apply to other countries and can provide novel insights on optimizing charging station locations for sustainable economic development and reducing freight transport’s carbon emissions and environmental risks.

This study aims to investigate the complex association between institutional pressure, adoption of environmental management accounting (EMA), and financial performance, with corporate environmental ethics as a moderating component. It explains why and how firms adopt EMA in response to institutional demand to factor environmental factors into their strategic decision-making processes. Quantitative information is gathered using a structured questionnaire from 256 manufacturing companies’ environmental managers and executives who monitor environmental practices and policies and decision-makers who shape business environmental ethics and strategy in the Indian state of Karnataka. Data are analyzed using SmartPLS 4, and PLS-SEM tests the hypotheses. The results show that coercive pressure (β = 0.244, p = 0.000), mimetic pressure (β = 0.221, p = 0.000), and normative pressure (β = 0.209, p = 0.000) have a major role in determining the rate of EMA adoption. It is further identified that EMA adoption (β = 0.217, p = 0.000) positively influences the organization's financial performance. Furthermore, EMA adoption mediates the relationship between coercive pressure (β = 0.053, p = 0.000), normative pressure (β = 0.045, p = 0.000), mimetic pressure (β = 0.048, p = 0.000), and firm’s financial performance. Coercive pressure is associated with higher EMA adoption, although the impact of this link is moderated by corporate environmental ethics (β = 0.069, p = 0.000).

The problems of pollution, global warming, and environmental damage are currently relevant and vital challenges for corporations, governments, and society. The implementation of green accounting is one of the responses of corporations to overcome sustainability issues. This study aims to examine the impact of green accounting on the level of environmental performance and the impact of environmental performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. This study also tests the role of environmental performance as a mediating variable in the relationship between green accounting and CSR disclosure. The sample consists of 95 listed Indonesian firms during the period 2017–2021. The results show that the adoption of green accounting positively affects environmental performance (coefficient is 0.291 and p-value < 0.01). Meanwhile, environmental performance positively affects CSR disclosure with a coefficient of 0.296 and a p-value < 0.01. The empirical evidence also shows that environmental performance has a critical role as a mediating variable in the effect of green accounting on CSR disclosure.

Organic farming is an essential approach to agriculture that seeks to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment and ensure the sustainability of food production. The study aims to determine the integral index of the development of organic farming and to create a clustering model of organic farming in European countries. As a research methodology, additive-multiplicative convolution was used to determine the integral index of organic farming development. Cluster analysis (the Ward method and the k-means clustering method) identified respective clusters. The integrated index is based on eight indicators of organic farming from the Eurostat database, 2012–2020, and ranges from zero to one. The following countries have the highest value of the integral index: Italy (0.57), France (0.54), Spain (0.54), Germany (0.45), and Turkey (0.47). Three clusters were identified according to eight indicators of organic agriculture. The first cluster includes countries-leaders in agricultural territories (about 2.1 million hectare) with the highest state financial support for agricultural research and development (1.1 billion euros). The second cluster includes countries with the most minor organic farming operators (50-100 operators). The third cluster includes countries with the highest index of annual income from the sale of farm products (200-220 points) but with the highest level of usage of dangerous pesticides (250 points). The heterogeneity of clusters allows one to determine the strengths and weaknesses of organic farming in European countries.

Given the global climate emergency and the complex financing problems facing developing countries, some economists are advocating the introduction of payments for environmental services. The question is whether payments for environmental services will enable developing countries to make the ecological transition compatible with the economic growth they need to develop. This study presents a theoretical analysis of the economic and ecological efficiency of such a mechanism, and aims to determine whether it has any recessionary or disincentive effects. In other words, it determines whether, from a theoretical point of view, the environmental services provided by developing countries are compatible with continued growth. The study introduces a “payments for environmental services” procedure into a general equilibrium model (with involuntary unemployment) composed of multinational firms in developed and developing economies. This theoretical model yields the following results. Firstly, higher ecological taxes can directly increase environmental services without any recessionary effect. The system of payments for environmental services means that green investment is not necessarily incompatible with growth and development in developing countries. On the other hand, services in return for environmental payments can lead to a rebound effect from polluting activities, which is why such programs need to be accompanied by more radical environmental policies. In conclusion, while payments for environmental services can promote both ecological transition and growth in developing countries, it is necessary to control the rebound effect arising from the development of economic activity.

This study explores the pathways to sustainable consumption among Gen Z and Millennials in Indonesia, focusing on the roles of health awareness, lifestyle behavior, and trust. Sustainable consumption in this context refers to conscientious choices made by individuals to minimize negative impacts on the environment and society while supporting personal health and well-being. A total of 210 respondents, representing consumers aged 18 to 42, who had purchased from healthy food restaurants in Jakarta, participated in the survey. This age range was chosen to encompass both Generation Z and Millennials, with a focus on individuals who are likely to be financially independent and capable of purchasing food for themselves. This sample was chosen to capture insights from key demographics known for their influence on consumption patterns and environmental awareness. Utilizing structural equation modeling, the analysis reveals that health awareness and lifestyle behavior significantly influence healthy food choices and sustainable consumption patterns. The direct path coefficient from lifestyle behavior to sustainable consumption (β = 0.394) surpassed that of health awareness (β = 0.134), underscoring the importance of lifestyle factors in driving sustainable consumption behaviors. Furthermore, trust emerged as a significant mediator between these factors and sustainable consumption. Health awareness and lifestyle behavior explained 65.3% of the variance in healthy food choices and influenced consumer trust by 39.7%. Additionally, lifestyle behavior and trust accounted for 61.2% of the variance in sustainable consumption. These findings highlight the critical role of lifestyle choices and trust-building efforts in fostering sustainable consumption behaviors among Gen Z and Millennials in Indonesia.

Green economy issues can occur both in the external and internal environment of business entities in terms of intellectual capital activities, social responsibility, and competitive advantage. This study aims to examine the relationship between intellectual capital, corporate social responsibility, firm performance, and competitive advantage through the mediating role of firm performance from a green perspective. Data were collected from annual reports accessed through the official Stock Exchange websites in each respective research country. The number of samples used is 60 sample data from pharmaceutical companies in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Data analysis is carried out using multiple linear regression, path analysis, and Sobel test. This study shows that green intellectual capital, corporate social responsibility, and firm performance have a significant effect on green competitive advantage. Green intellectual capital and green corporate social responsibility have a significant effect on firm performance. Regarding mediating relationships, the results showed green intellectual capital and corporate social responsibility can increase green competitive advantage through firm performance. This shows that a company manager should pay attention to improving intellectual capital capability and corporate social responsibility because they have been proven to improve firm performance and competitive advantage in the context of green economy issues.

Despite numerous studies in the domain of green bonds, a paucity of literature concentrates on emerging countries’ green bonds. To fill this void, this study aims to examine the factors influencing green bond yield in the Asian and Latin American contexts. The data are compiled from the Bloomberg and Fred databases between 2017 and 2022. The panel regression with the Generalized Least Square method was employed. The results reveal that Asian green bonds provide higher yields with less risk to their investors than Latin American green bonds. The regression results of Asian green bonds show negligible effects of all factors, except coupon rate with a positive effect (β = 0.844), indicating its remarkable influence on green bond yield. However, the findings of Latin American green bonds uncover that coupon (β = 0.780), maturity (β = 0.025), and bond rate (β = 2.472) surpass the green bonds yield due to their positive effects, whereas issue size (β = –1.215) causes a reduction in the green bonds yield with their negative effect. Further, Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosure shows a positive (β = 1.611) effect, indicating better yield for investors due to their potential power to vanish greenwashing in these markets. Moreover, interest rate and GDP exert significant positive (β = 0.141) and negative (β = –0.030) effects on green bond yield, respectively. This observation implies that higher lending rates increase bond yield, whereas GDP-led growth provides lower yield due to better economic prospects and high investor demand for the bonds.

Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, for providing financial assistance in the form of a “JRF Contingency Grant” for this research article.

The purpose of the paper is to study the impact of corporate sustainability practices on the financial performance of companies included in the BIST Sustainability 25 Index. To assess the efficiency and quality of corporate sustainability, general (ESG Disclosure Index) and partial (Environmental Disclosure Index, Social Disclosure Index, and Corporate Governance Disclosure Index) indices were used, calculated based on content analysis of sustainability reports. Based on the two given types of indices and four types of financial performance indicators (return on assets, return on equity, assets turnover ratio, and Tobin’s Q), two types of regression models (GEN models and PART models) were built, and eight analytical models were examined. Company size and leverage were included as control variables in each model. The regression analysis results were contradictory, partially confirming the conclusions of some scientists and refuting the findings of others. A study of GEN models revealed that companies implementing more effective general corporate sustainability practices have a significant positive impact only on return on equity; as for other measures (return on assets, assets turnover ratio, and Tobin’s Q), an insignificant relationship between them and ESG Disclosure Index was found. Results of the PART models analysis revealed a significant positive effect of the Social Disclosure Index on return on equity and assets turnover ratio and a negative relationship between the Corporate Governance Disclosure Index and assets turnover ratio. Using control variables for the two types of models showed a significant negative effect of company size on Tobin’s Q.

Acknowledgment
This study was supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ukraine within the project “Development of a mechanism for the sustainable development of economic systems in the conditions of military operations and post-war recovery of the economy” (Registration number of the project: 0124U000463).

Concerns for the environment and sustainability require entities to contribute to societal development toward sustainable advancement. There is also an increasing demand for high-quality and reliable reports on sustainability-related matters. The study aims to highlight the impact of sustainability reporting initiatives on financial performance through the GRI reporting framework and four determinants of financial performance – return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS). Conducting random effects generalized least square (GLS) regression, this paper examines 127 firm-year observations from 47 Philippine listed entities covering 2019–2021. The results show a significant negative relationship between the total sustainability reporting initiative index score and financial performance, represented by return on equity (coefficient = –0.4690, z-value = –1.68). Moreover, there is a positive significant relationship between economic reporting and financial performance, particularly return on assets, basic earnings per share, and diluted earnings per share (coefficients = 0.1590, 12.6200, 12.6500; z-values = 3.11, 1.72, 1.73). A negative significant relationship exists between social reporting and financial performance, particularly return on equity and basic and diluted earnings per share (coefficients = –0.5530, –14.1600, –14.1400; z-values = –2.04, –2.65, –2.65). This study pioneers an investigation into the nascent implementation of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sustainability reporting and the implications of sustainability initiatives on corporate performance in the Philippines. The results shed light on the dynamics of sustainability initiatives and financial outcomes to encourage firms to harmonize economic success with environmental preservation and societal advancement toward value creation.

Payment for ecosystem services is a conservation strategy designed to offer farmers financial incentives for managing land to provide ecological benefits without disturbing livelihoods. However, the distribution of spatial financial feasibility is challenging when implementing this strategy on watershed scale. This study aimed to develop payment for ecosystem services model to improve quality in lake water catchment. The model estimated incentive values based on the costs of farmers’ losses, water yields, and pollution loads. The potential loss was calculated by determining the income of farmers in lake water catchment spent on land conversion from intensive agriculture to agroforestry. Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) modeling tool was used to calculate water yield and pollution load. The model was tested with case study approach at Lake Rawa Pening in Indonesia, consisting of nine sub-basins and 75 village administrations. The results showed that the reference compensation for farmers was 1,255.97 USD/ha/year. Considering the spatial distribution of water yields, the incentive for each village varied widely from 891.54 USD/ha/year to 1,557.06 USD/ha/year, even within the same sub-basin. Ten villages had an incentive above 1,450.00 USD/ha/year. However, considering the water pollution load, 26 villages had an incentive above 1,450.00 USD/ha/year with a maximum of 2,024.17 USD/ha/year. Therefore, village boundary should be an analysis unit for determining spatial incentive feasibility rather than a sub-basin boundary. Moreover, the level of water pollution load can become an additional variable to justify the amount of incentives received by farmers.

Environmental taxes ensure sustainable development, but their fiscal and environmental effectiveness differs for countries with different socio-economic characteristics. This study aims to compare the impact of environmental tax revenues on economy’s decarbonization (measured through carbon productivity – the ratio of GDP to carbon dioxide emissions) in different countries, considering their green technologies development and carbon emissions. The paper analyzed OECD and World Bank statistical data for 38 OECD countries for 2002–2021 using linear panel regression models with fixed and random effects (using Hausman test and STATA 18). To identify explicit and latent patterns of this influence, which are common to certain countries, this analysis did not consider each country separately but targeted clusters, distinguished by Ward and Sturges methods based on the effective tax rate on carbon emissions, total environmental tax revenues, total carbon emissions, and carbon productivity. The positive influence of environmental tax revenues on the economy’s decarbonization level has been confirmed for 29 countries (four from six clusters). The effect is the largest for the USA (an increase in tax revenues by 1% leads to an increase in carbon productivity by 0.9% on average) and the smallest – for the cluster including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Korea, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and the Great Britain (increase – 0.1%). The negative impact was confirmed for nine countries (two from six clusters): Denmark, Finland, Israel, Latvia, and Sweden (decrease – 0.3%) and Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovenia (decrease – 0.21%).

Environmental management accounting practices (EMAPs) have become pervasive, and continued efforts to ensure universal implementation across various sectors often represent financial implications for organizations. Despite many studies that examined the relationship between EMAPs and financial performance, the debate is still inconclusive. Therefore, the study paves the way for chemical firms to explore the effectiveness of EMAPs’ implementation for both financial and environmental gain. The study used purposive sampling to gather quantitative secondary data from annual integrated reports of chemical firms to examine the relationship between EMAPs and financial performance in the South African chemical industries during 2016–2022. Following the results from the regression estimations, two of the EMAPs – water and energy usage – have had a positive relationship with financial performance, with the latter being highly significant. Contradictorily, carbon emissions and environmental expenditure adversely and insignificantly influenced financial performance. The results suggest that chemical firms have in place ineffective carbon management strategies that fail to generate sustainable returns. Overall, the results acknowledge the efforts of chemical industries in making substantial contributions to enhance environmental performance and encourage environmentalists and policymakers to reconfigure environmental policies for improved environmental and financial performance. Further research on environmental management accounting (EMA) barriers in chemical industries is imperative to achieving environmental sustainability.

Effective waste management is fundamental to sustainable development and the well-being of societies. This study focuses on the financial efficiency of urban waste collection in Portuguese municipalities, with the aim to analyze the effects of the allocation of public resources in the waste management sector. The main objective is to analyze the relationship between public spending and waste collection over a five-year period. Through the application of the classic data envelopment analysis model (DEA), the study seeks to observe the existence of benchmarking patterns, identify possible inefficiencies, and determine opportunities for improvement in urban waste management and collection practices. The results suggest substantial variations in waste collection efficiency between municipalities and a positive correlation between public spending and the volume of waste collected. The results emphasize the need for a strategic allocation of financial resources in order to promote sustainable waste management practices. The paper highlights the importance of municipalities reassessing their strategies for allocating financial resources to ensure a better balance between funding and efficiency in the use of resources. The conclusions offer valuable practical implications for defining strategies and managing municipal waste collection services in Portugal and other countries with similar contexts.

Acknowledgment
This article is financed by Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal [Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal]. 

Most of the recent environmental and economic studies focus on the influence of renewable energy consumption and effective government expenditure respecting global climate change in leading sustainable economic growth. The empirical studies showed variation in the relationship between these variables. Based on the Keynesian economic growth framework, this study aims to investigate the impact of government expenditure, renewable energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions on the sustainable economic growth of Lebanon. The study used the ordinary least square method to test the short- and long-run relationship between the model variables by employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Stationarity estimation. The research data are gathered from the World Development Indicators annually from 1990 to 2022. The empirical findings showed that all variables are stationary at first difference except for carbon dioxide emissions. A long-term relationship between the dependent and independent variables was shown by the model test simulation employing the bound test. The model test for model residuals showed no heteroscedasticity based on the White test. The residuals are normally distributed by applying the Shapiro-Wilk test, and the model is stable with no structural break at the period. According to the study results, government spending has a robust reverse relation with sustainable economic growth and positive significant results for both renewable energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The study findings are consistent with some literature sources and raise attention to monitoring the nature of government spending and boosting green energy sources in an economy.