Issue #1 (Volume 16 2025)

This study examines the influence of green intellectual capital, green accounting, and green innovation on firm value and return on assets. Green intellectual capital refers to the knowledge and expertise of environmental sustainability, green accounting involves incorporating environmental costs into financial reporting, and green innovation focuses on developing environmentally friendly technologies and processes. Indicators for evaluating these factors include the Green Intellectual Capital Index, Global Reporting Index disclosures for green accounting, and green process and product innovation dimensions for green innovation. The study employs Warp PLS to analyze data from 88 companies listed on the Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI-KEHATI) index on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The findings indicate that green accounting significantly enhances firm value, while green innovation does not show a direct impact. However, all three factors positively influence return on asset (ROA). The moderating role of ROA was found to strengthen the relationship between green intellectual capital and green accounting with firm value, but it did not moderate the effect of green innovation. ROA was used as an indirect financial indicator to formulate the company’s profitability and strategic sustainability planning. These results highlight the importance of embedding sustainability into business strategies to enhance financial and environmental performance.

This study aims to examine the relationship between CO2 emissions, forest area, and GDP in each South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) country. This study uses a panel dataset that spans South Asian countries from 1990 to 2020 for econometric analysis. The Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS) method adds annual forested area to the regression model. The study results show that India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka must prioritize decoupling CO2 emissions from economic growth, as their strong correlation shows significant environmental costs of development. Although Bangladesh, Bhutan, and the Maldives are in a slightly better position, they need strategies to manage emissions as they progress economically. The study once again revealed a relationship between a 1% increase in GDP and a 0.68% rise in CO2 emissions, whereas a 1% increase in forest area led to a slightly higher 0.79% rise in CO2 over the period. The hypotheses testing results confirm a positive correlation between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions in SAARC countries, indicating that emissions rise as economies expand. Additionally, a negative relationship was found between forest area and carbon dioxide emissions, where larger forest coverage is linked to lower emissions. The conclusion is that an increase in forest area is associated with a relatively small increase in CO2 emissions, indicating that the relationship between forest area and CO2 emissions is less pronounced compared to GDP.

The purpose of this study is to explore the willingness to reduce plastic waste analyzing the effect of environmental orientation and environmental knowledge. The analysis was conducted at three universities, with respondents being 430 students who are categorized as Gen Z. The universities involved are State University of Surabaya, State Polytechnic of Malang, Indonesia, and College of Local Khon Kaen University, Thailand. Using path analysis, the paper revealed that environmental orientation and environmental knowledge significantly influence the willingness to reduce plastic waste. All variables used in the research model are significant for both the outer and inner models. This study confirms a positive and significant influence on the relationship between independent variables, as well as between independent and dependent variables. All relationships produce T statistic > T table (1.96). Environmental knowledge is positively and significantly influenced by environmental orientation by 32% (TStat = 3.535), willingness to reduce plastic waste (TStat = 6.874) is influenced by environmental orientation by 50%, and willingness to reduce plastic waste (TStat = 5.454) is influenced by environmental knowledge by 41%. The findings of this study are important, considering that Gen Z will be decision-makers not only for personal interests in their consumption behavior but also for Gen Z’s position as policymakers in the future.

Carbon taxes are increasingly recognized as a critical tool in mitigating climate change by reducing carbon emissions. This study analyzes research trends in carbon tax studies using bibliometric techniques and social network analysis to explore their environmental and economic impacts and policy implications. By analyzing 922 documents from 308 sources published between 1968 and 2024, the study identifies key topics, emerging trends, and collaboration patterns among researchers. The results show a significant increase in carbon tax publications and citations, particularly from 2000 to 2019, peaking around 2017–2019, followed by a decline after 2021. The most frequently studied topics include carbon tax effects on emissions reduction, economic balance, and environmental sustainability. Social network analysis reveals influential researchers and institutions driving the discourse on carbon taxes, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in shaping effective policies. These findings provide insights into the evolution of carbon tax policies and underscore the need for continued research on specialized themes such as the role of carbon taxes in supply chain management, social equity, and energy policy.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Rector and the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Hasanuddin University for their unwavering support and invaluable assistance in this analysis. Their commitment to advancing academic research and community service has been instrumental in completing this study.

This study examines the environmental effects of remittances in the five largest remittance-receiving countries (India, Mexico, China, the Philippines, and Pakistan) using panel data from 1990 to 2022 sourced from the World Development Indicators. The study employed a quantitative and analytical research design. Remittances are a critical component of economic stability in these countries, yet their impact on carbon emissions and environmental sustainability remains underexplored. The study utilized a dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) method to analyze study variables. Unit root and cointegration tests were performed to assess long-run relationships. A dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) (pooled estimation) results revealed that GDP per capita and trade openness have significant positive influences on CO₂ emissions. On the contrary, urban population has significant negative influences on CO₂ emissions. In contrast, remittances show no notable effect on CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the results show significant long-run cointegration among the variables, with GDP per capita, trade openness, and urban population identified as major drivers of CO2 emissions. These findings indicate that economic growth, trade liberalization, and demographic expansion are key drivers of environmental degradation, while the direct environmental impact of remittances appears minimal. The study recommends policymakers prioritize environmentally sustainable investments to align remittance-driven economic growth with global climate goals.

This study investigates the intricate interplay between the utilization of renewable energy sources and the fluctuations in unemployment rates in Uzbekistan during the period from 2000 to 2022, utilizing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model. The analysis leverages World Bank data to explore both short-term and long-term impacts, offering critical insights for policymakers and stakeholders. The findings reveal that an increase in renewable energy consumption has a statistically significant and negative impact on unemployment rates in the long run, with a 1% rise in renewable energy usage leading to a 1.86% decrease in unemployment. In addition, gross fixed capital formation and government expenditure significantly contribute to job creation, while domestic credit to the private sector shows a positive association with unemployment, suggesting inefficiencies in credit allocation. The results emphasize the crucial role of strategic investments in renewable energy as a pathway to address economic and environmental challenges. By promoting renewable energy initiatives, Uzbekistan can align its economic growth with sustainability goals, reduce carbon emissions, and create employment opportunities. This study provides empirical evidence supporting the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure as a means to foster economic development and social well-being. It also underscores the necessity of enhancing financial policy frameworks to ensure efficient credit distribution and maximize the employment benefits of renewable energy projects. The policy recommendations derived from this study advocate for targeted investments, financial sector reforms, and the development of specialized training programs to cultivate a skilled workforce in renewable energy sectors.

The renewable energy transition could support a clean environment in any region as per sustainable development goals. Thus, this paper aims to explore the impact of renewable energy transition on CO2 emissions in the fossil fuel-dependent 11 MENA economies from 2001 to 2023. For this purpose, the study employs novel cross-sectional dependence (CSD) techniques to find robust results. The results expose that income per capita positively influences emissions with a coefficient of 14.325. However, the square of income per capita reveals a negative connection with a coefficient of –0.765, which supports the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Moreover, urbanization increases emissions with a coefficient of 0.512. Contrariwise, the renewable energy transition mitigates emissions with a coefficient of –0.803. The study concludes that urbanization increases and renewable energy transition helps to mitigate emissions. Thus, the process of the renewable energy transition should be accelerated to further support environmental sustainability, and urbanization should be checked to reduce its environmental problems.

Acknowledgment
The authors extend their appreciation to Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University for funding this research work through the project number (PSAU/2024/02/31262). All utilized data for analysis are available at Mendeley Data (Mahmood, 2025).

Business development contributes to the sustainable economic development of the country while also leading to significant environmental changes at the global level. The greening of businesses is becoming a priority area of strategic management for companies, considering the growing environmental challenges and the need to move toward sustainable business models. This study aims to identify the historical, evolutionary, spatial, and conceptually scientific landscape of greening businesses through bibliometric analysis. The study analyzed 660 sources in the Scopus database from 1992 to 2024. The use of VOS Viewer software and the Scopus analysis tool has shown that greening business research has been of interest among many authors and is a growing trend. The rapid growth of publications from 2019 to 2024 shows its significance to many government agencies, business people, investors, and researchers. The growing number of scientific studies in economics, management, and ecology indicates a growing scientific focus on the problems of greening businesses. The United States occupies a leading position in research volume, while the United Kingdom and China emphasize their significant contribution to developing this concept. A comprehensive analysis of scientific publications identified seven key clusters reflecting the directions of modernization of environmental business. These include green technologies, green finance, and an economy focused on the environmental transformation of businesses. The dynamics of publication activity in these fields of science confirm the relevance of the concept of eco-friendly business and its significant potential for further scientific research and practical implementation.

Acknowledgments
This study is supported by the Committee of Science Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan [Grant BR21882122], Sustainable development of natural-industry and socio-economic systems in the West Kazakhstan region in the context of green growth: comprehensive analysis, concept, forecast assessments, and scenarios.

Resource productivity has become an important indicator of sustainable economic growth in a situation when natural resources are becoming scarce and environmental stress is growing. This paper examines the drivers of resource productivity in the case of the Netherlands and Hungary, two countries featuring diversified economies and contexts. This paper evaluates the contribution of waste management, renewable energy sources, human capital, investment, and innovation to sustainability by adopting a combined methods approach. Data from Eurostat and ODYSSEE databases, covering the period from 2011 to 2021, were analyzed using time series comparison and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that factors such as employment rate, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), waste recycling, and renewable energy significantly influence resource productivity. The results indicated absolute decoupling for the Netherlands, represented by a 40% increase in productivity with an 11% reduction in materials. In comparison, Hungary recorded relative decoupling with GDP and material consumption increasing by about 49% and 37%, respectively. These findings underpin the importance of tailored policies for the enhancement of resource efficiency and sustainable development.