scholarly journals What Is Still Necessary for Supporting the SDG7 in the Most Vulnerable Contexts?

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 7184
Author(s):  
Andrea A. Eras-Almeida ◽  
Miguel A. Egido-Aguilera
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Small Islands ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Goods And Services

The common agreement of the United Nation members pushes the 2030 Agenda ahead to alleviate poverty and ensure wellbeing for all, recognizing energy as a crucial pathway to achieving this goal under three core dimensions: human development, sustainable economic growth, and environmental sustainability. Affordable and clean energy is represented by the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). This great scope represents a multifaceted challenge for all countries, especially for the most disadvantaged environments such as small islands and rural areas from developing countries. Both small islands and rural areas experience a scarcity of goods and services such as energy and are isolated from markets, have lack of human resources, difficulties in deploying economies of scale, and other issues that affect their development. Along the same line, their energy security is limited by their dependence on imported fuels, increasing electricity prices or making it infeasible to access electricity. This research builds the state of the art of off-grid energy systems for both contexts based on an extensive review of literature. The evidence shows that moving sustainable energy systems forward requires getting more people involved, the application of several business models, prevalent technological innovations, and the application of technical quality procedures. This perspective would really help to address the vulnerabilities of fragile locations. Here, auctions, the Energy Service Company, community, and Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) models and renewable energy projects based on mature technology present a great opportunity for a sustainable future, powering a nexus among energy, environment, and society.

scholarly journals Digitalization in Realization of Ecological and Economic Principles of Managing Sustainable Development of Agrarian Enterprises

2020 ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
М.V. Zos-Kior ◽  
V.Y. Ilin ◽  
I.M. Kyryliuk ◽  
O.V. Solod
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Partnerships ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Agricultural Enterprises ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Agricultural Enterprise

The article describes the digitalization of ecological and economic principles of agricultural enterprise development management. It presents effective techniques for adapting enterprises to the challenges of the smart economy, which changes human needs, products, services, value chains, markets, processes, business models, forms of competition and business partnerships. The article proves the efficiency of precision farming, which includes parallel driving, yield mapping, differentiated application of seeds and fertilizers. It is determined that the lack of systemic demand for digital solutions from domestic agricultural enterprises and rural communities and unpreparedness (strategic, financial, technological, personnel, organizational, etc.) of most enterprises and communities to cardinal innovations significantly deter the formation of smart agribusiness in Ukraine. The article describes the system of measured indicators and capabilities of the Hummingbird Technologies platform and consequences of its implementation for land management, in particular normalized relative biomass index, leaf surface index, crop heterogeneity map, plant lodging risk map, weed map, seedling density map, electronic maps creation tasks, task map for differentiated desiccation, task map for differentiated application of herbicides, task map for differentiated application of growth regulators in plants. It justifies the need to intensify the work of rural a community, which try to communicate with agricultural producers on mutually beneficial terms and with other stakeholders for the sustainable development of rural areas. The issues of participation of rural communities in projects to increase soil fertility, organization of organic farms, service cooperatives, which are directly or indirectly related to the effective management of environmental and economic development of agricultural enterprises. The article shows the necessity of professional development of business engineers, personnel and strengthening of role of analytics for agricultural enterprises to digitalize the economic activity.

scholarly journals Sharing, households and sustainable consumption

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Yates
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Domestic Sphere ◽  
Domestic Consumption ◽  
Domestic Activity ◽  
Standard Material ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Market State

Recently, economists and environmental scientists have problematised households, showing that their reducing size in average number of inhabitants has implications for environmental sustainability due to losses in economies of scale. Findings suggest that resources are shared better when people live together. This article analyses this common domestic consumption, drawing on literature about households, sharing and sustainable consumption. It is argued that multiple-person households apportion the resources involved in supplying practices through three modes of sharing: successive sharing, simultaneous sharing and shared/divided work. These are underpinned and enabled by standard material arrangements of households, in which a minimum of certain goods and services are available to residents regardless of number. Exemplifying the perspective, I examine recent survey data relating to meals and domestic laundry, two sociologically significant and resource-intensive spheres of domestic activity, paying attention to differences across one-person and multiple-person households. Modes of sharing, it is argued, also surfeit the domestic sphere, with market, state and household infrastructures playing contextually variable roles in provisioning goods and services among populations.

scholarly journals sustainable Development Strategy through GRI with Reference to VEDANTA Company

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-55
Author(s):  
Meghana Salins ◽  
Sujaya H ◽  
P. S. Aithal
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Use Of Resources

Sustainable development has become one of the key principles for succeeding human development goals while at the same time strengthening the power of natural systems in order to provide ecosystem services which the economy and society depends upon. The society’s end result is where the use of resources and the living conditions prolong to meet the human needs without hindering the balance of the natural systems. If ever focusing on Environmental sustainability, it will have a concern with the natural environment and how it remains diverse and productive. For natural resources are derived from the environment, the state of water, air, soil are of particular concern. GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) has an important role to form a framework of sustainable development in businesses, government and other organizations. The goal of the sustainable development process is to achieve the status of ‘sustainability’ in all communities. It is important to make compatible with developed and flexible using the standards laid down by GRI therefore in the long term,strategies’ of sustainable development should assist the continuance of the system of biodiversity of city and suburbs through the active protection and sustainable utilization of natural sources. Therefore in order to achieve sustainability, it is necessary to make structural reforms as regarded in the standards set by GRI and to create some deep and fundamental changes in all levels of communities. Sustainable Business Models (SBM) integrates a triple bottom line approach and includes stakeholder interests, including the environment and society. They are important in implementing business innovation for sustainability and can help fix sustainability into corporate purpose, and serve as a key driver of competitive advantage. This study focuses on the analysis of the sustainable development of Vedanta Company

Alternative Spatial Structure for Sustainable Rural Economy

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Spatial Reorganization ◽  
Problematic Issue

In developed countries with declining population growth, sustainable rural economic growth is a problematic issue that is made more difficult by severe international cost-saving competition. Well-organized spatial and economic systems may play a key role in solving this specific problem. These systems can be achieved by spatial reorganization and agglomeration economies in less congested rural areas. However, rural areas typically have lower levels of social welfare partly as a result of the limited variety of goods and services, which further reduces centripetal forces on population and economic activity. Accordingly, in rural areas, it may be important to organize a spatial structure that sustains the distribution of a variety of goods and services in insufficient economies of scale and scope by coordinating a common local central place as an interregional spatial framework. This article examines a location model for forming an intermediate hierarchical center to maintain both efficiency and equity for economic agents in rural areas.

scholarly journals Arguments in Favor of Moving to a Sustainable Business Model in the Apiary Industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Diana Panța
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
The Sustainable Development

Abstract Today’s society faces major challenges in meeting future global food demands and solving biodiversity loss, and it quickly needs to find ways in addressing these issues. The places to look for solutions come from the economic sectors that employ the most powerful pressure on these issues such as agriculture. Apiculture, as a branch of agriculture is being more and more recognized as sustaining human life and contributing to sustainability. However, the sector records a progressive decline of honey bees. Therefore, a rapid restructuring needs to take place in agricultural markets, in general, as well as in apiary agribusinesses. Although important, technological progress is insufficient in providing the necessary changes to achieve long-term economic, social and environmental sustainability, which should be considered both within and between generations. Consequently, sustainable business models encourage sustainable development through a triple bottom line approach and provide an analytical tool for firms into assessing the different aspects that are combined in order to create value. Since literature has paid little attention to the sustainable development in the apiary agribusiness, the present paper aims to link the two using a business model perspective and bring arguments in favor of moving to a sustainable business model.

scholarly journals Perspectives on the pervasive energy-systems transformations

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nebojsa Nakicenovic
Keyword(s):  
Energy Systems ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Sustainable Future ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
End Use ◽  
Systems Transformation

Abstract Energy is central for the global decarbonization and the achievement of a sustainable future for all. This calls for a fundamental energy-systems transformation that would bring multiple co-benefits for health, climate and other challenges facing humanity and especially those without access to affordable and clean energy services. Pervasive transformation toward zero-carbon electricity and electrification of energy end use are central to achieving higher efficiencies, decarbonization and net-zero emissions. This is not merely a technical and economic issue. It is about people, about societies and about values and behaviors. Technology is an integral part of the society and an expression of collective intentionality through aggregation of sundry individual choices. The next disruptive transformation toward a sustainable future may indeed be powered by the digital revolution. It poses dangers for privacy, dissemination of alternative realities and erosion of evidence-based information but it also offers a great promise of catalyzing the emergence of a sustainable future by augmenting human capabilities by new, more convenient, more efficient and decarbonized goods and services. The key question is whether humanity will have the political will to collectively achieve the energy-systems transformation toward a sustainable future and net-zero emissions in merely three decades.

scholarly journals Socio-economic and spatial determinants of municipal cultural spending

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Getzner
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Spatial Effects ◽  
Spatial Correlations ◽  
Cultural Goods ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Main Determinants ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Political Variables

AbstractThe determinants of the expenditure of Austrian municipalities for cultural affairs are ascertained in a panel time series framework. The Austrian municipalities spend about € 93 per capita a year for cultural affairs (approximately 4% of the total municipal expenditure). The econometric estimations revealed that the size of the municipality, and various socio-economic, fiscal and political variables, are the main determinants of municipal cultural spending. The results of the estimations infer a rather small but nevertheless significant spatial dependence of cultural spending. An increase of 10% of cultural spending in the neighboring regions leads to an increase of 0.6–1.5% in a representative municipality (however, the potentially overlapping and contradicting reasons for spatial correlations could not be disentangled in this paper). In comparison to the spatial effects, the size of the municipality is a more significant predictor of municipal cultural spending. The larger cities provide many cultural goods and services to the surrounding areas by utilizing economies of scale and density. It can be concluded that municipalities, in particular in rural areas, should increase their efforts for co-operation in order to improve the efficiency of cultural spending.

scholarly journals Agro-Pruning for Energy as a Link between Rural Development and Clean Energy Policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biljana Kulišić ◽  
Tajana Radić ◽  
Mario Njavro
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy Planning ◽  
Perennial Crop ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Classical Energy ◽  
Solid Biofuel

Agrarian pruning and plantation removal (APPR) is a common residue from pomo-technical maintenance of orchards, vineyards, and olive groves, frequently overlooked by the energy sector. This paper sheds new light on the socio-economic role of APPR as solid biofuel. The paper suggests business models that could both alleviate energy poverty in rural areas and increase the competitiveness of perennial crop (fruits, olives, vine) production. The effects of mobilizing APPR potential via business models are estimated at the micro (households’ income) and macro (number of households affected, size of the investment, tax effect, CO2eq savings) levels in the Croatian setting. Contrary to classical energy planning, the paper provides an approach that fosters local use of bioenergy by linking rural development with renewable energy end-use. The approach linked pruning energy potential with 47% of Croatian rural households which allows creating an evidence-based policy for rural development utilizing APPR as a sustainable solid biofuel. The most attractive business model for Croatian rural areas is utilization of APPR as a solid biofuel. It could be used as an energy poverty alleviation measure, allowing savings per heating season equivalent to 5%–11% of the average disposable income per household. Net APPR influence at VAT tax is estimated at 5.5 million euro·y−1. The paper proves that using average values for APPR in energy planning could be misleading.

scholarly journals The Economic Benefits of the New Climate Economy in Rural America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devashree Saha ◽  
Alex Rudee ◽  
Haley Leslie-Bole ◽  
Tom Cyrs
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Rural America ◽  
Fuel Production ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Working Paper ◽  
Rural Places

Rural US communities can reap significant benefits from investments in the new climate economy, including measures to advance clean energy systems, remediate abandoned fossil fuel production sites, restore trees to the landscape and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Collectively, these measures can create new economic opportunities in rural places while addressing climate change. This working paper presents a detailed analysis of the rural economic impact from federal policies that invest in the new climate economy, including information about the geographic and sectoral distribution of those investments. This analysis finds that with a total annual federal investment of $55 billion, nearly $15 billion would flow to rural counties, supporting nearly 260,000 rural jobs over at least five years. This working paper also offers recommendation on policy vehicles to ensure that federal investment reaches rural areas and communities most in need.

scholarly journals Powering community electrical loads in Cameroon using off-grid hybrid energy systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 20-48
Author(s):  
Dan Nchelatebe Nkwetta
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Electric Grid ◽  
Hybrid Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Technologies ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Electrical Loads

The millions of users in developing countries often live far off the electric grid (rural areas) which seems not very cost effective extending the national grid to these rural areas as per respective governments. Africa’s total primary energy supply has seen an increasing annual rate of about 3%, seeming to be the highest among all other continents. The African continent as a whole is endowed with large renewable energy potential, varying in type across diverse geographic locations. These resources, and the settings in which they exist, can point to country or regional specific renewable energy solutions to fit each nation’s strengths and needs. In Sub-Saharan Africa, reliable access to electric power must be consider a basic precondition to improve people’s lives as it further promote education, health care and economic growth via the creation of sustainable and clean energy jobs. Until recently, renewable energy technologies (RETs) have been confronted with a huge up-front cost and technologies in development but massive and global deployment of renewable energy systems has led to significant cost reductions and performance improvements and the hope is to see increasing uptake of RETs by African countries. Cameroon a Central African country is heavily reliant on hydropower, which contributes an estimated 60% to the country’s total installed 1,400MW capacity in 2015. In addition, there is constants power failure due to the non-reliability of the electric grid and load shedding to meet increasing demand. However, climate change poses additional huge risk (large reservoirs and dams drying up) and to meet the increasing demand, Cameroon is being forced to seek alternative power sources. This paper proposes the need for a sustainable hybrid energy system design and the development of an effective design, simulation and analysis approach of stand-alone off-grid in Cameroon as a potential optimal solution to help power community electrical loads. Finding an optimized mix of renewable energy technologies for Bandjoun and Muyuka were the goals of this paper.

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