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Studies on international environmental certification (IEC) have primarily focused on how certification can sustainably “upgrade” local production and trading practices. However, not many studies view this market-based governance process from the perspective of local practices and location-specific factors. This study therefore examines how the upstream of the local supply chain influenced global interventions through the case of certification for shrimp farming in the mangroves of southern Vietnam. To clarify various aspects of these interactions, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the provincial government, NGOs, a trading company, shrimp farmers, and middlemen. The results revealed that IEC did not affect local production practices and only partially influenced trade practices. The implementation of IEC was thus at the mercy of the robustness of local society, which was attributed to unique agroecology, production systems, and upstream customary economic practices.

The leather supply chain comprises numerous organizations and stakeholders, particularly when sustainability aspects are taken into account, making it a complex system. The complexity inherent in such systems can lead to inaccurate information, lack of transparency, and limited data provenance. Moreover, there has been a surge in the call for sustainable practices within leather production, propelled by growing environmental consciousness and ethical considerations. In this paper, we address these challenges by proposing a blockchain-based solution designed to ensure trusted and secure traceability and sustainability throughout the entire life cycle of leather products. By harnessing the inherent capabilities of Ethereum smart contracts and blockchain technology, such as decentralization, immutability, data integrity, and transparency, we guarantee the secure and reliable tracing of materials from the farm to the final consumer. Moreover, we provide proof of sustainability by which certification agencies monitor, audit, and approve the sustainable processes and practices carried out by the different stakeholders at all stages of production to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations. The paper presents the blockchain-based system architecture, implementation, and validation of algorithms and smart contracts. It also evaluates the security measures and cost-effectiveness of the system to offer valuable insights into its robustness and efficiency. We have made the developed smart contracts code publicly available on GitHub.

In the last decade, a rising number of firms have adopted voluntary international environmental management and product standards, such as the international ISO 14001 management standard or organic certification. Although emerging research analyzes the impact of these standards on environmental and financial performance, there is to our knowledge no empirical research on how they affect the productivity of employees. In this paper, we investigate the direct relationship between environmental standards and labor productivity, as well as two mediating mechanisms through which environmental standards influence labor productivity: employee training and enhanced interpersonal contacts within the firm. Our empirical results, based on a French employer—employee survey from 5220 firms, reveal that firms that have adopted environmental standards enjoy a one standard deviation higher labor productivity than firms that have not adopted such standards.

Among the main environmental problems of Russia, the problem of wastewater treatment and the problem of accumulation of solid municipal wastes are currently highlighted. In these conditions, it becomes fundamentally important to introduce environmental management directly in the places of waste and waste water generation, in particular at the objects of housing and communal services. The article considers the prospects of office greening as the smallest unit of housing and communal services, amenable to direct management. Various aspects of office greening (application of biodegradable cleaning and sanitation cleansers, energy efficiency, office waste management, etc.) are analyzed from the point of view of economic efficiency and regulatory support. The practice of environmental certification of buildings in Russia is not yet widespread, so all aspects of office greening should be occupied by the management of the company to which it belongs. The variants of the state control and stimulation of the companies' management to the implementation of the \"green office\" practice are offered.

We analyze the economics of green building, finding that recent increases in the supply of green buildings and the volatility in property markets have not affected the returns to green buildings. We then analyze a large cross-section of office buildings, demonstrating that economic returns to energy-efficient buildings are substantial. Finally, we relate the economic premiums for green buildings to their relative efficiency in energy use—the attributes rated for thermal efficiency, as well as sustainability, contribute to premiums in rents and asset values. Among green buildings, increased energy efficiency is fully capitalized into rents and asset values.

Initiatives certifying that producers of goods and services adhere to defined environmental and social-welfare production standards are increasingly popular. According to proponents, these initiatives create financial incentives for producers to improve their environmental, social, and economic performance. We reviewed the evidence on whether these initiatives have such benefits. We identified peer-reviewed, ex post, producer-level studies in economic sectors in which certification is particularly prevalent (bananas, coffee, fish products, forest products, and tourism operations), classified these studies on the basis of whether their design and methods likely generated credible results, summarized findings from the studies with credible results, and considered how these findings might guide future research. We found 46 relevant studies, most of which focused on coffee and forest products and examined fair-trade and Forest Stewardship Council certification. The methods used in 11 studies likely generated credible results. Of these 11 studies, nine examined the economic effects and two the environmental effects of certification. The results of four of the 11 studies, all of which examined economic effects, showed that certification has producer-level benefits. Hence, the evidence to support the hypothesis that certification benefits the environment or producers is limited. More evidence could be generated by incorporating rigorous, independent evaluation into the design and implementation of projects promoting certification. Las iniciativas de certificación de productores de bienes y servidos que se apegan a estàndares ambientales y de producción de bienestar social son cada vez más populares. De acuerdo con los proponentes, estas iniciativas crean incentivos financieros para que los productores mejoren su desempefío ambiental, social y económico. Revisamos la evidencia para ver si esas iniciativas tienen tales benefícios. Identificamos estudios ex post y a nivel de productores sometidos a revisión cientifica external, en sectores económicos en los que la certificación es particularmente prevalente (plátano, café, productos pesqueros, productos forestales y operaciones turísticas), los clasificamos considerando si su diseño y métodos generaron resultados creíbles, sintetizamos los hallazgos de los estúdios con resultados creíbles y consideramos como estos hallazgos pueden dirigir investigaciones en el futuro. Encontramos 46 estúdios relevantes, muchos de ellos enfocados en café y productos comerciales y con certificación de comercio justo y Forest Stewardship Council. Los métodos utilizados en 11 estudios generaron resultados creíbles. De estos 11 estudios, nueve examinaron los efectos económicos y dos los efectos ambientales de la certificación. Los resultados de cuatro de los 11 estudios, todos examinando efectos económicos, mostraron que la certificación tiene beneficios a nivel de productores. Por lo tanto, la evidencia para apoyar la hipótesis de que la certificación beneficia al ambiente o a los productores es limitada. Se deben generar mas evidencia mediante la incorporación de evaluaciones independientes más rigorosas en el diseño e implementación de proyectos que promueven la certificación.

The research examines Generation Z’s (Gen Z’s) attitudes, behavior and awareness regarding sustainability-oriented products in two European countries, located in the region of Western Balkans, Bosnia–Herzegovina and Serbia. The research deploys generational cohort theory (GCT) and a quantitative analysis of primary data collected through an online questionnaire among 1338 primary, high school and university students, all belonging to Generation Z. It deploys a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) by running both Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) procedures, the latter being suitable for binary variables, which have been deployed in the study. The results of MLCFA provide evidence that there is a statistically significant and relatively strong relation between sustainability and circular economy attitudes (SCEA) and sustainability and circular economy behavior (SCEB), while there is a statistically insignificant and relatively weak relation between sustainability and circular economy behavior (SCEB) and circular economy awareness (CEW). The results of the BCFA, which is based on MCMC procedure, are similar to the results based on a rather commonly used MLCFA procedure. The results also confirm that Gen Z knows more about the companies which recycle products than it does about the CE as a concept, while the vast majority is concerned about the future of the planet and is motivated to learn more about the CE through CE and various awareness-raising measures.

Eco-certification of food and other agricultural products has been promoted as a way of making markets work for sustainability. Certification programs offer a price premium to producers who invest in more sustainable practices. The literature on the impacts of certification has focused primarily on the economic benefits farmers perceive from participating in these schemes. These benefits, however, are often subject to price variability, offering only a partial explanation of why farmers join and stay in certification programs. We evaluated the potential of the Rainforest Alliance certification program to foster more resilient social-ecological systems in the face of globalization. Using the case of Santander, Colombia, and a pair-based comparison of 86 households to effectively produce a robust counterfactual, we showed that certification provides important environmental benefits, while improving the well-being of farmers and their communities. Furthermore, the study showed that price premiums are only one of many elements defining the success of certification, particularly important for motivating farmers to join, but less so to explain retention and upgrading. The case of Colombian coffee growers illustrates how the connections between local social-ecological systems and larger global forces can produce more sustainable livelihoods and land uses.