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Climate Change: Public Policy and Business Strategy Perspectives

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (19 February 2024) | Viewed by 4093

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Fang Zhao

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Guest Editor

1. Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
2. Peter J. Tobin College of Business, St. John’s University, New York, NY 10065, USA
Interests: digital transformation; digital entrepreneurship

Prof. Dr. Linzi J. Kemp

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Guest Editor

School of Business, American University of Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Interests: diversity, inclusion and equity; organizational behavior; leadership; women and organizations

Dr. Tolu Olarewaju

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Guest Editor

Keele Business School, Keele University, Keele, Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 5BG, UK
Interests: climate change; entrepreneurship; governance transparency; poverty reduction

Dr. Suwastika Naidu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Business and Management, University of the South Pacific, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji Islands
Interests: sustainability; change management; human resource management; digital age; e-government and finance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change has become the greatest challenge facing humanity, with significant and potentially irreversible impacts on our planet and society. Urgent action is needed to address climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing climate resilience, and transitioning to more sustainable and equitable systems.

Around the world, governments have implemented various policies to tackle climate change (Ghadge et al. 2020), including renewable energy incentives, carbon pricing, energy efficiency standards, investment in research and development for new and clean technologies, and land use policies on reforestation, afforestation, and the conservation of natural ecosystems. On the global stage, the Paris Agreement and the subsequent COPs reflect the joint international efforts to address the urgent global challenge of climate change and move towards a more sustainable future. It is important to note that the effectiveness of these policies depends on their design, implementation, and enforcement. Additionally, policies must be implemented at the appropriate scale, with international cooperation necessary to address the global challenge of climate change (Albitar et al. 2023).

At the business level, many business communities are facing increasingly challenging issues and risks, such as regulatory requirements related to emissions reduction, carbon pricing, and other sustainability-related issues; however, climate change also presents opportunities for businesses (Crecente et al. 2021). Entrepreneurial companies that are proactive in addressing climate change risks and opportunities could be better positioned to take advantage of emerging markets for clean energy technologies and sustainable products and services. Moreover, companies that are leaders in sustainability can attract environmentally conscious customers, investors, and employees.

While there already exists an abundant body of literature on the effects of climate change, our literature review identified a lack of rigorous and empirical research on policy issues and business strategies to tackle climate change.

This Special Issue aims to investigate key issues and solutions in tackling climate change by governments and business communities, emphasising multi-disciplinary research, cross-sectional thinking, and an international perspective.

We welcome evidence-based articles, including theoretical contributions related to this theme, including the following:

Corporate strategies;
Urban and regional planning;
Net zero cities;
Reducing emissions in the supply chain;
Emissions measurement and standards;
Circular economy;
Stakeholder engagement in tackling climate change;
Innovation and adoption from a management perspective;
Issues of social inclusion, equality, and diversity related to climate change;
ESG investment and corporate value creation;
Regulatory challenges in climate change.

References

Albitar, K.; Al-Shaer, H.; Liu, Y. S. Corporate to climate change: the effect of eco-innovation and climate governance. Res. Policy 2023, 52, 104697.
Crecente, F.; Sarabia, M.; del Val, M. T. Climate change policy and entrepreneurial opportunities. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 2021, 163, 120446.
Forino, G.; von Meding, J. Climate change adaptation across businesses in Australia: interpretations, implementations, and interactions. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2021, 23, 18540–18555.
Ghadge, A.; Wurtmann, H.; Seuring, S. Managing climate change risks in global supply chains: a review and research agenda. Int. J. Prod. Res. 2020, 58, 44–64.

Prof. Dr. Fang Zhao
Prof. Dr. Linzi J. Kemp
Dr. Tolu Olarewaju
Dr. Suwastika Naidu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

climate change
business strategy
public policy
environmental sustainability
net zero
emissions
circular economy
climate regulation
stakeholder engagement

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 327 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Impact of Climate Action on the Financial Performance of Food, Grocery, and Supermarket Retailers in the UK

by Tolu Olarewaju, Samir Dani, Collins Obeng-Fosu, Tayo Olarewaju and Abdul Jabbar

Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1785; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051785 - 21 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1297

Abstract

We examined the impact of climate action on the financial performance of eleven food, grocery, and supermarket retailers listed on the London Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2022. Our findings reveal a positive association between the climate mitigation efforts of these businesses and financial performance, particularly in terms of returns on assets (ROA). Through Ordinary Least Squares estimation, we identified that climate action practices such as renewable energy usage, waste reduction, adoption of energy-efficient technologies, eco-friendly packaging, and optimized transportation are significantly associated with the ROA of UK-based food, grocery, and supermarket retailers. This study is significant as these retailers often have extensive operations and supply chains that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. It demonstrates that engaging in climate mitigation measures can still lead to a positive ROA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change: Public Policy and Business Strategy Perspectives)

18 pages, 1868 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying and Prioritizing Barriers to Climate Technology International Cooperation from the Perspective of Korea

by Songhee Han, Jeonghee Park, Heeseob Lee, Wona Lee and JiHee Son

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10831; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410831 - 10 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1083

Abstract

Climate technology development and transfer have gained significant attention as a means to combat climate change and promote sustainable development. However, there is a lack of studies that systematically identify, categorize, and prioritize the barriers to technology transfer, especially within international cooperation projects. This paper addresses this literature gap by conducting an in-depth analysis of closure reports from Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) technical assistance projects and incorporating the perspectives of Korea which has the largest number of CTCN members. The 204 barriers identified from the 77 reports were grouped into 10 categories, and the information and awareness category had the largest number of barriers, followed by the institutional and organizational capacity and the technical categories. When prioritizing the 32 survey responses, the top three difficulties were economic and financial, legal and regulatory; category-level difficulties included ‘technical barriers,’ and sub-category-level difficulties included ‘COVID-19 restrictions’, ‘challenges in gathering good data’, and ‘limited budget.’ These findings will enhance the understanding of policymakers and practitioners on the significance of resource allocation, capacity-building efforts, and risk management strategies to improve the effectiveness of climate technology international cooperation projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change: Public Policy and Business Strategy Perspectives)

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Review

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21 pages, 3281 KiB

Open AccessReview

Developing Climate Change Adaptation Plans for the Health Sector at the Subnational Level

by Evelin Elizabeth Bocanegra Rios and Craig S. Thomson

Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1090; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031090 - 26 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1048

Abstract

Climate change impacts represent threats to the population worldwide, and the health sector which is responsible for taking care of their life and health will also be impacted. While the consequences of these impacts are imminent, little or nothing has been done by the health sector at national and subnational levels worldwide to prepare to respond to them. Therefore, health adaptation planning in regard to climate change is crucial to building climate-resilient health systems. This research aims to propose an approach containing phases and steps for developing a Health Adaptation Plan at a subnational level. The methodology involved the collection and analysis of several guidelines and tools provided by the WHO and other relevant organisations. This is supplemented by analysis of existing Health Adaptation Plans at national and subnational levels developed in different governmental organisations and systems worldwide since 2003. The findings included four phases and twelve steps for developing Health Adaptation Plans at subnational-level organisations in the health sector. The s establishes guidance for subnational organisations within the health sector that are planning to develop a Health Adaptation Plan. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change: Public Policy and Business Strategy Perspectives)

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