The integration of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into secondary education systems has been recognized as a critical strategy for promoting global sustainability. In the Greek context, a mixed-methods investigation was conducted to identify and evaluate effective practices for embedding the SDGs in secondary school settings by 2026. Drawing upon the theoretical frameworks of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Experiential Learning Theory (ELT), the study sought to examine the extent to which institutional leadership, teacher preparedness, curriculum design, and stakeholder collaboration contribute to the establishment of sustainability-oriented education. Quantitative data were collected through surveys administered to 286 secondary school teachers, while qualitative insights were derived from semi-structured interviews involving educators, school administrators, and external stakeholders such as NGOs and local community representatives. The findings indicate that leadership support constitutes the most influential predictor of successful SDG implementation, particularly when accompanied by strategic planning and the provision of targeted resources. Teacher training initiatives were found to significantly enhance the instructional capacity for sustainability-focused pedagogies, especially in the context of project-based and participatory learning models. Furthermore, partnerships with non-formal educational actors were shown to facilitate access to additional expertise and learning materials, thereby enriching both curricular and extracurricular initiatives. Programs such as sustainability clubs and interdisciplinary projects were identified as effective mechanisms for fostering critical thinking and applied problem-solving among students. Nonetheless, several systemic constraints—most notably institutional rigidity and limited resource allocation—were observed to impede widespread adoption. It is therefore proposed that by addressing these structural challenges and drawing upon international best practices, Greek secondary schools may achieve more robust alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Greenwashing—defined as the strategic misrepresentation of corporate environmental practices—has emerged as a focal point of critical discussion on social media platforms. In this study, discourse related to greenwashing on Twitter was analyzed to uncover key thematic structures, sentiment dynamics, and polarization patterns. A total of 308,075 tweets authored by 148,881 unique users between 1 January 2015 and 31 January 2023 were collected and subjected to topic modelling and sentiment analysis. Ten primary themes were identified: (1) Sustainability and Marketing, (2) Climate Change and Fossil Fuels, (3) International Summits and Activism, (4) The Green Deal, (5) Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investments, (6) Plastic Waste, (7) Fast Fashion, (8) The Automotive Industry, (9) Deforestation, and (10) Food and Agriculture. Sentiment analysis, conducted using the Valence Aware Dictionary and Sentiment Reasoner (VADER), revealed a predominantly critical tone across the dataset. Negative sentiment was detected in 35.54% of tweets, while only 12.86% conveyed a positive stance; the remaining 51.6% were classified as neutral. These findings underscore the pervasive skepticism towards corporate environmental claims and highlight the perceived dissonance between green marketing narratives and actual corporate behavior. Furthermore, the study illustrates how public sentiment clusters around specific themes, suggesting issue-based polarization in perceptions of environmental credibility. By integrating topic modelling with sentiment polarity analysis, this research offers an empirical framework for evaluating public discourse surrounding greenwashing. The insights derived may inform both corporate sustainability communication strategies and policy interventions aimed at fostering transparency and accountability. Overall, the evidence points to an urgent need for more authentic, verifiable, and ethically aligned environmental messaging to restore public trust in sustainability initiatives.
Accurate and consistent road boundary detection remains a fundamental requirement in autonomous driving, traffic surveillance, and intelligent transportation systems, particularly under diverse lighting and environmental conditions. To address the limitations of classical edge detectors in complex outdoor scenarios, a novel multi-channel edge detection framework is proposed, termed the Multi-Channel Functional Gradient–Entropy (MC-FGE) model. This model has been specifically designed for colour road imagery and incorporates a mathematically principled architecture to enhance structural clarity and semantic relevance. The initial phase involves channel-wise normalization of RGB data, followed by the computation of a fused gradient magnitude that preserves edge information across heterogeneous spectral distributions. Two original mathematical constructs are introduced: the Spectral Curvature Function (SCF), which quantifies local geometric sharpness by leveraging first- and second-order differential operators while exhibiting resilience to noise; and the Colour Entropy Potential Function, which captures local texture complexity and intensity-driven irregularity through entropy analysis of chromatic distributions. These functions are combined into a unified Functional Edge Strength Map (FESM), designed to emphasize semantically meaningful road-related boundaries while suppressing irrelevant background textures. A central innovation is the Log-Root Adaptive Thresholding Function (LRATF), which adaptively modulates threshold sensitivity by integrating curvature and entropy cues in a logarithmic-root formulation, thereby improving robustness to illumination variability, occlusions, and shadow interference. The final binary edge map is derived through precision thresholding of the FESM and refined using morphological post-processing to ensure topological continuity and suppress artefactual edge fragments. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations conducted across varied outdoor datasets demonstrate that the MC-FGE model consistently outperforms conventional edge detectors such as Canny, Sobel, and Laplacian of Gaussian, particularly in scenarios involving texture-rich road surfaces, poor lighting, and partial occlusion. The model not only exhibits enhanced detection accuracy and edge coherence but also offers improved interpretability of road features, contributing both a rigorous theoretical foundation and a scalable computational framework for adaptive edge-based scene understanding in road environments.
The intersection of political dynasties and environmental policymaking in Asia between 2015 and 2025 has been examined through a comprehensive bibliometric synthesis. Drawing upon 2,395 publications indexed in the Scopus database, the analysis was conducted using Biblioshiny, an interactive platform based on the Bibliometrix R package. A combination of thematic mapping, co-occurrence network analysis, and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was employed to identify prevailing research patterns, thematic structures, and collaborative networks across national and institutional contexts. Emphasis was placed on six Asian countries—India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand—where dynastic political continuity is notably entrenched and environmental policy challenges are particularly acute. Findings reveal that political dynasties have exerted both facilitative and obstructive influences on environmental governance, contingent upon national political structures, institutional robustness, and civil society engagement. Although a marked increase in transnational scientific output and institutional collaboration was observed—reflecting the growing global salience of environmental concerns—evidence suggests that entrenched dynastic interests frequently inhibit the translation of scientific knowledge into effective policy implementation. In particular, short-term political incentives and elite preservation strategies have been found to undermine regulatory continuity and transparency. Despite expanding scholarly engagement, gaps remain in policy accountability, especially in regions where dynastic influence dominates legislative and executive processes. It is therefore recommended that policy frameworks be restructured to enhance procedural transparency, institutional independence, and public participation in environmental decision-making. Strengthened international oversight mechanisms and cross-border cooperation are also proposed as means to mitigate the regressive effects of dynastic politics on environmental sustainability. By situating political dynasties within the broader discourse on environmental governance, this study contributes to a nuanced understanding of how elite continuity shapes policy efficacy and sustainable development trajectories in Asia.
With the growing concentration of populations in urban centres, ensuring resilient and sustainable food systems has become a critical priority. Disruptions in food supply chains, particularly in small cities with limited logistical flexibility, can severely compromise food availability. In response, the utilisation of urban green spaces for food production has been increasingly recognised as a viable strategy to enhance local self-sufficiency while contributing to broader environmental goals. This study evaluated the potential for integrating urban orchards, berry bushes, and apiaries within the public green spaces of Maribor, a small Slovenian city with a total area of 40 km². Emphasis was placed on publicly owned or publicly accessible land—including municipal holdings, state-owned plots, and land managed by public companies—that remains underutilised yet suitable for edible landscaping. Using spatial analysis conducted through QGis, available green space was quantified and assessed for suitability in supporting fruit trees, edible shrubs, and beekeeping installations. Estimates were then derived for the number of fruit and berry seedlings that could be planted, the volume of potential fruit and honey yields, and the corresponding contribution to carbon dioxide reduction through enhanced urban vegetation and decreased food transport dependency. The results indicate that even fragmented and seemingly marginal green areas possess significant aggregate potential for improving local food resilience, fostering community engagement, and delivering measurable carbon mitigation benefits. Furthermore, urban food forests and community orchards were identified as multifunctional landscape interventions that not only enhance food security but also improve urban biodiversity, air quality, and residents’ mental well-being. These findings align with the European Union’s objectives for urban ecosystem efficiency and carbon neutrality by 2050 and underscore the importance of integrating edible green infrastructure into urban planning frameworks. The study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting the role of decentralised, nature-based solutions in urban sustainability transitions.
Driven by the accelerating global demand for lithium as a strategic raw material for renewable energy storage systems and electric mobility, extensive extraction projects have been proposed across Europe. Among the most prominent is the development of lithium reserves in the Cínovec region of the Czech Republic. This study investigates how local actors perceive the anticipated environmental, economic, and social impacts of lithium mining in the region, and whether current regulatory and governance frameworks are perceived as sufficient to ensure sustainable mining practices. A mixed-methods approach has been employed, combining qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with policymakers, municipal leaders, mining license holders, and regional stakeholders, with quantitative analysis of public opinion data obtained through a survey of 256 residents, along with the systematic review of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), policy documents, and socio-economic datasets. The findings reveal a prevailing skepticism among local stakeholders regarding the project, with strong opposition rooted in concerns over environmental degradation—including risks to water quality, biodiversity, and landscape integrity. While economic benefits such as job creation and regional investment are acknowledged, doubts have been expressed about the equitable distribution of these benefits and the transparency of decision-making processes. A lack of effective public engagement and communication has been identified as a key factor exacerbating community distrust. Moreover, regulatory instruments have been perceived as fragmented and insufficiently enforced, raising questions about institutional readiness for sustainable resource governance. It is concluded that without substantial reforms to enhance procedural transparency, participatory governance, and environmental oversight, social acceptance of the project is unlikely to be secured. These results underscore the importance of aligning resource extraction initiatives with local socio-environmental contexts and of embedding sustainability principles within all phases of project development. The study contributes to current debates on critical raw material governance in the European Union and offers policy-relevant recommendations for designing inclusive, transparent, and environmentally responsible mining strategies that are sensitive to community resilience and long-term regional sustainability.
The transition toward Industry 5.0 has necessitated a deeper understanding of sustainable supply chain development, particularly within organic agricultural cooperatives operating in rural environments. In this context, a comprehensive assessment was conducted to examine the determinants influencing sustainable supply chains and to evaluate their maturity within organic agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam’s rural regions. A sample of 250 cooperatives was selected for analysis. The data were processed through a two-stage methodology: initially employing an ordinal logistic regression (OLR) model to identify key influencing factors, followed by the application of a sustainable supply chain maturity model to assess the developmental stage of these cooperatives. The results revealed that the average maturity level of sustainable supply chains among the surveyed cooperatives approached Level 3, suggesting a moderate stage of development with partial integration of sustainability practices. Among the evaluated dimensions, quality issues (mean score: 3.53), customer and marketing management (3.22), and supplier management (3.05) were found to exert the most substantial influence on supply chain sustainability. Furthermore, policy implications were proposed to support cooperative development. The study contributes to the existing literature by offering an empirically grounded maturity model framework tailored to the unique dynamics of rural organic agriculture and by advancing the discourse on sustainable supply chain management in emerging economies undergoing industrial transformation.
The integration of economic growth, social cohesion, and environmental sustainability within European Union (EU) development frameworks has been strategically aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These objectives have been positioned to reinforce the EU’s welfare state model while fostering harmonization across member states. In this study, the performance trajectories of 27 EU countries from 2000 to 2023 have been assessed to determine whether convergence in SDG outcomes has occurred, and whether progress towards sustainable development has followed a common pathway. The SDG Index and data for 16 individual SDGs were analyzed using the club convergence methodology and the log t-regression test, allowing for the identification of heterogeneous dynamic patterns and latent convergence clubs. The results indicate that a singular equilibrium in SDG performance has not yet been achieved, with evidence of structural divergence across several key goals. While convergence has been observed for Goals 1, 9, 12, and 13, significant divergence persists for Goals 2, 5, 6, and 8. These findings underscore the limitations of a uniform policy approach and suggest that differentiated, context-sensitive strategies may be required to close performance gaps. The presence of club convergence further implies that member states are evolving towards distinct equilibria, shaped by domestic policy frameworks, institutional capacities, and socioeconomic contexts. This study addresses a significant gap in the literature by providing a systematic and longitudinal analysis of SDG performance heterogeneity within the EU and contributes to ongoing debates on the effectiveness of supranational sustainability governance. It is argued that recognizing and responding to these differentiated trajectories is critical for the design of targeted policy interventions capable of advancing inclusive and balanced sustainable development across the union.
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