Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) is a double-blind peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to the exploration and dissemination of research that intersects environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance. The journal seeks to foster a deeper understanding of how these critical factors influence and are influenced by corporate behavior, investment strategies, and regulatory frameworks worldwide.
Digital Carbon Management and ESG Greenwashing Risk: A Case Study of BYD's Sustainability Disclosure
This paper explores the effect of digital carbon management on ESG greenwashing in corporate sustainability reporting. The paper uses a qualitative single case research design and preliminary textual analysis based on the text of BYD's 2025 Sustainability Report. The results indicate that digital carbon management can lessen the risk of greenwashing through increase in data traceability, disclosure specificity, carbon accounting capability, embedding of governance, and readiness for verification. BYD's iDi Carbon Chain platform is an example of a pathway to transparency, achieved by organizational carbon management, product carbon footprint accounting and compliance reporting. However, the analysis also shows that symbolic sustainability narratives remain central in ESG communication. The paper thus seeks to show that the anti-greenwashing effect of digitalisation is not self-evident. It is dependent on the embedding of digital tools in external standards and board-level governance and verification mechanisms.
ESG disclosure, greenwashing risk, digital carbon management, sustainability reporting, new energy vehicles
Copyright (c) 2026 Rongrong Zhang (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Research on the Coupled and Coordinated Development of Green Finance and Low-Carbon Economy: Evidence from Central and Eastern Provinces in China
Against the backdrop of intensifying global climate change and the continued advancement of China’s Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Goals, green finance and the low-carbon economy have become two core systems driving green economic transformation and high-quality development. Taking 16 provinces in eastern and central China as the research objects, this paper focuses on the interactive relationship between green finance and the low-carbon economy, constructs a comprehensive evaluation framework, and employs the entropy method and the coupling coordination degree model to analyze the development levels and synergistic status of the two systems in the sample regions from 2010 to 2022. The results show that: (1) the coupling coordination degree between green finance and the low-carbon economy generally exhibits an evolutionary pattern characterized by continuous improvement with slight local fluctuations, and the overall level in 2022 is significantly higher than that in 2010; (2) from a temporal perspective, the coupled and coordinated development of green finance and the low-carbon economy has roughly undergone three stages, namely the initial cultivation stage, the steady growth stage, and the rapid advancement stage, among which the improvement after 2020 is the most significant; (3) from a spatial perspective, Zhejiang, Tianjin, and Beijing are at relatively high levels, whereas Henan exhibits characteristics of relative stagnation in the low-carbon economy, rapid growth in green finance, but a mismatch between the two systems. Based on the findings, this paper proposes promoting green finance innovation by category, optimizing the layout of low-carbon industries, and strengthening regional policy coordination, so as to provide support for achieving the Dual Carbon Goals.
green finance, low-carbon economy, coupling coordination degree, regional comparison, dual carbon goals
Copyright (c) 2026 Yike Zhang (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Mid- to Long-Term Runoff Forecasting in the Huaihe River Basin Using a Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Network Coupled with LSTM
To address the difficulty of simultaneously characterizing runoff temporal variation and spatial connectivity among stations under the complex river network conditions of the Huaihe River Basin, a spatiotemporal graph neural network model integrating temporal feature extraction and graph-based spatial modeling was developed for mid- to long-term runoff forecasting. Based on multi-station daily precipitation, air temperature, and runoff data from 2011 to 2020 in the Huaihe River Basin, data preprocessing was conducted, including missing-value imputation, outlier detection, standardization, and basin graph construction, and an adjacency matrix was established according to the upstream–downstream hydrological connectivity among stations. The model employed LSTM to extract dynamic features from historical sequences and graph convolution to capture spatial dependencies within the basin. Compared with LSTM, K-nearest neighbor, support vector regression, decision tree, and AdaBoost models, the proposed model achieved better overall predictive performance on the basin-wide test set, with an average R² of 0.915, average MAE of 30.019, and average RMSE of 50.243, demonstrating strong runoff process fitting ability and good error control at the basin scale. The results indicate that incorporating basin spatial connectivity can effectively improve the accuracy of mid- to long-term runoff forecasting and provide methodological support for water resources regulation and flood-control decision-making in complex river basins.
spatiotemporal graph neural network, Huaihe River Basin, mid- to long-term runoff forecasting, spatial connectivity, complex river-network basin
Copyright (c) 2026 Yanzhu Xu, Lijiaxing Cheng (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Key Technologies and Application Practices of High- Temperature and High-Dust SCR Denitrification for Cement Kilns
Under increasingly stringent national environmental protection policies, ultra-low emission renovation has become an inevitable trend for nitrogen reduction and pollution control in the cement industry. SCR denitrification technology features high efficiency and can achieve ultra-low NOₓ emission (≤50 mg/m³). However, cement kiln flue gas with high temperature, high dust and high alkali metals brings severe challenges to the stable operation of SCR systems. This paper discusses key technologies and engineering practices of high-temperature and high-dust SCR denitrification for cement kilns. It analyzes core problems including catalyst clogging, abrasion, poisoning and flow field imbalance, and proposes targeted solutions such as customized catalyst design, CFD simulation optimization, combined soot blowing and intelligent control. A 5000 t/d cement production line case shows that after renovation, NOₓ emission is stably below 35 mg/m³, ammonia slip is less than 2.5 ppm, and system resistance is below 800 Pa, realizing long-term stable and economic ultra-low emission operation.
cement kiln, SCR denitrification, ultra-low emission, high temperature and high dust, CFD simulation
Copyright (c) 2026 Lan Fan (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Study on Policy Documents of Combining Medical Care and Elderly Care Services in Guangzhou from the Perspective of Policy Instruments and the PMC Index Model
Based on policy instrument theory and the PMC (Policy Modeling Consistency) index model, this study conducts a systematic quantitative analysis of policy documents on combining medical care and elderly care services issued in Guangzhou from 2017 to 2025. The results indicate that Guangzhou’s policy framework is characterized by a dominance of environmental instruments, supplemented by supply-side instruments, while demand-side instruments remain relatively weak. In particular, regulatory and normative instruments are overrepresented, whereas demand-side incentives are insufficient. The PMC index evaluation shows that the overall policy performance is at a good level with strong internal consistency; however, notable imbalances persist in terms of policy timeliness, stakeholder coverage, and content innovation. The findings suggest that although Guangzhou has established a relatively comprehensive institutional framework for integrated medical and elderly care, further improvements are needed in stimulating market vitality, promoting social participation, and enhancing policy implementability. Accordingly, this study proposes policy recommendations, including optimizing the structure of policy instruments, strengthening demand-side incentives, broadening stakeholder participation, promoting the integration of traditional Chinese medicine with smart elderly care, and improving the policy evaluation mechanism, with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of local integrated care policies.
combining medical and elderly care, policy instruments, PMC index model, elderly care services, Guangzhou
Copyright (c) 2026 Yuhan Xie (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Impact of the New Rural Social Pension Insurance on the Utilization of Integrated Health and Elderly Care Services among Rural Older Adults: A PSM-DID Analysis Based on CHARLS Data
Against the backdrop of accelerated aging in rural China and the promotion of the “integrated healthcare and elderly care” policy, this paper aims to examine the impact of the New Rural Social Pension Insurance (NRLSI) on the use of preventive health services among rural elderly, in order to provide empirical evidence for coordinating pension security and health promotion policies. Using panel data from four waves (2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), the integration of urban and rural resident pension schemes in 2014 was treated as a quasi-natural experiment. The Propensity Score Matching-Difference in Differences (PSM-DID) method was employed to identify the causal effect of NRLSI enrollment on the health check-up behavior of rural elderly. Heterogeneity analysis was conducted across economic status and health conditions. Enrollment in the NRLSI significantly increased the probability of rural elderly undergoing health check-ups, with an average effect of approximately 4.6–4.7 percentage points. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that this promoting effect was stronger among high-income groups (about 11.1 percentage points) and more pronounced among elderly with chronic diseases (about 6.1 percentage points), whereas it was not significant among low-income groups and those without chronic diseases. This reflects the existence of a “threshold effect” in health investment, which is moderated by the intensity of individual health needs. The NRLSI not only serves as an income security tool but also effectively encourages rural elderly to adopt preventive health behaviors, although its effects vary across different groups. Future policies should enhance targeting and coordination to better leverage pension insurance in promoting healthy aging.
new rural social pension insurance (NRSPI), integrated health and elderly care, health check-up, preventive health behavior, PSM-DID, rural older adults
Copyright (c) 2026 Hongrui Feng (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Study on the Evolution of Land Use Diversity in Karst Mountainous Areas
Land is the foundation upon which human life depends, yet it is also a highly vulnerable ecological component within the ecological systems of karst mountain regions. Taking Huaxi District in Guiyang City as a case study, Based on an analysis of land use data for Huaxi District from 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, and utilising the spatial overlay analysis function in ArcGIS software, the study calculated the areas of land use types across these four periods and the land use transition matrices for three time segments, thereby analysing the evolution of land use in Huaxi District from 2005 to 2020. The results indicate that the evolution of land use diversity in Huaxi District was primarily characterised by the conversion of arable land and woodland. The land use diversity index showed an upward trend across all four time periods. While arable land and woodland remained the predominant land use types, their areas were decreasing, whilst the areas of urban and rural, industrial and mining, and residential land continued to increase. The dynamics of single land-use types exhibited significant changes, primarily manifested in the conversion of arable and forest land into urban and rural, industrial and mining, and residential land. The comprehensive land-use dynamics gradually increased, indicating that land use is undergoing dynamic changes. The land-use intensity index exceeded 200, placing it at an upper-middle level.
Huaxi District, land use diversity, land use change, land use intensity
Copyright (c) 2026 Xing Chen (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
How ESG Performance Enhances Corporate Resilience: A Triple Mediation Analysis Based on Financing Constraints, Innovation, and Governance
In the context of heightened economic uncertainty, corporate resilience has become a critical capability for sustainable development. Using a sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2018 to 2022, this paper systematically examines the impact mechanisms of ESG performance on corporate resilience from three dimensions: financing constraints, innovation capability, and internal governance. The findings show that strong ESG performance significantly enhances corporate resilience, a result that holds under various robustness checks. Mechanism tests indicate that ESG performance strengthens corporate resilience through three parallel pathways: alleviating financing constraints, enhancing innovation capability, and optimizing internal governance. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the resilience-enhancing effect is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, firms with higher managerial myopia, environments with greater economic policy uncertainty, and non-heavy-polluting industries. This study extends the theoretical understanding of the antecedents of corporate resilience and provides decision-making guidance for firms to improve risk resistance through ESG practices.
ESG performance, corporate resilience, financing constraints, innovation capability, internal governance, mediation effect
Copyright (c) 2026 Yutong Zhou (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Multi-interface Processes, Environmental Regulation, and Isotope Applications in Forest Mercury Cycling
Mercury (Hg), as a highly toxic heavy metal pollutant, poses a serious threat to ecosystems and human health worldwide. Forest ecosystems, as vital components of terrestrial ecosystems, serve not only as significant sinks for atmospheric Hg but also as key sites for Hg migration and transformation, playing a crucial role in the global Hg cycle. This paper reviews the Hg cycling processes in forest ecosystems. Starting from the global Hg cycle, it delves into the characteristics of Hg cycling within forest ecosystems, including Hg input pathways, vegetation uptake and fixation of Hg, as well as Hg transformation and re-release within plant bodies. Further summaries of Hg migration and storage mechanisms in forest soils elucidate the distribution, migration pathways, and reduction-re-release processes of Hg within these ecosystems. This paper also elaborates on the regulatory role of environmental factors in forest Hg cycling and the application of isotope techniques in forest Hg cycle research. Finally, it proposes future research directions and challenges, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for deepening the understanding of forest Hg cycling processes, accurately assessing the impact of Hg pollution, and formulating global Hg pollution prevention and control strategies.
mercury, forest mercury cycle, transition and transformation
Copyright (c) 2026 Wanting Liu, Huifang Zhao, Ditao Luo, Juan Li (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution by Phosphorus Tailings/Sludge-Derived Biochar
Municipal residual sludge and phosphorus tailings were used as raw materials to prepare biochar with pyrolysis temperatures of 300℃, 550℃ and 800℃ and phosphorus tailings addition ratios of 0.5%, 1% and 2%, respectively. The phosphorus tailings/sludge-based biochar with the best adsorption performance was determined by studying the adsorption of the phosphorus tailings/sludge-based biochar made under different conditions to a concentration of 100 mg/L methylene blue solution. The results of adsorption experiments, Boehm titration experiments and thermodynamic experiments showed that the phosphorus tailings/sludge biochar with a pyrolysis temperature of 800℃ had the best removal rate of methylene blue at a concentration of 100 mg/L when the phosphorus tailings addition ratio was the same, and its biochar with a phosphorus tailings addition ratio of 1% could remove up to 90% of methylene blue. The phenolic hydroxyl group was beneficial to the adsorption of methylene blue by phosphorus tailings/sludge biochar. The adsorption process of methylene blue by phosphorus tailings/sludge biochar was consistent with the Freundlich equation, indicating that the adsorption process belonged to multilayer adsorption.
physical biochar, adsorption mechanism, isothermal adsorption, Boehm titration
Copyright (c) 2026 Jinhong Zhang, Li-Juan Feng, Jinyu Luo, Wenlin Li (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
How Does ESG Performance Drive Firms’ Green Transformation under China’s “Dual Carbon” Goals? Empirical Evidence from A-share Listed Companies
Under the background of the “dual carbon” goals and high-quality development, corporate green transformation has become a key pathway to promote sustainable economic development. This study aims to systematically examine whether and how corporate ESG performance drives green technological innovation. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2023, a two-way fixed effects model is constructed and validated through various robustness and endogeneity tests. The empirical results show that ESG performance significantly promotes green technological innovation, and this conclusion remains robust after replacing variable measures, adjusting time windows, and controlling for high-dimensional fixed effects. Mechanism analysis reveals that ESG performance primarily drives green innovation indirectly through two channels: increasing R&D investment and alleviating financing constraints. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis indicates that this promoting effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and firms with female executives. The findings provide empirical evidence and policy implications for improving ESG governance systems and advancing corporate green transformation.
ESG performance, green innovation, dual carbon goals, R&D investment, financing constraints
Copyright (c) 2026 Xiaoxuan Ouyang (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Influence of ESG Performance on Stock Repurchase Decision of the Pharmaceutical and Biological Industry
The practice of ESG in the pharmaceutical and biological industry is directly related to public health and social trust. The correlation mechanism between ESG performance and capital operation behavior has a stronger research necessity and practical significance than other industries. This paper takes China’s A-share listed companies in the pharmaceutical and biological industry from 2015 to 2024 as the research object to explore the impact of ESG on stock repurchases. The study found that the better the ESG comprehensive performance of Listed Companies in the pharmaceutical and biological industry, the more obvious their stock repurchase tendency, and the results were still robust after passing the endogenous test. The mechanism test found that the consumer confidence index was the intermediary variable, and ESG could promote stock repurchase by improving consumer confidence. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that ESG has a significant positive impact on stock repurchase in non-state-owned enterprises, while the impact is not obvious in state-owned enterprises.
ESG performance, stock repurchase, consumer confidence index
Copyright (c) 2026 Xinran Chen (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Impact of Environmental Expenditure Intensity on Accounting Conservatism: The Moderating Role of Property Rights Nature and Heterogeneity Analysis of Driving Factors
Against the backdrop of continuously increasing corporate environmental investments under the “dual carbon” goals, this study selects Wanhua Chemical (state-owned) and Rongsheng Petrochemical (non-state-owned) as typical cases to analyze the impact mechanism of environmental expenditure intensity on accounting conservatism. The research finds a significant positive association between substantive environmental expenditures and accounting conservatism, with this effect being more pronounced in state-owned enterprises; in contrast, symbolic environmental expenditures exhibit a weaker association with accounting conservatism. Property rights nature moderates this relationship through legitimacy pressures and stakeholder structures. This finding deepens the understanding of the institutional coupling mechanisms between environmental behaviors and financial practices, providing a decision-making basis for enterprises to optimize environmental resource allocation and enhance information disclosure quality, while also offering references for regulatory authorities in policy formulation.
environmental expenditure intensity, accounting conservatism, property rights nature, heterogeneity of driving factors, environmental accounting
Copyright (c) 2025 Jiawen Guo (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Group Gaming in the Predicament of Action Implementation: The Procrastination Logic of Emerging Nations in Global Climate Governance
This article focuses on the dilemma of action implementation in global climate governance and explores the group game logic behind emerging countries’ procrastination. Within the existing climate governance system and uneven interest distribution pattern, emerging countries are trapped in the dual pressures of pursuing economic development and fulfilling emission reduction commitments. The game with developed countries and other interest groups over rights and obligations is a key factor in their decision-making. The study reveals how group interest games shape emerging countries’ procrastination strategies, aiming to provide practical insights for resolving the collective action dilemma in global climate governance and optimizing the international governance mechanism.
global climate governance, procrastinating behavior, collective action
Copyright (c) 2025 Jiahe Bai (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Research Progress on Evaluating the Effectiveness of China’s Urban Tiered Water Pricing Policy
China is a water-scarce country. The long-term free utilization of water resources in China has led to immense national water resource waste. As an effective economic instrument, tiered water pricing plays a valuable role in promoting the establishment of a water-saving society and adjusting water resource supply and demand in China. This paper focuses on the urban tiered water pricing policy. It analyzes the policy’s theoretical foundation, implementation effects, and the factors influencing policy effectiveness. Using a literature review method, this study synthesizes domestic and international research on China’s tiered water pricing policy and assesses the social equity of the policy’s effectiveness. The research finds that the tiered water pricing policy has shown good effectiveness in curbing residential, industrial, and agricultural water consumption. However, the implementation effect of the tiered water pricing policy is characterized by social unfairness. The effectiveness is influenced by natural factors, economic factors, policy formulation factors, and humanistic factors. The existing policy also suffers from an incomplete dynamic mechanism, and the tiered pricing structure struggles to differentiate between households with a large number of residents. Future tiered water pricing design should be formulated more meticulously, taking the aforementioned influencing factors into account. This includes factoring in elements such as urban population distribution, household income, and household size differences, establishing clear policy safeguards, regularly updating the water price policy, and creating a long-term dynamic mechanism.
tiered water pricing, urban water resources, social equity
Copyright (c) 2025 Mengyu Xu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Supply Chain ESG Risk Contagion and Governance: A Case Study of Apple Inc.
In the field of ESG research, the contagion mechanisms of supply-chain ESG risks and their corresponding governance strategies have generally been overlooked. Taking the 2010 Foxconn suicide incidents and the resulting brand reputation crisis at Apple as its research object, this study employs the event study methodology to document the phenomenon of ESG risk contagion from an upstream supplier to a downstream end-brand enterprise. It further delineates the contagion pathway, encompassing stages such as media exposure and stock price volatility. Finally, the paper synthesizes the response strategies adopted by various parties following risk contagion, including internal supply-chain governance and external oversight. From the perspective of risk contagion, this study constructs a comprehensive supply-chain ESG risk management framework consisting of “ESG risk identification → contagion pathway analysis → governance strategy response”. The framework not only enriches the theoretical literature on ESG but also offers practical guidance for firms seeking to mitigate externality risks and enhance supply-chain resilience. Additionally, it provides a theoretical foundation for national authorities to refine ESG disclosure requirements and regulatory policies.
supply chain, ESG risk, supply chain ESG risk contagion, event study method
Copyright (c) 2025 Yitong Wu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Smart Grid as a Key Enabler for China’s Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Targets
In the context of the dual carbon goal, the intelligent transformation and upgrading of China’s power system, as an important field of carbon emissions, is of great significance for achieving the dual carbon goal. The traditional power system has been difficult to adapt to the current economic and social transformation of China’s high-quality development due to its low energy efficiency, large carbon emissions, lack of intelligence and other defects, which has become the bottleneck to achieve the dual carbon goal. The smart grid has the advantages of strong renewable energy consumption capacity, high proportion of clean energy generation and intelligent management, so promoting the intelligent upgrading of China’s power system can effectively promote the transformation of the power industry to low-carbon. This paper analyzes several challenges in the process of China’s smart grid construction. At the same time, combined with the actual situation of China and the existing domestic measures to deal with these challenges, the actual benefits of these measures are analyzed and discussed, providing a possible direction for the further construction of China’s smart grid.
smart grid, double carbon target, carbon emission
Copyright (c) 2025 Xun Li (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploring the Relationship Between Environmental Knowledge and Behavioural Intentions for Sustainable Fashion Practices: Fashion Design Student Perspectives
With global climate change and resource constraints looming, sustainable design has become a focus of attention for all industries. Sustainability in the fashion industry requires changing the practices of all participants - designers, manufacturers, marketers and consumers. Advocating and practising sustainable fashion practices is necessary to achieve sustainable development in the fashion industry. As designers, this study should actively explore and apply sustainable design concepts to contribute to creating a better future. This study aimed to investigate undergraduate fashion design students’ attitudes and behavioural intentions towards sustainable fashion practices. Undergraduate fashion design students (n = 441) from three universities in Guangdong Province, China, participated in this survey. By constructing different scales of environmental knowledge, attitude towards sustainable fashion practice and behavioural intention towards sustainable fashion practice, and by using structural equation modelling to analyse the relationship between environmental knowledge and sustainable fashion practice, the following conclusions were drawn: 1) environmental knowledge has a positive effect on attitude towards sustainable fashion practice (p＜0.05); 2) environmental knowledge have a positive impact on behavioural intention towards sustainable fashion practice (p＜0.05); 3) Subjective norms have a positive effect on behavioural intention towards sustainable fashion practice (p＜0.05). 4) Attitudes towards sustainable fashion practice mediate the relationship between environmental knowledge and intentions towards sustainable fashion practice behaviour (p＜0.05). The findings of this study have implications for environmental education for undergraduate fashion design students and sustainable production in companies.
environmental knowledge, behavioural intentions, sustainable fashion practices
Copyright (c) 2025 Wanzhen Ou, Shaliza Mohd Shariff, Rosita Binti Mohd Tajuddin (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Research on the Factors Influencing the Quality of Corporate ESG Information Disclosure
With the development of the social economy, the advancement of the “dual carbon” goals and the in-depth implementation of sustainable development strategies, the country has imposed higher requirements on the sustainable development of enterprises. ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) information disclosure has increasingly garnered widespread attention from stakeholders such as investors and consumers. However, in practice, influenced by various factors including policies and regulatory intensity, many enterprises’ ESG information disclosure exhibits significant issues, such as the prevalence of arbitrary and subjective “voluntary disclosure” forms and inadequate coverage of substantive ESG topics, which hinders the high-quality development of enterprises and the broader social economy. After reviewing existing research on corporate ESG information disclosure quality, this paper focuses on analyzing and synthesizing the key factors influencing the quality of ESG information disclosure. The findings reveal that external regulatory pressures, such as government oversight, the degree of association between enterprises and the government, and media attention, as well as internal company structures, financial characteristics, and the implementation of relevant policies, all exert a relatively significant impact on the quality of ESG information disclosure.
enterprises, esg information, disclosure, quality, influencing factors
Copyright (c) 2025 Fangfei Pan (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Analysis of Coupling Coordination Pathways between Urbanisation Quality and the Inclusive Development of Informal Employment from a Transnational Perspective
The global acceleration of urbanisation and the ongoing growth of informal employment are the key issues in current social and economic development. On the one hand, rapid urbanisation is accompanied by issues such as the allocation of economic and social resources; on the other hand, a large proportion of the workforce is employed informally. Although they alleviate employment pressure, these groups face difficulties such as a lack of rights protection and poor working conditions. The present study utilises multisource data from international databases to create a coupled coordination model linking urbanisation quality (U1) and the inclusive development of informal employment (U2). Through literature analysis and empirical comparison, the study focuses on Germany, Japan, Brazil and China from 2019--2024, analysing the dynamic evolution of these two subsystems. Research indicates the following: Coupling coordination exhibits a differentiated pattern: Germany maintains high-quality coordination through institutional flexibility. Japan’s economic stagnation, characterised by a lack of dynamism in the labour market, can be attributed to the rigidity of its employment structures. China has advanced toward sound coordination through policy optimisation. Brazil remains locked in moderate coordination due to dual spatial fragmentation. Two-way interaction is driven by three dimensions: institutional design, policy quantification, and spatial equity. This study provides China with a theoretical framework and international insights to help it resolve the dilemma of achieving urbanisation while addressing informal employment.
urbanisation, quality of urbanisation, informal employment, informal economy, inclusive development
Copyright (c) 2025 Ruisi Yin (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Trend of “Northward Retirement” from Hong Kong, China and Its Implications for Building a Diversified Retirement Welfare System in Mainland China
Hong Kong, China, ranks among the world's regions with the highest life expectancy, yet faces severe challenges posed by an aging society. Local pressures—including strained healthcare resources, limited per capita land area, and high elderly care costs—pose significant obstacles to securing adequate retirement provisions for its senior population. In recent years, “northward retirement” has emerged as a new option for some Hong Kong seniors, with this cross-border migration trend growing increasingly pronounced. This paper aims to systematically analyze the driving factors, current status, and trends of Hong Kong's “northward retirement” phenomenon, along with its implications for China's mainland in building a diversified elderly care welfare system. This study argues that the “northward retirement” trend reveals the limitations of Hong Kong's model of relying solely on local resources for elderly care. Consequently, it highlights the importance and necessity of establishing a “diversified elderly care welfare system” that integrates local, cross-border, governmental, market, and social forces. This research offers new perspectives and policy insights for mainland China in addressing the increasingly urgent challenges of aging, and also provides valuable reference for the social and livelihood integration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
northward retirement, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, population aging, diversified elderly care welfare system, cross-border elderly care
Copyright (c) 2025 Biyun Wan (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Spatial Distribution of Tourism and Its Influencing Factors in Shanxi Province
As important carriers of regional tourism resource development and cultural and tourism integration, tourist attractions not only reflect the comprehensive role of natural and human elements but also directly affect the quality of regional tourism development. As a province with a large history and culture and a demonstration area for the transformation of a resource-based economy, the spatial pattern evolution and driving mechanisms of Shanxi Province’s A-level tourist attractions have typical research value, but the existing research lacks comprehensiveness in terms of regional adaptability. On the basis of the 2020–2023 data of A-level scenic spots in Shanxi Province, this study comprehensively used the nearest neighbor index, kernel density analysis, and geographic detector methods to systematically analyze the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of A-level scenic spots in Shanxi Province. The results reveal the following: 1) Level A scenic spots in Shanxi Province exhibited a significant spatial pattern of “agglomeration at the center-scattering at the periphery”, with Taiyuan as the core forming a high-density area and radiating and diffusing to the surroundings along the main traffic axis; and 2) the spatial distribution type continued to be the agglomeration type, but the aggregation strength showed a weak trend of loosening. 3) Analysis by geographic detector revealed that the distribution of scenic spots was jointly affected by the natural environment and socioeconomic factors, with socioeconomic factors being the leading force; natural environmental factors formed the basic constraints, and the influence of the river system was relatively stable. This study aims to reveal the spatial differentiation pattern of A-level scenic spots in Shanxi Province, comprehensively consider its key elements, and provide an empirical basis for the high-quality development of cultural tourism in resource-based provinces.
Shanxi Province, A-level scenic spots, geographic detectors, spatial distribution, influencing factors
Copyright (c) 2025 Chenke Yuan (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Study on the Impact of New Quality Productivity on the High-quality Development of Manufacturing Enterprises
New-quality productive forces are advanced productive forces that align with the new development philosophy; achieve rapid development through the optimal combination of factors such as labor, technology, and data; and exhibit characteristics of high technology, high quasiefficiency, and improvement in total factor productivity as their core hallmark. This paper uses 2,022 manufacturing companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2012--2023 as a sample to empirically test the impact, mechanism, and product high geneity of new quality development of manufacturing companies. The study shows that new quality productivity can significantly promote the high-quality development of manufacturing companies. Additionally, through its role in alleviating financing constraints and promoting supply chain diversification, it has a significant effect on large and private enterprises, as well as regions with high levels of income and a labor force, but has no significant effect on SMEs or regions with low labor force levels. It also has an inhibitory effect on state-owned enterprises and regions with low levels of informatization. This study provides practical reference for manufacturing enterprises to seize the development opportunities of new-quality productive forces and achieve high-quality development while also offering a scientific basis for governments to further optimize industrial policies and regional development environments.
new quality productivity, high-quality development of manufacturing enterprises, financing constraints, supply chain diversification
Copyright (c) 2025 Yingqi Yu, Yanqiu He, Yichen Zou (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Glacier Change and Analysis in the Middle Section of Qilian Mountains from 2014 to 2024
This research uses remote sensing technology and GIS methods to conduct a detailed analysis of the glacier area changes in the middle section of the Qilian Mountains from 2014 to 2024. The study area, located in the middle section of the Qilian Mountains, is a crucial water conservation area and ecological security barrier in the northwest region. By preprocessing multiple remote sensing images, extracting glacier boundaries, and calculating the area, the study reveals the dynamic changes in the glacier area during this period. The results show that the glacier area in the middle section of the Qilian Mountains has shown a significant retreat trend during this period. Although the speed and extent of the glacier retreat vary across different years and regions, the overall trend is clear. This change not only affects the regional water resource balance but may also have profound impacts on the local ecological environment and climate system. Combining observational data, this study not only provides a scientific basis for the protection and rational use of glacier resources in the middle section of the Qilian Mountains but also offers valuable insights into glacier research under the backdrop of global climate change.
middle sections of Qilian Mountains, glacier reduction, remote sensing image, ecological impact
Copyright (c) 2025 Yang Ye (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Research on the Optimization of Low-Carbon Spatial Layout for Construction Land in Central Urban Areas
With the acceleration of urbanization, the construction land in central urban areas not only promotes economic growth but also faces significant carbon emission pressure. To achieve low-carbon development goals, optimizing the spatial layout of construction land in central urban areas has become an urgent issue. Based on the needs of low-carbon development, this study proposes a low-carbon spatial layout optimization method based on algorithms and models. By constructing a spatial layout optimization model and integrating Geographic Information System (GIS) technology with optimization algorithms (such as Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization), this study conducts an in-depth analysis of the low-carbon layout optimization of construction land in central urban areas. Experimental results indicate that this optimization method effectively reduces carbon emissions from urban construction land, improves spatial resource utilization efficiency, and provides scientific decision-making support for urban low-carbon development.
central urban area, construction land, low-carbon spatial layout, optimization algorithm, spatial model, sustainable development
Copyright (c) 2025 Xin Zhang (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Research on the Path of Digital Capacity Building of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Smart Government Environment
Nowadays, smart government, as an important practice of public governance modernization, is building a new type of government-enterprise interaction ecology with data sharing, intelligent decision-making and precise service as the core. As capillaries of the national economy, SMEs' digitalization ability not only concerns their own survival and development, but also affects the overall resilience of the industry chain. However, most SMEs have significant shortcomings in technical reserves, capital investment and strategic planning, and traditional support policies are difficult to accurately match their transformation needs. Smart government provides new possibilities for SMEs to break through the resource shackles by building an open data platform, optimizing the policy supply model and strengthening the digital infrastructure. Against this backdrop, exploring the digital capacity building path of government-enterprise collaboration is not only the key to unleash the innovation potential of SMEs, but also the core proposition for realizing the inclusive growth of the digital economy.
smart government, small and medium enterprises, digital capacity building
Copyright (c) 2025 Xianghan Zhang, Zhengwei Li (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ernst & Young Leading the ESG Wave: A Deep Analysis of Empowering Companies with New Competitive Advantages
With the continuous deterioration of the global ecological environment and the rise of energy conservation and emission reduction, low-carbon and green industries have become a new orientation for global economic development. Moreover, all sectors of society are paying increasing attention to sustainable development. In this context, the theories of environment, society and corporate governance (ESG) have gradually been integrated into the core links of enterprise strategic planning and operation decision-making and have become indispensable key elements. However, at this stage, there is still a lack of fine theoretical analysis and comprehensive research on the relationship between ESG management and the sustainable competitive advantage of enterprises. Therefore, on the basis of the global background, this paper explores the importance of the ESG concept to modern enterprise management systems, analyses how it helps enterprises create long-term value, and explores effective paths for enterprises to achieve sustainable development with ESG. This study selects Ernst & Young accounting firms as a case study and comprehensively uses mature management model tools such as SWOT and PESTEL to explore Ernst & Young deeply. This shows in detail the practical process of Ernst & Young's successful construction and strengthening its competitive advantage in the hot competitive market environment by implementing an active ESG strategy. Specifically, it covers the practical measures taken by Ernst & Young in terms of environmental, social, and corporate governance and other ESG dimensions and analyses how ESG theory reshapes the competitive pattern of enterprises and promotes the steady improvement of their competitive advantages. Through an all-round analysis of Ernst and Young's practical examples in the field of ESG, we can accurately reveal the hidden mechanism of action and then provide practical guidance for enterprises in various industries to implement an ESG strategy and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage to help enterprises set a sail on the journey of sustainable development.
Sustainable development, environmental, social, and governance management, sustainable competitive advantage, Ernst & Young
Copyright (c) 2025 Aoxue Hu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Impact of ESG Performance on Corporate Growth Ability——Analysis of the Empirical Results on the Basis of the Panel Data of Chinese Listed Companies from 2010–2022
With the increasing attention of society to sustainable development, ESG performance has increasingly become an important dimension in evaluating corporate performance. The importance has shifted from the display of corporate image to the measurement of business growth and long-term value. The existing research investigates the relationship between ESG performance and enterprise growth. The empirical analysis of capability is still insufficient. On the basis of a systematic review of the relevant theories and literature, this study uses a two-way fixed effects model to analyze Chinese listed companies from 2010–2022 to investigate in depth the relationship between ESG performance and corporate growth ability. The study revealed that ESG implementation inhibits enterprise growth in the short term because of increased costs, and the extent of this impact is influenced by ownership methods and regional factors. This study provides corresponding insights for relevant entities, such as enterprises and the government. It is suggested that relevant entities such as enterprises and the government should comprehensively consider long-term and short-term cost-effectiveness and adopt differentiated strategies when implementing ESG.
ESG performance, corporate growth ability, cost-effectiveness, empirical research, regional heterogeneity, equity heterogeneity
Copyright (c) 2025 Xinyi Kong (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Research on the Correlation between ESG Performance and Corporate Innovation Capability from the Perspective of CiteSpace
This article uses CiteSpace software to analyze the correlation between ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance and corporate innovation capabilities. A knowledge graph of ESG and corporate innovation research was constructed through coword analysis and timeline view analysis of the Web of Science core collection literature from 2010–2023. Research has shown that good ESG performance is a positive compensatory effect on innovation capability and that improvements in ESG performance contribute to the development of innovation activities in companies. This article provides a new perspective on how ESGs promote corporate innovation.
Copyright (c) 2025 Zhenqi Lu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Comprehensive Impact of Plateau Pika on Biota and Soil Structure in Its Habitat—A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau
Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae), a key species on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, along with its ecological impact, has been paid extensive attention to. This paper aims to comprehensively assess the ecological impact of pika on vegetation, soil and biodiversity in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Through the review of previous studies, it was found that the foraging behavior of Plateau Pika affected plant community structure and diversity, which decreased plant evenness but increased species richness. Its activities changed soil organic matter, microbial community and greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of animal diversity, it is a food source for many predators and is interdependent with some symbiotic other animals. However, considering pika’s competitiveness with domestic animals for food, population control should be implemented. In order to maintain the ecosystem balance and biodiversity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, self-transmitted contraception control, increasing the planting of non-eating vegetation and controlling the number of livestock and grazing intensity, instead of traditional poisoning method, can be adopted.
Tibetan plateau, plateau pika, ecological impact, population management, biodiversity
Copyright (c) 2025 Shengjie Liu, Dicong Xu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0