International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development (9 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• How does legitimacy pressure drive corporate greenwashing? Evidence from China  
  by Qiong Yao, Huihao Lin, Huiying Hu, Mingli Li 
  Abstract: This paper employs institutional theory and information asymmetry theory to explore the impact of legitimacy pressures on corporate greenwashing, whilst concurrently assessing the moderating roles of environmental visibility and geographical location. Specifically, it poses two main questions: (1) What is the relationship between legitimacy pressures and corporate greenwashing? (2) How do environmental visibility and geographical location, through the lenses of institutional theory and information asymmetry theory, affect the interplay between legitimacy pressures and corporate greenwashing? This investigation analysed data from 130 publicly listed companies and formulated an empirical model to evaluate the hypotheses. The results indicate that legitimacy pressures have an inverted U-shaped effect on greenwashing. Factors such as organisational visibility, environmental regulations, and geographical distance temper this inverted U-shaped relationship between legitimacy pressures and greenwashing.
  Keywords: greenwashing; legitimacy pressure; environmental visibility; geographical location; China.
  
  
• Impact of megaprojects on changes in land prices in Indonesia: evidence from the TOD plan for the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train Tegalluar station  
  by Iffaty Maulidina Putri, Maya Safira, Haryo Winarso, Adenantera Dwicaksono, Puspita Dirgahayani 
  Abstract: The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train (JBHST) mega-project, though incomplete, has significantly impacted urban development, particularly land prices around the planned area. This study empirically examines land price changes in the transit-oriented development (TOD) area surrounding the Tegalluar JBHST station by comparing pre-(2017) and post-implementation (2019) data. Using land price information from interviews and secondary sources, we analysed changes across three indicators: land value zone (ZNT), sales value of taxable objects (NJOP), and market price (LMP). Findings reveal a significant increase in land prices, particularly for plots near the JBHST station and the Summarecon business park. A hedonic pricing model further confirms this trend. Additionally, land ownership shifted from individual farmers to a few large companies, indicating capital-driven land consolidation. The socio-economic landscape has been transformed, with local communities seeing limited direct financial benefits from the mega-projects development.
  Keywords: megaproject; Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway; transit oriented development; Tegalluar TOD; land prices; hedonic pricing; Indonesia.
  
  

Special Issue on: Artificial Intelligence Applications for Sustainable Environment

• LULC classification using deep convolution neural networks for change detection analysis  
  by H.N. Mahendra, V. Pushpalatha, S. Mallikarjunaswamy, D. Mahesh Kumar, H.S. Ganesha, Rama Subramoniam Sudalayandi, Trupthi Rao 
  Abstract: Land use and land cover (LULC) classification is a fundamental task for monitoring environmental changes, planning sustainable land management, and change detection studies. Traditional classification methods often rely on manual interpretation, which can be time-consuming and limited in accuracy. In this study, we proposed a novel approach based on deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) for LULC classification. The proposed methodology involves the collection of multi-temporal satellite imagery datasets covering the study area of Mysuru taluk, Karnataka State, India. Preprocessing techniques are applied to improve the quality of the input data, including normalisation, filtering, and geometric correction. Subsequently, a DCNN architecture is designed and trained using labelled datasets to classify land cover types accurately for the satellite data of 2012 and 2022. The classification accuracies achieved, 92.70% for 2012 and 94.79% for 2022, highlight the capability of DCNNs in LULC classification. Further, classified maps are used to perform the change detection analysis using the post-classification comparison technique. The results of this research contribute to a better understanding of the land use dynamics of the study area and provide valuable insights for land management and policymaking.
  Keywords: deep learning; land use and land cover; LULC; deep convolutional neural networks; DCNNs; geographic information systems; GIS; multispectral data.
  
  
• Construction and application of urban transportation environment under the concept of green and low-carbon  
  by Suli Zhang, Yulin Jiao, Xinhua Wang 
  Abstract: To address the problems of high urban traffic congestion index, high accident rate, and low public transportation utilisation rate in traditional urban traffic environment construction methods, a research method for construction and application of urban transportation environment under the concept of green and low-carbon is proposed. Analyse the feasibility of the green and low-carbon concept in the construction of urban transportation environment, starting from the promotion and application of new energy vehicles, the construction of intelligent transportation systems, the construction of green transportation infrastructure, the cultivation of green travel culture, comprehensive planning and policy formulation, etc., to complete the urban transportation environment. Analysis of the case study outcomes reveals that the method under consideration yields a peak urban traffic congestion index of 0.16, a highest recorded urban traffic accident frequency of 7.89%, and a lowest observed rate of urban public transportation usage at 42.16%.
  Keywords: green and low-carbon concept; urban transportation environment; construction and application; green transportation infrastructure.
  
  
• Comprehensive evaluation method of economic development level of resource-saving society  
  by Hongqian Zhou, Zhi-Chao Peng 
  Abstract: To address the issues surrounding inadequate Kendalls tau correlation, diminished test-retest reliability, and compromised evaluation precision in conventional approaches for assessing the economic development status of an environmentally conscious society, a new comprehensive evaluation method of economic development level of resource-saving society was proposed. The comprehensive evaluation indexes of economic development level of resource-saving society were screened and preprocessed. The membership degree and weight of the indexes were calculated by Z-type membership function and Shapley value method respectively. According to the membership degree and weight of the index, data envelopment analysis is used to complete the comprehensive evaluation of the economic development level of resource-saving society. The experimental test results show that the maximum Kendall cooperation coefficient of this method is 0.90, the retest reliability is between 0.978~0.988, and the evaluation accuracy is between 96.87~98.76%. The evaluation results are reliable.
  Keywords: resource-saving society; economic development level; screened and preprocessed; membership degree; weight; DEA; data envelopment analysis.
  
  
• Classification evaluation of ecological environment pollution in tourist attractions based on fuzzy hierarchical evaluation method  
  by Yunfeng Chen, Qi Jia 
  Abstract: Issues persist in the evaluation of environmental pollution at tourist sites, characterised by inadequate indicator grading and membership degrees, along with significant average absolute error values in evaluations. Consequently, this paper introduces a classification evaluation approach for environmental pollution at tourist sites, utilising a fuzzy hierarchical evaluation technique. Initially, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed to develop a hierarchical structure model and establish an evaluation index system. Subsequently, indicator data is standardised, and the relationship between indicator levels is determined based on the average random consistency ratio. Ultimately, fuzzy and weight judgement matrices are constructed for both single-level and multi-level fuzzy evaluation. Experimental outcomes indicate that this methodology significantly enhances the precision of evaluation and the appropriateness of indicator grading.
  Keywords: fuzzy analytic hierarchy process; tourist attractions; ecological environment; pollution classification; standardisation; evaluation criteria.
  
  
• The impact of regional socio-economic development on environmental quality  
  by Xiaoshu Huo, Qi Wang, Zhiyong Wu 
  Abstract: To explore the impact of economic activities on environmental quality, the first step is to finely preprocess regional socio-economic development data. Subsequently, the analytic hierarchy process was used to construct an environmental quality assessment system and scientifically calculate the weights of each indicator. Based on the calculation results, focus on three key indicators: industrialisation process, urbanisation process, and energy consumption. Using random forest, vector autoregression model and double difference method to deeply analyse its impact. The research results show that the industrialisation process, urbanisation process, and energy consumption growth have significantly increased environmental pressure. However, through strategies such as industrial upgrading and energy structure optimisation, environmental pressure has been effectively alleviated.
  Keywords: regional socio-economic; environmental quality; analytic hierarchy process; AHP; random forest algorithm; vector autoregressive model.
  
  
• Research on high-quality sustainable development measures for social-economy and environment  
  by Na Wang 
  Abstract: To address the challenges associated with a low per capita GDP, employment rates, environmental quality indicators, and sustainable development metrics, alternative approaches are required; a new research method for high-quality sustainable development measures for social economy and environment has been proposed. Using principal component analysis to evaluate the level of social-economic and environmental development, and determine the coupling coordination between social-economic and environmental factors. Targeted measures for high-quality sustainable development aspects have been proposed based on the degree of coupling and coordination, including the formulation of scientific and reasonable plans, strengthening technological innovation, improving policy and regulatory systems, and enhancing international cooperation and exchanges. Case analysis results show that the per capita GDP in the study area varies between 108,000 yuan and 117,000 yuan, the maximum employment rate is 84%, the maximum environmental quality index is 0.83, and the sustainable development index varies between 0.68 and 0.91.
  Keywords: social-economic; environment; high-quality; sustainable development; principal component analysis; coupling coordination.
  
  
• Calculation method for biocapacity of tourist attractions considering projection pursuit model  
  by Min Gao 
  Abstract: To analyse the biocapacity of tourist attractions, this paper applies the projection pursuit model to assess the biocapacity carrying capacity of tourist attractions. Firstly, determine the indicators for calculating the tourism carrying capacity of scenic spots; secondly, calculate the weights of these indicators based on the maximum information entropy; then, construct a projection index function, determine the optimal projection direction, and build the projection pursuit model. Finally, based on the model, obtain the comprehensive carrying capacity of the ecological environment of the tourist attraction, and complete the carrying capacity calculation. The results indicate that although the measurement results of the two models show some fluctuations in certain years, the overall trend is improving. The consistency of the measurement results of the two methods indirectly indicates the reliability of their evaluation results.
  Keywords: biocapacity; projection pursuit model; PPM; maximum information entropy; calculation of bearing capacity.