Vol. 4, No.3, September 2020

Editor-in-chief: Prof. Johannes Platje

Editor: Prof. Johannes Platje

Vol. 4, No. 3, 9-14, September 2020

The Legacy of Andries Nentjes

Author: Edwin WOERDMAN
Groningen University, The Netherlands
Yoram KROZER
Sustainable Innovations Academy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Johannes (Joost) PLATJE
WSB University in Wrocław, Poland

Aim: The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the life and work of Professor Andries Nentjes, who passed away early 2019. As one of the founding fathers of environmental economics in the Netherlands, he contributed in particular to the international literature on market-based pollution control. We wish to honour the legacy of Andries Nentjes by outlining some highlights of his impressive academic research and by showcasing his active contributions to a more sustainable society.

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.889

Vol. 4, No. 3, 15-22, September 2020

Sustainable development from an evolutionary perspective

Author: Bastiaan (Bas) SCHRAUWEN
Independent scholar, Germany

Aim: awareness of the inherent unsustainability of past economic development, the magnitude and multidimensionality of the resulting environmental problems and the urgency of a paradigm shift in politics and economics.

Design / Research methods: reflection on Matthias Glaubrecht´s book “Das Ende der Evolution” (The End of Evolution). Additionally Yuval Harari´s book “Sapiens” and some online sources were used.

Conclusions / findings: An evolutionary developed cognitive superiority has made Homo sapiens not only to the most successful but also the most destructive species ever, which makes a drastic shift towards sustainable development is overdue in the 21st century.

Originality / value of the article: highlighting the slow and merciless mechanisms of evolution and its big cycles, raising more awareness of the vulnerability of mankind and the necessity for a paradigm shift.

Implications of the research (if applicable): urgency of sustainable development in politics, economics and research.

Keywords: sustainable development,  evolution, environmental economics, politics

JEL: B52, Q01, Q59

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.883

Vol. 4, No. 3, 23-52, September 2020

The emerging threats and opportunities for implementing nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and sustainable development goal 7: policy insights from sub-Saharan Africa and Malawi

Author: Dumisani CHIRAMBO
Seeds of Opportunity, Malawi

Aim: Despite the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce climate change vulnerability and inequality particularly in the Global South, it is probable that the SDGs and NDCs might not achieve their objectives. The aim of this article is to identify how countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) can address their climate change governance and cross-sector coordination challenges in order to reduce climate change vulnerability and augment SDG 7 (universal energy access) implementation.

Design / Research methods: A qualitative content analysis was undertaken using research articles, project reports, a case study and policy briefs exploring the nexus of climate change governance, SDG 7 implementation and SDG 13 implementation in the context of SSA and Malawi.

Conclusions / findings: The study suggests that climate change governance and attaining SDG 7 in the Global South might be improved by harmonising NDC activities so that NDC activities can be aggregated and monitored from a regional perspective similar to the case of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Programmes of Activities (PoAs).

Originality / value of the article: The paper is of value to global policy makers as it shows that increasing climate change ambitions and ratcheting-up in the context of SSA should include increasing the deployment of renewable energy technologies as well as initiating new international institutional arrangements for climate change governance through South-South Climate Change Cooperation modalities.

Keywords: Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), climate finance, renewable energy, South-South Climate Change Cooperation, Sustainable Development, Malawi.

JEL: G38, O13, O55, Q01, Q28, Q54, Q56.

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.833

Vol. 4, No. 3, 53-65, September 2020

A household waste stream analysis in a rural Mexican location

Authors: Luis VELAZQUEZ, Carlos ANAYA, Omar CONTRERAS-AGANZA, Nora MUNGUIA
University of Sonora, Mexico

Aim: This paper presents a waste stream analysis with the purpose of identifying opportunities to reduce environmental and health risks within a small rural population in Northwestern Mexico by following the Environmental Protection Agency’s waste management hierarchy.

Design / Research methods: The study consisted of three phases. Firstly, a one-stage cluster sampling was conducted to characterize the household waste in this rural population. A cluster in this study was a block. There were 54 clusters, but only 40 with occupied houses. The clusters were selected by simple random sampling. During the second phase of this study, a survey was conducted to examine the waste management practices of the residents of sampled houses. Considering that 51 were the inhabited houses in the sampled clusters, a simple random sampling for finite populations was selected. Finally, a quadrant sampling method was conducted to characterize the waste material in a municipal landfill. The total area of the municipal landfill site was divided into black and white quadrants. The white color represented tails and the black color represented heads. The color of the sampled quadrants was selected after 50 virtual coin flips for true randomness.

Conclusions/findings: The findings from this study indicate a willingness of the inhabitants in this rural location to participate in source reduction initiatives. The findings also showed that organic waste was the predominant material in household waste composition. Therefore, there are opportunities to enhance composting at home or even implement a community composting program.

Originality/value of the article: Based on the waste stream analysis, there are opportunities to reduce the environmental and health risks at a small rural zone in Northwestern Mexico. In this regard, this study can serve as an example to analyze and compare sustainable opportunities in other rural zones around the world.

Keywords: Waste management, Rural Development, Landfill, Waste Stream Analysis.

JEL: Q510, Q530, R110

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.875

Vol. 4, No. 3, 67-87, September 2020

Conflict management in university examination timetabling. A case study of summer school mid-terms

Authors: Mustafa Mehmet BAYAR
Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Turkey
Irmak UZUN BAYAR
Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Aim: This study is on tackling Examination Timetabling Problem (ETP) of the Faculty of Economics And Administrative Sciences (FEAS) of the Ankara HBV University summer school, where the courses of fall and spring semesters are offered simultaneously and regulations on restricting enrollments in inter-department electives or in-department courses of distinct years are relaxed. Thus, the complexity of the nature of the ETP problem is exacerbated. The direct heuristics based on successive assignments that the university normally adopts was proven inadequate for assuming standard regulations hence, another approach we explain in this paper was needed.

Design / Research methods: The ETP was formulated as a Linear Mixed-Integer Program (LMIP) and decomposed into three stages; timetabling exams, room assignment, student allocation. To manage the conflict between the stakeholders of the examination procedure, a lexicographic optimization process based on the priority of the parties was undertaken.

Conclusions / findings: After a recursive timetabling process based on a trial-and-error method a clash-free timetable was generated and, a room assignment plan that minimizes the total number of proctoring duties, usage of higher floor rooms and total crowdedness of rooms respectively was put into action. Therefore no student group experienced any clashing exams, the faculty members saved time that can be spent on research instead, since the room usage was better planned the costs (elevator usage, lighting, air conditioning, the labor of the janitors) were assumed to be decreased.

Originality / value of the article: Each examination period bares a different ETP due to its problem-specific nature (number of courses offered, the structure of student enrollments, availability of rooms, etc.). Summer schools provide a more irregular structure that demands special attention, a trial-and-error reformulation of the ETP in our case. In addition, the traditional formulations of the ETP, to the extent we have been able to scan, do not include the minimization of the crowdedness of the rooms. Thus, in creating a more comfortable environment, easier to monitor exams and, ability in handling unexpected dysfunctionalities (broken classroom equipment, etc.) this study is novel.

Limitations of the research: The algorithms to solve an ETP formulated as an LMIP are of high complexity therefore, we are not able to assert the optimality of our suggested solutions acquired within time limitations.

Keywords: examination timetabling, group decision making, lexicographic optimization, linear mixed integer programming

JEL: C44, C61, M12

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.870

Vol. 4, No. 3, 89-115, September 2020

The CoViD-19 pandemic and the end of corporate risk management as we know it

Author: Markus WILL
Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Aim: The article is intended to contribute to a discussion on risks related to the CoViD-19 pandemic, which was started in the last issues of this journal.

Findings: The article discusses the thesis that conventional risk management is reaching its limits in its application in companies, particularly with regard to low-probability but high-impact events its applications seems nor appropriate. In complex and tightly coupled systems like global supply chains, catastrophic events must be considered “normal”. The risk of a global pandemic is well known, and at the end of 2019 the first signs of an impending outbreak were also evident. Nevertheless, the global pandemic and the gradual lockdown was surprising in that no precautionary measures were taken. Therefore, this paper argues for a change of perspective from traditional risk management to business continuity management (BCM) and for increasing the resilience of supply chains.

Keywords: CoViD-19, risk management, black swans, business continuity, supply chain resilience

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.888

Vol. 4, No. 3, 117-132, September 2020

Exchange of new ideas: towards a more open, cooperative and sustainable world

Authors: Johannes (Joost) PLATJE, WSB University in Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
Grahame FALLON, Brunel University, London, United Kingdom
Mehmet Baha KARAN, CEVI & Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Wim WESTERMAN, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Yoram KROZER, Sustainable Innovations Academy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Markus WILL, University of Applied Science Zittau/Görlitz, Germany
Katarzyna KUREK, Johan VAN OPHEM, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands

Aim: Provide a summary of the expressed views, presentations and discussions during the ISINI14 (2020) online conference.

Design: Next to rather traditional but this time online presentations, the discussions not only took place by way of oral communication, but also via an online tool. The administrators of the conference prepared in a word-processing programme a framework, where the participants could enter issues, questions and comments in real time, and react to each others writings. These issues, questions and comments were also discussed orally. The results of the exchange of new ideas are presented below, and should provide an impulse for further discussion at ISINI online meetings in the future.

Findings: In order to achieve sustainable development, protect democratic values and empower citizens in different countries with a different institutional setting, a sound balance between open markets and sound regulation should be struck at various levels. Global and regional (EU) cooperationis needed for solving challenges to sustainable development – e.g. in relation to unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate (change) as a kind of public good.

Keywords: new ideas, empowerment, climate change, COVID-19, European Union, decision making process, risk management, sustainable development

JEL: D70, D81, F02, Q01, Q54

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.891