IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i23p9028-d987809.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Innovation, Circularity and Energy Transition for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practices—A Comprehensive Review

Author

Listed:
  • Catalin Popescu

    (Department of Business Administration, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 100680 Ploiești, Romania)

  • Eglantina Hysa

    (Department of Economics, Epoka University, 1000 Tirana, Albania)

  • Alba Kruja

    (Department of Business Administration, Epoka University, 1000 Tirana, Albania)

  • Egla Mansi

    (Department of Business Administration, Epoka University, 1000 Tirana, Albania)

Abstract

It has been extensively debated how social innovation, circularity, and energy transition may all be considered environmental, social, and governance (ESG) components from a sustainability perspective. To comprehend the conceptual development of this subject in the academic literature, few studies, however, tackle the problems above by reviewing earlier research on the subject. By developing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) technique, this study aims to address the current and anticipated advancements in social innovation, energy transition, and circularity. As a result, we create two metasynthesis analyses related to “social innovation–energy transition” and “social innovation–circularity.” In the first analysis, the three databases Web of Science, Scopus, and JSTOR had a total of 1767 studies and reports, and in the second analysis, we reviewed the work from a total of 466 studies and reports. We emphasize that implementing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices require social innovation, circularity, and energy transition. The study’s key contributions are the five cluster themes classification for the two metasynthesis analyses, which point to potential future directions for both firms and governments to pursue some macro-level goals concerning energy transition and circularity through social innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Catalin Popescu & Eglantina Hysa & Alba Kruja & Egla Mansi, 2022. "Social Innovation, Circularity and Energy Transition for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practices—A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-28, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:23:p:9028-:d:987809
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/9028/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/9028/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McCauley, Darren & Heffron, Raphael, 2018. "Just transition: Integrating climate, energy and environmental justice," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 1-7.
    2. Vincenzo Dovì & Antonella Battaglini, 2015. "Energy Policy and Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach to a Global Problem," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-8, November.
    3. Saeed Nosratabadi & Amir Mosavi & Shahaboddin Shamshirband & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Andry Rakotonirainy & Kwok Wing Chau, 2019. "Sustainable Business Models: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-30, March.
    4. Miseldra Gil-Marín & Alejandro Vega-Muñoz & Nicolás Contreras-Barraza & Guido Salazar-Sepúlveda & Sandra Vera-Ruiz & Analia Verónica Losada, 2022. "Sustainability Accounting Studies: A Metasynthesis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-15, August.
    5. Simone Sehnem & Tais Provensi & Tiago Hilário Hennemann da Silva & Susana Carla Farias Pereira, 2022. "Disruptive innovation and circularity in start‐ups: A path to sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1292-1307, May.
    6. Docherty, Iain & Marsden, Greg & Anable, Jillian, 2018. "The governance of smart mobility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 114-125.
    7. Carmela Gulluscio & Pina Puntillo & Valerio Luciani & Donald Huisingh, 2020. "Climate Change Accounting and Reporting: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-31, July.
    8. Eglantina Hysa & Alba Kruja & Naqeeb Ur Rehman & Rafael Laurenti, 2020. "Circular Economy Innovation and Environmental Sustainability Impact on Economic Growth: An Integrated Model for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, June.
    9. Valentina Vasile & Mirela Panait & Paolo Piciocchi & Maria Antonella Ferri & Maria Palazzo, 2022. "Performance management and sustainable development: an exploration of non-financial performance of companies with foreign capital in Romania," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2022(3), pages 371-400, September.
    10. Lukman Raimi & Mirela Panait & Adriana Grigorescu & Valentina Vasile, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the Telecommunication Industry—Driver of Entrepreneurship," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-23, September.
    11. Tuan-Hock Ng & Chun-Teck Lye & Kar-Hoong Chan & Ying-Zhee Lim & Ying-San Lim, 2020. "Sustainability in Asia: The Roles of Financial Development in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Performance," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 17-44, July.
    12. Khatib, Hisham, 2012. "IEA World Energy Outlook 2011—A comment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 737-743.
    13. Daniel Gabaldón-Estevan & Elisa Peñalvo-López & David Alfonso Solar, 2018. "The Spanish Turn against Renewable Energy Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    14. Schot, Johan & Steinmueller, W. Edward, 2018. "Three frames for innovation policy: R&D, systems of innovation and transformative change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1554-1567.
    15. Sengers, Frans & Wieczorek, Anna J. & Raven, Rob, 2019. "Experimenting for sustainability transitions: A systematic literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 153-164.
    16. Imke Lammers & Thomas Hoppe, 2018. "Analysing the Institutional Setting of Local Renewable Energy Planning and Implementation in the EU: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, September.
    17. Markard, Jochen & Raven, Rob & Truffer, Bernhard, 2012. "Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 955-967.
    18. Patrik Thollander & Jenny Palm, 2015. "Industrial Energy Management Decision Making for Improved Energy Efficiency—Strategic System Perspectives and Situated Action in Combination," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-10, June.
    19. Siddharth Sareen & Douglas Baillie & Jürgen Kleinwächter, 2018. "Transitions to Future Energy Systems: Learning from a Community Test Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, November.
    20. Puime Felix & Panait Mirela & Andrei Jean Vasile & Gigauri Iza, 2022. "Non-financial Performance of Energy Companies Listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and Relevance for Stakeholders," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Alina Mihaela Dima & Mihaela Kelemen (ed.), Digitalization and Big Data for Resilience and Economic Intelligence, pages 183-201, Springer.
    21. Grazia Dicuonzo & Francesca Donofrio & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Vittorio Dell’Atti, 2022. "The integration of sustainability in corporate governance systems: an innovative framework applied to the European systematically important banks," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(3), pages 249-263, September.
    22. Thomas Morstyn & Niall Farrell & Sarah J. Darby & Malcolm D. McCulloch, 2018. "Using peer-to-peer energy-trading platforms to incentivize prosumers to form federated power plants," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 94-101, February.
    23. Alaa Aldowaish & Jiro Kokuryo & Othman Almazyad & Hoe Chin Goi, 2022. "Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration into the Business Model: Literature Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    24. Steven Kane Curtis & Matthias Lehner, 2019. "Defining the Sharing Economy for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-25, January.
    25. Laura De Leeuw & Martijn Groenleer, 2018. "The Regional Governance of Energy-Neutral Housing: Toward a Framework for Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, October.
    26. Du, Kerui & Li, Pengzhen & Yan, Zheming, 2019. "Do green technology innovations contribute to carbon dioxide emission reduction? Empirical evidence from patent data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 297-303.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alessio Baratta & Antonio Cimino & Francesco Longo & Vittorio Solina & Saverino Verteramo, 2023. "The Impact of ESG Practices in Industry with a Focus on Carbon Emissions: Insights and Future Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Photini Vrikki, 2024. "Measuring Up? The Illusion of Sustainability and the Limits of Big Tech Self-Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Mantas Svazas & Yuriy Bilan & Valentinas Navickas & Małgorzata Okręglicka, 2023. "Energy Transformation in Municipal Areas—Key Datasets and Their Influence on Process Evaluation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-20, August.
    4. Archana Saxena & Rajesh Singh & Anita Gehlot & Shaik Vaseem Akram & Bhekisipho Twala & Aman Singh & Elisabeth Caro Montero & Neeraj Priyadarshi, 2022. "Technologies Empowered Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG): An Industry 4.0 Landscape," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Aldieri, Luigi & Gatto, Andrea & Vinci, Concetto Paolo, 2024. "Impact of environmental, energy and business efficiency on CO2 emissions: A composite indicator for emerging Asia-Pacific markets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 368(C).
    6. Enkeleda Lulaj & Blerta Dragusha & Eglantina Hysa, 2023. "Investigating Accounting Factors through Audited Financial Statements in Businesses toward a Circular Economy: Why a Sustainable Profit through Qualified Staff and Investment in Technology?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-28, March.
    7. Jun Fan & Lijuan Peng & Tinggui Chen & Guodong Cong, 2024. "The role of social impact on consumer attitudes toward green and healthy home appliances during the COVID-19 pandemic," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 28063-28105, November.
    8. de Almeida, Israel Nunes & Palazzi, Rafael Baptista & Klotzle, Marcelo Cabus & Pinto, Antonio Carlos Figueiredo & Gomes, Leonardo Lima, 2024. "Beyond hype: Unveiling the herd effect in ESG and non-ESG cryptocurrency portfolios," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    9. Simona Andreea Apostu & Iza Gigauri & Mirela Panait & Pedro A. Martín-Cervantes, 2023. "Is Europe on the Way to Sustainable Development? Compatibility of Green Environment, Economic Growth, and Circular Economy Issues," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-17, January.
    10. Diana Joița & Mirela Panait & Carmen-Elena Dobrotă & Alin Diniță & Adrian Neacșa & Laura Elly Naghi, 2023. "The European Dilemma—Energy Security or Green Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-16, April.
    11. Catalin Popescu & Eglantina Hysa & Mirela Panait & Arjona Çela, 2023. "Past, Present, and Future of Critical Issues in Energy: Poverty, Transition and Security—A Systematic Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-25, July.
    12. Abdelmohsen A. Nassani & Zahid Yousaf & Magdalena Radulescu & Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente & Hadi Hussain & Mohamed Haffar, 2023. "Green Innovation through Green and Blue Infrastructure Development: Investigation of Pollution Reduction and Green Technology in Emerging Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-12, February.
    13. Feyyaz Zeren & Nazlıgül Gülcan & Samet Gürsoy & İbrahim Halil Ekşi & Mosab I. Tabash & Magdalena Radulescu, 2023. "The Relationship between Geothermal Energy Consumption, Foreign Direct Investment, and Economic Growth in Geothermal Consumer Countries: Evidence from Panel Fourier Causality Test," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-15, January.
    14. Luky Patricia Widianingsih & Cliff Kohardinata & Emelie Vlaviorine, 2024. "Renewable Energy Consumption, ESG Reporting, and Fixed Asset Turnover: Does it Work in Asia?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(1), pages 552-558, January.
    15. Nicoleta-Elena Cristea & Antonio-Alexandru Popescu-Cristea, 2024. "Romanian Nuclear Energy and Hydropower - A CSR Perspective," Oblik i finansi, Institute of Accounting and Finance, issue 2, pages 164-172, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thomas Hoppe & Gerdien De Vries, 2018. "Social Innovation and the Energy Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Salas Gironés, Edgar & van Est, Rinie & Verbong, Geert, 2020. "The role of policy entrepreneurs in defining directions of innovation policy: A case study of automated driving in the Netherlands," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Engwall, Mats & Kaulio, Matti & Karakaya, Emrah & Miterev, Maxim & Berlin, Daniel, 2021. "Experimental networks for business model innovation: A way for incumbents to navigate sustainability transitions?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    4. Grillitsch, Markus & Hansen, Teis & Madsen, Stine, 2020. "How novel is Transformative Innovation Policy?," Papers in Innovation Studies 2020/8, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    5. Laatsit, Mart & Grillitsch, Markus & Fünfschilling, Lea, 2022. "Great expectations: the promises and limits of innovation policy in addressing societal challenges," Papers in Innovation Studies 2022/9, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    6. Kanger, Laur & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Noorkõiv, Martin, 2020. "Six policy intervention points for sustainability transitions: A conceptual framework and a systematic literature review," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    7. Loewen, Bradley, 2022. "Revitalizing varieties of capitalism for sustainability transitions research: Review, critique and way forward," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    8. Julia Maria Wittmayer & Tessa de Geus & Bonno Pel & F. Avelino & Sabine Hielscher & Thomas Hoppe & Marie Susan Mühlemeier & Agata Stasik & Sem Oxenaar & Karoline K.S. Rogge & Vivian Visser & Esther Ma, 2020. "Beyond instrumentalism: Broadening the understanding of social innovation in socio-technical energy systems," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/312323, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    9. Veldhuizen, Caroline, 2020. "Smart Specialisation as a transition management framework: Driving sustainability-focused regional innovation policy?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(6).
    10. Roberto Hernández-Chea & Akriti Jain & Nancy M. P. Bocken & Anjula Gurtoo, 2021. "The Business Model in Sustainability Transitions: A Conceptualization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, May.
    11. Frans Sengers & Bruno Turnheim & Frans Berkhout, 2021. "Beyond experiments: Embedding outcomes in climate governance," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 39(6), pages 1148-1171, September.
    12. Most Asikha Aktar & Mukaramah Binti & Md. Mahmudul Alam, 2020. "Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy for Sustainable Development," Post-Print hal-03519872, HAL.
    13. Nesari, Mohammad & Naghizadeh, Mohammad & Ghazinoori, Soroush & Manteghi, Manoochehr, 2022. "The evolution of socio-technical transition studies: A scientometric analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Fridholm, Tobias, 2023. "Seizing the window of opportunity? The Swedish public innovation system’s support to private business in the early Covid-19 pandemic," Papers in Innovation Studies 2023/5, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    15. Dierk Bauknecht & Allan Dahl Andersen & Karoline Dunne, 2020. "Challenges for electricity network governance in Energy transitions: Insights from Norway," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20200115, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    16. Frans Sengers & Alexander Peine, 2021. "Innovation Pathways for Age-Friendly Homes in Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-25, January.
    17. Jianjia He & Thi Hoai Thuong Mai, 2021. "The Circular Economy: A Study on the Use of Airbnb for Sustainable Coastal Development in the Vietnam Mekong Delta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Pel, Bonno & Raven, Rob & van Est, Rinie, 2020. "Transitions governance with a sense of direction: synchronization challenges in the case of the dutch ‘Driverless Car’ transition," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    19. Ricciardi, Francesca & De Bernardi, Paola & Cantino, Valter, 2020. "System dynamics modeling as a circular process: The smart commons approach to impact management," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    20. Franz Tödtling & Michaela Trippl & Veronika Desch, 2022. "New directions for RIS studies and policies in the face of grand societal challenges," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(11), pages 2139-2156, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:23:p:9028-:d:987809. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.