Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States

This paper aims at developing the theoretical framework for linking the CSR of energy utilities with sustainable energy development achievements and at applying this framework in selected countries. The main issues of CSR relevant to the energy sector are discussed, and a comparative analysis of CSR...

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Main Authors: Jintao Lu, Licheng Ren, Siqin Yao, Jiayuan Qiao, Wadim Strielkowski, Justas Streimikis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/18/3417
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author Jintao Lu
Licheng Ren
Siqin Yao
Jiayuan Qiao
Wadim Strielkowski
Justas Streimikis
author_facet Jintao Lu
Licheng Ren
Siqin Yao
Jiayuan Qiao
Wadim Strielkowski
Justas Streimikis
author_sort Jintao Lu
collection DOAJ
description This paper aims at developing the theoretical framework for linking the CSR of energy utilities with sustainable energy development achievements and at applying this framework in selected countries. The main issues of CSR relevant to the energy sector are discussed, and a comparative analysis of CSR reports of energy utilities and sustainable energy development trends in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) is performed based on the developed framework. There are three main interlinked sustainable energy development targets: increase in energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, and GHG emission reduction. The significance of CSR in the energy sector is underlined based on the literature review, and the state policies to promote CSR in the energy sector are discussed and critically assessed based on the case studies of three Baltic States. The CSR practices of energy utilities of the Baltic States were assessed and compared with sustainable energy development achievements in these countries, based on the analysis of sustainable energy development trends. Estonia achieved the best results in approaching all sustainable energy development targets and was ranked with the highest scores in CSR ranking among the Baltic States, followed by Lithuania. The results of the case studies demonstrate that the Baltic countries have achieved different results in sustainable energy development progress, and the role of energy utilities and their corporate sustainability practices may have huge impacts on the achievement of sustainable energy development targets.
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spelling doaj.art-05e1c4bcd9b440048457c3edc328d0232022-12-22T04:10:30ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732019-09-011218341710.3390/en12183417en12183417Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic StatesJintao Lu0Licheng Ren1Siqin Yao2Jiayuan Qiao3Wadim Strielkowski4Justas Streimikis5Department of Business Administration, School of Economics and Management, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaDepartment of Business Administration, School of Economics and Management, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaDepartment of Business Administration, School of Economics and Management, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaDepartment of Business Administration, School of Economics and Management, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaDepartment of Trade and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 16500 Praha-Suchdol, The Czech RepublicLithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics, 03105 Vilnius, LithuaniaThis paper aims at developing the theoretical framework for linking the CSR of energy utilities with sustainable energy development achievements and at applying this framework in selected countries. The main issues of CSR relevant to the energy sector are discussed, and a comparative analysis of CSR reports of energy utilities and sustainable energy development trends in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) is performed based on the developed framework. There are three main interlinked sustainable energy development targets: increase in energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, and GHG emission reduction. The significance of CSR in the energy sector is underlined based on the literature review, and the state policies to promote CSR in the energy sector are discussed and critically assessed based on the case studies of three Baltic States. The CSR practices of energy utilities of the Baltic States were assessed and compared with sustainable energy development achievements in these countries, based on the analysis of sustainable energy development trends. Estonia achieved the best results in approaching all sustainable energy development targets and was ranked with the highest scores in CSR ranking among the Baltic States, followed by Lithuania. The results of the case studies demonstrate that the Baltic countries have achieved different results in sustainable energy development progress, and the role of energy utilities and their corporate sustainability practices may have huge impacts on the achievement of sustainable energy development targets.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/18/3417corporate social responsibilityenergy utilitiessustainable energy development indicatorscorporate social responsibility reportsBaltic States
spellingShingle Jintao Lu
Licheng Ren
Siqin Yao
Jiayuan Qiao
Wadim Strielkowski
Justas Streimikis
Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States
Energies
corporate social responsibility
energy utilities
sustainable energy development indicators
corporate social responsibility reports
Baltic States
title Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States
title_full Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States
title_fullStr Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States
title_short Comparative Review of Corporate Social Responsibility of Energy Utilities and Sustainable Energy Development Trends in the Baltic States
title_sort comparative review of corporate social responsibility of energy utilities and sustainable energy development trends in the baltic states
topic corporate social responsibility
energy utilities
sustainable energy development indicators
corporate social responsibility reports
Baltic States
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/18/3417
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