The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International Outlook
Sustainable waste management is becoming a common goal in most countries. The national legal framework largely determines the waste management practices, the socio-demographic characteristics, and the economic level of the country and, in the case of businesses, the type of business, the industry in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Mathematics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/22/4574 |
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| author | Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán Sónia Monteiro Fátima David Francisco M. Somohano-Rodríguez |
| author_facet | Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán Sónia Monteiro Fátima David Francisco M. Somohano-Rodríguez |
| author_sort | Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sustainable waste management is becoming a common goal in most countries. The national legal framework largely determines the waste management practices, the socio-demographic characteristics, and the economic level of the country and, in the case of businesses, the type of business, the industry in which it operates, and the sector-specific regulations to which it is subject. This paper aims to examine the importance that firms worldwide place on waste management by analyzing the evolution over time of waste management practices used by firms and how this evolution has varied across countries and sectors. The X-STATIS technique is applied to conduct a multivariate analysis using data from seven-hundred and eighty firms from twenty-eight countries and eight sectors from 2016 to 2020 (3900 observations). The results show that waste management has become more important worldwide over time. In terms of waste management practices, the management of the impacts of generated waste occupies the first place in the ranking, performed by 97.5% of the sampled firms in 2020; this is followed by the methods of the disposal of non-hazardous waste (66%) while waste prevention policies occupy the last place in the ranking (30.6%). At the country level, the most committed countries are Taiwan (74.3%) and Finland (70.6%), followed by France, Spain, Russia, Italy, and the United States (60.0–66.9%); meanwhile, the least committed countries are the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland (35–36%). At the sector level, consumer goods (63.7%) and oil and gas (63.0%) lead the ranking while the least committed sectors are technology and telecommunications (50.0%) and real estate services (49.3%). The evolution of companies’ commitment to waste management is gradual in all sectors, with oil and gas at the top, with a percentage variation of 21.4%, and consumer goods at the bottom, with 5.2%. In addition, our results suggest that the sector influences waste management practices more than the country of origin of the firms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:39:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c193ed2f722240569a6208fdc51b7f44 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7390 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:39:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mathematics |
| spelling | doaj.art-c193ed2f722240569a6208fdc51b7f442023-11-24T14:54:03ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902023-11-011122457410.3390/math11224574The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International OutlookBeatriz Aibar-Guzmán0Sónia Monteiro1Fátima David2Francisco M. Somohano-Rodríguez3Departamento de Economía Financiera y Contabilidad, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Santiago Compostela, Av. Burgo, s/n, 15782 Santiago Compostela, SpainCICF—Centro de Investigação em Contabilidade e Fiscalidade del Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave, 4750-810 Barcelos, PortugalEscola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico da Guarda, 6300-559 Guarda, PortugalDepartamento de Administración de Empresas, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Cantabria, Av. de los Castros, 56, 39005 Santander, SpainSustainable waste management is becoming a common goal in most countries. The national legal framework largely determines the waste management practices, the socio-demographic characteristics, and the economic level of the country and, in the case of businesses, the type of business, the industry in which it operates, and the sector-specific regulations to which it is subject. This paper aims to examine the importance that firms worldwide place on waste management by analyzing the evolution over time of waste management practices used by firms and how this evolution has varied across countries and sectors. The X-STATIS technique is applied to conduct a multivariate analysis using data from seven-hundred and eighty firms from twenty-eight countries and eight sectors from 2016 to 2020 (3900 observations). The results show that waste management has become more important worldwide over time. In terms of waste management practices, the management of the impacts of generated waste occupies the first place in the ranking, performed by 97.5% of the sampled firms in 2020; this is followed by the methods of the disposal of non-hazardous waste (66%) while waste prevention policies occupy the last place in the ranking (30.6%). At the country level, the most committed countries are Taiwan (74.3%) and Finland (70.6%), followed by France, Spain, Russia, Italy, and the United States (60.0–66.9%); meanwhile, the least committed countries are the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland (35–36%). At the sector level, consumer goods (63.7%) and oil and gas (63.0%) lead the ranking while the least committed sectors are technology and telecommunications (50.0%) and real estate services (49.3%). The evolution of companies’ commitment to waste management is gradual in all sectors, with oil and gas at the top, with a percentage variation of 21.4%, and consumer goods at the bottom, with 5.2%. In addition, our results suggest that the sector influences waste management practices more than the country of origin of the firms.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/22/4574sustainabilitywaste managementwaste hierarchyX-STATISmultivariate statistics |
| spellingShingle | Beatriz Aibar-Guzmán Sónia Monteiro Fátima David Francisco M. Somohano-Rodríguez The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International Outlook Mathematics sustainability waste management waste hierarchy X-STATIS multivariate statistics |
| title | The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International Outlook |
| title_full | The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International Outlook |
| title_fullStr | The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International Outlook |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International Outlook |
| title_short | The Waste Hierarchy at the Business Level: An International Outlook |
| title_sort | waste hierarchy at the business level an international outlook |
| topic | sustainability waste management waste hierarchy X-STATIS multivariate statistics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/22/4574 |
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