Sustainable Development Research

Exploration of Sustainable Development of Chinese-Western Fusion Cuisine: Innovative Strategies to Mitigate the Environmental Impact of the Catering Industry

Donghui Li — 2024-12-05

In the diverse landscape of global food culture, Chinese-Western fusion cuisine stands out for its innovative appeal and unique flavor profiles. This culinary style not only enriches the international dining scene but also presents a distinctive opportunity to pioneer sustainable practices within the catering industry. This study delves into how Chinese-Western fusion cuisine integrates sustainable ingredients, employs energy-efficient cooking methods, and implements effective waste management techniques. It also examines the role of innovative strategies in mitigating environmental impacts. Through a series of case studies, this paper evaluates the contributions of these practices towards the sustainable development of the catering industry, proposing a model for sustainable operations applicable globally. The ultimate goal is to foster broader adoption of these sustainable strategies across the industry.

Trade-Embodied Carbon Emissions in China's Manufacturing Industry Based on the MRIO Model

Tong Lin — 2024-12-06

With the rapid development of the economy in China, as early as 2013, China had overtaken the United States as the largest trader of goods. According to the OECD database, since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), carbon emissions from manufacturing trade have accounted for more than 80% of all sectors in China. Reducing carbon emissions from manufacturing trade can effectively alleviate the carbon emission challenges faced by China. This study constructs a Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) model to estimate the scale of carbon emissions embodied in China's manufacturing trade from 2012 to 2018, and analyzes the differences in carbon emissions among various manufacturing sectors. The results show that between 2012 and 2018, China's manufacturing export trade embodied carbon decreased while import trade embodied carbon increased, with the basic metals sector contributing significantly. Further analysis indicates that the proportion of carbon emissions from intermediate product exports is more than half and is on the rise, while the proportion of direct import of intermediate products and indirect trade energy consumption in the import trade embodied carbon has declined. China, as the "world's factory," has undertaken a large amount of carbon emissions caused by intermediate product trade from developed countries.

Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics and Spatial Formation Mechanisms of China's Fresh Produce New Retail

Xiaoyu Wang — 2024-12-13

As a product of the mobile internet era, the new retail model represents a transformation of traditional and online retail. This emerging force will have a significant impact on the spatial planning and layout of urban commercial facilities and refined new infrastructure in the post-COVID-19 era. Using spatial statistical data and revenue data from 2018 to 2022 on fresh produce new retail outlets in China, along with the ArcGIS analysis platform, this paper studies the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of fresh produce new retail and its revenues before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in China, aiming to uncover the inherent spatial mechanism logic. The results show: (1) The spatial distribution of China's fresh produce new retail model decreases from east to west and increases from south to north, with a concentration in three major urban agglomerations, particularly the Yangtze River Delta region; (2) Cities with a higher number of fresh produce new retail outlets have developed a mature online consumer market, with convenient transportation conditions and a well-established logistics system; (3) Between 2018 and 2022, the number of fresh produce new retail outlets expanded, and new retail brands increased at the provincial level. Provinces with more outlets have introduced more fresh produce new retail brands; (4) The outbreak of COVID-19 significantly affected the development and profit models of fresh produce new retail. In 2018-2019, the online and offline revenues of fresh produce new retail were nearly equal, but from 2020 to 2022, online business volumes led to a massive surge in revenue, leaving offline sales far behind. Since 2020, offline revenue has almost remained unchanged. The article argues that the spatiotemporal evolution of fresh produce new retail not only reflects the diversification of consumer types and the transformation of demand but also serves as a barometer for the spatial layout of new retail infrastructure. This model represents the establishment of sustainable new consumer relationships, responding to the development of mobile internet and the construction of healthy digital cities. The mobile internet market, big data, smart logistics, flexible fresh supply chain mechanisms, flat distribution models, and intelligent operations all guide spatial planning for urban 5G infrastructure, logistics centers + forward warehouses, long-distance transportation, small street network "capillary" traffic micro-circulation, and the future construction of smart communities. Urban spaces must continuously and sustainably adapt to changes in consumer demand to maintain their competitiveness among global cities.

Quantitative Evaluation of the Impact of Sustainable Eco-Tourism Policy on Tourism Environmental Capacity in Dali City

Zhan Huiwen — 2024-12-18

The sustainable eco-tourism policies of Dali City represent a pivotal foundation for fostering the harmonious integration of local ecology and tourism. To appraise the effectiveness of these policies, this study formulates an evaluation framework utilizing the PMC index model. The analysis encompasses 16 sustainable ecotourism policies and their associated environmental indicators in Dali City, subsequently constructing an evaluation system that integrates the PMC index with tourism environmental capacity. Evaluation proceeds via the PMC index and its surface map representation. The results reveal a commendable average PMC index of 6.176 for the 16 policies, indicating a generally high level of performance. This underscores Dali City's substantial commitment to the conjoined development of ecology and tourism, as evidenced by the preliminary establishment of a comprehensive policy system and operational network spanning the entire city. Incorporating the tourism environmental capacity model, the policies pertaining to facilities and ecological environment indicators score 5.440 and 5.638 respectively, falling below the average benchmark for similar-level assessments. These findings suggest that while the overarching design of Dali City's sustainable ecotourism policies is sound, there is scope for enhancement in focusing policy efforts on ecological and facility environment capacity. Future policy formulations should prioritize advancements in policy timeliness, scope, incentives, and constraints, fostering interdepartmental collaboration for coordinated governance. Furthermore, enhancing the comprehensiveness and efficacy of policies will contribute to fostering eco-tourism in Dali City and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between ecological preservation and economic prosperity.