The world population maintains a growing trend and in turn, the amount of municipal waste is also increasing. Rising municipal waste quantity poses a challenge for human beings and the environment, therefore recycling becomes important for environmental sustainability and circular economy. This study explores the effects of municipal waste recycling and renewable energy on the environment sustainability proxied by CO₂ emissions in EU member states over the period from 2004 to 2017 through panel cointegration and causality analyses. Recycling is considered an efficient way to reduce CO₂ emission, but surprisingly our results indicate mixed findings. The causality analysis revealed no significant interaction among recycling rate, renewable energy and CO₂ emissions. However, in the long run, the negative impact of recycling and renewable energy use on CO₂ emissions were revealed but varied among the countries. Results indicate that increasing renewable energy consumption will play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These findings must raise awareness among policymakers that should focus on the adoption and implementation of different types of sustainable energy policies that can affect directly or indirectly renewable energy sector development.

Due to the increasing importance of digitization, ICT and engineering sectors are also growing. In these sectors, there are a lot of high-qualified and well-paid jobs. However, despite the growing importance and popularity of digital solutions, one fact (at least) is, unfortunately, still very stable within the ICT and engineering sectors: When it comes to employees, there are still huge differences with respect to gender and gender stereotypes. (Commercial) technology development can be regarded as having masculine connotations both structurally and culturally. Therefore, we address these connotations, especially the roles of androcentric bureaucracy, which could be described as hierarchical, technocentric, and very controlling-oriented, and (the structural possibilities of) self-efficacy. We discuss, conceptually and empirically with a focus on software development, whether new management approaches like agile frameworks and new management roles like Feel-good Managers and Scrum Master could be seen as a cure for inequality or if there are new stereotypical gender-related ascriptions for specific activities or processes.

Zusammenfassung: Junge IngenieurInnen benötigen nicht nur Erfahrungswissen über die Tätigkeiten ihres Teams oder ihrer Abteilung. Sie brauchen auch erfahrungsbasiertes Wissen über Tätigkeiten und Vorgehenslogiken anderer Unternehmensbereiche. Das gilt vor allem im Betriebsmittelbau, der eine Brücke zwischen Produktentwicklung und Fertigung bildet. Um dieses Wissen erwerben zu können, sind Kooperationen über das Team bzw.die Abteilung hinaus erforderlich, die jedoch in der Praxis meist nicht gefördert, oft eher behindert werden. Der Beitrag entwickelt anhand einer empirischen Studie mit jungen IngenieurInnen im Betriebsmittelbau eines Automobil-Großkonzerns das Konzept des erfahrungsbasierten Kontextwissens für dieses Wissens- und Lernziel. Er unterscheidet gegenstandsbezogenes und kooperationsbezogenes Kontextwissen in jeweils vier Dimensionen: Produkt, Prozess, Kultur und Soziales.