Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues is a peer-reviewed journal which publishes original research papers and case studies

The formation of a competitive tourist space in the Arctic regions is expedient from the standpoint of diversification of predominantly single-industry local economies and increasing the socio-economic sustainability of local communities. However, it is extremely important that the measures aimed at achieving these effects are correlated with the ecological and social context of the territories and, fully using their existing potential, do not lead to an aggravation of ecological and economic risks. The purpose of this work was to assess the prerequisites for the development of eco-tourism in the example of the Arctic region and economically related territories and consider the possibilities of forming ecotourism zones. Based on statistical data, cartographic materials, and content analysis of semi-formalized interviews of experts, this work investigated the current level of socio-economic development of the Karelian Arctic, the existing tourist infrastructure, natural, and cultural-historical objects. Strengths and constraints of eco-tourism development are emphasized. A number of innovative tools and approaches for the development of ecological tourism in the Karelian Arctic were proposed, the introduction of which will increase the tourist attractiveness of the territory, and ensure its sustainable development by reducing negative environmental impacts and depopulation.

Due to the depletion of traditional energy sources, the rising costs of their operation and the need to transition to a sustainable economy, it becomes relevant to increase the share of renewable energy sources in total consumption. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of renewable energy and the establishment of factors determining pro-environmental behavior. The data of the author’s sociological survey of the population of the Arctic regions of Russia and methods of descriptive statistics were used, and regression analysis was carried out. The study shows the ecological and energy characteristics of the Arctic regions of Russia. The main advantages and possibilities of transition to renewable energy sources have been identified. A relationship has been established between the degree of involvement in pro-environmental behavior and knowledge about renewable energy, the perceived importance of environmental problems, age, income, education, amount of waste produced and current electricity costs. It is shown that the degree of involvement in pro-environmental behavior affects the willingness to pay more for renewable energy. A number of institutional measures to promote renewable energy, increase willingness to pay for renewable energy and spread pro-environmental behavior are proposed.

Today Russian companies have a low level of compliance with the principles of sustainable economy, which can be largely determined by a weak interest of some corporate stakeholders to ESG (environmental, social and governance) indicators. It determines therelevanceof studying the individual groups of stakeholders and determine the measure of their interest in ESG-strategy.Thepurposeof this work is to determine which shareholders are most interested in ESG indicators of companies whose securities are traded on the Russian stock market. The research is based on the data from Yahoo Finance and the website of the Sustainalytics, Inc. company as of the end of 2021.Cluster, variance, regression and correlationanalyseswere carried out andmethodsof descriptive statistics were used.Resultsof this work have revealed the presence of the features of ownership structure of Russian companies in comparison with companies of developed countries. The lack of insiders’ interest in corporate ESG characteristics has been confirmed. At the same time, the increase in the share of institutional shareholders leads to decrease in the assessed risk of ESG but its rate is less than the change in the shares of institutional owners. The different importance of individual components of the ESG assessment for institutional shareholders has been noted.Thenoveltyof this research is the study of Russian investors and issuers that have not been systematically studied before as well as the ascertainment of complex influence of insiders/outsiders and institutional/private investors. The scientific significance is determined by the development of a new approach to study the influence of the degree of investor responsibility on corporate characteristics. The practical significance of the results lies in obtaining the possibility of developing targeted incentive tools for company shareholders to increase their interest in corporate ESG-indicators and to increase the sustainability of the company and territories. This research will be of interest to investors, company managers, authorities, non-profit organizations and specialists in the field of ESG investment.

Financing capital-intensive projects in the green economy is possible through green bonds. The assessment of the economic efficiency of the green bond market, the determination of its role in ensuring the energy and economic security of the regions and the development of directions and instruments for improving the efficiency and significance of the market for the Russian Federation are the aim of the study. The methodology involved the determination of the autocorrelation presence in the calendar series of bond yields using the Broysch-Godfrey LM test, the application of applied statistics methods to verify the existence of calendar effects on the stock exchange and analyze market reviews. Data on the green bond market were compared with data on other bonds. Market performance calculations were based on the S&P Green Bond Index and S&P 500 Bond Index. Features and benefits of green bonds as an instrument to ensure regional security were identified. The lack of market efficiency for green and other bonds, even in a weak form, was shown. The necessary institutional changes to improve the efficiency of the green bond market and develop it in the Russian Federation have been proposed. The findings are of theoretical importance, complementing the work on testing the hypothesis of an effective market, and of practical importance in the form of recommendations for on market improving.

The high level of negative impact on the environment and the deterioration of its quality necessitate the greening of production and economic activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the direction and degree of the causal relationship between the environmental and financial indicators of Russian industrial companies. Taking into account the lack of a systematic study of the relationship between the level of environmental responsibility of Russian companies and their financial condition, as well as only single works analyzing all possible types of causation of corporate indicators, the stated goal looks relevant and significant. The research methodology assumed the use of applied statistics methods. In the course of the work, the direction and strength of the correlation were determined for different periods of time both between individual environmental and financial indicators, as well as for their aggregation. It was shown that the predominantly financial interests of Russian industrial companies and public env ironmental interests are weakly but positively interrelated, except for such objects as air pollution and waste. It is concluded that there is an institutional trap in the stock mark et that prevents an effective transition to a green economy. Recommendations are given for increasing the level of greening of Ru ssian companies. The conclusions drawn expand knowledge in the field of green economy and green finance in particular. The practical importance of the work for corporate managers is determined by the ability to predict the dynamics of environmental and financial indicators when developing plans to increase the level of environmental responsibility of the company, and for state and municipal authorities – the ability to effectively motivate companies to green their activities.