This essay considers the rural-to-urban transition and correlates it with urban energy demands. Three distinct themes are inspected and interrelated to develop awareness for an urbanizing world: internal urban design and innovation, technical transition, and geopolitical change. Data were collected on the use of energy in cities and, by extension, nation states over the last 30 years. The urban population boom continues to pressure the energy dimension with heavily weighted impacts on less developed regions. Sustainable urban energy will need to reduce resource inputs and environmental impacts and decouple economic growth from energy consumption. Fossil fuels continue to be the preferred method of energy for cities; however, an increased understanding is emerging that sustainable energy forms can be implemented as alternatives. Key to this transition will be the will to invest in renewables (i.e., solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass), efficient infrastructure, and smart eco-city designs. This essay elucidates how the technical transition of energy-friendly technologies focuses on understanding the changes in the energy mix from non-renewable to renewable. Smart electricity storage grids with artificial intelligence can operate internationally and alleviate some geopolitical barriers. Energy politics is shown to be a problematic hurdle with case research examples specific to Central and Eastern Europe. The energy re-shift stressed is a philosophical re-thinking of modern cities as well as a new approach to the human-energy relationship.

Container shipping is the largest producer of emissions within the maritime shipping industry. Hence, measures have been designed and implemented to reduce ship emission levels. IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI, with its future plan of applying Tier III requirements, the Energy Efficiency Design Index for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan for all ships. To assist policy formulation and follow-up, this study applies an energy consumption approach to estimate container ship emissions. The volumes of sulphur oxide (SO_x), nitrous oxide (NO_x), particulate matter (PM), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from container ships are estimated using 2018 datasets on container shipping and average vessel speed records generated via AIS. Furthermore, the estimated reductions in SO_x, NO_x, PM, and CO₂ are mapped for 2020. The empirical analysis demonstrates that the energy consumption approach is a valuable method to estimate ongoing emission reductions on a continuous basis and to fill data gaps where needed, as the latest worldwide container shipping emissions records date back to 2015. The presented analysis supports early-stage detection of environmental impacts in container shipping and helps to determine in which areas the greatest potential for emission reductions can be found.

An enterprise carrying out operations according to the sustainable development (SD) concept should maximize its business goals without affecting interest groups. It requires not only a rethinking, but also a partial allocation of profit to social goals—used to contribute to and create a positive image of the enterprise and improve its competitiveness—over the long-term. Operations should result in an increase in profit—indirectly—by way of demand. This paper explores the sustainable supply chain (SSC) concept and the interplay of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within business objectives. The concept of SSC-compliant CSR is primarily stressed as an executive, top-down centric role. Businesses and societies at large that foster an SD continuum are considered healthy economies. The SD of enterprises and CSR in business are explored in relation to social investment and considered a viable long-term strategy for doing business. A pilot case study of Poland is carried out as a value analysis of the SSCs of enterprises. The key findings illustrate the benefits and problems of SSCs applied at the enterprise level. The problems of applying the principles of SSC within the enterprise and the connection between its levels of strategy and social value in terms of CSR and entrepreneurial operations are examined. Comparative studies indicate a number of overlapping trends in which positive SSC is cross-functional toward business partners, suppliers, customers, investors, and local communities.

World economic development, technological progress, and irrational exploitation of natural resources have intensified the negative effects of economic activity, which causes more attention to be paid to environmental pollution and the deterioration of the standard of living. Therefore, over the past few years, the concept of sustainable development has experienced a period of increased interest, accompanied by changes in the attitudes and expectations of all market participants. The article attempts to analyse the relationship between air pollution and selected parameters of the residential market in Gdansk in 2010–2020. The study considered the peculiarities of the region due to its geographical location. To identify the effects of air pollution, the GLM (generalised linear models) and GRM (generalised regression models) were used with a progressive stepwise regression method. Based on the results, it was found that the existing air pollution and climatic conditions in Gdańsk have an impact on the number of apartments sold and their prices. All models were identified for the first time for monthly data, and prices were taken from the real estate sale contracts database. These indicate the advantage and novelty of the study. In addition, this paper is the first in a series of publications examining the impact of air pollution on the real estate market in Poland’s largest agglomerations. From the main model following results were obtained: (1) A statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) factor affecting the number of sales of premises above 80 m² on the secondary market is PM_2.5. With an increase in PM_2.5 by 10 µg/m³, the number of sold apartments above 80 m² decreases on average by slightly more than 20. (2) The interaction (p ≤ 0.05) of O₃ (ozone) and PM_2.5 on the number of transactions affects the secondary market of flats with an area of 60–80 m². Simultaneous to the decrease in the concentrations of O₃ and PM_2.5 is an increase in the number of sales of apartments in the given size in Gdańsk. (3) Simultaneous to the decrease in PM₁₀ and NO₂ concentrations due to the increased urban traffic is an increase in the price of 1 m² of residential premises with an area of 40 m² on the secondary market in Gdańsk.

Air pollution has a significant impact on the housing market, both in terms of property prices and buyer preferences, as well as urban development. Below, we present the main aspects of this impact. These may include a decline in property values in polluted areas, a change in buyer preferences (more buyers are taking environmental factors into account when choosing a home, including air quality—both outdoor and indoor—which translates into increased demand in ‘green’ neighborhoods), the development of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly buildings, the impact on spatial planning and urban policy, health effects, and the rental market. The study showed that air pollution has a significant negative impact on housing prices in Warsaw, particularly in relation to two pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter (PM_2.5). As their concentrations decreased, housing prices increased, with the highest price sensitivity observed for smaller flats on the secondary market. The analysis used GRM and OLS statistical models, which confirmed the significance of the relationship between the concentrations of these pollutants and housing prices (per m²). NO₂ had a significant impact on prices in the primary market and on the largest flats in the secondary market, while PM_2.5 affected prices of smaller flats in the secondary market. No significant impact of other pollutants, meteorological factors, or their interaction on housing prices was detected. The study also showed that the primary and secondary markets differ significantly, requiring separate analyses. Attempts to combine them do not allow for the precise identification of key price-determining factors.