Ecological footprint (EFP) measures the amount of area, that is land or sea, which is required to absorb the waste generated through human activities or to support the production of resources consumed by populations. EFP index therefore includes six dimensions that are cropland, forestland, carbon, fishing grounds, grazing land, and built-up area. Human activities have impacted the environment, leading to global warming, widespread droughts, and diseases. The present study aims to investigate the role of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency on the EFP index. Past researchers have widely used carbon emission (CE) to represent environmental impact, and recent studies have shown that EFP index is a better proxy of environmental degradation. Therefore, the present research differs from past studies in that it compares on how the determinants of environmental degradation affects EFP index and CE. Panel dataset of the OECD countries from 1990 to 2020 is employed. The CS-ARDL, DCCEMG, and AMG techniques, which overcome dynamics, heterogeneity, and cross-sectional dependence, are employed. The main findings depict that RE significantly reduces EFP and CE, while economic growth significantly exacerbates them. Energy efficiency reduces CE, but does not significantly affect EFP. Non-renewable energy and research & development significantly increase CE, while an insignificant positive effect is observed with EFP. This paper shows that factors that significantly influence CE may not always significantly affect the EFP index. Thus, to reduce environmental degradation it is fundamental to understand on how each dimension of EFP is influenced.

Intellectual capital is by far the most important factor in enhancing organizational performance. Companies require skilled workers who have the know-how, skills, experience, as well as the ability to bring new ideas for the success of the business. The contemporary economy is a knowledge-based economy, which means that information, knowledge, and other intangible assets are considered to be more valuable than physical commodities. The present research is aimed at investigating the connection between intellectual capital and organizational performance among the business sectors of Turkiye. The current research uses the current dataset of the business sectors of Turkey from 2009 to 2021. The Autoregressive Distributive Lag technique, which provides robust results on short-time period dataset, is employed to investigate this association. The present research differs from past studies in that it uses secondary data in analyzing the effect of human capital component of IC on firm performance, hence the originality of this research. Past research has widely examined the association of intellectual capital (IC) and firm performance with primary data. The major results of the present research show the importance of debt and equity finance in raising organizational performance. The results also show that long-term liability and intellectual capital reduce firm profitability. The present research gives crucial policy recommendations that are vital for policy making.