Solid Waste Management (SWM) is a multifaceted problem comprising political, socioeconomic, institutional, and environmental aspects. Due to exponential urban growth, it has become one of the most significant issues faced by urban spaces in developing countries. The gap in environmental knowledge among the youth and the old within developing countries contribute to ecological issues or waste management problems, resulting in unsustainable development, with important consequences in low-income countries. For that matter, a systematic review was conducted aiming to identify and analyse environmental knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and practice studies on SWM from 2010 to 2019 in developing countries. The evidence suggests that students at both secondary and tertiary levels have positive environmental attitudes, and high awareness of environmental issues, but there is a lack of practical education of teachers to guide students to put SWM into practice. Student’s low environmental knowledge is related to a deficiency in teachers’ practical experience in SWM for environmental sustainability. A relationship between teachers’ and students’ knowledge and attitudes towards SWM, as well as differences in awareness, attitude, and practices of SWM linked with education and age, were also found. This review also revealed that the lack of environmental education in most developing countries is caused by fragilities in practical environmental curricula of teachers to respond to modern-day environmental issues for sustainable development and cleaner production (CP). To bridge the knowledge gap between the youth and older people in SWM, environmental sustainability education should be integrated into schools at all levels within developing countries.

Background: Climate change is a problem which is global in nature, and whose effects go across a wide range of disciplines. It is therefore important that this theme is taken into account as part of universities´ teaching and research programs. Methods: A three-tiered approach was used, consisting of a bibliometric analysis, an online survey and a set of case studies, which allow a profile to be built, as to how a sample of universities from 45 countries handle climate change as part of their teaching programs. Results: This paper reports on a study which aimed at identifying the extent to which matters related to climate change are addressed within the teaching and research practices at universities, with a focus on the training needs of teaching staff. It consists of a bibliometric analysis, combined with an online worldwide survey aimed at ascertaining the degree of involvement from universities in reducing their own carbon footprint, and the ways they offer training provisions on the topic. This is complemented by a set of 12 case studies from universities round the world, illustrating current trends on how universities handle climate change. Apart from reporting on the outcomes of the study, the paper highlights what some universities are doing to handle climate issues, and discusses the implications of the research. Conclusions: The paper lists some items via which universities may better educate and train their students on how to handle the many challenges posed by climate change.

Gender issues, and gender equality in particular, can be regarded as cross-cutting issues in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), even though it is unclear how they are taken into account. This study addresses this information gap by performing an assessment of the emphasis on gender issues across all the other 16 SDGs, in addition to SDG5, through a literature review and case study analysis, the basis for the newly developed framework, highlighting specific actions associated to each SDG. The 13 countries addressed in the 16 case studies include China, India, or Australia and illustrate the inclusion of SDG5 into the SDGs. Using an SDG matrix, the SDG targets are analysed. Those where an emphasis on gender equality is important in allowing them to be achieved are listed. The novelty of our approach resides in offering an in-depth analysis of how gender issues interact with the other SDGs, proposing a new analysis framework clearly identifying SDGs 1, 4, 11, 12, 14 and 16 demanding further attention for successful SD gender implementation and illustrating specific areas where further actions may be necessary, which may be used by policy-makers, raising further awareness on gender equality contribution to achieve the SDGs. A set of recommendations aimed at placing gender matters more centrally in the SDGs delivery are presented as a final contribution. These focus on the need for greater awareness and attention to good practices, to achieve successful implementation initiatives.

The textile industry is responsible for a significant amount of global CO2 emissions, exceeding those from several other sectors such as international aviation and shipping. This article outlines the reasons for the textile industry’s contribution to climate change along with an overview of current trends. Finally, it outlines several measures to reduce its carbon footprint.

More and more, waste generated in most parts of the Western world has been recycled and transformed into new circularity products. However, managing waste within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), such as in Ghana, has become a challenge due to the continued practice of the old traditional linear waste economy, that is, the taking, making and disposing methods of management, representing a threat to global environmental sustainability. Despite the need to revise current linear waste management (WM) in order to turn to the circular economy (CE) model, which consists of the concept of renew, remake and share, to advance sustainable development, a number of factors restrict the CE realization in practice, specifically in developing countries. An integrative methodology was used in this article to identify some of the challenges that hinder the achievement of CE in SSA countries. The results revealed the absence of educational programs and public awareness of waste management activities. The findings also highlight the lack of political will, funding and national policies on WM as some of the most significant issues. The study contributes to further encouraging policymakers and policy implementers, entrepreneurs and relevant interested groups to commit resources to sustainable WM services aiming to advancing CE in SSA countries.