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This research aims to study a broad range of sustainability aspects and develop a set of indicators with their subjective relevance to each of the sustainability dimensions that will help to improve the sustainability level of the water system of Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan).

The broader list of indicators (which were identified through a thorough review of the literature) was assessed by water-related industry professionals and experts who were asked to assess the compliance of suggested indicators to five criteria of sustainability using a Likert scale.

It was found that the highest-ranked indicators across all five categories were mainly related to the chemical and physical quality of water, followed by availability of individual water meters as well as water supply tariffs' adjustment to users' income, and issues of ageing infrastructure. The lowest-ranked indicators among all categories were mainly related to investments into research and development, water management and awareness, feedback systems and flexibility. The least ranked indicators are seen to be more related to the scenarios when basic needs are covered and the stakeholders have extra time and resources for advancing the levels of water infrastructure sustainability.

The ranked and categorized indicators can be used as a powerful decision-making tool to improve the sustainability of the water system of Nur-Sultan or any other city in a developing country.

By conducting this study, it was aimed to address the aforementioned gap in the field in terms of running a wider scope assessment of indicators rather than looking at conventional environmental and socio-economic aspects. This provides novelty to the study, especially in the context of developing countries that need more guidance in terms of sustainable development of the water-related infrastructure.

Circular economy (CE) is increasingly used as a system solution framework for tackling climate change. Existing CE solutions have been found effective in other sectors but ineffective in the construction sector (CS) due to the inability to account for unique CS dynamics that are essential for its success. With CS being one of the worst polluters, this research aimed to investigate critical success factors (CSFs) and a practical CE implementation framework for the sector.

Mixed methods research involving descriptive surveys of construction professionals in Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Turkey was used to explore priority dimensions of McKinsey’s ReSOLVE (“regenerate, share, optimize, loop, virtualize and exchange”) circulatory framework, and the associated CSFs that underpin successful implementation of CE in the sector. Empirical data were analyzed using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (F-AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) algorithm.

Results showed that “Optimize” and “Loop” were the most critical of the six dimensions of CE implementation framework for successful circularity transition of the CS in each case study country. Twenty-seven CSFs identified in the study were clustered into seven key action areas for successful rollout of the ReSOLVE framework, namely, legislative and documentation, financial, design, external/stakeholder, technological, internal and construction/production/waste management.

The study makes a unique contribution to existing knowledge by exploring ReSOLVE-based CSFs for successful CE implementation in the CS through the lenses of experienced construction practitioners and experts in developing countries. The findings are expected to provide a deeper insight into the most significant CSFs to be focused on with the limited resources available to decision-makers in the CS. The findings would also inform regulatory policy reformations aimed at facilitating greater rate of implementation of CE in the construction value chain.

The study – the first of its kind – established and validated a wholistic and construction-specific CE implementation framework to guide built environment professionals and policymakers in formulating a roadmap for successful CS’s transition to circularity and hopefully paving the way for improved economic, social and environmental performance of the sector.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is influencing our life in every aspect, including working and living environments. Millions of people were forced to isolate themselves in their homes, which has posed significant pressure on buildings and shown us that our dwellings are not designed for such purposes. This is partly due to the fact that homes are designed and built for occasional use rather than isolated and long-term occupation. The legislative system of a country plays an important role in defining and shaping the conditions of people living there. Hence, the aim of the study is to evaluate the readiness of Kazakhstani and the EU construction-related legislation for pandemics.

Previously developed pandemic-resilient indicators were used for the evaluation of construction legislation. Both legislative systems were reviewed, and the quality of responses was evaluated by assigning response scores.

The results based on response scores indicate that the environmental resource consumption sub-category was better covered by EU legislation. At the same time, the buildings’ health, safety and comfort are better taken into account in Kazakhstani legislation. Seven pandemic-resilient indicators were not responded to by any legislative system indicating a gap between current legislation and requirements for new living conditions.

No study has analyzed how COVID-19 can transform construction legislation. The study reveals the limitation of current construction legislation in Kazakhstan (KZ) and the EU, indicating the need for transformation to meet the requirements of the pandemic era.

Reportedly, green roof (GR) makes a significant contribution towards a truly sustainable-built environment; however, its implementation is yet to hit a sufficient level in developing countries. Thus, this study assesses GR implementation strategies in developing countries by providing a comparative analysis through experts in Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Turkey.

The study adopts a four-step methodological approach to achieve the research aim: literature review, focus group discussion, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) analysis and correlation analyses. First, a literature review followed by a focus group discussion is used to determine 18 (out of 25 initially) strategies for the selected context and these are classified into three categories: governmental and institutional support, knowledge and information and policy and regulation. Afterward, the identified GR strategies are evaluated using the FAHP with the data gathered from the experts in the countries studied. Finally, correlation analyses were used to observe the strength of agreement between the assessments of experts from the included countries.

The findings indicate that financial incentives, low-cost government loans and subsidies and tax rebates are the essential strategies for the wider adoption of GR. Evaluating the policy and regulations strategies also showed that mandatory GR policies and regulations and better enforcement of the developed GR policies are ranked as the most prominent strategies. The findings show a low level of agreement among respondents from Kazakhstan, while there is a high level of agreement between the experts in Malaysia and Turkey.

The research contribution is twofold. First (research implication), the study identifies the strategies through a complete literature review. Second, the identified strategies are evaluated through the lenses of experts in three developing countries which are hoped to provide (practical contribution) a better understanding of the most effective strategies that require attention and enable the frontline stakeholders (particularly government authorities) to focus on them.

The study findings provide a good point of departure to explore the strategies for broader adoption of GRs in developing economic setting.

Higher education institutions play a crucial role in pursuing a more sustainable future. Research in sustainable development education (SDE) has grown dramatically in the last two decades because of its importance and global influence. In many universities, sustainability training is restricted to courses, is segregated from the study, and is not connected with sustainable campus operations. Thus, sustainability education is often addressed separately. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical method, and the keywords were adapted and extracted from the United Nations' definition of sustainability and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in addition to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 framework. This study examined whether sustainability elements are integrated into Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University's curricula (i.e. courses and programs). We were particularly interested in learning how various academic fields integrate sustainability into their curricula. The study results indicated no elective or mandatory courses were designed for sustainable education in the university plan and showed a low degree of integration within the university curricula. For universities, incorporating SDE capabilities within the curriculum has practical ramifications. The curriculum review found that the courses focused chiefly on environmental concerns but enhanced the depth of coverage. Some approaches assist university leaders in devising curricula reforms to promote sustainability learning, providing students with opportunities to reflect on the topic, and bridging the gap between the activities being done at a university to foster sustainability and student perception of what needs to be achieved.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effects of hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrazine, methyl methacrylate, styrene and hexamethyldisiloxane by radio-frequency (rf) plasma graftings on surface properties of wool and denim fabrics.

During plasma treatments, processing time was varied under optimized plasma conditions (50 W, rf: 13.56 MHz). All fabrics were comprehensively investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and contact angle measurements.

The experimental data shows that the rf-plasma processing has important effect on the wettability properties of wool and denim fabrics. The results indicated that HCl plasma treatment significantly improves the hydrophilicity of wool and denim fabrics.

The research on wool and denim fabric treatment by plasma is original.