Nigeria’s palm oil processing industry poses significant environmental pollution risks, jeopardizing the country’s ability to meet the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Traditional processing methods generate palm oil mill effluent (POME), contaminating soil and shallow wells. This study investigated water samples from five locations (Edo, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Delta, and Imo states) with high effluent release. While some parameters met international and national standards (WHO guidelines, ASCE, NIS, and NSDWQ) others exceeded acceptable limits, detrimental to improved water quality. Results showed, pH values within acceptable ranges (6.5–8.5), high total conductivity and salinity (800–1150 µS/cm), acceptable hardness values (200–300 mg/L), nitrite concentrations (10–45 mg/L), excessive magnesium absorption (> 50 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) indicating significant pollution (75–290 mg/L), total dissolved solids (TDS) exceeding safe limits in four locations, total solids (TS) exceeding allowable limits for drinking water (310–845 mg/L), water quality index (WQI) values ranged from “poor” to “very poor”. POME contamination by metals like magnesium, nitrite, chloride, and sodium compromised shallow well water quality. Correlation analysis confirmed robust results, indicating strong positive correlations between conductivity and TDS (r = 0.85, p < 0.01) and pH and total hardness (r = 0.65, p < 0.05). The study emphasizes the need for environmentally friendly palm oil processing methods to mitigate pollution, ensure safe drinking water, and achieve Nigeria’s SDGs. Implementation of sustainable practices is crucial to protect public health and the environment.

Traditional shipping plays a crucial role in the national sea transportation system, serving inland areas, remote areas, and outer islands that are widely distributed throughout the country. However, there is still limited research on the problems of traditional shipping empowerment and its implementation. This research aims not only to analyze the obstacles encountered in empowering traditional shipping but also the implementation of the traditional shipping grant program. This study employed a quantitative descriptive approach, utilizing a likert scale, to analyze the issues that arise in the empowerment of traditional shipping. Additionally, for policy implementation analysis, the Hellmut-Wollmann policy analysis was used. The findings indicate that the most significant issues arise in the area of human resource development, such as a lack of competent teaching staff, insufficient short courses, complicated testing procedures, and the lack of crew certification. In the ex-ante stage, the variable of empowering traditional shipping transportation programs experienced the highest implementation rate. During the ongoing stage, the variable empowering traditional shipping services achieved the highest implementation score. And in the ex-post stage, traditional shipping services had the highest implementation score. This paper emphasizes the significance of collaboration and coordination among all levels of government, from the central to the local, in order to effectively implement the traditional shipping empowerment program. These findings also highlight the necessity of extending the traditional shipping grant program while making improvements in areas such as ship safety management regulations, the management and supply of traditional shipping terminals, the division of transportation types, and route determination policies.

The aim of the research is to prove that nowadays the role of higher education, its impact on “territorial capital” and the factors of their competitiveness measurement have changed. Competitiveness should no longer be measured only in terms of rankings between higher education institutions, but also in terms of their role in territorial capital. Examining the extension of a competitiveness measurement model developed for small and medium-sized enterprises to the field of higher education can be exciting because the competitive situation between higher education institutions is strengthening, and its aspects are not limited to winning tender funds and the competition for students. The subject of this study is the Central European higher education in general and the Hungarian higher education specifically. Higher education as it appears in regional strategic documents, and the regional, third mission role of higher education institutions appearing in their strategic documents. In terms of methodology: the first part of the paper is based on document and content analysis. In the second part of the paper, institutional characteristics that may influence competitiveness are identified in the case of a Hungarian higher education institution with SME characteristics. The research concludes that the impact on territorial capital, together with the traditional characteristics of higher education and its third missionary role, may constitute the competitiveness of a given institution. If the impact of higher education institutions on location could be measured uniformly, competition between institutions would be more transparent and the role of the region would be strengthened.

Tourism stands as a cornerstone industry, experiencing continual expansion within the global economy, and is increasingly acknowledged for its crucial role as an economic catalyst. The convergence of the tourism sector with the film culture industry amplifies the economic advantages of regions and enriches cultural narratives while bolstering the international resonance of regional brands. This study examines the promotional efficacy of adapted films in fostering the development of local tourism sectors. It investigates the impact of adapted films on the development of local tourism economy and provides a new analytical perspective to describe their specific contribution to the tourism economy. Empirical findings underscore that adapted films imbued with regional nuances substantially augment local tourism revenue, catalyzing the growth of the tourism sector. This highlights the capacity of adapted films to amplify regional exposure, nurturing the expansion of the local tourism economy. The findings of the study reveal that the promotional impact of adapted films on local tourism sectors is more pronounced in less developed regions than in more developed regions. Moreover, areas with limited transportation infrastructure witness a heightened promotional effect from the film industry. Rigorous robustness and endogeneity tests corroborate the reliability of these findings.

During property renovations, sustainability is increasingly playing a crucial role in reducing environmental impacts, utilizing resources efficiently, and improving the quality of living environments. In our research, we examined the environmentally conscious thinking of potential clients for sustainable renovations, including their requirements for materials, which encompass enhancing energy efficiency, the importance of waste reduction, the significance of using alternative energy, and the application of eco-friendly, durable, and local materials. According to the results of our quantitative survey, respondents recognized the importance of sustainability considerations and expressed their commitment towards energy-efficient and eco-friendly solutions, although costs and payback periods continued to be decisive factors. We found that advocates of sustainable property renovations in our sample displayed environmentally conscious characteristics, and environmentally conscious consumers are willing to spend more for significant and long-term results. As part of our research, we conducted in-depth interviews with real estate agents and general contractors to understand sustainability considerations in the decision-making process of property renovations. The key lesson from the interviews was that buyers can be segmented into different groups, with those prioritizing environmental awareness being of significant importance. Based on the findings, sustainability is increasingly coming to the forefront in property renovations. Thus, our publication offers a detailed insight into market trends and practices.