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Islands are often considered excellent socio-ecological laboratories for testing the rapidity of global change since they experience the climate effects of sea-level rise faster than other areas. The Azores are a Portuguese volcanic archipelago located on the junction of the three tectonic plates: the Eurasian, the African and the North American plates. São Miguel, the main island of the Azores archipelago, hosts three active volcanoes, but the last significant volcanic eruption was the Capelinhos volcano on the island of Faial in 1957. Hence, the Azores offers the opportunity to assess insular risk awareness, facing both telluric and climate-related hazards. The key research question emerges from their natural situation: how does the local population perceive the threat of the natural hazards that occur in Azores? Because risks are socially constructed and depend on the uniqueness of territories, risk mitigation strategies must focus on the individual experiences of local dwellers, as a relationship between risk awareness and such strategies may be expected. To analyze this relationship, a web-based survey with a questionnaire including these variables was administered to a sample of Azoreans. The study aimed to assess risk awareness of the Azorean population and find a relationship between this and reported mitigation strategies. The results gave a preliminary insight into Azorean risk awareness of natural hazards and showed a significant positive relationship between risk awareness-raising activities and reported mitigation strategies. This is relevant information for municipalities and regional governments of areas with similar risk exposures, showing that, although risk awareness alone is not enough for measures to be implemented, it may be an important motivational first step for this to occur.

Emerging issues related to climate change have been explored in recent years as the need for appropriate behavioral solutions grows. However, one of the main problems raised and yet to be solved is the challenge to encourage people to act against climate change. One of the identified barriers is the mental indirect link between the influence of human activities in the present and their future consequences. This psychological distance could be investigated by examining temporal discounting—the overvaluation of benefits in the present compared to benefits in the future—and its relationship to environmental behavior on consumers’ attitudes toward green purchasing. In this research, we conducted a survey (n = 337) to examine the relationship between temporal discounting and perceived seriousness of environmental behavior and investigated the moderating effect of consumers’ attitudes regarding green purchasing. The results show a moderating effect of these consumers’ attitudes on the relationship between temporal discounting and perceived seriousness of environmental behavior. These findings make important contributions to environmental policies by rethinking and adapting new solutions that promote behavioral change, namely by exploring psychological variables and identifying green consumption profiles.

This study develops a scale to measure wine tourism experiences and was tested in Portugal, in two of the main wine tourism centres: Porto and Madeira. The wine experience scale combines experience traits with the traditional approach to scales related to wine tourism. The development of the scale follows the most recognised validated procedures. Data were collected from a total of 647 international wine tourists in the wine cellars of the two main fortified wine tourism regions visiting areas: Porto and Madeira. Structural equation modelling (SEM-AMOS) was used as the main analysis and validation tool. The resulting 18-item wine experience scale comprises four major dimensions: (1) Wine storytelling, (2) wine tasting excitement, (3) wine involvement, and (4) winescape. All these showed reliable and validated indicators. This new scale presents a valid new tool to better measure and evaluate experiences in a wine tourism setting. This study offers a broad range of use for academics, managers, planners, and practitioners. It shows how a new measurement tool focused on the wine tourism experience in terms of several outcomes and applications, addressing important practical managerial implications, can have an impact on academic research. Most previous tourism scales still fail to measure the specifics of wine settings. This is the first scale that comprises the dimensions of experience with wine senses, applied in a relevant wine destination where research is still limited. The results are relevant in boosting the increasingly recognized awareness of Portugal as wine tourism, as well as bringing experience scales to the body of knowledge.

(1) Background: Exploring the drivers of organic food consumption is crucial for designing pro-environmental marketing strategies. This study aims to investigate elements associated with organic product consumption in North Portugal, with a particular focus on food sustainability. (2) Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was administered to 295 participants to examine (1) personal motivations, such as beliefs about the impact of consuming organic products on health, concerns about soil, and self-perception of control; (2) attitudes towards contextual motivations, including the value of time, price, labels, and taste; and (3) the frequency of organic product consumption. A partial least squares model was employed to explore the relationship between participants’ motivations and behavior. (3) Results: Perceiving organic food as healthy was positively associated with higher organic product consumption. Positive attitudes towards cost-effective products, spending less time purchasing products, and a high locus of control did not moderate this relationship. While soil concerns were not significantly associated with the consumption of organic products overall, this association was significant in participants with a higher locus of control. A low locus of control was associated with a positive attitude towards pesticides. (4) Conclusions: The findings suggest that bridging the gap between concerns about soil conditions and pro-environmental behavior involves perceiving oneself as an agent of change and becoming proactive at an individual level. Resources to enhance individuals’ environmental curiosity and literacy may increase their locus of control, fostering a more accurate attitude towards pesticides and, consequently, an increase in organic product consumption. Additionally, companies could strengthen the association between organic food and better health by investing in marketing. These strategies have the potential to positively impact food sustainability.

This study examines the knowledge and involvement of consumers in sustainability goals, aiming to provide valuable insights to the textiles and clothing industry to foster their social responsibility efforts and enhance consumer interaction. By comprehending and monitoring consumer behavior, organizations can effectively implement sustainable practices and work towards achieving sustainable development goals. For this study, a questionnaire was designed to evaluate consumer concerns, behavior, self-reliance, and perspectives across four key phases of interest in sustainable consumer behavior regarding textiles—acquisition, use, maintenance, and disposal. The results show a compelling insight into the mindset of participants who prioritize budget, quality, comfort, and functionality over sustainability when acquiring new textile items. Most respondents do not participate in clothing rental or sharing and predominantly refrain from purchasing second-hand products, but they expressed a readiness to extend the lifespan of their products and displayed concern about ensuring a responsible end-of-life for their belongings. Moreover, they attach importance to textile products’ social and informational attributes and demand transparency from brands. These valuable data can guide the industry in its interactions with consumers. Scholars are increasingly committed to sustainability and its implications for practical application and policy development.

Currently, there is special interest in the recovery of polyphenols from non-compliant fruits that have no market value; efforts to find value-added solutions for these food areas are a key option for a sustainable bio-economy. Saco cherries are a traditional Portuguese cherry variety, and although they are a nutritionally important food, rich in powerful dietary polyphenols, significant amounts of these cherries are not sold due to their small size. In this context, this work aimed to select the best method to produce novel antioxidant polyphenol-rich extracts from low calibre and non-compliant Saco cherries. Based on the results, microwaves-assisted extraction (MAE) allowed us to obtain a polyphenol-rich extract with a high antioxidant capacity (50.46 ± 1.58 mg Trolox equivalent (TE)/g dry extract (DE) by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), 10.88 ± 0.38 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AA)/g DE by 2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), and 9.58 ± 0.42 mg TE/g DE by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)) and a high content of polyphenols, namely, hydroxycinnamic acids (neochlorogenic and p-coumaric acids) and anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-rutinoside and cyanidin-3-glucoside), compared with those of conventional extractions with low and high temperature and ultrasound-assisted extraction. The antioxidant extract produced from MAE could be a new alternative for the valorisation of non-compliant cherries since these extracts proved to be a functional ingredient due to the high content of antioxidants, which are linked to the prevention of diseases.

In this paper, we propose a novel approach to the development of green public policies. We emphasize the significance of the system of systems (SoSs) methodology, which concentrates on understanding and managing complex systems by contemplating their interdependencies and interactions as a single integrated system. Based on this perspective, we consider green public policy as a system interacting with the energy, health, pollutants, and economic systems of the SoSs. As a method of systematic structural analysis, we use both decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) techniques to understand the relationships between the systems listed above. We provide a literature review on the application of these soft operation research (SOR) techniques. We note that SOR methods are suitable for the formulation of effective public policies. Using an example, we demonstrate the primary advantage of DEMATEL and ISM, which is the establishment of easily comprehendible causal relationships between the systems in the SoSs.