Student Independent Projects Environmental Studies 2011: Vending Machines and Sustainable Development on Grenfell Campus, Memorial University

This Paper discusses the food and beverage machines that are located at Memorial University's Grenfell Campus and endeavors to assess how much those vending machines are being used and how they affect sustainability initiatives on campus. A survey was conducted to gauge the use of vending machines, their content and what is purchased, and if participants did not purchase from thes machines they were also asked why they did not.This survey produced many other questions that are directly linked to vending machines.Water quality on campus was heavily disscussed, along with the use of bottled water and implications associated with drinking only from bottles that are thrown away. The study concludes with a discussion of the alternative choices that can be implemented to replace vending machines.

Student Independent Projects 2009: Embedding Sustainability: Hiking Trail Proposal to Steady Brook via Massey Drive

The construction and maintenance of a hiking trail to Steady Brook via Massey Drive would provide an opportunity for introducing proactive strategies toward sustainability. This will form a motive for further ecotourism development as Massey Drive becomes recognized as a tourist destination. For Massey Drive to embrace hiking trail development with the intention of developing further tourism initiatives, educating the community members about sustainability in tourism is essential to provide the community with the knowledge necessary to develop tourism through a long-term vision.

Educação ambiental no curso de técnico de edificações - ifsul campus Pelotas : desafios e possibilidades da educação emancipatória nos cursos técnicos

O presente trabalho de dissertação de mestrado visa a descortinar as contradições que estão presentes nas representações de docentes e discentes da disciplina de práticas construtivas do Curso Técnico de Edificações, do Instituto Federal Sul-Rio-Grandese (IFSul), campus Pelotas, em suas relações sócioeducativas, encontrando nesse desvelamento alternativas para o desenvolvimento destas atividades práticas de forma a contribuir na sustentabilidade do curso, e por conseguinte na sustentabilidade das relações entre homens, natureza e meio ambiente. A partir dessas representações sociais e contradições, esse trabalho possibilitou, através de um estudo de caso de natureza qualitativa dialética, de posse das categorias do Materialismo Dialético e Histórico e da economia política, uma compreensão dialética de como o modo de produção capitalista interfere nas ações em geral, inclusive nas relações de educação. A opção por esse assunto foi principalmente devido a constatações próprias, como professor de práticas construtivas, da necessidade de continuidade das atividades práticas no curso, mas de uma maneira mais coerente com as leis da natureza, por um processo educativo emancipador de educadores e educandos, socializando os saberes libertadores da educação ambiental. O estudo mostrou-se coerente e revelador materializando-se em possibilidades, projetos e ações imediatas de transformações dentro do curso de maneira a interferir nas relações de todos entre si e com a natureza, com uma forma possível de utilizar as matériasprimas necessárias sem o desperdício, com o máximo de aproveitamento e reciclagem, com a possibilidade de levar essas aulas práticas para fora dos muros da escola, em atividades necessárias para entidades assistenciais, minimizando a geração de resíduos sólidos a serem descartados na natureza, contribuindo dessa maneira com o perfeito relacionamento homem-homem, homem-natureza, na busca da sustentabilidade e na conservação da vida no Planeta.

Prosperity Thinking in Action: a case study from Future Food Institute’s Paideia Campus

The need for sustainable economic growth and environmental stewardship emerged around the start of the twentieth century when society became aware that the traditional development model would lead to the collapse of the terrestrial ecosystem in the long run. Over the years, the international community's environmental efforts have demonstrated unequivocally that the planet's limits are real. And so, the new development approach has laid the groundwork for the future. According to this model, design also plays a key role in ensuring a better future. The design has undergone an ecological and sustainable evolution as a result of the global environmental crisis and the degradation of our ecosystem and biodiversity. In this contest, Prosperity Thinking is inserted, a still evolving methodology developed by the Future Food Institute starting from 2019. The main concepts on which it is based are described, as well as the method that identifies it, which is divided into the following stages: 1) Problem Framing 2) Ideation and Prototyping 3) Test & Analyze. The development of the prosperity thinking toolkit is described, beginning with the search for tools from the literature on sustainable design and ending with its validation with the help of design experts. The testing of some tools will be recounted during a workshop organized by FFI, in which 15 people ranging in age from 14 to 40 will participate, and then the final version of the toolkit will be presented which has been obtained by adding to it the tools proposed by the experts. Finally, a reflection on the future of Prosperity Thinking, a method in constant evolution that must continue to follow societal and environmental changes in order to respond to the ever-increasingly complex challenge of sustainability.

Acessibilidade em ambiente universitário: identificação de barreiras arquitetônicas no campus da USP de Bauru

A acessibilidade é um direito do cidadão assegurado por lei para que portadores de deficiência tenham a possibilidade de usufruir de recursos e ações no âmbito social. Barreiras arquitetônicas interferem na vida destes podendo deixá-los a parte da convivência e vida social. Os objetivos deste estudo foram: identificar, descrever e mapear barreiras físicas no Campus da Universidade de São Paulo de Bauru e apresentar as intervenções realizadas, durante o período de outubro de 2001 a dezembro de 2005. O estudo foi descritivo-quantitativo, no qual a coleta de dados centrou-se na análise das condições arquitetônicas das três unidades que compõe este campus, observada as normativas da Associação Brasileira de Normas técnicas e realizada intervenções. Foram identificados: 72 pontos de guias não rebaixadas, 21 pontos de acessos com diferenças de níveis sem rampas; 220m² de escadas/rampas sem corrimãos; 658m² de escadas/rampas com corrimãos em discordância com as normas vigentes; 03 rampas com inclinações superiores às determinadas nas normas técnicas; 10 banheiros parcialmente adaptados para deficientes; 02 vagas de estacionamento parcialmente adaptadas e 02 elevadores existentes. Foram executados, em 19 pontos, rebaixamentos de guias, somando 115 m², com linhas de piso tátil, pintados; 8 rampas; 14 pontos de escadas e rampas externas instaladas com corrimãos e guarda-corpos, 5 vagas exclusivas no estacionamento; instalado 2 centrais de atendimento telefônico para surdo e adquiridas 3 cadeira de rodas. As intervenções realizadas contribuíram para melhorar a acessibilidade de portadores de deficiência no campus favorecendo a utilização dos recursos existentes neste espaço público.

The importance of scientific literacy in fostering education for sustainability: Theoretical considerations and preliminary findings from a Brazilian experience

Scientific literacy can be considered as a new demand of post-industrial society. It seems necessary in order to foster education for sustainability throughout students` academic careers. Universities striving to teach sustainability are being challenged to integrate a holistic perspective into a traditional undergraduate curriculum, which aims at specialization. This new integrative, inter- and transdisciplinary epistemological approach is necessary to cultivate autonomous citizenship, i.e., that each citizen be prepared to understand and participate in discussions about the complex contemporary issues posed by post-industrial society. This paper presents an epistemological framework to show the role of scientific literacy in fostering education for sustainability. We present a set of 26 collaborative concept maps (CCmaps) in order to illustrate an instance of theory becoming practice. During a required course for first-year undergraduate students (ACH 0011, Natural Sciences), climate change was presented and discussed in broad perspective by using CCmaps. We present students` CCmaps to show how they use concepts from quantitative and literacy disciplines to deal with the challenges posed by the need of achieving a sustainable development. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the evolution of sustainability reporting in the mining sector

Since the 1990s several large companies have been publishing nonfinancial performance reports. Focusing initially on the physical environment, these reports evolved to consider social relations, as well as data on the firm`s economic performance. A few mining companies pioneered this trend, and in the last years some of them incorporated the three dimensions of sustainable development, publishing so-called sustainability reports. This article reviews 31 reports published between 2001 and 2006 by four major mining companies. A set of 62 assessment items organized in six categories (namely context and commitment, management, environmental, social and economic performance, and accessibility and assurance) were selected to guide the review. The items were derived from international literature and recommended best practices, including the Global Reporting Initiative G3 framework. A content analysis was performed using the report as a sampling unit, and using phrases, graphics, or tables containing certain information as data collection units. A basic rating scale (0 or 1) was used for noting the presence or absence of information and a final percentage score was obtained for each report. Results show that there is a clear evolution in report`s comprehensiveness and depth. Categories ""accessibility and assurance"" and ""economic performance"" featured the lowest scores and do not present a clear evolution trend in the period, whereas categories ""context and commitment"" and ""social performance"" presented the best results and regular improvement; the category ""environmental performance,"" despite it not reaching the biggest scores, also featured constant evolution. Description of data measurement techniques, besides more comprehensive third-party verification are the items most in need of improvement.

Sustainability certification of bioethanol: how is it perceived by Brazilian stakeholders?

This paper investigates whether initiatives for sustainability certification of Brazilian ethanol can be expected to stimulate a change among producers toward more sustainable production - and, if so, what those changes would likely be. Connected to this, several questions are raised including whether producers might prefer to target other markets with less stringent demands, and if certification might lead to structural changes in the sector because producers who lack the capacity to meet the new requirements cannot remain competitive. The analysis of interviews with a diverse group of stakeholders under the guidance of the Technological Innovation Systems framework allowed us identify different actions taken by the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol sector in response to requirements of sustainability. The interviewees agreed that sustainability certification is an important element for the expansion of biofuel production in Brazil. Brazilian stakeholders have created a platform for more competitive sustainable production and have initiated relevant processes in response to the development connected to sustainability certification. Yet, the certification activities have had a limited impact in terms of the number of involved stakeholders. But interview responses indicate that the sector may adapt to new certification requirements rather than leave markets where such requirements become established. Structural changes can be expected if certification requirements as they exist in many initiatives are introduced in unflexible ways. The social importance of the ethanol industry is large in Brazil and some adjustments for certification may be required. The paper concludes by suggesting some actions for the industry. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Biomass sustainability, availability and productivity

Research conducted on biomass for Ulcos (""Ultra-Low CO(2) Steelmaking"" European Integrated Project) has progressively focused on charcoal supply from tropical eucalyptus plantations. The sustainability of such plantations is being investigated from the viewpoint of their carbon, water and nutrient budgets: they must all be neutral or positive. Field research is producing results at the tree or stand level in several sites of Congo and Brazil, while a spatial model is developed to identify the conditions of biomass neutrality at the scale of the forest ecosystem. The productivity of biomass has been analyzed through the description of practices along the various supply-schemes that competitively feed the steel industry in Brazil and identification of bottlenecks for further expansion.

Concepts and tools for comprehensive sustainability assessments for tourism destinations: a comparative review

This paper reviews a wide range of tools for comprehensive sustainability assessments at whole tourism destinations, covering socio-cultural, economic and environmental issues. It considers their strengths, weaknesses and site specific applicability. It is intended to facilitate their selection (and combination where necessary). Tools covered include Sustainability Indicators, Environmental Impact Assessment, Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Audits, Ecological Footprints, Multi-Criteria Analysis and Adaptive Environmental Assessment. Guidelines for evaluating their suitability for specific sites and situations are given as well as examples of their use.

The Learning Tourism Destination: The potential of a learning organisation approach for improving the sustainability of tourism destinations

Globalisation, increasing complexity, and the need to address triple-bottom line sustainability has seen the proliferation of Learning Organisations (LO) who, by definition, have the capacity to anticipate environmental changes and economic opportunities and adapt accordingly. Such organisations use system dynamics modelling (SDM) for both strategic planning and the promotion of organisational learning. Although SDM has been applied in the context of tourism destination management for predictive reasons, the current literature does not analyse or recognise how this could be used as a foundation for an LO. This study introduces the concept of the Learning Tourism Destinations (LTD) and discusses, on the basis of a review of 6 case studies, the potential of SDM as a tool for the implementation and enhancement of collective learning processes. The results reveal that SDM is capable of promoting communication between stakeholders and stimulating organisational learning. It is suggested that the LTD approach be further utilised and explored.

Reconceptualising social sustainability in urban development

Although the social dimension is often cited as the third leg of triple bottom line sustainability, there is at present general agreement on the difficulty of saying just what social sustainability is and how it can be related to enivironmental sustainability. This paper proposes that a sociotechnical understanding of the relationship beween human behaviour and technical developments provides a way of making the social dimension accessible to engineers, designers and developers. We draw on early work in master planned urban developments to show how a sociotechnical model, married to a life cycle assessment approach can help us understand and design for effective and efficient implementation of sustainability systems

A framework to monitor sustainability in the grains industry

Community awareness of the sustainable use of land, water and vegetation resources is increasing. The sustainable use of these resources is pivotal to sustainable farming systems. However, techniques for monitoring the sustainable management of these resources are poorly understood and untested. We propose a framework to benchmark and monitor resources in the grains industry. Eight steps are listed below to achieve these objectives: (i) define industry issues; (ii) identify the issues through growers, stakeholder and community consultation; (iii) identify indicators (measurable attributes, properties or characteristics) of sustainability through consultation with growers, stakeholders, experts and community members, relating to: crop productivity; resource maintenance/enhancement; biodiversity; economic viability; community viability; and institutional structure; (iv) develop and use selection criteria to select indicators that consider: responsiveness to change; ease of capture; community acceptance and involvement; interpretation; measurement error; stability, frequency and cost of measurement; spatial scale issues; and mapping capability in space and through time. The appropriateness of indicators can be evaluated using a decision making system such as a multiobjective decision support system (MO-DSS, a method to assist in decision making from multiple and conflicting objectives); (v) involve stakeholders and the community in the definition of goals and setting benchmarking and monitoring targets for sustainable farming; (vi) take preventive and corrective/remedial action; (vii) evaluate effectiveness of actions taken; and (viii) revise indicators as part of a continual improvement principle designed to achieve best management practice for sustainable farming systems. The major recommendations are to: (i) implement the framework for resources (land, water and vegetation, economic, community and institution) benchmarking and monitoring, and integrate this process with current activities so that awareness, implementation and evolution of sustainable resource management practices become normal practice in the grains industry; (ii) empower the grains industry to take the lead by using relevant sustainability indicators to benchmark and monitor resources; (iii) adopt a collaborative approach by involving various industry, community, catchment management and government agency groups to minimise implementation time. Monitoring programs such as Waterwatch, Soilcheck, Grasscheck and Topcrop should be utilised; (iv) encourage the adoption of a decision making system by growers and industry representatives as a participatory decision and evaluation process. Widespread use of sustainability indicators would assist in validating and refining these indicators and evaluating sustainable farming systems. The indicators could also assist in evaluating best management practices for the grains industry.

Investigating the gap between citizens` sustainability attitudes and food purchasing behaviour: empirical evidence from Brazilian pork consumers

Consumers worldwide are increasingly concerned with sustainable production and consumption. Recently, a comprehensive study ranked 17 countries in regard to their environmentally friendly behaviour among consumers. Brazil was one of the top countries in the list. Yet, several studies highlight significant differences between consumers` intentions to consume ethically, and their actual purchase behaviour: the so-called `Attitude-Behaviour Gap`. In developing countries, few studies have been conducted on this issue. The objective of this study is therefore to investigate the gap between citizens` sustainability-related attitudes and food purchasing behaviour using empirical data from Brazil. To this end, Brazilian citizens` attitudes towards pig production systems were mapped through conjoint analysis and their coexistence with relevant pork product-related purchasing behaviour of consumers was investigated through cluster analysis. The conjoint experiment was carried Out with empirical data collected from 475 respondents surveyed in the South and Center-West regions of Brazil. The results of the conjoint analysis were used for a subsequent cluster analysis in order to identify clusters of Brazilian citizens with diversified attitudes towards pig production systems, using socio-demographics, attitudes towards sustainability-related themes that are expected to influence the way they evaluate pig production systems, and consumption frequency of various pork products as clusters` background information. Three clusters were identified as `indifferent`, `environmental conscious` and `sustainability-oriented` citizens. Although attitudes towards environment and nature had indeed an influence on citizens` specific attitudes towards pig farming at the cluster level, the relationship between `citizenship` and consumption behaviour was found to be weak. This finding is similar to previous research conducted with European consumers: what people (in their role of citizens) think about pig production systems does not appear to significantly influence their pork consumption choices. Improvements in the integrated management of this chain would better meet consumers` sustainability-related expectations towards pig production systems.