Risk and uncertainty in supply markets and sustainability-related innovation

tentially valuable innovations. In energy policy, much attention is given to analysing and incentivising customer demand, but new technologies also need new supply markets, to provide products and services to build, operate and maintain the innovative technology. This paper addresses the impact of supply constraints on the long-term viability of sustainability related innovations, using the case of energy from waste (EfW). Uncertainties in the pricing and availability of feedstock (i.e. waste) deter potential investors in EfW projects. We draw on prior supply management research to conceptualise the problem, and identify what steps might be taken to address it. Based on this analysis, we propose a research agenda aimed at purchasing and supply scholars and centred on the need to understand better how markets evolve and how stakeholders can (legitimately) influence the evolution of supply markets to support the adoption of sustainability related innovation. Within this broad case, specific themes are recommended for further investigation.

Collaborating to achieve corporate social responsibility and sustainability? Possibilities and problems

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibilities and problems for collaboration in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. The paper explores the nature and concept of collaboration and its forms, and critically evaluates the potential contribution a collaborative approach between agencies might offer to these agendas. Design/methodology/approach: The paper explores different forms of research on collaboration, together with a UK Government report on collaboration, to evaluate how the issue is addressed in theory and practice. Findings: Sustainable development creates extensive challenges for a wide range of agencies, including governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses and civil society. It is unlikely, however, that solutions will be found in any one quarter. Collaboration between agencies in some form would seem a logical step in supporting measures towards a more responsible and environmentally sustainable global economy. Originality/value: The paper offers new insights into developing a research and praxis agenda for collaborative possibilities towards the advancement of CSR and sustainability. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Evaluation for Participation and Sustainability in Planning

‘Evaluation for Participation and Sustainability in Planning’ is the title of a new book edited by Johan Woltjer and his colleagues Angela Hull, Ernest Alexander, and Abdul Khakee. The book addresses the evaluation of planning interventions from several perspectives (social, economic, environmental). Specifically, the attention is focused on: - how evaluation is used in planning practice, including the choice of indicators or the criteria to evaluate participation; - the introduction of new kinds of information, such as measuring the cumulative effects or bringing criteria on capability and well-being into play; - alternative ways of collecting and presenting information, through using GIS or focusing on strategic environmental awareness and ‘hotspots’; and - understanding how strategic planning objectives are implemented in local practice.

Experimentation of Rational Trust Evolution and Sustainability in Dynamic VOs

Part 10: Sustainability and Trust

The role of forest certification for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainability of cork oak woodlands

Doutoramento em Engenharia Florestal e dos Recursos Naturais - Instituto Superior de Agronomia - UL

Nitrogen removal and sustainability of vertical flow constructed wetlands for small scale wastewater treatment

The challenge for wastewater professionals is to design and operate treatment processes that support human well being and are environmentally sensitive throughout the life-cycle. This research focuses on one technology for small-scale wastewater treatment: the vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW), which is herein investigated for the capacity to remove ammonium and nitrate nitrogen from wastewater. Hydraulic regime and presence/absence of vegetation are the basis for a three-phase bench scale experiment to determine oxygen transfer and nitrogen fate in VFCWs. Results show that 90% NH4+-N removal is achieved in aerobic downflow columns, 60% NO3--N removal occurs in anaerobic upflow columns, and 60% removal of total nitrogen can be achieved in downflow-upflow in-series. The experimental results are studied further using a variably saturated flow and reactive transport model, which allows a mechanistic explanation of the fate and transport of oxygen and nitrogen. The model clarifies the mechanisms of oxygen transport and nitrogen consumption, and clarifies the need for readily biodegradable COD for denitrification. A VFCW is then compared to a horizontal flow constructed wetland (HFCW) for life cycle environmental impacts. High areal emissions of greenhouse gases from VFCWs compared to HFCWs are the driver for the study. The assessment shows that because a VFCW is only 25% of the volume of an HFCW designed for the same treatment quality, the VFCW has only 25-30% of HFCW impacts over 12 impact categories and 3 damage categories. Results show that impacts could be reduced by design improvements. Design recommendations are downflow wetlands for nitrification, upflow wetlands for denitrification, series wetlands for total nitrogen removal, hydraulic load of 142 L/m2d, 30 cm downflow wetland depth, 1.0 m upflow wetland depth, recycle, vegetation and medium-grained sand. These improvements will optimize nitrogen removal, minimize gaseous emissions, and reduce wetland material requirements, thus reducing environmental impact without sacrificing wastewater treatment quality.

Evaluation of an intervention focusing on children to promote physical activity in the entire community: Feasibility, effectiveness and sustainability over time.

Regular physical activity (PA) during childhood is associated with physical, mental, emotional and social health benefits. The constant practice of PA is considered one of the best buys available in public health. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends to perform at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous PA for children and adolescents in order to obtain health benefits. However, globally, this level of PA is hardly achieved. Children and adolescent who do not reach the recommended levels of PA are defined as physically inactive and nowadays physical inactivity constitutes a new type of pandemic. For this reason, the WHO launched a global action plan addressing physical activity with a goal of reducing physical inactivity in children and youth. The plan also included recommendation to improve individual and community health and contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of all nations. Worldwide, children and adolescents spend a significant amount of time in school and for this reason the school represents a fundamental educational setting that can play a pivotal role increasing students’ PA. Opportunities to be physically active should not be considered purely in relation to when children attend physical education classes but also making physical activity available during the school day, such as physically active lessons, and multicomponent PA interventions. Since school-based PA interventions are quite numerous, the present thesis focused on interventions delivered during school hours and that integrate small doses of PA as part of routine instruction. This type of intervention is called “Active Breaks.” Active Breaks consists of brief 5–15 minutes sessions of PA led by teachers who introduce short bursts of PA into the academic lesson. In light of this the present thesis aims to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and sustainability of an Active Breaks intervention targeting children to promote PA.

Vibro-acoustic analysis and design optimization to improve comfort and sustainability of future passenger aircraft

Due to the interest of general public and the industrial stakeholders, new challenges and demands are rising in aircraft design. The sustainability is taking its place amongst more traditional design factors, such as safety, performances and costs. Sustainability is both environmental and economic, and among the factors contributing to economic sustainability, there is also passengers' comfort. In order to win these two challenges, they must be considered in the early stages of aircraft design. In this work, the focus is on emissions generation and acoustic comfort, aiming at reducing pollution and internal noise in the preliminary design phases. These results can be achieved with both unconventional aircraft configurations and advanced materials, which also require new numerical formulations to be assessed. In this research, on one hand, the windowless configuration for a commercial aircraft is studied with traditional preliminary design methods in order to achieve a weight reduction and consequently a return in terms of emissions and costs. On the other hand, a new class of insulating materials, the acoustic metamaterials, is applied on the passenger cabin lining panels. The complex kinematic behaviour of these advanced materials is studied through the Carrera's Unified Formulation, that enhances a wide class of powerful refined shell and beam theories with a unique formulation.

Innovative microbiome-based system for the improvement of productivity, safety and sustainability of mussels farming

Northwestern Adriatic Sea Mediterranean mussels are exposed to fluctuating environmental parameters and to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Today is well known that mussels can be defined as holobiont, even if remains a lot to elucidate about how an organism and its microbial component response to environmental stress. This PhD dissertation aims to investigate microbiome possible adaptive patters exploiting the organism physiology response to stress, using the NGS sequencing method. The experimental approach consisted of two phases to first determine (i) the microbiome at a tissue scale level, (ii) the microbiome and physiological response to natural and anthropogenic stress environment and the chemical assessment of the microecosystem the Northwestern Adriatic Sea Mediterranean Mussel lives in. Results revealed firstly a robust microbiome well differentiated from seawater microecosystem, with compositional variations at the organ level. Thanks to those findings, digestive gland, the organ in which digestive and detoxification processes allow animal to tolerate and accumulate xenobiotics of natural and anthropogenic origin, was the selected tissue for the second phase of the project. The second phase of the project evaluated the putative physiological variations and the compositional changes in microbiome of digestive gland. I then manage to assess microbiome region trends across the north Adriatic, with each sampling site well differentiated from the others. Finally, a chemical method able to a powerful tool for the analytical detection of the major pollutants in mussels were validated. These first results may provide baseline information for future studies approaches of seasonal and region trends of microbiota profiles and physiological responses in terms of metabolism.

Towards a Smart Campus Digital Twin: Promoting Awareness and Sustainability Through Wayfinding and Real-Time Environmental Data

The newly inaugurated Navile District of the University of Bologna is a complex created along the Navile canal, that now houses various teaching and research activities for the disciplines of Chemistry, Industrial Chemistry, Pharmacy, Biotechnology and Astronomy. A Building Information Modeling system (BIM) gives staff of the Navile campus several ways to monitor buildings in the complex throughout their life cycle, one of which is the ability to access real-time environmental data such as room temperature, humidity, air composition, and more, thereby simplifying operations like finding faults and optimizing environmental resource usage. But smart features at Navile are not only available to the staff: AlmaMap Navile is a web application, whose development is documented in this thesis, that powers the public touch kiosks available throughout the campus, offering maps of the district and indications on how to reach buildings and spaces. Even if these two systems, BIM and AlmaMap, don't seem to have many similarities, they share the common intent of promoting awareness for informed decision making in the campus, and they do it while relying on web standards for communication. This opens up interesting possibilities, and is the idea behind AlmaMap Navile 2.0, an app that interfaces with the BIM system and combines real-time sensor data with a comfort calculation algorithm, giving users the ability not just to ask for directions to a space, but also to see its comfort level in advance and, should they want to, check environmental measurements coming from each sensor in a granular manner. The end result is a first step towards building a smart campus Digital Twin, that can support all the people who are part of the campus life in their daily activities, improving their efficiency and satisfaction, giving them the ability to make informed decisions, and promoting awareness and sustainability.