A network approach to overcoming barriers to market engagement for SMEs in energy efficiency initiatives such as the Green Deal

The Green Deal (GD) was launched in 2013 by the UK Government as a market-led scheme to encourage uptake of energy efficiency measures in the UK and create green sector jobs. The scheme closed in July 2015 after 30 months due to government concerns over low uptake and industry standards but additional factors potentially contributed to its failure such as poor scheme design and lack of understanding of the customer and supply chain journey. We explore the role of key delivery agents of GD services, specifically SMEs, and we use the LoCal-Net project as a case study to examine the use of networks to identify and reduce barriers to SME market engagement. We find that SMEs experienced multiple barriers to interaction with the GD such as lack of access to information, training, and confusion over delivery of the scheme but benefited from interaction with the network to access information, improve understanding of the scheme, increasing networking opportunities and forming new business models and partnerships to reduce risk. The importance of SMEs as delivery agents and their role in the design of market-led schemes such as the GD are discussed with recommendations for improving SME engagement in green sector initiatives.

System innovation and life cycle thinking in packaging value chain: the circularity of plastics.

Compared to other, plastic materials have registered a strong acceleration in production and consumption during the last years. Despite the existence of waste management systems, plastic_based materials are still a pervasive presence in the environment, with negative consequences on marine ecosystem and human health. The recycling is still challenging due to the growing complexity of product design, the so-called overpackaging, the insufficient and inadequate recycling infrastructure, the weak market of recycled plastics and the high cost of waste treatment and disposal. The Circular economy package, the European Strategy for plastics in a circular economy and the recent European Green Deal include very ambitious programmes to rethink the entire plastic value chain. As regards packaging, all plastic packaging will have to be 100% recyclable (or reusable) and 55% recycled by 2030. Regions are consequently called upon to set up a robust plan able to fit the European objectives. It takes on greater importance in Emilia Romagna where the Packaging valley is located. This thesis supports the definition of a strategy aimed to establish an after-use plastics economy in the region. The PhD work has set the basis and the instruments to establish the so-called Circularity Strategy with the aim to turn about 92.000t of plastic waste into profitable secondary resources. System innovation, life cycle thinking and participative backcasting method have allowed to deeply analyse the current system, orientate the problem and explore sustainable solutions through a broad stakeholder participation. A material flow analysis, accompanied by a barrier analysis, has supported the identification of the gaps between the present situation and the 2030 scenario. Eco-design for and from recycling (and a mass _based recycling rate (based on the effective amount of plastic wastes turned into secondary plastics), valorized by a value_based indicator, are the key-points of the action plan.

Access to climate justice: the main procedural hurdles, and possible solutions, within the italian legal framework and the IBA Model Statute

The thesis deals with standing and justiciability in climate litigation against governments and the private sector. The first part addresses the impacts of climate change on human rights, the major developments in international climate law, and the historical reasons for climate litigation. The second part analyses several cases, divided into categories. It then draws to a comparative conclusion with regard to each category. The third part deals with the Italian legal tradition on standing and justiciability – starting from the historical roots of such rules. The fourth part introduces the ‘Model Statute’ drafted by the International Bar Association, arguing that the 'ratio legis' of this proposal could be implemented in Italy or the EU. The thesis develops arguments, based on the existing legal framework, to help plaintiffs establish standing and justiciability in proceedings pending before Italian courts. It further proposes the idea that 'citizen suits' are consistent with the Italian and EU legal tradition and that the EU could rely on citizen suits to privately enforce its climate law and policies under the ‘European Green Deal.’

Società a partecipazione pubblica nel mercato dell'energia elettrica tra concorrenza e obblighi di servizio pubblico

La disciplina pubblicistica dell’energia elettrica presenta specificità rilevanti rispetto ad altri settori della regolazione economica. Il settore energetico si caratterizza infatti per una complessa regolazione, dovuta sia alle specificità dell’oggetto della disciplina, cioè l’energia elettrica come bene immateriale, sia alla molteplicità degli interessi pubblici coinvolti, che si innestano su fallimenti di mercato (i.e. il sistema a rete non duplicabile), sia agli obiettivi di politica internazionale e di sicurezza nazionale, che intercettano delicate interrelazioni con l’ambiente e il clima, come tutelati nel Green Deal, nelle normative europee e nazionali e negli accordi internazionali sulla decarbonizzazione e sullo sviluppo sostenibile. Inoltre, la filiera elettrica è “verticalmente integrata”, cioè suddivisa in attività diverse, cioè la produzione, il dispacciamento, la trasmissione, la distribuzione, la vendita all’ingrosso e al dettaglio di energia. Queste sono esercitate in regimi di mercato differenti: monopolio naturale (dovuto al carattere sub-additivo dei costi) per il dispacciamento, la trasmissione e la distribuzione di energia; libera concorrenza per la produzione e la vendita. L’esigenza di assicurare la concorrenza nel mercato energetico si contempera con la necessità di rispettare gli obblighi di servizio pubblico, in un delicato bilanciamento tra esigenze contrapposte. La Direttiva U.E. del 13 luglio 2009 n. 2009/72/Cee, all’art. 3, qualifica infatti la fornitura di energia elettrica come un servizio universale, attribuendo agli utenti il diritto di ricevere la fornitura e di mantenere prezzi ragionevoli, facilmente e chiaramente comparabili, trasparenti e non discriminatori.

Towards Europe 2050: the role of institutions, EU research, and citizens for climate justice. The urban challenge in Amsterdam, Bilbao, Freiburg, and Lisbon.

The climate crisis is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, and in 2023 the average global temperature reached new records, prompting the UN Secretary General to declare that 'the era of global warming is over, and the era of global boiling has arrived'. In this context, urban areas play a key role, and can be considered a bottleneck of the climate crisis. The European Commission is investing billions of euros in research and innovation projects in urban areas, while the European Green Deal strategy has the ambition of making Europe the first carbon-neutral continent on the planet by 2050. However, studies and research show that the causes of the climate crisis are rooted in an economic system that produces profound inequalities, and the very solutions to address the consequences of global warming risk deepening them. In this context, the role of cities is not only to decarbonise their urban fabric, but to build solutions to the social challenge posed by the climate crisis, promoting paradigm shifts capable of producing trajectories towards so-called 'climate justice'. This research analyses, through a holistic view, European policies in these fields, and delves into the actions and projects of four European cities - Amsterdam, Bilbao, Freiburg, and Lisbon - through a qualitative approach aimed at identifying strengths and contradictions of strategies to tackle the climate crisis. Delving into the collective dynamics and social impacts of the actions promoted, the research proposes a comprehensive view of the role that urban areas can play not only in decarbonising society, but in promoting a paradigm shift capable of addressing the economic causes and social consequences of the climate crisis.

Verso un mondo produttivo più sostenibile: analisi del grado di adozione e comunicazione di politiche sostenibili da parte di un campione di 100 aziende italiane

La sostenibilità (ambientale, economica e sociale) non rappresenta per le aziende un trend passeggero, ma una direzione da seguire per poter rispondere a norme sempre più stringenti e a consumatori sempre più attenti. La tesi illustra il concetto di sviluppo sostenibile, il quale ha segnato varie tappe della storia tra cui la pubblicazione nel 2015 dell’Agenda 2030 dalle Nazioni Unite e la definizione dei 17 obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile per contrastare i problemi climatici. Vengono descritti i principali strumenti introdotti dall’Unione Europea per promuovere una crescita verde, utilizzando leve di intervento sia legislative che con incentivi, quali il Green Deal che mira a promuovere attività sostenibili che non generino emissioni di inquinanti, il decreto legislativo che regola l’informativa non finanziaria, il Piano d’Azione della Commissione Europea per finanziare la crescita sostenibile. Quello che le aziende comunicano sui propri siti web è una prima indicazione delle loro politiche in materia di sostenibilità, insieme ai report e alle certificazioni più formali. Lo scopo della tesi è valutare a che punto sono le aziende di diversi settori e dimensioni nella comunicazione di queste tematiche, analizzando un campione di esse, per mezzo di un form progettato per raccogliere e archiviare dati strutturati presi dai siti web. Grazie a questo si arriverà ad un punteggio per ciascuna di esse che rappresenta l’attuale livello comunicativo. Un problema attuale riscontrato è quello del greenwashing: una strategia di marketing, per dimostrare un impegno non reale nei confronti dell’ambiente agli occhi degli stakeholder e per farle guadagnare punti in reputazione e immagine aziendale. Il fine ultimo della tesi è quello di dimostrare che la sostenibilità è una scelta necessaria che va compiuta fin da subito, e non una questione solo delle grandi aziende o dei settori più “verdi”.

Valutazione del ciclo antropogenico del neodimio in Italia, mediante metodologie MFA e LCA

Per raggiungere gli obiettivi di neutralità climatica del 2050 stabiliti dal Green Deal europeo, l’approvvigionamento sicuro e sostenibile di materie prime critiche è considerato essenziale e l’attuale crisi energetica ne ha rimarcato l’importanza. Tra queste materie prime, il neodimio risulta essere fondamentale per un ampio numero di applicazioni tecnologiche di interesse crescente come la mobilità elettrica e la generazione di energia elettrica da fonti rinnovabili. La produzione mondiale di neodimio è dominata dalla Cina e l’Italia dipende completamente dalle importazioni per soddisfare la propria domanda. Il riciclo dei prodotti a fine vita potrebbe coprire parte della domanda nazionale di neodimio e ridurre la dipendenza dalle importazioni cinesi. Ma, attualmente, la percentuale di riciclo del metallo è inferiore all’1% globalmente con attività di riciclo spesso inesistenti su scala industriale a livello nazionale. Per dare chiarezza sulla catena del valore di neodimio in Italia e dimostrare le potenzialità del suo riciclo, in questa tesi sono state applicate le metodologie di MFA e di LCA. Un modello dinamico retrospettivo di MFA è stato sviluppato col fine di investigare il ciclo antropogenico del neodimio, identificando e valutando i flussi e le riserve nazionali dal 1995 al 2020. Attraverso un modello di distribuzione dei tempi di vita è stata quantificata la riserva in uso del metallo, che ammonta a 3,3 kt Nd o 56 g Nd pro capite. Un riciclo della riserva in uso potrebbe soddisfare l’attuale domanda di neodimio oltre al 2030. I risultati dell’MFA sono stati integrati con i fattori LCA di caratterizzazione di impatto ambientale, dimostrando che il riciclo potrebbe ridurre più dell’80% delle emissioni di gas serra e della energia richiesta associate alla produzione di neodimio primario. Si prevede che lo studio possa contribuire all’implementazione di politiche e strategie di rafforzamento della catena di approvvigionamento del neodimio.

New Climate Change Related EC Directives and Their Interrelations to Green Electricity and Certificate Practices

Työn päätavoite on tutkia vihreän sähkön ja sertifikaattien kaupan ja EY:n uusien ilmastonmuutosta koskevien direktiivien ja direktiiviehdotusten välisiä yhteyksiä. Tutkimuksessa käsitellään direktiiviä sähköntuotannosta uusiutuvilla energialähteillä ja direktiiviehdotuksia Euroopan Unionin alueen päästökaupasta sekä yhdistetyn sähkön ja lämmön tuotannon lisäämisestä. Työ keskittyy erään suomalaisen metsäteollisuusyrityksen toimiin ilmastonmuutoksen hidastamiseksi. Tutkimus keskittyy pääosin EU:n suunnitelmaan aloittaa Unionin jäsenvaltioiden välinen päästökauppa, koska tämä järjestelmä tulee toteutuessaan olemaan teollisuuden kannalta merkittävä. Tilannetta on analysoitu neljän sellu- ja paperitehtaan hiilidioksidipäästölaskelmien avulla. Työssä kehitettyjä laskumalleja voidaan käyttää avuksi yhtiön muilla tehtailla. Tämän lisäksi työssä on luotu malli energiainvestointien arvioimiseksi tulevaisuudessa ottamalla päästöoikeuden hinnan vaikutus huomioon. Päästökaupan vaikutukset pohjoismaisilla vapautuneilla sähkömarkkinoilla on analysoity, koska teollinen sähkönhankinta on suuresti riippuvainen tästä markkinasta. Suomen metsäteollisuuden oma yhdistetty sähkön ja lämmön tuotanto erityisesti uusiutuvista energialähteistä tulee olemaan entistäkin tärkeämpää tiukentuvassa toimintaympäristössä. Tällä hetkellä on käynnissä kokeilu lisäarvon saamiseksi omalle sähköntuotannolle. Tällä haetaan kokemuksia ja valmiutta tulevaa päästökauppaa varten.

Green welding in practice

Efficient production and consumption of energy has become the top priority of national and international policies around the world. Manufacturing industries have to address the requirements of the government in relation to energy saving and ecologically sustainable products. These industries are also concerned with energy and material usage due to their rising costs. Therefore industries have to find solutions that can support environmental preservation yet maintain competitiveness in the market. Welding, a major manufacturing process, consumes a great deal of material and energy. It is a crucial process in improving a product’s life-cycle cost, strength, quality and reliability. Factors which lead to weld related inefficiencies have to be effectively managed, if industries are to meet their quality requirements and fulfil a high-volume production demand. Therefore it is important to consider some practical strategies in welding process for optimization of energy and material consumption. The main objective of this thesis is to explore the methods of minimizing the ecological footprint of the welding process and methods to effectively manage its material and energy usage in the welding process. The author has performed a critical review of the factors including improved weld power source efficiency, efficient weld techniques, newly developed weld materials, intelligent welding systems, weld safety measures and personnel training. The study lends strong support to the fact that the use of eco-friendly welding units and the quality weld joints obtained with minimum possible consumption of energy and materials should be the main directions of improvement in welding systems. The study concludes that, gradually implementing the practical strategies mentioned in this thesis would help the manufacturing industries to achieve on the following - reduced power consumption, enhanced power control and manipulation, increased deposition rate, reduced cycle time, reduced joint preparation time, reduced heat affected zones, reduced repair rates, improved joint properties, reduced post-weld operations, improved automation, improved sensing and control, avoiding hazardous conditions and reduced exposure of welder to potential hazards. These improvement can help in promotion of welding as a green manufacturing process.

A method for fast determination of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin (EC), catechin (C) and caffeine (CAF) in green tea using HPLC

Tea has been considered a medicine and a healthy beverage since ancient times, but recently it has received a great deal of attention because of its antioxidant properties. Green tea polyphenols have demonstrated to be an effective chemopreventive agent. Recently, investigators have found that EGCG, one of the green tea catechins, could have anti-HIV effects when bound to CD4 receptor. Many factors can constitute important influences on the composition of tea, such as species, season, age of the leaf, climate, and horticultural practices (soil, water, minerals, fertilizers). This paper presents an HPLC analytical methodology development, using column RP-18 and mobile phase composed by water, acetonitrile, methanol, ethyl acetate, glacial acetic acid (89:6:1:3:1 v/v/v/v/v) for simultaneous determination and quantification of caffeine (CAF), catechin (C), epicatechin (EC) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in samples of Camellia sinensis (green tea) grown in Brazil and harvested in spring, in summer and in autumn, in comparison to Brazilian black tea, to samples of Japanese and Chinese green tea and to two standardized dry extracts of green tea. The method has been statistically evaluated and has proved to be adequate to qualitative and quantitative determination of the samples.

Barreiras e motivações à adoção de práticas de Green Supply Chain Management: estudo de casos no setor de baterias automotivas

Pós-graduação em Engenharia de Produção - FEB

Fatores críticos de sucesso à adoção de práticas de green supply chain management: estudo de casos no setor de baterias automotivas

Pós-graduação em Engenharia de Produção - FEB

Philosophy, theory, and practice of green operations management

This paper proposes a more profound discussion of the philosophical underpins of sustainability than currently exists in the MOT literature and considers their influence on the construction of the theories on green operations and technology management. Ultimately, it also debates the link between theory and practice on this subject area. The paper is derived from insights gained in three research projects completed during the past twelve years, primarily involving the first author. From 2000 to 2002, an investigation using scenario analysis, aimed at reducing atmospheric pollution in urban centres by substituting natural gas for petrol and diesel, provided the first set of insights about public policy, environmental impacts, investment analysis, and technological feasibility. The second research project, from 2003 to 2005, using a survey questionnaire, was aimed at improving environmental performance in livestock farming and explored the issues of green supply chain scope, environmental strategy and priorities. Finally, the third project, from 2006 to 2011, investigated environmental decisions in manufacturing organisations through case study research and examined the underlying sustainability drivers and decision-making processes. By integrating the findings and conclusions from these projects, the link between philosophy, theory, and practice of green operations and technology management is debated. The findings from all these studies show that the philosophical debate seems to have little influence on theory building so far. For instance, although ‘sustainable development’ emphasises ‘meeting the needs of current and future generation’, no theory links essentiality and environmental impacts. Likewise, there is a weak link between theory and the practical issues of green operations and technology management. For example, the well-known ‘life-cycle analysis’ has little application in many cases because the life cycle of products these days is dispersed within global production and consumption systems and there are different stakeholders for each life cycle stage. The results from this paper are relevant to public policy making and corporate environmental strategy and decision making. Most of the past and current studies in the subject of green operations and sustainability management deal with only a single sustainability dimension at any one time. Here the value and originality of this paper lies in its integration between philosophy, theory, and practice of green technology and operations management.

All Green, But Equal? Morphological Traits And Ecological Implications On Spores Of Three Species Of Mosses In The Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Spores of the tropical mosses Pyrrhobryum spiniforme, Neckeropsis undulata and N. disticha were characterized regarding size, number per capsule and viability. Chemical substances were analyzed for P. spiniforme and N. undulata spores. Length of sporophyte seta (spore dispersal ability) was analyzed for P. spiniforme. Four to six colonies per species in each site (lowland and highland areas of an Atlantic Forest; Serra do Mar State Park, Brazil) were visited for the collection of capsules (2008 - 2009). Neckeropsis undulata in the highland area produced the largest spores (ca. 19 µm) with the highest viability. The smallest spores were found in N. disticha in the lowland (ca. 13 µm). Pyrrhobryum spiniforme produced more spores per capsule in the highland (ca. 150,000) than in lowland (ca. 40,000); longer sporophytic setae in the lowland (ca. 64 mm) than in the highland (ca. 43 mm); and similar sized spores in both areas (ca. 16 µm). Spores of N. undulata and P. spiniforme contained lipids and proteins in the cytoplasm, and acid/neutral lipids and pectins in the wall. Lipid bodies were larger in N. undulata than in P. spiniforme. No starch was recorded for spores. Pyrrhobryum spiniforme in the highland area, different from lowland, was characterized by low reproductive effort, but presented many spores per capsule.

Reduced Lrp6 Expression And Increase In The Interaction Of Gsk3β With P53 Contribute To Podocyte Apoptosis In Diabetes Mellitus And Are Prevented By Green Tea.

In diabetes mellitus (DM), podocyte apoptosis leads to albuminuria and nephropathy progression. Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) is WNT pathway receptor that is involved in podocyte death, adhesion and motility. Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) interaction with p53 (GSK3-p53) promotes apoptosis in carcinoma cells. It is unknown if GSK3-p53 contributes to podocyte apoptosis in DM. In experimental DM, green tea (GT) reduces albuminuria by an unknown mechanism. In the present study, we assessed the role of the GSK3β-p53 in podocyte apoptosis and the effects of GT on these abnormalities. In diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), GT prevents podocyte's p-LRP6 expression reduction, increased GSK3β-p53 and high p53 levels. In diabetic SHR rats, GT reduces podocyte apoptosis, foot process effacement and albuminuria. In immortalized mouse podocytes (iMPs), high glucose (HG), silencing RNA (siRNA) or blocking LRP6 (DKK-1) reduced p-LRP6 expression, leading to high GSK3β-p53, p53 expression, apoptosis and increased albumin influx. GSK3β blockade by BIO reduced GSK3β-p53 and podocyte apoptosis. In iMPs under HG, GT reduced apoptosis and the albumin influx by blocking GSK3β-p53 following the rise in p-LRP6 expression. These effects of GT were prevented by LRP6 siRNA or DKK-1. In conclusion, in DM, WNT inhibition, via LRP6, increases GSK3β-p53 and podocyte apoptosis. Maneuvers that inactivate GSK3β-p53, such as GT, may be renoprotective in DM.