ALBERT

Description: Salinity and trace mineral accumulation threaten the sustainability of crop production in many semi-arid parts of the world, including California’s western San Joaquin Valley (WSJV). We used data from a multi-year field-scale trial in Kings County and related container trials to simulate a forage-grazing system under saline conditions. The model uses rainfall and irrigation water amounts, irrigation water quality, soil, plant, and atmospheric variables to predict Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) growth, quality, and use by cattle. Simulations based on field measurements and a related container study indicate that although soil chemical composition is affected by irrigation water quality, irrigation timing and frequency can be used to mitigate salt and trace mineral accumulation. Bermuda grass yields of up to 12 Mg dry matter (DM)·ha−1 were observed at the field site and predicted by the model. Forage yield and quality supports un-supplemented cattle stocking rates of 1.0 to 1.2 animal units (AU)·ha−1. However, a balance must be achieved between stocking rate, desired average daily gain, accumulation of salts in the soil profile, and potential pollution of ground water from drainage and leaching. Using available weather data, crop-specific parameter values and field scale measurements of soil salinity and nitrogen levels, the model can be used by farmers growing forages on saline soils elsewhere, to sustain forage and livestock production under similarly marginal conditions.

Description: Integrating climate change policies with pollution control and energy security measures can deliver improved air quality, better public health and diversified energy supplies, and at a lower total energy cost than many previous studies have indicated, according to recent research.

Description: Comprehensive flood risk management should include household measures, such as improving a home’s stability and relocating heating systems to safe places within the house. According to new research, better communication with householders by authorities on the effectiveness of such measures, and how to implement them, could increase their uptake.

Description: By using design tools to increase sustainability at every stage of production, researchers have developed a new eco-light. The light, which uses low wattage LEDs and recycled plastic, has a substantially lower environmental impact than the traditional equivalent LED lights.

Description: In form and in content, cities are the epitome of diversity. This state is the result of the accumulation of layers of history, of construction, of demolition and reconstruction cycles. These tensions are the catalyst for the emergence of new urban forms and participate in the construction of heritage. As such they should be encouraged. As important as the existing fabric of the city is, its evolution to accommodate the ever-changing needs and fashions of its inhabitants is paramount. For regeneration to be successful it must inscribe itself in this process and it must be driven by an understanding of the environment where it occurs. This paper explores, through the lens of an architectural practice, some design processes and architectural proposals that have been generated by working on the Valletta harbours. It also discusses the necessary dynamics required to accommodate stakeholder engagement and planning policy while ensuring design quality and the perpetuation of the creative process inherent to the city. Finally, the paper introduces, as a possible future, the experiments and studies of the practice on the wider Valletta, putting into perspective the benefits of theoretical research combined with formal and aesthetic explorations of the harbour region.

Description: The joint threat posed by climate change and invasive alien species can have different effects on endangered native species, new research suggests. This European study predicts that the invasive zebra mussel may benefit from climate change, negatively affecting native mussel populations; but both invasive and native crayfish could suffer declines.

Description: Migrant remittances are increasingly seen as a potential form of development in the global South, but the impact of international migration on sending regions is far from straightforward. In this article, I analyze migrant communities of origin in rural Bolivia as dynamic places that are constantly reproduced through connections with other places. I document the movement of migrant practices between Washington D.C. and Cochabamba and the influence of monetary and non-monetary flows on Bolivian cultural practices, politics, and development. I demonstrate how hometown associations and returning migrants have transferred organizational practices and political ideas about development from the United States to rural Bolivia. In addition, I explore migration’s role in struggles over belonging in Cochabamba, focusing on the efforts by migrants in Washington D.C. to stake their claim through transnational houses and collective remittance projects and on recent internal migration from other regions in Bolivia. Finally, I assess the sustainability of migrant-led development in Cochabamba. Although collaboration with migrants can strengthen the local state by providing more resources, it conditions the type of development that can take place and has yet to provide adequate opportunities for returning migrants or young people in rural Bolivia.

Description: Discussions on how to define, design, and implement sustainable development goals (SDG) have taken center stage in the United Nations since the Rio+20 summit. Energy is one of the issues that enjoyed consensus, before and after Rio, as an important area for SDGs to address. Many proposals have been put forward on how SDGs should be formulated and what areas they should cover, but there have been few attempts to develop a generic integrated framework within which diverse areas can be accommodated and treated in a coherent way. The purpose of this paper is to develop such a framework for SDGs and to demonstrate its application by elaborating specific target areas for the energy sector. Based on a review and integration of global debates around SDG and energy, the framework puts human wellbeing at the center of the agenda, with the supporting resource base and global public goods forming additional tiers. A complementary set of enabling goals is suggested with four layers: capacity & knowledge, governance & institutions, public policy, and investment & finance. An energy SDG is elaborated to illustrate the application of the framework. The illustrative SDG architecture for energy includes eight target areas: basic energy access, energy for economic development, sufficiency, renewable supply, efficiency, infrastructure, greenhouse gas emissions and security. These target areas are relevant for energy for all countries, but depending on national circumstances such as levels of development, the relative emphasis will be different between countries, and over time.

Description: A survey of wastewater treatment facilities in the Federated States of Micronesia revealed a lack of fully functional treatment systems and conditions that potentially could lead to adverse environmental impacts and public health concerns. Due to inadequate facilities, the amount and composition of wastewater entering the plants as well as the degree of treatment being achieved is largely unknown. In some cases raw sewage is being discharged directly into the ocean and waste sludge is regularly taken by local residents for agricultural purposes without adequate treatment. In addition, the need to establish best management practices for placement and maintenance of septic tanks is urgent. Furthermore, development of eco-friendly solutions is needed to more effectively treat wastewater from industrial and agricultural sources in an effort to abate current pollution problems. Comparisons of treatment methods being used and problems encountered at different locations in the islands would provide valuable information to aid in the development of sustainable treatment practices throughout Micronesia.

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the role and visibility of disabled people in the discourses of various global policy processes related to sustainable development and the Post-2015 development agenda. This article makes several recommendations for strengthening the role of disabled people in these discourses. The research addresses the question of how the disability community and sustainable development community relate to each other in these discourses. This study provides quantitative and qualitative data on three aspects of the relationship. One set of data highlights who is seen as a stakeholder in general and the visibility of disabled people in the social sustainability, sustainable consumption, Rio+20 and Post-2015 development agenda proposals discourses and what participants of the online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond had to say about the issues of visibility of disabled people in development discourses. A second set of data illuminates the attitudes towards disabled people evident in the SD discourses including through the eyes of the participant of the online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond. The final set of data compares the goals and actions seen as desirable for the advancement of SD evident in the SD literature covered and the online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond. This study interpreted the data through a disability studies lens. The study found that disabled people were barely visible to invisible in the SD literature covered, that the goals and actions proposed in the SD discourses are of high relevance to disabled people but that these discussions have generally not been explicitly linked to disabled people. It found further that disabled people have clear ideas why they are invisible, what the problems with development policies are and what needs to happen to rectify the problems. It found also that there was a lack of visibility of various SD areas and goals within the disability discourse. This paper provides empirical data that can be used to further the goal of mainstreaming of disabled people into the SD and Post-2015 development discourses as asked for in various high-level UN documents. However, we posit that the utility of our paper goes beyond the disability angle. Our quantitative data also highlights other forms of social group visibility unevenness in the literature and as such, we argue that the data we present in this paper is also of use for other stakeholders such as youth, women and indigenous people and also for NGOs and policy makers.

Description: Trees form a valuable part of green infrastructure in cities by helping reduce surface water runoff, recent research finds. Together with grassy areas, significant reductions in surface water flows can be achieved by planting trees, reducing the risk of floods.

Description: As part of the EU’s Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Waters1, a new study from the Joint Research Centre has mapped the water requirements of livestock across Europe for 2005. The maps and data can help quantify total European water use but also inform sustainable management by making use of ecosystem services (ESSs).

Description: Researchers have used a new comprehensive life cycle approach to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from road construction. When applied to four projects in Spain, the results suggest improvements could be made in the use and efficiency of off-road machinery, the choice of materials and restoration of ecosystems.

Description: Research from the US helps paint a clearer picture of the extent of global sea level rise, by considering new satellite data on the Earth’s gravity. Its findings support reports of accelerating ice melt and suggest that most of the change in sea levels is caused by receding polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers.

Description: Travelling by coach or train has a lower impact on the climate than travelling by air or car, but using a small diesel car to carry several passengers can have similarly low impacts per person, new research suggests. Air travel is the worst form of transport, in terms of global warming impact, the researchers found, but the average percentage occupancy of a mode of transport significantly affects the impact per passenger.

Description: This study presents a unique way by which a university program can contribute to capacity development for coastal sustainability. The program is steered by a working group of volunteer faculty members, having different academic backgrounds, in collaboration with students and marine professionals, including fisherfolk and environment education interpreters. Although the program began with conventional educational ideas and style, its practical framework evolved to include interactive activities with collaborators in the community, all of which were geared toward social learning. The combination of service learning and participatory action research (PAR) was proven to be an adequate approach to link higher education for sustainable development (HESD) and university-community partnerships and to promote learning for coastal sustainability. Challenges identified include (1) ensuring continuity of learning and (2) reducing the heavy workload of faculty members involved in program preparation and coordination. The authors would like to emphasize the possibilities offered by the engagement of scholarship in the capacity development for coastal sustainability by focusing on community-based efforts.

Description: Agri-environmental schemes (AES) do successfully enhance the number and variety of insect pollinators, research suggests. They are particularly effective when implemented in arable landscapes which also contain some semi-natural habitat.

Description: Exposure to polluted soil can affect human health, but the risk may vary depending on the soil type. A recent study has shown that the differing amounts of cadmium and lead that can be dissolved in the human digestive system can be predicted for contaminated agricultural, urban and woody habitat soils using a model. Its authors suggest this is a useful method for assessing the risks of contaminated land.

Description: A field experiment was performed in Southwest Germany to examine the effects of long-term reduced tillage (2000–2012). Tillage treatments were deep moldboard plow: DP, 25 cm; double-layer plow; DLP, 15 + 10 cm, shallow moldboard plow: SP, 15 cm and chisel plow: CP, 15 cm, each of them with or without preceding stubble tillage. The mean yields of a typical eight-year crop rotation were 22% lower with CP compared to DP, and 3% lower with SP and DLP. Stubble tillage increased yields by 11% across all treatments. Soil nutrients were high with all tillage strategies and amounted for 34–57 mg kg−1 P and 48–113 mg kg−1 K (0–60 cm soil depth). Humus budgets showed a high carbon input via crops but this was not reflected in the actual Corg content of the soil. Corg decreased as soil depth increased from 13.7 g kg−1 (0–20 cm) to 4.3 g kg−1 (40–60 cm) across all treatments. After 12 years of experiment, SP and CP resulted in significantly higher Corg content in 0–20 cm soil depth, compared to DP and DLP. Stubble tillage had no significant effect on Corg. Stubble tillage combined with reduced primary tillage can sustain yield levels without compromising beneficial effects from reduced tillage on Corg and available nutrient content.

Description: This paper examines the efficiency of electro-oxidation used as the single pretreatment of landfill leachate. The experiments were performed on three different types of leachate. The results obtained using this electrochemical method results were analyzed after seven days of treatment. The main characteristics of leachate and a diagram of the experimental apparatus are presented. The overall objectives were to contribute to the knowledge of electrochemical treatments for the reduction of COD, BOD5, ammonium, and total suspended solids, and also to examine whether there was any resulting hexavalent chromium in the liquid sample. The yields obtained were considered satisfactory, particularly given the simplicity of this technology. Like all processes used to treat refluent water, the applicability of this technique to a specific industrial refluent needs to be supported by feasibility studies to estimate its effectiveness and optimize the project parameters. This could be a future development of the work.

Description: Italian harbours assume a decisive role in order to develop a Euro-Mediterranean web for maritime transportation. The geostrategic position of the Italian peninsula can be seen as a logistic platform at the centre of the maritime trades in the Mediterranean area, giving to its port cities the role of gateway of economic flows. The port poles, meant as hubs, are able to attract investments and create economic growth and territorial development through new operative models of urban usage and management. The management policies have to consider the environmental characteristics and distinctive features, respecting the identity of the places as concrete evidence of history, a source of intellectual development and therefore, cultural richness. In this sense, the current strategic plan “Palermo capital of the Euro-Mediterranean area” imagines the whole city, and not just its harbour, as a “gate city”, a sustainable and cosmopolitan city in the view of a recentralization of the Mediterranean area. The research tests an evaluation method in support of urban planning, which increases the active role of stakeholders in terms of participation and access to the decision-making process of urban renewal strategies for Palermo to the Euro-Mediterranean.

Description: The zero-sum nature of mega-event hosting encourages cities to escalate investment with an eye towards convincing event rights holders that a positive outcome will result. The discursive frameworks of “legacy” and “sustainability”, the global competition to attract events and the compressed event horizon make for mega-event preparation regimes that may seriously compromise long-term urban planning agendas in mega-event hosts. By examining the sustainable urban planning literature, the discursive frameworks of sustainability in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the discursive framing of the Rio 2016 bid, this paper will examine the Olympic Golf project being implemented in Rio de Janeiro. Through this case study the paper argues that unless mega-event rights holders change their candidacy and selection processes, these events will inevitably be detrimental to their hosts.

Description: The aim of this paper is to assess the strength and weakness factors of post-industrial cities located in the Gulf of Naples in order to propose the most effective regeneration strategies towards a sustainable development of the urban coastline. This paper focuses on the city of Torre Annunziata and in particular on its industrial port area and waterfront. The analysis suggests that a sustainable development would be possible through the redesign and new functionalization of the waterfront and port area, improving resilience and creativity in order to integrate economic growth, ecological preservation and social opportunities. Thus, this paper is a proposal for a participative approach to the regeneration of the urban waterfront, enhancing the creative potential of the city and developing a new image for the waterfront that could become the strategic vision for a future economic, environmental and cultural development. A comparison between the waterfronts of Torre Annunziata and La Spezia has been carried out in order to assess what are the most effective choices for the future of Torre Annunziata, followed by an applicative process based on interviews.

Description: Effective surveillance and risk analysis are key to preventing the ecological damage caused by invasive alien species (IAS). Habitat suitability models provide highly effective tools for predicting the spread of IAS and guiding monitoring strategies, new research suggests.

Description: Detailed analysis of the patterns of invasion of alien fish species in Austria and Germany has highlighted how drivers of invasion, such as the animal trade, can change over time. The researchers who conducted the analysis warn that climate change may be a key cause in changing invasion patterns in the future.

Description: Neither the public nor conservation managers are fully aware of the different risks posed by invasive alien species (IAS), new research suggests. A study examining perceptions of five invasive species in the UK shows that both conservation managers and the public regard some highly damaging species as ‘low risk’, and that their awareness does not increase with the amount of scientific research on the topic.

Description: A new framework has been developed by researchers to provide guidance in evaluating alien species risk. Using an analysis of more than 300 risk assessment (RA) models, the researchers highlight that many fail to cover all of the components of alien species invasion and offer guidance on which elements to include in future risk assessments.

Description: The impacts of drought on European trees are of high concern, especially under a changing climate. New research has indicated that, if summers become continually drier, sensitive species, such as larch and spruce, will suffer reduced growth in some Alpine areas. This could potentially compromise ecosystem services provided by forests in these areas.

Description: A recent study has considered 21st century changes in shipping access through the Arctic Ocean along three potential new routes linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As the sea ice melts, it is possible that high-strength vessels will be able to sail directly through the North Pole by the end of the century, its results indicate.

Description: Over a third of all food waste in Sweden is avoidable, according to new research. If such waste minimisation were achieved, there would be less potential for biogas production, but the researchers suggest that this does not represent a compromise because it is currently performed on only a very small amount of waste food.

Description: Progress towards achieving a sustainable urban environment may be measured by sustainability indicators (SIs), which can be chosen to represent values that are important to local communities. A recent study has assessed a set of SIs developed by both sustainability experts and local citizens and suggests that local communities can attach different values to SIs to reflect local values and understandings of sustainability.

Description: US researchers have found that promoting the environmental benefits of energy-efficient products may actually deter some people from buying them. Since environmental issues have become politically polarised, those who hold more conservative views are less likely to purchase products that are marketed using environmental benefits, they argue.

Description: It may be possible to use trees to monitor levels of air pollution in cities, new research suggests. A Belgian study found evidence that leaves of urban trees change both chemically and physiologically when exposed to different levels of air pollution. If these changes are carefully quantified, trees could provide cheap and widespread ‘bio-indicators’, the study’s authors suggest.

Description: The paper describes the shifting perspective from the contemplative view to the dynamic-evolutionary view of heritage and the main characteristics of the resulting multi-criterial decision-aid tool for the evaluation of heritage. With the integration of conservation in planning processes and with opening of the procedures to public participation, there is a need for decision-aid tools that can help increase rationality and transparency in decision-making processes related to planning. By understanding the contemporary view of heritage and the landscape, it is possible to create tools capable of accounting for spatial complexity and the extant cultural, social, historic and economic relations. With this in mind, a specific tool was created that can be used for the analysis, diagnosis, evaluation and monitoring of spatial heritage (registered and under consideration for protection), identifying opportunities, defining strategies for heritage management processes, and in the creation and evaluation of development and management scenarios. The paper illustrates a shift in the consideration of heritage in spatial planning and presents an application of the developed model in a case study.

Description: Cities are traditionally considered as centers of prosperity, but after a long process of deindustrialization, the classical opportunities presented by cities as administrative, production, financial and cultural hot spots can no longer be taken for granted without questioning the present organizational and spatial models. After an introduction to the decision-aid tools and processes needed to orient development in a sustainable way, the paper describes the characteristics and an application of the decision-aid tool created for analysis, diagnosis and evaluation of opportunities. The proposal briefly considers the reconnection of the city with its region, urban renewal, creative and productive activities, necessary support institutions, contemporary sustainable economic approaches and infrastructure. This approach is illustrated on the case of the incubator proposal for the City of Rijeka, Croatia, once an important port and industrial city with a long history. The technological modifications in the functioning of the port and abandoning of industrial production in the proximity, but also geological formation and prevalent building typologies, make the case exemplary of the problems faced in contemporary cities. The paper proposes a process and tools for analysis and evaluation and indicators for the sustainability of the proposal.

Description: Sustainability science seeks to identify and implement workable solutions to complex problems. This transdisciplinary approach advances a commitment to work across boundaries that occur among individuals, disciplines, and institutions to build capacities for informed and innovative decision making in the face of uncertainty and change. The concept of boundary work and related discussions of boundary objects and organizations are important, expanding focal areas within sustainability science. While communication is described as central to boundary work, insights from the field of communication have largely yet to inform theorizing about boundaries within sustainability science. In this paper, we highlight three communication perspectives, namely media studies, collaboration and partnerships, and systems theories, which are particularly relevant for understanding how boundaries form, the social context in which boundary work occurs, and informed strategies for enhanced boundary spanning and management. We use three case studies to illustrate how communication theories and methods provide dynamic and strategic lenses within transdisciplinary processes to enable collaborators to build capacity for change, sustain critical and reflective inquiry, and approach difference as generative in collective efforts to produce sustainability.

Description: A new tool to increase the efficiency of water supply and distribution networks is presented by a new study. By using a framework which encompasses both water sources and demands, researchers have developed an integrated system that has showed promising results when applied to the complex urban water system of Athens.

Description: Restoring the natural conditions of rivers and streams by intentionally adding forest deadwood boosts key ecosystem services, new research suggests. By calculating the value of these services, the researchers were able to show that increasing the amount of deadwood in rivers and streams in a Basque Country reservoir basin was economically profitable and that returns on investment could be realised within 20 years.

Description: An overview of research into ‘nudge’ theory and practices has recently been presented. While there is much evidence to show how humans make decisions, translating these psychological and economic insights into viable policy instruments that encourage behavioural change remains challenging, the authors conclude.

Description: This study performs a comparison between the theoretical frameworks of sustainable development and its incorporation in the decision-making practices and models used by heavy construction companies. This study was conducted by using documentary analysis of corporate sustainability reports. Specifically, the content analysis method was used to examine the sustainability reports disclosed by the companies studied. The results indicate four main conclusions: first, the social, political and economic context directed the companies towards implementing sustainable management practices; second, human resource development follows the traditional model of training and development; third, there is an evident effort to balance economic goals and profit-making with social responsibility practices as a way to characterize the corporate commitment with sustainability; fourth, effective and indispensable measures to transform decision-making models were not adopted in the business practices analyzed, and thus the economic factor continues to be prioritized at the expense of social and environmental aspects in those models. This paper, in looking at three Brazilian multinational heavy construction companies, examines the synergy between the theoretical and the identified corporate sustainability practices. Lastly, this paper may be characterized as a descriptive study based on a literature review and an analysis of sustainability reports from the companies studied.

Description: Urban renovation projects, which have led to the conversion of port areas through a new vision of waterfronts as elements of the potential development of the urban system in its entirety, have spread since the early 1950s and now some port cities are able to trigger some mechanisms which, even if they are the result of some processes that have been activated for decades and which are still evolving, are able to amplify and to extend over time their generated positive impacts. These impacts also produce a system of relations in the context of the hinterland, attracted also by policies of economic, social, and cultural development. In the case of the city of Valencia, we have seen, in the last 50 years, a progressive spread of the urbanized area to the coasts, simultaneously with a process of renovation of the port area, which has been populated by important architectures, and which has been equipped by efficient infrastructures and subjected to numerous recovery and restoration operations of its historic buildings. However, the environmental conditions near the port area are not well suited to a good quality of life because ports are pollution producers, sites of urban decay, and of social degradation. A good plan can include some instruments to decrease those negative factors, leading to a close merging between the port area and the city hinterland, and generating new economies. The proposal of this research consists in a method of integrating the port planning with an environmental accounting system.

Description: The aim of this paper is to highlight some perspectives for the sustainable development of Naples, to direct future policies for the city. The proposed approach is based on the Historic Urban Landscape, which, being structurally integrated/systemic, allows the relationship between the historic center and the waterfront, as well as many contradictions, to be overcome, which in the city of Naples, have become particularly acute. The notion of Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) is the latest contribution to the international debate concerning the identification, preservation and valorization of cultural heritage. This new category, in fact, refers to the notion of context to emphasize the systemic interrelation between economic, social, environmental and cultural factors and the complexity of the framework within which conservation policies are inserted. It is in this perspective that the experiences of planning taking place in Naples are read, as a starting point for an innovative approach to the issue of an integrated conservation of the Historic Urban Landscape and, more generally, of the regeneration of the city. The starting point is the study of the experiences of urban transformation in some European port cities in order to “learn from comparison” to develop a theoretic approach based on the understanding of reality. The comparative analysis of case studies, through the synthesis of the most significant aspects of each port city, allows the relationship that exists between a phenomenon and its context to be understood and the critical success factors to be identified, in order to transfer the knowledge gained from good practices in the processes of regeneration of the city of Naples. Naples, for its stratified urban fabric, rich in tangible and intangible cultural values, and for its particular nodal position within the Mediterranean basin, lends itself effectively to a different approach to urban regeneration, which focuses on the relationship between the historic city and the sea.

Description: After the 2008 crisis, smart sustainable development of port areas/cities should be developed on the basis of specific principles: the synergy principle (between different actors/systems, in particular the socio-cultural and economic system), the creativity principle and the circularization principle. The Historic Urban landscape (HUL) approach becomes the guarantee that the transition toward the smart city development model is based on specific local cultural resources, and not only on technological innovations. In other words, the eco-town/eco-city strategy becomes culture-led. It stimulates places as spatial “loci” for implementing synergies and circularization processes. Without new evaluation tools and a widespread “evaluation culture” the risks in implementing HUL are very high.

Description: Source separation is a common method for dealing with the increasing problem of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in society. The citizens are then responsible for separating waste fractions produced in their home. If the consumers fail to sort the waste according to the source separation scheme, it will lead to an ineffective system. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the environmental, economic and social aspects of incorrect waste sorting in a medium sized Swedish city that has established a source separation system. In order to determine the extent to which citizens correctly sort their waste, food waste (black bags) and combustible fraction (white bags), were collected randomly from a residential area and categorized in different waste fractions. The results show that approximately 68 wt% of the waste in the white and 29 wt% in the black bags were not sorted correctly. This incorrect sorting accrues over 13 million SEK per year cost for this community. In order to improve the inhabitants’ participation in the waste management system, it is necessary to change different factors such as convenience and easy access to the recycling stations in the local MSW management systems as well as to review current regulation and policy.

Description: Research suggests that climate change could alter the structure and function of temperate peat bogs and that these changes are primarily driven by rising temperatures, rather than periods of temporary drought. An average temperature rise above 1°C could permanently shift moss-covered peat bogs into bogs predominately covered with trees, affecting their ability to store carbon and the existing carbon stocks in them.

Description: The common ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) is threatened by an invasive fungal disease, which is spreading throughout Europe. Scientists have recently reviewed and presented previous research into the disease which could help us understand how to prevent the spread of the fungus and develop forest conservation strategies.

Description: A new study of clean-up workers seven years after the 2002 Prestige oil tanker spillage has found potential evidence for long-term impacts on their hormonal and immune systems as a result of exposure to the oil. The results suggest new health surveillance measures may be appropriate for workers involved in future oil clean-up operations.

Description: Much attention is now focused on utilizing ground heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings, as well as water heating, refrigeration and other thermal tasks. Modeling such systems is important for understanding, designing and optimizing their performance and characteristics. Several heat transfer models exist for ground heat exchangers. In this review article, challenges of modelling heat transfer in vertical heat exchangers are described, some analytical and numerical models are reviewed and compared, recent related developments are described and the importance of modelling these systems is discussed from a variety of aspects, such as sustainability of geothermal systems or their potential impacts on the ecosystems nearby.

Description: This paper analyzes the effect of systems to manage environmental aspects on environmental performance at individual polluting facilities. Regulated polluting facilities are increasingly embracing pollution minimization strategies that involve the adoption of broadly defined systems to manage environmental aspects. Despite a meaningful empirical literature, whether or not these systems lead to better environmental performance remains an open question. This study seeks to assess the possible connection between systems to manage environmental aspects and improved environmental performance. It also seeks to identify the factors determining the extent of the adopted system of management and the factors’ direct effects on environmental performance. For this empirical analysis, the study examines the extent of systems to manage environmental aspects employed by and the level of wastewater discharged by U.S. chemical manufacturing facilities during 2001.

Description: Is “diversity” a modern concept, like indigeneity or biodiversity, which is conceived precisely at the time that it seems to be threatened and on the verge of disappearing? In the face of perceived threats to diversity, projects and policies have been crafted to protect, promote, or conserve diversity, but in doing so they have often demonstrated a paradoxical propensity toward purity and authority in representations of diversity. Perceptions of “pure” natural diversity might represent native forests comprised solely of native species; “pure” cultural diversity might represent indigenous peoples who still speak indigenous languages and wear native dress. If purity is emblematic of diversity, what, then, is the place of hybrid landscapes and peoples? In our study, we draw on a range of examples—of agrobiodiversity conservation in Bolivia, satellite mapping initiatives in Madagascar and Ecuador, scientific authority about anthropogenic climate change, indigenous language and identity in Peru, and a comparison of the Amazon and Atlantic Forest in Brazil—to demonstrate gaps between representations of diversity, and the heterogeneous local realities they obscure. We suggest that hybridity is a form of diversity unto itself—albeit a form of diversity that is more complex, and thus harder to codify and categorize.

Description: A bioeconomy can be defined as an economy where the basic building blocks for materials, chemicals and energy are derived from renewable biological resources. This paper provides an overview of the bioeconomy in Europe, examining it from a policy framework and concept perspective. The role of bioenergy in the bioeconomy is discussed particularly through biofuels for transport and biorefineries. The study finds that the definitions of the bioeconomy are evolving and vary depending on the actor, but display similarities such as the emphasis on economic output and a broad, cross-sectoral focus. While there is great optimism about the benefits and opportunities associated with developing an advanced bioeconomy in Europe, significant risks and trade-offs are also expressed. Furthermore, the bioeconomy concept has been criticised for presenting a technical fix and pre-empting alternative visions. To advance a competitive and sustainable bioeconomy, this paper calls for attention on two important themes: participatory governance that engages the general public and key stakeholders in an open and informed dialogue as well as a commitment by government and industry to innovation that drives concerted efforts on sustainable development of the bioeconomy.

Description: A new study assessing the levels, and potential health risk, of toxic heavy metals in market-bought fish and shellfish in Spain has found that they are generally below European Commission regulatory limits, and that these products are therefore safe to eat for the average consumer in Spain. However, for high level consumers of specific fish species, toxic element levels could pose a risk to health.

Description: Some agricultural activities, such as irrigation, could be powered by renewable sources, a new study indicates. Farm machinery could also be renewably-powered, but the machinery would need to be adapted to use renewable electricity, instead of liquid fuel.

Description: Interactions between population growth, consumption and the use of natural products and services have created an unsustainable pressure on the environment. New research has provided a detailed investigation into the relationships between these three trends, providing insight into how to alleviate these pressures. It concludes they cannot be addressed by market mechanisms or technological advances alone.

Description: One of primary challenges for ensuring effective and efficient functions of the multilateral nuclear approaches (MNA) to nuclear fuel cycle facilities is harmonization between a MNA framework and existing nuclear cooperation agreements (NCA). A method to achieve such harmonization is to construct a MNA framework with robust non-proliferation characteristics, in order to obtain supplier states’, especially the US’s prior consents for non-supplier states’ certain activities including spent fuel reprocessing, plutonium storages and retransfers of plutonium originated in NCAs. Such robust characteristics can be accomplished by MNA member states’ compliances with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards, regional safeguards agreements, international conventions, guidelines and recommendations on nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear security, safety, and export control. Those provisions are to be incorporated into an MNA founding agreement, as requirements to be MNA members in relation to NCAs. Furthermore, if an MNA facility is, (1) owned and operated jointly by all MNA member states, (2) able to conclude bilateral NCAs with non-MNA/supplier states as a single legal entity representing its all member states like an international organization, and (3) able to obtain necessary prior consents, stable, smooth, and timely supplies of nuclear fuel and services can be assured among MNA member states. In this paper, the authors will set out a general MNA framework and then apply it to a specific example of Europe Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and then consider its applicability to the Asian region, where an establishment of an MNA framework is expected to be explored.

Description: Periods of slow growth observed in coral reefs in the Caribbean are caused by aerosols in the air from pollution and volcanic activity, recent research suggests. Aerosols cause cooler sea surface temperatures and reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the coral, both of which slow coral growth.

Description: There is a concern that agriculture will no longer be able to meet, on a global scale, the growing demand for food. Facing such a challenge requires new patterns of thinking in the context of complexity and sustainability sciences. This paper, focused on the social dimension of the study and management of agricultural systems, suggests that rethinking the study of agricultural systems entails analyzing them as complex socio-ecological systems, as well as considering the differing thinking patterns of diverse stakeholders. The intersubjective nature of knowledge, as studied by different philosophical schools, needs to be better integrated into the study and management of agricultural systems than it is done so far, forcing us to accept that there are no simplistic solutions, and to seek a better understanding of the social dimension of agriculture. Different agriculture related problems require different policy and institutional approaches. Finally, the intersubjective nature of knowledge asks for the visualization of different framings and the power relations taking place in the decision-making process. Rethinking management of agricultural systems implies that policy making should be shaped by different principles: learning, flexibility, adaptation, scale-matching, participation, diversity enhancement and precaution hold the promise to significantly improve current standard management procedures.

Description: “Sustainable” is among the most sought after of all seafood product adjectives. Ironically it is also one of the most poorly defined and understood. The Global Aquaculture Performance Index (GAPI) is the first tool to assess environmental performance of global marine aquaculture production, permitting direct comparison of disparate species, production methods and jurisdictions. Clear patterns emerge from this analysis; significant variation of environmental performance is driven by the species being farmed, significant room for improvement exists across the entire sector, the worst performing players are also the fastest growing, particularly within Asia, and perhaps most importantly, this work highlights the potential trap awaiting policy makers who focus too narrowly on farm production efficiency alone as a solution to diminishing seafood availability.

Description: New research has identified global hot spots of invasion risk by marine species transported in the ballast water of shipping. Treating this water before discarding it could reduce the risk of invasions by as much as 82%, the researchers predict.

Description: Key differences between public and professional opinions on invasive alien species (IAS) are highlighted by a recent UK study. Its authors recommend clearer, open discussion of the harm caused by IAS and human responsibility for their spread.

Description: Omitting socio-economic factors from invasive alien species (IAS) risk assessments could result in serious underestimations of the area at risk, new research suggests. Including factors such as population density and proximity to ports in risk assessments was found in this UK study to increase the size of the area predicted as suitable for invasion by up to six times.

Description: The impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) can take many different forms, from ecological to socio-economic. A new review investigates how to define and quantify ‘impact’ and discusses the most successful strategies to reduce invasion risk and prevent different impacts.

Description: Protected areas near densely populated towns and cities have higher numbers of alien species than those in more isolated locations, research suggests. In a South African study, researchers examined a number of different environmental characteristics of national parks, and found that surrounding human population density best explained the number of alien species in each park.

Description: The high prevalence of food insecurity experienced by northern First Nations partially results from dependence on an expensive import-based food system that typically lacks nutritional quality and further displaces traditional food systems. In the present study, the feasibility of import substitution by Agroforestry Community Gardens (AFCGs) as socio-ecologically and culturally sustainable means of enhancing food security was explored through a case study of Fort Albany First Nation in subarctic Ontario, Canada. Agroforestry is a diverse tree-crop agricultural system that has enhanced food security in the tropics and subtropics. Study sites were selected for long-term agroforestry research to compare Salix spp. (willow)-dominated AFCG plots to a “no tree” control plot in Fort Albany. Initial soil and vegetative analysis revealed a high capacity for all sites to support mixed produce with noted modifications, as well as potential competitive and beneficial willow-crop interactions. It is anticipated that inclusion of willow trees will enhance the long-term productive capacity of the AFCG test plots. As an adaptable and dynamic system, AFCGs have potential to act as a more reliable local agrarian system and a refuge for culturally significant plants in high-latitude First Nation socio-ecological systems, which are particularly vulnerable to rapid cultural, climatic, and ecological change.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to point out some of the main characteristics and critical factors for success that can substantiate the proposal of a differentiation framework for maritime clusters. We conduct a benchmarking analysis intended to distinguish the most relevant aspects which can or should be observed in these types of clusters, applied to the following countries: Spain (Basque Country), Germany (Lander of Schleswig-Holstein), the Netherlands and Norway. The differentiation factors involve agglomeration economies and endogenous conditions derived from geographic proximity, essential for lowering transaction costs, strengthening the leverage of public/private cooperation through centres of maritime excellence, at the same time providing an adequate local environment that favours positive interactions between the different maritime industries and actors. The main results arising from this article are presented through a reconceptualisation of Porter’s Diamond framework for diagnosing the competitiveness of maritime clusters.

Description: The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced during the decommissioning phase of nuclear power plants may have been underestimated in previous assessments, new research suggests. The study estimated that the decommissioning process for a German plant resulted in 1 651 265 tonnes of CO 2 (or equivalent) emissions, or 0.825 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of waste. While the researchers acknowledge that impact is highly dependent on the unique characteristics of each decommissioning project, these results raise questions as to whether this phase has been accurately assessed in earlier research.

Description: From a holistic view, this paper addresses a perspective of coordinated development of economy, society, and environment for regional sustainability assessment. Firstly, a comprehensive indicator system for co-evaluating the level of economic, social, and environmental subsystems is presented based on a holistic understanding of regional sustainability. Then, a coordinated development index model focusing on the level of coordination among the subsystems as well as their comprehensive development level is established. Furthermore, an empirical study of all the provinces and municipalities is conducted by collecting the panel data from 2004 to 2010. The result shows that: (1) the coordinated developments of the most developed and the most underdeveloped regions stay stable while the regions with medium development level possess more fluctuant trends during the study years; (2) regional disparities are indicated according to the grading of CDI (the coordinated development index), which are further analyzed to be related to the local economic development patterns; (3) the conditions and causes of economic, social, and environmental development in real situations under different grades of CDI are discussed through detailed case studies of typical regions, which indicate specific suggestions of sustainable development for regions in the same pattern.

Description: As the largest solid waste (SW) generator in the world, China is facing serious pollution issues induced by increasing quantities of SW. The sustainability assessment of SW management is very important for designing relevant policy for further improving the overall efficiency of solid waste management (SWM). By focusing on industrial solid waste (ISW) and municipal solid waste (MSW), the paper investigated the sustainability performance of SWM by applying decoupling analysis, and further identified the main drivers of SW change in China by adopting Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model. The results indicate that China has made a great achievement in SWM which was specifically expressed as the increase of ISW utilized amount and harmless disposal ratio of MSW, decrease of industrial solid waste discharged (ISWD), and absolute decoupling of ISWD from economic growth as well. However, China has a long way to go to achieve the goal of sustainable management of SW. The weak decoupling, even expansive negative decoupling of ISW generation and MSW disposal suggests that China needs timely technology innovation and rational institutional arrangement to reduce SW intensity from the source and promote classification and recycling. The factors of investment efficiency and technology are the main determinants of the decrease in SW, inversely, economic growth has increased SW discharge. The effects of investment intensity showed a volatile trend over time but eventually decreased SW discharged. Moreover, the factors of population and industrial structure slightly increased SW.

Description: Terra Preta Sanitation (TPS) plays a key role in sustainable sanitation (SuSan) and in the sustainable management of resources such as water, energy, soil (agriculture), liquid and solid organic waste streams as well as in the development of sustainable urban environment and infrastructure systems. This paper discusses the advantages of, and requirements for, SuSan systems, focusing on TPS. Case studies showing the stepwise extension and re-development of conventional sanitation systems (CSS) using TPS technologies and system approaches are presented and discussed. Decentralized TPS systems integrated in sustainable urban resource management were implemented in the German cities of Hamburg and Berlin. The compilation of best practice examples and findings using the newest TPS systems illustrates the immense potential of this approach for the transformation from conventional to SuSan systems. For this purpose, the potential savings of drinking water resources and the recycling potential of nutrient components are quantified. The results strongly suggest the need to encourage the development and application of innovative decentralized sanitation technologies, urban infrastructures, and resource management systems that have TP as a key component.

Description: Native chilies (Capsicum spp.) are currently underutilized in Bolivia, one of this crop’s centers of diversity. Fewer local farmers cultivate native chilies annually due to low market demand. Increasing its private use value can lead to the in-situ conservation of this crop. The objective of the paper is to evaluate the market acceptability of three native chili products: (a) chili marmalade; (b) chili cooking paste; and (c) pickled chilies. Multi-product Becker-DeGroot-Marschak experimental auctions and hedonic tests were conducted with 337 participants in La Paz and Santa Cruz. Data were analyzed using seemingly unrelated regressions. Results suggest that consumers are willing to pay price premiums of about 25–50 percent. Biodiversity conservation and improvements in farmers’ quality of life statements would not have influence on first purchase decisions but rather on repurchase decisions and therefore on consumers’ product loyalty. This in turn could lead to sustainable agro-biodiversity conservation, centered on consumers’ purchase of these products over time.

Description: This study proposes a new concept, green organisational ambidexterity, that integrates green exploration learning and green exploitation learning simultaneously. Besides, this study argues that the antecedents of green organisational ambidexterity are green shared vision and green absorptive capacity and its consequents are green radical innovation performance and green incremental innovation performance. The results demonstrate that green exploration learning partially mediates the positive relationships between green radical innovation performance and its two antecedents—green shared vision and green absorptive capacity. In addition, this study indicates that green exploitation learning partially mediates the positive relationships between green incremental innovation performance and its two antecedents—green shared vision and green absorptive capacity. Hence, firms have to increase their green shared vision, green absorptive capacity, and green organisational ambidexterity to raise their green radical innovation performance and green incremental innovation performance.

Description: By 2070, there may be insufficient water for irrigation to ensure yields and profitability for some crops currently grown in northern Germany - if the IPCC´s worst case climate change scenario becomes a reality - new research warns. To reduce future demand for water under a changing climate, the study suggests that farmers grow different crops and change their management practices.

Description: The future of oyster farming in Europe is threatened by disease. However, a recent study highlights the risk of importing oysters to improve or replace lost stock, as this could accidentally bring further disease and invasive species.

Description: A new mobile phone application which can help monitor traffic-noise exposure is presented in a recent study. The app, ‘2Loud?’, can measure indoor night-time noise exposure and, given large-scale community participation, could provide valuable data to aid urban planning, the researchers say. In an Australian pilot study, nearly half of participants who used the app found that they were exposed to potentially unhealthy levels of night-time noise.

Description: The South Korean government has long been attempting to reduce the nation’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels and increase environmental safety by developing and installing renewable power generation infrastructures and implementing policies for promoting the green growth of Korea’s energy industry. This study focuses on the use of independent renewable power generation systems in the more than 3000 officially affirmed islands off Korea’s coast and proposes a simulated solution to the electricity load demand on Ulleungdo Island that incorporates several energy sources (including solar, batteries, and wind) as well as one hydro-electric and two diesel generators. Recommendations based on the simulation results and the limitations of the study are discussed.

Description: Evaluation of the sustainability of biomass pyrolysis requires a thorough assessment of the product yields and energy densities. With this purpose, a laboratory scale fixed bed reactor (FBR) was adapted from the standard Gray-King (GK) assay test on coal to conduct fixed bed pyrolysis experiments on agricultural and agro-industrial by-products. The present study provides results on the pyrolysis of two types of biomass: chipped olive tree trimmings (OT) and olive pomace (OP). Solid (char) and liquid (tar) product yields are reported. Mass yields are determined and compared with values obtained in similar works. Results indicate that char yield decreases from 49% (OT-db) and 50% (OP-db) at 325 °C to 26% (OT db) and 30% (OP-db) at 650 °C. Tar yield is almost constant (42%) at different reaction temperatures for OT, while it decreases slightly from 42% to 35% for OP. Energy density of the products at different peak temperatures is almost constant for OT (1.2), but slightly increases for OP (from a value of 1.3 to a value of 1.4).

Description: Efficient delivery and precision provision of urban public services concern quality of urban life and urban sustainability. Amid much debate regarding citizen assessments as a policy tool of public services, this study examines the validity of citizen assessments through user assessments of urban green spaces (UGSs) in Guangzhou, China. Users can distinguish the qualities of UGS across the dimensions and types, the assessment of individual UGSs matches the overall assessment of all UGSs in the city as a whole, and the overall assessment is only slightly influenced by personal backgrounds. Findings consistently support user assessments as a policy tool of UGSs and offer empirical evidence on the validity of citizen assessments. This positive evidence will encourage city managers to seriously consider citizen assessments and even institutionalize them as a standard management practice of (specific) urban public services, including UGSs, in China and abroad.

Description: The aim of this study is to analyze the environmental performance of countries and the variables that can influence it. At the same time, we performed a multivariate analysis using the HJ-biplot, an exploratory method that looks for hidden patterns in the data, obtained from the usual singular value decomposition (SVD) of the data matrix, to contextualize the countries grouped by geographical areas and the variables relating to environmental indicators included in the environmental performance index. The sample used comprises 149 countries of different geographic areas. The findings obtained from the empirical analysis emphasize that socioeconomic factors, such as economic wealth and education, as well as institutional factors represented by the style of public administration, in particular control of corruption, are determinant factors of environmental performance in the countries analyzed. In contrast, no effect on environmental performance was found for factors relating to the internal characteristics of a country or political factors.

Description: The relationship between economic growth, expansion of urban land area and the broader issue of cultivated land conversion in China has been closely examined for the late 1980s and 1990s. Much less is known about recent urban expansion and if the effects of economic growth on this expansion have changed over time. This paper updates estimates of urban expansion for China and examines the relationship with city economic growth for 1993–2012. To see if patterns are robust to different types of evidence, administrative data on the area of 225 urban cores are compared to estimates of brightly lit areas from remotely sensed night lights. The trend annual expansion rate in lit area is 8% and was significantly faster in the decade to 2002 than in the most recent decade. Expansion is slower according to administrative data, at just 5% per annum, with no change in unconditional expansion rates between decades, while conditional expansion rates have declined. The elasticity of area with respect to city economic output is about 0.3. Over time, expansion of urban land area is becoming less responsive to the growth of the local non-agricultural population.

Description: In this study a microclimate analysis on a particular urban configuration: the—street canyon—has been carried out. The analysis, conducted by performing numerical simulations using the finite volumes commercial code ANSYS-Fluent, shows the flow field in an urban environment, taking into account three different aspect ratios (H/W). This analysis can be helpful in the study on urban microclimate and on the heat exchanges with the buildings. Fluid-dynamic fields on vertical planes within the canyon, have been evaluated. The results show the importance of the geometrical configuration, in relation to the ratio between the height (H) of the buildings and the width (W) of the road. This is a very important subject from the point of view of “Smart Cities”, considering the urban canyon as a subsystem of a larger one (the city), which is affected by climate changes.

Description: This paper analyzes the differences in the amount and the structure of residential energy consumption at the provincial level in China and identifies the hidden factors behind such differences. The econometrical analysis reveals that population, economic development level, energy resource endowment and climatic conditions are the main factors driving residential energy consumption; while the regional differences in energy consumption per capita and the consumption structure can be mainly illustrated by various economic development levels, energy resource endowments and climatic conditions. Economic development level has a significant positive impact on the proportion of gasoline consumption, whereas its impact on the proportion of electricity consumption is not notable; energy resource endowment and climatic condition indirectly affect both the proportion of electricity consumption and that of gasoline consumption, primarily through their impacts on the proportions of coal consumption and heat consumption.

Description: Urbanization transforms urban-rural landscape and profoundly affects ecological processes. To maintain a sustainable urbanization, two important issues of land-use need to be quantified: the comprehensive variation of urban-rural construction land and the specific models for consolidating these lands. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to assess the change of urban-rural construction land and build a decision-support system for consolidating these lands. Four sub-layers were first built in the assessment framework, including the characteristic layer, the coordination layer, the potential layer and the urgency layer. Each layer encompassed specific indices for evaluating the change of urban-rural construction land in different aspects. The entropy method was then applied to the data resources from Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper) images, statistical data and overall land-use and land consolidation planning of Nantong city in coastal China to allocate weightings to the indices in each sub-layer. Finally, the decision-support system was built based on the assessment results and the degree of importance for consolidating urban and rural construction land, respectively. The results of our study show an overall investigation and quantitative description of the change of urban-rural construction land and provide an effective framework for land consolidation and land use management.

Description: The identification and characterization of particulate matter (PM) concentrations from construction site activities pose major challenges due to the diverse characteristics related to different aspects, such as concentration, particle size and particle composition. Moreover, the characterization of particulate matter is influenced by meteorological conditions, including temperature, humidity, rainfall and wind speed. This paper is part of a broader investigation that aims to develop a methodology for assessing the environmental impacts caused by the PM emissions that arise from construction activities. The objective of this paper is to identify and characterize the PM emissions on a construction site with different aerodynamic diameters (PM2.5, PM10, total suspended particulates (TSP)), based on an exploratory study. Initially, a protocol was developed to standardize the construction site selection criteria, laboratory procedures, field sample collection and laboratory analysis. This protocol was applied on a multifamily residential building construction site during three different construction phases (earthworks, superstructure and finishings) aimed at measuring and monitoring PM concentrations arising from construction activities. The particulate matter was characterized in different particle sizes. Results showed that the higher TSP emissions arising from construction activities provoked environmental impacts. Some limitations to the results were identified, especially with regards the need for a detailed investigation about the influence of different construction phases on PM emissions. The findings provided significant knowledge about various situations, serving as a basis for improving the existing methodology for particulate material collection on construction sites and the development of future studies on the specific construction site phases.

Description: With a unique cultural background and fast economic development, China’s adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become the center of discussion worldwide, and its successful implementation will have great significance for global sustainability. This paper aims to explore how CSR has given way to economic growth in China since the start of economic transition and its cultural, historical and political background, and how this has affected or been affected by the economic performance of firms. Thus, the recent calls for China to adopt CSR in its industries follow a period where the country arguably had one of the strongest implementations of CSR approaches in the world. This transition is considered in the context of a case study of a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) and a group of small private firms in the same industrial sector in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province over a time span of eight years. While the CSR of the SOE has been steadily decreasing along with the change of ownership structure, its economic performance did not improve as expected. On the other hand, with a steady improvement in economic performance, the small private firms are showing a great reluctance to engage in CSR. The results indicate that implementation of CSR in China needs both the manager’s ethical awareness and the change of institutional framework. The results also raise the question as to whether CSR is a universal concept with a desired means of implementation across the developed and developing world.

Description: Interdisciplinary sustainability science teamwork skills are essential for addressing the world’s most pressing and complex sustainability problems, which inherently have social, natural, and engineering science dimensions. Further, because sustainability science problems exist at global scales, interdisciplinary science teams will need to consist of international members who communicate and work together effectively. Students trained in international interdisciplinary science skills will be able to hit the ground running when they obtain jobs requiring them to tackle sustainability problems. While many universities now have sustainability science programs, few offer courses that are interdisciplinary and international in scope. In the fall semester of 2013, we piloted a course for graduate students entitled “Principles of Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research” at Michigan Technological University. This course was part of our United States National Science Foundation Partnerships in International Research and Education project on bioenergy development impacts across the Americas. In this case study, we describe the course development and implementation, share critical insights from our experience teaching the course and student learning outcomes, and give recommendations for future similar courses.

Description: In most emerging economies, there has been many incentives and high availability of funding for low-cost housing projects. This has encouraged product standardization and the application of mass production ideas, based on the assumption that this is the most effective strategy for reducing costs. However, the delivery of highly standardized housing units to customers with different needs, without considering their lifestyle and perception of value, often results in inadequate products. Mass customization has been pointed out as an effective strategy to improve value generation in low-cost housing projects, and to avoid waste caused by renovations done in dwellings soon after occupancy. However, one of the main challenges for the implementation of mass customization is the definition of a set of relevant options based on users’ perceived value. The aim of this paper is to propose a method for defining value adding attributes in customized housing projects, which can support decision-making in product development. The means-end chain theory was used as theoretical framework to connect product attributes and costumers’ values, through the application of the laddering technique. The method was tested in two house-building projects delivered by a company from Brazil. The main contribution of this method is to indicate the customization units that are most important for users along with the explanation of why those units are the most relevant ones.

Description: A fiber optic daylighting system is an evolving technology for transporting illumination from sunlight into building interiors. This system is a solution developed by daylighting designers to reduce operational costs and enhance comfort. As an innovative technology, fiber optic daylighting systems can illuminate building interiors efficiently compared with other daylighting strategies. However, as a transmission medium in daylighting systems, optical fibers require uniform light distribution in sunlight concentration, which could generate heat. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of heat buildup produced by end-emitting fiber optic daylighting systems in tropical buildings. The applied method adopts a new fiber optic daylighting system technology from Sweden called Parans SP3, with a 10 m cable to be tested in an actual room size under the Malaysian climatic environment, particularly within the vicinity of the main campus of the Universiti Sains Malaysia. Results show that the system generated a temperature of 1.3 °C under average conditions through fiber optic diffusers and increases indoor temperature by 0.8 °C in a 60 m3 room. According to the results, applying fiber optic daylighting systems, as renewable energy sources, generates extra heat gain in building interiors in the tropics.

Description: Coastal fisheries contribute to global food security, since fish are an important source of protein for many coastal communities in the world. However, they are constrained by problems, such as weak management of fisheries and overfishing. Local communities perceive that they are fishing less, as in other fisheries in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fisheries sustainability in the Jalisco coast through the fishing footprint, or fishprint (FP), based on the primary productivity required (PPR) and the appropriated surface by the activity (biocapacity). The total catch was 20,448.2 metric tons from 2002–2012, and the average footprint was calculated to be 65,458 gha/year, a figure that quadrupled in a period of 10 years; the biocapacity decreased, and the average trophic level of catches was 3.1, which implies that it has remained at average levels, resulting in a positive balance between biocapacity and ecological footprint. Therefore, under this approach, the fishing activity is sustainable along the coast of Jalisco.

Description: Modern biotechnology, including the application of transgenic techniques to produce Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), can play a significant role in increasing agricultural production in a sustainable way, but its products need to be tailored for the developing world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the capacity to develop GMOs and ensure they meet stringent regulatory requirements is somewhat limited. Most African governments contribute little to science and technology either financially or through strong policies. This leaves the determination of research and development priorities in the hands of international funding agencies. Whereas funding from the United States is generally supportive of GM technology, the opposite is true of funding from European sources. African countries are thus pulled in two different directions. One alternative to this dilemma might be for countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region to develop stronger South-South collaborations, but these need to be supported with adequate funding. African governments as well as external funding agencies are urged to consider the important role that biotechnology, including GM technology, can play in contributing to sustainable development in Africa, and to provide adequate support to the development of capacity to research, develop and commercialize GMOs in the region.

Description: A recent Spanish study has examined the implications of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) related to sustainable development, as well as the role public administrations play in this process. The findings offer ideas that could be included in government policies aimed at promoting social responsibilities and sustainability, especially for SMEs.

Description: A new study has described how agricultural management of the British potato crop has changed over time to reduce several serious threats to food security. It is crucial that an EU plant health policy framework continues to build on these successes to protect against new diseases emerging from expanding global trade and a changing climate.

Description: A new model, named OUTOPIE could help design more effective agri-environmental schemes. The model links the farm, field and landscape levels to allow a more accurate assessment of the costs of enrolling specific fields in conservation schemes. Using the model, the researchers were able to assess the cost-effectiveness of different policies for the conservation of the Little Bustard bird (Tetrax tetrax) in France.

Description: New research has shed light on how fish respond to marine protected areas (MPAs). It suggests that seascape structure – the range of sea depths and habitat types included inside and outside the MPA – has a larger influence on changes in the abundance of fish than protection itself.

Description: Researchers have shown that graphene paper can be used to construct flexible and rechargeable batteries, which may even perform better than non-flexible batteries. These might be used in a range of portable, bendable and rollable devices and could also help develop new energy generation technology, such as flexible solar cells.

Description: Access to water is often described as a basic human right, so rights violations may be committed where corporate activities interfere with individuals' access to water. Water supply is generally the responsibility of government, but recent Dutch research has suggested that corporate social responsibility (CSR) can have a significant impact on the sustainability of freshwater supply in countries with weak governance regimes.

Description: Policies to reduce packaging are effective as long as they remain in place for at least five years and aim for an absolute reduction in packaging volume, experiences from the Netherlands suggest. A study of Dutch packaging policy found that packaging levels fell when such policies were in place, but that the amount of packaging has since risen as policies have become more short-term and focused on reducing packaging levels relative to changes in GDP.

Description: A new study has shown that life expectancy and monetary benefits increase significantly when levels of fine particles are reduced further in European cities. It also reveals that living near busy roads could be responsible for a substantial amount of poor health attributable to air pollution.

Description: Cities are key players in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A new World Bank study has proposed a three-stage plan for mitigating climate change at a local level. Its recommendations include improving urban infrastructure and encouraging lifestyle change, but most importantly, clarity in the way urban GHG inventories are calculated.

Description: The public can help assess the human impact on wild birds through amateur ‘citizen science’ networks, according to new research. Scientists evaluated the suitability of data collected by amateur bird-watchers for long-term monitoring of European bird populations. Their findings suggest that citizen data may significantly improve the accuracy of existing official survey methods, as well as help increase public awareness of wild bird conservation.

Description: Biochar is increasingly mixed into farm soils to improve crop productivity and maintain carbon stocks. However, it can change the way that pesticides applied to the same soil behave, according to a new study. The researchers suggest that farmers may also need to follow new guidelines on pesticide application if they add biochar to their soil.