ALBERT

Description: The paper addresses the sustainability of the European Union’s food consumption through a water footprint assessment of selected vulnerable agricultural imports from a two-pronged perspective: (1) the degree of the EU’s dependence on global green water resources embedded in the apparent consumption of selected water-intensive agricultural products and (2) the degree of commitment of countries of origin to sustainability policies. The study argues that the vulnerability of the EU’s agricultural imports to water risks can be estimated based on the amount of green water consumed in producing crops in the countries of origin. The results show that the EU’s consumption of agricultural goods is highly dependent on virtual water imports for all six selected vulnerable agricultural products, from the lowest footprint for bananas (5 mil. km3) to the largest for coffee (69 mil. km3). The analysis also points to a greater concern for quality issues in the countries of origin (56.53%) relative to management (26.52%) and availability issues (16.85%), but the latter are to arise in importance for sustainable production in the years to come. Our conclusions contribute to building up a responsible commitment towards (1) development of environmental policies and the design of practical measures by providing quantitative information that makes problems more clearly defined and tangible, and (2) assessing the outcome of policies and practical measures by understanding their effects on the sustainability of food consumption.

Description: Residents of nursing homes have been significantly affected by COVID-19 in Spain. The factors that have contributed to the vulnerability of this population are very diverse. In this study, physical agents, chemical pollutants, population density and different capacities of residences were analysed to understand their influence on the number of elderly people who have died in geriatric centres in different autonomous communities (AACCs) of Spain. A statistical analysis was carried out on the variables observed. The results show that many residences with a larger number of deaths were private, with some exceptions. Physical agents and pollutants were found to be determining factors, especially for the communities of Extremadura and Castilla–La Mancha, although the large number of factors involved makes this study complicated. The compromise between air quality and energy efficiency is of great importance, especially when human health is at stake.

Description: In this paper, a new methodology for the assessment of the so-called “acoustic capacity” of a road infrastructure is proposed. This aspect is very important in the field of transportation planning as, currently, road infrastructures are verified only in terms of physical capacity; at most, the environmental capacity due to atmospheric pollutants is taken into account, while the acoustic capacity is completely neglected. The acoustic capacity is assessed based on the Harmonoise model, which is widely recognized at the European level. The Harmonoise model, starting from traffic data, such as traffic flows, average speed, and typologies of vehicles, provides the levels of noise emissions and immissions, which can be compared to the noise limit levels established by law. The validity of the proposed methodology was assessed on a test network. The results of this analysis show that, generally, the acoustic capacity is actually a capacity constraint, which involves several traffic flows: this occurs in particular in the case of an intersection, but also in the case of a bi-directional road. Furthermore, the acoustic capacity of a road infrastructure is generally lower than its physical capacity.

Description: Based on the panel data of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2006–2018, this paper constructed an index system of measuring green urban land use efficiency (green land use efficiency), including input-expected output-unexpected output (input-expected output-unexpected output) and used the unexpected output-SBM model to calculate the green land use efficiency of the region. The spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of urban land green use efficiency in this area were studied by the Dagum Gini coefficient, decomposition, and exploratory spatial data analysis. The results show that (1) the temporal evolution characteristics of green land use efficiency in the whole region of the Yangtze River Delta, provinces (municipalities directly under the central government), and cities all show an upward trend of fluctuation. Among them, the green land use efficiency of the whole region is between 0.258 and 0.377, the gap in the green land use efficiency of the provinces (municipalities directly under the central government) is accelerating, and the green land use efficiency of the cities is gradually advancing to the middle and high efficiency areas. (2) Spatial evolution: On the one hand, the spatial difference in the green use efficiency of urban land in this region is gradually expanding. On the other hand, the green use efficiency of urban land in this region has a significant positive spatial correlation, the agglomeration pattern is dominated by high agglomeration and low agglomeration, and the low high agglomeration is supplemented.

Description: Governance, financing, and business models are deeply interlinked and relevant for the successful implementation of urban nature-based solutions (NBS). However, during the definition of urban NBS projects the importance and interrelation of these models are usually neglected. To overcome this limitation, this paper presents an overarching framework (conceptual and operational) and a derived preselection web tool which interrelate governance, financing, and business models for NBS projects. First, based on recent literature, governance, financing, and business models that could be applied to NBS were mapped, and their integration proposed. Later, key contextual factors influencing NBS implementation were identified. They form the basis of a WHAT–WHO–HOW framework that structures the links between specific NBS projects, their implementation context, and the most suitable models. From that framework, and an analysis of 50 successful NBS case studies, a suitability matrix was developed with known models. The matrix allows pairing types of NBS and their initiating actors with suitable financing and governance models. Lastly, a tailored NBS business model canvas was designed to evaluate the business model components. From the overarching framework, the preselection web tool was created to guide decision-making on suitable governance, finance, and business models in the early phases of NBS projects.

Description: The present paper investigates the performance of a thermoelectric (TE)-based radiant ceiling panel with an additional layer of phase change material (PCM) for building cooling application through numerical and experimental analyses. The design of the ceiling panel consisted of an aluminum sheet with TE modules installed on the back to maintain a relatively low ceiling temperature that provided cooling through radiation and convection. A three-dimensional model was developed in COMSOL Multiphysics, and the system’s performance in several different configurations was assessed. The effect of the number of TE modules, as well as incorporating different amounts of PCM under transient conditions, was investigated for two modes of operation: startup and shutdown. It was shown that for a 609.6 mm × 609.6 mm ceiling panel, the use of four TE modules reduced the average surface temperature down to the comfort range in less than 5 min while producing a relatively uniform temperature distribution across the ceiling panel. It was also shown that the addition of a 2 mm thick PCM layer to the back of the ceiling panel enhanced the system’s performance by elongating the time that it took for the ceiling panel’s temperature to exceed the comfort range when the system shut down ,which in turn reduced the number of on/off cycling of the system. The numerical results demonstrated a good agreement with the experimental data. The results from this study can be used for the optimal design of a TE-based radiant ceiling cooling system as a promising technology for smart buildings.

Description: When considering sustainability from a socioeconomic and environmental point, the South African public transport industry was not an integral part of such planning until the last decade. Various well-intended and well-defined public procurement and environmental regulatory policies and instruments were put in place over the years, however, they appear to be failing in achieving the goals of local job creation and alleviation of unemployment. This exploratory literature review study of various public documents, regulatory instruments, and review reports aims to evaluate current knowledge pertaining to the current level of sustainable transport from a life-cycle approach, in support of overall sustainable goals in South Africa. The research set out to assess the status of public procurement in the revitalising of public rail freight transport towards identifying areas of excellence that could be used to address under-performance in other areas. The documentary analysis found various areas where the public procurement policies within South Africa, which aims to promote local participation, are facing difficulties due to lack of access to modern technology as well as inadequate skills levels to be able to partake in the ventures. In exploring South African challenges and current solutions, the article recommends a holistic and integrated approach to provide for a sustained manufacturing and service supply stream within the local railway transport environment.

Description: China is world renowned for its significant achievements in several fields. China’s economic growth has been prominent, with the country’s GDP ranking second globally. China’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows have been significant, with the country now known as the second largest economy in the world. FDI however does have some negative consequences on China’s environment. While attracting FDI promotes economic growth through industrial upgrading, the deleterious impacts of the latter on the environment cannot be ignored. The current study analyses the actual use of FDI and carbon emissions in China from 1997 to 2018. Quantitative analysis was employed to analyze the trends of FDI and carbon emissions in China as a whole and in the respective regions, namely the eastern, central and western regions. Regression analysis was then conducted to analyze the impact of FDI on carbon emissions in China on the national level and regional levels, i.e., in the eastern, central and western regions. The conclusion of this article is that FDI will play a positive role in China’s overall carbon emissions. The study has important implications for policy. We recommend that the corresponding investment policies need to be formulated according to the different levels of economic development among the regions.

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit organizations and employees in every sector worldwide in unprecedented ways. It became extremely difficult for organizations and employees across sectors to operate under increased mobility restrictions. The pandemic effectively disrupted previous operational models and imbued changes such as telework and digital adoption that are pervasive and may potentially last beyond the pandemic. Amid these circumstances, it was essential to ask how organizations and employees will sustain themselves in the post-COVID-19 ”new normal”. Although so much research is conducted about COVID-19, there is no comprehensive view of the changes at the meso (organizational) and micro (individual) levels. This article aims to explain this using the emergency-learning-institutionalization-new normal (ELIN) framework, which is based on the timeline of the pandemic. The article aims to bring forth the overall trends in how organizations and employees are adapting to the pandemic, the lessons they have learned, and how they will change and adapt in a post-COVID-19 “new normal”. We have analyzed existing policy papers, articles published in business, public administration, nonprofit journals, and other studies to achieve this. We find an increasing trend towards the adoption of telework and digital tools at both meso- and micro-levels. The effective implementation of telework policies and digital transformation plans at the meso-level will ensure the sustainability of organizations and jobs in the new normal. Although these trends vary across sectors and within and across countries, there is an overall increase in the flexibility of organizations and employees in adopting new solutions, making them more open to innovation. The article makes important recommendations for organizations to make these transitions more sustainable in the medium and long term.

Description: In standard district cooling (DC) plants, central chillers produce cold energy for space cooling throughout the district network. In recent times, the integration of the vapor compression system, which includes the functionalities of vapor compression chillers (VCC), and thermal energy storage (TES) tanks in the DC setup, has gained more implementation across the globe. This is due to the possibility of load shifting by using the VCC to produce chilled water for charging the TES tanks during off peak periods. Since the environmental implications of various energy intensive systems are largely determined by the amount of material and energy consumed throughout their life cycle, it is critical to conduct a sustainability assessment of these systems in terms of environmental contributions, and suggest design options to reduce these impacts. A cradle to grave life cycle assessment (LCA) model is created in response to these issues and in order to meet the project’s objectives. The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results of the analysis reveal that the carbon footprint per 1 RTh of the produced chilled water is estimated at 0.72 kg CO2 eq/RTh. The operation phase of the system’s life cycle accounted for the most impact, about 98%, with other life cycle phases having negligible contributions. In substantiating the study’s investigation, the environmental performance based on several design options were discussed and compared to the case study. Among the several scenarios considered, incorporating the Sweden mix technology provided the case study with the most significant environmental savings, of about 94%.