Marko Orošnjak , Nebojša Brkljač , Kristina Ristić
{"title":"Fostering cleaner production through the adoption of sustainable maintenance: An umbrella review with a questionnaire-based survey analysis","authors":"Marko Orošnjak , Nebojša Brkljač , Kristina Ristić","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100095","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100095","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The global industrial sector accounts for about 26%, while manufacturing and construction accounts for about 13% of global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, highlighting the need for sustainable operational strategies. Regulatory frameworks (e.g., GreenDeal, RePowerEU), have placed increasing pressure on manufacturing industries to align their economic productivity practices with sustainable business models. In this context, Sustainable Maintenance (SM) emerged as a strategic approach to reduce resource inefficiencies and minimise environmental waste. Hence, the research on SM is important for two reasons. Firstly, the impact of maintenance activities in reducing energy consumption can be considered one of the main determinants for enhancing the sustainability of manufacturing processes. Secondly, integrating SM practices within the context of Industry 4.0 offers a strategic move in achieving cleaner production and availability of manufacturing processes. However, the lack of research on investigating factors hindering the adoption of these practices within manufacturing entities has been reported. Leveraging Umbrella Review, contemporary research on SM prospects has been examined. Instead of focusing solely on the barriers and enablers, the study uses these factors to describe the existing body of SM research by performing network analysis. Secondly, given that digitalization is a barrier and an enabler, a questionnaire-based survey instrument has been developed. The data obtained from the survey is subjected to statistical testing using Bayes inferential statistics and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The findings suggest strong to extreme evidence (BF<sub>10</sub> > 100) in favour of the existence of a correlation between digitalization (and technology) and maintenance sustainability aspects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100095"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143578261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A review of the implementation of R-imperatives in circular construction","authors":"Pauline Jegen , Lukas Gast , Martin Faulstich","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100097","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100097","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Worldwide, the construction industry has the potential to implement circular economy (CE) principles and transform its practices to reduce the environmental impact of production and use of materials. Thus, numerous studies analysed CE implementations in the construction industry. This work expands the current research by providing insights in the current state of the distribution of R-imperative in articles about circular construction. These represent a series of strategies for the practical implementation of CE principles over the whole lifecycle of a product and range from reuse (R0) to recover (R9). This review paper aims to comprehensively review the current CE research, with a focus on the 9R framework by using systematic literature research. The R-imperatives are employed to analyse which imperatives are emphasized in existing research and at which specific stages in the lifecycle of buildings, building elements, and materials CE measures are applied. The review considers a wide range of literature resulting in analysing 182 articles. To clarify the approaches within the construction industry that align with the 9R strategies, a categorisation system is proposed. As a result, the review highlights the primary focus of circular construction research which has been found to be predominantly on recycling, followed by rethink and reuse. Little evidence of representation of the R-imperatives refuse, reduce, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose and recover was found in the reviewed literature. However, opportunities exist to reduce material demand and carbon footprint through the integration of sufficiency and material efficiency in construction, as suggested by several studies. Consequently, further attention could be directed towards the other R-imperatives, with a particular focus on extending the lifespan of buildings and materials through reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture and repurpose. The findings state that the practical implementation of CE in construction can be facilitated by the use of standardised material passports, stakeholder integration and building information modelling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100097"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143631908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Direction, drivers and design: The driving forces of sustainability policy creation at Canadian universities","authors":"Brandon Dickson","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100096","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100096","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Internationally, pushes for sustainability have come from a variety of actors, and universities have increasingly been seen as important sustainability actors due to their roles in research, education and their large resource consumption. Given this context, it is important to understand how universities shaped their sustainability direction. The aim of this research then was to explore the drivers that result in universities' sustainability direction. In order to do this, interviews were conducted with 16 university sustainability administrators from across Canada to determine the drivers of their sustainability strategy and direction. This research adopted a mixed methods coding procedure to analyse the interviews. Findings include that internal drivers including senior administrators and community members are the most significant drivers of sustainability priority development, and that government legislation has minimal impact on university sustainability priorities. Universities highlight that global governance mechanisms such as ratings are seen as both legitimate and useful, however high-level benchmarks and ranking organizations are often seen as communications tools rather than drivers. This research presents one of the earliest of its kind focused on the drivers of action on sustainability in higher education and shows how policy development takes a unique approach in universities compared with other sectors. These findings are significant to understand how universities are shaping their sustainability direction and to support policy makers and practitioners to guide university sustainability towards meaningful planning and prioritization. Conclusions include a need for future research into the implementation into such policies and a focus on the ‘next generation’ of sustainability priorities in new emerging policies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100096"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143510226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Biophilic Quality Matrix: A tool to evaluate the biophilic quality of a building during early design stage","authors":"Niranjika Wijesooriya , Arianna Brambilla , Lina Markauskaite","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100094","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100094","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biophilic design has gained popularity in recent times that brings multiple benefits to the built environment including the ability to strengthen the weak human-nature connectedness in sustainable building designs. Premised on the notion of biophilia, biophilic design facilitates a sensory experience that could potentially influence psychology, cognition and behaviours. Measuring the biophilic impact and the quality of the design with its sensory experience is a challenge during the early design stages. Therefore, all existing tools developed to measure the biophilic quality, focused on completed projects in the industry. In academic settings design outcome is judged during the early design stage. Hence, the existing tools could not fully support biophilic quality evaluation. To fill this gap this study proposes a Biophilic Quality Matrix, to evaluate the biophilic quality that was developed adopting three techniques of 1) literature synthesis, 2) framework synthesis, and 3) expert knowledge that included a thorough analysing of the current tools. This novel matrix type tool comprises of 10 criteria and 10 intervention scales to capture the sensory experiences that could be adapted in both conventional and sustainable studios. It was developed allowing postgraduate students to use as a self-assessment tool to scaffold learning by facilitating for evaluative judgement. Two sample evaluations are given with a validation by tutors using an interrater rating method with 92% agreement for case 1 and 93% for case 2. The statistical analysis revealed that the Cohen's kappa was .804 for Case 1 and .823 for Case 2, both indicating a strong agreement level by the tutors. Therefore, this new tool can be used in design studios to evaluate the biophilic quality. Further, this matrix contains criteria that is commonly applicable biophilic design allowing to be used in industry for real projects both during design stage and after completion with systematic validation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100094"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143376515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sapta Suhardono , Chun-Hung Lee , Thi Thanh Thuy Phan , I Wayan Koko Suryawan
{"title":"Resident action in smart waste management during landfill disclosure transition: Insights from Yogyakarta's smart city initiatives","authors":"Sapta Suhardono , Chun-Hung Lee , Thi Thanh Thuy Phan , I Wayan Koko Suryawan","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100093","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100093","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Globally, the rise of smart cities underscores the critical role of resident participation in advancing sustainable urban systems, particularly in managing waste during periods of transition. While technological innovations such as sensing and data analytics have garnered attention, the integration of these solutions with social dynamics remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by investigating the dynamics of resident engagement in smart waste management during the transitional phase of landfill closures, using Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as a case study. The research aims to bridge the disconnect between technological advancements and community involvement, emphasizing their interplay in ensuring sustainable outcomes. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, this study integrates advanced computational intelligence with qualitative insights into behavioral drivers. Key elements of the methodological framework include sensing, learning, understanding, and acting, enabling a comprehensive exploration of the technological and human dimensions of waste management. Advanced predictive models analyze patterns in waste generation, optimizing system responsiveness and efficiency, while qualitative data reveal the critical role of education and tailored communication strategies in fostering resident participation. Findings demonstrate that combining cutting-edge technology with community-centric initiatives leads to significant improvements in waste management outcomes. Strategic educational campaigns and adaptive communication tailored to local contexts enhance public engagement and sustainable practices. Furthermore, the study underscores the importance of continuous learning and adaptive management, enabling urban planning frameworks to evolve in response to emerging challenges. This synergy between technology and civic participation is pivotal for the long-term success of smart city initiatives. The novelty of this research lies in its holistic integration of technological solutions and social dynamics, offering a scalable and adaptable model for smart waste management. By emphasizing the importance of adapting universal principles to local contexts, this study provides actionable insights for global smart city strategies, making it a pioneering contribution to urban sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100093"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas van Huyssteen , Djiby Thiam , Sanderine Nonhebel
{"title":"The sustainability of agricultural trade: The case of South Africa","authors":"Thomas van Huyssteen , Djiby Thiam , Sanderine Nonhebel","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100092","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100092","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Trade in agricultural products will be a crucial component of adaptive responses to global food insecurity and ensuring its sustainability is thus crucial. This is particularly important for resource scarce countries because agricultural trade allows for the virtual transfer of the resources required for production. This is important because agricultural production has significant resource requirements as well as substantial environmental, climatic and economic impacts. Assessing the sustainability of agricultural trade has proven to be a complex challenge due to a lack of frameworks available to comprehensively assess it and the ‘silo approach’ to resource management. To combat these problems new frameworks and analysis techniques which account for numerous sectors and impacts need to be developed. The objective of this paper was to provide and utilise such a framework to assess the sustainability of agricultural trade. To do this, the Water-Energy-Food Land-Economy-Climate framework was proposed. The framework was used in combination with a lifecycle analysis approach to assess the sustainability of agricultural trade in South Africa. Despite exporting 25% more agricultural products than they imported, the results showed that the production of South Africa's agricultural imports required 65% more water, 3% more energy, and 44% more land than exports. Further, imports generated 98% more CO₂ and 103% more PO<sub>4</sub> emissions than exports. Finally, South Africa was shown to generate 64% more economic value from their agricultural exports than their imports cost. Overall, the results show that according to the Water-Energy-Food Land-Economy-Climate framework used, and accounting for the South African resource context, the country had a sustainable agricultural trade mix.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100092"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143148043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kent A. Williams , Alexander Davis , Rohan Choudhary , Loretta Baidoo , Joyline Makani , Tony R. Walker , Binod Sundararajan , Mariana Sigala
{"title":"From insight to action: Possible pathways for sustainable futures in a Canadian university","authors":"Kent A. Williams , Alexander Davis , Rohan Choudhary , Loretta Baidoo , Joyline Makani , Tony R. Walker , Binod Sundararajan , Mariana Sigala","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100091","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100091","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of the Thriving Futures 2023 event, which engaged the Dalhousie University (DAL) community located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and residents from the broader Halifax area in exploring inclusive sustainable development pathways. Employing a mixed methods approach that included surveys, video interviews, and expressive arts, the research captures diverse perspectives from students, staff, faculty, and community members. Rooted in a transdisciplinary framework, the event wove together the 17 Rooms methodology with Indigenous and local knowledge systems. Through deep dialogues and collaborative activities focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the event cultivated meaningful engagement. Key findings reveal a strong enthusiasm and readiness within the academic community to advance sustainability efforts, alongside challenges such as limited structural incentives and insufficient university leadership support. This study underscores the critical role of inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration, inclusive leadership, and the integration of sustainability principles into university curricula and operations. By reflecting on the outcomes of Thriving Futures (2023), the research offers actionable strategies for embedding sustainable practices in higher education and contributes to the broader discourse on applying the SDGs in academic contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100091"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antonia Pohlmann , Martin Popowicz , Josef-Peter Schöggl , Rupert J. Baumgartner
{"title":"Digital product passports for electric vehicle batteries: Stakeholder requirements for sustainability and circularity","authors":"Antonia Pohlmann , Martin Popowicz , Josef-Peter Schöggl , Rupert J. Baumgartner","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100090","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100090","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Implementing a Digital Product Passport (DPP) for Electric Vehicle Batteries (EVBs) is crucial for fostering sustainability and circularity within the EVB value chain. While a growing number of related concepts are becoming available, the understanding of DPP-related stakeholder perceptions is limited. Therefore, this study evaluates the information requirements of EVB value chain actors, focusing on the importance, availability, and accessibility of specific information attributes necessary for the DPP. The study follows a mixed-method approach, beginning with qualitative data collection through literature reviews and expert consultations, followed by a survey (n = 46) targeting stakeholders across EVB lifecycle phases and the conduct of an importance-availability analysis. The results cover, firstly, a comprehensive list of 40 information attributes, divided into sustainability and circularity-related information and general information. Secondly, the study reveals the perceived importance and availability of these information attributes through the lens of actors from the Beginning of Line (BoL), End of Life (EoL), and Battery Second Use (B2U) phases. Also, it adds the specific perspectives of individual value chain actors - designers, B2U actors, and recyclers. Thirdly, a ranking of the most important actors for successfully implementing the DPP is presented. The results indicate a critical need for enhanced information availability and accessibility, particularly concerning sustainability and circularity-related data. This study provides theoretical and practical implications for sustainable EVB lifecycle management using DPPs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100090"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andreas Roesch , Mélanie Douziech , Stefan Mann , Jens Lansche , Gérard Gaillard
{"title":"Consequences of the use or absence of life cycle assessment in novel environmental assessment methods and food ecolabels","authors":"Andreas Roesch , Mélanie Douziech , Stefan Mann , Jens Lansche , Gérard Gaillard","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100087","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100087","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecolabels and novel environmental assessment methods are increasingly being used to evaluate the environmental impacts of food items. Some ecolabels build on life cycle assessment, a standardised method for the environmental impact assessment of products over their entire life cycle. The major challenges of life cycle assessment include its complexity in application and result communication, as well as its data intensity. The aim of this study was to compare the methods behind ecolabels to traditional life cycle assessments for evaluating the environmental impacts of food products. To this end, we (1) categorised ecolabels, (2) identified criteria describing the suitability of existing ecolabels in evaluating the environmental impacts of food labels, (3) identified main challenges of the methods underlying ecolabels, and (4) evaluated the challenges based on the criteria to answer the research question. Among the challenges, we found that merging results obtained by different methods, such as life cycle impact assessment and bonus/malus point systems, to build a composite score can risk double counting. Furthermore, certain agricultural production methods are sometimes assumed to be more environmentally friendly than others without evidence. Environmental labels focusing on one or a few selected aspects of sustainability while ignoring other relevant issues can lead to burden shifting and should be avoided. Based on our findings, we conclude that ecolabels help consumers make more sustainable purchasing decisions and create business cases for companies as an incentive to mitigate impacts, while complex research questions should be addressed based on life cycle assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100087"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
John Garvey , Vasilis Grigoriadis , Darragh Flannery , Edward Knapp , Elizabeth Gold , George Hutchinson , Lynn J. Frewer , Paul Brereton , Kenneth A. Byrne
{"title":"Designing financial instruments for land-based ecological restoration: A review and future research Agenda","authors":"John Garvey , Vasilis Grigoriadis , Darragh Flannery , Edward Knapp , Elizabeth Gold , George Hutchinson , Lynn J. Frewer , Paul Brereton , Kenneth A. Byrne","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100089","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2024.100089","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Land restoration requires innovative approaches to prevent ongoing degradation and increase the functionality of land use. While land restoration has been studied extensively from the perspective of ecologists and local communities it is a topic that remains at the periphery of the financial economics literature, despite the global financial system’s centrality to the problem. This paper reviews the literature on financial instruments that are designed for land-based ecological restoration, extracts key learnings from this literature and deploys a functional perspective to better understand how financial instruments that aim to scale up land restoration activities can be mainstreamed within the global financial system. This paper presents a framework that promotes public channels to best direct public and private capital towards land restoration projects. Matching the supply of capital with a pipeline of spatially explicit and sometimes unique restoration solutions requires an architecture that can implement this coordination and aggregation function. This has the potential to mitigate transaction costs and improve transparency issues associated with monitoring and reporting. This framework is illustrated for an actual land restoration program underway in Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100089"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143147973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}