Cleaner Production Letters最新文献

{"title":"The quest for more circular battery value chains: Implementing the EU digital battery passport and remaining challenges","authors":"Riccardo Losa ,&nbsp;Stina Torjesen","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100118","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100118","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital technologies have been increasingly adopted to facilitate the adoption of circular economy. A prominent example is the Digital Product Passport (DPP), designed to enhance product sustainability by collecting and disclosing comprehensive lifecycle information. International efforts toward the DPP include systems in the US, EU and China which leverage digital technologies to enhance products traceability, circularity, and sustainability across various industries. A DPP for batteries (DBP - Digital Battery Passport) is currently being implemented under the EU Battery Regulation and is entering into force in the European market in February 2027. Past studies have examined DPPs’ data requirements, principles, and challenges, but few have assessed their effectiveness in fostering circularity, and none have evaluated their role in the development of a circular battery sector in Europe. This study explored whether DBP’s potential circularity benefits are valid or compromised by implementation challenges and practical limitations. 35 industry stakeholders were interviewed, and literature and policy documents reviewed. The findings indicated that the DBP supports the emergence of circular battery value chains and facilitates both re-use and recycling. However, while data for recycling is easier to provide, the information needed for re-use is seen by stakeholders as posing availability and intellectual property challenges. This ties in with additional biases in the EU Battery Regulation that potentially favor recycling (i.e., targets for recycled content and recovered materials). Facilitating recycling over re-use is sub-optimal from an environmental perspective, and the article suggested a set of solutions to the DBP’s challenges, including for the recycling bias.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100118"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing corporate accountability: The role of SDGs disclosure and stakeholder pressure in improving labour and human rights performance in the global automotive industry","authors":"Woon Leong Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100120","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100120","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The global automotive industry faces growing scrutiny over labour and human rights practices amid rising sustainability demands. This study investigates how Sustainable Development Goals-related disclosures influence labour and human rights performance and the moderating role of stakeholder pressure. Using data from international automotive firms (2016–2022) and System Generalized Method of Moments analysis, the findings suggest that comprehensive disclosures are associated with improved performance, but overly focused disclosures may be counterproductive. Stakeholder pressure tends to amplify positive effects from disclosure depth and breadth while exacerbating negative effects from concentration. The study highlights the need for balanced disclosures to boost corporate accountability and ethical practices, offering insights for managers and policymakers to align strategies with sustainability goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100120"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145693431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stakeholder analysis for carbon-storing magnesium carbonates value chain development","authors":"Sudeep Parajuli ,&nbsp;Jukka Majava ,&nbsp;Paivo Kinnunen ,&nbsp;Harri Haapasalo ,&nbsp;Ron Zevenhoven","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100107","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100107","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbon-storing magnesium carbonate produced from large-scale CO₂ mineralization captures and stores CO₂, presenting a promising solution to mitigate climate change issues. There is a gap between technology development and the development of the industrial ecosystem due to the lack of research on stakeholder analysis. This study aims to bridge the gap by describing the value chain of the carbon-storing magnesium carbonate development project and identifying and analysing key stakeholders, their roles, and requirements using a qualitative research approach and adopting qualitative content analysis method. This study conducts stakeholder analysis through semi-structured interviews with industry stakeholders and research organisations based in Finland. The stakeholders are classified based on their roles, influence along the value chain, and importance. The findings show that research organisations and industry actors are the primary stakeholders in the value chain, while customers, investors, and technology providers are the secondary stakeholders. The findings show that the government is classified as a tertiary stakeholder, and other stakeholders, including media, NGOs, and the public, fall under the extended stakeholders’ group. This study also provides the typologies of stakeholder requirements. The findings highlight the importance of stakeholder analysis in developing a sustainable value chain for carbon-storing magnesium carbonate production. The study offers practical insights for policymakers, industry leaders, research organisations, and other stakeholders looking to align technology development with market needs, facilitating the transition to greener solutions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100107"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forest conservation in the climate Era: Examining the environmental Kuznets curve across development pathways","authors":"Yavuz Selim Balcıoğlu ,&nbsp;Abdullah Kürşat Merter ,&nbsp;Turhan Karakaya","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100117","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100117","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Global forest area declined by approximately 178 million hectares between 1990 and 2020 despite international conservation commitments. Meanwhile, forests continue to sequester approximately 2.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually while providing essential ecosystem services critical for climate regulation and biodiversity conservation. Traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve models employing income-based development proxies have proven inadequate for capturing the complex interplay between development pathways, renewable energy transitions, and forest conservation outcomes, particularly as nations pursue economic growth while implementing Paris Agreement commitments. This investigation addresses critical theoretical and empirical gaps by reconceptualizing the Environmental Kuznets Curve specifically for forest conservation, demonstrating that contemporary forest dynamics exhibit a modified tripartite pattern contingent upon policy integration and renewable energy transitions rather than following deterministic income-based trajectories predicted by traditional formulations. The research employs a comprehensive panel dataset covering 19 major economies representing diverse development trajectories across high-income developed countries, upper-middle income economies, and lower-middle income countries over the period 2000–2024. The methodological approach consists of three stages including cross-sectional analysis establishing baseline Environmental Kuznets Curve relationships, fixed-effects panel regression examining temporal dynamics while controlling for country-specific heterogeneity, and trajectory classification using cluster analysis to identify distinct development-conservation pathways, with comprehensive robustness checks employing alternative development indicators and sensitivity analysis. The empirical analysis reveals that early development countries with less than 5 tons carbon dioxide per capita exhibit paradoxical forest degradation averaging negative 2.37 percent, middle development countries with 5–12 tons per capita demonstrate optimal conservation performance with positive 1.24 percent forest expansion, and advanced economies with greater than 12 tons per capita achieve modest gains of 0.67 percent. The investigation documents pronounced synergistic relationships between renewable energy deployment and forest conservation with a correlation coefficient of 0.425, whereby forest-gaining nations exhibit renewable energy growth rates averaging 12.4 percent compared to 0.6 percent among forest-losing countries, while China's 5.0 percent forest expansion and India's 2.5 percent gains empirically demonstrate that strategic policy interventions and integrated climate-energy-forest governance frameworks enable countries to transcend deterministic development-environment tradeoffs. These findings necessitate fundamental recalibration of international climate financing toward comprehensive policy frameworks prioritizing ins","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100117"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prioritizing, integrating, and communicating sustainability to prevent social washing","authors":"Behzad Maleki Vishkaei ,&nbsp;Esli Spahiu ,&nbsp;Pietro De Giovanni","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nowadays, companies are under increasing pressure to adopt social sustainability programs to effectively respond to both stakeholder expectations and new policies. Social sustainability plays a critical role in shaping ethical operations, inclusive workplaces, and long-term corporate legitimacy. However, compared to the environmental aspect, more research is needed to discover new and effective paths for properly embedding social sustainability into business practices. Accordingly, this paper analyses how companies prioritize and assess social sustainability practices, how they integrate such practices into their corporate strategy, and how effectively they communicate the social commitments to the stakeholders. These objectives are pursued by adopting both qualitative and quantitative methodologies and analyzing 208 Italian companies. The findings reveal that companies prioritize five sustainable development goals, specifically: decent work, health and well-being, gender equality, quality education, and reduced inequality. These dimensions are frequently verified through external certifications and awards. At the same time, the integration of social sustainability into the corporate strategy requires several soft skills in addition to adaptability, flexibility, and responsiveness. Moreover, many companies communicate their social sustainability through reports, official websites, and social media, facilitating stakeholder awareness; hence, stakeholders can be effectively engaged through structured surveys, interviews, and meetings. Finally, to ensure credibility and avoid social washing, companies employ internal audits, adopt international standards, and invest in transparency tools to assess their social impact.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100114"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145527985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing air quality improvements during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: A case for sustainable urban management","authors":"Jie Gao ,&nbsp;Markus Lang ,&nbsp;Yiyi Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100116","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100116","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Air pollution remains one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing rapidly urbanizing regions worldwide, threatening public health and sustainable development. Mega-sporting events like the Olympic Games often lead to increased environmental regulation, creating a rare opportunity to implement large-scale air quality management measures. However, whether these short-term interventions result in long-term improvements in urban air quality remains an open question. This study examines whether the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games served as a catalyst for long-term improvements in air quality. Using an event study method, monthly Air Quality Index data were analyzed to estimate pollution levels that would have occurred without the Games, along with a review of policy documents detailing event-specific environmental measures. The findings indicate that air quality significantly improved from March to December 2021, with positive effects lasting up to eight months after the Olympics. These improvements resulted from a combination of targeted emission controls, transition to cleaner energy sources, and strict enforcement measures. The findings indicate that well-designed and consistently enforced environmental policies implemented during mega-events can produce lasting benefits for urban air quality. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers and event organizers aiming to use global sporting events to promote sustainable urban management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100116"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychological drivers of Sustainability: Examining happiness and progress toward the SDGs","authors":"Yimei Man","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100103","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100103","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainability is a global imperative, yet the role of human psychology in shaping progress toward sustainable development remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between psychological factors – specifically life satisfaction and happiness – and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Utilising data from the World Happiness Index (WHI) and the 17 SDGs across 131 countries from 2011 to 2021, this research explores how subjective well-being influences national progress toward sustainable development. Using Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares to address serial correlation and endogeneity, the analysis reveals that higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness are positively associated with progress on socioeconomic sustainable goals, but are insignificantly or negatively correlated with environmental sustainable goals. These findings highlight the dual role of human psychology in advancing sustainable development: while fostering societal well-being drives progress on certain goals, it can pose challenges for environmental objectives. Policymakers should incorporate psychological dimensions into sustainability frameworks to better align human motivations with the achievement of sustainable goals, fostering an approach that balances well-being with environmental stewardship.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100103"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144749723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bridging the circularity measurement gap: An integrated framework for modeling aligned with sustainable development goals","authors":"Emad Alzubi ,&nbsp;Saad Aldarazi ,&nbsp;Hanaa Abdul Fattah ,&nbsp;Rumeysa Beytekin ,&nbsp;Muhammad Fakhruriza Pradana","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100109","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100109","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transition to circular economy (CE) is essential for addressing global challenges like resource scarcity and climate change. However, measuring circularity is complex due to the need to integrate environmental, economic, and social dimensions. This paper proposes a novel interdisciplinary framework that combines bibliometric analysis and system dynamics (SD) modeling to overcome this challenge. First, a bibliometric analysis of over 350 engineering studies identifies system dynamics as an emerging trend for CE assessment. Building on this, a system dynamics model is developed and applied to electronic waste supply chains, one of the world's fastest-growing waste streams. The model dynamically evaluates four key circularity indicators: carbon footprint, cost reduction index, job creation rate, and virgin material use. The results demonstrate the framework's ability to quantify significant benefits: a potential reduction of 160 million tons of CO₂e emissions, a threefold decrease in long-term costs compared to linear systems, and positive net job creation ratio of about 0.01 per ton collected. Furthermore, the framework is explicitly designed to track progress toward key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 12 (responsible consumption), SDG 8 (decent work), and SDG 13 (climate action). This research provides policymakers and businesses with a robust decision-support tool to simulate long-term impacts, prioritize high-value interventions, and balance trade-offs across sustainability dimensions, offering a actionable pathway toward resource-efficient economies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100109"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145332575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Carbon balance in coffee farming: A life cycle case study of conservationist versus conventional systems","authors":"Gabrielli Martinelli ,&nbsp;Everton Vogel ,&nbsp;Régio Márcio Toesca Gimenes ,&nbsp;Carla Eloize Carducci ,&nbsp;Daiane Pereira de Souza ,&nbsp;Clandio Favarini Ruviaro","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100106","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100106","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global warming, primarily driven by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, represents one of the major environmental challenges of our time. Agriculture plays a dual role in this context, as both a significant emitter and a potential carbon sink. Coffee cultivation, spread across more than 70 countries, increasingly demands the integration of productivity and sustainability. While conservation-oriented agricultural practices offer promising mitigation strategies, their application in coffee systems, particularly in key producing countries, remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess and compare greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration between a Conservationist Production System and a Conventional Production System in coffee farming in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. To this end, Life Cycle Assessment was applied, focusing on the Global Warming Potential category. The Conservationist System emitted 1.21 kg CO₂-eq per functional unit, significantly lower than the 3.21 kg CO₂-eq observed in the Conventional System. Both systems demonstrated negative net carbon balances, confirming their roles as carbon sinks: −560.78 kg CO₂-eq for the Conservationist System and −430.86 kg CO₂-eq for the Conventional System. Superior performance of the Conservationist System is attributed to practices such as intercropping with <em>Urochloa decumbens</em> and the incorporation of organic residues. These results emphasize the relevance of integrating such practices into sustainable coffee production and highlight their potential contribution to carbon credit mechanisms and environmental certification initiatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145048754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does forest management certification halt forest loss at country level? A global analysis","authors":"Saskia Dröge ,&nbsp;Charline Depoorter ,&nbsp;Axel Marx ,&nbsp;Bart Muys","doi":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100104","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.clpl.2025.100104","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forests play a vital role in regulating the global climate, supporting biodiversity, and sustaining the livelihoods of approximately 1.6 billion people. However, unsustainable forest management continues to drive widespread forest loss. Certification schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) evolved to promote sustainable forestry practices, yet evidence of their effectiveness in reducing deforestation and forest degradation remained inconclusive. This study employed generalised additive models to assess whether increased FSC and PEFC certification coverage was associated with reduced permanent and temporary forest loss, using annual data from 2005 to 2019 across more than 113 countries while controlling for other drivers of forest change. No significant association between certification coverage and forest loss reduction was found at the country level. These findings were limited by the lack of publicly available data on certified forests at high spatial resolution and the use of aggregated country-level certification coverage, which might obscure regional (sub-country) effects. Improved transparency and finer-scale data are needed for more definitive assessments of certification's impact. Furthermore, for achieving global goals such as halting deforestation by 2030, additional strategies beyond voluntary certification are needed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100255,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Production Letters","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100104"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144749797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}