Tabea Engelfried , Stefano Cucurachi , George Lavidas
{"title":"Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter","authors":"Tabea Engelfried , Stefano Cucurachi , George Lavidas","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Harnessing wave energy from the oceans using wave energy converters (WECs) offers a huge opportunity to diversify Europe's future renewable energy system. Although the energy conversion of this pre-commercial technology is not directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability over the full life cycle needs to be ensured for a future-proof large-scale application of WECs. Therefore, we present a cradle-to-grave full life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a generic point absorber WEC based on a fully transparent and adaptable life cycle inventory. Within the study we assess the environmental impacts of a single point absorber device, the influence of different hull materials, hotspots in the impacts of WEC components, and variations induced by different deployment locations. For a WEC deployed in the North Sea, we found a global warming impact of 300-325<em>gCO</em><sub>2</sub><em>eq./kWh</em> with periphery and 52-77<em>gCO</em><sub>2</sub><em>eq./kWh</em> without periphery, depending on the hull material. Using an alternative fibre-reinforced concrete material for the hull can reduce the impact across all categories by between 10% (marine eutrophication) and 78% (human toxicity, carcinogenic). In addition to the WEC itself we found that the electrical cable and vessel operations, particularly for maintenance, are significant contributors. These two elements will also be relevant to other marine renewables such as offshore wind and floating solar. Overall, this study shows potential for improving environmental impacts from WECs and identifies possible levers to achieve such a reduction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100265"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143519322","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}
Carla Zarbà, Roberta Maria Gravagno, Gaetano Chinnici, Alessandro Scuderi
{"title":"A systematic review of the SAFA framework in the literature: An approach to assess sustainability in agri-food systems","authors":"Carla Zarbà, Roberta Maria Gravagno, Gaetano Chinnici, Alessandro Scuderi","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100267","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100267","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The <em>Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems</em> (SAFA) represents a comprehensive global framework for the assessment of sustainability performance across food and agriculture value chains. Its key feature is its holistic approach to sustainability, which encompasses the environmental, economic, and social dimensions in conjunction with the governance aspects. With the aim of identifying a sustainability assessment model to be applied in the Italian agri-food system, the SAFA method was evaluated as a possible application, examining its characteristics at different stages of the supply chain. At this scope, a systematic literature review was conducted employing the <em>Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses</em> (PRISMA) protocol. The results revealed that the SAFA approach, which is characterised by a more qualitative assessment, has been met with particular approval by the scientific community. It offers an intriguing contribution to the discourse on sustainability in agri-food systems, effectively integrating all relevant elements. It would be interesting to apply SAFA to assess diverse sectors of the Italian agri-food system, so as to further test the potential of this framework in detecting the commitment to sustainability of the producers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100267"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143488583","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}
Nannan Zhang , Stewart Ledgard , Shelley Falconer , Jiafa Luo , Lin Ma , Zhaohai Bai
{"title":"Implications of environmental constraints and opportunities on livestock production and emissions: New Zealand as a case study","authors":"Nannan Zhang , Stewart Ledgard , Shelley Falconer , Jiafa Luo , Lin Ma , Zhaohai Bai","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New Zealand (NZ) is an important global exporter of various livestock products, however its potential for production is being constrained by environmental restrictions. The aim of this study was to explore future pathways for NZ livestock (dairy, beef, and sheep) production from grazed pastures, which includes changes in land use, GHG mitigations, increased dairy-beef and net carbon neutrality. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to determine national level environmental impacts of livestock production in NZ. Carbon, reactive nitrogen (Nr) and Eutrophication Potential (EP) footprints on a total production basis at national level from livestock systems could be decreased by 39%, 36% and 30%, respectively. Achieving net carbon neutrality of all livestock production with a multiple mitigation scenario gave corresponding emission reductions of 41% for Nr and 36% for EP, requiring afforestation of 0.9 Mha of sheep and beef land. However, transitioning to carbon neutrality for all production reduced total livestock protein production by 7% for current systems and by 21% for the mitigation scenario compared to no carbon neutrality changes. In contrast, increased integration of dairy-derived beef increased national livestock protein production by 3%. Optimized livestock production through greater dairy beef integration and use of multiple mitigations offers the most promising pathway for low environmental-impact livestock production in NZ. However, this should aim at minimizing effects on livestock production due to the large impact on global food exports, while higher value or premiums for low environmental-impact products will be important to encourage changes to meet the environmental constraints.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100266"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143437472","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}
Rosaria Volpe , Adriano Bisello , Andreas Tuerk , Francesco Guarino , Emanuela Giancola , Maria Nuria Sanchez , Giovanni Tumminia , Elisa Marrasso , Giovanna Pallotta , Emanuele Cutore , Maurizio Cellura , Alberto Fichera , Sonia Longo , Carlo Roselli , Maurizio Sasso , Xiaojin Zhang , Ilaria Marotta , Alberto Brunetti , Roberta Rincione , Francesco Reda
{"title":"Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review","authors":"Rosaria Volpe , Adriano Bisello , Andreas Tuerk , Francesco Guarino , Emanuela Giancola , Maria Nuria Sanchez , Giovanni Tumminia , Elisa Marrasso , Giovanna Pallotta , Emanuele Cutore , Maurizio Cellura , Alberto Fichera , Sonia Longo , Carlo Roselli , Maurizio Sasso , Xiaojin Zhang , Ilaria Marotta , Alberto Brunetti , Roberta Rincione , Francesco Reda","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research delves into the environmental impact assessment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), focusing on comparative analyses of methodologies, key performance indicators, and an array of both theoretical and practical case studies. The literature review uncovers the strengths and weaknesses inherent current evaluation practices. The study reveals critical gaps in current assessment frameworks, particularly regarding the application to PEDs. It highlights the necessity for a holistic approach to PED evaluation, incorporating diverse energy sources and consumption patterns to fully understand their impact. The research advocates for the integration of multiple environmental factors in terms of innovative design and technology in PEDs, tailored to enhance both functionality and sustainability. It calls for the development of standardized guidelines and the learning from successful implementations to ensure the resilience and effectiveness of PEDs over time. Thus, this review paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on PEDs, offering insights and recommendations for future developments in this critical area of sustainable urban and energy planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100264"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143419156","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}
Anna Pražanová , Michael Fridrich , Jan Weinzettel , Vaclav Knap
{"title":"Gate-to-gate life cycle assessment of lithium-ion battery recycling pre-treatment","authors":"Anna Pražanová , Michael Fridrich , Jan Weinzettel , Vaclav Knap","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is critical for enhancing environmental sustainability and resource conservation; however, the environmental and energy impacts of LIB recycling are not yet comprehensively understood due to the diverse applications of LIB cells and the variability in recycling technologies. This study presents a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of a recycling pre-treatment process at a small-scale plant in the Czech Republic, focusing on spent LIBs from electric vehicles (EVs) and consumer electronics cells (CECs). Using the SimaPro LCA software and the Ecoinvent 3.9 database, the analysis evaluated the environmental impact of recycling operations across several categories, including climate change, eutrophication, freshwater, and resource use, minerals and metals. The findings reveal that the recycling pre-treatment process for CECs achieves greater benefits in climate change mitigation compared to EV batteries, with a 5% lower impact for climate change associated with EV batteries relative to CECs. Moreover, the study highlights the effectiveness of optimized recycling practices in alleviating environmental burdens. A notable finding is the significance of secondary material recovery, particularly metals such as copper and aluminium, as these materials can substitute for primary raw materials, thereby minimizing resource use and reducing emissions. These aspects emphasize the need for high recovery efficiency to enhance environmental benefits. However, further research is essential to fully comprehend the environmental impacts of LIB recycling and to resolve uncertainties concerning battery composition and the effectiveness of different recycling technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100263"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093621","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}
Claudia Quitmann , Leonard Terres , Andy Maun , Rainer Sauerborn , Emma Reynolds , Till Bärnighausen , Alina Herrmann , Bernd Franke
{"title":"Assessing greenhouse gas emissions in hospitals: The development of an open-access calculator and its application to a German case-study","authors":"Claudia Quitmann , Leonard Terres , Andy Maun , Rainer Sauerborn , Emma Reynolds , Till Bärnighausen , Alina Herrmann , Bernd Franke","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100262","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100262","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hospitals are major contributors to climate change. It is therefore essential to identify the main sources of hospitals’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to develop and monitor mitigation measures. Yet, a transparent and comprehensive hospital-specific GHG accounting methodology is currently lacking. We have developed a hybrid methodology that follows the <em>GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard</em> to calculate emissions. We used bottom-up approaches to scope 1 and 2 and, where feasible, to scope 3. Due to data scarcity, we used top-down approaches for several scope-3-categories. As a case study demonstration, we applied this methodology to a German university hospital: Scope 3 accounted for the majority of GHG emissions (164,529 t CO<sub>2</sub>e (71%)), while scopes 1 (6008 t CO<sub>2</sub>e (3%)) and 2 (60,565 t CO<sub>2</sub>e (26%)) contributed less. Methodological challenges remain, such as a limited accuracy and monitoring options for top-down approaches. Nonetheless, this case study demonstrates that the developed methodology supports hospitals in measuring GHG emissions as part of their regulatory requirements and responsibility to safeguard planetary health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100262"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093618","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":"Life cycle assessment and material flow analysis of road and rail infrastructure assets – A critical review","authors":"Soroosh Ataee , André Stephan","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Transport infrastructure assets are essential for society, but they also usually result in significant environmental effects. To assess and reduce these effects, various methods such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) have been applied to transport infrastructure assets. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current research on the application of LCA and MFA to transport infrastructure assets, focusing on energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Considering 640 publications, the paper identifies the aims and drivers of the studies, the scope and boundaries of transport infrastructure assets, tools and data sources used for LCA and MFA, and the key findings and limitations of previous studies and models. The paper also highlights the research gaps and future research directions, such as integrating LCA and MFA, expanding the scope of transport infrastructure assets considered, improving the data quality and availability, and addressing the uncertainties and trade-offs in the assessment. The paper aims to provide a critical overview of the state-of-the-art methods and knowledge on the environmental assessment of TIA, and to suggest ways to improve the performance of TIA in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100259"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093622","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}
Song Ge , Conan O'Ceallaigh , Patrick J. McGetrick
{"title":"A review of best international life cycle assessment (LCA) practices in wood construction: Challenges for Ireland","authors":"Song Ge , Conan O'Ceallaigh , Patrick J. McGetrick","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Under the dual pressure of carbon-neutral commitments by 2050 and increasing housing demands, the Irish construction industry is responsible for a 50% reduction in carbon emissions relative to 2018 levels. Timber has been identified as an excellent material choice for embodied carbon reduction. However, the widespread adoption of timber in construction is limited by several factors, including established practices and supply chains, and lack of public policy and incentives to quantify and reduce embodied carbon. The latter needs to be supported by accurate quantitative life cycle assessment (LCA). To identify gaps and challenges faced by LCA development for timber construction, this paper reviews various up-to-date Irish and international LCA practices. At the product level, 26 environmental product declaration (EPD) databases and 35 EPDs covering five wood product types are analysed. At the building level, 29 national and international building LCA methodologies worldwide are compared. Due to varying availability of Irish-customised data, disparities exist between the lifecycle inventory data used in current Irish timber product EPDs and other Irish-focused statistics. The challenges identified include a lack of mandatory regulations on embodied carbon disclosure and thresholds, a limited number of wood product EPDs in Ireland, and incomplete lifecycle inventory data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100260"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143094095","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":"Life cycle assessment of aquaculture production in Greece","authors":"Evangelos Kallitsis , Pavlos Avramidis","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment of aquaculture, focusing on gilthead seabream, European seabass, meagre, and red seabream within the Greek industry, a major producer in the EU with a 131,250 tonne output in 2021. Data were sourced from Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organisation members, representing about 20% of the Greek market, covering the entire production chain including hatcheries, farms, and packaging facilities. The system boundaries were expanded compared to preceding literature to include fry production based on primary data in addition to feed production, fish rearing, and packaging. Environmental impacts were assessed across nine impact categories, with global warming potentials ranging from 2,270 to 4,161 kg CO<sub>2</sub>-eq per tonne for gilthead seabream and red seabream, respectively. Fish feed and fry production were significant contributors to most impact categories, except eutrophication, which was dominated by rearing. Key parameters causing inter-species variations were the feed conversion ratio and juvenile input. The study also contributes detailed inventory tables for the foreground system, covering production and packaging stages. The findings highlight how actions across the Greek aquaculture production chain could mitigate environmental impacts, in addition to providing a comprehensive dataset to enhance methodological rigor in future Mediterranean aquaculture LCA studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100261"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093617","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}
Sven Winter , Niklas Quernheim , Lars Arnemann , Phillip Bausch , Nicholas Frick , Joachim Metternich , Benjamin Schleich
{"title":"Using the Integral Digital Twin for Product Carbon Footprint calculation","authors":"Sven Winter , Niklas Quernheim , Lars Arnemann , Phillip Bausch , Nicholas Frick , Joachim Metternich , Benjamin Schleich","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainable product development and manufacturing rely heavily on digital technology, as evaluating sustainability metrics requires the systematic gathering and organization of information throughout the product life cycle (PLC). A suitable technology to utilize the potential for sustainability improvement of products is the Digital Twin (DT). This paper introduces the concept of the Integral Digital Twin (IDT) in the context of ecological sustainability as a central data space and application hub for data-driven sustainability. It integrates horizontal communication with clients and suppliers and vertical communication within a company's information systems. The IDT incorporates data generated at various product life phases, providing interfaces for integrating external and the creation of internal eco-databases, along with sustainability metrics calculation tools. Central to this framework is the data model, facilitating the management and distribution of sustainability-relevant data within the IDT. The proposed concept adds value by integrating sustainability assessment in the form of the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) into DT technology, establishing a dedicated data space within the IDT for this purpose. The novelty of the approach lies in the linking of different DT and software systems across several PLC phases, enabling holistic sustainability management for different perspectives such as product or factory level perspectives. The data model of the IDT provides a basis for an interoperable and seamless data exchange of sustainability relevant data such as the PCF across all stakeholders in the PLC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100258"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093619","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}