Cleaner Environmental Systems最新文献

{"title":"Attributional life cycle assessment of recycling and disposal strategies for construction and demolition waste","authors":"Qudsia Kanwal ,&nbsp;Guochang Xu ,&nbsp;Ziad Gari ,&nbsp;Ream S. Alhusainan ,&nbsp;Sami G. Al-Ghamdi","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100283","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100283","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The management of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) poses significant environmental challenges in Saudi Arabia, exacerbated by rapid urbanization and the Giga Projects under Vision 2030. This study presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of CDW management practices across seventeen municipalities, providing the first region-specific evaluation of environmental impacts using comprehensive data. By integrating primary and secondary data from local sources, Ecoinvent 3.91, and GaBi Sphera, the study evaluates key CDW disposal methods: sanitary landfilling, incineration, and recycling. The findings reveal that advanced recycling infrastructure (e.g., compactor trucks, recycling facilities) significantly reduces non-renewable energy use, Global Warming Potential (GWP), and downstream emissions, particularly in high CDW-generating regions like Riyadh and Jeddah. Notably, recycling achieves a GWP reduction of up to 75 million kg CO₂-eq annually for key materials like mixed soil and concrete. Furthermore, the study contributes to global CDW management literature by presenting a replicable LCA framework that can be applied to other rapidly urbanizing economies facing similar waste management challenges. This framework offers valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers seeking to develop sustainable CDW management strategies aligned with circular economy principles and international sustainability goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"18 ","pages":"Article 100283"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144134955","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":"A systems approach to circular economy transition: Creating causal loop diagrams for the Icelandic building industry","authors":"Agusta Thora Jonsdottir ,&nbsp;Lara Johannsdottir ,&nbsp;Brynhildur Davidsdottir","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100276","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100276","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The circular economy is high on the political agenda as a solution to minimize raw material use and carbon footprints across socio-economic systems. Each country must follow its path to achieving circularity, and businesses must seek new types of sustainable and circular business models. This study aims to analyze the Icelandic building industry as a case study from a systems perspective to identify the systemic forces influencing the adoption of circular business models. The study formulates dynamic hypotheses regarding implementing circular strategies, represented as causal loop diagrams (CLDs). Following qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and group model building. The dynamic hypotheses proposed to explain the system's internal behavior that drives its dynamic around four critical problems: 1) Lack of the snowballing effect. 2) Lack of regulatory policies for improving environmental performance. 3) Lack of public demand for implementing circular strategies. And 4) A conservative culture within the industry. The study identifies a gap in the literature by highlighting the need to examine the dynamics between barriers in implementing circular strategies during the transition toward a circular economy rather than analyzing them in isolation. Its theoretical contribution lies in advancing the understanding of complex dynamics, enriching transition theory as it applies to circular economy transition. This approach also reinforces the business case for sustainability while aligning with stakeholder theory, offering a more holistic perspective on enabling systemic change. The study provides business leaders and policymakers with an analysis identifying actionable recommendations for regulatory reforms, supporting the transition toward a circular economy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100276"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143917770","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":"Embedding sustainability in higher education institutions: A review of practices and challenges","authors":"Samhita Ankareddy ,&nbsp;Gregor Dorfleitner ,&nbsp;Lin Zhang ,&nbsp;Yong Sik Ok","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100279","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100279","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Higher education institutions (HEIs) contribute to society and the planet by producing future implementers of sustainability, addressing the climate crisis, and promoting nature-positive actions through research. Despite their positive contributions, given the total number of HEIs globally, and the scale at which they operate, their environmental footprint negatively impacts the environment. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) alone were insufficient to integrate sustainability in HEIs without initiatives by universities and non-profits. An analysis of the past and current state of sustainability integration in HEIs reveals a disparity in sustainability reporting and rankings between the Global North and Global South. Furthermore, the number of universities participating in sustainability reporting and rankings is significantly low. Sustainability in HEIs must extend beyond curriculum and research, requiring standardized reporting frameworks, adequate budgets for enforcing sustainability, better impact assessment metrics, and support for the Global South.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100279"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067942","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":"Always to neglect? About the contribution of tooling to product carbon footprints – Conclusions from literature, industry survey, and case studies","authors":"Kai Rüdele ,&nbsp;Barbara Linke ,&nbsp;Matthias Wolf","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100277","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100277","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The product carbon footprint (PCF) is a fundamental tool that offers a comprehensive analysis of emissions on the product level to re-think product designs and industrial processes to launch new climate benign products. Methodical issues associated with the determination of PCFs have been discussed for a long time. This article aims to assess the up to now unexplored inclusion of manufacturing tools as contributor to industrial process emissions. Based on literature and results of a previous survey, it can be concluded that the production and use of tools is barely considered in PCF studies and viewed as less significant than other inputs. However, supplementary case studies conducted in the automotive supply industry show that in individual cases greenhouse gas emissions related to tool use can have a considerable effect on the PCF, depending on the process and production volume. Based on these findings, we developed a guide to support the decision on whether to incorporate or exclude tool consumption in PCF studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100277"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143904235","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":"Life cycle assessment of a semi-industrial infant milk formula powder and of a low-heat alternative process involving membrane filtration","authors":"Michèle Gaillard,&nbsp;Emma Saint-Preux,&nbsp;Amélie Deglaire,&nbsp;Emeline Goussé,&nbsp;Gaelle Tanguy,&nbsp;Nadine Leconte,&nbsp;Geneviève Gésan-Guiziou,&nbsp;Fanny Guyomarc'h,&nbsp;Juliane Floury","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100278","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100278","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Infant formulas provide the necessary nutrients to infants aged 0–6 months whenever breastfeeding is restrained. Their production must balance nutritional quality, environmental sustainability and economic profitability in the manufacturing process. Traditional heat treatment processes, such as pasteurization, ensure microbiological safety but lead to protein denaturation and Maillard reaction, thereby diminishing the nutritional quality of the product. New processes involve low-heat sanitation using membrane microfiltration to also maintain protein quality. Life Cycle Assessment was used to compare the potential environmental impacts of the production of infant formula powder via the classic route (using pasteurization) or the alternative route (using microfiltration) at a semi-industrial scale. No matter the sanitation procedure, the production of milk and oil ingredients exhibited the largest contribution to impacts, followed by evaporation and spray-drying, i.e. unit operations with energy-consuming water evaporation. Closer insight on sanitation operations revealed that while pasteurization and microfiltration are comparable across various impact categories, microfiltration demands significant water and detergent for cleaning, whereas pasteurization is energy-intensive during its steady-state phase. Although energy consumption is reduced, 1 kg of infant formula produced through the alternative route emits 11.1 kg of CO₂ equivalent, against 10.4 for the classic route. The higher impact of the alternative route on climate change, as well as on other agriculture-related impact categories, is primarily attributed to the increased demand for skim milk to implement microfiltration. Sensitivity analyses revealed strategies to reduce infant formula's environmental impacts, such as using liquid ingredients to avoid drying or increasing pre-evaporation dry matter to save energy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100278"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143898934","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":"Critical review of methodological tools and trends for assessing the performance of inclusive circular cities","authors":"Susana Toboso-Chavero ,&nbsp;Filippos K. Zisopoulos ,&nbsp;Martin de Jong ,&nbsp;Daan Schraven","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100275","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The comprehensive sustainability assessment of urban waste management systems (UWMSs) is crucial for understanding the impact of current and future city strategies aimed at improving circularity and inclusion in cities. In this study we propose a framework for conceptualizing the inclusive circular city (ICC), and we review specifically scientific literature on methodological tools and trends in integrated sustainability assessments (ISAs) of UWMSs. Of the 145 publications reviewed, only 10 % concurrently evaluated social, environmental, and economic aspects, and just 2 % incorporated circularity and inclusion metrics. Publications focusing simultaneously either on social and environmental dimensions or economic and environmental dimensions accounted for 3 % and 17 % of studies, respectively, while 70 % adopted a single-dimensional approach. A notable proportion of studies focused exclusively on environmental impact assessment, predominantly employing life cycle assessment or indicators such as carbon footprint. Social assessments were notably less prevalent, comprising only 20 % of studies. Stakeholder engagement and inclusion metrics were considered in 20 % and 5 % of the publications, respectively. In terms of R strategies, 65 % of the studies concentrated on recycling and recovery, targeting mainly municipal solid waste. To advance our knowledge on ISAs of UWMSs and improve our understanding of their embeddedness in ICCs, future research should: (a) focus on multidimensional, transdisciplinary assessments with an emphasis on strong sustainability-oriented methodologies by including circularity and inclusion metrics; (b) prioritize inclusion and active stakeholder participation in collaborative knowledge creation; and (c) shift the focus from conventional waste recycling and recovery to ambitious circular strategies that retain resources in closed-loop systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100275"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143874787","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":"Managing nitrogen metabolism of animal husbandry and aquaculture could mitigate nitrogen threat in the main cities of Yellow River Delta","authors":"Yixuan Bai ,&nbsp;Huaqing Li ,&nbsp;Bin Chen ,&nbsp;Hongyi Xie ,&nbsp;Yutao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100273","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100273","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Excessive nitrogen input threatens the ecological health of the Yellow River estuary, with the Main Cities in the Yellow River Delta (MCYRD) facing persistent nitrogen management challenges. Previous studies have lacked a detailed characterization of nitrogen metabolism in estuarine and coastal cities, with limited sector-specific assessments, constraining effective management. Based on urban metabolism theory, this study develops a comprehensive nitrogen metabolism model for MCYRD (2015–2023), refining assessments of nitrogen fluxes from extensive animal husbandry and seawater aquaculture. Results show that nitrogen input to the sea fluctuated around 60 Gg, with aquaculture as the dominant contributor (35.53 %) to surface water and the only productive sector with increasing discharge (+5.28 %), followed by animal husbandry (32.00 %). Among them, seawater aquaculture discharged 234.89 % and 508.11 % more nitrogen than inland aquaculture in Binzhou and Dongying, respectively, posing ecological risks due to the lack of wastewater discharge standards, particularly from shellfish farming. Untreated extensive animal husbandry contributed 81.43 % of animal husbandry runoff, with cattle in Binzhou and sheep in Dongying as the major sources, highlighting the urgency of improved manure management. Meanwhile, by enforcing wastewater treatment in aquaculture, MCYRD could cut nitrogen emissions by 13.00 Gg, while fertilizer reduction and livestock intensification offer long-term mitigation potential. Upgrading wastewater treatment technologies remains essential for sustained nitrogen control. Our findings provide a scientific basis for nitrogen pollution management in MCYRD, supporting targeted strategies for coastal ecosystem protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100273"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143864708","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":"Life cycle assessment and cost analysis of locally made solar powered cooler for vaccine storage","authors":"Milton Mbugano ,&nbsp;Juma Rajabu Selemani ,&nbsp;Baraka Kichonge ,&nbsp;Grite Nelson Mwaijengo ,&nbsp;Mwema Felix Mwema","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100274","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100274","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Storing vaccines and perishable food in regions without access to the national grid presents significant challenges. Solar power generation technologies have emerged as a viable alternative solution to address these issues. This study conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost analysis (CA) of the locally developed solar-powered cooler to assess its economic viability and potential environmental impacts. The cooler was designed to preserve vaccines and perishable foods for use, especially in areas with no electricity connectivity, as a cheaper alternative to electricity-powered coolers. The results of LCA show that battery manufacturing was a slightly higher contributor to environmental impacts across various indicators, with terrestrial ecotoxicity identified as the highest impact among other environmental impacts. Cost analysis results further revealed that a solar-powered cooler project demonstrated a positive economic outlook, with the unit manufacturing cost estimated at USD 2682. This quantitative analysis of life cycle and cost will help decision-makers comprehend both the economic aspects and environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of locally manufactured solar-powered coolers. Such insights will be instrumental in enhancing the sustainability of these products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100274"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143870579","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":"Pro-environmental motivations of small businesses – Do indirect environmental impacts matter?","authors":"Mihály Dombi ,&nbsp;Anita Kolnhofer-Derecskei ,&nbsp;Regina Reicher ,&nbsp;Zsuzsanna Győri","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100272","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100272","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A large body of literature examines the managerial aspects of sustainability transition at the firm level. One of the key factors of pro-environmental intervention in companies is the role of the leader, their commitment, capabilities, and motivations. Management's determination towards pro-environmental interventions has been linked to various enterprise characteristics. Previous studies have also examined whether these motivations vary among economic sectors or industries, described by direct environmental impacts. Yet, indirect emissions, depicting life-cycle ecological impacts of the industry, have not been assessed in light of pro-environmental motivations and decision context of companies. Our analysis aims to investigate environmental motivation towards adopting sustainability measures in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through a representative sample of Hungarian companies.</div><div>We found no clear evidence of sectoral indirect emission levels influencing the ethical or business motivation of the managers in Hungarian SMEs. The industry's emissions are exclusively associated with the motivations of specific groups of companies, especially those more environmentally focused. Nevertheless, pro-environmental motivations depend on external factors, i.e. the region of operation, manager's age and awareness of the. The quality of environmental management relies on the leader's skills and the firm's circumstances.</div><div>One of our findings is alarming: SMEs with higher sectoral indirect emissions, among those communicating their environmental progress intensely, tend to agree more on the institutional boundary approach of ecological impacts as it comes to responsibility issues. This attitude may manifest in false allegations or even greenwashing. Limited feelings of responsibility for the firm, energy prices, and the importance of the company's profits frequently occur among the claims related to sectoral emission levels. Therefore, making embodied environmental impacts visible to managers and the market may have some effect.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100272"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143852340","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":"Creating value, not waste: Ecosystem collaboration for take-back","authors":"Torben Pedersen ,&nbsp;Rasmus Jørgensen ,&nbsp;Johan Lilja ,&nbsp;Christer Hedlund","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100268","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100268","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A take-back system can reduce the usage of virgin natural resources by reusing discarded products. However, if actors in the take-back system treat the discarded products as waste, the reuse value potential is lost. A situation that negatively impacts the sustainability and financial performance of the take-back system. The study explores the reuse of discarded white goods using data from multiple take-back value streams for discarded white goods. This is not an ideal case of a take-back system but rather a case showing some of the challenges in creating an efficient one. The study identifies interest alignment between collaborating actors as a key condition for maximizing the recoverability of discarded products, capturing value, and reducing value loss. Additionally, information asymmetry impacts value loss and financial performance. The study proposes introducing governance mechanisms and leads firm initiatives to promote conditions conducive to ecosystem actor alignment. An effective take-back system usually requires a lead firm - an orchestrator - responsible for the structure and performance of the take-back system, including governance, commercial arrangements, go-to-market coordination, value creation mechanisms, value sharing mechanisms, and risk management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100268"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143917768","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}