Frontiers in sustainability最新文献

{"title":"Policy for sustainable consumption – an assessment of Swedish municipalities","authors":"Elena Dawkins, Karin André, Elin Leander, K. Axelsson, Åsa Gerger Swartling","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1265733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1265733","url":null,"abstract":"Municipalities have a key role to play in developing and implementing policy for sustainable consumption, yet the evidence on the extent of municipalities’ work in this area and the constraining and enabling factors they face in this endeavor is sparse. This study examines municipal policies for sustainable consumption and their implementation, using food consumption in Sweden as an example.It combines data from a nationwide survey, policy document analysis, and a two-year in-depth investigation into two municipalities that serve as case studies.Findings show that Swedish municipalities have several policies in place related to sustainable food consumption. They use multiple policy instruments to target specific areas of food consumption, and are positive about their current and potential impact in specific areas such as sustainable school meals and tackling food waste. However, municipalities face multiple challenges in delivering sustainable food consumption, including lack of resources and knowledge in some areas. If there is a lack of political support, it can also be a major inhibiting factor. The municipalities welcome national-level strategy, rules and regulations that are supportive of their goals. They rely on good data collection and strong networks and stakeholder relationships to enable their work.Many of the latest recommendations for a comprehensive policy approach to sustainable food consumption are yet to be applied at the municipal level in Sweden. There was little evidence of the use of systems thinking and practices-based approaches for policy design for example. Likewise, strong visions and strategic approaches to food were also lacking. The least coercive, informative policy instruments remain most popular. However, this study did reveal several existing areas where there are strong policy foundations from which these approaches might be developed, such as innovative ways to engage different target groups and a suitable policy mix to deliver specific objectives. Tackling the identified constraints and expanding the enabling factors could further the work on sustainable food consumption at the municipal level in Sweden and provide insights for other countries and studies at the local level.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"3 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139002490","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":"Using the Theory of Protected Needs to conceptualize sustainability as ‘caring for human wellbeing': an empirical confirmation of the theory's potential","authors":"Antonietta Di Giulio, Rico Defila, Corinne Ruesch Schweizer","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1036666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1036666","url":null,"abstract":"Caring for human wellbeing has the potential of offering a powerful narrative for change toward sustainability. A broad body of research confirms that a narrative linking the ideas of a good life (human wellbeing) and of solidarity and justice actually exists, and that this narrative could, if supported and reinforced by convincing concepts, relevant material structures, and coherent action, serve as a societal source of power for sustainability. With a view to providing a theory of human wellbeing that focuses on the responsibility of the community and conceptualizes achieving a good life as a public good and not as a purely individual matter, we developed the Theory of Protected Needs (PN). The Theory of PN is a theory of good life that frames quality of life for individuals as a societal responsibility (but without affecting individual freedom), thus linking the individual and the societal perspective with a view of ensuring life satisfaction of present and future generations. The Theory of PN has been subjected to a representative survey in Switzerland. In the paper, we explore whether the Theory of PN can be empirically confirmed, that is, to what extent the nine needs the theory consists of deserve the status of being protected needs. We present the theory, the empirical criteria that the nine needs have to meet in order to qualify for being protected needs, and the results of the data analysis. These results sum up to an aggregated argument in favor of using the Theory of PN as a fundament to conceptualize sustainability as ‘caring for human wellbeing'. The paper concludes with outlaying further steps both in research and in societal practice. In the Appendix A , the German and French versions of the Theory of PN are first published.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":" 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135190898","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 framework for integrating supply chain, environmental, and social justice factors during early stationary battery research","authors":"Victoria L. Putsche, Jasmine Pattany, Tapajyoti Ghosh, Swaroop Atnoorkar, Jarett Zuboy, Alberta Carpenter, Esther S. Takeuchi, Amy C. Marschilok, Kenneth J. Takeuchi, Anthony Burrell, Margaret K. Mann","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1287423","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1287423","url":null,"abstract":"The transition to a decarbonized economy will drive dramatically higher demand for energy storage, along with technological diversification. To avoid mistakes of the past, the supply chain implications and environmental and social justice (ESJ) impacts of new battery technologies should be considered early during technological development. We propose herein a systematic framework for analyzing these impacts for new stationary battery technologies and illustrate the framework with a case study. The goal is to promote future development of technologies with secure supply chains and favorable ESJ profiles to avoid expensive corrective actions after substantial resources have been invested. This framework should be a useful tool for public and private researchers and sponsors who want to ensure that supply chain and ESJ concerns are considered and integrated as part of decision making throughout the research and development process.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":" 24","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135191423","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 personal sustainability by redefining preferences regarding the appearance of fresh foods","authors":"Prabhakar Rao Bandi","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1284110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1284110","url":null,"abstract":"OPINION article Front. Sustain., 03 November 2023Sec. Waste Management Volume 4 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1284110","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"10 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135821133","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":"Eco-innovative technology for wastewater treatment and reuse in MENA region: case of Lebanon","authors":"El Moll Ahmad","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1247009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1247009","url":null,"abstract":"Water scarcity is a significant problem worldwide especially in Middle East and North Africa, to which the reuse of wastewater after appropriate treatment could offer a sustainable solution. With recent advances in wastewater treatment technologies and reuse, it is possible to obtain wastewater effluent of consistently high quality, which can then be reused in the agricultural sector. Thus, facing of water shortage, deficiency of sanitation and pollution by wastewater in the Mediterranean region, the decentralization using eco-innovative technology, focuses mainly on the wastewater treatment on-site and on the local recycling and reuse of resources contained in domestic wastewater, represents a real and well solution. Therefore, sustainable solutions for wastewater management will be discussed, with a focus on the role of innovative technology with detailed description of the wastewater treatment process. Additionally, the implications of wastewater reuse in agriculture sector in the context of the circular economy as potential solutions will also be presented in this paper.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"31 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135325521","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":"Multi-stakeholder initiatives and decarbonization in the European food supply chain","authors":"Ianna Raissa Moreira-Dantas, Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, Maria Luísa Fernandes de Araujo, Judith Evans, Alan Foster, Xinfang Wang, Maitri Thakur, Sepideh Jafarzadeh, Marta Pujol Martin","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1231684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1231684","url":null,"abstract":"The European Green Deal is a political milestone aiming to promote a carbon-neutral economy in the European Union. Decarbonizing the complex food sector requires the unified interaction among effective climate policies, economic instruments, and initiatives involving multiple stakeholders. Despite increasing efforts to highlight the importance of innovations and finance to achieve sustainable food supply chains (FSC), comprehensive information about related opportunities and barriers to mitigating emissions in the food sector is still under-explored. To cover this gap, this paper applies an existing industrial policy framework under the lens of the EU FSC to identify potential strategies that should help achieve the needed financial means and innovation actions, as well as to gauge political alignment across FSC stages. Methodologically, the pillars proposed in the framework are linked to multi-stakeholders’ initiatives engaged in achieving net-zero emissions. The paper highlights three main implications of the identified interlinkages. First, political directionality related to the food sector should be more comprehensively tailored to account for the specificities of all stages of the FSC. Second, research and development projects shall likewise cover all stages, instead of emphasizing only food production and agricultural systems. Finally, multiple stakeholders are crucial as promoters of technology and innovation towards a green economy. Nevertheless, initiatives should be integrated into political discussions in order to promote civil awareness, sustainable food and services demand, aligned to political guidelines.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"6 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136103038","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":"Mapping sustainable practices and concepts in the transportation ecosystem for the EU-27 countries, based on LinkedIn company profiles","authors":"Georgios Tsironis, Aristi Karagkouni, Dimitrios Dimitriou, Konstantinos P. Tsagarakis","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1268575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1268575","url":null,"abstract":"Sustainability has been a topic of growing interest over the past years with many governments, organizations, and companies trying to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The major challenge of implementing more sustainable practices within the corporate environments is still in the foreground, probably even in higher demand, due to the intense environmental degradation and the strict deadlines related to the decarbonization and shift towards greener production systems. Indicatively, the European Commission suggests that transport currently accounts for a quarter of the European Union’s (EU) greenhouse gas emissions and this figure continues to rise as demand grows. In this work, we investigate the transportation sector, distribution systems, and supply chain through the prism of sustainability by mining and analyzing open-access data on the LinkedIn social media platform, which is widely used for professional networking, especially, in the European market. Thus, we extract valuable insights into the current trends around sustainability within the transportation sector. More precisely, 1,638 LinkedIn profiles registered as “companies” related to transportation have been data mined providing valuable outputs regarding their sustainability-oriented activities. Our dataset contains companies with a staff range of over 200 employees, aiming to gain insights from medium SMEs and large organizations. Key findings of our analysis include the differentiation of application areas regarding sustainable concepts and the rise of the percentage of sustainability-related companies with the company staff size combined with a rather strong connection between the United Kingdom’s and United States’s transportation sectors.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"9 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135266657","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":"System thinking approaches for circular economy: enabling inclusive, synergistic, and eco-effective pathways for sustainable development","authors":"Hamza Hassan, Robert Faggian","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1267282","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1267282","url":null,"abstract":"The Circular Economy (CE) concept is rapidly gaining space in mainstream policy in many developed countries, but it remains a contested and underdeveloped notion in scientific circles, largely due to its fragmented nature and absence of a unified framework. This fragmentation is attributed to the concept’s diverse roots, its varying utilization by distinct interest groups, and its evolution over time. Though there are strong implicit links between CE and sustainability, the explicit connections are seldom addressed. Current CE views tend to heavily concentrate on the economic aspect of sustainability, marginally on the environmental one, and largely neglect the social aspect. The prevailing reductive interpretations of CE often lead to subpar or even unsustainable results, thereby posing significant challenges to its implementation and questioning its legitimacy as a sustainable development model. This systematic literature review, through an examination of CE’s varied origins, its role in integrated socio-economic dialogues, its sustainability implications, and the challenges presented by its existing reductive approaches, underscores the necessity for a systemic exploration of the CE concept. Given that CE is rooted in Systems Ecology, adopting a pluralistic, transdisciplinary perspective is crucial to overcome challenges and limitation associated with CE implementation. The authors propose that the implementation of CE must be guided by holistic systemic evaluations of organizations with equal emphasis on environmental and social apprehensions along with economic concerns. Such systemic evaluations can ensure that CE meets its sustainability objectives and remain a legitimate pathway towards sustainable development.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136013442","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":"Can we persuade company car drivers to opt out?","authors":"Liesbeth De Wilde, Lara Stas, Perseverence Savieri, Lieselot Vanhaverbeke, Imre Keserü, Cathy Macharis","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1163127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1163127","url":null,"abstract":"Multiple issues are associated with company cars in the academic debate, such as excessive car use and welfare loss. Company cars, provided by organizations to their employees, are often seen as a subsidy for private car ownership throughout Europe, especially in Belgium. Belgium is the first country in Europe to develop a legal framework in which organizations can replace the company car system with alternative solutions such as a corporate mobility budget. The objective of this study was to gain insight into the intentions of employees to replace their company car with this mobility budget. We have carried out an online survey among 527 company car drivers to predict the financial compensation that is required to replace the company car with more sustainable transport modes. On average, respondents required €683 per month to give up their company car. A stepwise linear regression analysis identified familiarity with alternative transport modes, environmental concern, accessibility, and income as the primary predictors of this financial preference. These variables have been proven to be significant predictors of mode choice as well. The findings can help to identify opportunities for generating a modal shift in organizations.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"107 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136296032","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":"Challenges on the way to a circular economy from the perspective of the Austrian manufacturing industry","authors":"Fabian Holly, Guenther Kolar, Manuel Berger, Stefan Fink, Philip Ogonowski, Sebastian Schlund","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1243374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1243374","url":null,"abstract":"Circular economy has become a prominent topic in scientific discourse and has gained significant presence as a strategic factor for business and industry. Both, as crucial enabler of a sustainable economy, and as lever for overcoming resource dependencies. Previous studies have identified multiple benefits of implementing circular principles, as well as enablers for a transformation to circular economy. However, studies with a focus on a specific industry and regional context that offer practical guidance for the transformation to a circular economy are still somewhat underrepresented. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing major obstacles to a transformation to circular economy, in the context of the Austrian manufacturing industry. It is based on a literature review, in which 369 articles were reviewed, complemented by a structured online survey in which 229 managers from 192 companies in the manufacturing industry participated. In the survey, the obstacles were ranked according to their relevance on two levels: assessing 10 clusters of obstacles on a higher level, followed by a deep-dive evaluation of specific obstacles within the clusters. Based on the research findings, it is evident that the circular economy plays a significant role in long-term corporate success and most surveyed companies recognize its strategic importance. The results also reveal that market and customer demand are the biggest drivers of a transformation to circular economy, followed by general concerns about the environment and regulatory pressure. The biggest barriers on the way toward circular economy are the need for more financial government support, challenges with setting up an effective circular supply chain, economic challenges resulting from customer behavior and barriers in the redesign of products. The interdisciplinarity of the challenges leads to a high complexity in the transformation process. This means that most of the major barriers are external, and therefore companies cannot tackle these barriers by themselves. Governments should consider developing more incentive systems to support companies in their transition to the circular economy. To effectively navigate the transition, companies should adopt integrated strategies that encompass supply chain optimization, in-depth analysis of customer buying behaviors, and investment in sustainable and recyclable product design.","PeriodicalId":475046,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in sustainability","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135829671","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}