The concept and principles of sustainable architectural design for national parks in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milošević Predrag

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The paper elaborates the concept of sustainable architectural design that has come to the forefront in the last 20 years, and in the light of the National Park. This concept recognizes that human civilization is an integral part of the natural world and that nature must be preserved and perpetuated if the human community itself is to survive. Sustainable design articulates this idea through developments that exemplify the principles of conservation and encourage the application of those principles in our daily lives. A corollary concept, and one that supports sustainable design, is that of bio-regionalism - the idea that all life is established and maintained on a functional community basis and that all of these distinctive communities (bio-regions have mutually supporting life systems that are generally self-sustaining. The concept of sustainable design holds that future technologies must function primarily within bioregional patterns and scales. They must maintain biological diversity and environmental integrity contribute to the health of air, water, and soils, incorporate design and construction that reflect bio-regional conditions, and reduce the impacts of human use. Sustainable design, sustainable development, design with nature environmentally sensitive design, holistic resource management - regardless of what it's called, "sustainability," the capability of natural and cultural systems being continued over time, is the key. Sustainable design must use an alternative approach to traditional design and the new design approach must recognize the impacts of every design choice on the natural and cultural resources of the local, regional, and global environments. Sustainable park and recreation development will succeed to the degree that it anticipates and manages human experiences. Interpretation provides the best single tool for shaping experiences and sharing values. By providing an awareness of the environment, values are taught that are

Sustainable mobility considered integratively; Nachhaltige Mobilitaet integrativ betrachtet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keimel, H.; Berghof, R.; Borken, J.; Klann, U.

2004-07-01

The book investigates a status quo and possible development paths of the activity field mobility and traffic in the frame of an integrative sustainability concept of the Helmholtz community. The authors offer on a very broad and actual data base a structured inventory of many facets and aspects, related directly or indirectly to mobility. It is an analysis of sustainability deficits and estimations of the future development taking into account different politic-social, economical and technical boundary conditions. (GL)

INTEGRATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND QUALITY ON ORGANISATIONAL AND REGIONAL LEVEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandra Kokic Arsic

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Subject of the article is an integration of quality management and sustainable development, with the basis of considerations of sustainable development and the structure of the key quality factors pointed to the possibility of achieving synergy of action on the most important variables, as well as the established model of integration of these two complex concepts. Areas of our study were 83 organizations in the region of Central Serbia. The study was based on questionnaires which contained 50 questions about the level of quality and sustainable development in the companies surveyed. Results of research highlights the most influenced variables in condition of constraints related to transition economy characteristics.

Analysis of promising sustainable renovation concepts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vanhoutteghem, Lies; Tommerup, Henrik M.; Svendsen, Svend

This report focuses on analyses of the most promising existing sustainable renovation concepts, i.e. full-service concepts and technical concepts, for single-family houses. As a basis for the analyses a detailed building stock analysis was carried out. Furthermore, as a basis a general working...... method for proposals on package solutions for sustainable renovation was described. The method consists of four steps, going from investigation of the house to proposal for sustainable renovation, detailed planning and commissioning after renovation. It could be used by teams of consultants...... of the building envelope and the electricity required to run the system. Positive impact on the indoor environment can be expected. Thermal comfort will be improved by insulation and air-tightness measures that will increase surface temperatures and reduce draught from e.g. badly insulated windows. A ventilation...

Existing sustainable renovation concepts for single-family houses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tommerup, Henrik M.; Vanhoutteghem, Lies; Svendsen, Svend

2010-01-01

In the Nordic Innovation Centre Project, SuccessFamilies, the main objective is to change the business environment in order to speed up the implementation of sustainable renovation of single-family houses – proposing new service concepts that will combine both the technical solutions, financing...... with individual solutions, traditional warehouses ”do-it-yourself-shops” and some actors marketing single products. To speed up the implementation of sustainable renovation of single-family houses there is a great need for full-service packages. Existing technical renovation concepts, typically focusing...... services as well as other promoting issues to overcome the behavioural, organizational, legal and social barriers that exist in sustainable renovation. A starting point for such a change has been to get an overview of the existing sustainable renovation concepts, i.e. full-service concepts and technical...

Supply Chain Management and Business Sustainability Synergy: A Theoretical and Integrated Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zabihollah Rezaee

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Global business organizations face the challenges of adapting proper sustainability strategies and practices to effectively respond to social, ethical, environmental, and governance issues while improving financial performance in creating value for their shareholders. Business sustainability enables the integration of financial economic sustainability performance and non-financial environmental, social, ethical, and governance sustainability performance dimensions into the corporate culture, supply chain management and business models in creating shared value for all stakeholders. Business literature has provided mixed evidence of the tension, and possible link, between financial and non-financial sustainability performance dimensions and sustainability theories have yet to sufficiently address this tension. This paper attempts to fill this void by shedding light on the link between various dimensions of sustainability performance, their integrated effect on creating shared value for all stakeholders and their implications for supply chain sustainability. This paper examines the synergy between business sustainability and supply chain management by presenting a framework consisting of sustainability theories, sustainability performance dimensions, sustainability shared value concept, and sustainability best practices. Companies can use the suggested framework in integrating both financial and non-financial sustainability initiatives into their supply chain sustainability from production design, purchasing and inbound logistics, and manufacturing process to distribution and outbound logistics.

Integrating Climate Change Science and Sustainability in Environmental Science, Sociology, Philosophy and Business Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Boudrias, M. A.; Cantzler, J.; Croom, S.; Huston, C.; Woods, M.

2015-12-01

Courses on sustainability can be taught from multiple perspectives with some focused on specific areas (environmental, socio-cultural, economic, ethics) and others taking a more integrated approach across areas of sustainability and academic disciplines. In conjunction with the Climate Change Education Program efforts to enhance climate change literacy with innovative approaches, resources and communication strategies developed by Climate Education Partners were used in two distinct ways to integrate climate change science and impacts into undergraduate and graduate level courses. At the graduate level, the first lecture in the MBA program in Sustainable Supply Chain Management is entirely dedicated to climate change science, local and global impacts and discussions about key messages to communicate to the business community. Basic science concepts are integrated with discussions about mitigation and adaptation focused on business leaders. The concepts learned are then applied to the semester-long business plan project for the students. At the undergraduate level, a new model of comprehensive integration across disciplines was implemented in Spring 2015 across three courses on Sustainability each with a specific lens: Natural Science, Sociology and Philosophy. All three courses used climate change as the 'big picture' framing concept and had similar learning objectives creating a framework where lens-specific topics, focusing on depth in a discipline, were balanced with integrated exercises across disciplines providing breadth and possibilities for integration. The comprehensive integration project was the creation of the climate action plan for the university with each team focused on key areas of action (water, energy, transportation, etc.) and each team built with at least one member from each class ensuring a natural science, sociological and philosophical perspective. The final project was presented orally to all three classes and an integrated paper included

Can the Concept of Integrative and Segregative Institutions Contribute to the Framing of Institutions of Sustainability?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konrad Hagedorn

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper begins with the question “What is special about those institutions that bring about sustainability”? In an attempt to answer this, I use the Institutions of Sustainability (IoS framework, which structures sustainability analytically according to four main categories, namely: transactions, actors, institutions and governance structures. I then argue that sustainability has to do with balancing two sorts of costs an actor may face while being constrained by institutions. One is the costs from the integrative effects of institutions on his individual decision making. The other is the costs from the segregative effect of institutions. In this way, sustainability can be understood as societies’ compromise between institutions that integrate individual actors’ decisions in a wider system, holding them fully responsible for more or less all of the effects of their choices and those institutions that partly free individual decision makers from parts of such responsibilities. If a governance problem is characterized by a high degree of “decomposability”, segregative rules may be sufficient. The more a governance problem is characterized by complexity due to low modularity and high functional interdependencies, the more accurate integrative rules may be. The paper concludes by identifying “sustainability area of institutional embedding” as a regulative idea in understanding sustainability.

Sustainability concept for energy, water and environment systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afgan, N.H.

2004-01-01

This review is aimed to introduce historical background for the sustainability concept development for energy, water and environment systems. In the assessment of global energy and water resources attention is focussed in on the resource consumption and its relevancy to the future demand. In the review of the sustainability concept development special emphasize is devoted to the definition of sustainability and its relevancy to the historical background of the sustainability idea. In order to introduce measuring of sustainability the attention is devoted to the definition of respective criteria. There have been a number of attempts to define the criterions for the assessment of the sustainability of the market products. Having those criterions as bases, it was introduced a specific application in the energy system design

Advances in integrated and sustainable supply chain planning concepts, methods, tools and solution approaches toward a platform for industrial practice

CERN Document Server

Laínez-Aguirre, José Miguel

2015-01-01

Decision making at the enterprise level often encompass not only production operations and  product R&D, but other strategic functions such as financial planning and marketing. With the aim of maximizing growth and a firm’s value, companies often focus on co-ordinating these functional components as well as traditional hierarchical decision levels. Understanding this interplay can enhance enterprise capabilities of adaptation and response to uncertainties arising from internal processes as well as the external environment. This book presents concepts, methods, tools and solutions based on mathematical programming, which provides the quantitative support needed for integrated decision-making and ultimately for improving the allocation of overall corporate resources (e.g., materials, cash and personnel). Through a systems perspective, the integrated planning of the supply chain also promotes activities of reuse, reduction and recycling for achieving more sustainable environmental impacts of production/di...

Sustainability through service perspectives, concepts and examples

CERN Document Server

Wolfson, Adi; Martin, Patrick M; Tavor, Dorith

2015-01-01

This book discusses the mutual relationship between service and sustainability. It covers methodologies and approaches and describes measurements and tools that can promote sustainability on the service market. Lastly, it presents the different applications of sustainability, together with examples of sustainable services. Environmental concerns have become integral to any decision-making process in the design and implementation of goods and services. With the increasing dominance of the service sector, and as service systems become more complex and interdisciplinary, the focus must move from the exchange of products to that of services. Newly created services should thus aim to incorporate sustainability into their designs while viewing sustainability as a service in its own right. Integrating sustainability in the service design and development process is essential to improving the sustainability of our society and preserving the environment. Moreover, doing so shifts the service boundaries from values that...

The system of protected areas in Bulgaria in terms of the implementation of the concepts of sustainable and alternative tourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgiev Leonidov Georgi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Protected areas hold a special position in terms of the sustainable socio-economic and tourism development of the planet. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has created a specific classifying system for cate­gorization of such areas depending on their nature-scientific and conservation value and significance. Except for preserving valuable biological species and their natural habitats, these areas could fulfill one more function. They can be integrated and contribute to the sustainable development of all spheres of socio-economic life of the com­munity. This paper sets the aim to determine to what extent and what categories of protected areas in Bulgaria could be integrated into the tourism sector of the country and to contribute that way to its sustainable development. Eco­tourism is considered as main tool to achieve this goal. Two concepts are laid upon its successful implementation. These are the concept for sustainable development and the one for development of alternative forms of tourism. The thesis that the concept for development of alternative forms of tourism is thought to compliment the one for development of sustainable tourism.

Bringing the integrative aspect of sustainable development into community natural resource management: the case of agricultural land use in Limpopo, South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Musvoto, Constansia D

2014-06-01

Full Text Available policies to facilitate integrated decision making, which is pivotal to sustainable development. Sustainable development is an integrative concept with a basis in a ‘whole systems approach’. There are no tools tailored to facilitate integration in community...

The Integration of Green Chemistry Experiments with Sustainable Development Concepts in Pre-Service Teachers' Curriculum: Experiences from Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Karpudewan, Mageswary; Ismail, Zurida Hg; Mohamed, Norita

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce green chemistry experiments as laboratory-based pedagogy and to evaluate effectiveness of green chemistry experiments in delivering sustainable development concepts (SDCs) and traditional environmental concepts (TECs). Design/methodology/approach: Repeated measure design was employed to evaluate…

The Concept Of A Sustainable Approach To Corporate Real Estate Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziemba Ewa

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is conceptual in nature and presents the assumptions of a holistic approach to corporate real estate management. The approach is based on the imperative of sustainability, which has become a determinant of the proposed Sustainable Corporate Real Estate Management (SCREM model. Moreover, the authors indicate that in addition to the presence of the sustainability imperative, corporate real estate management requires the integration and formalization of knowledge about the concepts of corporate real estate management (CREM with those of corporate social responsibility (CSR. This approach is intended to enable the identification and improvement of real estate management processes and, as a result, contribute to more efficient and effective corporate real estate management and continuous and flexible development of enterprises, as well as boosting economic growth and building prosperity for present and future generations.

Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences: A Workshop to Create New Curricular Materials to Integrate Geosciences into the Teaching of Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Gosselin, D. C.; Manduca, C. A.; Oches, E. A.; MacGregor, J.; Kirk, K. B.

2012-12-01

Sustainability is emerging as a central theme for teaching about the environment, whether it be from the perspective of science, economics, or society. The Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences workshop provided 48 undergraduate faculty from 46 institutions a forum to discuss the challenges and possibilities for integrating geoscience concepts with a range of other disciplines to teach about the fundamentals of sustainability. Participants from community college to doctorate-granting universities had expertise that included geosciences, agriculture, biological sciences, business, chemistry, economics, ethnic studies, engineering, environmental studies, environmental education, geography, history, industrial technology, landscape design, philosophy, physics, and political science. The workshop modeled a range of teaching strategies that encouraged participants to network and collaborate, share successful strategies and materials for teaching sustainability, and identify opportunities for the development of new curricular materials that will have a major impact on the integration of geosciences into the teaching of sustainability. The workshop design provided participants an opportunity to reflect upon their teaching, learning, and curriculum. Throughout the workshop, participants recorded their individual and collective ideas in a common online workspace to which all had access. A preliminary synthesis of this information indicates that the concept of sustainability is a strong organizing principle for modern, liberal education requiring systems thinking, synthesis and contributions from all disciplines. Sustainability is inherently interdisciplinary and provides a framework for educational collaboration between and among geoscientists, natural/physical scientists, social scientists, humanists, engineers, etc.. This interdisciplinary framework is intellectually exciting and productive for educating students at all levels of higher education

Sustainable NREL: From Integration to Innovation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2015-09-01

NREL's sustainability practices are integrated throughout the laboratory and are essential to our mission to develop clean energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices, advance related science and engineering, and provide knowledge and innovations to integrate energy systems at all scales. Sustainability initiatives are integrated through our campus, our staff, and our environment allowing NREL to provide leadership in modeling a sustainability energy future for companies, organizations, governments, and communities.

The role of culture in implementing the concept of sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Bakri, M.

2018-03-01

Environment degradation urges human to live in a sustaining way both for production and consumption mode. It covers any sector of human life include architecture. People are competing to implement the concept of sustainability using the latest technology while the culture has begun to be forgotten. Bearing in mind that by examining the culture related or daily activities, the sustainable development can be implemented with a solid base and fully accepted by the society. Hence, the benefit of sustainable development can be felt by the inhabitant sooner. The aim of this research is examining the local culture in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and Gozo, Maltese Islands which has sustainability concept. The local culture can be a starting point in implementing the notion of sustainability through daily basis approach. This research uses the qualitative method and collects the data through observation and literature review. The result has shown that some of the cultures in selected area have sustainability values which can be developed further in term of the implementation of sustainable development. Thus, related to the sustainable development, the practitioners can shift to the deep-rooted local value rather than apply an alien concept in society.

Concept Maps for Evaluating Learning of Sustainable Development

Science.gov (United States)

Shallcross, David C.

2016-01-01

Concept maps are used to assess student and cohort learning of sustainable development. The concept maps of 732 first-year engineering students were individually analyzed to detect patterns of learning and areas that were not well understood. Students were given 20 minutes each to prepare a concept map of at least 20 concepts using paper and pen.…

Integration of Sustainability in Engineering Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guerra, Aida

2017-01-01

Purpose: Education for sustainable development (ESD) is one of the challenges engineering education currently faces. Engineering education needs to revise and change its curriculum to integrate ESD principles and knowledge. Problem based learning (PBL) has been one of the main learning pedagogies...... used to integrate sustainability in engineering education. However, there is a lack of understanding of the relation between ESD and PBL principles and the ways in which they can be integrated and practised in the engineering curricula. This paper aims to investigate the relation between PBL and ESD...... knowledge and the tacit presence of sustainability. Originality/value: The existence of a PBL curriculum at institutional level, such as at Aalborg University, enables investigation of how the PBL and ESD principles are practised, highlighting the limitations and potentials of integrating sustainability...

Sustainable Capture: Concepts for Managing Stream-Aquifer Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Davids, Jeffrey C; Mehl, Steffen W

2015-01-01

Most surface water bodies (i.e., streams, lakes, etc.) are connected to the groundwater system to some degree so that changes to surface water bodies (either diversions or importations) can change flows in aquifer systems, and pumping from an aquifer can reduce discharge to, or induce additional recharge from streams, springs, and lakes. The timescales of these interactions are often very long (decades), making sustainable management of these systems difficult if relying only on observations of system responses. Instead, management scenarios are often analyzed based on numerical modeling. In this paper we propose a framework and metrics that can be used to relate the Theis concepts of capture to sustainable measures of stream-aquifer systems. We introduce four concepts: Sustainable Capture Fractions, Sustainable Capture Thresholds, Capture Efficiency, and Sustainable Groundwater Storage that can be used as the basis for developing metrics for sustainable management of stream-aquifer systems. We demonstrate their utility on a hypothetical stream-aquifer system where pumping captures both streamflow and discharge to phreatophytes at different amounts based on pumping location. In particular, Capture Efficiency (CE) can be easily understood by both scientists and non-scientist alike, and readily identifies vulnerabilities to sustainable stream-aquifer management when its value exceeds 100%. © 2014, National Ground Water Association.

Integral fast reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Y.I.; Marchaterre, J.F.; Sevy, R.H.

1984-01-01

Key features of the IFR consist of a pool-type plant arrangement, a metal fuel-based core design, and an integral fuel cycle with colocated fuel cycle facility. Both the basic concept and the technology base have been demonstrated through actual integral cycle operation in EBR-II. This paper discusses the inherent safety characteristics of the IFR concept

Towards a life-cycle based european sustainability footprint framework: theory, concepts, applications

OpenAIRE

PELLETIER NATHANIEL; MAAS Rob; GORALCZYK MALGORZATA; WOLF Marc-Andree

2012-01-01

Sustainability is central to the policy objectives of the European Commission, but an integrated sustainability assessment framework in support of policy analysis and development is currently lacking. Arriving at an integrated sustainability assessment framework requires clearly articulated definitions of sustainability and sustainable development. Here, we describe the conceptual basis for the proposed European Sustainability Footprint - an integrated sustainability assessment framework for ...

Assessment of a novel alder biorefinery concept to meet demands of economic feasibility, energy production and long term environmental sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Tobias; Ahrenfeldt, Jesper; Thomsen, Sune Tjalfe

2013-01-01

A biorefinery concept based on alder tree plantations on degenerated soil is developed to comply with indicators of economic feasibility, fossil fuel depletion concerns, and long term sustainability issues. The potential performance of feedstock and biorefinery has been assessed through a literat......A biorefinery concept based on alder tree plantations on degenerated soil is developed to comply with indicators of economic feasibility, fossil fuel depletion concerns, and long term sustainability issues. The potential performance of feedstock and biorefinery has been assessed through...... degenerated soils. Integrating a biomass handling system, an LTCFB gasifier, a diarylheptanoids production chain, an anaerobic digestion facility, a slow pyrolysis unit, gas upgrading and various system integration units, the biorefinery could obtain the following production characteristics accounted...

The Role of Integrated Indicators in Exhibiting Business Contribution to Sustainable Development: a Survey of Sustainability Reporting Initiatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Azcárate

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Pag. THE ROLE OF INTEGRATED INDICATORS IN EXHIBITING BUSINESS CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A SURVEY OF SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING INITIATIVESEL PAPEL DE LOS INDICADORES INTEGRADOS EN LA CONTRIBUCIÓN EMPRESARIAL AL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE: UN ESTUDIO DE LAS INICIATIVAS PARA EL REPORTING DE SOSTENIBILIDADEl papel de los indicadores integrados en la contribución empresarial al desarrollo sostenible: un estudio de las iniciativas para el reporting de sostenibilidadThis paper aims to analyse the role of integrated indicators included in sustainability reporting initiatives in exhibiting business contribution to Sustainable Development.Content analysis of five core initiatives has been carried out to identify strong or weak sustainability arguments within the whole set of indicators. According to the findings, the analyzed initiatives raise a collection of integrated indicators that suggest managerial capture of the concept of Sustainable Development.El presente trabajo aborda el estudio de los indicadores integrados como elemento central para conseguir que las memorias de sostenibilidad cumplan el objetivo de mostrar la contribución que una organización realiza a la consecución del Desarrollo Sostenible. Para ello se ha realizado un análisis de contenido de cinco de las principales iniciativas internacionales que las empresas pueden utilizar como guía para elaborar sus memorias de sostenibilidad con el objetivo de identificar los indicadores integrados que proponen y evidenciar cuál es la visión de la sostenibilidad que en ellos subyace. Los resultados muestran que las iniciativas analizadas plantean un conjunto de indicadores integrados que favorece que las organizaciones puedan capturar el concepto de Desarrollo Sostenible.

An Auto-Photographic Study of Undergraduate Students' Conceptions of Ocean Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chi-I; Li, Yuh-Yuh

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate students' understandings of ocean sustainability and the pedagogical influence of higher education on those conceptions. Design/methodology/approach: The conceptions of ocean sustainability of 54 university students of various academic disciplines enrolled in the 2014/2015 semester course…

GREEN CONCEPTS AND MATERIAL FLOW COST ACCOUNTING APPLICATION FOR COMPANY SUSTAINABILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rochman Marota

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Health equipment and furniture become a complementary factor for good health services to the communities. Management of health equipment and furniture is started by manufacturers within the industry scope and sustainable business processes. This study aimed to apply green concepts and MFCA at PT XYZ, and to analyze their effects on the dimensions of the company sustainability. To measure the effects of green concepts and MFCA on the dimensions of corporate sustainability, a multiple regression analysis was used. The analysis showed that they gave significant effects from the results of the F test, t test and probability test. From these results, a number of suggestions for improvement of production process performance as managerial implications for maintaining the stability of the company sustainability index were formulated.Keywords: efficiency and effectiveness of production cost, green concepts, the company sustainability, material flow cost accounting

Organising Sustainability Competencies through Quality Management: Integration or Specialisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanajah Siva

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A significant step in integrating environmental sustainability into daily operations is through product development. One way to achieve such integration of environmental considerations into product development is by relating sustainability competencies to practices of Quality Management. However, practices seem to vary for how competencies within environmental sustainability are organised in order to make sustainability more actionable. This study explores two ways of organising sustainability competencies in product development: integration and specialisation. The organisation of sustainability competency is illustrated through two cases; one case in which sustainability is integrated with the quality management competency, and the other in which a new competency focusing on sustainability has been added as a separate function in product development. It is suggested that the organisation of sustainability competency influences the extent of environmental impact. Further, trade-offs, such as material source versus weight may not be exploited when sustainability is integrated as one area of responsibility for another specialty competency, suggesting a lack of sufficient competency within environmental sustainability to recognise potential trade-offs between—for example—quality and environmental impact.

Conceptualising sustainability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pope, Jenny; Annandale, David; Morrison-Saunders, Angus

2004-01-01

Sustainability assessment is being increasingly viewed as an important tool to aid in the shift towards sustainability. However, this is a new and evolving concept and there remain very few examples of effective sustainability assessment processes implemented anywhere in the world. Sustainability assessment is often described as a process by which the implications of an initiative on sustainability are evaluated, where the initiative can be a proposed or existing policy, plan, programme, project, piece of legislation, or a current practice or activity. However, this generic definition covers a broad range of different processes, many of which have been described in the literature as 'sustainability assessment'. This article seeks to provide some clarification by reflecting on the different approaches described in the literature as being forms of sustainability assessment, and evaluating them in terms of their potential contributions to sustainability. Many of these are actually examples of 'integrated assessment', derived from environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), but which have been extended to incorporate social and economic considerations as well as environmental ones, reflecting a 'triple bottom line' (TBL) approach to sustainability. These integrated assessment processes typically either seek to minimise 'unsustainability', or to achieve TBL objectives. Both aims may, or may not, result in sustainable practice. We present an alternative conception of sustainability assessment, with the more ambitious aim of seeking to determine whether or not an initiative is actually sustainable. We term such processes 'assessment for sustainability'. 'Assessment for sustainability' firstly requires that the concept of sustainability be well-defined. The article compares TBL approaches and principles-based approaches to developing such sustainability criteria, concluding that the latter are more appropriate, since they avoid many

Integral energy concepts for housing estates; Integrale Energiekonzepte fuer Wohnsiedlungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisch, M.N.; Kuehl, L. [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany)

1998-06-01

Integral energy concepts for housing estates require an early cooperation between architects, planners, and specialist engineers on the basis of a holistic planning approach. This is how future-oriented, sustainable concepts evolve which do justice to the multifarious requirements on the integral energy system of a housing estate. The present paper elucidates different approaches to optimising the energy efficiency of buildings such as the implementation of low-energy house concepts, building site and architectural planning, and detailed planning of heat insulation concepts, ventilation and air tightness concepts, and adapted heating systems. The solarisation of development plans has an influence on the arrangement of buildings, which are now planned to give the greatest possible passive and active solar energy gains. The authors also describe solar-assisted district heating systems for housing estates. [Deutsch] Integrale Energiekonzepte fuer Wohnsiedlungen erfordern die fruehe Zusammenarbeit von Architekten, Planern und Fachingenieuren im Rahmen einer ganzheitlichen Planung. So entstehen zukunftsweisende und tragfaehige Konzepte, die den vielschichtigen Anforderungen des Gesamtenergiesystems ``Wohnsiedlung`` gerecht werden. Im Folgenden wird die energetische Optimierung von Gebaeuden wie die Umsetzung von Niedrigenergiehaus-Konzepten, Standort und Gebaeudeplanung sowie Detailplanung in Bezug auf das Waermedaemmkonzept, Lueftungs-/Dichtheitskonzept und auf angepasste Waermeversorgungssysteme erl autert. Die Solarisierung von Bebauungsplaenen beeinflusste Anordnung der Gebaeude hinsichtlich der Nutzung passivsolarer Gewinne sowie des Einsatzes von Systemen der aktiven Solarenergienutzung. Solarunterstuetzte Nahwaermenetze fuer Wohnsiedlungen werden ebenfalls beschrieben.

Barriers and opportunities in realising sustainable energy concepts--an analysis of two Swiss case studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pohl, Christian; Gisler, Priska

2003-01-01

What assists and what hinders sustainable energy use in being put into effect? Two case studies of sustainable energy concepts--the Zurich Solarstromboerse, where electricity can be purchased that is produced by solar panels, and the Swiss CO 2 -law, a consensus oriented implementation of the Kyoto-protocol--were analysed in order to investigate this question. In both case studies the unfolding of the sustainable energy concepts is reconstructed as a process starting with an abstract idea moving to a concrete realisation. This process passes through a series of different social worlds and is, in turn, affected by them. These social worlds are e.g. those of the concerned scientists, the professional investors, energy suppliers or governmental agencies. The case studies reveal three neuralgic challenges that have to be met when a concept advances from idea to realisation through the social worlds: Firstly, the translation between social worlds changes the content of the idea. Secondly, the way each social world looks at things (socially) constructs best solutions to problems and hides others. Thirdly, the actual dynamics of the social world within which it is finally implemented must be adopted by the idea. In order to integrate these neuralgic points, scientists as well as other inventors have to retain responsibility for their sustainable energy ideas and are requested to follow them through the social worlds in order to critically survey and eventually influence their 'content in flux'

Incorporating Sustainability and Green Design Concepts into Engineering and Technology Curricula

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radian G. Belu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Human society is facing an uncertain future due to the present day unsustainable use of natural resources and the growing imbalance with our natural environment. Sustainability is an endeavour with uncertain outcomes requiring collaboration, teamwork, and abilities to work with respect and learn from other disciplines and professions, as well as with governments, local communities, political and civic organizations. The creation of a sustainable society is a complex and multi-stage endeavour that will dominate twenty first century.  Sustainability has four basic aspects: environment, technology, economy, and societal organization. Schools with undergraduate engineering or engineering technology programs are working to include sustainability and green design concepts into their curricula. Teaching sustainability and green design has increasingly become an essential feature of the present day engineering education. It applies to all of engineering, as all engineered systems interact with the environment in complex and important ways. Our project main goals are to provide the students with multiple and comprehensive exposures, to what it mean to have a sustainable mindset and to facilitate the development of the passion and the skills to integrate sustainable practices into engineering tools and methods. In this study we are describing our approaches to incorporating sustainability and green design into our undergraduate curricula and to list a variety of existing resources that can easily be adopted or adapted by our faculty for this purpose. Our approaches are: (1 redesigning existing courses through development of new curricular materials that still meet the objectives of the original course and (2 developing upper division elective courses that address specific topics related to sustainability, green design, green manufacturing and life-cycle assessment. 

The Sustainability Cone - A holistic framework to integrate sustainability thinking into manufacturing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rödger, Jan-Markus; Bey, Niki; Alting, Leo

2016-01-01

Integrating sustainability into manufacturing is a multifaceted endeavour. Global sustainability aspects and specific manufacturing success factors have to be combined with life cycle thinking in order to get the holistic view on manufacturing which is needed to make truly sustainability-oriented......Integrating sustainability into manufacturing is a multifaceted endeavour. Global sustainability aspects and specific manufacturing success factors have to be combined with life cycle thinking in order to get the holistic view on manufacturing which is needed to make truly sustainability...... - as the missing link which closes these gaps by providing necessary holistic and consistent overview while being aligned with established stage-gate project execution models, thus ensuring practical applicability as shown for a highly automated production cell. The paper shows how to apply life cycle target...

Architectural dimension of sustainability: Re-establishing the concept of recycling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šijaković Milan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Building related processes as water pollution, landfill waste, energy use and related emissions of global warming gases, material and land loss, are undisputable proofs of the devastating effects of the construction industry on our environment. Given that only a small percentage of a total building stock is made out of new work, it is not enough to develop strategies and principles for a sustainable design only for the new projects, but for the existing buildings as well. Therefore, it is essential that, through repurposing, we consider what can be done with what we already have if we are to significantly benefit sustainability agenda in the future. This research focuses on the concept of architectural recycling as a method for achieving sustainable architectural design. In the first place, two concepts, two extremes in dealing with existing buildings will be analysed: 1 preservation as radical stasis and 2 destruction as radical change. This analysis will enable the formulation of the concept of architectural recycling as the ‘preservation through change’, viewed as a sustainable response to rapidly changing conditions. The elaboration of the concept of architectural recycling, as a key method for responding to the sustainability agenda, is the focus of this paper. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR 36035: Spatial, Environmental, Energy and Social Aspects of Developing Settlements and Climate Change - Mutual Impacts

The journey from safe yield to sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Alley, William M; Leake, Stanley A

2004-01-01

Safe-yield concepts historically focused attention on the economic and legal aspects of ground water development. Sustainability concerns have brought environmental aspects more to the forefront and have resulted in a more integrated outlook. Water resources sustainability is not a purely scientific concept, but rather a perspective that can frame scientific analysis. The evolving concept of sustainability presents a challenge to hydrologists to translate complex, and sometimes vague, socioeconomic and political questions into technical questions that can be quantified systematically. Hydrologists can contribute to sustainable water resources management by presenting the longer-term implications of ground water development as an integral part of their analyses.

Sustainability considerations for integrated biorefineries.

Science.gov (United States)

Azapagic, Adisa

2014-01-01

Integrated biorefineries have the potential to contribute towards sustainable production of transportation fuels, energy, and chemicals. However, because there are currently no commercial biorefining plants in operation, it is not clear how sustainable they really are. This paper sets out to examine key issues associated with biorefining that should be considered carefully along the whole supply chain to ensure sustainable development of the sector. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Innovative Integrated Management System (IIMS for Sustainable Food Industry

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Suttiprasit Prasert

2014-11-01

Full Text Available It is evident that the long-term survival and growth of global food industry depend on the availability and efficient use of raw materials, energy and water and other facilities under the concept of sustainable practice, i.e. in environment, society and economics. Quality and safety managements are essential to ensure that the industry can continue to support the communities in which it operates. Awarding a number of certifications to show the high standing of international quality and hygiene characteristics are currently necessary, e.g. ISO 9001: 2000, GMP/GHP, HACCP, ISO 22000, BRC and etc. To minimize the cost and maximize the efficiency, the Innovative Integration Management System (IIMS has been implemented effectively under the frameworks of sustainability in a numbers of national and international food production companies in Thailand during the past years. This will allow the organization to integrate all common processes such as management review, document control, record control, training, monitoring & measuring, data analysing, internal audits, and corrective and preventive actions whereas the critical or specific processes required by each standard are still retained harmoniously with the others.

Evolution of the concept of sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrizosa Umana, Julio

2000-01-01

Topics like the sustainable development are analyzed before the years eighty; main models and criticize current. In her it is to synthesize the process of theoretical construction of the concept, making emphasis in the relativity of the development idea, in the relationship of the sustainability with the justness, and in their vision of the future. The neo liberal pattern of D.S is presented and the variations introduced by the World Bank as well as the proposals of construction of a model of community DS

Sustainable solid waste management: An integrated approach for Asian countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shekdar, Ashok V.

2009-01-01

Solid waste management (SWM) has been an integral part of every human society. The approaches for SWM should be compatible with the nature of a given society, and, in this regard, Asian countries are no exception. In keeping with global trends, the systems are being oriented to concentrate on sustainability issues; mainly through the incorporation of 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) technologies. However, degree and nature of improvements toward sustainability are varying and depend on the economic status of a country. High-income countries like Japan and South Korea can afford to spend more to incorporate 3R technologies. Most of the latest efforts focus on 'Zero Waste' and/or 'Zero Landfilling' which is certainly expensive for weaker economies such as those of India or Indonesia. There is a need to pragmatically assess the expectations of SWM systems in Asian countries. Hence, in this paper, we analyze the situation in different Asian countries, and explore future trends. We conceptually evaluate issues surrounding the sustainability of SWM. We propose a multi-pronged integrated approach for improvement that achieves sustainable SWM in the context of national policy and legal frameworks, institutional arrangement, appropriate technology, operational and financial management, and public awareness and participation. In keeping with this approach, a generic action plan has been proposed that could be tailored to suit a situation in a particular country. Our proposed concept and action plan framework would be useful across a variety of country-specific scenarios

Multi-criteria decision making support tool for freight integrators: selecting the most sustainable alternative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Simongáti

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development has turned into a daily concept by now. Similarly, sustainable transport also appears increasingly often, primarily in transport policy and strategic plans. However, it would be equally important if we could apply this aspect for certain activities such as haulage and forwarding that are a part of transport. Today, forwarders select an optimal alternative concerning only the criteria related to the economic effectiveness of the transport task. In many cases, shippers are not aware neither of the concept of sustainable transport nor of harmful effects they generate. Hence, although there is a concept of ‘freight integrator’, only very few are able to meet the requirements laid down for it. No widespread method has been developed yet to compare transportation options. A similar situation can be faced discussing a traditional, purely economic approach and a theoretical modern aspect that would be in accordance with the principles of sustainable transport. The model that was developed at the Department of Aircraft and Ships of Budapest University of Technology and Economics was designed specifically to compare various options in terms of sustainability. The indicators as the elements of decision-making criteria applied in the model were derived from the indicators used for assessing the transport sector but modified according to the requirements of the decision-making task for a freight integrator. Finally, such sustainable performance index of certain alternatives is determined by two fundamentally different aggregation methods as ‘fineness index’. This article presents the model structure and application using a concrete example.

Process framework for identifying sustainability aspects in university curricula and integrating education for sustainable development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Tove; Sammalisto, Kaisu; Grindsted, Thomas Skou

2015-01-01

Sustainability aspects in higher education must be enhanced with more concrete actions. Universities are globally required to have quality assurance to secure and improve teaching and learning, and they use management systems to this aim. Integrating education for sustainable development...... and management systems are alike in that they are based on continuous improvement and systematic thinking; for both processes all stakeholders need to be involved. Although quality assurance is compulsory for higher education, education for sustainable development has barely been examined or integrated...... in this context. This article examines how voluntary integration of education for sustainable development into management systems at universities could facilitate a scheme to overcome the challenges to integrating education for sustainable development that were identified in previous research. For this, a process...

Design and Concept of an Energy System Based on Renewable Sources for Greenhouse Sustainable Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioan Aschilean

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Bio-organic greenhouses that are based on alternative resources for producing heat and electricity stand out as an efficient option for the sustainable development of agriculture, thus ensuring good growth and development of plants in all seasons, especially during the cold season. Greenhouses can be used with maximum efficiency in various agricultural lands, providing ideal conditions of temperature and humidity for short-term plant growing, thereby increasing the local production of fruit and vegetables. This paper presents the development of a durable greenhouse concept that is based on complex energy system integrating fuel cells and solar panels. Approaching this innovative concept encountered a major problem in terms of local implementation of this type of greenhouses because of the difficulty in providing electrical and thermal energy from conventional sources to ensure an optimal climate for plant growing. The project result consists in the design and implementation of a sustainable greenhouse energy system that is based on fuel cells and solar panels.

Ecological modernization of sustainable buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

2008-01-01

This article will examine how the contemporary development of sustainable buildings has been influenced by the concept of ecological modernisation. Ecological modernisation is a policy concept describing how environmental considerations are increasingly being integrated into modern society...... driven by enthusiasts and grassroots to being a more widespread, generally obtainable and integrated product. We will discuss to what degree this can be understood within the ideas of ecological modernisation, and then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this development. Based on the concepts...... of governance, standardisation and visibility, the conclusion is that in many ways ecological modernisation has penetrated in Danish sustainable buildings and has contributed to a positive development. However, there are aspects of sustainable consumption that this development does not relate to, including...

An Introspective view of Sustainable Cohousing with The Malaysian Housing Concept

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Jumadi Norhaslina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development strategies are becoming demanded in assisting in wealth distribution and improving living conditions for mankind. A sustained community is one of the sustainable development agendas that encourage community involvement and participation in contributing to sustainability. Moreover, with the rapid population growth, especially in urban cities as the proportion of urban dwellers will reach two-thirds of the world population, this will lead to several problems including the social life changing intensely. Sustainable Cohousing is one of the suggested answers for an innovative form of neighbourly accommodation. Generally, Cohousing is formed by a group of people who are committed to living as a community and who actively participate in the design and operation to shape their own neighbourhood. Through this concept, the community can decide how they can implement sustainability principles in terms of social, economical and environmental terms in their neighbourhood. Therefore, it is important to bring back the sense of togetherness amongst the people and improve their social wellbeing through an effective neighbourhood. The objective of this study is to isolate the basic concept of Cohousing and to identify the conceptual framework of Sustainable Cohousing that may apply to improving the sustainable living in Malaysia. The research methodology was through identifying and reviewing the issues in existing literature on cohousing chosen from various dimensions, such as principles and elements, sustainable value, development model and so on, which can be suited with the Malaysian culture. The findings of this research are useful for property development practitioners and policy makers in promoting sustainability through the new concept of modern housing.

The Concept of Sustainable Development as a Paradigm of Development of Sosiety

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Khaustova Viktoriia Ye.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article is dedicated to studying the concept of sustainable development as a new paradigm of development of humanity. The genesis of the evolution of the views of scientists on the goals, essence, and problems of the introduction of this concept are considered. The interpretation of the concept of “sustainable development” by scientists and practitioners is analyzed, and the main approaches to understanding its essence are grouped. The basic principles of sustainable development are singled out. The main approaches to assessing sustainable development of socio-economic systems at different levels, their content, goals, and features of application are investigated. The views of scientists on the path to achieving sustainable development are considered, and the key discussion aspects in solving this problem are identified. It is shown that the concept of sustainable development has undergone a long evolution and continues to develop in accordance with new global challenges. Sustainable development is associated with the formation of a fundamentally new attitude towards man: on the one hand, as a subject of the ecological and economic system, on the other hand, as the main goal of its development. It is substantiated that the transition to sustainable development on a global scale is possible only with the obligatory condition of coherence of all objects and subjects of this process, which is systemic in nature and connects all levels of the socio-economic system (the global, national, regional, local one and various spheres of its functioning (the economic, social, ecological one.

Geography, sustainability and the concept of glocalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herman Theodoor Verstappen

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Sustainability focuses on the question whether our planet can sustain the present and future global human impact. The related environmental issues and particularly global changes, such as increasing temperatures, rising sea level, deforestation and deteriorating biodiversity, have become a key subject in earth science research. The social and economic components of sustainability, however, get less scientific attention and are often ignored in political and religious circles. Emphasis is on the symptoms of the issue rather than on coping strategies. Are the growing population numbers and social discrepancies compatible with sustainability and is the free market economy of our consumption society compatible with the ecological limits of growth, social balance and human aspirations? Sustainable development is a realistic concept only if its economic aspects are shouldered by social and environmental considerations and if regional and local diversity is respected. The globalization required today thus should be coupled with decentralized glocalization. In this interdisciplinary field of regional differentiation geography can make important contributions. Earth observation from satellites and data handling using geoinformation systems are essential tools.

The Cradle to Cradle concept - is it always sustainable?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Strandesen, Maria

TerraSkin with a cellulose based reference paper was conducted. From this, energy systems and recycling infrastructure was found to be decisive parameters for the sustainability of C2C products. They are therefore not always sustainable. Moreover a literature study identified inherent sustainability......The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) concept has gained wide interest among especially designers over the past few years. This paper aims to investigate whether C2C products are in fact always sustainable and to explore whether an ideal C2C society is so too. An LCA comparing the C2C certified mineral paper...

Sustainability Education: Researching Practice in Primary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Monica; Somerville, Margaret

2015-01-01

Many teachers are keen to implement sustainability education in primary schools but are lacking the confidence, skills and knowledge to do so. Teachers report that they do not understand the concept and cannot integrate sustainability into an already overcrowded curriculum. Identifying how teachers successfully integrate sustainability education…

A template for integrated community sustainability planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Christopher; Hanna, Kevin; Dale, Ann

2009-08-01

This article describes a template for implementing an integrated community sustainability plan. The template emphasizes community engagement and outlines the components of a basic framework for integrating ecological, social and economic dynamics into a community plan. The framework is a series of steps that support a sustainable community development process. While it reflects the Canadian experience, the tools and techniques have applied value for a range of environmental planning contexts around the world. The research is case study based and draws from a diverse range of communities representing many types of infrastructure, demographics and ecological and geographical contexts. A critical path for moving local governments to sustainable community development is the creation and implementation of integrated planning approaches. To be effective and to be implemented, a requisite shift to sustainability requires active community engagement processes, political will, and a commitment to political and administrative accountability, and measurement.

On Establishing of the Concept of «Smart» Sustainable City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korepanov Oleksiy S.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at carrying out a comparative analysis of different approaches to the definition of concepts of «smart city» and «smart sustainable city», as well as formalizing these concepts for their implementation, which will potentially contribute to spreading of both the concept and the national practice of sustainable urban development, including the economic, environmental, and general justice issues. The main reasons connected with the key role of cities in the social and economic aspects of people’s life over the world and the enormous influence on the ecological stability are considered; the main current scientific sources concerned with the research on «smart» cities are covered, and their comparative analysis is carried out. The definitions of other alternative concepts such as «digital» city, «intellectual» city, «virtual» city, etc., representing more concrete and less inclusive levels of development of city, are considered in detail and presented. The differences between the concept of «smart city» and other related terms in three categories are discussed. A detailed analysis of different keywords from different sources is carried out. Based on the carried out analysis, six primary categories have been identified: smart life, smart people, smart environment and sustainability, smart management, smart mobility and smart economy, which are important for understanding the essence of «smart» sustainable city.

Beyond the buildingcentric approach: A vision for an integrated evaluation of sustainable buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conte, Emilia; Monno, Valeria

2012-01-01

The available sustainable building evaluation systems have produced a new environmental design paradigm. However, there is an increasing need to overcome the buildingcentric approach of these systems, in order to further exploit their innovate potential for sustainable building practices. The paper takes this challenge by developing a cross-scale evaluation approach focusing on the reliability of sustainable building design solutions for the context in which the building is situated. An integrated building–urban evaluation model is proposed based on the urban matrix, which is a conceptualisation of the built environment as a social–ecological system. The model aims at evaluating the sustainability of a building considering it as an active entity contributing to the resilience of the urban matrix. Few holistic performance indicators are used for evaluating such contribution, so expressing the building reliability. The discussion on the efficacy of the model shows that it works as a heuristic tool, supporting the acquisition of a better insight into the complexity which characterises the relationships between the building and the built environment sustainability. Shading new lights on the meaning of sustainable buildings, the model can play a positive role in innovating sustainable building design practices, thus complementing current evaluation systems. - Highlights: ► We model an integrated building–urban evaluation approach. ► The urban matrix represents the social–ecological functioning of the urban context. ► We introduce the concept of reliability to evaluate sustainable buildings. ► Holistic indicators express the building reliability. ► The evaluation model works as heuristic tool and complements other tools.

Application of the concept of integrated management system in the higher education institutions

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Janovac Tatjana D.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The concept of integrated management system in higher education is a new approach to organizing, and it has an aim to increase efficiency and coordinate all levels of management, decision making, and implementation of the teaching-learning process. Each level of management and decision-making is correlated with factors of internal and external environment. Integrated management system does not introduce new elements, but rationalize the use of the common elements, and thus provides a common synergy effect elements such as policy, planning, continuous improvement, teamwork and process approach. The possibility of applying the concept of integrated management system indicates that raising the quality of teaching-learning process, as well as recognition of liabilities to customers and stakeholders, is the basis for the development of the institution and achieving success. The use of this model is significant in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the business, and the education system. Implementation of integrated management system in the higher education sector represents a new paradigm and the mode of operation.

New Sustainable Model of Biorefineries: Biofactories and Challenges of Integrating Bio- and Solar Refineries.

Science.gov (United States)

Abate, Salvatore; Lanzafame, Paola; Perathoner, Siglinda; Centi, Gabriele

2015-09-07

The new scenario for sustainable (low-carbon) chemical and energy production drives the development of new biorefinery concepts (indicated as biofactories) with chemical production at the core, but flexible and small-scale production. An important element is also the integration of solar energy and CO2 use within biobased production. This concept paper, after shortly introducing the motivation and recent trends in this area, particularly at the industrial scale, and some of the possible models (olefin and intermediate/high-added-value chemicals production), discusses the opportunities and needs for research to address the challenge of integrating bio- and solar refineries. Aspects discussed regard the use of microalgae and CO2 valorization in biorefineries/biofactories by chemo- or biocatalysis, including possibilities for their synergetic cooperation and symbiosis, as well as integration within the agroenergy value chain. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sustainable development in the EU : Redefining and operationalizing the concept

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Hees, Sander R W

Although sustainable development plays an important role in EU law, neither EU law nor EU policy clearly explains what the concept means and how it must be put into practice. Policy-makers, NGOs, politicians and businesses do, however, need guidance on sustainable development for the purpose of good

Interpreting sustainable development

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

1998-01-01

Over the past decade, the term" sustainable development"has emerged as the principal concept in the development field. The concept emerged in the 1970s and was first promoted in the international environmental and development communities with the publication of the " world conservation strategy"(1980). It was popularized by the Brundtland report, " Our common future"(1987). The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as " development which meets the needs of the present, without compromising the sustainability of future generation to meet their own needs". The Earth Summit(1992) established "sustainable development" as the most important policy of the 21st century. Since then, the relationship between development and environment has been widely discussed and sustainabale development is now an important part of the vocabulary of environmental policy research and analysis. In this paper, we begin by tracing the evolution of the concept of sustainable development. Definitions of sustainable development in ecology, economics and sociology are then explored and discussed. This paper also examine the contribution that a broadly-based concept of sustainable development can make: as a goal, an attitude and as a guiding principle for integrating economic development and environmental protection.

Efficient, equitable and sustainable energy policy in a small open economy: Concepts and assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Youngho; Fang, Zheng

2017-01-01

This study aims to develop three broadly defined concepts of designing and evaluating energy policy of a small open economy, namely, efficiency, equity, and sustainability which are applied to Singapore. By analysing the historical energy and economic data and examining energy policies and programs implemented, this study finds that (1) energy intensity improves over time and three strategies employed to improve energy efficiency - tariffs, deregulation and setting energy standards - are found to have some positive effects. (2) A utility rebate programme is implemented and revised continuously to achieve equity in energy consumption across Singapore households. (3) By the weak concept of sustainability, Singapore is considered marginally sustainable. Institutional, technological and market-based approaches are being implemented to increase energy efficiency, improve energy equity and secure sustainability. - Highlights: • Three concepts of designing and evaluating energy policy are developed. • Efficiency, equity and sustainability are the three concepts. • Three strategies are identified in improving energy efficiency. • A utility rebate programme is to achieve equity in energy consumption across households. • Institutional and market-based approaches are to secure sustainable energy supply.

The integral fast reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Yoon I.; Marchaterre, J.F.

1987-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an innovative liquid metal reactor concept being developed at Argonne National Laboratory. It seeks to specifically exploit the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel in a way that leads to substantial improvements in the characteristics of the complete reactor system. The IFR concept consists of four technical features: (1) liquid sodium cooling, (2) pool-type reactor configuration, (3) metallic fuel, and (4) an integral fuel cycle, based on pyrometallurgical processing and injection-cast fuel fabrication, with the fuel cycle facility collocated with the reactor, if so desired. This paper gives a review of the IFR concept

Exploring Corn-Ethanol As A Complex Problem To Teach Sustainability Concepts Across The Science-Business-Liberal Arts Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Oches, E. A.; Szymanski, D. W.; Snyder, B.; Gulati, G. J.; Davis, P. T.

2012-12-01

stakeholders in developing and implementing policy on renewable fuels standards and ethanol production targets for the U.S. In Microeconomics students learn cost-benefit analysis and other concepts by applying economics principles to the corn ethanol problem. Following the disciplinary activities, students are asked to reconsider the central corn ethanol problem and evaluate it from a sustainability perspective. Assessment is ongoing, although initial results suggest that undergraduate students have difficulty integrating knowledge across multiple disciplines when evaluating a complex sustainability problem. Based on our initial assessment, we are exploring ways to modify the corn ethanol module as well as fine-tune the assessment instruments to provide the most effective outcomes possible. Because there are commonly institutional barriers to team teaching and other methods of cross-disciplinary instruction, we are recruiting faculty from additional disciplines to adapt and implement the corn ethanol module as a way of integrating sustainability concepts across the curriculum. Our goal is to teach complex, trans-disciplinary problem-solving and have students explore ways in which sustainability issues must be addressed through the application of concepts from the environmental and social sciences, public policy, and economics.

The Integrated Scorecard in support of corporate sustainability strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Journeault, Marc

2016-11-01

Organizations have increasingly recognized the importance and benefits of developing a sustainability strategy that incorporates environmental and social responsibilities. However, the simultaneous integration of the economic, environmental and social aspects remains a major concern for organizations. The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) represents one of the most promising strategic tools to help organizations face these challenges and support their sustainability strategy. However, past research has provided unclear, incomplete and even contradictory SBSC frameworks while offering little knowledge about how to integrate stakeholder management as well as environmental and social performance within the balanced scorecard to successfully support a corporate sustainability strategy. The aim of this study is to address these issues and limitations by proposing the Integrated Scorecard, a specific SBSC that integrates the three pillars of sustainability performance within four different perspectives, namely environmental, social and economic performance, stakeholder management, internal business processes, and skills and capabilities. This study provides a conceptual approach to the Integrated Scorecard and illustrates, through the use of two practical illustrations, the ability of this framework to support the corporate sustainability strategy by identifying the core sustainability objectives that organizations should achieve when creating value, facilitating the understanding of the contribution of environmental and social initiatives on economic performance, allowing the monitoring and measurement of the strategy's level of achievement, and creating synergy between sustainability performance management and reporting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainability in the Business Case

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ron Schipper; Gilbert Gilbert Silvius

2012-01-01

This paper explores the integration of indicators that reflect the concepts of sustainability into business cases and business case evaluation methods. It is based on the observations that sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time and that sustainable development requires

InTeGrate: Transforming the Teaching of Geoscience and Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Blockstein, D.; Manduca, C. A.; Bralower, T. J.; Castendyk, D.; Egger, A. E.; Gosselin, D. C.; Iverson, E. A.; Matson, P. A.; MacGregor, J.; Mcconnell, D. A.; Mogk, D. W.; Nevle, R. J.; Oches, E. A.; Steer, D. N.; Wiese, K.

2012-12-01

InTeGrate is an NSF-funded community project to improve geoscience literacy and build a workforce that can apply geoscience principles to address societal issues. Three workshops offered this year by InTeGrate and its partner, On the Cutting Edge, addressed strategies for bringing together geoscience and sustainability within geoscience courses and programs, in interdisciplinary courses and programs, and in courses and programs in other disciplines or schools including arts and humanities, health science, and business. Participants in all workshops described the power of teaching geoscience in the context of sustainability and the utility of this approach in engaging students with geoscience, including student populations not traditionally represented in the sciences. Faculty involved in both courses and programs seek to teach important skills including the ability to think about systems and to make connections between local observations and challenges and global phenomena and issues. Better articulation of these skills, including learning outcomes and assessments, as well as documenting the relationship between these skills and employment opportunities were identified as important areas for further work. To support widespread integration of geoscience and sustainability concepts, these workshops initiated collections describing current teaching activities, courses, and programs. InTeGrate will continue to build these collections in collaboration with On the Cutting Edge and Building Strong Geoscience Departments, and through open contributions by individual faculty and programs. In addition, InTeGrate began developing new teaching modules and courses. Materials for use in introductory geoscience and environmental science/studies courses, distance learning courses, and courses for education majors are being developed and tested by teams of faculty drawn from at least three institutions, including several members from two-year colleges. An assessment team is

An Integrated Sustainable Business and Development System: Thoughts and Opinions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel J. C. Chen

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Companies understand the importance of monitoring and managing their environmental impacts and aim to integrate, with consistent quality control, effective reduce-reuse-recycle programs and risk preventions. By building an integrated sustainable business and development system to meet certain environmental standards, many companies are eligible to be “green” certified. Companies may consider recognizing global visions on sustainability while implementing local best practices. An integrated sustainable business and development system includes talent management, sustainable supply chain, practicing strategies of leveraging resources effectively, implementing social responsibilities, initiating innovative programs of recycling, reducing, and reusing, advancing leaders’ perceptions towards sustainability, reducing innovation barriers, and engaging sustainable practices strategically.

Development Concept Of Urban Housing Renewal Based On Sustainable Tourism A Case Study Of Kampung Tambak Bayan Surabaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annisa Nur Ramadhani

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Urban housing renewal is part of urban renewal that aims to make the housing environment more functional and integrated. Urban renewal implementation is necessary through a sustainable development concept approach that include physical social economic and cultural consideration into account. While sustainable tourism can be one of the efforts to support the development of urban economy and maintain the sustainability of sustainable development. Kampungs or informal settlements in Indonesia are potential to be developed as tourism area because each kampung has unique characteristics cultures site ambiences and local wisdom. Although they have many potentials there are still many kampungs that have not developed optimally yet. Therefore this study aims to formulate the development concepts of urban housing renewal based on sustainable tourism using Kampung Tambak Bayan as a case study in order to improving the quality of kampung through tourism approach that can reduce the number of slums as well as improving local citizens prosperity in a sustainable way. The datas are collected through observation questionnaire and documentation. The results of several quantitative and qualitatively descriptive analyses show that efforts to upgrade Kampung Tambak Bayan as a tourism destination can be realized through quality enhancements of physical environment basic infrastructures build tourism facilities stakeholder cooperation the establishment of tourism organization and local community empowerment in order to support the actualization of kampungs tourism.

Integral Fast Reactor concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Till, C.E.; Chang, Y.I.

1986-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an innovative LMR concept, being developed at Argonne National Laboratory, that fully exploits the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel to achieve breakthroughs in economics and inherent safety. This paper describes key features and potential advantages of the IFR concept, technology development status, fuel cycle economics potential, and future development path.

Integral Fast Reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Till, C.E.; Chang, Y.I.

1986-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an innovative LMR concept, being developed at Argonne National Laboratory, that fully exploits the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel to achieve breakthroughs in economics and inherent safety. This paper describes key features and potential advantages of the IFR concept, technology development status, fuel cycle economics potential, and future development path

Sustaining responsible tourism – The case of Kerala.

OpenAIRE

Kokkranikal, Jithendran; Chettiparamb, Angelique

2015-01-01

Responsible tourism is a concept that overlaps significantly with concepts of sustainable tourism, ethical tourism, pro-poor tourism and integrated tourism (Chettiparamb and Kokkranikal, 2012). Responsible tourism emphasises the role of businesses in achieving sustainability and can be seen as yet another concept within the sustainable tourism genre, which comprises many forms of tourism such as ecotourism, ethical tourism, alternative tourism, green tourism, soft tourism, etc. Responsible to...

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS: TRANSLATING CONCEPT INTO PRACTICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Idqan Fahmi

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Globalization has proven to spur economic growth for many countries in the world. It has, however, also negative impacts in terms of widening income gap, environmental degradation etc. such that many are worried that the growth will not be sustainable. Triple bottom line was introduced to make the economic growth and company competitiveness more sustainable. Although to define the concept is easy, to make it implemented, especially by developing countries, is another matter. Education and research track by universities is suggested to be one best way to accelerate the implementation of the concept. A case of Graduate Program of Management and Business (MB-IPB is used to illustrate the attempt.Keywords: Sustainable Business Competitiveness, Triple Bottom Line, MB-IPB, 3PsABSTRAKGlobalisasi telah terbukti memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi pada berbagai belahan dunia, tetapi juga mempunyai banyak dampak negatif yang dirasakan dalam bentuk melebarnya kesenjangan pendapatan, kerusakan lingkungan dll. Akibatnya banyak khawatir bahwa pertumbuhan ekonomi yang terjadi tidak akan berkelanjutan. Konsep Triple Bottom Line diperkenalkan untuk membuat pertumbuhan ekonomi dan dayasaing perusahaan lebih berkelanjutan. Walaupun konsep ini relatif mudah untuk dijelaskan, menerapkannnya ternyata tidak mudah, terutama di negara berkembang. Jalur pendidikan dan penelitian merupakan salah satu cara terbaik yang dapat dilakukan universitas untuk mempercepat penerapan konsep. Kasus Program Pascasarjana Manajemen dan Bisnis (MB-IPB digunakan untuk mengilustrasikan upaya tersebut.Kata kunci: Dayasaing Bisnis Berkelanjutan, Triple Bottom Line, MB-IPB, 3P

Integrated groundwater management: An overview of concepts and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Jakeman, Anthony J.; Barreteau, Olivier; Hunt, Randall J.; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Ross, Andrew; Jakeman, Anthony J.; Barreteau, Olivier; Hunt, Randall J.; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Ross, Andrew

2016-01-01

Managing water is a grand challenge problem and has become one of humanity’s foremost priorities. Surface water resources are typically societally managed and relatively well understood; groundwater resources, however, are often hidden and more difficult to conceptualize. Replenishment rates of groundwater cannot match past and current rates of depletion in many parts of the world. In addition, declining quality of the remaining groundwater commonly cannot support all agricultural, industrial and urban demands and ecosystem functioning, especially in the developed world. In the developing world, it can fail to even meet essential human needs. The issue is: how do we manage this crucial resource in an acceptable way, one that considers the sustainability of the resource for future generations and the socioeconomic and environmental impacts? In many cases this means restoring aquifers of concern to some sustainable equilibrium over a negotiated period of time, and seeking opportunities for better managing groundwater conjunctively with surface water and other resource uses. However, there are many, often-interrelated, dimensions to managing groundwater effectively. Effective groundwater management is underpinned by sound science (biophysical and social) that actively engages the wider community and relevant stakeholders in the decision making process. Generally, an integrated approach will mean “thinking beyond the aquifer”, a view which considers the wider context of surface water links, catchment management and cross-sectoral issues with economics, energy, climate, agriculture and the environment. The aim of the book is to document for the first time the dimensions and requirements of sound integrated groundwater management (IGM). The primary focus is on groundwater management within its system, but integrates linkages beyond the aquifer. The book provides an encompassing synthesis for researchers, practitioners and water resource managers on the concepts and

Sustainability of utility-scale solar energy: Critical environmental concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, R. R.; Moore-O'Leary, K. A.; Johnston, D. S.; Abella, S.; Tanner, K.; Swanson, A.; Kreitler, J.; Lovich, J.

2017-12-01

Renewable energy development is an arena where ecological, political, and socioeconomic values collide. Advances in renewable energy will incur steep environmental costs to landscapes in which facilities are constructed and operated. Scientists - including those from academia, industry, and government agencies - have only recently begun to quantify trade-off in this arena, often using ground-mounted, utility-scale solar energy facilities (USSE, ≥ 1 megawatt) as a model. Here, we discuss five critical ecological concepts applicable to the development of more sustainable USSE with benefits over fossil-fuel-generated energy: (1) more sustainable USSE development requires careful evaluation of trade-offs between land, energy, and ecology; (2) species responses to habitat modification by USSE vary; (3) cumulative and large-scale ecological impacts are complex and challenging to mitigate; (4) USSE development affects different types of ecosystems and requires customized design and management strategies; and (5) long-term ecological consequences associated with USSE sites must be carefully considered. These critical concepts provide a framework for reducing adverse environmental impacts, informing policy to establish and address conservation priorities, and improving energy production sustainability.

SUSTAINABILITY OF SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL: A MARKET INTEGRATION ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Chalil

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Crude Palm Oil (CPO is the biggest consumed vegetable oil in the world. The increase in CPO production raises concern on the environmental impact even outside the producing countries. As a response to this matter, the EU has made a requirement to only import certified CPO (CSPO. India and China, the two biggest importers in the world, are less restrictive to the environmental issues, and their demands are more influenced by CPO price levels. These countries are the main export markets for Indonesia and Malaysia, the two biggest CPO exporters in the world. This research using monthly price data from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, EU28, India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia. Market integrations are tested with Cointegration Test, Vector Error Correction Model and Seemingly Unrelated Regression. The results show that these markets are integrated, but European countries are unlikely to lead the price movement. Therefore, the concern on sustainable certification from the European countries still slowly spreads to other main importers, resulting in low absorption of CSPO. Keywords: market integration; sustainable palm oil; seemingly unrelated regression; vector Error correction model

Integrated policy analysis of sustainable urban and transportation development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, J.; Feng, T.; Fujiwara, A.; Fujiwara, A.; Zhang, Junyi

2013-01-01

Sustainable urban and transportation development needs to balance economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social equity. This study conducts integrated policy analyses by explicitly incorporating these sustainability goals and optimizing the performance of transportation networks.

SURF: Taking Sustainable Remediation from Concept to Standard Operating Procedure (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, L. M.; Wice, R. B.; Torrens, J.

2013-12-01

Over the last decade, many sectors of industrialized society have been rethinking behavior and re-engineering practices to reduce consumption of energy and natural resources. During this time, green and sustainable remediation (GSR) has evolved from conceptual discussions to standard operating procedure for many environmental remediation practitioners. Government agencies and private sector entities have incorporated GSR metrics into their performance criteria and contracting documents. One of the early think tanks for the development of GSR was the Sustainable Remediation Forum (SURF). SURF brings together representatives of government, industry, consultancy, and academia to parse the means and ends of incorporating societal and economic considerations into environmental cleanup projects. Faced with decades-old treatment programs with high energy outputs and no endpoints in sight, a small group of individuals published the institutional knowledge gathered in two years of ad hoc meetings into a 2009 White Paper on sustainable remediation drivers, practices, objectives, and case studies. Since then, SURF has expanded on those introductory topics, publishing its Framework for Integrating Sustainability into Remediation Projects, Guidance for Performing Footprint Analyses and Life-Cycle Assessments for the Remediation Industry, a compendium of metrics, and a call to improve the integration of land remediation and reuse. SURF's research and members have also been instrumental in the development of additional guidance through ASTM International and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. SURF's current efforts focus on water reuse, the international perspective on GSR (continuing the conversations that were the basis of SURF's December 2012 meeting at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC), and ways to capture and evaluate the societal benefits of site remediation. SURF also promotes and supports student chapters at universities across the US

Design of Concept of Sustainable Marketing Communication Strategy for a Ideal Industrial Enterprise and Practical Applications of this Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Šujaková, Monika; Golejová, Simona; Sakál, Peter

2017-09-01

In the contribution the authors deal with the design and use of a sustainable marketing communication strategy of an ideal industrial enterprise in the Slovak Republic. The concept of an ideal enterprise is designed to increase the enterprise's sustainable competitiveness through the formation of a corporate image. In the framework of the research, the practical application of the draft concept was realized through a semi-structured interview in the form of propositional logic.

The Potential of Religion in the Promotion and Implementation of the Concept of Sustainable Development

Science.gov (United States)

Sadowski, Ryszard F.

2017-12-01

This article presents religion's potential where the promotion and implementation of the concept of sustainable development are concerned. First inspired by Lynn White in the 1960s, discussion on religion's role in the ecological crisis now allows for an honest assessment of the ecological potential of various religious traditions and their contribution to the building of a sustainable world. This article on the one hand points to the religious inspirations behind the concept of sustainable development, and on the other highlights the joint action of representatives of religion and science in the name of sustainable development, as well as the involvement of religions in the concept's implementation.

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS: TRANSLATING CONCEPT INTO PRACTICE

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Idqan Fahmi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Globalization has proven to spur economic growth for many countries in the world. It has, however, also negative impacts in terms of widening income gap, environmental degradation etc. such that many are worried that the growth will not be sustainable. Triple bottom line was introduced to make the economic growth and company competitiveness more sustainable. Although to define the concept is easy, to make it implemented, especially by developing countries, is another matter. Education and research track by universities is suggested to be one best way to accelerate the implementation of the concept. A case of Graduate Program of Management and Business (MB-IPB is used to illustrate the attempt.   Keywords: Sustainable Business Competitiveness, Triple Bottom Line, MB-IPB, 3Ps   /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

Developing Boiler Concepts as Integrated Units

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Kim; Condra, Thomas Joseph; Houbak, Niels

2004-01-01

- consisting of pressure part, burner and control system. The Technical University of Denmark, MEK - Energy Engineering Section [12] has participated in the modelling process. The project has included static and dynamic modelling of the boiler concept. For optimization of operation, verication of performance......With the objective to be able to optimize the design and operation of steam boiler concepts Aalborg Industries A/S [1] has together with Aalborg University, Institute of Energy Technology [9] carried out a development project paying special attention to the boiler concept as an integrated unit......, emissions and to obtain long time operation experiences with the boiler concept, a full scale prototype has been built and these tests have been accomplished on the prototype. By applying this integrated unit approach to the boiler concept development it has been possible to optimize the different building...

INTEGRATED SUSTAINABLE MANGROVE FOREST MANAGEMENT

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Cecep Kusmana

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Mangrove forest as a renewable resource must be managed based on sustainable basis in which the benefits of ecological, economic and social from the forest have to equity concern in achieving the optimum forest products and services in fulfill the needs of recent generation without destruction of future generation needs and that does not undesirable effects on the physical and social environment. This Sustainable Forest Management (SFM practices needs the supporting of sustainability in the development of social, economic and environment (ecological sounds simultaneously, it should be run by the proper institutional and regulations. In operational scale, SFM need integration in terms of knowledge, technical, consultative of stakeholders, coordination among sectors and other stakeholders, and considerations of ecological inter-relationship in which mangroves as an integral part of both a coastal ecosystem and a watershed (catchment area. Some tools have been developed to measure the performent of SFM, such as initiated by ITTO at 1992 and followed by Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia (1993, CIFOR (1995, LEI (1999, FSC (1999, etc., however, the true nuance of SFM’s performance is not easy to be measured. 

Integrating Sustainability Education into International Marketing Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Perera, Chamila Roshani; Hewege, Chandana Rathnasiri

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to extend the current knowledge of curriculum developments in international business and marketing curricula. Integrating sustainability into business and marketing curricula of the universities are widely debated in previous literature. Sustainability is a global phenomenon; however, curriculum development…

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC

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Z. T. Imrani

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. The aim is to determine the socio-economic aspects of sustainable development of the Republic of Azerbaijan taking into account economic, environmental, social and environmental opportunities of the country; to find the rationale for the concept of sustainable development to eliminate major differences specific to regional economic development, management of economic and social development of the regions.Methods. Historical and comparative analysis, system approach, analysis of statistical and mathematical materials.Findings. We identified the advantages of the concept of sustainable development; cunducted the analysis of the dynamics of development of the leading industries in the region; studied the most promising sectors of the regions from the economic and geographic point of view.Conclusion. We identified socio-economic aspects of sustainable development of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“Sustainability Learning”: An Introduction to the Concept and Its Motivational Aspects

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Ralf Hansmann

2010-09-01

Full Text Available This theoretical paper clarifies the concept of sustainability learning and specifically analyzes motivational aspects. Mastering the challenges of sustainability requires individual learning as well as learning processes on different levels of human systems ranging from groups and organizations to human societies, and mankind as a whole. Learning processes of individuals play a fundamental role, since individuals constitute and shape the larger social aggregates. Learning processes on the level of social aggregates are important since social systems embed and influence individuals. Therefore, sustainability learning needs to be understood as a multi-level concept, comprising individual learning as well as learning processes of human systems. Transdisciplinarity and mutual learning between science and society are considered fundamental approaches of sustainability learning, and hence increase the capacity of mankind to manage human-environment systems in sustainable ways. Based on systemic considerations, the two-fold role, in which motivations act as determinants and targeted outcomes of sustainability learning processes, is explained together with the outstanding role that cooperation, hence cooperative motivation, plays for sustainable development. Finally, the multifaceted, controversial discourses on what sustainability ultimately means (for the scientific community, for a given cultural or political entity, organization, or individual person are considered.

On sustainable development of uranium mining industry in China based on the concept of ecological security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Shali; Tai Kaixuan

2011-01-01

Ecological security is an important issue for sustainable development of mining industry, on which the development of nuclear industry and nuclear power is based. But uranium mining and processing has larger effect on ecological environment which mainly include tailings, waste rock, waste water, and radiation effects. In this paper, the dialectical relationship between ecological security and sustainable relationship is analyzed, the ecological safety concept at home and abroad is compared and the role that ecological safety plays in the sustainable development of uranium mining based on analysis of restricting factors on uranium mining in China from the perspective of ecological security is also probed into. To achieve sustainable development of the uranium mining industry in China, an ecological security concept from four aspects must be established: 1) the concept of ecological security management; 2) the scientific concept of ecological security; 3) the concept of ecological security investment; and 4) the concept of ecological security responsibility. (authors)

INTEGRAL EDUCATION, TIME AND SPACE: PROBLEMATIZING CONCEPTS

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Ana Elisa Spaolonzi Queiroz Assis

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Integral Education, despite being the subject of public policy agenda for some decades, still carries disparities related to its concept. In this sense, this article aims to problematize not only the concepts of integral education but also the categories time and space contained in the magazines Em Aberto. They were organized and published by the National Institute of Educational Studies Anísio Teixeira (INEP, numbers 80 (2009 and 88 (2012, respectively entitled "Educação Integral e tempo integral" and " Políticas de educação integral em jornada ampliada". The methodology is based on Bardin’s content analysis, respecting the steps of pre-analysis (research corpus formed by the texts in the journals; material exploration (reading the texts encoding data choosing the registration units for categorization; and processing and interpretation of results, based on Saviani’s Historical-Critical Pedagogy. The work reveals convergent and divergent conceptual multiplicity, provoking a discussion about a critical conception of integral education. Keywords: Integral Education. Historical-Critical Pedagogy. Content Analysis.

Sustainability in Project Management Competences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ron Schipper; Gilbert Gilbert Silvius

2012-01-01

Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. How can we develop prosperity, without compromising the life of future generations? Companies are integrating ideas of sustainability in their marketing, corporate communication, annual reports and in their actions. The concept of

Ecological networks: a spatial concept for multi-actor planning of sustainable landscapes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Opdam, P.F.M.; Steingröver, E.G.; Rooij, van S.A.M.

2006-01-01

In this paper, we propose the ecological network concept as a suitable basis for inserting biodiversity conservation into sustainable landscape development. For landscapes to be ecologically sustainable, the landscape structure should support those ecological processes required for the landscape to

The Green Integrated Forest Biorefinery: An innovative concept for the pulp and paper mills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafione, Tatiana; Marinova, Mariya; Montastruc, Ludovic; Paris, Jean

2014-01-01

The Green Integrated Forest Biorefinery (GIFBR), a new concept suitable for implementation in pulp and paper mills is characterized by low greenhouse gases emissions, reduced water consumption and production of effluents. Its fossil fuel consumption must be nil. Several challenges have to be addressed to develop a sustainable GIFBR facility. An implementation strategy by phase is proposed to schedule the total capital investment over several years and to mitigate the economic risks associated with the transformation of an existing pulp and paper mill into a GIFBR. In the first phase of the methodology, the receptor mill and the biorefinery plant are selected. An intensive energy and material integration of the two plants is performed in the second phase, then a gasification unit is implemented and, finally a polygeneration unit is installed. The methodology is illustrated by application to a case study based on a reference Canadian Kraft mill. Each phase of the implementation strategy of the GIFBR is described. - Highlights: • The Green Integrated Forest Biorefinery (GIFBR) is a new biorefinery concept. • A GIFBR includes a pulp mill, a biorefinery, a gasification and a polygeneration units. • An implementation strategy by phase is proposed to successfully develop a GIFBR. • To determine achievable level of integration between the GIFBR constituents is crucial. • GIFBR concept technically and economically feasibility for pulp and paper mills

Integral sustainability as a basic (fundamental requirement for (urban innovation

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Lalošević Marija

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The authors are of the opinion that there is no alternative to sustainable development, and discuss on thesis that sustainability is now a key driver of innovation, but also its essential requirement. This paper discusses the sustainability as a concept that has, above all, the environmental, economic, social and cultural dimension. The aim of the study was to understand sustainability as a fundamental development principle and key benchmark in organisation and development of cities in the future. This paper explores the meaning of innovation processes, sustainability and innovation in urban planning, innovative approaches to sustainable urban development, initiatives in urban sustainability, the key elements of the implementation, modalities of providing financial resources for sustainable projects of public interest, as well as identification of areas suitable for innovation in urban planning, relying on the good practices implemented through multi-sector sustainable projects. In a broader sense, the objective of this paper is to emphasize the need: to promote concept of human dimension in urban development, to direct continual urban development towards 'green' orientation, to implement innovative and smart technologies in the management of modern cities; to promote public participation and multi-sectoral policies in urban development, and to encourage and stimulate sustainable (urban innovation.

Sustainable Development in the EU: Redefining and Operationalizing the Concept

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Sander R.W. van Hees

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Although sustainable development plays an important role in EU law, neither EU law nor EU policy clearly explains what the concept means and how it must be put into practice. Policy-makers, NGOs, politicians and businesses do, however, need guidance on sustainable development for the purpose of good policy-making, for effectively holding the EU accountable, and for the design of CSR programmes. To that end, this article will first explain the guidance which EU law and policy already offer on sustainable development. Subsequently, this article will propose (I a more workable definition of sustainable development than the one (the Brundtland definition which is currently used, and (II a framework of application for sustainable development. This framework of application (which will have the form of a sustainability impact assessment provides practical guidance for policy-makers, politicians, NGOs and businesses when dealing with sustainable development in their day-to-day work.

Defining sustainability as a social-cultural concept: Citizen panels visiting dairy farms in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogaard, B.K.; Oosting, S.J.; Bock, B.B.

2008-01-01

The important role of values is very evident when it comes to citizens' concept of sustainability. The present paper had the objective to define sustainability as a socio-cultural concept for livestock production systems. The main research question was: how do Dutch citizens value various aspects of

Sustainability of utility-scale solar energy – critical ecological concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Moore-O'Leary, Kara A.; Hernandez, Rebecca R.; Johnston, Dave S.; Abella, Scott R.; Tanner, Karen E.; Swanson, Amanda C.; Kreitler, Jason R.; Lovich, Jeffrey E.

2017-01-01

Renewable energy development is an arena where ecological, political, and socioeconomic values collide. Advances in renewable energy will incur steep environmental costs to landscapes in which facilities are constructed and operated. Scientists – including those from academia, industry, and government agencies – have only recently begun to quantify trade-offs in this arena, often using ground-mounted, utility-scale solar energy facilities (USSE, ≥1 megawatt) as a model. Here, we discuss five critical ecological concepts applicable to the development of more sustainable USSE with benefits over fossil-fuel-generated energy: (1) more sustainable USSE development requires careful evaluation of trade-offs between land, energy, and ecology; (2) species responses to habitat modification by USSE vary; (3) cumulative and large-scale ecological impacts are complex and challenging to mitigate; (4) USSE development affects different types of ecosystems and requires customized design and management strategies; and (5) long-term ecological consequences associated with USSE sites must be carefully considered. These critical concepts provide a framework for reducing adverse environmental impacts, informing policy to establish and address conservation priorities, and improving energy production sustainability.

Towards transdisciplinarity in Arctic sustainability knowledge co-production: Socially-Oriented Observations as a participatory integrated activity

Science.gov (United States)

Vlasova, Tatiana; Volkov, Sergey

2016-09-01

The paper is an attempt to tie together main biogeophysical and social science projects under the auspice of interdisciplinary sustainability science development. Special attention is put to the necessity of the transdisciplinary knowledge co-production based on activities and problem-solutions approaches. It puts attention to the role of monitoring activities in sustainability interdisciplinary science and transdisciplinary knowledge evolution in the Arctic. Socially focused monitoring named Socially-Oriented Observations creating a transdisciplinary space is viewed as one of sources of learning and transformations towards sustainability making possible to shape rapid changes happening in the Arctic based on sustainability knowledge co-production. Continuous Socially-Oriented Observations integrating scientific, education and monitoring methods enables to define adaptation and transformation pathways in the Arctic - the most rapidly changing region of our planet. Socially-Oriented Observations are based on the existing and developing interdisciplinary scientific approaches emerged within natural science and social science projects, sustainable development and resilience concepts putting principle attention to building sustainable and resilient socio-ecological systems. It is argued that the Arctic sustainability science is a valuable component of the whole and broader system of the Arctic Sustainability knowledge co-produced with the help of transdisciplinary approaches integrating science, local/traditional knowledge, entrepreneurship, education, decision-making. Socially-Oriented Observations are designed to be a transdisciplinary interactive continuous participatory process empowering deliberate choices of people that can shape the changes and enable transformation towards sustainability. Approaches of Socially-Oriented Observations and methods of implementation that have been developed since the IPY 2007/2008 and being practiced in different regions of the

The Integral Fast Reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Till, C.E.; Chang, Y.I.

1986-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an innovative LMR concept, being developed at Argonne National Laboratory, that exploits the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel to achieve breakthroughs in economics and inherent safety. This paper describes the key features and potential advantages of the IFR concept, its technology development status, fuel cycle economics potential, and its future development path

Sustainability in Project Management: Reality Bites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gilbert Gilbert Silvius; Ron Schipper; Snezana Nedeski

2012-01-01

The relationship between project management and sustainable development is rapidly gaining interest from both practitioners and academics. Studies on the integration of the concepts of sustainability into project management, approach this topic mostly from a conceptual, logical or moral point of

The Proposal Concept of Development and Implementation in Strategy of Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility in the Context of the HCS Model 3E

Science.gov (United States)

Sakál, Peter; Hrdinová, Gabriela

2016-06-01

This article is the result of a conceptual design methodology for the development of a sustainable strategy of sustainable corporate social responsibility (SCSR) in the context of the HCS model 3E formed, as a co-author within the stated grants and dissertation. On the basis of the use of propositional logic, the SCSR procedure is proposed for incorporation into the corporate strategy of sustainable development and the integrated management system (IMS) of the industrial enterprise. The aim of this article is the proposal of the concept of development and implementation strategy of SCSR in the context of the HCS model 3E.

Advanced Concept Architecture Design and Integrated Analysis (ACADIA)

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-03

1 Advanced Concept Architecture Design and Integrated Analysis (ACADIA) Submitted to the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) on...Research Report 20161001 - 20161030 Advanced Concept Architecture Design and Integrated Analysis (ACADIA) W911NF-16-2-0229 8504Cedric Justin, Youngjun

From Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Sustainability: Features of Financing Sustainable Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasylchuk Irуna P.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The theoretical basis of the concepts of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are studied. It is revealed that scientists mainly distinguish two main stages in the evolution of the concept of corporate social responsibility. There argued the expediency of singling out the third stage of the development of the concept (version CSR 2.0, which is characterized by the integration of the theoretical and practical foundations of the concepts of CSR and sustainable development as well as by their implementation into activities of corporations. The presence of the necessary prerequisites for singling out the new stage in the evolution of these concepts (version CSR 3.0, which is based on the provisions of the collaborative theory and provides for the cooperation of social enterprises and sustainable corporations in achieving the goals of sustainable development, is revealed, its expediency is justified. The determinant of the stage is the use of opportunities for sustainable development, the dominant is the social orientation, and its content is characterized by the slogan “doing common good to do common well”. Using generalization, there identified the features of the established models of sustainable development of corporations by key aspects (goals, principles, methods. On this basis, the features of approaches to financing sustainable development at the macro and micro levels are determined, and the principles for financing the activities of corporations in the new conditions are defined. It is concluded that achieving sustainability requires an effective system of financing corporate measures aimed at sustainable development, for the creation of which in Ukraine it is necessary to use the experience of “best practices” at the national, local and corporate levels.

SUSTAINABLE FARMS: INTEGRATION OF AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

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Manolo Muñoz-Espinosa

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The inappropriate use of agrochemicals and technologies in farming systems can cause an accelerated deterioration of agricultural and soil pollution. Thus, agriculture and livestock are becoming an environmental problem in the world, which implies the need to assess the efficiency of agricultural production systems related to sustainability. The traditional peasant system is apparently unsustainable, while farm with an integral production approach have better opportunities for development over time as they tend to sustainability. This type of farms incorporate productive alternatives that improve as a whole, the system and the livelihood of the peasants. The trends towards sustainability of farms are mainly due to a better land use. As well as, implementing systems adapted to each soil and production type to ensure profitability and persistence, achieving the highest possible agricultural productivity. The urgency to produce food for a growing population is almost a paradigm that reinforces the imperative for maximum yield per unit area, and creates a vision of the rural world aimed at increasing profit at the expense of the attributes and core values of livelihood in rural areas. It can be concluded that the integrated farming articulate various subsystems, which working together could allow higher sustainability of agricultural production practices, environmentally friendly, safeguarding the food sovereignty of the population and improving the quality of life of farmers

Structuring Ethical Interpretations of the Sustainable Development Goals—Concepts, Implications and Progress

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Martina Keitsch

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, like the sustainable development (SD concept itself, are open to multifaceted interpretations, and the same is true for their ethical implications. While SDG values are widely accepted as universal, the ethical structure of the SDGs is complex, with differing interpretations and ideas, e.g., on how to regard and value nature. This article is a conceptual attempt to clarify and structure ethical interpretations based on an environmental ethics framework consisting of two branches: anthropocentrism and biocentrism. The aim is to provide an overview of SDG positions and locate them in the wider field of environmental ethics, addressing the human–nature relationship as a recurring topic in the SDGs. Section 1 of this article presents environmental ethics and briefly discusses anthropocentrism and biocentrism. Section 2 outlines ethical similarities of SD and the SDGs and locates representative SDG interpretations within the environmental ethics framework. Section 3 summarizes findings and suggests a possibility of integrating biocentrism and anthropocentrism with regard to the further interpretation and discussion of SDG ethics. Insights from this article will aid researchers in adopting a better overview on ethical positions in the SDG debate.

THE CONCEPT OF LOCAL-SMART-HOUSING: TOWARDS SOCIO-CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY OF VERNACULAR SETTLEMENTS

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AmirHosein GhaffarianHoseini

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The recent decades have witnessed the widespread manifestation of intelligent building design development around the world. Meanwhile, the concept of smart housing as one of the main issues of intelligent building design development has stimulated various architects and designers to make use of it for the sake of sustainable housing. However, this study represents a gap in smart housing design owing to the lack of a deep consideration on cultural values of users for ensuring the socio-cultural sustainability as one of the objectives of sustainable smart housing designs. Accordingly, the study puts forward the concept of local-smart-housing through utilization of appropriate vernacular architectural features and cultural values of vernacular settlements in smart housing design in order to reinforce the sociocultural sustainability. Meanwhile, this study is limited to the Malay context in order to identify the vernacular features of Malay vernacular settlement’s functional spaces for utilization in smart housing design to make them culturally responsive. Correspondingly, this study proposes the concept of local-smart-housing based on the incorporation of intelligent building design and utilization of vernacular features for enhancing the quality of life for users.

Challenges of Integrating Affordable and Sustainable Housing in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Syed Jamaludin, S. Z. H.; Mahayuddin, S. A.; Hamid, S. H. A.

2018-04-01

Developing countries including Malaysia have begun to comprehend the needs for affordable and sustainable housing development. The majority of the population is still aspiring for a comfortable, safe and reasonably priced house. Households in the low-middle income range face difficulties to find housing that can satisfy their needs and budget. Unfortunately, most of the housing development programs are considering affordability rather than sustainable aspects. Furthermore, developers are more interested in profit and neglect sustainability issues. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review the challenges in integrating affordable housing and sustainable practices in Malaysia. This paper is produced based on an extensive literature review as a basis to develop strategies of integrated affordable and sustainable housing in Malaysia. The challenges are divided into four sections, namely market challenges, professional challenges, societal challenges and technological challenges. The outcomes of this paper will assist in the decision making involving housing development and in enhancing quality of life for sustainable communities.

Health and sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Kjӕrgård, Bente; Land, Birgit; Bransholm Pedersen, Kirsten

2014-09-01

In the present article, we explore how sustainable development strategies and health promotion strategies can be bridged. The concept of the 'duality of structure' is taken as our starting point for understanding the linkages between health promotion and sustainable development, and for uncovering the structural properties or conditions which either enable or constrain sustainable public health initiatives. We argue that strategies towards health promotion are not sufficiently integrated with strategies for sustainable development, and thus political strategies aimed at solving health problems or sustainability problems may cause new, undesired and unforeseen environmental or health problems. First, we explore how the relation between health and sustainability is articulated in international policy documents. Next, we develop a model for understanding the relation between health promotion and sustainability. Third, we use examples from agriculture and food production to illustrate that health and sustainability are mutually enabling and constraining. We conclude that while the renewed focus on food security and food inequalities has brought the health and sustainability dimensions of the food system onto the political agenda, the conceptualization of duality between health and sustainability could be a new platform for a critical and theoretical stance towards the market-oriented food system strategy. Thinking along the lines of duality means that the integration of health promotion strategies and sustainable development strategies cannot be based on an approach to integration in which either health or sustainability is given precedence over the other. From a duality perspective, integration means conceiving sustainability from a health perspective and health from a sustainability perspective. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Big data integration: scalability and sustainability

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Zhang

2016-01-26

Integration of various types of omics data is critically indispensable for addressing most important and complex biological questions. In the era of big data, however, data integration becomes increasingly tedious, time-consuming and expensive, posing a significant obstacle to fully exploit the wealth of big biological data. Here we propose a scalable and sustainable architecture that integrates big omics data through community-contributed modules. Community modules are contributed and maintained by different committed groups and each module corresponds to a specific data type, deals with data collection, processing and visualization, and delivers data on-demand via web services. Based on this community-based architecture, we build Information Commons for Rice (IC4R; http://ic4r.org), a rice knowledgebase that integrates a variety of rice omics data from multiple community modules, including genome-wide expression profiles derived entirely from RNA-Seq data, resequencing-based genomic variations obtained from re-sequencing data of thousands of rice varieties, plant homologous genes covering multiple diverse plant species, post-translational modifications, rice-related literatures, and community annotations. Taken together, such architecture achieves integration of different types of data from multiple community-contributed modules and accordingly features scalable, sustainable and collaborative integration of big data as well as low costs for database update and maintenance, thus helpful for building IC4R into a comprehensive knowledgebase covering all aspects of rice data and beneficial for both basic and translational researches.

A vision on methodology for integrated sustainable urban development: bequest

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bentivegna, V.; Curwell, S.; Deakin, M.; Lombardi, P.; Mitchell, G.; Nijkamp, P.

2002-01-01

The concepts and visions of sustainable development that have emerged in the post-Brundtland era are explored in terms laying the foundations for a common vision of sustainable urban development (SUD). The described vision and methodology for SUD resulted from the activities of an international

Supply Chain Management and Sustainability: Procrastinating Integration in Mainstream Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marisa P. de Brito

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Research has pointed out opportunities and research agendas to integrate sustainability issues with supply chain and operations management. However, we find that it is still not mainstream practice to systematically take a sustainability approach in tackling supply chain and operations management issues. In this paper, we make use of behavioral theory to explain the current lack of integration. We conclude through abductive reasoning that the reasons for procrastinating integration of sustainability in supply chain and operations management research are the conflicting nature of the task and the inherent context, which is the focus on operations rather than environmental or social issues.

Integrating Sustainability into the Real Estate Valuation Process: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper sought the perception of Nigerian real estate valuers on sustainable development and how sustainability can be integrated into the real estate valuation process in Nigeria. One hundred and sixty Estate Surveyors and Valuers were asked, among others, to rate the significance of a range of sustainability features ...

Convergence of boundary judgments and innovative regional development concepts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bressers, Johannes T.A.; Boer, C.L.

2013-01-01

Purpose: Sustainable regional development is often accompanied by the introduction and gradual implementation of innovative concepts, like, e.g. "integrated natural resources management" or "sustainable tourism". From a managerial perspective, in order to contribute to improved sustainable regional

Interpretations of the Concept of Sustainability Amongst the UK’s Leading Food and Drink Wholesalers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Jones

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The aim of this paper is to provide an exploratory review of the interpretations of the concept of sustainability amongst the UK’s leading food and drinks wholesalers, as revealed by the sustainability agendas and achievements reported on their corporate websites. Design/Methodology/Approach – The paper begins with short introductions to sustainability, corporate sustainability and sustainability reporting, and food and drinks wholesaling within the UK. The empirical material for the paper is drawn from reports and information posted on the leading food and drinks wholesalers’ corporate websites. Findings and implications – There are marked variations in the extent to which the UK’s leading food and drinks wholesalers reported and provided information on their sustainability agendas and achievements. These agendas and achievements embraced a wide range of environmental, social and economic issues, but the reporting process had a number of weaknesses that undermined its transparency and credibility. The authors also argue that the leading food and drinks wholesalers’ definitions of, and commitments to, sustainability are principally driven by business imperatives as by any fundamental concern to maintain the viability and integrity of natural and social capital. Limitations – The paper is a preliminary review of the sustainability agendas and achievements publicly reported by the UK’s leading food and drinks wholesalers. Originality – Within the food and drinks supply chain, wholesalers have a pivotal role at the interface between producers, manufacturers, retail and service providers, and as such they can play in promoting sustainability. However, the role of the UK’s wholesale sector in addressing sustainability has received scant attention in the academic literature, so this paper will interest academics and students in business management and marketing.

Integrating Sustainable Development into Operations Management Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Fredriksson, Peter; Persson, Magnus

2011-01-01

Purpose: It is widely acknowledged that aspects of sustainable development (SD) should be integrated into higher level operations management (OM) education. The aim of the paper is to outline the experiences gained at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden from integrating aspects of SD into OM courses. Design/methodology/approach: The paper…

Sustainability: Teaching an Interdisciplinary Threshold Concept through Traditional Lecture and Active Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Levintova, Ekaterina M.; Mueller, Daniel W.

2015-01-01

One of the difficulties in teaching global sustainability in the introductory political science classes is the different emphases placed on this concept and the absence of the consensus on where the overall balance between environmental protection, economic development, and social justice should reside. Like many fuzzy concepts with which students…

Sustainable Schools in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Within UNESCO's conception of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), schools should be implementing approaches to teaching and learning that integrate goals for conservation, social justice, appropriate development and democracy into a vision and a mission of personal and social change. ESD also involves ...

A solar vehicle based on sustainable design concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taha, Z.; Sah, J.M.; Passarella, R.; Ghazilla, R.A.R.; Ahmad, N.; Jen, Y.H.; Khai, T.T.; Kassim, Z.; Hasanuddin, I.; Yunus, M. [Malaya Univ., Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Faculty of Engineering, Centre for Product Design and Manufacture

2009-07-01

This paper described a newly constructed solar vehicle that was built specifically for the 2009 World Solar Challenge (WSC) using off-the-shelf parts. Researchers at the Centre for Product Design and Manufacture at the University of Malaya designed and built the solar car which uses solar energy to charge its batteries. Although the total investment for this sustainable product concept is small compared to other solar vehicles, the car's performance has met expectations. Most of the electrical and mechanical parts can be recycled and reused after the WSC event. The photovoltaic (PV) and maximum power point trackers (MPPT) can be re-used for home applications. The DC motor and the controller can be attached to a bicycle and the aluminium parts which make-up the main body structure can be recycled. The design will result in nearly zero waste. The study showed that the process of combining mechanical and electrical components is not an easy task, particularly at the design stage because of the specific characteristics and functions of the individual parts. This paper described how readily available, off-the-shelf mechanical and electrical components were integrated for the solar vehicle. The conceptual design and the performance of the prototype were also presented. 11 refs., 5 tabs., 11 figs.

Integrated co-operative governance in the context of sustainable development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Nealer

2011-07-01

Keywords:Sustainable development, governance, co-operative governance, integrated,organising, and communication. Disciplines:Public Administration, Public Management, Social Welfare, Environmental Management, Municipal public service delivery, Social Development, Organisational Behaviour, Co-operative Governance, Communication, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Organisational Development

How to Deliver Open Sustainable Innovation: An Integrated Approach for a Sustainable Marketable Product

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Cappa

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The adoption of open innovation and peer production, powered by 3D printing technology, is transforming traditional manufacturing methods towards a “third industrial revolution”. The purpose of this research is to provide empirical evidence for an integrated approach, based on collaborative product development and peer production, combined with 3D printing, to deliver more sustainable, yet competitive, marketable products. In particular, this experimental study is conducted in the context of mobile forensics, an emerging market where limited expensive products exist and alternative solutions are needed. The technical viability and economic feasibility of the prototype developed in this research validate the proposed integrated approach, which could be a game-changer in the field of mobile forensics, as well as in other sectors. The sustainability improvements with this approach are a reduction of the total cost, thereby making it affordable for lower income users, and a decrease in energy consumption and pollutant emissions. The validated integrated approach offers start-up opportunities to develop and deliver more sustainable, marketable products, towards the paradigm of Open Sustainable Innovation. While the device developed and tested in this research has similar features to existing products, the methodology, implementation, and motivation are original.

IDESSA: An Integrative Decision Support System for Sustainable Rangeland Management in Southern African Savannas

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Hanna; Authmann, Christian; Dreber, Niels; Hess, Bastian; Kellner, Klaus; Morgenthal, Theunis; Nauss, Thomas; Seeger, Bernhard; Tsvuura, Zivanai; Wiegand, Kerstin

2017-04-01

Bush encroachment is a syndrome of land degradation that occurs in many savannas including those of southern Africa. The increase in density, cover or biomass of woody vegetation often has negative effects on a range of ecosystem functions and services, which are hardly reversible. However, despite its importance, neither the causes of bush encroachment, nor the consequences of different resource management strategies to combat or mitigate related shifts in savanna states are fully understood. The project "IDESSA" (An Integrative Decision Support System for Sustainable Rangeland Management in Southern African Savannas) aims to improve the understanding of the complex interplays between land use, climate patterns and vegetation dynamics and to implement an integrative monitoring and decision-support system for the sustainable management of different savanna types. For this purpose, IDESSA follows an innovative approach that integrates local knowledge, botanical surveys, remote-sensing and machine-learning based time-series of atmospheric and land-cover dynamics, spatially explicit simulation modeling and analytical database management. The integration of the heterogeneous data will be implemented in a user oriented database infrastructure and scientific workflow system. Accessible via web-based interfaces, this database and analysis system will allow scientists to manage and analyze monitoring data and scenario computations, as well as allow stakeholders (e. g. land users, policy makers) to retrieve current ecosystem information and seasonal outlooks. We present the concept of the project and show preliminary results of the realization steps towards the integrative savanna management and decision-support system.

Research integrity and misconduct: a clarification of the concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Khanyile, T D; Duma, S; Fakude, L P; Mbombo, N; Daniels, F; Sabone, M S

2006-03-01

The commercialization of research and the ever changing scientific environment has led scholars to shift the focus from promoting research integrity to regulating misconduct. As a result, most literature explains research integrity in terms of avoidance of misconduct. The purpose of the paper is to stimulate reflection and discussion on research integrity and research misconduct. This article explores the meaning of research integrity and research misconduct, and how research integrity can be promoted to ensure safer research and scholarship. We believe that the discussion can help clarify some hazy areas in the research and publication processes, and appreciate some crucial aspects that they may have seen taken for granted. The purpose of this article is to share with the readers some clarification or analysis of the two concepts namely: research integrity and misconduct. The objectives are: (1) To explore and analyse the concepts of research integrity and research misconduct from the educational or developmental perspective and not the legal perspective as others in literature have done. (2) To stimulate the reflection and discussion on strategies to promote research integrity and thus prevent research misconduct Literature review and concept analysis was undertaken to clarify the two concepts. We argue that the two concepts can be viewed along a continuum, i.e. where research integrity ends, research misconduct starts. We also argue that it is the responsibility of the research community at large to always ensure that the scientific ethics balance is maintained throughout the research process to ensure research integrity and avoid research misconduct. We also argue that research integrity is interlinked with morality while misconduct is interlinked with immorality.

Life Cycle Thinking and Integrated Product Deliveries in renovation projects: Extending the concept of Integrated Product Deliveries with Product Service Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schipull Kauschen, Jan

2012-01-01

on renovation projects from Denmark, using different forms of IPDs for façade renovation and discusses the different stakeholder’s perspectives on life cycle thinking and their interests and values regarding sustainable building. Furthermore is the concept of Product Service Systems (PSS) as a valuable...... IPDs with regard to longevity and adaptability. CONCLUSION The new type of service-focused IPD and the related life-cycle responsibility (development, building phase, maintenance and dismantling/adaption/recycling) creates incentive to integrate life cycle thinking into the development process of IPDs......, resulting in more sustainable building solutions with a greater extend of positive environmental, economical and social impacts. The research presented will also show the importance of adaption and configuration of these complex building components by architects and planners, as they will have a great...

Plasma chemistry for concept of sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chernyak, V.Yu.; Nedybaliuk, O.A.; Tsymbaliuk, O.M.; Fedirchuk, I.I.; Chunikhina, K.I.; Martysh, E.V.; Iukhimenko, V.V.; Veremii, Iu.P.; Prisyazhnevych, I.V.; Prysiazhna, O.V.

2016-01-01

This work is devoted to the exploration of the compatibility of the hybrid plasma-catalytic conversion of liquid hydrocarbons into syngas with the concept of sustainable development. The results of the experimental investigations indicate the high efficiency of plasma-catalytic conversion of ethanol to syngas and the small amount of waste (a few percent of feedstock weight). The results of the simulation of the kinetics using ZDPlasKin code for traditional thermochemical and hybrid plasma-catalytic conversions indicate some differences in their mechanisms, which lead to the significant changes in the syngas ratio.

Sustainability in Project Management: Vision, Mission, Ambition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gilbert Gilbert Silvius

2012-01-01

Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. How can we develop prosperity, without compromising the life of future generations? Companies are integrating ideas of sustainability in their marketing, corporate communication, annual reports and in their actions. The concept of

Integrating Sustainability into Management Education: A Dean's Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Walck, Christa

2009-01-01

The integration of sustainability and environmental ethics into management education has improved in the past decade. This is partly a response to external pressure, as societal concerns about sustainability grow and businesses have made greater efforts to green their processes and products. But it is also a response to internal pressure from…

Achieving Sustainable Value Planning For Malaysian Public Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Faudzi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Sustainability is the central development issue in the modern economy. Through sustainable development, quality of life can be improved or maintained over time. Since Malaysia is targeting to become a high-income nation by the year 2020, financial investment in public projects should be planned comprehensively so that it will generate immediate and long-term benefits to the country and the people. Within the currently tight financial environment, achieving value for money in public spending is seen as one of the enablers to maintain the right momentum of economic growth. Previous studies have established the importance of integrating sustainability consideration into Value Planning protocol in order to achieve value for money, underpinned by the sustainable development agenda. Despite the establishment of the framework for the integration, the opportunity of such integration within the Malaysian Value Planning protocol for public projects remains unclear. The present state of sustainability consideration within the Value Planning practice should be first evaluated, so that potential interventions to enhance the integration can be introduced. Responding to the gap, this exploratory study was conducted. The data was collected by means of document analysis, interviews and observations; subsequently analysed using the Template Analysis technique. Based on the current practice of Value Planning in Malaysia, ten interventions are proposed to transform the present practice into Sustainable Value Planning. Sustainable Value Planning is seen as a comprehensive concept in achieving value for money in public spending underpinned by the overarching concept of sustainability

Assessing Corporate Sustainability integration for corporate self-reflection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witjes, Sjors; Vermeulen, Walter J.V.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/072613335; Cramer, Jacqueline M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/069242518

2017-01-01

This article aims to shed light on mechanisms to integrate a strategy on Corporate Sustainability in companies. The analysis is based on a holistic method derived from organisation theory, organisational behaviour theory and strategic management theory. The process of integration into the

Integrated sustainable urban infrastructures in building projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Quitzau, Maj-Britt; Elle, Morten

2007-01-01

Current strategies in urban planning and development merely promote standardized building solutions, while failing to prioritize innovative approaches of integration between building projects and sustainable urban infrastructures. As a result of this, urban infrastructures – the urban veins...... – are outdated from a sustainability perspective. This paper looks into more holistic ways of approaching building projects and discuss whether this provide a basis for an increased integration of urban infrastructures within building projects. In our study, we especially emphasise how conventional ways...... of approaching building projects are influenced by lock-in of existing infrastructural systems and compare this with two examples of more holistic ways of approaching building projects, developed by two architecture firms. The paper points out that such holistic perspective in building projects provide...

Advancing Integrated Systems Modelling Framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony Halog

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The need for integrated methodological framework for sustainability assessment has been widely discussed and is urgent due to increasingly complex environmental system problems. These problems have impacts on ecosystems and human well-being which represent a threat to economic performance of countries and corporations. Integrated assessment crosses issues; spans spatial and temporal scales; looks forward and backward; and incorporates multi-stakeholder inputs. This study aims to develop an integrated methodology by capitalizing the complementary strengths of different methods used by industrial ecologists and biophysical economists. The computational methodology proposed here is systems perspective, integrative, and holistic approach for sustainability assessment which attempts to link basic science and technology to policy formulation. The framework adopts life cycle thinking methods—LCA, LCC, and SLCA; stakeholders analysis supported by multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA; and dynamic system modelling. Following Pareto principle, the critical sustainability criteria, indicators and metrics (i.e., hotspots can be identified and further modelled using system dynamics or agent based modelling and improved by data envelopment analysis (DEA and sustainability network theory (SNT. The framework is being applied to development of biofuel supply chain networks. The framework can provide new ways of integrating knowledge across the divides between social and natural sciences as well as between critical and problem-solving research.

The Saale-Project -A multidisciplinary approach towards sustainable integrative catchment management -

Science.gov (United States)

Bongartz, K.; Flügel, W. A.

2003-04-01

In the joint research project “Development of an integrated methodology for the sustainable management of river basins The Saale River Basin example”, coordinated by the Centre of Environmental Research (UFZ), concepts and tools for an integrated management of large river basins are developed and applied for the Saale river basin. The ultimate objective of the project is to contribute to the holistic assessment and benchmarking approaches in water resource planning, as required by the European Water Framework Directive. The study presented here deals (1) with the development of a river basin information and modelling system, (2) with the refinement of a regionalisation approach adapted for integrated basin modelling. The approach combines a user friendly basin disaggregation method preserving the catchment’s physiographic heterogeneity with a process oriented hydrological basin assessment for scale bridging integrated modelling. The well tested regional distribution concept of Response Units (RUs) will be enhanced by landscape metrics and decision support tools for objective, scale independent and problem oriented RU delineation to provide the spatial modelling entities for process oriented and distributed simulation of vertical and lateral hydrological transport processes. On basis of this RUs suitable hydrological modelling approaches will be further developed with strong respect to a more detailed simulation of the lateral surface and subsurface flows as well as the channel flow. This methodical enhancement of the well recognised RU-concept will be applied to the river basin of the Saale (Ac: 23 179 km2) and validated by a nested catchment approach, which allows multi-response-validation and estimation of uncertainties of the modelling results. Integrated modelling of such a complex basin strongly influenced by manifold human activities (reservoirs, agriculture, urban areas and industry) can only be achieved by coupling the various modelling approaches

Novel Concept of an Installation for Sustainable Thermal Utilization of Sewage Sludge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilhelm Jan Tic

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This study proposes an innovative installation concept for the sustainable utilization of sewage sludge. The aim of the study is to prove that existing devices and technologies allow construction of such an installation by integration of a dryer, torrefaction reactor and gasifier with engine, thus maximizing recovery of the waste heat by the installation. This study also presents the results of drying tests, performed at a commercial scale paddle dryer as well as detailed analysis of the torrefaction process of dried sewage sludge. Both tests aim to identify potential problems that could occur during the operation. The scarce literature studies published so far on the torrefaction of sewage sludge presents results from batch reactors, thus giving very limited data of the composition of the torgas. This study aims to cover that gap by presenting results from the torrefaction of sewage sludge in a continuously working, laboratory scale, isothermal rotary reactor. The study confirmed the feasibility of a self-sustaining installation of thermal utilization of sewage sludge using low quality heat. Performed study pointed out the most favorable way to use limited amounts of high temperature heat. Plasma gasification of the torrefied sewage sludge has been identified that requires further studies.

Health and Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Land, Birgit; Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm; Kjærgård, Bente

2014-01-01

In the present article, we explore how sustainable development strategies and health promotion strategies can be bridged. The concept of the ‘duality of structure’ is taken as our starting point for understanding the linkages between health promotion and sustainable development, and for uncovering...... the structural properties or conditions which either enable or constrain sustainable public health initiatives. We argue that strategies towards health promotion are not sufficiently integrated with strategies for sustainable development, and thus political strategies aimed at solving health problems...... or sustainability problems may cause new, undesired and unforeseen environmental or health problems. First, we explore how the relation between health and sustainability is articulated in international policy documents. Next, we develop a model for understanding the relation between health promotion...

Sustainable refurbishment of exterior walls and building facades. Final report, Part B - General refurbishment concepts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vares, S.; Pulakka, S.; Toratti, T. [and others

2012-11-01

This report is the second part of the final report of Sustainable refurbishment of building facades and exterior walls (SUSREF). SUSREF project was a collaborative (small/medium size) research project within the 7th Framework Programme of the Commission and it was financed under the theme Environment (including climate change) (Grant agreement no. 226858). The project started in October 1st 2009 and ended in April 30th 2012. The project included 11 partners from five countries. SUSREF developed sustainable concepts and technologies for the refurbishment of building facades and external walls. This report together with SUSREF Final report Part B and SUSREF Final Report Part C introduce the main results of the project. Part A focuses on methodological issues. The descriptions of the concepts and the assessment results of the developed concepts are presented in SUSREF Final report part B (generic concepts) and SUSREF Final report Part C (SME concepts). The following list shows the sustainability assessment criteria defined by the SUSREF project. These are Durability; Impact on energy demand for heating; Impact on energy demand for cooling; Impact on renewable energy use potential; Impact on daylight; Environmental impact of manufacture and maintenance; Indoor air quality and acoustics; Structural stability; Fire safety; Aesthetic quality; Effect on cultural heritage; Life cycle costs; Need for care and maintenance; Disturbance to the tenants and to the site; Buildability. This report presents sustainability assessment results of general refurbishment concepts and gives recommendations on the basis of the results. The report covers the following refurbishment cases - External insulation - Internal insulation - Cavity wall insulation - Replacement Insulation during renovation.

Taking Responsibility: The integration of Sustainability and Project Management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jasper van den Brink; Gilbert Gilbert Silvius

2011-01-01

Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. How can we develop prosperity, without compromising the life of future generations? Companies are integrating ideas of sustainability in their marketing, corporate communications, annual reports and in their actions. Projects as

Definition hierarchically integrated of sustainability indicators applied to a system of alert early, in orinoquia and Colombian amazonia; as example: First advance in investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bustamante Zamudio, C.; Botero Garcia, R.

1996-01-01

It is necessary to establish the approaches that should be involved to the sustainability concept, clearly of agreement with the concrete objectives that it wants to reach (sustainable agriculture, economic, institutional sustainability, politics) as well as to evaluate and to discern the varied interpretations on the methodologies of sustainability determination. The urgency of understanding like an integrality the development problems in the countries of the third world, related with their, agricultural sectors, the state and potentiality of their resources, the exchange relationships in the international market and the raw materials, allow the presentation of different roads for the identification of strategies in the search of the sustainability

Integration of Sustainability in Engineering Education: Why Is PBL an Answer?

Science.gov (United States)

Guerra, Aida

2017-01-01

Purpose: Education for sustainable development (ESD) is one of the challenges engineering education currently faces. Engineering education needs to revise and change its curriculum to integrate ESD principles and knowledge. Problem based learning (PBL) has been one of the main learning pedagogies used to integrate sustainability in engineering…

Applying Andragogical Concepts in Creating a Sustainable Lifelong Learning Society

Science.gov (United States)

Charungkaittikul, Suwithida; Henschke, John A.

2017-01-01

Today, the world is changing, re-establishing the role of education to have a developed society. This article aims to explore the practical application of Andragogy as a key element for creating a sustainable lifelong learning society, to propose strategies for developing a lifelong learning society using andragogical concepts, to enhance…

Figure/ground analogy for integrated sustainability & planning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Beyers, C

2006-12-01

Full Text Available This article proposes a figure ground analogy as alternative way of conceptually integrating sustainability and planning. Within this framework planners are challenged to creatively consider planning practice and thought against a background...

Integration of ecological and thermodynamic concepts in the design of sustainable energy landscapes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stremke, S.; Koh, J.

2011-01-01

Resource depletion and climate change motivate a transition to sustainable energy systems that make effective use of renewable sources. Whereas nature presents strategies to sustain on the basis of renewables, the Laws of Thermodynamics can help to increase efficiency in energy use. In previous

Integrating Sustainability across the University Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Dmochowski, Jane Ellen; Garofalo, Dan; Fisher, Sarah; Greene, Ann; Gambogi, Danielle

2016-01-01

Purpose: Colleges and universities increasingly have the mandate and motivation to integrate sustainability into their curricula. The purpose of this paper is to share the strategy used at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and provide an evaluation of its success and guidance to others creating similar programs. Design/methodology/approach:…

Integrating sustainability into Business Education teacher training

African Journals Online (AJOL)

aimed at integrating sustainability in their teacher training curriculum. ... by debate about ideology, resource allocation efficiency and economic policy for the greater good of the ... vative ways to provide long-term service rather than sale of.

Sustainable energy development as an integral part of hydroelectric business management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, W.; Yu, M.; Young, C.

1996-01-01

Elements of Ontario Hydro's strategy for sustainable energy development were discussed, highlighting key developments in the business management practices in Ontario Hydro's Hydroelectric Business Unit. Sustainable development considerations are now integral part of any business case analysis; management of the environment also has been integrated into the Utilities' business management process. Several environmental management practices intended to enhance sustainability have been introduced, including a full-fledged environmental management system based on ISO 14001 standards. Energy efficiency opportunities are aggressively pursued, including turbine upgrades, and energy efficient lighting. Experience to date indicates that business performance and progress towards sustainable energy development need not be mutually exclusive

Approach to an Affordable and Sustainable Space Transportation System

Science.gov (United States)

McCleskey, Caey M.; Rhodes, R. E.; Robinson, J. W.; Henderson, E. M.

2012-01-01

This paper describes an approach and a general procedure for creating space transportation architectural concepts that are at once affordable and sustainable. Previous papers by the authors and other members of the Space Propulsion Synergy Team (SPST) focused on a functional system breakdown structure for an architecture and definition of high-payoff design techniques with a technology integration strategy. This paper follows up by using a structured process that derives architectural solutions focused on achieving life cycle affordability and sustainability. Further, the paper includes an example concept that integrates key design techniques discussed in previous papers. !

Decentralized peri-urban wastewater treatment technologies assessment integrating sustainability indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Mena-Ulecia, Karel; Hernández, Heykel Hernández

2015-01-01

Selection of treatment technologies without considering the environmental, economic and social factors associated with each geographical context risks the occurrence of negative impacts that were not properly foreseen, working against the sustainable performance of the technology. The principal aim of this study was to evaluate 12 technologies for decentralized treatment of domestic wastewater applicable to peri-urban communities using sustainability approaches and, at the same time, continuing a discussion about how to address a more integrated assessment of overall sustainability. For this, a set of 13 indicators that embody the environmental, economic and social approach for the overall sustainability assessment were used by means of a target plot diagram as a tool for integrating indicators that represent a holistic analysis of the technologies. The obtained results put forward different degrees of sustainability, which led to the selection of: septic tank+land infiltration; up-flow anaerobic reactor+high rate trickling filter and septic tank+anaerobic filter as the most sustainable and attractive technologies to be applied in peri-urban communities, according to the employed indicators.

An integrated framework for sustainable development goals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Griggs

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The United Nations (UN Rio+20 summit committed nations to develop a set of universal sustainable development goals (SDGs to build on the millennium development goals (MDGs set to expire in 2015. Research now indicates that humanity's impact on Earth's life support system is so great that further global environmental change risks undermining long-term prosperity and poverty eradication goals. Socioeconomic development and global sustainability are often posed as being in conflict because of trade-offs between a growing world population, as well as higher standards of living, and managing the effects of production and consumption on the global environment. We have established a framework for an evidence-based architecture for new goals and targets. Building on six SDGs, which integrate development and environmental considerations, we developed a comprehensive framework of goals and associated targets, which demonstrate that it is possible, and necessary, to develop integrated targets relating to food, energy, water, and ecosystem services goals; thus providing a neutral evidence-based approach to support SDG target discussions. Global analyses, using an integrated global target equation, are close to providing indicators for these targets. Alongside development-only targets and environment-only targets, these integrated targets would ensure that synergies are maximized and trade-offs are managed in the implementation of SDGs.

Integrating international relations and environmental science course concepts through an interactive world politics simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Straub, K. H.; Kesgin, B.

2012-12-01

During the fall 2012 semester, students in two introductory courses at Susquehanna University - EENV:101 Environmental Science and POLI:131 World Affairs - will participate together in an online international relations simulation called Statecraft (www.statecraftsim.com). In this strategy game, students are divided into teams representing independent countries, and choose their government type (democracy, constitutional monarchy, communist totalitarian, or military dictatorship) and two country attributes (industrial, green, militaristic, pacifist, or scientific), which determine a set of rules by which that country must abide. Countries interact over issues such as resource distribution, war, pollution, immigration, and global climate change, and must also keep domestic political unrest to a minimum in order to succeed in the game. This simulation has typically been run in political science courses, as the goal is to allow students to experience the balancing act necessary to maintain control of global and domestic issues in a dynamic, diverse world. This semester, environmental science students will be integrated into the simulation, both as environmental advisers to each country and as independent actors representing groups such as Greenpeace, ExxonMobil, and UNEP. The goal in integrating the two courses in the simulation is for the students in each course to gain both 1) content knowledge of certain fundamental material in the other course, and 2) a more thorough, applied understanding of the integrated nature of the two subjects. Students will gain an appreciation for the multiple tradeoffs that decision-makers must face in the real world (economy, resources, pollution, health, defense, etc.). Environmental science students will link these concepts to the traditional course material through a "systems thinking" approach to sustainability. Political science students will face the challenges of global climate change and gain an understanding of the nature of

The scale concept and sustainable development: implications on the energetics and water resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demanboro, Antonio Carlos; Mariotoni, Carlos Alberto

1999-01-01

The relationships between both the demographic growth and the water and energetic resources are focused. The planet scale and carrying capacity are discussed starting from the maximum and optimum sustainable concepts, both anthropocentric and biocentric. Two scenarios denominated 'sustainable agriculture' and 'sharing-water' are elaborated with the available resources of water, fertile lands and energy consumption, and with the population trends. (author)

Is sustainable resource utilisation a relevant concept in Avanersuaq? The walrus case

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Astrid Oberborbeck; Heide-Jorgensen, Mads Peter; Flora, Janne

2018-01-01

analyse how walruses acquire multiple values as they circulate in different networks. Sustainable resource utilisation, we conclude, is a concept that is relevant in Avanersuaq and beyond, because it works as a biological standard, and hence organises laws, norms, and practices of formal management......This article addresses the role of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in present-day Avanersuaq from anthropological and biological perspectives, and asks whether or not sustainable resource utilisation is a useful concept in northwest Greenland. We describe the relations that unfold...... around walrus and walrus hunting, in the communities living adjacent to the North Water polynya on the eastern side of Smith Sound. We examine the interplay of walrus population abundance, hunting practices, uses, and formal (governmental) and informal (traditional) ways of regulating the hunt, and we...

Integrated sustainable development and energy resource planning

OpenAIRE

Virgiliu NICULA

2011-01-01

Integrated sustainable development of a country cannot be conceived and begun without considering in an intricate tandem environmental protection and economic development. No one can exist without a natural material support of the life he or she enjoys. All economic development plans must include environmental and human civilization’s protection implicitly. Integrated resource planning must be done in an absolutely judicious manner, so we can all leave as a legacy for future generations both ...

Application of Life Cycle Assessment for Corporate Sustainability : Integrating environmental sustainability in business for value creation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Manda, B.M.K.

2014-01-01

The main objective of this research is to make a contribution to bridge the gap between sustainability science and business management by improving the integration of sustainability in core business of corporations. The core business of corporations is to provide products and services to meet

Assessing Sustainability Teaching and Learning in Geography Education

Science.gov (United States)

Widener, Jeffrey M.; Gliedt, Travis; Tziganuk, Ashlee

2016-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to understand if geographers, who teach in a new sustainability program, are conveying new knowledge, understanding, skills and competence about the integrated and holistic concept of "sustainability", rather than individual human-environmental issues to the students. In other words, are geography professors…

Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Kantar

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a sociological view of possibilities for the development of sustainable rural tourism in Koprivnica-Krizevci county, which is located in the north-western part of Croatia. The possibilities for developing rural tourism within the concept of sustainable development have been researched through qualitative empirical research interview method. Research subjects were the owners of tourist farms, decision makers, experts and other stakeholders in the tourism development. Rural tourism represents an alternative to maritime tourism and is relatively undeveloped but important in terms of development of rural areas and family farms. This paper enables an insight into an integrated sustainability of rural tourism which consists of four dimensions: biologicalecological, economic, socio-cultural and political sustainability. In conclusion, integral sustainability in rural tourism is not achieved in all dimensions. Therefore, rural tourism could be a strategy for sustainable development for rural areas and also could be a tool for product differentiation for area that are at stagnation stage.

Is Nuclear Energy Sustainable - A Comparative Perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirschberg, S.

2002-01-01

The electric utility sector is of central importance for economic growth and social development. While numerous societal and economic benefits arise from electricity production, it can also have impacts which may not be fully and unanimously reconciled with the concept of sustainability. Moving the electricity sector towards sustainable development calls for the integration of environmental, social and economic aspects in the decision-making process. As an input to such a process, one needs to assess how the different options perform with respect to specific sustainability criteria. As a part of the ''Comprehensive Assessment of Energy Systems'', carried out by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the electricity and heat supply systems are examined in view of sustainability criteria and the associated indicators, thus allowing operationalization of the sustainability concept

From EcoDesign to Industrial Metabolism: Redefinition of Sustainable Innovation and Competitive Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taps, Stig B.; Brunø, Thomas Ditlev; Nielsen, Kjeld

2013-01-01

evaluation of the most commonly tools and techniques in use and suggests a redefinition of the concept of EcoDesign by integrating End-of-Life activities to gain industrial metabolism. This approach takes a broader innovation perspective, necessary to construct a sustainable innovation community...

The sustainability of communicative packaging concepts in the food supply chain. A case study: part 2. Life cycle costing and sustainability assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dobon, A.; Cordero, P.; Pereira da Silva, F.I.D.G.; Ostergaard, S.R.; Antvorskov, H.; Robertsson, M.; Smolander, M.; Hortal, M.

2011-01-01

This paper is the second part of a two-paper series dealing with the sustainability evaluation of a new communicative packaging concept. The communicative packaging concept includes a device that allows changing the expiry date of the product as function of temperature during transport and storage:

An integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of electricity generation in Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atilgan, Burcin; Azapagic, Adisa

2016-01-01

This paper presents for the first time an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of the electricity sector in Turkey, considering environmental, economic and social aspects. Twenty life cycle sustainability indicators (11 environmental, three economic and six social) are used to evaluate the current electricity options. Geothermal power is the best option for six environmental impacts but it has the highest capital costs. Small reservoir and run-of-river power has the lowest global warming potential while large reservoir is best for the depletion of elements and fossil resources, and acidification. It also has the lowest levelised costs, worker injuries and fatalities but provides the lowest life cycle employment opportunities. Gas power has the lowest capital costs but it provides the lowest direct employment and has the highest levelised costs and ozone layer depletion. Given these trade-offs, a multi-criteria decision analysis has been carried out to identify the most sustainable options assuming different stakeholder preferences. For all the preferences considered, hydropower is the most sustainable option for Turkey, followed by geothermal and wind electricity. This work demonstrates the importance for energy policy of an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment and how tensions between different aspects can be reconciled to identify win-win solutions. - Highlights: •First integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of the electricity sector in Turkey. •11 environmental, three economic and six social sustainability indicators estimated. •Multi-criteria decision analysis carried out to identify most sustainable options. •Hydro is the most sustainable option for Turkey, followed by geothermal and wind. •This work demonstrates how tensions among sustainability aspects can be reconciled.

Integrating health impact assessment into the triple bottom line concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahoney, Mary; Potter, Jenny-Lynn

2004-01-01

This theoretical study explores the links between the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) concept and the principles of HIA and considers the potential role of HIA to provide a mechanism for integrating health concerns within a broader agenda of government and business. TBL is a framework linked to the broader sustainability agenda that underpins and reviews environmental, economic and social performance of organizations. In its simplest form, TBL acts as a tool for reporting to stakeholders/shareholders organizational performance and the nature of the impacts on the community. The links to HIA are clear as both seek to determine the impact (potential and actual) on the health and well-being of the population. The study found that TBL can operate at four levels within organizations ranging from reporting through to full integration with the organization's goals and practices. Health is narrowly defined and there are tensions about how to undertake the social accountability functions. The study shows the potential role for HIA within the broader policy and accountability agenda. As health is one of the main outcomes of an organization's activities it needs to be taken into account at all levels of activity

Building Innovation and Sustainability in Programs of Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Villarruel, Antonia M

2018-01-01

Innovation and sustainability are two important concepts of impactful programs of research. While at first glance these concepts and approaches may seem at odds, they are synergistic. We examine the social, political, and policy context as it relates to innovation and sustainability. We present an exemplar of a program of research and discuss factors to consider in developing innovative and sustainable programs of research. Innovation is an important component of sustainable programs of research. Understanding the social and political context and addressing relevant policy issues are factors to be considered in both innovation and sustainability. Innovation and sustainability, important components of research, are also central to clinical practice. Open communication between researchers and clinicians can support the acceleration of innovations and the integration of evidence-based findings in practice. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Tourism development in Serbia: On the way to sustainability and European integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orlović-Lovren Violeta

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to contribute to improvement of tourism policy and practice in Serbia towards defining and implementing sustainability principles and meeting European integration requirements. It encompasses short review of international implications on Serbian tourism policy and legislation. Current policy and its sustainability are analyzed using two indicators: application of integrated (cross sector and local community approach, with particular focus on tourism, environmental and planning documents. There is general orientation towards sustainability and involvement of local community into the planning and implementation of projects in the field. Precisely defined mechanisms for public participation and integrated approach, first of all mainstreaming of environmental issues into tourism strategic document, are preconditions for reaching country’s sustainability goals and EU integration orientation. Points that should be improved are suggested and the need for mutual cooperation and capacity development of stakeholders at all levels, including further international support, strongly advocated.

Supply Chain Management and Sustainability : Procrastinating Integration in Mainstream Research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Brito, M.P.; Van der Laan, E.A.

2010-01-01

Research has pointed out opportunities and research agendas to integrate sustainability issues with supply chain and operations management. However, we find that it is still not mainstream practice to systematically take a sustainability approach in tackling supply chain and operations management

Supply Chain Management and Sustainability: Procrastinating Integration in Mainstream Research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.P. de Brito (Marisa); E.A. van der Laan (Erwin)

2010-01-01

textabstractResearch has pointed out opportunities and research agendas to integrate sustainability issues with supply chain and operations management. However, we find that it is still not mainstream practice to systematically take a sustainability approach in tackling supply chain and operations

The Integrated Model of Sustainability Perspective in Spermatophyta Learning Based on Local Wisdom

Science.gov (United States)

Hartadiyati, E.; Rizqiyah, K.; Wiyanto; Rusilowati, A.; Prasetia, A. P. B.

2017-09-01

In present condition, culture is diminished, the change of social order toward the generation that has no policy and pro-sustainability; As well as the advancement of science and technology are often treated unwisely so as to excite local wisdom. It is therefore necessary to explore intra-curricular local wisdom in schools. This study aims to produce an integration model of sustainability perspectives based on local wisdom on spermatophyta material that is feasible and effective. This research uses define, design and develop stages to an integration model of sustainability perspectives based on local wisdom on spermatophyta material. The resulting product is an integration model of socio-cultural, economic and environmental sustainability perspective and formulated with preventive, preserve and build action on spermatophyta material consisting of identification and classification, metagenesis and the role of spermatophyta for human life. The integration model of sustainability perspective in learning spermatophyta based on local wisdom is considered proven to be effective in raising sustainability’s awareness of high school students.

FOREN 2004. Sustainable Energy Development and European Integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iancu Iulian

2004-01-01

The 7th Regional Energy Forum- FOREN 2004 with the main topic 'Sustainable Energy Development and European Integration' took place in Neptun-Olimp, on 13th to 17th June 2004. The event was organized by WEC Romanian National Committee, under the auspices of the World Energy Council (WEC). The event was accompanied by several related manifestation as: An up to date Technical Programme designed to explore key issues concerning the ability of the Romanian energy industry to integrate in the European Union; An Exhibition providing first hand access to service and equipment providers; A Partnership Programme, to present the achievements and developments of power companies in round tables, film projections, technical visits and advertising; Social events giving to participants the opportunity to establish direct connections with the Romanian colleagues. The Forum was open to members of the World Energy Council, energy industry leaders, government ministers and officials, heads of international organizations like: UNECE, EC, IEA, Eurelectric, IGU, EUROgas, USAID, academics, media, individual and corporate members interested in sustainable energy development. For further details concerning the agenda and registration. Forum 2004 was structured on five sections each containing a key issue a panel session, communication session and poster presentation on the following items: 1. Energy legislation and institutional framework; 2. The technological dimension of sustainable energy; 3. The ecological dimension of sustainable development; 4. The social dimension of sustainable development; 5. The power equipment manufacturing industry

Integral fast reactor concept inherent safety features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchaterre, J.F.; Sevy, R.H.; Cahalan, J.E.

1987-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an innovative liquid-metal-cooled reactor concept being developed at Argonne National Laboratory. The two major goals of the IFT development effort are improved economics and enhanced safety. The design features that together fulfill these goals are: 1) a liquid metal (sodium) coolant, 2) a pool-type reactor primary system configuration, 3) an advanced ternary alloy metallic fuel, and 4) an integral fuel cycle. This paper reviews the design features that contribute to the safety margins inherent to the IFR concept. Special emphasis is placed on the ability of the IFR design to accommodate anticipated transients without scram (ATWS)

Integral Fast Reactor concept inherent safety features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchaterre, J.F.; Sevy, R.H.; Cahalan, J.E.

1986-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an innovative liquid-metal-cooled reactor concept being developed at Argonne National Laboratory. The two major goals of the IFR development effort are improved economics and enhanced safety. The design features that together fulfill these goals are: (1) a liquid metal (sodium) coolant, (2) a pool-type reactor primary system configuration, (3) an advanced ternary alloy metallic fuel, and (4) an integral fuel cycle. This paper reviews the design features that contribute to the safety margins inherent to the IFR concept. Special emphasis is placed on the ability of the IFR design to accommodate anticipated transients without scram (ATWS)

Integration: valuing stakeholder input in setting priorities for socially sustainable egg production.

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, J C; Lee, Y; Thompson, P B; Bawden, R; Mench, J A

2011-09-01

Setting directions and goals for animal production systems requires the integration of information achieved through internal and external processes. The importance of stakeholder input in setting goals for sustainable animal production systems should not be overlooked by the agricultural animal industries. Stakeholders play an integral role in setting the course for many aspects of animal production, from influencing consumer preferences to setting public policy. The Socially Sustainable Egg Production Project (SSEP) involved the development of white papers on various aspects of egg production, followed by a stakeholder workshop to help frame the issues for the future of sustainable egg production. Representatives from the environmental, food safety, food retail, consumer, animal welfare, and the general farm and egg production sectors participated with members of the SSEP coordination team in a 1.5-d workshop to explore socially sustainable egg production. This paper reviews the published literature on values integration methodologies and the lessons learned from animal welfare assessment models. The integration method used for the SSEP stakeholder workshop and its outcome are then summarized. The method used for the SSEP stakeholder workshop can be used to obtain stakeholder input on sustainable production in other farm animal industries.

"Eat as If You Could Save the Planet and Win!" Sustainability Integration into Nutrition for Exercise and Sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Nanna; Reguant-Closa, Alba

2017-04-21

Today's industrial food production contributes significantly to environmental degradation. Meat production accounts for the largest impact, including greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use. While food production and consumption are important aspects when addressing climate change, this article focuses predominantly on dietary change that promotes both health for planet and people with focus on athletes. Healthy, sustainable eating recommendations begin to appear in various governmental guidelines. However, there remains resistance to the suggested reductions in meat consumption. While food citizens are likely to choose what is good for them and the planet, others may not, unless healthy eating initiatives integrate creative food literacy approaches with experiential learning as a potential vehicle for change. This concept paper is organized in three sections: (1) Environmental impact of food; (2) health and sustainability connections; and (3) application in sports and exercise. For active individuals, this article focuses on the quantity of protein, highlighting meat and dairy, and quality of food, with topics such as organic production and biodiversity. Finally, the timing of when to integrate sustainability principles in sport nutrition is discussed, followed by practical applications for education and inclusion in team, institutional, and event operations.

Integrated farm sustainability assessment for the environmental management of rural activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stachetii Rodrigues, Geraldo; Aparecida Rodrigues, Izilda; Almeida Buschinelli, Claudio Cesar de; Barros, Inacio de

2010-01-01

Farmers have been increasingly called upon to respond to an ongoing redefinition in consumers' demands, having as a converging theme the search for sustainable production practices. In order to satisfy this objective, instruments for the environmental management of agricultural activities have been sought out. Environmental impact assessment methods are appropriate tools to address the choice of technologies and management practices to minimize negative effects of agricultural development, while maximizing productive efficiency, sound usage of natural resources, conservation of ecological assets and equitable access to wealth generation means. The 'system for weighted environmental impact assessment of rural activities' (APOIA-NovoRural) presented in this paper is organized to provide integrated farm sustainability assessment according to quantitative environmental standards and defined socio-economic benchmarks. The system integrates sixty-two objective indicators in five sustainability dimensions - (i) Landscape ecology, (ii) Environmental quality (atmosphere, water and soil), (iii) Sociocultural values, (iv) Economic values, and (v) Management and administration. Impact indices are expressed in three integration levels: (i) specific indicators, that offer a diagnostic and managerial tool for farmers and rural administrators, by pointing out particular attributes of the rural activities that may be failing to comply with defined environmental performance objectives; (ii) integrated sustainability dimensions, that show decision-makers the major contributions of the rural activities toward local sustainable development, facilitating the definition of control actions and promotion measures; and (iii) aggregated sustainability index, that can be considered a yardstick for eco-certification purposes. Nine fully documented case studies carried out with the APOIA-NovoRural system, focusing on different scales, diverse rural activities/farming systems, and contrasting

The concept of sustainable development as a methodological base to form strategy for enterprises of oil complex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Smirnov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article substantiates the need for the enterprises of the oil complex as a methodological basis of their strategy concept of sustainable development, according to which natural resources are treated as natural capital, similar in quality funds. The author of the article analyzed the research of Russian and foreign scientists on the theory of sustainable development from different perspectives, as well as the Concept of the Russian Federation transition to sustainable development, the main criteria for sustainability, particularly management of industrial enterprises in the field of nature and the environment. It was found that the implementation of sustainable development ideas "oil for future generations" is not only a moral and environmental dimension, and financial performance. If companies invest in the exploration work sufficient to sustain growth of proved reserves of raw materials, it will inevitably raise the level of its capitalization.

InTeGrate: Interdisciplinary Teaching about the Earth for a Sustainable Future

Science.gov (United States)

Manduca, C. A.

2017-12-01

InTeGrate supports integrated interdisciplinary learning about resource and environmental issues across the undergraduate curriculum to create a sustainable and just civilization. The project has developed teaching materials and examples of their use in programs and is currently engaged in a suite of activities that support use of these resources in improving undergraduate Earth education. Thirty-three sets of teaching materials supporting instruction over time periods of 2 weeks to a full semester have been developed by teams of faculty and peer-reviewed to ensure strong research-based pedagogic design and attention to five design principles: 1) address one or more grand challenges involving the Earth and society, 2) develop student ability to address interdisciplinary problems, 3) improve student understanding of the nature and methods of science and developing geoscientific habits of mind, 4) make use of authentic and credible science data to learn central concepts in the context of scientific methods of inquiry, and, 5) incorporate systems thinking. They have been tested in a wide variety of institutional and disciplinary settings and are documented with instructor notes describing adaptation for specific settings. All published materials passed a review for scientific accuracy. Sixteen program models demonstrate strategies for strengthening learning about Earth and sustainability at scales ranging from a department to an interinstitutional collaboration. These examples document the use of InTeGrate resources in the development and evaluation of these programs. A synthesis of lessons learned by these projects addresses strategies for teaching about the Earth across the curriculum. InTeGrate is currently supporting use of ideas and resources developed over the past six years of project work through a webinar series, workshops at professional society meetings, a traveling workshop program for departments and regions, a set of online learning communities and

Integrating technology education concepts into China's educational system

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Faxian

The problem of this study was to develop a strategy for integrating technology education concepts within the Chinese mathematics and science curricula. The researcher used a case study as the basic methodology. It included three methods for collecting data: literature review, field study in junior and senior secondary schools in America and China, and interviews with experienced educators who were familiar with the status of technology education programs in the selected countries. The data came from the following areas: Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, China, and five states in the United States: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York. The researcher summarized each state and country's educational data, identified the advantages and disadvantages of their current technology education program, and identified the major concepts within each program. The process determined that identified concepts would be readily acceptable into the current Chinese educational system. Modernization of, industry, agriculture, science and technology, and defense have been recent objectives of the Chinese government. Therefore, Chinese understanding of technology, or technology education, became important for the country. However, traditional thought and culture curb the implementation of technology education within China's current education system. The proposed solution was to integrate technology education concepts into China's mathematics and science curricula. The purpose of the integration was to put new thoughts and methods into the current educational structure. It was concluded that the proposed model and interventions would allow Chinese educators to carry out the integration into China's education system.

Conception of integrator in cross-border E-commerce

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arkadiusz Kawa

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background:  E-commerce is one of the most dynamic and important sectors of the economy. The latest trend in this market is cross-border trade. It is based on selling products to customers who are located in other countries. However, it is connected to several problems, such as a high cost and long time of delivery, language barriers, different legal and tax conditionings, etc. Methods: The studies were conducted on the basis of the authors' experience in the field of e-commerce. The issue of cross-border commerce was mainly analysed with the use of reports of the European Commission. The aim of the article is to propose a conception of an integrator of cross-border e-commerce, which will make it possible, among other things, to solve logistic problems. Results: The article presents an authorial conception of an integrator in cross-border e-commerce. Its main task is to integrate the whole supply chain. Thanks to the economies of scale, obtained as a result of consolidation of parcels from many e-shops, the integrator is able to achieve lower delivery costs in international transport, make returns of goods more effective and serve customers from different countries better. Conclusions: The conception of an integrator in cross-border commerce proposed in the article may increase competitiveness of micro and small e-enterprises, especially in the international arena. Moreover, applying this conception may contribute to a rise in the attractiveness of cross-border commerce, which, as result of a greater sale level, would contribute to an increase in the total e-commerce.

Sustainable spatial development in higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maja Terlević

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development is not only a great challenge for society as a whole, but also for higher education institutions, which have been rapidly including sustainable development in their educational process in the last two decades. Directly or indirectly, education for sustainable spatial development includes all aspects of sustainable development: environmental, economic, social and cultural. Space is a junction of various interests, which requires coordinating the entire process of spatial planning, taking into account the goal of sustainable spatial development. The existing values of space are insufficient for the rapid implementation of a sustainable spatial development paradigm. Suitable education is needed by both individuals and spatial planning professionals and at all levels of education. It is therefore necessary to transform some of the academic programs in the higher education curriculum by integrating teaching content and methods that include long-term knowledge and holistic thinking, taking into account the importance of interdisciplinary integration. This article reviews literature in sustainable development in higher education from 2002 to 2013. Topics discussed include students’ and teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development, the presence of sustainable development and sustainable spatial development in higher education and the reasons for the slow introduction of this material into the curriculum. Based on a literature analysis, the last section identifies important drivers that can contribute to a more rapid integration of a sustainable spatial development paradigm into higher education.

Stakeholder cooperation in implementation of the sustainable development concept: Montenegrin tourist destinations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ljiljana Pjerotic

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The importance of involving diverse stakeholders in tourism planning is receiving growing recognition. Tourism destination planning is a complex process, due to the existence of a wide variety of stakeholders with a wide range of opinions, multiple problem visions and different interests. Despite the complexity of the planning process one feature acknowledged for successful destination management planning is high level of stakeholder cooperation. The paper examines the level of stakeholder cooperation on the specific example of the sustainable development concept implementation in Montenegrin tourism. It starts with two hypotheses: first, the development level of instruments for managing tourist destination depends on stakeholder cooperation level in a particular destination, and second, implementation of the sustainable development concept is positively correlated with the development of instruments for managing tourist destination. The results have indicated poor implementation of tourism development plans and low level of stakeholder cooperation.

The Matter of Geography in Education for Sustainable Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grindsted, Thomas Skou

2015-01-01

Geographical imaginations are absolutely vital to make sense of sustainability challenges. Yet, a number of studies reveal that geography education has been slow in integrating issues of sustainability into curricula. Geography is particularly interesting in the context of ESD, due to its tradition...... to addressing issues of sustainability. Then, it is examined how geographers articulate their role and function as to addressing issues of sustainability. It is concluded that, though geographers generally are reluctant with using the concept of sustainability, and find it better serves as an implicit notion...... approaches to be able to understand the dynamics, complexity and interactions in various scales. Third, geographers find their discipline provides an integrative knowledge platform between the natural and social sciences....

The integration of “building information modeling” (BIM in sustainable architecture and construction education: case study in Pristina University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Violeta Nushi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available After a comparative review of articles published for used types of “Building Information Modeling” (BIM software, this study provides a wider understanding and critical reflection on integration and synthesis of BIM developments into Kosovo education system in order to provide important guidance to academic researchers, students, and practitioners. As the effectiveness of BIM has been widely accepted in the worldwide “Architecture, Engineering, Construction” (AEC industry, there is an urgent need to establish a synergy between BIM educated and practitioners in Kosovo likewise. This necessarily leads towards finding more intensive and suitable approaches and tools, for an integrated solution through the education system; in particular, to offer worldwide BIM's practices into sustainable AEC education programs, curricula and/or courses. Virtually, the most of the Technical Faculties within universities of Kosovo pretermit viability of BIM in teaching strategy and plan to overcome the barriers to integration of BIM into the curriculum. Through conducted questionnaire to students was surveyed the current state of BIM integration at higher education curricula of Sustainable Architecture and Construction (SAC programs. Based upon their answers, came out the recommendation to increase the appraiser's knowledge for BIM in curricula, followed up by new sustainable didactical concepts and awareness, which will energize the commencement of BIM into SAC programs and establish graduates, equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for BIM software before they get promoted in professional calling.

An Integrated Model of Academic Self-Concept Development: Academic Self-Concept, Grades, Test Scores, and Tracking over 6 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Herbert W.; Pekrun, Reinhard; Murayama, Kou; Arens, A. Katrin; Parker, Philip D.; Guo, Jiesi; Dicke, Theresa

2018-01-01

Our newly proposed integrated academic self-concept model integrates 3 major theories of academic self-concept formation and developmental perspectives into a unified conceptual and methodological framework. Relations among math self-concept (MSC), school grades, test scores, and school-level contextual effects over 6 years, from the end of…

Towards sustainable restoration: learning from the past, a challenge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hees, R.P.J. van; Naldini, S.

2016-01-01

In many cultures in the past, sustainability used to be an integral concept, related to building traditions, crafts and daily life.With the increasing complexity of our society and the progressive shift from the local to the global scale the past sustainable building tradition has often faded out,

Sustainability, energy technologies, and ethics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matson, R.J. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States); Carasso, M.

1999-01-01

A study of the economic, social-political, and environmental consequences of using renewable energy technologies (RETs, e.g., photovoltaics, wind, solar thermal, biofuels) as compared to those of conventional energy technologies (CETs e.g., oil, coal, gas) would show that RETs are singularly consistent with a whole ethic that is implicit in the concept of sustainability. This paper argues for sustainability as an ethical, as well as a pragmatic, imperative and for RETs as an integral part of this imperative. It brings to the fore some of the specific current economic, political, and environmental assumptions and practices that are inconsistent with both sustainability and with a rapid deployment of RETs. Reflecting an emerging planetary awareness and a pressing need to come to terms with intra- and intergenerational equity, the concept of sustainability explicitly entails the right of future generations to the same opportunity of access to a healthy ecological future and the finite endowment of the Earth`s resources as that of the present generation. (Author)

The role of collaborations in the development and implementation of sustainable livestock concepts in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olde, de E.M.; Carsjens, G.J.; Eilers, Catharina H.A.M.

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the role of collaborations in the development and implementation of sustainable livestock farming. The study reflects upon the experiences with two innovative pig farming concepts in the Netherlands that aim to address sustainability-related concerns regarding the economic

The Construction of a Solidarity Sustainability Concept Theoretical Contributions to the Reach of Socio-Environmentalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heloise Siqueira Garcia

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The article has as general objective to draw up considerations about the concept of sustainability having as its apparatus its intimate connection with solidarity, so that the studies traced are presented as theoretical contributions to socio-environmentalism. In this context, the following specific objectives were listed: analyze the main aspects of Sustainability, focusing on the social dimension; to study Solidarity in its historical and conceptual aspects; and to understand the close correlation between both categories. In the methodology was adopted the inductive method, having been applied the techniques of the referent, category, operational concepts, bibliographical research and file.

Sustainability and integration of radioecology-position paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Muikku, M; Beresford, N A; Garnier-Laplace, J; Real, A; Sirkka, L; Thorne, M; Vandenhove, H; Willrodt, C

2018-03-01

This position paper gives an overview of how the COMET project (COordination and iMplementation of a pan-European instrumenT for radioecology, a combined Collaborative Project and Coordination and Support Action under the EC/Euratom 7th Framework Programme) contributed to the integration and sustainability of radioecology in Europe via its support to and interaction with the European Radioecology ALLIANCE. COMET built upon the foundations laid by the FP7 project STAR (Strategic Network for Integrating Radioecology) Network of Excellence in radioecology. In close association with the ALLIANCE, and based on the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), COMET developed innovative mechanisms for joint programming and implementation of radioecological research. To facilitate and foster future integration under a common federating structure, research activities developed within COMET were targeted at radioecological research needs identified in the SRA. Furthermore, COMET maintained and developed strong mechanisms for knowledge exchange, dissemination and training to enhance and maintain European capacity, competence and skills in radioecology. In the short term the work to promote radioecology will continue under the H2020 project EJP-CONCERT (European Joint Programme for the Integration of Radiation Protection Research). The EJP-CONCERT project (2015-2020) aims to develop a sustainable structure for promoting and administering joint programming and open research calls in the field of radiation protection research for Europe. In the longer term, radioecological research will be facilitated by the ALLIANCE. External funding is, however, required in order to be able to answer emerging research needs.

IT-Enabled Integration of Renewables: A Concept for the Smart Power Grid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sauter Thilo

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The wide utilisation of information and communication technologies is hoped to enable a more efficient and sustainable operation of electric power grids. This paper analyses the benefits of smart power grids for the integration of renewable energy resources into the existing grid infrastructure. Therefore, the concept of a smart power grid is analysed, and it is shown that it covers more than for example, time-of-use energy tariffs. Further, the communication technologies used for smart grids are discussed, and the challenge of interoperability between the smart grid itself and its active contributors such as functional buildings is shown. A significant share of electrical energy demand is and will be constituted by large functional buildings that are mostly equipped with automation systems and therefore enable a relatively simple IT integration into smart grids. This large potential of thermal storages and flexible consumption processes might be a future key to match demand and supply under the presence of a high share of fluctuating generation from renewables.

State-of-the-art Review : Vol. 2B. Integrated Building Concepts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van der Aa, Ad; Andresen, Inger; Asada, Hideo

an overview of 23 case study buildings from 9 countries with integrated building concepts. The overview provides descriptions of the buildings and their contexts, a description of the integrated energy systems, and the overall performance of the building with respect to energy, indoor environment and costs......The purpose of this report is to give examples of integrated building concepts and related available performance data and information. The report does not aspire to give a complete overview of all possible integrated building concepts and processes. The buildings included in the report have been...... selected according to the knowledge of the participants in the project, as characteristic examples of the concepts and the challenges they represent. The report will be a common basis for the research and development work that is going to be carried out within the IEA Annex 44 project. The report contains...

SUSTAIN:Urban Modeling Systems Integrating Optimization and Economics

Science.gov (United States)

The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis INtegration (SUSTAIN) was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support practitioners in developing cost-effective management plans for municipal storm water programs and evaluating and selecting Best Manag...

The energy inside the concept of the sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szauer, Maria Teresa

1999-01-01

The intimately bound of two thematic basic conceptual schemes are shown: The climatic change and the paper of the energy inside the concept of sustainable development. It is presented a description of the green house effect, their causes and consequences. They are analyzed, making emphasis in the differences among the countries of the north and of the south, the consumption of natural resources, the population's growth, and the deforestation like main causes of the climatic change. Lastly is discussed the international negotiations related with the topic

Sustainable Design and Renewable Energy Concepts in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Maxwell, Lawrence

2009-07-01

The energy use of residential and non-residential buildings in the US makes up a full 50% of the total energy use in the country. The Architects role in positively altering this equation has become more and more apparent. A change in the paradigm of how buildings are designed and the integration of renewable energy sources to meet their energy requirements can have tremendous impacts on sustainability, energy consumption, environment impacts, and the potential for climate change.

Climate change, energy, sustainability and pavements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gopalakrishnan, Kasthurirangan; Steyn, Wynand JvdM; Harvey, John

2014-01-01

Provides an integrated perspective on understanding the impacts of climate change, energy and sustainable development on transportation infrastructure systems. Presents recent technological innovations and emerging concepts in the field of green and sustainable transportation infrastructure systems with a special focus on highway and airport pavements. Written by leading experts in the field. Climate change, energy production and consumption, and the need to improve the sustainability of all aspects of human activity are key inter-related issues for which solutions must be found and implemented quickly and efficiently. To be successfully implemented, solutions must recognize the rapidly changing socio-techno-political environment and multi-dimensional constraints presented by today's interconnected world. As part of this global effort, considerations of climate change impacts, energy demands, and incorporation of sustainability concepts have increasing importance in the design, construction, and maintenance of highway and airport pavement systems. To prepare the human capacity to develop and implement these solutions, many educators, policy-makers and practitioners have stressed the paramount importance of formally incorporating sustainability concepts in the civil engineering curriculum to educate and train future civil engineers well-equipped to address our current and future sustainability challenges. This book will prove a valuable resource in the hands of researchers, educators and future engineering leaders, most of whom will be working in multidisciplinary environments to address a host of next-generation sustainable transportation infrastructure challenges.

Climate change, energy, sustainability and pavements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gopalakrishnan, Kasthurirangan [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States). Dept. of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering; Steyn, Wynand JvdM [Pretoria Univ. (South Africa). Dept. of Civil Engineering; Harvey, John (ed.) [California Univ., Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

2014-07-01

Provides an integrated perspective on understanding the impacts of climate change, energy and sustainable development on transportation infrastructure systems. Presents recent technological innovations and emerging concepts in the field of green and sustainable transportation infrastructure systems with a special focus on highway and airport pavements. Written by leading experts in the field. Climate change, energy production and consumption, and the need to improve the sustainability of all aspects of human activity are key inter-related issues for which solutions must be found and implemented quickly and efficiently. To be successfully implemented, solutions must recognize the rapidly changing socio-techno-political environment and multi-dimensional constraints presented by today's interconnected world. As part of this global effort, considerations of climate change impacts, energy demands, and incorporation of sustainability concepts have increasing importance in the design, construction, and maintenance of highway and airport pavement systems. To prepare the human capacity to develop and implement these solutions, many educators, policy-makers and practitioners have stressed the paramount importance of formally incorporating sustainability concepts in the civil engineering curriculum to educate and train future civil engineers well-equipped to address our current and future sustainability challenges. This book will prove a valuable resource in the hands of researchers, educators and future engineering leaders, most of whom will be working in multidisciplinary environments to address a host of next-generation sustainable transportation infrastructure challenges.

Communicable disease control programmes and health systems: an analytical approach to sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Shigayeva, Altynay; Coker, Richard J

2015-04-01

There is renewed concern over the sustainability of disease control programmes, and re-emergence of policy recommendations to integrate programmes with general health systems. However, the conceptualization of this issue has remarkably received little critical attention. Additionally, the study of programmatic sustainability presents methodological challenges. In this article, we propose a conceptual framework to support analyses of sustainability of communicable disease programmes. Through this work, we also aim to clarify a link between notions of integration and sustainability. As a part of development of the conceptual framework, we conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed literature on concepts, definitions, analytical approaches and empirical studies on sustainability in health systems. Identified conceptual proposals for analysis of sustainability in health systems lack an explicit conceptualization of what a health system is. Drawing upon theoretical concepts originating in sustainability sciences and our review here, we conceptualize a communicable disease programme as a component of a health system which is viewed as a complex adaptive system. We propose five programmatic characteristics that may explain a potential for sustainability: leadership, capacity, interactions (notions of integration), flexibility/adaptability and performance. Though integration of elements of a programme with other system components is important, its role in sustainability is context specific and difficult to predict. The proposed framework might serve as a basis for further empirical evaluations in understanding complex interplay between programmes and broader health systems in the development of sustainable responses to communicable diseases. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

Assessing and Enhancing Environmental Sustainability: A Conceptual Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, John C; Hester, Erich T; Carey, Cayelan C

2016-07-05

While sustainability is an essential concept to ensure the future of humanity and the integrity of the resources and ecosystems on which we depend, identifying a comprehensive yet realistic way to assess and enhance sustainability may be one of the most difficult challenges of our time. We review the primary environmental sustainability assessment approaches, categorizing them as either being design-based or those that employ computational frameworks and/or indicators. We also briefly review approaches used for assessing economic and social sustainability because sustainability necessitates integrating environmental, economic, and social elements. We identify the collective limitations of the existing assessment approaches, showing that there is not a consistent definition of sustainability, that the approaches are generally not comprehensive and are subject to unintended consequences, that there is little to no connection between bottom-up and top-down approaches, and that the field of sustainability is largely fragmented, with a range of academic disciplines and professional organizations pursuing similar goals, but without much formal coordination. We conclude by emphasizing the need for a comprehensive definition of sustainability (that integrates environmental, economic, and social aspects) with a unified system-of-systems approach that is causal, modular, tiered, and scalable, as well as new educational and organizational structures to improve systems-level interdisciplinary integration.

Transforming the Economics Curriculum by Integrating Threshold Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Karunaratne, Prashan Shayanka Mendis; Breyer, Yvonne A.; Wood, Leigh N.

2016-01-01

Purpose: Economics is catering to a diverse student cohort. This cohort needs to be equipped with transformative concepts that students can integrate beyond university. When a curriculum is content-driven, threshold concepts are a useful tool in guiding curriculum re-design. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/Methodology/Approach: The…

Social Sustainability of Shopping Streets in Ankara

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Özge YALÇINER ERCOŞKUN

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Shopping streets are integral parts of public spaces in traditional shopping areas of Central Business Districts (CBD. Furthermore, as modern shopping venues, shopping centers offer advantages for modern lifestyles with spacious shopping areas, variety of commercial and social activities, and economic value of their investments. These advantages act in favor of shopping centers and improve the level of shopping street social sustainability and its relevant concepts. The aim of this study is to analyze the main shopping streets of Ankara, using the concepts of social sustainability. In this study, these concepts, such as locality, identity, vitality, viability, sense of place, conviviality, meaning and local characteristics of the shopping streets are investigated. For the first time, the retail unit locations in Ankara, their brands and their business types, are illustrated on thematic land use maps using Geographical Information Systems (GIS software. Next, population activities and consumer spatial behavior are observed and marked on maps that are also referred to as social sustainability maps. The results of the study can be useful in formulating strategies within the framework of social sustainability, which is a relatively new concept.

Integrated Metrics for Improving the Life Cycle Approach to Assessing Product System Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wesley Ingwersen

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Life cycle approaches are critical for identifying and reducing environmental burdens of products. While these methods can indicate potential environmental impacts of a product, current Life Cycle Assessment (LCA methods fail to integrate the multiple impacts of a system into unified measures of social, economic or environmental performance related to sustainability. Integrated metrics that combine multiple aspects of system performance based on a common scientific or economic principle have proven to be valuable for sustainability evaluation. In this work, we propose methods of adapting four integrated metrics for use with LCAs of product systems: ecological footprint, emergy, green net value added, and Fisher information. These metrics provide information on the full product system in land, energy, monetary equivalents, and as a unitless information index; each bundled with one or more indicators for reporting. When used together and for relative comparison, integrated metrics provide a broader coverage of sustainability aspects from multiple theoretical perspectives that is more likely to illuminate potential issues than individual impact indicators. These integrated metrics are recommended for use in combination with traditional indicators used in LCA. Future work will test and demonstrate the value of using these integrated metrics and combinations to assess product system sustainability.

The IPRP (Integrated Pyrolysis Regenerated Plant) technology: From concept to demonstration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D’Alessandro, Bruno; D’Amico, Michele; Desideri, Umberto; Fantozzi, Francesco

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► IPRP technology development for distributed conversion of biomass and wastes. ► IPRP demonstrative unit combines a rotary kiln pyrolyzer to a 80 kWe microturbine. ► Main performances and critical issues are pointed out for different residual fuels. -- Abstract: The concept of integrated pyrolysis regenerated plant (IPRP) is based on a Gas Turbine (GT) fuelled by pyrogas produced in a rotary kiln slow pyrolysis reactor, where waste heat from GT is used to sustain the pyrolysis process. The IPRP plant provides a unique solution for microscale (below 250 kW) power plants, opening a new and competitive possibility for distributed biomass or wastes to energy conversion systems. The paper summarizes the state of art of the IPRP technology, from preliminary numerical simulation to pilot plant facility, including some new available data on pyrolysis gas from laboratory and pilot plants.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF BUILDINGS QUALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mária Kozlovská

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyse the assumptions for integrated assessment of buildings quality in the context of sustainable development principles. The sustainable (or “green” buildings are cost effective, environmentally friendly and conserving natural resources. The buildings are comfortable for the users, are also healthy and optimally integrated into socio-cultural environment; thereby have long maintained their high added value – for investors, owners as well as users.Design methodology/approach: The methodology of the paper consists in analyses of certification systems that assess buildings sustainability within wider environmental, economic and social relations. An effort to increase the quality of construction and to provide objectified assessment with measurable and comparable results has evoked the origin and development of the tools for buildings sustainability assessment. In the case study, there are analysed the approaches into assessment of one from few certified sustainable projects in Slovakia “EcoPoint Office Center Kosice”. The results are destined for potential investors perhaps even for present owners that have ambitions and responsibility for building sustainability principles performance when designing and using their properties.Findings: The results of the research imply identification of the key characteristics expressing the comprehensive quality of the building and are leading to specification of practical and social implications that are provided by the sustainability philosophy.Originality/value: The force of the paper is to mention the approaches into integrated assessment of construction quality in the context of sustainability principles and the importance of their more extensive implementation in Slovakia. The approaches into the sustainability principles performance as well as the real benefits of the sustainable building are declared through case study of the building EcoPoint Office

Environmental Accounting: Concepts, Practive and Assessment of Sustainable Development

OpenAIRE

Vardon, Michael; Harrison, Bob

2002-01-01

Quantitative assessment of sustainable development requires accounting for the depletion and degradation of natural resources and other environmental impacts of economic development. The United Nations System of Integrated Economic and Environmental Accounting (SEEA) provides a system that links economic activities to changes in the environment and natural resources. SEEA has guided the development of environmental accounts by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This paper describes how SEEA...

Integration Research for Shaping Sustainable Regional Landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David J. Brunckhorst

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Ecological and social systems are complex and entwined. Complex social-ecological systems interact in a multitude of ways at many spatial scales across time. Their interactions can contribute both positive and negative consequences in terms of sustainability and the context in which they exist affecting future landscape change. Non-metropolitan landscapes are the major theatre of interactions where large-scale alteration occurs precipitated by local to global forces of economic, social, and environmental change. Such regional landscape effects are critical also to local natural resource and social sustainability. The institutions contributing pressures and responses consequently shape future landscapes and in turn influence how social systems, resource users, governments, and policy makers perceive those landscapes and their future. Science and policy for “sustainable” futures need to be integrated at the applied “on-ground” level where products and effects of system interactions are fully included, even if unobserved. Government agencies and funding bodies often consider such research as “high-risk.” This paper provides some examples of interdisciplinary research that has provided a level of holistic integration through close engagement with landholders and communities or through deliberately implementing integrative and innovative on-ground experimental models. In retrospect, such projects have to some degree integrated through spatial (if not temporal synthesis, policy analysis, and (new or changed institutional arrangements that are relevant locally and acceptable in business, as well as at broader levels of government and geography. This has provided transferable outcomes that can contribute real options and adaptive capacity for suitable positive futures.

“Eat as If You Could Save the Planet and Win!” Sustainability Integration into Nutrition for Exercise and Sport

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Nanna; Reguant-Closa, Alba

2017-01-01

Today’s industrial food production contributes significantly to environmental degradation. Meat production accounts for the largest impact, including greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use. While food production and consumption are important aspects when addressing climate change, this article focuses predominantly on dietary change that promotes both health for planet and people with focus on athletes. Healthy, sustainable eating recommendations begin to appear in various governmental guidelines. However, there remains resistance to the suggested reductions in meat consumption. While food citizens are likely to choose what is good for them and the planet, others may not, unless healthy eating initiatives integrate creative food literacy approaches with experiential learning as a potential vehicle for change. This concept paper is organized in three sections: (1) Environmental impact of food; (2) health and sustainability connections; and (3) application in sports and exercise. For active individuals, this article focuses on the quantity of protein, highlighting meat and dairy, and quality of food, with topics such as organic production and biodiversity. Finally, the timing of when to integrate sustainability principles in sport nutrition is discussed, followed by practical applications for education and inclusion in team, institutional, and event operations. PMID:28430140

“Eat as If You Could Save the Planet and Win!” Sustainability Integration into Nutrition for Exercise and Sport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nanna Meyer

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Today’s industrial food production contributes significantly to environmental degradation. Meat production accounts for the largest impact, including greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use. While food production and consumption are important aspects when addressing climate change, this article focuses predominantly on dietary change that promotes both health for planet and people with focus on athletes. Healthy, sustainable eating recommendations begin to appear in various governmental guidelines. However, there remains resistance to the suggested reductions in meat consumption. While food citizens are likely to choose what is good for them and the planet, others may not, unless healthy eating initiatives integrate creative food literacy approaches with experiential learning as a potential vehicle for change. This concept paper is organized in three sections: (1 Environmental impact of food; (2 health and sustainability connections; and (3 application in sports and exercise. For active individuals, this article focuses on the quantity of protein, highlighting meat and dairy, and quality of food, with topics such as organic production and biodiversity. Finally, the timing of when to integrate sustainability principles in sport nutrition is discussed, followed by practical applications for education and inclusion in team, institutional, and event operations.

Building reactor operator sustain expert system with C language integrated production system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouyang Qin; Hu Shouyin; Wang Ruipian

2002-01-01

The development of the reactor operator sustain expert system is introduced, the capability of building reactor operator sustain expert system is discussed with C Language Integrated Production System (Clips), and a simple antitype of expert system is illustrated. The limitation of building reactor operator sustain expert system with Clips is also discussed

The J-integral concept for elastic-plastic material behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitt, W.; Kienzler, R.

1987-03-01

A simple analytical extension of the J integral has been presented which extends the J concept to apply for materials described by an incremental theory of plasticity. The stress work density replacing the strain energy density is load-history dependent. The J integral may be made path independent by virtue of an additional volume integral and may be understood as work dissipation rate. The discussion of the consequences for the applicability of the J concept to describe fracture processes showed that validity criteria proposed in the standards are not sufficient to yield configuration-independent J-resistance curves. However, a possibility is sketched to assess those structure-dependent resistance curves based on plastic-collapse considerations. With 6 figs., 33 refs

Sustainability Assessment Model in Product Development

Science.gov (United States)

Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina; Nor, Nik Hisyamudin Muhd; Omar, Badrul

2017-08-01

Faster and more efficient development of innovative and sustainable products has become the focus for manufacturing companies in order to remain competitive in today’s technologically driven world. Design concept evaluation which is the end of conceptual design is one of the most critical decision points. It relates to the final success of product development, because poor criteria assessment in design concept evaluation can rarely compensated at the later stages. Furthermore, consumers, investors, shareholders and even competitors are basing their decisions on what to buy or invest in, from whom, and also on what company report, and sustainability is one of a critical component. In this research, a new methodology of sustainability assessment in product development for Malaysian industry has been developed using integration of green project management, new scale of “Weighting criteria” and Rough-Grey Analysis. This method will help design engineers to improve the effectiveness and objectivity of the sustainable design concept evaluation, enable them to make better-informed decisions before finalising their choice and consequently create value to the company or industry. The new framework is expected to provide an alternative to existing methods.

Senior executives' perspectives of integrated reporting regulatory ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

kirstam

2014-12-09

Dec 9, 2014 ... that integrated thinking and integrated reporting principles will have ... in response to financial, governance and other crises; heightened expectations of ... The Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project suggests a concept.

Sustainable Tourism: its Interpretation and Operational Scope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela Bertoni

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The application of sustainability principles in tourism is an essential reference for the processes of development and promotion of potential destinations and for the restructuring  of current ones. However, there is a dichotomy between the wide spread of the concept of sustainable tourism and the limitations of the reached progress. This paper intends to encourage a theoretical discussion to examine the definitions of sustainable tourism from diverse approaches, viewpoints and scopes, and to analyze the relevant aspects of its operability, related to the integration of massive and sustainable tourism and to the implications of sustainable development, politics and social participation.

Current State and Future Prospects of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Haruhiko

2017-01-01

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) ran from 2005 to 2014. This study concerns the concepts of Sustainable Development (SD) and ESD. The term "sustainable development" was coined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 as the key word in integrating environment and development. SD achieved international consensus at…

Integrated technology rotor/flight research rotor hub concept definition

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, P. G. C.

1983-01-01

Two variations of the helicopter bearingless main rotor hub concept are proposed as bases for further development in the preliminary design phase of the Integrated Technology Rotor/Flight Research Rotor (ITR/FRR) program. This selection was the result of an evaluation of three bearingless hub concepts and two articulated hub concepts with elastomeric bearings. The characteristics of each concept were evaluated by means of simplified methodology. These characteristics included the assessment of stability, vulnerability, weight, drag, cost, stiffness, fatigue life, maintainability, and reliability.

Practicing joint responsibility for sustainable regional development: introducting the concept of regional management

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Lawrence, F

2006-03-01

Full Text Available of additional factors should be taken into account if real sustainable change is to take place over the medium to long term. It introduces the concept of regional management as a complimentary approach to district development and builds on key national debates...

Integrated Nutrient and Water Management for Sustainable Food ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Integrated Nutrient and Water Management for Sustainable Food Production in the Sahel (CIFSRF). In the Sahel, agricultural production is strictly limited by drought and low soil fertility. In 2005 and 2010, these two factors led to food scarcity in Niger. However, innovative technologies such as microdose fertilization ...

A future task for health-promotion research: Integration of health promotion and sustainable development.

Science.gov (United States)

Jelsøe, Erling; Thualagant, Nicole; Holm, Jesper; Kjærgård, Bente; Andersen, Heidi Myglegård; From, Ditte-Marie; Land, Birgit; Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm

2018-02-01

Based on previous studies and reflections collected from participants in a workshop at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Research Network conference, we reveal current tendencies and discuss future challenges for health-promotion research regarding integration of sustainable development principles. Despite obvious interfaces and interactions between the two, our contention is that strategies for health promotion are not sufficiently integrated with strategies for sustainable development and that policies aimed at solving health or sustainability problems may therefore cause new, undesired and unforeseen environmental and health problems. As illustrated in previous research and as deliberated in the above-mentioned workshop, a number of barriers are identified. These are believed to be related to historical segregation, the conceptual understandings of health promotion and sustainable development, as well as the politics and implementation of policy goals in both areas. Three focal points are proposed as important challenges to address in future research: (a) the duality of health promotion and sustainability and how it can be handled in order to enhance mutually supportive processes between them; (b) the social dimension of sustainability and how it can be strengthened in the development of strategies for health promotion and sustainable development; and (c) exploring and identifying policy approaches and strategies for integrating health promotion and sustainable development.

INTELLIGENT NETWORKS, SMART GRIDS CONCEPT, CRUCIAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constantin RADU

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In this article is presented the concept of smart grids, a very important technology for sustainable development. In the context of globalization of the world lives in an increasingly complex security environment, with rapid changes, some obvious, others less obvious implications in the short, medium or long term, international, national, local and up to every citizen. All countries in the globalized world economy is facing energy problems in terms of climate change have intensified in the twentieth century.

CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT IN TIMES OF GLOBALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Dębicka

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The rate of economic, technological, political and legal changes, as well as the com-plexity of predicting demand, behavior and preferences of consumers, along with expand-ing markets contribute to the growing importance of sustainable supply chain in the com-pany’s operation, playing a special role in the decision making process and adaptation to the consumer needs of. In order, therefore, to achieve a competitive advantage, it is nec-essary to maintain the high level of innovation, which should result in the implementation of new solutions, ideas and concepts that contribute to the competitiveness on a global scale.

The Sustainable Expression of Ecological Concept in the Urban Landscape Environment Design

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Junyan; Zhou, Tiejun; Xin, Lisen; Tan, Yuetong; Wang, Zhigang

2018-02-01

Urbanization is an inevitable trend of development of human society, also the inevitable outcome of economic development and scientific and technological progress, while urbanization process in promoting the development of human civilization, also no doubt, urban landscape has been a corresponding impact. Urban environment has suffered unprecedented damage, the urban population density, traffic congestion, shortage of resources, environmental pollution, ecological degradation, has become the focus of human society. In order to create an environment of ecological and harmonious, beautiful, sustainable development in the urban landscape, This paper discusses the concept of ecological design combined with the urban landscape design and sustainable development of urban landscape design.

Public-Private Partnerships and Sustainable Regional Innovation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehmann, Martin; Christensen, Per; Johnson, Bjørn

-private partnerships. The role of universities if and when actively participating in ‘life outside the ivory tower’ is addressed. These partnerships are also discussed in a regional context. With point of departure in innovation theory, we combine ‘sustainable development’ with the Regional System of Innovation...... approach to propose a new concept – Sustainable Regional Innovation System – in which regional initiatives such as Public-Private(-Academic) Partnerships play an integrated role, not least in the context of ‘learning and innovation for sustainable development’. Two cases are presented to underline...... be playing in public-private partnerships for sustainable development, and the links and benefits this may provide towards universities fulfilling their first (science) and second (education) missions. In this paper, the first part is dedicated to the discussion and clarification of the concept of public...

Description of reactor fuel breeding with three integral concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ott, K.O.; Hanan, N.A.; Maudlin, P.J.; Borg, R.C.

1979-01-01

The time-dependent breeding of fuel in a growing system of breeder reactors can be characterized by the transitory (instantaneous) growth rate, γ(t). The three most important aspects of γ(t) can be expressed by time-independent integral concepts. Two of these concepts are in widespread use. A third integral concept that links the two earlier ones is introduced. The time-dependent growth rate has an asymptotic value, γ/sup infinity/, the equilibrium growth rate, which is the basis for the calculation of the doubling time. The equilibrium growth rate measures the breeding capability and represents a reactor property. Maximum deviation of γ(t) and γ/sup infinity/ generally appears at the initial startup of the reactor, where γ(t = 0) = γ 0 . This deviation is due to the difference between the initial and asymptotic fuel inventory composition. The initial growth rate can be considered a second integral concept; it characterizes the breeding of a particular fuel in a given reactor. Growth rates are logarithmic derivatives of the growing mass of fuel in breeder reactors, especially γ/sup infinity/, which describes the asymptotic growth by exp(γ/sup infinity/t). There is, however, a variation in the fuel-mass factor in front of this exponential function during the transition from γ 0 to γ/sup infinity/. It is shown that this variation of the fuel mass during transitioncan be described by a third integral concept, termed the breeding bonus, b. The breeding bonus measures the quality of a fuel for its use in a given reactor in terms of its impact on the magnitude of the asymptotically growing fuel mass. The calculation of γ 0 and γ/sup infinity/ is facilitated by use of the critical mass (CM) worths and the breeding worth factors, respectively

Sustainable Marketing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dam, van Y.K.

2017-01-01

In this article, three different conceptions of sustainable marketing are discussed and compared. These different conceptions are referred to as social, green, and critical sustainable marketing. Social sustainable marketing follows the logic of demand-driven marketing management and places the

Sustainability reporting in the energy sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kowal Barbara

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Development of the concepts of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility has a great impact on reporting in companies. The increase of their importance has resulted in a need to create a reporting system that would provide information on not only the methods but also the results of implementation of those concepts in companies. Globally, there are many organizations that promote and support companies in the area of integrated reporting. The most popular standard for reporting non-financial data that is used by a number of companies worldwide is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI Guidelines. The main objective of the GRI is to support the development of sustainable economy in which companies take responsibility for the economic, social, and environmental consequences of their operations, manage that responsibility, and report all their actions. An example of a sector where the concept of sustainable development and its transparent reporting has an impact on the formation of values is the energy sector, which creates value for stakeholders and, together with the financial sector, has the greatest impact on national economies.

Expanding the concept of sustainable seafood using Life Cycle Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ziegler, Friederike; Hornborg, Sara; Green, Bridget S

2016-01-01

Fisheries management and sustainability assessment of fisheries more generally have recently expanded their scope from single-species stock assessment to ecosystem-based approaches, aiming to incorporate economic, social and local environmental impacts, while still excluding global-scale environm......Fisheries management and sustainability assessment of fisheries more generally have recently expanded their scope from single-species stock assessment to ecosystem-based approaches, aiming to incorporate economic, social and local environmental impacts, while still excluding global......-offs, LCA can be a useful decision support tool and avoids problem shifting from one concern (or activity) to another. The integrated, product-based and quantitative perspective brought by LCA could complement existing tools. One example is to follow up fuel use of fishing, as the production and combustion...... performance could likewise facilitate the transition to low-impact fisheries. Taking these steps in an open dialogue between fishers, managers, industry, NGOs and consumers would enable more targeted progress towards sustainable fisheries...

Integration of Sustainable Development in Sanitary Engineering Education in Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Rydhagen, B.; Dackman, C.

2011-01-01

In the Swedish Act for higher education, as well as in the policies of technical universities, it is stated that sustainable development (SD) should be integrated into engineering education. Researchers argue that SD needs to be integrated into the overall course content rather than added as a specific course. In this paper, six engineering…

Integrating Big Data into a Sustainable Mobility Policy 2.0 Planning Support System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Semanjski

2016-11-01

Full Text Available It is estimated that each of us, on a daily basis, produces a bit more than 1 GB of digital content through our mobile phone and social networks activities, bank card payments, location-based positioning information, online activities, etc. However, the implementation of these large data amounts in city assets planning systems still remains a rather abstract idea for several reasons, including the fact that practical examples are still very strongly services-oriented, and are a largely unexplored and interdisciplinary field; hence, missing the cross-cutting dimension. In this paper, we describe the Policy 2.0 concept and integrate user generated content into Policy 2.0 platform for sustainable mobility planning. By means of a real-life example, we demonstrate the applicability of such a big data integration approach to smart cities planning process. Observed benefits range from improved timeliness of the data and reduced duration of the planning cycle to more informed and agile decision making, on both the citizens and the city planners end. The integration of big data into the planning process, at this stage, does not have uniform impact across all levels of decision making and planning process, therefore it should be performed gradually and with full awareness of existing limitations.

Conceptions of "Nordic Democracy" and European Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Uffe

Reluctance towards European integration in the Nordic countries is doubtlessly more connected to ideas on democracy than elsewhere. This goes not only for the (empirical) practicability of democracy but also for the (normative) desirability of democracy in the EU. After the Second World War, when...... and reborn after the Second World War as genuine democracy. However, a third narrative developed in which democracy was seen as having its roots in the Nordic countries dating back to the Viking Age or earlier. In the period from the 1940s to the 1980s, a number of Nordic anthologies contained articles...... the process of contemporary European integration was approaching, and the concept of democracy at the same time was heavily contested in public debates and among academics, two conceptions of democracy were struggling: On one hand, democracy was recognized as a European value developing in the form...

Sustainability and public health nutrition at school: assessing the integration of healthy and environmentally sustainable food initiatives in Vancouver schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Jennifer L; Velazquez, Cayley E; Ahmadi, Naseam; Chapman, Gwen E; Carten, Sarah; Edward, Joshua; Shulhan, Stephanie; Stephens, Teya; Rojas, Alejandro

2015-09-01

To describe the development and application of the School Food Environment Assessment Tools and a novel scoring system to assess the integration of healthy and environmentally sustainable food initiatives in elementary and secondary schools. The cross-sectional study included direct observations of physical food environments and interviews with key school personnel regarding food-related programmes and policies. A five-point scoring system was then developed to assess actions across six domains: (i) food gardens; (ii) composting systems; (iii) food preparation activities; (iv) food-related teaching and learning activities; and availability of (v) healthy food; and (vi) environmentally sustainable food. Vancouver, Canada. A purposive sample of public schools (n 33) from all six sectors of the Vancouver Board of Education. Schools scored highest in the areas of food garden and compost system development and use. Regular integration of food-related teaching and learning activities and hands-on food preparation experiences were also commonly reported. Most schools demonstrated rudimentary efforts to make healthy and environmentally sustainable food choices available, but in general scored lowest on these two domains. Moreover, no schools reported widespread initiatives fully supporting availability or integration of healthy or environmentally sustainable foods across campus. More work is needed in all areas to fully integrate programmes and policies that support healthy, environmentally sustainable food systems in Vancouver schools. The assessment tools and proposed indicators offer a practical approach for researchers, policy makers and school stakeholders to assess school food system environments, identify priority areas for intervention and track relevant changes over time.

Integrating Medical Supply as Part of the Army's Single Integrated Materiel Manager Concept--Why or why Not?

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Baxter, Shelia

1998-01-01

.... To achieve the goal of seamless logistics integration capabilities, one concept is to establish a Single Integrated Materiel Manager for the Army which envisions integrating all such functions...

Review of Multi-Criteria Decision Aid for Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Urban Water Systems - MCEARD

Science.gov (United States)

Integrated sustainability assessment is part of a new paradigm for urban water decision making. Multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) is an integrative framework used in urban water sustainability assessment, which has a particular focus on utilising stakeholder participation. Here ...

Design Process for Integrated Concepts with Responsive Building Elements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aa, Van der A.; Heiselberg, Per

2008-01-01

An integrated building concept is a prerequisite to come to an energy efficient building with a good and healthy IAQ indoor comfort. A design process that defines the targets and boundary conditions in the very first stage of the design and guarantees them until the building is finished and used...... is needed. The hard question is however: how to make the right choice of the combination of individual measures from building components and building services elements. Within the framework of IEA-ECBCS Annex 44 research has been conducted about the design process for integrated building concepts...

Integrated concept development of next-step helical-axis advanced stellarators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Warmer, Felix

2016-04-13

With the increasing energy demand of mankind and the transformation of our society towards sustainability, nuclear fusion by magnetic confinement is a promising option for the sustainable electricity supply in the future. In view of these prospects this thesis focuses on the concept development of next-step helical-axis advanced stellarator (HELIAS) burning-plasma devices. The HELIAS-line is the continued development of the prototype optimised stellarator Wendelstein 7-X which started operation in 2015. For the integrated concept development of such devices, the approach taken in this work encompasses detailed physics and engineering considerations while also including economic aspects. Starting with physics considerations, the properties of plasma transport and confinement of 3D stellarator configurations are discussed due to their critical importance for the device design. It becomes clear that current empirical confinement time scalings are not sufficient to predict the confinement in future stellarator devices. Therefore, detailed 1D transport simulations are carried out to reduce the uncertainties regarding confinement. Beyond the well-validated neoclassical approach, first attempts are made to include results from state-of-the-art turbulence simulations into the 1D transport simulations to further enhance the predictive capabilities. Next, for the systematic development of consistent design points, stellarator-specific models are developed and implemented in the well-established European systems code PROCESS. This allows a consistent description of an entire HELIAS fusion power plant including physics, engineering, and economic considerations. With the confidence obtained from a verification study, systems studies are for the first time applied for a HELIAS power-plant which shows that the available design window is constrained by the beta-limit. Furthermore, an economic comparison of an exemplary design point to an ''equivalent'' tokamak

Education and Training for Sustainable Tourism: Problems, Possibilities and Cautious First Steps.

Science.gov (United States)

Gough, Stephen; Scott, William

1999-01-01

Advances a possible theoretical approach to education for sustainable tourism and describes a small-scale research project based on this approach. Seeks to integrate education for sustainable tourism into an established management curriculum using an innovative technique based on the idea of an adaptive concept. (Author/CCM)

Integrating Methods for Developing Sustainability Indicators to Facilitate Learning and Action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Reed

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Bossel's (2001 systems-based approach for deriving comprehensive indicator sets provides one of the most holistic frameworks for developing sustainability indicators. It ensures that indicators cover all important aspects of system viability, performance, and sustainability, and recognizes that a system cannot be assessed in isolation from the systems upon which it depends and which in turn depend upon it. In this reply, we show how Bossel's approach is part of a wider convergence toward integrating participatory and reductionist approaches to measure progress toward sustainable development. However, we also show that further integration of these approaches may be able to improve the accuracy and reliability of indicators to better stimulate community learning and action. Only through active community involvement can indicators facilitate progress toward sustainable development goals. To engage communities effectively in the application of indicators, these communities must be actively involved in developing, and even in proposing, indicators. The accuracy, reliability, and sensitivity of the indicators derived from local communities can be ensured through an iterative process of empirical and community evaluation. Communities are unlikely to invest in measuring sustainability indicators unless monitoring provides immediate and clear benefits. However, in the context of goals, targets, and/or baselines, sustainability indicators can more effectively contribute to a process of development that matches local priorities and engages the interests of local people.

An Integrated Approach to “Sustainable Community-Based Tourism”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tek B. Dangi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Two rich knowledge domains have been evolving along parallel pathways in tourism studies: sustainable tourism (ST and community-based tourism (CBT. Within both lie diverse definitions, principles, criteria, critical success factors and benefits sought or outcomes desired, advocated by different stakeholders ranging from quasi-governmental and non-profit organizations to public-private sector and academic interests. This poses significant challenges to those interested in theory building, research and practice in the sustainable development and management of tourism. The paper builds on a previous article published in Sustainability by presenting an integrated framework based on a comprehensive, in-depth review and analysis of the tourism-related literature. The study reveals not just common ground and differences that might be anticipated, but also important sustainability dimensions that are lagging or require much greater attention, such as equity, justice, ethical and governance issues. A preliminary framework of “sustainable community-based tourism” (SCBT is forwarded that attempts to bridge the disparate literature on ST and CBT. Critical directions forward are offered to progress research and sustainability-oriented practices towards more effective development and management of tourism in the 21st century.

Existing Sustainable Renovation Concepts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tommerup, Henrik M.; Vanhoutteghem, Lies; Gustavsson, Leif

The Nordic single-family house renovation market is dominated by a craftsman based approach with individual solutions, traditional warehouses ”do-it-yourself-shops” and some actors marketing single products. To speed up the implementation of sustainable renovation of single-family houses there is......The Nordic single-family house renovation market is dominated by a craftsman based approach with individual solutions, traditional warehouses ”do-it-yourself-shops” and some actors marketing single products. To speed up the implementation of sustainable renovation of single-family houses...

City-integrated renewable energy for urban sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Kammen, Daniel M; Sunter, Deborah A

2016-05-20

To prepare for an urban influx of 2.5 billion people by 2050, it is critical to create cities that are low-carbon, resilient, and livable. Cities not only contribute to global climate change by emitting the majority of anthropogenic greenhouse gases but also are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and extreme weather. We explore options for establishing sustainable energy systems by reducing energy consumption, particularly in the buildings and transportation sectors, and providing robust, decentralized, and renewable energy sources. Through technical advancements in power density, city-integrated renewable energy will be better suited to satisfy the high-energy demands of growing urban areas. Several economic, technical, behavioral, and political challenges need to be overcome for innovation to improve urban sustainability. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Giving meaning to the concept of sustainability in architectural design practices : Setting out the analytical framework of translation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schröder, Torsten

2018-01-01

The question of how to give meaning to the concept of sustainability in architectural design practices is highly contested today. Although architects, engineers, clients, politicians, and others seem to agree that sustainability must be addressed, behind this apparent consensus many ambiguities,

From Differentiation to Concretisation: Integrative Experiments in Sustainable Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham Farmer

2017-12-01

Full Text Available It is widely recognised that the achievement of a sustainable built environment requires holistic design practices and approaches that are capable of balancing the varied, and often conflicting, demands of environmental, social and economic concerns. However, academics and practitioners have recently highlighted, and expressed concerns about the knowledge gap that currently exists within environmental policy, research and practice between understandings of the technical performance of buildings and their social meaning and relevance. This paper acknowledges these concerns and is developed from the author’s own direct experiences of practice-led research and active participation in design-build projects. It argues for a theoretically-informed and socially-engaged approach to built environment research, pedagogy and practice that seeks to encourage an integrative understanding of the design, realisation and use of sustainable architecture. The paper draws on the Philosophy of Technology and in particular the work of Andrew Feenberg to analyse the buildings and to propose an integrated and inclusive framework for understanding sustainable design that acknowledges not just what the built environment does, but also what it means. It also suggests that what a building means also informs what it can do, and for whom. Although the technical and social dimensions of design can be interpreted as distinct practices and are often institutionally separated, this paper argues that the realisation of sustainable design must seek a conscious interaction and interchange between these two differentiated dimensions.

ACCOUNTING FOR SUSTAINABILITY: WHAT NEXT? A RESEARCH AGENDA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cunningham Gary M.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This working paper responds to increasing calls for more and different forms of accounting research involvement in accounting for sustainability. It seeks to provide background, clarify the accounting research issues, and suggest research methods. The background analysis indicates that accounting for sustainability must go beyond supplemental reporting of ecological and social information to include such emerging issues as integrated reporting of sustainability information along with financial reporting. Additional emerging issues are needs of users of sustainability reports, auditing and other assurance of sustainability information, and sustainability implications of financial failure, accounting and auditing failures, and lack of enforcement. Analysis of integrated reporting against traditional financial accounting theory concepts of the purpose of financial reporting and the postulates of going concern, reporting entity, monetary unit, and time period, indicates a need for substantial changes in the traditional financial accounting model if sustainability issues are to be integrated. The agenda concludes with five research issues and methods: - An accounting research framework for sustainability using general systems theory approaches that have been useful for similar emerging issues. - Reporting of sustainability information which has been the focus of most research to date, and the emerging important topic of integrated reporting. - Users of sustainable information, their uses and perceived needs, an area that has been largely neglected in research to date. - Auditing and assurance issues that are taking on greater importance as more users demand assurance for sustainability information. Issues include standards to be used and users expectations and reactions. - Financial distress and sustainability consequences of accounting and enforcement failures that are just now being recognized as sustainability issues.

Evaluating Tourist Destination Performance: Expanding the Sustainability Concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenbin Luo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Performance evaluations are a critical tool in promoting the sustainability of tourist destinations. The literature shows a lack of consensus on basic terminology and definitions of destination performance. While research focuses on business efficiency, areas such as development effectiveness, social equality, and environmental integrity are still not well understood, even though these are salient elements of sustainable development. This paper provides a framework for evaluating destination performance under the 4E rubric of economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and environmental quality, which reflects a more holistic and effective destination performance. The information entropy weight method and a multi-factor comprehensive evaluation model are developed and applied to an international destination, Zhangjiajie, China, which was selected as a case study to test the framework developed. Results show that the economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and environmental quality aspects should be considered when evaluating tourism development performance. The empirical analysis shows that based on these criteria, Zhangjiajie’s destination performance improved measurably during the test period from 2005 to 2009. The results indicate that significant events, natural disasters, and financial crises influence performance most.

Clarifying the Imperative of Integration Research for Sustainable Environmental Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Dovers

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses why integration is important in doing research for developing policy and practice of sustainable environmental management. The imperative of integration includes environmental, social, economic, and other disciplinary considerations, as well as stakeholder interests. However, what is meant by integration is not always clear. While the imperative is being increasingly enunciated, the challenges it presents are difficult and indicate a long term pursuit. This paper clarifies the different dimensions of integration, as an important preliminary step toward advancing mutual understanding and the development of approaches. The paper identifies the driving forces for integration, discusses when integration is required, categorises forms of integration, and proposes principles to inform research programs and projects.

Operationalising the Sustainable Knowledge Society Concept through a Multi-dimensional Scorecard

Science.gov (United States)

Dragomirescu, Horatiu; Sharma, Ravi S.

Since the early 21st Century, building a Knowledge Society represents an aspiration not only for the developed countries, but for the developing ones too. There is an increasing concern worldwide for rendering this process manageable towards a sustainable, equitable and ethically sound societal system. As proper management, including at the societal level, requires both wisdom and measurement, the operationalisation of the Knowledge Society concept encompasses a qualitative side, related to vision-building, and a quantitative one, pertaining to designing and using dedicated metrics. The endeavour of enabling policy-makers mapping, steering and monitoring the sustainable development of the Knowledge Society at national level, in a world increasingly based on creativity, learning and open communication, led researchers to devising a wide range of composite indexes. However, as such indexes are generated through weighting and aggregation, their usefulness is limited to retrospectively assessing and comparing levels and states already attained; therefore, to better serve policy-making purposes, composite indexes should be complemented by other instruments. Complexification, inspired by the systemic paradigm, allows obtaining "rich pictures" of the Knowledge Society; to this end, a multi-dimensional scorecard of the Knowledge Society development is hereby suggested, that seeks a more contextual orientation towards sustainability. It is assumed that, in the case of the Knowledge Society, the sustainability condition goes well beyond the "greening" desideratum and should be of a higher order, relying upon the conversion of natural and productive life-cycles into virtuous circles of self-sustainability.

Integrating Sustainability in a PBL Environment for Electronics Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arsat, Mahyuddin; Holgaard, Jette Egelund; de Graaff, Erik

2013-01-01

(PBL) has been put forward as a promising pedagogical model and emerged as an opportunity to implement sustainability successfully. Due to the almost forty years of experience in PBL, a case study was carried out at Aalborg University, Denmark to excerpt their experience of integrating sustainability...... in a problem based learning environment. Three electronics engineering project modules were selected as example and empirically supported by constructed interviews with staff and document analysis of selected material. The findings were analysed with a systems approach and presented with reference to three...

Integrated Global Nuclear Materials Management Preliminary Concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, E; Dreicer, M.

2006-01-01

The world is at a turning point, moving away from the Cold War nuclear legacy towards a future global nuclear enterprise; and this presents a transformational challenge for nuclear materials management. Achieving safety and security during this transition is complicated by the diversified spectrum of threat 'players' that has greatly impacted nonproliferation, counterterrorism, and homeland security requirements. Rogue states and non-state actors no longer need self-contained national nuclear expertise, materials, and equipment due to availability from various sources in the nuclear market, thereby reducing the time, effort and cost for acquiring a nuclear weapon (i.e., manifestations of latency). The terrorist threat has changed the nature of military and national security requirements to protect these materials. An Integrated Global Nuclear Materials Management (IGNMM) approach would address the existing legacy nuclear materials and the evolution towards a nuclear energy future, while strengthening a regime to prevent nuclear weapon proliferation. In this paper, some preliminary concepts and studies of IGNMM will be presented. A systematic analysis of nuclear materials, activities, and controls can lead to a tractable, integrated global nuclear materials management architecture that can help remediate the past and manage the future. A systems approach is best suited to achieve multi-dimensional and interdependent solutions, including comprehensive, end-to-end capabilities; coordinated diverse elements for enhanced functionality with economy; and translation of goals/objectives or standards into locally optimized solutions. A risk-informed basis is excellent for evaluating system alternatives and performances, and it is especially appropriate for the security arena. Risk management strategies--such as defense-in-depth, diversity, and control quality--help to weave together various technologies and practices into a strong and robust security fabric. Effective

Concept of development of integrated computer - based control system for 'Ukryttia' object

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buyal'skij, V.M.; Maslov, V.P.

2003-01-01

The structural concept of Chernobyl NPP 'Ukryttia' Object's integrated computer - based control system development is presented on the basis of general concept of integrated Computer - based Control System (CCS) design process for organizing and technical management subjects.The concept is aimed at state-of-the-art architectural design technique application and allows using modern computer-aided facilities for functional model,information (logical and physical) models development,as well as for system object model under design

Integrated Systems Mitigate Land Degradation and Improve Agricultural System Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Landblom, Douglas; Senturklu, Songul; Cihacek, Larry; Brevik, Eric

2017-04-01

Rain-fed agricultural production supported by exogenous inputs is not sustainable because a continuous influx of expensive inputs (fertilizer, chemicals, fossil fuel, labor, tillage, and other) is required. Alternatives to traditional management allow natural occurring dynamic soil processes to provide the necessary microbial activity that supports nutrient cycling in balance with nature. Research designed to investigate the potential for integrated systems to replace expensive inputs has shown that healthy soils rich in soil organic matter (SOM) are the foundation upon which microbial nutrient cycling can reduce and eventually replace expensive fertilizer. No-till seed placement technology effectively replaces multiple-pass cultivation conserving stored soil water in semi-arid farming systems. In multi-crop rotations, cool- and warm-season crops are grown in sequence to meet goals of the integrated farming and ranching system, and each crop in the rotation complements the subsequent crop by supplying a continuous flow of essential SOM for soil nutrient cycling. Grazing animals serve an essential role in the system's sustainability as non-mechanized animal harvesters that reduce fossil fuel consumption and labor, and animal waste contributes soil nutrients to the system. Integrated systems' complementarity has contributed to greater soil nutrient cycling and crop yields, fertilizer reduction or elimination, greater yearling steer grazing net return, reduced cow wintering costs grazing crop residues, increased wildlife sightings, and reduced environmental footprint. Therefore, integrating crop and animal systems can reverse soil quality decline and adopting non-traditional procedures has resulted in a wider array of opportunities for sustainable agriculture and profitability.

Using InTeGrate materials to develop interdisciplinary thinking for a sustainable future

Science.gov (United States)

Awad, A. A.; Gilbert, L.; Iverson, E. A. R.; Manduca, C. A.; Steer, D. N.

2017-12-01

InTeGrate materials focus on societal grand challenges, sustainability, and interdisciplinary problems through developing geoscientific habits of mind, the use of credible data, and systems thinking. The materials are freely available 2-3 week modules and courses that allow instructors to focus on a wide variety of topics from regulating carbon emissions, changing biosphere, and storms and community resilience to environmental justice, ocean sustainability, and humans' dependence on mineral resources, integrating a variety of relevant interdisciplinary activities throughout. Presented with interdisciplinary approaches, students learn with tools to integrate engineering, policy, economics, and social aspects with the science to address the challenges. Students' ability to apply interdisciplinary approaches to address sustainability problems is made visible through the essays they write as a part of the materials assessment. InTeGrate modules have been adopted and implemented by faculty members interested in sustainability themes and innovative pedagogy, and have reached more than 50,000 students in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, India, and Micronesia. Student data were collected from 533 assessment essays in 57 undergraduate classes. The essays required students to describe a global challenge in an interdisciplinary manner through identifying scientific implications, and connecting it to economic, social and policy decisions. Students also completed a second essay assessing their systems thinking ability, a geoscience literacy exam (GLE), and demographic and attitudinal surveys. Scores for students enrolled in classes using InTeGrate materials were compared to scores from students in similar classes that did not use InteGrate materials. The InTeGrate and control groups had equivalent GLE scores and demographic characteristics. Essay scores for students in InTeGrate introductory or majors courses outperformed students in comparable level control courses as measured by

Sustainable Chemical Process Development through an Integrated Framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Papadakis, Emmanouil; Kumar Tula, Anjan; Anantpinijwatna, Amata

2016-01-01

This paper describes the development and the application of a general integrated framework based on systematic model-based methods and computer-aided tools with the objective to achieve more sustainable process designs and to improve the process understanding. The developed framework can be appli...... studies involve multiphase reaction systems for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients....

Macro-level integrated renewable energy production schemes for sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subhadra, Bobban G.

2011-01-01

The production of renewable clean energy is a prime necessity for the sustainable future existence of our planet. However, because of the resource-intensive nature, and other challenges associated with these new generation renewable energy sources, novel industrial frameworks need to be co-developed. Integrated renewable energy production schemes with foundations on resource sharing, carbon neutrality, energy-efficient design, source reduction, green processing plan, anthropogenic use of waste resources for the production green energy along with the production of raw material for allied food and chemical industries is imperative for the sustainable development of this sector especially in an emission-constrained future industrial scenario. To attain these objectives, the scope of hybrid renewable production systems and integrated renewable energy industrial ecology is briefly described. Further, the principles of Integrated Renewable Energy Park (IREP) approach, an example for macro-level energy production, and its benefits and global applications are also explored. - Research highlights: → Discusses the need for macro-level renewable energy production schemes. → Scope of hybrid and integrated industrial ecology for renewable energy production. → Integrated Renewable Energy Parks (IREPs): A macro-level energy production scheme. → Discusses the principle foundations and global applications of IREPs. → Describes the significance of IREPs in the carbon-neutral future business arena.

Concept of operations : Dallas Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) demonstration project.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-01

This concept of operations (Con Ops) for the US-75 Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Program has been developed as part of the US : Department of Transportation Integrated Corridor Management Initiative, which is an innovative research initiative ...

Educating Professionals for Sustainable Futures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hille Janhonen-Abruquah

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The recent discourse on sustainability science calls for interdisciplinary research. The home economics science approach ranges from individual actions to the involvement of communities and societies at large, and thus it can provide important perspectives on cultural sustainability. The aim of the research is to study the linkage between cultural sustainability and service sector education to support the creation of sustainable professions. In the present small-scale empirical study, the food service degree curriculum of a Finnish vocational college and teachers’ group interview data were analyzed to find how cultural sustainability is presented in the curriculum and how it is understood by teachers and integrated into teaching practices. Previous cultural sustainability research identifies four perspectives of cultural sustainability: (1 vitality of cultural traditions; (2 economic starting point; (3 diversity together with maintenance of local culture; and (4 possible influence on the balance between human actions and environment. Findings indicate that sustainability, including cultural sustainability, is integrated in the curriculum and considered important by teachers. Translating these into practice remains a challenge. The balance between human and nature was mostly understood as recycling, use of public transport, sustainable consumption, and taking trips to the nature nearby. Cultural sustainability as a concept is not well known, although themes such as multicultural issues, equality, charity, and environmental responsibility were included in teachers’ practical lessons daily. Feasts and celebrations in learning were opportunities to view cultural sustainability widely. This paper provides a way forward for the teachers to develop further their pedagogical practices.

Concept for integrated environmental monitoring. Scientific approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haber, W [comp.; Schoenthaler, K; Kerner, H F; Koeppel, J; Spandau, L

1998-09-01

Despite considerable expenditures for environmental protection and intensified efforts in the areas of environmental research and monitoring, environmental damage increasingly occurs, sometimes with global effects, largely due to the lack of early diagnosis. In the past few years various institutions have therefore demanded improvements in environmental monitoring. The Council of Experts on Environmental Issues (`Rat von Sachverstaendigen fuer Umweltfragen`, SRU), in particular, in its `Environmental Report` of 1987 and in its Special Report on `General Ecological Environmental Monitoring` (1990) presented far-reaching demands for a nationwide ecological early warning system which should integrate the various local, regional, national, and even global monitoring levels, and which should encompass an environmental monitoring of entire ecosystems at representative locations. This is aimed at creating the prerequisites for - detection of long-term gradual environmental change, - confirmation of refutation of initial assumptions regarding the causes of these environmental changes, - permitting decisions on preventive actions to stabilize or improve environmental conditions and - making it possible to assess the success of environmental protection policies. This report includes an abbreviated version and documentation of the conference on the `Concept for Integrated Environmental Monitoring` and the final report `Specification of the Concept for Integrated Environmental Monitoring from the Perspective of Nature Conservation`. (orig.)

Figuring rural development : concepts and cases of land use, sustainability and integrative indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hobbes, Marieke

2010-01-01

Sustainable economic development is essential for hundreds of millions of poor households in rural areas. This book represents a merger of environmental science and rural development economics. It elucidates the linkage between rational choice theory and theories on land use change. It builds a

Concepts of Integration for UAS Operations in the NAS

Science.gov (United States)

Consiglio, Maria C.; Chamberlain, James P.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Hoffler, Keith D.

2012-01-01

One of the major challenges facing the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is the lack of an onboard pilot that can comply with the legal requirement identified in the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that pilots see and avoid other aircraft. UAS will be expected to demonstrate the means to perform the function of see and avoid while preserving the safety level of the airspace and the efficiency of the air traffic system. This paper introduces a Sense and Avoid (SAA) concept for integration of UAS into the NAS that is currently being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and identifies areas that require additional experimental evaluation to further inform various elements of the concept. The concept design rests on interoperability principles that take into account both the Air Traffic Control (ATC) environment as well as existing systems such as the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). Specifically, the concept addresses the determination of well clear values that are large enough to avoid issuance of TCAS corrective Resolution Advisories, undue concern by pilots of proximate aircraft and issuance of controller traffic alerts. The concept also addresses appropriate declaration times for projected losses of well clear conditions and maneuvers to regain well clear separation.

An experimental school prototype: Integrating 3rs (reduce, reuse & recycle concept into architectural design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kong Seng Yeap

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The authors conducted a design project to examine the use of school as an ecological learning hub for children. Specifically, this study explores the ecological innovations that transform physical environment into three-dimensional textbooks for environmental education. A series of design workshops were carried out to gain interdisciplinary input for ecological school design. The findings suggest to integrate the concept of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle into the physical environment. As a result, an experimental school prototype is developed. It represents a series of recommendations that are rendered by novel ideas through the amalgamation of architecture, ecology and education. These findings promote the development of sustainable and interactive learning spaces through cross-disciplinary investigations in school architecture. Designers and practitioners interested in educational facilities design would find this article useful.

Preliminary design concepts of an advanced integral reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Kap S.; Lee, Doo J.; Kim, Keung K.; Chang, Moon H.; Kim, Si H.

1997-01-01

An integral reactor on the basis of PWR technology is being conceptually developed at KAERI. Advanced technologies such as intrinsic and passive safety features are implemented in establishing the design concepts of the reactor to enhance the safety and performance. Research and development including laboratory-scale tests are concurrently underway for confirming the technical adoption of those concepts to the rector design. The power output of the reactor will be in the range of 100MWe to 600MWe which is relatively small compared to the existing loop type reactors. The detailed analysis to assure the design concepts is in progress. (author). 3 figs, 1 tab

ECO-SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ROMANIAN TOURISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIANA BĂLAN

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In a changing world, the development of eco-sustainable tourism is manifested in the form of interaction of elements compatible with each other in various dimensions: economic, environmental, human, technological, environmental, ethical, etc. Through eco-sustainable tourism aims to satisfy the present needs of tourists in favor and not in detrimental to the interests of future generations, along with educating them in the spirit of reducing negative environmental impacts. This paper provides a brief overview of the tourism - ecology - sustainable development relationship, by highlighting the evolutionary theoretical considerations regarding the concept of tourism, the need for sustainable tourism development, the ecology as a priority in the development and integration of tourism activities within the coordinates the eco-sustainable development. It also discusses the main indicators used to characterize the tourism activities in Romania in the context of eco-sustainable development.

A window on urban sustainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stigt, Rien van; Driessen, Peter P.J.; Spit, Tejo J.M.

2013-01-01

Sustainable urban development requires the integration of environmental interests in urban planning. Although various methods of environmental assessment have been developed, plan outcomes are often disappointing due to the complex nature of decision-making in urban planning, which takes place in multiple arenas within multiple policy networks involving diverse stakeholders. We argue that the concept of ‘decision windows’ can structure this seemingly chaotic chain of interrelated decisions. First, explicitly considering the dynamics of the decision-making process, we further conceptualized decision windows as moments in an intricate web of substantively connected deliberative processes where issues are reframed within a decision-making arena, and interests may be linked within and across arenas. Adopting this perspective in two case studies, we then explored how decision windows arise, which factors determine their effectiveness and how their occurrence can be influenced so as to arrive at more sustainable solutions. We conclude that the integration of environmental interests in urban planning is highly dependent on the ability of the professionals involved to recognize and manipulate decision windows. Finally, we explore how decision windows may be opened. -- Highlights: • Decision-making about sustainable urban development occurs in networks. • The concept of ‘decision windows’ was further elaborated. • Decision windows help understand how environmental interests enter decision-making. • Decision windows can, to some extent, be influenced

A window on urban sustainability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stigt, Rien van, E-mail: rien.vanstigt@hu.nl [Research Center for Technology and Innovation, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 182, 3500 AD Utrecht (Netherlands); Driessen, Peter P.J., E-mail: p.driessen@uu.nl [Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.115, 3508 TC Utrecht (Netherlands); Spit, Tejo J.M., E-mail: T.J.M.Spit@uu.nl [Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.115, 3508 TC Utrecht (Netherlands)

2013-09-15

Sustainable urban development requires the integration of environmental interests in urban planning. Although various methods of environmental assessment have been developed, plan outcomes are often disappointing due to the complex nature of decision-making in urban planning, which takes place in multiple arenas within multiple policy networks involving diverse stakeholders. We argue that the concept of ‘decision windows’ can structure this seemingly chaotic chain of interrelated decisions. First, explicitly considering the dynamics of the decision-making process, we further conceptualized decision windows as moments in an intricate web of substantively connected deliberative processes where issues are reframed within a decision-making arena, and interests may be linked within and across arenas. Adopting this perspective in two case studies, we then explored how decision windows arise, which factors determine their effectiveness and how their occurrence can be influenced so as to arrive at more sustainable solutions. We conclude that the integration of environmental interests in urban planning is highly dependent on the ability of the professionals involved to recognize and manipulate decision windows. Finally, we explore how decision windows may be opened. -- Highlights: • Decision-making about sustainable urban development occurs in networks. • The concept of ‘decision windows’ was further elaborated. • Decision windows help understand how environmental interests enter decision-making. • Decision windows can, to some extent, be influenced.

Sustainability as the integration of economics and ethics? Baden, Vienna/Austria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Erik Kloppenborg

2000-01-01

In this study it is argued that the corporate pursuit of sustainability calls forth attitudes in the business world which seem to integrate economic, political and moral issues. The quest for sustainability calls forth reflection and reorientation in business life concerning visions, goals, role...... in society and practices. Evidence from two cases of corporate communication seems to indicate that the "language of sustainability" implicates a certain reorientation in business life. Whether this reorientation is merely "rhetorical" rather than "real" is not discussed in this paper, but when people use...

Integrated water resources management for sustainable development of in western rural China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

CHEN Gui-bao; HUANG Gao-bao

2010-01-01

Management in water resources development of Jinghe watershed of western rural China is examined with Participatory Rural Appraisal method--a rare applied method in China and questionnaire survey of stakeholders.Combination of these two survey methods derives good results as it could avoid personal bias in identifying and ranking the issues on a concrete basis in following up households'survey.Statistic Package for Social Sciences(SPSS)was used for data analysis.Results indicate that since the early 1980s.issues of water scarcity,river pollution,soil erosion,insufficient participation of stakeholders in water resources use and management,as well as centrahzed water planning and management system have created difficulties for sustainable development of the watershed.The stakeholders and local governments are fully aware of the challenges and are committed to achieving a solution through integrated water resource management(IWRD).The concept and the application of IWRD for rural China are reviewed and analyzed,and a framework for implementation of IWRD in China is developed.It is conchided that the keys to successful implementation of the approach will depend on optimal arrangement of institutions,policy reforms,community involvement and capacity building in water sector,which need to fully integrate various management functions within the watershed.

The fun integration theory: toward sustaining children and adolescents sport participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Visek, Amanda J; Achrati, Sara M; Mannix, Heather; McDonnell, Karen; Harris, Brandonn S; DiPietro, Loretta

2015-03-01

Children cite "fun" as the primary reason for participation in organized sport and its absence as the number-one reason for youth sport attrition. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical framework of fun using a novel mixed-method assessment of participants in sport (FUN MAPS) via concept mapping. Youth soccer players (n = 142), coaches (n = 37), and parents (n = 57) were stratified by age, sex, and competition level and contributed their ideas through (a) qualitative brainstorming, identifying all of the things that make playing sports fun for players; (b) sorting of ideas; and (c) rating each idea on its importance, frequency, and feasibility. The FUN MAPS identify the 4 fundamental tenets of fun in youth sport within 11 fun-dimensions composed of 81 specific fun-determinants, while also establishing the youth sport ethos. The FUN MAPS provide pictorial evidence-based blueprints for the fun integration theory (FIT), which is a multitheoretical, multidimensional, and stakeholder derived framework that can be used to maximize fun for children and adolescents to promote and sustain an active and healthy lifestyle through sport.

The pluralistic water research concept - a new human-water system research approach

Science.gov (United States)

Evers, Mariele; Höllermann, Britta; Almoradie, Adrian; Taft, Linda; Garcia-Santos, Glenda

2017-04-01

Sustainable water resources management has been and still is a main challenge for decision makers even though for the past number of decades integrative approaches and concepts (e.g. Integrated Water Resources Management - IWRM) have been developed to address problems on floods, droughts, water quality, water quantity, environment and ecology. Although somehow these approaches are aiming to address water related problems in an integrative approach and to some extent include or involve society in the planning and management, they still lack some of the vital components in including the social dimensions and their interaction with water. Understanding these dynamics in a holistic way and how they are shaped by time and space may tackle these shortcomings and provide more effective and sustainable management solutions with respect to a set of potential present social actions and values as well as possible futures. This paper aims to discuss challenges to coherently and comprehensively integrate the social dimensions of different human-water concepts like IWRM, socio-hydrology and waterscape. Against this background it will develop criteria for an integrative approach and present a newly developed concept termed pluralistic water research (PWR) concept. PWR is not only a pluralistic but also an integrative and interdisciplinary approach to acknowledge the social and water dimensions and their interaction and dynamics by considering more than one perspective of a water-related issue, hereby providing a set of multiple (future) developments. Our PWR concept will be illustrated by a case study application of the Canary island La Gomera. Furthermore an outlook on further possible developments of the PWR concept will be presented and discussed.

The Sustainable Highway for Environmentally Constrained Urbanized Areas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vakar, L.I.; Snijder, H.H.

2010-01-01

The ‘Sustainable Highway’ concept offers an integrated solution to motorway emission and noise problems. It consists of a motorway canopy made of cold-bendable laminated glass. Key factors here are durability, safety, cost and revenue. The design yields a significant reduction in noise, fine

Integrated international safeguards concepts for fuel reprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakkila, E.A.; Gutmacher, R.G.; Markin, J.T.; Shipley, J.P.; Whitty, W.J.; Camp, A.L.; Cameron, C.P.; Bleck, M.E.; Ellwein, L.B.

1981-12-01

This report is the fourth in a series of efforts by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, to identify problems and propose solutions for international safeguarding of light-water reactor spent-fuel reprocessing plants. Problem areas for international safeguards were identified in a previous Problem Statement (LA-7551-MS/SAND79-0108). Accounting concepts that could be verified internationally were presented in a subsequent study (LA-8042). Concepts for containment/surveillance were presented, conceptual designs were developed, and the effectiveness of these designs was evaluated in a companion study (SAND80-0160). The report discusses the coordination of nuclear materials accounting and containment/surveillance concepts in an effort to define an effective integrated safeguards system. The Allied-General Nuclear Services fuels reprocessing plant at Barnwell, South Carolina, was used as the reference facility

THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGRI-FOOD SPHERE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Samofatova

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The article highlights the historical preconditions and principles of sustainable development of theagri-food sphere. The analysis of the evolution of the categorical content of sustainable development iscarried out. It has been noted that the main ideology of sustainable development is the integration andharmonization of the ecological, economic and social spheres of society. It is shown that the concept ofsustainable development has an interdisciplinary character, so it should be considered in many aspects andstudied from different angles. The basic advantages of sustainable development for the agri-food sphere areoutlined.

Agroecology as a Science of Integration for Sustainability in Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Caporali

2007-06-01

Full Text Available A knowledge contribution is provided in order to understand agroecology as both a scientific discipline and a philosophical paradigm for promoting sustainability in agriculture. The peculiar character of agroecology as an applied science based on the systems paradigm is explored in the fields of research and tuition. As an organisational capability of connecting different hierarchical levels in accordance with the goal of sustainability, integration is shown as an emergent property of the evolution of agriculture as a human activity system.

A future task for Health Promotion research: Integration of Health Promotion and sustainable development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jelsøe, Erling; Thualagant, Nicole; Holm, Jesper

2018-01-01

Based on previous studies and reflections collected from participants in a workshop at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Research Network conference, we reveal current tendencies and discuss future challenges for health promotion research regarding integration of sustainable development principles....... Despite obvious interfaces and interactions between the two, our contention is that strategies for health promotion are not sufficiently integrated with strategies for sustainable development and that policies aimed at solving health or sustainability problems may therefore cause new, undesired...... and unforeseen environmental and health problems. As illustrated in previous research and as deliberated in the above-mentioned workshop, a number of barriers are identified: these are believed to be related to historical segregation, the conceptual understandings of health promotion and sustainable development...

The SUSTAIN Project: A European Study on Improving Integrated Care for Older People Living at Home

Science.gov (United States)

Stoop, Annerieke; Billings, Jenny; Leichsenring, Kai; Ruppe, Georg; Tram, Nhu; Barbaglia, María Gabriela; Ambugo, Eliva A.; Zonneveld, Nick; Paat-Ahi, Gerli; Hoffmann, Henrik; Khan, Usman; Stein, Viktoria; Wistow, Gerald; Lette, Manon; Jansen, Aaltje P.D.; Nijpels, Giel; Baan, Caroline A.

2018-01-01

Introduction: Integrated care programmes are increasingly being put in place to provide care to older people who live at home. Knowledge of how to further develop integrated care and how to transfer successful initiatives to other contexts is still limited. Therefore, a cross-European research project, called Sustainable Tailored Integrated Care for Older People in Europe (SUSTAIN), has been initiated with a twofold objective: 1. to collaborate with local stakeholders to support and monitor improvements to established integrated care initiatives for older people with multiple health and social care needs. Improvements focus on person-centredness, prevention orientation, safety and efficiency; 2. to make these improvements applicable and adaptable to other health and social care systems, and regions in Europe. This paper presents the overall structure and approach of the SUSTAIN project. Methods: SUSTAIN uses a multiple embedded case study design. In three phases, SUSTAIN partners: (i) conduct interviews and workshops with stakeholders from fourteen established integrated care initiatives to understand where they would prefer improvements to existing ways of working; (ii) collaborate with local stakeholders to support the design and implementation of improvement plans, evaluate implementation progress and outcomes per initiative, and carry out overarching analyses to compare the different initiatives, and; (iii) translate knowledge and experience to an online roadmap. Discussion: SUSTAIN aims to generate evidence on how to improve integrated care, and apply and transfer the knowledge gained to other health and social care systems, and regions. Lessons learned will be brought together in practical tools to inform and support policy-makers and decision-makers, as well as other stakeholders involved in integrated care, to manage and improve care for older people living at home. PMID:29632456

WHERE DOES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STAND IN RELATION TO SUSTAINABILITY?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nancy Diana Panta

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The business competitive landscape of today is shaped by new challenges. In order to outperform their peers, companies seek to seize opportunities and manage the risks associated with the challenges that arise. To this adds the pressure of societies on organizations to be more transparent, ethical and responsible. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR and sustainability come in response to this increasing demand of societies by being a pivotal tool in the business area. Organizations of the 21st century can no longer ignore CSR and sustainability and should follow the steps of integrating them across all departments as part of their strategic policy. Sustainable organizations are required to direct their interest beyond the economical factor and extend their goals towards environmental and social aspects. By integrating environmental and social concerns in the daily operations of a company, new models of doing business emerge and a synergy with various stakeholder groups takes place. Although a significant amount of attention has been headed towards the conceptualisation of CSR and sustainability, they both remain contested concepts. Therefore, the present paper depicts the effort to follow the emergence and conceptualization of CSR and sustainability from their origins, to introduce the changing meaning of CSR and to bridge the gap between the two concepts. Through literature review, the paper will provide relevant theoretical underpinnings that link CSR and sustainability.

Dematerialization and capital maintenance. Two sides of the sustainability coin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bartelmus, Peter [Wuppertal Institute, Doppersberg 19, D-42103 Wuppertal (Germany)

2003-08-01

The reductionist trend of equating sustainable development with sustained economic growth needs to be reversed. New accounts and balances help to operationalize the elusive notion of sustainability: they provide a coherent picture of the interaction between environment and economy. 'Greened' national accounts measure economic sustainability in terms of (produced and natural) capital maintenance; balances of material flows assess ecological sustainability as the dematerialization of production and consumption. Both concepts aim to preserve environmental assets, but differ in scope, strength and evaluation of sustainability. First results for Germany indicate weak sustainability of the economy; strong sustainability is not in sight because of insufficient reduction of material throughput. Attaining sustainability through integrated policies needs the support of share- and stakeholders of sustainable development.

Dematerialization and capital maintenance. Two sides of the sustainability coin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartelmus, Peter

2003-01-01

The reductionist trend of equating sustainable development with sustained economic growth needs to be reversed. New accounts and balances help to operationalize the elusive notion of sustainability: they provide a coherent picture of the interaction between environment and economy. 'Greened' national accounts measure economic sustainability in terms of (produced and natural) capital maintenance; balances of material flows assess ecological sustainability as the dematerialization of production and consumption. Both concepts aim to preserve environmental assets, but differ in scope, strength and evaluation of sustainability. First results for Germany indicate weak sustainability of the economy; strong sustainability is not in sight because of insufficient reduction of material throughput. Attaining sustainability through integrated policies needs the support of share- and stakeholders of sustainable development

Sustainable urban development, the Dutch method: best practice for the European integrated approach?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boeve, M.N.; van Middelkoop, L.

2010-01-01

An important European environmental policy aim is to create "sustainable cities". The aim of this article is to explore the possible tensions between environmental measures and urban spatial planning law that can arise in creating such sustainable cities and examine opportunities for integrated

Integrated Sustainability Reporting at HNE Eberswalde--A Practice Report

Science.gov (United States)

Kräusche, Kerstin; Pilz, Stefanie

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the development of an integrated sustainability reporting. In this paper success criteria are named and empirical values when dealingwith specific challenges are formulated. The focus is on the development of criteria for reporting, the involvement of university members and quality assurance.…

Quantifying an Integral Ecology Framework: A Case Study of the Riverina, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Sarah A.; Haensch, Juliane; Edwards, Jane; Schirmer, Jackie; Zuo, Alec

2018-02-01

Communities in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin face the challenge of trying to achieve social, economic, and environmental sustainability; but experience entrenched conflict about the best way to achieve a sustainable future, especially for small rural communities. Integral ecology is a philosophical concept that seeks to address community, economic, social, and environmental sustainability simultaneously. Its inclusive processes are designed to reduce stakeholder conflict. However, to date the application of the integral ecology concept has been largely qualitative in nature. This study developed a quantitative integral ecology framework, and applied this framework to a case study of the Riverina, in the Murray-Darling Basin. Seventy-seven community-focused initiatives were assessed, ranked, and quantified. The majority of the community-focused ranked initiatives did not exhibit all aspects of integral ecology. Initiatives typically prioritized either (1) economic and community development or (2) environmental health; rarely both together. The integral ecology framework developed here enables recommendations on future community initiatives and may provide a pathway for community leaders and other policy-makers to more readily apply integral ecology objectives. Further research refining the framework's operationalization, application and implementation to a wider-scale may enhance communities' capacity to develop and grow sustainably.

Becoming more sustainable: concepts and issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pirages, D C [Maryland Univ., Dep. of Government and Politics, Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda, College Park, MD (United States)

1996-11-01

The automobile and associated mobility system have had a major economic and ecological impact on human societies. The industrial revolution, during which the internal combustion engine has played a major role, has shaped secular, materialistic societies and associated consumption patterns that cannot be sustained in a future world of eight billion people. Creating a more sustainable world means maximizing human satisfaction while minimizing human impact on nature. Becoming more sustainable is best envisioned as a continuing process in which constraints and possibilities change over time and space. The sustainable process raises major controversies including how to define and measure progress, how to apportion wealth among generations, and between free trade and environmental preservation. Sustainable mobility implies major changes in approaches to transportation including stressing psychological rather than physical mobility, designing speciality vehicles for emerging niches, and placing special emphasis on mass transit systems for emerging megacities. (author) 17 refs.

The Integration of Sustainable Transport into Future Renewable Energy Systems in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Wen

use are largely lost in the current fossil fuel dominated energy systems. Sustainable transport development requires solutions from an overall renewable energy system in which integration of large-scale intermittent renewable energy needs assistance. Technologies of alternative vehicle fuels...... in transport may play a role in furthering such integration. The objective of this research is to make a contribution to the development of methodologies to identify and develop future sustainable transport systems as well as to apply such methodologies to the case of China. In particular, the methodological...... development focuses on 1) identifying suitable transport technologies and strategies based on renewable energy and 2) evaluating such technologies from the perspective of overall renewable energy system integration. For this purpose, a methodological framework involving the research fields of both...

Safety characteristics of the integral fast reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchaterre, J.F.; Cahalan, J.E.; Sevy, R.H.; Wright, A.E.

1985-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept is an innovative approach to liquid metal reactor design which is being studied by Argonne National Laboratory. Two of the key features of the IFR design are a metal fuel core design, based on the fuel technology developed at EBR-II, and an integral fuel cycle with a colocated fuel cycle facility based on the compact and simplified process steps made possible by the use of metal fuel. The paper presents the safety characteristics of the IFR concept which derive from the use of metal fuel. Liquid metal reactors, because of the low pressure coolant operating far below its boiling point, the natural circulation capability, and high system heat capacities, possess a high degree of inherent safety. The use of metallic fuel allows the reactor designer to further enhance the system capability for passive accommodation of postulated accidents

Urban water sustainability: an integrative framework for regional water management

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzales, P.; Ajami, N. K.

2015-11-01

Traditional urban water supply portfolios have proven to be unsustainable under the uncertainties associated with growth and long-term climate variability. Introducing alternative water supplies such as recycled water, captured runoff, desalination, as well as demand management strategies such as conservation and efficiency measures, has been widely proposed to address the long-term sustainability of urban water resources. Collaborative efforts have the potential to achieve this goal through more efficient use of common pool resources and access to funding opportunities for supply diversification projects. However, this requires a paradigm shift towards holistic solutions that address the complexity of hydrologic, socio-economic and governance dynamics surrounding water management issues. The objective of this work is to develop a regional integrative framework for the assessment of water resource sustainability under current management practices, as well as to identify opportunities for sustainability improvement in coupled socio-hydrologic systems. We define the sustainability of a water utility as the ability to access reliable supplies to consistently satisfy current needs, make responsible use of supplies, and have the capacity to adapt to future scenarios. To compute a quantitative measure of sustainability, we develop a numerical index comprised of supply, demand, and adaptive capacity indicators, including an innovative way to account for the importance of having diverse supply sources. We demonstrate the application of this framework to the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Our analyses demonstrate that water agencies that share common water supplies are in a good position to establish integrative regional management partnerships in order to achieve individual and collective short-term and long-term benefits.

An integrated Biophysical CGE model to provide Sustainable Development Goal insights

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Marko; Cicowiez, Martin; Howells, Mark; Zepeda, Eduardo

2016-04-01

Future projected changes in the energy system will inevitably result in changes to the level of appropriation of environmental resources, particularly land and water, and this will have wider implications for environmental sustainability, and may affect other sectors of the economy. An integrated climate, land, energy and water (CLEW) system will provide useful insights, particularly with regard to the environmental sustainability. However, it will require adequate integration with other tools to detect economic impacts and broaden the scope for policy analysis. A computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is a well suited tool to channel impacts, as detected in a CLEW analysis, onto all sectors of the economy, and evaluate trade-offs and synergies, including those of possible policy responses. This paper will show an application of such integration in a single-country CGE model with the following key characteristics. Climate is partly exogenous (as proxied by temperature and rainfall) and partly endogenous (as proxied by emissions generated by different sectors) and has an impact on endogenous variables such as land productivity and labor productivity. Land is a factor of production used in agricultural and forestry activities which can be of various types if land use alternatives (e.g., deforestation) are to be considered. Energy is an input to the production process of all economic sectors and a consumption good for households. Because it is possible to allow for substitution among different energy sources (e.g. renewable vs non-renewable) in the generation of electricity, the production process of energy products can consider the use of natural resources such as oil and water. Water, data permitting, can be considered as an input into the production process of agricultural sectors, which is particularly relevant in case of irrigation. It can also be considered as a determinant of total factor productivity in hydro-power generation. The integration of a CLEW

Sustainable integration of high levels of intermittent generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, R.; Cabral, P.

2005-01-01

The sustainable development of electric power systems rely on three main drivers: the security of supply, the competitiveness and the protection of the environment. For this purpose the promotion of endogenous energy sources, mainly the renewable ones, should be underlined. Still, most of renewable energy sources raise very sensitive issues concerning the security of supply, due to its randomness and unpredictability. The wind power, currently in its fast growing development, plays a relevant role on this matter. From the demand-side perspective, there is also a lot to do regarding the promotion of more efficient use of energy as well as mechanisms that contribute to security of supply. This paper aims to present guidelines for the selection of the most adequate solutions regarding: sustainable evolution of renewable generation technologies, based on the most meritorious resources under economic and security of supply assessments; complementary energy storage systems that allow the integration of intermittent generation ensuring adequate security of supply levels; and sustainable evolution of demand, based on DSM measures selected from different available alternatives. (author)

Integrated planning aimed at sustainability city logistics solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadić Snežana R.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of city logistics system is sustainability, or efficiency, wide acceptability, environmental protection and safety. On the other hand, the city logistics system is very complex. It is characterized by a large number of participants, with different, usually conflicting goals and complex interactions. In addition, the system of city logistics is part of a wider system of the town, the region, and there are complex interactions with the external environment. The system depends on the specific characteristics of the city, affects other forms of urban mobility and is subject to the policies of higher rank (regional, national policy. Given the exceptional complexity, sustainable city logistics solution requires an integrated approach in all phases of planning, from stages of problem identification, definition of alternative solutions and effects assessment, to implementation and by exploitation. In this way, the solution of city logistics is becoming widely accepted and not only affects the efficiency of the socio-economic system of town, already on the sustainability of the whole region.

An integral reactor design concept for a nuclear co-generation plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D.J.; Kim, J.I.; Kim, K.K.; Chang, M.H.; Moon, K.S.

1997-01-01

An integral reactor concept for nuclear cogeneration plant is being developed at KAERI as an attempt to expand the peaceful utilization of well established commercial nuclear technology, and related industrial infrastructure such as desalination technology in Korea. Advanced technologies such as intrinsic and passive safety features are implemented in establishing the design concepts to enhance the safety and performance. Research and development including laboratory-scale tests are concurrently underway to evaluate the characteristics of various passive safety concepts and provide the proper technical data for the conceptual design. This paper describes the preliminary safety and design concepts of the advanced integral reactor. Salient features of the design are hexagonal core geometry, once-through helical steam generator, self-pressurizer, and seismic resistant fine control CEDMS, passive residual heat removal system, steam injector driven passive containment cooling system. (author)

Cognitive Rest: An Integrated Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Kathleen H.

2016-01-01

Cognitive rest has been suggested as a treatment for school athletes who have sustained a concussion, but the concept has rarely been defined. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive definition of cognitive rest, based on an integrative literature review. The method of synthesis was guided by Avant and Walker's concept analysis…

AC/ARNG Integrated Division Concept Study, Appendices, Volume 3

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Twohig, John

1997-01-01

...) division headquarters. The US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) was tasked to conduct a viability assessment of the AC/ARNG Integrated Division concept and focus on merits and implementation issues...

Analytic network process model for sustainable lean and green manufacturing performance indicator

Science.gov (United States)

Aminuddin, Adam Shariff Adli; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd; Mohamed, Nik Mohd Zuki Nik

2014-09-01

Sustainable manufacturing is regarded as the most complex manufacturing paradigm to date as it holds the widest scope of requirements. In addition, its three major pillars of economic, environment and society though distinct, have some overlapping among each of its elements. Even though the concept of sustainability is not new, the development of the performance indicator still needs a lot of improvement due to its multifaceted nature, which requires integrated approach to solve the problem. This paper proposed the best combination of criteria en route a robust sustainable manufacturing performance indicator formation via Analytic Network Process (ANP). The integrated lean, green and sustainable ANP model can be used to comprehend the complex decision system of the sustainability assessment. The finding shows that green manufacturing is more sustainable than lean manufacturing. It also illustrates that procurement practice is the most important criteria in the sustainable manufacturing performance indicator.

Targeting relationally integrated project teams for sustainable PPPs

OpenAIRE

Kumaraswamy, M. M.; Ling, F. Y. Y.; Anvuur, A. M.; Rahman, M. M.

2007-01-01

Purpose – This paper targets the development of comprehensive approaches to prequalifying teams for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Design/methodology/approach – Research outcomes from a study into “relationally integrated project teams” (RIPTs) were applied to necessarily longer-term PPP scenarios. A force field model was developed to visualise the importance of stronger relational forces between the many PPP participants for “sustainable RIPTs” (SRITs). A framework was conceptualised to...

Sustainability and Organizational Change by Sustainable Crediting Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragoş Ilie

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that one of the therapies to achieve sustainability and organizational change in the context of current challenges in the national economies is sustainable crediting. The research method is based on a survey of 30 commercial companies from various fields of activity that have or have not implemented, at the leadership level, the concept of sustainable crediting. The data collecting and processing approach has resulted in the determination of the main economic-financial indicators for a period of 5 years, indicators used by banks in relation with the credited organizations. The main results show that companies that have implemented the sustainable crediting concept are more able to achieve sustainability in their developed activity, as well as organizational change with positive effects on their business and on the company as a whole. The concept of sustainable crediting implies the capitalization of the commercial companies, the increase of the loan portfolio quality, the achievement of the financial balance and environmental protection

An Assessment Tool to Integrate Sustainability Principles into the Global Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Jesús Muñoz-Torres

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The integration of sustainability principles into the assessment of companies along the supply chains is a growing research area. However, there is an absence of a generally accepted method to evaluate corporate sustainability performance (CSP, and the models and frameworks proposed by the literature present various important challenges to be addressed. A systematic literature review on the supply chain at the corporate level has been conducted, analyzing the main strengths and gaps in the sustainability assessment literature. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to the development of this field by proposing an assessment framework a leading company can adopt to expand sustainability principles to the rest of the members of the supply chain. This proposal is based on best practices and integrates and shares efforts with key initiatives (for instance, the Organizational Environmental Footprint from the European Commission and United Nations Environment Programme and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry UNEP/SETAC; moreover, it overcomes important limitations of the current sustainability tools in a supply chain context consistent with the circular economy, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, planetary boundaries, and social foundation requirements. The results obtained create, on the one hand, new opportunities for academics; and, on the other hand, in further research, the use of this framework could be a means of actively engaging companies in their supply chains and of achieving the implementation of practical and comprehensive CSP assessment.

Application of Sensitivity Analysis in Design of Integrated Building Concepts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiselberg, Per; Brohus, Henrik; Hesselholt, Allan Tind

2007-01-01

analysis makes it possible to identify the most important parameters in relation to building performance and to focus design and optimization of integrated building concepts on these fewer, but most important parameters. The sensitivity analyses will typically be performed at a reasonably early stage...... the design requirements and objectives. In the design of integrated building concepts it is beneficial to identify the most important design parameters in order to more efficiently develop alternative design solutions or more efficiently perform an optimization of the building performance. The sensitivity...

Integrated resource planning-concepts and principles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atkinson, S.

1994-12-31

The concepts and principles of integrated resource planning (IRP) are outlined. The following topics are discussed: utility opportunities and methodologies, application considerations, ambitious energy-efficient programs, the future of IRP, three methods to study resource alternatives, the load adjustment method, simultaneous optimization, static analysis, utility profile data, load forecasts and shapes, load data, conversion, variable costs, external analysis, internal analysis, DSM objectives, supply-side prescreening, DSM screening analysis, DSM evaluation, the IRP process, risk analysis, collaborative planning process, and load shape objectives.

Culture in Sustainability--Defining Cultural Sustainability in Education

Science.gov (United States)

Laine, Marja

2016-01-01

The definition of cultural sustainability in education is explored in this article by looking into conceptions of cultural sustainability collected through expert queries and focus group engagement. These conceptions are compared with the scientific and especially pedagogical discourse on the matter as well as Soini and Birkeland's theory of story…

Sustainable resilience in property maintenance: encountering changing weather conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cox, Rimante Andrasiunaite; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to develop a methodological approach for project management to integrate sustainability and resilience planning in property maintenance as an incremental strategy for upgrading existing properties to meet new standards for sustainable and climate resilient...... buildings. Background: Current maintenance practice is focused on the technical standard of buildings, with little consideration of sustainability and resilience. There is a need to develop tools for incorporating sustainable resilience into maintenance planning. Approach: The study is primarily theoretical......, developing the concept of sustainable resilience for changing weather conditions Results: The paper suggests a decision support methodology that quantifies sustainable resilience for the analytical stages of property maintenance planning. Practical Implications: The methodology is generic and expected users...

Measurement and evaluation of sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondyli, Julia

2010-01-01

This paper develops a methodology to analyse, measure and evaluate sustainable development (SD). A holistic approach (systems analysis) is applied to operationalise the SD concept and an integrated approach (composite indicator construction) is adopted for the measurement of SD. The operationalisation of the SD concept is based on an in-depth systems analysis of issues associated with economic, social and environmental problems in a policy context. The composite indicator (overall sustainability index) is developed based on the three composite sub-indicators of the SD dimensions. The valuation of the SD is based both on the aggregated sub-indicators and the overall composite indicator. The methodology is used to evaluate the SD of the North Aegean islands between different temporal points. The assessment of the change in the islands' SD is based on a quartile grading scale of the overall SD composite scores.

Profile of Metacognition of Mathematics and Mathematics Education Students in Understanding the Concept of Integral Calculus

Science.gov (United States)

Misu, La; Ketut Budayasa, I.; Lukito, Agung

2018-03-01

This study describes the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. The metacognition profile is a natural and intact description of a person’s cognition that involves his own thinking in terms of using his knowledge, planning and monitoring his thinking process, and evaluating his thinking results when understanding a concept. The purpose of this study was to produce the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. This research method is explorative method with the qualitative approach. The subjects of this study are mathematics and mathematics education students who have studied integral calculus. The results of this study are as follows: (1) the summarizing category, the mathematics and mathematics education students can use metacognition knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals. While the definite integrals, only mathematics education students use metacognition skills; and (2) the explaining category, mathematics students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals, while the definite integrals only use metacognition skills. In addition, mathematics education students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of both indefinite and definite integrals.

THE ACCEPTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD CONCEPT: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION IN STENDEN UNIVERSITY HOTEL, THE NETHERLANDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sia Tjun Han

2017-09-01

Full Text Available As customers concern more about the environment, sustainable food demands, which are locally produced, organic, seasonal, and vegetarian or semi-vegetarian, are increasing. Besides, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB explains that behavior is guided by intentions with the factors of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control to predict food choices; food purchasing habits and intake; and attitudes and preferences. Therefore, the research purpose is to examine customers’ acceptance of The Netherlands restaurant implementing sustainable food concept using TPB. Data analysis of 10 semi structured interviews shows that the customers of Restaurant NL are more likely guided by external factors of subjective norms: work related dine-in; others’ encouragement to eat more healthy and more responsibly, as the intentions are to have sustainable benefits.

SolEn for a Sustainable Future: Developing and Teaching a Multidisciplinary Course on Solar Energy to Further Sustainable Education in Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Pullen, Sonja; Brinkert, Katharina

2014-01-01

The high demand for the integration of sustainable topics into university curricula presents new challenges for the way chemistry is traditionally taught. New teaching concepts are required that consider and connect different disciplines to achieve a higher student awareness of the importance of these topics for humanity, the environment, and the…

The importance of an integrating framework for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: the example of health and well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Ana Raquel; Lee, Kelley; O'Riordan, Tim

2016-01-01

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development came into force in January 2016 as the central United Nations (UN) platform for achieving 'integrated and indivisible' goals and targets across the three characteristic dimensions of sustainable development: the social, environmental and economic. We argue that, despite the UN adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a framework for operationalising them in an integrated fashion is lacking. This article puts forth a framework for integrating health and well-being across the SDGs as both preconditions and outcomes of sustainable development. We present a rationale for this approach, and identify the challenges and opportunities for implementing and monitoring such a framework through a series of examples. We encourage other sectors to develop similar integrating frameworks for supporting a more coordinated approach for operationalising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Tell your sustainability story, minus hype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madison, Alison L.

2011-04-10

Monthly Economic Diversication column for the Tri-City Herald... By now, many of us are starting to slack off on our New Year’s resolutions to vigorously become healthier, happier, more productive superhumans. While our intentions are in the right place, we try to insert these lofty goals into already hectic lives wrought with engrained routines. We break them because they’re simply not sustainable unless they become integral to our daily operation. The same is true of businesses who still think going "green" is something to talk about rather than wholeheartedly do. The concept of being "green" started as a buzzword several years ago, something companies would attach to their advertising to convince customers they cared about more than just making a buck. Since that time, the concept now referred to as "sustainability" has evolved considerably and is becoming a fundamental part of how companies do business. As such, marketing efforts to tout sustainability, previously seen as fluffy, are now respected for their proven power to affect the bottom line.

Analysis of a sustainable gas cooled fast breeder reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Akansha; Chirayath, Sunil S.; Tsvetkov, Pavel V.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A Thorium-GFBR breeder for actinide recycling ability, and thorium fuel feasibility. • A mixture of 232 Th and 233 U is used as fuel and LWR used fuel is used. • Detailed neutronics, fuel cycle, and thermal-hydraulics analysis has been presented. • Run this TGFBR for 20 years with breeding of 239 Pu and 233 U. • Neutronics analysis using MCNP and Brayton cycle for energy conversion are used. - Abstract: Analysis of a thorium fuelled gas cooled fast breeder reactor (TGFBR) concept has been done to demonstrate the self-sustainability, breeding capability, actinide recycling ability, and thorium fuel feasibility. Simultaneous use of 232 Th and used fuel from light water reactor in the core has been considered. Results obtained confirm the core neutron spectrum dominates in an intermediate energy range (peak at 100 keV) similar to that seen in a fast breeder reactor. The conceptual design achieves a breeding ratio of 1.034 and an average fuel burnup of 74.5 (GWd)/(MTHM) . TGFBR concept is to address the eventual shortage of 235 U and nuclear waste management issues. A mixture of thorium and uranium ( 232 Th + 233 U) is used as fuel and light water reactor used fuel is utilized as blanket, for the breeding of 239 Pu. Initial feed of 233 U has to be obtained from thorium based reactors; even though there are no thorium breeders to breed 233 U a theoretical evaluation has been used to derive the data for the source of 233 U. Reactor calculations have been performed with Monte Carlo radiation transport code, MCNP/MCNPX. It is determined that this reactor has to be fuelled once every 5 years assuming the design thermal power output as 445 MW. Detailed analysis of control rod worth has been performed and different reactivity coefficients have been evaluated as part of the safety analysis. The TGFBR concept demonstrates the sustainability of thorium, viability of 233 U as an alternate to 235 U and an alternate use for light water reactor used fuel as a

Family Care Map: Sustaining family-centered care in Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, James H.; Wise, Meg; Krahn, Dean; Oliver, Karen Anderson; Hall, Carmen; Sayer, Nina

2015-01-01

The study assessed sustainability of the Family Care Map, a family-centered approach to providing care for Veterans with polytrauma-related injuries, in four Department of Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers. We applied a mixed-methods approach. Staff surveys used standardized measures of sustainability, commitment to change, information, and participation during implementation. Qualitative inquiry assessed Family Care Map implementation and facilitators and barriers to sustainability. Staff sustainability perceptions had a significant positive correlation with affective commitment to change, participation, and information received about the change process. Family Care Map integration into standard practices and use of its concepts with patients and families related to staff perceptions about sustainability. The degree of use and integration of the Family Care Map in traumatic brain injury/polytrauma care varied among the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers. Some successful sustainability strategies included integration into daily workflow and organizational culture. Examples of sustainability barriers included staff awareness and use and outdated information. Some practices, such as measuring and documenting the use of the Family Care Map in treatment plans, may not routinely occur. The focus on family-centered care will require further evaluation of organization-, staff-, and innovation-level attributes that influence sustainability of changes designed to improve family-centered care. PMID:25671632

The Fun Integration Theory: Towards Sustaining Children and Adolescents Sport Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Visek, Amanda J.; Achrati, Sara M.; Manning, Heather; McDonnell, Karen; Harris, Brandonn S.; DiPietro, Loretta

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Children cite ‘fun’ as the primary reason for participation in organized sport and its absence as the number one reason for youth sport attrition. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical framework of fun using a novel mixed-method assessment of participants in sport (FUN MAPS) via concept mapping. METHODS Youth soccer players (n = 142), coaches (n = 37), and parents (n = 57) were stratified by age, sex, and competition level and contributed their “fun” ideas through: (a) qualitative brainstorming, identifying all of the things that make playing sports fun for players; (b) sorting of ideas; and (c) rating each idea on its importance, frequency, and feasibility. RESULTS The FUN MAPS identify the four fundamental tenets of fun in youth sport within 11 fun-dimensions composed of 81 specific fun-determinants, while also establishing the youth sport ethos. CONCLUSION The FUN MAPS provide pictorial evidence-based blueprints for the fun integration theory (FIT), which is a multi-theoretical, multidimensional, and stakeholder derived framework that can be used to maximize fun for children and adolescents in order to promote and sustain an active and healthy lifestyle through sport. PMID:24770788

Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gad, Ulrik Pram; Jakobsen, Uffe; Strandsbjerg, Jeppe

2017-01-01

The concept of sustainability has become central in arctic politics. However, there is little agreement on what ‘sustainable’ means. For different actors (governments, indigenous people, NGOs, etc.) the concept implies different sets of opportunities and precautions. Sustainability, therefore...... the role of sustainability in political and economic strategies in the Arctic. Sustainability has become a fundamental concept that orders the relationship between the environment (nature) and development (economy), however, in the process rearticulating other concepts such as identity (society). Hence, we...... to outline an agenda for how to study the way in which sustainability works as a political concept....

Climate change, ethics and sustainability: An innovative approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Luis Sánchez García

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Our goal in this article is the analysis of the state of affairs, regarding the phenomenon of climate change and its impact in different areas. We synthesize the various approaches available in the scientific debate on this subject, mainly the one that affirms the existence of global warming and the current approach, which denies it. Beyond the controversy, what seems to be evident is that there is a multifactorial causality in a phenomenon that affects anthropogenic factors a well. Since some environmentalisms exclude the human being in their consideration of the ecosystem, and if they do, they accommodate man in their approaches always as a variable that distorts and deteriorates the environment, we believe that a fundamental rethinking of the issue is needed, from the perspective of an integral environmentalism. The environmentalism we propose not only does not exclude the human being from this multifactorial equation, but also considers man as the fundamental, modifiable variable in that process. We thus consider the environmental problem in the broader framework of an integral ecology, where the human being takes a central place, understood as a free person and a moral subject, responsible for his actions and a key element in any consideration and review of the process. In this context, the concept of sustainability emerges as a key concept that must guide human action in all areas, a concept from which it is possible to appeal to the responsibility of man within the framework of an ethics of sustainability. Man is called to do right in all orders. When he does not respect this ethical orientation, so implicitly included in his own conscience, he becomes denatured and suffers the consequences in himself and in the environment in which he lives. We believe that it is a priority to seek the foundations of the existence of God, analyzing the theistic view, the foundations of sustainability for the good of man himself and the planet. JEL

KEY CONCEPTS OF AGROECOLOGY SCIENCE. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Fernando Gómez-Echeverri

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A systematic review was conducted with the objective of determining the key concepts that are currently used in theoretical work in agroecology. They were obtained from titles and keywords of theoretical articles and books that included the term agroecology in the title. Fifteen terms with occurrences higher than three were obtained. They show that agroecology revolves around the concept of integral sustainability, and that there is agreement on neither its object of study nor goal. As a result, most key concepts concern the object of study or the goal of agroecology. Other key concepts are food sovereignty, agriculture, ecofeminism, climate change, family farming, and social movements.

Making sustainability work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binswanger, Hans Christoph

1998-01-01

Today's economic theory usually neglects the role of nature and environment. To make sustainability work it is, however, essential to (re-)integrate nature into the standard concepts of economics, especially by incorporating natural factors into the production function. It must be acknowledged that economic growth is not (only) the result of technical change but is mainly caused by rising energy-inputs into the economy, and that this is necessarily followed by resource exhaustion and pollution. Therefore, nature must not only be taken into account as a central factor of production but also in the form of environmental quality which is the basis for human quality of life. A numeric example shows that a small, but steady decrease of yearly resource consumption is already apt to redirect the economy on a path of sustainable development

Interdependences between sustainable development and sustainable economy

OpenAIRE

Emilia Mioara CÂMPEANU; Carmen Valentina RĂDULESCU

2014-01-01

Sustainable development and sustainable economy are mostly used concepts. Understanding clearly their meaning allows their use in an appropriate context and, therefore, their boundaries in terms of theoretical and practical approaches on which occasion it can be given their interdependencies. The paper aim is to analyze the interdependences between sustainable development and sustainable economy.

Planning support concept to implementation of sustainable parking development projects in ancient Mediterranean cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikša Jajac

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a planning support concept (PSC to implementation of sustainable parking development projects (SPDP in ancient Mediterranean cities. It is conceptualized by the logic of decision support systems and a multicriteria analysis approach. The purpose of the concept is to support setting of implementation priorities for subprojects (construction of new and/or improvement of existing parking within a SPDP. Analysing the existing and a planned state of parking within the city a goal tree is established. Subprojects are defined accordingly. Objectives from the last hierarchy level within the goal tree are used as criteria for assessment of defined subprojects. Representatives of stakeholders provided criteria weights by application of AHP and SAW methods. PROMETHEE II was used for priority ranking and PROMETHEE V ensured a definition of project’s implementation phases. The result of the presented concept is the implementation plan for such projects. The concept is tested on the city of Trogir.

The importance of an integrating framework for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: the example of health and well-being

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kelley; O'Riordan, Tim

2016-01-01

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development came into force in January 2016 as the central United Nations (UN) platform for achieving ‘integrated and indivisible’ goals and targets across the three characteristic dimensions of sustainable development: the social, environmental and economic. We argue that, despite the UN adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a framework for operationalising them in an integrated fashion is lacking. This article puts forth a framework for integrating health and well-being across the SDGs as both preconditions and outcomes of sustainable development. We present a rationale for this approach, and identify the challenges and opportunities for implementing and monitoring such a framework through a series of examples. We encourage other sectors to develop similar integrating frameworks for supporting a more coordinated approach for operationalising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. PMID:28588955

Development of FBR integrity system code. Basic concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asayama, Tai

2001-05-01

For fast breeder reactors to be commercialized, they must be more reliable, safer, and at the same, economically competitive with future light water reactors. Innovation of elevated temperature structural design standard is necessary to achieve this goal. The most powerful way is to enlarge the scope of structural integrity code to cover items other than design evaluation that has been addressed in existing codes. Items that must be newly covered are prerequisites of design, fabrication, examination, operation and maintenance, etc. This allows designers to choose the most economical combination of design variations to achieve specific reliability that is needed for a particular component. Designing components by this concept, a cost-minimum design of a whole plant can be realized. By determining the reliability that must be achieved for a component by risk technologies, further economical improvement can be expected by avoiding excessive quality. Recognizing the necessity for the codes based on the new concept, the development of 'FBR integrity system code' began in 2000. Research and development will last 10 years. For this development, the basic logistics and system as well as technologies that materialize the concept are necessary. Original logistics and system must be developed, because no existing researches are available in and out of Japan. This reports presents the results of the work done in the first year regarding the basic idea, methodology, and structure of the code. (author)

Sustainability of algal biofuel production using integrated renewable energy park (IREP) and algal biorefinery approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subhadra, Bobban G.

2010-01-01

Algal biomass can provide viable third generation feedstock for liquid transportation fuel. However, for a mature commercial industry to develop, sustainability as well as technological and economic issues pertinent to algal biofuel sector must be addressed first. This viewpoint focuses on three integrated approaches laid out to meet these challenges. Firstly, an integrated algal biorefinery for sequential biomass processing for multiple high-value products is delineated to bring in the financial sustainability to the algal biofuel production units. Secondly, an integrated renewable energy park (IREP) approach is proposed for amalgamating various renewable energy industries established in different locations. This would aid in synergistic and efficient electricity and liquid biofuel production with zero net carbon emissions while obviating numerous sustainability issues such as productive usage of agricultural land, water, and fossil fuel usage. A 'renewable energy corridor' rich in multiple energy sources needed for algal biofuel production for deploying IREPs in the United States is also illustrated. Finally, the integration of various industries with algal biofuel sector can bring a multitude of sustainable deliverables to society, such as renewable supply of cheap protein supplements, health products and aquafeed ingredients. The benefits, challenges, and policy needs of the IREP approach are also discussed.

Integral Sustainable Design: Transformative Perspectives (by M. DeKay (Ed. with S. Bennett, 2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Schwartz

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Reviewed by Michael Schwartz Mark DeKay, Professor of Architecture and Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Architecture at the University of Tennessee, a prominent scholar-practitioner in the field of sustainable design, opens his latest book with the explicit intention that the volume “help create a breakthrough in the effectiveness of the Sustainable Design movement such that it is transformed to greater power, relevance, meaning and positive effect on people and Nature” (p. xxi. His approach is thoroughly integral, taking up Wilber’s classic integral theory, more or less a version of “Wilber-4,” clarifying and extending this meta-theory in service of creating and advancing sustainable design as discipline and practice.

Ergonomics and education as a strategy for sustainable development in business.

Science.gov (United States)

Silveira, Dierci Marcio; Brandão, Erico Lourenço

2012-01-01

It is part of the vocabulary of organizations, and the agendas discussed the subject of "Sustainability", but there are few companies that implement practices or even know the means of implementing sustainable practices. The objective of this paper is to discuss an approach to education for sustainable development (ESD) based on the concepts and practice of ergonomics, as a consequence of this approach allows the implementation of integration initiatives focused on sustainability, such as eg. energy efficiency and consumer awareness thus allowing a means of reducing costs and operating expenses, increased competitiveness and significant contributions to corporate sustainability. There is also the inclusion of sustainability in corporate strategic planning, and their implications in the different spheres of the market.

Conflict between Water Policy and Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Barros, A. F.

2001-05-01

Recent developments in the area of water policy have focussed around the concepts of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The goal of this activity has been to improve the efficiency of the potential worldwide investment of \\$80 billion per year into the water sector, and to lobby for more expenditure to meet the rapidly expanding demands placed upon water resources worldwide. Unfortunately, there is no definitive and widely accepted definition of IWRM and this fuels the long-standing feeling amongst the scientific community that water policy studies and institutions shortchange sustainability considerations, including those dealing scientific understanding of hydrology and aquatic ecosystems. This is made more difficult because the concepts used in describing sustainability are themselves diffuse and can be contradictory. The nature of understanding of the essential elements of sustainable development and those of the policy community are basically different. Policy has to be general, descriptive, and immediate-sustainability is just the opposite; it must be specific, analytical, and take a long perspective. No one on either side of the divide would claim that the other activities are not important, but bridging the divide is extremely difficult and rare. Typically, policy studies try to incorporate the bureaucratic concepts of water management and institutional reforms without considering the analytical work associated with long-term sustainability of water resources. Furthermore, water resource problems are characterized by high levels of complexity and require a strong interdisciplinary mix of approaches. Unfortunately, what is known and what is likely in the near future are subject to wide interpretation by different observers. This paper examines the conflict between the demands of water policy, which is essentially short-term and narrowly focused with the demands of sustainability, which are long-term and broadly based.

Integrated Reporting and Assurance of Sustainability Information: An Experimental Study on Professional Investors’ Information Processing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reimsbach, D.; Hahn, R.; Gürtürk, A.

2018-01-01

Sustainability-related non-financial information is increasingly deemed value relevant. Against this background, two recent trends in non-financial reporting are frequently discussed: integrated reporting and assurance of sustainability information. Using an established framework of information

Operationalizing Sustainable Development Suncor Energy Inc: A critical case

Science.gov (United States)

Fergus, Andrew

The concept of Sustainable Development is often understood as a framework within which organizations are able to move forward in a successful and beneficial manner. However, it is also seen as an ambiguous notion with little substance beyond a hopeful dialogue. If we are to base organizational action upon the concepts of Sustainable Development, it is vital that we comprehend the implications of how the concept is understood at a behavioral level. Industry leaders, competitors, shareholders, and stakeholders recognize Suncor Energy Inc as a leading organization within the Oil and Gas energy field. In particular it has a reputation for proactive thinking and action within the areas of environmental and social responsibility. Through attempting to integrate the ideas of Sustainable Development at a foundational level into the strategic plan, the management of Suncor Energy Inc has committed the organization to be a sustainable energy company. To achieve this vision the organization faces the challenge of converting strategic goals into operational behaviors, a process critical for a successful future. This research focuses on understanding the issues found with this conversion process. Through exploring a critical case, this research illuminates the reality of a best-case scenario. The findings thus have implications for both Suncor Energy Inc and more importantly all other organizations attempting to move in a Sustainable Development direction.

The Idea of Sustainable Development to Reconcile the Environmental and Intellectual Property Protection of Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gebreselassie, Abeba T.

2010-01-01

Sustainable development calls for environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and socio-political sustainability.The concept of sustainable development is enshrined in a number of global and regional treaties, declarations, and reports such as the Brundtland Commission Report, the Rio...... Declaration, Agenda 21, the Millennium Development Goals[MDGs], the Johannesburg Declaration and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and the 2000 Cotonou Agreement between African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union [the Cotonou Agreement]. The purpose of this Article is to integrate...... in the following sections shows, the successful implementation of the CBD partly depends on the cooperation of other states and that there is thus a need for an international integration of environmental protection into development laws, policies and programs. Second, the intersection between the CBD...

Sub-Saharan Africa: Sustainability Risk Discussion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria Bakhtina

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Africa is a rising star - one of the most desirable investment destinations in the world. Nonetheless, economic growth is uneven among African countries, and many obstacles must be overcome in order to realize the full potential of opportunity. To achieve long-term sustainable investment results, and ultimately progress towards Sustainable Development goals, many risks must be isolated, analyzed, and mitigated. This paper introduces the concept of Sustainability Risk, identifying a set of major risk components for Sub-Saharan Africa and building an integral measure to quantify the degree of remoteness of the forty-six Sub-Saharan Africa countries from the total set of threats considered. The countries are separated into distinct groups with similar characteristics in terms of Sustainability Risk, and an analysis for potential decision-making, based on the visualization of the countries' position in relation to the major sustainability threats, is performed for each group. The research identifies risks with maximum impacts.

Towards sustainable infrastructure development through integrated contracts : Experiences with inclusiveness in Dutch infrastructure projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenferink, Sander; Tillema, Taede; Arts, Jos

Current complex society necessitates finding inclusive arrangements for delivering sustainable road infrastructure integrating design, construction and maintenance stages of the project lifecycle. In this article we investigate whether linking stages by integrated contracts can lead to more

Tourism Cluster Competitiveness and Sustainability: Proposal for a Systemic Model to Measure the Impact of Tourism on Local Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sieglinde Kindl da Cunha

2005-07-01

Full Text Available This article proposes a model to measure tourism cluster impact on local development with a view to assessing tourism cluster interaction, competitiveness and sustainability impacts on the economy, society and the environment. The theoretical basis for this model is founded on cluster concept and typology adapting and integrating the systemic competitiveness and sustainability concepts within economic, social, cultural, environmental and political dimensions. The proposed model shows a holistic, multidisciplinary and multi-sector view of local development brought back through a systemic approach to the concepts of competitiveness, social equity and sustainability. Its results make possible strategic guidance to agents responsible for public sector tourism policies, as well as the strategies for competitiveness, competition, cooperation and sustainability in private companies and institutions.

Life Cycle Thinking and Integrated Product Deliveries in renovation projects: Extending the concept of Integrated Product Deliveries with Product Service Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schipull Kauschen, Jan

2012-01-01

extension to the concept of IPDs discussed. Due to extended product responsibility, the concept of PSSs will offer new possibilities of planning and pre-defining life cycles of IPDs more precisely than for regular building components. Reducing or eliminating point-of-sales will induce producers to optimize...... on renovation projects from Denmark, using different forms of IPDs for façade renovation and discusses the different stakeholder’s perspectives on life cycle thinking and their interests and values regarding sustainable building. Furthermore is the concept of Product Service Systems (PSS) as a valuable...

Sustainability performance for Brazilian electricity power industry: An assessment integrating social, economic and environmental issues

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sartori, S.; Witjes, S.; Campos, L.M.S.

2017-01-01

The increased pressure on companies to address sustainability issues has resulted in the development of several voluntary corporate sustainability integration approaches. The array of existing approaches is large and overwhelming, resulting in companies not understanding what corporate

Emulating natural disturbance regimes: an emerging approach for sustainable forest management

Science.gov (United States)

M. North; W Keeton

2008-01-01

Sustainable forest management integrates ecological, social, and economic objectives. To achieve the former, researchers and practitioners are modifying silvicultural practices based on concepts from successional and landscape ecology to provide a broader array of ecosystem functions than is associated with conventional approaches. One...

Hotel architecture from the perspective of sustainability and space hospitality : a study on the application of the concepts of sustainability and hospitality space in hotel projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josildete Pereira Oliveira

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This present study aims to discuss the concept of both sustainability and hospitality into the context of city contemporary architecture which, in a certain way had been reinterpreted or asked in what is concerned to the concept of environmental sustainability. In this sense, the main goal of the research was to analyze two hotel projects in Santa Catarina, Brazil, been one of them configured as a small sized one and the other as a big hotel, where all the mentioned conditions had been manifested in a tight way and even had not been systematized into one of the hotel architecture samples, as a reference of sustainable and hospitable architecture. The methodology characterized by an initial bibliographic study, as well as documentary study, followed by a field research characterized by an intensive direct observation, as well as a group and systematic one, also considered both observation and questionnaires application (Marconi & Lakatos, 2006 and it tried to rescue the history of hotel architecture in order to identify environmental sustainability contents, as well as hospitality ones, concerned to the constructed spaces, so that it would be possible, in a following moment, to analyze the hotel samples selected, which do manifest all the mentioned conditions. It was realized that considering its realities and sizes, both studied hotels do count with actions and elements that may be considered sustainable, as well as friendly environmental actions, what, doubtless, do provide hospitality in a certain way. Similarly, both hotels still have potentialities to be developed.

The Integrate Student Portal: Online Resources to Prepare Students for the Workforce of a Sustainable Future

Science.gov (United States)

Bruckner, M. Z.; Manduca, C. A.; Egger, A. E.; Macdonald, H.

2014-12-01

The InTeGrate Student Portal is a suite of web pages that utilize InTeGrate resources to support student success by providing undergraduates with tools and information necessary to be proactive in their career choices and development. Drawn from various InTeGrate workshops and programming, the Portal organizes these resources to illuminate a variety of career opportunities and pathways to both traditional and non-traditional jobs that support a sustainable future. Informed from a variety of sources including employers, practitioners, faculty, students, reports, and articles, the pages explore five facets: (1) sustainability across the disciplines, (2) workforce preparation, (3) professional communication, (4) teaching and teaching careers, and (5) the future of green research and technology. The first three facets explore how sustainability is integrated across disciplines and how sustainability and 'green' jobs are available in a wide range of traditional and non-traditional workplaces within and beyond science. They provide students guidance in preparing for this sustainability workforce, including where to learn about jobs and how to pursue them, advice for strengthening their job applications, and how to build a set of skills that employers seek. This advice encompasses classroom skills as well as those acquired and strengthened as part of extracurricular or workplace experiences. The fourth facet, aimed at teaching assistants with little or no experience as well as at students who are interested in pursuing teaching as a career, provides information and resources about teaching. The fifth facet explores future directions of technology and the need for innovations in the workforce of the future to address sustainability issues. We seek your input and invite you to explore the Portal at: serc.carleton.edu/integrate/students/

Evaluation of scaling concepts for integral system test facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Condie, K.G.; Larson, T.K.; Davis, C.B.

1987-01-01

A study was conducted by EG and G Idaho, Inc., to identify and technically evaluate potential concepts which will allow the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to maintain the capability to conduct future integral, thermal-hydraulic facility experiments of interest to light water reactor safety. This paper summarizes the methodology used in the study and presents a rankings for each facility concept relative to its ability to simulate phenomena identified as important in selected reactor transients in Babcock and Wilcox and Westinghouse large pressurized water reactors. Established scaling methodologies are used to develop potential concepts for scaled integral thermal-hydraulic experiment facilities. Concepts selected included: full height, full pressure water; reduced height, reduced pressure water; reduced height, full pressure water; one-tenth linear, full pressure water; and reduced height, full scaled pressure Freon. Results from this study suggest that a facility capable of operating at typical reactor operating conditions will scale most phenomena reasonably well. Local heat transfer phenomena is best scaled by the full height facility, while the reduced height facilities provide better scaling where multi-dimensional phenomena are considered important. Although many phenomena in facilities using Freon or water at nontypical pressure will scale reasonably well, those phenomena which are heavily dependent on quality can be distorted. Furthermore, relation of data produced in facilities operating with nontypical fluids or at nontypical pressures to large plants will be a difficult and time-consuming process

AC/ARNG Integrated Division Concept Study, Main Report, Volume 1

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Twohig, John

1997-01-01

...) division headquarters. The US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) was tasked to conduct a viability assessment of the AC/ARNG Integrated Division concept and focus on merits and implementation issues...

Food security and sustainability: can one exist without the other?

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Elliot M; Dernini, Sandro; Burlingame, Barbara; Meybeck, Alexandre; Conforti, Piero

2015-09-01

To position the concept of sustainability within the context of food security. An overview of the interrelationships between food security and sustainability based on a non-systematic literature review and informed discussions based principally on a quasi-historical approach from meetings and reports. International and global food security and nutrition. The Rome Declaration on World Food Security in 1996 defined its three basic dimensions as: availability, accessibility and utilization, with a focus on nutritional well-being. It also stressed the importance of sustainable management of natural resources and the elimination of unsustainable patterns of food consumption and production. In 2009, at the World Summit on Food Security, the concept of stability/vulnerability was added as the short-term time indicator of the ability of food systems to withstand shocks, whether natural or man-made, as part of the Five Rome Principles for Sustainable Global Food Security. More recently, intergovernmental processes have emphasized the importance of sustainability to preserve the environment, natural resources and agro-ecosystems (and thus the overlying social system), as well as the importance of food security as part of sustainability and vice versa. Sustainability should be considered as part of the long-term time dimension in the assessment of food security. From such a perspective the concept of sustainable diets can play a key role as a goal and a way of maintaining nutritional well-being and health, while ensuring the sustainability for future food security. Without integrating sustainability as an explicit (fifth?) dimension of food security, today's policies and programmes could become the very cause of increased food insecurity in the future.

Heritage contribution in sustainable city

Science.gov (United States)

Rostami, R.; Khoshnava, S. M.; Lamit, H.

2014-02-01

The concept of sustainability has been an integral part of development work since the late 1970s. Sustainability is no longer a buzzword but a reality that must be addressed by cities all over the world. Increasing empirical evidence indicates that city sustainability is not just related to technical issues, such as carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste management, or on the economic aspects of urban regeneration and growth, but also it covers social well-being of different groups living within increasingly cosmopolitan towns and cities. Heritage is seen as a major component of quality of life, features that give a city its unique character and provide the sense of belonging that lies at the core of cultural identity. In other words, heritage by providing important social and psychological benefits enrich human life with meanings and emotions, and raise quality of life as a key component of sustainability. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine the role that built cultural heritage can play within sustainable urban development.

Heritage contribution in sustainable city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rostami, R; Khoshnava, S M; Lamit, H

2014-01-01

The concept of sustainability has been an integral part of development work since the late 1970s. Sustainability is no longer a buzzword but a reality that must be addressed by cities all over the world. Increasing empirical evidence indicates that city sustainability is not just related to technical issues, such as carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste management, or on the economic aspects of urban regeneration and growth, but also it covers social well-being of different groups living within increasingly cosmopolitan towns and cities. Heritage is seen as a major component of quality of life, features that give a city its unique character and provide the sense of belonging that lies at the core of cultural identity. In other words, heritage by providing important social and psychological benefits enrich human life with meanings and emotions, and raise quality of life as a key component of sustainability. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine the role that built cultural heritage can play within sustainable urban development

The astysphere and urban geochemistry-a new approach to integrate urban systems into the geoscientific concept of spheres and a challenging concept of modern geochemistry supporting the sustainable development of planet earth.

Science.gov (United States)

Norra, Stefan

2009-07-01

In 1875, the geoscientist Walter Suess introduced several spheres, such as the lithosphere and the atmosphere to promote a comprehensive understanding of the system earth. Since then, this idea became the dominating concept for the understanding of the distribution of chemical elements in the system earth. Meanwhile, due to the importance of human beings on global element fluxes, the term anthroposphere was introduced. Nevertheless, in face of the ongoing urbanization of the earth, this concept is not any more adequate enough to develop a comprehensive understanding of global element fluxes in and between solid, liquid, and gaseous phases. This article discusses a new concept integrating urbanization into the geoscientific concept of spheres. No geological exogenic force has altered the earth's surface during the last centuries in such an extent as human activity. Humans have altered the morphology and element balances of the earth by establishing agrosystems first and urban systems later. Currently, urban systems happen to become the main regulators for fluxes of many elements on a global scale due to ongoing industrial and economic development and a growing number of inhabitants. Additionally, urban systems are constantly expanding and cover more and more former natural and agricultural areas. For nature, urban systems are new phenomena, which never existed in previous geological eras. The process of the globe's urbanization concurrently is active with the global climate change. In fact, urban systems are a major emitter for climate active gases. Thus, beside the global changes in economy and society, urbanization is an important factor within the global change of nature as is already accepted for climate, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Due to the fact that urbanization has become a global process shaping the earth and that the urban systems are globally cross-linked among each other, a new geoscientific sphere has to be introduced: the astysphere. This sphere

Developing Awareness of the Sustainability Concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Herremans, Irene M.; Reid, Robin E.

2002-01-01

Discusses the use of the sustainability triad as a framework for teaching sustainability in the classroom. Uses a short case study of a national park to show how the triad can be used to determine if its three dimensions (economic, social, and environmental) are congruent or in conflict with each other. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/YDS)

Evaluating Consumer Product Life Cycle Sustainability with Integrated Metrics: A Paper Towel Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Integrated sustainability metrics provide an enriched set of information to inform decision-making. However, such approaches are rarely used to assess product supply chains. In this work, four integrated metrics—presented in terms of land, resources, value added, and stability—ar...

Sustainable Urban (re-Development with Building Integrated Energy, Water and Waste Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae-Goo Lee

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The construction and service of urban infrastructure systems and buildings involves immense resource consumption. Cities are responsible for the largest component of global energy, water, and food consumption as well as related sewage and organic waste production. Due to ongoing global urbanization, in which the largest sector of the global population lives in cities which are already built, global level strategies need to be developed that facilitate both the sustainable construction of new cities and the re-development of existing urban environments. A very promising approach in this regard is the decentralization and building integration of environmentally sound infrastructure systems for integrated resource management. This paper discusses such new and innovative building services engineering systems, which could contribute to increased energy efficiency, resource productivity, and urban resilience. Applied research and development projects in Germany, which are based on integrated system approaches for the integrated and environmentally sound management of energy, water and organic waste, are used as examples. The findings are especially promising and can be used to stimulate further research and development, including economical aspects which are crucial for sustainable urban (re-development.

Management of Business Transformation to Sustainable Business

OpenAIRE

Grunda, Rokas

2011-01-01

Having examined the concepts of sustainable business and advantages and disadvantages of business sustainability management models, the objective of the dissertation is to formulate a management model of business transformation to sustainable business and to verify it in present business conditions in Lithuania. In the dissertation, the essence of the concepts of sustainable development and sustainability is characterized, the criteria of sustainable society are distinguished and the concept ...

Prosociality and proenvironmentalism as components of sustainable behavior: toward an integrated approach to sustainability education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Neaman

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The concept of sustainable development includes three interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars: economic development, social development and environmental protection [1]. Below, we provide arguments that proenvironmentalism and prosociality are components of a broader behavior, named “sustainable behavior”. We thus suggest that traditional emphasis of environmental education on protecting and/or preserving the environment may be reinforced with prosocial education. Such a combined educational approach can promote sustainable behavior, contributing to multi- and inter-disciplinary efforts to create an ecologically, socially and perhaps even economically sustainable society. Proenvironmental behavior is defined as actions which contribute towards environmental preservation and/or conservation [2]. In turn, prosocial behavior is defined as voluntary behavior intended to benefit others or promote harmonious relationship with others [3], [4]. Previous studies demonstrate correlations between proenvironmental and prosocial behavior [5], [7]. For example, Joireman et al. [8] found an association between prosociality and the use of public transport, which has a lower impact on the environment, in comparison to the use of individual motorized transport. Furthermore, [5] and [6] empirically demonstrated that prosociality and proenvironmentalism are components of a broader behavior, which they called “sustainable behavior” since it includes actions aimed at protecting both the natural and the human (social environments. With regards to the environmental aspects of sustainability, some authors suggest that “environmental problems” are actually problems of human behavior [9]. The first definition of environmental education [10] emphasized the importance of educating the general public about taking action to solve environmental problems. Based on the in-depth analysis of [11], the main emphasis of environmental education is limited to the

[Integrated skills laboratory concept for undergraduate training in internal medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Nikendei, C; Schilling, T; Nawroth, P; Hensel, M; Ho, A D; Schwenger, V; Zeier, M; Herzog, W; Schellberg, D; Katus, H A; Dengler, T; Stremmel, W; Müller, M; Jünger, J

2005-05-06

An amendment to the German medical curriculum in April 2002 will place basic practical skills at the centre of medical training. We report here on the implementation and evaluation of an obligatory, tutor-guided, and integrated skills laboratory concept in the field of internal medicine. To test the effectiveness of a skills laboratory training on OSCE performance a pilot study was carried out. The experimental group, of 77 students, participated in seven sessions of communication training, skills laboratory training, and bedside teaching, each lasting one and a half hours. The control group of 66 students had as many sessions but was only offered bedside-teaching. The evaluation of acceptance of skills' training as well as the related increase in individual competence is on-going (summer term 2004: n = 176 students). The integrated skills laboratory concept was rated at 3.5 (SD = 1.2) on a 5-point scale and was acknowledged as practice-oriented (M = 4.2; SD = 1.0) and relevant for doctors' everyday lives (M = 3.6; SD = 1.1). Increased levels of competence according to individual self-evaluations proved to be highly significant (p<.001), and results of the pilot study showed that the experimental group had a significantly better OSCE performance than the control group (p<.001). This pilot study shows that curriculum changes promoting basic clinical skills are effective and lead to an improved practical education of tomorrow's physicians. The integrated skills laboratory concept is well accepted and leads to a relevant increase in competence in the practice of internal medical. The presented skills laboratory concept in internal medicine is proving to be a viable and efficient learning tool.

Sustainable development strategy formation for business corporations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. A. Zaporozhtseva

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article explains the concept of the company sustainable development strategy based on its economic security level, which includes the economic security concept loss threat control; and the concept of company sustainable development based on the fact, that the company in a developed market should not only "defend", but also ensure its development. After it implementation of decomposition is applied to the system of strategic economic security through a balanced scorecard, which allows translating the mission and vision into a set of operational goals and targets. The main components of strategic economic security provision are: business processes, finance, contractors and staff; based on the state which economic security level is determined as: high, normal, low or critical. After that, the strategic prospects are set, i.e. transition from the lowest to the highest economic security level takes place, passing the economic security fields. In order to do this, certain company development strategy is selected, the mechanism for its implementation is being worked out. At the same time, company sustainable development strategy is identified in the case of a growth strategy use, which implies a transition from endogenous development strategy to introductive or introspective development strategy with further access to multi-integral development strategy. If there is inverse relationship, one can not speak of any sustainable development strategy. Besides, development, implementation and use of monitoring for the design process of the company's development strategy taking into account its economic security level acquires great importance.

Irrigated agriculture and groundwater resources - towards an integrated vision and sustainable relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Stephen; Garduño, Héctor

2013-01-01

Globally, irrigated agriculture is the largest abstractor, and predominant consumer, of groundwater resources, with large groundwater-dependent agro-economies now having widely evolved especially in Asia. Such use is also causing resource depletion and degradation in more arid and drought-prone regions. In addition crop cultivation practices on irrigated land exert a major influence on groundwater recharge. The interrelationship is such that cross-sector action is required to agree more sustainable land and water management policies, and this paper presents an integrated vision of the challenges in this regard. It is recognised that 'institutional arrangements' are critical to the local implementation of management policies, although the focus here is limited to the conceptual understanding needed for formulation of an integrated policy and some practical interventions required to promote more sustainable groundwater irrigation.

The potential for integrated landscape management to fulfil Europe's commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mann, Carsten; Garcia-Martin, Maria; Raymond, Christopher M.; Shaw, Brian J.; Plieninger, Tobias

2018-01-01

The aim of this perspective essay is to discuss how integrated landscape management (ILM) can contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda in Europe. Challenges for sustainable development become evident in the emergence of land-use conflicts. Facing multiple,

Sustainable diets within sustainable food systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Meybeck, Alexandre; Gitz, Vincent

2017-02-01

Sustainable diets and sustainable food systems are increasingly explored by diverse scientific disciplines. They are also recognised by the international community and called upon to orient action towards the eradication of hunger and malnutrition and the fulfilment of sustainable development goals. The aim of the present paper is to briefly consider some of the links between these two notions in order to facilitate the operationalisation of the concept of sustainable diet. The concept of sustainable diet was defined in 2010 combining two totally different perspectives: a nutrition perspective, focused on individuals, and a global sustainability perspective, in all its dimensions: environmental, economic and social. The nutrition perspective can be easily related to health outcomes. The global sustainability perspective is more difficult to analyse directly. We propose that it be measured as the contribution of a diet to the sustainability of food systems. Such an approach, covering the three dimensions of sustainability, enables identification of interactions and interrelations between food systems and diets. It provides opportunities to find levers of change towards sustainability. Diets are both the results and the drivers of food systems. The drivers of change for those variously involved, consumers and private individuals, are different, and can be triggered by different dimensions (heath, environment, social and cultural). Combining different dimensions and reasons for change can help facilitate the transition to sustainable diets, recognising the food system's specificities. The adoption of sustainable diets can be facilitated and enabled by food systems, and by appropriate policies and incentives.

Sustainable procurement portfolio management: a case study in a mining company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamires Magalhães de Mello

Full Text Available Abstract Sustainable procurement is a solution to integrate environmental and social considerations in all steps of procurement process, in order to reduce impacts on human health, environment, and human rights. Despite the existence of important works in this area, more studies for determining how the principles related to sustainable development can be integrated to procurement strategies are needed. This study presents a case study in a mining company to evaluate the elements that should be considered for the implementation of sustainability concept in the contracting of services through the application of a sustainability portfolio model. Results show that the contracts of the internal movement's category of the studied company fit as Strategic Commodity, which means that the items in this category have a risk in the strategic supply, because they need investments made by the buyer in the relationship with the supplier.

The Sustainable Management of a Tourism Destination in Ireland: A Focus on County Clare

OpenAIRE

CONAGHAN, Aíne; HANRAHAN, James; McLOUGHLIN, Emmet

2015-01-01

Tourism destination management has significant importance in controlling many impacts of tourism, thus insuring its sustainability. Destination management requires the integration of different planning tools, approaches and concepts that help shape the management and daily operation of tourism related activities. This study examines the sustainable management of a tourism destination, focusing on County Clare, Ireland. Qualitative interviews were conducted with tourism stake...

Concept of ‘Good Urban Governance’ and Its Application in Sustainable Urban Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Badach, Joanna; Dymnicka, Małgorzata

2017-10-01

Contemporary urban theory and practice in the post-industrial era is increasingly often turning towards an approach based on sustainable development. That concept bearing the traits of a paradigm has grown on the ground of broad quest for an alternative to the existing development model of the industrial civilisation. It has gained wide social acceptance and is the basis for many development and environmental programmes at the level of national and local government. It puts in a new light the socio-cultural, ecological and energy-related aspects of space as well as its value and aesthetics. A model of governing the city called ‘good urban governance’ is in a very close relation with the concept of sustainable development. It is based on the principles of inclusiveness, citizenship, accountability, processuality and effectiveness. Although this approach is not entirely novel, it stays valid and open to new challenges connected with satisfying human needs in the urban built environment on the basis of new contemporary conceptualisations such as ‘smart governance’, ‘governing the smart city’, ‘network governance’ and ‘governance networks’. The advantages of this approach based on the assumption of multidimensionality and subjectivity, matching the various and seemingly contradicting interests with a sense of responsibility for the quality of life in the urban environment are often underlined both in literature and in academic debate. The aim of this article is an attempt to present selected practices in spatial planning which employ the principles of the idea of co-governance. It will include various methodological assumptions and criteria applied in ‘good urban governance’. The intention will be to show its new research and application possibilities in countries like Poland where the idea of governance and sustainable development remains a matter of theory.

THE ACTIVE INTEGRATED CIRCULAR PROCESS – EXPRESSION OF MAXIMUM SYNTHESIS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Done Ioan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available "The accelerated pace of economic growth, prompted by the need to ensure reducing disparities between the various countries, has imposed in the last two decades the adoption of sustainable development principles, particularly as a result of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992 and the UNESCO Declaration in the fall of 1997. In specific literature, in essence, sustainable development is considered "an economic and social process that is characterized by a simultaneous and concerted action at global, regional and local level. Its objective is to provide living conditions both for the present and forth future. Sustainable development “encompasses the economic, ecological, social and political aspects, linked through cultural and spiritual relationships."(Coşea, 2007In Romania, achieving sustainable development is a major, difficult objective, because it must be done in terms of convergence to the demands of the economic, social, cultural and political context of the EU, and in terms of the completion of the transition to a functioning and competitive market economy. In this context, it is imposed the economic competitiveness through reindustrialization and not least, by harnessing the active integrated circular process. Gross value added and profit chain in the structures of active integrated circular process must reflect the interests of the forces involved(employers, employees and the statethereby forming the basis of respect for the correlation between sustainable development, economic growth and increasing national wealth. The elimination or marginalization of certain links in the value chain and profit causes major disruptions or bankruptcy, with direct implications for recognizing and rewarding performance. Essentially, the building of active integrated circular process will determine the maximization of the profit – the foundation of satisfying all economic interests.

A Concept of Operations for an Integrated Vehicle Health Assurance System

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Gary W.; Ross, Richard W.; Berger, David E.; Lekki, John D.; Mah, Robert W.; Perey, Danie F.; Schuet, Stefan R.; Simon, Donald L.; Smith, Stephen W.

2013-01-01

This document describes a Concept of Operations (ConOps) for an Integrated Vehicle Health Assurance System (IVHAS). This ConOps is associated with the Maintain Vehicle Safety (MVS) between Major Inspections Technical Challenge in the Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies (VSST) Project within NASA s Aviation Safety Program. In particular, this document seeks to describe an integrated system concept for vehicle health assurance that integrates ground-based inspection and repair information with in-flight measurement data for airframe, propulsion, and avionics subsystems. The MVS Technical Challenge intends to maintain vehicle safety between major inspections by developing and demonstrating new integrated health management and failure prevention technologies to assure the integrity of vehicle systems between major inspection intervals and maintain vehicle state awareness during flight. The approach provided by this ConOps is intended to help optimize technology selection and development, as well as allow the initial integration and demonstration of these subsystem technologies over the 5 year span of the VSST program, and serve as a guideline for developing IVHAS technologies under the Aviation Safety Program within the next 5 to 15 years. A long-term vision of IVHAS is provided to describe a basic roadmap for more intelligent and autonomous vehicle systems.

Integration of LUTI models into sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaos Gavanas

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A literature review indicates that there is an increasing number of Land Use/Transport Interaction (LUTI models being used in policy analysis and support of urban land use, transport and environmental planning. In this context, LUTI models are considered to be useful for the development of scenarios during the preparatory stage of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs. A SUMP can be defined as a strategic planning framework, proposed by the European Commission, for planning and design of an urban multimodal transport system, which combines multi-disciplinary policy analysis and decision making. The objective of a SUMP is to achieve sustainable urban mobility, i.e. accessibility for all, safety and security, reduction in emissions and energy consumption, efficient and cost-effective transport and an improvement in the urban environment. Based on the overall conceptual and methodological framework of LUTI models (Geurs and van Wee 2004, the scope of the proposed research is to fully integrate a LUTI model into a contemporary transport planning framework and, more specifically, into the SUMP structure. This paper focuses on the configuration of the integration pattern, according to which a LUTI model may evolve and interact with the planning process throughout the eleven elements of the SUMP, as well as the evaluation of the benefits and drawbacks from the implementation of the proposed pattern for the enhancement of SUMP and overall promotion of sustainable urban planning.

THE CHALLENGE OF THE PERFORMANCE CONCEPT WITHIN THE SUSTAINABILITY AND COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN FIELD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcio Nisenbaum

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the notion of performance and its appropriation within the research fields related to sustainability and computational design, focusing on the design processes of the architectural and urban fields. Recently, terms such as “performance oriented design” or “performance driven architecture”, especially when related to sustainability, have been used by many authors and professionals as an attempt to engender project guidelines based on simulation processes and systematic use of digital tools. In this context, the notion of performance has basically been understood as the way in which an action is fulfilled, agreeing to contemporary discourses of efficiency and optimization – in this circumstance it is considered that a building or urban area “performs” if it fulfills certain objective sustainability evaluation criteria, reduced to mathematical parameters. This paper intends to broaden this understanding by exploring new theoretical interpretations, referring to etymological investigation, historical research, and literature review, based on authors from different areas and on the case study of the solar houses academic competition, Solar Decathlon. This initial analysis is expected to contribute to the emergence of new forms of interpretation of the performance concept, relativizing the notion of the “body” that “performs” in different manners, thus enhancing its appropriation and use within the fields of sustainability and computational design.

Sustaining Nurse-Led Task-Shifting Strategies for Hypertension Control: A Concept Mapping Study to Inform Evidence-Based Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Blackstone, Sarah; Iwelunmor, Juliet; Plange-Rhule, Jacob; Gyamfi, Joyce; Quakyi, Nana Kofi; Ntim, Micheal; Ogedegbe, Gbenga

2017-10-01

The use of task-shifting is an increasingly widespread delivery approach for health interventions targeting prevention, treatment, and control of hypertension in adults living in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Addressing a gap in the literature, this research examined the sustainability of an ongoing task-shifting strategy for hypertension (TASSH) from the perspectives of community health nurses (CHNs) implementing the program. We used concept-mapping, a mixed-methods participatory approach to understand CHNs' perceptions of barriers and enablers to sustaining a task-shifting program. Participants responded to focal prompts, eliciting statements regarding perceived barriers and enablers to sustaining TASSH, and then rated these ideas based on importance to the research questions and feasibility to address. Twenty-eight community health nurses (21 women, 7 men) from the Ashanti region of Ghana completed the concept-mapping process. Factors influencing sustainability were grouped into five categories: Limited Drug Supply, Financial Support, Provision of Primary Health Care, Personnel Training, and Patient-Provider Communication. The limited supply of antihypertensive medication was considered by CHNs as the most important item to address, while providing training for intervention personnel was considered most feasible to address. This study's findings highlight the importance of examining nurses' perceptions of factors likely to influence the sustainability of evidence-based, task-shifting interventions. Nurses' perceptions can guide the widespread uptake and dissemination of these interventions in resource-limited settings. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Integrating irrigation and drainage management to sustain agriculture in northern Iran

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Darzi-Naftchali, Abdullah; Ritzema, Henk

2018-01-01

In Iran, as in the rest of the world, land and water for agricultural production is under pressure. Integrating irrigation and drainage management may help sustain intensified agriculture in irrigated paddy fields. This study was aimed to investigate the long-term effects of such management

Sustainability Design in Higher Education: Curriculum, Teaching Methods, and Program Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Sydow, Brooke C.

2012-01-01

Due to the growing problems of an unsustainable world, this qualitative, phenomenological study was designed to investigate the process of developing and integrating sustainability curriculum into general education requirements in higher education. The researcher interviewed six participants from different parts of the world who had first-hand…

The introduction of the conception «LEAN 6 SIGMA» as a way to sustainable positions of transport enterprise on the world market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solopun Nataliia Nikolaevna

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the need to implement an integrated variations concepts «six sigma» and the concept of «lean» production. The basic concept of these concepts are analyzed. The advantages of implementing an integrated concept of «LEAN 6 SIGMA» have been proposed.

Sustainable Housing Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauring, Gert Michael

2016-01-01

Sustainable Housing Design. Integrating technical and housing quality aspects of sustainable architecture in civil engineering education. Summary An integrated design approach to sustainable architecture is outlined that combines concerns for zero energy building, good indoor climate and adequate...... phases. The outcome shows that integrated design further solutions where sustainable urban forms of settlement can be highly energy efficient while also attractive from a user perspective. Key words: Sustainable architecture, integrated design, zero-energy-housing, dense urban living. 1. Introduction...... When designing sustainable housing, energy optimization and satisfactory indoor climates are central issues that need to be incorporated from early design phases if to reach a coherent design. It might also be argued that the energy consumption of contemporary buildings only plays a rela-tively minor...

Reasserting the primacy of human needs to reclaim the 'lost half' of sustainable development.

Science.gov (United States)

Everard, Mark; Longhurst, James W S

2018-04-15

The concept of sustainable development evolved from growing awareness of the interdependence of social and economic progress with the limits of the supporting natural environment, becoming progressively integrated into global agreements and transposition into local regulatory and implementation frameworks. We argue that transposition of the concept into regulation and supporting tools reduced the focus to minimal environmental and social standards, perceived as imposing constraints rather than opportunities for innovation to meet human needs. The aspirational 'half' of the concept of sustainable development specifically addressing human needs was thus lost in transposing high ideals into regulatory instruments. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) restore focus on interlinked human needs, stimulating innovation of products and processes to satisfy them. Through three case studies - PVC water pipes, river quality management in England, and UK local air quality management - we explore the current operationalisation of the concept in diverse settings, using the SDG framework to highlight the broader societal purposes central to sustainable development. Partnerships involving civil society support evolution of regulatory instruments and their implementation, optimising social and ecological benefits thereby serving more human needs. Restoring the visionary 'lost half' of sustainable development - meeting human needs in sustainable ways - creates incentives for innovation and partnership; an innovation framework rather than a perceived constraint. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Concept-guided development of classroom use of ICT : Concept-specific types of ICT use and their integration into teachers’ practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Koster, S.

2017-01-01

Does a concept-guided approach in schools with either a ‘traditional’ or an ‘innovative’ educational concept contribute to the development of ICT use that becomes integrated in the teachers’ classroom practices? In order to answer this question we performed four, mainly qualitative, studies in five

USING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION TO CREATE LONGTERM VALUE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATION. CASE STUDY: THE BAKERY INDUSTRY IN ROMANIA

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OANCEA OLIMPIA ELENA MIHAELA

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Integrated marketing communication is considered to be a major development domain during the last decennium of the 20th century. Today, consumers use as many information sources as possible, and the value of integrated marketing communication has grown considerably. Very well targeted, integrated marketing communication campaigns rely on the strengths of the existing communicational tools, to favorably influence the behavior of the target public. The concept of integrated marketing communication was viewed for a long time as being an important management aspect, since by the efficacy of the integrated marketing communication tools, such as advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotion, sales personnel, one can optimize the impact of communication on the target public. Integrated marketing communication has the role of building and consolidating profitable relations with the actual and potential clients and of generating synergy through the coordination of all the communicational mix tools into a coherent programme that can have a maximum effect. Integrated marketing communication can offer a real sustainable competitive advantage to any organization that profitably uses the potential of this communication. For this reason, the aim of the present paper consisted, on the one hand, in the evaluation of the extent to which the baking industry producers in Romania use integrated marketing communication tools, and, on the other hand, in the identification of the ways of measuring the efficacy of each communicational tool used by them.

Ecological assessment of integrated bioenergy systems using the Sustainable Process Index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krotscheck, C.; Konig, F.; Obernberger, I.

2000-01-01

Biomass utilisation for energy production presently faces an uphill battle against fossil fuels. The use of biomass must offer additional benefits to compensate for higher prices: on the basis of a life cycle assessment (using BEAM to evaluate a variety of integrated bioenergy systems in connection with the Sustainable Process Index as a highly aggregated environmental pressure index) it is shown that integrated bioenergy systems are superior to fossil fuel systems in terms of environmental compatibility. The implementation of sustainability measures provides additional valuable information that might help in constructing and optimising integrated bioenergy systems. For a set of reference processes, among them fast pyrolysis, atmospheric gasification, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), combustion and steam cycle (CS) and conventional hydrolysis, a detailed impact assessment is shown. Sensitivity analyses of the most important ecological parameters are calculated, giving an overview of the impacts of various stages in the total life cycle and showing 'what really matters'. Much of the ecological impact of integrated bioenergy systems is induced by feedstock production. It is mainly the use of fossil fuels in cultivation, harvesting and transportation as well as the use of fertilisers in short-rotation coppice production that impose considerable ecological pressure. Concerning electricity generation the most problematic pressures are due to gaseous emissions, most notably the release of NO x . Moreover, a rather complicated process (high amount of grey energy) and the use of fossil pilot fuel (co-combustion) leads to a rather weak ecological performance in contrast to other 100% biomass-based systems. (author)

Integrated Fruit Production and Pest Management in Europe: The Apple Case Study and How Far We Are From the Original Concept?

Science.gov (United States)

Damos, Petros; Escudero Colomar, Lucía-Adriana; Ioriatti, Claudio

2015-01-01

This review focuses on the process of adapting the original concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to the wider conception of the Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) implemented in Europe. Even though most of the pest management strategies still rely on the use of synthetic pesticides, a wide array of innovative and environmentally friendly tools are now available as possible alternative to the pesticides within the modern apple production system. We also highlight how recent pest management strategies and tools have created an opening for research towards IPM improvement, including the use of biorational pesticides, semiochemicals and biological control. Forecasting models, new tree training systems and innovative spray equipment have also been developed to improve treatment coverage, to mitigate pesticide drift and to reduce chemical residues on fruits. The possible threats that jeopardize the effective implementation of IPM and particularly the risks related to the development of the pesticide resistance and the introduction of new invasive pests are also reviewed. With the directive 128/09, the European legislation recognizes IPM as a strategic approach for the sustainable use of pesticides. Within this context, IPM and related guidelines is called to meet different areas of concern in relation to the worker and bystander safety. Beside the traditional economic criteria of the market-oriented agriculture, sustainable agriculture includes the assessment of the environmental impact of the agronomic practices within the societal context where they take place. As a consequence of the raising consumer concerns about environmental impacts generated by the fruit production, IFP certification over product standards, including process aspects, are frequently required by consumers and supermarket chains. PMID:26463407

Integrated Fruit Production and Pest Management in Europe: The Apple Case Study and How Far We Are From the Original Concept?

Science.gov (United States)

Damos, Petros; Colomar, Lucía-Adriana Escudero; Ioriatti, Claudio

2015-06-26

This review focuses on the process of adapting the original concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to the wider conception of the Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) implemented in Europe. Even though most of the pest management strategies still rely on the use of synthetic pesticides, a wide array of innovative and environmentally friendly tools are now available as possible alternative to the pesticides within the modern apple production system. We also highlight how recent pest management strategies and tools have created an opening for research towards IPM improvement, including the use of biorational pesticides, semiochemicals and biological control. Forecasting models, new tree training systems and innovative spray equipment have also been developed to improve treatment coverage, to mitigate pesticide drift and to reduce chemical residues on fruits. The possible threats that jeopardize the effective implementation of IPM and particularly the risks related to the development of the pesticide resistance and the introduction of new invasive pests are also reviewed. With the directive 128/09, the European legislation recognizes IPM as a strategic approach for the sustainable use of pesticides. Within this context, IPM and related guidelines is called to meet different areas of concern in relation to the worker and bystander safety. Beside the traditional economic criteria of the market-oriented agriculture, sustainable agriculture includes the assessment of the environmental impact of the agronomic practices within the societal context where they take place. As a consequence of the raising consumer concerns about environmental impacts generated by the fruit production, IFP certification over product standards, including process aspects, are frequently required by consumers and supermarket chains.

Integrated Fruit Production and Pest Management in Europe: The Apple Case Study and How Far We Are From the Original Concept?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petros Damos

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This review focuses on the process of adapting the original concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM to the wider conception of the Integrated Fruit Production (IFP implemented in Europe. Even though most of the pest management strategies still rely on the use of synthetic pesticides, a wide array of innovative and environmentally friendly tools are now available as possible alternative to the pesticides within the modern apple production system. We also highlight how recent pest management strategies and tools have created an opening for research towards IPM improvement, including the use of biorational pesticides, semiochemicals and biological control. Forecasting models, new tree training systems and innovative spray equipment have also been developed to improve treatment coverage, to mitigate pesticide drift and to reduce chemical residues on fruits. The possible threats that jeopardize the effective implementation of IPM and particularly the risks related to the development of the pesticide resistance and the introduction of new invasive pests are also reviewed. With the directive 128/09, the European legislation recognizes IPM as a strategic approach for the sustainable use of pesticides. Within this context, IPM and related guidelines is called to meet different areas of concern in relation to the worker and bystander safety. Beside the traditional economic criteria of the market-oriented agriculture, sustainable agriculture includes the assessment of the environmental impact of the agronomic practices within the societal context where they take place. As a consequence of the raising consumer concerns about environmental impacts generated by the fruit production, IFP certification over product standards, including process aspects, are frequently required by consumers and supermarket chains.

Externality or sustainability economics?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M. van den

2010-01-01

In an effort to develop 'sustainability economics' Baumgaertner and Quaas (2010) neglect the central concept of environmental economics-'environmental externality'. This note proposes a possible connection between the concepts of environmental externality and sustainability. In addition, attention is asked for other aspects of 'sustainability economics', namely the distinction weak/strong sustainability, spatial sustainability and sustainable trade, distinctive sustainability policy, and the ideas of early 'sustainability economists'. I argue that both sustainability and externalities reflect a systems perspective and propose that effective sustainability solutions require that more attention is given to system feedbacks, notably other-regarding preferences and social interactions, and energy and environmental rebound. The case of climate change and policy is used to illustrate particular statements. As a conclusion, a list of 20 insights and suggestions for research is offered. (author)

Geoethical remarks to sustainable development concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Nemec, Vaclav

2013-04-01

crust. Geological factors need to be reflected and respected in any concept of environmental sustainability. People have to improve permanently by an appropriate up-to-date geoeducation any knowledge of the behaviour of the Nature (including its predictability). The needed geoethical way of thinking and acting should be based on generally accepted moral and ethical principles achieved by mankind by various ways and experiences (in spite of some current contrary trends). It is necessary to seek new priorities emphasizing more and more the solidarity of human kind.

Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (SIRES: A Novel Approach for Sustainable Development

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Zeel Maheshwari

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Technical and economic aspects of the viability of SIRES (Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems for sustainable development of remote and rural areas of the world are discussed. The hallmark of the proposed SIRES is the smart utilization of several renewable resources in an integrated fashion and matching of resources and needs a priori with the ultimate goal of “energization”, not just “electrification”. Historical background leading to this approach is succinctly presented along with a comprehensive schematic diagram. Modeling of various components and their collective use in optimizing SIRES with the aid of genetic algorithm are presented using a typical hypothetical example. SIRES is also compared with various approaches for rural development based on Annualized Cost of System (ACS and installation costs. Implementation of SIRES will lead to overall sustainable development of rural communities.

Focus on sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, R J; Godiksen, L; Hansen, G; Gustafson, D J; Brinkerhoff, D W; Ingle, M D; Rounds, T; Wing, H

1990-01-01

In recent years, sustainability has become one of the most critical concepts in international development and is having a dramatic impact on the way development is conceptualized and carried out. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is incorporating this concept into its programs and projects. Factors encouraging sustainability of projects and programs include host government policies that support or constrain program objectives, national and/or local commitment to project goals, managerial leadership that helps shape improved policies, collaboration at all staff levels in program management, financial resources that cover program operational costs, appropriate program technology, integration of the program with the social and cultural setting of the country, community involvement in the program, sound environmental management, technical assistance oriented to transferring skills and increasing institutional capacity, perception by the host country that the project is "effective," training provided by the project to transfer skill needed for capacity-building, integration of the program into existing institutional framework, and external political, economic and environmental factors. Impediments to sustainability are often inherent in the donor agency's programming process. This includes the implicit assumption that program objectives can be accomplished in a relatively short time frame, when in fact capacity-building requires a lengthy commitment. USAID professionals are pressured to show near-term results which emphasize outputs rather than purpose and goal-level accomplishments achievable only after extensive effort. The emphasis on obligating money and on the project paper as a sales document leads project designers to talk with a great deal more certainty about project results than is warranted by the complex development situation. Uncertainty and flexibility should be designed into projects so activities and objects can change as more

An Integrated Model Based on a Hierarchical Indices System for Monitoring and Evaluating Urban Sustainability

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Xulin Guo

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Over 50% of world’s population presently resides in cities, and this number is expected to rise to ~70% by 2050. Increasing urbanization problems including population growth, urban sprawl, land use change, unemployment, and environmental degradation, have markedly impacted urban residents’ Quality of Life (QOL. Therefore, urban sustainability and its measurement have gained increasing attention from administrators, urban planners, and scientific communities throughout the world with respect to improving urban development and human well-being. The widely accepted definition of urban sustainability emphasizes the balancing development of three primary domains (urban economy, society, and environment. This article attempts to improve the aforementioned definition of urban sustainability by incorporating a human well-being dimension. Major problems identified in existing urban sustainability indicator (USI models include a weak integration of potential indicators, poor measurement and quantification, and insufficient spatial-temporal analysis. To tackle these challenges an integrated USI model based on a hierarchical indices system was established for monitoring and evaluating urban sustainability. This model can be performed by quantifying indicators using both traditional statistical approaches and advanced geomatic techniques based on satellite imagery and census data, which aims to provide a theoretical basis for a comprehensive assessment of urban sustainability from a spatial-temporal perspective.

4th International Conference on Sustainable Automotive Technologies

CERN Document Server

Wellnitz, Jörg; Leary, Martin; Koopmans, Lucien

2012-01-01

The book on Sustainable Automotive Technologies aims to draw special attention to the research and practice focused on new technologies and approaches capable of meeting the challenges to sustainable mobility. In particular, the book features incremental and radical technical advancements that are able to meet social, economic and environmental targets in both local and global contexts. These include original solutions to the problems of pollution and congestion, vehicle and public safety, sustainable vehicle design and manufacture, new structures and materials, new power-train technologies and vehicle concepts. In addition to vehicle technologies, the book is also concerned with the broader systemic issues such as sustainable supply chain systems, integrated logistics and telematics, and end-of-life vehicle management. It captures selected peer reviewed papers accepted for presentation at the 4th International Conference on Sustainable Automotive Technologies, ICSAT2012, held at the RMIT, Melbourne, Australi...

The power of product integrity.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, K B; Fujimoto, T

1990-01-01

In the dictionary, integrity means wholeness, completeness, soundness. In products, integrity is the source of sustainable competitive advantage. Products with integrity perform superbly, provide good value, and satisfy customers' expectations in every respect, including such intangibles as their look and feel. Consider this example from the auto industry. In 1987, Mazda put a racy four-wheel steering system in a five-door family hatchback. Honda introduced a comparable system in the Prelude, a sporty, two-door coupe. Most of Honda's customers installed the new technology; Mazda's system sold poorly. Potential customers felt the fit--or misfit--between the car and the new component, and they responded accordingly. Companies that consistently develop products with integrity are coherent, integrated organizations. This internal integrity is visible at the level of strategy and structure, in management and organization, and in the skills, attitudes, and behavior of individual designers, engineers, and operators. Moreover, these companies are integrated externally: customers become part of the development organization. Integrity starts with a product concept that describes the new product from the potential customer's perspective--"pocket rocket" for a sporty, subcompact car, for example. Whether the final product has integrity will depend on two things: how well the concept satisfies potential customers' wants and needs and how completely the concept has been embodied in the product's details. In the most successful development organizations, "heavyweight" product managers are responsible for leading both tasks, as well as for guiding the creation of a strong product concept.

Explaining Academic Progress via Combining Concepts of Integration Theory and Rational Choice Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Beekhoven, S.; De Jong, U.; Van Hout, H.

2002-01-01

Compared elements of rational choice theory and integration theory on the basis of their power to explain variance in academic progress. Asserts that the concepts should be combined, and the distinction between social and academic integration abandoned. Empirical analysis showed that an extended model, comprising both integration and rational…

The Pluralistic Water Research Concept: A New Human-Water System Research Approach

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Mariele Evers

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The use and management of water systems is influenced by a number of factors, such as economic growth, global change (e.g., urbanization, hydrological-climatic changes, politics, history and culture. Despite noteworthy efforts to develop integrative approaches to analyze water-related problems, human-water research remains a major challenge for scholars and decision makers due to the increasing complexity of human and water systems interactions. Although existing concepts try to integrate the social and water dimensions, they usually have a disciplinary starting point and perspective, which can represent an obstacle to true integration in human-water research. Hence, a pluralistic approach is required to better understand the interactions between human and water systems. This paper discusses prominent human-water concepts (Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM, socio-hydrology, and political ecology/hydrosocial approach and presents a newly developed concept termed pluralistic water research (PWR. This is not only a pluralistic but also an integrative and interdisciplinary approach which aims to coherently and comprehensively integrate human-water dimensions. The different concepts are illustrated in a synopsis, and diverse framing of research questions are exemplified. The PWR concept integrates physical and social sciences, which enables a comprehensive analysis of human-water interactions and relations. This can lead to a better understanding of water-related issues and potentially sustainable trajectories.

Sustainability in urban transport plans. Case study: Monorail in a hillside area in Medellin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pineda Jaramillo, J.D.

2016-07-01

One of the most important concepts today is the incorporation of sustainability in urban transport plans. This paper presents the importance that sustainable urban transport plans must have on mobility policy in cities. It also shows the factors that make a transportation mode like urban railway be sustainable. Finally, the Monorail project in the Metropolitan Green Belt (Medellín-Colombia) is presented, showing its implication on the mobility in this low-income region and its integration with urban and regional plans. (Author)

Sustainable BECCS pathways evaluated by an integrated assessment model

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, E.

2017-12-01

Negative emissions technologies, particularly Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), are key components of mitigation strategies in ambitious future socioeconomic scenarios analysed by integrated assessment models. Generally, scenarios aiming to keep mean global temperature rise below 2°C above pre-industrial would require net negative carbon emissions in the end of the 21st century. Also, in the context of Paris agreement which acknowledges "a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century", RD&D for the negative emissions technologies in this decade has a crucial role for the possibility of early deployment of the technology. Because of the requirement of potentially extensive use of land and water for producing the bioenergy feedstock to get the anticipated level of gross negative emissions, researches on how to develop sustainable scenarios of BECCS is needed. Here, we present BECCS deployment scenarios that consider economically viable flow of bioenergy system including power generation and conversion process to liquid and gaseous fuels for transportation and heat with consideration of sustainable global biomass use. In the modelling process, detailed bioenergy representations, i.e. various feedstock and conversion technologies with and without CCS, are implemented in an integrated assessment (IA) model GRAPE (Global Relationship Assessment to Protect the Environment). Also, to overcome a general discrepancy about assumed future agricultural yield between 'top-down' IA models and 'bottom-up' estimates, which would crucially affect the land-use pattern, we applied yields change of food and energy crops consistent with process-based biophysical crop models in consideration of changing climate conditions. Using the framework, economically viable strategy for implementing sustainable bioenergy and BECCS flow are evaluated in the scenarios targeting to keep global average

Sustainability Instruction in High Doses: Results From Incorporation of Multiple InTeGrate Modules Into an Environmental Science Class

Science.gov (United States)

Rademacher, L. K.

2017-12-01

The Interdisciplinary Teaching about Earth for a Sustainable Future (InTeGrate) community has developed extensive courses and modules designed for broad adoption into geoscience classrooms in diverse environments. I participated in a three-semester research project designed to test the efficacy of incorporating "high doses" (minimum 3 modules or 18 class periods) of InTeGrate materials into a course, in my case, an introductory environmental science class. InTeGrate materials were developed by groups of instructors from a range of institutions across the US. These materials include an emphasis on systems thinking, interdisciplinary approaches, and sustainability, and those themes are woven throughout the modules. The three semesters included a control in which no InTeGrate materials were used, a pilot in which InTeGrate materials were tested, and a treatment semesters in which tested materials were modified as needed and fully implemented into the course. Data were collected each semester on student attitudes using the InTeGrate Attitudinal Instrument (pre and post), a subset of Geoscience Literacy Exam questions (pre and post), and a series of assessments and essay exam questions (post only). Although results suggest that learning gains were mixed, changes in attitudes pre- and post-instruction were substantial. Changes in attitudes regarding the importance of sustainable employers, the frequency of self-reported individual sustainable actions, and motivation level for creating a sustainable society were observed in the control and treatment semesters, with the treatment semester showing the greatest gains. Importantly, one of the biggest differences between the control and treatment semesters is the reported impact that the course had on influencing students' sustainable behaviors. The treatment semester course impacted students' sustainable behaviors far more than the control semester.

Integrated nutrient management (INM) for sustaining crop productivity and reducing environmental impact: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Wei; Ma, Baoluo

2015-01-01

The increasing food demands of a growing human population and the need for an environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agricultural development require significant attention when addressing the issue of enhancing crop productivity. Here we discuss the role of integrated nutrient management (INM) in resolving these concerns, which has been proposed as a promising strategy for addressing such challenges. INM has multifaceted potential for the improvement of plant performance and resource efficiency while also enabling the protection of the environment and resource quality. This review examines the concepts, objectives, procedures and principles of INM. A comprehensive literature search revealed that INM enhances crop yields by 8–150% compared with conventional practices, increases water-use efficiency, and the economic returns to farmers, while improving grain quality and soil health and sustainability. Model simulation and fate assessment further reveal that reactive nitrogen (N) losses and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions are reduced substantially under advanced INM practices. Lower inputs of chemical fertilizer and therefore lower human and environmental costs (such as intensity of land use, N use, reactive N losses and GHG emissions) were achieved under advanced INM practices without compromising crop yields. Various approaches and perspectives for further development of INM in the near future are also proposed and discussed. Strong and convincing evidence indicates that INM practice could be an innovative and environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agriculture worldwide. - Highlights: • The increasing pressure to meet global cereal demand poses great challenge. • A changing environment further threatens cereal production. • Literature summary shows 8–150% yield advantage from use of INM method. • INM contributions to mitigation of environmental costs are remarkable. • High crop productivity and less environmental impact can be

Integrated nutrient management (INM) for sustaining crop productivity and reducing environmental impact: A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Wei, E-mail: weiwu@nwsuaf.edu.cn [College of Agronomy, Northwest A& F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100 (China); Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC), Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6 (Canada); Ma, Baoluo, E-mail: Baoluo.Ma@AGR.GC.CA [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC), Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6 (Canada)

2015-04-15

The increasing food demands of a growing human population and the need for an environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agricultural development require significant attention when addressing the issue of enhancing crop productivity. Here we discuss the role of integrated nutrient management (INM) in resolving these concerns, which has been proposed as a promising strategy for addressing such challenges. INM has multifaceted potential for the improvement of plant performance and resource efficiency while also enabling the protection of the environment and resource quality. This review examines the concepts, objectives, procedures and principles of INM. A comprehensive literature search revealed that INM enhances crop yields by 8–150% compared with conventional practices, increases water-use efficiency, and the economic returns to farmers, while improving grain quality and soil health and sustainability. Model simulation and fate assessment further reveal that reactive nitrogen (N) losses and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions are reduced substantially under advanced INM practices. Lower inputs of chemical fertilizer and therefore lower human and environmental costs (such as intensity of land use, N use, reactive N losses and GHG emissions) were achieved under advanced INM practices without compromising crop yields. Various approaches and perspectives for further development of INM in the near future are also proposed and discussed. Strong and convincing evidence indicates that INM practice could be an innovative and environmentally friendly strategy for sustainable agriculture worldwide. - Highlights: • The increasing pressure to meet global cereal demand poses great challenge. • A changing environment further threatens cereal production. • Literature summary shows 8–150% yield advantage from use of INM method. • INM contributions to mitigation of environmental costs are remarkable. • High crop productivity and less environmental impact can be

Economic interpretation of sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birk Mortensen, J.

1994-01-01

The economic discussion of sustainable development show that it is possible to define the concept sufficiently precise to introduce it in economic models and to get some policy results. The concept of sustainable development does have meaning and practical implications for economic policy. The relation between sustainability as non-decreasing welfare over time and a non-declining stock of total capital including natural capital is very useful for implementing the concept for actual planning. Even rudimentary empirical measures and test of sustainability can be developed and applied and used in planning and evaluation of performance based on this idea. Weak or strong versions of the concept have been suggested and an interesting and clarifying debate within economics is going on. The debate also demonstrates that when the concept is defined more precisely - differences in opinions, standpoints and policy prescriptions show up. (EG)

I-880 Integrated Corridor Management Concept of Operation : Final Submittal: Concept of Operations for the I-880 Corridor in Oakland, California

Science.gov (United States)

2008-03-31

This report describes the draft Concept of Operations that has been developed for the Integrated Corridor Mobility (ICM) program by the I-880 corridor team. The I-880 corridor team has defined this Concept of Operations (ConOps) based on two primary ...

Implementation of Transformative Sustainability Learning into Engineering Curricular

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuliana Lavrysh

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays an engineering profession is the most promising in terms of sustainability. Yet, there is a question if higher educational establishments are ready and possess necessary resources to prepare graduates in a sufficient way to create a life-sustainable future. Therefore, universities recognize the education for sustainable development as an essential and timely process of engineering training. The paper presents the characteristics of transformative sustainability learning as a key factor of advanced life-learning engineering education. The analysis of theoretical background signifies that the transformative sustainability learning concept is based on the theory of person’s transformations depending on such personality traits as the life experience, cognitive development, and critical reflection skills which foster personality changes towards sustainability. Thus, we can state that transformative sustainability learning (TSL integrates such fields as transformative learning and Education for Sustainable Development and the combination impacts personal and societal transformations. This fact provides us with the opportunity to suggest the (TSL concepts implementation into engineering educational process as an approach that enhances students’ motivation to studying, understanding of sustainability issues and high order thinking skills. If students experience personality transformations, we can find out the pedagogical strategy attributed to these transformations. Having conducted interviews and observations the teaching process at the university, we outlined the most used TSL pedagogical strategies at technical university (placed-based, problem-based, enquiry and service learning assessed their efficacy, found out the barriers to successful implementation and suggested recommendations to overcome the barriers. Our paper demonstrates potential of TSL implementation as it not only benefits for students but also enhances sustainability

Urban Labelling: Resilience and Vulnerability as Key Concepts for a Sustainable Planning

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Giuseppe Mazzeo

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Planning and implementation of sustainable urban neighborhoods has led in Europe and in other countries to the development of some recognized best practices. Each of these cases has followed specific aims and methodologies but it is still far the systematization of the results and the translation of the good practices into action lines.  The paper involves the necessity of new tools for local planning directed to the overall sustainability of the city. Sustainable energy, reduction of the climate-change causes, waste reduction, attention to water resources and to the natural ones are specific operational elements. A possible way to face this challenge is to consider the potentialities of executive plans addressed to increase the sustainability of urban areas starting from limited portions of they. These plans should foresee the minimum impact of volumes and functions to be set up, will provide for the realization of public spaces with zero or almost zero impact, will promote the integration of all the technologies to reduce consumption and encourage energy generation, in order to increase the resilience of the city reducing its vulnerability.  On this basis, aim of the paper is to deepen the issue of the measure of the expected results. To this purpose it is necessary to structure a new certification system (Urban Labelling that can be able to assign a specific sustainability level to a plan using both traditional and new indexes. The same system can also be applied to existing urban areas and as a basis for evaluating reward operations. The impact of the new tool will be cultural (to switch by a description to the facts in relation to urban sustainability, economic (to involve the supply chain from design, implementation, and urban transformation and technological (the sustainability of urban areas requires the use of advanced technologies not only for the buildings but also in the control of green areas, public spaces and mobility.

Environmental sustainability control by water resources carrying capacity concept: application significance in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Djuwansyah, M. R.

2018-02-01

This paper reviews the use of Water Resources carrying capacity concept to control environmental sustainability with the particular note for the case in Indonesia. Carrying capacity is a capability measure of an environment or an area to support human and the other lives as well as their activities in a sustainable manner. Recurrently water-related hazards and environmental problems indicate that the environments are exploited over its carrying capacity. Environmental carrying capacity (ECC) assessment includes Land and Water Carrying Capacity analysis of an area, suggested to always refer to the dimension of the related watershed as an incorporated hydrologic unit on the basis of resources availability estimation. Many countries use this measure to forecast the future sustainability of regional development based on water availability. Direct water Resource Carrying Capacity (WRCC) assessment involves population number determination together with their activities could be supported by available water, whereas indirect WRCC assessment comprises the analysis of supply-demand balance status of water. Water resource limits primarily environmental carrying capacity rather than the land resource since land capability constraints are easier. WRCC is a crucial factor known to control land and water resource utilization, particularly in a growing densely populated area. Even though capability of water resources is relatively perpetual, the utilization pattern of these resources may change by socio-economic and cultural technology level of the users, because of which WRCC should be evaluated periodically to maintain usage sustainability of water resource and environment.

Integrated learning of mathematics, science and technology concepts through LEGO/Logo projects

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lina

This dissertation examined integrated learning in the domains of mathematics, science and technology based on Piaget's constructivism, Papert's constructionism, and project-based approach to education. Ten fifth grade students were involved in a two-month long after school program where they designed and built their own computer-controlled LEGO/Logo projects that required the use of gears, ratios and motion concepts. The design of this study centered on three notions of integrated learning: (1) integration in terms of what educational materials/settings provide, (2) integration in terms of students' use of those materials, and (3) integration in the psychological sense. In terms of the first notion, the results generally showed that the LEGO/Logo environment supported the integrated learning of math, science and technology concepts. Regarding the second notion, the students all completed impressive projects of their own design. They successfully combined gears, motors, and LEGO parts together to create motion and writing control commands to manipulate the motion. But contrary to my initial expectations, their successful designs did not require numerical reasoning about ratios in designing effective gear systems. When they did reason about gear relationships, they worked with "qualitative" ratios, e.g., "a larger driver gear with a smaller driven gear increases the speed." In terms of the third notion of integrated learning, there was evidence in all four case study students of the psychological processes involved in linking mathematical, scientific, and/or technological concepts together to achieve new conceptual units. The students not only made connections between ideas and experiences, but also recognized decisive patterns and relationships in their project work. The students with stronger overall project performances showed more evidence of synthesis than the students with relatively weaker performances did. The findings support the conclusion that all three

Integrating Concept Mapping into Information Systems Education for Meaningful Learning and Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wei; Yue, Kwok-Bun

2017-01-01

Concept map (CM) is a theoretically sound yet easy to learn tool and can be effectively used to represent knowledge. Even though many disciplines have adopted CM as a teaching and learning tool to improve learning effectiveness, its application in IS curriculum is sparse. Meaningful learning happens when one iteratively integrates new concepts and…

Biomimicry: a Necessary Eco-Ethical Dimension for a Future Human Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Collado-Ruano

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This article reflects on the concept of “global citizenship” from a transdisciplinary methodology and a biomimetic approach. A sustainable human image appears with this epistemological symbiosis, that constitutes the DNA of a genuine tool of civilizational transformation. On the one hand, the transdisciplinary methodology is opened to the multi-referential conception of the three pillars proposed by Basarab Nicolescu (2008: levels of reality, logic of the included middle, and complexity. On the other hand, the concept of biomimicry approached by Janine M. Benyus (2012 identifies nine operating principles of life in order to mimic nature in the reformulation of new sustainable human production systems with the biosphere. The aim of this study is to identify international agreements on environmental and sustainable development, to elaborate some contribution in the post-2015 eco-political-educational strategic framework led by the United Nations with the Sustainable Development Goals. With the purpose of strengthening ties between education and sustainability through symbiotic bridges between nature and culture, the work identifies the vital axises that constitute the interdependence of ecosystems to make a biomimetic application in the social, political, and educational structures of human systems. Then, this paper is an innovational research that seeks to integrate the eco-ethics as a practice in the “Global Citizenship Education” proposed for UNESCO for next decade 2015-2025.

Sustainability and deliberate transition of socio-technical systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ole Erik; Søndergård, Bent; Stærdahl, Jens

or developing socio-technical systems in order to integrate the concept of sustainability as a driver for the deliberate and purposeful shaping and transition. The article discusses the requirements to effective governance networks and governing of governance networks. Research within innovation systems......The article suggests that deliberate planning for sustainability demands a focus on the transition of socio-technical systems in order to establish robust and more sustainable patterns of production and consumption. This implies the necessity of a new perspective for environmental planning......, transition management and technology systems combined with planning and experimental activities provides both a theoretical and empirical body of knowledge of such governance processes. The article discusses how this perspective can be used in relation to the process of developing bio-fuel systems...

Institutionalizing Strong Sustainability: A Rawlsian Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konrad Ott

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The article aims to provide some ethical orientation on how sustainability might be actualized by institutions. Since institutionalization is about rules and organization, it presupposes ideas and concepts by which institutions can be substantiated. After outlining terminology, the article deals with underlying ethical and conceptual problems which are highly relevant for any suggestions concerning institutionalization. These problems are: (a the ethical scope of the sustainability perspective (natural capital, poverty, sentient animals, (b the theory of justice on which ideas about sustainability are built (capability approach, Rawlsianism, and (c the favored concept of sustainability (weak, intermediate, and strong sustainability. These problems are analyzed in turn. As a result, a Rawlsian concept of rule-based strong sustainability is proposed. The specific problems of institutionalization are addressed by applying Rawls’s concept of branches. The article concludes with arguments in favor of three transnational duties which hold for states that have adopted Rawlsian strong sustainability.

Profile of Metacognition of Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers in Understanding the Concept of Integral Calculus with Regard Gender Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Misu, L.; Budayasa, I. K.; Lukito, A.

2018-01-01

This research is to describe metacognition profile of female and male mathematics’ pre-service teachers in understanding the concept of integral calculus. The subjects of this study are one female and 1 male mathematics’ pre-service teachers who have studied integral calculus. This research type is an explorative study with the qualitative approach. The main data collection of this research was obtained by using Interview technique. In addition, there are supporting data which is the result of the written work of research subjects (SP) in understanding the question of integral calculus. The results of this study are as follows: There is a difference in metacognition profiles between male and female mathematics’ pre-service teachers in the understanding concept of integral calculus in the interpreting category, especially the definite integral concept. While in the category of exemplifying, there is no difference in metacognition profile between male and female mathematics’ pre-service teachers either the definite integral concept and the indefinite integral concept.

Smart Growth for a Sustainable Urban Environment - Concepts and Practice in US and China (CLASS PRESENTATION)

Science.gov (United States)

This is an invited seminar to a class of undergraduate and graduate students at DAAP of the University of Cincinnati. It provides students the concepts and trends in smart growth and sustainable urban development in U.S. and China. The materials are drawn from my research and m...

The California Alliance for Sustainability: A Collaborative Pilot Project to Build Regional Advocacy and Leadership for Sustainability Education

Science.gov (United States)

Metzger, E. P.; Smith, G.; Cordero, E. C.; Santone, S.

2012-12-01

For Education for Sustainability (Efs) to have the presence in the K-12 curriculum that it arguably should, considerable obstacles must be overcome. Barriers include the role of high-stakes testing in marginalizing science and social studies and the lack of environmental and sustainability content in teacher education programs. The California Alliance for Sustainability (CASE), a collaborative 18-month project funded by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, unites San José State University (SJSU) and Creative Change Educational Solutions (CCES) (http://www.creativechange.net/) to investigate and address potential barriers to Efs in San Francisco Bay area schools and regional teacher education programs and to document best practices for integrating sustainability into teachers' existing standards-based teaching. The overarching goal of the CASE project is to create a regional infrastructure of K-12 teachers and pre-service teacher educators who use EfS as a context for educational innovation and transformation, thus supplying a focused first step for investigating how Efs can be more broadly implemented in California's classrooms. This presentation will showcase the efforts of a pilot group of classroom teachers and teacher educators to bring EfS to their teaching. In summer 2012, the CASE Project provided 16 in-service teachers and 5 pre-service teacher education faculty from SJSU and California State University East Bay with a three-day professional development workshop. Practicing teachers and teacher educators experienced joint instruction in the content and pedagogy of sustainability though investigation of topics (e.g., Sustainable Communities, Ecological Footprint Analysis, Climate Change, Resource Use, Food Systems and Life Cycle Analysis) that offer broad connections to California standards in science and other disciplines. Sustainability concepts were also discussed as an engaging context for addressing the emerging Common Core and Next Generation

Assessing sustainable remediation frameworks using sustainability principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Ridsdale, D Reanne; Noble, Bram F

2016-12-15

The remediation industry has grown exponentially in recent decades. International organizations of practitioners and remediation experts have developed several frameworks for integrating sustainability into remediation projects; however, there has been limited attention to how sustainability is approached and operationalized in sustainable remediation frameworks and practices - or whether sustainability plays any meaningful role at all in sustainable remediation. This paper examines how sustainability is represented in remediation frameworks and the guidance provided for practical application. Seven broad sustainability principles and review criteria are proposed and applied to a sample of six international remediation frameworks. Not all review criteria were equally satisfied and none of the frameworks fully met all criteria; however, the best performing frameworks were those identified as sustainability remediation frameworks. Intra-generational equity was addressed by all frameworks. Integrating social, economic and biophysical components beyond triple-bottom-line indicators was explicitly addressed only by the sustainable remediation frameworks. No frameworks provided principle- or rule-based guidance for dealing with trade-offs in sustainability decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrating Social Aspect into Sustainability Assessment of Bio-Based Industries: Towards a Systemic Approach

OpenAIRE

Rafiaani, P.; Van Passel, S.; Lebailly, Philippe; Kuppens, T.; Azadi, Hossein; Van Dael, M.

2016-01-01

Biobased industries require to be assessed on their positive and negative impacts on sustainable development. However, social factors are usually neglected in the majority of impact assessments of biobased industries: they are mainly focused on environmental performance and (techno)- economic assessments. This review proposes a new systemic approach for assessing and integrating the social dimension into sustainability assessments of biobased industries. First the main methodologies for as...

Integrated solid waste management: a palliative to existing waste ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

As a concept, Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) is a sustainable ... on the perspective of consumers on waste generation, collection and disposal. ... to effective solid waste management in the case study area; non-sorting and ...

Key methods for sustaining quality engineering data in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cook, A [Canatom Ltd., Montreal, PQ (Canada)

1996-12-31

This paper discusses key methods for sustaining quality engineering data, the fundamental principles that these methods are based on, and the methods for supporting the performance of nuclear power plants by the provision of quality engineering data at all times. The concept of an `engineering data foundation`, and a Configuration Management data model are developed. The concepts and methods for managing the integrity of engineering data across many different databases and document systems are developed, including the key concepts of data-positions and data-values, Master Data and Copy Data, and the concept of a `partnership between people and technology`. (author). 7 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

Key methods for sustaining quality engineering data in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, A.

1995-01-01

This paper discusses key methods for sustaining quality engineering data, the fundamental principles that these methods are based on, and the methods for supporting the performance of nuclear power plants by the provision of quality engineering data at all times. The concept of an 'engineering data foundation', and a Configuration Management data model are developed. The concepts and methods for managing the integrity of engineering data across many different databases and document systems are developed, including the key concepts of data-positions and data-values, Master Data and Copy Data, and the concept of a 'partnership between people and technology'. (author). 7 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs

Concept for Sustained Plant Production on ISS Using VEGGIE Capillary Mat Rooting System

Science.gov (United States)

Stutte, Gary W.; Newsham, Gerard; Morrow, Robert M.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

2011-01-01

Plant growth in microgravity presents unique challenges associated with maintaining appropriate conditions for seed germination, seedling establishment, maturation and harvest. They include maintaining appropriate soil moisture content, nutrient balance, atmospheric mixing and containment. Sustained production imposes additional challenges of harvesting, replanting, and safety. The VEGGIE is a deployable (collapsible) plant growth chamber developed as part of a NASA SBIR Phase II by Orbitec, Madison, WI. The intent of VEGGIE is to provide a low-resource system to produce fresh vegetables for the crew on long duration missions. The VEGGIE uses and LED array for lighting, an expandable bellows for containment, and a capillary matting system for nutrient and water delivery. The project evaluated a number of approaches to achieve sustained production, and repeated plantings, using the capillary rooting system. A number of different root media, seed containment, and nutrient delivery systems were evaluated and effects on seed germination and growth were evaluated. A number of issues limiting sustained production, such as accumulation of nutrients, uniform water, elevated vapor pressure deficit, and media containment were identified. A concept using pre-planted rooting packs shown to effectively address a number of those issues and is a promising approach for future development as a planting system for microgravity conditions.

A next-generation reactor concept: The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Y.I.

1992-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an advanced liquid metal reactor concept being developed at Argonne National Laboratory as reactor technology for the 21st century. It seeks to specifically exploit the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel in a way that leads to substantial improvements in the characteristics of the complete reactor system, in particular passive safety and waste management. The IFR concept consists of four technical features: (1) liquid sodium cooling, (2) pool-type reactor configuration, (3) metallic fuel, and (4) fuel cycle closure based on pyroprocessing.

A next-generation reactor concept: The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Y.I.

1992-07-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an advanced liquid metal reactor concept being developed at Argonne National Laboratory as reactor technology for the 21st century. It seeks to specifically exploit the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel in a way that leads to substantial improvements in the characteristics of the complete reactor system, in particular passive safety and waste management. The IFR concept consists of four technical features: (1) liquid sodium cooling, (2) pool-type reactor configuration, (3) metallic fuel, and (4) fuel cycle closure based on pyroprocessing.

A next-generation reactor concept: The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Y.I.

1992-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an advanced liquid metal reactor concept being developed at Argonne National Laboratory as reactor technology for the 21st century. It seeks to specifically exploit the inherent properties of liquid metal cooling and metallic fuel in a way that leads to substantial improvements in the characteristics of the complete reactor system, in particular passive safety and waste management. The IFR concept consists of four technical features: (1) liquid sodium cooling, (2) pool-type reactor configuration, (3) metallic fuel, and (4) fuel cycle closure based on pyroprocessing

Promoting collaboration skills on reflection concept through multimedia-based integrated instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Hermawan, Hermawan; Siahaan, Parsaoran; Suhendi, Endi; Samsudin, Achmad

2017-05-01

Multimedia-Based Integrated Instructions (MBI2) has been developed to promote the collaboration skills on reflection concepts turn into more real and meaningful learning. The initial design of MBI2 in the form of a multimedia computer that allows users to explore the concept of the overall reflectance of the light through the conceptual and practical aspects that have been developed. MBI2has been developed to promoteone of the skills that the 21st-century skills to students'junior high school that is collaboration skill in order to compete in the future life. The ability to collaborate is divided into five aspects, namely contributions, time management, problem-solving, working with others and research techniques. Research methods utiliseed in this study is an exploration and instructional development 4D model (define, design, develop and disseminate). Based on data analysis, it can be concluded that the development of integrated multimedia-based instruction (MBI2) on the concept of reflection through the 4D developing model was effectively to enhance collaboration skills of students'junior high school.

France's Financial (Eco)system. Improving the integration of sustainability factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morel, Romain; Cochran, Ian; Robins, Nick

2015-11-01

In the run-up of the COP21, much international attention is focused on France. While mainly related to climate change negotiations, this creates an opportunity to take a broader look at French domestic policies and practices on sustainability. This report presents the French financial system and draws lessons from the French ongoing experience in improving the integration of sustainability issues that could be shared with other countries. The present report summarizes and analyses the key initiatives and dynamics at stake in France. It focuses on both the climate-related issues that have recently received significant attention and the development of broader Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues over the past twenty years. The dynamics that have shaped the last two decades have both led to and been influenced by the emergence of an 'ecosystem' of commercial, public and non-profit actors and experts involved in the appropriation and integration of sustainability issues across the sector. Using the framework of analysis presented in the UNEP Inquiry global report, this case study examines the landscape of actors, private initiatives and public policy that has driven the emergence of this ecosystem and helped foster capacity building and the acquisition of expertise among sectoral actors. (authors)

Integrated environmental control concepts for advanced power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubin, E.S.; Kalagnanam, J.R.; Berkenpas, M.B.

1996-01-01

For both conventional and advanced power systems, the capability to estimate the performance and cost of environmental control systems is critical to a variety of planning and analysis requirements faced by utilities, regulators, researchers and analysts in the public and private sectors. This paper describes a computer model developed for the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) to provide an up-to-date capability for analyzing a variety of pre-combustion, combustion, and post-combustion options in an integrated framework. A unique feature of the model allows performance and costs of integrated environmental control concepts to be modeled probabilistically as a means of characterizing uncertainties and risks. Examples are presented of model applications comparing conventional and advanced emission control designs. 13 refs, 6 figs, 5 tabs

No-Self, Natural Sustainability and Education for Sustainable Development

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chia-Ling

2017-01-01

This article explores the significance of sustainability and several ways in which education for sustainable development (ESD) can be considered. It presents several issues related to the theories of sustainability and ESD, which are generated based on a firm concept of anthropocentrism. ESD has been used for developing a scientific understanding…

Concepts on integration of physical protection and material accounting functions in a safeguards system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, D.A.

1981-01-01

Concepts on integration of physical protection and material accounting systems to enhance overall safeguards capability are developed and presented. These concepts identify ways in which material accounting systems can be used to enable effective monitoring of authorized movement of nuclear material through physical protection boundaries. Concepts are also discussed for monitoring user access to nuclear material and for tagging user identification to material accounting transactions through physical protection functions. These result in benefits in detecting diversion and in positively tracing material movement. Finally, coordination of safeguards information from both subsystems in such an integrated system through a safeguards coordination center is addressed with emphasis on appropriate response in case of discrepancies

A New Agenda for Sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard Nielsen, Kurt

Two decades after the Brundtland Commission's Report "Our Common Future" adopted the concept of 'sustainable development', this book provides a renewal of the concept exploring the potential for new practices and fields for those involved in sustainability activity. The book addresses a number...... on sustainability. The material dealt with in the book offers a wide variety of perspectives on sustainability and reflects the importance of interdisciplinary and transdiciplinary work in the field. Suggesting targets for future analytical and political efforts in achieving global sustainability, this book offers...

Textiles and clothing sustainability sustainable fashion and consumption

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

This is the first book to introduce and explain the concept of sustainable consumption with reference to the clothing sector. It uses various case studies to detail sustainable consumption behavior in the industry. Consumption is a key issue and is a major driver when it comes to sustainability in any industry, including clothing sector. Several studies which have highlighted the need for sustainable consumption in the clothing sector are discussed in this book.

Environmental management on the basis of Complex Regional Indicators Concept: case of the Murmansk region

Science.gov (United States)