WorldWideScience

Sample records for sustain productive schools

  1. Leading Sustainability in Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, Katie

    2016-01-01

    What is the role of schools, and more specifically school leadership, in the transition to a sustainable future for humankind? What different forms of leadership are needed to enable this role? The challenges are huge and complex and for those of us engaged in promoting sustainability learning, it is clear that the issue has never been more…

  2. Sustainable Product Development Through a Life-Cycle Approach to Product and Service Creation (Keynote speech)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McAloone, Timothy Charles

    . These two schools of environmental re-search practice are mirrored in the way in which industry approaches environmental problems. Since the definition in 1987 of Sustainable Development [2] efforts have been made to relate the goals and ideals of sustainabil-ity to the domain of product development, thus...... adding new dimensions, such as social and moral values, to the original agenda of environmental improvement. The redefinition of the role of the product developer, from environmentally conscious product de-veloper to sustainably aware product developer has led to new insights into the way in which...... products are developed and used ¿ and to where environmental effects occur in the lifetime of a product. The role of the product developer is thus more complex in relation to sustainability, as the focus for improvement of a product may not (and very often does not) lie in the physical artefactual...

  3. Sustained School Improvement: A Case of How School Leaders ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sustained School Improvement: A Case of How School Leaders Strategise for School Improvement in Zimbabwean Primary Schools. ... Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search ...

  4. Profiling Sustainability Curriculum in AACSB Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukesh Srivastava

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the landscape of Sustainability Curriculum being used across the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB–accredited schools in the United States on the basis of a non-probabilistic sample (n = 119. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, four clusters were obtained based on sustainability-related courses in management, marketing, entrepreneurship, finance, accounting, information systems/information technology, strategy, globalization, communication, and miscellaneous. Cluster 1 had uniform dispersion on sustainability courses in all business courses except marketing. Clusters 2 and 4 were the largest ones with most sustainability courses in the management area, whereas, Cluster 3 had weak, but uniform, dispersion of sustainability courses in most business disciplines. Based on their characteristics and strength of dispersion among 10 business subject areas, these were labeled as Sustainability Prominent, Sustainability Moderate, Sustainability Meek, and Sustainability Quiescent.

  5. Sustainability in School Building Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Ece ŞAHİN

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable construction is important for the continuation of life in a healthy world for futuregenerations; many issues affecting the quality of life such as effective use of resources, take advantage ofrenewable energy, the choice of recyclable materials that do not harm the environment and waterconservation are considered in the context of sustainable design. Implementations carried out in thisframework are regarded as valuable due to providing the consciousness of sustainability to the society.Creating the awareness of sustainability is given a great importance by educators; thus, “education forsustainability” are included from the preschool program so that children can learn the gainings of suchperspective in their early ages. In support of this concept, it is believed that education structures should bea laboratory where children can practice theoretical knowledge learned at school. In that respect, studiesneed to be considered in the context of sustainable construction are studied in this research. In the study,after a description of the importance of sustainable design as a learning mean, significant subjects such asusing natural light, heating, cooling and air-conditioning methods, wind energy, water protection andmaterial selection are analyzed in terms of designing sustainable schools. It is criticized worldwide thatstructures ground on sustainable design principles are relatively few in numbers. Despite, there is anincreasing interest to the subject in Turkey later years; a lot more steps are required in terms ofimplementation and research of the issue. Thus, the purpose of the study is to provide a supplementaryreference for school designs.

  6. Green Design and Sustainable Development of School Uniforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Yumei; Fang, Xuemeng; Zhou, Honglei

    2018-01-01

    Since the 1990s, the school uniform has gradually become an integral part of campus culture construction. A school uniform is not only an iconic symbol of students and a school, but also the carrier of campus culture, with special education function and cultural connotation. However in the same time, many problems exist in the design, making and material selection of school uniforms, in which, substandard fabric quality is the most serious problem. To ensure the quality, health and safety of school uniforms, in my opinion, priority should be given to green design and sustainable development in the design process of school uniforms, which will be more conducive to promoting the sound development of school uniforms. In today’s economic development, the globalization of mass production is no longer just a symbol of challenging the limits of human beings, but to explore the unlimited potential of human spiritual collaboration. If we want to have a better future on this planet, we need to completely redefine the key issue we need to address, that is, green design. The rise of green products is a great progress of human understanding and solving environmental problems. It is the inevitable development trend of commodity production, and will have a profound impact on human survival and development in the future. School uniform is an important part of campus culture construction. In order to not damage the health of primary and secondary school students, in the school uniform design and production process should follow the concept of “green design” to achieve the school uniform style, color, material design, a comprehensive “green” positioning.

  7. Barriers and Facilitators to Sustaining School Health Teams in Coordinated School Health Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Karen; Lesesne, Catherine A; Rasberry, Catherine N; Kroupa, Elizabeth; Fisher, Deborah; Robin, Leah; Pitt Barnes, Seraphine

    2017-05-01

    Coordinated school health (CSH) programs address multiple factors related to students' overall health, thereby increasing their physical and mental readiness to learn. A formative evaluation of three school districts in 2010-2011 examined strategies for sustaining the school health teams (SHTs) that lead CSH efforts. Qualitative data from 39 interviews and 13 focus groups revealed facilitators and barriers for sustaining SHTs. Quantitative data from 68 questionnaires completed by SHT members and school principals examined factors associated with having more active SHTs and district and school characteristics SHT members believed to be important to their schools' efforts to implement CSH. Facilitators of sustaining SHTs included administrative support, staff engagement in the SHT, and shared goals and responsibility. Barriers to sustaining SHTs included limited time and competing priorities, budget and funding constraints, and staff turnover. Findings provide valuable insight into challenges and potential solutions for improving the sustainability of SHTs to enable them to better support CSH efforts.

  8. 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.

  9. Sustainable Environmental Management Indicators in South African Primary Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiza O. de Sousa

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This research explores sustainable environmental management indicators in South African primary schools. Of key interest is the comparison of a township, farm and urban primary school that identify indicators that promote education for sustainable development in schools that implement an environmental management system. Data are drawn from one-on-one interviews, focus group interviews, observations and document analysis from 35 participants in three schools. A comparison of the three schools was done by content and thematic analysis of a within-case analysis. Data from the township school revealed that socioeconomic factors and organisational structure promote education for sustainable development. The farm school data revealed that health promotion can be managed within an environmental management system within a hierarchical school structure. The urban school data revealed that an economic inducement brings a school to realise that it can reduce its carbon footprint, gain financially and utilize its resources with innovation. A case is made that the four pillars of sustainable development (environment, society, economy, and governance endorse education for sustainable development. Furthermore, the objectives of environmental education ought to remain nested in an environmental management system to ensure that the global goal of quality education is achieved.

  10. Sustainability of outdoor school ground smoking bans at secondary schools: a mixed-method study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozema, A D; Mathijssen, J J P; Jansen, M W J; van Oers, J A M

    2018-02-01

    Although increasing numbers of countries are implementing outdoor school ground smoking bans at secondary schools, less attention is paid to the post-implementation period even though sustainability of a policy is essential for long-term effectiveness. Therefore, this study assesses the level of sustainability and examines perceived barriers/facilitators related to the sustainability of an outdoor school ground smoking ban at secondary schools. A mixed-method design was used with a sequential explanatory approach. In phase I, 438 online surveys were conducted and in phase II, 15 semi-structured interviews were obtained from directors of relevant schools. ANOVA (phase I) and a thematic approach (phase II) were used to analyze data. Level of sustainability of an outdoor school ground smoking ban was high at the 48% Dutch schools with an outdoor smoking ban. Furthermore, school size was significantly associated with sustainability. The perceived barriers/facilitators fell into three categories: (i) smoking ban implementation factors (side-effects, enforcement, communication, guidelines and collaboration), (ii) school factors (physical environment, school culture, education type and school policy) and (iii) community environment factors (legislation and social environment). Internationally, the spread of outdoor school ground smoking bans could be further promoted. Once implemented, the ban has become 'normal' practice and investments tend to endure. Moreover, involvement of all staff is important for sustainability as they function as role models, have an interrelationship with students, and share responsibility for enforcement. These findings are promising for the sustainability of future tobacco control initiatives to further protect against the morbidity/mortality associated with smoking. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

  11. Sustainability Reporting at Schools: Challenges and Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbach, Eva; Fischer, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    Despite advances made there is still an implementation gap with regard to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in formal educational systems at the school level. The present paper focuses on sustainability reporting as a recently emerging practice in the school sector. It presents the approach and findings of an exploratory interview study…

  12. Implementing and Sustaining School Improvement. The Informed Educator Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Protheroe, Nancy

    2011-01-01

    This "Informed Educator" examines research-proven strategies for implementing and sustaining school improvement by looking at the key elements of the process, enabling conditions for improvement, issues of school culture, and implementation. It also looks at school turnarounds and how to sustain school improvement once reforms are implemented.

  13. The guide to sustainable energy technologies for schools; Un guide pour les technologies energetiques durables dans les ecoles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-07-01

    There are significant attractions for municipalities to opt for sustainable solutions which involve energy efficient technologies and measures. This is the challenging background which led to the production the Guide to Sustainable Energy Technologies for Schools. This guide is a decision-making tool intended for European municipalities and school managers. Its aim is to: assist them in choosing between the energy technologies that will be used in school building or retrofitting projects and provide them with a framework for measuring and comparing different aspects of energy performance that can be used to convince decision-makers to select sustainable energy technologies and measures. The guide is composed of three parts: an illustrative list of sustainable energy technologies, an introduction to energy performance indicators and fifteen case studies describing practical sustainable energy solutions applied to schools in seven European countries. (A.L.B.)

  14. Linking health education and sustainability education in schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Katrine Dahl; Nordin, Lone Lindegard; Simovska, Venka

    2015-01-01

    , the focus is on transformation processes occurring on the trajectory from international policy frameworks to the national context. The chapter considers the consequences of these transformation processes for educational practices within schools in light of the current major reform of basic general education......This chapter addresses the relationships between international and national (Danish) policies regarding sustainability and health promotion which have the potential to affect school-based health education/promotion and education for sustainable development. Based on policy mapping and analysis...... in Denmark with its aims of ensuring overall school improvement, increasing pupil wellbeing and improving academic outcomes. Analysis of international policy documents, as well as of research literature in both fields, shows that school-based health education (HE) and education for sustainable development...

  15. 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…

  16. Sustainable School Leadership: The Teachers' Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, John W.

    2014-01-01

    Sustainable school leadership is essential to the academic growth of students and professional growth of faculty and staff. Shedding light on what constitutes sustainable leadership from the perspective of teachers will increase our understanding of how specific leadership practices and processes impact those in the learning community who are…

  17. Cork for sustainable product design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mestre, A.C.; Gil, L.

    2011-01-01

    Sustainable Product Design is currently accepted as one of the most promising trends in the “Sustainable Development” movement. It is often seen as a facilitation tool to implement Sustainability in practice, by improving the life cycle and eco-efficiency of products, by promoting dematerialization

  18. Sustainability Education in Indian Business Schools: A Status Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PD JOSE

    Full Text Available Sustainability issues, given their potential scale of impact and urgency, have captured the imagination of both corporations and academic institutions everywhere. This paper examines how such problems and their potential solutions have been incorporated into higher education, particularly business school education in India. With over 3,600 business schools in the public and private sector, business education in India has proliferated. However, students by and large still remain unexposed to sustainability and disaster management concepts in their curriculum. The underlying factors for this include, lack of institutional capacity, issues related to faculty motivation and incentives, lack of recruiter interest and limited availability to high quality resource material. Further, while several schools in India focus on sectors relevant to sustainability, inter-organizational linkages have not developed and business school generally operate independently. This paper examines the way forward to deeply integrate sustainability principles into the core curriculum of business schools. Measures suggested include creating communities of practice among academia and industry, building a resource base of teaching materials for easy access by faculty, and several measures to strengthen institutional capacity.

  19. Examining Barriers to Sustained Implementation of School-Wide Prevention Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turri, Mary G.; Mercer, Sterett H.; McIntosh, Kent; Nese, Rhonda N. T.; Strickland-Cohen, M. Kathleen; Hoselton, Robert

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if an experimental 5-item measure of barriers to implementing and sustaining school-wide prevention practices, the "Assessment of Barriers to Implementation and Sustainability in Schools" (ABISS), would relate to objective measures of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports…

  20. Where Sustainable School Meets the ‘Tthird Teacher’: Primary School Case Study From Barcelona, Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Brkovic

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Participatory evaluation of aspiring sustainable schools and their pedagogical potential has recently come into focus. A few authors have made a significant start in examining schools as both environmentally and socially sustainable environments, which might simultaneously represent the ‘third teacher’. However, discussion around this idea is new in Spain. This paper describes a participatory post-occupancy study conducted with teachers and pupils in Fort Pienc School, Barcelona, Spain. Findings reveal the pedagogical potential of the school’s spaces and fabric, characterised as ‘sustainable’, and highlight the aspects that the research participants feel are performing and underperforming. The paper concludes that if we want sustainable schools to be a strategy for renovating the educational process and for leading us towards a better tomorrow globally and locally,  new models for exploring the pedagogical potential of sustainable schools should be developed and the efforts of all relevant parties synchronised; from architects to governments, from pupils to teachers.

  1. Linking Curriculum and Learning to Facilities: Arizona State University's GK-12 Sustainable Schools Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elser, Monica M.; Pollari, Lynette; Frisk, Erin; Wood, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Arizona State University's "Sustainability Science for Sustainable Schools program" brings together graduate students, sustainability researchers, high school teachers and students, and school or district administrators in a project designed to address the challenge of becoming a "sustainable school." Funded by the National…

  2. Evaluating School-Community Participation in Developing a Local Sustainability Agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eilam, Efrat; Trop, Tamar

    2013-01-01

    Increasingly, international and national statements are calling for the development of local sustainability scenarios within partnerships between schools and their communities. The present study addresses the question of reciprocity in such partnerships, by comparing the sustainability agendas underlying schools' educational programs to the…

  3. Co-Producing Sustainability: Involving Parents and Civil Society in the Governance of School Meal Services. A Case Study from Pisa, Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Galli

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available There is a rising awareness of the power of the public sector in enhancing sustainable consumption and production practices, in particular related to food procurement and its social, ethical, economical and environmental implications. School meal services have a high resonance in the debate on collective catering services because of the implications on the education to sustainable dietary habits and the orientation of the production system. This contribution focuses on the reciprocal relationship between professionals and users of school meal services as a driver to mobilize new resources—according to the theory of co-production—that steer service innovation and a shift towards more sustainable practices. We illustrate this through a case study on the school meal system in Pisa (Italy, where the Canteen Committee represents an institutional arena for participation and empowerment of actors that has gradually gained a central role in shaping this school meal service. Despite the challenges and obstacles, the institutionalized co-production of services allows consolidation of trust among key players and the introduction of innovations in the service, in the form of several projects oriented to sustainability which would not take place without the joint effort of actors involved, parents in the first place.

  4. Measurement invariance of an instrument assessing sustainability of school-based universal behavior practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Sterett H; McIntosh, Kent; Strickland-Cohen, M Kathleen; Horner, Robert H

    2014-06-01

    The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which the School-Wide Universal Behavior Sustainability Index: School Teams (SUBSIST; McIntosh, Doolittle, Vincent, Horner, & Ervin, 2009), a measure of school and district contextual factors that promote the sustainability of school practices, demonstrated measurement invariance across groups of schools that differed in length of time implementing school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS; Sugai & Horner, 2009), student ethnic composition, and student socioeconomic status (SES). School PBIS team members and district coaches representing 860 schools in 14 U.S. states completed the SUBSIST. Findings supported strong measurement invariance, for all items except 1, of a model with two school-level factors (School Priority and Team Use of Data) and 2 district-level factors (District Priority and Capacity Building) across groups of schools at initial implementation, institutionalization, and sustainability phases of PBIS implementation. Schools in the sustainability phase were rated significantly higher on School Priority and Team Use of Data than schools in initial implementation. Strong measurement invariance held across groups of schools that differed in student ethnicity and SES. The findings regarding measurement invariance are important for future longitudinal investigations of factors that may promote the sustained implementation of school practices. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  5. Teens, Power Tools, and Green Schools: Education for Sustainability through a University Environmental Design Program and Middle School Partnership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derr, Victoria

    2017-01-01

    This article explores the role of green schools in promoting education for sustainability by reflecting on a university-middle school partnership focused on sustainable design. Undergraduates and middle school students met weekly for a semester to learn about sustainability through simple design projects and activities that focused on…

  6. CIRP Design 2012 Sustainable Product Development

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    During its life cycle, a product produces waste that is over 20 times its weight. As such it is critical to develop products that are sustainable. Currently product development processes lack high quality methods and tools that are empirically validated to support development of sustainable products. This book is a compilation of over forty cutting edge international research papers from the 22nd CIRP International Design Conference, written by eminent researchers from 15 countries, on engineering design process, methods and tools, broadly for supporting sustainable product development.   A variety of new insights into the product development process, as well as a host of methods and tools that are at the cutting edge of design research are discussed and explained covering a range of diverse topics. The areas covered include: ·Sustainable design and manufacturing, ·Design synthesis and creativity, ·Global product development and product life cycle management, ·Design for X (safety, reliability, manufactu...

  7. Sustaining School-Based Asthma Interventions through Policy and Practice Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Laurie M.; Lachance, Laurie; Wilkin, Margaret; Clark, Noreen M.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Schools are an ideal setting for implementation of asthma interventions for children; however, sustaining school-based programs can be challenging. This study illustrates policy and practice changes brought about through the Childhood Asthma Linkages in Missouri (CALM) program to sustain such programs. Methods: Researchers analyzed…

  8. Environmental Comfort Indicators for School Buildings in Sustainability Assessment Tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Santos Saraiva

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the execution of their work or leisure activities. With the development of knowledge about the internal and external environments of buildings, other requirements have been added such as the issue of user comfort. New construction techniques have been incorporated and new products have been created to improve internal environment comfort. This research addressed the importance of using indicators related to environmental comfort in sustainability assessment tools applied to school buildings. It also considered the importance of environmental issues for the good performance of human beings, and the harmonious coexistence of the comfort indicators indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and ergonomic comfort based on data gathered in research carried out with users of high schools (only students. This research was carried out in two different cities of different countries, Guimarães (Portugal and Juiz de Fora (Brazil, that have similar characteristics of teaching standards and climate conditions (temperature and air humidity. In this study, interviews were made through questionnaires and, later, the information collected was analyzed. This study demonstrates the need to include an ergonomic indicator for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools.

  9. Transforming Sustainability Development Education in Malaysian Schools through Greening Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanifah, Mahat; Shaharudin, Idrus; Mohmadisa, Hashim; Nasir, Nayan; Yazid, Saleh

    2015-01-01

    This article aims to evaluate the practice of sustainability among Malaysian Secondary Schools involved in the Sustainable Schools Program Environmental Award (SLAAS). The research attempts to identify the SLAAS effects on teachers' and students' behaviors after direct involvement with the activities of the program. The cluster sampling technique…

  10. Price strategies for sustainable food products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ingenbleek, P.T.M.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – Sustainable products often suffer a competitive disadvantage compared with mainstream products because they must cover ecological and social costs that their competitors leave to future generations. The purpose of this paper is to identify price strategies for sustainable products that

  11. The Effect of Implementation of Education for Sustainable Development in Swedish Compulsory Schools--Assessing Pupils' Sustainability Consciousness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsson, D.; Gericke, N.; Chang Rundgren, S.-N.

    2016-01-01

    During the past decade, numerous schools in Sweden have implemented education for sustainable development (ESD) as an explicit guiding approach in teaching. In this paper, we investigate the effect of this approach in comparison with that of pupils taught in ordinary schools. Accordingly, we introduce the concept of sustainability consciousness to…

  12. 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 ...

  13. Sustainability of the good behaviour game in Dutch primary schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dijkman, Marieke A M; Harting, Janneke; van Tol, Lenneke; van der Wal, Marcel F

    2017-02-01

    Sustainability of health promotion programs is essential to maintain their positive effects. However, few studies have examined the extent of program sustainability and the factors influencing it. We examined these issues through the Good Behaviour Game (GBG), a classroom-based program in primary schools with beneficial behavioural and health-related effects that was implemented in 2008. GBG coordinators of 17 participating schools were invited in the study 2 years after the initial program implementation. Sustainability was measured using a 20-item checklist comprised of four dimensions of routinization including: memory, adaptation, values and rules. A semi-structured interview was then completed with 16 of the GBG coordinators to discuss the checklist scores and to probe in more depth the current level of sustainability. Based on the checklist scores, sustainability of the GBG was considered ‘high’ in five schools, ‘medium’ in another five and ‘weak’ in six. Factors influencing sustainability identified by GBG coordinators were organizational strength, strong leadership, program championship and the perceived modifiability and effectiveness of the GBG. Also, different factors were related to different dimensions of routinization. The combination of a sustainability checklist and an interview about influential factors may help to further clarify the sustainability construct and reveal which implementation sites, routinization dimensions and influential factors should be explored to further facilitate the sustaining of programs with proven effectiveness.

  14. A statistical study on consumer's perception of sustainable products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pater, Liana; Izvercian, Monica; Ivaşcu, Larisa

    2017-07-01

    Sustainability and sustainable concepts are quite often but not always used correctly. The statistical research on consumer's perception of sustainable products has tried to identify the level of knowledge regarding the concept of sustainability and sustainable products, the selected criteria concerning the buying decision, the intention of purchasing a sustainable product, main sustainable products preferred by consumers.

  15. School Facilities and Sustainability-Related Concepts: A Study of Hellenic Secondary School Principals’, Teachers’, Pupils’ and Parents’ Responses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasiliki Zepatou

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Effective building environment sustainability frameworks and practices need to take users’ opinions into account. For this purpose, a survey questionnaire was developed and the “Panhellenic survey of school spaces, materials and environmental-comfort conditions in secondary schools and perceptions, stances and attitudes of pupils, teachers, principals and parents towards sustainable construction and the selection and use of materials in schools that are friendly to the environment and human health” was conducted nationwide with a random stratified sample of 170 Hellenic public secondary schools. Selected findings are presented and discussed here. These show that existing school facilities are primarily rated as good and that selection and use of materials friendly to the environment and human health are extremely important. User groups believe that they should participate in planning/selecting sustainable solutions for schools. An Index of 10 School Environment Desired Outcomes associated with environmentally friendly and health-friendly materials selection and use was devised. Relevant factors were extracted and interpreted. The research establishes users’ subjective opinions that may be considered and integrated into procedures for improving school buildings, assessing and selecting environmentally friendly materials and implementing strategies for sustainable school design, building and operation.

  16. Sustainable food consumption. Product choice or curtailment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verain, Muriel C D; Dagevos, Hans; Antonides, Gerrit

    2015-08-01

    Food consumption is an important factor in shaping the sustainability of our food supply. The present paper empirically explores different types of sustainable food behaviors. A distinction between sustainable product choices and curtailment behavior has been investigated empirically and predictors of the two types of behavior have been identified. Respondents were classified into four segments based on their sustainable food behaviors: unsustainers, curtailers, product-oriented consumers, and sustainers. Significant differences between the segments were found with regard to food choice motives, personal and social norms, food involvement, subjective knowledge on sustainable food, ability to judge how sustainably a product has been produced and socio-demographics. It is concluded that distinguishing between behavioral strategies toward sustainable food consumption is important as consumer segments can be identified that differ both in their level of sustainable food consumption and in the type of behavior they employ. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Can collusion promote sustainable consumption and production?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schinkel, M.P.; Spiegel, Y.

    2016-01-01

    Several competition authorities have taken public interest considerations, such as promoting sustainable consumption and production, into account in cartel proceedings.We show that when consumers value sustainable products and firms choose investments in sustainability before choosing output,

  18. Towards Sustainable Consumption and Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulku, M. Ali; Hsuan, Juliana

    2017-01-01

    an environmentally conscious (green) consumer who will buy one of two available, horizontally differentiated products: a modular product (M) manufactured by Firm M or a standard product (S) manufactured by Firm S. Firm M can take advantage of its modular production technology and product return policy...... and numerical examples to render practical insights: The refund rate has a strong impact on profits; sensitivity of product greenness can be increased by conscientious advertising, and the reusability of modular parts encourages lower pricing and higher market share. We assert that modularity is a strong...... concept and practice in developing sustainable products and thereby in production, which, in turn, may enhance sustainable consumption. This study's findings have direct implications for reverse supply chain management, and firms should take these findings into account early in the product design phase....

  19. Towards sustaining performance in a Gauteng secondary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nonceba P. Ntuta

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Poor school performance is a major problem in South Africa. To date the success of intervention strategies that were aimed at turning the situation around in dysfunctional schools have been short lived and were not sustainable. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the reasons for the failure of an intervention programme in a school that managed to perform well for the time when it received assistance. Motivation: It is essential to determine the reasons for this continuous failure of school intervention programmes if we want to address the serious problems experienced by the South African education system. Research design, approach and method: In this study, a qualitative research approach within a case-study design was used. Main findings: The main reasons for the inability of the school to sustain its performance were not internal (within the school itself but external (within the education system. Practical and managerial implications: The findings of this study highlight the importance of external leadership and support by the districts and the Department of Education in changing the poor performance of schools at large. Main contribution: Contrary to literature emphasising the lack of leadership at school level as the main problem of poor school performance, this study found that the problem was mainly due to a lack of leadership at departmental level.

  20. The ethical Dilemma of lifestyle change: designing for sustainable schools and sustainable citizenship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Wheeler

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores how participation and sustainability are being addressed by architects within the Building Schools for the Future (BSF programme in the UK. The intentions promoted by the programme are certainly ambitious, but the ways to fulfil these aims are ill-explored. Simply focusing on providing innovative learning technologies, or indeed teaching young people about physical sustainability features in buildings, will not necessarily teach them the skills they will need to respond to the environmental and social challenges of a rapidly changing world. However, anticipating those skills is one of the most problematic issues of the programme. The involvement of young people in the design of schools is used to suggest empowerment, place-making and to promote social cohesion but this is set against government design literature which advocates for exemplars, standard layouts and best practice, all leading to forms of standardisation. The potentials for tokenistic student involvement and conflict with policy aims are evident. This paper explores two issues: how to foster in young people an ethic towards future generations, and the role of co-design practices in this process. Michael Oakeshott calls teaching the conversation of mankind. In this paper, I look at the philosophy of Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Luce Irigaray to argue that investigating the ethical dilemmas of the programme through critical dialogue with students offers an approach to meeting government objectives, building sustainable schools, and fostering sustainable citizenship.

  1. Sustainable production of wood and non-wood forest products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellen M. Donoghue; Gary L. Benson; James L. Chamberlain

    2003-01-01

    The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) All Divisions 5 Conference in Rotorua, New Zealand, March 11-15, 2003, focused on issues surrounding sustainable foest management and forest products research. As the conference title "Forest Products Research: Providing for Sustainable Choices" suggests, the purpose of the conference was to...

  2. Beyond the curriculum: Integrating sustainability into business schools

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Painter-Morland, M.; Sabet, E.; Molthan-Hill, P.; Goworek, H.; de Leeuw, S.L.J.M.

    2016-01-01

    This paper evaluates the ways in which European business schools are implementing sustainability and ethics into their curricula. Drawing on data gathered by a recent large study that the Academy of Business in Society conducted in cooperation with EFMD conducted, we map the approaches that schools

  3. The sustainable wood production initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert. Deal

    2004-01-01

    To address concerns about sustainable forestry in the region, the Focused Science Delivery Program is sponsoring a three year Sustainable Wood Production Initiative. The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's major timber producing regions, and the ability of this region to produce wood on a sustained yield basis is widely recognized. Concerns relating to the...

  4. Consumer attitudes towards sustainability aspects of food production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krystallis Krontalis, Athanasios; Grunert, Klaus G; de Barcellos, Marcia Dutra

    2012-01-01

    This study aims to analyse citizens' sustainability attitudes towards food production in the EU, Brazil, and China (n = 2885), using pork as an exemplary production system. The objective is to map citizens' attitudes towards sustainable characteristics of pig production systems, and investigate...... whether these attitudes coincide with people's general attitudes towards sustainability, on one hand, and their consumption of specific pork products, on the other. A conjoint experiment was designed to evaluate citizens' preferences towards pig production systems with varying sustainability levels....... Conjoint analysis results were then used for a subsequent cluster analysis in order to identify international citizen clusters across the three continents. Respondents' sociodemographic profile, attitudes towards sustainability issues, and consumption frequency of various pork products are used to profile...

  5. Consumer attitudes towards sustainability aspects of food production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krystallis Krontalis, Athanasios; Grunert, Klaus G; de Barcellos, Marcia D.

    2013-01-01

    This study aims to analyse citizens' sustainability attitudes towards food production in the EU, Brazil, and China (n = 2885), using pork as an exemplary production system. The objective is to map citizens' attitudes towards sustainable characteristics of pig production systems, and investigate...... whether these attitudes coincide with people's general attitudes towards sustainability, on one hand, and their consumption of specific pork products, on the other. A conjoint experiment was designed to evaluate citizens' preferences towards pig production systems with varying sustainability levels....... Conjoint analysis results were then used for a subsequent cluster analysis in order to identify international citizen clusters across the three continents. Respondents' sociodemographic profile, attitudes towards sustainability issues, and consumption frequency of various pork products are used to profile...

  6. Sustainable hydrogen production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Block, D.L.; Linkous, C.; Muradov, N.

    1996-01-01

    This report describes the Sustainable Hydrogen Production research conducted at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) for the past year. The report presents the work done on the following four tasks: Task 1--production of hydrogen by photovoltaic-powered electrolysis; Task 2--solar photocatalytic hydrogen production from water using a dual-bed photosystem; Task 3--development of solid electrolytes for water electrolysis at intermediate temperatures; and Task 4--production of hydrogen by thermocatalytic cracking of natural gas. For each task, this report presents a summary, introduction/description of project, and results.

  7. Environmental Sustainability Analysis of Biodiesel Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herrmann, Ivan Tengbjerg; Hauschild, Michael Michael Zwicky; Birkved, Morten

    Due to their generally positive carbon dioxide balance, biofuels are seen as one of the energy carriers in a more sustainable future transportation energy system, but how good is their environmental sustainability, and where lie the main potentials for improvement of their sustainability? Questions...... like these require a life cycle perspective on the biofuel - from the cradle (production of the agricultural feedstock) to the grave (use as fuel). An environmental life cycle assessment is performed on biodiesel to compare different production schemes including chemical and enzymatic esterification...... with the use of methanol or ethanol. The life cycle assessment includes all processes needed for the production, distribution and use of the biodiesel (the product system), and it includes all relevant environmental impacts from the product system, ranging from global impacts like climate change and loss...

  8. Sustainable Multi-Product Seafood Production Planning Under Uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simanjuntak, Ruth; Mawengkang, Herman; Sembiring, Monalisa; Sinaga, Rani; Pakpahan, Endang J

    2013-01-01

    A multi-product fish production planning produces simultaneously multi fish products from several classes of raw resources. The goal in sustainable production planning is to meet customer demand over a fixed time horizon divided into planning periods by optimizing the tradeoff between economic objectives such as production cost, waste processed cost, and customer satisfaction level. The major decisions are production and inventory levels for each product and the number of workforce in each planning period. In this paper we consider the management of small scale traditional business at North Sumatera Province which performs processing fish into several local seafood products. The inherent uncertainty of data (e.g. demand, fish availability), together with the sequential evolution of data over time leads the sustainable production planning problem to a nonlinear mixed-integer stochastic programming model. We use scenario generation based approach and feasible neighborhood search for solving the model.

  9. An Interpretive Framework for Assessing and Monitoring the Sustainability of School Gardens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Sottile

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available School gardens are, increasingly, an integral part of projects aiming to promote nutritional education and environmental sustainability in many countries throughout the world. In the late 1950s, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund had already developed projects to improve the dietary intake and behavior through school and community gardens. However, notwithstanding decades of experience, real proof of how these programs contribute to improving sustainability has not been well-documented, and reported findings have mostly been anecdotal. Therefore, it is important to begin a process of collecting and monitoring data to quantify the results and possibly improve their efficiency. This study’s primary goal is to propose an interpretive structure—the “Sustainable Agri-Food Evaluation Methodology-Garden” (SAEMETH-G, that is able to quantifiably guide the sustainability evaluation of various school garden organizational forms. As a case study, the methodology was applied to 15 school gardens located in three regions of Kenya, Africa. This application of SAEMETH-G as an assessment tool based on user-friendly indicators demonstrates that it is possible to carry out sustainability evaluations of school gardens through a participatory and interdisciplinary approach. Thus, the hypothesis that the original SAEMETH operative framework could be tested in gardens has also been confirmed. SAEMETH-G is a promising tool that has the potential to help us understand school gardens’ sustainability better and to use that knowledge in their further development all over the world.

  10. Development and validation of sustainability criteria of administrative green schools in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meiboudi, Hossein; Lahijanian, Akramolmolok; Shobeiri, Seyed Mohammad; Jozi, Seyed Ali; Azizinezhad, Reza

    2017-07-15

    Environmental responsibility in school has led to the emergence of a variety of criteria to administer green schools' contributions to sustainability. Sustainability criteria of administrative green schools need validity, reliability and norms. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate assessment criteria for green schools in Iran based on the role of academia. A national survey was conducted to obtain data on sustainability criteria initiatives for green schools and the Iranian profile was defined. An initial pool of 71 items was generated and after its first edition, 63 items were selected to comprise the sustainability criteria. Engineering-architectural and behavioral aspects of this sustainability criteria were evaluated through a sample of 1218 graduate students with environmental degrees from Iran's universities. Exploratory factor analysis using principal components and promax rotation method showed that these 9 criteria have simple structures and are consistent with the theoretical framework. The reliability coefficients of subscales ranged between 0.62 (participation) and 0.84 (building location and position). The study's survey of correlation coefficients between items and subscales illustrated that those coefficients varied between 0.24 and 0.68. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Sustainability labels on food products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G; Hieke, Sophie; Wills, Josephine

    2014-01-01

    of sustainability was limited, but understanding of four selected labels (Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Carbon Footprint, and Animal Welfare) was better, as some of them seem to be self-explanatory. The results indicated a low level of use, no matter whether use was measured as self-reported use of different......This study investigates the relationship between consumer motivation, understanding and use of sustainability labels on food products (both environmental and ethical labels), which are increasingly appearing on food products. Data was collected by means of an online survey implemented in the UK......, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Poland, with a total sample size of 4408 respondents. Respondents expressed medium high to high levels of concern with sustainability issues at the general level, but lower levels of concern in the context of concrete food product choices. Understanding of the concept...

  12. Re-Engineering Primary School Teachers for Sustainable ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    engineer primary school teachers for sustainable development in Onitsha North Local Government Area. Three research questions and a hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. Descriptive survey research design was used. 300 primary ...

  13. Supporting Structures for Education for Sustainable Development and School-Based Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, Katrine Dahl; Nordin, Lone Lindegaard; Simovska, Venka

    2016-01-01

    The article aims to explore the following question: "How is education for sustainable development and health education in schools approached and contextualized at a municipal level, and what contradictions and tensions might local structures imply for sustainable health promoting school development?" Based on interviews with key agents…

  14. Sustainable Product Indexing: Navigating the Challenge of Ecolabeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay S. Golden

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available There is growing scientific evidence that improving the sustainability of consumer products can lead to significant gains in global sustainability. Historically, environmental policy has been managed by bureaucracies and institutions in a mechanistic manner; this had led to many early successes. However, we believe that if policy concerning product sustainability is also managed in this way, negative unintended consequences are likely to occur. Thus, we propose a social-ecological systems approach to policy making concerning product sustainability that will lead to more rapid and meaningful progress toward improving the environmental and social impacts of consumer products.

  15. EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PÉTER BAGOLY-SIMÓ

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Over the last three decades, the concept of sustainable development has enjoyed growing attention. Transporting sustainable development into all forms of education is connected to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD. Due to its role in society, formal education plays a special part in the process of ESD implementation. This paper takes a closer look at the interconnectedness between sustainable development, ESD, and formal education by focusing on school geography, a subject with special affinity to both concepts and topics of ESD.

  16. Sustainability of outdoor school ground smoking bans at secondary schools : A mixed-method study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rozema, A. D.; Mathijssen, J. J. P.; Jansen, M. W. J.; Van Oers, J. A. M.

    2017-01-01

    Although increasing numbers of countries are implementing outdoor school ground smoking bans at secondary schools, less attention is paid to the post-implementation period even though sustainability of a policy is essential for long-term effectiveness. Therefore, this study assesses the level of

  17. Building and Sustaining Successful School Leadership in New Zealand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Notman, Ross; Henry, D. Annie

    2011-01-01

    This article outlines success factors of six New Zealand primary and secondary school principals. These factors are grouped under principals' personal characteristics, leadership skills that connect with their teachers, leadership strategies that impact positively on school stakeholder needs, and factors that sustain leadership success. Emerging…

  18. Can Collusion Promote Sustainable Consumption and Production?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schinkel, M.P.; Spiegel, Y.

    Several competition authorities consider the exemption of horizontal agreements among firms from antitrust liability if the agreements sufficiently promote public interest objectives such as sustainable consumption and production. We show that when consumers value sustainable products and firms

  19. Introduction--the Socially Sustainable Egg Production project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, J C; Mench, J A; Thompson, P B

    2011-01-01

    The social and political pressure to change egg production from conventional cage systems to alternative systems has been largely driven by the desire to provide more behavioral freedom for egg-laying hens. However, a change of this magnitude can affect other components of the production system and may result in unintended outcomes. To understand this issue, a Socially Sustainable Egg Production project was formed to 1) conduct a holistic and integrated systematic review of the current state of knowledge about various aspects of sustainable egg production, and 2) develop a coordinated grant proposal for future extramural funding based on the research priorities identified from the review. Expert study groups were formed to write evidence-based papers in 5 critical sustainability areas: hen health and welfare, economics, food safety and quality, public attitudes, and environmental impacts. These papers were presented as the PSA Emerging Issues Symposium on Social Sustainability of Egg Production at the 2010 Poultry Science Association meeting.

  20. School-community learning partnerships for sustainability: Recommended best practice and reality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Leone; Guevara, Jose Roberto; Smith, Jodi-Anne

    2018-05-01

    Effective partnerships across different stakeholders are essential to the collaboration required for learning cities to contribute to sustainable development. Through partnerships, formal educational institutions, such as schools and universities, play a vital role in establishing and sustaining learning cities, often by facilitating the meaningful participation of different local community members. The research presented in this article examines the characteristics of effective school-community partnerships in the literature and compares it to the results of a three-year research study which examined 16 case studies of school-community partnerships in the state of Victoria in Australia. Using participatory action research, the researchers identified four approaches to implementing partnerships for sustainability, explored challenges to achieving an idealised partnership, and made recommendations for establishing successful partnership networks. The researchers propose that partnerships be viewed as a dynamic resource rather than merely a transactional arrangement that addresses the identified challenges of time, funding, skills and personnel. Furthermore, the use of "partnership brokers", such as local government or non-government organisations, is recommended to expand the current school-centred approach to partnerships. These insights aim to contribute to providing quality education and lifelong learning through partnerships - outcomes crucial for establishing and sustaining learning cities.

  1. Nuclear energy for sustainable Hydrogen production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gyoshev, G.

    2004-01-01

    There is general agreement that hydrogen as an universal energy carrier could play increasingly important role in energy future as part of a set of solutions to a variety of energy and environmental problems. Given its abundant nature, hydrogen has been an important raw material in the organic chemical industry. At recent years strong competition has emerged between nations as diverse as the U.S., Japan, Germany, China and Iceland in the race to commercialize hydrogen energy vehicles in the beginning of 21st Century. Any form of energy - fossil, renewable or nuclear - can be used to generate hydrogen. The hydrogen production by nuclear electricity is considered as a sustainable method. By our presentation we are trying to evaluate possibilities for sustainable hydrogen production by nuclear energy at near, medium and long term on EC strategic documents basis. The main EC documents enter water electrolysis by nuclear electricity as only sustainable technology for hydrogen production in early stage of hydrogen economy. In long term as sustainable method is considered the splitting of water by thermochemical technology using heat from high temperature reactors too. We consider that at medium stage of hydrogen economy it is possible to optimize the sustainable hydrogen production by high temperature and high pressure water electrolysis by using a nuclear-solar energy system. (author)

  2. 36 CFR 223.219 - Sustainable harvest of special forest products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Sustainable harvest of....219 Sustainable harvest of special forest products. (a) Sustainable harvest levels. Prior to offering... product's sustainable harvest level. A special forest product's sustainable harvest level is the total...

  3. Leadership and Context Connectivity: Merging Two Forces for Sustainable School Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marishane, Nylon Ramodikoe

    2016-01-01

    School improvement is admittedly the main business of school leadership. However, while there is agreement on the importance of school improvement, sustaining this improvement remains a challenge. The challenge seems to lie in the disconnection between the leader and the context in which the school operates. This chapter presents contextual…

  4. Design for Sustainability: Current Trends in Sustainable Product Design and Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcel Crul

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available The Design for Sustainability (D4S concept outlines methodologies for making sustainable improvements (social, economic and environmental to products by applying elements of life cycle thinking. D4S builds on the work of ecodesign to include economic and social concerns, and its methodology includes both incremental and radical innovation. The United Nations Environment Programme and the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, in concert with key partners, work to support, illustrate, and diffuse targeted D4S demonstration efforts, including the European Commission-funded Cleaner Production for Better Products project in Vietnam, that are needed to change unsustainable consumption and production patterns.

  5. Creating a Learning Environment to Promote Food Sustainability Issues in Primary Schools? Staff Perceptions of Implementing the Food for Life Partnership Programme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judy Orme

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available There is increasing interest in the role that schools can play in promoting education for sustainable development (ESD, and evidence is emerging that schools can be influential in the emerging agenda around the ecological, ethical and social aspects of food, diet and nutrition. With regard to such food sustainability issues, this paper analyses the role of the Food for Life Partnership national programme in supporting garden and farm-based learning activities in 55 primary schools in England, UK. Using a mixed methods approach, the study examined the programme’s implementation through staff perceptions and a range of school change indicators. The study found that the programme delivery was associated with widespread institutional reforms. According to staff, implementation of the programme provided a range of opportunities for pupils to learn about food production and sustainability, but addressing these issues was challenging for teachers and raised a number of questions concerned with effective, equitable and on-going implementation. At a pedagogical level, teachers also reflected on conceptually challenging aspects of food sustainability as a topic for primary school education. The study identified ways that ESD programmes could support schools to think about and implement learning opportunities as well as identifying significant barriers related to resourcing such programmes.

  6. Sustainable food consumption. Product choice or curtailment?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verain, M.C.D.; Dagevos, H.; Antonides, G.

    2015-01-01

    Food consumption is an important factor in shaping the sustainability of our food supply. The present paper empirically explores different types of sustainable food behaviors. A distinction between sustainable product choices and curtailment behavior has been investigated empirically and predictors

  7. A short course in sustainable product development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McAloone, Tim C.

    2005-01-01

    This short course in sustainable product development models, methods and mindsets is designed to fit into the Unical course on Engineering Design Methods. Three modules (called “seminars”) will guide you through . The demands for sustainable development . Professional methods for analysing and ch...... and changing products’ environmental profiles . A new approach to product service system development, where the physical product becomes an incidental aspect in the final offering to the customer...

  8. Sustainable aggregates production : green applications for aggregate by-products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-01

    Increased emphasis in the construction industry on sustainability and recycling requires production of : aggregate gradations with lower dust (cleaner aggregates) and smaller maximum sizeshence, increased : amount of quarry by-products (QBs). QBs ...

  9. Nature tourism: a sustainable tourism product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Violante Martínez Quintana

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Nature tourism has emerged in the tourism field as a result of a logical evolution in line with public policies and academic research. After negative outcomes from traditional models first raised the alarm, the entire sector has tried to foster local development based on models of responsibility and sustainability. This article revises key concepts of nature – based tourism and shows new tendencies and the perception of cultural landscapes that are seen as tourism products. Finally, it concludes by analysing new tendencies to foster alternative nature – based tourism. It also presents a planning proposal based on a responsible and sustainable tourism model to guarantee a sustainable tourism product within the natural and cultural heritage context.

  10. Supporting Sustainability and Personalization with Product Architecture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Kjeld; Jørgensen, Kaj Asbjørn; Taps, Stig B.

    2011-01-01

    Mass Customization, Personalization and Co-creation (MCPC) are continuously being adopted as a competitive business strategy. Consumers as well as governments are at the same time applying pressure on companies to adopt a more sustainable strategy, consumers request greener products and governments...... is a driver for MCPC and earlier research within product architecture has indicated that modularization could support sustainability. In this paper, work on the drivers for modularization with focus on sustainability and MCPC, will be presented. Several modularization methods and drivers are analyzed...

  11. Short lecture series in sustainable product development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McAloone, Tim C.

    2005-01-01

    Three lectures in sustainable product development models, methods and mindsets should give insight into the way of thinking about the environment when developing products. The first two lectures will guide you through: . Environmental problems in industry & life-cycle thinking . Professional...... methods for analysing and changing products’ environmental profiles . Sustainability as a driver for innovation...

  12. Fostering sustainable dietary habits through optimized school meals in Sweden – OPTIMAT

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eustachio Colombo, Patricia; Schäfer-Elinder, Liselotte; Parlesak, Alexandr

    2017-01-01

    The fulfilment of commitments to international agreements that relate to sustainable development requires fundamental changes in food consumption. This project aims to promote healthy and sustainable dietary habits in Sweden through optimized school meals. Several studies are planned. The first...... to contribute to more sustainable procurement and consumption patterns, a more efficient use of public resources, and to fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development....... is an analysis of children’s dietary intake in relation to school meal quality. The second is a modelling study where nutritious, affordable and theoretically acceptable food baskets, optimized for low emissions of greenhouse gases, are developed. Menus based on these baskets will be developed and tested...

  13. 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.

  14. Schools That Sustain: Lessening the Environmental Impact of New Construction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peele, Katherine N.; Malone, Sara

    2002-01-01

    Discusses sustainable school design and its benefits to the environment, offering examples of illustrative schools. Provides suggestions on site selection (such as using smaller sites and recycling existing buildings), sharing facilities with the community, and construction elements that improve environmental impact (such as flexibility,…

  15. Design for Sustainability : Current Trends in Sustainable Product Design and Development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Clark, G.; Kosoris, J.; Nguyen Hong, L.; Crul, M.

    2009-01-01

    The Design for Sustainability (D4S) concept outlines methodologies for making sustainable improvements (social, economic and environmental) to products by applying elements of life cycle thinking. D4S builds on the work of ecodesign to include economic and social concerns, and its methodology

  16. Towards Sustainability-driven Innovation through Product Service Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Thompson, Anthony

    2010-01-01

    Increasing awareness of anthropogenic impacts on the planet has lead to efforts to reduce negative environmental impacts in product development for several decades. Benefits to companies who focus on sustainability initiatives have been put forth more recently, leading to many efforts to incorporate sustainability considerations in their product innovation processes. The majority of current sustainability considerations in industry constrain design space by emphasizing reduced material and en...

  17. Transitioning Wood Furniture Products towards Sustainability

    OpenAIRE

    Lu, Lei; Zhang, WeiGuang; Zhang, WeiQing

    2008-01-01

    Wood Furniture Products (WFPs) play a significant role in both the global economy and the transition of society towards sustainability. This paper begins with a brief description of the industry and highlights the current challenges and compelling measures of WFPs from a systems perspective through the lens of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and by applying backcasting from sustainability principles (SPs). An examination of the challenges and opportunities of WFPs i...

  18. Nature-Inspired Design : Strategies for Sustainable Product Development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Pauw, I.C.

    2015-01-01

    Product designers can apply different strategies, methods, and tools for sustainable product development. Nature-Inspired Design Strategies (NIDS) offer designers a distinct class of strategies that use ‘nature’ as a guiding source of knowledge and inspiration for addressing sustainability.

  19. Achieving sustainable biomass conversion to energy and bio products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matteson, G. C.

    2009-01-01

    The present effort in to maximize biomass conversion-to-energy and bio products is examined in terms of sustain ability practices. New goals, standards in practice, measurements and certification are needed for the sustainable biomass industry. Sustainable practices produce biomass energy and products in a manner that is secure, renewable, accessible locally, and pollution free. To achieve sustainable conversion, some new goals are proposed. (Author)

  20. Structural model for sustainable consumption and production adoption

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Luthra, Sunil; Govindan, Kannan; Mangla, Sachin Kumar

    2017-01-01

    . “Governmental policies and regulations to develop sustainable consumption and production focused system” and “Management support, dedication and involvement in sustainable consumption and production implementation” have been found as the most influencing drivers and “Gaining the market edge and improving...

  1. Systemic levers for change towards sustainable institutionalisation of ICT in schools

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Meyer, I

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available pressure on the school environment, since schools are unable to sustain the change introduced without support from their formal support systems. Although the ICT for Rural Education Development (ICT4RED) initiative was successful in integrating technology...

  2. The permacultura, an alternative in the production of foods from the school and the community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reina María Rodríguez García

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available One of the performances high-priority collections in the Calendar 21 are the reorientation of the education toward a sustainable development; he/she intends, in this sense that is helped to the schools to design plans related with the environment very integrated in their study plans. These directive ones serve as mark for contextualizar the present project in the one that, observing the thematic axes of the permacultura and using as central axis that of the production of foods that can be implemented and maintained with minimum resources, and in coordination with the group Ecomujer of Germany, is sought to link the primary school of group with the community to actions of use of the water rain for the production of foods in a school orchard of vegetables, medicinal plants, as well as an area of fruit-bearing in the primary school Eberto Polanco of the Popular Council of New Town of the municipality of Consolation of the South and this way to contribute to the population's alimentary education from the school and the community, being achieved the reorientation of the education toward the sustainable development, by means of the design and execution of plans of actions related with the environment and the alimentary culture and integrated to the effective study plans.

  3. 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.

  4. Sustainability evaluation of nanotechnology processing and production

    OpenAIRE

    Teresa M. Mata; Nídia de Sá Caetano; António A. Martins

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses the current situation and challenges posed by nanotechnology from a sustainability point of view. It presents an objective methodology to evaluate the sustainability of nanotechnology products, based on a life cycle thinking approach, a framework particularly suited to assess all current and future relevant economic, societal and environmental impacts products and processes. It is grounded on a hierarchical definition of indicators, starting from 3D indicators that take...

  5. Towards Sustainable Production of Biofuels from Microalgae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans Ragnar Giselrød

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Renewable and carbon neutral biofuels are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. The viability of the first generation biofuels production is however questionable because of the conflict with food supply. Microalgal biofuels are a viable alternative. The oil productivity of many microalgae exceeds the best producing oil crops. This paper aims to analyze and promote integration approaches for sustainable microalgal biofuel production to meet the energy and environmental needs of the society. The emphasis is on hydrothermal liquefaction technology for direct conversion of algal biomass to liquid fuel.

  6. Developing a Decision Model of Sustainable Product Design and Development from Product Servicizing in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu-Chen; Tu, Jui-Che; Hung, So-Jeng

    2016-01-01

    In response to the global trend of low carbon and the concept of sustainable development, enterprises need to develop R&D for the manufacturing of energy-saving and sustainable products and low carbon products. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a decision model for sustainable product design and development from product…

  7. How "Sustainability" is Changing How We Make and Choose Products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheryl O' Brien

    2006-07-01

    What does Sustainability mean, and why should people in the thermophysical properties business care? This paper will describe sustainability in the context of product development, which is where much of the buzz is currently being generated. Once described, it will discuss how expectations for Sustainability are changing product lines, and then discuss the controversial issues now emerging from trying to measure Sustainability. One of the most organized efforts in the U.S. is the U.S. Green Building Council revolutionizing how the built environment is conceptualized, designed, built, used, and disposed of - and born again. The appeal of the US Green Building Council is that it has managed to checklist how to "do" Sustainability. By following this checklist, better described as a rating system, a more Sustainable product should be achieved. That is, a product that uses less energy, less water, is less noxious to the user, and consumes fewer resources. We care because these Sustainable products are viewed as preferable by a growing number of consumers and, consequently, are more valuable. One of the most interesting aspects of the Sustainability movement is a quantitative assessment of how sustainable a product is. Life Cycle Assessment techniques (not to be confused with life cycle economic costs) developed since the early 1990s are gaining ground as a less biased method to measure the ultimate "bad" consequences of creating a product (depletion of natural resources, nutrification, acid rain, air borne particulates, solid waste, etc.). For example, one assertion is that these studies have shown that recycling can sometimes do more environmental harm than good.

  8. Toward Food System Sustainability through School Food System Change: Think&EatGreen@School and the Making of a Community-University Research Alliance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yael Harlap

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the theoretical and conceptual framework and the research and practice model of Think&EatGreen@School, a community-based action research project aiming to foster food citizenship in the City of Vancouver and to develop a model of sustainable institutional food systems in public schools. The authors argue that educational and policy interventions at the school and school board level can drive the goals of food system sustainability, food security, and food sovereignty. The complex relationship between food systems, climate change and environmental degradation require that international initiatives promoting sustainability be vigorously complemented by local multi-stakeholder efforts to preserve or restore the capacity to produce food in a durable manner. As a step towards making the City of Vancouver green, we are currently involved in attempts to transform the food system of the local schools by mobilizing the energy of a transdisciplinary research team of twelve university researchers, over 300 undergraduate and graduate students, and twenty community-based researchers and organizations working on food, public health, environmental and sustainability education.

  9. Technical Training Skills Needs of Youth for Sustainable Job Security in Rice Production in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edu, Chukwuma Nwofe; Ogba, Ernest Ituma

    2016-01-01

    The study identifies technical training skills needs of youth for sustainable job security in rice production in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. This study was carried out in secondary schools in three educational zones in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Ebonyi state is one of the states in the southeast geopolitical zone in Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was…

  10. A Framework for Sustainable Mobile Learning in Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Wan; Nicholas, Howard

    2013-01-01

    While there are studies that have looked at the implementation of mobile learning in educational institutions, particularly the identification of issues encountered, few studies have explored holistically the elements that sustain mobile learning. This study dissects the findings of a longitudinal study of a secondary school adopting a personal…

  11. Sustainable Biomass Resources for Biogas Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meyer, Ane Katharina Paarup

    The aim of this thesis was to identify and map sustainable biomass resources, which can be utilised for biogas production with minimal negative impacts on the environment, nature and climate. Furthermore, the aim of this thesis was to assess the resource potential and feasibility of utilising...... such biomasses in the biogas sector. Sustainability in the use of biomass feedstock for energy production is of key importance for a stable future food and energy supply, and for the functionality of the Earths ecosystems. A range of biomass resources were assessed in respect to sustainability, availability...... from 39.3-66.9 Mtoe, depending on the availability of the residues. Grass from roadside verges and meadow habitats in Denmark represent two currently unutilised sources. If utilised in the Danish biogas sector, the results showed that the resources represent a net energy potential of 60,000 -122,000 GJ...

  12. Creating sustainable learning environments in schools by means of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Creating sustainable learning environments in schools by means of strategic ... be addressed by means of proper strategic planning of the education system as such ... The authors who are academics at a university and who are specializing in ...

  13. Sustainability aspects of biofuel production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawłowski, L.; Cel, W.; Wójcik Oliveira, K.

    2018-05-01

    Nowadays, world development depends on the energy supply. The use of fossil fuels leads to two threats: depletion of resources within a single century and climate changes caused by the emission of CO2 from fossil fuels combustion. Widespread application of renewable energy sources, in which biofuels play a major role, is proposed as a counter-measure. The paper made an attempt to evaluate to what extent biofuels meet the criteria of sustainable development. It was shown that excessive development of biofuels may threaten the sustainable development paradigms both in the aspect of: intergenerational equity, leading to an increase of food prices, as well as intergenerational equity, resulting in degradation of the environment. The paper presents the possibility of sustainable biofuels production increase.

  14. Towards sustainable food production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aramyan, Lusine H; Hoste, Robert; van den Broek, Willie

    2011-01-01

    continuous innovation of supply chain network structures, reconsideration of business processes, relocation of logistics infrastructures and renewed allocation of chain activities to these infrastructures in order to achieve sustainable performances. This paper presents a scenario analysis of the spatial...... of pigs, processing of pork and pork consumption, is used to analyse the scenarios. The results reveal major opportunities for reductions in cost as well as in CO2 equivalent emissions if a European sector perspective is taken and some chain activities are relocated to other countries. However......, as minimizing costs will not always lead to an optimal reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions, a differentiated strategy is needed for the European pork sector to move towards more sustainable production...

  15. Transitions in Sustainable Product Design Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boks, Casper; McAloone, Tim C.

    2009-01-01

    By the early 1990s, sustainable product innovation (or ecodesign, or Design for environment) had gained sufficient critical mass in academic research to be identified as a distinct research area. In the past 15 years, stimulated by a growing environmental concern and awareness in the media...... of transitions; this is illustrated by discussing characteristic aspects of each transition, which together provide a historic account of how academic research into sustainable product innovation had matured. In conclusion, a number of possible future transitions or extensions of the research area are discussed......., this research area has expanded considerably; from a bunch of opportunistic eco-pathfinders trying to make products better recyclable into acknowledged scientific research regarding technology transfer and commercialisation. This paper proposes that this maturing process took place through a number...

  16. Understanding key issues of sustainable wood production in the Pacific Northwest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert L. Deal; Seth M. White

    2005-01-01

    Researchers involved with the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station Sustainable Wood Production Initiative have outlined some of the barriers and opportunities for sustainable wood production in the region. Sustainable wood production is defined as the capacity of forests to produce wood, products, and services on a long-term basis and in the context of human...

  17. Investigating Consumer Preferences towards Sustainability in Product Packaging

    OpenAIRE

    Petit, Lisa

    2017-01-01

    This research-oriented thesis investigates to which extent German consumers consider the sustainability aspect of a product package as their main factor in preferring a product. The research was conducted based on a comparison between two specific smoothies from the Company A and Company B brands. Company A smoothies are packed in glass bottles, whereas Company B smoothies are sold in plastic bottles. For the scope of the thesis, sustainable product packaging was defined regarding its contrib...

  18. 75 FR 56528 - EPA's Role in Advancing Sustainable Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-16

    ... action if you manufacture, distribute, label, certify, verify, and purchase or use consumer, commercial... particular, how do you see EPA's role in: Assembling information and databases. Identifying sustainability ``hotspots'' and setting product sustainability priorities. Evaluating the multiple impacts of products...

  19. Sustainability and meanings of farm-based bioenergy production in rural Finland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huttunen, S.

    2013-06-01

    Rural bioenergy production has accrued interest in recent years. EU pressure for climate change abatement and energy political concerns regarding the availability of fossil fuels, have increased bioenergy production objectives in Finland. In addition, rural regions in Finland have encountered structural changes following EU inclusion, including an emergent interest in auxiliary production lines of which bioenergy production is an example. Local bioenergy production has the potential to increase rural sustainability and provide a model for sustainable rural development and energy production. Focusing on the recent emergence of small-scale farm-related bioenergy production: heat provision from wood fuels and biogas and biodiesel production, this study aims to discover if and how farm-based bioenergy production contributes to sustainable rural development. The study derives from the field of rural studies and evaluates sustainable rural development via the concepts of multifunctionality, embeddedness, ecological modernization and sustainable livelihoods, with a particular focus on social sustainability. The empirical portion of the study is comprised of thematic qualitative interviews of bioenergy producing farmers, and on newspaper and periodical article material. The results demonstrate how rural small-scale bioenergy production can have important positive developmental effects that ameliorate and sustain livelihoods in remote areas. This occurs via the multifunctional benefits of bioenergy production to the producers and local communities. The positive effects include social, economical and environmental aspects and rural bioenergy production can present traits of sustainable rural development, predominantly manifested in the social aspects of increased capabilities and reinforced social networks. There are, however, important differences between the examined production models. As an example of achieving sustainable rural development and livelihoods, heat

  20. Emerging sustainable/green cleaning products: health and environmental risks

    OpenAIRE

    Aydin, Mehmet Cihan; Işik, Ercan; Ulu, Ali Emre

    2016-01-01

    Sustainable development aims to bring a new perspective to our lives without compromising customer needs and quality. Along with sustainable development many innovative solutions came out. One of them is sustainable green cleaning products and techniques. Today, emissions from conventional cleaning products may cause severe health and environmental issues. Especially sick building syndromes such as eye, skin and respiratory irritations are main health effects of them. They may also contrib...

  1. Sustainable Architecture in the Context of Education: Reponses of Primary School Teachers on the Topical Subject

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cencič Majda

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The concept of sustainability and a sustainable and ecological development are common debate topics in today’s society. This paper discusses the concept of sustainability in green building with regard to schools. The research was conducted on a representative sample of primary school teachers, focusing on some of their opinions on green building. We asked them which aspect of building they favoured and how often they asked themselves certain questions about the school they taught in. Furthermore, we were interested to see whether we would find age-related differences. To this end, teachers were divided into two groups, namely, teachers of up to 35 years of age and teachers over 35. We were surprised to find that teachers over 35 had a more positive attitude towards green building in schools compared to their younger colleagues. Based on the results, we came to a conclusion that the topics pertaining to ecology and sustainable development are neglected in today’s education. However, making them part of school curriculum is not enough, as the opinions and attitudes of teachers on sustainable and ecological issues also have an important impact on the subject-matter itself.

  2. Evaluating the Sustainability of School-Based Health Centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, Stephanie; Zirkle, Dorothy L; Barr, Donald A

    2017-01-01

    The United States is facing a surge in the number of school-based health centers (SBHCs) owing to their success in delivering positive health outcomes and increasing access to care. To preserve this success, experts have developed frameworks for creating sustainable SBHCs; however, little research has affirmed or added to these models. This research seeks to analyze elements of sustainability in a case study of three SBHCs in San Diego, California, with the purpose of creating a research-based framework of SBHC sustainability to supplement expertly derived models. Using a mixed methods study design, data were collected from interviews with SBHC stakeholders, observations in SBHCs, and SBHC budgets. A grounded theory qualitative analysis and a quantitative budget analysis were completed to develop a theoretical framework for the sustainability of SBHCs. Forty-one interviews were conducted, 6 hours of observations were completed, and 3 years of SBHC budgets were analyzed to identify care coordination, community buy-in, community awareness, and SBHC partner cooperation as key themes of sustainability promoting patient retention for sustainable billing and reimbursement levels. These findings highlight the unique ways in which SBHCs gain community buy-in and awareness by becoming trusted sources of comprehensive and coordinated care within communities and among vulnerable populations. Findings also support ideas from expert models of SBHC sustainability calling for well-defined and executed community partnerships and quality coordinated care in the procurement of sustainable SBHC funding.

  3. Sustainable Product Strategy in Apparel Industry with Consumer Behavior Consideration

    OpenAIRE

    Liu Yang; Shaozeng Dong

    2017-01-01

    The article attempts to analyze sustainable product strategy in apparel industry specifically addressing a firm that is considering launching a sustainable product partly made from recycled materials. There are two types of consumers under consideration, environmentally conscious and regular consumers, as they have different perceived values for the sustainable products. The article provides an analytical model aimed to identify conditions under which a firm could benefit from adopting sustai...

  4. Sustainable Product Strategy in Apparel Industry with Consumer Behavior Consideration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Yang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The article attempts to analyze sustainable product strategy in apparel industry specifically addressing a firm that is considering launching a sustainable product partly made from recycled materials. There are two types of consumers under consideration, environmentally conscious and regular consumers, as they have different perceived values for the sustainable products. The article provides an analytical model aimed to identify conditions under which a firm could benefit from adopting sustainable product strategy. The level of sustainability is determined by the trade-off between profitability and costs occurred and if more consumers value sustainable products, the firm will increase its sustainable level and get a higher profit. This is because of a combination effect of an increasing marginal profit and demand expansion. Moreover, the model has been further extended to address a situation where the firm could manage consumer segmentation. Depending on parameter settings, the firm may target different consumer segments and there is always a threshold of cost for managing consumer segments. When converting regular consumers to be environmentally conscious is not costly, the firm will convert all consumers to be environmentally conscious with great efforts; otherwise, the firm will convert part of consumers to be environmentally conscious.

  5. Planning for Sustainability of an Evidence-Based Mental Health Promotion Program in Canadian Elementary Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leadbeater, Bonnie J; Gladstone, Emilie J; Sukhawathanakul, Paweena

    2015-09-01

    Substantial research illuminates many factors effecting the implementation of evidence-based mental health promotion programs in schools; however, research on how schools plan for sustaining their investments in these programs is limited. In this qualitative study, we elicited descriptions of opportunities and challenges for sustainability. We interviewed 24 individuals from schools involved in a longitudinal, qualitative research project that followed uptake and implementation of the evidence-based WITS Programs across 2 years (Leadbeater et al. 2012). WITS stands for Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out and Seek help and the online WITS Programs focus on preventing peer victimization ( www.witsprograms.ca ). Our findings suggest that sustainability planning in schools is not merely a next step following high quality implementation, but rather involves multiple ongoing processes that need to be anticipated and supported by school leadership and program champions and developers in order to realize investments in evidence-based programs.

  6. Sustainability of animal production systems: an ecological perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vavra, M

    1996-06-01

    The question of sustainability of agricultural production and the use of natural resources has become a popular topic. Most scientists agree that current systems are generally non-sustainable. Current rates of resource extraction will lead us to a depleted earth in the future. Sustainability is defined in many ways. For this paper sustainability should be considered the overlap of what is wanted and what is ecologically possible. Attempts have been made to place a quantitative measure on sustainability. However, it should be considered a trajectory or goal, a direction that guides constructive change, rather than a single quantitative measure. Research and extension personnel may have to take a broader look at their efforts and expand their knowledge base in order to address the issue of sustainable production systems. Both natural events and those caused by humans bring about changes in production potential that require shifts in management. Uncertainty and change should be incorporated into adaptive management strategies. Interdisciplinary efforts are needed to confront these issues. Animal scientists need to formulate management systems that are environmentally compatible or face restrictive legislation that will force change. Members of the American Society of Animal Science seem to agree: efficient and sustainable use of natural resources appears in the draft of the Strategic Plan of the Society, and a poll of members revealed that environmental concerns about animal agriculture was a primary issue facing animal scientists.

  7. Sustainability Cards: Design for Longevity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasling, Karen Marie; Ræbild, Ulla

    2017-01-01

    Product longevity is considered widely as a relevant strategic approach, amongst many, within the field of sustainability. Yet, how to design for increased product lifetime may not be so obvious for practitioners. The complexity of the surrounding issues can constitute a barrier for designers...... for designers and other stakeholders in the design process. The paper is based on a developmental project carried out in the Autumn 2017, within a larger research and collaboration project between raw fur manufacturer Kopenhagen Fur and Design School Kolding investigating sustainability perspectives. The paper...... describes the development of a deck of sustainability cards aiming for product longevity and presents the final deck. Furthermore, the paper contributes with insights on how designers may apply design cards in the design process and how this practice can further sustainable considerations and strategies...

  8. A Resource Sharing Mechanism for Sustainable Production in the Garment Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ke Ma

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available With the development of mass customization, the traditional garment production model needs to be optimized to have a more sustainable structure. To meet demand for flexibility, low-cost, and high-efficiency, an innovative resource sharing mechanism was proposed in this paper to form a new sustainable type of garment production. Different from the individual production in traditional models, the new mechanism involves resources being shared among various manufacturers. The tradeoff between positive and negative effects of the proposed mechanism is a key issue for sustainable production. In the present study, an overall sustainable index, integrating four production performance indicators, was defined on the basis of an Analytical Network Process to assess various production scenarios. According to the discrete-event simulation results of the different scenarios, we found that garment manufacturers could obtain comprehensive improvements in sustainable production by implementing the proposed resource sharing mechanism under the threshold of an increasing production failure rate.

  9. Sustainable school infrastructure through effective innovative building technology selection

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mphahlele, C

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of a model proposed for the selection Innovative Building Technologies (IBTs) and procurement of services supporting the erection of the IBTs that will ensure the construction of a sustainable school...

  10. Assessing the sustainability of bioethanol production in Nepal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khatiwada, Dilip

    2010-10-15

    Access to modern energy services derived from renewable sources is a prerequisite, not only for economic growth, rural development and sustainable development, but also for energy security and climate change mitigation. The least developed countries (LDCs) primarily use traditional biomass and have little access to commercial energy sources. They are more vulnerable to problems relating to energy security, air pollution, and the need for hard-cash currency to import fossil fuels. This thesis evaluates sugarcane-molasses bioethanol, a renewable energy source with the potential to be used as a transport fuel in Nepal. Sustainability aspects of molasses-based ethanol have been analyzed. Two important indicators for sustainability, viz. net energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances have been used to assess the appropriateness of bioethanol in the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. This thesis has found that the production of bioethanol is energy-efficient in terms of the fossil fuel inputs required to produce it. Life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from production and combustion are also lower than those of gasoline. The impacts of important physical and market parameters, such as sugar cane productivity, the use of fertilizers, energy consumption in different processes, and price have been observed in evaluating the sustainability aspects of bioethanol production. The production potential of bioethanol has been assessed. Concerns relating to the fuel vs. food debate, energy security, and air pollution have also been discussed. The thesis concludes that the major sustainability indicators for molasses ethanol in Nepal are in line with the goals of sustainable development. Thus, Nepal could be a good example for other LDCs when favorable governmental policy, institutional set-ups, and developmental cooperation from donor partners are in place to strengthen the development of renewable energy technologies

  11. Food sustainability education as a route to healthier eating: evaluation of a multi-component school programme in English primary schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, M; Dailami, N; Weitkamp, E; Salmon, D; Kimberlee, R; Morley, A; Orme, J

    2012-06-01

    Promising approaches to the promotion of healthier eating among children in primary school settings include the opportunity to practise practical cooking and growing, promoting the take up of healthier school meals and nutritional education. However, less is known about the potential for strategies that integrate approaches through a focus on food sustainability issues--such as the promotion of awareness about local, seasonal, organic, fair trade and higher animal welfare foods. This paper presents an evaluation of the Food for Life Partnership, a multi-component programme that sought to address both the health and sustainability aspects of food. The study consisted of a two-stage cross-sectional survey of Years 5 and 6 students (ages 9-11) in 30 primary schools at enrolment and after 18-24 months, combined with an analysis of programme delivery. Higher self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption in the second stage survey was associated with a range of indicators of school participation in the programme. These included the reform of school meal procurement and preparation; experiential food growing, cooking and farm-based education and improved opportunities for stakeholder engagement. The study therefore develops a case for multilevel programmes that incorporate sustainability issues alongside experiential food education in primary school settings.

  12. Sustainable Production of Chemicals--An Educational Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eissen, Marco

    2012-01-01

    "Sustainability" is a very general term and the question arises how to specify it within daily laboratory work. In this regard, appropriate metrics could support a socially acceptable, ecological and economic product development. The application of metrics for sustainability should be strengthened in education, because they do not belong…

  13. Sustainable production and consumption in a regional policy perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coenen, Franciscus H.J.M.

    2004-01-01

    One of the main challenges regions face in sustainable development is changing their production and consumption patterns. This paper focuses on the role of regional government in sustainable production and consumption polices, one of the specific topics in the framework of the European Regional

  14. Evaluation of a School Building in Turkey According to the Basic Sustainable Design Criteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arslan, H. D.

    2017-08-01

    In Turkey, as well as many other developing countries, the significance of sustainable education buildings has only recently become recognized and the issue of sustainability issue has not been sufficiently involved in laws and regulations. In this study, first of all architectural sustainability with basic design criteria has been explained. After that selected type primary school project in Turkey has been evaluated according to the sustainable design criteria. Type project of school buildings significantly limits the sustainability performance expected from buildings. It is clear that type projects shorten the planning time as they include a designing process that is independent of settlement and they are repeated in various places with different characteristics, indeed. On the other hand; abundance of disadvantages such as the overlook of the natural physical and structural properties of the location mostly restricts the sustainable design of the building. For sustainable buildings, several factors such as the environment, land, climate, insolation, direction etc. shall be taken into consideration at the beginning stage. Therefore; implementation of type projects can be deemed to be inappropriate for sustainability.

  15. Sustainable and Intensified Design of a Biodiesel Production Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mansouri, Seyed Soheil; Ismail, Muhammad I.; Babi, Deenesh Kavi

    impact and maximum profitability is needed. In this work a computer-aided framework for process synthesis and process intensification is applied for sustainable production of biodiesel from pure/waste palm oil as the feedstock. This approach examines several biodiesel processing routes that were...... collected through available data and current technologies reported in the literature. Using this information, a generic superstructure of processing routes was created that described a network of configurations representing multiple designs for the production of biodiesel. Therefore, based on the currently...... of economic and environmental sustainability was identified. For the case of biodiesel production, the intensified process alternative turned out to be the most economical and more sustainable than other alternatives. The computer-aided methods and tools used in this work are: SustainPro (method and tool...

  16. Systematic Computer-Aided Framework for Sustainable Chemical Product Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cignitti, Stefano; Zhang, Lei; Kalakul, Sawitree

    -physical property needs and the process/application needs. Process/application and property needs are connected through an analysis of the property influence on the process/application models and thermodynamic relations. The sustainability is considered through product and process/application performance, economics......-designing demand increased sustainability and minimal trade-off with system performance. In the CAPD formulation, the product properties are related to the needs of heat pump cycle and its components through sensitivity analysis of the thermodynamic models and energy balances of the system. Furthermore, simple...... models are included for efficient assessment of the sustainability and design criteria of both the cycle and its components. It will be demonstrated that the working fluid product designed is optimal with respect to the sustainability and the heat pump cycle performance....

  17. A model for 'sustainable' US beef production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eshel, Gidon; Shepon, Alon; Shaket, Taga; Cotler, Brett D; Gilutz, Stav; Giddings, Daniel; Raymo, Maureen E; Milo, Ron

    2018-01-01

    Food production dominates land, water and fertilizer use and is a greenhouse gas source. In the United States, beef production is the main agricultural resource user overall, as well as per kcal or g of protein. Here, we offer a possible, non-unique, definition of 'sustainable' beef as that subsisting exclusively on grass and by-products, and quantify its expected US production as a function of pastureland use. Assuming today's pastureland characteristics, all of the pastureland that US beef currently use can sustainably deliver ≈45% of current production. Rewilding this pastureland's less productive half (≈135 million ha) can still deliver ≈43% of current beef production. In all considered scenarios, the ≈32 million ha of high-quality cropland that beef currently use are reallocated for plant-based food production. These plant items deliver 2- to 20-fold more calories and protein than the replaced beef and increase the delivery of protective nutrients, but deliver no B 12 . Increased deployment of rapid rotational grazing or grassland multi-purposing may increase beef production capacity.

  18. Sustainability of cosmetic products in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Paula Pereira, Neila

    2009-09-01

    The most recent research in the area of cosmetics to sustainability has focused on obtaining formulations rich in nontraditional oils and butters from seeds and fruits native to Brazilian tropical flora. These have contributed to aggregate value for the raw materials and involvement of small farms forming rural production in Brazil, since the plants are cultivated in preservation areas sponsored by companies who are partners in the Government Program for Brazilian Sustainability. Given that the oils extracted from seeds have the potential to replace these cutaneous constituents, it has been verified that new products of strong commercial impact show an increasing tendency to incorporate in their formulas the oils of plants grown in Brazilian soil.

  19. Perceptions of Principals, Teachers, and School Food, Health, and Nutrition Professionals Regarding the Sustainability and Utilization of School Food Gardens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaeschke, Elizabeth M.; Schumacher, Julie Raeder; Cullen, Robert W.; Wilson, Mardell A.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of various school personnel who are key participants in child nutrition and wellness regarding the sustainability and use of school gardens. Methods: A convenience sample of staff from schools with school gardens across the United States was established, consisting of:…

  20. Exploring Organizational Antecedents for Sustainable Product Development for International Tour Operating Businesses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Budeanu, Adriana

    The development of sustainable products or services is defined by Maxwell as the process of making products or services in a more sustainable way (production) throughout their entire life cycle, from conception to the end-of-life (Maxwell & van der Vorst, 2003). Essentially, sustainable products...

  1. Microfoundations for Sustainable Growth with Eco-Intelligent Product Service-Arrangements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Najine Ameli

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper argues that the contemporary growth paradigm needs to be reconsidered on a micro level of consumption and product service-systems. This becomes necessary since a dynamic link between macro strategies and micro implementation of sustainable growth is missing up to date. Therefore, mainstream sustainability strategies of efficiency and consistency are extended by sufficiency in order to integrate strategies for individual welfare within their social environment. Limits to and drivers for growth are revised and updated socially in terms of qualitative values, diminishing marginal utility or symbolic social distinction. We elaborate a definition of sustainable growth that fosters individual welfare by enhancing social enactment within the boundaries of environmental space. Shifting focus on social aspects in design fosters more sustainable production and consumption patterns while sustaining individual welfare. We derive latent indications for eco-intelligent product service-arrangements and evaluate to concepts by referring to introduced definitions and according indications. With doing so, we illustrate new pathways for the translation of sustainable growth and strategies into product service-systems.

  2. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE PROBLEM OF A NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Condrea DRAGANESCU

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper aimed to approach the topic of a new strategy for the sustainable and competitive development of Romanian agriculture and especially for animal husbandry. In this purpose, a large variety of studies was investigated and the opinions of well-known personalities were used to present in a critical manner the history of sustainable development concept, principles, causes, reasons, moments, events, institutions involved at international, European and national level, achievements. The study is focused on Romania, starting from the actual situation of animal husbandry and learning from the country own and others experience. During the last centuries, the scientific studies noticed that the growth trends of the world population and resources utilization which could determine complications for survival of human society. The first Report of The Club of Rome (1972 concluded mathematically that " if the present growth trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food production, and resources depletion continue to remain unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometime in the next hundred years",..that is in the 21 century. As a reply, the international and national bodies adopted recommendations for a sustainable development. This study analyzed the problems of sustainable development of animal production in Romania, taking into consideration that the conversion rate of energy provided by plants to animal products is about 20%, and this decrease of the number of population is supported by agricultural food production. Two production systems are proposed: (1. Intensive production systems, with high forage conversion, in favorable agricultural country area; (2. extensive (free-ranging, transhumance, pendulation, sustainable, biological production in not or less favorable agricultural area (mountain area, etc.

  3. SOIL ECOLOGY AS KEY TO SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Deyn, G B

    2015-01-01

    Sustainable production of food, feed and fiberwarrants sustainable soil management and crop protection. The tools available to achieve this are both in the realm of the plants and of the soil, with a key role for plant-soil interactions. At the plant level we have vast knowledge of variation within plant species with respect to pests and diseases, based on which we can breed for resistance. However, given that systems evolve this resistance is bound to be temporarily, hence also other strategies are needed. Here I plea for an integrative approach for sustainable production using ecological principles. Ecology, the study of how organisms interact with their environment, teaches us that diversity promotes productivity and yield stability. These effects are thought to be governed through resource use complementarity and reduced build-up of pests and diseases both above- and belowground. In recent years especially the role of soil biotic interactions has revealed new insights in how plant diversity and productivity are related to soil biodiversity and the functions soil biota govern. In our grassland biodiversity studies we found that root feeders can promote plant diversity and succession without reducing plant community productivity, this illustrates the role of diversity to maintain productivity. Also diversity within species offers scope for sustainable production, for example through awareness of differences between plant genotypes in chemical defense compounds that can attract natural enemies of pests aboveground- and belowground thereby providing plant protection. Plant breeding can also benefit from using complementarity between plant species in the selection for new varieties, as our work demonstrated that when growing in species mixtures plant species adapt to each other over time such that their resource acquisition traits become more complementing. Finally, in a recent meta-analysis we show that earthworms can stimulate crop yield with on average 25%, but

  4. A REVIEW: A MODEL of CULTURAL ASPECTS for SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT DESIGN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ihwan Ghazali,

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Product design stages are important to consider critically in production. Generally, product design that shall be created by designer, should consider what the customer wants and needs. Nowadays issues, product design does not only consider the “wants and needs” of user, but also how the design can be created by embedding sustainability aspects in the product. Culture is also one of the important aspects which need to be considered in product design as culture affects the way users respond to the product. This paper aims to develop a new model for design development, in which the aspects of culture are incorporated into sustainable product design. By reviewing the existing literature, the authors attempt to identify the gaps of the existing papers, which illustrate how culture affects sustainable product design. Recent papers have only shown that culture influences product design, but they do not explore sustainability and the culture aspects in product design. Due to these gaps, it is therefore important to create a model which will assist designers to elicit sustainable product design based on cultural aspects. In summary, designers need to reflect on the “wants and needs” of users. The framework presented in this paper can be integrated into designers’ and companies’ decision-making during product design development.

  5. Large-scale bioenergy production: how to resolve sustainability trade-offs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humpenöder, Florian; Popp, Alexander; Bodirsky, Benjamin Leon; Weindl, Isabelle; Biewald, Anne; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Dietrich, Jan Philipp; Klein, David; Kreidenweis, Ulrich; Müller, Christoph; Rolinski, Susanne; Stevanovic, Miodrag

    2018-02-01

    Large-scale 2nd generation bioenergy deployment is a key element of 1.5 °C and 2 °C transformation pathways. However, large-scale bioenergy production might have negative sustainability implications and thus may conflict with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda. Here, we carry out a multi-criteria sustainability assessment of large-scale bioenergy crop production throughout the 21st century (300 EJ in 2100) using a global land-use model. Our analysis indicates that large-scale bioenergy production without complementary measures results in negative effects on the following sustainability indicators: deforestation, CO2 emissions from land-use change, nitrogen losses, unsustainable water withdrawals and food prices. One of our main findings is that single-sector environmental protection measures next to large-scale bioenergy production are prone to involve trade-offs among these sustainability indicators—at least in the absence of more efficient land or water resource use. For instance, if bioenergy production is accompanied by forest protection, deforestation and associated emissions (SDGs 13 and 15) decline substantially whereas food prices (SDG 2) increase. However, our study also shows that this trade-off strongly depends on the development of future food demand. In contrast to environmental protection measures, we find that agricultural intensification lowers some side-effects of bioenergy production substantially (SDGs 13 and 15) without generating new trade-offs—at least among the sustainability indicators considered here. Moreover, our results indicate that a combination of forest and water protection schemes, improved fertilization efficiency, and agricultural intensification would reduce the side-effects of bioenergy production most comprehensively. However, although our study includes more sustainability indicators than previous studies on bioenergy side-effects, our study represents only a small subset of all indicators relevant for the

  6. Sustainable solutions: developing products and services for the future

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Charter, Martin; Tischner, Ursula

    2001-01-01

    ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Martin Charter, The Centre for Sustainable Design, UK, and Ursula Tischner, econcept, Germany part 1: 1. Background to Sustainable Consumption and Production...

  7. Toward Sustainable Amino Acid Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Usuda, Yoshihiro; Hara, Yoshihiko; Kojima, Hiroyuki

    Because the global amino acid production industry has been growing steadily and is expected to grow even more in the future, efficient production by fermentation is of great importance from economic and sustainability viewpoints. Many systems biology technologies, such as genome breeding, omics analysis, metabolic flux analysis, and metabolic simulation, have been employed for the improvement of amino acid-producing strains of bacteria. Synthetic biological approaches have recently been applied to strain development. It is also important to use sustainable carbon sources, such as glycerol or pyrolytic sugars from cellulosic biomass, instead of conventional carbon sources, such as glucose or sucrose, which can be used as food. Furthermore, reduction of sub-raw substrates has been shown to lead to reduction of environmental burdens and cost. Recently, a new fermentation system for glutamate production under acidic pH was developed to decrease the amount of one sub-raw material, ammonium, for maintenance of culture pH. At the same time, the utilization of fermentation coproducts, such as cells, ammonium sulfate, and fermentation broth, is a useful approach to decrease waste. In this chapter, further perspectives for future amino acid fermentation from one-carbon compounds are described.

  8. The power of design product innovation in sustainable energy technologies

    CERN Document Server

    Reinders, Angele H; Brezet, Han

    2012-01-01

    The Power of Design offers an introduction and a practical guide to product innovation, integrating the key topics that are necessary for the design of sustainable and energy-efficient products using sustainable energy technologies. Product innovation in sustainable energy technologies is an interdisciplinary field. In response to its growing importance and the need for an integrated view on the development of solutions, this text addresses the functional principles of various energy technologies next to the latest design processes and innovation methods. From the perspec

  9. A Case for Sustainable Food Service & Nutrition Education--CONVAL School District (NH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curriculum Review, 2008

    2008-01-01

    When former chef and food broker, Tony Geraci was invited by his district superintendent to review New Hampshire's largest school food service program, he never imagined that he would be responsible for running one of the nation's most successful sustainable food service programs. The CONVAL District sustainable food program, create by Geraci and…

  10. Engineering for Sustainable Energy Education within Suburban, Urban and Developing Secondary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaikai, Moijue; Baker, Erin

    2016-01-01

    It is crucial that the younger generation be included in the conversation of sustainable development, given the urgent need of a global transition to cleaner energy solutions. Sustainable energy engineering (SEE) taught as early as secondary school can not only increase the number of students that will potentially study engineering to solve global…

  11. Sustainability and democracy in food production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Kurt Aagaard

    2005-01-01

    The author discuss and presents an empirical study of Danish bread production. The study is organised as action research proces. In the project a method called research workshop is tested as a new form of dialogue creation among groups with different interests and knowledge. The study has generated...... a proposal for a democratic legitimate concept of sustainable bread production...

  12. Are school meals a viable and sustainable tool to improve the healthiness and sustainability of children´s diet and food consumption? A cross-national comparative perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oostindjer, Marije; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Wang, Qing; Skuland, Silje Elisabeth; Egelandsdal, Bjørg; Amdam, Gro V; Schjøll, Alexander; Pachucki, Mark C; Rozin, Paul; Stein, Jarrett; Lengard Almli, Valerie; Van Kleef, Ellen

    2017-12-12

    There is little agreement among governments, institutions, scientists and food activists as to how to best tackle the challenging issues of health and sustainability in the food sector. This essay discusses the potential of school meals as a platform to promote healthy and sustainable food behavior. School meal programs are of particular interest for improving public diet because they reach children at a population scale across socio-economic classes and for over a decade of their lives, and because food habits of children are more malleable than those of adults. Current research on the history and health implications of school meal programs is reviewed in a cross-national comparative framework, and arguments explored that speak for the need of a new developmental phase of school meals as an integrative learning platform for healthy and sustainable food behavior. Nutritional, social, practical, educational, economical, political, and cultural perspectives and challenges linked to the implementation of healthy and sustainable school meals are discussed. Finally, the need for long-term interventions and evaluations is highlighted and new research directions are proposed.

  13. Sustainable Rent-Based Closed-Loop Supply Chain for Fashion Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhi-Hua Hu

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The textile and clothing industry generates much pollution and consumes a large amount of resources. Improper uses and disposal of clothing products make the problems much more severe. Fast fashion products shorten the valid lifecycle and generate more waste than regular clothing products. Considering the features of fashion products, a system of a rent-based closed-loop supply chain is developed to improve the sustainability of fashion products. The supply chain processes (fashion design and manufacturing, laundry, logistics and disposal, the operations management issues (inventory management, closed-loop logistics, human-clothing matching, booking system and the rental pricing and the sustainability promotion aspects (customization, responsive system, culture and policy aspects are investigated by devising sustainable strategies. The rationalities of the developed system and strategies are reviewed and elucidated in detail. The results may contribute to building sustainable closed-loop fashion supply chains, the related information systems and operational and managerial mechanisms.

  14. Assessing the sustainability of egg production systems in The Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Asselt, E D; van Bussel, L G J; van Horne, P; van der Voet, H; van der Heijden, G W A M; van der Fels-Klerx, H J

    2015-08-01

    Housing systems for laying hens have changed over the years due to increased public concern regarding animal welfare. In terms of sustainability, animal welfare is just one aspect that needs to be considered. Social aspects as well as environmental and economic factors need to be included as well. In this study, we assessed the sustainability of enriched cage, barn, free-range, and organic egg production systems following a predefined protocol. Indicators were selected within the social, environmental, and economic dimensions, after which parameter values and sustainability limits were set for the core indicators in order to quantify sustainability. Uncertainty in the parameter values as well as assigned weights and compensabilities of the indicators influenced the outcome of the sustainability assessment. Using equal weights for the indicators showed that, for the Dutch situation, enriched cage egg production was most sustainable, having the highest score on the environmental dimension, whereas free-range egg production gave the highest score in the social dimension (covering food safety, animal welfare, and human welfare). In the economic dimension both enriched cage egg and organic egg production had the highest sustainability score. When weights were attributed according to stakeholder outputs, individual differences were seen, but the overall scores were comparable to the sustainability scores based on equal weights. The provided method enabled a quantification of sustainability using input from stakeholders to include societal preferences in the overall assessment. Allowing for different weights and compensabilities helps policymakers in communicating with stakeholders involved and provides a weighted decision regarding future housing systems for laying hens. © 2015 Poultry Science Association Inc.

  15. Sustainable Process Design of Biofuels: Bioethanol Production from Cassava rhizome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mangnimit, S.; Malakul, P.; Gani, Rafiqul

    2013-01-01

    This study is focused on the sustainable process design of bioethanol production from cassava rhizome. The study includes: process simulation, sustainability analysis, economic evaluation and life cycle assessment (LCA). A steady state process simulation if performed to generate a base case design........ Also, simultaneously with sustainability analysis, the life cycle impact on environment associated with bioethanol production is performed. Finally, candidate alternative designs are generated and compared with the base case design in terms of LCA, economics, waste, energy usage and enviromental impact...... in order to identify the most sustainable design for the production of ethanol. The capacity for ethanol production from cassava rhizome is set to 150,000 liters/day, which is about 1.3 % of the total demand of ethanol in Thailand. LCA on the base case design pointed to large amounts of CO2 and CO...

  16. Children's exposure to sustainability practices during the transition from preschool into school and their learning and socioemotional development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benner, Aprile D; Thornton, Anna; Crosnoe, Robert

    2017-01-01

    Evidence that the learning gains of preschool fade as children transition into elementary school has led to increased efforts to sustain preschool advantages during this key transitional period. This study explores whether the observed benefits of sustainability practices for a range of child outcomes are explained and/or moderated by family and school mechanisms selecting children into experiencing these practices. Analyses of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort revealed that both family and school factors predicted children's exposure to several PK-3 sustainability practices. PK-3 sustainability practices were associated with reading (but not math) gains and better interpersonal skills (but not fewer externalizing behaviors) following the transition into kindergarten. These links were not conditioned by the selection mechanisms. The findings highlight who is more likely to seek out (at the family level) or offer (at the school level) sustainability practices and how relevant they are to fighting preschool fadeout.

  17. College Students' View of Biotechnology Products and Practices in Sustainable Agriculture Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, William A.

    2008-01-01

    Sustainable agriculture implies the use of products and practices that sustain production, protect the environment, ensure economic viability, and maintain rural community viability. Disagreement exists as to whether or not the products and practices of modern biotechnological support agricultural sustainability. The purpose of this study was to…

  18. New Sustainable Tourism Product Development for Russian Customers

    OpenAIRE

    Racheeva, Polina

    2015-01-01

    Sustainable tourism is a new concept for tourism sector; it is tourism that reduces negative tourism impacts and brings benefits instead. The current problem of sustainable tourism is lack of attractive tourism products. Their development is crucial since customers seek for experiences at a destination. Russians are an important segment for Finnish tourism, therefore their consumer behaviours has to be studied. The aim of this research is to find how to develop a tourism product for susta...

  19. Challenges for Marketers in Sustainable Production and Consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline Oates

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available As one of the biggest issues facing today’s global society, sustainability cuts across all areas of production and consumption and presents challenges for marketers who attempt to understand and incorporate sustainability in their everyday practices [1–3]. [...

  20. The Library School: empowering the sustainable innovation capacity of new librarians

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bitter-Rijpkema, Marlies; Verjans, Steven; Bruijnzeels, Rob

    2012-01-01

    Bitter-Rijpkema, M. E., Verjans, S., & Bruijnzeels, R. (2012). The Library School: empowering the sustainable innovation capacity of new librarians. Library Management, 33(1/2), 36-49. doi:10.1108/01435121211203301

  1. Supply chain implications of sustainable design strategies for electronics products

    OpenAIRE

    De Coster, R; Bateman, RJ; Plant, AVC

    2012-01-01

    Increasing legislative and consumer pressures on manufacturers to improve sustainability necessitates that manufacturers consider the overall life cycle and not be scope restricted in creating products. Product strategies to improve sustainability have design implications as many of the decisions made during the design stage will then determine the environmental performance of the final product. Coordination across the supply chain is potentially beneficial as products with improved energy ef...

  2. Cobalt Ferrite Nanocrystallites for Sustainable Hydrogen Production Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajendra S. Gaikwad

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Cobalt ferrite, CoFe2O4, nanocrystalline films were deposited using electrostatic spray method and explored in sustainable hydrogen production application. Reflection planes in X-ray diffraction pattern confirm CoFe2O4 phase. The surface scanning microscopy photoimages reveal an agglomeration of closely-packed CoFe2O4 nanoflakes. Concentrated solar-panel, a two-step water splitting process, measurement technique was preferred for measuring the hydrogen generation rate. For about 5 hr sustainable, 440 mL/hr, hydrogen production activity was achieved, confirming the efficient use of cobalt ferrite nanocrystallites film in hydrogen production application.

  3. Sustainable Schools, Sustainable Communities: The View from the West. CAE Spring 2001 Conference [Proceedings] (San Diego, California, March 22-24, 2001).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, Sara

    This paper presents summary conclusions reached by discussion panels that participated in the Committee on Architecture for Education's conference. The conference explored the symbiotic relationship between schools and communities and the ways that schools and communities sustain one another. Panel titles were: "City Heights Urban Village"; "High…

  4. Cost-free and sustainable incentive increases healthy eating decisions during elementary school lunch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pittman, D W; Parker, J S; Getz, B R; Jackson, C M; Le, T-A P; Riggs, S B; Shay, J M

    2012-01-01

    We aimed to develop a cost-free and sustainable program to influence healthier eating decisions during elementary school lunch. Baseline food and beverage choices were assessed for 9 days during lunch service at two racially and economically diverse elementary schools in Spartanburg County, SC, USA. After being informed that the labeled items on the daily lunch menu represented the healthiest choice, students were allowed to ring a call bell in the cafeteria for public recognition when they chose all of the identified healthiest food and beverage items during lunch service. Using menus matched to the baseline phase, food and beverage choices were measured during a 9-day intervention phase. After 30 days, food and beverage choices were reassessed during a 3-day follow-up phase. Healthiest food & beverage choices increased 49% with >60% of students choosing non-flavored milk over flavored milk during the intervention phase. There was no difference in the success of the program between the two schools. The program continued and healthy eating decisions were significantly sustained at a 30-day follow-up assessment. Public recognition through bell ringing appears to be an effective practice to sustain increases in healthy eating decisions during elementary school lunch and warrants expansion to larger scale, longitudinal trials.

  5. 9 Hard Things to Do in Order to Sustain School Reform. Newsletter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, 2005

    2005-01-01

    The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement invited Ann Chafin to share her thoughts and ideas about sustaining school reform. Chafin, chief of Program Improvement and Family Support Branch of the Maryland State Department of Education, was a speaker at the annual Institute for CSR State Coordinators held May 9-10 in Washington,…

  6. Genetic engineering and sustainable production of ornamentals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lütken, Henrik Vlk; Clarke, Jihong Liu; Müller, Renate

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Through the last decades, environmentally and health-friendly production methods and conscientious use of resources have become crucial for reaching the goal of a more sustainable plant production. Protection of the environment requires careful consumption of limited resources and reduct......Abstract Through the last decades, environmentally and health-friendly production methods and conscientious use of resources have become crucial for reaching the goal of a more sustainable plant production. Protection of the environment requires careful consumption of limited resources....... This review presents the more recent progress of genetic engineering in ornamental breeding, delivers an overview of the biological background of the used technologies and critically evaluates the usefulness of the strategies to obtain improved ornamental plants. First, genetic engineering is addressed......, compactness can be accomplished by using a natural transformation approach without recombinant DNA technology. Secondly, metabolic engineering approaches targeting elements of the ethylene signal transduction pathway are summarized as a possible alternative to avoid the use of chemical ethylene inhibitors...

  7. A regional model for sustainable biogas production. Case study: North Savo, Finland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huopana, T.; Niska, H.; Jaeskelaeinen, A.; Loonik, J.; Den Boer, E.; Song, H.; Thorin, E.

    2012-11-15

    This report is one of the outputs from the REMOWE (Regional Mobilizing of Sustainable Waste-to-Energy Production) project. REMOWE is one of the projects within the Baltic Sea Region Programme. The overall objective of the REMOWE project is, on regional levels, to contribute to a decreased negative effect on the environment by reduction of carbon dioxide emission by creating a balance between energy consumption and sustainable use of renewable energy sources. Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and use of renewable energy sources are broad areas and this project will focus on energy resources from waste and actions to facilitate implementation of energy efficient technology in the Baltic Sea region within the waste-to-energy area. The focus is to utilize waste from cities, farming and industry for energy purposes in an efficient way. The problem addressed by the project concerns how to facilitate the implementation of sustainable systems for waste-to-energy in the Baltic Sea region and specifically, in a first step, in the project partner regions. The project partnership consists of the Maelardalen University, with the School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology coordinating the project, and The County Administrative Board of Vaestmanland in Sweden, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for North Savo, and University of Eastern Finland (UEF) in Finland, Marshal Office of Lower Silesia in Poland, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences in Wolfenbuettel in Germany, Klaipeda University in Lithuania, and Estonian Regional and Local Development Agency (ERKAS) in Estonia. This report is based on the modelling work performed in the work package 5 ('Model of sustainable regional waste-to-energy production') of the REMOWE project. The key objective has been on developing a regional model based on available geographic information for

  8. Understanding the motivational perspectives of sustainability: A case of biogas production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Pereira Querol

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite the importance of the expectations and visions of the actors involved in sustainable innovations, only the societal, motivational perspective is usually considered. The fact that local actors may have different multi-motivations is typically overlooked. The aim of this study is to examine and understand the multi-motivational perspectives in a sustainable production project. First, we introduce the concept of the object and analyze the case of a biogas production project as a mediating activity for making swine production more sustainable. We argue that the object of the activity, as manifested in motivational perspectives, shapes the way in which biogas production (BP systems are implemented. The article concludes by discussing how the concept of object can be used to explore the actual and future possibilities of using artifacts for increasing the sustainability of production.

  9. An Example of Learning about Plastics and Their Evaluation as a Contribution to Education for Sustainable Development in Secondary School Chemistry Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burmeister, Mareike; Eilks, Ingo

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes the development and evaluation of a secondary school lesson plan for chemistry education on the topic Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The lessons focus both on the chemistry of plastics and on learning about the societal evaluation of competing, chemistry-based industrial products. A specific teaching method was…

  10. Can learning in informal settings mitigate disadvantage and promote urban sustainability? School gardens in Washington, DC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher-Maltese, Carley; Fisher, Dana R.; Ray, Rashawn

    2017-09-01

    This article explores how school gardens provide learning opportunities for school-aged children while concurrently helping cities achieve sustainability. The authors analyse this process in Washington, DC, a particularly innovative metropolis in the United States. This national capital city boasts two of the most progressive examples of legislation aimed at improving environmental awareness and inciting citizens to engage in environmental stewardship, both of which focus on school-aged children: (1) the Healthy Schools Act of 2010 and (2) the Sustainable DC Act of 2012. Together these policies focus on bringing healthy lifestyles and environmental awareness, including meaningful outdoor learning experiences, to students and families in the District of Columbia. This article is organised into three parts. The first part discusses how Washington, DC became a sustainable learning city through the implementation of these specific policies. The next part presents the results of a pilot study conducted in one kindergarten to Grade 5 (K-5) elementary school located in Ward 8, the poorest part of the city. The authors' analysis considers the support and the obstacles teachers and principals in the District of Columbia (DC) are experiencing in their efforts to integrate school gardens into the curriculum and the culture of their schools. Exploring the impacts of the school garden on the students, the local community, and the inter-generational relationships at and beyond schools, the authors aim to shed light on the benefits and the challenges. While Washington, DC is fostering its hope that the benefits prevail as it provides a model for other cities to follow, the authors also candidly present the challenges of implementing these policies. In the final part, they discuss the implications of their findings for school gardens and sustainable learning cities more broadly. They encourage further research to gain more insights into effective ways of promoting environmental

  11. INSPIA project: European Index for Sustainable and Productive Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triviño-Tarradas, Paula; Jesús González-Sánchez, Emilio; Gómez-Ariza, Manuel; Rass, Gerard; Gardette, Sophie; Whitmore, Gavin; Dyson, Jeremy

    2017-04-01

    The concept of sustainable development has evolved from a mere perception for the protection of the environment, to a holistic approach, seeking to preserve not only the environment, but also to achieve sustainability in economics and social wellbeing. Globally, there is a major challenge to face in the agricultural sector: to produce more food, feed and other raw materials to satisfy the increasing demand of a growing population, whilst also contributing to economic prosperity, climate change mitigation / adaptation, social wellbeing and preserving natural capital such as soil, water, biodiversity and other ecosystem services. Nowadays, conventional approaches to agriculture are under threat. A more productive and resource efficient agriculture that integrates natural resource protection into its approach will help to meet all these challenges, enabling us to have more of everything - more food, more feed, more non-food crops, more biodiversity and natural habitats - while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, INSPIA is an innovative approach that has worked since 2013 towards demonstration that sustainable productive agriculture is possible thanks to the implementation of a host of best management practices (BMPs) capable of delivering the above achievements. The purpose on INSPIA is to make visible with European decision makers that a sustainable and productive agricultural model exists in a small scale in Europe and that wider dissemination is possible with enabling legislation. INSPIA is demonstrating sustainable agriculture through the implementation of BMPs and the measurement and monitoring of a set of defined indicators (economic, social and environmental ones). INSPIA promotes sustainable practices that protect biodiversity, soils and water and contribute towards maintaining ecosystems services. This holistic sustainable system of productive agriculture is based on the combination of Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Integrated Pest

  12. Economic sustainability of sheabutter production in Kwara state ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Production of sheabutter has the economic potentials in sustaining income generation for rural dwellers. The potentials of shea nuts productivity could only be achieved when technical efficiency of the processing becomes relevant. The study examines the patterns, efficiency and productivity of processing harvested shea ...

  13. Nutrient compensation as management tool– Sugar kelp production in sustainable aquaculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmedes, Peter Søndergaard; Boderskov, Teis; Silva Marinho, Goncalo

    Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is theoretically a sustainable production form, which minimizes waste products from e.g. fish farms, by the co-production of bivalves or/and seaweed. For the Danish fish farmers the extractive organisms could be the solution for increasing fish production...... and robust mitigation tool for nitrogen removal and hopefully allow for future expansion of sustainable marine fish production in Denmark....

  14. 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.

  15. Sustainable Improvement of Animal Production and Health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odongo, N.E.; Garcia, M.; Viljoen, G.J.

    2010-01-01

    The world's poorest people, some one billion living mostly in Africa and Asia, depend on livestock for their day-to-day livelihood. To reduce poverty, fight hunger and ensure global food security, there is an urgent need to increase livestock production in sustainable ways. However, livestock production in developing countries is constrained by low genetic potential of the animals, poor nutrition and husbandry practices and infectious diseases. Nuclear techniques, when applied in conjunction with conventional methods, can identify constraints to livestock productivity as well as interventions that lead to their reduction or elimination in ways that are economically and socially acceptable. The challenge is how best to exploit these techniques for solving problems faced by livestock keepers within the many agricultural production systems that exist in developing countries and demonstrating their advantages to owners, local communities and government authorities. This publication is a compilation of the contributions emanating from an international Symposium on Sustainable Improvement of Animal Production and Health organised by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture in cooperation with the Animal Production and Health Division of FAO. It provides invaluable information not only on how nuclear and related techniques can be used to support sustainable livestock production systems, but also about the constraints and opportunities for using these techniques in developing countries; it also attempts to identify specific research needs and gaps and new options for using these techniques for solving established and emerging problems. As such, it is hoped that the information presented and suggestions made will provide valuable guidance to scientists in both the public and private sectors as well as to government and institutional policy and decision makers. The Symposium comprised a plenary session and four thematic sessions, covering (i

  16. Sustainable Improvement of Animal Production and Health

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Odongo, N E; Garcia, M; Viljoen, G J [Animal Production and Health Subprogramme, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Agency, Vienna (Austria)

    2010-07-01

    The world's poorest people, some one billion living mostly in Africa and Asia, depend on livestock for their day-to-day livelihood. To reduce poverty, fight hunger and ensure global food security, there is an urgent need to increase livestock production in sustainable ways. However, livestock production in developing countries is constrained by low genetic potential of the animals, poor nutrition and husbandry practices and infectious diseases. Nuclear techniques, when applied in conjunction with conventional methods, can identify constraints to livestock productivity as well as interventions that lead to their reduction or elimination in ways that are economically and socially acceptable. The challenge is how best to exploit these techniques for solving problems faced by livestock keepers within the many agricultural production systems that exist in developing countries and demonstrating their advantages to owners, local communities and government authorities. This publication is a compilation of the contributions emanating from an international Symposium on Sustainable Improvement of Animal Production and Health organised by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture in cooperation with the Animal Production and Health Division of FAO. It provides invaluable information not only on how nuclear and related techniques can be used to support sustainable livestock production systems, but also about the constraints and opportunities for using these techniques in developing countries; it also attempts to identify specific research needs and gaps and new options for using these techniques for solving established and emerging problems. As such, it is hoped that the information presented and suggestions made will provide valuable guidance to scientists in both the public and private sectors as well as to government and institutional policy and decision makers. The Symposium comprised a plenary session and four thematic sessions, covering (i

  17. Food production & availability--essential prerequisites for sustainable food security.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swaminathan, M S; Bhavani, R V

    2013-09-01

    Food and nutrition security are intimately interconnected, since only a food based approach can help in overcoming malnutrition in an economically and socially sustainable manner. Food production provides the base for food security as it is a key determinant of food availability. This paper deals with different aspects of ensuring high productivity and production without associated ecological harm for ensuring adequate food availability. By mainstreaming ecological considerations in technology development and dissemination, we can enter an era of evergreen revolution and sustainable food and nutrition security. Public policy support is crucial for enabling this.

  18. Challenging the sustainability of micro products development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    De Grave, Arnaud; Olsen, Stig Irving

    2006-01-01

    Environmental aspects are one of the biggest concerns regarding the future of manufacturing and product development sustainability. Furthermore, micro products and micro technologies are often seen as the next big thing in terms of possible mass market trend and boom. Many questions are raised...... and the intermediate parts which can be in-process created. Possible future trends for micro products development scheme involving environmental concerns are given....

  19. The sustainability indicators of power production systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Onat, Nevzat [Vocational School of Technical Studies, Marmara University, Istanbul 34722 (Turkey); Bayar, Haydar [Technical Education Faculty, Marmara University, Istanbul 34722 (Turkey)

    2010-12-15

    One of the most important elements of economical and social development is to provide uninterrupted electric energy to consumers. The increasing world population and technological developments rapidly increase the demand on electric energy. In order to meet the increasing demand for sustainable development, it is necessary to use the consumable resources of the world in the most productive manner and minimum level and to keep its negative effects on human health and environment in the lowest level as much as possible. In this study, alignment of hydrogen fuel cells, hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermal sourced electric energy systems, in addition to fossil fueled coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants, in respect to sustainability parameters such as CO{sub 2} emission, land use, energy output, fresh water consumption and environmental and social effects is researched. Consequently, it has been determined that the wind and nuclear energy power plants have the highest sustainability indicators. The fuel cells that use hydrogen obtained by using coal and natural gas are determined as the most disadvantageous transformation technologies in respect to sustainability. This study contains an alignment related to today's technologies. Using of renewable energy resources especially in production of hydrogen, output increases to be ensured with nanotechnology applications in photovoltaic systems may change this alignment. (author)

  20. Sustainable Biocatalytic Biodiesel Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Güzel, Günduz

    As part of his PhD studies, Gündüz Güzel examined the thermodynamics of reactions involved in biocatalytic biodiesel production processes, with a specific focus on phase equilibria of reactive systems. He carried out the thermodynamic analyses of biocatalytic processes in terms of phase and chemi......As part of his PhD studies, Gündüz Güzel examined the thermodynamics of reactions involved in biocatalytic biodiesel production processes, with a specific focus on phase equilibria of reactive systems. He carried out the thermodynamic analyses of biocatalytic processes in terms of phase...... and chemical equilibria as part of his main sustainable biodiesel project. The transesterification reaction of vegetable oils or fats with an aliphatic alcohol – in most cases methanol or ethanol – yields biodiesel (long-chain fatty acid alkyl esters – FAAE) as the main product in the presence of alkaline...

  1. Innovation for sustainable egg production: realigning production with societal demands in The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spoelstra, S.F.; Groot Koerkamp, P.W.G.; Bos, A.P.; Elzen, B.; Leenstra, F.R.

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes an innovation trajectory for sustainability in egg production in The Netherlands in the period 2002-2012. In the approach as well as in the analyses, insights from scientific disciplines that have studied transformations towards sustainability were adopted. Central stage is the

  2. Children’s exposure to sustainability practices during the transition from preschool into school and their learning and socioemotional development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benner, Aprile D.; Thornton, Anna; Crosnoe, Robert

    2017-01-01

    Evidence that the learning gains of preschool fade as children transition into elementary school has led to increased efforts to sustain preschool advantages during this key transitional period. This study explores whether the observed benefits of sustainability practices for a range of child outcomes are explained and/or moderated by family and school mechanisms selecting children into experiencing these practices. Analyses of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort revealed that both family and school factors predicted children’s exposure to several PK-3 sustainability practices. PK-3 sustainability practices were associated with reading (but not math) gains and better interpersonal skills (but not fewer externalizing behaviors) following the transition into kindergarten. These links were not conditioned by the selection mechanisms. The findings highlight who is more likely to seek out (at the family level) or offer (at the school level) sustainability practices and how relevant they are to fighting preschool fadeout. PMID:28794610

  3. Influential Factors and Strategy of Sustainable Product Development under Corporate Social Responsibility in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jui-Che Tu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to adopt the perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR to explore the intention of sustainable product development in Taiwan, as well as leading to the creation of influential factors that affect corporate sustainable product development intention. In this research, the induction analysis was conducted to understand the implementation of sustainable product development, and this was supplemented with questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews to evaluate developmental intention. In addition, principal component analysis was used for factor analysis and content analysis in the 6 W expression method, leading to the creation of the influential factors. The research results have demonstrated that the factors affecting the intention of corporate sustainable product development include having a sustainable design and a development purpose, a corporate development purpose, sustainable development concepts, a sustainable design value, a sustainability concept, and a manufacturing process quality. For sustainable product development, corporate social responsibility needs to be most concerned with the added value of products, regulation requirements, and accommodation of the industrial chain, costs, and quality.

  4. Possibilities and limitations for sustainable bioenergy production systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smeets, Edward Martinus Wilhelmus Utrecht University

    2008-05-01

    The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the possibilities and limitations of sustainable bioenergy production. To this end, the following research questions have been formulated: (1). What is the potential of different world regions to produce biomass for energy generation in the year 2050, taking account of biological and climatological limitations, the use of biomass to produce food, materials and traditional bioenergy, as well as the need to maintain existing forests and thus protect biodiversity?; (2) What are the main bottlenecks to formulating and implementing sustainability criteria for bioenergy production?; (3) To what extent does complying with sustainability criteria have impacts on the costs and potential of bioenergy production?; (4) To what extent do fertilizer- and manure-induced nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions due to energy crop production have an impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when conventional transportation fuels are replaced by first-generation biofuels?; (5) In terms of economic and environmental performance, how does Europe's production, storage and transport of miscanthus and switchgrass in 2004 compare to that in 2030? Throughout this thesis, specific attention is paid to knowledge gaps and their potential impact on results, the aim being to identify priorities for future research and development. Another key element of our research is that we evaluate the possibilities and limitations of strategies that are designed to improve the performance of bioenergy production systems and that may be incorporated in bioenergy certification schemes and bioenergy promoting policies

  5. Sustenance and sustainability: maximizing the impact of school gardens on health outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Jaimie N; Spaniol, Mackenzie R; Somerset, Shawn

    2015-09-01

    School garden programmes have become popular action-oriented learning environments in many countries, often driven by converging priorities of environmental sustainability and healthful diets. Many of these programmes have assessed the impact on dietary intake, specifically fruit and vegetable intake, and related dietary behaviours, such as knowledge, preference, motivation, intention and self-efficacy to eat and prepare fruit and vegetables. The objective of the present study was twofold: (i) to review published garden-based programmes conducted in schools targeting dietary intake and/or determinants of dietary behaviour in children; and (ii) to identify similar strategies and components employed by these garden-based programmes. The review included thirteen studies that have examined the impact of garden-based programmes conducted in school, either during school hours or in after-school settings, on dietary behaviours in children (kindergarten through 8th grade students). Three of the reviewed studies did not have a comparison or control group and simply evaluated within-group changes after a garden intervention. None of the reviewed studies were randomized, but were assigned based on school's interest and timing of new school gardens being built. Out of the eleven programmes that examined dietary intake, six found that the programme resulted in increased vegetable intake, whereas four showed no effect. Seven of the eight studies that measured preference found that the programmes resulted in increased preference for vegetables. Gardening programmes also resulted in improved attitudes towards, willingness to taste, identification of and self-efficacy to prepare/cook fruit and vegetables. Similar strategies/components employed by the majority of the programmes included: 'hands on' curriculum, incorporation of a cooking component, providing the instructors, parental and stakeholder support, food provision and using the garden as the focal point for media promotion

  6. Cork Design : A Design Action Intervention Approach Towards Sustainable Product Innovation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mestre, A.C.C.M.

    2014-01-01

    The study Cork Design: A Design Action Intervention Approach Towards Sustainable Product Innovation comprises the systematic implementation of sustainable product innovation within the Portuguese cork sector, through action research. Cork is a natural, recyclable, non-toxic, and renewable resource,

  7. Comprehensive Analysis Competence and Innovative Approaches for Sustainable Chemical Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appel, Joerg; Colombo, Corrado; Dätwyler, Urs; Chen, Yun; Kerimoglu, Nimet

    2016-01-01

    Humanity currently sees itself facing enormous economic, ecological, and social challenges. Sustainable products and production in specialty chemistry are an important strategic element to address these megatrends. In addition to that, digitalization and global connectivity will create new opportunities for the industry. One aspect is examined in this paper, which shows the development of comprehensive analysis of production networks for a more sustainable production in which the need for innovative solutions arises. Examples from data analysis, advanced process control and automated performance monitoring are shown. These efforts have significant impact on improved yields, reduced energy and water consumption, and better product performance in the application of the products.

  8. The sustainability of ethanol production from sugarcane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldemberg, Jose; Coelho, Suani Teixeira; Guardabassi, Patricia

    2008-01-01

    The rapid expansion of ethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil has raised a number of questions regarding its negative consequences and sustainability. Positive impacts are the elimination of lead compounds from gasoline and the reduction of noxious emissions. There is also the reduction of CO 2 emissions, since sugarcane ethanol requires only a small amount of fossil fuels for its production, being thus a renewable fuel. These positive impacts are particularly noticeable in the air quality improvement of metropolitan areas but also in rural areas where mechanized harvesting of green cane is being introduced, eliminating the burning of sugarcane. Negative impacts such as future large-scale ethanol production from sugarcane might lead to the destruction or damage of high-biodiversity areas, deforestation, degradation or damaging of soils through the use of chemicals and soil decarbonization, water resources contamination or depletion, competition between food and fuel production decreasing food security and a worsening of labor conditions on the fields. These questions are discussed here, with the purpose of clarifying the sustainability aspects of ethanol production from sugarcane mainly in Sao Paulo State, where more than 60% of Brazil's sugarcane plantations are located and are responsible for 62% of ethanol production. (author)

  9. Sustainability, environmental, and safety aspects in the production of biocomposites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Markert, Frank

    Future product design requires sustainbale processes and may with great benefit prtially be based on composites made from agricultural by-products. the EU project Biocomp addressed the manufacturing and the parallel assessment of the world wide sustainability of such an approach as well as the en......Future product design requires sustainbale processes and may with great benefit prtially be based on composites made from agricultural by-products. the EU project Biocomp addressed the manufacturing and the parallel assessment of the world wide sustainability of such an approach as well...

  10. Investing in Our Children's Future: Building Sustainable Environmental Health Programs in Our Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grevatt, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Providing safe and healthy learning environments for our children is a fundamental way to advance sustainability in our K-12 schools. However, according to reports by the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Department of Education, the American Federation of Teachers and other organizations, many schools are in poor condition, and many have…

  11. Sustainable rice production in Malaysia beyond 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nashriyah Mat; Ho Nai Kin; Ismail Sahid; Ahyaudin Ali; Lum Keng Yeang; Mashhor Mansor

    2002-01-01

    This book is a compendium of works carried out by various institutions on subjects related to sustainable rice production. The institutions comprise Department of Agriculture, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research, Muda Agricultural Development Authority, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, International Islamic University of Malaysia and the Agrochemical Company Mosanto. Integrated Biodiversity Management parallel with the Integrated Weed / Pest / Disease Management, rice-fish farming networking, agrochemical residue monitoring in rice and marine ecosystems, and application of biotechnology in rice productivity are taken as the future direction towards achieving sustainable rice production beyond 2000. Challenges from social and technical agroecosystem constraints, agricultural input management and maintenance of agroecosystem biodiversity are highlighted. It is imperative that the challenges are surmounted to attain the target that would be reflected by tangible rice output of 10 t/ha, and at the same time maintaining the well-being of rice-farmers. (Author)

  12. Cleaner production - a tool for sustainable environmental development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, I.; Batool, S.

    2005-01-01

    Industrial Development and Production with no regard for environmental impacts creates water and air pollution, soil degradation, and large-scale global impacts such as acid rain, global warming and ozone depletion. To create more sustainable methods of industrial production, there needs to be a shift in attitudes away from control towards pollution prevention and management. Cleaner Production (CP) refers to a management process that seeks out and eliminates the causes of pollution, waste generation and resource consumption at their source through input reductions or substitutions, pollution prevention, internal recycling and more efficient production technology and processes for sustainable environmental development. The objective of cleaner production is to avoid generating pollution in the first place, which frequently cuts costs, reduces risks associated with liability, and identifies new market opportunities. Introducing cleaner production has become a goal to improve the competitiveness through increased eco-efficiency. CP is a business strategy for enhancing productivity and environmental performance for overall socio-economic development. The environmental and economic benefits can only be achieved by implementing cleaner production tools. The CP assessment methodology is used to systematically identify and evaluate the waste minimization opportunities and facilitate their implementation in industries. It refers to how goods and services are produced with the minimum environmental impact under present technological and economic limits. CP shares characteristics with many environmental management tools such as Environmental Assessment or Design for Environment by including them among the technological options for reducing material and energy intensiveness in production, as well as facilitating ruse trough remanufacturing and recycling. It is thus an extension of the total quality management process. The CP program has been successfully implemented in

  13. Multi-scale modeling for sustainable chemical production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, Kai; Bakshi, Bhavik R; Herrgård, Markus J

    2013-09-01

    With recent advances in metabolic engineering, it is now technically possible to produce a wide portfolio of existing petrochemical products from biomass feedstock. In recent years, a number of modeling approaches have been developed to support the engineering and decision-making processes associated with the development and implementation of a sustainable biochemical industry. The temporal and spatial scales of modeling approaches for sustainable chemical production vary greatly, ranging from metabolic models that aid the design of fermentative microbial strains to material and monetary flow models that explore the ecological impacts of all economic activities. Research efforts that attempt to connect the models at different scales have been limited. Here, we review a number of existing modeling approaches and their applications at the scales of metabolism, bioreactor, overall process, chemical industry, economy, and ecosystem. In addition, we propose a multi-scale approach for integrating the existing models into a cohesive framework. The major benefit of this proposed framework is that the design and decision-making at each scale can be informed, guided, and constrained by simulations and predictions at every other scale. In addition, the development of this multi-scale framework would promote cohesive collaborations across multiple traditionally disconnected modeling disciplines to achieve sustainable chemical production. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Role of varieties in sustainable rice production in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Othman Omar; Saad Abdullah

    2002-01-01

    Rice is the staple food of Malaysians. Rice production in Malaysia is concentrated in granary areas, which are provided with irrigation facilities. There is no plan to increase the size or the number of these granary areas, thus productivity per unit area must be increased to sustain the current level of self-sufficiency. Variety determines the potential productivity; environment and crop management determine how much of this potential is realized. Crop management is very important, as any drop in the level of management will effect productivity. However there are characteristics / factors that can be incorporated into varieties which can buffer the effect of environment and crop management. Pests and diseases can result in severe yield loss and lead to non-sustainable production. Varietal resistance to some of these diseases can be incorporated into rice varieties. Active breeding to incorporate rice resistance to blast, PMV (tungro), bacterial blight and brown planthopper is being currently carried out Factors that determine or justify the active breeding status are: importance of Oe pests diseases, resistance sources and the availability of efficient screening procedure. Sheath blight is also an important disease in direct seeded crops as it can cause severe yield loss, but good resistant sources are not available for incorporation and the screening procedure is also not very efficient. Biotechnologists are working hard to introduce resistance from other crops and also develop other resistance mechanisms for sheath blight. Water, shortage or excess, is a major cause of non-sustainable production. The breeding of short-term varieties can overcome water problems or shortages. Negative interaction between varietal characteristics and environment do occur. Finally farmers have to decide which factors of the environment cannot be easily controlled, and choose the correct varieties in order to achieve sustainable production. (Author)

  15. Food security as a function of Sustainable Intensification of Crop Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theodor Friedrich

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The challenge to eradicate hunger and establish food security across all its four pillars (availability, accessibility, health and safety, and continuity is ongoing. The actual situation in global food production leads most of the attention to improving accessibility and safety of food, particularly to vulnerable populations. However, in view of the growth in demand, which includes changes in preferences for example towards food of animal origin, availability and continuity will play larger roles in future. Food production needs to increase over the coming decades at challenging rates, while facing problems of degradation and reduced availability of natural resources for production such as soil and water, and facing increasing challenges from climate change. The actual trends in yield development suggest that a simple gradual improvement of production within the existing concepts will not provide a sustainable or feasible solution, and that more fundamental changes in the agricultural production paradigm are required to face these future challenges. The Sustainable Intensification represents such a change in paradigm in which high production levels are combined with sustainability. The concept of sustainable intensification, the rationale for it and its functional elements, represented by Conservation Agriculture, are presented in this paper.

  16. The Future of Pork Production in the World: Towards Sustainable, Welfare-Positive Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGlone, John J

    2013-05-15

    Among land animals, more pork is eaten in the world than any other meat. The earth holds about one billion pigs who deliver over 100 mmt of pork to people for consumption. Systems of pork production changed from a forest-based to pasture-based to dirt lots and finally into specially-designed buildings. The world pork industry is variable and complex not just in production methods but in economics and cultural value. A systematic analysis of pork industry sustainability was performed. Sustainable production methods are considered at three levels using three examples in this paper: production system, penning system and for a production practice. A sustainability matrix was provided for each example. In a comparison of indoor vs. outdoor systems, the food safety/zoonoses concerns make current outdoor systems unsustainable. The choice of keeping pregnant sows in group pens or individual crates is complex in that the outcome of a sustainability assessment leads to the conclusion that group penning is more sustainable in the EU and certain USA states, but the individual crate is currently more sustainable in other USA states, Asia and Latin America. A comparison of conventional physical castration with immunological castration shows that the less-common immunological castration method is more sustainable (for a number of reasons). This paper provides a method to assess the sustainability of production systems and practices that take into account the best available science, human perception and culture, animal welfare, the environment, food safety, worker health and safety, and economics (including the cost of production and solving world hunger). This tool can be used in countries and regions where the table values of a sustainability matrix change based on local conditions. The sustainability matrix can be used to assess current systems and predict improved systems of the future.

  17. The Future of Pork Production in the World: Towards Sustainable, Welfare-Positive Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John J. McGlone

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Among land animals, more pork is eaten in the world than any other meat. The earth holds about one billion pigs who deliver over 100 mmt of pork to people for consumption. Systems of pork production changed from a forest-based to pasture-based to dirt lots and finally into specially-designed buildings. The world pork industry is variable and complex not just in production methods but in economics and cultural value. A systematic analysis of pork industry sustainability was performed. Sustainable production methods are considered at three levels using three examples in this paper: production system, penning system and for a production practice. A sustainability matrix was provided for each example. In a comparison of indoor vs. outdoor systems, the food safety/zoonoses concerns make current outdoor systems unsustainable. The choice of keeping pregnant sows in group pens or individual crates is complex in that the outcome of a sustainability assessment leads to the conclusion that group penning is more sustainable in the EU and certain USA states, but the individual crate is currently more sustainable in other USA states, Asia and Latin America. A comparison of conventional physical castration with immunological castration shows that the less-common immunological castration method is more sustainable (for a number of reasons. This paper provides a method to assess the sustainability of production systems and practices that take into account the best available science, human perception and culture, animal welfare, the environment, food safety, worker health and safety, and economics (including the cost of production and solving world hunger. This tool can be used in countries and regions where the table values of a sustainability matrix change based on local conditions. The sustainability matrix can be used to assess current systems and predict improved systems of the future.

  18. Products eco-sustainability analysis using CAD SolidWorks software

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popa Luminița I.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This article is focused on the analysis of environmental impact and Eco-sustainability of models designed using CAD SolidWorks software. We have evaluated the material it was made the whole ansamble, in terms of strength, durability and environmental pollution considering the carbon footprint, energy consumption, air acidification and eutrophication. We considered the whole product life-cycle management, from raw material extraction, processing it, piece production, assembly it, and use it until the end of his life, considering the mode of transport and the distance between these stages. The case study presents the virtual model of the product and Sustainability Report.

  19. Procurement as driver of sustainable product-service innovation

    OpenAIRE

    Bratt, Cecilia; Broman, Göran; Robèrt, Karl-Henrik; Sophie, Hallstedt

    2012-01-01

    Current patterns of production and consumption need to change and they need to do so radically. For this shift sustainability-oriented product-services are highly potential contributors. Product-services have been described as a market proposition that extends the functionality of a product beyond the traditional view by inclusion of additional services into the product-service system. From a producer perspective this opens up for a differentiation from competitors and thereby for strategic m...

  20. Agricultural innovations for sustainable crop production intensification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Pisante

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable crop production intensification should be the first strategic objective of innovative agronomic research for the next 40 years. A range of options exist (often very location specific for farming practices, approaches and technologies that ensure sustainability, while at the same time improving crop production. The main challenge is to encourage farmers in the use of appropriate technologies,  and  to  ensure  that  knowledge  about  sound  production  practices  is  increasingly accepted and applied by farmers. There is a huge, but underutilized potential to link farmers’ local knowledge with science-based innovations, through favourable institutional arrangements.  The same  holds  for  the  design,  implementation  and  monitoring  of  improved  natural  resource management  that  links  community  initiatives  to  external  expertise.  It is also suggested that a comprehensive effort be undertaken to measure different stages of the innovation system, including technological adoption and diffusion at the farm level, and to investigate the impact of agricultural policies on technological change and technical efficiency. This paper provides a brief review of agronomic management practices that support sustainable crop production system and evidence on developments  in the selection of crops and cultivars; describes farming systems for crop which take a predominantly ecosystem approach; discusses the scientific application of ecosystem principles for the management of pest and weed populations; reviews the  improvements in fertilizer and nutrient management that explain productivity growth; describes the benefits and constraints of irrigation technologies; and suggests a way forward. Seven changes in the context for agricultural development are proposed that heighten the need to examine how innovation occurs in the agricultural sector.

  1. Sustaining Partnerships between Schools and Industry: A Minerals and Energy Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, Matthew; Pillay, Hitendra; Watters, James J.

    2016-01-01

    Internationally, there is a growing body of research on industry-school partnership, particularly regarding the principles that contribute to effective and efficient partnership models that facilitate vocational-industrial education. However, there are very few articles in the literature that seek to understand the sustainability of…

  2. Capture and Utilization of Water From Rain: The Way for Sustainable School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamila El Tugoz

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Currently, issues related to environmental preservation and responsible use of water, have become a global concern, which has driven the increasing number of public policies aimed at promoting sustainable practices. In this context, it addresses the implementation of a system harnessing rainwater for non-potable purposes in a school unit. This article aimed to evaluate the results obtained from the use of tanks to capture and use of rainwater in a state school of Paraná, in the city of Marechal Cândido Rondon. It is a descriptive exploratory research, qualitative and quantitative approach. Based on data from historical series water consumption of the College Eron Domingues, a relationship between the consumption of water and the monthly rainfall for the period was established. The results confirmed the efficiency of the capture of rain water system, reducing the consumption of treated water supplied by the Water and Sewage Company, up 57.2%. Thus, while stimulating in students an awareness focused on sustainability, inclusion of knowledge and environmental practices at school, comprise the prospect of a multiplier effect on society.

  3. Sustainability of agricultural production in communal areas of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Access to financial support was limited due to lack of collateral and high production risk where farmers' production is solely based on natural and unreliable rainfall patterns and therefore unsustainable. Strategies to improve food security should receive priority to support sustainable resource management, increase access ...

  4. 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    One of the important programmatic outcomes from the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) was the adoption of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP).

  5. Duurzaamheid en grondstoffen voor diervoeding = Sustainability and feed commodity production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gosselink, J.M.J.; Bindraban, P.S.; Bos, J.F.F.P.

    2010-01-01

    This study creates a preliminary framework to judge the sustainability of production of agricultural commodities for the purpose of animal nutrition. Criteria are selected according to the economic, societal and ecological dimensions of sustainability.

  6. LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION FOR A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Maiorano

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The development of society is based on the existence of food resources. The past half-century has seen marked growth in food production, allowing for a dramatic decrease in the proportion of the world’s people that are hungry, despite a doubling of the total population. Recently, the FAO predicted a higher increase of the consumption of foods of animal origin by 2050. So far, the increased demand for food has been supplied by agriculture due to an improvement of techniques, an increase of cultivated land areas and an increase of water and energy consumption. The environmental assessment of human activities is presently a hot topic. It is not only important from an ecological perspective, but also from the view of efficient utilization of limited natural resources. The livestock sector that increasingly competes for scarce resources (land, water, and energy has a severe impact on air, water and soil quality because of its emissions. The environmental impact of food of animal origin is currently quantified by so-called CO2eq-footprints. Therefore, in the future, it will be necessary to achieve a sustainable supply of food, especially of animal origin, because land and other production factors are not unlimited resources. This lecture deals with related problems linked to the production of foods of animal origin and some possible sustainable solutions for the increasing demand of these products, by means of a detailed analysis of the carbon footprint by the livestock, as well as the land requirement, biodiversity, energy and water footprint in livestock production.

  7. Preparing the way for mainstream sustainable product design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vicky Lofthouse

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes that there is a need to prepare undergraduate design students to be responsible practitioners when they enter the workplace. The multi-faceted approach adopted by the Design School at Loughborough University to achieve this is presented. The paper outlines and reflects on the differences between the idealistic environment provided within an educational setting and the actual situation in the design industry, where there is little evidence of mainstream sustainable design practice. The paper concludes that it is valuable to provide students with a range of skills that support sustainable design thinking, even if they are not currently required by the design industry because doing so turns the students into informed individuals with the potential to lead the next generation of design practitioners.

  8. Greenhouse Affect: The Relationship between the Sustainable Design of Schools and Children's Environmental Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izadpanahi, Parisa; Elkadi, Hisham; Tucker, Richard

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to determine if primary school children's environmental attitudes can be predicted by whether their school had been designed or adapted for sustainability. A New Ecological Paradigm ("NEP") scale for children was adopted to measure attitudes, with supplementary questions added to align this scale to the Australian context…

  9. Sustainability of organic food production: challenges and innovations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niggli, Urs

    2015-02-01

    The greatest challenge for agriculture is to reduce the trade-offs between productivity and long-term sustainability. Therefore, it is interesting to analyse organic agriculture which is a given set of farm practices that emphasise ecological sustainability. Organic agriculture can be characterised as being less driven by off-farm inputs and being better embedded in ecosystem functions. The literature on public goods and non-commodity outputs of organic farms is overwhelming. Most publications address the positive effects of organic farming on soil fertility, biodiversity maintenance and protection of the natural resources of soil, water and air. As a consequence of focusing on public goods, organic agriculture is less productive. Meta-analyses show that organic agriculture yields range between 0·75 and 0·8 of conventional agriculture. Best practice examples from disadvantaged sites and climate conditions show equal or, in the case of subsistence farming in Sub-Saharan Africa, higher productivity of organic agriculture. Hence, organic agriculture is likely to be a good model for productive and sustainable food production. Underfunding in R&D addressing specific bottlenecks of organic agriculture are the main cause for both crop and livestock yield gaps. Therefore, the potential for improving the performance of organic agriculture through agricultural research is huge. Although organic farming is a niche in most countries, it is at the verge of becoming mainstream in leading European countries. Consumer demand has grown over the past two decades and does not seem to be a limiting factor for the future development of organic agriculture.

  10. SUSTAINABILITY OF SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS: ANALYSIS OF RAW MATERIAL SUPPLY IN MILAN PUBLIC SCHOOL CATERING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. D’Anna

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The demand of short food supply chains is becoming more pressing by consumers, especially in the largest school catering. The implementation of the short chain in a large catering company of Milan, is described in this practical contribution. Several aspects of short food chains sustainability: legal, commercial and economic sustainability, hygienic and gastronomic sustainability, are discussed.

  11. Relay cropping as a sustainable approach: problems and opportunities for sustainable crop production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanveer, Mohsin; Anjum, Shakeel Ahmad; Hussain, Saddam; Cerdà, Artemi; Ashraf, Umair

    2017-03-01

    Climate change, soil degradation, and depletion of natural resources are becoming the most prominent challenges for crop productivity and environmental sustainability in modern agriculture. In the scenario of conventional farming system, limited chances are available to cope with these issues. Relay cropping is a method of multiple cropping where one crop is seeded into standing second crop well before harvesting of second crop. Relay cropping may solve a number of conflicts such as inefficient use of available resources, controversies in sowing time, fertilizer application, and soil degradation. Relay cropping is a complex suite of different resource-efficient technologies, which possesses the capability to improve soil quality, to increase net return, to increase land equivalent ratio, and to control the weeds and pest infestation. The current review emphasized relay cropping as a tool for crop diversification and environmental sustainability with special focus on soil. Briefly, benefits, constraints, and opportunities of relay cropping keeping the goals of higher crop productivity and sustainability have also been discussed in this review. The research and knowledge gap in relay cropping was also highlighted in order to guide the further studies in future.

  12. Sustainable production program in the Mexican mining industry: occupational risks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Zavala Reyna

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Speaking of mining and sustainability sounds contradictory, as the environmental impact generated by resource extraction is well known. However, there are mining companies that are working to be safe and environmentally friendly. An example of this is presented in this study aimed at identifying occupational risks generated by the activities of a small-scale gold and silver mine located in northwestern Mexico. The methodology followed was a Sustainable Production Program (SPP based on a continuous cycle of five steps in which the tools of cleaner production and pollution prevention are adapted. As a result of this project, it was possible to implement SPP activities: training for workers, use of personal protective equipment and adequate handling of chemicals. As a conclusion, it was verified that SPP application helped this mining company move towards sustainable patterns of production.

  13. Product Lifecycle Management and Sustainable Space Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caruso, Pamela W.; Dumbacher, Daniel L.; Grieves, Michael

    2011-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the use of product lifecycle management (PLM) in the general aerospace industry, its use and development at NASA and at Marshall Space Flight Center, and how the use of PLM can lead to sustainable space exploration.

  14. Impact of school staff health on work productivity in secondary schools in Massachusetts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alker, Heather J; Wang, Monica L; Pbert, Lori; Thorsen, Nancy; Lemon, Stephenie C

    2015-06-01

    Healthy, productive employees are an integral part of school health programs. There have been few assessments of work productivity among secondary school staff. This study describes the frequency of 3 common health risk factors--obesity, depressive symptoms, and smoking--and their impact on work productivity in secondary school employees. Employees of secondary schools in Massachusetts (N = 630) participated in a longitudinal weight gain prevention intervention study. Assessment completed at baseline, 1-year and 2-year follow-up included survey assessments of health risk factors as well as measurements for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). The survey also included a depression inventory and Work Limitations Questionnaire. Data analysis included multivariate mixed effect models to identify productivity differences in relation to BMI, depressive symptoms, and smoking in this population stratified by position type (teacher and other school staff). The sample included 361 teachers and 269 other school staff. Obesity, depressive symptoms, and smoking were significantly associated with work productivity, including workdays missed because of health concerns (absenteeism) and decreases in on-the-job productivity because of health concerns (presenteeism). Three common health conditions, namely obesity, depressive symptoms, and smoking, adversely affect the productivity of high school employees. © 2015, American School Health Association.

  15. Links between livestock production, the environment and sustainable development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradbre, J-P

    2014-12-01

    This study examines the prospects for strong growth in the supply and demand for animal products worldwide, especially in developing countries, where 80% of the world's population lives. Based on scientific publications, statistics and field observations, it reviews greenhouse gas emission levels from livestock, the ability of ruminant livestock systems to sequester carbon and the capacity of the livestock industry to meet the challenge of sustainable development and to share its benefits while minimising impacts to climate change. Special attention is paid to the situation of the 800 million livestock farmers in the world living at the extreme end of poverty. The study underlines the importance of improving livestock productivity and the interdependence of the economic, environmental and social components of sustainable development. It highlights how, in the least developed countries and most lower-middle-income countries, the pressure exerted by animal diseases hampers efforts to improve livestock productivity. Poor livestock farmers have not sufficiently benefited from development policies and need support to adopt technological advances to meet the challenges of sustainable development and poverty reduction.

  16. Biogeochemical research priorities for sustainable biofuel and bioenergy feedstock production in the Americas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hero T. Gollany; Brian D. Titus; D. Andrew Scott; Heidi Asbjornsen; Sigrid C. Resh; Rodney A. Chimner; Donald J. Kaczmarek; Luiz F.C. Leite; Ana C.C. Ferreira; Kenton A. Rod; Jorge Hilbert; Marcelo V. Galdos; Michelle E. Cisz

    2015-01-01

    Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demand on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustainability related to biomass production. Biomass production systems...

  17. Towards Sustainable Production of Formic Acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulushev, Dmitri A; Ross, Julian R H

    2018-03-09

    Formic acid is a widely used commodity chemical. It can be used as a safe, easily handled, and transported source of hydrogen or carbon monoxide for different reactions, including those producing fuels. The review includes historical aspects of formic acid production. It briefly analyzes production based on traditional sources, such as carbon monoxide, methanol, and methane. However, the main emphasis is on the sustainable production of formic acid from biomass and biomass-derived products through hydrolysis and oxidation processes. New strategies of low-temperature synthesis from biomass may lead to the utilization of formic acid for the production of fuel additives, such as methanol; upgraded bio-oil; γ-valerolactone and its derivatives; and synthesis gas used for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons. Some technological aspects are also considered. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Environmental sustainability assessment of palm biodiesel production in Thailand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silalertruksa, Thapat; Gheewala, Shabbir H.

    2012-01-01

    The study assesses the environmental sustainability of palm biodiesel production systems in Thailand by focusing on their energy efficiency and environmental impact potentials. The Net Energy Balance (NEB) and Renewability indicate energy gain for palm biodiesel and its co-products as compared to fossil energy inputs. In addition, life cycle assessment also reveals lower values of environmental impact potentials of biodiesel as compared to conventional diesel. For example, palm biodiesel can provide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction of around 46–73% as compared to diesel. Nitrogen-fertilizer production and application in the plantation and the air emissions from the ponds treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) are found to be the major environmental aspects. However, the energy and environmental performances depend on various factors such as the management efficiency of empty fruit bunches (EFB) and POME and the possible land-use change in the future. Recommendations are made for improving environmental performance of palm biodiesel and for securing the long-term availability of crude palm oil supply with a view towards sustainable palm biodiesel production. -- Highlights: ► Environmental sustainability of palm biodiesel production in Thailand is assessed. ► Palm biodiesel can provide GHG reduction of around 46–73% as compared to diesel. ► Net energy ratio and renewability of palm biodiesel both range between 2 and 4. ► Efficient use of by-products in the value chain enhances environmental benefits.

  19. Sustained attention in language production: an individual differences investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jongman, Suzanne R; Roelofs, Ardi; Meyer, Antje S

    2015-01-01

    Whereas it has long been assumed that most linguistic processes underlying language production happen automatically, accumulating evidence suggests that these processes do require some form of attention. Here we investigated the contribution of sustained attention: the ability to maintain alertness over time. In Experiment 1, participants' sustained attention ability was measured using auditory and visual continuous performance tasks. Subsequently, employing a dual-task procedure, participants described pictures using simple noun phrases and performed an arrow-discrimination task while their vocal and manual response times (RTs) and the durations of their gazes to the pictures were measured. Earlier research has demonstrated that gaze duration reflects language planning processes up to and including phonological encoding. The speakers' sustained attention ability correlated with the magnitude of the tail of the vocal RT distribution, reflecting the proportion of very slow responses, but not with individual differences in gaze duration. This suggests that sustained attention was most important after phonological encoding. Experiment 2 showed that the involvement of sustained attention was significantly stronger in a dual-task situation (picture naming and arrow discrimination) than in simple naming. Thus, individual differences in maintaining attention on the production processes become especially apparent when a simultaneous second task also requires attentional resources.

  20. MILP approaches to sustainable production and distribution of meal elements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Akkerman, Renzo; Wang, Yang; Grunow, Martin

    2009-01-01

    This paper studies the production and distribution system for professionally prepared meals, in which a new innovative concept is applied. The concept aims to improve the sustainability of the system by distributing meal elements super-chilled in the conventional cold chain. Here, sustainability...

  1. Toward Culturally Sustaining Leadership: Innovation beyond ‘School Improvement’ Promoting Equity in Diverse Contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorri J. Santamaría

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Whilst school principals and educational leaders are increasingly constrained by standardized assessment results and student achievement, persistent achievement gaps continue to separate poor and historically underserved students from their wealthier mainstream peers in the United States (US and similar countries. Unprecedented levels of cultural, linguistic, ethnic, racial, and gender school diversity underscore these phenomena. As a result, leadership for ‘school improvement’ has become the norm and as evidenced by chronic academic disparities, ineffective. This review article considers culturally sustaining leadership as an innovative practice to promote and advance equity in schools.

  2. Sustainable Palm Oil Production For Bioenergy Supply Chain

    OpenAIRE

    Ng, Wai Kiat

    2009-01-01

    A bioenergy supply chain is formed by many parts which from the raw material, biomass feedstock until the distribution and utilisation. The upstream activity is always managed in a sustainable way in order to be capable enough to support the downstream activity. In this dissertation, the sustainable production of palm oil is focused and researched through problem identification and solving by using the operation management perspective and practices. At first, the global biomass industry is st...

  3. Potentials for Sustainable Commercial Biofuels Production in Nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The focus of this paper is to underscore the major potentials for production of biofuels in Nigeria and the problems that may be encountered. It also examined those potentials and how they can be exploited for a sustainable commercial production in a way that brings benefits to the country both in the short and long term.

  4. Capture and Utilization of Water From Rain: The Way for Sustainable School

    OpenAIRE

    Jamila El Tugoz; Geysler Rogis Flor Bertolini; Loreni Teresinha Brandalise

    2017-01-01

    Currently, issues related to environmental preservation and responsible use of water, have become a global concern, which has driven the increasing number of public policies aimed at promoting sustainable practices. In this context, it addresses the implementation of a system harnessing rainwater for non-potable purposes in a school unit. This article aimed to evaluate the results obtained from the use of tanks to capture and use of rainwater in a state school of Paraná, in the city of Marec...

  5. Forage based animal production systems and sustainability, an invited keynote

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Forages are essential for the successful operation of animal production systems. This is more relevant to ruminants which are heavily dependant upon forages for their health and production in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. While forages are an economical source of nutrients for animal production, they also help conserve the soil integrity, water supply and air quality. Although the role of these forages for animal production could vary depending upon the regional preferences for the animal and forage species, climate and resources, their importance in the success of ruminant production is acknowledged. However with the increasing global human population and urbanisation, the sustainability of forage based animal production systems is sometimes questioned due to the interrelationship between animal production and the environment. It is therefore vital to examine the suitability of these systems for their place in the future to supply quality food which is safe for human consumption and available at a competitive price to the growing human population. Grassland and forage crops are recognised for their contribution to the environment, recreation and efficiency of meat and milk production,. To maintain sustainability, it is crucial that such farming systems remain profitable and environmentally friendly while producing nutritious foods of high economical value. Thus, it is pertinent to improve the nutritive value of grasses and other forage plants in order to enhance animal production to obtain quality food. It is also vital to develop new forages which are efficiently utilised and wasted less by involving efficient animals. A combination of forage legumes, fresh or conserved grasses, crop residues and other feeds could help develop an animal production system which is economically efficient, beneficial and viable. Also, it is crucial to use efficient animals, improved forage conservation methods, better manure handling, and minimum

  6. An Evaluation of Holistic Sustainability Assessment Framework for Palm Oil Production in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chye Ing Lim

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Palm oil based biodiesel offers an alternative energy source that can reduce current dependence on conventional fossil fuels and may reduce greenhouse gas (GHG emissions depending on the type of feedstock and processes used. In the Malaysian context, the palm oil industry not only provides high-yield, renewable feedstock to the world, it brings socio-economic development to the Malaysian rural community and contributes to the national income. However, the sustainability of palm oil remains controversial, due to deforestation, pollution and social conflicts associated with its production. Sustainability assessment is vital for the palm oil industry to identify weaknesses, improve its sustainability performance and improve consumer confidence. This paper proposes a holistic sustainability assessment framework for palm oil production with the aim to address the weaknesses of existing palm oil sustainability assessment methods. It identifies environmental, social and economic Headline Performance Indicators, Key Performance Indicators and their Performance Measures in crude palm oil production in a structured framework. Each quantitative/semi-quantitative performance measure is translated into Likert Scale of 1–5, where 3 is the threshold value, 5 is the ideal condition, and 1 is the worst case scenario. Calculation methods were established for the framework to provide quantitative assessment results. The framework was tested using a hypothetical example with data from existing studies. The results suggest that crude palm oil production in Malaysia is below the sustainability threshold. Evaluations of this sustainability assessment framework also demonstrate that it is a comprehensive assessment method for assessing sustainability of feedstock for biofuel production.

  7. Wood Energy Production, Sustainable Farming Livelihood and Multifunctionality in Finland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huttunen, Suvi

    2012-01-01

    Climate change and the projected depletion of fossil energy resources pose multiple global challenges. Innovative technologies offer interesting possibilities to achieve more sustainable outcomes in the energy production sector. Local, decentralized alternatives have the potential to sustain livelihoods in rural areas. One example of such a…

  8. Design decision support for sustainable, healthier and more productive buildings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Maaijen, H.N.; Maassen, W.H.; Morawska, L.; Dear, de R.

    2012-01-01

    There is a clear need for more sustainable, healthier and thus more productive solutions within the built environment. However at the moment the initial investment costs for applying new and more sustainable solutions for a good Indoor Air Quality within buildings are higher than the traditional

  9. Multi-dimensional sustainability framework to evaluate forest and wood energy production; Moniulotteinen kestaevyyden arviointikehikko puuenergian tuotannolle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leskinen, P.; Kaehkoenen, T.; Laehtinen, K.; Pasanen, K.; Pitkaenen, S.; Sironen, S.; Myllyviita, T.; Sikanen, L.; Asikainen, A.

    2012-02-15

    The future economy will be more and more dependent on the sustainable use of natural resources, at least if the views on the importance and possibilities of the bioeconomy are realized in practice. The sustainability of the use of natural resources has previously been studied from the perspective of ecological sustainability in particular. Social sustainability has also been examined in several studies. On the other hand, economic sustainability is a prerequisite for developing business activities. As defining and framing of cultural sustainability is challenging, up to now it has only been discussed to some extent, although the importance of cultural sustainability has not been understated. When developing the sustainability of the use of natural resources, all the above-mentioned dimensions of sustainability are present in parallel and they need to be acknowledged in decision-making. The starting point of this study is that natural resources need to be used sustainably and that different options for utilizing natural resources need to be compared from the sustainability perspective, without giving higher priority to any sustainability dimension compared to others beforehand. In this study four production chains based on energy use of forest biomass were examined: (1) local district heating based on forest chips, (2) combined heat and power with wood and peat, (3) wood pellet production from by-products of the wood product industry, and (4) biodiesel production based on wood and peat. The indicators for different sustainability dimensions in the studied production chains were determined through expert interviews and the indicator values were determined through literature review and interviews. The mathematical examination of sustainability was based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) so that a computational tool suitable for the calculations was developed. In total, 20 - 40 indicators were defined for each sustainability dimension; out of these, five to

  10. Sustainable thermal technologies and care homes: Productive alignment or risky investment?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neven, Louis; Walker, Gordon; Brown, Sam

    2015-01-01

    The use of more sustainable thermal technologies is a policy imperative across the UK building stock. However, not all building uses provide the same opportunities for technology uptake as others. Care homes for older people have characteristics which in technical and economic terms suggest that they might be particularly appropriate for the implementation of more sustainable thermal technologies. They have comparatively high demands for space heating and hot water often sustained on a 24/7 basis. However there are many considerations, both generic and contextual, that will typically play into processes of technology uptake. Through qualitative research in six case study homes, focused on management and staff perspectives and experiences, we explore the degree to which there might be a productive alignment between care home operation and the use of sustainable thermal technologies. Two key themes emerge focused on business considerations and the importance of avoiding risk and damage to reputation; and the ways in which different thermal technologies are relevant to and can potentially impact on care practices. We conclude that despite potential benefits the sector could remain rather resistant to sustainability innovations. We suggest therefore areas in which productive action and further research could be undertaken. -- Highlights: •Care homes for older people might be particularly appropriate for the use of sustainable thermal technologies. •We examine if a productive alignment between care homes and the use of sustainable thermal technologies does exist in practice. •Two key themes are risks to business reputation; and relevance and potential benefits to care practices. •We conclude that the sector could remain rather reluctant to embrace sustainability innovation

  11. Are school meals a viable and sustainable tool to improve the healthiness and sustainability of children´s diet and food consumption?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oostindjer, Marije; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Wang, Qing

    2017-01-01

    . School meal programs are of particular interest for improving public diet because they reach children at a population scale across socio-economic classes and for over a decade of their lives, and because food habits of children are more malleable than those of adults. Current research on the history...... and health implications of school meal programs is reviewed in a cross-national comparative framework, and arguments explored that speak for the need of a new developmental phase of school meals as an integrative learning platform for healthy and sustainable food behavior. Nutritional, social, practical...

  12. Measures For Achieving Sustainable Rabbit Production In ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A study was conducted to ascertain ways of achieving sustainable rabbits production in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. The study population involved 120 respondents comprising 40 students and 80 farmers. Two sets of structured questionnaire designed with a 4-point Likert type rating scale ...

  13. Interdependence of Agricultural Production and Environment and the Road to Sustainable Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Curić Jasmina

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability of agricultural production in the world is in serious crisis. Interdependence of agricultural production and the environment is multiple and causality works both ways. On one hand, there are environmental changes which hamper food production, and on the other, the agricultural production, as it is, is severely damaging the environment. The very systems of agricultural production jeopardize future production. The goal of this paper is to explore causes of limitations of sustainable agricultural development in the world, where the authors emphasize the following: gas emissions with greenhouse effect, a disturbed cycle of nitrogen circulation and destruction of biodiversity.

  14. Sustainable rice production in the Muda area of Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ho Nai Kin; Foong Kam Chong; Kamarudin Dahuli

    2002-01-01

    The Green Revolution has generated both positive as well as negative effects on the rice agroecosystem in the Muda area. The major obstacles to sustainable rice production are water shortage, natural hazards, disease epidemics, pest outbreaks, urban and industrial development, as well as structural changes in the farming community. The Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) has adopted a proactive approach in addressing these problems. The improvement in management in the Muda area comprises the following strategies: i) Improvement in water use efficiency through intensification of tertiary irrigation systems, ii) Optimisation of drainage water utilisation through recycling, iii) Establishment of a Management Information System to support operational decisions, iv) Conservation of catchment vegetation for sustainable water resources, v) Implementation of Integrated Pest Management programmes, vi) Mobilisation of farmers in dynamic group activities, vii) Integration of farmers participatory experiments in the extension programmes. The above mentioned approaches have contributed to the attainment of high cropping intensity yield enhancement, and sustainability of rice production in the Muda area. (Author)

  15. Making Sustainable Consumption and Production the Core of Sustainable Development Goals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lewis Akenji

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper argues that sustainable consumption and production (SCP should play a prominent role in the formulation and implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs and discusses how this could be practically done. Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production have been declared the primary cause of environmental deterioration. This was clearly recognized already at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (or the Rio Summit in 1992; and this recognition has been reconfirmed in all high-level sustainability meetings since then. SCP aims to change these patterns; it is a policy agenda for addressing the root causes of our ecological predicament, while, at the same time, providing for human wellbeing and prosperity. Drawing from international agreements, practical policy experience and research from a range of disciplines, the paper provides a clarifying framework for scientifically robust, policy-relevant and practical goal-setting for SCP within the SDGs. Special attention is given to how SCP in the SDGs can create synergies with other international policy initiatives. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of two possible options for reflecting SCP in the SDGs framework: (i SCP as a stand-alone goal; and (ii SCP as a cross-cutting objective, embedded within relevant goals. While these two options are not necessarily mutually exclusive, given the competing number of issues for prioritization and the fact that a 10-Year Framework of Programs on SCP has also recently been established, it is hardly foreseeable that both options can be realized. The paper further proposes a set of basic principles for SCP at the global level and makes recommendations towards the formulation of indicators supporting SCP objectives in the SDGs.

  16. Sustainable Development Mechanism of Food Culture’s Translocal Production Based on Authenticity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guojun Zeng

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Food culture is a kind of non-material culture with authenticity. To achieve sustainable development of translocal heritage and food culture, we must protect its authenticity. By selecting the cases of the Dongbeiren Flavor Dumpling Restaurant and the Daozanjia Northeast Dumpling Restaurant and using the in-depth interview method, this study discusses how northeastern Cuisine in Guangzhou balances the inheritance and innovation of authenticity, how producers and customers negotiate, and how to realize sustainable development. The main conclusions are: first, there are two different paths of translocal food culture production, which are “authentic food culture production” and “differentiated food culture production”. Second, what translocal enterprises produce is not objective authenticity, but constructive authenticity, or even existential authenticity. Third, compared with differentiated food culture production, authentic food culture production is helpful for the sustainable development of local food culture production. It protects the locality while transmitting and developing the local culture. Fourth, translocal food culture production is a process in which the producers and consumers continue to interact to maintain a state of equilibrium, which informs the sustainable development mechanism with a high degree of authenticity.

  17. The Building sector commitment to promote the sustainability of construction products: a common European approach for the Environmental Product Performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caterina Gargari

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The industry of construction products plays an important role in Europe in promoting the sustainability of the built environment in a life cycle perspective. Within the framework of the European initiatives for a sustainable competitiveness, manufacturers are interested in promoting a life cycle approach along the building chain. However both, institutions and building operators, in general still have to go a long way on designing and applying a sustainable and competitive industrial policy. This paper aims to describe the European background, the regulatory framework, identifying gaps and the actions to be undertaken to promote a market for sustainable products and sustainable buildings. In particular this paper deals with the assessment and communication of the environmental performance of construction products between the operators in the building chain, as a prerequisite for the sustainability of the built environment, and outlines the strategies to implement a proper evaluation and communication process.

  18. Sustainable viticulture and winery practices in California: What is it, and do customers care?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary Zucca

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Gary Zucca1,2, David E Smith3,4, Darryl J Mitry5,61National University, Stockton, CA, USA; 2Owner and Winemaker, Zucca Mountain Vineyards, Vallecito, CA, USA; 3National University, Costa Mesa, CA, USA; 4Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark; 5Graduate School Faculty, Norwich University, Northfield, VT, USA; 6National University, San Diego, CA, USAAbstract: Producers in the wine industry are increasingly competing in the area of product differentiation. The focus of this article is product differentiation via sustainable viticulture and consumer perception. The authors report on their independent research, assess previous findings in the literature, and examine the industry trends. The study concludes with important observations on wine consumer perceptions of sustainable practices in the wine industry and implications for industry practices and product development.Keywords: California, biologique, organic, biodynamic, sustainable

  19. Is sustainable development attainable? Challenges facing forestry and the forest products industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wrist, P.E.

    1991-01-01

    The challenges that face the forest industry in achieving sustainable development are reviewed. Sustainable development is not the same as sustained yield forest management. While sustained yield limits harvesting to an estimate of a forest's incremental annual growth, it is a policy which neither takes into account how improved forest management practices can increase future growth rates nor gives guidance on how multiple uses for the forest resource can be made compatible with periodic harvesting of that resource. Forests, in addition to meeting demands for timber production, must also meet demands for watershed management, recreation, preservation of wildlife and genetic diversity, moderation of climates, carbon sequestration, and land reclamation. Information is lacking from which to develop improved forest management programs that take these demands into account. Questions remain about such matters as the role of plantations in sustainable forestry and the maintenance of natural diversity. Some recent research being undertaken to generate better information for future forestry decision making is outlined, including work on gene pool maintenance, the interdependence of forest ecology and climate, the symbiotic role of mycorrhiza, forest fertilization, and the interdependence of sustainable forestry and sustainable fisheries. In the forest products industry, engineered wood products have been developed that meet tight specifications and require less raw material, and process changes have been introduced that greatly reduce pollutants from pulp manufacture

  20. Do sustainability experienced travellers prefer a more rational communication of the sustainability of a tourism product?

    OpenAIRE

    Wehrli, Roger; Priskin, Julianna; Schaffner, Dorothea; Schwarz, Juerg; Stettler, Juerg

    2013-01-01

    This study examines empirically in four countries which communication style (emotional or rational) is most appropriate to address sustainability experienced travellers. There are only small differences compared to the average tourist. Rational communication elements which explain the sustainability of the product become more important for this specific customer group. However, most emotional communication elements are still more important in most countries, indicating that experienced touris...

  1. Sustaining a hygiene education intervention to prevent and control geohelminth infections at schools in the Peruvian Amazon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thériault, François L; Blouin, Brittany; Casapía, Martín; Gyorkos, Theresa W

    2015-10-01

    The World Health Organization currently recommends that school-based deworming programs include health hygiene education as a complementary measure. However, the sustainability and long-term impact of such hygiene education had yet to be assessed. In July 2012, this cross-sectional study was conducted in 18 primary schools in the Peruvian Amazon to gauge continuing adherence to a health hygiene education intervention introduced 2 years earlier to reduce soil-transmitted helminth infections. Due in large part to high teacher turn-over, only 9 of 47 (19.1%) teachers were still implementing the intervention. Health hygiene education interventions must, therefore, be designed to ensure sustainability in order to contribute to the overall effectiveness of school-based deworming programs.

  2. Soil management practices for sustainable crop production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abalos, E.B.

    2005-01-01

    In a sustainable system, the soil is viewed as a fragile and living medium that must be protected and nurtured to ensure its long-term productivity and stability. However, due to high demand for food brought about by high population as well as the decline in agricultural lands, the soil is being exploited beyond its limit thus, leading to poor or sick soils. Sound soil management practices in the Philippines is being reviewed. The technologies, including the advantages and disadvantages are hereby presented. This includes proper cropping systems, fertilizer program, soil erosion control and correcting soil acidity. Sound soil management practices which conserve organic matter for long-term sustainability includes addition of compost, maintaining soil cover, increasing aggregates stability, soil tilt and diversity of soil microbial life. A healthy soil is a key component to sustainability as a health soil produce healthy crop plants and have optimum vigor or less susceptible to pests. (author)

  3. Sustainable development perspectives of poultry production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vaarst, Mette; Steenfeldt, Sanna; Horsted, Klaus

    2015-01-01

    or more of the four aspects, e.g., pollution and antibiotic use, biodiversity (environmental aspects), conditions for farm workers and animal welfare (social aspects), governance of the food chain (institutional aspects), and the development of poultry from a valuable food to a cheap staple food...... throughout major parts of the world (economic aspects). There are numerous potential pathways for sustainable development of poultry production. Poultry are living, sentient animals that can be well integrated into many different types of urban and rural farming systems, where they benefit from...... and contribute to such systems and to the livelihood of households around the globe, with special emphasis on women. Furthermore, local production provides potential for production with minimum transport and, concomitantly, minimum usage of fossil fuels. Among the terrestrial animals, poultry has the best...

  4. Potential of sustainable biomass production systems in Texas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanderson, M.A.; Hussey, M.A.; Wiselogel, A.E.

    1992-01-01

    Biomass production for liquid fuels feedstock from systems based on warm-season perennial grasses (WSPG) offers a sustainable alternative for forage-livestock producers in Texas. Such systems also would enhance diversity and flexibility in current production systems. Research is needed to incorporate biomass production for liquid fuels, chemicals, and electrical power into current forage-livestock management systems. Our research objectives were to (i) document the potential of several WSPG in diverse Texas environments for biomass feedstock production, (ii) conduct fundamental research on morphological development of WSPG to enhance management for biomass feedstock production, (iii) examine current on-farm production systems for opportunities to incorporate biomass production, and (iv) determine feedstock quality and stability during storage

  5. Sustainability Infused Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibarra, D. L.

    2015-12-01

    The Independent Schools Foundation Academy (ISF) in Hong Kong established a sustainability policy in 2015, which explicitly states, "an experimentally integrated, environmentally and ethically sustainable system of science education and conservation practices based on the 2012 Jeju Declaration of the World Conservation Congress will be implemented through the school". ISF Academy is a private Chinese bilingual school in Hong Kong serving over 1500 students K-12, following the framework and curriculum of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The strategy behind the implementation of this policy includes: development of a scientific sustainable curriculum that is age appropriate; establish a culture of sustainability within the ISF community and beyond to the wider HK community; install sustainable infrastructure that allows students to learn; and learn first hand sustainable living practices. It is well understood that solutions to the environmental challenges facing Hong Kong and our planet will require multiple disciplines. The current sustainability programs at ISF include: a) a whole school aerobic food waste composting system and organic farming, b) energy consumption monitoring of existing buildings, c) upcoming installation of an air pollution monitoring equipment that will correlate with the AQHI data collected by the Hong Kong government, d) a Renewable Energy Education Center (REEC) that will teach students about RE and also produce solar energy for classroom consumption, and e) student lead environmental group that manages the paper and used cooking oil recycling on campus. The Shuyuan Science and Sustainability faculty work closely with classroom teachers to ensure that the above mentioned projects are incorporated into the curriculum throughout the school. Interdisciplinary units (IDU) of study are being developed that encourage faculty and students to work across subject areas. Projects include Personal Projects, Extended Essays

  6. Bioeconomic Sustainability of Cellulosic Biofuel Production on Marginal Lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutierrez, Andrew Paul; Ponti, Luigi

    2009-01-01

    The use of marginal land (ML) for lignocellulosic biofuel production is examined for system stability, resilience, and eco-social sustainability. A North American prairie grass system and its industrialization for maximum biomass production using biotechnology and agro-technical inputs is the focus of the analysis. Demographic models of ML biomass…

  7. [School meals: planning, production, distribution, and adequacy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Issa, Raquel Carvalho; Moraes, Letícia Freitas; Francisco, Raquel Rocha Jabour; dos Santos, Luana Caroline; dos Anjos, Adriana Fernandez Versiani; Pereira, Simone Cardoso Lisboa

    2014-02-01

    To evaluate the planning, production, distribution, and nutritional adequacy of meals served at city schools. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2011 and April 2012 and included a representative sample (n = 42 schools) of extended shift city schools from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Five meals from each school were randomly selected and analyzed by direct weighing. Production indicators and nutritional adequacy were evaluated in contrast to the recommendations of the city food security bureau and the Brazilian National Program of School Meals (PNAE). Seventy-nine percent of the analyzed meals did not meet the recommendations of the city food security bureau. The rate of waste (food left on plates) was acceptable at 4,90%, but the rates of cooked and not served food (7,06%) and counter leftovers (5,30%) were high. Both the city planned meals and the meals served in the schools were nutritionally inadequate in terms of the PNAE, particularly for children aged 11-15 years. There was a relationship between consumption by school staff and the amount of food that was cooked (r = 0.353; P planning, production, and distribution of school meals and of food and nutrition education in order to improve the quality of food and to reduce waste in schools.

  8. Sustainable production of biologically active molecules of marine based origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Patrick M; Moane, Siobhan; Collins, Catherine; Beletskaya, Tanya; Thomas, Olivier P; Duarte, Alysson W F; Nobre, Fernando S; Owoyemi, Ifeloju O; Pagnocca, Fernando C; Sette, L D; McHugh, Edward; Causse, Eric; Pérez-López, Paula; Feijoo, Gumersindo; Moreira, Ma T; Rubiolo, Juan; Leirós, Marta; Botana, Luis M; Pinteus, Susete; Alves, Celso; Horta, André; Pedrosa, Rui; Jeffryes, Clayton; Agathos, Spiros N; Allewaert, Celine; Verween, Annick; Vyverman, Wim; Laptev, Ivan; Sineoky, Sergei; Bisio, Angela; Manconi, Renata; Ledda, Fabio; Marchi, Mario; Pronzato, Roberto; Walsh, Daniel J

    2013-09-25

    The marine environment offers both economic and scientific potential which are relatively untapped from a biotechnological point of view. These environments whilst harsh are ironically fragile and dependent on a harmonious life form balance. Exploitation of natural resources by exhaustive wild harvesting has obvious negative environmental consequences. From a European industry perspective marine organisms are a largely underutilised resource. This is not due to lack of interest but due to a lack of choice the industry faces for cost competitive, sustainable and environmentally conscientious product alternatives. Knowledge of the biotechnological potential of marine organisms together with the development of sustainable systems for their cultivation, processing and utilisation are essential. In 2010, the European Commission recognised this need and funded a collaborative RTD/SME project under the Framework 7-Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) Theme 2 Programme 'Sustainable culture of marine microorganisms, algae and/or invertebrates for high value added products'. The scope of that project entitled 'Sustainable Production of Biologically Active Molecules of Marine Based Origin' (BAMMBO) is outlined. Although the Union is a global leader in many technologies, it faces increasing competition from traditional rivals and emerging economies alike and must therefore improve its innovation performance. For this reason innovation is placed at the heart of a European Horizon 2020 Strategy wherein the challenge is to connect economic performance to eco performance. This article provides a synopsis of the research activities of the BAMMBO project as they fit within the wider scope of sustainable environmentally conscientious marine resource exploitation for high-value biomolecules. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Integrated weed management for sustainable rice production: concepts, perspectives and options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amartalingam Rajan

    2002-01-01

    Weed management has always been in some way integrated with cultural and biological methods, probably occurring more fortuitously than purposefully. Experience has shown that repeated use of any weed control technique especially in monocultures production systems results in rapid emergence of weeds more adapted to the new practice. In intensive high input farming systems, heavy selection pressure for herbicide tolerant weeds and the environmental impacts of these inputs are important tissues that require a good understanding of agroecosystem for successful integration of available options. Rice culture, in particular flooded rice culture has always employed integration through an evolution of management practices over the generations. However, a vast majority office farmers in Asia have yet to achieve the high returns realised by farmers elsewhere, where a near optimum combination of high inputs are being effectively integrated for maximum productivity. In addition to technological and management limitations, farmers in developing countries are faced with social, economic and policy constraints. On the other hand, farmers who had achieved considerable increases in productivity through labour replacing technologies, in particular direct seeding with the aid of herbicides, are now faced with issues related to environmental concerns due to high levels of these inputs. The issues facing weed scientists and farmers alike in managing weeds effectively and in a manner to ensure sustainability have become more challenging than ever before. In the last two decades, no issue has been discussed so. intensively as Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Agriculture or Alternative Agriculture within the broader global concept of Sustainable Development. To address these challenges a clear perspective of sustainable farming is essential. This paper addresses these concepts, perspectives and options for choices in weed management for sustainable rice production. (Author)

  10. Sustainable consumption and production in the food supply chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Govindan, Kannan

    2018-01-01

    Increased globalization and a growing world population have a great impact on the sustainability of supply chains, especially within the food industry. The way food is produced, processed, transported, and consumed has a great impact on whether sustainability is achieved throughout the whole food...... supply chain. Due to the complexity that persists in coordinating the members of food supply chain, food wastage has increased over the past few years. To achieve sustainable consumption and production (SCP), food industry stakeholders need to be coordinated and to have their views reflected...... in an optimized manner. However, not much research has been done concerning the influence of stakeholders and supply chain members’ coordination in the food industry's SCP context. To facilitate the theory development for SCP, in this work, a short literature review on sustainable supply chain management...

  11. Prevalence of food production systems in school foodservice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Denise M

    2005-08-01

    What is the prevalence of central kitchens that use either cook-chill or cook-freeze production systems in school foodservice settings? A descriptive study using a 5-minute telephone survey during normal working hours was conducted. Questions were designed to be easily answered with minimal need to reference other documentation. Five hundred forty school foodservice directors, managers, and supervisors working in school districts of all sizes across the United States were randomly sampled from a national commercial directory of school districts for the study. A total of 353 individuals completed the survey representing 49 of 50 states. Means, standard deviations, and percentages were evaluated for all data collected. Descriptive statistics of school district characteristics, prevalence of production systems, food transport systems, inventory methods and equipment used for reheating food are reported. The most frequently reported production system was on-site kitchens (45.3%) followed by combination production systems (40.5%) where a central kitchen delivered to a number of satellite locations in addition to schools with on-site food preparation. Central kitchens without additional on-site kitchens represented 14.2% of this study. Of those school districts using either central kitchens or combination production systems, 78% reported hot-food preparation using hot-food delivery to satellites. Cook-chill or cook-freeze production systems were reported by 22% of respondents. The high proportion of school districts that prepared and delivered foods hot to satellite sites supports continuing efforts to identify food safety practices and issues related to maintaining food quality in schools.

  12. Socio-cultural sustainability of pig production: Citizen perceptions in the Netherlands and Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boogaard, B.K.; boekhorst, L.J.S.; Oosting, S.J.

    2011-01-01

    positive and six negative aspects on the farms for which they had to write a motivation. The qualitative analysis resulted in seven socio-cultural themes (SCT) of pig production namely: 1) meat production, 2) farm activities, 3) farm income, 4) animals, 5) housing system, 6) environment and nature, and 7......Many sustainability studies of animal production consider three pillars: the economic, environmental and socio-cultural. Farmers and animal scientists tend to put most emphasis on the economic and environmental pillar and largely ignore the socio-cultural pillar. Socio-cultural sustainability...... to gain further insights into socio-cultural sustainability of pig production. Many citizens may not know what contemporary pig production actually entails. To give people a real life experience with pig production, we conducted farm visits with citizen panels with 18 respondents in the Netherlands and 8...

  13. A Mathematical Programming Approach to the Optimal Sustainable Product Mix for the Process Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noha M. Galal

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The increasing concerns about the environment and the depletion of natural resources are the main drivers for the growing interest in sustainability. Manufacturing operations are frequently considered to have an adverse effect on the environment. Hence, the sustainable operation of manufacturing facilities is a vital practice to ensure sustainability. The aim of this paper is to find the optimum product mix of a manufacturing facility to maximize its sustainability. A mixed integer non-linear programming model is developed to specify the product mix in order to maximize a proposed sustainability index (SI of a manufacturing facility. The sustainability index comprises the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainability in a weighted form using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP. The model results allow the identification of the prospective improvements of manufacturing sustainability.

  14. Sustainable Chemical Processes and Products. New Design Methodology and Design Tools

    OpenAIRE

    Korevaar, G.

    2004-01-01

    The current chemical industry is not sustainable, which leads to the fact that innovation of chemical processes and products is too often hazardous for society in general and the environment in particular. It really is a challenge to implement sustainability considerations in the design activities of chemical engineers. Therefore, the main question of this thesis is: how can a trained chemical engineer develop a conceptual design of a chemical process or a chemical product in such a way that ...

  15. The Role of Sustained Attention in the Production of Conjoined Noun Phrases: An Individual Differences Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jongman, Suzanne R; Meyer, Antje S; Roelofs, Ardi

    2015-01-01

    It has previously been shown that language production, performed simultaneously with a nonlinguistic task, involves sustained attention. Sustained attention concerns the ability to maintain alertness over time. Here, we aimed to replicate the previous finding by showing that individuals call upon sustained attention when they plan single noun phrases (e.g., "the carrot") and perform a manual arrow categorization task. In addition, we investigated whether speakers also recruit sustained attention when they produce conjoined noun phrases (e.g., "the carrot and the bucket") describing two pictures, that is, when both the first and second task are linguistic. We found that sustained attention correlated with the proportion of abnormally slow phrase-production responses. Individuals with poor sustained attention displayed a greater number of very slow responses than individuals with better sustained attention. Importantly, this relationship was obtained both for the production of single phrases while performing a nonlinguistic manual task, and the production of noun phrase conjunctions in referring to two spatially separated objects. Inhibition and updating abilities were also measured. These scores did not correlate with our measure of sustained attention, suggesting that sustained attention and executive control are distinct. Overall, the results suggest that planning conjoined noun phrases involves sustained attention, and that language production happens less automatically than has often been assumed.

  16. AGROECOSYSTEMS SUSTAINABILITY OF CASSAVA PRODUCTION OF PARAÍBA RURAL AREA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BIOGRAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valdenildo Pedro da Silva

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Agriculture modernization resulting from green revolution occurred through means of diverse technological innovations as soluble fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery and genetically modified seeds, aimed at increasing food production. However, the indiscriminate use of these innovations by farmers has been highlighted numerous environmental problems, affecting the productive agricultural system. This technological innovations reality and environmental obstacles, is also been experienced by cassava production in Paraíba rural area. Therefore, this study tried to assess the agroecosystems sustainability of cassava production (Manihot esculenta Crantz of Paraíba Rural Mesoregion, using Sustainable Development Index (S³ method, and its graphical representation, the Biogram. The results showed sustainability differences between the agroecosystems of investigated municipalities, of which Araçagi showed stable levels of sustainability, Araruna and Bananeiras demonstrated unstable levels, and Puxinanã showed the most critical sustainably level. It was concluded that, even the agroecosystems of Araçagi municipality showing better levels of sustainability, when compared with other municipalities assessed, cassava production showed unsustainability situations regarding its technological innovation levels, average yield of cassava production, land in erosion process, water scarcity and lack of social participation.

  17. On a Vision to Educating Students in Sustainability and Design—The James Madison University School of Engineering Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Pierrakos

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In order for our future engineers to be able to work toward a sustainable future, they must be versed not only in sustainable engineering but also in engineering design. An engineering education must train our future engineers to think flexibly and to be adaptive, as it is unlikely that their future will have them working in one domain. They must, instead, be versatilists. The School of Engineering at James Madison University has been developed from the ground up to provide this engineering training with an emphasis on engineering design, systems thinking, and sustainability. Neither design nor sustainability are mutually exclusive, and consequently, an education focusing on design and sustainability must integrate these topics, teaching students to follow a sustainable design process. This is the goal of the James Madison University School of Engineering. In this paper, we present our approach to curricular integration of design and sustainability as well as the pedagogical approaches used throughout the curriculum. We do not mean to present the School’s model as an all or nothing approach consisting of dependent elements, but instead as a collection of independent approaches, of which one or more may be appropriate at another university.

  18. Sustainable crop models for fruit, vegetable and flower quality productions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inglese Paolo

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable development is a paradigm that has evolved over the time, since the ideas of socially acceptable and compatible development, on which it was originally based, are now supported by the more recent notions of ecological equilibria and production process economy, both of which need to be also preserved. Environmental and health safety, rational use of the natural resources and technological tools, upkeep of high social growth rates and respect of a social equity are the basis of the sustainability for any production process, including the agriculture. The new globalization framework has penalized small farms and, at the same time, has put serious constraints to the development of stronger economic systems (medium/large farms, as well. As consequence, the EU has outlined several strategic programs to support small agricultural systems in marginal areas by: 1 strengthening all the quality- related aspects of agricultural production, including nutritional and cultural traits associated to local, typical and in some cases to neglected crops; 2 improving traditional cultural practices by adapting the cropping cycles and fomenting new partnerships between the different parts of the production chain, as for example; promotion of small horticultural chains. Specific political actions for the horticultural production sector have also been developed. Some of these policies are specifically addressed to preserve the biodiversity and to create quality labels certifying typical and/or organic products. All of these are possible strategies that may counteract and cope with the globalization process and increase the competitiveness of many production systems especially those performed by local and small entrepreneurs. New sustainable development models are required by both the market and the implicit requirements of the production system, inside a context on which Europe must face with new emerging economies with lower production costs, by increasing

  19. Soil Productive Lifespans: Rethinking Soil Sustainability for the 21st Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Daniel

    2017-04-01

    The ability for humans to sustainably manage the natural resources on which they depend has been one of the existential challenges facing mankind since the dawn of civilisation. Given the demands from this century's unprecedented global population and the unremitting course of climatic change, that challenge has soared in intensity. Sustainability, in this context, refers to agricultural practices which meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Ensuring sustainability is arguably of greatest importance when resources, such as soil, are non-renewable. However, there is as yet no tool to evaluate how sustainable conservation strategies are in the long-term. Up to now, many pedologists have assessed sustainability in binary terms, questioning whether management is sustainable or not. In truth, one can never determine whether a practice is ultimately sustainable because of the indefinite nature implied by "future generations". We suggest that a more useful assessment of sustainability for the 21st century should avoid binary questions and instead ask: how sustainable are soils? Indeed, how many future generations can soils provide for? Although the use of modelling is by no means a novelty for the discipline, there are very few holistic models that encompass the fluxes and dynamic relationships between both mass and quality concomitantly. We therefore propose a new conceptual framework - the Soil Productive Lifespan (SPL) - that employs empirically derived residence times of both soil mass and quality, together with pathways of environmental change, to forecast the length of time a soil profile can provide the critical functions. Although mass and quality are considered synergistically, the SPL model allows one to assess whether mass or quality alone presents the greatest limiting factor in the productive lifespans of soils. As a result, more targeted conservation strategies can be designed. Ultimately

  20. Innovation in Sustainable Products: Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Bi-National Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cleber José Cunha Dutra

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Innovation has been required as a vital asset for organizational survival in many areas, especially in the sustainability organizational field of concerns. Changes in Brazilian consumers’ consumption are perceived from the growing demand for environmentally-friendly products and services which are pressuring companies to achieve environmental efficiency. Tools like Cleaner Production, Sustainable Supply-Chain Management, and Ecodesign are essential to help firms achieve this goal. However, these tools require integration between different functions in a company, demanding that members with different expertise work together as a team. Based on a long tradition of collaboration, Germany is a potential partner for Brazil, combining expertise in the development of innovations aimed at more sustainable products. In today’s global environment, transnational teams should become the most effective teams in an organization but, because of the potential for miscommunication and conflict, the management of these teams needs special attention. Cultural differences between German and Brazilian members of work teams represent risks/advantages for the management of process of innovative products development. The paper draws on previously reviewed studies to ground an analysis of cultural dimensions and national characters, within Brazilian-German teams. In essence, this study is an essay with the main aim to open perspectives for further research and to support organizations in their sustainable management practices.

  1. 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

  2. Knowledge productivity for sustainable innovation: social capital as HRD target

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ehlen, Corry; Van der Klink, Marcel; Roentgen, Uta; Curfs, Emile; Boshuizen, Els

    2018-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of a conceptual model on relations between organisational innovation, knowledge productivity and social capital. It explores processes of knowledge productivity for sustainable innovation and associated HRD implications in knowledge

  3. Sustaining a hygiene education intervention to prevent and control geohelminth infections at schools in the Peruvian Amazon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    François L. Thériault

    Full Text Available The World Health Organization currently recommends that school-based deworming programs include health hygiene education as a complementary measure. However, the sustainability and long-term impact of such hygiene education had yet to be assessed. In July 2012, this cross-sectional study was conducted in 18 primary schools in the Peruvian Amazon to gauge continuing adherence to a health hygiene education intervention introduced 2 years earlier to reduce soil-transmitted helminth infections. Due in large part to high teacher turn-over, only 9 of 47 (19.1% teachers were still implementing the intervention. Health hygiene education interventions must, therefore, be designed to ensure sustainability in order to contribute to the overall effectiveness of school-based deworming programs.

  4. Sustainability, natural and organic cosmetics: consumer, products, efficacy, toxicological and regulatory considerations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno Fonseca-Santos

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The interest in sustainable products has increased along the years, since the choice of products, packaging and production processes have a great impact on the environment. These products are classified by regulatory agencies in different categories, aggregating advantages to the product and increasing the demand by consumers. However, there is no harmonization in guidelines of these certifying agencies and each cosmetic industry formulates their product and packaging in a more rational way, which causes less damage to the environment. Many cosmetic products have in their formulation natural products that perform a specific biological function, but these products should be evaluated on efficacy and toxicological aspects. The aim of this article is to approach sustainability, natural and organic cosmetics, considering the consumer and the efficacy, toxicological and regulatory aspects.

  5. Sustainable Chemical Processes and Products. New Design Methodology and Design Tools

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Korevaar, G.

    2004-01-01

    The current chemical industry is not sustainable, which leads to the fact that innovation of chemical processes and products is too often hazardous for society in general and the environment in particular. It really is a challenge to implement sustainability considerations in the design activities

  6. Improving water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools in Indonesia: A cross-sectional assessment on sustaining infrastructural and behavioral interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karon, Andrew J; Cronin, Aidan A; Cronk, Ryan; Hendrawan, Reza

    2017-05-01

    Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in schools are important for child health, development, and educational performance; yet coverage in Indonesian schools remains low. To address this deficiency, UNICEF and partners conducted a WASH intervention in 450 schools across three provinces in Indonesia. A survey evaluating the sustainability of infrastructure and behavioral interventions in comparison to control districts was conducted one year after completion of the intervention. The survey data were also compared with national government data to assess the suitability of government data to report progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Logistic regression was used to explore associations between WASH conditions and behaviors. Intervention schools were more likely to have handwashing stations with soap and water. In multivariable analyses, schools with a toilet operation and maintenance fund were more likely to have functional toilets. Students who learn hygiene skills from their teachers were less likely to defecate openly, more likely to share hygiene knowledge with their parents, and more likely to wash their hands. Survey data were comparable with government data, suggesting that Indonesian government monitoring may be a reliable source of data to measure progress on the SDGs. This research generates important policy and practice findings for scaling up and sustaining WASH in schools and may help improve WASH in schools programs in other low-resource contexts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  7. Do "good" food products make others look "bad"? Spin-off effects of labels for sustainable food production in the consumer perception

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Binnekamp, M.H.A.; Ingenbleek, P.T.M.

    2008-01-01

    Abstract Purpose ¿ The objective of this study is to examine whether sustainability labels like Fair Trade have a spin-off effect to mainstream products in the consumer perception: do consumers perceive mainstream products and brands more negatively in the presence of a product with a sustainability

  8. Impact of School Staff Health on Work Productivity in Secondary Schools in Massachusetts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alker, Heather J.; Wang, Monica L.; Pbert, Lori; Thorsen, Nancy; Lemon, Stephenie C.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Healthy, productive employees are an integral part of school health programs. There have been few assessments of work productivity among secondary school staff. This study describes the frequency of 3 common health risk factors--obesity, depressive symptoms, and smoking--and their impact on work productivity in secondary school…

  9. Reflection on the role of the Dutch government in sustainable supply chains. New phase in the transition of sustainable products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vermeulen, W.; Kok, M.; Van Oorschot, M.

    2011-01-01

    This article is based on an exploratory study which analyses some of the earliest multi-actor sustainable supply chain governance systems in order to answer the key research questions: Which strategies and instruments do governments - national and supranational - apply in advancing sustainable production and consumption in global supply chains; and What is known about the effectiveness of these strategies and instruments? The study focuses on two supply chains with the longest history of addressing imports from developing countries (tropical timber and coffee). These two supply chains are compared with two supply chains that are gaining increasing attention: - cocoa and tea. The study shows that the two most 'mature' global sustainable supply chains are market led in issuing voluntary certification and that buying certified products is starting to become mainstream and increasingly effective. The sustainable supply chains for tea and cocoa are more recent developments but may develop faster because of the lessons learnt in sustainable supply chains developed earlier. [nl

  10. Cyanobacteria: Promising biocatalysts for sustainable chemical production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoot, Cory J; Ungerer, Justin; Wangikar, Pramod P; Pakrasi, Himadri B

    2018-04-06

    Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes showing great promise as biocatalysts for the direct conversion of CO 2 into fuels, chemicals, and other value-added products. Introduction of just a few heterologous genes can endow cyanobacteria with the ability to transform specific central metabolites into many end products. Recent engineering efforts have centered around harnessing the potential of these microbial biofactories for sustainable production of chemicals conventionally produced from fossil fuels. Here, we present an overview of the unique chemistry that cyanobacteria have been co-opted to perform. We highlight key lessons learned from these engineering efforts and discuss advantages and disadvantages of various approaches. © 2018 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  11. Building products for sustainable buildings; Bauprodukte fuer nachhaltige Gebaeude

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blumberg, Martin; Urbanek, Anja [brands und values GmbH, Bremen (Germany)

    2013-04-15

    In the light of the energy efficiency, sustainability and the increasing distribution of buildings certifications environmental product declarations have grown in significance. The environmental product declaration program for building products was organized by the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. (Koenigswinter, Federal Republic of Germany). Beside the definition of the product group specific requirements and certifications as well as an independent review process of the completed environmental product declarations, the Advisory Council guarantees that the program rules of the Institute Construction and Environment e.V. continue to develop in conformity to international standards.

  12. Green Shoots: Environmental Sustainability and Contemporary Film Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victory, Jonathan

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the emerging phenomenon of ‘green filmmaking’ in film production, whereby the process of filmmaking is conducted with a view to minimising environmental impact. Establishing the motivations behind green filmmaking and surveying a range of international developments in this area, sustainability initiatives are identified and considered as a means of environmentally-sustainable economic development for the film sector. After identifying challenges of consumption habits to be overcome by the film industry worldwide, recent and current initiatives are highlighted from within the international film industry and one is specifically explored in more detail: the emerging role of a designated crew member or ‘eco-manager’ to oversee environmental initiatives on-set. The paper then concludes on a range of brief policy proposals for the film sector following on from analysis of existing film industry policy towards environmental sustainability.

  13. Sustainability in product development: a proposal for classification of approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrícia Flores Magnago

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The product development is a process that addresses sustainability issues inside companies. Many approaches have been discussed in academy concerning sustainability, as Natural Capitalism, Design for Environment (DfE and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA, but a question arises: which is indicated for what circumstance? This article aim is the proposition of a classification, based on a literature review, for 15 of these approaches. The criteria were: (i approach nature, (ii organization level, (iii integration level in Product Development Process (PDP, and (iv approach relevance for sustainability dimensions. Common terms allowed the establishment of connections among the approaches. As a result the researchers concluded that, despite they come from distinct knowledge areas they are not mutually excludent, on the contrary, the approaches may be used in a complementary way by managers. The combined use of complementary approaches is finally suggested in the paper.

  14. Sustainable Livestock Production, Health, and Environment in the ...

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

    This project aims to promote evidence-based policies for improving livestock production, environmental sustainability, and health in the Bolivian Altiplano's rural communities. Traditional farming under threat in Bolivia Raising sheep and llamas is a fundamental economic activity that is threatened by current agricultural ...

  15. Possibilities and limitations for sustainable bioenergy production systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smeets, E.M.W.

    2008-01-01

    The focus of this thesis is on the possibilities and limitations of sustainable bioenergy production systems. First, the potential contribution of bioenergy to the energy supply in different world regions in the year 2050 from different biomass sources (dedicated woody energy crops, residues and

  16. Research and partnerships with schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svirydzenka, Nadzeya; Aitken, Jill; Dogra, Nisha

    2016-08-01

    Despite the quantity of research on child and adolescent mental health being done in schools, little output has focused on the practical aspects of recruiting schools and students into a study. Furthermore, there is limited knowledge on how to develop and sustain productive and mutually beneficial partnerships with schools after the project finishes. A large study examining prevalence of mental health problems in young people involving nine schools is used as an example for the procedure of recruitment and carrying out a research project, while developing and sustaining partnerships with schools. While recruiting the schools, a three-stage model was developed that corresponded closely to the school's needs and existing demands. The suggested procedure for the study, thus, closely reflected the varying existing cultures of participating schools. Partnerships, developed as a result of the project, were used in developing further projects and interventions for promoting good mental health in schools. Rather than a blanket research recruitment and procedural approach with an end to school involvement at the end of the project, the paper advocates for a deeper understanding of the schools' internal culture for improved recruitment and study outcomes. Developed partnerships, when sustained past the completion of research, prove to be a useful tool in applying the findings in promoting good mental health in schools and continuing research further.

  17. The Marginalization of Sustainable Charcoal Production in the Policies of a Modernizing African Nation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nike Doggart

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Charcoal is the main cooking fuel for urban populations in many African countries. Urbanization and population growth are driving an increase in demand for charcoal, whilst deforestation reduces biomass stocks. Given increasing demand for charcoal, and decreasing availability of biomass, policies are urgently needed that ensure secure energy supplies for urban households and reduce deforestation. There is potential for charcoal to be produced sustainably in natural woodlands, but this requires supportive policies. Previous research has identified policy issues that have contributed to the charcoal sector remaining informal and environmentally destructive. In this paper, we describe how national policies in Tanzania on energy, forests, agriculture, land, and water, consider charcoal, and the degree to which they do, and do not, support sustainable charcoal production. The paper identifies policy gaps and a cross-sector tendency to marginalize natural forest management. By adopting a nexus approach, the paper highlights the inter-connections between sustainable charcoal production, ecosystem services, and trade-offs in the allocation of land, labor, and net primary production. In conclusion, sustainable charcoal production has been marginalized in multiple national policies. As a result, potential benefits of sustainable charcoal production are lost to multiple sectors.

  18. Private Schooling and Productivity in Educational Justice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espindola, Juan

    2017-01-01

    This article examines the debate between equity theorists (Adam Swift and Harry Brighouse) and adequacy theorists (Elizabeth Anderson and Debra Satz) over elite private schooling and productivity. It challenges the view, presupposed but never defended by adequacy theorists, that private schools can be justified on social productivity grounds, that…

  19. Governing Schools for Productivity. The Productivity for Results Series No. 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Paul T.

    2014-01-01

    The lack of productivity of school systems stems from a number of reasons, including the way in which schools are governed. The author explains in this paper that policies from on high often work against campuses being more productive. His list includes state policies that stop districts from hiring experts to teach subjects that other educators…

  20. Sustainable biomass production for energy in Sri Lanka

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perera, K.K.C.K.; Rathnasiri, P.G.; Sugathapala, A.G.T.

    2003-01-01

    The present study concentrates mainly on the estimation of land availability for biomass production and the estimation of sustainable biomass production potential for energy. The feasible surplus land area available for bioenergy plantation is estimated assuming two land availability scenarios (Scenarios 1 and 2) and three biomass demand scenarios (IBD Scenario, SBD Scenario and FBD Scenario). Scenario 1 assumes that 100% of the surplus area available in base year 1997 will be suitable for plantation without considering population growth and food production and that 75% of this surplus land is feasible for plantation. Scenario 2 assumes that future food requirement will grow by 20% and the potential surplus area will be reduced by that amount. The incremental biomass demand scenario (IBD Scenario) assumes that only the incremental demand for biomass in the year 2010 with respect to the base year 1997 has to be produced from new plantation. The sustainable biomass demand scenario (SBD Scenario) assumes that the total sustainable supply of biomass in 1997 is deducted from the future biomass demand in 2010 and only the balance is to be met by new plantation. The full biomass demand scenario (FBD Scenario) assumes that the entire projected biomass demand of the year 2010 needs to be produced from new plantation. The total feasible land area for the scenarios IBD-1, 1BD-2, SBD-1, SBD-2, FBD-1 and FBD-2 are approximately 0.96, 0.66, 0.80, 0.94, 0.60 and 0.30 Mha, respectively. Biomass production potential is estimated by selecting appropriate plant species, plantation spacing and productivity level. The results show that the total annual biomass production in the country could vary from 2 to 9.9 Mt. With the production option (i.e. 1.5 mx1.5 m spacing plantation with fertilizer application) giving the highest yield, the total biomass production for energy under IBD Scenario would be 9.9 Mt yr -1 for Scenario 1 and 6.7 Mt yr -1 for Scenario 2. Under SBD Scenario, the

  1. A crop production ecology (CPE) approach to sustainable production of biomass for food, feed and fuel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haverkort, A.J.; Bindraban, P.S.; Conijn, J.G.; Ruijter, de F.J.

    2009-01-01

    With the rapid increase in demand for agricultural products for food, feed and fuel, concerns are growing about sustainability issues. Can agricultural production meet the needs of increasing numbers of people consuming more animal products and using a larger share of crops as fuel for transport,

  2. Sustainable implementation of school-based physical activity: A four-stage Delphi consensus process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Danielle Louise Nørager; Skovgaard, Thomas; Møller, Niels Christian

    condensed into a total amount of 63 factors, arranged into nine overall categories, and prioritized by the national expert group in the questionnaire (1.School leadership, 2.Co-workers, 3.Resources, 4.Policy level, 5.Organizational/cultural level, 6.Pupils, 7.Physical surroundings, 8.Intervention context......, and 9.External factors). Based on five expert interviews, outliers from the questionnaire was examined. Finally, at the workshop, five of the nine overall categories were rated as particularly relevant and important (School leadership, Co-workers, Policy level, Resources and Organizational/cultural...... level). Conclusions All nine overall categories are deemed as decisive for sustainable implementation of school-based PA. However, School leadership were singled out as a particular important category, since commitment at this level is deemed a pre-requisite for many of the other factors....

  3. How Cities Think: Knowledge Co-Production for Urban Sustainability and Resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tischa Muñoz-Erickson; Clark Miller; Thaddeus Miller

    2017-01-01

    Understanding and transforming how cities think is a crucial part of developing effective knowledge infrastructures for the Anthropocene. In this article, we review knowledge co-production as a popular approach in environmental and sustainability science communities to the generationof useable knowledge for sustainability and resilience. We present knowledge systems...

  4. The sustainable management of a productive natural capital

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daubanes, Julien Xavier

    is relevant, among other examples, to the case of naturebased tourism. I study the sustainable management of a productive natural capital: the conditions under which its exploitation generates maximum long-run social benefits; the various ways in which a regulator can implement such an exploitation; the rent...

  5. Sustainable Production and Commercialization of Indigo in El ...

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

    Sustainable Production and Commercialization of Indigo in El Salvador - Phase II ... During the first phase of the project (104599), researchers reviewed the history ... titled “Climate change and adaptive water management: Innovative solutions ... IDRC and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) signed a scientific ...

  6. Tools and methodologies to support more sustainable biofuel feedstock production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dragisic, Christine; Ashkenazi, Erica; Bede, Lucio; Honzák, Miroslav; Killeen, Tim; Paglia, Adriano; Semroc, Bambi; Savy, Conrad

    2011-02-01

    Increasingly, government regulations, voluntary standards, and company guidelines require that biofuel production complies with sustainability criteria. For some stakeholders, however, compliance with these criteria may seem complex, costly, or unfeasible. What existing tools, then, might facilitate compliance with a variety of biofuel-related sustainability criteria? This paper presents four existing tools and methodologies that can help stakeholders assess (and mitigate) potential risks associated with feedstock production, and can thus facilitate compliance with requirements under different requirement systems. These include the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), the ARtificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) tool, the Responsible Cultivation Areas (RCA) methodology, and the related Biofuels + Forest Carbon (Biofuel + FC) methodology.

  7. Education for Sustainable Development and Multidimensional Implementation. A Study of Implementations of Sustainable Development in Education with the Curriculum of Upper Secondary School in Sweden as an Example

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svalfors, Ulrika

    2017-01-01

    This article discusses different interpretations of sustainable development in education and if different interpretations of the concept are implemented in Curriculum, with the Swedish Curriculum of Upper Secondary School as an example. According to Agenda 21 sustainable development should be implemented in a multidimensional way. In 2011, a new…

  8. 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.

  9. Sustainability aspects of biobased products : comparison of different crops and products from the vegetable oil platform

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meesters, K.P.H.; Corré, W.J.; Conijn, J.G.; Patel, M.K.; Bos, H.L.

    2012-01-01

    This study focusses on the production of vegetable oil based products. A limited number of aspacts of the sustainability of the full chain (from agriculture to product at the factory gate) was evaluated. Three different vegetable oils were taken into account: palm oil, soy oil and rapeseed oil. Also

  10. Strategic Plan for Sustainable Energy Management and Environmental Stewardship for Los Angeles Unified School District

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walker, A.; Beattie, D.; Thomas, K.; Davis, K.; Sim, M.; Jhaveri, A.

    2007-11-01

    This Strategic Plan for Sustainable Energy Management and Environmental Stewardship states goals, measures progress toward goals and how actions are monitored to achieve continuous improvement for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

  11. Networking for Education for Sustainable Development in Austria: The Austrian ECOLOG-Schools Programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauch, Franz

    2016-01-01

    This case describes networking for education for sustainable development within the Austrian ECOLOG-schools network. The article presents theoretical concepts of networks in education in general, and the organization of the ECOLOG-network in particular. Based upon these foundations, the concept and results of a participatory evaluation study are…

  12. A systems engineering approach to manage the complexity in sustainable chemical product-process design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gani, Rafiqul

    This paper provides a perspective on model-data based solution approaches for chemical product-process design, which consists of finding the identity of the candidate chemical product, designing the process that can sustainably manufacture it and verifying the performance of the product during...... framework can manage the complexity associated with product-process problems very efficiently. Three specific computer-aided tools (ICAS, Sustain-Pro and VPPDLab) have been presented and their applications to product-process design, highlighted....

  13. Knowledge Productivity for Sustainable Innovation: Social Capital as HRD Target

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehlen, Corry; van der Klink, Marcel; Roentgen, Uta; Curfs, Emile; Boshuizen, Henny

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of a conceptual model on relations between organisational innovation, knowledge productivity and social capital. It explores processes of knowledge productivity for sustainable innovation and associated HRD implications in knowledge intensive organisations, taking the perspective that…

  14. A sustainable school for the citizens of tomorrow; Une ecole durable pour les citoyens de demain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hondekyn, L A; Heise, N; Wurzner, E; Djigaouri, D; Faure, L; Weksej, E; Irigoin, M; Le Vannier, I; Petersen, M; Reff, R

    2000-04-01

    All municipalities in Europe have schools to manage, renovate and build. In all of these schools, hundreds of thousands of children are being taught, among other things, to be good citizens. Many boroughs and local councils have been looking to improve energy consumption in schools, with savings of up to 40% or more. A whole variety of initiatives have taken place to raise children's awareness of energy saving, renewable energy and environmental protection for sustainable urban development. This publication presents many realizations in European schools. (A.L.B.)

  15. A sustainable school for the citizens of tomorrow; Une ecole durable pour les citoyens de demain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hondekyn, L.A.; Heise, N.; Wurzner, E.; Djigaouri, D.; Faure, L.; Weksej, E.; Irigoin, M.; Le Vannier, I.; Petersen, M.; Reff, R.

    2000-04-01

    All municipalities in Europe have schools to manage, renovate and build. In all of these schools, hundreds of thousands of children are being taught, among other things, to be good citizens. Many boroughs and local councils have been looking to improve energy consumption in schools, with savings of up to 40% or more. A whole variety of initiatives have taken place to raise children's awareness of energy saving, renewable energy and environmental protection for sustainable urban development. This publication presents many realizations in European schools. (A.L.B.)

  16. The need for an established allocation method when assessing absolute sustainability on a product level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryberg, Morten; Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

    2015-01-01

    Assessment of absolute sustainability within life cycle assessment (LCA) framework is operational on the country scale. However, it is difficult to apply the existing approaches to products, which are typically the scope of LCAs. How should we assess whether a chair is (absolutely) sustainable? I...... allocation keys specific to each product group, e.g. mass for furniture, or economic revenue for IT. The proposed method facilitates assessment of absolute sustainability of products within the LCA framework....

  17. Sustainability Performance of an Italian Textile Product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Lenzo

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Companies are more and more interested in the improvement of sustainability performance of products, services and processes. For this reason, appropriate and suitable assessment tools supporting the transition to a green economy are highly necessary. Currently, there are a number of methods and approaches for assessing products’ environmental impact and improving their performances; among these, the Life Cycle Thinking (LCT approach has emerged as the most comprehensive and effective to achieve sustainability goals. Indeed, the LCT approach aims to reduce the use of resources and emissions to the environment associated with a product’s life cycle. It can be used as well to improve socio-economic performance through the entire life cycle of a product. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA, Life Cycle Costing (LCC and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA are undoubtedly the most relevant methodologies to support product-related decision-making activities for the extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and final disposal. While LCA is an internationally standardized tool (ISO 14040 2006, LCC (except for the ISO related to the building sector and S-LCA have yet to attain international standardization (even if guidelines and general frameworks are available. The S-LCA is still in its experimental phase for many aspects of the methodological structure and practical implementation. This study presents the application of LCA and S-LCA to a textile product. The LCA and S-LCA are implemented following the ISO 14040-44:2006 and the guidelines from UNEP/SETAC (2009, respectively. The functional unit of the study is a cape knitted in a soft blend of wool and cashmere produced by a textile company located in Sicily (Italy. The system boundary of the study includes all phases from cradle-to-gate, from raw material production through fabric/accessory production to the manufacturing process of the

  18. Examing the prospective of implementing passive house standards in providing sustainable schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suhaili, Wan Farhani; Shahrill, Masitah

    2018-04-01

    This study examines the potential of implementing the passive house standards to reduce energy consumption on school buildings in Brunei. Furthermore, it investigates whether sustainable school buildings make business sense to the government. To do this, conventional and Passive House primary school buildings are compared in terms of their performances using the Passive House Planning Package as well as the Ecotect environmental analysis tool. The findings indicated that by replacing lower U-values building fabrics brought a significantly reduction in the cooling demand of 54%. Whereas, Ecotect models have demonstrated that the heating and cooling loads have tremendously reduced to 75% by reorienting the location of the building to south elevation and by replacing the building fabrics with a lower U-values. These findings were then evaluated with a cost benefit analysis that proved to save cost energy annually from air-conditioning usage from a typical primary school with eight years of pay back period.

  19. Product service systems and sustainable mobility : An electric vehicle introduction case

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beella, S.K.; Silvester, S.; Brezet, J.C.; Van Timmeren, A.; Bauer, P.; Quist, J.; Van Dijk, S.

    2010-01-01

    A product service system (PSS) is a function-oriented business model aimed at providing sustainability of both consumption and production. A PSS is defined as a marketable set of products and services capable of jointly fulfilling user needs. In theory PSSs are normally shown realized with smart

  20. Sustainable Energy Production - Facing up to our Common Challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bondevik, Kjell Magne

    1998-01-01

    With this presentation the Norwegian Prime Minister opened the conference, the Offshore Northern Seas Conference, an important meeting place for the oil and gas industry. Today, sustainable development, the environment and human rights are vital issues that politicians and the petroleum industry have included on their agendas. The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s mark the beginning of a new era in terms of de regulated markets and a growing concern about the Earth's capacity to sustain a growing population and the present production and consumption patterns. This shift in political and economic practices has promoted far-reaching institutional changes and a rapid spread of capital, information and skills and an unprecedented integration of the world economy. Energy demand over the next 25 years will depend on fossil fuels, but renewable energy will become increasingly more important. The environmental issues discussed are (1) the local impact of production, distribution and use of fossil fuels, (2) the limited availability of fossil fuels and (3) the impact of the emission of greenhouse gases. The Prime Minister then discusses issues of human rights in sustainable development

  1. Sustainable Energy Production - Facing up to our Common Challenge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bondevik, Kjell Magne [Prime Minister (Norway)

    1998-12-31

    With this presentation the Norwegian Prime Minister opened the conference, the Offshore Northern Seas Conference, an important meeting place for the oil and gas industry. Today, sustainable development, the environment and human rights are vital issues that politicians and the petroleum industry have included on their agendas. The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s mark the beginning of a new era in terms of de regulated markets and a growing concern about the Earth`s capacity to sustain a growing population and the present production and consumption patterns. This shift in political and economic practices has promoted far-reaching institutional changes and a rapid spread of capital, information and skills and an unprecedented integration of the world economy. Energy demand over the next 25 years will depend on fossil fuels, but renewable energy will become increasingly more important. The environmental issues discussed are (1) the local impact of production, distribution and use of fossil fuels, (2) the limited availability of fossil fuels and (3) the impact of the emission of greenhouse gases. The Prime Minister then discusses issues of human rights in sustainable development

  2. Managing Sustainability in Fruit Production

    OpenAIRE

    Taragola, N.; Van Passel, S.; Zwiekhorst, W.

    2012-01-01

    As fruit growers are faced with a growing need for sustainable development, it is important to integrate sustainability into their management processes. This research applies and evaluates a self-analysis tool for entrepreneurs called the ‘sustainability scan’. The scan identifies 23 sustainability themes, divided according to the 3P-framework (People, Planet and Profit). In the scan, it is assumed that the management of these themes is at the core of sustainable entrepren...

  3. ECOLABEL – TOOL FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RATIU Mariana

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The ecolabel is one of the indicators that quantify sustainable consumption and production, and ultimately, sustainable development. Ecolabelling is only one type of environmental labelling, and refers specifically to the provision of information to consumers about the relative environmental quality of a product. Ecolabels are granted on request of various organizations, both public and private, and are recognized only locally or nationally, regionally or internationally. Often coexist at the same time and same place, several types of environmental labels. The acceptance of a particular ecolabel is optional, and is made usually based on reputation, trust and awareness about the label and the level to promote certain brands for better lifestyle and for use the eco, organic or green products. There are currently tracking worldwide by Ecolabel Index, which is the largest global directory of ecolabels, 449 ecolabels in 197 countries, and 25 industry sectors, from which 109 are for textile products. The number of EU Ecolabel greatly increased, so that in the period 2000- 2010, the increase was more than 20 times. At the end of 2012, 17176 products or services was awarded EU Ecolabel. Curently, certainly, the number is much higher. Today, in the Ecolabel Index appear registered in Romania 23 types of ecolabels. Also, Romania currently has awarded 586 licenses for Eu Ecolabel, from which two for textile products and two for footwear.

  4. Primary Schools Eco-Friendly Education in the Frame of Education for Sustainable Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabawani, Bulan; Hanika, Ita Musfirowati; Pradhanawati, Ari; Budiatmo, Agung

    2017-01-01

    A research on primary school education in the frame of education for sustainable development, as known as ESD, is important because the awareness of eco-friendly activities and environment empowerment cannot be developed in a short time. Meanwhile, human activities have caused significant environmental degradation. This is an exploratory study…

  5. Teachers' Values Related to Sustainable Development in Polish and Latvian Secondary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Switala, Eugeniusz

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the paper is to present the results of the research on highlighting values related to sustainable development in Poland and Latvia by secondary school teachers and to compare two models by the use of action research. The research is presented as a process of identifying values mainly from the point of view of social development which is…

  6. Sustainability as Sales Argument in the Fruit Juice Industry? An Analysis of On-Product Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeanette Klink

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available 800x600 Purpose/Value – The objective of this paper is to determine (1 the extent to which sustainability serves as a sales argument and (2 which areas of sustainability are communicated in the fruit juice industry. This seems promising against the background that there are several ethical challenges the fruit juice chain is increasingly confronted with and consumers demand for sustainable products is also rising. Design/Methodology – A market investigation at the Point-of Sale (POS was conducted in July 2013. On-product communication of all fruit juice products (‘not from concentrate (NFC’ fruit juices, ’reconstituted (RECON’ fruit juices, fruit nectars and smoothies from five retailers (two full-range retailers, two discounters, one organic supermarket was analyzed. The data was evaluated using content analysis. Results/Findings – Overall, 562 fruit juices were examined. Results reveal that nearly one quarter of the products has labels signaling sustainable aspects. However, most of those products were found in the organic food retailer and are organic juices. Only a small number of products consider other areas of sustainability, such as social concerns or regional production. Discussion/Conclusion – Communicating sustainability aspects of fruit juice production via on-package labels is scarce in conventional retail stores. In view of the ethical challenges present in the fruit juice chain and discussed in the paper, the increasing demand of consumers for sustainable products and the high competition in the sector, communicating different sustainability aspects can be an opportunity for fruit juice producers and retailers to differentiate their products on the highly saturated fruit juice market.  Normal 0 21 false false false DE X-NONE X-NONE /* 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

  7. Role of coal combustion products in sustainable construction materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naik, T.R.; Siddique, R.; Vaniker, S. [University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI (USA). UWM Center for Products Utilization, College of Engineering and Applied Science

    2003-07-01

    The paper describes various coal combustion products, CCPs produced in the process of power generation. These include fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag and flue gas desulfurization products. Typical test protocol used for testing, analysis and evaluation of CCPs, as well as the current best recycling use options for these materials are discussed. Materials, productions, properties, and potential applications in the manufacture of emerging materials for sustainable construction, as well as environmental impact are also briefly discussed. 47 refs., 16 figs., 8 tabs.

  8. Swedish Consumers’ Perception of Food Quality and Sustainability in Relation to Organic Food Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gebresenbet, Girma

    2018-01-01

    Consumers’ demand for locally produced and organic foods has increased in Sweden. This paper presents the results obtained from the analysis of data acquired from 100 consumers in Sweden who participated in an online survey during March to June 2016. The objective was to identify consumers’ demand in relation to organic food and sustainable food production, and to understand how the consumers evaluate food quality and make buying decisions. Qualitative descriptions, descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Chi-square test (with alpha value of p production method is more sustainable than conventional methods. Female consumers have more positive attitudes than men towards organic food. However, age difference, household size and income level do not significantly influence the consumers’ perception of sustainable food production concepts. Regionality, sustainable methods of production and organic production are the most important parameters to characterize the food as high quality and make buying decisions. On the other hand, product uniformity, appearance, and price were found to be relatively less important parameters. Food buying decisions and food quality were found to be highly related with Pearson’s correlation coefficient of r = 0.99. PMID:29614785

  9. 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.

  10. Recent Advances and Challenges towards Sustainable Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kourmentza, Constantina; Plácido, Jersson; Venetsaneas, Nikolaos

    2017-01-01

    Sustainable biofuels, biomaterials, and fine chemicals production is a critical matter that research teams around the globe are focusing on nowadays. Polyhydroxyalkanoates represent one of the biomaterials of the future due to their physicochemical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatibility...

  11. The importance of modular product design in the sustainable development of enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vorkapić Miloš D.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper is shown importance of modular architecture in the sustainable development of enterprises. The application of modular design enables the development of the production program based on the results of its own development. At the illustrated example, the production of transmitters it was concluded that modular architecture enables the production of independent entities, provides the realization of products in inaccessible places, enables to precisely defined technical documentation of modules, enabling easy maintenance, repair and improvement. This paper describes an algorithm for material reuse which indicates the importance of the customer in a closed material flow. In this connection, PLC includes protection of the environment as a strategic decision in the sustainable development of enterprises.

  12. Hedgerow benefits align with food production and sustainability goals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachael F. Long

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Restoring hedgerows, or other field edge plantings, to provide habitat for bees and other beneficial insects on farms is needed to sustain global food production in intensive agricultural systems. To date, the creation of hedgerows and other restored habitat areas on California farms remains low, in part because of a lack of information and outreach that addresses the benefits of field edge habitat, and growers' concerns about its effect on crop production and wildlife intrusion. Field studies in the Sacramento Valley highlighted that hedgerows can enhance pest control and pollination in crops, resulting in a return on investment within 7 to 16 years, without negatively impacting food safety. To encourage hedgerow and other restoration practices that enhance farm sustainability, increased outreach, technical guidance, and continued policy support for conservation programs in agriculture are imperative.

  13. Phenomena Based Process Intensification of Toluene Methylation for Sustainable Para-xylene Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anantasarn, Nateetorn; Babi, Deenesh Kavi; Suriyapraphadilok, Uthaiporn

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this work is to generate more sustainable intensified process designs for the production of important chemicals in the petrochemical sector. A 3-stage approach is applied. In stage 1, the base case design is generated or selected from literature. In stage 2, the base case design...... is analysed in terms of economics, sustainability and LCA factors in order to identify process hot-spots that are translated into design targets. In stage 3, intensified flowsheet alternatives are generated that match the targets and thereby eliminate and/or minimize the process hot-spots using a phenomena...... operations to generate more sustainable designs. An overview of the key concepts and framework are presented together with the results from a case study highlighting the application of the framework to the sustainable design of a production process for para-xylene, which is an important chemical utilized...

  14. Creating a Sustainable Model for Establishing Youth Gardens in Schools and Childcare Centers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, William; Friese, Bettina; Carrel, Aaron; Meinen, Amy

    2013-01-01

    Purpose/Objectives: The goal of the program was to establish youth gardens across Wisconsin by conducting workshops for school staff and childcare providers on how to start and sustain a youth garden with limited resources. Methods: Evaluation utilized an end-of-workshop questionnaire and follow-up survey. The end-of-workshop questionnaire focused…

  15. Sustainability Initiatives Driving Supply Chain: Climate Governance on Beef Production System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ieda Kanashiro Makiya

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Two conceptual frameworks have been analytically dominant in researching innovation dynamics in sustainability transition processes, namely technological innovation systems (TIS and the multi-level perspective (MLP. The innovation systems has been principally concerned with emerging new technologies and their potential contribution to future sustainability, whereas MLP has been more strongly oriented toward reconstructing historical processes of sectorial change. In this perspective, this study aims to analyses how global climate change and environmental pressures impact on the governance of supply chain and the ripple effects on natural resource-intensive economies. Some initiatives are taken to address regulatory issues and reconcile decision-making tools on quality assurance program on value chains. This includes a multi-level perspective (MLP as Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP and technological innovation systems (TIS as Geographic Information System (GIS used as a tracking system for monitoring sustainable practices. The paper discuss the drivers of sustainable beef production system, mainly in Legal Amazon, Brazil, and requirements from a largest retailer aligned to Brazilian public policies. This study presents three distinct strategies: (1 government and public policies to control deforestation related to beef cattle production system, (2 economic approach related to transnational supermarket chain and sustainability initiatives, (3 collective action for decision-making by multiple drivers

  16. Some Danish experience with product-service systems and their potentials and barriers to sustainable development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard

    2003-01-01

    This paper is one of the first attempts to scan the Danish experience with product-service systems and analyse the experiences with respect to potentials and barriers to sustainable development, i.e. reduced resource consumption and reduced environmental impact. The scan shows a variety of product-service-systems......: some have been around for many years and have not be set up for sustainability purposes, while others are rather new and are attempts to contribute to a more sustainable development. Some of the systems identified are so to say born as product-service-systems (like food catering), while others have...... been developed from being a product system into being a product-service-systems in order to support the marketing of more environmental friendly products....

  17. Framework for Sustaining Innovation at Baker Library, Harvard Business School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolan, Meghan; Hemment, Michael; Oliver, Stephanie

    2017-01-01

    Baker Library at Harvard Business School is increasingly asked by the school's faculty to create custom digital information products to enhance course assignments and to find novel ways of electronically disseminating faculty research. In order to prioritize these requests, as well as facilitate, manage, and track the resulting projects, the…

  18. An outlook for sustainable forest bioenergy production in the Lake States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dennis R. Becker; Kenneth Skog; Allison Hellman; Kathleen E. Halvorsen; Terry Mace

    2009-01-01

    The Lake States region of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan offers significant potential for bioenergy production. We examine the sustainability of regional forest biomass use in the context of existing thermal heating, electricity, and biofuels production, projected resource needs over the next decade including existing forest product market demand, and impacts on...

  19. Spelling the Domain of Sustainable Product Innovation Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boks, Casper; McAloone, Tim C.

    2009-01-01

    on research methodologies used (case study research, explorative research, descriptive or prescriptive research), case studies analysed, and theories used (such as innovation theory, institutional theory, organisational learning, entrepreneurship, technology management, or design theory). A recent survey......- and user thinking, product stewardship, environmental management of industrial systems, integrated product policies, environmental technology transfer, sustainable consumption and corporate social responsibility. A related question is to determine how scientific research on the PhD level has been......, including learning from historical developments, towards future research strategies and their industrial application....

  20. Enabling sustainable uranium production: The Inter-regional Technical Cooperation experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tulsidas, H.; Zhang, J.

    2014-01-01

    Uranium production cycle activities are increasing worldwide, often in countries with little or no previous experience in such activities. Initial efforts in uranium exploration and mining were limited to a few countries, which progressed through a painful learning curve often associated with high socioeconomic costs. With time, good practices for the sustainable conduct of operations became well established, but new projects in different regional contexts continue to face challenges. Moreover, there have been highs and lows in the levels of activities and operations in the uranium industry, which has disrupted the stabilizing of the experiences and lessons learned, into a coherent body of knowledge. This collective experience, assimilated over time, has to be transferred to a new generation of experts, who have to be enabled to use this knowledge effectively in their local contexts in order to increase efficiency and reduce the footprint of the operations. This makes it sustainable and socially acceptable to local communities, as well as in the global context. IAEA has implemented several projects in the last five years to address gaps in transferring a coherent body of knowledge on sustainable uranium production from a well experienced generation of experts to a new generation facing similar challenges in different geographical, technological, economic and social contexts. These projects focused on enabling the new practitioners in the uranium production industry to avoid the mistakes of the past and to apply good practices established elsewhere, adapted to local needs. The approach was intended to bring considerable cost savings while attracting elevated levels of social acceptance. These projects were effective in introducing experts from different areas of the uranium production cycle and with different levels of experience to the availability of advanced tools that can make operations more efficient and productive, reduce footprint, increase competencies in

  1. Agricultural and Food Production in Hungary: On the Road to Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szűcs Csaba

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In the last 25 years Hungarian agriculture has lost its position. Rapid growth in the world’s population requires an increase in food production since one seventh of the population is still starving. The development of agricultural production and the food industry is the basis for the development of rural areas. Hungary produces two per cent of the EU agricultural output, which is far behind its potential. Agriculture, food industry and food trade can only develop together. We need to find the most favourable forms of coexistence with multinational chains sustainably. Food industry is a critical point in the product line, it lags behind the performance of European countries, and resources are insufficient. Long-term co-operation between farmers and processors is inadequate; the common organizations of the markets are minimal. Today, sustainability is increasingly emphasized, environmental and nature protection has been appreciated. The agriculture and forestry sectors are not only suitable for production of food and other raw materials, but they can also replenish resources and have a beneficial effect on biodiversity as well. Today’s problems can only be solved by taking sustainability into consideration. Agri-food industry that complies with the requirements can play a major role in rural employment and value creation.

  2. Sustained attention in language production: An individual differences investigation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongman, S.R.; Roelofs, A.P.A.; Meyer, A.S.

    2015-01-01

    Whereas it has long been assumed that most linguistic processes underlying language production happen automatically, accumulating evidence suggests that these processes do require some form of attention. Here we investigated the contribution of sustained attention: the ability to maintain alertness

  3. Integrating Emotional Attachment and Sustainability in Electronic Product Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Lobos

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Current models for Information and Communication Technology (ICT products encourage frequent product replacement with newer versions that offer only minor incremental improvements. This pattern, named planned obsolescence, diminishes user experience and shortens product lifespan. This paper presents the conceptual basis for a two-part integrated approach to combating planned obsolescence in ICT devices. First, design for emotional attachment, which creates products that users enjoy, value, and use for longer. Second, technological adaptability, which anticipates product upgrades and repairs as new technologies emerge. A model interdisciplinary design course in industrial design and sustainability, also described herein, trains students to apply this approach to create innovative ICT products with smaller environmental footprints.

  4. Evaluation of a collaborative project to develop sustainable healthcare education in eight UK medical schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walpole, S C; Mortimer, F

    2017-09-01

    Environmental change poses pressing challenges to public health and calls for profound and far-reaching changes to policy and practice across communities and health systems. Medical schools can act as a seedbed where knowledge, skills and innovation to address environmental challenges can be developed through innovative and collaborative approaches. The objectives of this study were to (1) explore drivers and challenges of collaboration for educational development between and within medical schools; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of a range of pedagogies for sustainable healthcare education; and (3) identify effective strategies to facilitate the renewal of medical curricula to address evolving health challenges. Participatory action research. Medical school teams participated in a nine-month collaborative project, including a one-day seminar to learn about sustainable healthcare education and develop a project plan. After the seminar, teams were supported to develop, deliver and evaluate new teaching at their medical school. New teaching was introduced at seven medical schools. A variety of pedagogies were represented. Collaboration between schools motivated and informed participants. The main challenges faced related to time pressures. Educators and students commented that new teaching was enjoyable and effective at improving knowledge and skills. Collaborative working supported educators to develop and implement new teaching sessions rapidly and effectively. Collaboration can help to build educators' confidence and capacity in a new area of education development. Different forms of collaboration may be appropriate for different circumstances and at different stages of education development. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Agroecology and the Sustainable Production of Food and ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The silvopastoral, agricultural system of the montado in Southern Portugal is an example of the self-organization of an agroecological system adapted to the climate and soil conditions of the Mediterranean basin. This system with its consistent production of food, fiber, and ecosystem services along with its concomitant rural social organization has been sustained in the region for over 1000 years. However, the system has been gradually decreasing in extent since the 19th century and its rate of decline has accelerated since the 1980s. The causes of this decline have been traced in descending order of importance to land managment choices, spatial factors and environmental factors. In addition, past studies have shown that there is an optimum livestock support capacity for maintaining the health of the montado agroecosystem. In this study, we used the results of an emergy evaluation of a cattle farm as part of a montado agroecosystem to examine the effects of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on the viability of both cattle rearing and the long term regional sustainability of montado agroecosystems. We found that the CAP and its two pillars for providing subsidies, (1) Common Market Organization (CMO) and (2) Rural Development Policy (RDP) are complex and take into account many aspects of prices and markets for particular products, e.g., beef and veal (CMO) and sustainable rural development, e.g., silvopastoral agroecosystems (RDP). How

  6. Biogeochemical Research Priorities for Sustainable Biofuel and Bioenergy Feedstock Production in the Americas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gollany, Hero T; Titus, Brian D; Scott, D Andrew; Asbjornsen, Heidi; Resh, Sigrid C; Chimner, Rodney A; Kaczmarek, Donald J; Leite, Luiz F C; Ferreira, Ana C C; Rod, Kenton A; Hilbert, Jorge; Galdos, Marcelo V; Cisz, Michelle E

    2015-12-01

    Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demand on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustainability related to biomass production. Biomass production systems incrementally remove greater quantities of organic matter, which in turn affects soil organic matter and associated carbon and nutrient storage (and hence long-term soil productivity) and off-site impacts. While these consequences have been extensively studied for some crops and sites, the ongoing and impending impacts of biomass removal require management strategies for ensuring that soil properties and functions are sustained for all combinations of crops, soils, sites, climates, and management systems, and that impacts of biomass management (including off-site impacts) are environmentally acceptable. In a changing global environment, knowledge of cumulative impacts will also become increasingly important. Long-term experiments are essential for key crops, soils, and management systems because short-term results do not necessarily reflect long-term impacts, although improved modeling capability may help to predict these impacts. Identification and validation of soil sustainability indicators for both site prescriptions and spatial applications would better inform commercial and policy decisions. In an increasingly inter-related but constrained global context, researchers should engage across inter-disciplinary, inter-agency, and international lines to better ensure the long-term soil productivity across a range of scales, from site to landscape.

  7. Swedish Consumers’ Perception of Food Quality and Sustainability in Relation to Organic Food Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Techane Bosona

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Consumers’ demand for locally produced and organic foods has increased in Sweden. This paper presents the results obtained from the analysis of data acquired from 100 consumers in Sweden who participated in an online survey during March to June 2016. The objective was to identify consumers’ demand in relation to organic food and sustainable food production, and to understand how the consumers evaluate food quality and make buying decisions. Qualitative descriptions, descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Chi-square test (with alpha value of p < 0.05 as level of significance, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for analysis. About 72% of participants have the perception that organic food production method is more sustainable than conventional methods. Female consumers have more positive attitudes than men towards organic food. However, age difference, household size and income level do not significantly influence the consumers’ perception of sustainable food production concepts. Regionality, sustainable methods of production and organic production are the most important parameters to characterize the food as high quality and make buying decisions. On the other hand, product uniformity, appearance, and price were found to be relatively less important parameters. Food buying decisions and food quality were found to be highly related with Pearson’s correlation coefficient of r = 0.99.

  8. Children's Exposure to Sustainability Practices during the Transition from Preschool into School and Their Learning and Socioemotional Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benner, Aprile D.; Thornton, Anna; Crosnoe, Robert

    2017-01-01

    Evidence that the learning gains of preschool fade as children transition into elementary school has led to increased efforts to sustain preschool advantages during this key transitional period. This study explores whether the observed benefits of sustainability practices for a range of child outcomes are explained and/or moderated by family and…

  9. Sustainable and Traditional Product Innovation without Scale and Experience, but Only for KIBS!

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esteban Lafuente

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzes the ideal strategic trajectory for sustainable and traditional product innovation. Using a sample of 74 Costa Rican high-performance businesses for 2016, we employ fuzzy set analysis (qualitative comparative analysis to evaluate how the development of sustainable and traditional product innovation strategies is conditioned by the business’ learning capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation in knowledge-intensive (KIBS and non-knowledge-intensive businesses. The results indicate two ideal strategic configurations of product innovation. The first strategic configuration to reach maximum product innovation requires the presence of KIBS firms that have both an entrepreneurial and learning orientation, while the second configuration is specific to non-KIBS firms with greater firm size and age along with entrepreneurial and learning orientation. KIBS firms are found to leverage the knowledge-based and customer orientations that characterize their business model in order to compensate for the shortage of important organizational characteristics—which we link to liabilities or smallness and newness—required to achieve optimal sustainable and traditional product innovation.

  10. How to consistently make your product, technology or system more environmentally-sustainable?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laurent, Alexis; Cosme, Nuno Miguel Dias; Molin, Christine

    Human activities are currently uns ustainable, causing many damages to ecosystems, human health and natural resources. In this setting, the development of new products and technologies has been increasingly required to relate to sustainability and ensure that such development goes hand -in-hand w...... of the system. We rely on state-of -the-art science in the food sector, the aquaculture sector and the energy sector to showcase and illustrate the potential of LCA to undertake the environmental sustainability challenge and support product/technology/system development....

  11. Awareness of Climate Change and Sustainable Development Issues among Junior Secondary School (JSS Students in Port Harcourt Metropolis of Rivers State, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chimezie Njoku

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the extent to which junior secondary school students in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State Nigeria are aware of issues related to climate change and sustainable development. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Four research questions were raised. Two instruments were used for data collection, a questionnaire and the junior secondary school teaching syllabus. The questionnaire titled “ Climate change and Sustainable Development Awareness Questionnaire” (CCSDA was used to obtain data from 1600 junior secondary school three (JSS3 students from the fourteen junior secondary schools in Port Harcourt Local Government of Rivers State, Nigeria. The questionnaire had three sections; A, B and C. Section A obtained the demographic features and bio-data of students, section B obtained information on the awareness level of climate change while section C obtained information on sustainable development awareness level. Simple percentages and mean were used to answer the research questions. The results from the data analysis revealed among other things that the JSS curriculum coverage of climate change is small; there is no sustainable development issues in the teaching syllabus of JSS; the level of awareness of sustainable Development issues is low; even though the climate change issues awareness level is high but the knowledge is low; students are eager and willing to know more about climate change and sustainable development issues. Based on these results, the researcher recommended among other things that more themes on Climate change and sustainable development should be introduced in social studies and integrated science in all the JSS level. Having very few topics on climate change and none at all on sustainable development at the junior secondary level is dangerous at this level of their development and more especially now that the world is striving to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs.

  12. Assessing the Sustainability of Different Small-Scale Livestock Production Systems in the Afar Region, Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ngufor L. Atanga

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Livestock production is a key income source in eastern Africa, and 80% of the total agricultural land is used for livestock herding. Hence, ecological and socio-economically sustainable rangeland management is crucial. Our study aimed at selecting operational economic, environmental and social sustainability indicators for three main pastoral (P, agro-pastoral (AP, and landless intensive (LI small scale livestock production systems for use in sustainability assessment in Ethiopia. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through grey literature and semi-structured interviews, assessing livestock and feed resources, production technology, land tenure, financial and gender issues. Our results suggested that feed shortages (FS are directly related to grazing pressure (G and inversely related to grass recovery rates (R. According to our indicators, AP was the most sustainable while P and LI were only conditionally sustainable production systems. 93% of 82 interviewees claimed that private land ownership was the best land tenure incentive for efficient rangeland management. Farmers perceived Prosopis juliflora expansion, sporadic rainfall, and disease infestation as the most significant causes for decreasing livestock productivity. Landless intensive farmers had the highest equality in income distribution (Gini Index: GI = 0.4, followed by P and AP (each with a GI = 0.5. Neither educational background nor income seemed to determine grazing species conservation efforts. We claimed that sustainability indicators are valuable tools to highlight shortcomings and strengths of the three main livestock production systems and help with future livestock management in Ethiopia. Selecting suitable indicators, however, is crucial as data requirements and availability can vary across livestock systems.

  13. Ergonomics and sustainability in the design of everyday use products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosi, Francesca

    2012-01-01

    The relationship between Ergonomics and Design is a key element in the sustainability project, as well as in many other areas of experimental design. In the Design for Sustainability field, Ergonomics is a strategic factor for design culture innovation, providing designers with the necessary knowledge and skills regarding human characteristics and capabilities, as well as user needs and desires during use and interaction with products in work activities and everyday life. Ergonomics is also a strategic innovative factor in design development and manufacturing processes. In fact, ergonomics provides a methodological approach in user-product interaction evaluation processes through the use of participatory design and survey methods, user trials, direct observation, savings and resource conservation, etc.On the other hand, design offers solutions able to interpret user needs and expectations, at the same time suggesting new behaviors and lifestyles.In Design for Sustainability, the ergonomic and user-centered approach contributes greatly to lifestyles and innovative use of products--making it possible to understand and interpret real people needs and expectations in their everyday actions and behavior.New consumption patterns, new awareness of lifestyles, energy source consumption, purchasing methods and consumption style etc. can be supported by design innovation, responding to expressed and unexpressed user needs. With this in mind, the ergonomic approach represents the starting point for design choices and at the same time, a tool for assessing their appropriateness and effectiveness.

  14. "Omics" of maize stress response for sustainable food production: opportunities and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Fangping; Yang, Le; Tai, Fuju; Hu, Xiuli; Wang, Wei

    2014-12-01

    Maize originated in the highlands of Mexico approximately 8700 years ago and is one of the most commonly grown cereal crops worldwide, followed by wheat and rice. Abiotic stresses (primarily drought, salinity, and high and low temperatures), together with biotic stresses (primarily fungi, viruses, and pests), negatively affect maize growth, development, and eventually production. To understand the response of maize to abiotic and biotic stresses and its mechanism of stress tolerance, high-throughput omics approaches have been used in maize stress studies. Integrated omics approaches are crucial for dissecting the temporal and spatial system-level changes that occur in maize under various stresses. In this comprehensive analysis, we review the primary types of stresses that threaten sustainable maize production; underscore the recent advances in maize stress omics, especially proteomics; and discuss the opportunities, challenges, and future directions of maize stress omics, with a view to sustainable food production. The knowledge gained from studying maize stress omics is instrumental for improving maize to cope with various stresses and to meet the food demands of the exponentially growing global population. Omics systems science offers actionable potential solutions for sustainable food production, and we present maize as a notable case study.

  15. Sustainable, efficient livestock production with high biodiversity and good welfare for animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broom, D M; Galindo, F A; Murgueitio, E

    2013-11-22

    What is the future for livestock agriculture in the world? Consumers have concerns about sustainability but many widely used livestock production methods do not satisfy consumers' requirements for a sustainable system. However, production can be sustainable, occurring in environments that: supply the needs of the animals resulting in good welfare, allow coexistence with a wide diversity of organisms native to the area, minimize carbon footprint and provide a fair lifestyle for the people working there. Conservation need not just involve tiny islands of natural vegetation in a barren world of agriculture, as there can be great increases in biodiversity in farmed areas. Herbivores, especially ruminants that consume materials inedible by humans, are important for human food in the future. However, their diet should not be just ground-level plants. Silvopastoral systems, pastures with shrubs and trees as well as herbage, are described which are normally more productive than pasture alone. When compared with widely used livestock production systems, silvopastoral systems can provide efficient feed conversion, higher biodiversity, enhanced connectivity between habitat patches and better animal welfare, so they can replace existing systems in many parts of the world and should be further developed.

  16. A new productivity index to measure economic sustainability of the mining industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, Xose A

    2010-01-01

    This document aims to introduce a total productivity index to measure the economic sustainability of the mining industry. This index will take into account any technical developments, means of use of productive factors (i.e. inefficiencies and scale effects) and the effects on the growth of the geological properties in the resources to be exploited (particularly the effects of resource reduction or reserves depletion). This new index will then be applied to the example of the Spanish mining industry, with some interesting findings regarding the configuration of sustainable mining policies.

  17. 'Sustainable chemical production' - A review of the 7th Symposium of Fribourg 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaeser, K.

    2005-01-01

    The Division 'Industrial Chemistry' of the Swiss Chemical Society organizes periodically a two-day event for the post-graduate education of its members. This event is known as the Freiburger Symposium. This year it focussed on sustainable chemical production. The twelve talks covered the following aspects: ethical needs for sustainability standards, the required, attained, and yet to be attained sustainability goals in chemical industry. Diverse case studies showed the highly developed awareness about the sustainability issue within the chemical community. (author)

  18. MARKETING PROGRAMS FOR GREEN PRODUCTS IN ACHIEVING ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela CĂPĂȚÎNĂ

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This article explores one dimension of green marketing programs: their potential application as a solution in achieving and maintaining the ecological sustainability on global market. We examine the necessity to develop and launch green products which can respond to environment degradation as a treatment against this phenomenon. This paper is structured in three sections: the first section is related to a clear delimitation and a better understanding of terms; the second one is an overview of the literature about ecological sustainability; the third section is the most relevant part of this paper because is trying to shape a framework of marketing programs for the development of green products, considering the decisions related to marketing mix elements. Even if green marketing programs make sense, current understanding of how managers can start to develop or transform their marketing efforts is far from comprehensive; therefore, this study is addressed to this knowledge gap.

  19. [Vocational Health Schools (ETSUS) in Brazil: regulation of the integration of teaching-service-administrative sustainability of ETSUS].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Fabiano Tonaco; Garbin, Cléa Adas Saliba; Siqueira, Carlos Eduardo; Garbin, Artênio José Ísper; Rocha, Najara Barbosa da; Lolli, Luíz Fernando; Moimaz, Suzely Adas Saliba

    2012-04-01

    The scope of this study was to discuss the administrative sustainability of Brazil's Vocational Health Schools (ETSUS) based on the principle of teaching and service integration, which brings a new dimension to healthcare work as yet unregulated by Brazilian public administration. It was a qualitative study using case study methodology. The research involved a semi-structured questionnaire given to ETSUS managers addressing institutional, administrative, and work management aspects. The sample was composed of 6 ETSUS that belong to the Network of Vocational Health Schools (RET-SUS). The ETSUS showed centralized planning and management, and decentralized implementation of their core activities. The majority did not have administrative autonomy and relied heavily on funding from the federal government. According to ETSUS managers, the lack of regulation of teaching activities by civil servants weakens the management of ETSUS. The ETSUS have managerial problems related to teaching-service integration, which has to be regulated in order to guarantee the sustainability of these schools and avoid conflicts with Brazilian legislation.

  20. Eco-innovative Practices for Sustainable Consumption and Production: What are the Possible Benefits for Companies?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Rosa De Giacomo

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to present some eco-innovative practices regarding Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP. The study also focuses on potential benefits for the actors who implement these practices, mainly with reference to companies. After a literature review on the actual importance of SCP and on the effects of eco-innovation tools and policies on companies, authors present the developed eco-innovation practices in three focus areas related to sustainable consumption and production. The aim of the study is to contribute to literature studies on SCP with the development of eco-innovative practices resulting by the integration of existing tools, by pointing out and valorizing their potentials and synergies. These practices have been pointing out in the framework of the international European project. Three focus areas are involved by the practices: sustainability of products and services, sustainability of production processes and sustainable management of industrial areas. Authors developed four eco innovative practices resulting from the integration of 15 existing tools. These practices offer many opportunities to many actors, mainly companies and public authorities, in order to achieve environmental and competitive benefits and implement eco-innovation principles with a cooperative and shared approach.

  1. The sustainability of cassava-based bioethanol production in southern Mali

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Kjeld; Birch-Thomsen, Torben; Bruun, Thilde Bech

    2015-01-01

    of labour input. Analysis of the significance of current cassava production for food security shows that bioethanol production should be based on the attiéké variety of cassava, thereby avoiding interference with the important role of the bonouma in assuring food security in northern Mali. The key factor......The demand for biofuels has been rising, which has led developing countries to focus on production of feedstocks for biodiesel and bioethanol production. This has caused concerns for the impacts on food security, food prices and environmental sustainability. This paper examines a hypothetical case...

  2. Developing and commercializing sustainable new wood products : a process for identifying viable products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon A. Enk; Stuart L. Hart

    2003-01-01

    A process was designed to evaluate the sustainability and potential marketability of USDA Forest Service patented technologies. The process was designed and tested jointly by the University of North Carolina, the University of Michigan, Partners for Strategic Change, and the USDA Forest Service. Two technologies were evaluated: a fiber-based product and a wood fiber/...

  3. Recent Advances and Challenges towards Sustainable Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kourmentza, Constantina; Plácido, Jersson; Venetsaneas, Nikolaos; Burniol-Figols, Anna; Varrone, Cristiano; Gavala, Hariklia N; Reis, Maria A M

    2017-06-11

    Sustainable biofuels, biomaterials, and fine chemicals production is a critical matter that research teams around the globe are focusing on nowadays. Polyhydroxyalkanoates represent one of the biomaterials of the future due to their physicochemical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. Designing efficient and economic bioprocesses, combined with the respective social and environmental benefits, has brought together scientists from different backgrounds highlighting the multidisciplinary character of such a venture. In the current review, challenges and opportunities regarding polyhydroxyalkanoate production are presented and discussed, covering key steps of their overall production process by applying pure and mixed culture biotechnology, from raw bioprocess development to downstream processing.

  4. Strategies for Sustainable Development of Non-Timber Forest Products in Senegal

    OpenAIRE

    Sene, Abdou

    2001-01-01

    In recent years, forests have been increasingly recognized as rich reservoirs for many valuable biological resources. As a result of the devastation caused by drought, clearing land for agriculture, and overexploitation of timber, there has been a growing interest in non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The Senegal Forestry Action Plan, designed to ensure sustainable forest management, stresses the importance of identifying the constraints to and opportunities for sustainable development of no...

  5. textile and fashion production skills for sustainable development in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Admin

    violence, this paper this paper argues that imparting former militants with skills and techniques in textile design and production is a sustainable way to ... poverty alleviation, economic and social stability among Nigeria's troubled youth .... culture, creating a platform for cross-cultural interaction allowing Africans to share in the ...

  6. Towards a life cycle sustainability assessment: making informed choices on products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ciroth, Andreas [GreenDeltaTC, Berlin (Germany); Finkbeiner, Matthias; Traverso, Marzia [TU Berlin (Germany); Hildenbrand, Jutta [Chalmers University (United States); Kloepffer, Walter [Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Germany); Mazijn, Bernard [Ghent University (Belgium); Prakash, Siddharth [Oeko-Institut (Germany); Sonnemann, Guido; Valdivia, Sonia [UNEP (France); Ugaya, Cassia Maria Lie [Technological Federal University of Parana, ACV (Brazil); Vickery-Niederman, Gina [University of Arkansas (United States)

    2011-07-01

    In this introduction to the concept of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), we acknowledge the foundations laid by previous works and initiatives. One such initiative has been the ISO 14040 series (Environmental management -- Life cycle assessment -- Principles and framework), which in addition to the ISO 26000: Social Responsibility Guidance Standard, and the contribution of a number of international initiatives (Appendix A) have been essential for the development of this publication. The life cycle of a product involves flows of material, energy and money. Nonetheless, the picture is not complete unless we look also at the production and consumption impacts on all actors along the 'value chain' -- workers, local communities, consumers and society itself. Different life cycle assessment techniques allow individuals and enterprises to assess the impact of their purchasing decisions and production methods along different aspects of this value chain. An (Environmental) life cycle assessment (LCA) looks at potential impacts to the environment as a result of the extraction of resources, transportation, production, use, recycling and discarding of products; life cycle costing (LCC) is used to assess the cost implications of this life cycle; and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) examines the social consequences. However, in order to get the 'whole picture', it is vital to extend current life cycle thinking to encompass all three pillars of sustainability: (i) environmental, (ii) economic and (iii) social. This means carrying out an assessment based on environmental, economic and social issues -- by conducting an overarching life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This publication shows how all three techniques -- which all share similar methodological frameworks and aims -- can be combined to make the move towards an overarching LCSA possible. Because it is holistic, systemic and rigorous, (environmental) LCA is the preferred technique

  7. Towards a life cycle sustainability assessment: making informed choices on products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ciroth, Andreas [GreenDeltaTC, Berlin (Germany); Finkbeiner, Matthias; Traverso, Marzia [TU Berlin (Germany); Hildenbrand, Jutta [Chalmers University (United States); Kloepffer, Walter [Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Germany); Mazijn, Bernard [Ghent University (Belgium); Prakash, Siddharth [Oeko-Institut (Germany); Sonnemann, Guido; Valdivia, Sonia [UNEP (France); Ugaya, Cassia Maria Lie [Technological Federal University of Parana, ACV (Brazil); Vickery-Niederman, Gina [University of Arkansas (United States)

    2011-07-01

    In this introduction to the concept of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), we acknowledge the foundations laid by previous works and initiatives. One such initiative has been the ISO 14040 series (Environmental management -- Life cycle assessment -- Principles and framework), which in addition to the ISO 26000: Social Responsibility Guidance Standard, and the contribution of a number of international initiatives (Appendix A) have been essential for the development of this publication. The life cycle of a product involves flows of material, energy and money. Nonetheless, the picture is not complete unless we look also at the production and consumption impacts on all actors along the 'value chain' -- workers, local communities, consumers and society itself. Different life cycle assessment techniques allow individuals and enterprises to assess the impact of their purchasing decisions and production methods along different aspects of this value chain. An (Environmental) life cycle assessment (LCA) looks at potential impacts to the environment as a result of the extraction of resources, transportation, production, use, recycling and discarding of products; life cycle costing (LCC) is used to assess the cost implications of this life cycle; and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) examines the social consequences. However, in order to get the 'whole picture', it is vital to extend current life cycle thinking to encompass all three pillars of sustainability: (i) environmental, (ii) economic and (iii) social. This means carrying out an assessment based on environmental, economic and social issues -- by conducting an overarching life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This publication shows how all three techniques -- which all share similar methodological frameworks and aims -- can be combined to make the move towards an overarching LCSA possible. Because it is holistic, systemic and rigorous, (environmental) LCA is the preferred technique when it comes to

  8. Animal Board Invited Review: Comparing conventional and organic livestock production systems on different aspects of sustainability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wagenberg, van C.P.A.; Haas, de Y.; Hogeveen, H.; Krimpen, van M.M.; Meuwissen, M.P.M.; Middelaar, van C.E.; Rodenburg, T.B.

    2017-01-01

    To sustainably contribute to food security of a growing and richer world population, livestock production systems are challenged to increase production levels while reducing environmental impact, being economically viable, and socially responsible. Knowledge about the sustainability performance

  9. 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.

  10. Biodelignification of lignocellulose substrates: An intrinsic and sustainable pretreatment strategy for clean energy production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandel, Anuj K; Gonçalves, Bruna C M; Strap, Janice L; da Silva, Silvio S

    2015-01-01

    Lignocellulosic biomass (LB) is a promising sugar feedstock for biofuels and other high-value chemical commodities. The recalcitrance of LB, however, impedes carbohydrate accessibility and its conversion into commercially significant products. Two important factors for the overall economization of biofuel production is LB pretreatment to liberate fermentable sugars followed by conversion into ethanol. Sustainable biofuel production must overcome issues such as minimizing water and energy usage, reducing chemical usage and process intensification. Amongst available pretreatment methods, microorganism-mediated pretreatments are the safest, green, and sustainable. Native biodelignifying agents such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Pycnoporous cinnabarinus, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and Cyathus stercoreus can remove lignin, making the remaining substrates amenable for saccharification. The development of a robust, integrated bioprocessing (IBP) approach for economic ethanol production would incorporate all essential steps including pretreatment, cellulase production, enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation of the released sugars into ethanol. IBP represents an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, low energy and low capital approach for second-generation ethanol production. This paper reviews the advancements in microbial-assisted pretreatment for the delignification of lignocellulosic substrates, system metabolic engineering for biorefineries and highlights the possibilities of process integration for sustainable and economic ethanol production.

  11. Sustainability assessment of bioethanol and petroleum fuel production in Japan based on emergy analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Jin’e; Lin, Bin-Le; Sagisaka, Masayuki

    2012-01-01

    To promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, research and development of bioethanol technologies are encouraged in Japan and a plan to utilize untilled fields to develop rice for bioethanol production as a substitute for petroleum fuel is being devised. This study applies emergy methods to compare the sustainability of petroleum fuel production and two Japanese rice-to-ethanol production scenarios: (a) ethanol from rice grain, while straw and chaff are burned as energy and (b) ethanol from rice+straw+chaff. The major emergy indices, Emergy Yield Ratio (EYR), Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR), Emergy Investment Ratio (EIR), Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI), Environmental Impacts Ratio (EVR) and system transformity (Tr), are analyzed to assess the production processes. The results show that (1) petroleum fuel production presents higher ELR, EIR, EVR and lower EYR, ESI, Tr than rice-to-ethanol production, indicating rice-to-ethanol production makes sense for reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG); (2) scenario (a) performs similarly on major indicators (EYR, ESI, ELR, EIR and EVR) to scenario (b), yet the system efficiency indicator (Tr) of scenario (a, 7.572×10 5 semj/J) is much higher than (b, 4.573×10 5 semj/J), and therefore (b) is a better alternative for policy decisions; (3) both petroleum fuel production and rice-to-ethanol processes are mainly driven by purchased resources and are unsustainable and nonrenewable in the long run. - Highlights: ► We compare petrol fuel and rice-to-ethanol production using emergy indices. ► Rice-to-ethanol reduces green house gas emissions as a substitute for petrol fuel. ► Rice-to-ethanol production has better sustainability than that of petrol fuel. ► Neither petrol fuel nor biofuel production are sustainable in the long term. ► Bioethanol is not a renewable fuel.

  12. Sustainable Intensified Process Retrofit for the Production of MDI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Babi, Deenesh Kavi; Woodley, John; Gani, Rafiqul

    Process intensification (PI) is a means by which processes can be made more efficient and sustainable at different levels, the unit operations, functional and phenomena levels. Therefore PI can be used for making process improvements at the functional level for the production of an important poly...... polyurethane, methylene diphenyldi-isocyanate (MDI)....

  13. Assistive products and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tebbutt, Emma; Brodmann, Rebecca; Borg, Johan; MacLachlan, Malcolm; Khasnabis, Chapal; Horvath, Robert

    2016-11-29

    The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have placed great emphasis on the need for much greater social inclusion, and on making deliberate efforts to reach marginalized groups. People with disabilities are often marginalized through their lack of access to a range of services and opportunities. Assistive products can help people overcome impairments and barriers enabling them to be active, participating and productive members of society. Assistive products are vital for people with disabilities, frailty and chronic illnesses; and for those with mental health problems, and gradual cognitive and physical decline characteristic of aging populations. This paper illustrates how the achievement of each of the 17 SDGs can be facilitated by the use of assistive products. Without promoting the availability of assistive products the SDGs cannot be achieved equitably. We highlight how assistive products can be considered as both a mediator and a moderator of SDG achievement. We also briefly describe how the Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) is working to promote greater access to assistive products on a global scale.

  14. Sustainable economic production quantity models for inventory systems with shortage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Taleizadeh, Ata Allah; Soleymanfar, Vahid Reza; Govindan, Kannan

    2018-01-01

    optimal values of inventory system variables, we solve four independent profit maximization problems for four different situations. These proposed models include a basic model in which shortages are not allowed, and when shortages are allowed, the lost sale, full backordering and partial backordering...... (EPQ). The theoretical sustainable EOQ and EPQ models are basic models that ignore many real-life conditions such as the possibility of stock-out in inventory systems. In this paper, we develop four new sustainable economic production quantity models that consider different shortage situations. To find...

  15. Traditional products: Base for the sustainable development of Serbian animal origin products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stevanović Jasna Lj.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Research results on the diversity of traditional products of animal origin from certain areas of the Republic of Serbia, provides an opportunity to become part of the sustainable quality development, which would be based on their promotion and protection of local resources. Traditional products of animal origin are different and inseparable from the local identity, typical for nation and its food culture. Through confidence-building, and protection from oblivion, the value of domestic products, had preserved trough centuries-old tradition. Nowadays, each domestic product has its own recognisable taste, representing climate of the Republic of Serbia, from which it comes. Universally accepted model of rural institutional structure does not exist. Instead it accommodates and develops in accordance to needs, possibilities and area specific characteristics. By the efficient protection rural models becomes an investment incentives and contribute to general economic and industrial prosperity of the society.

  16. The humanity at the frontiers with new technologies for sustained energy production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florescu, Gheorghe; Agapi, Constantin; Mircea, Ioan; Gyongyosi, Tiberiu; Panaitescu, Valeriu; Florescu, Ioan-Bogdan

    2009-01-01

    The international scientific community is engaged in dealing with the actual nuclear research issues and in finding new ways for continuous and raising energy production. The big energy consumption and occurrence of new large consumers, especially in Asian countries, impose finding new solutions for clean, large scale and sustained energy production. The new technologies and scientific discoveries, also the international cooperation, offer opportunities to eliminate the actual barriers in order to cumulate and use advanced energy production processes, to find new energy sources and to build improved power plants. The paper presents the actual state of the art in the field of new technologies for nuclear power sources, the steps to be undertaken in order to penetrate the actual barriers for large scale energy production. In the paper are also presented: the actual energy production issues; the key arguments that could be used to sustain R and D for finding new energy sources; the actual limitations in industrial processes knowledge and use. (authors)

  17. 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.

  18. Socio-Environmental and Sustainability Assessment for Technology Innovations at Pectens Production in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcio Ricardo Costa dos Santos

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a practical impact assessment method for the adoption of technology innovations at Pectens In vitro Fertilization Laboratory in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. To fulfill the system framework requirements, focused on reproductive and productive enterprises, field visits and interview with the laboratory executive director were carried out. Considering the pectens production activities, 24 socio-environmental indicators were developed and the impact indices were automatically calculated by the system’s spreadsheets. General performance index for the pectens reproduction activities indicated an important contribution of technological innovations for the sustainable production of the In vitro Fertilization Laboratory. The employed method was considered as appropriate for evaluations of sustainability at this agribusiness activity, dealing with indicators as tools in order to identify possible risks for negative impacts. Those indicators include aspects beyond those commonly presented by environmental impact assessments, and were capable to provide adequate management and sustainable development for the studied Organization.

  19. Prioritization of Bioethanol Production Pathways in China based on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ren, Jingzheng; Manzardo, Alessandro; Mazzi, Anna

    2015-01-01

    Purpose The study objectives are two-fold: (i) combining the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework and the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology for sustainability assessment; (ii) determining the most sustainable scenario for bioethanol production in China according......’s proposed method investigates an illustrative case about three alternative bioethanol production scenarios (wheat-based, corn-based and cassava-based): the prior sequence (based on the sustainability performances) in descending order is cassava-based, corn-based and wheat-based. The proposed methodology...... is to test the combination of a MCDM methodology and LCSA for sustainability decision-making by studying three alternative pathways for bioethanol production in China. The proposed method feasibly enables the decision-makers/stakeholders to find the most sustainable scenario to achieve their objectives among...

  20. 77 FR 10939 - Driving Innovation and Creating Jobs in Rural America Through Biobased and Sustainable Product...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-24

    ... Sustainable Product Procurement Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies The Bio... economic development, create new jobs, and provide new markets for farm commodities. Biobased and sustainable products help to increase our energy security and independence. The Federal Government, with...

  1. Undergraduate Sustainable Learning: Effects of Sustainable Soilless Media on Production and Sensory Evaluation of Cucumbers, Basil, Parsley, and Lettuce

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoria Russell

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Modern greenhouse production has been ~100% reliant on fossil fuels for all inputs (glazing, heating, fertilization, lighting, post-harvest. Recent innovations may reduce fossil fuel dependence but their effectiveness may not be thoroughly tested. To promote education in sustainable production, undergraduate students in Greenhouse Management class (Hort 3002W; University of Minnesota tested the effectiveness of two organic or ‘sustainable’ soilless media (Sunshine Natural and Organic Growing Mix, Sungro Metro-Mix Special Blend with a control (Sunshine LC8 Professional for crop production (height, leaf/flower number, yield and sensory evaluations (appearance, texture, taste, purchase of cucumbers (‘Big Burpless Hybrid’, ‘Sweet Burpless Hybrid’, basil (‘Opal Purple’, ‘Redleaf’, parsley (‘Green River’, ‘Extra Curled Dwarf’, ‘Hamburg’, and lettuce (Flying Saucer ‘Green’, ‘Red’. Significant differences between sustainable vs. control soils occurred for plant growth, depending on vegetative or reproductive traits, crops, and cultivars. These differences occasionally disappeared for sensory evaluation of edible components. In most crops, however, cultivars were highly significant factors. Undergraduate research can be used to provide directionality for future vegetable and herb plant breeding to focus on creating cultivars with increased yield and high consumer acceptance when grown in sustainable greenhouse soilless mixes.

  2. Sustainable recycling of automotive products in China: Technology and regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ming

    2006-08-01

    The Chinese economy is growing rapidly, but accompanyingsuch growth are issues of environmental protection and social inequity which must be addressed. With the Automobile Industry Development Policy and the Motor Vehicle Product Recovery Technology Policy, an automobile products recoverability target has been established and will be incorporated into an automobile products authentication management system in China. By 2010, for all end-of-life automobile products, reuse and recovery shall be increased to a minimum of 85% by average weight per vehicle, and the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium is prohibited. This paper will address the sustainable recycling of Chinese automobile products within the period of 2006 2010.

  3. The sustainable utilization of human resources in global product development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee; Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard; Hansen, Mette Sanne

    2010-01-01

    This empirical paper investigates the challenges global product development faces in regard to a sustainable utilization of resources through case studies and interviews in six Danish multinational corporations. Findings revealed 3 key challenges, which relates to increased rework in product...... development and production, overlapping work and a lack of utilization of knowledge and information at the supplier or subsidiary. The authors suggest the use of strategic simulation in order to gain greater transparency in the global network and thus utilize resources better. Strategic simulation...

  4. Sustainable biomass products development and evaluation, Hamakua project. Final draft report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-05-01

    The PICHTR Sustainable Biomass Energy Program was developed to evaluate the potential to cultivate crops for energy production as an alternative use of lands made available by the closing of large sugar plantations. In particular, the closing of the Hamakua Sugar Company on the island of Hawaii brought a great deal of attention to the future of agriculture in this region and in the state. Many options were proposed. Several promising alternatives had been proposed for cane lands. These included dedicated feedstock supply systems (DFSS) for electrical energy production, cultivation of sugarcane to produce ethanol and related by-products, and the production of feed and crops to support animal agriculture. Implementation of some of the options might require preservation of large tracts of land and maintenance of the sugar mills and sugar infrastructure. An analysis of the technical, financial, and other issues necessary to reach conclusions regarding the optimal use of these lands was required. At the request of the Office of State Planning and Senator Akaka`s office, the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR) established and coordinated a working group composed of state, county, federal, and private sector representatives to identify sustainable energy options for the use of idle sugar lands on the island of Hawaii. The Sustainable Biomass Energy Program`s Hamakua Project was established to complete a comprehensive evaluation of the most viable alternatives and assess the options to grow crops as a source of raw materials for the production of transportation fuel and/or electricity on the island of Hawaii. The motivation for evaluating biomass to energy conversion embraced the considerations that Hawaii`s energy security would be improved by diversifying the fuels used for transportation and reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels. The use of waste products as feedstocks could divert wastes from landfills.

  5. Plant response-based sensing for control starategies in sustainable greenhouse production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kacira, M.; Sase, S.; Okushima, L.; Ling, P.P.

    2005-01-01

    The effect of environmental variability is one of the major concerns in experimental design for both research in plant systems and greenhouse plant production. Microclimates surrounding plants are not usually uniform. Therefore, many samples and sensors are required to obtain a true representation of the plant population. A plant monitoring system capable of reducing the required number of samples by reducing environmental variability would be more advantageous. To better understand plant-environment interaction, it is essential to study plants, microclimate surrounding the plants and the growth media. To achieve this, the monitoring system must be equipped with proper instrumentation. To achieve proper management practices and sustainable greenhouse production, it is essential first to understand plants and their interactions with their surroundings and then establish plant response-based sensing and control strategies for greenhouse processes. Therefore, an effort was conducted to review and discuss current sensing and control strategies in greenhouse research and plant production and provide recommendations on plant response-based sensing and control strategies for sustainable greenhouse production

  6. Toward a sustainability label for food products: an analysis of experts' and consumers' acceptance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engels, Stéphanie V; Hansmann, Ralf; Scholz, Roland W

    2010-01-01

    The recent proliferation of standards and labels for organic, fair-trade, locally produced, and healthy food products risks creating confusion among consumers. This study presents a standardized approach to developing a comprehensive sustainability label that incorporates ecological, economic, and social values. The methodology is based on an extension of modular life-cycle assessment to non-environmental sustainability criteria. Interviews with a wide range of experts (n=65) and a consumer survey (n=233) were conducted to analyze the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the approach. Responses indicated that a comprehensive sustainability label could considerably influence consumption patterns and facilitate cross-product comparisons. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

  7. Preconditions for Sustainable Changes in Didactics Applying Self-Directed Learning in the General Education School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazlauskiene, Ausra; Gaucaite, Ramute; Poceviciene, Rasa

    2016-01-01

    Implementation of the result-oriented (self-)education paradigm in the general education school requires sustainable changes in didactics not only on the strategic document plane but also in educational practice. However, its implementation in practice is complicated. The success of the interaction between theory and practice largely depends on…

  8. A District-Wide Approach to Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices in the Boston Public Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Colin; Issa, Mwalimu Donkor

    2018-01-01

    Boston Public Schools' system-wide professional development on culturally and linguistically sustaining practices (CLSP) creates consistent expectations for educators to address their biases, build relationships with students and parents, and improve instruction--and gives them the tools to do so. In this article, the authors touch on changes at…

  9. Sustainable Table | Welcome to Sustainable Table

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sustainable Seafood Industrial Agriculture Industrial Livestock Production Antibiotics Hormones rBGH Animal , safeguarding animal welfare and supporting local communities. Questions to Ask Asking questions is the best way Livestock Husbandry Sustainable Crop Production Innovative Agriculture New Farmers Organic Agriculture Local

  10. Facilitating Lasting Changes at an Elementary School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurie JAMES

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine how to minimize waste in a school setting by reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting waste products. Specifically, the desire was to identify what steps could be taken to decrease waste practices at a Title I elementary school. Through the Washington Green Schools certification process, a Waste and Recycling Assessment and Characterization Audit allowed for the collection of data. The assessment examined how much and what types of waste products were disposed of at the school. Based on the audit, 93% of waste products in the cafeteria were recyclable or compostable. The results provided ways for the students and staff to take action resulting in behavioral changes that taught and modeled environmental conservation. This study can help revolutionize school communities by serving as a prototype for environmental sustainability enhancing an eco-friendly citizenry.

  11. Facilitating lasting changes at an elementary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurie James

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine how to minimize waste in a school setting by reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting waste products. Specifically, the desire was to identify what steps could be taken to decrease waste practices at a Title I elementary school. Through the Washington Green Schools certification process, a Waste and Recycling Assessment and Characterization Audit allowed for the collection of data. The assessment examined how much and what types of waste products were disposed of at the school. Based on the audit, 93% of waste products in the cafeteria were recyclable or compostable. The results provided ways for the students and staff to take action resulting in behavioral changes that taught and modeled environmental conservation. This study can help revolutionize school communities by serving as a prototype for environmental sustainability enhancing an eco-friendly citizenry.

  12. Sustainable production and consumption, an assessment for the Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aalbers, T.; Brink, C.; Drissen, E.; Faber, A.; Nijdam, D.; Rood, T.; Vringer, K.; Wilting, H.C.

    2007-01-01

    Poverty, climate change and loss of biodiversity are among the key issues in relation to global sustainable development. The Netherlands is tightly embedded in a global network of economic relations as well as environmental effects: domestic consumption and production patterns affect environmental pressure not only within the country, but also abroad. This report explores the nature and quantity of economic and environmental embedding of the Netherlands in the world. Following from surveys, support for policy measures is identified and explored. It concludes by the notion that sustainability problems have an increasingly global character, but that the inverse is also true: it makes sense to take up responsibilities to improve the environment in other parts of the world

  13. Leadership Capacity--A Key to Sustaining Lasting Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Henry S.

    2009-01-01

    Studies on school change indicate that schools successful in sustaining school improvement build capacity for leadership within the organization (Harris & Lambert, 2003). Reliance on the leadership of the principal alone is no longer viable if schools are to improve and sustain improvement. Leadership capacity is about creating conditions…

  14. Multi-scale modeling for sustainable chemical production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhuang, Kai; Bakshi, Bhavik R.; Herrgard, Markus

    2013-01-01

    associated with the development and implementation of a su stainable biochemical industry. The temporal and spatial scales of modeling approaches for sustainable chemical production vary greatly, ranging from metabolic models that aid the design of fermentative microbial strains to material and monetary flow......With recent advances in metabolic engineering, it is now technically possible to produce a wide portfolio of existing petrochemical products from biomass feedstock. In recent years, a number of modeling approaches have been developed to support the engineering and decision-making processes...... models that explore the ecological impacts of all economic activities. Research efforts that attempt to connect the models at different scales have been limited. Here, we review a number of existing modeling approaches and their applications at the scales of metabolism, bioreactor, overall process...

  15. Fostering sustainable feedstock production for advanced biofuels on underutilised land in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mergner, Rita; Janssen, Rainer; Rutz, Dominik; Knoche, Dirk; Köhler, Raul; Colangeli, Marco; Gyuris, Peter

    2017-04-01

    Background In context of growing competition between land uses, bioenergy development is often seen as one of possible contributors to such competition. However, the potential of underutilized land (contaminated, abandoned, marginal, fallow land etc.) which is not used or cannot be used for productive activities is not exhausted and offers an attractive alternative for sustainable production of different biomass feedstocks in Europe. Depending on biomass feedstocks, different remediation activities can be carried out in addition. Bioenergy crops have the potential to be grown profitably on underutilized land and can therefore offer an attractive source of income on the local level contributing to achieving the targets of the Renewable Energy Directive (EC/2009). The FORBIO project The FORBIO project demonstrates the viability of using underutilised land in EU Member States for sustainable bioenergy feedstock production that does not affect the supply of food, feed and land currently used for recreational or conservation purposes. Project activities will serve to build up and strengthen local bioenergy value chains that are competitive and that meet the highest sustainability standards, thus contributing to the market uptake of sustainable bioenergy in the EU. Presented results The FORBIO project will develop a methodology to assess the sustainable bioenergy production potential on available underutilized lands in Europe at local, site-specific level. Based on this methodology, the project will produce multiple feasibility studies in three selected case study locations: Germany (lignite mining and sewage irrigation fields in the metropolis region of Berlin and Brandenburg), Italy (contaminated land from industrial activities in Sulcis, Portoscuso) and Ukraine (underutilised marginal agricultural land in the North of Kiev). The focus of the presentation will be on the agronomic and techno-economic feasibility studies in Germany, Italy and Ukraine. Agronomic

  16. A multifunctional design approach for sustainable concrete : with application to concrete mass products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hüsken, G.

    2010-01-01

    This thesis provides a multifunctional design approach for sustainable concrete, particularly earth-moist concrete (EMC), with application to concrete mass products. EMC is a concrete with low water content and stiff consistency that is used for the production of concrete mass products, such as

  17. A sustainability framework for mobile technology integration in schools: The case of resourceconstrained environments in South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mabila, J

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The application of mobile technology integration in schools has been widely researched. However, only a few studies have extensively examined the sustainability of mobile technology integration in resource-constrained environments. Diverse contexts...

  18. The Fashion Retail and the value creation with sustainable products: a multiple case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleonora Alves Baptista

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to understand how the development of sustainable products in Brazilian fashion retail businesses creates value for the companies themselves, society and the environment. A qualitative approach to multiple case study method investigates practices and processes at four companies from Rio de Janeiro State. The study collected primary information from direct observation and interviews with the firms’ directors, and secondary data from industry reports and other documents. Three overall dimensions of the study - environmental management, value creation and product development in fast fashion companies - encoded into seven categories, when considered in data crosssynthesis, elucidate the following conclusions: (1 the firms do not have economic, ethical and legal fields integrated view; (2 the companies do not believe that the fashion consumer market values environmental practices and thus not motivated to invest in practices and products; (3 a fragmented supply chain makes it difficult to control activities and appears as a major constraint to the development of sustainable products; (4 access to information on best environmental practices and tax incentives are important inductors’ mechanisms to leverage the development of sustainable products in the Brazilian fashion retail; (5 the development of strategic capabilities in pollution prevention area, management products and clean technology create value for the production chain.

  19. Life cycle assessment and sustainability analysis of products, materials and technologies. Toward a scientific framework for sustainability life cycle analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heijungs, Reinout; Huppes, Gjalt; Guinée, Jeroen B.

    There are many approaches to study the environmental and sustainability aspects of production and consumption. Some of these reside at the level of concepts, e.g., industrial ecology, design for environment, and cleaner production. Other approaches are based on the use of quantitative models, e.g.,

  20. The Role of Leadership Capacity in Sustaining the School Improvement Initiative of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Combs, Christine; Martin, Barbara N.

    2011-01-01

    This article examines what occurred within schools successfully implementing and sustaining Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports through the lens of leadership capacity. Leadership capacity, a broad-based, skillful participation in leadership, promotes the capabilities of many organizational members to lead. Researchers used quantitative analysis…

  1. Production of Singlet Oxygen in a Non-Self-Sustained Discharge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasil'eva, A.N.; Klopovskii, K.S.; Kovalev, A.S.; Lopaev, D.V.; Mankelevich, Yu.A.; Popov, N.A.; Rakhimov, A.T.; Rakhimova, T.V.

    2005-01-01

    The production of O 2 (a 1 Δ g ) singlet oxygen in non-self-sustained discharges in pure oxygen and mixtures of oxygen with noble gases (Ar or He) was studied experimentally. It is shown that the energy efficiency of O 2 (a 1 Δ g ) production can be optimized with respect to the reduced electric field E/N. It is shown that the optimal E/N values correspond to electron temperatures of 1.2-1.4 eV. At these E/N values, a decrease in the oxygen percentage in the mixture leads to an increase in the excitation rate of singlet oxygen because of the increase in the specific energy deposition per O 2 molecule. The onset of discharge instabilities not only greatly reduces the energy efficiency of singlet oxygen production but also makes it impossible to achieve high energy deposition in a non-self-sustained discharge. A model of a non-self-sustained discharge in pure oxygen is developed. It is shown that good agreement between the experimental and computed results for a discharge in oxygen over a wide range of reduced electric fields can be achieved only by taking into account the ion component of the discharge current. The cross section for the electron-impact excitation of O 2 (a 1 Δ g ) and the kinetic scheme of the discharge processes with the participation of singlet oxygen are verified by comparing the experimental and computed data on the energy efficiency of the production of O 2 (a 1 Δ g ) and the dynamics of its concentration. It is shown that, in the dynamics of O 2 (a 1 Δ g ) molecules in the discharge afterglow, an important role is played by their deexcitation in a three-body reaction with the participation of O( 3 P) atoms. At high energy depositions in a non-self-sustained discharge, this reaction can reduce the maximal attainable concentration of singlet oxygen. The effect of a hydrogen additive to an Ar : O 2 mixture is analyzed based on the results obtained using the model developed. It is shown that, for actual electron beam current densities, a

  2. Customer Involvement in the Development of New Sustainable Products: A Review of the Literature

    OpenAIRE

    Natalia Moreira; Trevor Wood-Harper

    2015-01-01

    The acceptance of sustainable products by the final consumer is still one of the challenges of the industry, which constantly seeks alternative approaches to successfully be accepted in the global market. A large set of methods and approaches have been discussed and analysed throughout the literature. Considering the current need for sustainable development and the current pace of consumption, the need for a combined solution towards the development of new products became c...

  3. Consumer preferences for sustainable aquaculture products: Evidence from in-depth interviews, think aloud protocols and choice experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Risius, Antje; Janssen, Meike; Hamm, Ulrich

    2017-06-01

    Fish from aquaculture is becoming more important for human consumption. Sustainable aquaculture procedures were developed as an alternative to overcome the negative environmental impacts of conventional aquaculture procedures and wild fisheries. The objective of this contribution is to determine what consumers expect from sustainable aquaculture and whether they prefer sustainable aquaculture products. A combination of qualitative research methods, with think aloud protocols and in-depth interviews, as well as quantitative methods, using choice experiments and face-to-face interviews, was applied. Data was collected in three different cities of Germany. Results revealed that sustainable aquaculture was associated with natural, traditional, local, and small scale production systems with high animal welfare standards. Overall, participants paid a lot of attention to the declaration of origin; in particular fish products from Germany and Denmark were preferred along with local products. Frequently used sustainability claims for aquaculture products were mostly criticized as being imprecise by the participants of the qualitative study; even though two claims tested in the choice experiments had a significant positive impact on the choice of purchase. Similarly, existing aquaculture-specific labels for certified sustainable aquaculture had an impact on the buying decision, but were not well recognized and even less trusted. Overall, consumers had a positive attitude towards sustainable aquaculture. However, communication measures and labelling schemes should be improved to increase consumer acceptance and make a decisive impact on consumers' buying behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Crop diversification can contribute to disease risk control in sustainable biofuels production

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, VH; McBride, RC; Shurin, JB; Bever, JD; Crews, TE; Tilman, GD

    2015-01-01

    © The Ecological Society of America. Global demand for transportation fuels will increase rapidly during the upcoming decades, and concerns about fossil-fuel consumption have stimulated research on renewable biofuels that can be sustainably produced from biological feedstocks. However, if unchecked, pathogens and parasites are likely to infect these cultivated biofuel feedstocks, greatly reducing crop yields and potentially threatening the sustainability of renewable bioenergy production effo...

  5. Green net national product for the sustainability and social welfare

    OpenAIRE

    Mohajan, Haradhan

    2010-01-01

    This paper discusses the theory of green national accounting and, emphasizes on social welfare and sustainable accounting. Weitzman provides a foundation for net national product as the stationary equivalent of a wealth maximizing path when there is a constant interest rate and no exogenous technological progress. An attempt has been taken here to make the relationship with different incomes and green net national product, under no exogenous technological progress and a constant utility disco...

  6. From life cycle assessment to sustainable production: Status and perspectives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Jeswiet, Jack; Alting, Leo

    2005-01-01

    to the tools for design for disassembly. Life Cycle Engineering is defined, and a systematic hierarchy is presented for the different levels at which environmental impacts from industry can be addressed by the engineer in order to improve the eco-efficiency of the industry. The role of industry in meeting...... the sustainability challenge to our societies is discussed, and it is concluded that industry must include not only the eco-efficiency but also the product's environmental justification and the company ethics in a life cycle perspective in order to become sustainable. In the outlook it is concluded that current...

  7. Hydrogen production through nuclear energy, a sustainable scenario in Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega V, E.; Francois L, J.L.

    2007-01-01

    The energy is a key point in the social and economic development of a country, for such motive to assure the energy supply in Mexico it is of vital importance. The hydrogen it is without a doubt some one of the alternating promising fuels before the visible one necessity to decentralize the energy production based on hydrocarbons. The versatility of their applications, it high heating power and having with the more clean fuel cycle of the energy basket with which count at the moment, they are only some examples of their development potential. However the more abundant element of the universe it is not in their elementary form in our planet, it forms molecules like in the hydrocarbons or water and it stops their use it should be extracted. At the present time different methods are known for the extraction of hydrogen, there is thermal, electric, chemical, photovoltaic among others. The election of the extraction method and the primary energy source to carry out it are decisive to judge the sustainability of the hydrogen production. The sustainable development is defined as development that covers the present necessities without committing the necessity to cover the necessities of the future generations, and in the mark of this definition four indicators of the sustainable development of the different cycles of fuel were evaluated in the hydrogen production in Mexico. These indicators take in consideration the emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (environment), the readiness of the energy resources (technology), the impacts in the floor use (social) and the production costs of the cycles (economy). In this work the processes were studied at the moment available for the generation of hydrogen, those that use coal, natural gas, hydraulic, eolic energy, biomass and nuclear, as primary energy sources. These processes were evaluated with energy references of Mexico to obtain the best alternative for hydrogen production. (Author)

  8. Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foyer, Christine H; Lam, Hon-Ming; Nguyen, Henry T; Siddique, Kadambot H M; Varshney, Rajeev K; Colmer, Timothy D; Cowling, Wallace; Bramley, Helen; Mori, Trevor A; Hodgson, Jonathan M; Cooper, James W; Miller, Anthony J; Kunert, Karl; Vorster, Juan; Cullis, Christopher; Ozga, Jocelyn A; Wahlqvist, Mark L; Liang, Yan; Shou, Huixia; Shi, Kai; Yu, Jingquan; Fodor, Nandor; Kaiser, Brent N; Wong, Fuk-Ling; Valliyodan, Babu; Considine, Michael J

    2016-08-02

    The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (grain legumes) under the banner 'nutritious seeds for a sustainable future'. A second green revolution is required to ensure food and nutritional security in the face of global climate change. Grain legumes provide an unparalleled solution to this problem because of their inherent capacity for symbiotic atmospheric nitrogen fixation, which provides economically sustainable advantages for farming. In addition, a legume-rich diet has health benefits for humans and livestock alike. However, grain legumes form only a minor part of most current human diets, and legume crops are greatly under-used. Food security and soil fertility could be significantly improved by greater grain legume usage and increased improvement of a range of grain legumes. The current lack of coordinated focus on grain legumes has compromised human health, nutritional security and sustainable food production.

  9. A method to define breeding goals for sustainable dairy cattle production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, H M; Christensen, L G; Odegård, J

    2006-09-01

    The objective of this study was to present a method to define breeding goals for sustainable dairy cattle production by adding nonmarket values to market economic values for functional traits in the breeding goal. A nonmarket value can represent the value of improved animal welfare or societal influences for animal production. The nonmarket value for mastitis resistance, conception rate, and stillbirth were derived based on how much farmers or breeding companies were willing to lose in selection response for milk yield to improve functional traits. The desired response for milk yield corresponding to a given percent loss was obtained using desired gain indices. By allowing a 5% loss in the selection response for milk yield, the nonmarket value was found to be 40.4 euro for mastitis resistance, 16.1 euro for conception rate, and 9.7 euro for stillbirth. The nonmarket value increased proportionally with increasing loss in the selection response for milk yield, but the selection response was lower for conception rate than for mastitis resistance because of differences in market economic value and heritability. To increase the response for conception rate, the nonmarket value was also derived for 2 situations, in which the desired responses for milk yield, mastitis resistance, and conception rate were specified. The method can be used to define breeding goals for sustainable production and to increase the response for traits that are at critically low levels. When defining breeding goals for sustainable production, breeding organizations should predict the selection response based on market economic value and add non-market value for traits with unacceptable selection responses.

  10. Is ‘Sustainable Development' the core of ‘Education for SustainableDevelopment'?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Breiting, Søren

    2007-01-01

    What is the core of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and how to avoid that ESD becomes everything good in school and in reality not more than a new terminology without much innovative power for education?......What is the core of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and how to avoid that ESD becomes everything good in school and in reality not more than a new terminology without much innovative power for education?...

  11. Innovation platform: A tool for sustainable rice production in Ghana ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agriculture plays a key role in Ghana's economy and that of sub Saharan Africa. Transforming agriculture in Ghana is key to increasing farm output, reducing poverty, ensuring environmental sustainability and reducing food insecurity. Linear transfer of technology addressing productivity, marketing and policy underlies the ...

  12. Animal Board Invited Review: Comparing conventional and organic livestock production systems on different aspects of sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Wagenberg, C P A; de Haas, Y; Hogeveen, H; van Krimpen, M M; Meuwissen, M P M; van Middelaar, C E; Rodenburg, T B

    2017-10-01

    To sustainably contribute to food security of a growing and richer world population, livestock production systems are challenged to increase production levels while reducing environmental impact, being economically viable, and socially responsible. Knowledge about the sustainability performance of current livestock production systems may help to formulate strategies for future systems. Our study provides a systematic overview of differences between conventional and organic livestock production systems on a broad range of sustainability aspects and animal species available in peer-reviewed literature. Systems were compared on economy, productivity, environmental impact, animal welfare and public health. The review was limited to dairy cattle, beef cattle, pigs, broilers and laying hens, and to Europe, North America and New Zealand. Results per indicators are presented as in the articles without performing additional calculations. Out of 4171 initial search hits, 179 articles were analysed. Studies varied widely in indicators, research design, sample size and location and context. Quite some studies used small samples. No study analysed all aspects of sustainability simultaneously. Conventional systems had lower labour requirements per unit product, lower income risk per animal, higher production per animal per time unit, higher reproduction numbers, lower feed conversion ratio, lower land use, generally lower acidification and eutrophication potential per unit product, equal or better udder health for cows and equal or lower microbiological contamination. Organic systems had higher income per animal or full time employee, lower impact on biodiversity, lower eutrophication and acidification potential per unit land, equal or lower likelihood of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and higher beneficial fatty acid levels in cow milk. For most sustainability aspects, sometimes conventional and sometimes organic systems performed better, except for productivity, which was

  13. Sustainability evaluation of Sicily's lemon and orange production: an energy, economic and environmental analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pergola, M; D'Amico, M; Celano, G; Palese, A M; Scuderi, A; Di Vita, G; Pappalardo, G; Inglese, P

    2013-10-15

    The island of Sicily has a long standing tradition in citrus growing. We evaluated the sustainability of orange and lemon orchards, under organic and conventional farming, using an energy, environmental and economic analysis of the whole production cycle by using a life cycle assessment approach. These orchard systems differ only in terms of a few of the inputs used and the duration of the various agricultural operations. The quantity of energy consumption in the production cycle was calculated by multiplying the quantity of inputs used by the energy conversion factors drawn from the literature. The production costs were calculated considering all internal costs, including equipment, materials, wages, and costs of working capital. The performance of the two systems (organic and conventional), was compared over a period of fifty years. The results, based on unit surface area (ha) production, prove the stronger sustainability of the organic over the conventional system, both in terms of energy consumption and environmental impact, especially for lemons. The sustainability of organic systems is mainly due to the use of environmentally friendly crop inputs (fertilizers, not use of synthetic products, etc.). In terms of production costs, the conventional management systems were more expensive, and both systems were heavily influenced by wages. In terms of kg of final product, the organic production system showed better environmental and energy performances. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. School effectiveness and school improvement : Sustaining links

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Creemers, B.P.M.; Reezigt, G.J.

    1997-01-01

    Ideally, school effectiveness research and school improvement might have a relationship with a surplus value for both. In reality, this relationship is often troublesome. Some problems can be attributed to the intrinsic differences between effectiveness and improvement, such as different missions.

  15. LABELLING OF FOOD PRODUCTS AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Nestorowicz

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available  The manifestation of sustainable consumption on the food market is the consumer is choice of products originating from fair trade and/or organic farming. This paper presents the level of knowledge of Fairtrade signs and organic food logo of the EU. The author describes the importance of these signs by purchasing decisions and the relationship between these factors and the declared level ofknowledge about fair trade. In November 2013 research was conducted by the Department of Marketing Strategies at the Poznań University of Economics and Polish Scientifi c Association of Marketing (PNTM. We interviewed 444 people responsible for food shopping in their households. There were structured interviews in 3 Polish cities: Poznań, Szczecin and Lublin. The results confi rm low awareness of Polish consumers in respect of Fairtrade determinations and slightly higher in the case of organic products. Information regarding the origin of the product (fair trade or organic is not important to consumers when choosing food products. With increasing knowledge on products originating from fair trade derives knowledge of both organic foods and Fairtrade signs, but not the impact of these markings on consumers’ purchasing decisions. Still, people who attach importance to this type of information are niche on the Polish market.

  16. Sustainable schools better than traditional schools?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G.

    2008-01-01

    During the last decades in the United Kingdom several educational buildings were built with a strong environmental ethos, real icons of a new generation of low-energy sustainable buildings. In some of the buildings post occupancy evaluations were held and building’s performance was revealed. Also in

  17. Mothers' depressive symptoms in infancy and children's adjustment in grade school: The role of children's sustained attention and executive function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yiji; Dix, Theodore

    2017-09-01

    On the basis of longitudinal data across 9 years, this study examined the contribution of sustained attention and executive function to the poor cognitive and socioemotional adjustment of school-age children whose mothers had depressive symptoms during the child's infancy. Mothers (N = 1,364) reported depressive symptoms across their child's infancy and early childhood. Maternal sensitivity was observed during laboratory interactions at 36 months. At school entry children's sustained attention and executive function were measured with computer-generated tasks. In third grade, cognitive and socioemotional adjustment was assessed with standardized tests and the reports of fathers and teachers. Using structural equation modeling, findings showed that (a) exposure to mothers' depressive symptoms during the child's infancy, independent of later exposure, uniquely predicted children's poor sustained attention and executive function at school entry; (b) deficits in children's sustained attention and executive function occurred because of depressed mothers' tendencies to display insensitive parenting behavior; and (c) these deficits explained in part relations between exposure to mothers' depressive symptoms in infancy and children's poor cognitive and socioemotional adjustment in third grade. Findings highlight the potential importance of children's exposure to mothers' depressive symptoms specifically during the child's infancy for disrupting the development of fundamental cognitive processes that may underlie the adjustment problems children of depressed mothers display in middle childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Is Mass Customization Sustainable?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Thomas Ditlev; Jørgensen, Kaj Asbjørn; Nielsen, Kjeld

    2011-01-01

    Mass customizers are like other companies currently experiencing an increasing customer demand for environmentally sustainable products as well as an increasingly strict legislation regarding environmental sustainability. This paper addresses the issue whether the concepts mass customization...... and sustainability are fundamentally compatible by asking the question: can a mass customized product be sustainable? Several factors could indicate that mass customized products are less sustainable than standardized products; however other factors suggest the opposite. This paper explores these factors during...... three life cycle phases for a product: Production, Use and End of Life. It is concluded that there is not an unambiguous causal relationship between mass customization and sustainability; however several factors unique to mass customized products are essential to consider during product and process...

  19. Toward cropping systems that enhance productivity and sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, R. James

    2006-01-01

    The defining features of any cropping system are (i) the crop rotation and (ii) the kind or intensity of tillage. The trend worldwide starting in the late 20th century has been (i) to specialize competitively in the production of two, three, a single, or closely related crops such as different market classes of wheat and barley, and (ii) to use direct seeding, also known as no-till, to cut costs and save soil, time, and fuel. The availability of glyphosate- and insect-resistant varieties of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola has helped greatly to address weed and insect pest pressures favored by direct seeding these crops. However, little has been done through genetics and breeding to address diseases caused by residue- and soil-inhabiting pathogens that remain major obstacles to wider adoption of these potentially more productive and sustainable systems. Instead, the gains have been due largely to innovations in management, including enhancement of root defense by antibiotic-producing rhizosphere-inhabiting bacteria inhibitory to root pathogens. Historically, new varieties have facilitated wider adoption of new management, and changes in management have facilitated wider adoption of new varieties. Although actual yields may be lower in direct-seed compared with conventional cropping systems, largely due to diseases, the yield potential is higher because of more available water and increases in soil organic matter. Achieving the full production potential of these more-sustainable cropping systems must now await the development of varieties adapted to or resistant to the hazards shown to account for the yield depressions associated with direct seeding. PMID:17130454

  20. Sustainable Product Innovation : The Importance of the Front-End Stage in the Innovation Process

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dewulf, K.R.

    2013-01-01

    With an overpopulated planet, hungry for electricity and resources, sustainability will be one of the biggest challenges in the future. Present production and consumption patterns are causing serious environmental and human problems and cannot be sustained in a world with rising human aspirations.

  1. Using membrane transporters to improve crops for sustainable food production

    Science.gov (United States)

    With the global population predicted to grow by at least 25% by 2050, the need for sustainable production of nutritious foods is critical for human and environmental well-being. Recent advances show that specialized plant membrane transporters can be utilized to enhance yields of staple crops, incre...

  2. A tool for analyzing the sustainability of biogas production chains

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pierie, Frank; Broekhuijsen, J.; van Gemert, Wim; Moll, Henri C.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract written for an poster presentation at the EBA conference in Alkmaar. The flexibility of biogas makes it a very capable load balancer within decentralized smart energy systems. However, within this context the sustainability of biogas production is not fully understood. What is needed is a

  3. Sustainable Production of Asphalt using Biomass as Primary Process Fuel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bühler, Fabian; Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Elmegaard, Brian

    2016-01-01

    is the heating and drying of aggregate,where natural gas, fuel oil or LPG is burned in a direct-fired rotary dryer. Replacing this energy source with amore sustainable one presents several technical and economic challenges, as high temperatures, short startuptimes and seasonal production variations are required...

  4. The role of moral leadership for sustainable production and consumption

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vinkhuyzen, O.M.; Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S.I.S.E.

    2014-01-01

    The principles, the actions and the vision that form the basis for sustainable production and consumption (SCP) are not unknown, but there is a considerable gap between knowledge and action, and behavioural incentives are not sufficient for system change. In this paper we explore a key missing

  5. Invited review: Sustainable forage and grain crop production for the US dairy industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, N P; Russelle, M P; Powell, J M; Sniffen, C J; Smith, S I; Tricarico, J M; Grant, R J

    2017-12-01

    A resilient US dairy industry will be underpinned by forage and crop production systems that are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. Land use for production of perennial and annual forages and grains for dairy cattle must evolve in response to multiple food security and environmental sustainability issues. These include increasing global populations; higher incomes and demand for dairy and other animal products; climate change with associated temperature and moisture changes; necessary reductions in carbon and water footprints; maintenance of soil quality and soil nutrient concerns; and competition for land. Likewise, maintaining producer profitability and utilizing practices accepted by consumers and society generally must also be considered. Predicted changes in climate and water availability will likely challenge current feed and dairy production systems and their national spatial distribution, particularly the western migration of dairy production in the late 20th century. To maintain and stabilize profitability while reducing carbon footprint, particularly reductions in methane emission and enhancements in soil carbon sequestration, dairy production will need to capitalize on genetic and management innovations that enhance forage and grain production and nutritive value. Improved regional and on-farm integration of feed production and manure utilization is needed to reduce environmental nitrogen and phosphorus losses and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Resilient and flexible feed production strategies are needed to address each of these challenges and opportunities to ensure profitable feeding of dairy cattle and a sustainable dairy industry. The Authors. Published by the Federation of Animal Science Societies and Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

  6. Can Precision Agriculture Increase the Profitability and Sustainability of the Production of Potatoes and Olives?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frits K. van Evert

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available For farmers, the application of Precision Agriculture (PA technology is expected to lead to an increase in profitability. For society, PA is expected to lead to increased sustainability. The objective of this paper is to determine for a number of common PA practices how much they increase profitability and sustainability. For potato production in The Netherlands, we considered variable rate application (VRA of soil herbicide, fungicide for late blight control, sidedress N, and haulm killing herbicide. For olive production in Greece, we considered spatially variable application of P and K fertilizer and lime. For each of the above scenarios, we quantified the value of outputs, the cost of inputs, and the environmental costs. This allowed us to calculate profit as well as social profit, where the latter is defined as revenues minus conventional costs minus the external costs of production. Social profit can be considered an overall measure of sustainability. Our calculations show that PA in potatoes increases profit by 21% (420 € ha−1 and social profit by 26%. In olives, VRA application of P, K, and lime leads to a strong reduction in nutrient use and although this leads to an increase in sustainability, it has only a small effect on profit and on social profit. In conclusion, PA increases sustainability in olives and both profitability and sustainability in potatoes.

  7. Achieving a More Sustainable Process Design for the Production of Methanol

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plaza, Cristina Calvera; Gonzalez Garcia, Marta; Callau, Ana Diez

    Methanol is an important chemical product because it can be used as a raw material for the production of other chemicals (1), for example dimethyl carbonate, formaldehyde and methyl tert-butyl ether and it is also one of the most produced bulk chemicals with an annual global production of 100...... million metric tonnes per year (1). Methanol can be produced using different reaction paths, for example natural gas. If natural gas is used for methanol production then CO2 is produced, utilized and can be emitted. Therefore, achieving a more sustainable design for the production of methanol...

  8. Water footprints of cities - indicators for sustainable consumption and production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoff, H.; Döll, P.; Fader, M.; Gerten, D.; Hauser, S.; Siebert, S.

    2014-01-01

    Water footprints have been proposed as sustainability indicators, relating the consumption of goods like food to the amount of water necessary for their production and the impacts of that water use in the source regions. We further developed the existing water footprint methodology, by globally resolving virtual water flows from production to consumption regions for major food crops at 5 arcmin spatial resolution. We distinguished domestic and international flows, and assessed local impacts of export production. Applying this method to three exemplary cities, Berlin, Delhi and Lagos, we find major differences in amounts, composition, and origin of green and blue virtual water imports, due to differences in diets, trade integration and crop water productivities in the source regions. While almost all of Delhi's and Lagos' virtual water imports are of domestic origin, Berlin on average imports from more than 4000 km distance, in particular soy (livestock feed), coffee and cocoa. While 42% of Delhi's virtual water imports are blue water based, the fractions for Berlin and Lagos are 2 and 0.5%, respectively, roughly equal to the water volumes abstracted in these two cities for domestic water use. Some of the external source regions of Berlin's virtual water imports appear to be critically water scarce and/or food insecure. However, for deriving recommendations on sustainable consumption and trade, further analysis of context-specific costs and benefits associated with export production will be required.

  9. Relative Sustainability of Natural Gas Assisted High-Octane Gasoline Blendstock Production from Biomass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tan, Eric C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Zhang, Yi Min [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cai, Hao [Argonne National Laboratory

    2017-11-01

    Biomass-derived hydrocarbon fuel technologies are being developed and pursued for better economy, environment, and society benefits underpinning the sustainability of transportation energy. Increasing availability and affordability of natural gas (NG) in the US can play an important role in assisting renewable fuel technology development, primarily in terms of economic feasibility. When a biorefinery is co-processing NG with biomass, the current low cost of NG coupled with the higher NG carbon conversion efficiency potentially allow for cost competitiveness of the fuel while achieving a minimum GHG emission reduction of 50 percent or higher compared to petroleum fuel. This study evaluates the relative sustainability of the production of high-octane gasoline blendstock via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of biomass (and with NG co-feed) through methanol/dimethyl ether intermediates. The sustainability metrics considered in this study include minimum fuel selling price (MFSP), carbon conversion efficiency, life cycle GHG emissions, life cycle water consumption, fossil energy return on investment (EROI), GHG emission avoidance cost, and job creation. Co-processing NG can evidently improve the MFSP. Evaluation of the relative sustainability can shed light on the biomass-NG synergistic impacts and sustainability trade-offs associated with the IDL as high-octane gasoline blendstock production.

  10. Optimization and Simulation of Collaborative Networks for Sustainable Production and Transportation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liotta, Giacomo; Kaihara, Toshiya; Stecca, Giuseppe

    2016-01-01

    Complex and delocalized manufacturing industries require high levels of integration between production and transportation in order to effectively implement lean and agile operations. There are, however, limitations in research and applications simultaneously embodying further sustainability dimen...

  11. Product-service system method to measure sustainability level of traditional smoked fish processing industries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purwaningsih Ratna

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Small Medium Enterprise’s (SME of traditional fish processing at Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia still focus their business on gain more profits. Sustainability aspect has not received enough attention yet. This study aims to review the sustainability level of SME smoked fish Semarang using product service system (PSS method. PSS consists of three dimensions (1 Environment, (2 Socio-cultural and (3 Economic. Each dimension consists of 6 criteria's. PSS not only assess the level of sustainability but also formulated the recommendation to increase the industries sustainability level. Sustainability assessment and recommendations formulation is guided by a check-list form. Then, the portfolio diagram used to select these recommendations according to its feasibility to be implemented and its importance for the industries. The result of sustainability assessment for traditional fish processing is 0.44, categorized as medium level. The recommendations for the environmental dimension are (1 use of liquid smoke on fish processing and (2 use of wastewater treatment with anaerobic ponds Recommendation for the socio-cultural dimension is use personal protective tool to reduce worker risk on safety and health. Recommendation for the economic dimension is used social media for product marketing and increasing the economic value of fish lung wastes. Recommendations are then illustrated in a diagram in the form of radar sustainability.

  12. Developing the Potential for Sustainable Improvement in Underperforming Schools: Capacity Building in the Socio-Cultural Dimension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Jeffrey V.; Ylimaki, Rose M.; Dugan, Thad M.; Brunderman, Lynnette A.

    2014-01-01

    This mixed-method study examines Arizona principals' capacity-building skills and practices in Tier III schools aimed at developing potential for sustained improvements in student outcomes. Data sources included surveys (62 individuals) and semistructured interviews (29 individuals) of principals and staff (e.g. teachers, instructional coaches,…

  13. China’s Rare Earths Production Forecasting and Sustainable Development Policy Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xibo Wang

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Because of their unique physical and chemical properties, Rare earth elements (REEs perform important functions in our everyday lives, with use in a range of products. Recently, the study of China’s rare earth elements production has become a hot topic of worldwide interest, because of its dominant position in global rare earth elements supply, and an increasing demand for rare earth elements due to the constant use of rare earth elements in high-tech manufacturing industries. At the same time, as an exhaustible resource, the sustainable development of rare earth elements has received extensive attention. However, most of the study results are based on a qualitative analysis of rare earth elements distribution and production capacity, with few studies using quantitative modeling. To achieve reliable results with more factors being taken into consideration, this paper applies the generic multivariant system dynamics model to forecast China’s rare earth elements production trend and Hubbert peak, using Vensim software based on the Hubbert model. The results show that the peak of China’s rare earth elements production will appear by 2040, and that production will slowly decline afterwards. Based on the results, the paper proposes some policy recommendations for the sustainable development of China’s—and the world’s—rare earth elements market and rare earth-related industries.

  14. Globally sustainable manganese metal production and use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagelstein, Karen

    2009-09-01

    The "cradle to grave" concept of managing chemicals and wastes has been a descriptive analogy of proper environmental stewardship since the 1970s. The concept incorporates environmentally sustainable product choices-such as metal alloys utilized steel products which civilization is dependent upon. Manganese consumption is related to the increasing production of raw steel and upgrading ferroalloys. Nonferrous applications of manganese include production of dry-cell batteries, plant fertilizer components, animal feed and colorant for bricks. The manganese ore (high grade 35% manganese) production world wide is about 6 million ton/year and electrolytic manganese metal demand is about 0.7 million ton/year. The total manganese demand is consumed globally by industries including construction (23%), machinery (14%), and transportation (11%). Manganese is recycled within scrap of iron and steel, a small amount is recycled within aluminum used beverage cans. Recycling rate is 37% and efficiency is estimated as 53% [Roskill Metals and Minerals Reports, January 13, 2005. Manganese Report: rapid rise in output caused by Chinese crude steel production. Available from: http://www.roskill.com/reports/manganese.]. Environmentally sustainable management choices include identifying raw material chemistry, utilizing clean production processes, minimizing waste generation, recycling materials, controlling occupational exposures, and collecting representative environmental data. This paper will discuss two electrolytically produced manganese metals, the metal production differences, and environmental impacts cited to date. The two electrolytic manganese processes differ due to the addition of sulfur dioxide or selenium dioxide. Adverse environmental impacts due to use of selenium dioxide methodology include increased water consumption and order of magnitude greater solid waste generation per ton of metal processed. The use of high grade manganese ores in the electrolytic process also

  15. Do MincerianWage Equations Inform How Schooling Influences Productivity?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groth, Christian; Growiec, Jakub

    2017-01-01

    We study the links between the Mincerian wage equation (the cross-sectional relationship between wages and years of schooling) and the human capital production function (the causal effect of schooling on labor productivity). Based on a stylized Mincerian general equilibrium model with imperfect...... substitutability across skill types and ex ante identical workers, we demonstrate that the mechanism of compensating wage differentials renders the Mincerian wage equation uninformative for the human capital production function. Proper identification of the human capital production function should take...... into account the equilibrium allocation of individuals across skill types....

  16. The role of moral leadership for sustainable consumption and production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vinkhuyzen, O.M.; Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S.I.S.E.

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we argue that an adequate understanding of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) involves a mature consciousness of the interdependence between ourselves and the rest of our human family and its habitat. The principles, the actions and the vision that form the basis for SCP are

  17. [Sustainability of an innovative school food program: a case study in the northeast of Brazil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melo, Mariana Navarro Tavares de; Sá, Ronice Maria Pereira Franco de; Melo, Djalma Agripino de

    2016-06-01

    The Brazilian School Food Program (PNAE) is intersectoral innature. It encourages social participation and local economies and is considered here as a health promotionpractice. In the Northeastern State of Pernambuco, the city of Tabira acquired international renownin 2012 for the management of its school food program (PAE). This study analyzed the positive and negative factors related to the sustainability of the innovations in Tabira to understand the processes related to the continuity of the innovative actions implemented. The research used a qualitative approach with a case study strategy. A focus group, semi-structured interviews with key actors and document analysis were performed. The data were processed using content analysis and the techniques of thematic analysis. Positive organizational and socio-political factors were: the program institutionalization, the efficient use of financial resources, municipalized management, high community participation and the use of local resources. Negative factors were: weak inter-sectoral coordination and training and poor professional qualification. The strong political engagement at the local level showed both positive and negative impacts on sustainability.

  18. Economic analysis of technological innovations to improve sustainability of pangasius production in Vietnam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ngoc, Pham Thi Anh

    2016-01-01

    In response to increasing concerns about sustainable production, a growing number of European customers expect seafood products to be certified, for example by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification. Water purification technologies such as Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS)

  19. Product Lifecycle Management and the Quest for Sustainable Space Transportation Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caruso, Pamela W.

    2009-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation reviews NASA Marshall's effort to sustain space transportation solutions through product lines that include: 1) Propulsion and Transportation Systems; 2) Life Support Systems; and 3) and Earth and Space Science Spacecraft Systems, and Operations.

  20. Sustainability Impact Assessment on the Production and Use of Different Wood and Fossil Fuels Employed for Energy Production in North Karelia, Finland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matias Pekkanen

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The utilization rate of woody biomass in eastern Finland is high and expected to increase further in the near future as set out in several regional, national and European policies and strategies. The aim of this study was to assess the sustainability impacts of changes in fuel consumption patterns. We investigated fossil and woody biomass-based energy production chains in the region of North Karelia, focusing on some economic, environmental and social indicators. Indicators were selected based on stakeholder preferences and evaluated using the Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA. The analysis was based on representative values from National Forest Inventory data, scientific publications, national and regional statistics, databases, published policy targets and expert opinion. From the results it became evident that shifting from fossil to wood-based energy production implies some trade-offs. Replacing oil with woody biomass in energy production would increase the local value added remaining in the region, create employment opportunities and would reduce total GHG emissions. However, firewood, wood chips from small-diameter trees from early thinning and wood pellets have high production costs. Moreover, large greenhouse gas emission resulted from wood pellet production. The case study generated valuable reference data for future sustainability assessments and demonstrated the usefulness of ToSIA as a tool presenting existing knowledge on sustainability impacts of alternative energy supply chains to inform decision making.

  1. School Board as a Pedagogical Strategy for Sustainability in Environmental Education. (Project execution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nayr Del Valle Rivas Silva

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This research was designed as a purpose to establish the school garden as a pedagogical strategy of sustainability in environmental education with the students of the National Basic School "Sebastián Araujo Briceño" of the Pedraza Municipality Barinas State; The nature of research is qualitative, the method is Research Action. For the purposes of the present study, three (03 teachers and three (03 students who belong to the institution will participate as informers and enjoy recognized responsibility and commitment at the "Sebastián Araujo Briceño" National Basic School. The technique used is the semistructured interview, And the instrument the interview guide. The analysis of the information will be done through the codification, categorization, triangulation and structuring of theories. After implementing the activities with the school garden, it is hoped to conclude that children contribute to the care of the environment and maintain in harmony the ecological balance that should reign in any space where human beings live and coexist. In this way the educational institution will present an environmental aspect in accordance with the ecological principles of environmental education immersed in the National Basic Curriculum.

  2. On Production and Green Transportation Coordination in a Sustainable Global Supply Chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Guo

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses a coordination problem of production and green transportation and the effects of production and transportation coordination on supply chain sustainability in a global supply chain environment with the consideration of important realistic characteristics, including parallel machines, different order processing complexities, fixed delivery departure times, green transportation and multiple transportation modes. We formulate the measurements for carbon emissions of different transportation modes, including air, sea and land transportation. A hybrid genetic algorithm-based optimization approach is developed to handle this problem, in which a hybrid genetic algorithm and heuristic procedures are combined. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated by means of various problem instances. We observe that the coordination of production and green transportation has a large effect on the overall supply chain sustainability, which can reduce the total supply chain cost by 9.60% to 21.90%.

  3. Investigating Fur as Mediator of Sustainability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skjold, Else; Ræbild, Ulla

    2016-01-01

    This paper builds on two sub-projects conducted under the framework of a larger research programme called Fur and Sustainability – a Design Perspective. From 2014-16, we (Skjold et al 2016) took part in the programme which was part of a larger partnership agreement between Design School Kolding (DK......) and raw fur supplier and auction house Kopenhagen Fur (DK). What the paper shows and discusses is the, oftentimes, missed opportunity of acknowledging the potential of design as mediation between production and consumption when seen in the light of the sustainable discourse. The paper exemplifies...... this with selected findings from the two sub-projects that engage, respectively, with design processes of designers and furriers, and practices of users of inherited fur garments....

  4. Choosing the right platform for the right product: Sustainable production of chemicals in microbial cell factories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herrgard, Markus

    The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (CFB) is a new non-profit research center focused on sustainable production of biochemicals and therapeutic proteins using microbial and mammalian cell factories. The work at CFB is organized around an iterative loop where cell factories...

  5. Creating sustainability : the social construction of the market for organic products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miele, M.

    2001-01-01

    Creating Sustainability: The Social Construction of the Market for Organic Products

    Chapter N. 1: Reflections on globalisation

    This chapter starts with some reflection on the concept of globalisation and reviews the literature

  6. Modeling the transition towards a sustainable energy production in developing nations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thiam, Djiby-Racine; Benders, René M.J.; Moll, Henri C.

    The paper investigates how renewable technologies could promote the transition towards a sustainable energy production in developing nations. Based on two different developing nations in terms of economic, technological and institutional structure: South Africa and Senegal, we implemented scenarios

  7. Improving the quality of pork and pork products for the consumer : development of innovative, integrated, and sustainable food production chains of high quality pork products matching consumer demands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heimann, B.; Christensen, M.; Rosendal Rasmussen, S.; Bonneau, M.; Grunert, K.G.; Arnau, J.; Trienekens, J.H.; Oksbjerg, N.; Greef, de K.H.; Petersen, B.

    2012-01-01

    Improving the quality of pork and pork products for the consumer: development of innovative, integrated, and sustainable food production chains of high quality pork products matching consumer demands.

  8. Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Li-Chun Huang; Yu-Hui Chen; Ya-Hui Chen; Chi-Fang Wang; Ming-Che Hu

    2018-01-01

    This research aims to analyze the food–energy interactive nexus of sustainable urban plant factory systems. Plant factory systems grow agricultural products within artificially controlled growing environment and multi-layer vertical growing systems. The system controls the supply of light, temperature, humidity, nutrition, water, and carbon dioxide for growing plants. Plant factories are able to produce consistent and high-quality agricultural products within less production space for urban a...

  9. Environmental Education and Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Paul

    2014-01-01

    In the fall of 2013, Inverness Associates conducted a comprehensive national survey of environmental education and sustainability among private independent schools. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and 14 regional and state associations supported the research. The survey sought to understand how schools' environmental…

  10. Enhance knowledge on sustainable use of plant protection products within the framework of the sustainable use directive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calliera, Maura; Berta, Fabio; Galassi, Tiziano; Mazzini, Floriano; Rossi, Rossana; Bassi, Roberto; Meriggi, Pierluigi; Bernard, Alfredo; Marchis, Alex; Di Guardo, Andrea; Capri, Ettore

    2013-08-01

    In 2008-2009, a survey in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy collected information on the farm use of plant protection products (PPPs) and evaluated whether the provisions of the Directive for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides are applicable. It was concluded that the provisions can be implemented, even if some gaps need to be filled and also the behaviour of farmers needs to be improved. Moreover, it was observed that all stages in the use of PPPs on farms could generate risks for the operator and/or the environment. One of the recommendations is to promote training for operators and to adopt good agronomic practices in order to improve sustainable use of PPPs. The findings were used, in the following years, to develop a Guideline for Sustainable Use of PPPs to help the user in identifying the flaws in current practices at farm level as well as their corresponding corrective actions. The Guidelines are accompanied by free online software to be used as a diagnostic tool as well as to provide recommendations for improvements. The approach adopted, taking into account the variability in farm structure, cropping pattern, risk attitude and economic availability, is not an instrument to identify the most suitable protection strategy for a given crop in a given period, but to help professional users to improve their practices in managing PPPs on farms and to make the most appropriate choices leading to reduced environmental and human risk, without compromising the profitability of agricultural production and food standards. This work has, as an underlying principle, a holistic approach to link the different elements of the three pillars of sustainability (environment, economy and society) and to enhance knowledge, which represents one of the main aspects of the Directive. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  11. Long-term sustainability of bio-components production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Souček Ivan

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Biofuels play an increasingly important role in motor fuel market. The list of biofuels (bio-components in accordance with EU legislations contains a number of substances not widely used in the market. Traditionally these include: fatty acid methyl esters (FAME, in the Czech Republic methyl ether of rape seed oil and bioethanol (also ethyl terc. buthyl ether ETBE, based on bioethanol. The availability and possible utilizations of bio-component fuels in Czech Republic and Serbia are discussed. Additional attention is paid on the identification of the possibilities to improve effectiveness of rape seeds cultivation and utilization of by-products from FAME production (utilization of sew, rape-meal and glycerol which will allow fulfilment of the sustainability criteria for the first generation biofuels. The new approaches on renewable co-processing are commented. The concept of 3E (emissions, energy demand, and economics is introduced specifying three main attributes for effective production of FAME production in accordance with legal compliances. Bio-components price change is analyzed in comparison to the price of motor fuels, identifying possible (speculative crude price break-even point at the level of 149-176 USD/bbl at which point bio-fuels would become economically cost effective for the use by refiners.

  12. A New Dynamic Pricing Model for the Effective Sustainability of Perishable Product Life Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pırıl Tekin

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Perishable products run their life cycle in a short period of time due to the shortness of their shelf lives. Product efficiency falls when especially non-recyclable products are thrown away without being used. Furthermore, this kind of products that unnecessarily occupy shelves of supermarkets cause supermarkets to follow an insufficient stock management policy. Unconscious and unplanned use of our limited natural resources will deteriorate the product portfolio for future generations. Such unconscious production and consumption patterns will disrupt natural balance and damage sustainability of products. In addition to creating very high costs for producers, sellers and consumers alike, these unsold or stale products lead to environmental problems due to such pricing policies. In other words, although the products have to be thrown away without being sold is attributed by many managers to be attributable to the unplanned over-orders, the actual reason is something else. The real contributor of the problem is changing purchase attitudes of customers because of wrong pricing policies of wholesaler. In addition, limited resources are also consumed fast and in unnecessary amounts. The imbalance in respect to the sustainability of these products leads to increase in the production costs, procurement costs and failure to achieve balance among products to be kept in storage houses as some of the products occupy stocks unnecessarily. In the present study, a new pricing policy is developed for product stock whose shelf lives are about to expire and generally become waste to increase salability of these products in reference to fresher stocks of these products. The present study, which is designed to reduce the above-mentioned losses, will seek to minimize the cost of waste, maximize the profit earned by supermarkets from the product, maximize product utilization rates and ensure sustainability of products and stocks as well. Fulfillment of these

  13. Sustainable Disruptions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis, Silje Alberthe Kamille; Kjær, Lykke Bloch

    2016-01-01

    Since 2012 the Sustainable Disruptions (SD) project at the Laboratory for Sustainability at Design School Kolding (DK) has developed and tested a set of design thinking tools, specifically targeting the barriers to economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable business development....... The tools have been applied in practice in collaboration with 11 small and medium sized companies (SMEs). The study investigates these approaches to further understand how design thinking can contribute to sustainable transition in a business context. The study and the findings are relevant to organizations...... invested in the issue of sustainable business development, in particular the leaders and employees of SMEs, but also to design education seeking new ways to consciously handle and teach the complexity inherent in sustainable transformation. Findings indicate that the SD design thinking approach contributes...

  14. Productivity in using school's resources: A case study of secondary school in Dumai, Riau Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozamuri, Arif Murti; Suradi, Nur Riza Mohd

    2015-09-01

    Definition of good school's differs for every individual. The performance of the school's has always been an interesting discussion topic. This situation requires parents to be more selective for choosing the best school's for their child, especially in the efficient management of resources. This study evaluated changes in total productivity, technology, technical efficiency, and scale efficiency among 12 school of Dumai City in Riau Indonesia using DEA Malmquist Index. The inputs include number of teacher's, number of students, and number of classrooms while output is the number of students that passed the national examination. The results show that average efficiency of secondary school in Dumai City from 2011 to 2013 recorded good changes in terms of technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency. However, technological and total factor productivity change do not show a positive change.

  15. Biodiesel and bioethanol production: A sustainable alternative for the energy crisis?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Castro Martínez

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The present contribution intends to give an overview of the current -status of the energy crisis and suggest some sustainable alternatives for energy production. In first place, a brief summary of the history about resources for energy production is presented. The high dependency of fossil combustibles it is well known and has been estimated that more than 90% of the used energy comes from non-renewable resources such as oil, gas and carbon. In the same way, here, it is described that oil is, by far, the main source of energy used to date and as a consequence, this resource is, unavoidably,coming to an end and at the same time is causing and increasing environmental pollution problems. Later in this work, it is suggested that in order to achieve the energetic sustainability, the development of alternative sources that will allow the reduction of toxic greenhouse gas (GHG emissions as well as a decrease of water usage along with a decrease in the energy production costs are needed. One of the alternatives that have been proposed is the production of biofuels, such as biodiesel and bioethanol. Here, some of the main properties at the level of the employed raw materials and production systems are cited. Finally, this work suggests some solutions that are under development worldwide in order to face thiscurrent energy situation.

  16. Sustainable production and sales of meat from free-range pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bredahl, Lone; Andersen, Lone Schreiber

    2002-01-01

    These years, the consumption of pork is not only stagnating in Denmark but also on many other European markets. This coincides with a rise in consumer demand for increased welfare among farm animals. In a project about sustainable production and sales of meat from free-range pigs, guidelines...... are developed on a European level for the production of pork from outdoors production systems, which combine animal welfare with high quality of consumption and high quality of health. In cooperation with colleagues in France, Great Britain and Sweden, MAPP is examining the market potential of this type of meat......, based on consumer surveys in these four countries....

  17. Is the hydrogen production from biomass technology really sustainable? Answer by Life Cycle Emergy Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liang, Hanwei; Ren, Jingzheng; Dong, Liang

    2016-01-01

    The Sustainability performance of biomass-based hydrogen is in debate. This study aims at using Emergy Theory to investigate the sustainability hydrogen production from corn stalks by supercritical water gasification, all the inputs including renewable resources, non-renewable resources, purchased...

  18. Production of O2(1Δ) in flowing plasmas using spiker-sustainer excitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Babaeva, Natalia Y.; Arakoni, Ramesh A.; Kushner, Mark J.

    2006-01-01

    In chemical oxygen iodine lasers (COILs), oscillation at 1.315 μm in atomic iodine ( 2 P 1/2 → 2 P 3/2 ) is produced by collisional excitation transfer of O 2 ( 1 Δ) to I 2 and I. Plasma production of O 2 ( 1 Δ) in electrical COILs (eCOILs) eliminates liquid phase generators. For the flowing plasmas used for eCOILs (He/O 2 , a few to tens of torr), self-sustaining electron temperatures, T e , are 2-3 eV whereas excitation of O 2 ( 1 Δ) optimizes with T e =1-1.5 eV. One method to increase O 2 ( 1 Δ) production is by lowering the average value of T e using spiker-sustainer (SS) excitation where a high power pulse (spiker) is followed by a lower power period (sustainer). Excess ionization produced by the spiker enables the sustainer to operate with a lower T e . Previous investigations suggested that SS techniques can significantly raise yields of O 2 ( 1 Δ). In this paper, we report on the results from a two-dimensional computational investigation of radio frequency (rf) excited flowing He/O 2 plasmas with emphasis on SS excitation. We found that the efficiency of SS methods generally increase with increasing frequency by producing a higher electron density, lower T e , and, as a consequence, a more efficient production of O 2 ( 1 Δ)

  19. Sustainable Product Design, Engineering and Management Education for Industrial Design Engineering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boks, C.; Diehl, J.C.; Wever, R.

    2006-01-01

    Developments in the field of sustainable product design are manifold, which means that education in this field is rapidly evolving as well. In this paper, the continuously evolving portfolio of courses offered at Delft University of Technology’s Industrial Design Engineering faculty is

  20. Faculty research productivity and organizational structure in schools of nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohlenberg, E M

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between faculty research productivity and organizational structure in schools of nursing. The need for nursing research has been widely recognized by members of the nursing profession, yet comparatively few engage in conducting research. Although contextual variables have been investigated that facilitate or inhibit nursing research, the relationship between organizational structure and nursing research productivity has not been examined. This problem was examined within the context of the Entrepreneurial Theory of Formal Organizations. A survey methodology was used for data collection. Data on individual faculty research productivity and organizational structure in the school of nursing were obtained through the use of a questionnaire. A random sample of 300 faculty teaching in 60 master's and doctoral nursing schools in the United States was used. The instruments for data collection were Wakefield-Fisher's Adapted Scholarly Productivity Index and Hall's Organizational Inventory. The data were analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients and multiple correlation/regression techniques. The overall relationship between faculty research productivity and organizational structure in schools of nursing was not significant at the .002 level of confidence. Although statistically significant relationships were not identified, scholarly research productivity and its subscale prepublication and research activities tended to vary positively with procedural specifications in a highly bureaucratic organizational structure. Further research may focus on identification of structural variables that support highly productive nurse researchers.

  1. Genetic engineering, a hope for sustainable biofuel production: review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sudip Paudel

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The use of recently developed genetic engineering tools in combination with organisms that have the potential to produce precursors for the production of biodiesel, promises a sustainable and environment friendly energy source. Enhanced lipid production in wild type and/or genetically engineered organisms can offer sufficient raw material for industrial transesterification of plant-based triglycerides. Bio-diesel, produced with the help of genetically modified organisms, might be one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels and to mitigate various environmental hazards. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i2.10644 International Journal of the Environment Vol.3(2 2014: 311-323

  2. Technical Feasibility and Comprehensive Sustainability Assessment of Sweet Sorghum for Bioethanol Production in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolin Yang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Under dual pressures of energy and environmental security, sweet sorghum is becoming one of the most promising feedstocks for biofuel production. In the present study, the technical feasibility of sweet sorghum production was assessed in eight agricultural regions in China using the Sweet Sorghum Production Technique Maturity Model. Three top typical agricultural zones were then selected for further sustainability assessment of sweet sorghum production: Northeast China (NEC, Huang-Huai-Hai Basin (HHHB and Ganxin Region (GX. Assessment results demonstrated that NEC exhibited the best sustainable production of sweet sorghum, with a degree of technical maturity value of 0.8066, followed by HHHB and GX, with corresponding values of 0.7531 and 0.6594, respectively. Prospective economic profitability analysis indicated that bioethanol production from sweet sorghum was not feasible using current technologies in China. More efforts are needed to dramatically improve feedstock mechanization logistics while developing new bioethanol productive technology to reduce the total cost. This study provides insight and information to guide further technological development toward profitable industrialization and large-scale sweet sorghum bioethanol production.

  3. Fragile Social Norms: (Un Sustainable Exploration of Forest Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Decio Zylbersztajn

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The exhaustion of natural resources is a central problem in the international agenda. The particular case of Amazon forest is at the top on the international environmental debate. Two related problems are keys to be considered in the discussion of sustainable development in this region. First the predatory use of the natural resources of the forest mainly timber and genetic resources. Second the recognition of the existence of a population of around 20 million inhabitants in the region defined as “Legal Amazon Area”, aiming the improvement on the living conditions, enhancement of income level and acceleration of development. How to match both objectives is a puzzle faced by the present generation.The region is populated by initiatives of international non-governmental-organizations, most of them carrying good intentions but lacking the necessary knowledge on local formal and informal institutions to find ways to reach sustainable development. The result is the accelerated process of natural resources depletion, and social disorganization. The case of the production of Brazilian Nuts stands as a corollary of the lack of an institutional structure of property rights that does not provide incentives for sustainable development. The opposite effect is being observed as a result of the fragility of observable institutional arrangements.The case provides the counterfactual for the analysis of Ostrom (1990; 2008, where she presents virtuous cases of sustainable exploration of natural resources, mostly based on informal but solid institutions.

  4. Role of continual environmental performance improvement in achieving sustainability in uranium production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jarrell, J.P.; Chad, G.M.S.

    2002-01-01

    Although the term sustainable development is commonly used today, there is not yet a commonly accepted definition. Various ways of measuring sustainability have been proposed. To show how these issues are being effectively addressed in modern uranium developments, we will review some methods of defining the environmental component of sustainable development in the mining and mineral-processing sector. Environmental impacts associated with uranium extraction and processing in modern facilities are modest. Air and water emissions are well controlled. Waste materials are subject to comprehensive management programmes. The size of the impacted area is smaller than in other energy sectors, providing good opportunity to minimize land impact. Experience over the past three decades facilitated gradual, persistent, but cumulatively significant environmental improvements in the uranium production sector. Cameco's uranium mining and processing facilities exemplify these improvements. These improvements can be expected to continue, supporting our argument of Cameco's environmental sustainability. (author)

  5. Is a Schools' Performance Related to Technical Change?--A Study on the Relationship between Innovations and Secondary School Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haelermans, Carla; Blank, Jos L. T.

    2012-01-01

    This paper examines the relation between innovations and productivity in Dutch secondary schools. Innovation clusters are directly included in the production model. In order to correct for differences between schools, we add school type, region and year controls. The results indicate that process innovations, teacher professionalization…

  6. Valuations of ‘Sustainably Produced’ Labels on Beef, Tomato, and Apple Products

    OpenAIRE

    Tonsor, Glynn T.; Shupp, Robert S.

    2009-01-01

    This study evaluates consumer perceptions of what “sustainably produced†food labels imply and estimates corresponding demand for products carrying these labels. Results suggest that the typical U.S. consumer is not willing to pay a positive premium for beef, tomatoes, or apple products labeled as “sustainably produced.†Demand is particularly sensitive to inferences consumers make regarding what a “sustainably produced†food label implies. Suggestions for future work and implication...

  7. Recirculation: A New Concept to Drive Innovation in Sustainable Product Design for Bio-Based Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherwood, James; Clark, James H; Farmer, Thomas J; Herrero-Davila, Lorenzo; Moity, Laurianne

    2016-12-29

    Bio-based products are made from renewable materials, offering a promising basis for the production of sustainable chemicals, materials, and more complex articles. However, biomass is not a limitless resource or one without environmental and social impacts. Therefore, while it is important to use biomass and grow a bio-based economy, displacing the unsustainable petroleum basis of energy and chemical production, any resource must be used effectively to reduce waste. Standards have been developed to support the bio-based product market in order to achieve this aim. However, the design of bio-based products has not received the same level of attention. Reported here are the first steps towards the development of a framework of understanding which connects product design to resource efficiency. Research and development scientists and engineers are encouraged to think beyond simple functionality and associate value to the potential of materials in their primary use and beyond.

  8. Soil quality: key for sustainable production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Mocali

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available In the last few years several definitions of “soil quality” have been advanced, but among them the most appreciated is “the ability of soils to interact with the ecosystem in order to maintain the biological productivity, the environmental quality and to promote animal and vegetal health” as defined by Doran and Parkin in 1994. Many researchers place more emphasis on its conceptual meaning for land planning and farm management, while others consider that definition to be worth nothing in order to understand soil properties and the concept of soil quality looks like the concept of “to be suitable for”. For this reason a definition of “soil use” is needed. The food quality is characterized by several properties: the healthiness and the nutritional value, the amount of the production, the typicalness and organoleptic properties, etc.. A lot of these properties depend on environmental quality and, in particular, on soil quality. In fact soil represents the natural substrate for growth and productivity of most of the plants that live on the Hearth because they get all the essential nutritional elements from it for their own development; consequently each nutritional element present into the soil as bioavailable form for the plants is potentially destined to entry in the animal (and human food chain. In the quality process of food productive process it will be important to assure the best soil quality as possible, without any unwanted element (which will not be discussed in this note and with the right amount of fertility elements in order to guarantee the best production. In this paper the relationships between soil quality, soil biodiversity and crop sustainability will be discussed. Finally the concept of soil “biota” as nodal point for the environment regulation and the application of the indicators for soil quality will be discussed.

  9. Soil quality: key for sustainable production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Benedetti

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available In the last few years several definitions of “soil quality” have been advanced, but among them the most appreciated is “the ability of soils to interact with the ecosystem in order to maintain the biological productivity, the environmental quality and to promote animal and vegetal health” as defined by Doran and Parkin in 1994. Many researchers place more emphasis on its conceptual meaning for land planning and farm management, while others consider that definition to be worth nothing in order to understand soil properties and the concept of soil quality looks like the concept of “to be suitable for”. For this reason a definition of “soil use” is needed. The food quality is characterized by several properties: the healthiness and the nutritional value, the amount of the production, the typicalness and organoleptic properties, etc.. A lot of these properties depend on environmental quality and, in particular, on soil quality. In fact soil represents the natural substrate for growth and productivity of most of the plants that live on the Hearth because they get all the essential nutritional elements from it for their own development; consequently each nutritional element present into the soil as bioavailable form for the plants is potentially destined to entry in the animal (and human food chain. In the quality process of food productive process it will be important to assure the best soil quality as possible, without any unwanted element (which will not be discussed in this note and with the right amount of fertility elements in order to guarantee the best production. In this paper the relationships between soil quality, soil biodiversity and crop sustainability will be discussed. Finally the concept of soil “biota” as nodal point for the environment regulation and the application of the indicators for soil quality will be discussed.

  10. Curriculum Analysis and Education for Sustainable Development in Iceland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johannesson, Ingolfur Asgeir; Norodahl, Kristin; Oskarsdottir, Gunnhildur; Palsdottir, Auour; Petursdottir, Bjorg

    2011-01-01

    The article explores how the Icelandic public school curriculum for early childhood, compulsory and upper secondary school deals with education for sustainable development. As the curriculum does not often mention the term sustainability, a key with which to investigate signs of education for sustainable development in the three curricula was…

  11. Leading for Sustainability: Is Surface Understanding Enough?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pepper, Coral; Wildy, Helen

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to report an investigation of how education for sustainability is conceptualised, incorporated across the curriculum and led in three Western Australian Government secondary schools. It also reports on processes to enable education for sustainability to become embedded into these schools. Design/methodology/approach: Data…

  12. Sustainable product development through a life-cycle approach to product and service creation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McAloone, Timothy Charles; Tan, Adrian Ronald

    2005-01-01

    possibilities to the company, ranging from the re-invention of core business, through gaining customer loyalty, expanding the customer base, and importantly, to the possibility of removing some of the traditional environmental problems connected to the consumption behaviour of users. PSS is new as an industrial...... of stakeholders, both in- and outside of the company, in order to deliver an augmented product to the customer in a satisfactory manner – and to be able to sustain this satisfaction throughout the whole company-customer relationship. We can prepare ourselves for a significant change in the way that traditional...... product manufacturing companies deliver their product to their customers – especially in the western world, where companies no longer can expect to compete on a global market with respect to cost, quality or time. It is our hypothesis, that if carried out correctly (aided by professional methods...

  13. MARKETING PROGRAMS FOR GREEN PRODUCTS IN ACHIEVING ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY

    OpenAIRE

    Gabriela CĂPĂȚÎNĂ; Roxana-Denisa STOENESCU

    2015-01-01

    This article explores one dimension of green marketing programs: their potential application as a solution in achieving and maintaining the ecological sustainability on global market. We examine the necessity to develop and launch green products which can respond to environment degradation as a treatment against this phenomenon. This paper is structured in three sections: the first section is related to a clear delimitation and a better understanding of terms; the second one is an overvi...

  14. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BUSINESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktoria Krykun

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Today sustainable development is a widely used term, which has been increasingly influential in recent years. Debates about sustainability no longer consider sustainability solely as an environmental concern, but also incorporate economic and social dimensions. However, while a social and economic dimensions of sustainable development are widely discussed, environmental degradation becomes more and more crucial each year and is likely to reduce human well-being all across the world within the next few decades. The purpose of the paper is to analyse ecological ‘pillar’ of sustainable development, its historical background, main steps towards implementation of ‘new global environmental rules for society. Methodology. The paper is based on statistical information from public sources, reports of different international organizations and institutions, which are used to stress and underline main crucial points of research. Results of the survey show, that environmental quality, economic development and social well-being are interdependent and the main aim of international institutions, independent countries, businesses and society is to achieve environmentally sustainable development. Environmental issues make strong impact on modern economy. Responsible global strategy of development provides the whole society with rules, how ‘wise’ technological changes and economic policy can make industrial production processes less polluting and less resource intensive but yet more productive and profitable. Practical implications. Strategy of sustainable development and it’s three basic dimensions have found practical implication in one complex model, which illustrates the level of development of each country – the Human Development Index, which is focusing on three basic dimensions of human development: life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling and gross national income per capita. Another data, which is

  15. Considerations for sustainable influenza vaccine production in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nannei, Claudia; Chadwick, Christopher; Fatima, Hiba; Goldin, Shoshanna; Grubo, Myriam; Ganim, Alexandra

    2016-10-26

    Through its Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines (GAP), the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the United States Department of Health and Human Services has produced a checklist to support policy-makers and influenza vaccine manufacturers in identifying key technological, political, financial, and logistical issues affecting the sustainability of influenza vaccine production. This checklist highlights actions in five key areas that are beneficial for establishing successful local vaccine manufacturing. These five areas comprise: (1) the policy environment and health-care systems; (2) surveillance systems and influenza evidence; (3) product development and manufacturing; (4) product approval and regulation; and (5) communication to support influenza vaccination. Incorporating the checklist into national vaccine production programmes has identified the policy gaps and next steps for countries involved in GAP's Technology Transfer Initiative. Lessons learnt from country experiences provide context and insight that complement the checklist's goal of simplifying the complexities of influenza prevention, preparedness, and vaccine manufacturing. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Plant genetic resources for the sustainability of agro-industrial production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bacchetta, L.; Del Fiore, A.; Di Giovanni, B.; Padovani, M.L.; Santi, C.; Troiani, V.; Tronci, C.

    2015-01-01

    Retrieving, characterization and conservation of agro-biodiversity ' are the European Union's priority objectives in the context of the strategies to preserve the genetic resources deemed essential for sustainable development, for the support of the community and to encourage a balanced economic growth. A holistic, integrated strategy can create the most propitious conditions to retrieve, maintain, and use in a sustainable way and according to models of circular economy and continuous innovation, the potential of plant systems (also by-products and wastes) for the development of new sectors of economic and social interest through innovative processes with a low environmental impact, according with the European strategy to 2020 which gives priority to the development of the bio-economy. [it

  17. 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.

  18. Positive Behavior Support: Sustainability and Continuous Regeneration

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIntosh, Kent; Turri, Mary G.

    2014-01-01

    Because of its widespread adoption and implementation (in over 13,000 schools in the US; Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2010), there has been increasing attention to how School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) systems can be sustained. Sustained implementation can be defined as "continued use of an…

  19. Scientific appraisal of the Irish grass-based milk production system as a sustainable source of premium quality milk and dairy products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O’Brien B.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The Irish dairy industry is critically important to the economy and general well-being of a large section of the Irish population. Its quality, sustainability and maintenance are the key for a vibrant rural society in the future. Two important elements for the future of this industry include (a the quality, marketing and sale of dairy products on the export market and (b sustainability from the perspectives of people, planet and profit. This paper provides a short review of current scientific evidence in relation to a number of topics, each of which is important in maintaining and developing dairy product quality and the sustainability of the Irish dairy industry. The topics addressed in the paper are as follows: the parameters of milk composition; milk processing; hygiene quality and safety; farm management practices and the regulations that govern such practices; animal health and welfare; environmental impacts; economic implications for farm families and rural communities; and the overall future sustainability of the family-based dairy farm structure.

  20. Sustainability labelling as a challenge to legitimacy: spillover effects of organic Fairtrade coffee on consumer perceptions of mainstream products and retailers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anagnostou, A.; Ingenbleek, P.T.M.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – This study aims to better understand the impact of norm-challenging products on consumers’ perceptions of mainstream products and retailers. By showing that sustainable market offerings are feasible, products with sustainability labels, such as Fairtrade and organic products, implicitly

  1. MARKET SUCCESS FACTORS OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janine Fleith de Medeiros

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This article investigates dimensions and factors that according to the perception of business managers drive the market success of environmentally sustainable products. Initially, publications related to new products introduced to the market (with or without environmental focus were evaluated. Four complementary dimensions were identified as responsible for proper performance: (i Market Knowledge, (ii Interfunctional Collaboration, (iii Knowledge Integration Mechanisms, and (iv Generative Learning. Considering the above, an exploratory study following a qualitative approach was conducted with managers that work in the Brazilian market. For the choice of the respondents, some characteristics were considered, such as growth in the sector of activity where the organization works, and the area that they manage. Results lead to the validation and ranking of the factors and dimensions mentioned in the literature. They also allowed the identification of new factors as: technological domain, competitive price, quality, company's brand, and payback. Moreover, considering the variables described and the relationships established among them, it was inferred that technological domain can be considered as a dimension. This suggestion is based on the respondents' perception concerning "technological domain", such as: specialized people, research budget, and also budget for facilities and equipment. The study also shows deeper difference among practice areas than among sectors. Based on the list of factors that was generated, new studies are recommended to measure the impact of the factors and dimensions on the success of green products.

  2. Sustainable food production in marginal lands—Case of GDLA member countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shabbir A. Shahid

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable food production in the changing climate and dwindling water resources in the Global Dry Land Alliance (GDLA member countries is a real challenge, especially when considering marginal lands in dryland systems. The definition of marginal land is very vague and defined from different perspectives (pragmatism about marginal lands. Dryland itself indicates "marginality" due to water stress. In general, the abandoned agriculture land where food production is not economical, and has low inherent productivity potential is considered marginal; however, a land may be marginal for agriculture but vital for grazing. In this paper attempts have been made to give review of literature (water stress, extent of marginal saline lands, marginality. Policy matters (development of soil, water and agriculture strategies that GDLA and member countries should consider for future sustainable food production in their countries, including but not limited to, assessment of land resources for agriculture potential, defining, mapping and characterizing marginal lands, and use of innovative technologies (conservation agriculture, climate smart agriculture, integrated soil reclamation program and capacity building for food production, are discussed. The international perception (FAO, UNEP, CGIAR on marginal lands is also described. An innovative approach of using national biocapacity and ecological footprint is used to assess marginality of GDLA member countries. Ecological overshoot (using 1.5 earth planets and biocapacity debtor and creditor countries are highlighted. Challenges and best management practices for food production in marginal lands are included. Other important issues, like leasing land abroad, GDLA strategic food reserves and best management practices, innovative ideas for food production are shared. Finally recommendations are drafted for actions by GDLA, its member countries and the partners.

  3. The production-ecological sustainability of cassava, sugarcane and sweet sorghum cultivation for bioethanol in Mozambique

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, de S.C.; Ven, van de G.W.J.; Ittersum, van M.K.; Giller, K.E.

    2012-01-01

    We present an approach for providing quantitative insight into the production-ecological sustainability of biofuel feedstock production systems. The approach is based on a simple crop-soil model and was used for assessing feedstock from current and improved production systems of cassava for

  4. Gender Role in Sustainable Palm Oil Production in Imo State, Nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper explored gender role in sustainable palm oil production in selected communities of Imo State. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 60 respondents for the study. Data were collected using interview schedule and analyzed using mean score and percentage. The estimated average monthly income of ...

  5. Sustainability in Business

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tollin, Karin; Vej, Jesper

    2012-01-01

    How do companies integrate sustainability into their strategy and practices, and what factors explain their approach? In this paper a typology of sustainability strategies is presented as well as a conceptual framework relating sustainability at the company level to the functional level of market...... managers' mindsets, a framework addressing sustainability from four organisational learning schools was designed and followed......How do companies integrate sustainability into their strategy and practices, and what factors explain their approach? In this paper a typology of sustainability strategies is presented as well as a conceptual framework relating sustainability at the company level to the functional level...... of marketing. The central contribution of the typology is a strategic and managerial view on sustainability. Furthermore, the typology shows that sustainability in business is enacted from different areas of competences and fields in the literature (e.g. supply chain management, corporate branding, value...

  6. Life Cycle Sustainability Dashboard

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Traverso, Marzia; Finkbeiner, Matthias; Jørgensen, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    One method to assess the sustainability performance of products is life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), which assesses product performance considering the environmental,economic, and social dimensions of the life cycle. The results of LCSA can be used to compare different products...... of sustainability is the communicability of the results by means of a graphical representation (a cartogram), characterized by a suitable chromatic scale and ranking score. The integration of LCSA and the dashboard of sustainability into a so-called Life Cycle Sustainability Dashboard (LCSD) is described here...

  7. The implementation of education for sustainable development in Sweden: investigating the sustainability consciousness among upper secondary students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berglund, Teresa; Gericke, Niklas; Rundgren, Shu-Nu Chang

    2014-09-01

    Background: Sustainable development (SD) is a complex idea, based on environmental, economic and social dimensions. In line with SD, education for sustainable development (ESD) is an approach to teaching that combines cognitive and affective domains and aims to build empowerment abilities. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to investigate effects of the implementation of ESD in Sweden, in terms of developing students' sustainability consciousness (SC). Two groups of students were included: one was from schools with a profile of ESD and the other one was from comparable schools without explicit ESD-profile. Sample: A total of 638 students from upper secondary schools (grade 12) in science-related or social science-related programs participated in the study. Design and methods: A procedure was created for the selection of schools considered to be the most active in using an ESD approach as well as comparable schools with no explicit ESD approach. During spring 2013, the students responded to a questionnaire based on sustainability knowingness, attitudes and behaviors within the environmental, economic and social dimensions of SD that together constitute the concept of SC. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The results indicate that there are significant differences in SC between students from schools that teach with an ESD approach compared to students from regular schools. Furthermore, a significant difference between the two groups of students was found in the underlying economic dimension of SC. No significant differences were found in the environmental and social dimensions of SC. Conclusions: Although the results show that ESD-profiled schools have effect on students' SC, the effects are relatively small. Therefore, the effects and nature of the implementation of ESD are discussed.

  8. School food environment: Quality and advertisement frequency of child-oriented packaged products within walking distance of public schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Missbach, Benjamin; Pachschwöll, Caterina; Kuchling, Daniel; König, Jürgen

    2017-06-01

    Food marketing for children is a major concern for public health nutrition and many schools make efforts to increase healthy eating. Food environments surrounding schools in urban areas may undermine these efforts for healthy nutrition within school programs. Our study aim is to describe the nutrition environment within walking distance of schools in terms of food quality and food marketing and to explore the degree to which elements of the nutrition environment varies by proximity to schools. In a cross-sectional study, we analyzed the surrounding food environments of a convenience sample of 46 target schools within 950m walking distance in 7 different urban districts across Vienna, Austria. In total, we analyzed data from 67 fast food outlets and 54 supermarkets analyzing a total of 43.129 packaged snack food and beverage products, from which 85% were for adults and 15% of the products were child-oriented. Proximity to the schools did not affect the availability of child-oriented products and dedicated food advertisements for children. After applying nutrient profiling using the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) on child-oriented products, results showed that 15.8% of the packaged snack food were categorized as "healthy" foods and 84.2% as "less healthy"; for beverages 65.7% were categorized as "healthy" and 34.3% as "less healthy". In conclusion, our results show that child-oriented snacks are not more frequently advertised around schools but substantially lack in nutritional quality with the potential to undermine efforts for promoting healthy eating practices within schools.

  9. School food environment: Quality and advertisement frequency of child-oriented packaged products within walking distance of public schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin Missbach

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Food marketing for children is a major concern for public health nutrition and many schools make efforts to increase healthy eating. Food environments surrounding schools in urban areas may undermine these efforts for healthy nutrition within school programs. Our study aim is to describe the nutrition environment within walking distance of schools in terms of food quality and food marketing and to explore the degree to which elements of the nutrition environment varies by proximity to schools. In a cross-sectional study, we analyzed the surrounding food environments of a convenience sample of 46 target schools within 950m walking distance in 7 different urban districts across Vienna, Austria. In total, we analyzed data from 67 fast food outlets and 54 supermarkets analyzing a total of 43.129 packaged snack food and beverage products, from which 85% were for adults and 15% of the products were child-oriented. Proximity to the schools did not affect the availability of child-oriented products and dedicated food advertisements for children. After applying nutrient profiling using the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM on child-oriented products, results showed that 15.8% of the packaged snack food were categorized as “healthy” foods and 84.2% as “less healthy”; for beverages 65.7% were categorized as “healthy” and 34.3% as “less healthy”. In conclusion, our results show that child-oriented snacks are not more frequently advertised around schools but substantially lack in nutritional quality with the potential to undermine efforts for promoting healthy eating practices within schools.

  10. Beliefs that manifest through newspaper items in relation to peoples’ life challenges and their potential to enhance a sustainable learning environment in school science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thapelo L. Mamiala

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper documents beliefs that manifest themselves through newspaper items and elaborates on their potential to enhance a sustainable learning environment in a school science lesson. “Learning environment” is depicted from different angles and includes virtual and real learning environments, school environments and classroom environments. Descriptive and item analyses were conducted on sixty-eight newspaper items that were identified. The nature of problems and prescriptions/solutions was categorised for each item and the paper further provides elaboration on the types of problems and recommended solutions. The results show that the “believed” structure contents in their newspaper items to catch the attention of the “believer”. Lessons on the power of belief must be learnt by school science teachers if they are to succeed in creating a sustainable learning environment with improved performance in school science.

  11. Beyond ‘Innocents Abroad’: Reflecting on Sustainability Issues During International Study Trips

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne H. Reilly

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available With ecosystems and populations in many regions threatened by rapid development, sustainability is a critical component for businesses in mature markets and emerging economies alike. The International Association of Jesuit Business Schools notes that global sustainability involves a broad set of interconnected issues ranging from environmental preservation to social justice to desirable production and consumption patterns. Jesuit business schools are uniquely positioned to address sustainability issues with their focus on teaching managerial content in tandem with corporate social responsibility. Further, the Ignatian Pedagogy Paradigm of experience, reflection, and action would suggest that business students may benefit from reflective observation in support of learning about sustainability. In this paper, we examine the international study trip as an opportunity for students to learn about sustainability, with results suggesting that student understanding about the broad sustainability domain may be enhanced through the study abroad experience. We discuss how two classes of primarily American MBA students traveling to emerging markets (one class to Santiago, Chile and one class to Johannesburg, South Africa were able to connect local business practices with economic and social as well as environmental sustainability issues, enhancing both student engagement and learning outcomes. Further, these students’ sustainability experiences while in an unfamiliar environment provided the opportunity to apply the potentially transformative experience, reflection, and action components of the Ignatian Pedagogy Paradigm. Compared to similar graduate business students enrolled in regular classes, we argue that these students discerned deeper connections with the economic, social, and environmental issues of sustainability.

  12. The Role of Sustained Attention in the Production of Conjoined Noun Phrases: An Individual Differences Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongman, S.R.; Meyer, A.S.; Roelofs, A.P.A.

    2015-01-01

    It has previously been shown that language production, performed simultaneously with a nonlinguistic task, involves sustained attention. Sustained attention concerns the ability to maintain alertness over time. Here, we aimed to replicate the previous finding by showing that individuals call upon

  13. Understanding wicked problems and organized irresponsibility: challenges for governing the sustainable intensification of chicken meat production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bueren, E.M.; Lammerts Van Bueren, E.; Zijpp, van der A.J.

    2014-01-01

    Framing sustainable intensification as a wicked problem reveals how inherent trade-offs and resulting uncertainty and ambiguity block integrated problem solving as promoted by sustainable chain management approaches to production and consumption. The fragmented institutional set-up of the chains

  14. Investing for Sustainable Turnaround. Sustaining School Turnaround at Scale. Brief 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Education Resource Strategies, 2012

    2012-01-01

    The Federal government has brought the issue of low-performing schools to the forefront of public conversation by committing $3.5 billion over three years to turn around these schools. As of March 2011, over 1200 schools across the country had been awarded School Improvement Grants (SIG). Given the magnitude of this short-term investment and the…

  15. Sustainability Evaluation of Mass Customization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2013-01-01

    This paper addresses the issue whether the concepts mass customization and sustainability are fundamentally compatible by asking the question: can a mass customized product be sustainable? Some factors indicate that mass customized products are less sustainable than standardized products; however...... other factors suggest the opposite. This paper explores these factors during three life cycle phases for a product: Production, Use and End of Life. It is concluded that there is not an unambiguous causal relationship between mass customization and sustainability; however several factors unique to mass...... customized products are essential to consider during product development....

  16. Independency of Japan's Agriculture through Food and Energy Self-sufficiency : Hokkaido Model Toward the Sustainability of Food and Biomass Production

    OpenAIRE

    Osaki, Mitsuru

    2009-01-01

    Sustainability Weeks 2009 Opening Symposium "International Symposium on Sustainable Development -Recommendations for Tackling the 5 Challenges of Global Sustainability-". Session 5, Toward the Sustainability of Food and Biomass Production. 2 November 2009. Sapporo, Japan.

  17. Priority for sustainability. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-12-01

    The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs (EZ) has been asked to realize priority in connection to the grid for sustainable production capacity. Currently there are waiting lists for connection of new production capacity to the grid in some areas, due to a shortage in transport capacity. The Dutch connection policy (first come, first serve) may possibly lead to delays in connecting sustainable production capacity, which is not desirable in view of the incentivisation of sustainability. EZ and TenneT have asked Booz Allen to examine the options for giving priority to sustainability (wind and CHP). Priority in connection applies only to new sustainable production capacity, but priority in transport also applies to existing sustainable production capacity. [mk] [nl

  18. Assessing the sustained impact of a school-based obesity prevention program for adolescent boys: the ATLAS cluster randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubans, David R; Smith, Jordan J; Plotnikoff, Ronald C; Dally, Kerry A; Okely, Anthony D; Salmon, Jo; Morgan, Philip J

    2016-08-20

    Obesity prevention interventions targeting 'at-risk' adolescents are urgently needed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the sustained impact of the 'Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen-time' (ATLAS) obesity prevention program. Cluster RCT in 14 secondary schools in low-income communities of New South Wales, Australia. Participants were 361 adolescent boys (aged 12-14 years) 'at risk' of obesity. The intervention was based on Self-Determination Theory and Social Cognitive Theory and involved: professional development, fitness equipment for schools, teacher-delivered physical activity sessions, lunch-time activity sessions, researcher-led seminars, a smartphone application, and parental strategies. Assessments for the primary (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference) and secondary outcomes were conducted at baseline, 8- (post-intervention) and 18-months (follow-up). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle using linear mixed models. After 18-months, there were no intervention effects for BMI or waist circumference. Sustained effects were found for screen-time, resistance training skill competency, and motivational regulations for school sport. There were no clinically meaningful intervention effects for the adiposity outcomes. However, the intervention resulted in sustained effects for secondary outcomes. Interventions that more intensively target the home environment, as well as other socio-ecological determinants of obesity may be needed to prevent unhealthy weight gain in adolescents from low-income communities. Australian Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12612000978864.

  19. Impacts of Returning Unsold Products in Retail Outsourcing Fashion Supply Chain: A Sustainability Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Shen

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available l outsourcing with a return policy is quite commonly adopted in the fashion supply chain. Under the return policy, the supplier as a brand owner may focus on production, and then outsource retailing to the retailer. In the meanwhile, the retailer may receive some support money from the supplier for subsidizing the loss of unsold products at the end of the selling season and be asked for shipping back. Motivated by this real practice in the fashion industry, we examine a two-echelon supply chain with one supplier and one retailer under the return policy. Several interesting findings are obtained from our analysis. First, we find that when the supply chain achieves channel coordination, the cost of physical return is at least partially borne by the supplier, no matter who is responsible for it in reality. Second, we find that the cost of physical return is significantly affecting the sustainability factors such as the expected amount leftover (which represents environmental friendliness, the expected sales to expected goods leftover ratio (which implies both environmental friendliness and economic sustainability, and the rate of return on investment (which indicates economic sustainability. Third, from a sustainability perspective, we find that the pure wholesale price contract is more sustainable than the coordinating return policy. A numerical study by the real company data is conducted and managerial insights from analysis are discussed.

  20. Cascading biomethane energy systems for sustainable green gas production in a circular economy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, David M; McDonagh, Shane; Murphy, Jerry D

    2017-11-01

    Biomethane is a flexible energy vector that can be used as a renewable fuel for both the heat and transport sectors. Recent EU legislation encourages the production and use of advanced, third generation biofuels with improved sustainability for future energy systems. The integration of technologies such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, and power to gas, along with advanced feedstocks such as algae will be at the forefront in meeting future sustainability criteria and achieving a green gas supply for the gas grid. This paper explores the relevant pathways in which an integrated biomethane industry could potentially materialise and identifies and discusses the latest biotechnological advances in the production of renewable gas. Three scenarios of cascading biomethane systems are developed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Female Schooling, Non-Market Productivity, and Labor Market Participation in Nigeria

    OpenAIRE

    Aromolaran, Adebayo B.

    2004-01-01

    Economists have argued that increasing female schooling positively influences the labor supply of married women by inducing a faster rise in market productivity relative to non-market productivity. I use the Nigerian Labor Force Survey to investigate how own and husband's schooling affect women's labor market participation. I find that additional years of postsecondary education increases wage market participation probability by as much as 15.2%. A marginal increase in primary schooling has n...

  2. Cascading biomethane energy systems for sustainable green gas production in a circular economy

    OpenAIRE

    Wall, David M.; McDonagh, Shane; Murphy, Jerry D.

    2017-01-01

    Biomethane is a flexible energy vector that can be used as a renewable fuel for both the heat and transport sectors. Recent EU legislation encourages the production and use of advanced, third generation biofuels with improved sustainability for future energy systems. The integration of technologies such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, and power to gas, along with advanced feedstocks such as algae will be at the forefront in meeting future sustainability criteria and achieving a green ga...

  3. Product reformulation and nutritional improvements after new competitive food standards in schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahn, Jaquelyn L; Cohen, Juliana Fw; Gorski-Findling, Mary T; Hoffman, Jessica A; Rosenfeld, Lindsay; Chaffee, Ruth; Smith, Lauren; Rimm, Eric B

    2018-04-01

    In 2012, Massachusetts enacted school competitive food and beverage standards similar to national Smart Snacks. These standards aim to improve the nutritional quality of competitive snacks. It was previously demonstrated that a majority of foods and beverages were compliant with the standards, but it was unknown whether food manufacturers reformulated products in response to the standards. The present study assessed whether products were reformulated after standards were implemented; the availability of reformulated products outside schools; and whether compliance with the standards improved the nutrient composition of competitive snacks. An observational cohort study documenting all competitive snacks sold before (2012) and after (2013 and 2014) the standards were implemented. The sample included thirty-six school districts with both a middle and high school. After 2012, energy, saturated fat, Na and sugar decreased and fibre increased among all competitive foods. By 2013, 8 % of foods were reformulated, as were an additional 9 % by 2014. Nearly 15 % of reformulated foods were look-alike products that could not be purchased at supermarkets. Energy and Na in beverages decreased after 2012, in part facilitated by smaller package sizes. Massachusetts' law was effective in improving the nutritional content of snacks and product reformulation helped schools adhere to the law. This suggests fully implementing Smart Snacks standards may similarly improve the foods available in schools nationally. However, only some healthier reformulated foods were available outside schools.

  4. Conceptualizing Sustainably Produced Food for Promotional Purposes: A Sustainable Marketing Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cecilia Solér

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Progress in transforming current food consumption and production practice in a sustainable direction is slow. Communicative, sustainable consumer policy instruments such as eco-labeling schemes have limited impact outside the green segment and within the mainstream market. This article asks how sustainably produced food can be described in order to promote such food. Based on six cases, it aims to conceptualize the common denominators of sustainable food production by drawing on recent literature on sustainable marketing and on food and sustainable development. Contradictions and implications in terms of labeling schemes, global sourcing and consumer food practice are discussed.

  5. Values and public acceptability dimensions of sustainable egg production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, P B; Appleby, M; Busch, L; Kalof, L; Miele, M; Norwood, B F; Pajor, E

    2011-09-01

    The attributes of egg production that elicit values-based responses include the price and availability of eggs, environmental impacts, food safety or health concerns, and animal welfare. Different social groups have distinct interests regarding the sustainability of egg production that reflect these diverse values. Current scientifically based knowledge about how values and attitudes in these groups can be characterized is uneven and must be derived from studies conducted at varying times and using incomplete study methods. In general, some producer and consumer interests are translated through markets and are mediated by market mechanisms, whereas others are poorly reflected by economic behavior. An array of survey and focus group research has been performed to elicit consumer and activist beliefs about performance goals they would expect from an egg production system. These studies provide evidence that consumers' market behavior may be at odds with their ethical and political beliefs about performance goals.

  6. Sustainable Sizing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinette, Kathleen M; Veitch, Daisy

    2016-08-01

    To provide a review of sustainable sizing practices that reduce waste, increase sales, and simultaneously produce safer, better fitting, accommodating products. Sustainable sizing involves a set of methods good for both the environment (sustainable environment) and business (sustainable business). Sustainable sizing methods reduce (1) materials used, (2) the number of sizes or adjustments, and (3) the amount of product unsold or marked down for sale. This reduces waste and cost. The methods can also increase sales by fitting more people in the target market and produce happier, loyal customers with better fitting products. This is a mini-review of methods that result in more sustainable sizing practices. It also reviews and contrasts current statistical and modeling practices that lead to poor fit and sizing. Fit-mapping and the use of cases are two excellent methods suited for creating sustainable sizing, when real people (vs. virtual people) are used. These methods are described and reviewed. Evidence presented supports the view that virtual fitting with simulated people and products is not yet effective. Fit-mapping and cases with real people and actual products result in good design and products that are fit for person, fit for purpose, with good accommodation and comfortable, optimized sizing. While virtual models have been shown to be ineffective for predicting or representing fit, there is an opportunity to improve them by adding fit-mapping data to the models. This will require saving fit data, product data, anthropometry, and demographics in a standardized manner. For this success to extend to the wider design community, the development of a standardized method of data collection for fit-mapping with a globally shared fit-map database is needed. It will enable the world community to build knowledge of fit and accommodation and generate effective virtual fitting for the future. A standardized method of data collection that tests products' fit methodically

  7. Bioenergy production and sustainable development: science base for policymaking remains limited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robledo-Abad, Carmenza; Althaus, Hans-Jörg; Berndes, Göran; Bolwig, Simon; Corbera, Esteve; Creutzig, Felix; Garcia-Ulloa, John; Geddes, Anna; Gregg, Jay S; Haberl, Helmut; Hanger, Susanne; Harper, Richard J; Hunsberger, Carol; Larsen, Rasmus K; Lauk, Christian; Leitner, Stefan; Lilliestam, Johan; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Muys, Bart; Nordborg, Maria; Ölund, Maria; Orlowsky, Boris; Popp, Alexander; Portugal-Pereira, Joana; Reinhard, Jürgen; Scheiffle, Lena; Smith, Pete

    2017-03-01

    The possibility of using bioenergy as a climate change mitigation measure has sparked a discussion of whether and how bioenergy production contributes to sustainable development. We undertook a systematic review of the scientific literature to illuminate this relationship and found a limited scientific basis for policymaking. Our results indicate that knowledge on the sustainable development impacts of bioenergy production is concentrated in a few well-studied countries, focuses on environmental and economic impacts, and mostly relates to dedicated agricultural biomass plantations. The scope and methodological approaches in studies differ widely and only a small share of the studies sufficiently reports on context and/or baseline conditions, which makes it difficult to get a general understanding of the attribution of impacts. Nevertheless, we identified regional patterns of positive or negative impacts for all categories - environmental, economic, institutional, social and technological. In general, economic and technological impacts were more frequently reported as positive, while social and environmental impacts were more frequently reported as negative (with the exception of impacts on direct substitution of GHG emission from fossil fuel). More focused and transparent research is needed to validate these patterns and develop a strong science underpinning for establishing policies and governance agreements that prevent/mitigate negative and promote positive impacts from bioenergy production.

  8. 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

  9. Aquaponic System: A sustainable production form in Family Farming and periurban area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renan Borro Celestrino

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Aquaponics is a food culture system that involves the integration of hydroponics and aquaculture with recirculation of water and nutrients. Due to its sustainable characteristics, it presents alternatives for the production of animal protein and olerícolas in an integrated way, less impacting the ecosystem. For the development of this essay, a methodological structure of an applied nature and of a scientific character with a qualitative-quantitative approach was adopted, it is a descriptive and experimental research. The data were collected through field research in triangulation with the bibliographic reference. Taking into account the sustainability and practicality of the aquaponic system, the purpose of this work was to survey the cost for the small-scale implementation of the system for family agriculture and peri-urban areas, as well as to present the step-by-step driving the system. The practical experiment consisted of 27 kilos of fish fed with ration referring to 2% of its live weight, the residues nourished 144 seedlings of the Crespa Lettuce. The aquaponic system for family and peri-urban agriculture tends to be a sustainable alternative, presenting low implantation costs, the practicality of management and healthier production due to the organic nutrition of the plants and the non-use of chemicals in the system.

  10. Handbook of sustainable engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, Kun-Mo

    2013-01-01

    "The efficient utilization of energy, sustainable use of natural resources, and large-scale adoption of sustainable technologies is the key to a sustainable future. The Handbook of Sustainable Engineering provides tools that will help us achieve these goals". Nobel Prize Winner Dr. R.K. Pauchauri, Chairman, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change As global society confronts the challenges of diminishing resources, ecological degradation, and climate change, engineers play a crucial role designing and building technologies and products that fulfil our needs for utility and sustainability. The Handbook of Sustainable Engineering equips readers with the context and the best practices derived from both academic research and practical examples of successful implementations of sustainable technical solutions. The handbook’s content revolves around the two themes, new ways of thinking and new business models, including sustainable production, products, service systems and consumption while addressing key asse...

  11. Measures and metrics of sustainable diets with a focus on milk, yogurt, and dairy products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drewnowski, Adam

    2018-01-01

    The 4 domains of sustainable diets are nutrition, economics, society, and the environment. To be sustainable, foods and food patterns need to be nutrient-rich, affordable, culturally acceptable, and sparing of natural resources and the environment. Each sustainability domain has its own measures and metrics. Nutrient density of foods has been assessed through nutrient profiling models, such as the Nutrient-Rich Foods family of scores. The Food Affordability Index, applied to different food groups, has measured both calories and nutrients per penny (kcal/$). Cultural acceptance measures have been based on relative food consumption frequencies across population groups. Environmental impact of individual foods and composite food patterns has been measured in terms of land, water, and energy use. Greenhouse gas emissions assess the carbon footprint of agricultural food production, processing, and retail. Based on multiple sustainability metrics, milk, yogurt, and other dairy products can be described as nutrient-rich, affordable, acceptable, and appealing. The environmental impact of dairy farming needs to be weighed against the high nutrient density of milk, yogurt, and cheese as compared with some plant-based alternatives. PMID:29206982

  12. The relationship between in-store marketing and observed sales of sustainable products : A shopper marketing view

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Nierop, E.; van Herpen, E.; Sloot, L.M.

    2011-01-01

    To stimulate sales of sustainable products, retailers need to know whether their in-store instruments effectively influence their market shares. This study uses actual sales data and a multilevel modeling approach to describe the market shares of sustainable brands according to price level, price

  13. Groundwater and quaternary geological studies of potential peat production areas - useful tool for sustainable peat production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Valpola, S.E.; Paalijaervi, M. (Geological Survey of Finland, Kokkola (Finland)), Email: samu.valpola@gtk.fi, Email: miikka.paalijarvi@gtk.fi

    2009-07-01

    Potential peat production areas in Finland are often situated in vicinity of eskers or other quaternary (glaciofluvial) formations. Frequently these formations are also important groundwater resources and it is essential for sustainable peat production to assure that these resources will not be endangered. The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) has concluded several quaternary geological studies on potential peat production areas, which are connected to locally important groundwater areas. These studies have been made using mainly ground penetrating radar (GPR) and light drilling equipment. The main objective of these studies has been to establish the local groundwater flow directions and the quality and extent of quaternary deposits. The increasing need of peat production areas has created an evident demand of cost-effective and fast research methods which can be used for providing reliable information for planning of new production areas. (orig.)

  14. Feeding nine billion: the challenge to sustainable crop production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Peter J; George, Timothy S

    2011-11-01

    In the recent past there was a widespread working assumption in many countries that problems of food production had been solved, and that food security was largely a matter of distribution and access to be achieved principally by open markets. The events of 2008 challenged these assumptions, and made public a much wider debate about the costs of current food production practices to the environment and whether these could be sustained. As in the past 50 years, it is anticipated that future increases in crop production will be achieved largely by increasing yields per unit area rather than by increasing the area of cropped land. However, as yields have increased, so the ratio of photosynthetic energy captured to energy expended in crop production has decreased. This poses a considerable challenge: how to increase yield while simultaneously reducing energy consumption (allied to greenhouse gas emissions) and utilizing resources such as water and phosphate more efficiently. Given the timeframe in which the increased production has to be realized, most of the increase will need to come from crop genotypes that are being bred now, together with known agronomic and management practices that are currently under-developed.

  15. Sustainable Livestock Production in The Perspective of National Food Security Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tjeppy D Soedjana

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an overview of the role that livestock play in various dimensions of food security. Food security is defined as a state of affairs where all people at all times have access to safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. Availability, accessibility, and affordability of individuals to consume food according to their respective socio-economic conditions are important dimensions. It describes the place of livestock products in human nutrition, the contribution of livestock to the national food supply and the way that livestock can affect food access, as a direct source of food and a source of income. Access to food is the most basic human right, especially for Indonesia with more than 240 million people with annual growth of 1.3%. To secure food availability, a sustainable food production growth more than 2% per year, including animal protein sources, is needed. It is necessary to strengthen food supply by maximizing available resources; improve food distribution system to guarantee a stable food supply and public access; encourage diversified food consumption; and prevent as well as resolve food scarcity. Furthermore, within the national objectives for self-sufficiency in rice, corn, soybean, and white sugar, the current annual percapita consumption of livestock products has reached 6.96 kg (meat, 7.3 kg (eggs and 16.5 kg (milk, which indicates good progress to stimulate sustainable domestic livestock production.

  16. Family farming products on menus in school feeding: a partnership for promoting healthy eating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hélida Ventura Barbosa Gonçalves

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to characterize the process of buying Family Farming (FF food for the Brazilian School Feeding Program (BSFP and compare the quality of menus served to the schoolchildren before and after the implementation of Law n. 11,947/09. This is an observational cross-sectional study developed with application of semi-structured questionnaire and evaluating menus. Eighty-two cities from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil participated of the study. Of these cities reported, 74.1% performed the purchase of products of FF for BSFP. The lack of interest of farmers and the deficient hygienic and sanitary conditions were the main difficulties reported. The quality of the menus offered to the schoolchildren improved significantly after the implementation of FF purchases. The partnership between FF and BSFP can contribute greatly to the development of healthy eating habits, not only by offering better nutritional quality menus, but also by implementing of nutritional education activities guided by the sustainable production and consumption of food.

  17. PENERAPAN PRINSIP SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PADA PERANCANGAN PONDOK PESANTREN ENTERPRENEUR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achmad Siddiq Annur

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Unhealthy competition among economic actors, and exploitation of natural resources without preservation,caused a complicated problem in the community. Poor-quality education, especially in moral and religiouseducation, to be one of the causes of these problems. Therefore, the existence of boarding school as aneducational institution based on Islam is expected to be a solution to decline moral values and religion in thisnation. Through a combination of formal and religious education at a boarding school will provide a strongmental training for the formation of individual intelligent and noble. In addition, a boarding school with speechentrepreneurship curriculum in the education system, can provide an added value to the institution.Prospective employers are responsible for each other and the environment, and economic actors are honestand committed. Entrepreneur Boarding can be part of an effort to maintain the sustainability of resources,both natural and human resources. Sustainable development, as the purpose of the object, is a theme thatdescribes every aspect of the design object. Sustainable development has three principles of sustainability; thenatural environment sustainability, social sustainability and economic sustainability. Starting from the planningof design, the building process, until the use of the building, always accompanied by the consideration of thethree aspects of sustainability. Through the application of sustainable development as the design theme of theboarding school entrepreneurs will produce buildings that are environmentally and socially friendly, in additionto continue to provide investment for owners, users, and the surrounding community.

  18. Microalgal cultivation and utilization in sustainable energy production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lakaniemi, A.-M.

    2012-07-01

    Microalgae are a promising feedstock for biofuel and bioenergy production due to their high photosynthetic efficiencies, high growth rates and no need for external organic carbon supply. However, microalgal biomass cultivation for energy production purposes is still rare in commercial scale. Further research and development is needed to make microalgal derived energy sustainable and economically competitive. This work investigated cultivation of fresh water microalga Chlorella vulgaris and marine microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta and their utilization in production of hydrogen, methane, electricity, butanol and bio-oil after bulk harvesting the biomass. Growth of the two microalgae was studied in five different photobioreactor (PBR) configurations especially concentrating on the quantification and characterization of heterotrophic bacteria in non-axenic microalgal cultivations and microalgal utilization of different nitrogen sources. Anaerobic cultures used for the energy conversion processes were enriched from a mesophilic municipal sewage digester separately for production of H{sub 2}, CH{sub 4} and electricity from the two microalgal species. After culture enrichment, energy conversion yields of microalgal biomass to the different energy carriers were compared. In summary, this study demonstrated that both C. vulgaris and D. tertiolecta can be used for production of Hv(2), CHv(4), electricity, butanol and lipids. Based on this study C. vulgaris is more suitable for bioenergy production than D. tertiolecta. Depending on cellular lipid content, lipid utilization for bio-oil production and anaerobic digestion were the most potent means of converting C. vulgaris biomass to energy. The study also revealed diverse microbial communities in non-axenic microalgal photobioreactor cultures and in anaerobic consortia converting microalgal biomass to energy carriers

  19. The sustainability of Brazilian ethanol-An assessment of the possibilities of certified production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smeets, Edward; Junginger, Martin; Faaij, Andre; Walter, Arnaldo; Dolzan, Paulo; Turkenburg, Wim

    2008-01-01

    In this article the environmental and socio-economical impacts of the production of ethanol from sugarcane in the state of Sao Paulo (Brazil) are evaluated. Subsequently, an attempt is made to determine to what extent these impacts are a bottleneck for a sustainable and certified ethanol production. Seventeen environmental and socio-economic areas of concern are analysed. Four parameters are used to evaluate if an area of concern is a bottleneck: (1) the importance of the area of concern, based on the severity of the impact and the frequency of which an aspect is mentioned in the literature as an area of concern, (2) the availability of indicators and criteria, (3) the necessity of improvement strategies to reach compliance with Brazilian and/or (inter) national legislation, standards, guidelines and sustainability criteria, and (4) the impact of these improvement strategies on the costs and potential of ethanol production. Fourteen areas of concern are classified as a minor or medium bottleneck. For 7 areas of concern the additional costs to avoid or reduce undesirable effects have been calculated at ≤+10% for each area of concern. Due to higher yields and overlapping costs the total additional production costs of compliance with various environmental and socio-economic criteria are about +36%. This study also shows that the energy input to output ratio can be increased and the greenhouse gas emissions reduced by increasing the ethanol production per tonne cane and by increasing the use of sugarcane waste for electricity production. A major bottleneck for a sustainable and certified production is the increase in cane production and the possible impacts on biodiversity and the competition with food production. Genetically modified cane is presently being developed, but is at this moment not (yet) applied. Both a ban on and the allowance of the use of genetically modified cane could become a major bottleneck considering the potentially large benefits and

  20. Sustainability analysis in petroleum production facilities; Analise de sustentabilidade em instalacoes de producao de petroleo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pacheco, Jose Marcos Leite [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Santos, Adriano [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), RN (Brazil); Fernandes Junior, Wilaci Eutropio [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), RN (Brazil)

    2012-07-01

    The global sustainability aspects are discussed and a method for sustainability analysis in oil and gas production surface facilities is presented. The proposed method requires a multidisciplinary viewpoint and considers social, economic and environmental sustainability aspects during the early design programming and planning phases. Traditionally, Feasibility (Technical and Economical), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and risk (Hazop) analysis are performed separately. On the other hand, the proposed methodology merges economical, environmental and social sustainability analysis; which allows deciding the most globally sustainable scenario. A checklist containing global sustainability aspects (Economical, Social, Environmental, Health, Safety, etc.) and a qualitative analysis of these aspects is suggested. The first step for applying the proposed method consists in checking the aspects and the corresponding suggestions for improving the global sustainability. Secondly, the impact of each aspect on sustainability is verified. Finally, the most important aspects are selected and different scenarios are simulated allowing choosing the most sustainable scenario. The results and conclusions are then presented in a Global Sustainability Report. The proposed analysis was applied to study the sustainability of a small offshore platform design. In this case study, several aspects that could potentially improve sustainability were identified. The simulated scenarios showed that some critical aspects contributed decisively to the global sustainability. These critical aspects are not easily identified if only the traditional economical, environmental and risk analysis are applied. (author)

  1. Microalgae as sustainable renewable energy feedstock for biofuel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medipally, Srikanth Reddy; Yusoff, Fatimah Md; Banerjee, Sanjoy; Shariff, M

    2015-01-01

    The world energy crisis and increased greenhouse gas emissions have driven the search for alternative and environmentally friendly renewable energy sources. According to life cycle analysis, microalgae biofuel is identified as one of the major renewable energy sources for sustainable development, with potential to replace the fossil-based fuels. Microalgae biofuel was devoid of the major drawbacks associated with oil crops and lignocelluloses-based biofuels. Algae-based biofuels are technically and economically viable and cost competitive, require no additional lands, require minimal water use, and mitigate atmospheric CO2. However, commercial production of microalgae biodiesel is still not feasible due to the low biomass concentration and costly downstream processes. The viability of microalgae biodiesel production can be achieved by designing advanced photobioreactors, developing low cost technologies for biomass harvesting, drying, and oil extraction. Commercial production can also be accomplished by improving the genetic engineering strategies to control environmental stress conditions and by engineering metabolic pathways for high lipid production. In addition, new emerging technologies such as algal-bacterial interactions for enhancement of microalgae growth and lipid production are also explored. This review focuses mainly on the problems encountered in the commercial production of microalgae biofuels and the possible techniques to overcome these difficulties.

  2. Microalgae as Sustainable Renewable Energy Feedstock for Biofuel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Srikanth Reddy Medipally

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The world energy crisis and increased greenhouse gas emissions have driven the search for alternative and environmentally friendly renewable energy sources. According to life cycle analysis, microalgae biofuel is identified as one of the major renewable energy sources for sustainable development, with potential to replace the fossil-based fuels. Microalgae biofuel was devoid of the major drawbacks associated with oil crops and lignocelluloses-based biofuels. Algae-based biofuels are technically and economically viable and cost competitive, require no additional lands, require minimal water use, and mitigate atmospheric CO2. However, commercial production of microalgae biodiesel is still not feasible due to the low biomass concentration and costly downstream processes. The viability of microalgae biodiesel production can be achieved by designing advanced photobioreactors, developing low cost technologies for biomass harvesting, drying, and oil extraction. Commercial production can also be accomplished by improving the genetic engineering strategies to control environmental stress conditions and by engineering metabolic pathways for high lipid production. In addition, new emerging technologies such as algal-bacterial interactions for enhancement of microalgae growth and lipid production are also explored. This review focuses mainly on the problems encountered in the commercial production of microalgae biofuels and the possible techniques to overcome these difficulties.

  3. Microalgae as Sustainable Renewable Energy Feedstock for Biofuel Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusoff, Fatimah Md.; Shariff, M.

    2015-01-01

    The world energy crisis and increased greenhouse gas emissions have driven the search for alternative and environmentally friendly renewable energy sources. According to life cycle analysis, microalgae biofuel is identified as one of the major renewable energy sources for sustainable development, with potential to replace the fossil-based fuels. Microalgae biofuel was devoid of the major drawbacks associated with oil crops and lignocelluloses-based biofuels. Algae-based biofuels are technically and economically viable and cost competitive, require no additional lands, require minimal water use, and mitigate atmospheric CO2. However, commercial production of microalgae biodiesel is still not feasible due to the low biomass concentration and costly downstream processes. The viability of microalgae biodiesel production can be achieved by designing advanced photobioreactors, developing low cost technologies for biomass harvesting, drying, and oil extraction. Commercial production can also be accomplished by improving the genetic engineering strategies to control environmental stress conditions and by engineering metabolic pathways for high lipid production. In addition, new emerging technologies such as algal-bacterial interactions for enhancement of microalgae growth and lipid production are also explored. This review focuses mainly on the problems encountered in the commercial production of microalgae biofuels and the possible techniques to overcome these difficulties. PMID:25874216

  4. Urbanism, Ecology and Sustainable development: The social production of the spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nogueira D, O.A.

    1998-01-01

    A review over social concepts as urbanism, ecology and production and their interrelationship are exposed. The importance over theoretical themes as sustainable development, and politics and spaces also are presented. Different problems that involve the urbanism as extension, services to provide, social fragmentation, planning, infrastructures, administration, rest areas, violence, commercial areas, neighborhood, architecture and impacts of immigrants are described

  5. Greener on the Other Side: Cultivating Community and Improvement through Sustainability Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sterrett, William L.; Kensler, Lisa; McKey, Tania

    2016-01-01

    Sustainability practices that lead to greener schools are often overlooked in leadership preparation programs and in school improvement efforts. An urban middle school principal recognizes the potential to build community, foster a healthy learning environment, and redefine her school through focusing on sustainability practices in a collaborative…

  6. Green and Sustainable Separation of Natural Products from Agro-Industrial Waste: Challenges, Potentialities, and Perspectives on Emerging Approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuin, Vânia G; Ramin, Luize Z

    2018-01-17

    New generations of biorefinery combine innovative biomass waste resources from different origins, chemical extraction and/or synthesis of biomaterials, biofuels, and bioenergy via green and sustainable processes. From the very beginning, identifying and evaluating all potentially high value-added chemicals that could be removed from available renewable feedstocks requires robust, efficient, selective, reproducible, and benign analytical approaches. With this in mind, green and sustainable separation of natural products from agro-industrial waste is clearly attractive considering both socio-environmental and economic aspects. In this paper, the concepts of green and sustainable separation of natural products will be discussed, highlighting the main studies conducted on this topic over the last 10 years. The principal analytical techniques (such as solvent, microwave, ultrasound, and supercritical treatments), by-products (e.g., citrus, coffee, corn, and sugarcane waste) and target compounds (polyphenols, proteins, essential oils, etc.) will be presented, including the emerging green and sustainable separation approaches towards bioeconomy and circular economy contexts.

  7. The health-nutrition dimension: a methodological approach to assess the nutritional sustainability of typical agro-food products and the Mediterranean diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azzini, Elena; Maiani, Giuseppe; Turrini, Aida; Intorre, Federica; Lo Feudo, Gabriella; Capone, Roberto; Bottalico, Francesco; El Bilali, Hamid; Polito, Angela

    2018-01-09

    The aim of this paper is to provide a methodological approach to evaluate the nutritional sustainability of typical agro-food products, representing Mediterranean eating habits and included in the Mediterranean food pyramid. For each group of foods, suitable and easily measurable indicators were identified. Two macro-indicators were used to assess the nutritional sustainability of each product. The first macro-indicator, called 'business distinctiveness', takes into account the application of different regulations and standards regarding quality, safety and traceability as well as the origin of raw materials. The second macro-indicator, called 'nutritional quality', assesses product nutritional quality taking into account the contents of key compounds including micronutrients and bioactive phytochemicals. For each indicator a 0-10 scoring system was set up, with scores from 0 (unsustainable) to 10 (very sustainable), with 5 as a sustainability benchmark value. The benchmark value is the value from which a product can be considered sustainable. A simple formula was developed to produce a sustainability index. The proposed sustainability index could be considered a useful tool to describe both the qualitative and quantitative value of micronutrients and bioactive phytochemical present in foodstuffs. This methodological approach can also be applied beyond the Mediterranean, to food products in other world regions. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Health programmes for school employees: improving quality of life, health and productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolbe, Lloyd J; Tirozzi, Gerald N; Marx, Eva; Bobbitt-Cooke, Mary; Riedel, Sara; Jones, Jack; Schmoyer, Michael

    2005-01-01

    School health programmes in the 21st century could include eight components: 1) health services; 2) health education; 3) healthy physical and psychosocial environments; 4) psychological, counselling, and social services; 5) physical education and other physical activities; 6) healthy food services; and 7) integrated efforts of schools, families, and communities to improve the health of school students and employees. The eighth component of modern school health programmes, health programmes for school employees, is the focus of this article. Health programmes for school employees could be designed to increase the recruitment, retention, and productivity of school employees by partially focusing each of the preceding seven components of the school health programme on improving the health and quality of life of school employees as well as students. Thus, efforts to improve the quality of life, health, and productivity of school employees may be distinct from, but integrated with, efforts to improve the quality of life, health, and education of students. School employee health programmes can improve employee: 1) recruitment; 2) morale; 3) retention; and 4) productivity. They can reduce employee: 5) risk behaviours (e.g., physical inactivity); 6) risk factors (e.g., stress, obesity, high blood pressure); (7) illnesses; 8) work-related injuries; 9) absentee days; 10) worker compensation and disability claims; and 11) health care and health insurance costs. Further, if we hope to improve our schools' performance and raise student achievement levels, developing effective school employee health programmes can increase the likelihood that employees will: 12) serve as healthy role models for students; 13) implement effective school health programmes for students; and 14) present a positive image of the school to the community. If we are to improve the quality of life, health, and productivity of school employees in the 21st century: school administrators, employees, and

  9. Sustainable Tourism and Use of Local Resources As Touristic Products: The Case Of Beysehir

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erkan Akgoz

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Tourism is developing using its all resources particularly local touristic resources efficiently. However, as tourism sector could contribute the maintenance of the resources which it uses as touristic product, it also could cause their getting harm or destroyed as well. Tourism is developing using its all sources particularly local touristic sources efficiently. But, tourism sector would cause source’s getting harm or disappearing which it has used as touristic product as well as its contribution to maintenance of them.  Thus the most recently stated concept regarding tourism is the sustainable tourism concept.               In this study, which is conducted for this purpose, sustainable tourism in Beysehir, which has important specifications with its unique natural beauties, rich history and cultural assets, is researched. For this reason, important tourism assets of the region is determined at the beginning and general information related to these is given. Survey questions regarding the topic is prepared after this information. Datum which is obtained from the prepared survey questions are saved in the electronic media and evaluated by the proper software. According to these results, usage of local resources as touristic product and its relation to sustainable tourism is discussed.

  10. Enabling sustainable pastoralism: policies and investments that optimise livestock production and rangeland stewardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouedraogo, R; Davies, J

    2016-11-01

    Pastoralism is a system of dynamically managing livestock and land for economic, social and environmental benefit. To a large extent, pastoralism is an adaptation to ecological and climatic variability and is not simply a livestock production system but provides significant environmental services to humanity. Evidence from a range of national contexts shows that sustainable pastoralist development requires an understanding of the dual environmental and economic roles of pastoralism and an adaptation of policies and investments to support both. The current paper examines three cornerstones that have proven to be crucial for sustainable pastoralist development and for maximising the links between livestock production and environmental stewardship: strengthening pastoral capabilities and institutions, securing land tenure and natural resource governance, and ensuring equitable markets for pastoral diversity. To effectively support the dual economic-environmental roles of pastoralism requires not only optimisation of the production of ecosystem services through extensive livestock production, but also a major overhaul of the way we approach pastoralist development, and major investment in the people who are central to the system. As long as pastoralists remain marginalised, with weak rights and little access to services, their future will remain uncertain.

  11. Renewable sustainable biocatalyzed electricity production in a photosynthetic algal microbial fuel cell (PAMFC).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strik, David P B T B; Terlouw, Hilde; Hamelers, Hubertus V M; Buisman, Cees J N

    2008-12-01

    Electricity production via solar energy capturing by living higher plants and microalgae in combination with microbial fuel cells are attractive because these systems promise to generate useful energy in a renewable, sustainable, and efficient manner. This study describes the proof of principle of a photosynthetic algal microbial fuel cell (PAMFC) based on naturally selected algae and electrochemically active microorganisms in an open system and without addition of instable or toxic mediators. The developed solar-powered PAMFC produced continuously over 100 days renewable biocatalyzed electricity. The sustainable performance of the PAMFC resulted in a maximum current density of 539 mA/m2 projected anode surface area and a maximum power production of 110 mW/m2 surface area photobioreactor. The energy recovery of the PAMFC can be increased by optimization of the photobioreactor, by reducing the competition from non-electrochemically active microorganisms, by increasing the electrode surface and establishment of a further-enriched biofilm. Since the objective is to produce net renewable energy with algae, future research should also focus on the development of low energy input PAMFCs. This is because current algae production systems have energy inputs similar to the energy present in the outcoming valuable products.

  12. Deliverable 2 (SustainAQ)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schneider, O.; Julian, B.; Bosman, R.; Eding, E.

    2009-01-01

    The European Project SustainAQ (Framework 6) aims to identify the limiting factors for the sustainable production of aquatic origin food in Eastern Europe. It focuses on the possible use of Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS) as sustainable method for the production of aquatic animals as

  13. Sustained productivity in recombinant Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell lines: proteome analysis of the molecular basis for a process-related phenotype

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Meleady, Paula

    2011-07-24

    Abstract Background The ability of mammalian cell lines to sustain cell specific productivity (Qp) over the full duration of bioprocess culture is a highly desirable phenotype, but the molecular basis for sustainable productivity has not been previously investigated in detail. In order to identify proteins that may be associated with a sustained productivity phenotype, we have conducted a proteomic profiling analysis of two matched pairs of monoclonal antibody-producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines that differ in their ability to sustain productivity over a 10 day fed-batch culture. Results Proteomic profiling of inherent differences between the two sets of comparators using 2D-DIGE (Difference Gel Electrophoresis) and LC-MS\\/MS resulted in the identification of 89 distinct differentially expressed proteins. Overlap comparisons between the two sets of cell line pairs identified 12 proteins (AKRIB8, ANXA1, ANXA4, EIF3I, G6PD, HSPA8, HSP90B1, HSPD1, NUDC, PGAM1, RUVBL1 and CNN3) that were differentially expressed in the same direction. Conclusion These proteins may have an important role in sustaining high productivity of recombinant protein over the duration of a fed-batch bioprocess culture. It is possible that many of these proteins could be useful for future approaches to successfully manipulate or engineer CHO cells in order to sustain productivity of recombinant protein.

  14. Metabolic Engineering toward Sustainable Production of Nylon-6.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turk, Stefan C H J; Kloosterman, Wigard P; Ninaber, Dennis K; Kolen, Karin P A M; Knutova, Julia; Suir, Erwin; Schürmann, Martin; Raemakers-Franken, Petronella C; Müller, Monika; de Wildeman, Stefaan M A; Raamsdonk, Leonie M; van der Pol, Ruud; Wu, Liang; Temudo, Margarida F; van der Hoeven, Rob A M; Akeroyd, Michiel; van der Stoel, Roland E; Noorman, Henk J; Bovenberg, Roel A L; Trefzer, Axel C

    2016-01-15

    Nylon-6 is a bulk polymer used for many applications. It consists of the non-natural building block 6-aminocaproic acid, the linear form of caprolactam. Via a retro-synthetic approach, two synthetic pathways were identified for the fermentative production of 6-aminocaproic acid. Both pathways require yet unreported novel biocatalytic steps. We demonstrated proof of these bioconversions by in vitro enzyme assays with a set of selected candidate proteins expressed in Escherichia coli. One of the biosynthetic pathways starts with 2-oxoglutarate and contains bioconversions of the ketoacid elongation pathway known from methanogenic archaea. This pathway was selected for implementation in E. coli and yielded 6-aminocaproic acid at levels up to 160 mg/L in lab-scale batch fermentations. The total amount of 6-aminocaproic acid and related intermediates generated by this pathway exceeded 2 g/L in lab-scale fed-batch fermentations, indicating its potential for further optimization toward large-scale sustainable production of nylon-6.

  15. Fur and Sustainability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skjold, Else; Csaba, Fabian

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores the notion of deeper luxury, which insists that 'real' luxury should involve sustainable practices in the production and consumption of luxury goods. It traces historical and recent developments in the field of fur, to understand the implications, uncertainties and ambiguities...... of luxury’s confrontation with sustainability. Considering fur in relation to future standards for luxury products, we raise questions about moral problematisation and justification of luxury in terms of sustainability. We first examine the encounter of luxury with sustainability and explain...... the significance of the notion of ‘deeper luxury’. After taking stock of the impact of sustainability on luxury and various directions in which sustainable luxury is evolving, we discuss concepts of sustainable development in relation to the history of moral problematisation of luxury. This leads to the case...

  16. A Longitudinal Study of School Districts' Sustained Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampson, Pauline M.

    2011-01-01

    In this longitudinal study of one region in the state of Texas, there was an examination of district leadership and the sustaining of high student achievement for their districts. The results of this study suggest that sustained improvement of student achievement is very difficult. The districts that had sustained improvement had stable district…

  17. Affordability for sustainable energy development products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riley, Paul H.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Clean cookstoves that also generate electricity improve affordability. • Excel spreadsheet model to assist stakeholders to choose optimum technology. • Presents views for each stakeholder villager, village and country. • By adding certain capital costs, affordability and sustainability are improved. • Affordability is highly dependent on carbon credits and social understandings. - Abstract: Clean burning products, for example cooking stoves, can reduce household air pollution (HAP), which prematurely kills 3.5 million people each year. By careful selection of components into a product package with micro-finance used for the capital payment, barriers to large-scale uptake of products that remove HAP are reduced. Such products reduce smoke from cooking and the lighting from electricity produced, eliminates smoke from kerosene lamps. A bottom-up financial model, that is cognisant of end user social needs, has been developed to compare different products for use in rural areas of developing countries. The model is freely available for use by researchers and has the ability to assist in the analysis of changing assumptions. Business views of an individual villager, the village itself and a country view are presented. The model shows that affordability (defined as the effect on household expenses as a result of a product purchase) and recognition of end-user social needs are as important as product cost. The effects of large-scale deployment (greater that 10 million per year) are described together with level of subsidy required by the poorest people. With the assumptions given, the model shows that pico-hydro is the most cost effective, but not generally available, one thermo-acoustic technology option does not require subsidy, but it is only at technology readiness level 2 (NASA definition) therefore costs are predicted and very large investment in manufacturing capability is needed to meet the cost target. Thermo-electric is currently the only

  18. EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. M. Alilova

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim. The aim is to consider the relationship of philosophy and education; the article also reviews the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD, a global model for a special educational activity. We also discuss the features of the philosophical approach to the issue of sustainable development. Discussion. In research, we use the method of socio-natural approach, a new educational paradigm that combines the theory and concept of training and education within the anthropocentric approach based on humanistic philosophical ideas which laid the basis for understanding the person as the subject of life, history and culture. We analyzed environmental and educational aspects of sustainable development in the current context. In order to address these challenges, philosophy produces new concepts, theories and paradigms. It is necessary to work on people's motivation and values, develop their cooperation skills, teach civic engagement and democratic by action rather than words. Only a highly educated society can generate environmental paradigm and implement the strategy of sustainable development. Conclusions. We recommend transferring research outcomes into practice in schools starting with elementary school, as well as in vocational schools and universities. Clarifying the essence of the concept of education for sustainable development is possible through philosophical understanding of its genesis and ideas.

  19. Sustainable Life Labs for the 21st Century

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    SaffaB.RIFFAT

    2003-01-01

    The School of the Built Environment has a worldwide reputation for its innovative research into sustainable technologies including absorption/adsorption heat pumps, ejector refrigeration systems, desiccant technology, hybrid/solar driven CHP systems, solar/thermal systems and ground-source heat pumps. The School has obtained grants from the Engineering, Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the European Commission and industry to develop several new technologies, which have been licensed to industry. The School has also established new research facilities including the Marmont Centre for Renewable Energy, the David Wilson Eco-House, Sustainable Research Building and Jubilee Campus. This paper reviews some of the School''s recently funded research projects and facilities.

  20. Biofuels and sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solomon, Barry D

    2010-01-01

    Interest in liquid biofuels production and use has increased worldwide as part of government policies to address the growing scarcity and riskiness of petroleum use, and, at least in theory, to help mitigate adverse global climate change. The existing biofuels markets are dominated by U.S. ethanol production based on cornstarch, Brazilian ethanol production based on sugarcane, and European biodiesel production based on rapeseed oil. Other promising efforts have included programs to shift toward the production and use of biofuels based on residues and waste materials from the agricultural and forestry sectors, and perennial grasses, such as switchgrass and miscanthus--so-called cellulosic ethanol. This article reviews these efforts and the recent literature in the context of ecological economics and sustainability science. Several common dimensions for sustainable biofuels are discussed: scale (resource assessment, land availability, and land use practices); efficiency (economic and energy); equity (geographic distribution of resources and the "food versus fuel" debate); socio-economic issues; and environmental effects and emissions. Recent proposals have been made for the development of sustainable biofuels criteria, culminating in standards released in Sweden in 2008 and a draft report from the international Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. These criteria hold promise for accelerating a shift away from unsustainable biofuels based on grain, such as corn, and toward possible sustainable feedstock and production practices that may be able to meet a variety of social, economic, and environmental sustainability criteria.