Context Of Sustainability Research Articles

A Critical Review of the Role of Repair Cafés in a Sustainable Circular Transition

Extending the useful life of consumer products is a critical element in the circular economy. Although commercial repair is an established part of the global economy, the repair is often conducted informally. This means that non-commercial repair ecosystems exist, including the international network of repair cafés, spreading worldwide to over 2000 repair cafés in 37 countries (April 2021). As the first review on this topic, this article investigates and gains more knowledge about repair cafés, and critically assesses their role as a sustainability initiative, i.e., how the concept may translate into a broader sustainability context. A systematic literature review (2010–2020) was conducted, including 44 articles in descriptive and content analyses. The bibliometric data revealed an increase in the number of publications on repair cafés, particularly over the last four years, indicating that repair cafés as a research topic have started to gain attention, and this is likely to grow in numbers. However, the significant number of different places of publication indicates that this is not (yet) a well-established field with defined research channels. The content analysis revealed that the concept has spread to a range of different contexts, beyond the original scope, influencing the mindset and acts of a broad field of practitioners. This indicates a wide range of possibilities for the expansion of the concept of repair cafés, bringing different expectations on calling into question the future role of repair cafés. However, the aims of the people involved in repair cafés span from the altruistic and strategic, over personal gains, to critical consumer, financial and educational aims. This may challenge repair cafés’ future role(s), i.e., ambitions set by the international organisation of repair cafés. Notably, the ambition for actors at the micro-level is to feed in data on repair and achieve ‘collaborative repair’, as the aims of the people involved are complex, and their expectations lack alignment, both vertically and horizontally.

Preface

The International Conference on Environmental and Sustainability Context (ICoESCo) 2021 is the first international conference hosted by Environmental Sustainability Research Group (EnSi-RG) and co-hosted by Environmental Research Center, Lembaga Penelitian Universitas Trisakti, Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, and Kitakyushu Indonesian Students’ Union. This conference was successfully held on August 24, 2021 which brings the theme of “Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for Achieving Environmental Sustainability” since the theme of “sustainability” has become the most crucial issue of the world by now. This conference was attended by 81 participants that came from 34 universities across the world which include as follows.List of ICOESCO 2021 Committees are available in this pdf.

Maximizing the social-economy impacts of urban green space in several cities in Indonesia

Trees in urban green space areas serve not only aesthetic purposes but also various ecological functions, including filtering air pollutants, improving groundwater quality, and generating biodiversity of flora and fauna. However, the presence of urban Urban Green Space (UGS) must equal 30% of the urban area, which is still constrained by regulations and community participation. Therefore, this paper aims to capture an overview of the existing UGS in several regions in Indonesia by using qualitative methods., which included over ten locations in Lampung and several cities throughout Indonesia for comparison, yielded several findings that can hopefully be used to inform the development of UGS policies. The findings demonstrate the numerous benefits of open space, particularly mental health, nature conservation, social interaction, and economic development. The critical nature of UGS, particularly in regencies/municipalities, requires increased awareness and effective management by involving as many stakeholders as possible, including the private sector and the community as users. The implication of this research is, in a sustainability context, with the need to instill sustainable behavior in users and to stimulate economic growth, a business model based on environmental stewardship is required, specifically the circular business model

Efficient agri food supply chain in a sustainable transportation perspective

Transportation is an essential part of the supply chain. Transportation in a supply chain is the movement of a product from origin to destination, especially the warehouse’s movement from the warehouse to the end-user. At present, the success of managing a supply chain is measured by its low cost and its environmental and social impact, which is what is called a sustainable supply chain. Because transportation is the most crucial part of supporting the supply chain to achieve a sustainable supply chain, transportation must also have a sustainability orientation. The sustainability context includes three central pillars (often referred to as the three Es): social equity, economic efficiency, and environmental responsibility. Based on this background, this paper will discuss transportation sustainability in support of a sustainable supply chain, especially in agri-food products. The study results show that implementing multi-mode concepts can improve the sustainability of the supply chain.

Sustainable City Forms

Twenty first century characterises with approach of sustainability in different scales of spatial planning. During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 more and more attention has been paid on health and well-being of population. Remembering that two thirds of all European population live in cities the theme of sustainability of living environment became even more important following SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”. People in the cities more often seek for possibility to spend time outdoors, preferably in nature. It has become the important issue not only for individuals but also for governors of local municipalities and big cities providing such opportunity for their inhabitants. In order to find the best possible solution for development of urban environment it is important to know what are the choices available and best practise realized in spatial planning sustainability context. During the last five decades and even earlier different researchers and city planners have been defining possible city forms to ensure sustainability and well-being of todays and next generations. The purpose of research paper is to show the variety of sustainable city forms outlined in research papers and formed by collaboration of progressive cities. To strengthen the importance of new approaches in city planning, there are examples of the best practise of some European counties following SDGs in spatial planning of their territories showed. The analysis of situation in different countries clarifies that development of green infrastructure, use of local resources and support of local initiatives are the best approaches for any place to reach the sustainability because fulfilling the needs of local inhabitants for qualitative outdoors results in better life not only for locals, it plays also important role for forming good image of municipality and country increasing sense of proud of such place. City municipalities need to put more effort for developing sustainable communities providing healthy and attractive living environment for local and even new inhabitants in place where living, work and recreation are in balance with nature.

Theoretical Proposal for an Integrated Sustainability Performance Measurement System in the Supply Chain

Environmental impacts due to supply chains are seen as a challenge to innovation and criteria for prioritizing the application of organizational resources. In this context, the research question arises: how to build the necessary knowledge about supply chain performance indicators in sustainability, systematizing in an evaluation process integrated with the organizational results? The general objective of this research is to build an integrated system of sustainability performance analysis of the supply chain. In order to achieve the general objective, the specific objectives are the following: (i) selection of the bibliographic portfolio and (ii) analysis of articles content. The exploratory-descriptive research method presents and illustrates a structured process for the selection of scientific articles on supply chain performance indicators in the sustainability context. The method identified the most important keywords and the main databases of full texts and abstracts aligned with the topic. An important review of the literature reveals that efforts to improve or influence the practice of sustainability in the supply chain raise critical questions about the transaction costs and effectiveness of the approach. The review promoted the development of a system of indicators inspired by the Balanced ScorCard (BSC) to address sustainability performance issues. The originality or value lies on the useful for managers throughout the supply chain. It was identified in the literature that supply chains still generate significant environmental impacts, social impacts, and use of natural resources, even though they individually present statements in their strategies and accountability indicating the priority regarding the mitigation of social, environmental, and economic impacts. Another finding is that it is not just a matter of complying with legal and institutional frameworks. The scientific literature defines the need to prioritize studies on Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM), which helps organizations in the production chain to achieve competitiveness and at the same time emphasize the reduction of social risks and environmental impacts. The main findings of the paper are related to the possibility of interfacing the dimensions present in TBL with performance measurement in a supply chain.

Putting risk management into the corporate sustainability context

PurposeThis research investigates what is driving corporate sustainability within South African organisations and to what extent these drivers intersect with risk management. This is important as new and emerging business risks are proving to be directly linked to sustainability issues having implication on long-term organisational performance. This implies that sustainability and risk should not be mutually exclusive.Design/methodology/approachBy means of semi-structured interviews, sustainability managers of 11 South African organisations were engaged to gain insight relating to the immediate sustainability issues, risk landscape and the possible intersection between these issues within their organisations. Questions posed were around drivers of sustainability, risks to an organisation, changes in risks, relationship between sustainability and risk. By means of thematic analysis key issues emerging from the responses of the sustainability managers could be identified and themes determined based on similarities. This was followed by trend analysis of the frequency of responses to different sustainability and risk themes to interpret the data.FindingsResults reveal that sustainability and risk management are similar in their intent purpose and output both aligned towards reducing impacts and managing uncertainty. However even though sustainability has increasingly become integral to business its value contribution and linkage with risk management differ significantly amongst organisations. This suggests that sustainability and risk management remain two distinct frameworks for managing uncertainty in business.Originality/valueResearch on integrating a sustainability perspective in risk management is at an early stage. To understand and respond to emerging risks, organisations need to integrate sustainability and risk management into their decision strategies – not only to minimize potential losses but also to exploit new business opportunities arising from the sustainability agenda. Future research should be directed towards advancing systematic methods for identifying and managing sustainability risks such that key sustainability challenges are firmly embedded in the risk management of the business. In this regard, organisations would be in a position to build resilience into their business models and operations.

Evaluation of suppliers in the tannery industry based on emergy accounting analysis: implications for resource conservation in emerging economies

ABSTRACT Emergy Accounting (EMA) has gained attention in recent times as an environmental accounting tool. So far, it has been used for analysis at national and regional levels; however, the EMA has not been utilised in a business performance analysis context. When used in a business context, EMA reveals the interface between industrial activity and the environment. EMA analysis can provide opportunities in measuring the social, economic, and environmental performance of the industry in a sustainability context. Unlike other evaluation methods, which are ‘demand-side’ or ‘user-side’ concerned, EMA analysis is a ‘donor-side’ approach. This research work illustrates the selection of suppliers based on the amount of emergy consumption. Emergy indicators, such as Emergy Yield Ratio (EYR), Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI), Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR), Emergy Self-support Ratio (ESR), Renewability percent (%R), Emergy flow Density (ED), and Emergy Investment Ratio (EIR) are estimated. The results show that there is enough room for improving emergy performance in the tannery industry. The result also highlights a significant variance in the input of indigenous renewable and non-renewable resources and imported resources among the investigated tanneries. Based on the outcomes, the study provides insights on the industries’ consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources.

On Deploying Blockchain Technologies in Supply Chain Strategies and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Outlook

The emergence of a new pandemic, known as COVID-19, has touched various sections of the supply chain (SC). Since then, numerous studies have been conducted on the issue, but the need for a holistic review study that highlights the gaps and limits of previous research, as well as opportunities and agendas for future studies, is palpable. Through a systematic literature review on blockchain technology (BCT) deployment in supply-chain management (SCM) concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, this research seeks to add to the content of previous studies and to enlighten the path for future studies. Relevant papers were found using a variety of resources (Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ProQuest). Seventy-two articles were systematically selected, considering the PRISMA procedure, and were thoroughly analyzed based on BCT, methodologies, industrial sectors, geographical, and sustainability context. According to our findings, there is a significant lack of empirical and quantitative methodologies in the literature. The majority of studies did not take specific industries into account. Furthermore, the articles focusing on the sustainability context are few, particularly regarding social and environmental issues. In addition, most of the reviewed papers did not consider the geographical context. The results indicate that the deployment of BCT in several sectors is not uniform, and this utilization is reliant on their services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the concentration of research on the impacts of the BCT on SCM differs according to the conditions of various countries in terms of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also show that there is a direct relationship between the deployment of BCT and sustainability factors, such as economic and waste issues, under the circumstances surrounding COVID-19. Finally, this study offers research opportunities and agendas to help academics and other stakeholders to gain a better knowledge of the present literature, recognize aspects that necessitate more exploration, and drive prospective studies.

Sustainable Development Based on Green GDP Accounting and Cloud Computing: A Case Study of Zhejiang Province

Cloud computing is a supercomputing that integrates large-scale and scalable computing, storage, data, applications, and other distributed computing resources for collaborative work in the form of virtualization technology as the basis and the network as the carrier to provide infrastructure, platform, software, and other service’s model. Green GDP (GGDP) is an assessment indicator for regional sustainable development. Hence, the evaluation index on GGDP and greening of the national economic accounting system (SNA) are the hotspots of current ecological and economic studies. In the recent years, Zhejiang’s economy has achieved rapid development, and there are also problems of high input and high consumption of natural resources, thereby restricting its sustainable development. Based on the statistical data of Zhejiang Province during 2000–2017, the GGDP within the sustainable development context is calculated using the system of integrated environmental and economic accounting (SEEA). The results indicated the following: (1) The GGDP accounted for 79.29%–96.78% of Zhejiang's GDP during the study period, which showed volatility upward trend, resulting from the significant environmental protection and conservation of natural resources in the study area. But economic development was heavily dependent on resources, and the local government still strengthened the work of improving resources and environment. (2) The proportion of secondary industry in Zhejiang Province fluctuated downwards during the period of 2000–2017, and the tertiary industry showed a volatility upward trend, which exceeded the proportion of the secondary industry, indicating that Zhejiang Province is from an industry-led economy to a service-oriented economy change. (3) The GGDP of Zhejiang Province accounted for the highest proportion of GDP in 2008, resulting from the result of a combination of relevant national policies and international competitions.

Towards an Understanding of Project Finance in the Mining Sector in the Sustainability Context: A Scientometric Analysis

The purpose of this study is to analyze the extant literature on Project Finance (PF) with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends in the mining industry. Thus, this study utilizes a scientometric review of global trends and structure of PF and mining research from 1977 to 2020 using techniques such as co-author, co-word, co-citation, and cluster analyses. A total of 80 bibliographic records from the Scopus database were analyzed to generate the study’s research through scientometric networks. The findings indicate a steady growth of the research field, which includes Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria. The most significant contributions have originated mainly from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The main research trends identified several issues related to risk, management, and financing concerns. This study provides researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends of ontology research within PF in the mining context and promotes further studies in this domain.

A profile of South African sustainable animal production and greenhouse gas emissions.

South Africa’s rich legacy of sustainable animal production reaches back centuries. Extensive animal production with cattle, sheep, and goats in pastoral systems and chickens and swine around settlements was well established among the African inhabitants of southern Africa before the European exploration and settlements. Animal production had migrated down Africa from the Middle-East and North Africa. Cattle were present in the Zambezi region 300 BCE and small stock at the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, 20 centuries ago (Maree and Plug, 1993; Mason and Maule, 1960). The presence of a sustained animal industry in southern Africa for millennia emphasized that pastoral systems fit in well with the wildlife that populated the region. The inhabitants drew sustenance from both domesticated and nondomesticated animal clusters and were sustainable despite sporadic droughts and endemic livestock diseases. The livestock were physiologically and morphologically highly adapted to the range of climatic regions and the seasonal variation of the nutritional value of natural herbage. Southern Africa with its indigenous livestock and inherent animal production practices was uniquely different from the Americas that had few domesticated animals (Stahl, 2008) and Australasia that had none (Parsonson, 2000) at the time of the European colonization. The region had the intellectual capital for livestock farming with suitable types of livestock. This article presents a profile of sustainable animal production and greenhouse gas emissions against an historical background, and the gains in animal husbandry in South Africa, which are important in the long-term context of sustainability.

Visual Digitized Artwork for Archiving Model of Sustainable Context

This project reviewed on the artwork that exhibited in galleries is always in danger of being deteriorated due to exposure or the unconducive environment unless a good system of preserving them is in place. The valuable artwork must protect, and therefore a useful archiving technology needs to be engaged for the perpetual digitalized artwork. This project was able to digitalize for constant archiving of artwork that contains various themes, styles, content and context from a different medium. The identification is essential due to categorizing the types of material, including physical and visual protection through digitations. Keywords: Archiving; Artwork; Digitized; Sustainable Context; Visual eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI5.2944

Digging for Gold in Good: Sustainability Opportunity Recognition for Entrepreneurs

We propose a systematic importance-performance analysis to identify unexplored opportunities for entrepreneurs. The sustainable context is used to determine competitive areas that need to be improved. After identifying the areas that require improvement, opportunities with a high chance of success are determined. We summarize the results of this approach to dairy farming context in The Netherlands. The importance-performance analysis is applied using a sustainability business model for entrepreneurs. The importance-performance analysis can also be used by other stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, including venture capitalists, advisors, and policy-makers.

Contributions to improve sustainability conditions in gemstonebenefiting companies

The gemstones and jewels production chain have been an important source of income and job creation in several regions of Brazil. However, sometimes, its activities haven’t been developed in an environmentally correct and sustainable context. In this sense, this work seeks to investigate indicators, to propose a framework of indicators to evaluate and monitor the sustainability conditions of companies that process gemstones. Therefore, a proposal was prepared considering the specificities of the sector, containing 10 indicators and 24 variables distributed in the environmental, economic, social, and technological dimensions. The proposal was verified empirically with a company, a case study, located in Teutônia/RS, which presents the main characteristics of the companies belonging to the sector. The use of the framework of indicators provided information on the company’s sustainability conditions, identifying positive aspects and also those that need to be improved to assist in the search for a more sustainable management of activities. On the other hand, the results achieved present information that can serve as a reference for comparison with other companies in the sector, as well as assist in the decisionmaking process in search of more sustainable conditions.

Engineering human-focused Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems in Industry 4.0 context.

The world is increasingly interconnected, and this can also be seen in industry, where an ecosystem of digitalized assets, and humans with appropriate digital interfaces, constantly interact with each other. Digital transformation efforts in the industry rely on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems that are driven by service-based cooperation among humans and digitalized industrial assets. This implies a radical paradigm change in their engineering and operation, which is focused on the symbiosis of digitalized assets and humans that cohabit a collaboration-driven industrial ecosystem. This work discusses how a digital transformation can effectively be achieved in an industrial ecosystem via a digitalization process performed along the three dimensions of the Reference Architecture Model for Industry 4.0, facilitated by the specification, development and implementation of an Asset Administration Shell. The discussion focus is put on humans and how the digitally transformed industrial environments empower her/his capabilities and interactions. It is also critically pointed out how one should go beyond technology and consider additional aspects. Therefore, it is argued that human-centred efforts in Industry 4.0 (I4.0) should be seen in the larger context of sustainability and circular economy in order to properly consider the interplay of the involved socio-technical dimensions. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards symbiotic autonomous systems'.

Engineering Students’ Concepts of Humanitarian Engineering and Their Identity Development as Humanitarian Engineers

Humanitarian Engineering extends engineering practice to provide a focus on addressing social inequities and contributing to sustainable development for all. This study investigated undergraduate engineering students’ concepts of Humanitarian Engineering and motives to be Humanitarian Engineers as they acquire knowledge and skills and build a professional identity as engineers who can work in complex socio-technical sustainability contexts. Qualitative data were collected from an open-ended survey of 46 engineering students followed by semi-structured interviews with ten students at a U.S. university. Survey data provided individual characteristics that conceptualized and guided interviews to explore key relationships among participants’ concepts of Humanitarian Engineering and motivations. A central idea of a “Humanitarian Engineer” identity emerged, influenced by various motivations. Students envisioning themselves as Humanitarian Engineers were associated with socio-cultural background, motivation to practice engineering skills, and desire to travel. A value-related motivation, the desire to help others, appeared as a strong catalyst for developing students’ professional identities and empowering a possible future self as Humanitarian Engineers. To support sustainability education in engineering demands, initial motivation factors associated with student Humanitarian Engineer identity development are researched to support potential future practice and career development.

Making Sense of Corporate Water Usage Strategy and Performance

Access to high quality and reliable freshwater resources is a global concern as demand for water continues to grow while its sustainable supply is at risk. In the face of mounting pressures, the need for sustainable corporate water use practices is paramount, yet businesses continue to operate with immense variation in their water usage strategies and performance. Our research is driven by the desire to better understand why this variation continues to persist, especially within a highly water-dependent industry such as the craft brewing industry. Using an interview-based qualitative approach, we seek to better understand how corporate managers, from breweries in Alberta and California, are making sense of water issues. Our empirical findings reveal that novel cognitive frames pertinent to making sense of water management decisions help to explain why corporate water usage performance differs between breweries, thereby enriching the cognitive framing and sensemaking literatures, and extending these into the sustainability context. In so doing, we offer the first empirical inquiry into how corporate managers’ sensemaking processes are related to their firms’ water management strategies, and, by extension, their water usage performance.

Qualitative Stakeholder Analysis for a Swedish Regional Biogas Development: A Thematic Network Approach

The creation of pathways toward a societal transition to clean energy requires the engagement of multiple stakeholders with different and sometimes conflicting interests. In this connection, stakeholder analysis (SA) offers a technique for identifying, assessing and structuring different needs, interests and concerns related to different stakeholders within the context of sustainability. This article aims to present the findings from a qualitative stakeholder analysis (QSA) by using a thematic network approach (TNA), with the help of the ATLAS.ti software. It focuses on Project X, which was aimed at engaging multiple stakeholders and creating favorable conditions for small and medium-sized companies in a region situated in the central part of Sweden, with the potential to start biogas production. In this work, the findings and discussions of the QSA using TNA are structured by using the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) themes of the model. The present study concludes that for the small-scale biogas industry to successfully develop an understanding of the possibilities of the biogas value chain, it is necessary to have analyzed the nature of the main themes by which various stakeholders relate to biogas production and envision their contribution to creating a sustainable society. Herein, we demonstrate that QSA by a TNA, combined with the application of a PESTEL model, are valuable analytical tools in sustainable project management. The lessons from Project X can be applied to other local biogas initiatives, as many identified threats and opportunities are shared by others.

Bulgarian Traditional Folklore Celebrating Food and Sustainability

Being an integral part of the past cultural heritage, the traditional Bulgarian folklore festivals, carnivals, and celebrations are continuing to promote sustainable practices that venerate and respect nature. The article focusses specifically on celebrations related to food and plant growing. It reviews the intangible cultural heritage of the Bulgarian folklore, including traditions whose roots originated from pagan rituals but continue to be observed now. A description of the Kukeri carnival, Trifon Zarezan, Baba Marta, Peperuda (Butterfly), Rose Festival, Nestinari dancing rituals, and Enyovden are provided within a sustainability context. A common feature between these celebrations is the respect for nature and its healing capacity with people being perceived as part of the natural world. These traditional folklore festivities have survived the test of time with very little commercialisation. Food plays a major role in them, but most importantly, they help maintain the community spirit and social bonding.