Key Sustainability Challenges Research Articles

Carbon footprints, mitigation effects and economic performance of dairy farm systems in Inner Mongolia

CONTEXTReducing the GHG emissions intensity of milk production has become a key sustainability challenge for the dairy sector. Addressing this challenge requires thorough understanding of the current GHG emission levels of individual farms, the practices influencing GHG emissions, and the economic trade-offs associated with reducing those emissions. OBJECTIVEQuantify the carbon footprint (CF) and economic performance of milk production in Inner Mongolia (the main dairy farming region in China), and understand the main contributing factors to them. The effects of potential mitigation options at dairy farm system level were evaluated. METHODS: Life cycle assessment methodology was used to analyze the CF of 15 dairy farms (with year-round cow housing and crop feeding) selected for different milk production levels, herd structures and diet composition. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSThe average CF per kg of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM; after allocation to milk) was 2.3 kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-eq) (1.5–3.4 kg CO2-eq). Emissions related to feed production, manure management and enteric fermentation were the top three GHG emission sources and contributed an average of 27% (5%–46%), 28% (19%–38%) and 18% (14%–25%), respectively, to total emissions. The average cost of the farm system per ton FPCM was USD 540 per year. Feed costs dominated at 70% of the total costs. The CF of milk was negatively correlated with profit per kg FPCM. Mitigation potential of the CF of dairy production for single mitigation strategies ranged from 2.3% to 20.0% compared with business as usual, and combined mitigation measures could reduce emissions by 48.3%. The most effective mitigation measures should focus on decreasing N-fertilizer use per ha for feed crop production and increasing feed crop yield, adjusting herd structure for milk productivity and using localized feed inputs. All mitigation measures had a positive impact on farm profit, except for the improved manure management (changing the farms using manure composting to a static compost system and changing natural storage to direct land application). Therefore, the combination of crop and dairy production and manure management offer the greatest potential to reduce the GHG emissions from Inner Mongolia dairy farm systems. Economic subsidies and extension of findings to farmers might encourage more rapid adoption of these technologies. SIGNIFICANCEThe insights from our study can provide guidance for defining and prioritizing mitigation strategies for dairy production to reduce GHGs emission in other rapidly developing countries and regions with crop-based housed-cow dairy production.

Realising transformative agendas in cities through mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions

Cities are at the forefront of sustainability agendas, especially as places to implement the solutions needed to address key sustainability challenges. City-level governments have responded in diverse ways to these challenges, including adopting and implementing a mix of policies to improve resilience and liveability that address issues including heat mitigation, water security, and climate risks. To support such sustainability strategies, we argue that mainstreaming, as a process of embedding novel thinking and solutions into governance and practice, urgently needs to be comprehensively understood and leveraged. Therefore, drawing on a mix of empirical and theoretical research and focusing on the mainstreaming of nature-based solutions in urban planning, we examine and systematically conceptualise mainstreaming as a governance and planning process. Drawing on a recent case study of urban forestry governance across metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, we show how the identified drivers and mechanisms of mainstreaming can be successfully applied. The resulting framework emphasises the need for a dynamic understanding of mainstreaming processes and what ensures they can be enabled and accelerated in the governance and planning of cities. Further, this framework may be applied for mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions as well as other sustainability innovations.

Smart Cities, Green Diets: How the Lucy Veg App Supports Valencia's Vegan Community and Contributes to SDGs


 
 
 In the context of growing environmental concerns and the need to promote sustainable living, this study explores the potential of the Lucy Veg App, a digital solution under development, in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Valencia. The app is designed to empower the local vegan community by providing resources such as plant-based recipes, eco-friendly product recommendations, and a platform for connecting like-minded individuals. This research utilizes a review of relevant literature and examines the theoretical implications of the app on the achievement of SDGs in Valencia. Methodologically, this study draws on existing research related to digital technologies, sustainable living, and SDGs, focusing on the potential of the Lucy Veg App to promote plant-based diets and sustainable lifestyles. By analyzing the app's features and exploring its potential contributions to multiple SDGs, the research studies the app's alignment with various sustainability dimensions. The findings suggest that the Lucy Veg App has the potential to contribute to several SDGs by fostering community engagement, driving positive behavior change, and addressing key sustainability challenges related to food production, consumption, and their associated environmental and health impacts. The study also identifies promising avenues for future research and practical implementation of the app, including evaluating its effectiveness, expanding its features, analyzing user data, and assessing its broader contribution to SDGs in Valencia. In conclusion, the Lucy Veg App presents a promising opportunity to support Valencia's efforts to achieve the SDGs by promoting plant-based diets, sustainable lifestyles, and leveraging digital technologies. Further research and ongoing evaluation of the app's impact on users' behavior and the achievement of SDGs are necessary to maximize its potential in fostering a more sustainable future.
 
 

Landscape heterogeneity and soil biota are central to multi-taxa diversity for oil palm landscape restoration

Enhancing biodiversity in monoculture-dominated landscapes is a key sustainability challenge that requires considering the spatial organization of ecological communities (beta diversity). Here, we tested whether increasing landscape heterogeneity, through establishing 52 tree islands in an oil-palm landscape, is a suitable restoration strategy to enhance the diversity of six taxa (multi-taxa diversity). Further, we elucidated whether patterns in the spatial distribution of above- and below-ground taxa are related, and their role in shaping multi-taxa beta diversity. After five years, islands enhanced diversity at the landscape scale by fostering unique species (turnover). Partial correlation networks revealed that dissimilarity, in vegetation structural complexity and soil conditions, impacts multi-taxa beta diversity and turnover. In addition, soil fauna, bacteria, and fungi were more strongly associated with the overall community than aboveground taxa. Thus, strategies aiming to enhance multi-taxa diversity should consider the central role of landscape heterogeneity and soil biota.

On the road to urban degrowth economics? Learning from the experience of C40 cities, doughnut cities, Transition Towns, and shrinking cities

Cities have special importance and the potential to serve as places for social, economic, and ecological transition experiments. They create organisations and networks to collectively address various sustainability challenges. One of the broad transformational ideas that can guide a far-reaching transition and address the key sustainability challenges is degrowth. We postulate that a new narrative of ‘urban degrowth economics’ is necessary to operationalise degrowth on a larger scale. Analysing the strategies and policies of cities that represent selected networks or phenomena through the lens of such a narrative can demonstrate which of the current approaches to urban development are the closest to degrowth values. By juxtaposing degrowth proposals with the main themes analysed in urban economics, we propose criteria for urban degrowth economics. We then apply these criteria to assess selected case study cities that represent the following networks and phenomena: C40 (Copenhagen), Transition Towns (Totnes), doughnut economics (Amsterdam), and shrinking cities (Detroit).

Examining consumer food waste through grocery retailers' customer data: Segments and practical implications

AbstractGrocery retailers have a large amount of societally relevant data on food purchases in their databases, which they have traditionally used merely for marketing purposes. However, despite the potential, the data have so far been rarely used in sustainability‐related research. This study addresses a key sustainability challenge—the reduction of food waste—by using retailers' customer data and a questionnaire. This paper's purpose is to identify and analyse household food waste segments and discuss their actual purchasing behaviour patterns. By doing so, we also illustrate and exemplify the potential use of customer loyalty card data to address global challenges related to food at the consumer level. The study utilizes an extensive data set of food purchases together with a survey of self‐reported reasons for food waste in households. Utilizing cluster analysis, Phase 1 identifies six household segments: no food waste; trust in date labels; safety first; occasional wasters; overpurchasers and overpreparers; and family first. These segments differ in their sociodemographic and purchase profiles. In Phase 2, these segments' purchasing behaviour is examined further by applying tree‐based methods. This study contributes to food waste research and studies on sustainable retailing. It also has practical implications for how retailers can facilitate household food waste reduction.

WHAT HINDERS THE TRANSITION TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA? CRITICAL CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

ABSTRACT As the largest construction industry in the world, the Chinese construction industry not only has huge sustainability implications for China, but also significantly influences the world’s resource consumption due to its tremendous scale. However, there is a lack of studies identifying the fundamental challenges hindering the transformation towards sustainable construction in China from a holistic triple bottom line perspective of sustainability. This study aims to identify the challenges, thereby revealing the future research directions accelerating the transition towards sustainable construction in China. Through content analysis of both existing literature and government plans, this study identifies the key sustainability challenges, governmental measures, and critical future research opportunities to help tackle the challenges hindering the sustainability transition of the Chinese construction industry. Even though this study focuses on China, it provides a holistic reference for researchers, industry practitioners and policymakers worldwide to understand the sustainability challenges of the construction industry, as the construction industries in many countries face sustainability challenges similar to those in China.

The limits of spatial data? Sense-making within the development and different uses of Finnish urban-rural classification

In order to formulate relevant understanding of key sustainability challenges, evidence-based decision-making relies on comprehensive data. While the complexity of producing and processing spatial data and the potential for biases are well recognised, the social process of making sense of data and its implications for societal uses is less analysed. In this article, insights of critical data studies are applied to study the production of, as well as uses and misuses of, the Finnish urban-rural classification. The classification structures Finland into three urban classes and four rural classes and offers an alternative to classifications that utilise administrative, municipal, and regional boundaries. The classification acts as a boundary object, functioning as a common reference for parties with varying information needs and interests. Using document analysis, as well as an insider action research methodology and our own experiences as data producers, this article aims to understand the processes of sense-making of data in the context of urban-rural classification and identify ways of improving related information systems and data practices. Intended and realised uses of the classification are analysed in order to identify different ways in which data producers and users make sense of data and justify the utilisation of the classification. The process of sense-making starts from the planning of data production and shapes how data and eventually information system are formulated throughout the data cycle. Communication about the limitations of the classification remains an issue and highlights the nature of sense-making as a collective process wherein users are actively shaping data practices as they translate information systems into their own contexts. This also draws attention to the nature of information systems as inherently unneutral, inevitably affected by negotiations shaped by the various information needs.

Perceived impacts of woody encroachment on ecosystem services in Hluhluwe, South Africa

Anticipating, avoiding, and managing disruptive environmental change such as regime shifts and the impacts it has on human well-being is a key sustainability challenge. Woody encroachment is a globally important example of a regime shift that occurs in savanna systems, where a large fraction of the world’s poor live. Woody encroachment is known to negatively impact a variety of ecosystem services, but few studies have investigated the impact of woody encroachment on local land users and their livelihoods. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews to determine how different land users—local subsistence communities and managers of conservation tourism areas—perceive woody encroachment in the Hluhluwe region of South Africa, how it affects the ecosystem services they rely upon, and what costs they incur in undertaking activities to reverse woody encroachment. Most interviewees perceived trees to be increasing in the landscape (83%). However, perceptions about the causes of woody encroachment differed: community members cited the reduced usage of trees as the reason for woody encroachment, whereas conservation managers mostly attributed the change to increased CO₂. Most community members felt woody encroachment was harmful to their household and general well-being, citing loss of grazing for livestock, and fear of attacks by wild animals and criminals as the main impacts. In contrast, conservation managers perceived woody encroachment to have both harmful and beneficial impacts, with the main negative impacts being loss of grazing for wildlife and impacts on tourism through reduced visibility for game viewing. All the conservation areas invested in tree clearing compared to only 20% of respondents in the community areas, where an average of ZAR367 (US$25) was spent per year on clearing, compared to ZAR293,751 (US$20,000) and ZAR163,000 (US$11,000) spent in private game reserves and government reserves, respectively. Our findings highlight the negative impacts of ongoing woody encroachment, the differentiated impacts it has on different land users, and differences in capacity to combat encroachment. These findings highlight the need for state-funded management interventions to support clearing of trees in encroached areas, particularly in communal areas.

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.

Upcycling to a circular food system

Upcycling to a circular food system

Bursting the bubble? The hidden costs and visible conflicts behind the Prosecco wine ‘miracle’

Prosecco, a wine that two decades ago was virtually unknown outside of Italy and was considered inferior to other sparkling wines, has become immensely popular. But how did Prosecco producers gear up to meet a booming demand in a highly regulated wine industry such as Italy's? Is this an example of an inclusive growth trajectory? Who is capturing the benefits of this growth and who is bearing its hidden costs? Through the case study of Prosecco, I identify the everyday practices and struggles that underpin the growth of Prosecco in relation to nature, landscape and land use, and examine how the environmental, health and other hidden costs of agro-food value chains shape various layers of visible conflict. The great growth that has characterized the ‘Prosecco miracle’ of the 2010s arises from the reinvention of a geographic origin that was under threat following the 2008 EU wine reform. The ‘discovery’ of a village named Prosecco, located quite far from the original core area of Prosecco production, provided the vector for a large expansion of Prosecco viticulture and wine production, and the emergence of a veritable export bubble. This expansion, supported by key institutions, regulators and the regional political elite, is putting pressure on nature and landscapes and is fomenting local protests against indiscriminate agro-chemical spraying. I find that, while the industry claims to be addressing its key sustainability challenges, a number of conflicts and tensions persist. Ultimately, the case study of Prosecco provides key insights to current debates on the hidden costs of agro-food value chains and their resulting conflicts – confirming that commodity expansion is often linked to processes of appropriation of nature, landscapes and territories, and to the ability of business to capture surplus while externalizing the hidden social, health and environmental costs of production.

The next step in sustainable dining: the restaurant food waste map for the management of food waste

In recent years, out-of-home food waste is growing exponentially and therefore represents an important focus of attention, albeit little research has been done on this instance. A few researchers have developed frameworks to better explain wasteful behaviors away from home, however a comprehensive interpretation of the phenomenon giving indications for maps/guidelines for the foodservice managers has not been carried out. In this paper, as a result of a thematic literature review, the Restaurant Food Waste Map (RFWM) was designed to describe the phases in which the food waste phenomenon occurs, and to identify mitigation activities of food waste generation processes. The proposed map is aimed to describe three phases in which the food waste phenomenon occurs: (1) kitchen food preparation, (2) food service, and (3) clients’ consumption. Moreover, the present map highlights the approaches that restaurants could take into consideration to better manage the food waste: (1) prevention, (2) reduction, and (3) reuse/redistribution of food waste. These approaches set out guidance on the preferred methods of dealing with food waste so as to minimize its impact on the environment and society. The present study provides literature knowledge about food waste management at the restaurant level, and highlights some practical implications. Further studies could explore and analyze out-of-home waste from both the client and business perspective according to the proposed RFWM, to target specific attitudes and behavioral changes, and to quantify the impacts of the suggested changes. Reducing food waste is a key sustainability challenge for the food service industry. Despite the significance of this issue, a comprehensive interpretation of the phenomenon giving indications for maps/guidelines for the foodservice managers has received limited attention in the literature. As a result of a thematic literature review, the RFWM was designed to describe the phases in which the food waste phenomenon occurs, and to identify mitigation activities of food waste generation processes with practice-driven initiatives an organized map has been developed. The proposed map is aimed to describe three phases in which the food waste phenomenon occurs: (1) kitchen food preparation, (2) food service, and (3) clients’ consumption. Moreover, the present map highlights the approaches that restaurants could take into consideration to reduce food waste: (1) prevention, (2) reduction, and (3) reuse/redistribution of food waste. The present study provides literature knowledge about food waste management at the restaurant level, and highlights some practical implications. Further studies could explore and analyze out-of-home waste from both the client and business perspective according to the proposed RFWM, to target specific attitudes and behavioral changes, and to quantify the impacts of the suggested changes. The concepts discussed here could help practitioners to become more aware of the factors that drive the adoption of food waste management practices.

Land-use intensity mediates ecosystem service tradeoffs across regional social-ecological systems

ABSTRACT A key sustainability challenge in human-dominated landscapes is how to reconcile competing demands such as food production, water quality, climate regulation, and ecological amenities. Prior research has documented how efforts to prioritize desirable ecosystem services such as food and fiber have often led to tradeoffs with other services. However, the growing literature has revealed different and sometimes contradictory patterns in ecosystem service relationships. It thus remains unclear whether there are generalizable patterns across social-ecological systems, and if not, what factors explain the variations. In this study, we synthesize datasets of five ecosystem services from four social-ecological systems. We ask: (1) Are ecosystem service relationships consistent across distinct regional social-ecological systems? (2) How do ecosystem service relationships vary with land-use intensity at the landscape scale? (3) In case of ecosystem service tradeoffs, how does land-use intensity affect intersection points of tradeoffs along the landscape composition gradient? Our results reveal that land-use intensity increases magnitude of ecosystem service tradeoffs (e.g. food production vs. climate regulation and water quality) across landscapes. Land-use intensity also alters where provisioning and regulating services intersect: in high-intensity systems, food production and regulating services can be both sustained only at smaller proportions of agricultural lands, whereas in low-intensity systems, these services could be both supplied with greater proportions of agricultural lands. Our research demonstrates importance of considering multiple aspects of land uses (landscape composition and land-use intensity), and provides a more nuanced understanding and framework to enhance our ability to predict how land use alters ecosystem service relationships.

CONTROLLING WASTE MAKES A DIFFERENCE AT THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS

Reducing food waste is a key sustainability challenge for the food service industry. The importance of waste line in all restaurants is classified as managerial and economical approaches. The research focused on controlling waste in a sample of Egyptian fast food restaurants. To fulfill this objective, a personal interview with a sample of multinational and local chains was used. The findings illustrated that the increase in waste is extremely located at the low volume restaurants. The customer profile is different and also the operation procedures.

Solar home systems in Ethiopia: Sustainability challenges and policy directions

The current energy access in Ethiopia stands at 44%, where 33% is provided through grid connections and 11% through off grid solutions. In order to increase the electricity access, the Ethiopian government has launched National Electrification Program laying out the country’s ambition towards universal access by 2025 through a combination of 65% grid-connected and 35% off-grid energy systems such as the solar home systems (SHS). With the government’s ambitious plans and increased market diffusion of SHS in the rural communities of Ethiopia, the country requires evidence based comprehensive data on the key challenges of SHS in order to maintain sustainability of the systems. This paper aims to explore the key sustainability challenges associated with the utilization of SHS and provides recommendations to overcome such challenges. This has been achieved through a field questionnaire survey. The study found out that high initial investment cost, lack of local manufacturing, lack of full awareness of the operation, frequent failure of the systems, lack of sufficient maintenance experts, high maintenance and installation costs, lack of spare parts are considered to be the key challenges that are affecting the market diffusion and sustainability of the systems. To overcome these challenges, evidence based policies are recommended.

Agricultural land use and the sustainability of social-ecological systems

Agricultural land expansion and intensification, driven by human consumption of agricultural goods, are among the major threats to environmental degradation and biodiversity conservation. Land degradation can ultimately hamper agricultural production through a decrease in ecosystem services. Thus, designing viable land use policies is a key sustainability challenge. We develop a model describing the coupled dynamics of human demography and landscape composition, while imposing a trade-off between agricultural expansion and intensification. We model land use strategies spanning from low-intensity agriculture and high land conversion rates per person to high-intensity agriculture and low land conversion rates per person; and explore their consequences on the long-term dynamics of the coupled human-land system. We seek to characterise the strategies’ viability in the long run; and understand the mechanisms that potentially lead to large-scale land degradation and population collapse due to resource scarcity. We show that the viability of land use strategies strongly depends on the land’s intrinsic recovery rate. We also find that socio-ecological collapses occur when agricultural intensification is not accompanied by a sufficient decrease in land conversion. Based on these findings we stress the dangers of uninformed land use planning and the importance of precautionary behaviour for land use management and land use policy design.

Environmental Education in the Preparation of Students of Tourism and Finance and Management in the Czech Republic

Higher education includes space for creating cross-cutting competence profiles of future professionals aimed at addressing key sustainability challenges in increasingly complex and global contexts. The research seeks to identify and evaluate the level of engagement in environmental education in study programmes at a career-oriented higher education institution in the Czech Republic. The research sample consisted of 3680 students of the Tourism and Finance and Management study programmes of the College of Polytechnics Jihlava, who participated in work placements in the course of their studies. An educational analysis was applied for qualitative research and evaluation of the level of implementation of the environmental educational component. Quantitative research was based on a questionnaire method, with tests to verify hypotheses being performed at a significance level of 5%. It was proven that the inclusion of an environmental component was influenced by the study programme. This influence was confirmed for the Tourism study programme, while for Finance and Management it was not verified. The environmental component in the Tourism study programme is developed through work placements; however, with regards to major study subjects taught, qualitative research analysing the inclusion of environmental aspects in these subjects proved the opposite. The Finance and Management study programme does not currently use the potential for environmental education development. The research revealed certain drawbacks and uncovered the potential to streamline environmental education at the career-oriented higher education institution.

Sustainable Minerals and Metals for a Low-Carbon Future

Climate change mitigation will create new natural resource and supply chain opportunities and dilemmas, because substantial amounts of raw materials will be required to build new low-carbon energy devices and infrastructure. However, despite attempts at improved governance and better corporate management, procurement of many mineral and metal resources occurs in areas generally acknowledged for mismanagement, remains environmentally capricious, and, in some cases, is a source of conflict at the sites of resource extraction. These extractive and smelting industries have thus left a legacy in many parts of the world of environmental degradation, adverse impacts to public health, marginalized communities and workers, and biodiversity damage. We identify key sustainability challenges with practices used in industries that will supply the metals and minerals—including cobalt, copper, lithium, cadmium, and rare earth elements (REEs)—needed for technologies such as solar photovoltaics, batteries, electric vehicle (EV) motors, wind turbines, fuel cells, and nuclear reactors. We then propose four holistic recommendations to make mining and metal processing more sustainable and just and to make the mining and extractive industries more efficient and resilient.

Applying water risk assessment methods in mining: Current challenges and opportunities

An increasing number of methods have been developed for guiding water risk assessments in different commodity sectors. With water being a key sustainability challenge in mining operations, these methods may help investors and downstream industries to respond to rising demands for responsible sourcing and investment practices. However, their fundamental predictive accuracy in the mining sector needs to be resolved. This study tests the ability of three assessment methods to adequately reflect water-related risks of a mining operation based on a case study approach for six copper mines. Findings indicate that the methods show potential to support water stewardship strategies. However, a number of constraints arise from variable degrees of evaluation subjectivity, subject generalizations as well as constraints in input data quality. Recommendations based on these findings include suggestions on the development of a mining specific assessment approach and the refinement of assessment language.