Socio-environmental Sustainability Research Articles

Unpacking the drivers of the socio-environmental sustainability of new ventures: insights from innovative digital start-ups in Italy

Unpacking the drivers of the socio-environmental sustainability of new ventures: insights from innovative digital start-ups in Italy

Re-echoing Afro socio-environmental sustainability philosophies: the purview of Ubuntu re-imagined through Adinkra symbols

ABSTRACT This paper argues that the concept of social and environmental sustainability is not a new philosophy in African cultures and can easily be practiced among Africans based on a better appreciation of their indigenous philosophies. It attempts to explore how the Ubuntu philosophy of humanness manifests in the Adinkra symbols to give an in-depth understanding, which shows how African societies share commonality in their concepts and to establish that African indigenous philosophies mirror strongly social and environmental sustainability dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals. It further attempts to show a purview of Ubuntu extended that illustrates that social and environmental sustainability is inseparable in African philosophies. By method, the research purposefully selected six (6) Adinkra symbols and discursively analysed how they explain the Ubuntu Philosophy and their link to socio-environmental sustainability. From the findings, Adinkra symbols reflected the Ubuntu’s common values, which are compassion, mutuality and solidarity, and metaphorically showed their connection to socio-environmental sustainability and thus creates agency and deep appreciation for acting on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Paths to internalizing technologies aimed at socio-environmental sustainability and women empowerment in coffee production: case study of “Fair Trade” certification

Paths to internalizing technologies aimed at socio-environmental sustainability and women empowerment in coffee production: case study of “Fair Trade” certification

Redefining fan manufacturing: Unveiling industry 5.0's human-centric evolution and digital twin revolution

Industry 5.0 has the capacity to surpass the technology -oriented efficiency of Industry 4.0 and advance sustainable development objectives such as prioritizing human needs, ensuring socio-environmental sustainability, and enhancing resilience. Digital twins and simulation technologies improve manufacturing, evaluate products and operations, and predict any potential adverse consequences. With digital twin technology, everything that exists in the physical world will eventually be duplicated in the digital realm. Within the context of Industry 5.0, this study aims to investigate the impact of digital twin technology on the fan manufacturing sector. The proposal for implementing the enabling industry 5.0 application was presented to the chief engineers of eight distinct fan manufacturers. Out of these, five responded positively and their feedback was subsequently followed up on. Three different avenues such as production, supply chain, and testing transparency were proposed for industry 5.0 implementation. The exploration of testing transparency is being undertaken based on a consensual decision. The Web of Things standard that enables digital twin generation in industry 4.0 is implemented to enable the testing transparency. This data was linked with the internal digital twin of fan motor created using ANSYS. This digital twin can predict the lifespan of the motor by analyzing the temperature of the motor housing surface. Toward sustainability and resilience with Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 may provide insights into this alignment.

Reframing Resilience Narratives for (Rural) Communities Using the Actantial Model

As polities of all kinds are under pressure to achieve socio-environmental sustainability and resilience, existing assessment tools diagnosing communities’ vitality assets and vulnerabilities face challenges. These include grappling with incomplete data, incongruent models, and diverse indicator schemes from various scientific and professional domains. Moreover, these assessments draw upon multiple, sometimes unclear, and occasionally overlapping conceptualisations of ‘sustainability’ and ‘resilience’. This complexity makes monitoring system dynamics difficult, particularly in smaller rural communities with limited resources. This essay addresses this science policy and epistemic dilemma by proposing Greimas’s actantial model as a solution. The model, initially designed for understanding language and stories, is adapted to connect and integrate diverse data and indicator narratives across disciplines to inform policies at various levels of governance. This essay discusses recent debates on the conceptualisation of sustainability/resilience and its associated challenges, exploring how Greimas’s model may allow more constructive dialogue about conflicting views on resilience and sustainability. The model is presented as a planning template to foster communication across disciplines, social actors, and polities. The conclusion emphasises the model’s simplicity as a tool to overcome jargon, bridge communication gaps, and provide guidance for smaller rural communities facing resource constraints in assessing and implementing initiatives for sustainability and resilience.

Economic structure, export specialization and greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America

Industrial societies have significantly increased greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in higher average temperatures compared to pre-industrial levels. This has disrupted the socio-environmental balance and led to more frequent extreme climatic events. In response, several organizations have developed strategies that prioritize reducing the environmental impact of human activities. Achieving this goal requires a thorough understanding of the relationship between economic structures and pollutant emissions to elaborate industrial policies that promote a transition to a greener economy. This study focuses on Latin America, a region highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geographical characteristics and reliance on primary sector activities and tourism. Our analysis underscores the necessity of identifying factors that jeopardize socio-environmental sustainability.

What factors contribute to the socioeconomic and socioenvironmental valorisation of heritage sites?

PurposeThe heritage and tourist attractiveness of Heritage Cities have aroused interest in establishing mechanisms to enhance their value based on the development of sustainability policies. The socioeconomic and socioenvironmental valuation of these heritage sites has become a necessary tool for decision-making.Design/methodology/approachFollowing the recommendations of International Council on Monuments and Sites – ICOMOS, this paper proposes a series of indicators and an exploratory model to define the factors that contribute to their valuation. Following the partial least squares structural equation modelling methodology, information was obtained from 363 intramural residents in the three Heritage Cities that currently have management plans in Spain.FindingsThe results show the importance of specifying indicators of sustainable mobility and socioeconomic and socioenvironmental sustainability for an adequate valorisation of heritage sites.Originality/valueTo this end, it is necessary to follow the guidelines of international bodies such as ICOMOS in relation to the management plans.

Environmental Education in High Schools: an analysis of pedagogical policy projects of eight public schools in Juazeiro-BA

The research aimed to assess how Environmental Education (EE) has been addressed in Pedagogical Political Projects (PPPs) of 8 state schools in municipality of Juazeiro-BA, in accordance with Bahia State EE Policy (SEEP/BA) and Bahia Referential Curriculum Document (BRCD). The need to include EE in school PPPs is implicit in the BRCD, when it reiterates the need to promote respect for socio-environmental sustainability. CEE Resolution No. 11, of January 17, 2017, which provides for Environmental Education in the State Education System of Bahia, determines that EE must be present in an articulated manner at all levels, stages and modalities of teaching and included in the School Regulations, PPP, Course Plan (CP), Course Pedagogical Project (CPP) and Institutional Development Plan (IDP). PPPs were analyzed using Bardin's theoretical-analytical framework, identifying text parts that dealt with environmental issues and selecting those that were directly or indirectly related to EE. In composing the corpus of analysis in the analyzed PPPs, it was possible to identify essential information for the document, such as the didactic-pedagogical organization, history of the school unit, teaching and administrative staff, infrastructure, among others necessary for its preparation. It was concluded there is little environmental issues internalization at PPPs, showing the superficiality which subject is exposed in documents, as well as the lack of proposals and actions in EE based on current secondary education configuration. About mycology, no references were found at PPPs, demonstrating a gap that does not adequately include this living beings group.

Sustainability Index as A Proposal for Socio-Environmental Evaluation of The Performance of The State Court of Justice of Alagoas-Brazil

Purpose: Analyze sustainability in the socio-environmental management of the judiciary, from the perspective of indicators defined by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and propose a sustainability index for the socio-environmental management of the PJ. Theoretical framework: Indicators are present in everyone's lives, they are everywhere. They are considered a management tool. Models for assessing sustainability through specific indicators and indices have been the subject of study in several studies, from the perspective of different dimensions. Method: Application of the methodology proposed by Calório (1997), combined with Daniel et al (2001), Sobral, Almeida and Gomes (2012), Faccioli and Gomes (2021) and adaptations, with 21 indicators in the environmental, economic and social dimensions in 9 categories defined by the CNJ aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Sustainability Index, its classification and scenario analysis are obtained. Results and discussion: An index and model aimed at evaluating the socio-environmental sustainability of the judiciary is presented, in which the general sustainability index - IS0-100 was 20.24%, a level considered bad and classified as a pessimistic scenario, pointing out a warning for the economic and environmental dimensions, in the categories: paper, disposable cups, electricity and mineral water, due to expenses/consumption. The indicators consumption of returnable packaging for mineral water (IA9) and expenditure on mineral water in returnable packaging (IE8) presented the highest level of unsustainability (0.0%). Implications of the research: This research demonstrated that the methodology can be applied to the Judiciary sphere, in the Courts of Justice, and that it has implications in the form of monitoring, and can be used as a parameter for evaluating sustainability in socio-environmental management and contribute to decision-making. Originality/value: The literature is silent in relation to socio-environmental management in the judiciary with the SDGs, there is a lack of studies to assess sustainability. Thus, the knowledge developed in this research fills a gap by proposing a Sustainability Index for this sphere of power.

Designing Private Outdoor Spaces for Socio-Environmental Sustainability:

Designing Private Outdoor Spaces for Socio-Environmental Sustainability:

Promotion of Socio-Environmental Sustainability by Water Utilities: Optimal Budget’s Estimation and Results’ Analysis of Varying Company Size

Sustainable management of water resources cannot ignore environmental aspects, let alone social and economic ones. To curb water waste, and groundwater pollution and promote equitable access to the resource, water utilities are required to implement a series of initiatives to promote environmental and social sustainability. In this paper, an optimization model is proposed to define the budget that water utilities should allocate to promote socio-environmental sustainability, optimally conveying their message and achieving the right trade-off between capital invested and audience reached. The optimization problem is solved using a nonlinear programming model. The application of the model shows that both big and small water companies should invest an amount that can increase the visibility of sustainability’s promotional message by 20%. However, this amount is about 0.2% of turnover for large utilities and about 17% for small utilities. The model can be a useful tool for both budgeting and incentivizing sustainable practices.

Five urgent questions related to regional water governance

Between the time when the editors’ note below was written and this issue of Regions & Cohesion went to press, Hurricane Otis battered Acapulco and surrounding villages or communities in Guerrero, Mexico, with sustained winds of 266 km/h — and even stronger gusts hitting up to 330 km/h. Regions & Cohesion has published numerous articles on socioenvironmental sustainability in Acapulco, and a research team from the Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero has even published a recent article on resilience to hurricanes (see Lucero Álvarez et al., 2021). Unfortunately, Acapulco was not prepared for Hurricane Otis, which killed dozens of people, destroyed homes and upended lives, causing over one billion dollars of damage. Three weeks after the hurricane, most of the one million residents of the city remain without food and water. With this note, the editors express our heartfelt solidarity with all the affected people during these difficult times and our commitment to your well-being.

Socio-environmental sustainability and Upcycling of health service waste towards sustainability: Reuse of Spundbond Meltblown Spundbond (SMS)

This work aimed to define the steps for the Safe Capture of postconsumer Spundbond Meltblow Spundbond (SMS) non-woven fabric, and to estimate the generation of this material providing conditions for new uses through upcycling in a Surgical Center of a public hospital for means of application in socio-environmental projects. This is a descriptive, exploratory longitudinal study with a quantitative approach. As a result, a proposition was obtained for a new separation system for specific medical waste that is difficult to recycle, called Safe Capture in the Operating Room, as well as the implementation of SMS reuse in new products developed through upcycling, such as ecobags for make available to patients at the University Hospital of Londrina- HU. With the estimated generation of 140.89 grams per surgery or 18 SMS blankets of different sizes, the possibility of planning a storage infrastructure for this material for use in socio-environmental projects was envisaged through the development of products based on upcycling with focus on the circular economy, in this case reported and already implemented, the creative sewing workshop in partnership with the State Penitentiary of Londrina-PEL 02 where 3000 ecobags are made per month to store the belongings of patients, which caused a reduction of a portion of waste that would go to the infectious waste collector and, at the same time, replaced the use of plastic bags with ecobags, reducing costs. Currently, the possibility of using SMS has been expanded to other application niches such as interior design and the pet market, in partnership with the Veterinary Hospital of the State University of Londrina, which will revert part of the income from sales of pet products so that the Muda Project have a self-management for the purchase of new equipment and trimmings for the manufacture of products.

(Re)Considering Geoengineering in an Ethical Biocultural Framework

"In the perspective of biocultural homogenization and the increasingly prominent use of technology, environmental ethics faces new challenges. Development policies, governance, and economic factors impose new ways of understanding and managing coexistence. Phenomena such as pandemics, global warming, migratory phenomena, the expansion of urban and rural areas, and the development of large-scale monocultures show us that human agency, resources, the environment, and surroundings are increasingly intertwined, both physically and metaphysically, in an increasingly encompassing organism where the dissociation between the local and the global becomes difficult to achieve. With a wide range of actions and relationships, environmental psychology and ethics have the task of rethinking the relationship between cultural elements and the biosphere, in order to achieve a balance between sensibility, responsibility, and responsivity. In this article, I aim to illustrate that a biocultural ethical framework emphasizing socio-environmental justice, applied to geoengineering, not only promotes global socio-environmental sustainability but also recognizes the crucial significance of local ecosystems in climate regulation and biodiversity conservation. To do so, I will briefly present some theoretical elements related to the importance of environmental psychology in understanding the connection between individuals and the surrounding environment. Then, I will succinctly present the concept of the ”3Hs” and its implication on biocultural ethics, and subsequently integrate specific elements of biocultural ethics into the analysis of geoengineering ethics to illustrate the need for a perspective that takes this into account. Through this endeavor, I intend to emphasize the vital role of a holistic, multidimensional perspective that guides individual values and community policies towards sustainable practices, ensuring social cohesion and dialogue, respecting the coexistence of life forms, and protecting their habitats. Keywords: environmental ethics, geoengineering, sustainability, biocultural ethics, environmental psychology."

Energy efficiency of waste reformed fired clay bricks-from manufacturing to post application

High energy consumption in building construction and operation threatens the socio-environmental sustainability of many nations due to elevated carbon footprint and energy crisis. Hence, research into alternative materials that can effectively reduce energy with less CO2 emissions is highly significant and timely required. This study examines the energy efficiency of waste reformed clay bricks which are produced from municipal solid waste incinerated (MSWI) fly ash, industrial waste ash, and waste glass. A number of thermal properties were first explored on a technically verified brick, such as thermal conductivity, calorific value, specific heat capacity, emissivity and reflectivity, by utilising state-of-the-art instrumentation. Having characterized the thermal behaviour, extended studies have been performed to evaluate the theoretical energy consumption during the firing process and the post-application energy, while investigating the corresponding CO2 emissions and the economic benefits. The results demonstrate that the novel brick production enables less energy consumption (average 21% energy savings compared to control brick) with reduced carbon footprint (2 tonnes per year) compared to the conventional brick production. Results further revealed an enhanced thermal performance of the manufactured novel brick, most notably with respect to decreased thermal conductivity (11.7–37% less than control brick) which is beneficial to reduce the energy consumption in the post-application stage. Outcomes from the study have strong implication in saving energy from both during production and operation for manufacturers and households respectively, while enabling authorities to embed sustainable construction principals in practice.

WATER REUSE IN FERTIRRIGATION OF TREATED EFFLUENT, AIMING SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE REFRIGERATOR’S AREA OF INFLUENCE

The present work aimed to implement the reuse of water after the treatment of industrial effluents from a slaughterhouse and slaughterhouse, through the projection of reuse fronts, aiming at socio-environmental sustainability in the area of influence of the activity, with the following steps being carried out : preparation of a plan for the implementation of post-treatment effluent reuse points; installation of infrastructure for the redistribution of treated effluent on reuse fronts; laboratory analysis of effluents before, during and after treatment; application of internal audit and elaboration/provision of Environmental Report. The gravity drip irrigation proposal is presented in the infrastructural, georeferential map, and meteorological factors, in the direct and indirect influences of the industrial plant, and the water balance of general liquid effluents was a requirement for reuse action on the property, resulting in fertirrigation, and Applied the type of irrigation as a viable installation model, minimal labor, low cost, and useful in rural and urban areas, adapting to a flat or sloping profile, taking advantage of gravity for distribution. The equalization of the effluent after treatment proposes the quality of the product, raising awareness about the proper destination of said effluents, being important on fronts that do not require drinking water, avoiding waste, having a vision of socio-environmental sustainability, and through controls and monitoring the indicators meet compliance with the standards of relevant laws and regulations.

The socio-environmental challenges in the transition to sustainable bioeconomy: a review

The bioeconomy has been proposed worldwide as a way to combat global environmental and socio-economic challenges, from climate change to income diversification and food security. Consequently, the term "bioeconomy" has gained considerable attention in the economic field over the last 15 years. Interestingly, an alleged global sustainable development model has become the subject of intense sustainability debate among researchers in recent years. The sustainability of the bioeconomy itself remains unanswered today. Most of the previous studies on sustainable bioeconomy focused on the analysis of the impacts on technology related to environmental issues while overlooking the socio-environmental implications and excluding society. Meanwhile, various studies highlight potential socio-environmental negative impacts associated with the new economic model. It is possible that the increased use of biological resources could further compromise ecosystems and create increasing social and ethical issues. Furthermore, this economic model could bring new environmental challenges related to the excessive use of soil and water. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine and identify potential socio-environmental sustainability challenges and pitfalls that need to be addressed in order to ensure a successful transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. Following a systematic literature review, scientific studies and field reports were selected for this review after searching Google Scholar, Web of Science and Scopus databases. The results identified a number of potential key socio-environmental concerns related to the transition to the bioeconomy.

Socioecological practices and community resilience strategies for sustainable agriculture in lower Sinú, Colombia

This research examines the socioecological practices of rural communities as an epistemological foundation to configure community resilience strategies and face socio-environmental conflicts due to limited access to water, loss of biodiversity and ancestral knowledge. To meet this objective, a qualitative approach was used with a non-experimental transectional research design of exploratory type with a case study method in the Association of Producers for Community Development of the Cienaga del Bajo Sinú-ASPROCIG, Colombia. As a main result, it is argued that the rural communities of the lower Sinú organized in associations carry out self-management models that promote the articulation of social and ecological systems, socio-environmental sustainability and make an adequate management of use and access to ecosystem services.

Optimal mechanism design of public policies for promoting electromobility: A dynamic programming formulation

Electromobility is considered a promising future of road transportation, driving the current industrial and market shift to the era of Electric Vehicles (EVs). As electromobility’s ecosystem depends on electricity generated by the energy sector, decision-makers face the tedious task of enacting policies that alter the transport and energy sectors simultaneously to promote EVs. This paper proposes an Optimal Mechanism Design framework for planning the shift to electromobility from the urban level. The framework fuses concepts of Mechanism Design, optimization methods and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), incorporating all important elements for a comprehensive and sound policy-making procedure, such as market dynamics and the associated financial, social and technological dimensions for the transport and energy sectors. The policies considered incorporate EV promotion incentives, taxation, charging infrastructure, electricity taxation and infrastructure such as power plants and Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to support the growing energy needs. Market mechanisms comprise direct links between policy actions and sustainability outcomes. The framework identifies and optimizes these mechanisms to maximize the CBA sustainability indicators. The framework is applied to Nicosia, Cyprus’s capital, where accelerated EV adoption appears to maximize the transport sector's socioenvironmental sustainability and the energy sector's financial sustainability. On the other hand, delayed EV adoption maximizes the energy sector's socioenvironmental sustainability and the transport sector's financial sustainability. Taxation policies are used to limit EV penetration, whilst funding incentives are used to accelerate EV adoption. The results provide decision-makers with a new tool for optimally planning EV adoption using a policy mixture that optimizes financial and socioenvironmental performance.

Community preferences for participating in ecotourism: A case study in a coastal lagoon in Colombia

Ecotourism is grounded in the concept of socio-environmental sustainability. However, the literature needs more clarification on the determinants of ex ante determinants for community participation in ecotourism in coastal lagoon ecosystems. This paper aims to analyze community-based ecosystem management through participation in ecotourism. After a case study design, a survey-like method was used to identify the social willingness to engage in ecotourism and the benefits that the participants preferred as a result of participating. The results show that most respondents believe that ecotourism would promote environmental conservation in the area and also considered their participation essential to ensure the success of ecotourism. Therefore, this research emphasizes the importance of identifying local perceptions of ecotourism before its implementation, evaluates the willingness of locals to participate in this strategy to highlight community agency, and investigates how participation could be achieved. These results are useful for future research and studies on the willingness to take part in ecotourism studies and the understanding of the relationship between society and ecosystems.