Sustainability Checklist Research Articles

Importance and Benefits of Green Audits to Education Institutions and Industrial Sectors

Green auditing is a vital process that ensures the diversity of plants on an organization's campus, reducing ecological pollution and soil destruction. It is beneficial intended for biodiversity protection, landscape management, irrigation/economic water utilization, and maintaining natural topography. Green audits are conducted at educational institutions and industrial sectors using the National Building Code (NBC) Part 11 - A 360° Risk Assessment Approach to Sustainability checklist. The importance of green auditing lies in its ability to create an eco-friendly environment and encourage green initiatives was studied at Nehru Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The results revealed that the campus has sufficient number of flora and fauna and established various gardens such as terrace, herbal, kitchen, zodiac, and decorative gardens. All the plants were labelled properly with common and botanical names and used biofertilizers, organic and green manures for the cultivation of plants. Agrochemicals and chemical fertilizers were minimally used to save the soil health and to protect the ecosystem from soil and water pollutions. The benefits of green audit included understanding the organization's internal and external green campus inspection and execution procedures, creating data on plant quantities, recommending biofertilizers, conserving economically valuable, rare, and endangered species, documenting rainwater collection systems, water reservoirs, percolation ponds, and irrigation technologies to the plants were well understood by the Oragnization with respect to the green audit.

Towards Green Automated Machine Learning: Status Quo and Future Directions

Automated machine learning (AutoML) strives for the automatic configuration of machine learning algorithms and their composition into an overall (software) solution — a machine learning pipeline — tailored to the learning task (dataset) at hand. Over the last decade, AutoML has developed into an independent research field with hundreds of contributions. At the same time, AutoML is being criticized for its high resource consumption as many approaches rely on the (costly) evaluation of many machine learning pipelines, as well as the expensive large-scale experiments across many datasets and approaches. In the spirit of recent work on Green AI, this paper proposes Green AutoML, a paradigm to make the whole AutoML process more environmentally friendly. Therefore, we first elaborate on how to quantify the environmental footprint of an AutoML tool. Afterward, different strategies on how to design and benchmark an AutoML tool w.r.t. their “greenness”, i.e., sustainability, are summarized. Finally, we elaborate on how to be transparent about the environmental footprint and what kind of research incentives could direct the community in a more sustainable AutoML research direction. As part of this, we propose a sustainability checklist to be attached to every AutoML paper featuring all core aspects of Green AutoML.

Building back better: Granular energy technologies in green recovery funding programs

Building back better: Granular energy technologies in green recovery funding programs

Call for a standardized environmental sustainability checklist for reporting clinical research.

This article calls for a standardized environmental sustainability checklist for routine reporting of clinical research.

Green initiatives towards environmental sustainability: Insights from libraries in Kenya

Environmental protection is an increasingly pressing issue all over the world. Ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect, global climate change and global warming are among the rising environmental concerns. The increasing number of environmentally conscious consumers has resulted in numerous Go Green campaigns and a Go Green movement, along with solutions and calls for consumers, corporations and governments to be more proactive in going green in every aspect. Libraries are no exception. Although it is so important, little is known about the green-library concept in the African context and among Kenyan libraries. Like some other developing countries, Kenya has responded to climate change in various ways because of its adverse impacts. It is important to explore how libraries are planning for a sustainable future. Subsequently, this study aimed to explore the adoption of green-library concepts in Kenya for environmental sustainability with a view to proposing strategies that can be used to guide libraries in going green. The study adopted a qualitative approach. A sample of 12 libraries was purposively drawn from a population of 227 academic, public and special libraries in Kenya. Data was collected using semi-structured interview schedules complemented by observation and a document review, and analysed using grounded theory. The findings show that libraries in Kenya, under their umbrella organizations, have taken advantage of their knowledge of green concepts through adopting and implementing green practices and coming up with strategies to enhance green libraries and promote environmental sustainability. They have done this mainly through redesigning and renovating to meet ever-changing user demands in line with green-library standards. The study concludes that librarians in Kenyan libraries understand green-building concepts and have adopted different green initiatives, albeit partially to reposition and maintain their position globally. The study proposes three strategies for fully going green: active user involvement in green initiatives; improving performance and growth measuring metrics; and maintaining green-library standards in accordance with the IFLA’s Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Section (ENSULIB) green-library checklist.

Determination of Critical Environmental, Social, Infrastructure, and Economic Indicators as Evaluation Checklist for Pre-Project Abandonment Plan Assessment in-line with Sustainable Development Goal Plan

The increasing number of project abandonment because of the Novel Coronavirus pandemic 2019 (Covid-19) calls for better management of abandonment projects. The outbreak of Covid-19 has affected the environment, economy, and society aspects globally. In a developed country like Malaysia, the requirement to submit an abandonment plan is stipulated under the Environmental Guidelines in Malaysia (EGIM) 2016. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a Sustainable Pre-Project Abandonment Plan Assessment Checklist in Malaysia that is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2030 aspirations. This new Sustainable Pre-Project Abandonment Plan Assessment Checklist in Malaysia is comprehensively structured; is expected to minimise the negative impact of the abandonment process towards the environment, socio-economy, and efficient management of infrastructure; and complies with the related legislation in Malaysia. In this study, data was collected and analysed using NVivo12. It consisted of findings from documents reviewed such as legislations, journals, and books. From the NVivo12 analysis, the results showed 28 critical indicators for abandonment plan assessment and related legislation that synchronises with SDG 2030 is required to develop the Proposed Sustainable Pre-Project Abandonment Plan Assessment Checklist in Malaysia.

New sustainability report template complements Structural Plan of Work

To help engineers design sustainably and communicate this to their clients, the IStructE Sustainability Panel and Climate Emergency Task Group have worked together to publish a sustainability report template and sustainability checklist under wider updates to the Structural Plan of Work.

The model for measuring the Quality of Sustainability Reporting and Determinants: Application Analytic Network Process Fuzzy DEMATEL-Based Technique

Sustainability reporting is an important tool for decreasing information asymmetry, according to the stakeholders' demands for transparency. On the other hand, increasing transparency allows investors to have more appropriate evaluations of firms' activities and direct their investments to companies with more enthusiasm. In the organizational context, information asymmetry creates conflict between owners and managers. Managers tend to reduce the gap between themselves and stakeholders, particularly shareholders, by producing and delivering reports. Companies use sustainability reports to connect with their society and environment, as well as a way to manage interactions with various stakeholders for societal approval and activity continuation. The primary purpose of this study is to provide a model for measuring the quality of sustainability reporting and the determinants. In terms of methodology, the current study is qualitative, deductive, cross-sectional, applied, and exploratory. The criteria were identified and extracted, then evaluated and prioritized using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making approaches including Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory Analytic Network Process-based. The FAHP test revealed that of the six indicators, the GRI's reporting guidelines for sustainability Checklist were placed highest. Internal Controls Reporting, Sustainability Innovation Performance, and Earnings Quality rated first to third, respectively, among the 25 criteria affecting the quality of sustainability reporting, according to the FDANP.

A Study on the Direction of Spatial Design Based on the Sustainability Checklist

A Study on the Direction of Spatial Design Based on the Sustainability Checklist

IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON SUSTAINABILITY OF NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF JOS

The world is faced with the COVID-19 pandemic which has held the economy, especially the educational sector to ransom. School closure, reliance on e-learning and inaccessibility to mitigation strategies are some of the changes and disruptions which the COVID-19 pandemic has brought in the educational sector. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability of Nigerian tertiary institutions, with particular reference to University of Jos. Three research questions were set to guide the study. Cross sectional survey was employed for the study. Data was generated from both primary and secondary sources through the use of Tertiary Institutions Sustainability Checklist (TISC). The population used for the study involved the administrative staff of the University. A sample of 30 (thirty) participants were used for the study. All the sampled staff were given the TISC to fill. Random sampling technique was used for the study. Simple Percentage was used to analyze the research questions. It was found that many tertiary institutions do not have well equipped library for their students and they have poor or non existing internet connectivity, poor ICT laboratory amongst a host of other issues. The study recommends that tertiary institutions should adopt policies the use of modern resources such as the e-library, computers for Skype and zoom to rebuild the losses in the learning process of their students, once they reopen.

Contractor prequalification for green buildings—evidence from Turkey

PurposeCompetent contractors are one of the critical stakeholders to achieve targeted sustainability objectives in green building (GB) projects. Prior to contractor selection, prequalification is an important step, which requires contractors with certain capabilities in addition to traditional features. This study aims to develop a systematic and practical model for prequalification in GB projects using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach by adopting the analytical hierarchy process (AHP).Design/methodology/approachThe AHP model with 8 main criteria groups and 25 sub-criteria is structured based on literature review and professional opinions accompanied by a pilot study. Then, interviews with experts, who are experienced in the development and application phases of GB projects in Turkey, are arranged to collect judgements. The agreement levels between different groups of experts are analysed via Pearson's and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Model applicability is tested on six hypothetical contractors for practicality.FindingsThe results show that i) financial capabilities, ii) legal status and iii) sustainability groups are the top three main criteria, while i) compliance with schedule requirements of the client, ii) current legal status including suits, iii) negative litigation history records, iv) contractor's compliance capacity to client's sustainability checklist for the proposed project and v) sustainability with lower life cycle cost (durability, maintenance, constructability) are the top five sub-criteria.Originality/valueThere is a gap in the literature analysing contractor prequalification phase in GB projects. This study attempts to fill this lack provided with a practical evaluation tool.

Does corporate sustainability practices have an impact on financial performance: A study based on BIST manufacturing firms

Purpose- Corporate Sustainability notion has become very important in recent years with sustainable development, which is defined as fulfillment of current needs without risking fulfillment of future generations' needs. Especially in the last two decades, the relationship between financial performance and corporate sustainability has been questioned extensively in large masses particularly business and academic world. The purpose of this study is to analyze the corporate sustainability practices and its impact on financial performance. Methodology - It focuses on relationship between corporate sustainability practices and financial performance. In order to reach this aim corporate sustainability checklist is established and companies are classified according to their sustainability levels. Publicly traded companies from BIST 100 (excluding finance sector) are used as a sample. Data is gathered from theirs annual reports for the years between 2012-2017. Findings- MANOVA analysis is used to analyze the relationship between the sustainability levels and the financial performance indicators. The results implied that sustainability levels have statistically significant effect between the group means of 3 variables. These are Current Ratio, Gross Profit Margin and Corporate Governance Index. For Current Ratio variable, there is a significant difference between sustainable and least sustainable category for 10 % significance level. For CG Index variable, there is a significant difference between most sustainable and sustainable category and most sustainable and least sustainable category for 5 % significance level. For Gross Profit Margin variable, there is a significant difference between most sustainable and sustainable category for 5 % significance level. Conclusion- In many studies it is found that there is a positive relationship between corporate social sustainability and firm financial performance. Our study supports that companies incorporate sustainability issues into their business operations are better able to leverage their resources toward stronger financial performance and shareholder value creation.We were able find a significant relationship between Current Ratio, Gross Profit Margin and Corporate Governance Index. The paper contributes to the literature by offering a more holistic approach to corporate sustainable performance measurement and its relationship between financial performance.

Sustainability checklist in support of the design of food processing

To source food ingredients produced by best practice, reducing food loss in the processing line and implementation of new technologies are some examples of changes in the management in the food and drink sector that may offer advantages from a sustainability perspective. There are several tools and methods for evaluating sustainability for a food processing technology but often specific methodological knowledge is essential and many companies may not be able to carry out such a study due to time constraints and lack of data. The aim of this paper is to provide a tool with the format of a qualitative sustainability checklist, based on existing Life Cycle Assessment theory. The checklist is devoted to the design and adaptation of processing in the food industry to clarify the potential hot spots in new process design and is focused on environmental sustainability, although other aspects were conferred as well to demonstrate its potential. To identify the potential of this kind of checklist, it was tested by four food companies. The participant feedback was in general positive. The companies highlighted the benefits of creating awareness of sustainability issues within the company and providing a good overview without data collection. From a scientific point of view, the approach can help to overcome several challenges in sustainability assessment in the agri-food sector, especially some modeling issues and spatio-temporal resolution.

Sustainability Checklist for Transport System Plan for Mangrove Eco-Park

Preservation of mangrove, like efforts on preservation of other natural ecosystem, is directly connected to sustainability. Eco-park as one model of mangrove eco-tourism is well accepted worldwide. Mangrove eco-park comprises of accommodations, edutainment centre, galleries, restaurants, etc. If these facilities are not properly planned and sustainability elements are not incorporated they will have negative effects to the preservation effort. The incorporation of sustainability elements in planning is already a standard practice by many district councils in developed countries like US and UK. Developers are to conform to the sustainability checklists failing which their project many not be approved. To be able to accommodate all type of development proposal the checklists are generic. Conformation to sustainability is required overall rather than the project systems and sub-systems. Therefore the checklists can be used for control purposes but with great limitations. System specific sustainability is required. This study identifies the generic model of a typical mangrove eco-park systems, sub and sub-sub systems and proposed their individual primary sustainability elements. A simplified model has been applied to the planning of transport system for Tanjong Pelepas Eco-Park (TPEP), a mangrove preservation effort by a Malaysian Port Authority. Thirty three eco-park sub-sub-systems have been prioritised and their primary sustainability elements identified. Parties responsible for the sustainability elements, either designer or TPEP operator, or both have been identified. The checklist is expandable and could be used to develop TPEP’s standard operating procedures.

Application of a Proposed Sustainability Checklist for Construction Projects

Application of a Proposed Sustainability Checklist for Construction Projects

Proposed Sustainability Checklist for Construction Projects

Proposed Sustainability Checklist for Construction Projects

Development of a sustainable checklist in construction

Although the industry realises the importance of sustainable construction, organisations do not have enough experience and knowledge to attain sustainability. Until now, inadequate research has been carried out to support the development of sustainable culture. This paper develops a comprehensive sustainable checklist set with 67 items listed under five major phases and having three main sustainable components for use by project stakeholders. By adopting the checklist, construction organisations can continuously check missing items to successfully implement sustainability in their projects, and thus improve the overall sustainable culture. Recommendations to improve sustainability are also given: (a) establishing registrations and regulations, (b) providing guidelines, (c) establishing a governmental department, (d) providing financial support for small-size and medium-size companies and (e) providing training programmes.

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

In response to the global trend of low carbon and the concept of sustainable development, enterprises need to develop R&D for the manufacturing of energy-saving and sustainable products and low carbon products. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a decision model for sustainable product design and development from product servicizing in Taiwan. The study used the grounded theory to extract the results of the expert interviews to analyze factors of sustainable product design and development under principles of product servicizing. Then, this study established a sustainable development checklist of product servicizing based on life cycle as the criterion of evaluation for sustainable product design and development. Finally, the study constructed a decision model for sustainable development of product design and servicizing.

Translating sustainable seafood frameworks to assess the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management

Implementing fisheries management goals that simultaneously consider ecosystem effects of fishing and socioeconomic sustainability is challenging. In recent years, multiple market-based frameworks and guidelines that assess fishery sustainability have been developed, including sustainable seafood recommendation lists and certification schemes. These frameworks use suites of indicators to assess sustainability across fishery types to provide awareness to seafood suppliers, retailers, and consumers. We suggest that these indicators could also be useful to managers to track their own performance. Here we evaluate and compare four of the best-known frameworks available to assess fishery sustainability and consider their potential applicability to fisheries management in California: the Marine Stewardship Council’s 2013 certification requirements for fisheries, Friend of the Sea’s 2011 certification criteria for wild-caught fisheries, the Seafood Watch program’s current criteria for fisheries, and an FAO sustainability checklist combined with the FAO’s International Guidelines on Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards. We assessed the alignment between the indicators used in these frameworks and the goals and requirements of the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA), the primary statute governing fisheries management in California’s coastal waters. In general, we found considerable overlap between the biophysical sustainability criteria assessed by these indicators and the requirements of the MLMA, revealing that these indicators align well with practical management needs. While the MLMA is a useful case study, these sustainability indicators could be applied more broadly by other states and federal fisheries managers to concretely evaluate progress towards ecosystem-based management goals. Ultimately, a refined suite of indicators could be operationalized, e.g., via decision trees or questionnaires for fishery managers to assess how well they are meeting ecosystem-based management objectives.

Sustainability of the good behaviour game in Dutch primary schools.

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