Sustainable Society Research Articles

Challenges in Building a Secure Sustainable Society Amid Global Risks and Threats: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

The development of society must be based on its sustainability. The current geopolitical situation is linked to extensive security challenges, new extremist manifestations, and threats at international and national levels. In today’s circumstances, the classic conventional threats are complemented by new global threats: hybrid threats, terrorism, cybercrime, and transnational organised crime. The multiple factors affecting public security and its sustainable development are changing. The new types of threats destabilise international policies in the implementation of the strategy for the sustainable development of society, which requires an objectively determined need for their interdisciplinary study. The study process should take into account that the geopolitical situation is highly dynamic, and the perception and evaluation of its transformation are variable. The study results show that people face feelings of insecurity, anxiety, and depression in current socio-political settings. International global security index scores generally show adverse patterns in these parameters for countries and cities. The study uses a variety of information sources and cognitive tools to identify the state of security and its threats. Its results will contribute to the development of practical conceptual frameworks for the further development of a sustainable and safe society, taking into account global risks and threats. In a turbulent era characterised by risks, one needs to learn how to understand, anticipate, assess, manage, and mitigate their potential negative impacts. This requires appropriate action, technological solutions, and changes in attitudes. Keywords: Security, society, sustainable development, threats

Impact of employing phase change material in building wall on energy consumption and thermal comfort level

Energy crises are becoming a problem for many, most of the energy being produced is utilized in buildings. Building design and materials that are used in buildings play a vital role in saving electricity. Sustainable cities are one of the eleventh goal of Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved and this study is in context of SDGs for developing tools to create this globe sustainable and efficient society for humans. Phase change material is a type of material that can absorb and release heat energy as it changes between solid and liquid states. This ability to store and release thermal energy makes PCM a promising material for use in building insulation, Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning Systems, and other energy efficient applications. The use of PCM in buildings has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption and improve thermal comfort levels. By incorporating PCM into building envelopes, such as walls, roofs, and floors, the material can absorb excess heat during the day and release it at night, helping to regulate indoor temperatures and reduce the need for heating and cooling systems. This study investigates the impact of using PCM in building envelopes. In this regard office building rooms are modelled in CAD software and are simulated in energy plus software. The simulation results are validated by considering the experiment and numerical study as a reference from paper. Model room is simulated for Hyderabad, Pakistan. Building envelopes without PCM have conduction rate of around 106.6 W/m2, whereas building envelopes with PCM have conduction rate around 42 W/m2. This shows that utilization of PCM reduced heat conduction up to around 40%. PCM reduced energy consumption of around 33.25 kWh/year/m2. Results show that without PCM air temperature was above the thermal comfort value. it reached 300C in hot months, it reduced up to 270C with the incorporation of PCM.

Navigating the transition: Unraveling the EU's different imaginaries for a just future

The European Union has translated the imperative of Just Transition into a comprehensive mix of instruments. In this way, the EU formulates its future visions of a just and sustainable European society. However, researchers have not yet examined the mix of instruments as an object of “making of futures”. To understand these future visions and the practical implications for the implementation of the instrument mix, our paper draws on the concept of imaginaries. Through a typological content analysis of the instruments, we reveal that the instruments are rooted in two distinct imaginaries. The Impact Mitigation Imaginary conservatively seeks to mitigate the negative impacts of transition on the socio-economic status quo. The Social Justice Imaginary, by contrast, progressively aims for a more equitable society during the transition. Considering also the implementation aspects of the instruments, we show that the instrument mix is inconsistent and only partially credible. We conclude that the implementation of the mix shifts the negotiation between progressive and conservative visions of a just and sustainable future to the national level with its own (power) interests. In this process, several implementation challenges may arise.

‘Click’ hydrogels from renewable polysaccharide resources: Bioorthogonal chemistry for the preparation of alginate, cellulose and other plant-based networks with biomedical applications

Click chemistry refers to a class of highly selective reactions that occur in one pot, are not disturbed by water or oxygen, proceed quickly to high yield and generate only inoffensive byproducts. Since its first definition by Barry Sharpless in 2001, click chemistry has increasingly been used for the preparation of hydrogels, which are water-swollen polymer networks with numerous biomedical applications. Polysaccharides, which can be obtained from renewable resources including plants, have drawn growing attention for use in hydrogels due to the recent focus on the development of a sustainable society and the reduction of the environmental impact of the chemical industry. Importantly, plant-based polysaccharides are often bioresorbable and exhibit excellent biocompatibility and biomimicry. This comprehensive review describes the synthesis, characterization and biomedical applications of hydrogels which combine the renewable and biocompatible aspects of polysaccharides with the chemically and biomedically favorable characteristics of click crosslinking. The manuscript focuses on click hydrogels prepared from alginate and cellulose, the most widely used polysaccharides for this type of hydrogel, but also click hydrogels based on other plant-derived polymers (e.g. pectin) are discussed. In addition, the challenges are described that should be overcome to facilitate translation from academia to the clinic.

Creating New Value: Access Networks to Support a Sustainable Society

Creating New Value: Access Networks to Support a Sustainable Society

Special Issue on NIED Frontier Research on Science and Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience 2024

We are pleased to publish this special issue, dedicated to the NIED Frontier Research on Science and Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience 2024. The fifth NIED mid-/long-term plan period began in 2023, and this issue includes the first results of six papers, two reviews, one survey report, one note, and one material. Recently, violent natural disasters have triggered the development of effective countermeasures. Akita, Yamaguchi et al., and Hirashima et al. dealt with climate hazards such as heavy rainfall, snow, and ice disasters. Yamazaki-Honda reported the progress and challenges of disaster reduction and climate change adaptation using DRR strategies. Yadab et al., Akita, and Naito et al. reported data analysis and suggestions to evaluate seismic and volcanic hazards. Nagata et al. proposed the ICT tool “YOU@RISK” to educate regarding volcanic disaster risks. Sato et al. emphasized the importance and effectiveness of information technology. Kimura et al. emphasized preparedness and elaborated on measures to improve preparedness for all natural hazards. These new outcomes will promote the development of a sustainable society against these hazards and will be flagships to proceed with NIED research projects.

Alkali and Non-alkali Treated Coconut Coir Fiber-Reinforced Coconut Shell Powder/MWCNT-Filled Polyester Matrix Composite: An Experimental Comparison

Engineering, biomedical, and medicinal applications effectively employ the extraction of natural resources. Natural and recycled natural fibers are highly advantageous for producing hard-core and soft-core composite materials and equipment. Natural fiber processing can yield diverse material characteristics. Particularly, processes such as chemical treatment, heat treatment, fine coating, and polishing (gold) composites can significantly enhance the characteristics of these materials. A further selection of non-synthetic solutions is designated for material application and environmentally friendly biodegradation to the earth. Due to the non-destructive nature of composites, many synthetic resources are incorporated into the environment, which can lead to corrosion and atmospheric pollution. Therefore, the remarkable movement toward replacing these compounds with natural coconut fiber, whether refined or untreated, shell powder, and composites incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) contributes to establishing a more environmentally sustainable society. This work included rigorous mechanical testing to compare the effects of alkali and non-alkali treatments. In particular, the tensile strength is 17.06% higher, the flexural strength is 7.35% higher, and the hardness on Shore D is 5.81% higher than that of non-alkali-treated material. The SEM analysis revealed the alkali-treated and untreated composites' consecutive failure zones, regions, and matrix structures.

The Impact of ESG Risks on the Economic Growth in the Western Balkan Countries

The economy is significantly impacted by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks. The growth of the economy can be sped up by the effective management of ESG risks through sustainable business practices. To promote sustainable development and to secure the long-term welfare of employees, customers, and all other stakeholders in the economy, companies must adapt and reposition their business strategies and organizational cultures. The goal of this paper is to determine how a set of common ESG elements, chosen from the viewpoints of sustainability and well-being, influence economic growth in the Western Balkan countries. For each ESG component, we used different variables. The information pertains to the five Western Balkan countries of North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Because of a lack of data, Kosovo is excluded from the study. Then, we compared results from the analysis of the Western Balkan countries with a set of countries in Southeast Europe, which are members of the European Union and essentially coincide with the Western Europe countries. We performed multiple regression analysis with applied fixed effects to the data model. According to the study’s findings, each of the independent variables had no significant impact on the GDP’s annual growth of the Western Balkan countries, but two of the variables, life expectancy at birth and labor force participation, have certain impact on the GDP growth of Southeast Europe countries, which are members of the European Union. The green transition has gained significant importance in the Western Balkan countries as a crucial pathway toward sustainable economic growth, though it introduces a range of new social and economic challenges. Economically, these nations are confronted with considerable funding requirements for development. To build sustainable societies, it would be beneficial for these countries to explore more creative financing strategies. It is advised to establish financing frameworks that not only increase the transparency in policymaking but also ensure greater accountability in their execution.

Planning for a future free from rebound effects

This paper argues that attempts to mitigate rebound effects within growth-orientated economic systems are self-defeating. This arises because rebound effects contribute to economic expansion and individual 'welfare' improvements (i.e., they are welcome and even desirable) and they flourish in traditional market systems where resource allocation is conducted in an ex-post fashion. As such, in the context of the transition towards more sustainable societies, we suggest that ex-ante economic planning and coordination mechanisms are needed to help eliminate rebound effects. Specifically, we argue that mechanisms adopted in contemporary supply chains demonstrate the technical feasibility of economic planning. Such techniques, framed within a democratic economic planning architecture, could therefore encourage moves towards a future that allows us to live within biophysical limits. An interdisciplinary research agenda is proposed to this end.

Tuning the sulfide interface of MnCo2O4-based nanostructures enables efficient water/seawater electrolysis

Hydrogen generation through water electrolysis is greatly dependent on the development of energy and time-efficient techniques to construct stable and active electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Currently, major research focuses on producing hydrogen through direct seawater electrolysis instead of fresh water to build a sustainable society. However, competitive reactions such as chlorine evolution reaction (CIER) beyond OER and electrode erosion issues make seawater electrolysis more difficult. Here, we report an interfacial engineering strategy that constructs a MnCo2O4@CoS hybrid structure by sulfurization of the spinal MnCo2O4 nanowires. The hybrid structure demonstrates an excellent OER performance in electrolytes containing alkaline and saltwater. Specifically, the prepared catalyst needs overpotentials of 205 mV and 225 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH and alkaline seawater when used as OER electrocatalysts. This should be noted that the CoS layer on the surface of MnCo2O4 nanowires not only acts as a Cl‾ protective layer to impede electrode erosion and CIER but also provides metallic ions with a higher valence state to enhance the intrinsic catalytic activity of water oxidization. Thus, this type of electrocatalyst could represent a favorable choice, carrying substantial implications for hydrogen-based economies and environmental enhancement.

The Role of Clothing Technology in Supporting Sustainable Fashion in the Post-COVID-19 Era

With the outbreak and ongoing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a wave of post-COVID-19 zeitgeist has emerged worldwide. From the perspective of fashion trends, an increasing number of consumers are demanding higher standards of health, environmental friendliness, and sustainability. Over the past 10 years, the integration of technology in clothing has facilitated continuous updates in both functionality and aesthetics. This article aims to explore the relationship between clothing technology and sustainable fashion in the post-COVID-19 era, seeking to enhance the development and innovation of sustainable fashion through the empowerment of clothing technology. This study conducts extensive research on the literature and online case studies, categorizing empowered sustainable fashion technology design cases into six major categories and four directional themes. It introduces an innovative sustainable fashion design assessment model, PCBS (Product, Customer, Business, Society). Subsequently, the knowledge framework is applied in design practice alongside consumer research to validate the system’s usability. Furthermore, this research synthesizes and summarizes the methods through which fashion technology can support sustainable fashion in the post-pandemic era. Designers and practitioners can reference these insights for more advanced sustainable design initiatives, thereby promoting a lower-carbon and environmentally friendly system that drives global innovation and development in a sustainable society.

Costos en la gestión ambiental: camino necesario a la sostenibilidad

Around the world, the importance of preserving the natural environment has been recognized, which has led to an increase in the expectations of various stakeholders involved. This process has driven the orientation that prioritizes sustainability. In this situation, the objective of this article is to promote environmental accounting as a necessary tool for environmental management, both in the business environment and on a global scale. The study consists of an exhaustive systematic review with a qualitative approach at a descriptive level through the review of scientific articles, consulted in databases such as: Scopus, Google academic, Scielo, Mendeley, among others. It is concluded that environmental management together with environmental accounting as a necessary tool to achieve sustainable development benefit society, the environment and the company in terms of promoting sustainability, corporate social responsibility, decision making, efficiency and competitive advantage.

Food Preservation in the Industrial Revolution Epoch: Innovative High Pressure Processing (HPP, HPT) for the 21st-Century Sustainable Society.

The paper presents the 'progressive review' for high pressure preservation/processing (HPP) (cold pasteurization) of foods and the next-generation high-pressure and high temperature (HPHT, HPT) food sterilization technologies. It recalls the basics of HPP and HPT, showing their key features and advantages. It does not repeat detailed results regarding HPP and HPT implementations for specific foods, available in numerous excellent review papers. This report focuses on HPP and HPT-related issues that remain challenging and can hinder further progress. For HPP implementations, the reliable modeling of microorganisms' number decay after different times of high pressure treatment or product storage is essential. This report indicates significant problems with model equations standard nonlinear fitting paradigm and introduces the distortion-sensitive routine enabling the ultimate validation. An innovative concept based on the barocaloric effect is proposed for the new generation of HPT technology. The required high temperature appears only for a strictly defined short time period controlled by the maximal pressure value. Results of the feasibility test using neopentyl glycol as the barocaloric medium are presented. Attention is also paid to feedback interactions between socioeconomic and technological issues in the ongoing Industrial Revolution epoch. It indicates economic constraints for HPP and HPT developments and emerging business possibilities. The discussion recalls the inherent feedback interactions between technological and socioeconomic innovations as the driving force for the Industrial Revolution epoch.

Risk society and the challenge of sustainable rural development in the era of pesticides

This study addresses the issue of pesticides in agriculture from the perspective of risk society theory. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study explores the central concepts of the theory, such as manufactured uncertainty, individualization of risks, and the globalization of effects. Pesticides are an emblematic example of modernity's risks. Their widespread use, driven by the pursuit of high productivity, conceals dangers to human health, biodiversity, and ecosystems. The complex and often invisible nature of the impacts of pesticides makes it difficult for society to perceive the risks. This invisibility, combined with unequal access to information and the lack of transparency from the industry, exacerbates the problem. Methodologically, this article presents itself as an exploratory narrative literature review. The final considerations point to ecological-based agriculture as a promising path for building a fairer, more sustainable, and safer agricultural system. Furthermore, Ulrich Beck's risk society theory underscores the urgency of seeking sustainable alternatives for agriculture and public policies that promote social and environmental justice, focusing on agroecology and organic production. This is essential to building a fairer and more sustainable future for the next generations. Additionally, it is important to highlight the need to bring this debate into the realm of public security, as this area plays a crucial role in promoting more sustainable societies with fewer individual and collective risks.

Self-assembly and energy storage potentials of biphasic phase change azobenzene liquid crystalline block copolymers

Flexible polymeric materials with potentials in energy storage have attracted extensive attention in today's sustainable society. Here, we reported a series of crystalline-liquid crystalline biphasic phase change block copolymers, poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(11-(4-(4-cyanophenylazo)phenoxy)undecane methacrylate) (PEO-b-PMAAzo), and studied the UV and Li+ ions coordination-mediated self-assembly for the potentials in phase change energy storage and solid electrolytes. The PEO-b-PMAAzo BCPs possess both the solid-liquid phase transition of PEO and the photo-chemical-thermal energy transition of PMAAzo block. Meanwhile, PEO has the capability to coordinate with the Li+ for the ionic conductivity. We explored the binary phase change behaviors and thermal energy density of the BCPs with different lithium ion concentrations before and after UV irradiation. The addition of LiTFSI salts increases the interaction parameters (χ) of the BCPs leading to phase transition of the self-assembled nanostructures. The phase diagram covering LAM, HEX, GYR, Fddd and HPL nanostructures facilitating ion transport was demonstrated. The PMAAzo block enabled the solid feature of the BCPs and ensured the high energy density and high conductivity. This work demonstrates that the combination of the functional polymers in one BCP not only provides multiple morphology tunabilities but also enables multiple functionalities from energy conversation and storage to ionic conductive electrolytes.

Rechargeable Mg-Br2 Battery with Ultrafast Bromine Chemistry.

A sustainable society necessitates the support of diversified energy storage systems. Magnesium metal batteries, known for the environmental friendliness, safety of dendrite-less, cost-effective, and high volumetric capacity of magnesium metal, exhibit promising prospects. However, the high charge density of the magnesium ion leads to sluggish ion diffusion in cathodes, posing challenges for developing magnesium metal battery systems with high power and high energy density. Here, inspired by the Hard-Soft-Acid-Base theory, we propose a soft-anion-induced bond weakening strategy to address the diffusion difficulty. The bulky and broadly electron-distributed succinimide ion (SN-) in SN-Mg-Br significantly weakens the Mg-Br bond, promoting rapid magnesium ion transport and enabling ultrafast bromine chemistry, thus realizing a highly rechargeable Mg-Br2 battery prototype. Benefiting from the solubilization of SN-, the Mg-Br2 batteries achieve a high discharge plateau of 2.7 V, a remarkable specific capacity of 326 mAh gBr-1, and an impressive lifespan of 400 cycles. Attributed to the half-half diffusion/adsorption-desorption control process mechanism, the batteries can be well cycled under high-rate charging at 10 C and ultralow temperatures down to -55 °C. This bond weakening strategy may stimulate the development of battery systems with similar high charge density to magnesium ion, toward high power and high energy density, paving the way for sustainable energy storage systems.

Incentivizing green building technology: A financial perspective on sustainable development in India

Future viability depends on ensuring a sustainable society because green energy methods may efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, stakeholders, consumers, and developers continue to be notably ignorant of the financial incentives connected to green technology. Moreover, there is still a dearth of studies on the range of financial incentives offered by different authorities in India. Monetary incentives, such as tax breaks, indirect tax exemptions, and refunds, are crucial in encouraging the use of green technology in the modern world. This study explores the importance of financial incentives for green building technologies in India, which also looks at the wide range of incentives provided by federal, state, and local governments. Furthermore, the study highlights various state government programs such as goods subsidies, exemptions from local taxes, and fee waivers. Notably, several incentives aimed at consumers, developers, and other stakeholders have been implemented by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). This review study emphasizes the effectiveness of financial incentives in green construction projects and draws attention to a clear knowledge gap regarding the adoption of green technology. This study also provides insights into potential future directions. Studies and research results emphasize the importance of spreading the word about financial incentives as a key factor in determining the adoption of green technologies. Many parties, including governmental organizations, municipal governments, developers, and clients engaged in green building technology projects, stand to gain increased awareness.

What are we aiming for? Addressing the knowledge gap of a long-term sustainable society

To properly address the polycrisis we need to tackle the underlying causes and thereby transition to a long-term sustainable and just society. The current mainstream proposed pathways out of our predicament focus mainly on climate change, and heavily utilise technological solutions. Although addressing the polycrisis holistically is not often the aim of these pathways, the fact that they often transgress other planetary boundaries means they cannot be used to inform us what a truly sustainable society looks like. The widespread assumptions of technological optimism also do not hold up to scrutiny when we consider the equity of their assumptions at the global level, yet are frequently relied on to construct policy. It is vital we acknowledge and then begin to address the knowledge gap left by ruling out incompatible transition scenarios.

Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours about gender equality: a cross-sectional survey of adolescents from rural India.

Background: Gender equality is a fundamental human right and vital to accelerate global progress towards several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adolescents' involvement is essential to achieve such equality and SDGs to develop peaceful sustainable societies. However, there are limited data especially from developing countries such as India to plan gender equality related programmes targeted at adolescents. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess gender equality related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours among 16 to 19 year-old adolescents from sixty villages of the Maharashtra state of India. Results: Data from 1306 respondents (667 females and 639 males) showed a mean score of 30 out of 44, suggesting an overall moderate gender equality score in rural adolescents. The majority of girls (68.3%) were in the high scoring group, whereas the majority of boys were in the moderate group (60.3%). Regression analysis showed that responses from boys were associated with lower scores compared to responses from girls by five points (adjusted β-coefficient: -4.99, 95%CI: -5.85 to -4.12, p<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there is a need to involve adolescents with a major focus on boys to improve gender equality in rural areas of Maharashtra. This will help introduce concepts of equality from an early age to educate boys, empower girls, and address gender-based discrimination and violence against girls and women.

Solvent-free preparation of carbon fiber reinforced dynamically cross-linked vanillin-based polyurethane composites with excellent self-healing and closed-loop recycling performance

Disposing of the wastes generated from the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite materials after service failure has attracted great attention in recent years. CFRP composites prepared with dynamically covalent cross-linking polymers as matrix resins possess excellent self-healing and recyclability performance, providing an efficient solution to overcome this challenge. However, most of the dynamic cross-linking resins are typically made by high-cost petroleum-derived compounds with extensive use of organic solvents and environmentally unfriendly catalysts. Herein, catalyst-free self-healing and recyclable vanillin-based polyurethanes (V-PUs) via dynamic phenol-carbamate bonds were synthesized by a one-step solvent-free method with a biodegradable PCL as soft segment and biobased vanillin derivative as the chain extender. The optimized V-PUs exhibit Young's modulus of 1.92 GPa, stress at break of 64.98 MPa, glass transition temperature of 95 °C, and over 90 % self-healing and reprocessing efficiency. This excellent self-healing and reprocessing performance can be successfully transferred to the CFRP composite materials fabricated with the V-PUs as matrix resins by hand paste-vacuum bag pressing method. The interlayer shear strength (ILSS) of the composite material is 41 MPa, and the healing efficiency determined by ILSS reaches 85.34 %. Closed-loop recovery of the carbon fiber and matrix resin from the CFRP composite is realized through the solvent dissolution approach due to the dynamic character of the phenol-carbamate bonds, which is of great significance for the development of green economy and sustainable society.