Front Cover
Assessing Progress towards Sustainability: Frameworks, Tools and Case Studies
Copyright
Contents
Contributors
About the editors
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: An integrated approach to assess the sustainability progress
1. The challenges of sustainable development and sustainability progress
2. The book vision and approach
2.1. Frameworks used to evaluate the sustainability progress
2.2. Assessment tools for sustainability-Methodological issues
2.3. Implementation concepts and case studies
References
Section I: Frameworks for assessing sustainability
Chapter 2: Sustainable development and its goals
1. Introduction
2. The relationships between the SDGs and sustainability
3. Indicators and the perception of scientists on their ability to reach each SDG
4. The lack of a universal scientific model linking the SDGs and sustainability
5. Concluding remarks
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 3: Sustainability and the circular economy
1. Introduction
1.1. A brief history of sustainability
1.2. Circularity and sustainability
2. Material resource efficiency
2.1. Re-use, remanufacturing, and recycling
2.2. Material reprocessing and energy recovery
3. Structural changes
3.1. Redeployment: Labour in the performance economy
3.2. Socialising business practices: Beyond the profit motive
3.3. Dematerialisation and employment
3.4. Localisation of activities: Small is beautiful
3.5. Implications for global trade
4. Drivers for a sustainable economy
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 4: The food-energy-water nexus approach
1. Introduction
2. Important streams of nexus research
2.1. Analytical perspective
2.2. Sector combinations
2.3. Application
3. Defining thefood-energy-water nexus as a framework
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
References
Chapter 5: The European Green Deal in the global sustainability context
1. A Decade of Action for sustainability
2. The European Green Deal
3. Sustainability science in support to the European Green Deal
4. Beyond the European Green Deal
4.1. Shapes of green deals
4.2. Green deals in times of economic recovery
4.3. The international dimension of the European Green Deal
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Section II: Assessment tools for sustainability- methodological issues
Chapter 6: Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment-based tools
1. What Life Cycle Thinking means: A system approach to sustainability
1.1. The need to cultivate a life cycle perspective
1.2. Life cycle methodologies for sustainability assessment: Understanding tools and criteria
2. Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
2.1. Processes and flows
2.2. A techno-economic network
2.3. The nature-industry boundary
2.4. Life Cycle Impact Assessment
2.5. LCA in practice: Insights and approaches
2.6. Uncertainty and variability
2.7. Optional steps: Normalisation and weighting
2.8. Software and databases
3. Life Cycle Costing
4. Social Life Cycle Assessment
4.1. The S-LCA methodology
4.2. S-LCA databases
4.3. Challenges and developments
5. Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: The integration challenge
6. Conclusions and looking ahead
References
Chapter 7: Footprint tools
1. Introduction
2. Ecological footprint
3. Carbon footprint
4. Water footprint
5. Nitrogen and phosphorous footprints
6. Product environmental footprint (PEF)
7. Other footprint tools
7.1. Energy footprint
7.2. Land footprint
7.3. Material footprint
7.4. Chemical and ozone footprint
7.5. Biodiversity footprint
7.6. Waste absorption footprint
7.7. Plastic footprint
8. Conclusions
References
Chapter 8: The combined use of life cycle assessment and data envelopment analysis to analyse the environmental efficiency ...
1. The importance of eco-efficiency in sustainable development
2. The LCA+DEA method
2.1. DEA matrix construction
2.2. Model orientation
2.3. Returns to scale
2.4. DEA model
2.5. LCA+DEA approaches
3. A brief history of the joint use of LCA+DEA
4. Recent methodological advances in LCA+DEA
4.1. Dealing with undesirable outputs
4.2. Handling uncertainty
4.3. Ranking efficient units: Super-efficiency analysis
5. Advantages and limitations of applying the LCA+DEA method: Future outlook
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 9: Territorial Life Cycle Assessment
1. Introduction
2. Main principles of territorial LCA
2.1. Goal and scope definition
System boundaries and territorial responsibility
Functional unit definition
2.2. Life cycle inventory
2.3. Life cycle impact assessment
2.4. Interpretation
3. Overview of applications
3.1. Type A: Bibliometric analysis
Results for the search onLCA and urban/city
Results for the search onLCA and `region
3.2. Type B: Comparative study of the peer-reviewed papers
4. Combinations with other tools
4.1. Territorial metabolism studies
4.2. GIS tools
4.3. Economic modelling
5. Conclusions and perspectives
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 10: Environmental impact and risk assessment
1. EIA concepts, goals, and target audience
2. Environmental impact assessment methodology
2.1. EIA stages
2.2. EIA tools
Rapid impact assessment matrix
Leopolds matrix
Global pollution index
Folchi method
Analytical hierarchy process method
3. Risk assessment methodology
4. Integrated approach of environmental impact and risk assessments
4.1. EIRA assumptions and methodology
4.2. EIRA index
5. Environmental impact assessment and life cycle assessment
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 11: Multi-criteria decision-making
1. Introduction
2. Multi-criteria decision-making methods and framework
3. Tools and software
4. Data requirements
5. Scale of analyses and target audience
6. Discussion
7. Conclusion and future research
References
Section III: Case studies for sustainability assessments
Chapter 12: Life cycle assessment for eco-design in product development
1. Aims
2. State of the art
3. Novelty
4. LCA evaluation of novel organic/inorganic composites
4.1. Material development, synthesis, and testing
4.2. LCA planning: Objectives, system limits, functional units, LCIA methodology
4.3. LCA results and discussion
5. LCA evaluation of novel sorbents obtained from rapeseed waste biomass
5.1. Material development, synthesis, and testing
5.2. LCA planning: Objectives, system limits, functional unit, LCIA methodology
5.3. LCA results and discussion
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 13: Life Cycle Assessment for the design of a pilot recovery plant
1. Aims
2. State of the art
3. Novelty
4. Case study description
4.1. Goal and scope
Functional unit
System boundaries
Impact categories
4.2. Life cycle inventory
4.3. Life cycle impact assessment and interpretation
Preliminary building design
Energy saving measures
Material alternatives
Structure
External walls
Windows
Thermal insulation
Final design
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 14: LCA and food and personal care products sustainability: Case studies of Thai riceberry rice products
1. Aims
2. State of the art
3. Novelty
4. Case study description
4.1. Goal and scope
4.2. Methodology
4.3. Results and discussion
4.3.1. LCA results
4.4. Eco-efficiency results
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 15: Environmental and economic sustainability of cocoa production in west sub-Saharan Africa
1. Aims
2. State of the art
2.1. Novelty
3. Case study description
3.1. Economic assessment: On production and distribution
3.1.1. Cocoas production and export
3.1.2. Insights from a supply chain analysis
3.2. Environmental sustainability assessment of cocoa production
3.2.1. The land footprint of cocoa
3.2.2. The water footprint of cocoa
Methodological approach
Maps of cocoas water footprint
3.2.3. Implications of the power law relation between yield and water footprint
4. Conclusions
References
Chapter 16: Environmental assessment of urban water systems: LCA case studies
1. Aims
2. State of the art
3. Case studies description
4. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 17: Environmental sustainability in energy production systems
1. Aims
2. State of the art
3. Novelty
4. Case studies description
4.1. Wooden biomass-based systems analyzed from a life cycle perspective
4.1.1. Goal and scope definition
4.1.2. Functional unit, system boundaries, and assumptions
4.1.3. Life cycle inventory
4.1.4. Environmental assessment methods
4.1.5. Results and discussion
Assessment of global profile
Comparison with national electricity profile
4.2. Agro-waste based systems analyzed from a life cycle perspective
4.2.1. Goal and scope definition
4.2.2. Functional unit, system boundaries, and assumptions
4.2.3. Life cycle inventory
4.2.4. Environmental assessment methods
4.2.5. Results and discussion
Assessment of global profile
4.3. Other sustainability issues
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 18: Sustainability assessment of biotechnological processes: LCA and LCC of second-generation biobutanol production
1. Aims
2. State of the art
3. Novelty
4. Case study description
4.1. Process description
Pre-treatment
ABE fermentation
Distillation
Utilities
4.2. Methods
Life cycle assessment
Goal and scope definition
Life cycle inventory analysis
Life cycle impact assessment
Life cycle costing
4.3. Results and discussion
Life cycle assessment
Life cycle costing
Comparative analysis
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 19: Footprint assessment of solid waste management systems
1. Aims
2. State of the art
3. Novelty
4. Case study description
4.1. Carbon footprint of regional/national municipal solid waste management systems
4.2. Carbon footprint of national waste electrical and electronic management systems
4.3. Carbon footprint of national packaging waste management system
4.4. Carbon footprint of biowaste management system
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Chapter 20: How can we validate the environmental profile of bioplastics? Towards the introduction of polyhydroxyalkanoate ...
1. Plastics and bioplastics
2. Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Feasible production and challenges along the value chain
2.1. Ongoing efforts on feasible PHA production
2.2. Beyond PHA production: Recovery and purification
2.3. Closing the loop: PHA compounding and shaping, use and end of life
3. Review strategy: Current literature regarding LCA of PHA
4. Critical review of the current LCA studies for PHA production
4.1. Review outputs regarding methodological issues
Motivation of the studies, functional unit, and system boundaries
Impact categories
Assessment type and methodology
Source of data. Is there enough information to perform accurate assessments?
4.2. Classification of the studies regarding process type
4.3. Main outputs
Full value chain vision: What do we know about the use and EoL stages?
4.4. Lessons learned
5. Future outlook, challenges, and key players
6. Conclusions
References
References included in the critical review but not explicitly discussed in the text
Chapter 21: Conclusions
Index
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