Sustainability Analytics and Modeling最新文献

Climate change causes range shifts of species and habitats, thus making existing reserve networks less suitable in the future. Existing optimisation procedures hence need to be adapted in order to account for changes in the spatial distribution of habitat types as well as their relative occurrence. We develop a multi-objective optimisation procedure that considers these dynamic changes. We demonstrate the functioning of the model by applying it to a conceptual case study. In this case study, we aim to gain an understanding of the consequences of not adapting the reserve network despite climate change and the optimal adaptation pathways for different funding levels. Finally, we consider whether larger flexibility in terms of when to adapt the reserve network by providing a one-off discounted payment instead of regular payment improves the outcome achieved. We find that the optimisation procedure is suitable to identify adaptation pathways as the outcome is improved, especially for habitat types that become increasingly threatened. Initially providing a one-off discounted payment instead of regular payments leads to higher habitat protection. In order to facilitate future research, we provide the code of the optimisation on request.

Considering that cities are responsible for a considerable share of energy consumption and GHG emissions, a complete environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) on an urban scale is gaining importance. This has led to numerous studies in this field of research, ranging from environmental impact investigation of building components (walls, insulation layers) to the carbon emission analysis of several buildings and networks, open spaces, and transportation facilities on a broader scale. This study aims to contribute to the field of research by conducting a comprehensive analysis of existing literature studies on varying scales. The primary objective is to determine whether the current studies have adequately addressed the gap in knowledge by effectively implementing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies throughout the entire lifecycle of buildings while ensuring a sufficient level of detail and reliability in their findings. Additionally, this investigation seeks to evaluate the extent to which urban-scale LCA analyses have been undertaken in previous literature and assess the accuracy of the corresponding results. Furthermore, the study intends to identify the necessary measures that can be implemented to enhance the value and validity of these research outcomes. Ultimately, the findings of this research endeavor will identify the shortcomings and gaps in the current body of knowledge, thereby facilitating the development of a roadmap for future studies in this field of research. The gap analysis of this research field reveals important findings. Firstly, only 9% of previous studies have examined the entire urban scale, highlighting a significant research gap that should be addressed in future studies. Secondly, the bottom-up approach used in many studies introduces substantial uncertainty, necessitating improved modeling and uncertainty analysis. Thirdly, the building-by-building approach, while comprehensive, is time-consuming and costly, calling for research on enhancing its efficiency. Additionally, future studies should consider stock evolution beyond buildings, incorporate multiple LCA indicators, and integrate LCA with life cycle costing (LCC) in urban scale assessments. These identified gaps present promising avenues for future research in built environment LCA.

This study investigates supply chain networks of small and medium-sized companies in the ornamental plants, perennials and cut flowers business in non-auction-driven markets such as Germany, and formulates a mathematical model depicting prevalent network design options. The results are based on an embedded multiple case study featuring in-depth expert interviews with people in charge of corresponding companies. The typical logistics network structures and associated product flows are identified and systematized that represent the supply chains of producers, wholesalers and retailers, as well as their vertical integration. These supply chain networks are analyzed in terms of characteristics and context-specifics and finally transferred to a mathematical model formulation. We find that direct deliveries from producers to retailers are preferred despite production-related lead times of several months or more because of shorter transportation times and therefore better product quality. Wholesalers are mostly used to compensate for product surpluses or deficits, and can offer short lead times. Our results show that the whole sector is dependent on reliable information about the market situation that is needed for accurate planning among the uncertainties the sector faces regarding aspects such as quality fluctuations, pests, trends in demand, and weather impacts on plant growth and final customer demand. This study is the first to provide a systematization and model of logistics systems in the horticulture business. It thereby aims at building the basis for a decision-oriented future stream of research, investigating and optimizing logistics in horticulture in a sustainable manner.

Incorporating a central chilled water hub within an eco-industrial park may boost cost-cutting and carbon reductions. Yet, there are various ways to power it, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages in respect of cost, environmental impact, and technological feasibility. Consequently, it might be challenging to negotiate a settlement with other members in an eco-industrial park because of their conflicting interests. A multi-criteria optimization method is used in this study to compare several centralized chiller systems that are powered by varying compositions of energy forms, to reduce total yearly expenditures for the whole complete building setup. An electric-driven chiller, multi-effect absorption chillers with several effects, and adsorption chillers are installed in the centrally located chilled water system. These components were chosen so that the system could use a wide range of fuels, such as electricity, fossil fuels, chillers, and even solar energy. Afterwards, the TOPSIS is employed to do a multiple criterion ranking on all plans, relying not only on the interests of the building but also on the priorities of individual chiller plants. The conceptual approach assures that cost reduction and user comfort are considered throughout the development of a chilled water system for the building setup. Among the nine criterions selected for the study, The weightage calculated were as follows: Actual capacity- 18%, Total Input power-13%, Speed of Compressor- 5%, EER- 13%, Running current -6%, Max Starting current-6%, Flow rate- 6%, Input power- 19% and Operating Weight- 14%. While ranking chillers AC Screw 355 TR VFD achieved highest performance score of 0.54 followed by AC Screw 355 TR STAR-DELTA with a performance score of 0.51. The novel study will aid the building owners in selecting the best design for chillers while maintaining a sustainable aspect in chillers which is important in building to attain green structure model.

Since disruptive events can cause negative impacts on a city's regular traffic order and economic activities, it is crucial that a transport network is resilient against disaster to prevent significant economic losses and ensure regular social, economic, and traffic order. However, using the transport metric for resilience improvement can only provide a limited view of transport pre-investments. This study develops an optimization framework to tackle the problem of resilient road pre-investment with the aim of resilience enhancement of traffic systems from an economic perspective by applying the integrated computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. First, we use the Shapley value, which considers road links’ interact cooperation, to determine critical candidate links that need to be upgraded. Second, we propose the Economic-based Network Resilience Measure (ENRM) as a performance indicator to evaluate network-level resilience from the economic perspective. Third, a bi-level multi-objective optimization model is formulated to identify the optimal capacity improvement for candidate critical links, where the objectives of the upper-level model are to minimize the ENRM and pre-enhancement budget. The lower-level model is built on the integrated CGE model. The genetic algorithm approach is used to solve the proposed bi-level model. A case study of the optimization framework is presented using a simplified Sydney network. Results suggest that a higher budget can help promote people's social welfare and improve transportation resilience. However, the Pareto-optimality is observed, and the marginal utility decreases with an increase in the investment budget. Further, the results also show that investment returns are higher in severe disasters. This study will help transport planners and practitioners optimize resilience pre-event investment strategies by capturing a wider range of project impacts and evaluating their economic impacts under general equilibrium rather than partial economic equilibrium, which is often assumed in traditional four-step transport planning.

Natural daylighting of the building interiors contributes to better environmental quality and reduced energy consumption. Buildings in the tropical region require direct cut-off from irradiance to control internal thermal gain. More extensive fenestration may contribute towards more internal thermal gain because of an improper form of facade or shading systems, which may further contribute to the need for more cooling load in air conditioning. The commercial building sector consumes more energy due to the significance of aesthetics for interiors using artificial lighting techniques, especially during daytimes, and air conditioning due to increased thermal gains. This research intends to explore three basic types of dynamic facade systems, including folding, sliding and rotating types. The study is inclusive of the functional parameters, design and working mechanism of the selected systems, their impact on the illuminance and daylight factor, in the selected commercial building in Changanassery, Kerala, India. The authors calculated various angles of the selected location such as Solar Azimuth, Altitude, Horizontal Shadow Angle (HSA) and Vertical Shadow Angle (VSA), for further analysis. The tools used to do Building Information Modelling (BIM) of the prototype building, simulations of illuminance and daylight factor are Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Insight and Velux daylight visualizer respectively. The study concludes that the folding type of facade system is the most efficient type of dynamic facade system specific to the accurate prototype building location to ensure optimal daylighting while eliminating the undesirable effects of solar radiation.

Sustainable waste management (SWM) is an important goal for the plastic manufacturing industry, which is aiming toward enhancing its economic, environmental, and social sustainability in recent years. However, plastic manufacturing industries in developing countries like Bangladesh are yet to establish efficient SWM systems despite the amount of solid plastic waste continually rising across all sectors. This paper investigates the underexplored barriers to implementing SWM in the Bangladeshi plastic industry. First, it employs the Delphi method to identify the 16 most relevant barriers to SWM through a literature review and expert feedback. Then, using an integrated grey theory and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method-based framework, it evaluates these 16 barriers to examine their interrelationships in the context of emerging economies. The findings show that the five most significant barriers are as follows: lack of awareness of and knowledge about plastic waste disposal, lack of compliant waste management, lack of a sense of environmental responsibility on the part of manufacturers, lack of systematic waste collection and effective dumping-ground utilization and lack of proper environmental policies, legislations, and regulations. This study presents valuable insights that can deeply contribute to the literature on SWM, enabling scholars, policymakers, and industrial managers to practice sustainability more effectively in the plastic manufacturing industry.

Research on grocery waste in food retailing has recently attracted particular interest. Investigations in this area are relevant to address the problems of wasted resources and ethical concerns, as well as economic aspects from the retailer’s perspective. Reasons for food waste in retail are already well-studied empirically, and based on this, proposals for reduction are discussed. However, comprehensive approaches for preventing food waste in store operations using analytics and modeling methods are scarce. No work has yet systematized related research in this domain. As a result, there is neither any up-to-date literature review nor any agenda for future research. We contribute with the first structured literature review of analytics and modeling methods dealing with food waste prevention in retail store operations. This work identifies cross-cutting store-related planning areas to mitigate food waste, namely (1) assortment and shelf space planning, (2) replenishment policies, and (3) dynamic pricing policies. We introduce a common classification scheme of literature with regard to the depth of food waste integration and the characteristics of these planning problems. This builds our foundation to review analytics and modeling approaches. Current literature considers food waste mainly as a side effect in costing and often ignores product age dependent demand by customers. Furthermore, approaches are not integrated across planning areas. Future lines of research point to the most promising open questions in this field.