Pub Date : 2023-05-17DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1163394
Isabelle Wrase, M. Haase, Zifei Wang-Speiser
Introduction The sustainability transformation of the built environment is one of the mega tasks of the twenty first century. Real estate professionals who manage sustainability transformation must be acknowledged in all disciplines that reside around the lifecycle of a property. In addition, these managers must have expert knowledge of the megatrend of sustainability and possess the highest level of interpersonal skills to enable society and organizations to manage the associated change. Methods Considering the current challenges and the critical role of education to empower real estate (RE) and facility management (FM) students to explore new paths of sustainable development and grow into active citizens, conscious producers, and consumers, this contribution investigates new and elective ways of teaching sustainability concepts, specifically circular economy (CE). To this end, 122 European university degree programs were examined based on a review of all course titles to determine whether the relevant keywords and content for enabling future real estate managers to drive the sustainability transformation toward a circular built environment are present. Results The results show that topics on sustainability are covered significantly. Graduates are empowered in several disciplines that evolve around the real estate lifecycle, but not in all the required ones. There seem to be gaps in teaching especially in the subject area of CE. Discussion The extent to which students are also socially empowered is hard to trace. Furthermore, this article describes and critically discusses how the introduction of a holistic approach to the management of real estate for master-level students could help them gain a sustainability perspective and prepare them to act circularly in the future.
{"title":"Towards a circular built environment – Focus on the new M.Sc. program in real estate and facility management","authors":"Isabelle Wrase, M. Haase, Zifei Wang-Speiser","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1163394","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1163394","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction The sustainability transformation of the built environment is one of the mega tasks of the twenty first century. Real estate professionals who manage sustainability transformation must be acknowledged in all disciplines that reside around the lifecycle of a property. In addition, these managers must have expert knowledge of the megatrend of sustainability and possess the highest level of interpersonal skills to enable society and organizations to manage the associated change. Methods Considering the current challenges and the critical role of education to empower real estate (RE) and facility management (FM) students to explore new paths of sustainable development and grow into active citizens, conscious producers, and consumers, this contribution investigates new and elective ways of teaching sustainability concepts, specifically circular economy (CE). To this end, 122 European university degree programs were examined based on a review of all course titles to determine whether the relevant keywords and content for enabling future real estate managers to drive the sustainability transformation toward a circular built environment are present. Results The results show that topics on sustainability are covered significantly. Graduates are empowered in several disciplines that evolve around the real estate lifecycle, but not in all the required ones. There seem to be gaps in teaching especially in the subject area of CE. Discussion The extent to which students are also socially empowered is hard to trace. Furthermore, this article describes and critically discusses how the introduction of a holistic approach to the management of real estate for master-level students could help them gain a sustainability perspective and prepare them to act circularly in the future.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132337730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-16DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1098011
C. Béné, M. Lundy
In this paper we revisit the current debate between red meat vs. alternative protein and explore the respective contribution that those two polarized discourses claim to make in relation to the new international agenda on transforming food systems toward a more sustainable future. To complete this, we combine classical political economy analysis focusing on the access and distribution of power and economic resources amongst different groups of actors, with a more sociological approach relying on discourses analysis. The first part of the paper highlights the relevance of adopting a political economy approach to explore the centrality of factors such as incumbent actors' powers and influence at both national and international levels. It also raises questions about the equitable redistribution of the dividends of the sector's rapid growth between the different groups of actors and in particular the marginalization of the smallholders. We then deconstruct some of the main narratives and counter-narratives that have emerged over the last two decades around the question of protein transition and show how those different narratives have been used as “discursive tools” by both the red meat and the alternative protein proponents to advance their own agendas and ignore others'. In doing so, we expose some of the unnecessary polarized or confrontational elements of the debate and suggest that the wicked nature of the problem as it appears at first sight may in fact be more the result of the framing used by particular actors, rather than the consequence of an irreconcilable tensions between diverging priorities.
{"title":"Political economy of protein transition: Battles of power, framings and narratives around a false wicked problem","authors":"C. Béné, M. Lundy","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1098011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1098011","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper we revisit the current debate between red meat vs. alternative protein and explore the respective contribution that those two polarized discourses claim to make in relation to the new international agenda on transforming food systems toward a more sustainable future. To complete this, we combine classical political economy analysis focusing on the access and distribution of power and economic resources amongst different groups of actors, with a more sociological approach relying on discourses analysis. The first part of the paper highlights the relevance of adopting a political economy approach to explore the centrality of factors such as incumbent actors' powers and influence at both national and international levels. It also raises questions about the equitable redistribution of the dividends of the sector's rapid growth between the different groups of actors and in particular the marginalization of the smallholders. We then deconstruct some of the main narratives and counter-narratives that have emerged over the last two decades around the question of protein transition and show how those different narratives have been used as “discursive tools” by both the red meat and the alternative protein proponents to advance their own agendas and ignore others'. In doing so, we expose some of the unnecessary polarized or confrontational elements of the debate and suggest that the wicked nature of the problem as it appears at first sight may in fact be more the result of the framing used by particular actors, rather than the consequence of an irreconcilable tensions between diverging priorities.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"75 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124738079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-16DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1163128
J. Baart, W. Elbers, A. Schippers
With the increased attention to disability as a vulnerability criterion in the Sustainable Development Goals, international organizations and NGOs within the international development sector have started to pay explicit attention to persons with disabilities, including the collection of data on persons with disabilities. The Washington Group Short Set of Questions, which focuses on functional limitations, has been gaining popularity as an assessment tool for disability. This set of questions reflects a categorization of disability that does not necessarily correspond with subjective disability assessments, such as the yes/no question (“do you have a disability?”) which many development actors have used in their assessment tools when they collect disability data This study compares the subjective and the functional limitations assessment tools for disability to answer the question: do they identify the same individuals as persons with disabilities? Based on a survey carried out amongst persons with disabilities in Cambodia, we included both the Washington Group Short Set and a subjective question asking respondents to self-identify their disability type. We find that, although all respondents self-identified as disabled, not all respondents would be considered disabled according to the Washington Group Short Set of questions. In addition, there is little overlap between specific disability types according to a subjective classification method and the domains of functioning measured through the Washington Group methodology. Our findings affirm that categorization as abled or disabled depends on the tool used. This is important, as the assessment approach chosen by those collecting disability data can shape the design choices of policies and programs, and determine who benefits.
{"title":"Who is disabled? On whether the functional definition of disability targets the same individuals as the subjective definition","authors":"J. Baart, W. Elbers, A. Schippers","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1163128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1163128","url":null,"abstract":"With the increased attention to disability as a vulnerability criterion in the Sustainable Development Goals, international organizations and NGOs within the international development sector have started to pay explicit attention to persons with disabilities, including the collection of data on persons with disabilities. The Washington Group Short Set of Questions, which focuses on functional limitations, has been gaining popularity as an assessment tool for disability. This set of questions reflects a categorization of disability that does not necessarily correspond with subjective disability assessments, such as the yes/no question (“do you have a disability?”) which many development actors have used in their assessment tools when they collect disability data This study compares the subjective and the functional limitations assessment tools for disability to answer the question: do they identify the same individuals as persons with disabilities? Based on a survey carried out amongst persons with disabilities in Cambodia, we included both the Washington Group Short Set and a subjective question asking respondents to self-identify their disability type. We find that, although all respondents self-identified as disabled, not all respondents would be considered disabled according to the Washington Group Short Set of questions. In addition, there is little overlap between specific disability types according to a subjective classification method and the domains of functioning measured through the Washington Group methodology. Our findings affirm that categorization as abled or disabled depends on the tool used. This is important, as the assessment approach chosen by those collecting disability data can shape the design choices of policies and programs, and determine who benefits.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127056562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-15DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1166642
Calum McGeown, J. Barry
As producers and gatekeepers of knowledge, and as providers of education and training, our universities play a key role in the reproduction of unsustainability. This article finds that they are, as currently organised, therefore complicit in frustrating and delaying action to address the planetary crisis. However, as highly resourced and influential institutions, they have an inherently transformative potential, should their resources and activities be redirected towards progressive social and ecological ends, which challenge rather than support the unsustainable status quo. This means that, as workers within these institutions, academics and researchers are faced with a choice: to be agents of this reproduction or to be advocates and activists for change. We argue for the latter. In doing so, we seek to build on the analysis and demands of emergent movements such as Fossil Free Research, Faculty for a Future and Scientist Rebellion in making the case for universities to show leadership on listening to the very science they produce on the planetary emergency, and act accordingly. Employing a green political economy critical analysis, the article suggests that, if they are to contribute to societal transformation, universities themselves must undergo transformations that explicitly and systematically reorient academic practices around social and ecological protection and priorities. Building on these findings, it lays out a series of normative and practical arguments for a broad programme of democratisation around three pillars of academic practise: (1) Research, (2) Education and (3) Outreach and engagement. However, any such processes will of course be difficult, especially given the wider neoliberal political and political economy context within which universities operate, as well as a conservative institutional culture which disincentivises dissent from “business as usual”. In the discussion that follows, we therefore anticipate and argue that advancing such transformative and innovative changes will initially involve individuals or small groups of academics willing to go beyond “academia as usual”.
{"title":"Agents of (un)sustainability: democratising universities for the planetary crisis","authors":"Calum McGeown, J. Barry","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1166642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1166642","url":null,"abstract":"As producers and gatekeepers of knowledge, and as providers of education and training, our universities play a key role in the reproduction of unsustainability. This article finds that they are, as currently organised, therefore complicit in frustrating and delaying action to address the planetary crisis. However, as highly resourced and influential institutions, they have an inherently transformative potential, should their resources and activities be redirected towards progressive social and ecological ends, which challenge rather than support the unsustainable status quo. This means that, as workers within these institutions, academics and researchers are faced with a choice: to be agents of this reproduction or to be advocates and activists for change. We argue for the latter. In doing so, we seek to build on the analysis and demands of emergent movements such as Fossil Free Research, Faculty for a Future and Scientist Rebellion in making the case for universities to show leadership on listening to the very science they produce on the planetary emergency, and act accordingly. Employing a green political economy critical analysis, the article suggests that, if they are to contribute to societal transformation, universities themselves must undergo transformations that explicitly and systematically reorient academic practices around social and ecological protection and priorities. Building on these findings, it lays out a series of normative and practical arguments for a broad programme of democratisation around three pillars of academic practise: (1) Research, (2) Education and (3) Outreach and engagement. However, any such processes will of course be difficult, especially given the wider neoliberal political and political economy context within which universities operate, as well as a conservative institutional culture which disincentivises dissent from “business as usual”. In the discussion that follows, we therefore anticipate and argue that advancing such transformative and innovative changes will initially involve individuals or small groups of academics willing to go beyond “academia as usual”.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"65 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132791977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-12DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1163207
Jana Husmann, Abdurehman Ali, F. Cerdas, C. Herrmann
With an increasing number of electric vehicles on roads, recycling is an important topic to design circular supply chains for batteries. To stimulate such circular supply chains, the new EU battery directive includes mandatory recycled content in batteries and recovery rates of materials for lithium-ion batteries on the European market. Modeling the end-of-life of batteries as part of a life cycle assessment (LCA) is methodologically challenging as batteries are quite complex product systems. One of these challenges is the allocation of material impacts from different life cycle stages along subsequent product life cycles. We analyzed the different stakeholders in the life cycle of a lithium-ion battery and identified possible LCA questions based on their decision contexts. For each LCA question, an LCA archetype was defined, which includes the functional unit, the system boundary, and the allocation procedure. These archetypes are applied and tested in a case study. The results show a significant variance depending on the archetype used. This highlights the importance of understanding the stakeholder perspective in LCA and decision support.
{"title":"The influence of stakeholder perspectives on the end-of-life allocation in the life cycle assessment of lithium-ion batteries","authors":"Jana Husmann, Abdurehman Ali, F. Cerdas, C. Herrmann","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1163207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1163207","url":null,"abstract":"With an increasing number of electric vehicles on roads, recycling is an important topic to design circular supply chains for batteries. To stimulate such circular supply chains, the new EU battery directive includes mandatory recycled content in batteries and recovery rates of materials for lithium-ion batteries on the European market. Modeling the end-of-life of batteries as part of a life cycle assessment (LCA) is methodologically challenging as batteries are quite complex product systems. One of these challenges is the allocation of material impacts from different life cycle stages along subsequent product life cycles. We analyzed the different stakeholders in the life cycle of a lithium-ion battery and identified possible LCA questions based on their decision contexts. For each LCA question, an LCA archetype was defined, which includes the functional unit, the system boundary, and the allocation procedure. These archetypes are applied and tested in a case study. The results show a significant variance depending on the archetype used. This highlights the importance of understanding the stakeholder perspective in LCA and decision support.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121030919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-10DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.994452
Delphine Rumo
The exploitative and unsustainable life of the construction material plasterboard requires more sustainable economies. In this article I examine the disposal of plasterboard as an experimental case for discussing a type of non-destructive circularity. A non-destructive circular model is one way to open imaginaries for more sustainable activities of construction. My focus is on end-of-life plasterboard, including its demolition, removal from construction sites, recycling and landfilling. Three months of fieldwork in the south of Finland clarified the current state of the material. I followed plasterboard across two building sites, two recycling facilities and a landfill site, and visually exposed disposal practices and material states to show the entanglement of workers, materials and circular economy discourses. The results highlight that plasterboard reproduces a problematic circularity that merely focuses on waste management through limited recycling, doing little to decrease the need for raw gypsum extraction. I outline how plasterboard in disposal conceptually disappears from the current economic model, which fails to address a variety of opportunities for more sustainable construction. By exposing a material reality that is concerned with small amounts of plasterboard in disposal, I show gypsum crumbs and dust which are unable to play a role in the current circular economy. However, I argue that attending to end-of-life plasterboard opens possibilities to imagine more ethical engagements with the material, towards non-destructive circularities. The disposal of plasterboard makes the inadequacy of the material for current circulation visible and can contribute to a debate on more sustainable economies of construction.
{"title":"Forgotten dust: following plasterboard for non-destructive circular economies","authors":"Delphine Rumo","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.994452","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.994452","url":null,"abstract":"The exploitative and unsustainable life of the construction material plasterboard requires more sustainable economies. In this article I examine the disposal of plasterboard as an experimental case for discussing a type of non-destructive circularity. A non-destructive circular model is one way to open imaginaries for more sustainable activities of construction. My focus is on end-of-life plasterboard, including its demolition, removal from construction sites, recycling and landfilling. Three months of fieldwork in the south of Finland clarified the current state of the material. I followed plasterboard across two building sites, two recycling facilities and a landfill site, and visually exposed disposal practices and material states to show the entanglement of workers, materials and circular economy discourses. The results highlight that plasterboard reproduces a problematic circularity that merely focuses on waste management through limited recycling, doing little to decrease the need for raw gypsum extraction. I outline how plasterboard in disposal conceptually disappears from the current economic model, which fails to address a variety of opportunities for more sustainable construction. By exposing a material reality that is concerned with small amounts of plasterboard in disposal, I show gypsum crumbs and dust which are unable to play a role in the current circular economy. However, I argue that attending to end-of-life plasterboard opens possibilities to imagine more ethical engagements with the material, towards non-destructive circularities. The disposal of plasterboard makes the inadequacy of the material for current circulation visible and can contribute to a debate on more sustainable economies of construction.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127301274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-25DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1158231
Marjut Villanen, S. Vanhamäki, R. Hämäläinen
The transport sector represents about 30 per cent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in developed countries. Developing sustainable transport and mobility play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable mobility means a mind shift where transport in private cars is replaced by different modes of more sustainable mobility, such as, walking, biking, and public transport. The transformation toward more sustainable mobility plays a key role in reaching CO2 emission reduction goals. However, in addition to the environmental perspective, also social and economic aspects are interconnected in the change. In this sustainability shift, employers can encourage the employees through offering and supporting new alternatives for mobility. This article aims to study how different sustainable mobility initiatives provided by an employer are adopted by employees. This case study presents a set of pilots implemented at a workplace in Lahti, Finland in May-October 2022. The mobility forms offered for commuting were fringe benefits from employment, that is, employer-subsidized commuter tickets and employer-provided bicycle benefits. Travel during the workday was supported through introducing the use of shared electric city bikes and scooters. The research data consisted of short surveys before (n = 70) and at the end of the pilots (n = 66), and thematic interviews (n = 8) during the implementation period. The pilots were implemented in collaboration with the employer and two local universities. Before the pilots, the main part of the employee participants was using private cars for commuting and travel during the workday. Results show that the pilots were successful in introducing more sustainable ways of mobility. However, the employer's role in preparing, supporting, and planning the continuation of support for sustainable commuting and mobility is essential.
{"title":"Encouraging sustainable mobility: community case study on workplace initiatives in Lahti, Finland","authors":"Marjut Villanen, S. Vanhamäki, R. Hämäläinen","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1158231","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1158231","url":null,"abstract":"The transport sector represents about 30 per cent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in developed countries. Developing sustainable transport and mobility play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable mobility means a mind shift where transport in private cars is replaced by different modes of more sustainable mobility, such as, walking, biking, and public transport. The transformation toward more sustainable mobility plays a key role in reaching CO2 emission reduction goals. However, in addition to the environmental perspective, also social and economic aspects are interconnected in the change. In this sustainability shift, employers can encourage the employees through offering and supporting new alternatives for mobility. This article aims to study how different sustainable mobility initiatives provided by an employer are adopted by employees. This case study presents a set of pilots implemented at a workplace in Lahti, Finland in May-October 2022. The mobility forms offered for commuting were fringe benefits from employment, that is, employer-subsidized commuter tickets and employer-provided bicycle benefits. Travel during the workday was supported through introducing the use of shared electric city bikes and scooters. The research data consisted of short surveys before (n = 70) and at the end of the pilots (n = 66), and thematic interviews (n = 8) during the implementation period. The pilots were implemented in collaboration with the employer and two local universities. Before the pilots, the main part of the employee participants was using private cars for commuting and travel during the workday. Results show that the pilots were successful in introducing more sustainable ways of mobility. However, the employer's role in preparing, supporting, and planning the continuation of support for sustainable commuting and mobility is essential.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127035140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-24DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1079685
K. Samenjo, R. M. Oosting, C. Bakker, J. Diehl
Healthcare facilities in low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa are plagued with issues of non-functional and obsolete medical devices, which ultimately end up prematurely disposed of as waste. With increasing healthcare demands, stopping medical device disposal is imperative. One way to achieve this is to leverage circular economy principles in designing medical devices. Circular economy principles aim to retain products and their constituent materials to be reused over time in the economic system. However, to what extent this has been applied in designing medical devices specifically for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa is missing in literature. Based on a systematic review of 29 out of 1,799 screened scientific papers, we identified the use of circular economy principles of durability, maintenance, repair, and upgrade in designing medical devices for this setting. Whether these principles were intentionally applied from a circular economy approach could not be inferred in this study. The motivational basis for using these principles was to ensure medical device longevity to providing healthcare. No attention was given to the circular economy principles of refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling, ensuring that device components and constituent materials are recovered. These study findings serve as a launchpad for exploring how circular principles can be used to support the design of medical devices for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa. Academicians and designers of medical devices can leverage this research to contribute towards developing medical devices that support access to healthcare for people in low-resource settings and preserve earth's finite resources.
{"title":"The extent to which circular economy principles have been applied in the design of medical devices for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic review","authors":"K. Samenjo, R. M. Oosting, C. Bakker, J. Diehl","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1079685","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1079685","url":null,"abstract":"Healthcare facilities in low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa are plagued with issues of non-functional and obsolete medical devices, which ultimately end up prematurely disposed of as waste. With increasing healthcare demands, stopping medical device disposal is imperative. One way to achieve this is to leverage circular economy principles in designing medical devices. Circular economy principles aim to retain products and their constituent materials to be reused over time in the economic system. However, to what extent this has been applied in designing medical devices specifically for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa is missing in literature. Based on a systematic review of 29 out of 1,799 screened scientific papers, we identified the use of circular economy principles of durability, maintenance, repair, and upgrade in designing medical devices for this setting. Whether these principles were intentionally applied from a circular economy approach could not be inferred in this study. The motivational basis for using these principles was to ensure medical device longevity to providing healthcare. No attention was given to the circular economy principles of refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling, ensuring that device components and constituent materials are recovered. These study findings serve as a launchpad for exploring how circular principles can be used to support the design of medical devices for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa. Academicians and designers of medical devices can leverage this research to contribute towards developing medical devices that support access to healthcare for people in low-resource settings and preserve earth's finite resources.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124942542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-21DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1129046
Birago Amofa, A. Oke, Zoe Morrison
This bibliometric analysis explores the scope and knowledge base of scholarly efforts on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and how it has evolved in different economies and businesses to advance circular economy (CE) discourses in theory and practice across economies and businesses. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and search syntax, a total of 2,574 peer-reviewed articles from journals indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest were analyzed. The results show an exponential growth in SSCM research since 2013 with 6,306 authors from 83 countries published in 675 journals; however, less attention is given to developing economies (DEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The findings provide a useful direction for future research and theory development in SSCM, allowing scholars and businesses to implement true CE by addressing practical sustainability issues relevant to their operations and supply chains. This bibliometric analysis is the first study providing a holistic overview of SSCM research trends in developed countries (DCs), DEs, and MSMEs, and arguing for inter-disciplinary CE discourses and inter-organizational collaboration in SC to update and implement CE. This study makes important contributions to SSCM research and practice by providing multiple snapshots of the increasing growth trajectory of the idea of sustainability in SC and how its different aspects have evolved over the period.
本文献计量学分析探讨了可持续供应链管理(SSCM)的学术工作的范围和知识基础，以及它如何在不同的经济体和企业中发展，以推动循环经济(CE)在理论和实践中的论述。使用系统评论和荟萃分析(PRISMA)指南和搜索语法，共分析了来自Web of Science、Scopus和ProQuest索引期刊的2574篇同行评议文章。结果显示，自2013年以来，SSCM研究呈指数级增长，来自83个国家的6306名作者在675种期刊上发表文章;然而，对发展中经济体(DEs)和微型、中小型企业(MSMEs)的关注较少。这些发现为未来的研究和理论发展提供了有用的方向，使学者和企业能够通过解决与他们的运营和供应链相关的实际可持续性问题来实施真正的可持续发展。这项文献计量分析是第一个全面概述发达国家(dc)、发展中国家和中小微企业的供应链管理研究趋势的研究，并主张在供应链管理中开展跨学科的供应链管理话语和组织间合作，以更新和实施供应链管理。本研究为供应链管理的研究和实践做出了重要贡献，它提供了可持续发展理念在供应链管理中不断增长的增长轨迹，以及它的不同方面在这一时期是如何演变的。
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Pub Date : 2023-04-18DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1165682
L. Niessen, N. Bocken, M. Dijk
Climate change and dwindling resources underline that we need to bring production and consumption levels in line with planetary boundaries. Consumption, particularly in high-income communities, needs to be reduced and stabilized at sustainable levels. Businesses can play a key role as suppliers of goods and services and creators of demand. Some companies are rising to the challenge and promoting less consumption or “sufficiency” through long product lifetimes, repair services or rental offers, but they remain niche actors in the economic system. Similarly, while circular initiatives gain traction across sectors, firms focus primarily on recycling and efficiency improvements rather than supporting more radical “Reduce” strategies. To engage companies in promoting sustainable levels of consumption, it can be helpful to understand pathways of established businesses who currently promote sufficiency. What can we learn from companies that currently promote sufficiency in their communications? Have they always advocated sufficient consumption, or have they changed recently? Through a historical perspective, we provide insights on the pathway of sufficiency for three companies. A document analysis of historical advertisements shines light on the messaging to potential customers over time. It is combined with an analysis of contemporary communications to connect the companies' past and present sufficiency approaches. Understanding different pathways to sufficiency can help modern-day businesses to reconsider their own business models and orientation. It can also point out levers for policy to support a transformation toward sustainable and circular business models that promote living within planetary boundaries.
{"title":"Sufficiency as trend or tradition?—Uncovering business pathways to sufficiency through historical advertisements","authors":"L. Niessen, N. Bocken, M. Dijk","doi":"10.3389/frsus.2023.1165682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1165682","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change and dwindling resources underline that we need to bring production and consumption levels in line with planetary boundaries. Consumption, particularly in high-income communities, needs to be reduced and stabilized at sustainable levels. Businesses can play a key role as suppliers of goods and services and creators of demand. Some companies are rising to the challenge and promoting less consumption or “sufficiency” through long product lifetimes, repair services or rental offers, but they remain niche actors in the economic system. Similarly, while circular initiatives gain traction across sectors, firms focus primarily on recycling and efficiency improvements rather than supporting more radical “Reduce” strategies. To engage companies in promoting sustainable levels of consumption, it can be helpful to understand pathways of established businesses who currently promote sufficiency. What can we learn from companies that currently promote sufficiency in their communications? Have they always advocated sufficient consumption, or have they changed recently? Through a historical perspective, we provide insights on the pathway of sufficiency for three companies. A document analysis of historical advertisements shines light on the messaging to potential customers over time. It is combined with an analysis of contemporary communications to connect the companies' past and present sufficiency approaches. Understanding different pathways to sufficiency can help modern-day businesses to reconsider their own business models and orientation. It can also point out levers for policy to support a transformation toward sustainable and circular business models that promote living within planetary boundaries.","PeriodicalId":253319,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainability","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123857863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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