Cleaner Environmental Systems最新文献

In the face of the high competitiveness in the marketplace, many companies have sought ways to differentiate themselves from others by improving the quality of their products and services, reducing the environmental impact, and ensuring employee safety. In this context, many companies implemented some management systems such as ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management) to improve their performance. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created in 2012 a high-level structure (Annex SL) that serves as the basis for the development and integration of these Certifiable Management systems (CMSs), making them more compatible and effective. However, many companies do not have sufficient expertise about the latest versions of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and about the publication of ISO 45001 based on the structure proposed by Annex SL, bringing difficulties for their Integrated Management Systems (IMS). The objective of this work is to propose recommendations that direct companies to adapt their IMSs to the modifications arising from Annex SL. To develop this study, four case studies were made in Brazilian industrial companies with the following data collection instruments (semi-structured interviews, on-site observation, and document analysis). Our case studies were carried out in large companies because these types of organizations generally have more than two management systems implemented, and our article focuses on systems integration. In addition, these companies develop several interesting solutions that can serve as benchmarking for small and medium-sized companies. With this study it was possible to develop guidelines related to greater emphasis on the analysis of the organizational context; the importance of promoting a culture of integration; the need for leadership responsible for the integration of CMSs, etc. The main scientific contribution of this work was to deepen and update the theory about certifiable management systems and IMS according to the results obtained from empirical studies. The main applied contribution of this study is to generate a competitive advantage for the company over its competitors by providing leaders with management solutions that make it possible to implement or improve IMS based on the modifications resulting from Annex SL.

Reusable glass bottles are experiencing a resurgence, driven notably by societal concerns and regulations. While single-use glass bottles generally have higher environmental footprint compared to plastic bottles, reusable systems could reduce both impacts related to single-use (e.g., climate change, energy consumption) and plastics (e.g., microplastic pollution). The environmental benefits of reusable bottles can vary across systems and this can be overlooked by stakeholders who rely on generic results for communication and a limited number of parameters to design their systems. This study addresses this gap by developing a systematic analysis of the variability of life cycle assessment results, within the specific case study of a new beverage. As a result, a list of key parameters to consider for the specific case study is set, enabling to propose targeted mitigation strategies. The commonly used generic key parameters are complemented with context-specific key parameters, empowering stakeholders to develop efficient systems and communicate their environmental performance accurately. Different configurations are likely to be influenced by other key parameters, and require specific mitigation strategies. In this perspective, stakeholders need assistance in: (1) designing context-specific strategies, and (2) translating – complex and plural – life cycle assessment results into actionable decisions.

The emergence of a post-growth era is expected that implies rethinking the production and consumption patterns with novel design models this forces higher educational institutions to reconsider their traditional ways of teaching sustainability in their curricula. Companies also need to overcome strategies that compartmentalize environment, society and economy in their industrial strategy in order to evolve in their support for the transition. The aim of this paper is to present a design process anchored in the Strong Sustainability paradigm to overcome the gap of how Strong Sustainability could be operationalised. Design Research Methodology (DRM) has been chosen as the supporting framework for the development of this project. The Design for Strong Sustainability (DfSoSy) methodology proposed, is built on three aspects of Strong Sustainability (Milieu, Regeneration, Safe and just operating space) successively applied in a sequenced iterative design process. The latter enable the integration of thought patterns associated with integrative, systemic and fractal or multi-scale thinking respectively. Moreover, the principle of sub-optimality is highlighted as a decision principle in SoSy. Results obtain has been validated as well on the pedagogical objectives as in the usefulness of the DfSoSy. The practical contribution of this study is the DfSoSy toolkit©.

According to FAO projections, meat and fish production will have to increase by 70% by 2050 to meet the needs of the growing global population and its protein requirements. The poultry sector has been one of the most responsive industries to the growing demand for protein, with a significant increase in egg and chicken meat production. Although eggs are important foods in the human diet, environmental impacts and ethical aspects could also affect dietary choices. This study aimed to assess the environmental impacts of egg production, by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). More specifically, the study compared two different farming systems of conventional and organic egg production, with reference to two case studies in northern Italy. The results obtainedgenerally showed the conventional system to be more efficient compared to the organic system. For example, as regards the impact category of Fine particulate matter formation, the conventional system had a 28.6% lower impact than the organic system. Another major difference was in the Land use category, where the conventional system had an impact of 48.5% less than the organic system. The Organic Scenario showed some critical aspects, e.g. the need for a large agricultural area, low feed conversion rates and low crop yields. The two production scenarios showed that in terms of environmental impact, the main difference between organic and conventional egg production resides in feed production. I It is, therefore, essential to work on a low input formula, to substitutethe diet components with the greatest impact and adopt strategies to obtain an increase in yields and/or a reduction in resource consumption during the cultivation phase. The complete substitution of soybean with other local crops could reduce several impacts, including the one linked to transport. The further reduction of maize could also limit the expected impact.

Student restaurants at Chalmers University have adopted take-away lunch boxes as a convenient dining option for students with disposable single-use containers being the norm. However, there is a growing interest in more sustainable, reusable alternatives. This study conducted a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to assess the potential environmental and economic impacts of using reusable lunch boxes in comparison to disposable ones, considering 18 environmental impact categories. The functional unit chosen for evaluation was the provision of takeaway lunches to Chalmers students over the course of a year. The findings revealed that reusable boxes with 20 uses outperformed their disposable counterparts in many environmental impacts, reducing the climate change impact by 59%. However, water and energy consumption were higher for the reusable option by 99% and 62% respectively, primarily due to the cleaning process. From an economic perspective, reusable boxes proved to be 3.3% more costly than disposable ones. In conclusion, this study highlights the benefits of reusable solutions, showing reductions in various environmental footprints but presenting slightly higher economic footprints over 20 uses. However, as the number of uses increases, the advantages also increase, leading to recommendations for better management of the lunch boxes to maximize their reusable potential.

Phosphorus is a finite resource that is in high demand due to its essential role as a fertiliser. We undertook a substance flow analysis of phosphorus for India's agri-food system to identify where the biggest losses of phosphorus occur and which flows could be targeted to move phosphorus from a linear use and waste approach to a circular approach encompassing recovery and re-use. A novel aspect of the analysis was the inclusion of sanitation systems in India. National phosphorus flows were calculated annually for the five years 2015–2019, and the mean was then used to provide a representative annual flow. The analysis showed that India is dependent on imports for 95% of applied mineral phosphorus fertiliser and has a low phosphorus-use efficiency of 32%. The largest recoverable flow is human excreta (urine and faeces), equivalent to 21% of the current phosphorus applied in mineral fertiliser in India. Phosphorus recovery from septic tanks, the most prevalent sanitation system in India, could alone replace 8% of phosphorus applied in mineral fertiliser in India. Alongside the ongoing development of sanitation systems in India this provides an opportunity to ensure that nutrient recovery is included in sanitation developments.