This study addresses a critical gap in life cycle assessment (LCA) data for yogurt packaging within the Austrian market, emphasizing the need for accurate, localized information on packaging materials, transport distances, and end-of-life processes. Through detailed measurements of yogurt cup weights, material compositions, and packaging configurations, this research provides foundational data that enhance the precision of LCAs specific to Austria. Key findings reveal that yogurt cups in Austria are primarily made from polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS), with notable variations in weight and sleeve types across different filling sizes, including paper-sleeved and non-sleeved options. This offers valuable insights for optimizing packaging design in line with circular economy and Green Deal goals. By supplying robust, Austria-specific Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data, this study supports targeted strategies for material efficiency and sustainability in yogurt packaging, ultimately aligning with broader EU objectives for waste reduction and resource conservation.
{"title":"Life cycle inventory data generation for yogurt packaging in Austria","authors":"Bianca Köck , Philipp Spatt , Vasiliki-Maria Archodoulaki , Bettina Mihalyi-Schneider","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100271","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100271","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study addresses a critical gap in life cycle assessment (LCA) data for yogurt packaging within the Austrian market, emphasizing the need for accurate, localized information on packaging materials, transport distances, and end-of-life processes. Through detailed measurements of yogurt cup weights, material compositions, and packaging configurations, this research provides foundational data that enhance the precision of LCAs specific to Austria. Key findings reveal that yogurt cups in Austria are primarily made from polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS), with notable variations in weight and sleeve types across different filling sizes, including paper-sleeved and non-sleeved options. This offers valuable insights for optimizing packaging design in line with circular economy and Green Deal goals. By supplying robust, Austria-specific Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data, this study supports targeted strategies for material efficiency and sustainability in yogurt packaging, ultimately aligning with broader EU objectives for waste reduction and resource conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100271"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143679242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-17DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100270
Manfred Tacker , Tasja Hafner-Kuhn , Andrin Gstöhl , Experience Nduagu , Eric Vozzola , Timothee W. Roux , Rafael Auras
Plastic packaging plays a critical role in preserving and protecting goods across value chains, including transportation, storage, marketplace, and consumption. However, growing concerns about potential environmental impacts such as life cycle emissions and plastic pollution have prompted reassessments of packaging materials. This study focuses on polyethylene (PE), the most used packaging polymer on the European market, with an annual sales volume of 4.85 million metric tons in 2023, examining its potential environmental impacts and that of alternatives such as paper, metals, and glass. The main objective of this study was to assess the potential climate change, water scarcity, and fossil resource use impacts for single-use PE packaging applications versus alternative packaging solutions within the European market. Given its comparative nature, this LCA study has followed ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 requirements and attributional LCA principles. Thirty-seven products packaged with PE formats and their alternatives across five end-use applications (stretch films, collation shrink films, rigid non-food containers, heavy-duty sacks, and flexible food packaging) were compared in the European markets. The assessment covered the material and production phase to end-of-life (EoL), based on current conditions in Europe (EU27 + UK). The potential impacts from the packaged product's production and usage phase were excluded. Packaging was assessed by the volume or weight of its contents, with high market share samples sourced mainly from Austria and Germany. EoL modeling followed the Circular Footprint Formula, incorporating standard disposal rates. Comparative analysis used published data on packaging and PE markets to model potential scenarios, demonstrating the life cycle GWP impacts of substituting PE-based packaging with alternatives. Results indicated that PE packaging had a lower GWP impact than steel, aluminum, and glass in 15 out of 15 comparisons. Against paper and multi-material alternatives, PE-based options were more favorable in 19 out of 35 cases, with paper alternatives being more favorable in 13 instances and three comparisons showing minimal difference – less than 10 %. PE-based packaging exhibited lower GWP in 68 %, higher GWP in 26 %, and negligible differences in 6 % of 50 LCA comparisons of PE-based packaging and alternatives. Scenario analyses suggested that substituting PE with alternatives could increase GWP from 17.5 MTA CO2-eq to between 24.5 and 28.7 MTA CO2-eq, marking a 40 %–64 % rise. The mass of packaging materials could rise from 4.85 MTA for PE to between 16.70 and 19.97 MTA (244–306 %) for alternatives, emphasizing the significant mass reduction advantage of PE-based packaging.
{"title":"Life cycle assessment of polyethylene packaging and alternatives on the European market","authors":"Manfred Tacker , Tasja Hafner-Kuhn , Andrin Gstöhl , Experience Nduagu , Eric Vozzola , Timothee W. Roux , Rafael Auras","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100270","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100270","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plastic packaging plays a critical role in preserving and protecting goods across value chains, including transportation, storage, marketplace, and consumption. However, growing concerns about potential environmental impacts such as life cycle emissions and plastic pollution have prompted reassessments of packaging materials. This study focuses on polyethylene (PE), the most used packaging polymer on the European market, with an annual sales volume of 4.85 million metric tons in 2023, examining its potential environmental impacts and that of alternatives such as paper, metals, and glass. The main objective of this study was to assess the potential climate change, water scarcity, and fossil resource use impacts for single-use PE packaging applications versus alternative packaging solutions within the European market. Given its comparative nature, this LCA study has followed ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 requirements and attributional LCA principles. Thirty-seven products packaged with PE formats and their alternatives across five end-use applications (stretch films, collation shrink films, rigid non-food containers, heavy-duty sacks, and flexible food packaging) were compared in the European markets. The assessment covered the material and production phase to end-of-life (EoL), based on current conditions in Europe (EU27 + UK). The potential impacts from the packaged product's production and usage phase were excluded. Packaging was assessed by the volume or weight of its contents, with high market share samples sourced mainly from Austria and Germany. EoL modeling followed the Circular Footprint Formula, incorporating standard disposal rates. Comparative analysis used published data on packaging and PE markets to model potential scenarios, demonstrating the life cycle GWP impacts of substituting PE-based packaging with alternatives. Results indicated that PE packaging had a lower GWP impact than steel, aluminum, and glass in 15 out of 15 comparisons. Against paper and multi-material alternatives, PE-based options were more favorable in 19 out of 35 cases, with paper alternatives being more favorable in 13 instances and three comparisons showing minimal difference – less than 10 %. PE-based packaging exhibited lower GWP in 68 %, higher GWP in 26 %, and negligible differences in 6 % of 50 LCA comparisons of PE-based packaging and alternatives. Scenario analyses suggested that substituting PE with alternatives could increase GWP from 17.5 MTA CO2-eq to between 24.5 and 28.7 MTA CO2-eq, marking a 40 %–64 % rise. The mass of packaging materials could rise from 4.85 MTA for PE to between 16.70 and 19.97 MTA (244–306 %) for alternatives, emphasizing the significant mass reduction advantage of PE-based packaging.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100270"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143679150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-08DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100269
Elena Beducci, Federica Acerbi, Anna De Carolis, Marco Taisch
In the manufacturing context, servitization emerges as a relevant path to improve sustainability. Notably, it can be applied to reconfigure industries' business models into circular ones, through multiple sustainable and circular strategies. Digital servitization, particularly, can enhance companies' sustainability along the products’ lifecycle, optimizing design and operations through collected data and supporting decision-making for end-of-life activities.
Digitalization, servitization, and sustainability present promising synergies, nonetheless this topic requires more research. It is possible to observe a lack of understanding of the intersection of servitization, digitalization, and sustainability, and how they can be applied in the manufacturing context.
This paper aims to investigate the connection between digital technologies, services, and sustainable strategies. The objective is to identify and characterize the linkages between digital technologies, services, and environmental and social sustainable strategies in the context of servitization. Through the implementation of a systematic literature review, the paper proposes an analysis of the state-of-the-art, identifying main trends and investigating specific relevant digital technologies, services, and sustainable impacts. The authors then propose a framework which clarifies how services, enabled by specific digital technologies, can be leveraged in the context of manufacturing product service systems to implement social and environmental sustainability strategies. Finally, the paper highlights opportunities for future research based on existing identified gaps.
{"title":"Exploring the role of digital servitization for sustainability: A framework for environmental and social impact","authors":"Elena Beducci, Federica Acerbi, Anna De Carolis, Marco Taisch","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100269","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100269","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the manufacturing context, servitization emerges as a relevant path to improve sustainability. Notably, it can be applied to reconfigure industries' business models into circular ones, through multiple sustainable and circular strategies. Digital servitization, particularly, can enhance companies' sustainability along the products’ lifecycle, optimizing design and operations through collected data and supporting decision-making for end-of-life activities.</div><div>Digitalization, servitization, and sustainability present promising synergies, nonetheless this topic requires more research. It is possible to observe a lack of understanding of the intersection of servitization, digitalization, and sustainability, and how they can be applied in the manufacturing context.</div><div>This paper aims to investigate the connection between digital technologies, services, and sustainable strategies. The objective is to identify and characterize the linkages between digital technologies, services, and environmental and social sustainable strategies in the context of servitization. Through the implementation of a systematic literature review, the paper proposes an analysis of the state-of-the-art, identifying main trends and investigating specific relevant digital technologies, services, and sustainable impacts. The authors then propose a framework which clarifies how services, enabled by specific digital technologies, can be leveraged in the context of manufacturing product service systems to implement social and environmental sustainability strategies. Finally, the paper highlights opportunities for future research based on existing identified gaps.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100269"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143637387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100265
Tabea Engelfried , Stefano Cucurachi , George Lavidas
Harnessing wave energy from the oceans using wave energy converters (WECs) offers a huge opportunity to diversify Europe's future renewable energy system. Although the energy conversion of this pre-commercial technology is not directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability over the full life cycle needs to be ensured for a future-proof large-scale application of WECs. Therefore, we present a cradle-to-grave full life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a generic point absorber WEC based on a fully transparent and adaptable life cycle inventory. Within the study we assess the environmental impacts of a single point absorber device, the influence of different hull materials, hotspots in the impacts of WEC components, and variations induced by different deployment locations. For a WEC deployed in the North Sea, we found a global warming impact of 300-325gCO2eq./kWh with periphery and 52-77gCO2eq./kWh without periphery, depending on the hull material. Using an alternative fibre-reinforced concrete material for the hull can reduce the impact across all categories by between 10% (marine eutrophication) and 78% (human toxicity, carcinogenic). In addition to the WEC itself we found that the electrical cable and vessel operations, particularly for maintenance, are significant contributors. These two elements will also be relevant to other marine renewables such as offshore wind and floating solar. Overall, this study shows potential for improving environmental impacts from WECs and identifies possible levers to achieve such a reduction.
{"title":"Life cycle assessment of a point absorber wave energy converter","authors":"Tabea Engelfried , Stefano Cucurachi , George Lavidas","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Harnessing wave energy from the oceans using wave energy converters (WECs) offers a huge opportunity to diversify Europe's future renewable energy system. Although the energy conversion of this pre-commercial technology is not directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability over the full life cycle needs to be ensured for a future-proof large-scale application of WECs. Therefore, we present a cradle-to-grave full life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a generic point absorber WEC based on a fully transparent and adaptable life cycle inventory. Within the study we assess the environmental impacts of a single point absorber device, the influence of different hull materials, hotspots in the impacts of WEC components, and variations induced by different deployment locations. For a WEC deployed in the North Sea, we found a global warming impact of 300-325<em>gCO</em><sub>2</sub><em>eq./kWh</em> with periphery and 52-77<em>gCO</em><sub>2</sub><em>eq./kWh</em> without periphery, depending on the hull material. Using an alternative fibre-reinforced concrete material for the hull can reduce the impact across all categories by between 10% (marine eutrophication) and 78% (human toxicity, carcinogenic). In addition to the WEC itself we found that the electrical cable and vessel operations, particularly for maintenance, are significant contributors. These two elements will also be relevant to other marine renewables such as offshore wind and floating solar. Overall, this study shows potential for improving environmental impacts from WECs and identifies possible levers to achieve such a reduction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100265"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143519322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-21DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100267
Carla Zarbà, Roberta Maria Gravagno, Gaetano Chinnici, Alessandro Scuderi
The Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) represents a comprehensive global framework for the assessment of sustainability performance across food and agriculture value chains. Its key feature is its holistic approach to sustainability, which encompasses the environmental, economic, and social dimensions in conjunction with the governance aspects. With the aim of identifying a sustainability assessment model to be applied in the Italian agri-food system, the SAFA method was evaluated as a possible application, examining its characteristics at different stages of the supply chain. At this scope, a systematic literature review was conducted employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. The results revealed that the SAFA approach, which is characterised by a more qualitative assessment, has been met with particular approval by the scientific community. It offers an intriguing contribution to the discourse on sustainability in agri-food systems, effectively integrating all relevant elements. It would be interesting to apply SAFA to assess diverse sectors of the Italian agri-food system, so as to further test the potential of this framework in detecting the commitment to sustainability of the producers.
{"title":"A systematic review of the SAFA framework in the literature: An approach to assess sustainability in agri-food systems","authors":"Carla Zarbà, Roberta Maria Gravagno, Gaetano Chinnici, Alessandro Scuderi","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100267","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100267","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The <em>Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems</em> (SAFA) represents a comprehensive global framework for the assessment of sustainability performance across food and agriculture value chains. Its key feature is its holistic approach to sustainability, which encompasses the environmental, economic, and social dimensions in conjunction with the governance aspects. With the aim of identifying a sustainability assessment model to be applied in the Italian agri-food system, the SAFA method was evaluated as a possible application, examining its characteristics at different stages of the supply chain. At this scope, a systematic literature review was conducted employing the <em>Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses</em> (PRISMA) protocol. The results revealed that the SAFA approach, which is characterised by a more qualitative assessment, has been met with particular approval by the scientific community. It offers an intriguing contribution to the discourse on sustainability in agri-food systems, effectively integrating all relevant elements. It would be interesting to apply SAFA to assess diverse sectors of the Italian agri-food system, so as to further test the potential of this framework in detecting the commitment to sustainability of the producers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100267"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143488583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-16DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100266
Nannan Zhang , Stewart Ledgard , Shelley Falconer , Jiafa Luo , Lin Ma , Zhaohai Bai
New Zealand (NZ) is an important global exporter of various livestock products, however its potential for production is being constrained by environmental restrictions. The aim of this study was to explore future pathways for NZ livestock (dairy, beef, and sheep) production from grazed pastures, which includes changes in land use, GHG mitigations, increased dairy-beef and net carbon neutrality. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to determine national level environmental impacts of livestock production in NZ. Carbon, reactive nitrogen (Nr) and Eutrophication Potential (EP) footprints on a total production basis at national level from livestock systems could be decreased by 39%, 36% and 30%, respectively. Achieving net carbon neutrality of all livestock production with a multiple mitigation scenario gave corresponding emission reductions of 41% for Nr and 36% for EP, requiring afforestation of 0.9 Mha of sheep and beef land. However, transitioning to carbon neutrality for all production reduced total livestock protein production by 7% for current systems and by 21% for the mitigation scenario compared to no carbon neutrality changes. In contrast, increased integration of dairy-derived beef increased national livestock protein production by 3%. Optimized livestock production through greater dairy beef integration and use of multiple mitigations offers the most promising pathway for low environmental-impact livestock production in NZ. However, this should aim at minimizing effects on livestock production due to the large impact on global food exports, while higher value or premiums for low environmental-impact products will be important to encourage changes to meet the environmental constraints.
{"title":"Implications of environmental constraints and opportunities on livestock production and emissions: New Zealand as a case study","authors":"Nannan Zhang , Stewart Ledgard , Shelley Falconer , Jiafa Luo , Lin Ma , Zhaohai Bai","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New Zealand (NZ) is an important global exporter of various livestock products, however its potential for production is being constrained by environmental restrictions. The aim of this study was to explore future pathways for NZ livestock (dairy, beef, and sheep) production from grazed pastures, which includes changes in land use, GHG mitigations, increased dairy-beef and net carbon neutrality. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to determine national level environmental impacts of livestock production in NZ. Carbon, reactive nitrogen (Nr) and Eutrophication Potential (EP) footprints on a total production basis at national level from livestock systems could be decreased by 39%, 36% and 30%, respectively. Achieving net carbon neutrality of all livestock production with a multiple mitigation scenario gave corresponding emission reductions of 41% for Nr and 36% for EP, requiring afforestation of 0.9 Mha of sheep and beef land. However, transitioning to carbon neutrality for all production reduced total livestock protein production by 7% for current systems and by 21% for the mitigation scenario compared to no carbon neutrality changes. In contrast, increased integration of dairy-derived beef increased national livestock protein production by 3%. Optimized livestock production through greater dairy beef integration and use of multiple mitigations offers the most promising pathway for low environmental-impact livestock production in NZ. However, this should aim at minimizing effects on livestock production due to the large impact on global food exports, while higher value or premiums for low environmental-impact products will be important to encourage changes to meet the environmental constraints.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100266"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143437472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-07DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264
Rosaria Volpe , Adriano Bisello , Andreas Tuerk , Francesco Guarino , Emanuela Giancola , Maria Nuria Sanchez , Giovanni Tumminia , Elisa Marrasso , Giovanna Pallotta , Emanuele Cutore , Maurizio Cellura , Alberto Fichera , Sonia Longo , Carlo Roselli , Maurizio Sasso , Xiaojin Zhang , Ilaria Marotta , Alberto Brunetti , Roberta Rincione , Francesco Reda
This research delves into the environmental impact assessment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), focusing on comparative analyses of methodologies, key performance indicators, and an array of both theoretical and practical case studies. The literature review uncovers the strengths and weaknesses inherent current evaluation practices. The study reveals critical gaps in current assessment frameworks, particularly regarding the application to PEDs. It highlights the necessity for a holistic approach to PED evaluation, incorporating diverse energy sources and consumption patterns to fully understand their impact. The research advocates for the integration of multiple environmental factors in terms of innovative design and technology in PEDs, tailored to enhance both functionality and sustainability. It calls for the development of standardized guidelines and the learning from successful implementations to ensure the resilience and effectiveness of PEDs over time. Thus, this review paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on PEDs, offering insights and recommendations for future developments in this critical area of sustainable urban and energy planning.
{"title":"Linking environmental impact assessment and Positive Energy Districts: A literature review","authors":"Rosaria Volpe , Adriano Bisello , Andreas Tuerk , Francesco Guarino , Emanuela Giancola , Maria Nuria Sanchez , Giovanni Tumminia , Elisa Marrasso , Giovanna Pallotta , Emanuele Cutore , Maurizio Cellura , Alberto Fichera , Sonia Longo , Carlo Roselli , Maurizio Sasso , Xiaojin Zhang , Ilaria Marotta , Alberto Brunetti , Roberta Rincione , Francesco Reda","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research delves into the environmental impact assessment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), focusing on comparative analyses of methodologies, key performance indicators, and an array of both theoretical and practical case studies. The literature review uncovers the strengths and weaknesses inherent current evaluation practices. The study reveals critical gaps in current assessment frameworks, particularly regarding the application to PEDs. It highlights the necessity for a holistic approach to PED evaluation, incorporating diverse energy sources and consumption patterns to fully understand their impact. The research advocates for the integration of multiple environmental factors in terms of innovative design and technology in PEDs, tailored to enhance both functionality and sustainability. It calls for the development of standardized guidelines and the learning from successful implementations to ensure the resilience and effectiveness of PEDs over time. Thus, this review paper aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on PEDs, offering insights and recommendations for future developments in this critical area of sustainable urban and energy planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100264"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143419156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-31DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100263
Anna Pražanová , Michael Fridrich , Jan Weinzettel , Vaclav Knap
Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is critical for enhancing environmental sustainability and resource conservation; however, the environmental and energy impacts of LIB recycling are not yet comprehensively understood due to the diverse applications of LIB cells and the variability in recycling technologies. This study presents a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of a recycling pre-treatment process at a small-scale plant in the Czech Republic, focusing on spent LIBs from electric vehicles (EVs) and consumer electronics cells (CECs). Using the SimaPro LCA software and the Ecoinvent 3.9 database, the analysis evaluated the environmental impact of recycling operations across several categories, including climate change, eutrophication, freshwater, and resource use, minerals and metals. The findings reveal that the recycling pre-treatment process for CECs achieves greater benefits in climate change mitigation compared to EV batteries, with a 5% lower impact for climate change associated with EV batteries relative to CECs. Moreover, the study highlights the effectiveness of optimized recycling practices in alleviating environmental burdens. A notable finding is the significance of secondary material recovery, particularly metals such as copper and aluminium, as these materials can substitute for primary raw materials, thereby minimizing resource use and reducing emissions. These aspects emphasize the need for high recovery efficiency to enhance environmental benefits. However, further research is essential to fully comprehend the environmental impacts of LIB recycling and to resolve uncertainties concerning battery composition and the effectiveness of different recycling technologies.
{"title":"Gate-to-gate life cycle assessment of lithium-ion battery recycling pre-treatment","authors":"Anna Pražanová , Michael Fridrich , Jan Weinzettel , Vaclav Knap","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is critical for enhancing environmental sustainability and resource conservation; however, the environmental and energy impacts of LIB recycling are not yet comprehensively understood due to the diverse applications of LIB cells and the variability in recycling technologies. This study presents a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of a recycling pre-treatment process at a small-scale plant in the Czech Republic, focusing on spent LIBs from electric vehicles (EVs) and consumer electronics cells (CECs). Using the SimaPro LCA software and the Ecoinvent 3.9 database, the analysis evaluated the environmental impact of recycling operations across several categories, including climate change, eutrophication, freshwater, and resource use, minerals and metals. The findings reveal that the recycling pre-treatment process for CECs achieves greater benefits in climate change mitigation compared to EV batteries, with a 5% lower impact for climate change associated with EV batteries relative to CECs. Moreover, the study highlights the effectiveness of optimized recycling practices in alleviating environmental burdens. A notable finding is the significance of secondary material recovery, particularly metals such as copper and aluminium, as these materials can substitute for primary raw materials, thereby minimizing resource use and reducing emissions. These aspects emphasize the need for high recovery efficiency to enhance environmental benefits. However, further research is essential to fully comprehend the environmental impacts of LIB recycling and to resolve uncertainties concerning battery composition and the effectiveness of different recycling technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100263"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-25DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100262
Claudia Quitmann , Leonard Terres , Andy Maun , Rainer Sauerborn , Emma Reynolds , Till Bärnighausen , Alina Herrmann , Bernd Franke
Hospitals are major contributors to climate change. It is therefore essential to identify the main sources of hospitals’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to develop and monitor mitigation measures. Yet, a transparent and comprehensive hospital-specific GHG accounting methodology is currently lacking. We have developed a hybrid methodology that follows the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard to calculate emissions. We used bottom-up approaches to scope 1 and 2 and, where feasible, to scope 3. Due to data scarcity, we used top-down approaches for several scope-3-categories. As a case study demonstration, we applied this methodology to a German university hospital: Scope 3 accounted for the majority of GHG emissions (164,529 t CO2e (71%)), while scopes 1 (6008 t CO2e (3%)) and 2 (60,565 t CO2e (26%)) contributed less. Methodological challenges remain, such as a limited accuracy and monitoring options for top-down approaches. Nonetheless, this case study demonstrates that the developed methodology supports hospitals in measuring GHG emissions as part of their regulatory requirements and responsibility to safeguard planetary health.
{"title":"Assessing greenhouse gas emissions in hospitals: The development of an open-access calculator and its application to a German case-study","authors":"Claudia Quitmann , Leonard Terres , Andy Maun , Rainer Sauerborn , Emma Reynolds , Till Bärnighausen , Alina Herrmann , Bernd Franke","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100262","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100262","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hospitals are major contributors to climate change. It is therefore essential to identify the main sources of hospitals’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to develop and monitor mitigation measures. Yet, a transparent and comprehensive hospital-specific GHG accounting methodology is currently lacking. We have developed a hybrid methodology that follows the <em>GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard</em> to calculate emissions. We used bottom-up approaches to scope 1 and 2 and, where feasible, to scope 3. Due to data scarcity, we used top-down approaches for several scope-3-categories. As a case study demonstration, we applied this methodology to a German university hospital: Scope 3 accounted for the majority of GHG emissions (164,529 t CO<sub>2</sub>e (71%)), while scopes 1 (6008 t CO<sub>2</sub>e (3%)) and 2 (60,565 t CO<sub>2</sub>e (26%)) contributed less. Methodological challenges remain, such as a limited accuracy and monitoring options for top-down approaches. Nonetheless, this case study demonstrates that the developed methodology supports hospitals in measuring GHG emissions as part of their regulatory requirements and responsibility to safeguard planetary health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100262"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100259
Soroosh Ataee , André Stephan
Transport infrastructure assets are essential for society, but they also usually result in significant environmental effects. To assess and reduce these effects, various methods such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) have been applied to transport infrastructure assets. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current research on the application of LCA and MFA to transport infrastructure assets, focusing on energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Considering 640 publications, the paper identifies the aims and drivers of the studies, the scope and boundaries of transport infrastructure assets, tools and data sources used for LCA and MFA, and the key findings and limitations of previous studies and models. The paper also highlights the research gaps and future research directions, such as integrating LCA and MFA, expanding the scope of transport infrastructure assets considered, improving the data quality and availability, and addressing the uncertainties and trade-offs in the assessment. The paper aims to provide a critical overview of the state-of-the-art methods and knowledge on the environmental assessment of TIA, and to suggest ways to improve the performance of TIA in the future.
{"title":"Life cycle assessment and material flow analysis of road and rail infrastructure assets – A critical review","authors":"Soroosh Ataee , André Stephan","doi":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Transport infrastructure assets are essential for society, but they also usually result in significant environmental effects. To assess and reduce these effects, various methods such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) have been applied to transport infrastructure assets. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current research on the application of LCA and MFA to transport infrastructure assets, focusing on energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Considering 640 publications, the paper identifies the aims and drivers of the studies, the scope and boundaries of transport infrastructure assets, tools and data sources used for LCA and MFA, and the key findings and limitations of previous studies and models. The paper also highlights the research gaps and future research directions, such as integrating LCA and MFA, expanding the scope of transport infrastructure assets considered, improving the data quality and availability, and addressing the uncertainties and trade-offs in the assessment. The paper aims to provide a critical overview of the state-of-the-art methods and knowledge on the environmental assessment of TIA, and to suggest ways to improve the performance of TIA in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34616,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner Environmental Systems","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100259"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143093622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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