Environment systems & decisions最新文献

Current evidence that supports the correlation between training and energy efficiency in the construction industry is sparse and lacks an in-depth and sector-wide analysis. Several context-specific (in terms of application, workforce segment, and scope) studies have highlighted several barriers, challenges, and gaps in the training landscape in the European construction sector. However, these do not scale up and translate to robust evidence for the entire industry. The paper aims to address this gap by adopting a quantitative and qualitative Europe-wide consultation that not only seeks to gather evidence about the relationship between training and energy efficiency but also broadens the scope of the investigation beyond this aim to understand the complexity of the training landscape in energy efficiency and to provide context to the resulting evidence, in a way that promotes generalisation of the results. A mixed-method approach is adopted involving secondary (in the form of industry studies and academic publications) and primary sources of evidence. The latter include a questionnaire (n = 52), a series of interviews (n = 28), an expert workshop, and use cases drawn across Europe providing examples of the correlation between training and energy efficiency. Five key themes emerged from the consultation, namely: (a) lack of systematic process to codify best practice into re-usable knowledge, (b) lack of industry-wide shared vision, (c) nature of the training available in the energy efficiency domain, (d) level of reliance on a trained and skilled workforce in energy efficiency, (e) efficiency of legislative frameworks, policies, and government incentives. While the analysis of the results confirms the correlation between training and energy efficiency, further efforts are needed to establish robust quantitative evidence. The research also points to several policy measures, including the need for adapted instruments to promote mutual recognition of energy skills and qualifications in the European construction sector.

Driven by improvements in the understanding and the growing importance of sustainability engagement among individuals and companies, this study aims to analyze the sustainable development of a renowned Consumer Goods Company. Natura &Co is a Brazilian multinational that forms among the five largest global beauty corporations, owning four major brands-Avon, The Body Shop, Aesop, and Natura. This study used a case study methodology and had the objective of analyzing the strategies adopted by the company through time while engaging in the global sustainability agenda. It also covers a gap in the literature in analyzing Latin American multinationals. The company is assessed through a case summarized into a sustainability motivations framework of four quadrants, namely social insurance, market success, legitimacy, and process improvement. As one of the main findings, the case confirms literature indications of the evolution of sustainability motivations and strategies from simple compliance with the law and social rules into innovation and differentiation, which allowed the company to compete globally.

Food systems are increasingly exposed to disruptions and shocks, and they are projected to increase in the future. Most recently, the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 pandemic has increased concerns about the ability to secure the availability of food at stable prices. This article presents a food system resilience framework to promote a national foresight system to better prepare for shocks and disruptions. Our study identified four key elements of resilience: system thinking through science and communication; redundancy of activities and networks; diversity of production and partners; and buffering strategies. Three national means to enhance resilience in the Finnish food system included domestic protein crop production, renewable energy production, and job creation measures. Primary production was perceived as the cornerstone for food system resilience, and the shocks and disruptions that it confronts therefore call for a sufficient and diverse domestic production volume, supported by the available domestic renewable energy. A dialogue between different actors in the food system was highlighted to format a situational picture and enable a rapid response. Our study suggests that to a certain point, concentration and interdependence in the food system increase dialogue and cooperation. For critical resources, sufficient reserve stocks buffer disruptions over a short period in the event of unexpected production or market disruptions. Introducing and strengthening the identified resilience elements and means to the food system call for the preparation of a more holistic and coherent food system policy that acknowledges and emphasises resilience alongside efficiency.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10669-022-09889-5.

This research is the first attempt to examine the impact of corporate sustainability risks factors on its financial stability. By using S&P500 stocks data from 2019 to 2021 and calculating Altman's Z-score, we examined the influence of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) risks score on the company survival chances. We documented diminishing total ESG scores of S&P500 stocks in recent years pointing out that companies pay attention to sustainability issues and invest resources to reduce them. We documented that Altman's Z-score is negatively influenced by E and S and not by G. These findings are very important since they prove for the first time that high environmental and social risks may reduce corporates' financial stability and rise their default risks incurring default costs. Moreover, high sensitivity of Altman's Z-score changes to S changes was found especially for relatively smaller firms. The result of this study emphasizes the importance of sustainability risk and especially social risk to a firm's survival chances and therefore mitigating those risks can dramatically improve corporates' financial stability.

In this paper, we consider the problem of automobile selection for transportation in inner city using a hybrid multicriteria decision making approach. The electric automobiles that are a relatively new concept in the world of the automotive industry, are widely viewed as attractive among its alternatives day by day. Fuel-vehicles produce a lot of carbon emissions that are ejected into our natural atmosphere, leaving us vulnerable to things like pollution and greenhouse gases. So, electric vehicle and automobiles have emerged as a more efficient alternative and these vehicles have been a great step forward to help positively the environment with zero emissions and total energy consumption in their lifecycle. Many companies focus on electric vehicle production with the development of electric vehicle technology. Therefore, the selection process emerges among the various electric automobile technologies for the users. The selection process includes several conflicting factors which are such as economic, technical and technological factors. In the present study, we propose a hybrid approach for electric automobile selection that combines analytic hierarchy process (AHP), technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and goal programming (GP) is used to determine the weights to assign to the factors that go into these selection decisions and TOPSIS method is used for preference ranking. These weights founded by AHP are inputted into a GP model to determine the best alternative among the electric automobiles. Finally, the study used three methods TOPSIS, AHP- TOPSIS and AHP-GP for better comparison and evaluation. The most suitable electric automobile is selected among their alternatives by using analytic methods and goal programming.