Search results for: sustainability KPI

Authors: Marco A. S. González, Marlova P. Kulakowski, Luciano G. Breitenbach, Felipe Kirch

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The AEC sector has an expressive environmental responsibility. Actually, most building materials have severe environmental impacts along their production cycle. Professionals enrolled in building design may choice the materials and techniques with less impact among the viable options. This work presents a study about embodied energy in materials of two typical Brazilian constructive alternatives. The construction options considered are reinforced concrete structure and structural masonry. The study was developed for the region of São Leopoldo, southern Brazil. Results indicated that the energy embodied in these two constructive systems is approximately 1.72 GJ•m-2 and 1.26 GJ•m-2, respectively. It may be concluded that the embodied energy is lower in the structural masonry system, with a reduction around to 1/4 in relation to the traditional option. The results can be used to help design decisions.

Keywords: civil construction, sustainability, embodied energy, Brazil

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Authors: Chigozirim N. Onwusiribe, Jude A. Mbanasor

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The potato value chain when harnessed can engage numerous youths and aid in the fight against poverty, malnutrition and unemployment. This study seeks to evaluate the level of youth participation in the potato value chain in Nigeria. Specifically, this study will examine the extent of youth participation in potato value chain, analyze the cost, benefits and sustainability of youth participation in the potato value chain, identify the factors that can propel or hinder youth participation in the potato value chain and make recommendations that will result in the increase in youth employment in the potato value chain. This study was conducted in the North Central and South East geopolitical zones of Nigeria. A multi stage sampling procedure was used to select 540 youths from the study areas. Focused group discussions and survey approach was used to elicit the required data. The data were analyzed using statistical and econometric tools. The study revealed that the potato value chain is very profitable.

Keywords: value, chain, potato, youth, enterprise

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Authors: Mokhlisur Rahman

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Consumers' understanding of the products depends on what levels of information the advertisement contains. Consumers' attitudes vary widely depending on factors such as their level of environmental awareness, their perception of the company's motives, and the perceived effectiveness of the advertising campaign. Considering the growing eco-consciousness among consumers and their concern for the environment, strategies for green advertising have become equally significant for companies to attract new consumers. It is important to understand consumers' habits of purchasing, knowledge, and attitudes regarding eco-friendly products depending on promotion because of the limitless options of the products in the market. Additionally, encouraging consumers to buy sustainable products requires a platform that can message the world that being a stakeholder in sustainability is possible if consumers show eco-friendly behavior on a larger scale. Social media platforms provide an excellent atmosphere to promote companies' sustainable efforts to be connected engagingly with their potential consumers. The unique strategies of green advertising use techniques to carry information and rewards for the consumers. This study aims to understand the consumer behavior and effectiveness of green advertising by experimenting in collaboration with three companies in promoting their eco-friendly products using green designs on the products. The experiment uses three sustainable personalized offerings, Nike shoes, H&M t-shirts, and Patagonia school bags. The experiment uses a pretest and posttest design. 300 randomly selected participants take part in this experiment and survey through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Nike, H&M, and Patagonia share the post of the experiment on their social media homepages with a video advertisement for the three products. The consumers participate in a pre-experiment online survey before making a purchase decision to assess their attitudes and behavior toward eco-friendly products. The audio-only feature explains the product's information, like their use of recycled materials, their manufacturing methods, sustainable packaging, and their impact on the environment during the purchase while the consumer watches the product video. After making a purchase, consumers take a post-experiment survey to know their perception and behavior toward eco-friendly products. For the data analysis, descriptive statistical tools mean, standard deviation, and frequencies measure the pre- and post-experiment survey data. The inferential statistical tool paired sample t-test measures the difference in consumers' behavior and attitudes between pre-purchase and post-experiment survey results. This experiment provides consumers ample time to consider many aspects rather than impulses. This research provides valuable insights into how companies can adopt sustainable and eco-friendly products. The result set a target for the companies to achieve a sustainable production goal that ultimately supports companies' profit-making and promotes consumers' well-being. This empowers consumers to make informed choices about the products they purchase and support their companies of interest.

Keywords: green-advertising, sustainability, consumer-behavior, social media

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Authors: Brianna Douglas

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A literary Meta-Analysis was conducted in order to form a proactive solution to the systematic issue of international human trafficking stemming from the Asia-Pacific region. This approach seeks to resolve the low economic prospect for women in the region, along with other identified drivers, to mitigate human trafficking before it begins. Through the reallocation of aid in agriculture, implementation of an education-for-education model, and provision of access to market information to the women in rural regions, the retraction of both the supply and international demand curves of trafficked humans is possible; resulting in the shutdown of the market as a whole. This report provides a basic and adaptable proposal to mitigation the selling of Asia Pacific women within international trafficking schemes with byproduct effects of increasing food, sustainability and decreasing government spending.

Keywords: human trafficking, agricultural development, Asia Pacific, women's empowerment

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Authors: Juliane Spaak

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A life-cycle assessment was performed, looking at seven retrofit projects in New Zealand using LCAQuickV3.5. The study found that retrofits save up to 80% of embodied carbon emissions for the structural elements compared to a new building. In other words, it is only a 20% carbon investment to transform and extend a building’s life. In addition, the systems were evaluated by looking at environmental impacts over the design life of these buildings and resilience using FEMA P58 and PACT software. With the increasing interest in Zero Carbon targets, significant changes in the building and construction sector are required. Emissions for buildings arise from both embodied carbon and operations. Based on the significant advancements in building energy technology, the focus is moving more toward embodied carbon, a large portion of which is associated with the structure. Since older buildings make up most of the real estate stock of our cities around the world, their reuse through structural retrofit and wider refurbishment plays an important role in extending the life of a building’s embodied carbon. New Zealand’s building owners and engineers have learned a lot about seismic issues following a decade of significant earthquakes. Recent earthquakes have brought to light the necessity to move away from constructing code-minimum structures that are designed for life safety but are frequently ‘disposable’ after a moderate earthquake event, especially in relation to a structure’s ability to minimize damage. This means weaker buildings sit as ‘carbon liabilities’, with considerably more carbon likely to be expended remediating damage after a shake. Renovating and retrofitting older assets plays a big part in reducing the carbon profile of the buildings sector, as breathing new life into a building’s structure is vastly more sustainable than the highest quality ‘green’ new builds, which are inherently more carbon-intensive. The demolition of viable older buildings (often including heritage buildings) is increasingly at odds with society’s desire for a lower carbon economy. Bringing seismic resilience and carbon best practice together in decision-making can open the door to commercially attractive outcomes, with retrofits that include structural and sustainability upgrades transforming the asset’s revenue generation. Across the global real estate market, tenants are increasingly demanding the buildings they occupy be resilient and aligned with their own climate targets. The relationship between seismic performance and ‘sustainable design’ has yet to fully mature, yet in a wider context is of profound consequence. A whole-of-life carbon perspective on a building means designing for the likely natural hazards within the asset’s expected lifespan, be that earthquake, storms, damage, bushfires, fires, and so on, ¬with financial mitigation (e.g., insurance) part, but not all, of the picture.

Keywords: retrofit, sustainability, earthquake, reuse, carbon, resilient

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Authors: Ruba Hamed, Khaled Hussainey, Basiem Al-Shattarat, Wasim Al-Shattarat

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This paper examines how the influence of mandating corporate social responsibility reporting (CSR) on subsequent financial performance through accounting-based measures and market-based measures. We provide evidence about the negative impact of reporting CSR voluntarily on the firm’s future performance due to the increased spending on and costs related to such activities. On the contrary, mandating CSR reporting enhances firms’ future performance by signalling to the market about the firm’s positive stance towards sustainability issues in the UK. Our findings are of interest to regulation setters and stakeholders with respect to mandatory CSR reporting and provide further insight and feedback into accounting and reporting practices.

Keywords: accounting-based performance, mandatory CSR, mandatory regulation, market-based performance

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Authors: Anurag Reddy Ramireddy, Abrar Ahmed, G. Sourya Sri Harsha, Pushkala Muralidharan

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Supply chains have been developing over time since the inception of commercial trade and barter. The Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is a powerful way to differentiate a company from its competitors and it can greatly influence the plan success. With increased awareness to corporate responsibility and the requirement to meet the terms with environmental policy, GSCM is becoming increasingly important for companies. This paper explains the concept of green supply chain management, the difference between conventional supply chain management and green supply management and how GSCM benefits organizations while at the same time supporting a sustainable environment system. An effort has also been made to analyse research already done in this field while exploring the challenges and barriers that organizations face in implementing GSCM practices in their existing systems.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, green supply chain management, sustainability

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Authors: Hari Pulapaka

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This paper defines and develops the notion of a traceability index for food and may be used by any consumer (restaurant, distributor, average consumer etc.). The concept is then extended to a region's food system as a way to measure how well a regional food system utilizes its own bounty or at least, is connected to its food sources. With increasing emphases on the sustainability of aspects of regional and ultimately, the global food system, it is reasonable to accept that if we know how close (in relative terms) an end-user of a set of ingredients (as they traverse through the maze of supply chains) is from the sources, we may be better equipped to evaluate the quality of the set as measured by any number of qualitative and quantitative criteria. We propose a mathematical model which may be adapted to a number of contexts and sizes. Two hypothetical cases of different scope are presented which highlight how the model works as an evaluator of steps between an end-user and the source(s) of the ingredients they consume. The variables in the model are flexible enough to be adapted to other applications beyond food systems.

Keywords: food, traceability, supply chain, mathematical model

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Authors: Lam Hong Lan

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The textile industry is said to be the second-largest polluter, responsible for 92 million tonnes of waste annually. There is an urgent need to practice the circular economy to increase the use and reuse around the world. By its nature, the pre-owned fashion business is considered part of the circular economy as it helps to eliminate waste and circulate products. Second-hand clothes and accessories used to be associated with a ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’ in Vietnam. This perception has been shifted, especially amongst the younger generation. Vietnamese consumer is spending more on products and services that increase self-esteem. The same consumer is moving away from a collectivist social identity towards a ‘me, not we’ outlook as they look for a way to express their individual identity. And pre-owned fashion is one of their solutions as it values money, can create a unique personal style for the wearer and links with sustainability. The design of this study is based on the second-hand shopping motivation theory. A semi-structured online survey with 100 consumers from one pre-owned clothing community and one pre-owned e-commerce site in Vietnam. The findings show that in contrast with Vietnamese older consumers (55+yo) who, in the previous study, generally associated pre-owned fashion with ‘low-cost’, ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’, young customers (20-30 yo) were actively promoted their pre-owned fashion items to the public via outlet’s social platforms and their social media. This cultural shift comes from the impact of global and local discourse around sustainable fashion and the growth of digital platforms in the pre-owned fashion business in the last five years, which has generally supported wider interest in pre-owned fashion in Vietnam. It can be summarised in three areas: (1) global and local celebrity influencers. A number of celebrities have been photographed wearing vintage items in music videos, photoshoots or at red carpet events. (2) E-commerce and intermediaries. International e-commerce sites – e.g., Vinted, TheRealReal – and/or local apps – e.g., Re.Loved – can influence attitudes and behaviors towards pre-owned consumption. (3) Eco-awareness. The increased online coverage of climate change and environmental pollution has encouraged customers to adopt a more eco-friendly approach to their wardrobes. While sustainable biomaterials and designs are still navigating their way into sustainability, sustainable consumerism via pre-owned fashion seems to be an immediate solution to lengthen the clothes lifecycle. This study has found that young consumers are primarily seeking value for money and/or a unique personal style from pre-owned/vintage fashion while using these purchases to promote their own “eco-awareness” via their social media networks. This is a good indication for fashion designers to keep in mind in their design process and for fashion enterprises in their business model’s choice to not overproduce fashion items.

Keywords: cultural shift, pre-owned fashion, sustainable consumption, sustainable fashion.

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Authors: Kangkang Tang

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A large amount of blast furnace slag is generated in China. Most ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) however ends up in low-grade applications. Blast furnace slag, ground to an appropriate fineness, can be used as a partial replacement of cementitious material in concrete. The potential for using GGBS in structural concrete, e.g. concrete beams and columns, is investigated at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU). With 50% of CEM I replaced with GGBS, peak hydration temperatures determined in a suspended concrete slab reduced by 20%. This beneficiary effect has not been further improved with 70% of CEM I replaced with GGBS. Partial replacement of CEM I with GGBS also has a retardation effect on the early-age strength of concrete. More GGBS concrete mixes will be conducted to identify an ‘optimum’ replacement level which will lead to a reduced thermal loading, without significantly compromising the early-age strength of concrete.

Keywords: thermal effect, GGBS, concrete strength and testing, sustainability

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Authors: Muhammad Bello Ibrahim, M. Auwal Zakari, Aliyu Usman

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Hybrid concrete construction (HCC) combines all the benefits of pre-casting with the advantages of cast in-situ construction. Merging the two, as a hybrid structure, results in even greater construction speed, value, and the overall economy. Its variety of uses has gained popularity in the United States and in Europe due to its distinctive benefits. However, the increase of its application in some countries (including Nigeria) has been relatively slow. Several researches have shown that hybrid construction offers an ultra-high performance concrete that offers superior strength, durability and aesthetics with design flexibility and within sustainability credentials, based on the available and economically visible technologies. This paper examines and documents the criterion that will help inform the process of deciding whether or not to adopt hybrid concrete construction (HCC) technology rather than more traditional alternatives. It also the present situation of design, construction and research on hybrid structures.

Keywords: hybrid concrete construction, Nigeria, sustainable infrastructure development, design flexibility

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Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohamed

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This paper will explore the influence of energy sector in Arab Republic of Egypt which has shared its responsibilities of many environmental challenges as the second largest economy in the Middle East (after Iran). Air and water pollution, desertification, inadequate disposal of solid waste and damage to coral reefs are serious problems that influence environmental management in Egypt. The intensive reliance of high population density and strong industrial growth are wearing Egypt's resources, and the rapidly-growing population has forced Egypt to breakdown agricultural land to residential and relevant use of commercial ingestion. The depletion effects of natural resources impose the government to apply innovation techniques in emission control and focus on sustainability. The cogeneration will be presented to control thermal losses and increase efficiency of energy power system.

Keywords: cogeneration, environmental management, power electricity, energy indicators

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Authors: Soumava Boral, Sanjay K. Chaturvedi, Ian Howard, Kristoffer McKee, V. N. A. Naikan

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Due to strict regulations from government to enhance the possibilities of sustainability practices in industries, and noting the advances in sustainable manufacturing practices, it is necessary that the associated processes are also sustainable. Maintenance of large scale and complex machines is a pivotal task to maintain the uninterrupted flow of manufacturing processes. Appropriate maintenance practices can prolong the lifetime of machines, and prevent associated breakdowns, which subsequently reduces different cost heads. Selection of the best maintenance strategies for such machines are considered as a burdensome task, as they require the consideration of multiple technical criteria, complex mathematical calculations, previous fault data, maintenance records, etc. In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, organizations are rapidly changing their way of business, and they are giving their utmost importance to sensor technologies, artificial intelligence, data analytics, automations, etc. In this work, the effectiveness of several maintenance strategies (e.g., preventive, failure-based, reliability centered, condition based, total productive maintenance, etc.) related to a large scale and complex gearbox, operating in a steel processing plant is evaluated in terms of economic, social, environmental and technical criteria. As it is not possible to obtain/describe some criteria by exact numerical values, these criteria are evaluated linguistically by cross-functional experts. Fuzzy sets are potential soft-computing technique, which has been useful to deal with linguistic data and to provide inferences in many complex situations. To prioritize different maintenance practices based on the identified sustainable criteria, multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches can be considered as potential tools. Multi-Attributive Ideal Real Comparative Analysis (MAIRCA) is a recent addition in the MCDM family and has proven its superiority over some well-known MCDM approaches, like TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and ELECTRE (ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalité). It has a simple but robust mathematical approach, which is easy to comprehend. On the other side, due to some inherent drawbacks of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets (IFS) and Pythagorean Fuzzy Sets (PFS), recently, the use of Fermatean Fuzzy Sets (FFSs) has been proposed. In this work, we propose the novel concept of FF-MAIRCA. We obtain the weights of the criteria by experts’ evaluation and use them to prioritize the different maintenance practices according to their suitability by FF-MAIRCA approach. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to highlight the robustness of the approach.

Keywords: Fermatean fuzzy sets, Fermatean fuzzy MAIRCA, maintenance strategy selection, sustainable manufacturing, MCDM

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Authors: F. Lhafiane, A. Elbyed, M. Bouchoum

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The design of Reverse logistics Network has attracted growing attention with the stringent pressures from both environmental awareness and business sustainability. Reverse logistical activities include return, remanufacture, disassemble and dispose of products can be quite complex to manage. In addition, demand can be difficult to predict, and decision making is one of the challenges tasks. This complexity has amplified the need to develop an integrated architecture for product return as an enterprise system. The main purpose of this paper is to design Multi agent system (MAS) architecture using the Prometheus methodology to efficiently manage reverse logistics processes. The proposed MAS architecture includes five types of agents: Gate keeping Agent, Collection Agent, Sorting Agent, Processing Agent and Disposal Agent which act respectively during the five steps of reverse logistics Network.

Keywords: reverse logistics, multi agent system, prometheus methodology

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Authors: J. M. Geyser

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Lamb is a popular meat throughout the world, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Oceania. However, the conventional lamb industry faces challenges related to environmental sustainability, climate change, consumer health and dwindling profit margins. This has stimulated an increasing demand for organic lamb, as it is perceived to increase environmental sustainability, offer superior quality, taste, and nutritional value, which is appealing to farmers, including small-scale and female farmers, as it often commands a premium price. Despite its advantages, organic lamb production presents challenges, with a significant hurdle being the high production costs encompassing organic certification, lower stocking rates, higher mortality rates and marketing cost. These costs impact the profitability and competitiveness or organic lamb producers, particularly female and small-scale farmers, who often encounter additional obstacles, such as limited access to resources and markets. Therefore, this paper examines the cost of producing organic lambs and its impact on female farmers and raises the research question: “Is organic lamb production the saving grace for female and small-scale farmers?” Objectives include estimating and comparing production costs and profitability or organic lamb production with conventional lamb production, analyzing influencing factors, and assessing opportunities and challenges for female and small-scale farmers. The hypothesis states that organic lamb production can be a viable and beneficial option for female and small-scale farmers, provided that they can overcome high production costs and access premium markets. The study uses a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data involves semi-structured interviews with ten female and small-scale farmers engaged in organic lamb production in South Africa. The interview covered topics such as farm characteristics, practices, cost components, mortality rates, income sources and empowerment indicators. Quantitative data used secondary published information and primary data from a female farmer. The research findings indicate that when a female farmer moves from conventional lamb production to organic lamb production, the cost in the first year of organic lamb production exceed those of conventional lamb production by over 100%. This is due to lower stocking rates and higher mortality rates in the organic system. However, costs start decreasing in the second year as stocking rates increase due to manure applications on grazing and lower mortality rates due to better worm resistance in the herd. In conclusion, this article sheds light on the economic dynamics of organic lamb production, particularly focusing on its impact on female farmers. To empower female farmers and to promote sustainable agricultural practices, it is imperative to understand the cost structures and profitability of organic lamb production.

Keywords: cost analysis, empowerment, female farmers, organic lamb production

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Authors: Janaina Camile Pasqual Lofhagen, David Savarese, Veronika Vazhnik

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The built environment is considered as a key element in transitioning to clean energy, needed to create resilient buildings and cities, enhance their adaptability to changes, and pursue energy saving. For such energy transition, this paper presents biogas as one of the sustainable sources of energy, as it is produced from organic materials often available in both urban and rural areas and can be converted into electrical and thermal energy, or into vehicular energies fuel. The resilience benefits of this fuel is being a localized alternative energy, and also provides tangible benefits for water, air, and soil quality. Through bibliographic and empirical research, this study analyzed the biogas potential and applications in Brazil and in the U.S. The results indicated that biogas emits 85% less CO2 to the atmosphere compared to diesel and could supply 40% of domestic electricity demand and 70% of diesel consumption in Brazil, with a similar scenario for the U.S.

Keywords: resilience, sustainability, built environment, energy transition, biogas.

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Authors: Feguens Pierre

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For a long time, Latin American countries have been introduced to numerous programs and public policies focused on improving the agricultural sector in terms of sustainability, as well as in terms of the relationship between producers and consumers, aimed at improve farmers' income and allow consumers to have access to quality products, encouraging alternative agriculture. Therefore, in Brazil, among the programs, that is, the public policies that have encompassed alternative agriculture, in other words organic, we have the Community that Supports Agriculture (CSA) which ensures a relationship between producers and consumers focused on a solidarity economy, also protecting the environment. This work aims to understand the importance of the Community Supporting Agriculture (CSA), as well as the challenges it has faced over time. Particularly in the case of Brazil. A bibliographic methodology was used to theoretically analyze through several books and articles the performance of (CSA) in Brazil.

Keywords: community supporting agriculture, importance, challenges, producer, consumer

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Authors: Supriyono, Sumardiyono

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Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels that promising for substituting petrodiesel as energy source which is have advantage on sustainability and eco-friendly. Due to the raw material that tend to decompose during storage, biodiesel also have the same characteristic that tend to decompose and formed higher acid value which is the result of oxidation to double bond on a chain of ester. Decomposition of biodiesel due to oxidation reaction could prevent by introduce a small amount of antioxidant. The origin of raw materials and the process for producing biodiesel will determine the effectiveness of antioxidant. The quality degradation on biodiesel could evaluated by measuring iodine value and acid number of biodiesel. Biodiesel made from High Fatty Acid Jatropha curcas oil equality by using esterification and esterification process will stand on the quality by introduce 90 ppm pyrogallol powder on the biodiesel, which could extend the quality from 2 hours to more than 6 hours in rancimat test evaluation.

Keywords: biodiesel, antioxidant, iodine number, acid value

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Authors: Kever Bruno Paradelo Gomes, Rosana Carvalho Martins

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The home gardens areas are production systems, which are located near the homes and are quite common in the tropics. They consist of agricultural and forest species and may also involve the raising of small animals to produce food for subsistence as well as income generation, with a special focus on the conservation of biodiversity. Home gardens are diverse Agroforestry systems with multiple uses, among many, food security, income aid, traditional medicine. The work was carried out on rural properties of the family farmers of the Ponte Alta Rural Nucleus, Gama Administrative Region, in the city of Brasília, Federal District- Brazil. The present research is characterized methodologically as a quantitative, exploratory and descriptive nature. The instruments used in this research were: bibliographic survey and semi-structured questionnaire. The data collection was performed through the application of a semi-structured questionnaire, containing questions that referred to the perception and behavior of the interviewed producer on the subject under analysis. In each question, the respondent explained his knowledge about sustainability, agroecological practices, environmental legislation, conservation methods, forest and medicinal species, ago social and socioeconomic characteristics, use and purpose of agroforestry and technical assistance. The sample represented 55.62% of the universe of the study. We interviewed 99 people aged 18-83 years, with a mean age of 49 years. The low level of education, coupled with the lack of training and guidance for small family farmers in the Ponte Alta Rural Nucleus, is one of the limitations to the development of practices oriented towards sustainable and agroecological agriculture in the nucleus. It is observed that 50.5% of the interviewed people landed with agroforestry yards less than 20 years ago, and only 16.17% of them are older than 35 years. In identifying agriculture as the main activity of most of the rural properties studied, attention is drawn to the cultivation of medicinal plants, fruits and crops as the most extracted products. However, it is verified that the crops in the backyards have the exclusive purpose of family consumption, which could be complemented with the marketing of the surplus, as well as with the aggregation of value to the cultivated products. Initiatives such as this may contribute to the increase in family income and to the motivation and value of the crop in agroecological gardens. We conclude that home gardens of Ponte Alta are highly diverse thus contributing to local biodiversity conservation of are managed by women to ensure food security and allows income generation. The tradition of existing knowledge on the use and management of the diversity of resources used in agroforestry yards is of paramount importance for the development of sustainable alternative practices.

Keywords: agriculture, agroforestry system, rural development, sustainability

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Authors: Albert T. Akume, Ankama G. Rosecana, Micheal Solomon

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Every citizen has rights that must be respected by others in the community. Ironically however, women in most communities are not accorded some of those rights as the male folks. This has not only facilitated their disempowerment but inhibited them from being treated with equal dignity that they deserve as their male counterpart; despite their valuable contribution to the society. Those forces against women empowerment are not limited to socio-cultural practices alone, but the character and nature of the state in Nigeria point to indicators of systemic and structural exclusion embedded in its framework. The consequence of this is that the vital contributions of women to sustainable community development have eluded many communities in Nigeria with adverse tell-tell signs on the environment. It is for this reason that the objective of this study is not only to highlight the causes and challenges associated with women disempowerment, but also to draw attention to the need to correct those anomaly against women in order to genuinely empower them to contribute to sustainable community development in Nigeria.

Keywords: capacity development, community, social sustainability, sustainable development, women empowerment

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Authors: Marcus Lee

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The energy sector is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia, which induces climate change. The climate change problem is therefore an energy sector problem. Tackling climate change issues successfully is contingent on actions taken in the energy sector. The researcher propounds that ‘Climate Policy Integration’ (CPI) into energy policy is a viable and insufficiently developed strategy in Malaysia that promotes the synergies between climate change and energy objectives, in order to achieve the targets found in both climate change and energy policies. In exploring this hypothesis, this paper presentation will focus on two particular aspects. Firstly, the meaning of CPI as an approach and as a concept will be explored. As an approach, CPI into energy policy means the integration of climate change objectives into the energy policy area. Its subject matter focuses on establishing the functional interrelations between climate change and energy objectives, by promoting their synergies and minimising their contradictions. However, its conceptual underpinnings are less than straightforward. Drawing from the ‘principle of integration’ found in international treaties and declarations such as the Stockholm Declaration 1972, the Rio Declaration 1992 and the United Nations Framework on Climate Change 1992 (‘UNFCCC’), this paper presentation will explore the contradictions in international standards on how the sustainable development tenets of environmental sustainability, social development and economic development are to be balanced and its relevance to CPI. Further, the researcher will consider whether authority may be derived from international treaties and declarations in order to argue for the prioritisation of environmental sustainability over the other sustainable development tenets through CPI. Secondly, this paper presentation will also explore the degree to which CPI into energy policy has been achieved and pursued in Malaysia. In particular, the strength of the conceptual framework with regard to CPI in Malaysian governance will be considered by assessing Malaysia’s National Policy on Climate Change (2009) (‘NPCC 2009’). The development (or the lack of) of CPI as an approach since the publication of the NPCC 2009 will also be assessed based on official government documents and policies that may have a climate change and/or energy agenda. Malaysia’s National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan (2010), draft National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (2014), Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (2015) in relation to the Paris Agreement, 11th Malaysia Plan (2015) and Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC (2015) will be discussed. These documents will be assessed for the presence of CPI based on the language/drafting of the documents as well as the degree of subject matter regarding CPI expressed in the documents. Based on the analysis, the researcher will propose solutions on how to improve Malaysia’s climate change and energy governance. The theory of reflexive governance will be applied to CPI. The concluding remarks will be about whether CPI reflects reflexive governance by demonstrating how the governance process can be the object of shaping outcomes.

Keywords: climate policy integration, mainstreaming, policy coherence, Malaysian energy governance

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Authors: Badiy Elmabrouk, Abdelhamid Boujarif, Zhiguo Zeng, Stephane Borrel, Robert Heidsieck

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In an era where sustainability is paramount, this paper introduces a machine learning-driven testing protocol to accurately predict diode failures, merging reliability engineering with failure physics to enhance repair operations efficiency. Our approach refines the burn-in process, significantly curtailing its duration, which not only conserves energy but also elevates productivity and mitigates component wear. A case study from GE HealthCare’s repair center vividly demonstrates the method’s effectiveness, recording a high prediction of diode failures and a substantial decrease in energy consumption that translates to an annual reduction of 6.5 Tons of CO2 emissions. This advancement sets a benchmark for environmentally conscious practices in the electronics repair sector.

Keywords: maintenance, burn-in, failure physics, reliability testing

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Authors: Fabricia G. F. S. Rossato, Ieda G. Hidalgo, Andres Susseta, Felipe Casale, Leticia H. Nakamiti

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This research was conducted to show the useful source of biomass energy provided from forest waste and the black liquor from the pulping process. This energy source could be able to assist and improve its area environment in a sustainable way. The research will demonstrate the challenges from producing the biomass energy and the implantation of the pulp industry in the city of Três Lagoas, MS. – Brazil. Planted forest’s potential, energy production in the pulp industries and its consequence of impacts on the local region environmental was also studied and examined. The present study is classified as descriptive purposes as it exposes the characteristics of a given population and the means such as bibliographical and documentary. All the data and information collected and demonstrate in this study was carefully analyzed and provided from reliable sources such as official government agencies.

Keywords: Brazil, pulp industry, renewable energy, Três Lagoas

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Authors: Norshazmira Mat Azmi, Sayidal El Fatimah Masnan, Shatirah Akib

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More than 70% of the Earth is covered by oceans, which are considered to possess boundless renewable energy, such as tidal energy, tidal current energy, wave energy, thermal energy, and chemical energy. The hybrid system help in improving the economic and environmental sustainability of renewable energy systems to fulfill the energy demand. The concept of hybridizing renewable energy is to meet the desired system requirements, with the lowest value of the energy cost. This paper propose a hybrid power generation system suitable for remote area application and highlight the impact of surface waves on turbine design and performance, and the importance of understanding the site-specific wave conditions.

Keywords: marine current energy, tidal turbines, wave turbine, renewable energy, surface waves, hydraulic flume experiments, instantaneous wave phase

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Authors: Alena Sicakova, Adriana Estokova

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Although properly made concrete is inherently a durable material, there are many physical and chemical forces in the environment which can contribute to its deterioration. This paper deals with two aspects of concrete durability in chemical aggressive environment: degradation effect of particular aggressive exposure and role of particular mineral additives. Results of the study of leaching and acid corrosion processes in samples prepared with specific dosage of microsilica and zeolite are given in the paper. Corrosion progress after 60-day exposition is manifested by increasing rate of both Ca and Si release, what is identified by XRF method. Kind and dosage of additions used in experiment was found to be helpful for stabilization of concrete microstructure. The lowest concentration of mean elements in leachates was observed for mixture V1 (microsilica only) unlike the V2 (microsilica + zeolite). It is surprising in the terms of recommendations of zeolite application for acid exposure. Using microsilica only seems to be more effective.

Keywords: sustainability, durability, concrete, acid corrosion, leaching

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Authors: Arshleen Kaur, Sarang Barbarwar, Madhusudan Hamirwasia

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Sustainable architecture is going to be the soul of construction in the near future, with building material as a vital link connecting sustainability to construction. The priority in Architecture has shifted from having a lesser negative footprint to having a positive footprint on Earth. The design has to be eco-centric as well as anthro-centric so as to attain its true purpose. Brick holds the same importance like a cell holds in one’s body. The study focuses on this basic building block with an experimental material and technique known as Module Assembled Specially to Conserve (MASC). The study explores the usage and construction of these modules in the construction of buildings. It also shows the impact assessment of the modules on the environment and its significance in reducing the carbon footprint of the construction industry. The aspects like cost-effectiveness, ease of working and reusability of MASC have been studied as well.

Keywords: anthro-centric, carbon footprint, eco-centric, sustainable

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Authors: Abanoub Zare Zakaria Herzalla

Abstract:

The link between terrorism and human rights has become a major challenge in the fight against terrorism around the world. This is based on the fact that terrorism and human rights are so closely linked that when the former starts, the latter are violated. This direct connection was recognized in the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna on June 25, 1993, which recognizes that acts of terrorism in all their forms and manifestations aim to destroy the human rights of people. Terrorism therefore represents an attack on our most basic human rights. To this end, the first part of this article focuses on the connections between terrorism and human rights and seeks to highlight the interdependence between these two concepts. The second part discusses the emerging concept of cyberterrorism and its manifestations. An analysis of the fight against cyberterrorism in the context of human rights is also carried out.

Keywords: sustainable development, human rights, the right to development, the human rights-based approach to development, environmental rights, economic development, social sustainability human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security.

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Authors: Abdul Ghani Rajput

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Although monitoring and evaluation concept adopted by Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) organization to track the progress over the continuous interval of time based on planned interventions and subsequently, evaluating it for the impact, quality assurance and sustainability. In digital world, TVET providers are giving preference to have real time information to do monitoring of training activities. Identifying the benefits and challenges of digitized monitoring & evaluation real time information system has not been sufficiently tackled in this date. This research paper looks at the impact of digitized M&E in TVET sector by analyzing two case studies and describe the benefits and challenges of using digitized M&E system. Finally, digitized M&E have been identified as carriers for high potential of TVET sector.

Keywords: digitized M&E, innovation, quality assurance, TVET

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Authors: Vineeta Sirohi

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The development of critical skills and competencies becomes imperative for young people to cope with the unpredicted challenges of the time and prepare for work and life. Recognizing that education has a critical role in reaching sustainability goals as emphasized by 2030 agenda for sustainability development, educating youth in global competence, meta-cognitive competencies, and skills from the initial stages of formal education are vital. Further, educating for global competence would help in developing work readiness and boost employability. Vocational education and training in India as envisaged in various policy documents remain marginalized in practice as compared to general education. The country is still far away from the national policy goal of tracking 25% of the secondary students at grade eleven and twelve under the vocational stream. In recent years, the importance of skill development has been recognized in the present context of globalization and change in the demographic structure of the Indian population. As a result, it has become a national policy priority and taken up with renewed focus by the government, which has set the target of skilling 500 million people by 2022. This paper provides an overview of the policies, practices, and current status of vocational education and training in India supported by statistics from the National Sample Survey, the official statistics of India. The national policy documents and annual reports of the organizations actively involved in vocational education and training have also been examined to capture relevant data and information. It has also highlighted major initiatives taken by the government to promote skill development. The data indicates that in the age group 15-59 years, only 2.2 percent reported having received formal vocational training, and 8.6 percent have received non-formal vocational training, whereas 88.3 percent did not receive any vocational training. At present, the coverage of vocational education is abysmal as less than 5 percent of the students are covered by the vocational education programme. Besides, launching various schemes to address the mismatch of skills supply and demand, the government through its National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 proposes to bring about inclusivity by bridging the gender, social and sectoral divide, ensuring that the skilling needs of socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups are appropriately addressed. It is fundamental that the curriculum is aligned with the demands of the labor market, incorporating more of the entrepreneur skills. Creating nonfarm employment opportunities for educated youth will be a challenge for the country in the near future. Hence, there is a need to formulate specific skill development programs for this sector and also programs for upgrading their skills to enhance their employability. There is a need to promote female participation in work and in non-traditional courses. Moreover, rigorous research and development of a robust information base for skills are required to inform policy decisions on vocational education and training.

Keywords: policy, skill, training, vocational education

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Authors: Omer Faruk Sarioglu, Asli Celebioglu, Turgay Tekinay, Tamer Uyar

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Fibrous biocomposites were developed by immobilization of a Cr(VI) reducing bacterial strain, morganella morganii STB5, on electrospun polystyrene (PS) and polysulfone (PSU) webs. Cr(VI) removal characteristics of STB5/PS and STB5/PSU fibrous biocomposites were determined at 25 mg L-1 of initial Cr(VI) and 70.41% and 68.27% of removal were observed within 72 h, respectively. Reusability test results indicate that both biocomposites are potentially reusable and can be used for at least 5 cycles. After storage test results suggest that the biocomposites can be stored awhile without losing their Cr(VI) bioremoval capabilities. SEM images of STB5 immobilized PS and PSU webs after the reusability test exhibit strong attachment of bacterial biofilms onto fibrous surfaces. Our results are quite promising and suggesting that reusable bacteria immobilized electrospun fibrous biocomposites might be applicable for Cr(VI) remediation in water systems.

Keywords: electrospinning, polystyrene, polysulfone, Cr(VI) bioremoval, environmental sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 538