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The European Union has set strict recycling targets for municipal solid wastes, but the implementation of circularity is still hindered by a variety of present set-ups. This paper addresses the recycling transitions and their complex nature in Austria, Sweden and Finland and points out the differences that are connected to the level of success in recycling. Furthermore, this study identifies present lock-ins in the waste management regime to provide an understanding on the factors preventing further development towards a recycling society. This is done by analysing different waste policy documents and interviews of national waste experts. The study employs the multilevel perspective (MLP) framework that is a commonly used approach in sustainability transitions research. The results highlight the variety of social, political, technical and economic elements, but also the connections between them that result in a stable regime. The pathways to achieve the recycling society differ between Austria, Sweden and Finland. National waste policy, the division of responsibilities, the variety of infrastructure and collection systems in waste management, the level of general awareness, public-private co-operation and the quality of waste data act as key characteristics that reflect the success in the recycling transition. Identified lock-ins for recycling seem to be slightly stronger in Finland compared to Austria and Sweden, while some of the lock-ins are the same in all countries, such as incineration capacity, malfunction of markets of recyclables or lack of product design for recyclability. • The pathways to a recycling society differ between Austria, Sweden and Finland. • Pressure for recycling has been explicit in Austria at the landscape level. • There are more identified lock-ins in Finland compared to other countries. • Clear responsibilities, a variety of practices, public awareness and quality of data reflect success. • Bottom-up approaches could be utilised in solving the frictions between public and private actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a response to the increasing threat to sport events from climate change and expectations around climate change mitigation, sport event managers increasingly engage in environmentally-related initiatives that aim to reduce GHG emissions. One of the major contributors to GHG emissions at large sport events is spectators' travel and, thus, their associated modal choices. Building on the Sport Logistics Framework (SLF) and using the case study of Rapid Vienna, the largest football club in Austria, this study investigates spectators' modal choice to systematically assess the total GHGs emitted by spectators at a professional football home game. Data was obtained from two sources: a) an extensive data set collected on Rapid Vienna season ticket holders, and b) three surveys at home games which, together, constituted 3317 valid responses. The calculation of the GHG emissions resulted in 99,548 kg GHG emissions per home game or 6.0 kg GHG emissions per spectator. It was also found that 42.4 per cent spectators arriving by car emit 71.6 per cent of GHG emissions, while in contrast, 52.8 per cent of spectators using public transport emit 27.1 per cent of GHG emissions. The results also indicate that the possession of an annual public transport ticket seems to determine travel behavior, i.e. the majority of spectators with an annual ticket are using it, while spectators without a ticket are using a car. As such, this paper not only provides an opportunity for academics and managers to benchmark the data in order to identify initiatives to reduce the impact of GHG emissions, but also allows for the systematic measuring of the environmental impact of fan and spectator travel. • Fan travel to professional football games is a major contributor to GHG emissions. • We assess fans' modal choices and their carbon footprint at a football home game. • The home game emits a total 99,548 kg GHG emissions or 6.0 kg GHG emissions per fan. • We found that 42.4% fans arriving by car emit 71.6% of GHG emissions. • The study allows for benchmarking and systematic measuring of fan travel behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present paper argues that the growth of organic farming correlates with the past support policy decisions. Not the recent direct organic farming payments are of importance, but rather the extent to which the past policies focused on rural development. Building on the OECD positive policy principles, the paper assesses the support policies of Austria, Finland and the EU. The policy appraisal was based on 16 distinct assessment criteria, with 1960–1994 as the timeframe. In addition to the largest organic farming sector, Austrian support policy demonstrated the highest rural development orientation. The CAP framework enabled but did not enforce rural development, whereas the rationalisation tendencies were strongest in Finland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In waste management, the assessment of CO 2 emissions offers the possibility to evaluate and compare the environmental impact of different waste treatment processes. Here, we compare the performance of waste incineration with alternative thermal treatment scenarios and recycling scenarios to the primary production of materials to analyze the respective CO 2 emissions. The aim is to determine whether thermal and material recycling of waste results in (net) CO 2 surpluses or reductions, thus, showing whether it makes sense for climate ambitions to recover waste, thermally or materially. A case study of an internationally active waste management company in Austria is analyzed, conducting a life cycle assessment of its thermal and material waste recycling. On thermal waste treatment the core of the analysis is the comparison with primary energy sources. Using waste as an energy source, especially in cement plants and the paper industry, has proven to be an effective technology for reducing CO 2 emissions. We also find current practices in material recycling to be of lower CO 2 emissions than alternative primary material supply. Scaling results to the national level we find that for the case of Austria current waste management practices have the potential to save an equivalent of 2.6% of Austria's total CO 2 emissions (all sectors) for thermal fractions and an equivalent of 1% for material recycling. [Display omitted] • CO 2 emission impact of thermal waste treatment replacing fossils in basic industry. • CO 2 emission impact of material waste recovery relative to primary production. • Quantification for full scale Central European waste management company. • Life Cycle Assessment to compare waste treatment methods. • Thermal and material recovery can reduce CO 2 emissions significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ’circular economy’ paradigm is taking hold in the mobile phone sector as a solution to increasing resource use. This paper explores three dimensions of the consumption of mobile phones: timing of replacement, repair, and reuse. Combining quantitative evidence from a large-scale questionnaire survey (n = 988) with 25 qualitative household interviews, we identify the consumers’ motivations underpinning their considerations regarding replacement timing, replace versus repair, and new versus second-hand phones. The findings from this study suggest that mobile phone replacements are not only based on a desire for the new, but primarily on the perceived obsoleteness of the current phone. We identify three forms of perceived obsolescence, being either related to a phone’s 1) basic functionality, 2) up-to-dateness, or 3) ability to keep up with social practices. Furthermore, it is shown that the perceived speed of obsolescence is key to considerations of phone repair and reuse. Overall, the results call into question the prevalent picture of novelty-oriented mobile phone consumers, exposing the paradoxical nature of consumer strategies to resist the fast pace of obsolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience in the light of an energy crisis is the capacity to successfully deal with energy related disruptions while continuing to deliver affordable energy services to society. A resilient energy system can rapidly recover from a shock as it is able to reinvent itself. But what happens if an energy crisis hits us? Which functions and structures will be affected? Shall we protect something in particular? Do we need to consider further aspects concerning the energy system? And how can we address and operationalise these complex considerations? These are the questions to be answered within this paper. By identifying types of energy crises, protective commodities, and framework conditions, a proposal is introduced to systematically deal with this topic. A new approach for assessing the community resilience in case of a fossil energy crisis is originated and presented: the regional energy resilience assessment (RERA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of environmentally friendly and green purchase behaviour is one of the ways to minimise the environmental impact. Thus, the objective of this paper was to analyse how green purchase behaviour is related to environmentally friendly behaviour. Moreover, considering the goal-framing theory that a separate item of environmentally friendly behaviour is influenced by different goals, in this analysis was revealed how green purchase and environmentally friendly behaviour are related with the importance of product price and environmentally friendly social norms in two countries: Lithuania and Austria. Therefore referring to the 2012 Eurobarometer's survey and applying the approach of structural equation modelling, the results showed that green purchase behaviour was significantly related with environmentally friendly behaviour, however the determinants were different. The environmentally friendly social norms and gender had significant impact on both green purchase and environmentally friendly behaviour. Meanwhile, the importance of product prices negatively influenced only purchase behaviour. These findings reveal that policy makers should use different tools promoting the environmentally friendly and green purchase behaviour. Furthermore, analysing the differences of green purchase and their determinants between Lithuania and Austria, the suggestions were provided for Lithuania seeking the promotion of green purchase and environmentally friendly behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from floricultural production in Austria based on a small-scale case study in which emissions were calculated using highly detailed accounts of a specific nursery for the years 2009–2013. The nursery produces a large assortment of cut flowers and pot plants. In terms of methods, the study is based on a life cycle assessment approach, presenting global warming as impact indicator. To reach a meaningful comparison of cut flowers and pot plants, the functional unit “days of flowering” is developed, referring to the function of ornamental plants. This new functional unit enables to a comparison of different kind of products based on their longevity. Including this factor allows a more nuanced comparison of flowers in terms of their GHG emissions. For example, if the widespread functional unit “piece of product” is applied, cyclamen appear to be associated with high emissions, whereas their emissions are slightly below average when the functional unit “days of flowering” is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of industrial waste heat within the company is a rather common practice, whereas the external use, outside the company, is less common and in the focus of this paper. The aim of the paper is to provide the first comprehensive overview of all implementations of external use of industrial waste heat in Austria. Thus the paper is the first to describe key energy figures, e.g. the share of industrial waste heat in district heating. Moreover, three hypotheses are tested: H1 industrial waste heat originates from heat recovery, H2 external provision prefers space heating as sink, and H3 implementations are only realized if they are highly profitable. In order to gather details on all Austrian external waste heat implementations a literature and internet survey was conducted. Forty-five implementations were identified. They have a capacity of 600 MW and deliver 1.75 TWh/a. Two thirds of the projects were implemented after 2010, implying that awareness and/or technoeconomic feasibility are improving. The amounts observed imply: 2% of industrial energy end-use are reused; this provides 2.5% of the end-use for space heating or 7.3% of district heating energy. Fifty percent of the cases base on combustion (H1 rejected); three implementations provide process heat (H2 verified); data on profitability is insufficient (H3 remains unanswered). • Identification of all external uses of industrial waste heat in Austria. • The main sink are district heating networks (42 of 45 implementations). • Externally used heat comes from recovery (∼55%) and industrial combustion (∼45%). • Two percent of national industrial energy end-use are reused externally. • This provides 2.5% of national end-use for space heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of buildings, the literature has investigated many strategies to tackle operational emissions, which are traditionally the largest contributor to overall emissions. As a result, embodied emissions are gaining increased attention, not only due to the decrease in the relative share of operational emissions but also due to increased material needs, e.g. the use of additional thermal insulation in buildings. Some of these strategies, such as the decarbonisation of the energy grid, could also help decrease the embodied emissions of building materials. The objective of this paper is to investigate the influence of increased renewable electricity use in building material production. It also examines future trends in the manufacturing processes – such as an intensified use of bioenergy, improvements in energy efficiency and the introduction of carbon capture and storage – on the GHG emissions of buildings. These strategies are analysed in a combined "future materials" scenario on a macro scale within the Tyrol province in Austria. With a focus on new residential constructions, six design variations of two building case studies are assessed using life cycle assessment. They are then projected to 2050 at the provincial level. The results of the future materials scenario point towards a promising embodied GHG reduction, up to 19% in this analysis. Larger mitigation effects would appear in the 2040s and 2050s, meaning future manufacturing technologies can be seen as a long-term investment. Their reduction potential surpasses the potential impact of an increase in wooden constructions. The latter achieved up to 7% reduction in GHG emissions, which would be mostly visible in the early decades rather than in later ones. These reduction percentages remain lower than those which could be attained at the operational energy level, with reductions of up to 72%. The obtained results are discussed in the light of other published regional and global studies to identify the possible sources of variations. Critical reflections on carbon capture and storage, as well as renewables, additionally highlight the intrinsic challenges of such key technologies. [Display omitted] • Analysis of future trends in manufacturing process (renewable electricity, etc.) • Projection at the building stock level using life cycle assessment. • Comparison with impact of renewable electricity on the operational stage. • 19% reduction achieved (embodied emissions) versus 72% (operational emissions). • Reflections on other studies and key technologies (carbon capture and storage). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With 7.5% total nutritional value, pork is a staple food for many members of the Austrian population. Among members of the general public, little is known about the environmental impacts “from farm to fork” in the production of pork. This paper identifies three main impact categories for the environmental profile of Austrian pork using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. In a transparent and comprehensive manner, this LCA studied environmental impacts occurring throughout the production chain of pork, also including the transport and consumption stages. The results are expressed in terms of the global warming potential (GWP), soil acidification and eutrophication, specifically in CO 2 -equivalents, SO 2 -equivalents and NO 3 -equivalents normalized to one kg of fresh Austrian pork (carcass weight) as the functional unit. The main results of the study indicated that the environmental burden is primarily related to the farming stage: 92.3% of GWP, 98.4% of soil acidification and 95.4% of eutrophication. The processes taking place after the agriculture stage (i.e., during the slaughtering stage, retail market and consumption) play a minor role, except for the relative impact of eutrophication during the slaughtering stage. The transportation that took place between the different life cycle stages only marginally influenced the emissions analysed, with private transport from the retail market to the household contributing most of the emissions considered in this part of the life cycle. These results point to the farming stage as the main focus for future improvements. Due to its high contribution to the GWP, soil acidification and eutrophication potential, enhancing the efficiency and environmental protection measures implemented during the farming stage (or improving the choice of commodities used from feed production) could generate the highest reductions in impacts on soil acidification, eutrophication and potentially on the global climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses some of the major ways in which the energy balance of municipal wastewater systems can be optimized. In Austria, two advanced municipal wastewater treatment plants with nutrient removal are energy self-sufficient. At these plants the total consumption of electric energy is smaller than the energy production by means of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation using biogas from anaerobic sludge digestion. By additional measures like the addition of organic waste to the digesters (“co-digestion”), the use of the thermal energy of the wastewater for space heating and alternative wastewater and waste options using alternative processes, municipal wastewater systems can even become “energy-positive”. The studies have shown that wastewater treatment plants are capable of reaching up to 180% energy generation compared to the energy needs, while switching from wastewater to cooling water regeneration as the heat source of heat pumps for district heating can offer electricity savings of up to 45%. However, negative effects on the environment like insufficient wastewater treatment or the release of methane gas to the atmosphere have to be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New concepts of local electricity markets (LEMs) have led increased focus on the decentralization of energy systems and a raise in local energy communities (LECs). Under the right market-regulatory incentives, peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading schemes facilitate direct trade among the prosumers and enable active consumers of energy to share the self-generated electricity and make effective use of flexibility services provided by distributed energy resources (DERs). The paper presents a review of the state of implementation of LEMs and P2P. The research questions are: What grid tariff designs affect the value of peer-to-peer? How does a local energy market benefit from grid tariff designs? To address these questions, the authors survey the latest regulatory frameworks in Europe, focusing especially on Austria, Ireland, and Norway. [Display omitted] • Local electricity markets applying peer-to-peer can promote decentral generation. • Distribution system operator cooperation is mandatory for peer-to-peer trading. • Regulatory peer-to-peer trading frameworks differ in European countries. • Innovative grid tariffs are introduced. • Innovative grid tariff design can promote peer-to-peer trading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are said to engage significantly less with corporate sustainability (CS) than their larger peers, because they are more reluctant to voluntarily engage in CS beyond regulatory thresholds. However, the mechanisms for changing the reluctance of SMEs with regard to CS are poorly understood. By drawing on self-determination and stakeholder theory from a social proximity perspective, this paper argues that stakeholders play a key role in influencing the controlled CS motivation of SMEs, and that SMEs will consider the claims of 'proximate' stakeholders as being more salient than 'distant' regulatory pressure, with the latter even potentially exercising a negative effect on SMEs' controlled CS motivation. The hypotheses are empirically tested using survey-based data from a sample of 344 privately-held SMEs operating in Germany and Austria. Results of the structural equation model confirm that 'proximate' employee and community pressure reduces controlled CS motivation and ultimately increases overall CS performance, whilst 'distant' regulatory pressure has precisely the opposite effect, ultimately reducing the CS performance of SMEs. These findings help to clarify that the close attachment of SMEs to their employees, and their deep embeddedness in the local community might be important catalysts with regard to CS improvements of SMEs, whilst regulatory pressure reduces their willingness to engage in CS, since this is often perceived as an unfair, demotivating, external imperative, which compromises their self-determination. Lastly, theoretical and managerial implications are provided. [Display omitted] • We analyze the influence of stakeholder pressure on corporate sustainability (CS). • Social proximity (close vs. distant) is a driver of stakeholder salience in SMEs. • Close employee and community pressure reduces controlled CS motivation. • Distant regulatory pressure increases controlled CS motivation. • Policy-makers should be cautious to apply regulatory pressure to spur CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Environmental management has become an important business topic throughout the last decade. Road transport, in this respect, is still regarded as one of the main sources of environmental pollution. In this paper we investigate the role of intention, firm size and sector affiliation for the implementation of environmental management in the Austrian road freight transport sector. Our findings are based on data from 259 companies operating in either transport for hire or reward sector or in other fields regularly performing own account transport. They show that large companies not belonging to the sector of transport for hire or reward but to other industries with a strong intention to act sustainably are most likely to implement and perform environmental management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The authors have developed the approach of the “Zero emission retrofitting method for existing galvanizing plants” (ZERMEG). The goal of this approach is to take existing galvanizing plants as far as possible towards zero emissions. The development was supported by the Austrian ministry for science and technology within the programme “Factory of the Future”. The method consists first of an analytical step to describe the existing performance of the plant in terms of production, water input and input of chemicals, a second step is designed to characterize the theoretically possible minimum consumption using the present equipment and the third step is the comparison of the present to the ideal situation to identify optimisation options (improved draining, dosage of chemicals, control of rinsing water, mixing in the tanks, etc.). To facilitate the calculations, a Microsoft-Excel-programme was developed (Zero Emission Program Analysis, ZEPRA), which allows to calculate the ideal water consumption of different configurations of rin ses, drag out for different shapes and surface conditions of parts, and changes in concentrations of active baths. A technology data bank was developed that includes information on different technologies to enlarge the useful time of galvanizing baths or to recycle spent solutions and rinsing water. This paper describes case studies in five galvanizing plants. The measures which were implemented include changing the rinsing cascades in three plants at the wire producer Pengg (reduction of the water consumption in the batch pickling plant by 50%), the use of spent caustics to preneutralise spent process baths and the implementation of an electrolysis plant to recover copper at the printed circuit board manufacturer AT&S (recovery of 20kg/day of copper), optimising the pickling baths of the hot dip galvanizer Mosdorfer (50% reduction of consumption of acids) and the optimisation of the spray rinses in the automatic copper plating plants of the producer of printing cyclinders Rotoform (reduction of water consumption by 50%, reduction of acid consumption by 40%). The work showed, that in three of the five plants it was possible to fully avoid the discharge of spent process baths. One plant now operates at zero emissions. In one plant it would be technically feasible to do so, however, it is not economically feasible, at this time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite the fact that all successful, documented cases of industrial symbiosis to this day have been self-organizing, some authors and development officials have suggested that increased public planning might deliver better results in this respect than spontaneously evolved market coordination. This paper takes an historical approach to suggest that comprehensive planning is unlikely to live up to the expectations of its proponents.The essay is structured as follows. The first section provides short case studies of industrial symbiosis in highly different economic and institutional settings, the essentially free-market regime of Victorian England and communist Hungary (1948–1989). The available evidence suggests that market coordination proved much more favorable to the emergence of industrial symbiosis, despite the elaboration of a comprehensive policy to that effect in Hungary. Insights derived from the so-called “Austrian” critique of central planning are then used to explain this paradox. The analysis presented suggests that the Hungarian planners’ failure was not so much the result of the bad implementation of sound policies, but the logical outcome of a top-down approach’s shortcomings. Policy implications for the public planning of industrial symbiosis in a mixed economy are then derived and the case for self-organization is found more compelling. The creation of more innovative institutions that will force firms to “internalize their externalities” while leaving them the necessary freedom to innovate is viewed as an urgently needed and promising path towards increased, sustainable reuse of industrial by-products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One month-ahead electricity prices open up a great potential for manufacturing companies that aim at reducing energy costs. On the machine level, an energy cost-oriented scheduling can be realized through determining the least electricity cost-intensive launch times for job processing during a day. To obtain reliable price information at production planning stage in advance, well-performing forecast models are required. In this paper, we apply a Weighted Nearest Neighbor (WNN) approach, a TBATS approach, and a Deep Feedforward Neural Network (DFNN) approach to forecast EPEX Spot day-ahead electricity prices of the European Energy Exchange in Germany/Austria, while accounting for a forecast horizon of up to one month. Model performances are compared by means of established error measures as well as by adjusted error measures to better interpret results from a production planner's point of view. For evaluation purposes, 1357 different forecasts were computed for each of the methods, allowing valid conclusions as to their performance. The results show that all approaches lead to acceptable accuracies. However, the DFNN outperforms WNN and TBATS, providing well-fitting forecasts even 29 days ahead. Image 1 • Artificial Neural Networks outperform TBATS and Weighted Nearest Neighbor. • Forecast results are highly applicable for mid-term production planning purposes. • Neural Network forecasts for longer terms are almost as precise as for shorter ones. • On average, only 5% of the adjusted forecasts exceed the limit of a 10.00 EUR error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]