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There has been limited progress in addressing the demand uncertainty inherent over time and the sustainability impact on food logistics. This paper aims to fill this gap, addresses the sustainability of cold food supply chains, and proposes a mixed-integer programming model to solve a multi-period inventory routing problem (IRP) under non-stationary stochastic demand, route-dependent costs, and environmental concerns. The study investigates the replenishment and routing plans to minimise the total expected cost while producing a minimum amount of CO 2 emission. Due to the uncertainty of demand, we apply the static-dynamic strategy and propose a mathematical model under the (R , S) replenishment policy to maintain flexibility in ordering decisions under a pre-determined replenishment schedule. Our numerical experiments suggest that the (R , S) policy reduces inventory costs significantly, since it solves the excess inventory issue caused by the higher buffer stock levels due to the pre-determined order quantities in the (R , Q) policy. However, the resulting CO 2 emission levels and routing costs remain similar in both models. Due to the reduced inventory costs, the (R , S) policy makes a significant improvement on the total cost. Moreover, our numerical experiments show that the difference between the cumulative ending inventory levels for the (R , Q) and (R , S) policies increasingly grows as the time horizon gets longer, and it results in increasingly larger differences in the total cost values for both policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating CO 2 emissions in recent years underlined the need for advanced Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies. This context has spurred the exploration of novel materials for promoting CCU efficiency, among which electrospun nanofibers have emerged as a promising candidate. Electrospinning coupled with various post-treatment (such as heat-treating, in-situ growth, selective removal, etc.) offers a versatile approach to fabricate diverse nanofibers, including polymeric, carbonaceous, metallic, and composite fibers, with tunable surface morphologies and chemical properties. This paper provides a comprehensive review of electrospun nanofibers in CCU processes, including adsorption, membrane separation and absorption, electrochemical and photo-electrochemical reduction, thermal catalytic hydrogenation, and more. Each CCU technology is examined in depth to cover the recent research achievements with a specific focus on the contributions of electrospun nanofibers. Lastly, a critical discussion and a list of potential future research directions for this evolving field are provided. • Latest electrospun nanofiber-based CCU technologies are thoroughly reviewed. • Electrospinning enables creating various nanofibers, aiding multiple CCU technologies. • Provide critical discussion and future directions for this evolving research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-attribute group decision method based on the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set is proposed. • A sustainability evaluation of an agricultural water-land-energy-carbon nexus is provided. • Multidimensional indicators are combined through stability, coordinativity and connectivity. • The water, land, energy and carbon subsystems of the agricultural system are quantified based on dual uncertainty. • The model is shown to solve real-world relationship management problems. The interactions between agricultural subsystems, resource scarcity and ecological degradation increase the need for agricultural sustainability assessments in relation to water, land, energy and carbon emissions. In addition, uncertainties caused by natural factors and human activities complicate sustainability assessments. Therefore, this study proposes a regional agricultural sustainability assessment method based on the water-land-energy-carbon (WLEC) nexus system under high uncertainty. This method couples the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set (IVIFS) and multi-attribute group decision making (MAGDM) methods to quantitatively characterise and assess element management and corresponding relationships within the agricultural WLEC nexus system in a multidimensional manner. The paper is able to (1) clarify the role of the coupled agricultural "water-land-energy-carbon" nexus and (2) address the double ambiguity and uncertainty in the indicators and more objectively reflect the interval fluctuations of natural resources and social activities in both positive and negative scenarios. (3) Sustainability management of agricultural resources is carried out according to different regional conditions. The method was applied to Heilongjiang Province in northeast China, and the coupling of agricultural WLEC nexus system in 13 administrative regions of the study area was quantitatively analysed. The degree of agroecological sustainability from a multidimensional perspective is higher in Daxinganling and lower in the provincial capital, Harbin. The recommended range of groundwater use in the study area is [16%,28%] to ensure ecological sustainability when total agricultural output fluctuates between 285,395.18 and 404,495.33 billion yuan. This methodology helps policy makers understand the overall dynamics of agricultural sustainability in an environment of multiple uncertainties and gives suggestions for better assessing management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has committed to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Reaching this objective requires massive changes in the region. The biggest challenge is that the green transition happens without sacrificing economic progress and guaranteeing justice and inclusiveness. This pledge implies that every country be capable of addressing the trade-offs between targets while remaining committed towards the common decarbonisation goal. Our paper analyses the success with which countries are carrying out the energy transition. We propose an enhanced hyperbolic distance function and a stochastic frontier analysis approach to model the joint attainment of economic development, environmental sustainability, and energy equity. We apply our model to an unbalanced panel dataset of 29 European countries for the period 2005–2018. Our estimates show that the average performance of the economies has improved over time. The results also highlight the pivotal role of a sustainable economic development with clean energies for both slashing CO 2 emissions and fostering energy equity. Moreover, we find convergence in countries' performance, being this convergence slightly higher for the EU-15 countries compared to the rest. Finally, we show that a higher share of renewable energy sources helps countries that are lagging behind to reach their optimal performance level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical industry is one of the fundamental industries of economic development. Coordinating the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions (EGCE) is crucial in realizing the carbon neutrality target. The Tapio model and decomposition models are used to assess the degree of decoupling within the Chinese chemical industry and identify pivotal factors impeding progress. The energy efficiency decomposition model explores the crux of failure to achieve strong decoupling. This framework further decomposed the energy intensity to uncover how technical efficiency, technological progress, and input substitution changes affect energy intensity and CO 2 emission. The paper found that the EGCE of the chemical industry were stable in a weak decoupling mode from 2009 to 2019. The reliance on technological progress to reduce energy intensity and emissions is insufficient (accounting for only 18.2%), far below the cumulative contribution from economic growth (accounting for 57.76%), which has become the crux of the strong decoupling failure. Technological advancements drive energy substitution for labour, resulting in 244.41 Mt of cumulative carbon emissions. The improper factor input allocation hinders the desired reduction in energy intensity and carbon emissions. A series of policy implications are proposed based on the insights derived from the decomposition analysis to foster sustainable practices in the chemical industry. [Display omitted] • This study focuses on the decoupling in chemical industry. • The decoupling between economic growth and carbon emissions (EGCE) is explored. • The reasons for the failure of strong decoupling from technical perspective are tested. • The decoupling between EGCE of chemical industry was in a weak decoupling mode. • Technological progress accelerated the substitution of energy for labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a significant source of carbon emissions, road logistics operators are under increasing pressure from governments and customers to find ways to decarbonize as part of broader global efforts to reach net zero. Decarbonization of road logistics relies on the widespread diffusion of existing and emerging technological transport solutions. These include alternative fuel vehicles, battery technologies, renewable energy and charging solutions. All promise to reduce carbon emissions, but their implementation remains challenging, expensive, and risky. As early adopters of alternative fuel vehicles have reported, transitioning from fossil fuels poses challenges that must be prepared for and understood to minimize the obstacles to genuine emissions reductions in road logistics. A considerable volume of academic research has been published advocating emission reduction solutions and providing detailed analyses of their potential positive environmental impacts. However, to our knowledge, no frameworks integrate these analyses with practical insights into current and anticipated challenges for road logistics operators transitioning from fossil fuels to a decarbonized future. This paper analyses contemporary evidence and insights on current and future issues and presents an integrated framework for road freight logistics decarbonization challenges. The framework primarily focuses on decarbonization through alternative fuels and analyses three categories of challenges from socio-technical, economic, and environmental perspectives. The three categories of challenges relate to alternative fuel vehicles and fleets, alternative fuel distribution infrastructure and renewable energy generation. The underlying principle of the framework is to provide a practical tool that supports a more informed view of both the advantages and challenges of transitioning to alternative fuels. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a framework to help direct future research into tackling these logistics decarbonization challenges. The insights presented in this paper may also inform practitioners by sensitizing them to potential roadblocks in the transition away from fossil fuels. • Framework integrating road freight logistics decarbonization challenges. • Analyse alternative fuels, alternative fuel distribution and renewable energy. • Three perspectives on decarbonization: socio-technical, economic, and environmental. • Highlight logistics services provider strategies to minimize risk and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative emission reduction technologies combined with optimized processes can effectively reduce the environmental pressure in the iron and steel industry (ISI). Identifying and comparatively analyzing the carbon emissions (CE) from steel productions is conducive to achieving China's ambitious carbon reduction targets. In this paper, we investigated two innovative routes: the shaft furnace-induction furnace-basic oxygen furnace route (SF-IF-BOF) and shaft furnace-electric smelting furnace-basic oxygen furnace route (SF-ESF-BOF), alongside two traditional routes: the blast furnace-BOF route (BF-BOF) and SF-electric arc furnace route (SF-ESF). The analysis was based on a functional unit of 1000 kg of crude steel (CS). By establishing the mass and energy balance models and decision criteria, 12 typical smelting scenarios for these routes were analyzed and compared in terms of materials consumption and CE. The results showed that increasing the proportion of scrap was beneficial for reducing CE. Under the condition of a 50% scrap ratio, the CE of the SF-IF-BOF, SF-ESF-BOF, BF-BOF, and SF-EAF routes were 768, 823, 946, and 870 kg, respectively. The SF-IF-BOF route displayed the most significant advantage of CE reduction. In addition, by using 100% zero-carbon electricity substitution, the SF-EAF route exhibited the greatest CE reduction effect of 41% (from 870 to 510 kg/t). While deploying 100% biomass fuels to replace coal, the CE of the BF-BOF route reduced by 80%. Finally, after introducing biomass fuels and zero-carbon electricity, the CE of the SF-IF-BOF route was minimized to a significantly low 13 kg/t (from 768), nearing zero CE. This research is expected to provide a novel solution for further CE reduction in the future of ISI, contributing to environmental sustainability and carbon reduction goals. • Suggestions for solutions to reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry are provided. • Emissions of the SF-IF-BOF and SF-ESF-BOF compared to the BF-BOF and DRI-EAF routes. • DRI is considered to be generated using COG zero reforming process. • Using zero-C electricity and biomass can reduce CO2 emissions for the steel industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes utilizing landfill gas, obtained from landfilling activities, as a viable substitute for fossil fuels. In this study, an innovative heat design process for a landfill gas-fueled power plant is employed, representing a novel contribution to system development. The innovative cascade heat recovery process utilized in this method facilitates an eco-friendly multigeneration practice, resulting in reduced thermodynamic irreversibility and air pollution as well as an increase in the capacity of main products. Hence, the entire system consists of a bio power plant, a transcritical CO 2 cycle, a low-pressure steam generation unit, a refrigeration cycle, a multi-effect desalination, and a liquefied natural gas cold utilization unit. The simulation is conducted by the Aspen HYSYS software, examining various aspects such as energy, exergy, economics, and environment. The results indicate that the energy and exergy efficiencies of the process are 79.96% and 32.93%, respectively. Moreover, the cost per unit exergy and specific CO 2 emissions amount to 87.16 $/GJ and 0.2732 kg/kWh, respectively. Besides, a parametric study is performed based on the gas turbine's outlet pressure, the flue gas temperature leaving the transcritical CO 2 cycle and multi-effect desalination, and the liquefied natural gas flow rate. Obtained results demonstrate that the specific CO 2 emissions and cost per unit exergy face an increase with increasing the gas turbine's outlet pressure. Moreover, the increase in the flue gas temperature leaving the transcritical CO 2 cycle exhibits a reduction in the CO 2 emissions and an escalation in the cost per unit exergy. • Technical study of an eco-friendly process using landfill gas and LNG cold energy. • Implementing a new sustainable production approach for a CCHP-desalination process. • Process simulation using Aspen HYSYS and conducting a comprehensive 4 E study. • Energy and exergy efficiencies of the process are found as 79.96% and 32.93%. • Cost per unit exergy and specific CO 2 emissions equal 87.16 $/GJ and 0.2732 kg/kWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the viability of utilizing agricultural biomass-based energy potential, employing mathematical, engineering, and economic modeling techniques. Moreover, the potential of a biogas-based co-digestion (CD) system, integrating its techno-economic performance and environmental sustainability in terms of electricity generation, has also been studied. In this investigation, the categorization of 25 different plant species into two groups: arable field crops (AFCs) and horticultural plants (HPs), was performed. Data was collected during the 2021‐–2022 cropping season in Bangladesh from various sources, including literature reviews, governmental, and non-governmental organizations. The findings revealed that the available agricultural biomass residues, totaling 1,02,585.75 KT, have the capacity to generate 1,33,815 million m3/year of biogas. This energy potential corresponds to 291,125.85 TJ/year or 9231.60 MW of electricity, which can fulfill 88% of the national total energy demand. In terms of levelized cost, the proposed approach is more competitive and shows a greater promise compared to other technologies. Furthermore, it demonstrates environmental friendliness by reducing CO 2 emissions by 156 tons at a cost of $7/ton while earning $1092 annually from the potential carbon-credit market. This approach presents a potential solution to address Bangladesh's energy crisis. The payback period of the system ranged from 2.93 to 3.75 years, with and without the inclusion of a slurry, respectively. The recommended methods hold significant promise for meeting national energy demands. A case study was provided as a proof-of-concept (PoC) to validate the approach. This study is the first of its kind, providing valuable insights into the renewable energy potential in Bangladesh. The results will assist policymakers in formulating sustainable energy policies. • Mathematics, engineering, economics and environmental modeling explored renewable energy. • Techno-economics and environmental sustainability validated the proposed methodology. • Bioenergy-based electricity could supply 88% of the national energy demand of Bangladesh. • A case study was provided as a proof-of-concept (PoC) to validate the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the significant energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with buildings, there is increasing interest in improving sustainability of building operations to reduce impact on climate change. A common goal is to operate buildings as "net-zero" energy users in which all energy consumed by the building is balanced against renewable energy purchased from the grid or produced on site. To achieve net-zero status, many buildings will require significant retrofit so as to both reduce energy consumption in the absolute sense and provide the remainder without consuming fossil fuels. Thus, multi-year planning is required to ensure that goals can be met on time. In addition, due to the inherent uncertainty associated with energy consumption and generation, actually achieving net-zero energy use may require discretionary curtailment actions to be taken, and deciding whether such actions are necessary can be challenging. To address these challenges, we propose in this paper a design optimization and operational planning strategy to make the decisions needed to achieve sustainability goals in buildings. The strategy can be applied to schedule design changes over a long horizon to meet annual targets, and it can also be applied in closed loop on a shorter horizon to determine whether curtailment is needed to stay on track. We discuss the formulation of the optimization problem, solution methods, and modeling approaches for key parameters. Application of the strategy is illustrated via examples. Overall, this approach will help automate planning that is often done manually, allowing buildings to take a significant leap forward toward achieving their sustainability goals. • Achieving sustainability goals in buildings requires multi-year planning. • The required design and operational decisions can be made via optimization. • Key problem parameters can be obtained from data-driven modeling. • The strategy allows sustainability goals to be met at minimum cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population aging and a shortage of medical resources are driving the growth of home health care (HHC). Many HHC studies have focused on developing an optimal routing plan to reduce operation costs; however, few have addressed the attendant long-term sustainability concerns, such as HHC center locations and carbon emissions from transportation. This paper proposes a home health care location-routing problem with a mixed fleet of electric and conventional vehicles that considers battery swapping stations. It aims to simultaneously determine the locations of HHC centers, the scheduling of caregivers with respect to skill requirements, and a routing plan for a mixed fleet under specific time windows, load capacities, synchronized visits, and driving ranges. To address this problem, the paper proposes a novel competitive simulated annealing (CSA) algorithm in which a series of problem-specific effective local search operators expand the solution space of the CSA algorithm, with a competitive mechanism to adaptively adjust these operators to accelerate convergence speed and improve exploration ability. To enhance the exploitation ability, it employs a modified simulated annealing algorithm with a heating strategy and variable neighborhood descent. Comparison experiments are conducted to verify the superior performance of the CSA algorithm in comparison to existing algorithms and the Gurobi solver. Finally, sensitivity analyses are performed on key factors and provide some new managerial insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A retailer-dominated supply chain with corporate social responsibility is modeled. • Impacts of emission reduction on supply chain's sustainability are analyzed. • Motivations of investing in emission reduction technology are proposed. • Supply chains sustainability is proved to be improved by coordination mechanism. • Performance of the coordination contract is tested analytically and numerically. This paper studies a retailer-dominated supply chain including a single upstream manufacturer that produces two substitutable products and a single downstream retailer that undertakes corporate social responsibility activities. The manufacturer is also regulated by a cap-and-trade policy. We first compare two optimization models for a decentralized system, one that does and one that does not incorporate emission reduction technology, to show that the profit of each system member in the former is higher than that in the latter, while the opposite is true for carbon emissions when the technology level invested by the manufacturer is higher than a threshold. To test the performance of the decentralized model that incorporates emission reduction technology, we model a centralized system and reveal that the system profit in the decentralized model is increased and the corresponding carbon emissions generated during production can be reduced. These findings motivate us to propose a revenue and cost-sharing contract to coordinate the decentralized system. The result shows that the economic and environmental sustainability of the decentralized system can be improved. Finally, several managerial implications are derived by conducting a numerical study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the significant waste heat generated by existing natural gas power plants, it is imperative to implement eco-friendly combined process designs to ensure their long-term sustainability. The present paper introduces and investigates a novel integrated process aimed at achieving multiple generational advantages within an environmentally friendly framework, with the ultimate goal of enhancing sustainability. The new structure incorporates a natural gas power plant, high-temperature and low-temperature organic Rankine cycles, a combined cooling and power subsystem, and a water desalination unit to produce power, heating, cooling, and freshwater simultaneously. This system is simulated within the Aspen HYSYS software and examined from energy, exergy, economic, environmental, and sustainability perspectives. Furthermore, parametric studies evaluate the impact of the overall system's various environmental, economic, and operational conditions. It is found that the production capacities of power, hot water, chilled water, and freshwater are 179,265.17 kW, 387.8 kg/s, 563.6 kg/s, and 21.4 kg/s, respectively. Hence, the overall energy and exergy efficiencies improve to 66.06% and 42.95%, respectively. The financial estimation also reveals a cost of energy of 0.1084 $/kWh and a total net present value of 818.67 M$. It is also determined that the cost per unit of destroyed exergy is equal to 7.156 $/GJ. • Design of a natural gas power plant and an eco-friendly multigeneration process. • Using Aspen HYSYS for simulation, sustainability analysis, and parametric study. • Overall energy and exergy efficiencies of the process equal 66.06% and 42.95%. • The cost of energy and total net present value equal 0.1084 $/kWh and of 818.67 M$. • Carbon dioxide emission intensity of the entire process is 0.2922 kg/MWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of economic dispatch in the context of environmental sustainability is more challenging with the integration of clean energy into the grid and the increase in the size of power systems. Power engineers have a responsibility to seek a novel algorithm that can hierarchically simplify the problem, enhance the diversity of solutions, balance economic and environmental goals, reduce the environmental footprint, and increase economic efficiency. In this paper, a multimodal hierarchical distributed multi-objective moth intelligence algorithm is proposed, combines the hierarchical distributed method with the moth algorithm, introduces the loose equivalence of multimodality, and adopts the Pareto curve partition processing and the extraction of objective points. The proposed method converts the information exchange of the adjacent regions of each layer and the optimization of each layer to be performed in the bottom layer, achieving the coordinated optimization of the whole system through the parallel optimization of the bottom layer regions. The simulation results show that: (1) the computational efficiency is improved. In the 118-bus system, the proposed algorithm reduces 0.13% cost and 5.76% carbon emission than distributed optimization; the proposed algorithm reduces 0.53% cost and 3.81% carbon emission than centralized optimization; (2) the speed of computation is accelerated. In the 1139-bus system, three-layer distributed optimization and two-layer distributed optimization of the proposed algorithm reduce the time by 62.64% and 37.22% than distributed optimization, respectively; (3) the performance metrics of the proposed method demonstrate superiority. • Multimodal hierarchical multi-objective optimization problems are considered. • A multimodal hierarchical multi-objective economic dispatch framework is built. • A multimodal hierarchical distributed multi-objective moth algorithm is proposed. • The gap of multimodal hierarchical intelligent algorithms for optimization is filled. • The algorithm increases the diversity of decision solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging strategy to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere and compensate for the greenhouse-gas emissions of cement and concrete is based on incorporating biochar into concrete. With this approach, concrete can be turned into a functional carbon sink (C-sink). Until now, biochar has been mainly used without modification to replace part of the cement or of the aggregates in concrete. However, this technology comes with a number of practical problems, which include the high water absorption of the biochar (due to its high specific surface) and hazards (dust, risk of combustion). In this paper we present an alternative approach, in which biochar is first processed into lightweight aggregates in a cold-bonding process. To this end, biochar is pelletized together with water and a small amount of hydraulic binder forming round pellets that further harden with hydration. In this way, carbon-rich lightweight aggregates (C-LWA) are obtained that are easier to handle than the original biochar. The C-LWA pellets have similar porosity and strength as conventional LWA and can be used for similar applications. Yet, the CO 2 emissions from sintering traditional LWA are avoided and the C-LWA are instead an effective C-sink. We demonstrate that it is possible to incorporate in the pellets and eventually in the concrete a sufficient amount of carbon to compensate for the original emissions of concrete. The net-zero emissions concrete obtained with this approach possesses mechanical performance sufficient for typical structural applications in buildings. • Biochar is processed into lightweight aggregates in cold-bonding process. • The biochar-rich lightweight aggregates added to concrete act as a safe carbon sink. • Structural concrete with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions becomes possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste management is a major challenge worldwide due to the increasing amount of waste generated, which requires sustainable treatment approaches. In this paper, a mathematical model for the optimal configuration of waste treatment processes is presented that considers municipal solid waste and cattle manure from feedlots. A mixed-integer quadratically constrained formulation is proposed to maximize the net present value of investments, and a multi-objective optimization method through ε-restriction is implemented to limit the global warming potential. The model aims to resolve the trade-off between centralized and decentralized networks. The location of the facilities, the ratio of urban to rural waste for each facility, and the waste streams to be transported are also determined by the model. The optimization approach has been evaluated in a real-world scenario in Argentina. For integrated treatment, the results show the potential of anaerobic co-digestion that justifies transporting co-substrates from remote areas. Decentralized designs show that anaerobic digestion is only convenient for large cities and feedlot production sites. Economic and environmental benefits are significantly higher for the integrated alternative. Under optimized conditions, electricity price should be as high as 55.2 USD per MWh to reach the breakeven point from an economic perspective, assuming no revenues from carbon credits. [Display omitted] • An optimization model for the design of integrated waste management is proposed. • A multi-objective optimization method is applied to limit global warming potential. • The model proves that integrated designs have higher rentability and less emissions. • The minimum electricity price to obtain a profitable project is 55.2 USD/MWh. • The minimum carbon credit price to obtain a profitable project is 16.4 USD/ton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at investigation of the nexus between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and environmental sustainability in addition to exploring the long-run and short-run effects of Industry 4.0 on CO 2 emissions. For this end, energy consumption, internet and communication technology (ICT) exports, research and development (R&D), artificial intelligence (AI), ICT technology patents and bitcoin are taken as control variables of Industry 4.0 for a panel of 9 countries that contribute to 62% of the total CO 2 emissions in the world. For this purpose, the paper follows two approaches. First, the paper proposes utilization of AI and ICT technology patents, technology-related R&Ds and ICT exports as variables of I4.0 in addition to investigating the effects of economic growth, energy consumption and bitcoin. Second, to control structural changes and nonlinearity in the cointegrating relations and existence of degenerate cointegration, Fourier panel bootstrap autoregressive distributed lag model (FPBARDL) is utilized. Afterwards, FPBARDL based long, short and strong causality analyses are conducted. The empirical findings revealed positive impacts of all I4.0-related variables on emissions in the long-run. Though I4.0 related AI and ICT innovation has no direct effect in the short-run, its effects are determined through increased energy consumption towards emissions. The strong positive effects of energy consumption and positive effects of economic growth, ICT exports and R&D are observed both in the short and long-run. In addition to positive impacts of I4.0 on environment, the findings favor insufficiency of policies focusing on lowering emissions in I4.0 context.Policy recommendations include strong commitment to energy efficiency and renewable energies and trade policies with environmental concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revolution that Fintech has represented in recent years has allowed it to take advantage of the challenges posed by new technologies and big data. In this context, the present paper analyses the sustainable profile of current FinTech and InsurTech companies based on a group of determinants defined from three dimensions: CO 2 emissions; obtaining green certificates and sustainability rankings; alignment with sustainable development goals (SDG). Using the KBW and Nasdaq FinTech Index and the NASDAQ Insurance Index (IXIS), we composed a panel of 95 companies over a 10-year period (2010–2019) with economic-financial variables, and data about green certificates and sustainability indices. The applied methodology is based on dynamic (GMM-SYS) and static (PCSE) panel data models. The results show that the fintech companies that are larger, more profitable, less indebted and younger report on CSR and encourage volunteering and have a more sustainable profile. • The size of Fintech companies positively influences the sustainable profile. • Fintech companies more likely behave responsibly and sustainably vs. Insurtech firms. • The most profitable and least indebted Fintech companies behave more sustainably. • Older companies have a less sustainable profile, particularly with SDG. • CSR reports and volunteering promotion are the most relevant ESG factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for global energy sustainability. It is affected by a country's policies, resources, financing opportunities, the attention given to it, and the degree to which other pressing issues, such as poverty and access to power, are addressed in each country. This paper used 28 indicators to assess a country's energy sustainability. These indicators ranged from CO 2 per capita emissions to the share of electricity production from wind. The indicators were adjusted so that the lower values were more sustainable. 31 countries were selected. Kohonen's self-organizing maps were used to present this 28-dimensional model in a 2D map. This algorithm is a type of artificial neural network trained by unsupervised learning. Eight clusters of countries were found through the analysis using the four-light traffic panel, where green is the most sustainable, followed by blue, yellow, and red. The closeness on the map does not guarantee that two countries will be in the same cluster. Three color matches and closeness were the criteria for the creation of clusters. The energy transition from the map's lower to upper sides is plainly visible. Red clusters make up the lower side, while green clusters make up the top. One blue cluster and two yellow clusters are located between them. The algorithm converged in the 133rd iteration; the quantization error reached 0 and the topological error reached a value of 25. This method can be used to visualize how far or close a country is to the best achievers. It shows which parameters can or should be improved and what the world trend is. If there is a trend, cost-effective solutions are frequently present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, sustainability concerns gained traction in the scientific literature on cleaner production, as well as in industry and application. In this regard, the circular economy (CE) is intended to contribute to the current ecological transition, providing economic advantages and preserving global society for future generations. CE initiatives have been implemented in recent decades to offset the harmful environmental consequences of supply chain operations. Notably, CE strategies can be applied at different supply chain levels, in product design, manufacturing, transportation, consumption, and disposal. Using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, the present research examines a case study from the Italian egg industry, highlighting the environmental benefits and social implications of initiatives supporting CE (i.e. the use of recyclable and biodegradable packaging and the adoption of a short supply chain). The implementation of those CE strategies shows a 22% reduction in Kg CO 2 -eq emissions, proposing that circular concepts should be incorporated into sustainable supply chain management. Notably, this paper analyses the environmental implications of the intermediate phases of the egg industry supply chain. Both primary and secondary data have been collected. We collected primary data via direct interviews with companies' managers throughout all the study phases. As a result, despite various external issues affecting the company decisions, the paper shows that incorporating CE strategies may deliver demonstrable environmental benefits for the companies. In addition, other strategies that should be adopted in the long term have also been outlined. Finally, the implications that sustainable behaviours of the companies can entail have been examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimodal logistics (ML), which involves multiple transportation modes, has been increasingly used in many Modular integrated Construction (MiC) projects. However, the literature lacks decision support systems (DSS) to simulate, analyze, and optimize ML in MiC (ML-MiC). This paper fills this gap by achieving the following objectives: 1) simulate the internal operations of ML-MiC stakeholders (e.g., manufacturers, logistics service providers, contractors) and their interactions; 2) identify the significant decisions that impact the key performance measures (KPMs) of ML-MiC; and 3) obtain the near-optimum decisions that improve the sustainability of ML-MiC. These objectives are achieved by developing a holistic modelling approach that integrates three methods. First, hybrid multi-agent simulation models the communications between ML-MiC stakeholders and their internal operations. Second, design of experiments (DOE) reveals the main and interaction effects between logistics and construction decisions that significantly affect KPMs, such as the project duration, total costs, and carbon emissions. Third, metamodeling finds the near-optimum logistics and construction decisions (e.g., trucks' number, their dispatching time, ship capacity, inventory, resource planning) that enhance KPMs. The developed approach is applied to a real case study. The DOE analysis indicates that some logistics decisions significantly influence construction KPMs (e.g., project duration, construction costs, construction emissions) and vice versa, calling for more collaboration between stakeholders. Also, the optimized solutions reduce the project duration, total costs, and emissions by 28%, 50%, and 17%, respectively. This paper contributes by integrating three methods to model ML-MiC and enable its stakeholders to discern the impact of their decisions on multiple KPMs and optimize them toward more sustainable MiC. Given this paper's findings, future researchers are urged to investigate the success factors and barriers to applying ML in MiC. Also, the paper emphasizes the need to develop DSS that achieve a win-win collaboration and enhance communication between ML-MiC stakeholders. • Multimodal logistics (ML) are used to import modular units from overseas factories. • The literature lacks models to assess, analyze and optimize ML-related decisions. • A developed multi-agent model evaluates multiple project performance measures (PMs). • A diagnostic analysis reveals the significant ML decisions that impact each of PMs. • Metamodeling finds the optimum ML decisions to improve PMs of modular construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some agricultural industries such as livestock and poultry farming produce "growing items" whose weight and value constantly increase over time. Growing items and their related industries are vital in supplying the needed food and fiber for the world population. More importantly, concerns for the preservation of natural resources have led to sustainable goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) released by growing items. Recently, an inventory system called "economic growing quantity (EGQ)" was designed for growing items. This paper designs, develops, and optimizes a sustainable model for EGQ system, entitled "sustainable EGQ (SEGQ)", where the hidden costs and revenues associated with the sustainability of growing items are considered under a carbon tax policy. The cost function incorporates purchasing, transportation, feeding, shortage, setup, holding, and carcass disposal costs as well as the tax costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted from manure, feed fermentation, carcasses, holding and transportation processes. The revenue function takes the earned income from the sale of grown items as well as their byproducts into account. Accordingly, a nonlinear program (NLP) is developed to maximize the total profit. The novelty of this paper resides in its consideration of the reproductive patterns and byproducts of growing items, gradual sales, shortage costs, major sources of GHGEs and their hidden costs, and finally a design of the main variables to mitigate the GHGs emitted by the growing items. Findings demonstrate that the SEGQ model with reproducible items and profitable byproducts increases the growth cycle and decreases the quantity of growing items needed at the start of the inventory cycle. [Display omitted] • Sustainable design of the related variables to inventory management of growing items. • The reproductive patterns of growing items under carbon emission considerations. • The profitable byproducts of growing items. • Identification and mitigation of other main sources of GHGEs in growing items. • An NLP model of hidden related costs and revenues to growing items under gradual sell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving towards a sustainable future requires modernized and economic energy production, especially in the context of current policy incentives. In the present paper, a new integrated process using flue gas leaving a power plant is projected and studied. The proposed process consists of a carbon dioxide (CO 2) capture unit (CCU), a water electrolyzer unit (WEU) for renewable hydrogen production, a power generation unit (PGU), a heat generation unit (HGU), and a methanol production unit (MPU). The designed structure has low CO 2 emission, low production cost, and high thermodynamic efficiency. This process is simulated using Aspen HYSYS. The simulation results show that the methanol production in this process is equal to 606,228 ton/year (methanol with a purity above 99% mole), and according to the environmental analysis, the intensity of CO 2 emission is 0.61 k g C O 2 k g M e O H , which is lower compared to that of bi- and tr-reforming processes. The results indicate that the overall exergy and energy efficiencies of the proposed process are 71.97% and 56.74%, respectively. Thermodynamic analysis determines that the exergy destruction intensity of this process is equal to 29.54 M J k g M e O H , and the highest destruction happens in the CCU (62.38%). It is also found that the exergy efficiency of the CCU, MPU, WEU, HGU, and PGU is 97%, 92%, 93%, 48%, and 53%, respectively. The exergy analysis exhibits that the coefficient of effectiveness (ψ i) in the CCU is high (equals 85.89%), so it is the main factor in increasing the second law efficiency of the proposed process. Finally, according to the economic analysis, it is determined that the total annual cost and the total production cost of methanol in the presented structure respectively are 31,479,267 $ and 0.52 $ k g M e O H , which compared to similar technologies based on renewable energy is lower by 64.86%. It is suggested to use this sustainable production mode to promote economic production in some pilot projects or high-tech parks. • A novel integrated process for methanol production using renewable hydrogen. • Process simulation by Aspen HYSYS and 4E analysis. • High thermodynamic efficiencies, low CO 2 emission, and low production cost. • Overall exergy and energy efficiencies of the proposed process are 71.97% and 56.74%. • Total annual cost and the methanol production cost are 31.47 M$ and 0.52 $ k g M e O H [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current scenario of transition to a Europe-wide circular economy (CE), the Waste-to-Energy (WtE) treatments represent a smart solution to generate renewable energy, reduce landfills and ensure sustainable waste management. The costs and environmental impacts of existing WtE treatments are very different for each available technology. In many cases, their identification is affected by a set of variable boundary conditions strongly dependent on local municipal requirements. In light of these considerations, the paper aims to compare the investment in three different WtE treatments (i.e., incineration, gasification, and flameless oxy-combustion) to identify the best solution to support the current transitional phase towards a CE condition. An overall yearly cost analysis was developed by varying local municipal requirements, including investment, operating, and carbon emissions costs. The overall yearly cost and the revenues, due to energy sales and tipping fees, allowed to evaluate the profitability of the investment in the plant lifetime to identify the best WtE treatment. The investment profitability was evaluated by adopting the Net Present Value (NPV) method by estimating the cash flow statement over the entire plant lifetime. The performance of the three WtE treatments, classified as "conventional" (i.e., gasification and incineration) and "innovative" (i.e., flameless oxy-combustion), were compared in a case study concerning Southern Italy's Metropolitan City of Bari. The applied methodology showed, in this case, that gasification, at the moment, has to be deemed as the most sustainable treatment for MSW management. Moreover, the study proved a high dependence between the carbon price and the profitability of the investment and, thus, in the next future the innovative oxy-combustion technology will gain an advantage over all the other technologies, when carbon price will be higher than 44 €/tonnes CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted by the construction and manufacturing sector every year, there is an urgent need for reducing construction materials consumption as the construction industry continues to grow. Current practices for designing structural elements, which are based on traditional design methods, result in building box-shaped elements and consuming more materials than what is structurally necessary. Excess materials can be removed without compromising the structural soundness of the elements while also providing added architectural value. This paper presents an approach based on generative design concepts, genetic algorithms, and the Lagrangian Multiplier Method to design concrete beams that use near-exact amounts of material only where they are needed. In this study, beam designs are optimized to reduce concrete and steel use in reinforced concrete beams. The effectiveness of the approach was demonstrated through its deployment to design a cantilever beam and a simply supported beam. The results of both applications were very promising as the reductions in material costs reached 63% and the related reductions in CO 2 emissions reached 57% per beam. This lays strong foundations for expanding the effort to scale this approach into entire buildings. The optimized structures can be constructed using 3D concrete printing technology, which eliminates the barriers imposed by traditional form-based construction. The results of this study contribute to means for making construction more economical and environmentally sustainable. • Traditional design methods of structural concrete elements result in material waste. • Cement production significantly contributes to the earth's greenhouse emissions. • Applying generative design concepts to concrete structures reduces material waste. • Resulting cost reductions could reach 63% per simply supported or cantilever beam. • The corresponding CO 2 emission reductions could reach 57% per beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Replacing the current mainly fossil-based, disposable, and non-biodegradable sanitary products with sustainable, functional alternatives is an industry priority. Suggested biobased alternatives require evaluation of their actual impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We evaluated GHG emissions of biobased baby diapers as the most consumed sanitary product, using a biodegradable functionalized protein superabsorbent polymer (bioSAP) and compared them with currently used fossil-based counterparts. Assessment of the diapers also included estimated GHG emissions from the production of the biobased components, transport, and end-of-life combustion of these items. It was shown that only a few of the biobased diaper alternatives resulted in lower GHG emissions than commercial diapers containing fossil-based materials. At the same time, it was demonstrated that the production of the bioSAP via chemical modification of a protein raw material is the primary GHG contributor, with 78% of the total emissions. Reduction of the GHG contribution of the bioSAP production was achieved via a proposed recycling route of the functionalization agent, reducing the GHG emissions by 13% than if no recycling was carried out. Overall, we demonstrated that reduced and competitive GHG emissions could be achieved in sanitary articles using biobased materials, thereby contributing to a sanitary industry producing disposable products with less environmental pollution while allowing customers to keep their current consumption patterns. [Display omitted] • Superabsorbents contribute the highest CO 2 emission share in a biobased diaper. • Recycling of reagents for production of biobased superabsorbents reduces CO 2 emission by 50%. • Only a few biobased diapers resulted in lower CO 2 emissions than fossil-based ones. • Biodegradable diapers are superior from a circular perspective. • Biobased superabsorbents are currently on a low TRL and need to be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the asymmetric and long-run effect of energy productivity on the quality of the environment in Finland. Finland, as one of the Nordic countries, is a major contributor to the global drive to achieve decarbonization by 2050. In effect, this study seeks to contribute to the strides by querying the extent to which shocks in energy productivity make or mar the sustainability of the Finland environment from 1990:Q1 to 2019:Q4. The other impacts of financial development, economic growth, and trade openness are considered in the model estimated by using the novel hidden panel cointegration and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) methodology. The results reveal a significant asymmetric equilibrium cointegration relationship among the variables over long-run time horizons; energy productivity utilization enhances the quality of the environment in Finland over the long run while trade openness, financial development, and economic growth contribute to environmental degradation in Finland in the long term. In particular, a 1% positive and negative fluctuation in energy productivity lowers carbon emissions by 1.79442% and 0.84799% in the long term. Whereas 1% change in trade openness, financial development, and economic growth trigger CO 2 emissions (CO 2 E) by 1.15298%, 0.271365%, and 2.93402% in Finland's economies. The results of the frequency domain causality model corroborate the NARDL results. On the basis of these empirical findings, this study suggests that policymakers in Finland should consider the asymmetric behavior among these variables in setting their trade, environmental, growth, and energy policies. [Display omitted] • The effect of energy productivity on environmental degradation in Finland is examined. • Nonlinear ARDL, Fourier ADL cointegration and frequnecy domain causality tests are employed. • Energy productivity leads to lower environmental degradation in Finland. • Energy productivity causes environmental sustainability at different frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2050, aviation emissions are forecasted to account for 25% of the global carbon budget. Thus, in addition to airlines' sustainability efforts, individual consumer action is needed in order to reduce the environmental impact of air travel. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent consumers value environmental sustainability when selecting flights in terms of the trade-off between cost, time, comfort, and CO 2 emissions. Hence, a choice-based conjoint survey was conducted to understand the monetary, temporal, and comfort trade-offs consumers are willing to make for a reduction in CO 2 emissions in both short-haul and long-haul flights. The 426 collected responses were analysed using conditional logistic regressions. The results indicate that air travellers are willing to pay more (6.7–21.2 €/100 kg) or travel longer (13–41 minutes/100 kg) to reduce the environmental impact of their trip. Moreover, displaying CO 2 emissions as a percentage of an individual's annual carbon budget increased air travellers' perceived monetary and temporal value of environmental sustainability, to 11.8–26.3 €/100 kg and 22–65 minutes/100 kg respectively. • Displaying flights' environmental impact affects stated consumer behaviour. • Air travellers indicate they are willing to pay more for an eco-friendlier flight. • Flyers indicate they are willing to travel longer to reduce flight emissions. • Displaying CO 2 emissions as % of person's annual carbon budget shows better results. • Transparent information on emissions can lead to more sustainable flying behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2050, aviation emissions are forecasted to account for 25% of the global carbon budget. Thus, in addition to airlines' sustainability efforts, individual consumer action is needed in order to reduce the environmental impact of air travel. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent consumers value environmental sustainability when selecting flights in terms of the trade-off between cost, time, comfort, and CO 2 emissions. Hence, a choice-based conjoint survey was conducted to understand the monetary, temporal, and comfort trade-offs consumers are willing to make for a reduction in CO 2 emissions in both short-haul and long-haul flights. The 426 collected responses were analysed using conditional logistic regressions. The results indicate that air travellers are willing to pay more (6.7–21.2 €/100 kg) or travel longer (13–41 minutes/100 kg) to reduce the environmental impact of their trip. Moreover, displaying CO 2 emissions as a percentage of an individual's annual carbon budget increased air travellers' perceived monetary and temporal value of environmental sustainability, to 11.8–26.3 €/100 kg and 22–65 minutes/100 kg respectively. • Displaying flights' environmental impact affects stated consumer behaviour. • Air travellers indicate they are willing to pay more for an eco-friendlier flight. • Flyers indicate they are willing to travel longer to reduce flight emissions. • Displaying CO 2 emissions as % of person's annual carbon budget shows better results. • Transparent information on emissions can lead to more sustainable flying behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the recent stream of econometric entrepreneurship research by introducing the environmental orientation of new ventures as a key factor for sustainable development. It empirically assesses whether relationships exist between national shares of green entrepreneurial activity (GEA) and economic, social, and environmental development. Theory and first empirical evidence suggest that – compared to conventional new ventures – new green ventures have a more positive economic and social impact and are less harmful or even beneficial to environmental quality. OLS regressions were estimated to empirically test the impact of GEA rates (share of total entrepreneurial activity) on GDP, the modified HDI, and CO 2 emissions. For this purpose, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data for 11,909 early-stage entrepreneurs was aggregated to the macro-level of 53 countries and merged with further international datasets. The results confirmed that higher shares of GEA are positively related to economic and social development but not to environmental development. Additional tests proved the robustness of the results for different economic development levels, time-lag variations, and different measurements of dependent and independent variables. The identified economic and social importance of GEA warrants intensified policy efforts to support the discovery, creation, and exploitation of green business opportunities. Potential explanations for the counterintuitive non-significant environmental impact are discussed, leading to new research avenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A sustainable supply chain (SSC) under the cap-and-trade regulation is studied. • Double-level sustainability effort is proposed in the SSC. • Effects of double-level sustainability effort on the SSC performance are explored. • Optimal levels of sustainability, quality, and green effort are determined. • A compensation-based wholesale price contract is developed to coordinate the SSC. In recent decades, due to the growing sustainable development concerns, the supply chains members, such as manufacturers and retailers, are interested in investing in environmental sustainability and social sustainability issues to gain more market share in today's competitive business environment. This paper contributes to the literature by proposing double-level sustainability effort in a sustainable supply chain consists of one manufacturer and one retailer under the cap-and-trade regulation. The manufacturer invests in the technology to reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of products. On the other hand, the retailer invests in green effort while decides on its periodic review order-up-to-level replenishment policy. Under such a case, both the manufacturer's and the retailer's decisions not only affect their individual profitability but also impact on the whole supply chain performance and sustainability level. Using game-theoretic mathematical modeling, the double-level sustainability effort is first analyzed under the decentralized and centralized structures. Then, a compensation-based wholesale price contract is introduced to coordinate the sustainable supply chain under the cap-and-trade regulation. The surplus profit obtained under the coordination plan is shared between the manufacturer and retailer depending on their bargaining power. The data generated based on the assumptions of a pharmaceutical case study is applied to indicate the applicability of developed models. The results illustrate that the developed coordinated system simultaneously enhances the whole sustainable supply chain performance from the social, environmental, and economic points of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart cities have the potential to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, but empirical evidence regarding the effect of smart city policies on carbon emissions is limited. In this novel study, we investigate the effect of China's smart city policy on household daily consumption and carbon emissions. The empirical analysis is based on a difference-in-differences regression, in which the dependent variable is the household indirect carbon emissions estimated based on the consumer lifestyle approach and a dataset of 201 Chinese cities between 2010 and 2018. The main findings are as follows. First, the smart city policy significantly reduces household indirect carbon emissions, and the reduction is greater when the policy pilot region includes the whole city rather than only certain subareas. Second, the mechanisms through which the smart city influences household indirect carbon emissions are mainly the reductions in transportation- and education-related emissions resulting from developments in smart technology. Third, the above effects last for years, and they are regionally heterogeneous and more significant in the cities of eastern China. The findings in this paper suggest that smart cities can potentially achieve city sustainability by promoting greener consumption behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green purchasing in green supply chain management (GSCM) literature plays an essential role in achieving carbon neutrality by seeking to eliminate CO 2 emissions. Single organizations would, however, not aim at such a goal if it is to their economic detriment. GSCM research streams highlight that the successful implementation of environmental considerations leads to better economic performance in the long term. Therefore, this paper aims to identify and analyze suppliers that exhibit both environmental and economic success, indicating an effective and efficient realization of their sustainability measures. Given the long-term horizon of the research problem, we differentiate from previous microeconomic research by taking a macro perspective on sustainable supplier analysis, which investigates macroeconomic indicators focusing on firms' revenues. The above-described economic and environmental efficiency is analyzed in a multiple case study using sustainability reports from 66 OEM suppliers as well as data on their revenues and ratings on their carbon pollution measured by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). First, a text mining inspired quantitative sustainable SWOT analysis is performed to evaluate the long-term strategy of organizations. A subsequent data envelopment analysis aims to identify efficient suppliers and causes for their efficiency. The overall results not only outline sustainable suppliers but also give insights into suppliers that may become sustainable in the future. We further show that large organizations struggle with meeting environmental expectations, whereas low-to-medium-sized suppliers tend to be more economically and environmentally efficient.. Based on the results, we discuss implications both for management research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the requirements of sustainable development, this paper aims to develop a sustainable concrete mix by replacing part of the cement with cenosphere waste and multi-minerals. The cenosphere was chemically treated to provide internal curing effect to enhance concrete performance. The sensitivity of cenospheres and multi-minerals on concrete strengths, microstructures, economic benefits and environmental sustainability were evaluated. To simultaneously consider these factors, concrete mixes were optimized using TOPSIS, a multi-criteria optimization method. Results show that the surface-treated cenosphere offers a good internal curing effect to improve the mechanical properties of concrete. A more considerable amount of minerals, i.e., 40%, is observed to have sound performance since the additional curing water provided by the treated cenospheres can accelerate the hydration of cement and minerals, contributing to a densified microstructure with abundant hydrates. Additionally, the addition of cenosphere and multi-minerals also brings a noticeable decline in the direct cost given a maximum decrease of 7.6%, and a significant advantageous effect on environmental sustainability given a maximum decrease of 37.4%, 34.0% and 6.34% in CO 2 emissions, energy consumption and raw material ratio, respectively. Furthermore, mixture G11 with 20% cenosphere, 6% MK and 14% GGBS is suggested when an equal priority is determined for mechanical properties, cost and environmental sustainability. • Sustainable concrete mixes with significant amounts of multi-minerals are designed. • The surface-etched cenosphere can be used as an internally-cured binding material. • A positive composite effect of cenosphere and multi-minerals is identified. • Adding cenosphere and minerals is beneficial to cost saving and environmental sustainability. • Mixture with 20% cenosphere, 6% MK and 14% GGBS is the optimum concrete mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experimental study on the effects of using agricultural waste coconut shells for producing synthesized biomass recycled aggregate (SBRA) and replacing natural aggregate (NA) with its equivalent amount on the durability, thermal conductivity, carbon dioxide emissions, and economics of concrete. Test results show that the 3-day and 28-day compressive strength of concrete with the addition of SBRA - Class III reached 93% and 88% of natural aggregate concrete (NAC), respectively. In addition, using SBRA can effectively reduce the thermal conductivity of concrete, which shows great potential for building energy conservation. Compared with NA, the use of SBRA can reduce CO 2 emissions and the cost of concrete by 2% and 5.9–7%, respectively. And the compressive strength - CO 2 emission efficiency and compressive strength - cost efficiency are comparable to NA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore whether the female share on the boards of directors of companies influences CO2 emissions in both developed and emerging markets. Furthermore, the influence of cultural diversity on the board of directors on CO2 emissions is analysed. A sample of companies belonging to the MSCI and MSCI Emerging Market indices in Europe over ten years (2010–2019) was analysed using regression models with panel data. The results demonstrate that in both developed and developing markets, the ratio of women to men on the board of directors is inversely related to the company's CO2 emissions, which support legitimacy theory in two aspects: it fulfils the right to equality and non-discrimination for women, and it also reduces CO2 emissions. In general, cultural diversity had a negative influence on CO2 emissions. This research is relevant for policymakers and managers seeking to improve sustainability and equality policies in companies. If gender equality in corporate monitoring roles is environmentally beneficial for the planet, legislators will support quota policies. In addition, shareholders will have an incentive to implement gender equality policies, as they will legitimise the company in the eyes of society, which has economic benefits. On a practical level, this work will contribute to achieving gender equality in corporate governance and improve the understanding of factors influencing CO2 emissions to the environment. This study contributes to previous research since it is the first time that developed and emerging countries have been analysed with the same methodology in relation to gender and CO2 emissions. Moreover, this research differentiates between emission-sensitive and insensitive sectors, and it is the only study to carry out a sector-by-sector and a country-by-country analysis. Furthermore, cultural diversity on corporate boards has been scarcely studied so far in relation to CO2 emissions. • Gender diversity on boards of directors is associated to lower CO2 emissions. • Cultural diversity on boards of directors is positively related to CO2 emissions. • Improving gender balances on board of directors is a sustainable strategy. • Gender equality policies on corporate boards favor climate action and life on land. • Legal gender quotas on corporate boards contribute to good health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aero-engine manufacturing industry is booming in China, while sustainability is neglected. For example, the grinding superalloy part uses a high-volume low-velocity flood delivery strategy for grinding cooling, which is harmful to health and the environment, consumes more resources and energy, emits more CO 2 and increases production costs. To achieve sustainability in the aero-engine manufacturing industry, it is worth considering eliminating coolant from the grinding to reduce the environmental impact and production cost. In this study, a novel oscillating heat pipe grinding wheel (OHP grinding wheel) is introduced to enhance the heat transfer in the eco-benign grinding process. The core concept is to design, fabricate particular oscillating heat pipes and position them in the grinding wheel so that the inside oscillating heat pipes transfer out the heat directly through the grinding wheel to avoid heat gathering, lower the grinding temperature, and suppress the thermal damages. Moreover, the use of harmful coolant can be diminished or even avoided, and an eco-benign grinding technology can therefore be achieved. Holistic sustainability analysis is then conducted in this paper. Compared with grinding by Non-OHP grinding wheel, the water-based coolant is avoided, the energy consumption is reduced by 26%–42%, and the carbon emission is reduced by 45%–56%. The OHP grinding wheel shows a great advantage in eco-benign grinding. • A novel oscillating heat pipe grinding wheel for eco-benign grinding is designed. • Carbon emission reduces 45%, production cost drops 41% by the proposed technology. • Energy consumption reduces 26%–42% by the proposed grinding wheel. • The proposed grinding wheel improves the material removal rate by 2.4 times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Scandinavian countries are fostering a sustainable economy based on renewable energy. • The investments on renewable sources has positively affected the investments in this energy and GHG emissions. • A bidirectional causal relationship exists between renewable energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. • A causal relationship exists between renewable energy consumption and economic growth. Climate change presents the greatest challenge facing all countries of the world in the new millennium. Among others, objective 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims at adopting urgent measures to contrast climate change and its consequences. Part of the decline in the global growth of emissions has been the increase in using renewable energies. In this context, the relationship among GDP, CO 2 emissions, and renewable energy use has been investigated in this study, starting from a systematic review that has noticed the presence of three clusters focused on: CO2 emissions, GDP, and energy consumption. Despite the current level of interest in examining the relationship among these variables, there have been few empirical studies. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper has been focused on the Scandinavian countries, where the use of renewable energies has steadily increased, developing novel panel analysis estimates. Using a dataset of these five economies over a 1990–2018 time period, several panel data tests have been carried out, in order to robustly assess the causality issue among renewable energies, CO 2 emissions, and GDP. The results of the empirical analysis imply that renewable energy consumption is a useful policy instrument to reduce CO 2 emissions without adversely affecting GDP growth. The main implications have been that the decrease of CO 2 emissions, by increasing renewable energy use, can guarantee high levels of energy efficiency and economic growth. These empirical findings help design innovative energy policy roadmaps and accelerate the ecological transition through the promotion of renewable energy and the reduction of GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We evaluate the carbon intensity of human well-being of 125 countries from 1990 to 2017. • We identify the effects of urbanization on the carbon intensity of human well-being. • The two-way fixed Prais-Winston regression approach is applied to examine the grouped impacts. • Urbanization negatively affects the CIWB in countries with low urbanization countries, while contrary in highly urbanized countries. • Five cooperation organizations reinforced previous findings of different urbanization level groups. While scholars have widely discussed the relationship between urbanization, economic development and environmental degradation, little is known about how urbanization affects human well-being. This paper examines the effects of urbanization on the carbon intensity of human well-being (CIWB) in 125 countries in the period of 1990–2017. The CIWB is an indicator that reflects the nexus between environmental pressure and humans living standards. According to the principle of the CIWB, our results reveal that CIWB values declined over the study period, which represents an optimistic outcome in that it indicates that human well-being increased at a faster rate than increases in per capita CO 2 emissions. By employing a two-way fixed effects of Prais-Winsten regression approach, we evaluated the influence of urbanization on the CIWB in countries with various urbanization levels. Our study further selected five international cooperative organizations, each characterized by their own urbanization levels, in order to further understand whether different urbanization levels exert different impacts on the CIWB. The empirical results showed the existence of obvious differences in these effects: urbanization is shown to have prominently reduced the CIWB in countries with low and medium levels of urbanization, while it may increase the CIWB in highly urbanized countries. The empirical results obtained in relation to the cooperative organizations approximately accord with the results obtained in relation to the countries when grouped by urbanization level. The study reinforces the importance of scientific urban planning, environmental and population policies for the sustainable development of countries at different stages of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impact-based water footprint of rolled steel production is first performed. • Fossil energy footprint and carbon footprint are evaluated by using LCA. • Maritime transport, iron power and direct emissions are major contributors. • Adjustment of industrial structure is essential for carbon mitigation of steel industry. The Iron and Steel Industry (ISI) is a difficult-to-mitigate sector that has considerable contributions to energy consumption, water pollution, and CO 2 emissions. Despite broad interest in energy consumption and CO 2 emissions generated by steel production, there are few impact-oriented Water Footprint (WF) assessments of steel production. This study evaluates the water, carbon and fossil energy footprints generated from rolled steel production on the basis of life cycle assessment. Key contributors attributing to those environmental impacts are also identified so as to explore their potential mitigation. Using the Monte Carlo model, an uncertainty analysis is conducted with the aim of providing reliable results for decision-making. Results show that the impact per ton China's rolled steel production has on global warming, human health, ecosystem quality, and resources is 4.40 × 103 kg CO 2 eq (GSD2 = 1.24), 4.15 × 10-3 Disability Adjusted of Life Years (DALY) (GSD2 = 1.31), 7.08 × 10-5 Species·yr (GSD2 = 2.04), and 4.39 × 104 MJ (GSD2 = 1.28), respectively. Global warming and freshwater ecotoxicity is the dominant contributor to the damage impact on human health and ecosystem quality, respectively. Results also show that the transport (freight ship) of raw materials and the production of iron powder are the two main contributors to the overall impact on the environment that rolled steel production has. Several policy recommendations are proposed in this paper, which focus on adjusting the steel industry's industrial structure, promoting the national-level carbon emissions trading in the ISI, promoting international cooperation, and improving public awareness of green and low-carbon development. Such policy recommendations provide decision-makers with valuable insights, which thus allow them to prepare the appropriate mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofuel manufacturing from renewable biomass through a smart manufacturing system is an important alternative to fossil fuels, which helps to decrease dependability on conventional fuel and decrease carbon emanations. By utilizing efficient labors, smart machines, and minimized energy utilization, the conventional biofuel manufacturing framework can be converted into a smart sustainable manufacturing framework. The existing conventional fuel demand can be replaced by biofuel. This study efforts to make pure biofuel with less amount of carbon emanations and energy utilization through a smart multi-type biofuel manufacturing framework, where the demand of the biofuel is selling price dependent. The different energy costs including air handling cost, lighting cost are calculated in this work-in-process inventory. The carbon emissions cost is included in every stage of this model. A variable demand has introduced for the maximization of profit. To reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, a two-stage inspection cost with a variable manufacturing rate is taken to make the manufacturing process flexible such that the amount of impure biofuel is minimized. Although a random manufacturing rate is applied through a smart manufacturing system, still impure biofuel is manufactured. The impure biofuel is remanufactured again through refining just after the well-planned manufacturing ends. In this model, the multi-delivery technique is used such that a fixed amount of biofuel of n segments of the pure biofuel is transported to market places at predetermined intervals at the time of delivery frame. The classical optimization technique is used for continuous and differentiable variables and the mixed integer programming technique is utilized for discrete variables to maximize the total profit globally. To validate the model's usefulness, four numerical observations are studied. It is shown that by utilizing the said procedure, the percentage of impure biofuel can be decreased truly through the minimized energy consumption. The graphical representation and the sensitivity experiment show the impact of every parameter with the whole cost of the research paper. Numerical results assist to get the maximum profit and the optimum selling price of biofuel globally in a sustainable smart multi-type biofuel manufacturing system. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability of a transportation system is a major concerning factor for urbanisation, as evidenced by the ever-growing problems of air pollution issues in major cities. While the growing population and migration don't have too much control to overcome the widespread use of public and personalised vehicles, it has destroyed our global environment. Therefore, the expansion of the transportation system should be carefully planned for global sustainability: so-called green transportation or sustainable transportation. In this paper, factors that should be considered when implementing green transportation for global sustainability have been critically reviewed. Firstly, barriers and challenges associated with current travel demands and blocking the implementation of green transportation have been identified. A three-step strategy (so-called ASI strategy, i.e. , avoid, shift, and improve strategy), which had been proposed to overcome the challenges and barriers, was investigated. Identification of innovative technologies or management approaches has been proposed for greening the public transportation system. Finally, some well-recognised success stories of the ASI strategy were presented, in which Avoid can reduce 146–312 kg CO2 /y, Shift can be reduced 0.27 kg CO2 /revolution of vehicles use and Improve can be reduced 12.4% CO 2 emissions. This review guides successful urban planning through the green transportation system. [Display omitted] - Barriers, challenges and strategies of sustainable transportation critically reviewed. - Three strategies (Avoid, Shift, and Improve) for green transportation were proposed. - Innovative technology and integrated management proposed for transportation. - Green transportation for environmental sustainability outlined. - Case studies of green transportation demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advance cooling/lubrication (lubricooling) approaches are getting fame in industry and academia due to their excellent performance. A significant amount of work has been conducted to investigate the effect of various lubricooling approaches on the machinability of the hardened steel. However, sustainability-based performance evaluation of lubricooling assisted machining is missing. Thus, this paper presents 3E-based (Energy, Economics, Environment) analysis to compare the performance of various lubricooling approaches. Initially, preliminary experiments were performed to achieve optimal flow rates of various cutting fluids used in Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL), cryogenic cooling, and conventional emulsion (Flood) approaches. Later, optimal flow rates were used to achieve equal cutting-tool life under all machining environments. Results showed that with the same tool life method (STLM), Cryogenic-MQL(CryoMQL) could withstand aggressive cutting speeds and produce the highest productivity among all lubricooling approaches. In addition, it yielded 50% lower-priced specific production cost as compared to dry machining. However, 44.3% more specific-CO 2 emitted in CryoMQL as compared with dry machining. In summary, the hybrid CryoMQL assisted machining process is sustainable economically but not environmentally. The outcomes of the present study provide useful information, and it can help machinist to enhance the process performance. [Display omitted] • Holistic sustainability assessment of hard machining. • New holistic models for energy consumption, CO 2 emission, and cost. • Determining optimal flow rate of cooling/lubrication approaches. • Comparison of energy-conscious advanced lubricooling technologies. • Proposed CryoMQL yielded 50% lower price products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing energy demand and the rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions have increased the necessity of bioenergy and sustainable energy generation. The sustainable bioenergy supply chain is the key to produce sustainable biofuel. This paper points to render an optimization model for planning a versatile and dependable biomass-to-bioenergy sustainable supply chain network in which crop residuals from several agricultural sectors, multi-transportation disruption modes, multi-biorefineries, multi-biogas plants, and multi-market centers are investigated for two bioenergy sources, namely biofuel and biogas. For this reason, supply chain cost optimization, emissions of feedstock transport, processing, and distributing end biofuel to respective markets are utilized. The multi-setup-multi-delivery (MSMD) concept is incorporated and lead time crashing cost is applied to minimize the lead time in this model. The carbon emission costs at all steps and the variable production rate for the production of bioenergy are included within the model. Finally, one small-scale data and another large-scale data of six agricultural areas, four biorefineries, four biogas plants, and six markets are considered to validate the model's usefulness. The model's goal is to show bioenergy's effect to make a sustainable supply chain of biofuel and biogas. The numerical results reveal that the cost of bioenergy production contributed 54.12%, a major extent of the whole cost in biorefinery and biogas plants. The transportation segment is the preeminent initiator of carbon emissions with 83.33% in the entire carbon emission within the whole supply chain. Although, transportation cost contributed 33.09% of the total cost, the multi setup-delivery-multi-delivery policy minimized the whole supply chain cost. The results provide a systematic guideline for developing a sustainable biofuel supply-chain by minimizing cost, various aspects of transportation logistics, and multi-model alternatives under reduced energy effects. • Energy demand and two approaches of biofuel and biogas production are evaluated. • Reduction of the supply chain network's total cost. • Optimizing allocation of the appropriate quantity of residual biomass and biofuel. • Reducing energy consumption by using variable production rate. • An intelligent logistics system with multi-disruption is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy sustainability includes security, efficiency, cleanness, low carbon emissions. • Chinese energy sustainability has obvious spatial heterogeneity. • Cleanness and efficiency perform better than security, low carbon emissions in China. • Energy supply, consumption structure and pollution emissions are key impact factors. • Targeted measures are proposed to promote Chinese energy sustainability. Energy sustainability is one of the largest challenges for sustainable development. Energy sustainability in China varies by regions because of the differences in energy resources, technology and economic levels. Previous studies have assessed national energy sustainability, few to none have looked internally on a regional or provincial scale. This paper defined energy sustainability from the four dimensions of security, efficiency, cleanness and low carbon emissions, established an index system and evaluated the energy sustainability levels of 30 provinces in China by the Improved Entropy Weight-Cloud Model (IEW-CM). The results show that: (1) General energy sustainability in Chinese provinces is deficient, and energy cleanness and efficiency perform better than security and low carbon emissions. (2) Chinese energy sustainability has obvious spatial heterogeneity and within the same province, the level is unbalanced in four dimensions. The characteristics of energy sustainability exhibit significant differences in different regions. (3) Energy security and low carbon emissions play a crucial role in achieving energy sustainability. Natural gas deliverability, energy consumption elasticity coefficient, CO 2 emission per unit of energy and share of fossil energy consumption are the primary factors affecting energy sustainability differences among provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]