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Promoting the shift from private cars to micromobility (e.g., bike, e-bike, scooter) can represent a valuable action to improve city sustainability and liveability. Micromobility can help to replace trips by individual private cars (e.g., daily short round trips) as well as to improve coverage and accessibility of transit services, and, subsequently, to reduce the traffic impacts (e.g., pollutant emissions). It can be seen as a potential solution to move people more efficiently in urban areas, as well as to push people towards a more active mobility behaviour, contributing to the well-being goals. In this context, the paper, rather than inferring the users' propensity to change their travel mode, proposes a methodology to identify car trips that can be considered the most compatible with micromobility. Estimation of the potential demand (e.g., the upper level of car trips that could be replaced by micromobility) is carried out by exploiting the opportunity offered by floating car data (FCD) for characterising car trips. Its goodness is therefore evaluated through an application to a real case study (i.e., the city of Trani, Apulia Region, Southern Italy), divided into seventy traffic zones, and where a FCD dataset of about 5,200 trips was available. The FCD allowed the car trips to be characterised (e.g., origin and destination, path features) instead of using the traditional surveys. The results indicate that a significant share of daily car trips can be substituted (i.e., the most compatible) by micromobility (31% of car round trips in the case study), with considerable potential environmental gains (traffic emission reduction; less than 21% of total emissions from private cars). Results can be of interest to local authorities in integrating micromobility in urban mobility planning and promoting new sustainable transport alternatives, as well as to transport companies for designing new appeal services. The developed methodology is parametric and uses easy-to-obtain data available worldwide; thus, it can be easily transferred to other city contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the study of "Takeve", an Italian food delivery platform that employs only women. The research conducted by interviewing both the workers and the founders of this small platform provides an opportunity to re-discuss the business models of food delivery platforms. The aim is to understand how and in what ways it is possible to initiate a participatory and multi-stakeholder model in which opportunities for fair and decent work, business-to-business cooperation, and even dialogue between companies and institutions are created. Although the case presented is circumscribed and very limited in size, it seems to be a good example to reflect on the possibility of rethinking the model of food delivery platforms in a gendered perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is recognised as an integral part of building the capacity of all ages to drive the transformation toward sustainable development. While the Hong Kong government aspires to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and has ramped up efforts to integrate sustainability into school curricula and raise public awareness through educational activities, this policy brief argues that Hong Kong's existing measures failed to empower and motivate individuals and the community to keep pace with its climate action ambition. Drawing on Sterling's framework of education for sustainability (EFS), this paper presents a diagnosis of Hong Kong's major problems in sustainability education policies and suggests that the Hong Kong government should learn from the Italian experience to take a more systemic, empowering, and democratic approach in advancing its EFS policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed to analyse and compare the environmental and energy sustainability of two orchards (peach versus kiwifruit) located in Southern Italy using Life Cycle Thinking. To this end, anthropogenic energy, CO2 emissions, biogenic energy and carbon gains were also considered through Life Cycle Assessment methodology and Energy Analysis. The C–CO2 balance was calculated as the difference between total C–CO2 stored in soil and trees, at the end of their life cycles, and orchards Carbon Footprint (CF). The results showed that the production of 1 kg of peaches caused minor impacts, especially with reference to CF (0.124 kg CO2 eq against 0.145 for kiwifruit), while it required 1.56 MJ of energy against 1.32 MJ for kiwifruit. In both orchards the main sources of direct CO2 emissions came from fuel combustion, nitrous oxide release by crop residue decomposition, and nitrogenous fertilizer distribution. Nevertheless, both orchards had sustainable environmental and energy results. Despite the management of the orchards releasing CO2 and consuming energy, they showed a significant capacity to store CO2 and energy, proving to be virtuous systems. This research can give useful indications for farmers, farmer associations, technicians, and stakeholders to improve orchard management efficiency. The net balance approach seems to be an adequate strategy, allowing best estimation of environmental impacts and guiding farmer decisions towards more sustainable alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wilderness is an important concept in the discourses and policies concerning contemporary European protected areas, inherently challenging in terms of sustainability. Since its designation in 1992, the Val Grande National Park, located in northwest Italy, has been portrayed and promoted as a wilderness area, thereby enhancing tourism, whilst disregarding the historical signs of human activity. In this paper we explore the wilderness concept, focusing on the narratives developed in the area, that changed from a strict conservationist approach to a more utilitarian one, influencing the National Park's policy-making. The research is based mainly on the content analysis of several literary texts. We conclude that wildernessneeds to be reconceptualized so that contemporary European protection policies might become more effective, and we may use our knowledge of nature to promote sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper moves from the relevance that greenwashing has assumed in recent years and aims to investigate whether the environmental claims made by companies truly reflect their actions. Specifically, it analyzes the relationship between environmental claims and strategic intentionality toward environmental sustainability, proxied by the use and weight of incentives linked to environmental targets in executive compensation plans. By adopting this approach, the study offers a more nuanced perspective on greenwashing, addressing the limitations of the prevalent performance-based view. Based on the analysis of the companies listed on the FTSE Italia All-share index 2021, the paper highlights that companies that draft sustainability plans and declare carbon neutrality goals tend to include environmental targets in their executive compensation plans more frequently and with greater weights compared to other companies. Conversely, merely reporting environmental performance in sustainability (or integrated) reports is not associated with the use of environmental targets in executive compensation plans, suggesting the potential existence of greenwashing practices. The study emphasizes the relevance of considering the executive compensation structure when examining potential signs of greenwashing. It also provides evidence of the need for standardized and transparent corporate compensation disclosure as a significant implication. [Display omitted] • Greenwashing is measured comparing corporate intentionality and environmental claims. • Intentionality is proxied by executive compensation linked to environmental targets. • The diffusion of environmental targets in executive compensation is still limited. • Sustainability plans and carbon neutrality goals signal corporate intentionality. • Nonfinancial reporting alone is not associated with corporate intentionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy is a social, technological and economic paradigm that aims to build a production and consumption model focused on waste reduction and maximization of discarded matter recovery. Discussion of the circular economy often treats it as a technocratic and profit-driven phenomenon that can be developed by capital investment in a particular industrial sector without necessarily taking into account the needs of the surrounding geographic area. The promotion of the circular economy often emphasises recycling and other practices that may not fully use the recovered material but are highly automatable, thus creating only a limited number of jobs. At the same time, there is another model of the circular economy, in which small and medium-sized organizations engage in transformative and low-technology activities such as reuse and repair, benefiting local development and creating job opportunities. This model is often explicitly driven by a social development mandate. Still, it risks falling short of its goals because of a lack of expertise and a less systematic approach. This paper aims to introduce the Design-led Repair & Reuse (DLRR) framework for mitigating the shortcomings of this second model, using an approach that is both sustainable and accessible to organizations with limited resources. Inspired by the principles of "Design-driven innovation", "social & solidarity economy", and "appropriate technology", DLRR aims to generate a higher quality of processes and products from circular, low entropy and low capital-intensity production activities, resulting in a more solid, identifiable and conscious positioning in the reuse market. It complements the socially inclusive ethos of these third sector small and medium-sized organizations while contributing to the debate on integrating alternative perspectives into the mainstream circular economy discourse. The first part of this paper discusses the theoretical principles that have inspired the DLRR framework. The second part presents research that tests the consistency of these founding principles based on a case study of a sample of organizations in Italy that are active in circular waste transformation processes. • The circular economy is an emerging paradigm in the race to achieve environmental sustainability. • Mainstream discourse on circular economy often does not focus on the social dimension of sustainability. • This discourse often interprets circular economy in a technocratic way, emphasizing high-tech, capital intensive approaches. • Reuse and repair practices are more technologically accessible, and can foster the creation of job opportunities. • A Design-led reuse and repair approach can contribute to strenghten the social dimension of circular economy. [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]

This VSI focuses on what cross-cutting insights might be gained from research to increase the energy/materials circularity and the contribution of eco-innovation, cleaner consumption, and waste management to produce a logical body of knowledge that may lead to increased resilience and a sustainable Planet. The articles' collection shows development trends of sustainable, cleaner production under the Special Issue: A Resilient and Sustainable World. Some selected d papers have been presented and emerged from the 10th and 11th International Workshop on Advances in Cleaner Production (IWACP), held in hybrid mode in Italy (Ferrata and Florence). The contribution of the articles in this Special Issue could be divided into efforts toward sustainable and cleaner production, aiming (i) Eco-innovation for cleaner production and circular economy, (ii) Proper monitoring and identification of cleaner production, circular economy, and eco-innovation, (iii) cleaner production, circular economy and eco-innovation targeting social wellbeing and cleaner environment, (iv) cleaner production, circular economy and eco-innovation targeting emission reduction, and (v) cleaner production, circular economy and eco-innovation targeting improved and optimized production processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last ten years have witnessed an increase in publications focusing on bioeconomy as a proposal to confront the global challenges of climate change, depletion of non-renewable resources and ecosystem degradation. This paper investigates the scientific literature on issues related agricultural bioeconomy by applying a bibliometric network analysis. Bibliometric analysis is applied to the publications of the Scopus database during the period 2010–2020 in order to provide an overview of the main aspects that characterize agricultural bioeconomy. The results showed that out of a total of 1100 scientific papers, only 2.45% were published in 2010, while the corresponding share in 2020 was 20.81%. In the five years of 2016–2020, cumulatively, 70.63% of the publications were made, showing the dynamic evolution of bioeconomy. In addition, out of 85 countries in total, Germany and Italy are the two countries with most publications, while the fragmentation of research is evident with the creation of two main nodes, the European and the American. Moreover, keyword analysis showed that biomass and sustainability are two main recurring concepts, confirming that, currently, bioeconomy operates at three different levels: energy demand, land demand, and governance. It is apparent that to boost the development of agricultural bioeconomy, the following aspects should be assessed: the effective use of resources, an understanding of the key drivers of agricultural bioeconomy, and a clear perception of their associations. There is still no consensus as to which are the key factors that will accelerate its sustainable development. Our pursuit is to use the tools of bibliometric analysis to reach more critical conclusions regarding the agricultural bioeconomy, rather than approach it in a static way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas production and use can represent a win-win strategy providing multiple opportunities to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, while offering a range of important social, environmental and economic benefits. Nevertheless, as for other bioenergy pathways, biogas sustainability needs to be carefully assessed and continuously monitored in light of the specific geographic and temporal context in which it performs. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review on the sustainability assessment of domestic production and use of biogas in Italy, with a focus on the environmental dimension of the sustainability. Furthermore, it elaborates the results of the review to perform an ex-novo sustainability assessment of biogas pathway at national level, through the methodology developed by the Global Bioenergy Partnership. The biogas value chain in Italy can play a positive role to foster the transition towards an ecological and circular economy. This paper highlights both weaknesses and strengths of the biogas value chain in Italy and points out existing differences, in relation to the sustainability of the value chain, between various geographical areas of the country. The outcomes of this study could inform, both at national and international scale, the drawing of tailor-made policies and measures to reduce biogas-related potential risks of environmental impacts, as well as to support the replication and scaling up of successful management practices. Furthermore, they could serve as a baseline for the future monitoring of the sector. Ultimately, the paper reports the key difficulties encountered in the implementation of the GBEP methodology and the solutions adopted to overcome them. [Display omitted] • Three-quarters (75.4%) of the Italian biogas production takes place in the Po river valley, one-third comes from Lombardy. • Maize silage and livestock manure are the most common feedstocks in Italian biogas plants. • Roughly 80 k tons of nitrogen contained in livestock manure were treated by biogas plant in Italy in 2016. • The main source of GHG emissions along the biogas pathway in Italy lies in the cultivation of dedicated bioenergy crops. • Water shortage hampers the development of the biogas sector in southern Italy, restricting the cultivation of energy crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal waste management, especially in developed countries, has a significant impact on the environment and humans that need to be quantified and mitigated. This study aims to investigate and compare the environmental impact and occupational risks of the following three municipal waste collection methods in Italy: street bins, door-to-door collection, and a smart bins system. Six waste categories (paper, plastics, glass, metal, organic materials, and residual waste) are analysed. Environmental performances are calculated by the life cycle assessment (LCA) and material and flow analysis (MFA) methodologies. The ergonomic analysis is based on direct observation of municipal waste collectors and the application of standard assessment methods as RULA, NIOSH, and Snook Ciriello. show that the smart bins collection method is environmentally more effective in all the impact categories considered, thanks to the better quality of collected waste. The residual waste flow directed to landfills has a lower value in the case of smart bins (36.63%) in comparison with door-to-door (52.90%) and street bins (89.56%). The use of smart bins allows higher environmental benefits, passing for the Climate Change impact category from −2.80E+01 kg of CO2eq. of the door-to-door system and −2.74E+01 kg of CO2eq. of street bins to −7.13E+01 kg of CO2eq. of smart bins. Regarding the transport phase, the smart bins system determines a reduction of the impact of about 60% if compared with the door-to-door system for all the impact categories considered. On the other hand, acceptable occupational risks result in street and smart waste collection methods, while poor ergonomics conditions are observed during the door-to-door collection. Containers lifting and emptying are the most critical tasks. [Display omitted] • Smart technologies in urban waste management determines benefits in environmental terms. • Smart technologies in urban waste management preserves the operators' health condition. • Analysis of environmental impact and occupational risk of municipal waste systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses consumer preferences and willingness to pay for three different environmental sustainability labels (EU Organic Farming, Rainforest Alliance, 'Per il Clima-Legambiente') and information cues about the origin displayed on a processed food product, namely tomato purée. Using a choice experiment and conditional logit models, the results show that: i) preferences for the environmental sustainability labelled product increase when consumers have proper knowledge about the meaning of the labels; ii) the information cue about the product's domestic origin is important for all consumers, regardless of their education, unlike environmental sustainability labels that are more appreciated by well-educated consumers; iii) consumers' willingness to pay is higher for labels with greater market penetration, regardless of certification by private or public organisations. Findings suggest that the adoption of environmental sustainability labels by food producers should be combined with effective information policies aimed at increasing consumer awareness. [Display omitted] • We explore consumer preferences for environmental sustainability labels on a processed food. • We conduct a choice experiment on a sample of consumers in southern Italy. • We perform conditional logit model to investigate hypothetical consumer behaviour. • Consumers still pay little attention to environmental sustainability food labels. • Information campaigns may raise consumer awareness of sustainability labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on Sustainable Business Models (SBMs) has burgeoned, identifying different archetypes to capture the variety of business models applied. Little is known, however, regarding to what extent such SBMs are effectively driving sustainable performance. This paper addresses this gap by exploring how SBMs relate to sustainability performance, considering both overall sustainable performance and the balance across the three dimensions – environmental, social, and economic (integrated performance). Based on original survey data on B Corps located in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, our findings suggest that the implementation of most SBMs results in the prioritization of one sustainability dimension over the others, especially when it comes to economically-oriented SBMs. Furthermore, our study suggests that none of the SBM archetypes considered is associated with a balanced sustainable performance, that is, none of them are inherently better able to overcome tensions across the Triple Bottom Line. • We study how SBMs archetypes relate to sustainability performance (SP). • Most SBMs prioritise a triple bottom line (TBL) axes over the others. • Economically-oriented SBMs are not connected with superior SP. • No SBM archetype drives a balanced performance across TBL axes. • A means-end divide emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islands are widely recognised as ideal pilot sites that can spearhead the transition to clean energy and development towards a sustainable and healthy society. One of the assumptions underpinning this notion is that island communities are more ready to engage with smart grids (SGs) than people on the mainland. This is believed to be due to the high costs of energy on islands and the idea that the sense of community and collective action is stronger on islands than on the mainland. This paper presents findings from a survey conducted to assess people's perception of, and readiness to engage with, SG and demand response (DR) in the communities of three islands taking part in a H2020 project called REACT. The main objective of the survey, conducted in 2020, was to inform the recruitment of participants in the project, which is piloting different technologies required for SGs and DR with communities on the three islands. The results show that many island residents are motivated to take part in SG, to engage with energy saving, and are willing to change some energy-related behaviours in their homes. However, the results also indicate that levels of ownership of, and knowledge and familiarity with, the SG and DR related technologies are extremely low, suggesting that the expected uptake of DR in islands might not be as high as anticipated. This brings into question the readiness of island dwellers for the SG, their role in the deployment of such schemes more widely and the validity of the assumptions often made about island communities. This has significant implications for the design of SGs and DR solutions for islands, including devoting sufficient efforts to build knowledge and awareness of the SG, investing in demonstration projects for that purpose and tailoring interventions based on island communities' motivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diffusion of community supported agriculture (CSA) in Italy is a very recent phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current status and the evolution of this reality, understanding the social, environmental, and economic benefits for CSA members and the local context. Based on access to CSA data and participant observation during a CSA meeting, a thematic network analysis was adopted to analyse a large piece of information spanning from social, economic, and environmental topics as well as existing relationships between different CSA. Later, we interviewed CSA representatives about CSA production structure and several issues concerning their sustainability, including the role played by CSA members; the economic self-sufficiency; the environmental impact associated with food production. Findings highlighted that in general, the CSA phenomenon in Italy meets sustainability goals, even with different levels of members' involvement, working conditions, economic viability, and environmental impact from a community to one another, with desirable further improvements along all dimensions for most of them. Social transformations in which consumers take the role of producers and consumers at the same time with increased responsibility have been observed. In this context, the members' degree of responsibility contributes to distinguishing CSA in its full sense from CSA initiatives somehow started as ethical purchasing groups, with lower levels of commitment by members, then trying to trigger a higher involvement. The lack of policy support is containing further CSA diffusion and consolidation: new mechanisms are necessary at least to figure out, recognise, and reward the mitigation of environmental impacts characterising local food production and distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, precision agriculture technologies (PATs) can be considered a tool for the management of the farm which allows the agricultural entrepreneur to optimise inputs, reduce costs, and offer the best quantitative and qualitative agricultural products. In Italy, the number of digital farmers is still low; therefore, it is not yet possible to assess with certainty the actual economic benefits that technologies bring to the farm. To bridge this gap, the paper proposes, through the analysis of a case study, an assessment of the economic efficiency of an Italian cereal farm that has invested in precision agriculture. The results reveal that, unlike what is reported in the literature, after the technological adoption, the farm keeps both the yield and variable costs stable. However, the major benefit is recorded in the decrease in labour costs (−20%) and in the reduction of pesticides (−53%). The increase in the quantity of nitrogen (+11%) and of seed distributed in the field (+5%) indicates that, in the face of a significant increase in total costs due to the capital invested in technology, the farm aims to intensify production rather than reduce agricultural inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]