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Prevailing consumption‐based business models and capitalist practices place significant strain on the environment and society. Buddhism, as a practicing religion, may provide insights on practicing models as a solution to sustain society, the environment, and businesses. The present investigation adopts a structured literature review methodology to take stock of such prior studies and articulate its representation of Buddhism‐based business models, practices, ethical frameworks, and economic views. Based on the findings, it is clear that the prior studies have discussed the practitioner context of Buddhism religion in order to promote ethical and mindful business practices at the consumer, managerial, and business levels; to reduce the negative effects of identity politics in the workplace through spirituality; to introduce the idea of considering factors other than purely financial profitability; and to encourage the long‐term viability and genuine happiness of individuals, communities, and organizations. In relation to these topics, research avenues are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agriculture industry is one of India's largest and most important economic contributors. This is vital to the Indian economy since it contributes around 18% to the GDP and employs over 60% of the labour force. Due to the nature of the goods, however, this sector confronts many challenges. An effective agri‐logistics network can be a viable solution, but the sector must be prepared to overcome various risks. Therefore, this study aimed to identify potential risks to the smart, sustainable agri‐logistics industry and strategies for mitigating those risks. Bayesian Best Worst Method (BBWM) was used to prioritise the identified risks and the mitigating strategies. Study results indicate that by obtaining the highest ratings, technological (0.351), social (0.187), and individual (0.169) are the dominating risks to the agri‐logistics sector. Further, it was discovered that combining multiple strategies is more effective than any one strategy alone in reducing the identified risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seriousness and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic required high quality decision-making and quick, positive actions by different levels of government in Brazil and in other countries. The question is: How did the Brazilian government respond to the crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic? We explored the theoretical context of the pandemic by using the Sendai framework, to analyze the quantitative aspects of the disease. The analysis was performed as an analytical, descriptive, and systematic study, using bibliographic research covering the period from Jan. 2020 to Apr. 2021. We used the process-tracing method. Brazil reported the first case of COVID-19 in South America, on Feb. 26. Since then, there has been an accelerated spread of the disease in South America. The Brazilian government's responses to the pandemic were characterized by intergovernmental incoordination, caused by the lack of leadership from the federal government, resulting in increased losses in human lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society is facing many challenges, including, climate change, COVID, inequity and human population growth. Some researchers suggest that integration of Circular Economy (CE) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) concepts and approaches can help us to make progress towards sustainable societies. Integrated implementation can help to improve the design of product–service systems focused on prevention and reduction of wastage of materials, energy, human health, and ecosystems. The CE practices enable consumers to return products after use and to reuse the products with more value. Will integrated adoption of CE and I4.0 practices help society to be more sustainable? What is known about the climate change benefits of integration of I4.0 and CEs to reduce energy and resource usage? The authors sought to answer these questions, via a systematic bibliometric literature review, and network analysis of literature on I4.0 and CE for logistics and supply chain applications. The review was performed by searching the SCOPUS database for literature about I4.0 and CE. A total of 165 articles were shortlisted for in‐depth review. The literature review was complimented by bibliometric and network analyses. The review provided insights into the present and future trends in integration of I4.0 and related Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in CE's. Based on the findings, a framework for integrating I4.0 and CE, was developed to guide CE decision‐making that will help researchers and industrialists, integrate I4.0 tools within CEs to improve logistics, resource efficiency, safety, product quality and reduce fossil‐carbon footprints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing bioenergy specifically, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that a reduction in environmental impact occurs in the following scenarios: (i) "Biomass is grown sustainably or based on waste/residues"; (ii) "Converted to energy products efficiently"; and (iii) "Used to displace GHG-intensive fuels". Bioenergy, derived from biomass is applicable in all energy sectors (heat, electricity and transport). The European Commission emphasised that a bioeconomy is an economy that uses renewable biological resources from the land and sea (e.g., animals, crops, fish, forests and microorganisms) to produce energy, food and materials [[1]]. 10.3390/en12040578 10 Alsaleh M., Abdulwakil M.M., Abdul-Rahim A.S. Does Social Businesses Development Affect Bioenergy Industry Growth under the Pathway of Sustainable Development?. [Extracted from the article]

Beneficiation increases the calorific value of low-grade coal and extracts environmentally sensitive elements. Bacteria may be used as eco-friendly coal cleaning tool, but the treatment is influenced by several extrinsic and intrinsic factors. This study examined five extrinsic factors, namely particle size of coal, pulp density, bacterial biomass concentration, number of bacterial beads (immobilized bacterial cells) and the duration of treatment. For optimization, the test runs were designed using Taguchi L16 orthogonal array, determining optimal values through S/N ratio analysis and individual parameter contribution using ANOVA. The optimal conditions obtained for sub-bituminous coal beneficiation using Cronobacter sp. are 80–120 mesh particle size, 30% pulp density, 750 mg bacterial biomass/g coal, 25 bacterial beads, and six days of treatment resulting in 13.36% ash yield reduction. Particle size had the highest impact (69.4%), followed by treatment duration (13.1%), pulp density (6.3%), bacterial biomass (6.3%), and bacterial bead number (4.8%). A regression model attributed only 42% influence of these extrinsic factors on inorganic removal from coal. Therefore, further research on other factors, particularly intrinsic ones, in inorganic matter liberation is imperative. These findings can be used for designing experiments that optimize the extraction of cleaner fuel from various types of low-grade coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exponential growth of urban areas is putting a strain on urban land and water resources, besides has serious implications on the urban environment. Blue-Green infrastructure (BGI) is an emerging solution for sustainable urban planning and efficient management of urban spaces. This article highlights the benefits offered by BGI and the available BGI technologies based on available scientific works. The relationship between environmental well-being, human health, and BGI has been examined from several recent literature reviews. The performance of various available BGI techniques and the models available have also been rigorously reviewed by consulting publications, peer-reviewed journal papers, documents, and books published by various sources. A major gap in performance evaluation of different BGI technologies has been attempted to be bridged by discussing in detail the available modelling tools. This review article discusses different BGI programs, strategies, benefits, and the drivers associated with the successful implementation. It will enable urban planners to select the best available BGI technologies based on goal-oriented applications, especially for land and water management. It would also serve to establish and popularize BGI techniques and designs among researchers, planners, and policy makers for application in their respective countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]