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Carbon farming has become increasingly popular as it integrates agriculture, forestry, and diverse land use practices, all crucial for implementing European strategies aimed at capturing 310 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These farming methods were proven to reliably increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. However, there is a lack of discussion and consensus regarding the standards used to report these values and their implications. This article analyzes carbon sequestration rates, calculation methodologies, and communication procedures, as well as potential co-benefits and best practices. The average carbon sequestration rates in major staple crops range from very low values (0–0.5 Mg/ha/yr) to medium values (1–5 Mg/ha/yr). Scientific agricultural experiments in key global staple crops demonstrate positive rates of 4.96 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in wheat–maize rotations and 0.52–0.69 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in rice–wheat rotations. In agriculture, carbon sequestration rates are reported using different terms that are not consistent and pose communication challenges. This assessment involves a systematic review of the scientific literature, including articles, reviews, book chapters, and conference papers indexed in Scopus from 2001 to 2022. Specifically, this review focuses on long-term experiments, meta-analyses, and reviews that report an increase in soil carbon stock. The research trends observed, through a VOSviewer 1.6.18 analysis, show a steadily increasing interest in the field of carbon sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main priority at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is the attainment of a high quality of treated effluent ensuring the highly effective removal of pollutants and protecting the environment and public health. However, WWTPs are made of energy-intensive processes and consequently, they are considered major energy consumers in the public sector. The need to move towards energy neutrality in the wastewater sector was recently pointed out by the proposal of a recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. To date, a comprehensive methodology for energy audits at WWTPs is still missing. The present review aims at discussing the state of the art on energy consumption at WWTPs and at surveying the energy benchmarking methodologies currently available highlighting the main advantages and limitations. It was pointed out that aeration represents the highest energy-intensive compartment in WWTPs (40–75% of total energy). The wide overview provided by key performance indicators (KPIs) might be overcome by applying benchmarking methodologies based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). The latest is properly designed for WWTPs and able to manage multiple inputs and outputs. However, the obtained findings are often limited and fragmented, making the standardization of the methodology difficult. Consequently, future investigations are advised on the development of standard procedures related to data acquisition and collection and on the implementation of online and real-time monitoring. Considering the lack of standardized methodology for the energy benchmarking of WWTPs, the present article will provide essential information to guide future research, helping WWTP utilities to reach the energy audit goals in the accomplishment of incoming EU directives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the "contributive" approach, balancing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cannot be considered comprehensive, as all footprints, such as ecological and water, shall be assessed and balanced by regenerative actions contributing not only to carbon removal, but also to the regeneration of biodiversity, land, and water. A survey on existing methodologies for the assessment of the damage (environmental burden) and the calculation of the environmental repair (offsets) has been presented in this work. Its outcome pointed out a lack of scientific knowledge on how to put metrics beyond the regenerative development model and in particular on how life cycle assessment (LCA) can scientifically support a number of key features essential to develop a new methodology. The proposed approach is based on three pillars: reduce, remove, and repair. Indeed, this paper aims to develop a methodological LCA-based approach for the definition of Regenerative Contribution Units (RCUs) to quantitatively assess the contribution of projects in line with Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) and the framework of regenerative model development. These regenerative units might be marketed locally and globally by enterprises interested in purchasing such assets to scientifically and ethically comply with their corporate ESG obligations. Furthermore, the novelty and feasibility of the proposed approach has been preliminarily investigated through an example of footprints balancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the world has witnessed one of the most severe raw material crises ever recorded, with serious repercussions for maintaining its agri-food supply chain. This crisis risks dramatically impacting the poorest areas of the planet and poses profound reflections on global food security. In this complex geopolitical context, the recovery and recycling of renewable resources have become an obligatory path and, today, more than ever, essential in the fertiliser industry. To achieve these objectives, TIMAC AGRO Italia S.p.A. has undertaken a research activity to review the formulation of fertilisers by diversifying the raw materials used and introducing recycled raw materials. This article carried out a life cycle assessment (LCA) on four fertilisers to identify and quantify whether the changes influenced the environmental impacts, highlighting how applying the circular economy within industrial processes can reduce the pressure on natural resources. The results demonstrate that the global warming potential (GWP) impacts of the different reformulated fertilisers show a considerable variation of 4.4–9.2% due to the various raw materials used, the nitrogen content, and related emissions deriving from environmental dispersion. This study shows the importance of the LCA methodology to analyse and quantify the impact categories generated on the life cycle of fertiliser production and to identify the optimal by-products and end-of-waste for the fertiliser industry to find a synergy between environmental and agronomic performance. It also highlights the relevance of the transition to circular production and consumption systems to reduce environmental pressures and their effects on communities and ecosystems without compromising yields. Finally, the positive results encourage accelerating the circular transition and finding alternatives to virgin-mined raw materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency measures in buildings can provide for a significant reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A sustainable design and planning of technologies for energy production should be based on economic and environmental criteria. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts over the whole cycle of life of production plants. Optimization models can support decisions that minimize costs and negative impacts. In this work, a multi-objective decision problem is formalized that takes into account LCA calculations and that minimizes costs and GHG emissions for general buildings. A decision support system (DSS) is applied to a real case study in the Northern Italy, highlighting the advantage provided by the installation of renewable energy. Moreover, a comparison among different optimal and non optimal solution was carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a very innovative and promising solution for greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction, i.e., capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) at its source and storing it indefinitely to avoid its release to the atmosphere. This paper investigates a set of key issues in the development of specific rules for the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to CCS. The following LCA-based information are addressed in this work: definition of service type, definition of functional unit, definition of system boundaries, choice of allocation rules, choice of selected Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) results or other selected parameters for description of environmental performance. From a communication perspective, the specific rules defined in this study have been developed coherently with the requirements of a type III environment label scheme, the International EPD® System, according to the ISO 14025 standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combined heat and power (CHP) systems in both power stations and large plants are becoming one of the most important tools for reducing energy requirements and consequently the overall carbon footprint of fundamental industrial activities. While power stations employ topping cycles where the heat rejected from the cycle is supplied to domestic and industrial consumers, the plants that produce surplus heat can utilise bottoming cycles to generate electrical power. Traditionally the waste heat available at high temperatures was used to generate electrical power, whereas energy at lower temperatures was either released to the environment or used for commercial or domestic heating. However the introduction of new engines, such as the ones using the organic Rankine cycle, capable of employing condensing temperatures very close to the ambient temperature, has made the generation of electrical power at low temperatures also convenient. On the other hand, district heating is becoming more and more significant since it has been extended to include cooling in the warm months and underground storage of thermal energy to cope with variable demand. These developments imply that electric power generation and district heating/cooling may become alternative and not complementary solutions for waste energy of industrial plants. Therefore the overall energy management requires the introduction of an optimisation algorithm to select the best strategy. In this paper we propose an algorithm for the minimisation of a suitable cost function, for any given variable heat demand from commercial and domestic users, with respect to all independent variables, i.e., temperatures and flowrates of warm fluid streams leaving the plants and volume and nature of underground storage. The results of the preliminary process integration analysis based on pinch technology are used in this algorithm to provide bounds on the values of temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anodes used in SOFCs are composites, formed by a mixture of nickel and YSZ particles. This paper presents a model for this type of electrode, taking mass transport effects into account. The effect of the operating conditions, such as temperature and pressure, is discussed. Also, the effect of the choice of the geometrical parameters, such as electrode thickness and particle radius, on the electrode performance is analysed in detail. In particular, the electrode losses display a minimum for a well-defined radius of the electrode particles, which is related to a trade-off between activation and concentration losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-neutral design is pivotal for achieving the future energy performance targets of buildings. This paper shows research projects that promote the environmental sustainability of university campuses at the international level. GHG accounting methods and operational strategies adopted by the University of Genoa (UNIGE), Italy, and the Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, USA, are compared, with both universities striving to make buildings and campus facilities benchmarked and carbon neutral in the near future. Our comparative research includes analyzing campus buildings at both universities and their attempts to design, retrofit, and transform these buildings into carbon neutral buildings. Two case studies were discussed: the Smart Energy Building (SEB) in the Savona Campus of the UNIGE, and the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture (PCA) Building of the FIU. The SEB's construction reduced emissions by about 86 tCO2/y, whereas the PCA's retrofitting reduced GHG emissions by 30%. Other operational strategies, including energy efficiency and energy generation, allowed the UNIGE to reduce their overall Scope 1 + 2 GHG emissions by 25% from 2013 to 2016. Globally, FIU Scope 1 + 2 GHG emissions per person were found to result in more than three times the UNIGE's emissions, and 2.4 times if evaluated per square meter. The results were compared with GHG emissions and operational strategies from other universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban greening provides a wide range of ecosystem services to address the main challenges of urban areas, e.g., carbon sequestration, evapotranspiration and shade, thermal insulation, and pollution control. This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of a vertical greening system (VGS) built in 2014 in Italy, for which extensive monitoring activities were implemented. The life-cycle assessment methodology was applied to quantify the water–energy–climate nexus of the VGS for 1 m2 of the building's wall surface. Six different scenarios were modelled according to three different end-of-life scenarios and two different useful lifetime scenarios (10 and 25 years). The environmental impact of global-warming potential and generated energy consumption during the use phase in the VGS scenarios were reduced by 56% in relation to the baseline scenario (wall without VGS), and showed improved environmental performance throughout the complete life cycle. However, the water-scarcity index (WSI) of the VGS scenarios increased by 42%. This study confirms that the installation of VGSs offers a relevant environmental benefit in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions and energy consumption; however, increased water consumption in the use phase may limit the large-scale application of VGSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study defines a methodology for the development of an economic indicator of natural resource use to be applied in the framework of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to integrate the assessment of the environmental performances of products or processes during their life-cycle. The indicator developed-called Commodity Life Cycle Costing (or C-LCC)-is based on market prices, therefore incorporating information from both the demand and supply sides. Monte Carlo analysis is used to take price volatility into account. Alternative versions of the indicator, based on open-source data or calculated considering European Union's critical raw materials only, are also developed. The study also provides a comparison between the C-LCC indicator and ReCiPe's Mineral and Fossil Resource Depletion indicators and applies the proposed methodology to several types of batteries for stationary energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a serious threat to global health system and economy. It was first reported in Wuhan, China, and later appeared in Central Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. The spatial COVID-19 distribution pattern highly resembles the global population distribution and international travel routes. We select 48 cities in 16 countries across 4 continents having infection counts higher than 10,000 (by 25 April 2020) as the COVID-19 epicenters. At the initial stage, daily COVID-19 counts co-varies strongly with local temperature and humidity, which are clustered within 0–10 °C and 70–95%, respectively. Later, it spreads in colder (−15 °C) and warmer (25 °C) countries, due to faster adaptability in diverse environmental conditions. We introduce a combined temperature-humidity profile, which is essential for prediction of COVID-19 cases based on environmental conditions. The COVID-19 epicenters are collocated on global CO2 emission hotspots and its distribution maximizes at 7.49 °C, which is 1.35 °C/2.44 °C higher than current (2020)/historical (1961–1990) mean. Approximately 75% of the COVID-19 cases are clustered at severe-extreme end of historical temperature distribution spectrum, which establish its tighter and possible association with extreme climate change. A strong mitigation measure is essential to abate the GHG emissions, which may reduce the probability of such pandemics in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Circular Economy is gaining traction in the European Union and all over the world as a transition away from the extractive and exploitative linear economy. In Hawaiʻi, the cultural value of aloha ʻāina is a philosophy describing a set of values grounded in a relationship of kinship between people and the environment. Aloha ʻĀina structured centuries of sustainability and it has evolved over generations to frame community responses to crucial issues today, such as climate change, oligopolistic markets, and contemporary land management. This paper sits at the intersection of cross-disciplinary collaboration, sustainability, and sustainable development. Participative moderate observations and intentional cross-cultural exchanges of knowledge over five years between scholars and experts in the major fields of indigenous Hawaiian knowledge and industrial ecology inspired the concepts explored in this paper, which address the question of how aloha ʻāina and the Circular Economy can engage with each other in the collective effort to combat climate change, guide sustainable development efforts, and transition societies toward sustainability. Extensive literature reviews and insight gained through site visits to sustainability projects inform the discussion of best practices from opposite parts of the globe—Hawaiʻi and Germany—to put into conversation two worldviews and present resulting implications and lessons learned. Essential findings describe the benefits of knowledge exchange between members of global practitioner networks. By shifting expert and participant roles according to which projects are being observed, cross-cultural characteristics can be explored at a deeper level, which allow participants to employ best practices to their respective theories. The Circular Economy's engagement with indigenous knowledge systems is an opportunity to ally and produce solutions to the challenges associated with changing the linear economy while addressing both environmental and social justice issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is interconnectedness between small farmers' productivity, climate change, and the state of food security in Africa south of the Sahara. The neglect of small farmers amidst climate change challenges in the Global South suggests the existence of a vicious circle of low productivity and deprivation that exacerbates the vulnerability of small-scale farmers, who largely depend on rain-fed agriculture to feed their families and nations. The limited adaptive capacity of these farmers in the face of growing instability in rainfall and temperatures is affecting the output, profitability, and survival of these small-scale farmers, whose production is principally for the local market and therefore critical for community food security. The underdeveloped local agricultural sector and limited investment in climate-smart agriculture also affect small farmers' productivity and ability to meet the food demands of increasing populations. This paper examines the challenges of small-scale farmers in a resource-rich economy, their vulnerability to climate change, and the effects on food insecurity. It is based on an in-depth qualitative case study of 30 residents from the Tiko and Santa areas in the South West and North West regions of Cameroon, respectively. The paper argues that small farmers' vulnerability to climate-induced agricultural losses increases the risks of food insecurity for the growing Cameroonian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows the benefits of using the environmental product declarations (EPDs), based on ISO 14025:2013, for the configuration and conceptualization of new building materials. Using a quantitative evaluation on these phases of design, it allows one to create materials with lower impacts, in comparison with the existing ones. In this paper, it is proposed to evaluate the potentiality of this tool in the development of a panel from pineapple by-products from agroindustry, used as a thermal insulator. The issue of environmental sustainability was pursued, employing the assessment of the environmental impacts according to characterization methods defined by the International EPD® System. By comparing the possible compositions of the materials under development, with certified environmental declarations of commercial materials, it is possible to identify and select optimal compositions decreasing up to 98.28% of impacts in acidification potential or up to 99.38% for photochemical oxidation—with respect to traditional materials—already at the design stage, where the changes on the composition or the facilities decision have fewer complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste management under emergency conditions requires proper handling. The sudden closure of a strategic final disposal site can result in serious environmental and health hazards which need to be addressed. Furthermore, this situation requires the identification of new sites to be used for waste disposal. This study analysed the case-study of Genoa, Northern Italy, following the closure of the Scarpino landfill previously dedicated to the disposal of waste generated in this municipality. A multi-objective tool was developed and applied from long-term planning to day-to-day scheduling. A sensitivity analysis was performed on the basis of collected waste volumes, in order to study the utilization and actual rate of fulfilling of the plants according to the leading objective function. Considering all of the objective functions, the emissions optimization shows better behaviour in terms of simultaneous global accomplishment of each function. In this context, the introduction of a decision support system for waste management shows its usefulness in setting and effectively pursuing long-term targets in term of total costs, emissions generated by waste transport, and exploitation of single plants from a sustainability perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability and waste management on board are key issues that need to be addressed by the maritime sector also in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). With the aim of evaluating waste management alternatives in a circular economy perspective, the study examines a combined system for the optimisation of ship waste management and assesses its possible use for energy purposes. Different systems are analysed in relation to their GHG emission reduction potential regardless of routes and ports of destination. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis was carried out on waste management alternatives in order to preliminary identify their potential in terms of GHG emissions reduction, cost, environmental sustainability, methodological coherence, feasibility and replicability. Following this analysis, two case studies of particular interest were identified: (1) the thermo-chemical treatment of waste oils and sludge to obtain fuel oils; (2) the installation of a waste-to-energy plant and subsequent energy recovery on board. UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) methodologies were applied to these two case studies to calculate GHG emission reduction resulting from their implementation. The obtained results are presented with the aim of supporting sustainable waste management strategies on board in a circular carbon economy perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]