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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]

Abstract: Organisations are increasingly adopting sustainability performance assessment tools. However, these formal organisational sustainability assessments are typically managed and prepared by technical staff. There is a lack of research on approaches that enable a stakeholder‐driven performance assessment. This paper develops a framework of informal/complementary stakeholder‐driven sustainability performance assessment, from the perspective of employee voluntary collaboration. The framework composes a checklist of questions covering the main sustainability domains: perceptions, individual practices, and voluntary monitoring indicators. In an exploratory case study in a public organisation, the checklist was evaluated by employees in a participatory workshop. The evaluation criteria of understanding and usefulness were rated more positively than reliability. This paper shows a novel way of integrating employee inputs for informal sustainability assessment and supports the importance of empowering public organisations, thereby increasing their understanding of sustainability management frameworks. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While the concepts of remanufacturing and reverse logistics are gaining popularity in practice, the available literature and theory on strategic decision making in these areas are limited. This paper is designed to address this gap, in particular, for the automotive industry aftermarket. In doing so, the authors reviewed literature pertaining to: customer demand(s), product design and development, cost-benefit analysis of reman, core (i.e., used product) supply management, reman competencies and skills, product life cycle strategies, reman and reverse logistics network design, relationships among key stakeholders, environmental considerations, regulations, and impact of emerging economies. The literature findings along with our experience in working with automotive reman products were used as inputs to guide the formulation of seven major propositions for the strategic factors in decision making within reman. The propositions were then tested through a case study. The case study reconfirmed many of the factors like product life cycle, regulations, etc. from the literature review and also identified new factors like OE customer requirements. Our results provide a foundation for further research for companies that deal with Original Equipment (OE) Sales, Original Equipment Service (OES), as well as Independent Aftermarket (IAM) business in the automotive industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For 22 years, Elsevier's Journal of Cleaner Production (JCLP) has been publishing high quality research papers based upon the prevention of environmental and social problems rather than cleaning up after we create them. The JCLP's authors, reviewers and editors are dedicated to foster development and implementation of innovative transitions to achieve equitable, post-fossil carbon societies, which are truly sustainable. Consequently, JCLP editors encourage authors to prepare articles, which integrate new topics, concepts, theories and approaches, which will then be published in special topic volumes and in general volumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics, politicians, professionals and the general public are aware that without stewarding our planet's natural resources, man is on the pathway towards a global collapse. Over the next three decades mankind is expected to consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times current consumption. Social welfare and human wellbeing are threatened with the scarcity of natural resources; consequently, nations and their societies are also at risk of collapse. The readers of this special volume will find a compilation of scholarly research papers with real-life applications that take the challenge of proposing decision-making models and tools to address sustainability challenges in integrative ways. The main focus of this special volume is integration of sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, ethical and time) into decision-support models and to identify pathways to achieve more sustainable societies. The majority of the research in this special volume, 74 percent, focuses on environmental and economic dimensions. Only 26 percent integrated social dimensions with them. Methodologically, a range of mathematical models and tools are presented to support prescriptive decision-making, with some descriptive models integrated, to support decision-makers in solving practical problems across a variety of industries and scenarios. The breadth and complexity of issues facing organizations and society requires innovative applications of these methodologies. The concerns cover a spectrum ranging from energy to solid waste management. A multitude of levels from broad-based policy concerns to strategic inter-organizational sustainable supply chain management and significantly, shop floor operational issues are also covered. The variety of problems and solutions exemplifies the potential for modelling and operations research for addressing some of our world's most pressing concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this Special Volume (SV) of the Journal of Cleaner Production is “Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environmental Systems”. It is of interest to practitioners in various branches of industry including the energy and water & wastewater sectors and environmental services, governmental policy makers, researchers, educators and the general public. The purpose of this SV is to increase public awareness of key issues of sustainable development and to stimulate exchange of research results, practical experience and new ideas among actors involved in investigating, planning and implementing sustainable development, regarding energy, transport, water, environment and production systems. The SV is focused upon four main fields that are of strategic importance to the sustainable development: energy resources and energy management, water management and wastewater treatment, environmental engineering and management, and promotion of sustainability concepts. The systems under consideration are differentiated in scale, ranging from countries or groups of countries, through regions or branches of industry, municipalities or industrial plants, down to single processes or equipment pieces. Examples of on-going research including case studies are presented along with examples of innovative practical solutions. In the energy field, examples are presented of the development and applications of energy systems analysis, planning and design methods and tools, which can be used to analyse the coherency of the whole systems and to augment the creation of sustainable energy policies and action plans on a large scale, as well as small-scale systems for efficient energy management. Regarding water issues, water management in water stressed regions is discussed indicating the usefulness of advanced mathematical models that take system dynamics and the stochastic nature of rainwater availability as planning tools, and LCA-based methods for assessing the diverse water supply alternatives within a dry region. In the field of environmental engineering and management, large-scale systems for solid waste collection, management and recovery are analysed, and the formation of air pollutants in industrial sources and diesel engines is studied by simulation. Finally, sustainable use of biomass resources and the role of sustainability thinking in the investment planning and management are addressed. In each of the four fields, strategically important challenges for future research are identified including the use of advanced mathematical models and multi-criteria analysis for the optimisation, from the sustainability point of view, of the systems for energy and water supply and management, solid waste management and the utilisation of biomass resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In October 2008, the 5th Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) international conference was held in Barcelona, Spain. It dealt with the need to rethink how our higher educational institutions are facing sustainability. This special issue has been primarily derived from contributions to that conference. This issue builds upon related academic international publications, which have analysed how to use the critical position of universities to accelerate their pace of working to help to make the transition to truly SUSTAINABLE SOCIETIES! This issue focus is on the ‘softer’ issues, such as changes in values, attitudes, motivations, as well as in curricula, societal interactions and assessments of the impacts of research. Insights derived from the interplay of the ‘softer’ issues with the ‘harder’ issues are empowering academic leaders to effectively use leverage points to make changes in operations, courses, curricula, and research. Those changes are being designed to help their students and faculty build resilient and sustainable societies within the context of climate change, the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The overall systems approach presented by Stephens and Graham provides a structured framework to systematize change for sustainability in higher education, by stressing on the one hand the need for “learning to learn” and on the other hand by integrating leadership and cultural aspects. The “niche” level they propose for innovative interactions between practitioners such as EMSU is exemplary developed by all of the other documents in this special issue. To highlight some of the key elements of the articles in this issue, there are proposals for new educational methods based in sustainability science, a set of inspirational criteria for SD research activities, new course ranking and assessment methods and results of psychological studies that provide evidence that participatory approaches are the most effective way to change values within university members in order to facilitate the development and sharing of new sustainability norms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production focuses on “Energy for Sustainable Future”. It is designed to mirror the increasing relevance of renewable energy sources and improved efficiency as crucial topics for practitioners in industry, for governmental policy makers, as well as for civic service providers, researchers, and educators. The purpose of this special issue is to serve as a catalyst for dialogue. The global warming related to CO2 emissions, coupled with steeply rising energy prices and the recent global financial institutional melt-down are causing massive societal concerns and give rise to increasing demand for ways to improve societal and individual energy efficiency and for ways to shift increasingly to alternative, low or non-carbon based energy systems. Until recently, industrial energy efficiency improvements have focused on improvements on efficiency rather than on the integration of renewable sources. The aim of this special issue is the identification of policies to support the development and implementation of technologies and management approaches we can employ to make the transition to more sustainable societies. The collection of papers in this special issue provide a foundation for students, researchers, scholars, practitioners and policy makers interested in making sustainable development more than a metaphor. The papers include focus upon ways for: [(a)] Improving industrial process to achieve improvements in energy efficiency. [(b)] Minimising waste disposals and reducing their impact through better management. [(c)] Reducing CO2 emissions by making progress toward lower carbon, renewable energy based systems, [(d)] Improving production of biofuels and hydrogen production systems, facilitated by employing cleaner production and novel LCA tools. [(e)] Improving integration of advanced materials and energy efficient equipment in different industrial sectors. Current and future developments in national and world economies are closely connected to sustainable, efficient and safe usage of raw materials and upon energy based on cleaner production concepts and approaches that are ecologically and economically appropriate for the short and for the long-term future of society. These challenges have received considerable attention in the media and scientific journals over the last several years. The idea of developing a specialised conference focussed upon them was put forward on various occasions. Focus upon them became reality on the 5th and 6th May 2008 in the historic Castle of Veszprém, Hungary, the current premises of the Hungarian Academy of Science which hosted the Workshop. The Workshop was a stimulating event and an overwhelming success, with nearly 100 contributors from Africa, North America, Asia and Europe, representing 28 countries. After a comprehensive selection and thorough reviewing procedure 11 papers were selected for this special issue. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Circular economy is increasingly recognized as a better alternative to the dominant linear (take, make, and dispose) economic model. Circular Supply Chain Management (CSCM), which integrates the philosophy of the circular economy into supply chain management, offers a new and compelling perspective to the supply chain sustainability domain. Consequently, there is increasing research interest. However, a review of the extant literature shows that a comprehensive integrated view of CSCM is still absent in the extant literature. This prohibits a clear distinction compared to other supply chain sustainability concepts and hinders further progress of the field. In response, this research first classifies various terminologies related to supply chain sustainability and conceptualizes a unifying definition of CSCM. Using this definition as a base, it then conducts a structured literature review of 261 research articles on the current state of CSCM research. Based on the review results, the researchers call for further studies in the following directions that are important but received little or no attention: design for circularity, procurement and CSCM, biodegradable packaging, circular supply chain collaboration and coordination, drivers and barriers of CSCM, circular consumption, product liabilities and producer's responsibility, and technologies and CSCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing process of global urbanization has shifted the discourse from ‘developmental mechanistic’ towards ‘sustainable and ecological’ view. Global cities must also transition toward more dynamic, sustainable, healthier and smarter futures. However, the supportive transition theories, trajectory agendas, methodologies and pathways are currently under-investigated. This introductory paper provides an overview of the twenty-seven papers included in this special volume, with the objective to document the key lessons learned and to catalyze theoretical dialogue about the evolution of smart cities, healthy cities, eco-cities, and regenerative cities. These authors reviewed how these aspects of evolving cities are measured, monitored and implemented across different geographic, time and cultural contexts. After reviewing and mapping the obstacles and enablers in implementing transitions towards smarter, healthier, sustainable, regenerative, post-fossil carbon, urban societies, the authors of this introductory article provide insights into practical pathways and examples of best practices of their implementation in multiple social, cultural and climatic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closed-Loop Supply Chain (CLSC) focuses on acquiring the cores/product returns from consumers, recovering their residual value, and remarketing them. Extant literature on core acquisition management suggests that researchers have not considered behavioral aspect of consumers. On the other hand, marketing literature suggests that researchers neglected technical issues related to core acquisition in a CLSC while discussing consumers' disposition behaviors. We propose a conceptual framework that extends the existing CLSC setting by introducing consumers’ disposition behavior. We develop eleven research propositions based on which we design a survey. The survey was sent to decision making executives of different remanufacturing industries to solicit their perception. Participants were also asked to make paired comparisons using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), based on which an action oriented framework is developed. Firms that have CLSC operation can use our framework to ensure enhanced quality product returns which in turn increase profitability. Finally, possible future extensions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced manufacturing uses emerging technologies to critically enhance not only the economic competitiveness of individual manufacturers but also the sustainability of the whole industrial sector. New materials and technologies require new manufacturing processes and novel analytical models for process controls and parameter optimization regarding cost, reliability, quality, product flexibility, energy consumption, and fossil carbon emissions. The successful adoption of advanced manufacturing for sustainability can only be realized by following a systematic approach from concept development, product design and manufacturing to product delivery and service as well as in forward and reverse supply chain management. This special volume reports on progress of advanced manufacturing on sustainability improvements along the whole life cycle and covers the six themes: 1. Design theory and methodology for sustainability with advanced manufacturing; 2. Energy efficiency assessment and control of mechanical manufacturing systems; 3. Parameter optimization for advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing; 4. Low fossil-carbon process planning and production scheduling; 5. Integration of supply-chain innovations and advanced manufacturing; 6. Sustainable innovation for product-service systems. In addition, this SV introductory article, highlights future research directions, such as the need for energy consumption and emission data for advanced manufacturing processes, optimization models and control schemes, supply chain innovations, and product-service integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the integrated transdisciplinary concepts and technologies for greener and more sustainable innovations and applications of Cleaner Production in the Asia–Pacific region have been developed and implemented extensively. The endeavor to develop more precise, reliable, and cost-effective tools and methods to assess the sustainability of the desired products and processes from Cleaner Production have been achieved. Regarding the two conferences, the International Conference on Green and Sustainable Innovation (ICGSI) and the International Thai Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry Conference (ITIChE2015), these conferences were co-organized to bring experts and researchers together from within and outside the Asia–Pacific region to foster development of new research ideas on green and sustainable innovation. The selected articles from these events are included within this Special Volume together with articles from the Cleaner Production community outside these events. The papers cover a wide range of topics relevant to the Cleaner Production concepts and applications, especially for greener and more sustainable innovations and of applications of life cycle assessment, ecological footprint, and other environmental and ecological assessment tools for making improvements in agricultural products, biodiesel and biogas production, CO 2 reduction and utilization, and expansion of usage of alternative and renewable energies. The examples of life cycle thinking-based assessment techniques, together with progress in innovative technologies and their applications, strongly reflected the improvements made in practical applications of Cleaner Production in the Asia–Pacific region, in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The un-sustainable course of our societies is the greatest threat humanity has ever confronted. The biophysical systems upon which we are totally dependent have not been challenged by human activities at the global scale before and our impacts upon those planetary systems, as well as upon our social systems, cannot be adequately addressed by ad hoc solutions. Science and leadership will be required to address this threat and transform our current societies into sustainable societies. This Special Volume presents an evolving, yet increasingly cohesive, science-based perspective on leadership towards sustainability. Examples of crucial, overall questions addressed by authors of articles in this Special Volume are: How can science help to clarify sustainability as a foundational platform for success for society's core institutions (e.g. business, governance and education), and how can this platform inform envisioning, planning, monitoring, communication and decision making to accelerate the needed transitions? The conceptual framing of sustainable development in this Special Volume is based upon the logic that it is only if we can define sustainability in a scientifically solid way, as a frame for any vision, that we can analyze current situations in relation to such sustainable visions, and design strategies to close the gap to such visions. In moving from current situations towards possible sustainable futures, specific support in the form of leadership concepts, methods, tools, and requirements are also essential, i.e. given clarity around what needs to be achieved, effective leadership then requires knowing how to achieve it. Both the what and the how questions are addressed in this Special Volume. The research described provides a foundation for moving from ad hoc activities to systemic, systematic and strategic transitions towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attaining inclusive, regenerative and sustainable cities for all in the context of unparalleled rates of urbanization, economy-oriented priorities, and chaotic urban development that characterize the developing world is a major challenge. A first step in reaching this goal is to conceptualize an inclusive framework for delineating, assessing and guiding the development of these cities towards sustainability. In this study we outline an inclusive, causal framework for Sustainable Development (SD) assessment, entitled “Trinity of Cities Sustainability from Spatial, Logical and Time Dimensions” (TCS-SLTD). It has been developed for cities in developing countries, and is illustrated using one such city, Xi'an. After reviewing the history and trends of urbanization of cities in Western China, some principles for assessing sustainability of cities in developing countries are suggested, after which the Xi'an case is presented. The urban area of Xi'an has expanded by more than 10 fold during the last quarter century, while arable land has decreased by 39%. In addition to these dramatic changes in land-use, the main axis of urban expansion has shifted from a north-south axial to radial expansion towards all areas around the core city. Over time, urban expansion has followed a “concentrated–deconcentrated– concentrated” trend. Xi'an overall sustainability, as measured by the index we present, has followed an upward – but not monotonic – trend between 1990 and 2010, during which its urbanization rate increased by 30%. On the basis of our multi-dimensional analysis, suggestions are made on how to direct Xi'an toward a more regenerative development path. These include revitalization of the urban system, control of urban form through planning, consulting and informing local communities about sustainable development issues, and achieving efficient functioning and harmonious coordination among different departments and municipal authorities in Xi'an. The TCS-SLTD model, outlined in this study, is a useful tool for guiding the process of Sustainable Development Indicator (SDI) selection, and provides a conceptual framework for holistically assessing the sustainability of city growth and expansion in developing countries. The model can assist urban planners and policy makers in developing countries in the performance of integrated assessments city sustainability, and in the formulation of pragmatic and focused policies to shift cities towards more regenerative and sustainable development trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regenerative sustainability is emerging as an alternative discourse around the transition from a ‘mechanistic’ to an ‘ecological’ or living systems worldview. This view helps us to re-conceptualize relationships among humans' technological, ecological, economic, social and political systems. Through exploration of ‘net positive’ or ‘regenerative’ development lenses and the traditional sustainability literature, the conceptualization and approaches to achieve sustainable development and ecological modernization are expanded to articulate and to explore the evolving sustainability discourse, ‘regenerative sustainability’. This Special Volume of Journal of Cleaner Production (SV) is focused upon various dimensions of regenerative sustainability (e.g. regenerative design, regenerative development, and positive development) applied to the urban built environment at scales, which range from individual buildings, neighbourhoods, and urban developments to integrated regional sustainable development. The main focus is on how these approaches and developments are evolving, how they can help us to prevent or adapt to climate change and how these approaches are likely to evolve in the next two to three decades. These approaches are addressed in four themes: (1) reviewing the theoretical development of the discourse of regenerative sustainability, its emerging principles and practices, (2) explaining how it can be measured and monitored, (3) providing encouraging practical pathways and examples of its implementation in multiple cultural and climatic contexts, and (4) mapping obstacles and enablers that must be addressed to help to ensure that more rapid progress is made in implementing the transitions towards an urban built environment that supports genuinely sustainable societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This Special Volume of the Journal of Cleaner Production focuses on the “Sustainability Engineering for the Future”. It highlights the roles of present and future engineers and provides guidelines and insights on how sustainability can be embedded systematically into all dimensions of engineering. Gone are the days when engineers only focus on technical and economic feasibility of a system design. The challenges of global warming brought about by widespread environmental pollution, resource depletion, rising human population, and multiple threats to food, water and energy securities require a paradigm shift in engineering thinking and ways to find and test solutions. The evolving engineering paradigm increasingly calls for engineers to consider the whole spectrum of sustainability i.e. from the economic, environmental, social and time dimensions. A selection of papers presented in the 6th International Conference of Process Systems Engineering Asia (PSE Asia) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 25th to 27th June 2013 is included in this Special Volume. The papers in this volume focus upon: [(i)] Important considerations for the planning and development of sustainable products; [(ii)] Models and methods designed to support sustainable planning and management; [(iii)] Effective sustainability assessment tools and the needs for new ones; [(iv)] New approaches for improved resource management; [(v)] Illustrative future, sustainable technologies; [(vi)] Ways policies will play significant roles in promoting implementation of sustainable engineering approaches. The collection of papers as designed to provide guidelines for present and future engineers, researchers, academicians and policy makers for ways to improve current and future trends in engineering to help catalyse the transition to truly sustainable societies with improved quality of life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This special volume of the Journal of Cleaner Production was developed primarily based on materials presented at the 2nd International Workshop Advances in Cleaner Production held in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2009. The content reflects the growing awareness of the urgent and unavoidable need for making changes to help transform unsustainable to sustainable societies. The eleven papers provide different viewpoints to help society make progress on the journey towards sustainability. Key elements of this urgent journey are addressed in this collection of papers; some challenge society to address the problems in a systematic manner and some underscore the essentiality of proper planning by using green teams, or a Sustainable Environmental Management System. Other authors explored the role of proactive regulation and economic instruments to promote environmental performance improvements. Innovation through learning and promotion of multidisciplinary thinking as well as transference of information and knowledge between academy and industry are key aspects explored. Their inputs enabled this editorial team to propose alternatives uses for ‘wastes’, for substituting one raw material for another, which is environmentally and economically advantageous, for changing industrial process to decrease Greenhouse Gas emissions, or for optimizing diverse processes. The role of the Clean Development Mechanism as a promoter of implementation of innovative cleaner technologies in host countries is discussed. A systemic assessment tool, emergy synthesis, was employed to evaluate a reverse logistic enterprise from an environmental perspective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The topic of this special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production is “Sustainable Hydrogen from Biomass.” It is of interest to practitioners in the energy sector, governmental policy makers, researchers, educators, as well as to the general public. The purpose of this special issue is to increase public awareness and to stimulate exchange of information among actors expected to play important roles in making hydrogen available for the sustainable energy system of the future. Hydrogen as a biofuel, that is, hydrogen produced from biomass in a sustainable way is recognised as an important component of the fuel market for the future low or non-carbon based energy systems. In this special issue, the main focus is on hydrogen produced from vegetable biomass by fermentation. The development of a two-stage bioprocess for the cost-effective and environmentally friendly production of pure hydrogen from multiple biomass feedstocks is elucidated by a collection of papers presenting preliminary results of Integrated Research Project HYVOLUTION supported by the 6th Framework Programme of the European Union. The attention is turned to: - the over-all concept and characteristics of the two-stage hydrogen fermentation process, - key technological issues of fermentative hydrogen production, - the availability of vegetable feedstocks including agricultural byproducts that suitable for fermentative processing, - prospects of societal integration and sustainability of the fermentative hydrogen production technology. Other papers included in this special issue are devoted to: - simultaneous production of hydrogen and methane by fermentation of lactose-containing feedstocks derived from byproducts of milk processing, - hydrogen gas generation from organic material by electrohydrogenesis, that is, a bioelectrochemical process performed in reactors known as a microbial electrolysis cells, - the ideas for Europe-wide effort on education of hydrogen users and training of skilled staff needed for facilitating the transition to the future hydrogen economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Organisations are increasingly being pushed to manage, assess and report their sustainability performance, including public sector organisations (PSO). Several approaches were developed to implement sustainability assessments at the organisation level. However, the majority are still for the private sector and are often not supported by active stakeholder involvement. Several PSO have adapted private-oriented models to assess their sustainability performance, which are often not adequate due to public administration, whose main mission is to provide public services. The present work aims at developing a conceptual framework to support PSO and to assess their sustainability performance. The proposed approach is supported by two sustainability performance assessment systems – Formal and Informal Sustainability Performance Assessment. The Formal Sustainability Performance Assessment system, which is the main focus of this paper, consists of a checklist of objectives and practices and a set of twenty-nine (29) performance indicators. An initial proposal was drawn from the literature review and then assessed through a participatory process involving practitioners and academics in semi-structured interviews, questionnaire surveys and a collaborative workshop. The Portuguese central public administration was used as a case study. The developed checklist of objectives and practices and related performance indicators will allow PSO to assess and communicate complex information about organisational sustainability. Reference values support the normalization of indicators' results, and consequently, the comparison of sustainability-related performance between PSO integrated into the context of the Portuguese central public administration. This research contributes to the debate on organisational sustainability assessment and communication, and the importance of selecting and developing sustainability indicators using co-creation processes with key stakeholders. [Display omitted] • A framework for sustainability assessment of public organisations was co-created. • The framework includes two sustainability assessment systems: Formal and Informal. • A co-creation process involving practitioners and academic was adopted. • The Portuguese central public administration was used as a case study. • A checklist of objectives and practices and a set of 29 indicators were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 is the pandemic caused by one of the coronaviruses. This virus was not known before the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. By January of 2020 it was declared to be a global human health crisis. The deaths and illnesses caused by the virus caused extensive fear and anxiety among people in all societies. The pandemic slowed economic activities nearly to a halt. The challenges of how companies should respond to the disruptions in their supply chains and how they can build more resilient systems, must be systematically addressed. The authors of this paper highlighted essential factors which can help companies to overcome this crisis and other types of crises, by learning from the approaches taken in India, which has a unique and diverse economic system. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique was used to identify the essential factors which can help companies to improve their resilience so they can recover during and after the COVID-19 pandemic era and potentially in other similar complex crises. The results of the AHP evaluation were prioritized by performing a sensitivity analysis to prioritise the essential factors. The "Role of governance" was found to be the most important factor that can be used to help in rebuilding industries and societies and in helping them to become more resilient to future severe shocks. The results of this research were used to develop recommendations for company managers, practitioners and policy-makers. The authors hope that this advice will help India to become a stronger nation with more resilient companies, which are better prepared to anticipate and to respond to future crises. We hope people in other nations will also benefit from the finding presented in this paper. Image 1 • Factors influencing rebuilding resilient industries and societies are proposed. • Focus is on measures to avoid disruption in supply chain in Indian context. • The ranking framework is developed using AHP followed by sensitivity analysis. • Role of governance reported highest rank indicating its importance in post COVID era. • Policy implications are derived to build resilient nation, which can face shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of engineering innovation by building a novel, extensive metaphor between engineering innovation and biological evolution. In a metaphor, a phrase literally denoting one kind of idea is used in place of another in order to suggest an analogy between them. In this metaphor, the insights gleaned from biological evolution were applied to engineering innovation. Biological evolution and engineering innovation are similar in that both exhibit creative destruction as evidenced by Darwin and Schumpeter. In the research analyses, special attention is given to the current multipolar world, with the poles consisting of societies based on different cultural traditions and to the emerging renaissance of decentralized production and its current iteration, Co-Engaging Production. The metaphor used in this paper challenges and even contradicts conventionally explicit and embedded beliefs in six ways. First, the dominance of Occidental science and engineering cannot be expected to last indefinitely. Second, the current dominance of Occidental science and engineering can have detrimental effects on engineering innovation. Third, free trade leads to inefficiency. Fourth, successful engineering innovation requires societal legitimacy and environmental conformity. Fifth, human cognition forms the basis of multipolar types of science and engineering. Sixth, past and current dominance reduces absorptive capacity in the Occidental. • Successful engineering innovation requires societal legitimacy. • Societal legitimacy requires environmental conformity. • Unfolding health and environmental crises undermine extant dominance. • Free trade leads to cultural dominance detrimental to multi-polarity. • Cultural dominance reduces absorptive and engineering innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste management requires a new vision and drastic improvements for a transition to a zero-waste circular economy. In reality, however, many economies are producing more and more waste, which poses a serious challenge to environmental sustainability. The problem is enormously complex as it involves a variety of stakeholders, demands behavioral changes, and requires a complete rethinking of the current waste management systems and the dominant linear economic model. Smart enabling technologies can aid in a transformation of waste management toward a circular economy, but many barriers persist. This study first shortlists twelve important barriers to smart waste management in China based on interviews with experienced practitioners. It then prioritizes these barriers through a scientific prioritization technique, fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), based on the survey data from three representative stakeholders. It identified three key causal barriers: the lack of regulatory pressures, the lack of environmental education and culture of environmental protection, and the lack of market pressures and demands. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed based on the research results and findings. • Waste management needs to be smarter for a zero-waste circular economy vision. • Key barriers to smart waste management in China: Lack of regulatory pressures. • Lack of environmental education and culture of environmental protection. • Lack of knowledge of smart waste management and lack of market pressures and demands. • The government must gear up regulatory pressures and environmental education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]