15,578 research outputs found
Solving of Location-Allocation-Routing Model of Reverse Supply Chain for End-of-Life Vehicles Considering Sustainability Dimensions Under Uncertainty Conditions
Abstract In recent years, the concept of reverse logistics has been paid attention by many researchers due to the importance of environmental laws as well as the importance of utilizing from worn-out goods for re-production. In the process of reverse logistics, a systematic manufacturer accepts items such as recycling, reproduction and land filling for products that reach the endpoint of consumption. It is very necessary to address the issue of reverse logistics network and its effective management and guidance. According to the studies, taking into account the uncertainty conditions is one of the most effective factors of modeling reverse logistics network. In reverse logistics, parameters such as capacity of centers, demand, cost and quality are uncertain. With considering the above mentioned issues, the purpose of present study was to develop a mixed fuzzy integer linear planning model for reverse logistics network of EOL vehicles in order to minimize the cost of establishing and constructing facilities, as well as minimizing transportation and material costs between facilities, minimizing environmental impacts, and maximizing social responsibility with taking into account the uncertainty conditions and the multi-product mode. Due to the NP-HARD nature of understudy problem, the Whale optimization algorithm (WOA) and NSGA-II algorithm were used to solve the model, which results of these two modes were comprised based on quality indicators, dispersion and uniformity and solution time of problem
Best Environmental Management Practice for the Car Manufacturing Sector Learning from frontrunners
The European automotive industry is one of the EU's largest manufacturing sectors, and the automotive value chain covers many activities largely carried out within the EU, such as design and engineering, manufacturing, maintenance and repair, and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) handling. This Best Practice report describes Best Environmental Management Practices (BEMPs), i.e. techniques, measures or actions that are implemented by the organisations within the sector which are most advanced in terms of environmental performance in areas such as energy and resource efficiency, emissions, or supply chain management. The BEMPs provide inspirational examples for any organisation within the sector to improve its environmental performance.
The report firstly outlines technical information on the contribution of car manufacturing and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) handling to key environmental burdens in the EU, alongside data on the economic relevance of the sector. The second chapter presents best environmental management practice of interest primarily for manufacturing companies (car manufacturers and associated manufacturers in the supply chain) covering cross-cutting issues related to key environmental impacts (such as energy, waste, water management, or biodiversity) before exploring best practice linked to specific topics, such as supply chain management.
Subsequently, specific information concerning actors in the treatment of end-of-life vehicles is presented in the third chapter, focussing in particular on best practice applicable to processers of ELVs.
This Best Practice Report was developed with support from a Technical Working Group of experts from the car manufacturing and ELV sector and associated fields.
The report gives a wide range of information (environmental benefits, economics, indicators, benchmarks, references, etc.) for each of the proposed best practices in order to be a source of inspiration and guidance for any company of the sector wishing to improve environmental performance. In addition, it will be the technical basis for a Sectoral Reference Document on the car manufacturing sector, to be produced by the European Commission according to the EMAS Regulation.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi
Green Logistics in PortCastello
Treball Final de Grau en Administració d'Empreses. Codi: AE1049. Curs 2019/202
How Do Technologies Based on Cyber–Physical Systems Affect the Environmental Performance of Products? A Comparative Study of Manufacturers’ and Customers’ Perspectives
In the academic literature, there are studies that link the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies with an improvement in product-related circular economy indicators. However, there are scarce studies carried out in business contexts that analyse the degree, the stage of the life cycle and the value given to these improvements by customers and Industry 4.0 technology manufacturers. To contribute to clarifying these fields, a multiple-case study of nineteen technology manufacturers has been conducted, with input from the experience of venture clients as users and active participants in a shared project. Both manufacturers and their customers agree that Industry 4.0 technologies have a positive impact on circular economy. Benefits depend on the type of technology and its application and are mainly concentrated in the manufacturing phase. Additive manufacturing appears to be the technology with the greatest potential to influence circular economy, but customers also highlight the influence of augmented/virtual reality. Most manufacturers and customers emphasise the biggest influence is on reducing material consumption. This serves to improve the critical variables of market positioning by reducing product costs. However, acquisition cost, as well as quality and safety specifications, are of greater importance to manufacturers and customers, which may limit the environmental benefits obtained
Sustainable Supply Chain and its Risk Management: A Systematic Literature Review of Issues and Trends using a Bibliometric and Network Approach
The risks associated with sustainable supply chains (SSCs) have been receiving increasing attention. However, despite increasing research on SSCs, SSC-related risks have not been reviewed satisfactorily or comprehensively. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review that incorporated bibliometric, citation network, and keyword network analysis. For this purpose, we selected the top journals in the field of supply chain management and identified 823 related papers in the Scopus database. The analysis revealed the critical issues, topics, and changes over time in research regarding SSC-related risks. Furthermore, we identified specific issues and explored SSC risks via keyword network analysis
Sources of uncertainty in the closed-loop supply chain of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles
Due to increasing demand for electric vehicles and short innovation circles of battery, production, and recycling technology, different uncertainties need to be faced at different stages of the supply chain. However, a qualitative analysis of the uncertainties and their sources is missing. Therefore, in this paper the authors propose an empirical approach to the identification of uncertainty occurring in the closed-loop supply chain of lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles (uncertainty in supply, process, demand, control, and environmental uncertainty). The investigation methodology consists of a content analysis of press media documents related to electric vehicles and the automotive industry. The final content analysis comprises 102 evidences of uncertainty. Consequently, the evidences of uncertainty found are classified in a spectrum between statistical uncertainty and total ignorance (levels of uncertainty). Graphs and data are described to provide detailed information. The results signal predominant environmental uncertainty besides the uncertainty within control and supply of the closed-loop. A conclusion on the investigation shows cobalt as a raw material responsible for increasing uncertainty (boomerang effect). Additionally, the content analysis evidences uncertainty with the availability, quantity, stock control policies, government regulations, and political instability with cobalt, lithium, and nickel.publishersversionpublishe
Shipping and sustainability liquefied natural gas as an alternative fuel : evidence from Portugal
O transporte marÃtimo é um elo vital do comércio mundial graças à sua capacidade, confiabilidade e relação custo-eficácia no transporte de grande quantidade de bens; nenhum outro modo de transporte consegue alcançar tais economias de escala. Mas este argumento subestima os custos reais. A frota marÃtima internacional, excluindo barcos de pesca e navios militares, produziu em 2012 cerca de 796 milhões de toneladas (Mt) de dióxido de carbono (CO2) e 816 Mt de dióxido de carbono equivalente (CO2e) de gases de efeito de estufa (GEE) combinando dióxido de carbono (CO2), metano (CH4) e óxido nitroso (N2O) correspondendo a cerca de 3,1% das emissões globais (IMO-International Maritime Organization, 2015; Rahman e Mashud, 2015) e é um dos setores de mais rápido crescimento em termos de emissões de GEE (Gilbert, Bows e Starkey, 2010; Bows-Larkin, 2014) previstas aumentar entre 102% a 193% em relação aos nÃveis de 2000 até 2050 (Bows-Larkin, 2014), crescendo a uma taxa mais elevada do que a taxa média de todos os outros sectores, com excepção da aviação. Como as emissões marÃtimas são produzidas, em grande parte, em mar aberto e por navios registados em paÃses de bandeira de conveniência, foram excluÃdas dos compromissos nacionais no âmbito do Protocolo de Quioto de 1997, que cedeu o controlo à IMO o organismo da ONU responsável pelo sector1. De acordo com o Maritime Knowledge Centre da IMO, a frota mercante mundial de navios com pelo menos 100 gross tonnage (tonelagem bruta) era composta por 93.161 navios no final do ano de 2016. Espera-se que um número crescente de navios mercantes entre em operação nas próximas décadas, nomeadamente navios porta-contentores de grande capacidade, navios metaneiros e outros adstritos a actividades diversificadas como produção, armazenamento e descarga de gás natural e de petróleo (em inglês Floating Production Storage and Offloading - FPSOs). Os combustÃveis marÃtimos tradicionais também produzem emissões de óxido de enxofre (SOx), óxidos de azoto (NOx) e micropartÃculas e o impacto sobre o ambiente dos poluentes primários e secundários resultantes da combustão do fuelóleo pesado (HFO) tem contribui para a acidificação, eutrofização e formação de ozono (O3) fotoquÃmico (Bengtsson, 2011). Um efeito particularmente pernicioso na saúde das populações expostas é a mortalidade prematura relacionada com micropartÃculas inaláveis associadas com o aumento do cancro de pulmão e problemas cardiorrespiratórios (Corbett et al., 2007) e, embora os efeitos nocivos mais graves sejam particularmente sentidos nas zonas costeiras e em áreas próximas das atividades portuárias, estes efeitos também ocorrem no interior dos paÃses devido à s condições predominantes dos ventos (Corbett, Fischbeck and Pandis, 1999) incluindo efeitos transfronteiriços (Nore, 2011).
Em Portugal e de acordo com o World Resources Institute, as emissões de CO2 com origem nos combustÃveis marÃtimos cresceram 24,5%, entre 2003 e 2012, em linha com o crescimento mundial (de 26,8%) no mesmo perÃodo de dez anos (World Resources Institute, 2015). Nesta tese, para efeitos de monetarização das emissões produzidas pela frota mercante nacional serão utilizados os dados do Inventário Nacional de Emissões, dados de 2014, os quais revelam que, embora o contributo do sector para o registo nacional seja mÃnimo – devido nomeadamente à exiguidade da frota – o potencial de danos causados não é de todo despiciente. Técnicas para aumentar a eficiência energética e tecnologias de mitigação dos efeitos nocivos - scrubbers, (depuradores) e dispositivos catalÃticos - têm sido desenvolvidas e implementadas -, no entanto, embora o seu contributo para a descarbonização do sector deva ser levado em conta, estas tecnologias não correspondem à alteração pretendida do paradigma energético e podem constituir um incentivo ao business-as-usual. Por outro lado, o recurso a combustÃveis com menor conteúdo de enxofre como o diesel marÃtimo é contraproducente uma vez que as emissões dos motores a diesel foram recentemente classificadas como cancerÃgenas pelo Centro Internacional de Investigação do Cancro (Oeder et al, 2015). O que isto significa é que embora o diesel corresponda ao exigido futuramente pelo Regulamento Tier III emitido pela IMO, na realidade não respeita suficientemente as preocupações com a saúde humana. De qualquer modo as refinarias não teriam provavelmente capacidade suficiente de fornecer todo o diesel necessário para abastecer a frota mundial. Por outro lado, as medidas de redução de poluentes emitidas pela IMO poderão ver seus efeitos reduzidos pelo crescimento esperado da atividade marÃtima nas próximas décadas e são destinadas a ser adoptadas lentamente ao longo de um largo perÃodo de tempo e mostram um progresso muito lento no contexto de evitar um aumento de temperatura superior a 2ºC acima dos nÃveis pré-industriais (Gilbert, 2013; Bows-Larkin, 2014), daà a necessidade urgente de investir em novas tecnologias e em novos tipos de combustÃveis.The objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to provide important inputs for the decarbonisation of marine transport and climate change mitigation policies concerning liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a substitute fuel. Real-world results show efficiency gains from LNG compared with traditional fossil fuels burned on-board vessel’s engines even when equipped with mitigation technologies. Yet, this is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to LNG be elected as a substitute fuel. For a fuel switch of such order of magnitude to occur within a major end-use sector, other requirements are to be fulfilled: the government intervention in the public interest, and, to justify such policy intervention, the degree of social acceptability. This is accomplished by developing a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) performed at a regional basis after the assessment of the trade-off between the provision level of the good and Portuguese nationals’ disposable income had been examined. SCBA attaches money prices - a metric of everything that everyone can recognise - to as many costs and benefits as possible in order to uniformly weigh the policy objectives. As a result, these prices reflect the value a society ascribe to the paradigm change enabling the decision maker to form an opinion about the net social welfare effects. Empirically, emissions from the Portuguese merchant fleet weighted by their contribution for the National Inventory were used to quantify and monetise externalities compared with benefits from LNG as a substitute marine fuel. Benefits from the policy implementation are those related with the reduction of negative externalities. Costs are those determined from the price nationals are hypothetically willing-to-pay for. Conclusions show that benefits are largely superior to the costs, so action must be taken instead of a doing nothing scenario. Apart from the social ex-ante evaluation, this thesis also imprints the first step for developing furthermore complete studies in this aspect and it can help fill policy makers’ knowledge gap to what concerns to strategic energy options vis-à -vis sustainability stakeholders engagement. Although it addresses Portuguese particularities, this methodology should be applied elsewhere
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