Impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 na micro e minigeração distribuída fotovoltaica no Brasil: seleção e análise de indicador representativo

Na busca pela sustentabilidade no setor energético, a energia solar fotovoltaica (FV) vem-se destacando como solução para promover o desenvolvimento sustentável. À medida que a tecnologia FV se expande, surge a necessidade de estudos para a avaliação de como o novo mercado se comporta diante de diferentes cenários, com a consequente elaboração de indicadores diversos. Seguindo uma abordagem interdisciplinar e baseado no paradigma epistemológico da Design Science, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar, após seleção e avaliação, indicadores que reflitam um possível impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 no mercado de Micro e Minigeração Distribuída Fotovoltaica no Brasil (MMGD) nos anos de 2020 e 2021. Para tanto, caracterizou-se, por meio de revisão sistemática da literatura (RSL), o estado da arte a respeito do impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 no mercado fotovoltaico e de indicadores aplicados a sistemas fotovoltaicos. Com subsídios da RSL e conforme a literatura de base sobre o assunto, selecionou-se o indicador Potência Mensal Instalada de sistemas fotovoltaicos. Efetuou-se então a análise deste por meio de alimentação do indicador, por meio de consulta em banco de dados abertos da Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL). Identificou-se que, com a sensibilização geral inicial causada pelo primeiro pico da pandemia de COVID-19, o mercado fotovoltaico sofreu redução na Potência Mensal Instalada; porém, passado esse momento inicial, observou-se a recuperação do indicador, o que sugere capacidade de resiliência e de adaptação desse mercado, superando as dificuldades e novos desafios encontrados e mantendo o ritmo de crescimento observado antes da pandemia.In the search for sustainability in the energy sector, photovoltaic solar energy (PV) has been highlighted as a solution to promote sustainable development. As PV technology expands, there is a need for studies to assess how the new market behaves in different scenarios with the consequent elaboration of different indicators. Following an interdisciplinary approach, and based on the epistemological paradigm of Design Science, the objective of this study was to analyse, preceded by selection and evaluation, indicators that reflect a possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Micro and Mini Photovoltaic Distributed Generation (MMDG) market in Brazil in 2020 and 2021. To do so, it was characterized through a systematic literature review - SLR, the state of the art about impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the photovoltaic market and photovoltaic systems indicators. Subsidized by RSL and supported by the core literature on the subject, the Photovoltaic Systems Monthly Installed Power Capacity indicator was selected. Then, the analysis of this was carried out, by means of feeding the indicator using a query in the open database of the brazilian National Electric Energy Agency - ANEEL. It was identified that with the initial general awareness, caused by the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the photovoltaic market suffered a reduction in the Monthly Installed Power Capacity, however, after this initial moment, the indicator recovered, suggesting a capacity for resilience and adaptation of this market, overcoming the difficulties and new challenges encountered, maintaining the pace of growth observed before the pandemic

Lean and green – a systematic review of the state of the art literature

The move towards greener operations and products has forced companies to seek alternatives to balance efficiency gains and environmental friendliness in their operations and products. The exploration of the sequential or simultaneous deployment of lean and green initiatives is the results of this balancing action. However, the lean-green topic is relatively new, and it lacks of a clear and structured research definition. Thus, this paper’s main contribution is the offering of a systematic review of the existing literature on lean and green, aimed at providing guidance on the topic, uncovering gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, and finding new paths for research. The paper identifies and structures, through a concept map, six main research streams that comprise both conceptual and empirical research conducted within the context of various organisational functions and industrial sectors. Important issues for future research are then suggested in the form of research questions. The paper’s aim is to also contribute by stimulating scholars to further study this area in depth, which will lead to a better understanding of the compatibility and impact on organisational performance of lean and green initiatives. It also holds important implications for industrialists, who can develop a deeper and richer knowledge on lean and green to help them formulate more effective strategies for their deployment

Avaliando a economia circular nas indústrias brasileiras pelo processo de hierarquia analítica

O desenvolvimento sustentável tem sido buscado por organizações em todo o mundo desde que as questões ambientais e sociais entraram nas agendas institucionais. Nos diversos setores da economia, os fatores que influenciam as decisões sustentáveis são multidisciplinares, sistêmicos e abordam o conceito de economia circular (EC). O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver um método para medir o nível de comprometimento de empresas e setores com a EC. O método permite investigar fatores institucionais relacionados ao desenvolvimento sustentável e avaliar a profundidade das práticas de EC. Foi gerado um índice de circularidade que pode auxiliar os tomadores de decisão no desenvolvimento de estratégias, planos de investimento e políticas específicas capazes de orientar as organizações para o alcance da EC. A metodologia proposta foi então aplicada a 75 empresas brasileiras reconhecidas por suas iniciativas de sustentabilidade, analisando-se as práticas relacionadas às ações de EC, bem como sua profundidade. Os resultados, utilizando o Processo Analítico Hierárquico (PAH), mostram que os setores analisados não apresentam diferença significativa entre si, e que a maioria das empresas analisadas (80%) não pratica ação circular alguma, apesar de afirmar o contrário. Sendo assim, a EC ainda é incipiente no país. A aplicação do método proposto em uma grande amostra mostrou seu potencial de uso global, podendo também ser empregada para orientar ações de empresas isoladas ou de setores inteiros na direção do desenvolvimento sustentável, por meio da EC.Sustainable development has been pursued by organizations around the world ever since environmental and social issues were introduced into institutional agendas. In the various sectors of the economy, the factors that influence sustainable decisions are multidisciplinary and systemic, and address the concept of Circular Economy (CE). This study aimed to develop a method to measure the level of commitment of companies and sectors to CE. The method allows investigating institutional factors associated with sustainable development and assessing the depth of CE practices. A circularity index is originated that can assist decision makers in the development of specific strategies, investment plans, and policies to guide organizations towards the achievement of a CE. The proposed method was then applied to 75 Brazilian companies recognized for their sustainability initiatives, analyzing practices associated with CE actions, as well as their depth. The results, using the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP), indicate that the sectors analyzed do not have a significant difference among them and that the majority of the companies analyzed (80%) do not practice any circular action despite claiming the opposite. Therefore, CE is still incipient in Brazil. The application of the proposed method to a large sample showed its potential for global use, and that it can also be employed to guide actions of single companies or entire sectors towards sustainable development using a CE path

South American Expert Roundtable : increasing adaptive governance capacity for coping with unintended side effects of digital transformation

This paper presents the main messages of a South American expert roundtable (ERT) on the unintended side effects (unseens) of digital transformation. The input of the ERT comprised 39 propositions from 20 experts representing 11 different perspectives. The two-day ERT discussed the main drivers and challenges as well as vulnerabilities or unseens and provided suggestions for: (i) the mechanisms underlying major unseens; (ii) understanding possible ways in which rebound effects of digital transformation may become the subject of overarching research in three main categories of impact: development factors, society, and individuals; and (iii) a set of potential action domains for transdisciplinary follow-up processes, including a case study in Brazil. A content analysis of the propositions and related mechanisms provided insights in the genesis of unseens by identifying 15 interrelated causal mechanisms related to critical issues/concerns. Additionally, a cluster analysis (CLA) was applied to structure the challenges and critical developments in South America. The discussion elaborated the genesis, dynamics, and impacts of (groups of) unseens such as the digital divide (that affects most countries that are not included in the development of digital business, management, production, etc. tools) or the challenge of restructuring small- and medium-sized enterprises (whose service is digitally substituted by digital devices). We identify specific issues and effects (for most South American countries) such as lack of governmental structure, challenging geographical structures (e.g., inclusion in high-performance transmission power), or the digital readiness of (wide parts) of society. One scientific contribution of the paper is related to the presented methodology that provides insights into the phenomena, the causal chains underlying “wanted/positive” and “unwanted/negative” effects, and the processes and mechanisms of societal changes caused by digitalization

Defining Next Generation Supply Chain Sustainability

The importance of understanding supply chain sustainability is being realized by increasingly more people, including corporate managers, investors, policy makers, customers and other stakeholders. A lot of practitioners and academic researchers have addressed this issue in past few years. However, most of their studies lack systematic thinking and are not quantifiable. Thus, a systematic and quantifiable model which incorporates economic, environmental and social factors is needed. In our study, a systematic and quantifiable risk assessment model based on the concept of “Triple Bottom Line” is developed in order to solve supply chain sustainability problem from risk assessment perspectiveMaster of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110983/1/276-Defining Next Generation Supply Chain Sustainability_2015.pd

Remanufacturing as a potential means of attaining sustainable industrial development in Indonesia

Remanufacturing industries account for a considerable share of small medium enterprises (SMEs) in both developed and developing countries. There is an urgent need for a sustainable manufacturing strategy for remanufacturing SMEs in developing countries in order for them to gain global market competitiveness through minimizing environmental impact while maximizing the economic and social benefits of SME manufacturing activities. This research uses Indonesian remanufacturing SMEs as a case study for sustainable manufacturing in developing countries

Social life cycle assessment of an innovative industrial wastewater treatment plant

Abstract Background The social impacts generated by industrial waste treatment processes have not been studied enough, as shown in the literature. Social life cycle assessment studies have mainly focused on the assessment of products and less on industrial waste, especially wastewater, although potentially relevant from an environmental point of view, and also from a social one for various stakeholders. Purpose This case study concerns the social assessment of an innovative technology to treat the wastewater of a microelectronics company. In order to produce electronic components and semiconductors, the company has to treat and dispose of relevant wastewater streams containing various toxic substances. The wastewater streams need to be treated in order to protect the eco-system, representing a high cost for the company and a potential impact on the environment. For this reason, the company developed a LIFE project to demonstrate the viability to decrease the burdens on water bodies. The positive outcome of the test on the pilot plant paved the way for the construction of the full-scale plant that will treat all the wastewater generated by the company. The objective of this paper is the socio-economic assessment of a full-scale plant designed to treat three different kinds of wastewater. Methods The assessment of socio-economic potential impacts of a new technology has been carried out through the PSILCA (Product Social Impact Life Cycle Assessment) database implementation to evaluate 65 social indicators of a wastewater treatment plant. Results The line with the highest impact is the one which treats tetramethylammonium hydroxide; this is because this wastewater flow is the most abundant (14 and 43 times greater than the other wastewaters, respectively). The most affected stakeholder is the Local Community, followed by the Actors of the Value Chain; in fact, the results referred to the functional unit considered exceed 300,000 medium risk hours in both cases. For the Local Community this result arises from the indicator "Contribution to environmental load," which is understandable considering the object of the study since this indicator includes health effects. As far as the Value Chain Actors stakeholder is concerned, the two indicators most impacted are "Corruption" and "Social responsibility along the supply chain". The analysis conducted has also shown that upstream has a fundamental relevance for the social risks detected. Conclusions Considering the current lack of studies on both environmental and social impacts of wastewater treatment, and the fact that Social Life Cycle Assessment has not been widely used in this field, as emerged from literature review, this work is the first use of the PSILCA database to assess an industrial wastewater plant. The use of a social life cycle assessment database allows the value chain of a product system to be considered: the results show that most of the overall social risk derives from upstream sectors

Conceptualizing and measuring “industry resilience”: Composite indicators for postshock industrial policy decision-making

Can resilience be a relevant concept for industrial policy? Resilience is usually described as the ability of a socioeconomic system to recover from unexpected shocks. While this concept has caught the attention of regional economics researchers seeking to understand the different patterns behind regional recovery after a disruption, it is increasingly recognized that resilience can have policy-relevant conceptual applications in many other regards. In this paper, we apply it to industries and define the “industry resilience” concept and measurements. Our contribution is twofold. Theoretically, we frame industry resilience as a useful conceptual framework for policy-making to support the selection of industrial policy targets that are more capable of recovering after unexpected shocks. In addition, industry resilience can mitigate government failures by supporting decision-makers in promoting both economically and socially sustainable structural change. Methodologically, building on post-2008 U.S. data, we develop two composite indicators (CIs) to separately analyze quantitative and qualitative postshock variations in sectoral employment. Such CIs support policy-makers in visualizing sectoral performances dynamically and multidimensionally and can be used to compare each sector both to other sectors and to its counterfactual. Our results highlight that sectors react heterogeneously to shocks. This points to the relevance of tailoring vertical industrial policies according to sector features and the aims of industrial policy initiatives