Climate Action In Megacities 3.0

"Climate Action in Megacities 3.0" (CAM 3.0) presents major new insights into the current status, latest trends and future potential for climate action at the city level. Documenting the volume of action being taken by cities, CAM 3.0 marks a new chapter in the C40-Arup research partnership, supported by the City Leadership Initiative at University College London. It provides compelling evidence about cities' commitment to tackling climate change and their critical role in the fight to achieve global emissions reductions

Strategic research and innovation agenda on circular economy

CICERONE aims to bring national, regional and local governments together to jointly tackle the circular economy transition needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions and meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement and EU Green Deal. This document represents one of the key outcomes of the project: a Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for Europe, to support owners and funders of circular economy programmes in aligning priorities and approaching the circular economy transition in a systemic way

Challenges to implementing circular development – lessons from London

Circular development creates more resource efficient, adaptive, and ecologically healthy cities. Circular food and construction systems; the ecological regeneration of contaminated brownfield sites and circular tactical urbanism are just some of the processes and systems adopted by those implementing a circular development pathway. These produce benefits, however, there are many challenges to implementing circular development, demonstrated by two London cases. The research reveals the difficulties low-value, circular activities encounter when competing for space in London. It shows how the imbalance between local supply and demand for circular products prevents scaling-up. It suggest a lack of data monitoring the benefits of adopting circular development, undermines political support. It reveals the conflict between the reliance on civil society to engage with circular actions versus public resistance. It highlights the need for accountability and transparency in the process of implementation and for a regulatory framework to encourage circular development

A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent

The magnitude of the food waste problem is difficult to comprehend. The U.S. spends $218 billion a year -- 1.3% of GDP -- growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten. The causes of food waste are diverse, ranging from crops that never get harvested, to food left on overfilled plates, to near-expired milk and stale bread. ReFED is a coalition of over 30 business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to building a different future, where food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling are recognized as an untapped opportunity to create jobs, alleviate hunger, and protect the environment -- all while stimulating a new multi-billion dollar market opportunity. ReFED developed A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste as a data-driven guide to collectively take action to reduce food waste at scale nationwide.This Roadmap report is a guide and a call to action for us to work together to solve this problem. Businesses can save money for themselves and their customers. Policymakers can unleash a new wave of local job creation. Foundations can take a major step in addressing environmental issues and hunger. And innovators across all sectors can launch new products, services, and business models. There will be no losers, only winners, as food finds its way to its highest and best use

Sustainable development : fourth annual assessment of progress by the Scottish Government

SDC Scotland’s annual assessment is based on a review of government policy across a range of topics from economy and energy to education, health, waste and biodiversity. The conclusions and recommendations are also based on discussions with expert groups in each policy area, government civil servants and a stakeholder survey.Publisher PD

Launching the Grand Challenges for Ocean Conservation

The ten most pressing Grand Challenges in Oceans Conservation were identified at the Oceans Big Think and described in a detailed working document:A Blue Revolution for Oceans: Reengineering Aquaculture for SustainabilityEnding and Recovering from Marine DebrisTransparency and Traceability from Sea to Shore:  Ending OverfishingProtecting Critical Ocean Habitats: New Tools for Marine ProtectionEngineering Ecological Resilience in Near Shore and Coastal AreasReducing the Ecological Footprint of Fishing through Smarter GearArresting the Alien Invasion: Combating Invasive SpeciesCombatting the Effects of Ocean AcidificationEnding Marine Wildlife TraffickingReviving Dead Zones: Combating Ocean Deoxygenation and Nutrient Runof

The Four Phases of Pervasive Computing: From Vision-Inspired to Societal-Challenged

This article reflects on the visions and motivations underlying Pervasive Computing and advances made ending with considering future directions for the field. It describes these in terms of four phases: 1) vision-inspired, 2) the design of engaging experiences, 3) innovation-based, and 4) addressing societal challenges. It is proposed that in the future we will need to embrace a paradigm shift that will be far more challenging than previously. While we can continue to harness pervasive computing advances to augment ever more aspects of ourselves and the environment, we will need in the current climate to be more mindful and responsible of our aspirations. This may mean, paradoxically, contemplating how the field scales down its technology innovation in order to scale up its impact. This article sets out how to achieve this

Social enterprise-led local development of the circular economy : socio-spatial networks and value-impact scaling pathways

The circular economy (CE) paradigm has emerged to challenge a predominantly linear economic development model by extracting and retaining the highest possible value from existing resources through their recirculation. While CE-related literature and policy discourse continue to grow, there is limited research on socio-spatial mechanisms shaping alternative circular economic development trajectories in the local development context. This thesis considers how the ecological and extra economic premises of CE thinking can be harnessed through mission-driven social enterprises (SEs) aimed at locally tackling poverty, inequality and/or waste. It investigates the extent to which 50 case study SEs operating in three different socio-spatial and institutional contexts (Hull, UK; Santiago, Chile; and Graz, Austria), and across diverse sectors (food, wood, textiles, housing, among others), stimulate and potentially could stimulate the development of a local and socially inclusive CE. In so doing, firstly, it untangles complex socio-material circuits of value and corresponding feedback loops associated with flows of (in)tangible resources across co-existing mainstream and alternative economic spaces of exchange, production and consumption. Secondly, this research adopts a Social Network Analysis approach to map and examine the broader social circular enterprise ecosystem in the City of Hull. It explores how the broader network constellations not only embody, but also could embody symbiotic relationships between environmentally-/CE-, socially- and/or commercially oriented enterprises to foster inclusive CE development. It then offers a heuristic framework illustrating the interplay of factors shaping collaborative ties in the development of inclusive CE. Finally, it explores diverse social-circular impact scaling strategies and develops an Integrated Social-Circular Value-Impact Scaling(ISCIRVIS) framework for academia and context-adaptable toolkit for entrepreneurs. The toolkit is designed to help entrepreneurs to create, deepen and/or broaden the scale and scope of environmental-circular, social and/or economic value outcomes/impacts associated with existing or implementable (circular) activities, yet in the light of potential costs/risks