Circular economy and behaviour change: Using persuasive communication to encourage pro-circular behaviours towards the purchase of remanufactured refrigeration equipment

Refrigerated Display Cabinets (RDCs) are used in the retail sector to display chilled and frozen food, and beverages. The manufacture of RDCs is typified by the extensive use of materials and energy, meaning that the development of a Circular Economy in this sector is particularly important. A number of behavioural barriers are preventing the development of the Circular Economy but an appropriate behaviour change intervention could help to overcome them. This paper investigates how effective the use of Persuasive Communication could be in influencing the Behavioural Attitudes, Product Perceptions and Behavioural Intentions towards the purchase of remanufactured RDCs. Participants in this study are engineers and academic experts of retail refrigeration equipment. The study was carried out in three consecutive stages. In the first stage participants completed a questionnaire, which assessed their Behavioural Attitudes, Product Perceptions and Behavioural Intentions. In the second stage participants were exposed to the intervention, which was the Persuasive Communication in the form of an audio-visual presentation. In the third stage participants completed a second questionnaire which assessed the impact of the intervention. The results show that the Persuasive Communication had a positive impact on the participants' Behavioural Attitudes, Product Perceptions and Behavioural Intentions towards the purchase of remanufactured RDCs. This paper demonstrates how effective this type of intervention could be, if developed further to create a target market and generate demand for remanufactured RDC

Pro-circular behaviours and refrigerated display cabinets: supporting resource efficiency in the retail refrigeration sector

There is a need to change business and behaviour models from the linear to the circular in order to conserve energy and resources. This paper identifies what pro-circular behaviours can influence the development of a Circular Economy, with particular reference to the retail refrigeration industry. Pro-circular behaviour is an action that is brought about due to the prioritisation of resource-efficiency with the aim of supporting the growth of a Circular Economy. A Circular Economy is an economic and industrial system where resources are kept in use for as long as possible. Greater uptake of alternative business models in the UK could help to create a more sustainable industry in retail refrigeration

DEVELOPING CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR THE RETAIL REFRIGERATION INDUSTRY: HOW FINANCIAL INCENTIVES COULD INFLUENCE REMANUFACTURiNG OF REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CABINETS IN THE UK

This paper examines how influential financial incentives could be in achieving a Circular Economy, with particular reference to the retail refrigeration industry. It underlines the potential monetary benefits for consumers who purchase remanufactured retail refrigeration equipment and highlights the potential financial incentives, which could help the producers of Refrigerated Display Cabinets (RDCs) to remanufacture. The Circular Economy is an economic and industrial system where resources are kept in use for as long as possible. This system is an alternative to the linear “take-make-use-dispose” path, which is adopted in many industries. Remanufacturing uses less energy and resources than the traditional linear approach, whilst making products that are considered to be as good as new. Due to the economical and environmental benefits the impetus to remanufacture is growing. The growth of the remanufacturing industry in the UK in relation to RDCs, could help to create a more sustainable and competitive retail industry. This paper evaluates the potential financial savings a supermarket could make from the purchase of remanufactured RDCs and proposes that financial incentives could help producers implement remanufacturing in their business models, in an attempt to encourage the industry to become more resource-efficient and circula

Airborne observations of methane emissions from rice cultivation in the Sacramento Valley of California

Airborne measurements of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were taken over the rice growing region of California's Sacramento Valley in the late spring of 2010 and 2011. From these and ancillary measurements, we show that CH4 mixing ratios were higher in the planetary boundary layer above the Sacramento Valley during the rice growing season than they were before it, which we attribute to emissions from rice paddies. We derive daytime emission fluxes of CH4 between 0.6 and 2.0% of the CO2 taken up by photosynthesis on a per carbon, or mole to mole, basis. We also use a mixing model to determine an average CH 4/CO2 flux ratio of -0.6% for one day early in the growing season of 2010. We conclude the CH4/CO2 flux ratio estimates from a single rice field in a previous study are representative of rice fields in the Sacramento Valley. If generally true, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) greenhouse gas inventory emission rate of 2.7×1010g CH4/yr is approximately three times lower than the range of probable CH4 emissions (7.8-9.3×10 10g CH4/yr) from rice cultivation derived in this study. We attribute this difference to decreased burning of the residual rice crop since 1991, which leads to an increase in CH4 emissions from rice paddies in succeeding years, but which is not accounted for in the CARB inventory. © 2012. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

A Literature Review Outlining the Importance of Blinds and Shutters as a Sustainable Asset that has the Potential to enhance the Productivity of Occupants in the UK

Blinds and Shutters in the UK are still thought of as an optional window dressing rather than a low cost sustainable building asset that can enhance a window/glazing system’s performance and in return, save energy through passive thermal measures and measurable solar performance. Although the array of benefits is validated for blinds and shutters there are historic barriers to realising the potential for saving energy. Simple behavioural change related to the use of existing products would be a no cost productivity and energy benefit. Use of blinds and shutters is based on the need of a variety of factors in both commercial and domestic markets. These factors can be categorized into three broad areas namely energy savings, comfort (inclusive of visual, thermal and acoustic preferences) and occupant satisfaction which contribute to improving the health, well-being and productivity of occupants. In recent publications it has been demonstrated how thermal, visual, acoustic and controllability of occupants’ working environments impacts productivity. The business case for linking productivity to ‘green’ working environments has been made by the World Green Building Council (WGBC) highlighting how productivity of staff is a greater incentive for commercial buildings to become more sustainable. This study incorporates a literature review of the sustainable benefits of shading and illustrates how they are an asset to the building façade in creating dynamic, comfortable and potentially productive environments for the commercial sector. However, we highlight the difficulties of this research and outline a potential future study

Deciphering interplay between Salmonella invasion effectors

Bacterial pathogens have evolved a specialized type III secretion system (T3SS) to translocate virulence effector proteins directly into eukaryotic target cells. Salmonellae deploy effectors that trigger localized actin reorganization to force their own entry into non-phagocytic host cells. Six effectors (SipC, SipA, SopE/2, SopB, SptP) can individually manipulate actin dynamics at the plasma membrane, which acts as a ‘signaling hub’ during Salmonella invasion. The extent of crosstalk between these spatially coincident effectors remains unknown. Here we describe trans and cis binary entry effector interplay (BENEFIT) screens that systematically examine functional associations between effectors following their delivery into the host cell. The results reveal extensive ordered synergistic and antagonistic relationships and their relative potency, and illuminate an unexpectedly sophisticated signaling network evolved through longstanding pathogen–host interaction

Immunostimulation and Immunoinhibition of Premalignant Lesions

BACKGROUND: The immune reaction may be either stimulatory or inhibitory to tumor growth, depending upon the local ratio of immune reactants to tumor cells. HYPOTHESIS: A tumor-stimulatory immune response may be essential for survival of a neoplasm in vivo and for the biological progression from a premalignant lesion to a malignancy. Neither a positive nor a negative correlation between the magnitude of an immune-cell infiltrate and a cancer's prognosis can reveal whether the infiltrate was stimulating or inhibiting to the tumor's growth unless the position on the nonlinear curve that relates tumor growth to the magnitude of the immune reaction is known. DISCUSSION: This hypothesis is discussed in relation to the development of human malignant melanomas and colorectal cancers

A London Residential Retrofit Case Study: Evaluating passive mitigation methods of reducing risk to overheating through the use of solar shading combined with night-time ventilation.

Overheating in the indoor environment, specifically in domestic homes, schools and healthcare settings has become of great concern to us in the UK. This is due to frequent hot weather events as a result of the continually rising global average temperatures. Overheating is a result of the heat gains associated with occupancy and solar heat gains trapped in the internal environment. The continuing rise in global average temperatures and improved insulation standards necessary to mitigate heat losses during the winter, in conjunction with poorly planned ventilation strategies, are exacerbating overheating during warmer weather conditions. In the last decade there has been a considerable improvement in reducing heat gains associated with occupancy (from lighting and equipment) thus making solar heat gains more prominent in contributing to overheating. With the rise in the number of buildings that overheat and the rise in the number of associated deaths these contribute to, it is now crucial that passive measures are utilised appropriately, and for building occupants to be educated in how to safeguard their homes against overheating. This research is centered around a real-world monitoring case study and investigates how the proposed passive measures can mitigate overheating risk. These measures include the use of different internal and external solar shading devices combined with a night-time natural ventilation strategy. This study was conducted in a south-west facing, single aspect retrofit apartment building in London between August and October 2016 and 10-minute interval data was collected during the daytime over twenty days. Throughout the monitoring period, a controlled window opening strategy was applied in rooms where differing shading strategies were implemented. In the absence of nighttime measurements, the rooms were evaluated according to CIBSE TM52 Overheating Criteria to assess the frequency and the severity of overheating and mitigation methods were statistically compared to analyse the difference in internal operative temperature increase according to the type of passive mitigation scenario implemented. The combination of opening windows at night and the closure of shading devices during the day can provide a significant thermal benefit to occupants. The inter-relationship between glazing, shading, ventilation amongst other variables need to be collectively evaluated at the building design stage to ensure the appropriate design of an effective façade management strategy

Refining rodent models of spinal cord injury.

This report was produced by an Expert Working Group (EWG) consisting of UK-based researchers, veterinarians and regulators of animal experiments with specialist knowledge of the use of animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI). It aims to facilitate the implementation of the Three Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement), with an emphasis on refinement. Specific animal welfare issues were identified and discussed, and practical measures proposed, with the aim of reducing animal use and suffering, reducing experimental variability, and increasing translatability within this critically important research field

The determinants of vulnerability to currency crises: country-specific factors versus regional factors

We investigate the determinants of exchange market pressures (EMP) for some new EU member states at both the national and regional levels, where macroeconomic and financial variables are considered as potential sources. The regional common factors are extracted from these variables by using dynamic factor analysis. The linear empirical analysis, in general, highlights the importance of country-specific factors to defend themselves against vulnerability in their external sectors. Yet, given a significant impact of the common component in credit on EMP, a contagion effect is apparent through the conduit of credit market integration across these countries under investigation