Costs and benefits related to the use of tax incentives for energy-efficient appliances

The study examines four products with high energy-saving potential: refrigerators, washing machines, boilers and compact fluorescent lamps. The cost-benefit analysis is done in a comparative perspective so that the costs and benefits of energy taxation and a regulatory measure are calculated for the same products. The data from four different Member States (Denmark, France, Italy and Poland) are used in the analysis.European Union, taxation

The use of smart technologies in enabling construction components reuse: A viable method or a problem creating solution?

© 2017 The Authors. The exploitation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for tracking and archiving the properties of structural construction components could be a potentially innovative disruption for the construction sector. This is because RFID can stimulate the reuse of construction components and reduce their wastage, hence addressing sustainability issues in the construction sector. To test the plausibility of that idea, this study explores the potential pre-conditions for RFID to facilitate construction components reuse, and develops a guidance for promoting their redistribution back to the supply chain. It also looks at how integrating RFID with Building Information Modelling (BIM) can possibly be a valuable extension of its capabilities, providing the opportunity for tracked components to be incorporated into new structures in an informed, sound way. A preliminary assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the RFID technology is presented in order to depict its current and future potential in promoting construction components’ sustainable lifecycle management, while emphasis has been laid on capturing their technical, environmental, economic and social value. Findings suggest that the collection of the right amount of information at the design-construction-deconstruction-reuse-disposal stage is crucial for RFID to become a successful innovation in the construction sector. Although a number of limitations related to the technical operability and recycling of RFID tags seem to currently hinder its uptake for structural components’ lifecycle management, future technological innovations could provide solutions that would enable it to become a mainstream practice. Taken together these proposals advocate that the use of RFID and its integration with BIM can create the right environment for the development of new business models focused on sustainable resource management. These models may then unlock multiple values that are otherwise dissipated in the system. If the rapid technological development of RFID capability can be allied to policy interventions that control and manage its uptake along the supply chain, the sustainable lifecycle management of construction components could be radically enhanced.UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) who funded this work (Grant No. EP/K012398/1) in the context of the Infrastructure Business models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery (iBUILD) project

A framework for assessing technology and management options to reduce water losses.

Water saving in agriculture often refers to reducing the amount of water abstracted or diverted and used for different purposes. However, this is not the only option: reductions in water use can also be achieved by using appropriate techniques for irrigation, applying relevant management practices, using water from alternative sources or influencing behaviour – for example, via awareness-raising, dissemination of best practices, regulation, water pricing and/or the use of financial incentives. While these options or responses will help to reduce pressure on water resources, if implemented in isolation they limit the extent to which water is actually ‘saved’. More often, they need to be considered as part of a broader integrated approach to water management. This paper presents a framework for identifying areas in which scope for achieving water savings exists and then reviews the possible means of action and the constraints to implementation. The framework is intended to inform polices aimed at improving the sustainability and allocation of water to irrigated agriculture.http://www.ippublishing.co

Towards an overall measurement methodology of the carbon and energy footprints of the ICT sector: Final report

The objective of this study is to better understand the existing landscape of methodologies and initiatives for measuring and reporting GHG emissions (i.e. carbon footprint) and energy footprint for the ICT sector, in a perspective of a possible policy implementation. The report is structured in three main parts. Firstly, in the context of Key Action 12 of the Digital Agenda for Europe5, the study provides a panorama and analysis of these methodologies and initiatives in regards to several assessment criteria. Secondly, it looks at the implications of applying these methodologies to carry out GHG emissions reporting at company level and assesses generic risks and benefits. Finally, building on these two aspects, the study provides a preliminary discussion of different policy scenarios (either mandatory or voluntary) for the implementation of GHG emissions reporting at the company level. In particular, the most appropriate methodological frameworks are presented for these scenarios. The scenarios discussion focuses on the ICT sector but scenarios also consider a wider policy implementation for GHG emissions reporting