A Sustainable Business Model – Sustainability Accounting - Innovation Report

Business efficiency, stakeholder pressure and the need for legislative compliance compel the automotive sector to design and manufacture low-impact, environmentally responsible and sustainable vehicles. Managing and responding to these multiple and sometimes conflicting interests requires the measurement of economic, environmental and societal performance. This Innovation Report describes the process of developing the automotive Full Cost Accounting (FCA) model to drive sustainable decision-making in the automotive sector. FCA exhibit appealing advantages in comparison with other sustainability assessment techniques, with the most important one being the ability to support decisions by translating a broad range of conflicting sustainability information into the widely known and acceptable business language of ‘money’. A systematic and rigorous literature review of over 4300 papers related to FCA extracted ten FCA methods with a diverse level of completeness and consistency in practical applications. The critical analysis of each approach and existing automotive sustainability measures indicated the Sustainability Assessment Model (SAM) as potentially the most complete FCA method applicable in automotive organisations. A new set of assessment criteria has been developed to adapt the SAM to the automotive setting by: (1) selecting a set of sustainability assessment criteria from the literature, (2) refining these through an interview study with 24 experts in the automotive industry. By adapting this expert-driven approach, 26 midpoint and 9 end-point economic, environmental, resource and social impact categories have been identified for the construction of a comprehensive and novel framework for automotive sustainability assessment. This Engineering Doctorate project has complemented this framework with valuation models for resource depletion impacts, while valuation models for another ten impacts, including global warming potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, acidification potential, particulate matter formation, eutrophication potential, water consumption, land use, mobility capability, employment (quantity) and occupational health and safety, have been supplied by the consulting company PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC). This Engineering Doctorate, with the assistance of PwC, has developed and proved with real world data an innovative model that will enable large car manufacturers to evaluate options, identify win-wins and optimise trade-off for complex and multi-disciplinary sustainable decisions. The Automotive SAM (A-SAM) measures and quantifies a broad range of economic, environmental, resource and social impacts caused by the automotive sector. By adapting a rigorous and robust approach, it translates these impacts into their monetary equivalents, which is a language and thinking that could be understood in different business areas and by different stakeholders. It enables managers and design engineers in the automotive sector to develop a better understanding of the environmental, resource and social impacts of their activities, products, processes and materials used, while still ensuring cost-effectiveness when making decisions. It can expose new business or investment opportunities for automotive organisations, in line with the principles of sustainable development, by making them more transparent and visible for decision-makers

A comprehensive review of full cost accounting methods and their applicability to the automotive industry

Full cost accounting has been applied in many industrial settings that include the oil and gas, energy, chemical and waste management industries. Presently, it is not known how it can be applied in an automotive industry context. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review existing full cost accounting methods and identify an appropriate approach for the automotive sector. This literature review of 4381 papers extracted ten full cost accounting methods with a diverse level of development and consistency in application. Based on a careful examination and critical analysis of each approach and existing automotive sustainability measures, the Sustainability Assessment Model developed by British Petroleum and Aberdeen University has been proposed as a well-developed and potentially practical tool for automotive applications. The Sustainability Assessment Model can be used by both academics and practitioners to translate a range of conflicting sustainability information into a monetary unit score. This is an effective way of communicating trade-offs and outcomes for complex and multi-disciplinary sustainable decisions in the automotive sector. It measures a broad range of economic, environmental, resource and social effects (internal and external), which is currently lacking in existing automotive systems. Its other strengths are the ability to provide both monetary and physical metrics for sustainability assessment, its flexibility and the ability to combine multiple sustainability dimensions. Furthermore, this paper provides helpful clues for researchers interested in exploring full cost accounting in the future by reviewing, analysing and synthesising the broad range of relevant sources from diverse fields in this topic area

Vergleich kardiopulmonaler Leistungsfähigkeit auf einem Laufband ohne Steigung und einem Feldtest bergauf zwischen Trailläufern und Straßenläufern

The purpose of this study was to compare an uphill field test with a treadmill test without inclination with regards to cardiopulmonary exercise variables. The difference in those tests between a group of trail runners and a group of road runners was tested for establishing a test especially designed for determining the ventilatory thresholds (VT) in trailrunners. Methods: Ten male endurance road runners and ten male trail runners performed one maximal incremental treadmill test with no inclination and a maximal incremental field test on a hill with a constant grade of 16 % which they were instructed to run up four times for a duration of three minutes, each time with a higher pace. They ran down the hill at a leisurely pace in between. Results: There were no significant differences between any measured variables of the trail runners versus the road runners. The equivalence factor (EF, ratio between horizontal and uphill running performance) was comparable between both groups. The VO2peak was comparable for both test protocols. However, there was a significant difference between the two test protocols with regards to lactate, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), cost of running (Cr), peak heart rate (HRpeak), Breathing reserve (BR), and O2-pulse. Discussion: The higher lactate and CR recorded during the field test point towards a higher energy demand during uphill trail running than during level road running. The comparable VO2peak and HRpeak between the two test protocols point towards highly trained athletes in both groups. The fact that the trail runners did not differ in their test parameters from the road runners may be a consequence of similar training regimens of the two groups.Hintergrund und Ziele: Ziel der Studie war es, einen Stufentest im freien Feld mit einem Stufentest auf dem Laufband ohne Steigung hinsichtlich verschiedener Variablen der kardiopulmonalen Leistungsdiagnostik zu vergleichen. Unterschiede in beiden Testen zwischen einer Gruppe von Trailläufern und einer Gruppe von Straßenläufern sollen dazu dienen, einen speziellen Stufentest für Trailläufer zur Bestimmung ventilatorischer Schwellen (ventilatory treshold, VT) zu entwickeln. Methoden (Patienten, Material und Untersuchungsmethoden): Zehn männliche Ausdauerläufer und zehn männliche Trailrunner absolvierten einen Stufentest auf dem Laufband ohne Steigung und danach einen Stufentest im Feld auf einem Berg mit konstanter Steigung von 16 Grad und einer Länge von 500 m, welchen sie insgesamt viermal mit steigender Geschwindigkeit durchführten. Die Teilnehmer wurden instruiert, den Berg in gemächlicher Geschwindigkeit wieder nach unten zu laufen. Ergebnisse und Beobachtungen: Es zeigten sich keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den gemessenen Variablen der Trailläufer gegenüber den Straßenläufern. Der Äquivalenzfaktor (equivalence factor, EF), das Verhältnis zwischen dem Laufen auf der Ebene und bergauf, war zwischen beiden Gruppen vergleichbar. Interessanterweise verhielt es sich ebenso mit der maximalen Sauerstoffaufnahme (VO2peak). Es zeigten sich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Testprotokollen bezogen auf das Laktat, den respiratorischen Quotienten (respiratory exchange ratio, RER), die Energiekosten des Laufens (energy cost of running, Cr), die maximale Herzfrequenz (maximal heart rate, HRmax), die Atemfrequenz (Af) und den Sauerstoffpuls (O2-Puls). (Praktische) Schlussfolgerungen: Das höhere Laktat und die höhere Cr während des Feldtestes lassen auf einen höheren Energiebedarf während des Trailrunnings bergauf als beim Laufen auf der Ebene schließen. Die vergleichbaren Werte der VO2peak und HRmax zwischen beiden Testprotokollen sprechen für hochtrainierte Athleten in beiden Gruppen. Die 2 Tatsache, dass sich Trailläufer in beiden Testverfahren nicht von Straßenläufern unterscheiden, mag Folge ähnlicher Trainingseinheiten in beiden Gruppen sein

Functional and compositional responses of stream microphytobenthic communities to multiple stressors increase and release in a mesocosm experiment

Field observations form the basis of the majority of studies on microphytobenthic algal communities in freshwater ecosystems. Controlled mesocosm experiments data are comparatively uncommon. The few experimental mesocosm studies that have been conducted provide valuable insights into how multiple stressors affect the community structures and photosynthesis-related traits of benthic microalgae. The recovery process after the stressors have subsided, however, has received less attention in mesocosm studies. To close this gap, here we present the results of a riparian mesocosm experiment designed to investigate the effects of reduced flow velocity, increased salinity and increased temperature on microphytobenthic communities. We used a full factorial design with a semi-randomised distribution of treatments consisting of two levels of each stressor (2 × 2 × 2 treatments), with eight replicates making a total of 64 circular mesocosms, allowing a nuanced examination of their individual and combined influences. We aimed to elucidate the responses of microalgae communities seeded from stream water to the applied environmental stressors. Our results showed significant effects o

Assessing supply risks for non-fossil mineral resources via multi-criteria decision analysis

Criticality assessments of raw materials are inherently based on multiple criteria, which justifies the use of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to aid the interpretation of the data by providing a comprehensive evaluation. A structured and transparent selection procedure is firstly introduced in this paper to choose eight supply risk assessment criteria to evaluate the security of supply for thirty-one raw materials used in automotive manufacturing. A synergic combination of MCDA methods is then proposed for the classification of raw materials in risk classes according to the supply risk criteria. Risk classes are recommended following from a robustness analysis based on stochastic and optimisation MCDA methods where risk levels assigned to the raw materials are firstly visualised on a relative frequency basis. The sorting of the raw materials is also refined by narrowing down the best and worst plausible classes when justifiable constraints on criteria weights are accounted for in the modeling. For example, the robustness analysis suggests that rare earth elements and tellurium have a high eventuality of supply chain disruption, closely followed by indium, germanium and boron. Conversely, the results suggest that the risk of supply disruption for iron, copper, zinc and aluminium is mostly medium-low or low. The proposed step-wise decision support approach can be used as a complementary tool to the existing life cycle assessment methods for a more comprehensive assessment of the short-term availability of natural resources

Role of HLA-G in viral infections

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G is a non-classical HLA class I molecule, which has distinct features to classical HLA-A, -B, -C antigens, such as a low polymorphism, different splice variants, highly restricted, tightly regulated expression and immune modulatory properties. HLA-G expression in tumor cells and virus-infected cells, as well as the release of soluble HLA-G leads to escape from host immune surveillance. Increased knowledge of the link between HLA-G expression, viral infection and disease progression is urgently required, which highlights the possible use of HLA-G as novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for viral infections, but also as therapeutic target. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the expression, regulation, function and impact of HLA-G in the context of different viral infections including virus-associated cancers. The characterization of HLA-G-driven immune escape mechanisms involved in the interactions between host cells and viruses might result in the design of novel immunotherapeutic strategies targeting HLA-G and/or its interaction with its receptors on immune effector cells.Publikationsfonds ML

Water column baseline assessment for offshore Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) sites: Analysis of field data from the Goldeneye storage complex area

Highlights • Environmental monitoring for offshore carbon dioxide storage sites. • Analysis of water column in situ measurements for the determination of baseline conditions at an experimental site for CO2 storage in the North Sea. • Assessment of the variability between carbonate variables and physicochemical parameters at the near seabed for the identification of potential non-natural CO2 emissions at offshore storage sites. Monitoring operations at the seafloor above a storage complex area are required to demonstrate that offshore storage of CO2 in the deep subsurface is safe and effective. Within the framework of the STEMM-CCS project, the Goldeneye area was identified as an offshore experimental site for CO2 storage. In this work, the physico-chemical characteristics of the water column at the Goldeneye site were determined by an in-depth analysis of measurements collated from CTD casts, discrete water samples and seafloor landers. The results showed a clear tidal, seasonal and inter-annual variability in the measured parameters within the monitoring period (Oct 2017- May 2019). Variations in pH and pCO2 over a single tidal cycle were in the order of ±0.008 and ±1.5 μatm, respectively. The temporal variability of water column carbonate chemistry parameters was further defined with the aim to provide a solid background for the discrimination from natural changes of potential impacts of CO2 emissions at the potential storage site. Here, we demonstrated how the combination of new and existing methods and technologies could be used for an effective assessment of water column conditions at a potential offshore carbon storage site

Assessing the functional and compositional responses of stream microalgal communities to stressors increase and release in a mesocosm experiment

Most studies on microalgal communities in freshwater ecosystems are based on field observations. The number of mesocosm experiments conducted is limited, but they provide important insights into how various stressors affect photosynthetic biomass and the community composition of microalgae. In addition, mesocosm studies have paid less attention to the recovery process after stressor alleviation. Here, we fill this gap by presenting the results of a riparian mesocosm experiment that investigated how increases in temperature and salinity and decreases in flow velocity affect microalgae communities. A comprehensive analysis of individual and combined stressor influences was possible thanks to the full factorial design and semi-randomised distribution of treatments, which included two levels of each stressor and eight (2 x 2 x 2) replicates, yielding a total of 64 circular mesocosms. We aimed to clarify how photosynthetic biomass and community composition of microalgae responded to the applied environmental stressors. Our data showed that temperature was the most important predictor of photosynthetic biomass, although this effect was weak. We also found notable effects of temperature and flow velocity on diatom community composition during the stressor phase, with temperature exerting a persistent influence during the recovery phase. Conversely, amplicon analysis highlighted the significant influence of flow velocity during the stressor phase, while temperature and salinity emerged as key factors during the recovery phase, with a notable interaction between temperature and flow velocity observed in this phase. Although our results partially contradicted our predictions, they illustrate how sensitive photosynthetic biomass and community composition of microalgae are to even minor changes in environmental variables, particularly flow velocity and temperature. These results highlight the complexity of ecological responses in benthic systems and call for more research into the subtle interactions between microalgal communities and their ecosystems

Eastern Mediterranean Sea Process Study, Cruise No. M197, 30.12.2023-06.02.2024, Limassol (Republic of Cyprus) Catania (Italy), EMS-PS

The research cruise M197 with the RV METEOR sailed January 6th 2024 to February 6th 2024 from Limassol (Republic of Cyprus) to Catania (Italy), with a focus on investigating the seawater and sediment biogeochemistry in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The two specific foci of the research cruise were to (i) investigate the physical, chemical and biological factors regulating the productivity and sinking carbon flux in this region, and (ii) investigate natural and human induced changes in the region over the last few thousand years. On the research cruise, 30 stations were occupied. Seawaters were collected from the surface to the seafloor to measure chemical properties of the seawater, including major and trace nutrients, the carbonate system, microplastics, and the microbial communities inhabiting the water column. Experiments were conducted to assess rates of primary production and nitrogen fixation, and the nutrients regulating phytoplankton growth. Sinking carbon fluxes were determined using the thorium-234 approach. The types and abundance of zooplankton were determined via various nets and two camera systems. The deposition flux and chemistry of aerosols was also assessed. Sediment cores were collected to determine nutrient fluxes into the overlying water column as well as investigate past environmental conditions. Collectively our research will provide an important advance in the network of factors that regulate the chemistry and biology of this system and inform ocean biogeochemical models of this region to make more realistic predictions of climate change induced impacts