How ecoefficient is European food consumption? A frontier-based multiregional input?output analysis

This paper presents an integrated approach combining the optimization-based frontier model with a global multiregional input?output (MRIO) analysis for food consumption in Europe. The weighted and conventional data envelopment analysis models are coupled with production and consumption-based environmental and economic footprint data obtained from the environmental footprint explorer database. Eco-efficiency assessment is carried out using multiple undesirable environmental outputs such as carbon emission, total energy consumption, land use, material use, water use, and one desirable economic output, which is the gross value-added (GVA). This assessment indicates an efficiency level of each economic activity associated with its environmental impacts and policies are made as a result of the efficiency level to propose an equilibrium between economic development and environmental impacts. Finally, a sensitivity analysis of each parameter, variability analysis between weighted and non-weighted models, and performance improvement projections are presented. Based on the results, four countries become efficient when moving from production-based accounting (PBA) to consumption-based accounting (CBA). France, United Kingdom, Italy, and Sweden are efficient countries in both findings. Denmark caused the highest carbon emission from the production point of view. Germany is the largest importer in all environmental categories such as carbon emission, energy usage, material use, land use, and water use. Additionally, the weight-restricted model indicated a noticeable difference concerning the eco-efficiency scores under the PBA and CBA approach, where land use and material footprint categories were found to be the most sensitive parameters for eco-efficiency scores. The authors believe that this integrated approach will aid in decision-making and help build a composite eco-efficiency score when comparing the performance of food consumption with multiple environmental and economic metrics.Scopu

Economic Input-Output Based Sustainability Analysis Of Onshore And Offshore Wind Energy Systems

According to the U.S. Department of Energys wind energy scenario, 20% share of the U.S. energy portfolio is to come in from wind power plants by the year 2030. This research aims to quantify the direct and supply chain related indirect environmental impacts of onshore and offshore wind energy technologies in the United States. To accomplish this goal, a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) model is developed. On average, offshore wind turbines produce 48% less greenhouse gas emissions per kWh produced electricity than onshore wind turbines. It is also found that the more the capacity of the wind turbine, the less the environmental impact when the turbine generates per kWh electricity

Ridge Penalization-based weighting approach for Eco-Efficiency assessment: The case in the food industry in the United States

Eco-efficiency assessment is of great importance for monitoring and managing environmental and economic aspects of sustainable development. The eco-efficiency indicators are required to assess and measure the impact of multiple environmental aspects per unit of economic value-added. The aggregation of multiple environmental impacts in the presence of high correlation is a critical challenge to sustainability practitioners. This study presents a weighting approach using ridge penalization-based regression to overcoming the consequence of the high correlation among the environmental aspects and hence providing accurate weighting values. The performance of the proposed approach is assessed using economic and environmental footprints of 20 food industries in the United States. The new weighting approach is expected to provide decision-makers with a quantitative management tool for monitoring and controlling core operational functions associated with the sustainable development and management.Scopu

An integrated sustainable quality management framework for quality-related research

The existence of synergies between several quality management systems and sustainability has spurred great interest in better understanding the sustainable quality management (SQM) concept over the past decade. This paper aims to design and develop a sustainable quality management framework (iSQMF) that integrates the quality management practices with the Whole System Design (WSD) practices, including the environmental, social, and economic sustainability aspects. The relevance of the designed iSQMF in supporting quality management research and sustainable initiatives is detailed and reported. In addition, the research presents a twelve-stage planning system as a tool for monitoring and controlling the implementation of SQM programs. The proposed framework holds great potential in not only bringing sustainability concepts actionable but also addressing the institutional and developmental processes in a management system.Scopu

Carbon Footprints of Construction Industries: A Global, Supply Chain-linked Analysis

The global construction industry is predicted to grow rapidly over the next decades by developing globalization, urbanization, and infrastructure renewal. Global Construction 2020 forecasts that China, USA, India, Japan, and Canada will have the most contribution to construction development. Sustainability analyses (analysis of environmental, economic, and social) of construction sectors are highlighted by increasing trend in this industry. In this study, we analyze environmental impact, particularly carbon footprints, of five leading construction markets using a global carbon footprint accounting tool based on the World Input-Output Database (WIOD). To this end, we examine direct and indirect carbon emissions within sector itself and at national and global scales employing scope-based carbon footprint, production-consumption based, and global impact distribution analyses. According to these analyses, we identified the notable hotspots where carbon reduction is required. This way, governments are able to manage and reduce carbon footprints on parts, which are increasingly important in the construction sector

Material dependence of national energy development plans: The case for Turkey and United Kingdom

Due to growing production and consumption worldwide, the energy demand is increasing rapidly, which puts additional burdens on the world's scarce natural resources. Therefore, there is a need for efficient use of scarce materials of the earth to meet the increasing energy demand. With this motivation, material footprints of Turkey's and UK's national energy development plans are investigated by applying a global, multiregional input-output (GMRIO) model. A spatial material footprint analysis is conducted for 10 metallic and 9 nonmetallic minerals to reveal the regional and global material dependence of Turkey and UK related to electricity production from 11 different sources. As a high-resolution GMRIO database, the EXIOBASE v.2 is extended by material extraction data that enabled us to calculate the material footprints tracing the complex global supply chains of electric power generation sectors. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model is also developed to forecast the material footprints of electricity production until 2050. Three energy development plans such as Business-as-Usual (BAU), Official Plan (OP), and Renewable Energy development (RED) plan are investigated to compare the materials dependence of different national energy development policies. Current research concluded that environmental policies applied for national energy development should consider the different levels of complexities of regional and global supply chains for material footprint analysis.European CommissionScopu

Supply Chain Linked Sustainability Assessment of Electric Vehicles: The Case for Qatar

Electric vehicles are important technologies to reduce adverse environmental impacts stemming from transportation. In this paper, we investigated the environmental, social, and economic impacts of electric vehicles in Qatar, where the electricity generation is currently 100% natural gas. As electric vehicles is expected replace the internal combustion engine vehicles and each vehicle type has different supply chain for the fuel, the sustainability impacts in the upstream of fuel supply-chain can be significantly different. Hence, a supply-chain based approach is developed to capture impact shift from petroleum sector to electricity generation sector in the supply chain of electricity and petroleum. Results revealed that electric vehicles can save up to 28% of life cycle cost, 71% of Greenhouse gas emissions, 51% of photochemical oxidant formation, and 63% of human health impacts.This paper is an output of a project supported by Qatar University, grant number QUSD-CENG-2018\2019-2.Scopu

Environmental, Economic, and Social Life Cycle Impacts of Alternative Fuel Buses: The Case for Qatar

This paper aimed to evaluate three different types of city buses' life cycle, including the manufacturing, shipping, and operation phases. On this basis, this study is applying both a hybrid life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) and multi-objective decision-making to assess two different brands of compressed natural gas (CNG), diesel, and electric buses. This study intends to cover the existing gap in the literature related to the external effects developed from the different fuel buses in Qatar. The results highlighted that adopting the CNG buses favors the social indicators, and they have the lowest life cycle costs. On the other hand, the electric buses support the environmental indicators, and they have slightly higher life cycle costs than CNG buses. The diesel buses had the worst environmental impacts, high social impacts than CNGs, and the highest life cycle costs.Scopu

Well-to-wheel water footprints of conventional versus electric vehicles in the United States: A state-based comparative analysis

Today, increasing levels of water demand become a particularly serious challenge for many countries, especially since water is an essential element for production of transportation fuels. Unfortunately, no research efforts as of now have been directed specifically toward understanding the fundamental relationship between the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and water demand. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap by analyzing the water consumption and withdrawal impacts resulting from the increased usage of alternative vehicle technologies in the United States. 5 vehicle types - Internal Combustion Vehicles (ICVs), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV20, PHEV40) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) - are analyzed across 50 U.S. states with 3 different electricity generation mix profiles: the state-based average electricity generation mix, the state-based marginal electricity generation mix, and a hypothetical electricity generation mix consisting entirely of solar-powered charging stations. The well-to-wheel (WTW) life cycle analysis is used for the water footprint calculations. In worst case, BEVs may consume up to 70 times more water than ICVs. BEVs with solar charging have the lowest levels of water consumption and withdrawal and can reduce transportation water footprint by up to 97%. In most of the states, the marginal electricity generation mix has higher water consumption and withdrawal values than those of the average electricity generation mix. In particular, the authors suggest the use of BEVs with solar charging for states with the highest water-stressed areas (California (CA), Arizona (AZ), Nevada (NV), Florida (FL), etc.), and recommend the inclusion of incentives by federal and state governments for these states. ? 2018 Elsevier LtdU.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of TransportationScopu