Support Phosphorus Recycling Policy with Social Life Cycle Assessment: A Case of Japan

Producing phosphorus (P) fertilizers with recycled P is desirable for efficient use of P resource. However, the current cost of P recycling facilities in Japan strongly discourages the government from adopting this practice. To expand consideration for a P recycling policy, the concept of social externality was introduced. Social issues, such as the violation of human rights in P mining in the Western Sahara, have been identified in recent studies; nevertheless, a systematic approach towards accountability was lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to support a P recycling policy with a social life cycle assessment (SLCA) by contrasting the social impacts associated with mineral and recycled P fertilizers using the case study of Japan. We developed a framework based on the UNEP-SETAC SLCA Guidelines with a supplementary set of P-specific social indicators. The results showed that the marginal social impact associated with recycled P was much less relative to mineral P; however, even if we factored in the maximum recycling capacity, a mandate of P recycling policy in Japan would not mitigate the impacts significantly relative to the current situation because only 15% of P rocks could be substituted. In short, we showed that a semi-quantitative SLCA framework would be useful to communicate the wide spectrum of social impacts to policymakers

Integral Leadership Education for Sustinable Development

To date, there is no well-established theoretical framework in the field of education for sustainable development. This study contributes to the literature by developing an integrated framework for environmental leadership education (i.e., Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development [ILESD]). The framework is an application of the all-quadrants, all-levels (AQAL) model of Integral Theory. Taking into consideration the viewpoints of students and educators, we propose two four-quadrant models that represent two types of ILESD models. One model represents components of environmental leadership inherent in students, while another model represents components of education programs. The ILESD models were utilized to evaluate the University of Tokyo’s Asian Program for the Incubation of Environmental Leaders (APIEL). The evaluation results suggest three challenges facing APIEL: 1) establishment of integrated environmental studies; 2) further curriculum development focusing on environmental leadership; and 3) establishment of an evaluation methodology vis-á-vis educational effectiveness

Integral Leadership Education for Sustinable Development

To date, there is no well-established theoretical framework in the field of education for sustainable development. This study contributes to the literature by developing an integrated framework for environmental leadership education (i.e., Integral Leadership Education for Sustainable Development [ILESD]). The framework is an application of the all-quadrants, all-levels (AQAL) model of Integral Theory. Taking into consideration the viewpoints of students and educators, we propose two four-quadrant models that represent two types of ILESD models. One model represents components of environmental leadership inherent in students, while another model represents components of education programs. The ILESD models were utilized to evaluate the University of Tokyo’s Asian Program for the Incubation of Environmental Leaders (APIEL). The evaluation results suggest three challenges facing APIEL: 1) establishment of integrated environmental studies; 2) further curriculum development focusing on environmental leadership; and 3) establishment of an evaluation methodology vis-á-vis educational effectiveness

Dynamics of Innovation Systems for Sustainability: The Case of Membrane Bioreactors in China

Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy 2011The dynamics of technological innovation system is expected to make a significant contribution to understanding the process of sustainable socio-technical changes. We discuss how different functions interact with each other and which are critically important functions at what stages in the dynamic processes in the innovation system of membrane bioreactors

Experiential Knowledge Complements an LCA-Based Decision Support Framework

A shrimp farmer in Taiwan practices innovation through trial-and-error for better income and a better environment, but such farmer-based innovation sometimes fails because the biological mechanism is unclear. Systematic field experimentation and laboratory research are often too costly, and simulating ground conditions is often too challenging. To solve this dilemma, we propose a decision support framework that explicitly utilizes farmer experiential knowledge through a participatory approach to alternatively estimate prospective change in shrimp farming productivity, and to co-design options for improvement. Data obtained from the farmer enable us to quantitatively analyze the production cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission with a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. We used semi-quantitative graphical representations of indifference curves and mixing triangles to compare and show better options for the farmer. Our results empower the farmer to make decisions more systematically and reliably based on the frequency of heterotrophic bacteria application and the revision of feed input. We argue that experiential knowledge may be less accurate due to its dependence on varying levels of farmer experience, but this knowledge is a reasonable alternative for immediate decision-making. More importantly, our developed framework advances the scope of LCA application to support practically important yet scientifically uncertain cases

Bridging practices, institutions, and landscapes through a scale-based approach for research and practice: A case study of a business association in South India

There is a need for enterprises to incorporate information on the environment into decision making and to take action on ecological restoration. Within academia, a comprehensive understanding of the impacts on how business can serve sustainability transformation is still lacking as diverging holistic approaches and reductive approaches cloud academic thinking. The authors take a science-policy interface perspective to cover the role of cognitive proximity, matching and coordination of scientific knowledge from diverse stakeholders for effective policy making and implementation. We show through a literature review that temporal and spatial scales, soil and land degradation, institutions and ecosystem, and the role of human behavior and narrative are not adequately emphasized in sustainability research. A scale-based picture, focusing on landscapes, institutions and practices is proposed which can be used to align diverse fields by acting as “bridge” for improved science policy interface and decision making, facilitated through cognitive proximity, matching, and coordination. A case study on a business association from South India is used to demonstrate the scales based approach in practice. A scale-based approach can play a key role in connecting human behaviour, a social science thematic topic, with ecosystems, a natural science thematic topic

Incorporating External Effects into Project Sustainability Assessments: The Case of a Green Campus Initiative Based on a Solar PV System

We demonstrated that a green campus initiative can reduce the carbon footprint of a university and improve the disaster resilience of the local community. A project sustainability assessment framework was structured to support the initiative. First, an on-campus solar photovoltaic (PV) system was designed. The project performance in terms of financial cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was assessed using life cycle cost analysis (LCC) and a life cycle assessment (LCA), respectively. Then, we explored the incorporation of positive social impacts on the local community in the context of natural disaster-prone Japan. Indicators for improving the disaster resilience of the residents were defined based on the Sendai Framework. Our results showed that the proposed solar PV system could provide an electricity self-sufficiency rate of 31% for the campus. Greenhouse gas emissions of 0.0811 kg CO2-eq/kWh would decrease the annual emissions from campus electricity use by 27%. Considering the substituted daytime electricity purchase, a payback period of 12.9 years was achievable. This solar PV system could serve as an emergency power source to 4666–8454 nearby residents and 8532 smart city residents. This external effect would encourage stakeholders like local government and developers to participate in the project