Role of Higher Education Institutions in Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development: A case study of Shivaji University, Maharashtra, India.

The ever increasing population and changing lifestyles are making the environmental problems more critical. Higher educational institutions can be the best solution to solve this situation. Higher education can play a crucial role in sustainable development of any nation. As environmental sustainability is becoming an increasingly important issue for the world, the role of higher educational institutions in relation to environmental sustainability is more prevalent. Universities are the apex bodies in higher education system and can provide environmental education through its curricular design, research and collaborative efforts with NGO’s working in those areas. They can provide trained manpower and knowledgeable expertise to solve critical environmental problems. They can also act as a good networking system and data collector. Shivaji University is one of the significant higher education institution located in heart of Western Ghats working with the same goal of environmental sustainability through various activities. The paper examines the efforts taken by higher education in environmental development in the areas of creating healthy environment and conservation of resources. Key words: Role of Higher education, Environmental protection, Universities, sustainable developmen

Gamma ray interaction studies of organic nonlinear optical materials in the energy range 122 keV–1330 keV

The mass attenuation coefficients (μm) for organic nonlinear optical materials measured at 122–1330 keV photon energies were investigated on the basis of mixture rule and compared with obtained values of WinXCOM program. It is observed that there is a good agreement between theoretical and experimental values of the samples. All samples were irradiated with six radioactive sources such as 57Co, 133Ba, 22Na, 137Cs, 54Mn and 60Co using transmission arrangement. Effective atomic and electron numbers or electron densities (Zeff and Neff), molar extinction coefficient (ε), mass energy absorption coefficient (μen/ρ) and effective atomic energy absorption cross section (σa,en) were determined experimentally and theoretically using the obtained μm values for investigated samples and graphs have been plotted. The graph shows that the variation of all samples decreases with increasing photon energy. Keywords: Mass attenuation coefficients (μm), Effective atomic numbers (Zeff), Effective electron densities (Neff

Moving the Circular Economy Forward in the Mining Industry: Challenges to Closed-Loop in an Emerging Economy

Resource scarcity and ecosystem damage are putting pressure on the mining industry to increase the circularity of its operations. This study analyses the critical challenges to a circular economy in the Indian mining industry, applying an integrated decision-making approach. The identified challenges were obtained from a detailed literature review as well as experts' opinions, and were then ranked. The interrelationships among the key challenges are established and classified into a cause-effect grouping. According to a structured analysis of the challenges to the circular economy in the mining industry of an emerging economy and their interrelations, the trade-off between the prices of virgin materials and secondary waste materials could jeopardize circular economy principles in the mining industry. Primarily, this article raises the importance of tackling the lack of clear governance measures and implementation of waste management reporting for a closed-loop related to developing circular economy principles in the context of an emerging economy. Thus, adequate governance measures regarding closed-loops are vital to ensure a sustainable balance between the supply and demand of secondary minerals and metals, which can address the trade-off mentioned. Some suggested directions for policymakers and managers have also been provided to help formulate appropriate strategies for a transition to the circular economy. \textcopyright 2021 Elsevier Lt

Sustainable Manufacturing and Green Human Resources: Critical Success Factors in the Automotive Sector

This study aims to identify critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing sustainability in organizational human resources management (OHRM) within the automotive sector (AS). A literature review was carried out to identify the OHRM factors that are instrumental for the significant adoption of sustainable practices (SP) in the sector. Based on the outcomes from the literature review, an expert team composed of 17 experts from the AS, academia, and consultancy firms were consulted in order to identify cause\textendash effect relationships among CSFs using a multi-criteria decision making tool. Data were gathered in India from November 2019 to April 2020. The results revealed that top management support and environmental auditing for suppliers are the two most important CSFs to be prioritized among the factors studied, which implies that by managing these factors first, automotive manufacturers may deal better with the adoption of SP. As a result of prioritizing these two factors, other CSFs related to OHRM (e.g., organizational culture, environmental training, rewards, and incentives) will also positively affect the adoption of SP. The novelty of this study comes through raising the importance of environmental auditing for suppliers as a factor that can facilitate not only the adoption of SP in the AS, but the other OHRM factors as well. \textcopyright 2020 ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Lt

Integrated Technologies toward Sustainable Agriculture Supply Chains: Missing Links

Purpose: This article sheds light on the missing links concerning the study of using integrated enabling technologies toward sustainable and circular agriculture supply chains by examining the available literature and proposing future research possibilities. Design/methodology/approach: The relevant literature was researched through online databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier, Emerald, IEEE Xplore, Science Direct, World Scientific Net and Springer-Link Journals, covering a period from 1999 to 2020. A systematic literature review based on 75 papers analyzed the integration of the concepts of enabling technologies, sustainability, circular economy and supply chain performance in agriculture supply chains. Findings: It was identified that enabling technologies and agriculture supply chains alone have been explored further than integrated enabling technologies, sustainability, circular economy, supply chain performance and agriculture supply chains. Enabling technologies and agriculture supply chains' main findings are: enabling technologies have been studied to improve food safety, food quality and traceability in agriculture supply chains. The main results regarding integrated enabling technologies, sustainability, circular economy, supply chain performance and agriculture supply chains are: Internet of Things and information communication technology play an important role in addressing food security, traceability and food quality, which help achieve sustainable development goals. Originality/value: This review study provides 13 research questions to underpin future trends regarding integrated technologies' application in agriculture supply chains for circular and sustainable growth. \textcopyright 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

Circular Economy Practices in a Developing Economy: Barriers to Be Defeated

The study attempts to identify the barriers against the adoption of Circular Economic (CE) in the food supply chain (FSC) in the context of a developing economy. A total of 18 significant barriers are identified via a detailed literature review and from expert opinions. The Fuzzy-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (Fuzzy-DEMATEL) method was applied to prioritize and categorize the barriers. Further, the identified barriers were ranked to determine the bottlenecks in the transition from linear to the CE, and the cause-effect relationship was drawn. The findings reveal that lack of technology and innovation, lack of robust estimate about food waste, lack of supply chain (SC) design and optimization, and lack of economic benefits and high cost of investment are the most significant barriers impacting the adoption of CE. Unlike previous studies, this article shows that CE's biological cycle via technological interventions and innovation should be fostered as a source of reducing barriers to CE in a FSC in a developing economy. This study is unique in building a theoretical foundation for identifying and prioritizing adoption barriers of CE in a FSC using the Fuzzy-DEMATEL method. The findings will help decision-makers, managers, and government formulate the strategies/policies for effective implementation of CE in a FSC. \textcopyright 2021 Elsevier Lt