Estudi ambiental de l'ús de la xarxa d'aigua potable a municipis petits i mitjans

Conèixer els patrons de consum d'aigua i electricitat de les xarxes d'abastament d'aigua potable és necessari per determinar quins factors influeixen en l'impacte ambiental i poder actuar per reduir aquest impacte. L'article presenta l'anàlisi estadística d'una mostra de 50 ciutats petites i mitjanes de l'estat espanyol, aportant dades generals així com definint models per a l'estimació de variables com el consum elèctric o la longitud de la xarxa en altres municipis.Conocer los patrones de consumo de agua y electricidad de las redes de abastecimiento de agua potable es necesario para determinar qué factores influyen en el impacto ambiental y poder actuar para reducir este impacto. El artículo presenta el análisis estadístico de una muestra de 50 ciudades pequeñas y medianas de España, aportando datos generales así como definiendo modelos para la estimación de variables como el consumo eléctrico o la longitud de la red en otros municipios.Understanding the patterns of consumption of water and electricity in water supply networks is needed to determine which factors influence the environmental impacts reduce its environmental burdens. The article presents a statistical analysis of a sample of 50 small and medium municipalities in Spain, including general information and defining models for estimating variables such as power consumption or the length of the network in other municipalities

Impacte ambiental de la construcció de la xarxa de subministrament d'aigua potable de Betanzos

La construcció de la xarxa necessària per al subministrament d'aigua potable per a la població genera impactes ambientals que han de ser avaluats per tal de reduir-los. L'article desenvolupa una metodologia que permet el càlcul dels impactes ambientals derivats de la construcció de la xarxa de subministrament d'aigua potable en ciutats. La metodologia ha estat aplicada a la xarxa d'abastament d'aigua potable del municipi de Betanzos (Galícia). Aquesta metodologia permetrà els dissenyadors i gestors de la xarxa incloure criteris ambientals en el (re)disseny de la xarxa.La construcción de la red necesaria para el suministro de agua potable para la población genera impactos ambientales que deben ser evaluados para reducirlos. El artículo desarrolla una metodología que permite el cálculo de los impactos ambientales derivados de la construcción de la red de abastecimiento de agua potable en ciudades. La metodología ha sido aplicada a la red de abastecimiento de agua potable del municipio de Betanzos (Galicia). Esta metodología permitirá a los diseñadores y gestores de la red incluir criterios ambientales en el (re)diseño de la red.The construction of networks required to supply drinking water to the population generates environmental impacts that must be assessed in order to be minimized. The article develops a methodology that allows calculation of the environmental impacts derived from the construction of drinking water supply networks in cities. The methodology has been applied to the drinking water supply network of the municipality of Betanzos (Galicia). This methodology will help the designers and managers of the network to include environmental criteria in the (re)design of the network

Optimització ambiental dels dipòsits municipals d'aigua potable

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Una recerca sobre els sistemes d'emmagatzematge d'aigua potable en 147 dipòsits municipals confirma que les característiques materials d'aquests són les principals contribuïdores al seu impacte ambiental, més que no pas el transport o el sistema d'instal·lació. Afecten especialment la capacitat d'emmagatzematge, la combinació de dimensions i la posició de la instal·lació. L'aplicació dels estàndards obtinguts a tres casos reals mostra una important disminució de les emissions de CO equivalent.Una recerca sobre els sistemes d'emmagatzematge d'aigua potable en 147 dipòsits municipals confirma que les característiques materials d'aquests són les principals contribuïdores al seu impacte ambiental, més que no pas el transport o el sistema d'instal·lació. Afecten especialment la capacitat d'emmagatzematge, la combinació de dimensions i la posició de la instal·lació. L'aplicació dels estàndards obtinguts a tres casos reals mostra una important disminució de les emissions de CO2 equivalent.A study onstorage systems of drinking water in 147 municipal deposits confirms that the material characteristics of these are the main contributors to their environmental impact, rather than transportation or the installation system. The storage capacity, dimensions combination and position of the installation are particularly affected. The application of the standards obtained to three case studies shows a significant reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions

An operational framework for sustainability assessment including local to global impacts : focus on waste management systems

Assessing the sustainability of waste management systems (WMSs) is key to reduce the impacts incurred by human activities. The article presents the development of an operational sustainability framework for the assessment of WMSs involving stakeholders and experts from different fields. The operational framework presented achieves comprehensiveness by including multidisciplinary impacts (environmental, social, and economic impacts), accounting for spatial differentiation regarding the occurrence and magnitude of the impacts (local to global) and complementing well-established methods in life cycle assessment (LCA) with local impact assessment methods. In this respect, the assessment of social local impacts (e.g., Odour, Landscape Disamenities), which has so far received little attention in the literature, has been included. The procedure for the definition of the operational framework is described in detail, including the selection of the impact categories and associated indicators. Finally, an aggregation method was defined considering the perception of stakeholders, allowing for aggregating the impact in five areas of protection (Prosperity, Human Well-Being, Human Health, Ecosystem Health and Natural Resources)

Sustainable assessment of waste management systems in cities

To improve the sustainability of waste management in European cities, proper methods and indicators that allow good decision-making need to be defined. The goal of this study is to provide a comprehensive framework to assess the sustainability of waste management. This framework presents three main innovations. Firstly, the framework integrates the analysis of environmental, social and economic impacts. Secondly, a clearly defined methodology was used for the definition of the framework. Finally, unlike other studies, it reaches enough detail to allow the application of the framework to any city. For the selection of the set of impact categories (types of impacts; e.g., global warming, eutrophication) to be included in the framework, a selection process was conducted using surveys to evaluate the perception of stakeholders and experts, who rated different impacts (expressing the perceived relevance for the project). The resulting preliminary set of categories was further refined considering the data requirements at three levels: transdisciplinary (social, economic, environmental), multi-scale (geographical location of processes causing the respective impacts) and multi-size (magnitude of impact). Once the set of impacts was defined, a proper indicator was selected for the measurement of each impact. For some categories this was a straightforward process, since the indicators are well stablished and applied, especially in the context of life cycle based environmental indicators (e.g., kg of P eq. was used for eutrophication). However, this was not the case for the categories assessing social impacts at a local scale. Different options were proposed in each case and evaluated to select the most adequate one (e.g., the odour footprint was selected for odour). This study was developed within the ongoing project REPAiR (European Union’s Horizon 2020; http://h2020repair.eu/). Future stages of the project include the application of this sustainability framework to different European cities such as Gent (Belgium) or Napoli (Italy), to assess the urban metabolism and the eco-innovative solutions proposed (entailing circular economy strategies) with the aim to inform local to national governments about the sustainability of the material usage in these cities. The preliminary results of this research were published in A Holistic Sustainability Framework for Waste Management in European Cities: Concept Development by Taelman et al. (2018) in the journal Sustainability

Environmental metabolism of educational services : case study of nursery schools in the city of Barcelona

The environmental analysis of public nursery schools is of great interest since they are crucial in the early education of children and are expected to show high environmental standards. This paper aims to analyse the environmental profile (energy, water and transport flows) of this sector. A sample of 12 public nursery schools belonging to the Scholar Agenda 21 (SA21) of the city of Barcelona were selected given their data quality (eight centres applied to all analysis) to determine their energy and water consumption, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from energy consumption and transport use. For each centre, energy and water consumption were obtained from bills and surveys were conducted to get data regarding the transport associated with the centre. Results show that, on average, a child consumes 966 kWh of energy (electricity and gas) and 12.9 m3 of potable water every year. Nursery schools with more energy-efficient devices hold lower energy consumption, a trend which could not be found in the case of water and water-efficient devices. Regarding transport, car usage was the flow with highest impact, since it accounts for 69 % of CO2eq emissions, although only 19 % of the children commute by car

Life cycle assessment of lithium-ion batteries and vanadium redox flow batteries-based renewable energy storage systems

Renewable energy has become an important alternative to fossil energy, as it is associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions. However, the intermittent characteristic of renewables urges for energy storage systems, which play an important role in matching the supply and demand of renewable-based electricity. The life cycle of these storage systems results in environmental burdens, which are investigated in this study, focusing on lithium-ion and vanadium flow batteries for renewable energy (solar and wind) storage for grid applications. The impacts are assessed through a life cycle assessment covering the batteries supply phase, their use and end-of-life, with experimental data from test set-ups. The battery composition is investigated in detail as a factor for the final impacts, by comparing two types of cathodes for the lithium-ion battery and the use of recycled electrolyte for the vanadium flow battery. Results indicate that the vanadium-based storage system results in overall lower impacts when manufactured with 100% fresh raw materials, but the impacts are significantly lowered if 50% recycled electrolyte is used, with up to 45.2% lower acidification and 11.1% lower global warming potential. The new lithium-ion battery cathode chemistry results in overall higher impacts, with 41.7% more particulate matter and 52.2% more acidification

Analysis of the consumer's perception of urban food products from a soilless system in rooftop greenhouses : a case study from the Mediterranean area of Barcelona (Spain)

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Soilless crops are commonly used in rooftop agriculture (RA) because they easily adapt to building constraints. However, acceptance of the produce derived from this system may be controversial. This paper evaluates consumers' acceptance of food from RA in Mediterranean cities, focusing on the quality of the product, production system, and consumers' motivations. We surveyed 238 respondents on the UAB university campus as potential consumers. The survey was distributed via an Internet-link that was provided along with a sample of tomatoes from RA. The results showed that most people approved the quality of RA products and perceived them to be local and fresh (94%). The respondents exhibited acceptance of soilless-produced tomatoes and considered them to be environmentally better than conventionally produced ones (69%). Cluster analysis revealed that consumers with high income levels and a university education had a better perception of the quality and proposed a higher price for RA products, but no difference was found regarding their environmental perception of this products. Moreover, people who possessed more information about the product also had a higher perception of the quality and production system (it was perceived to be environmentally friendly) and would pay more for them. The main concerns of consumers were related to food safety and the social impact of RA. Additional research is needed to improve the sustainability of RA, and the applied measures should be communicated to potential consumers to enhance their acceptance and success

Distintiu de garantia de qualitat ambiental per a equipaments culturals : aplicació pilot en biblioteques

El DGQA per a Equipaments Culturals és un distintiu per a la certificació ambiental de biblioteques i museus. L'objectiu del projecte és avaluar el distintiu mitjançant una aplicació pilot en 26 biblioteques de la província de Barcelona, i proposar millores tant per al distintiu com per a les biblioteques. També es pretén fer recerca sobre l'ecoetiquetatge de serveis, ja que és un àmbit poc desenvolupat, i sobre el sistema d'estudi, les biblioteques. Una anàlisi de les ecoetiquetes a nivell mundial, considerant 4 macroregions, ha permès caracteritzar les ecoetiquetes i determinar la situació actual dels serveis en l'ecoetiquetatge. Hi han variacions en el nombre de categories entre ecoetiquetes, i el percentatge de categories de serveis és, en general, reduït (8% de mitjana). Els subsectors serveis dominants són els d'Hosteleria, serveis de neteja i comerç. No hi ha cap experiència de certificació ambiental de serveis culturals, per tant, l'ecoetiquetatge de serveis culturals és un àmbit nou. El sistema d'estudi són 26 biblioteques de la província de Barcelona. L'aplicació del distintiu a aquestes s'ha dut a terme realitzant treball de camp a cadascuna per tal de determinar el seu estat ambiental. Posteriorment, s'han analitzat les dades per establir el grau de compliment de cadascuna. La majoria de les biblioteques (85%) compleixen més de la meitat dels criteris bàsics, i un 60% superen la puntuació mínima de compliment dels criteris opcionals. Els resultats obtinguts han permès avaluar la viabilitat de la implantació del distintiu, a través de l'anàlisi de cadascun dels seus criteris. Per tal de millorar les possibilitats d'èxit en la implantació del distintiu, s'han aportat un seguit de propostes a nivell individual i col·lectiu. S'ha realitzat una fitxa per a cadascuna de les 26 biblioteques, per tal d'orientar els gestors de les biblioteques en l'adopció de mesures per a l'acompliment dels criteris. També s'han inclòs propostes a l'avaluació dels criteris, dirigides als gestors del distintiu.El DGQA para Equipamientos Culturales es un distintivo ambiental para la certificación ambiental de bibliotecas y museos. El objetivo del proyecto es evaluar el distintivo mediante una aplicación piloto en 26 bibliotecas de la provincia de Barcelona, y proponer mejoras tanto para el distintivo como para las bibliotecas. También se pretende investigar sobre el ecoetiquetado de servicios, ya que es un ámbito poco desarrollado, y sobre el sistema de estudio, las bibliotecas. Un análisis de las ecoetiquetas a nivel mundial, considerando 4 macroregiones, ha permitido caracterizar las ecoetiquetas y determinar la situación actual de los servicios en el ecoetiquetado. Hay variaciones en el número de categorías entre ecoetiquetas, y el porcentaje de categorías de servicios es, en general, reducido (8% de media). Los subsectores del sector servicios dominantes son los de Hostelería, servicios de limpieza y comercio. No hay ninguna experiencia de certificación ambiental de servicios culturales, por lo tanto el ecoetiquetado de servicios culturales es un ámbito nuevo. El sistema de estudio son 26 bibliotecas de la provincia de Barcelona. La aplicación del distintivo en estas se ha llevado a cabo realizando trabajo de campo en cada una para determinar su estado ambiental. Posteriormente, se han analizado los datos para establecer el grado de cumplimiento de cada una. La mayoría de las bibliotecas (85%) cumplen más de la mitad de los criterios básicos, y un 60% superan la puntuación mínima de cumplimiento de los criterios opcionales. Los resultados obtenidos han permitido evaluar la viabilidad de la implantación del distintivo, a través del análisis de cada uno de sus criterios. Para mejorar las posibilidades de éxito en la implantación del distintivo, se han aportado una serie de propuestas a nivel individual y colectivo. Se ha realizado una ficha para cada una de las 26 bibliotecas, para orientar a los gestores de las bibliotecas en la adopción de medidas para el cumplimiento de los criterios. También se han incluido propuestas a la evaluación de los criterios, dirigidas a los gestores del distintivo.The DGQA for Cultural Facilities is a distinctive for environmental certification of libraries and museums. The project's objective is to assess the distinctive with a prototype in 26 libraries in the province of Barcelona, and suggest improvements for both the distinctive and the libraries. It also aims to investigate services eco-labelling, since it is a less developed area, and the studio system, the libraries. An analysis of eco-labels worldwide, considering 4 macroregions, has allowed the characterization of ecolabels and the determination of the current status of services eco-labelling. There are variations in the number of categories between ecolabels and the percentage of categories of services is generally low (8% on average). The dominant subsectors are hospitality services, cleaning services and trade. There is no experience of environmental certification of cultural services, therefore, cultural services eco-labelling is a new field. The system studied are 26 libraries in the province of Barcelona. The application of these distinctive has been carried out through field work in each to determine its environmental status. Subsequently, data were analysed to establish the degree of compliance of each. Most libraries (85%) met more than half of the basic criteria, and 60% exceeded the minimum score of optional criteria. The results obtained allow us to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating the distinctive, through the analysis of each of the criteria. To improve the chances of success in implementing the distinctive, a series of proposals have been provided individually and collectively. We make a tab for each of the 26 libraries in order to guide the management of libraries in the adoption of measures for meeting the criteria. Proposals have also been included in the evaluation of the criteria, aimed at the managers' distinctive