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The swift urbanization and ensuing challenges in global cities require a transition towards "intelligent" urban management. This change is motivated by the necessity to enrich the quality of life, tackling crucial issues such as transportation. How can municipal authorities effectively utilize smart city principles and technologies to enhance efficiency and sustainability in urban living? This query plays a vital role in steering urban policies and city governance towards a more sustainable and intelligent future. The paper suggests a survey-based research perspective unprecedented on "disruptive" transportation, offering a longitudinal examination (2010–2023) of cross-national comparison (ITA-UK) using a relatively large sample (No. 450 total) and divided into No.150 –UK 2023, No.150 –ITA 2023, and No. 150 Italy 2010 respectively. The sample base considers the two Capitals (London and Rome) for diversity, population size, and ongoing projects related to "smart" urban developed. Intending to offer a valuable analytical tool for policymakers, scholars, managers, and professionals, the paper primarily explores the evolutionary progression of sustainability concepts inherent in the smart city paradigm and their fusion with transportation; after the cross-national comparison is essential for highlighting mindset disparities that influence future planning endeavors for future urban transportation sector. The key findings revolve around cultural, ideological, ownership disparities and individualistic tendencies that contribute to a resistance to change. The empirical analysis demonstrates an advancement for Italy compared to previous years, but still cautious particularly concerning the adoption of shared mobility alternatives, which also presents a viable solution for increasing the adoption of electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the transition towards a circular economy (CE) being a significant element in achieving the decarbonisation of the built environment, a clear and common pathway to applying CE principles to building design is still lacking in both industry practice and academia. The integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has the potential to enable the identification of feasible pathways to increase circularity. This study aims to investigate its practical use to facilitate the application of circular economy principles at the early stage of building design via using LCA-based BIM plugins. Within this aim, the paper centres on a co-production approach and presents a gap analysis by identifying gaps in knowledge and implementation as well as addressing the pressing needs of the current practice in the UK. A series of semi-structured interviews with expert practitioners in the field were conducted for data collection, contributing to the following phases of the co-production by allowing for an in-depth investigation and reflection of the practice. The findings have revealed that: (a) there is still an insufficient level of contextual awareness and readiness in the implementation of CE principles in the built environment and LCA understanding and (b) the adoption of BIM at the early stages of building design is still limited in the current practice; BIM models with sufficient level of data details and quality to enable circularity assessment are rarely produced. Thus, the paper highlights the need for enabling mechanisms, including the introduction of legislative instruments, the involvement and commitment of the industry and key stakeholders, the support for training and skills improvement, and the establishment of effective communication and implementation process management frameworks. Future research agenda points to the need of formulation of a BIM protocol to enable integration of BIM and LCA to promote CE principles in the building design process. [Display omitted] • Co-production is a promising approach to capture and respond to the industry needs. • Lack of seamless integration between BIM and LCA tools. • Insufficient understanding of how to apply CE principles in the building design. • Lack of systematic guidance and standardised process to implement BIM and LCA integration. • A tailored BIM protocol needed for applying LCA from a CE perspective in the building design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have investigated the distribution of greenhouse gas emissions associated with household consumption, highlighting that richer households have a substantially larger carbon footprint than poorer households. While these studies have typically used income or household expenditures as a proxy of households' living standards, the association between emissions and wealth has hardly been studied. Wealth is not just an important component of households' material living standards, known to be imperfectly correlated with income and expenditures, but it is also a very relevant dimension for climate policies. For instance, affluent households have more scope to invest in reducing emissions (e.g. insulation of their homes). Therefore, in this paper, we compare the inequality of emissions over wealth groups as well as groups defined by other living standard concepts such as income, expenditure and the joint distribution of income and wealth to add a focus on wealth to the analysis of emission inequality. Our study focuses on Belgium and the United Kingdom, which differ considerably in their level of wealth inequality. Our results highlight that the social distribution of emissions varies between expenditures, income, wealth and the joint distribution of income and wealth, with per capita emissions being more strongly associated with the joint distribution of income and wealth than with income alone. We also show that a significant share of households has both low income and low wealth, and may thus be lacking the means to prepare for a carbon-neutral future. Although increasing wealth taxation could provide much-needed revenues for low carbon investments, our results suggest that it would have a lower direct impact on the level of emissions and emission inequality compared to increasing taxes on high incomes. • Wealth is positively correlated with emissions. • Emission inequality according to wealth is higher than according to income. • People with low income and low wealth face a cumulative disadvantage. • Wealth inequality is a relevant dimension when designing climate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meeting the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050 requires profound changes in the production of bulk materials, cement and concrete. For construction sector, this transition is also dependent on the evolution of demand, stemming from changes in the population structure and practice in structural design. Many timelines have been produced suggesting pathways to zero emissions, but none have looked at the required investment level, or the feasibility of transition looking at the level of single plants being shut, transformed or built within a single country. In this paper, we have looked at transition pathways in the United Kingdom as a function of the available funding and the possible emergence of transformative technologies. We find that trade is a necessary component of the transition, allowing for continued construction while the production apparatus is upgraded. Our results further suggest that the current level of investment is consistent with today's carbon price but falls short of what is necessary to achieve net zero by 2050. Finally we find that pathways assuming that CCS will be available at scale are particularly susceptible to overshoot their emissions target if the technological deployment fails to materialise. This is because they combine heavy investments, immature technology and concentrated risk. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of implementing circular economy within the built environment, quantifying progress and performance towards this effort has posed a substantial challenge. In response, this paper reviews the current state of building-specific circularity indicators, creates a taxonomy, and integrates them within the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work, a commonly employed framework within the UK's built environment. Through a systematic literature review considering both academic and grey literature, 32 building circularity indicators, developed by academia, consulting agencies, and governments, are identified. The first contribution of this study is the creation of a taxonomy of building circularity indicators, which classifies the identified indicators into 8 categories, such as basic characteristics of indicators, circularity level, and sustainability pillars. The second contribution of this study is the alignment of circularity within the stages of Plan of Work framework. It is revealed that the framework does not currently incorporate circularity, resulting in the proposal of a new Stage 8: End of Life to encompass demolition, disassembly, and deconstruction activities. Alignment of the taxonomy to Plan of Work framework provides a guide in utilization of building circularity indicators throughout the process of designing, constructing and operating building projects. • Building-specific circularity indicators are reviewed for the built environment. • A taxonomy of 32 building circularity indicators is created across eight categories. • A new Stage 8: End of Life is proposed for RIBA framework to enhance circularity. • The circularity indicators are integrated with the RIBA Plan of Work framework. • A traffic light approach is employed to guide the use of circularity indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) is emerging as an important solution in delivering deep emissions reductions in energy-intensive industries, enabling hydrogen production, and possibly directly capturing existing carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the atmosphere. The potential for associated new industry activity – for example in CO 2 Transport and Storage (T&S) – could also be important in transitioning economies with legacy investment in oil and gas extraction. This paper addresses the question of how introducing a nascent T&S industry may impact the wider UK economy in the presence of persisting national labour supply constraints. It does so by refining a multi-sector economy-wide computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the UK to run scenarios focussed on the emergence of a nascent sector, involving identification of benchmark activity – here, the existing oil and gas industry – where that nascent sector is not currently represented in national accounting data. Crucially, the CGE model embeds a theoretically and empirically tested wage bargaining function to consider how cost and price pressures triggered will condition dynamic outcomes for producers, consumers and government budgets. Results suggest that emergence of a new T&S industry is likely to deliver sustained net gains in UK employment and GDP. However, maximising T&S-linked jobs gains while minimising displacement of employment and price pressures elsewhere in the economy requires policy action to alleviate labour supply and skills constraints. This reinforces policy and industry recommendations around the need for net zero workforce planning and attention to the potential fiscal implications of taking action, or not/in different timeframes. • Introducing a new CO 2 Transport and Storage industry could boost the UK economy. • Wage responses in a supply constrained labour market substantially condition outcomes. • Wage-cost driven price impacts affect all producers, consumers and government budgets. • Mitigating wage bargaining pressure requires policy action on workforce planning. • Findings reinforce the need for economy-wide and fiscal analysis of net zero actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport-related activities represented 34% of the total carbon emissions in the UK in 2022 and heavy-duty vehicles (HGVs) accounted for one-fifth of the road transport greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Currently, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are considered as suitable replacements for diesel fleets. However, these technologies continue to face techno-economic barriers, creating uncertainty for fleet operators wanting to transition away from diesel-powered internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). This paper assesses the performance and cost competitiveness of BEV and FCEV powertrain solutions in the hard-to-abate HGV sector. The study evaluates the impact of battery degradation and a carbon tax on the cost of owning the vehicles. An integrated total cost of ownership (TCO) model, which includes these factors for the first time, is developed to study a large retailer's HGV fleet operating in the UK. The modelling framework compares the capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) of alternative technologies against ICEVs. The TCO of BEVs and FCEVs are 11% to 33% and 37% to 78% higher than ICEVs; respectively. Despite these differences, by adopting a longer lifetime for the vehicle it can effectively narrow the cost gap. Alternatively, cost parity with ICEVs could be achieved if BEV battery cost reduces by 56% or if FCEV fuel cell cost reduces by 60%. Besides, the pivot point for hydrogen price is determined at £2.5 per kg. The findings suggest that BEV is closer to market as its TCO value is becoming competitive, whereas FCEV provides a more viable solution than BEV for long-haul applications due to shorter refuelling time and lower load capacity penalties. Furthermore, degradation of performance in lithium-ion batteries is found to have a minor impact on TCO if battery replacement is not required. However, critical component replacement and warranty can influence commercial viability. Given the high costs, we propose financial incentives and vehicle tax reforms to reduce costs of critical components that will encourage the roll-out of zero emission HGVs. • TCO model employs real-world fleet data to compare HGV powertrain technologies. • Maximising vehicle lifetime is key to reduce the TCO gap and get closer to parity. • BEVs have a TCO 11%–33% higher than ICEVs. • FCEVs have a TCO 37%–78% higher than ICEVs. • Degradation in lithium-ion batteries is found to have a minor impact on TCO value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a literature review on medicines reuse explaining how this phenomenon has evolved and has being re-interpreted in academic research. Literature review in combination with a descriptive and a qualitative thematic analysis was employed to answer two questions: (i) How the medicines returns phenomenon has been documented and discussed? (ii) To what extent the critical literature on circular and sharing/collaborative economies can be taken as metaphors for the advancement of knowledge to better understand the complexities of medicines returns? After the selection of 125 papers, 10 hubs of collaboration were identified in this research field with early work on reuse stemming from the UK. From the thematic analysis, three outcomes emerged. The first relates to the problem of wastage versus costs and affordability, and the role of stockpiles and misplacement of leftover medicines. The second arises from a chronological description of the selected studies. Using a timeline, recurring debates were identified: prescription costs/sharing; reuse in evolutionary perspective of rational use; affordability and avoidance of wastes; and the role of pharmacists and care in the community/solidary pharmacies. The third outcome delivers metaphors linking critical aspects of circular and sharing/collaborative economies with concepts and situations of medicines reuse. It was found that the circular economy, which is still far from consumer reality, offers a limited contribution as a metaphor for medicines reuse, while sharing/collaborative economy reflects current practices that can be understood as access giving, thus interpreted as a form of affordability. • Medicines reuse is reviewed out of the supply chain context. • Metaphors of reuse are proposed as circularity and shareness. • Behavioural aspects dominate emerging literature on reuse. • Circular economy is a poor metaphor for medicines reuse. • Sharing/collaborative economy are fruitful metaphors of reuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micromobility modes such as scooters, e-scooters, skateboards, or hoverboards has recently emerged as part of the urban landscape. In this paper, we analyze the use of modes of micromobility for commuting. We distinguish between monomodality (commuters using one mode of micromobility only) and multimodality (commuters using micromobility as a complement or substitute to other modes of transport). We apply non-parametric ordered methods to a survey that was conducted in 2018 on mobility users in four European countries. The survey gathered 4873 observations from commuters in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK). Micromobility commuting is marginal in all four European countries. The sociodemographic characteristics of micromobility commuters are homogeneous and concern mainly male, young, and urban commuters. We find that travel habits account for a large share of the variability explained by the model. Germany has a low level of multimodality, whereas the UK practices complementarity-oriented multimodal commuting. Overall, our results bring new insights showing that micromobility is used as a (partial) substitute to urban transit systems for short distances and as a complement for longer commuting trips made by train. These emerging patterns of commuting require better modal integration between micromobility and public transport, and a more sophisticated design of transport infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable construction can be defined as efficient resource use with ecological design. Three pillars are required to achieve sustainable construction: environmental protection, social well-being and economic prosperity. An increase in sustainable construction awareness among industry stakeholders could help improve levels of implementation. This paper aims to assess levels of awareness among UK practitioners and identify the barriers that inhibit sustainable construction. A mixed-method approach with questionnaire surveys and interviews was adopted. Questionnaire were distributed using MS Forms through social media (e.g., LinkedIn, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp) and the researcher's contacts. The survey concluded with 127 useable responses. Interviews were also conducted over MS Teams with eight professionals with different backgrounds. Respondents for the interview were conveniently gathered through snowball sampling. Data from the questionnaire survey were analysed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach's Alpha and RII were calculated for the level of awareness of sustainable construction practices and barriers to adoption of sustainable construction. Transcripts from the interview were thematically analysed using NVivo. The findings showed that the industry practitioners have above-average levels of awareness. Sustainable construction practices that respondents were most aware of was reduce, reuse and recycle. Respondents were not as aware of newer sustainable practices such as digital twin. Surprisingly, the most prevalent barrier was not cost. According to the respondents, the most prevalent barrier was a tendency to maintain current practices. Many real-life experiences are documented in this research. Insights into current practice in the industry and key barriers to adopting sustainable construction are identified. Addressing these barriers could improve the adoption of sustainable construction in the UK. • investigates up-to-date techniques for attaining sustainable construction in the UK. • assess the level of awareness among industry practitioners. • identifies the hurdles faced by the industry to attain sustainable construction. • explains the current practices of construction and areas for potential improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy load forecasting is essential to effectively optimise the use of energy for the purpose of smart grid operation. In this work, a focus is placed on Short-Term Load Forecasts (STLF) using measured heat pump data from the UK utilising the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) method. A load forecasting program is developed to forecast the electricity consumption of heat pumps based on historical data. LSTM is compared to Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN), Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA), Random Forest (RF) and Holt-Winters Exponential Smoothing (ES). The best average Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) of 1.59% is achieved for the test data set by LSTM, which outperforms other models compared and a number of models presented in papers in the literature. By conducting the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, it is proven that the prediction accuracy improvement of LSTM compared to other models is statistically significant with the exception when comparing with RF with the training data. The impact of data aggregation resolution to forecast accuracy is investigated. The proposed LSTM model performs best on 1-h resolution data compared with other resolution time periods. The results of the LSTM model are integrated with Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS). The electricity costs of the HEMS are compared when using forecasted and measured heat pump data respectively. The results indicate an average percentage difference of 2.06% between the predicted and the actual electricity cost of HEMS for the test data. Furthermore, this paper presents a combined neural network and Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) model to develop an optimised energy management system while proving the effectiveness of the LSTM algorithm. • A LSTM algorithm is used to forecast the electricity consumption of heat pumps. • The proposed forecast model outperforms models found in the literature. • The Wilcoxon signed-rank test is used to prove the effectiveness of LSTM model. • The impact of data aggregation resolution to forecast accuracy is investigated. • The load forecast model is integrated with a Home Energy Management System model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) requires appropriate pedagogies that engage learners in transformative learning. These pedagogies include reflective and active learning, involving experiential, collaborative and learner-centred activities. This paper discusses student experiences and perceptions of an interdisciplinary social science ESD course at a UK university that incorporated reflective and active learning by using a 'flipped classroom' (FC) design and innovative assessments. FC creates time in class for reflective and active learning by moving content acquisition to pre-class study. Adoption of the flipped classroom in social sciences is rare and literature on use of FC for ESD is very scarce; hence this paper offers valuable insights into the design of a flipped social science ESD course, and participants' responses. Results of two surveys demonstrate very positive student perceptions of the course, and illustrate several benefits of the FC design. Over 90% of respondents agreed that in-class active learning exercises made the classes more engaging and the material more memorable than usual, offering useful opportunities to put information/learning into practice, with most students expressing strong agreement. In-class mini-lectures were nevertheless also appreciated, as were reflective practices. A large majority of the students considered the workload reasonable. Findings also reveal the importance of incentivising pre-class preparation using graded assessments such as quizzes, which additionally helped students understand/remember content, and gave confidence about contributing in class. It is clear that the active and reflective learning that FC facilitates engages students in ESD. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for successfully implementing this approach. • Discusses an interdisciplinary ESD course that uses a 'flipped classroom' design. • >90% of students said in-class active learning exercises made classes more engaging. • Reflective practices and in-class mini-lectures were also appreciated. • Incentivising pre-class preparation using graded assessments is important. • Flipped class facilitates active and reflective learning that engages students in ESD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details the specific aims and purposes of the Damage Assessment Tracking Criteria; a series of evaluation tools designed to aid in remanufacturing inspection operations. The background and justification of this model, which is detailed in a separate work, identifies ill definition and an over reliance on opinion as barriers to effective inspection activities. Analysis of this issue led to the building of the Damage Assessment Tracking Criteria; a 4-model foundation that aims to provide a more comprehensive and more structured approach to the inspection stages of the typical remanufacturing process. Through expert opinion this model was evaluated multiple times. One review was used to gauge the level of idea communication within an academic situation, this was followed up by external industrial reviews of the model by those most likely to utilise it during industry practice. After extensive feedback and modification the final model assessment was carried out with an expert panel that were instructed to be as critical as possible with the model in order to ensure that its evaluation was as robust as possible. The results of these reviews were all on the positive side of the scale. Multiple statements regarding the potential value and suitability of each model aspect and justification for their use was presented in the format of an evaluation form which was used by those involved to present their findings and feedback. Negative feedback was addressed and successful modification yielding more positive results in the next evaluation was achieved. Though walking the line between specificity and generic was noted to be the most difficult factor to consider when developing the models, the final findings of the evaluation show that significant value was perceived by those operating within industry. The potential benefits of customised variants of the models is acknowledged by all parties as a possible future avenue of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential demand response using low carbon technologies can potentially offer energy flexibility to the electricity network along with integration of renewable generation. This paper seeks to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of residential demand response trials on a low voltage feeder of a secondary substation in Barnsley (UK). The study used a sample of 14 well-insulated dwellings equipped with home batteries, heat pumps and solar photovoltaic systems coordinated using automated control. Statistical analysis was undertaken using time-series monitoring data obtained at the individual dwelling level, dwelling sample and at the feeder level of the local low voltage network. Resident experience of the trials was assessed through qualitative data obtained from household telephone surveys. Over three weeks of trials, daily demand response interventions of 2 h duration were applied to the sample of 14 dwellings. For evening peak times, the mean reduction in grid electricity import was found to be 1.3 kWh (67%) per dwelling for turn-down interventions which aimed to minimise import. For turn-up interventions between 1 and 3 pm, the mean increase in grid electricity import was found to be 5.8 kWh (645%) per dwelling. The effect of interventions was measured at the low voltage network level for two single-phase feeders, where penetration of trial homes was approximately one-third. A reduction in mean real power up to 21% was observed for turn-down interventions as well as an increase in real mean power up to 307% for turn-up interventions. In general, the trials had little effect on residents in terms of thermal comfort, hot water availability, noise disturbance or disruption to routines, and where such effects were noticed, they were broadly acceptable. The widespread implementation of residential demand response schemes will require increased roll-out of time-of-use tariffs, enhanced resident support and extensive monitoring of low voltage feeders in electricity substations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the causal interactions between energy consumption due to cryptocurrency mining activity and electricity return and volatility patterns across the power markets in the U.S., U.K. and Europe. We find that the effect is heterogeneous across the different power markets examined, while the effect of mining activity is consistently focused on return volatility. Accordingly, our findings provide robust evidence of the volatility effects of mining activity in power markets, suggesting that the crypto mining-power market nexus primarily entails risk effects, an issue of particular concern for hedgers whose goal is to stabilize energy costs in their operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2016, Siemens Gamesa started construction of its £310-million, off-shore wind turbine blade assembly facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull in the UK. This paper adopted a mixed method approach, that is, maps, charts and tables and meta analysis to investigate the social acceptability of local residents to such investments using feedback from three residents' surveys conducted over a period of nearly 3 years. The study is a first of its kind as it presents a real case study of social acceptability of a large manufacturing facility, located close to a residential area, that significantly changed the landscape of the area. The findings indicate that residents on the whole favour such investments because of the economic opportunities. For instance, over 1000 direct jobs were created with the Office for National Statistics reporting a growth of 4.2% in Kingston upon Hull's economic output in 2016–2018. Similarly, Demos-PwC Growth for Cities Index 2018 ranked it, the third-most improved UK city to live and work. However, there were some concerns especially from those living close to the facility regarding issues like noise from ships docking and loading during the night and the obstruction of the scenery of the estuary by an erected sound barrier. The study also shows that it is important for the investors to work closely with local stakeholders and residents to maximise the returns whiles minimising the negatives. • Essential to match social-economic benefits to environmental considerations that may arise. • Would-be investors and local community must collaborate to maximize benefits from investments. • Environmental issues play a major role in acceptance of community located facility. • Production and use of wind turbines, overall, impact positively the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2016, Siemens Gamesa started construction of its £310-million, off-shore wind turbine blade assembly facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull in the UK. This paper adopted a mixed method approach, that is, maps, charts and tables and meta analysis to investigate the social acceptability of local residents to such investments using feedback from three residents' surveys conducted over a period of nearly 3 years. The study is a first of its kind as it presents a real case study of social acceptability of a large manufacturing facility, located close to a residential area, that significantly changed the landscape of the area. The findings indicate that residents on the whole favour such investments because of the economic opportunities. For instance, over 1000 direct jobs were created with the Office for National Statistics reporting a growth of 4.2% in Kingston upon Hull's economic output in 2016–2018. Similarly, Demos-PwC Growth for Cities Index 2018 ranked it, the third-most improved UK city to live and work. However, there were some concerns especially from those living close to the facility regarding issues like noise from ships docking and loading during the night and the obstruction of the scenery of the estuary by an erected sound barrier. The study also shows that it is important for the investors to work closely with local stakeholders and residents to maximise the returns whiles minimising the negatives. • Essential to match social-economic benefits to environmental considerations that may arise. • Would-be investors and local community must collaborate to maximize benefits from investments. • Environmental issues play a major role in acceptance of community located facility. • Production and use of wind turbines, overall, impact positively the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategic management literature has recognized the role of social and environmental activities in supporting a firm's economic well-being. Although some research has explored the role of social and environmental practices during uncertain periods, studies are still scarce. This paper contributes to this issue by studying corporate social responsibility (CSR) representation during environmental jolts. Through a multi-level analysis, we investigate the conceptualization of CSR in the context of Brexit. From a macro-level perspective, we explore CSR representation in the public discourse by looking at the output of economic journalists. Additionally, based on a micro-level analysis, we examine the CSR disclosure policies of firms and evaluate them in the context of an uncertain environment. Based on a sample of more than 1500 press release data from major UK-based business publications and more than 1000 shareholder letters from companies listed on three major European indices, the DAX 30, CAC 40, and FTSE 100, the text analysis techniques of topic modeling and 'bags of words' are used. The findings show that an unprecedented exogenous shock such as Brexit increases CSR representation in the public discourse and corporate communication strategies, suggesting the greater importance of CSR disclosure during uncertain periods. In addition evidence is shown that organizations target and adapt shareholder communication on CSR in accordance with market uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was inspired to answer the fundamental question on whether electric battery powered ships can ultimately be a promising solution for future maritime environmental protection. The overall process was designed to demystify the holistic environmental benefits and harms of 14 primary energy sources for electricity production in consideration of the national-specific cases of 33 countries. A series of comparative analyses between the diesel as the reference fuel and the battery-electric propulsions were conducted with 27 short-route ferries engaged in Scotland coastal areas. A key message obtained from the analysis results were that the impact of battery application was far from the zero-emission shipping in the lifecycle perspective. Moreover, the same vessels were found to yield completely different environmental performances, depending on how those countries produce electricity. In some Asian countries heavily relying on fossil-based power generation, the environmental impact of battery operation was estimated far greater than that of diesel operation in the UK. Case studies were, then, scaled-up to about 5500 marine vessels presently engaged in international voyages. In general, consistent results were found. Research findings distinctively demonstrated the misguidance of current maritime policies for encouraging battery-powered ships and identified that these shortcomings would stem from the limitations of current practices of maritime environmental assessment. Lastly, it strongly suggested to the marine industry and stakeholders that the environmental protection from shipping activities would be not only a matter of ships but also a matter of how the national power grid develops. • Lifecycle environmental benefits/harms of hybrid ships were demystified. • Underlying parameters for ship environmental performance were identified. • Corrective actions were proposed for proper use of electric ship propulsion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life cycle analyses of novel food packaging materials do not often account for the environmental impact of a change in shelf-life, which can result in misleading comparisons. This paper established a methodology for comparative life cycle analyses, whereby the direct effects of the lidding films were compared whilst ensuring the indirect effects of the wasted food portion remained stable. Global warming potential and non-renewable energy use were analysed for a conventional (low-density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl alcohol) versus a biodegradable (polyhydroxyalkanoate/butenediol vinyl alcohol) multilayer lidding film for modified atmosphere packaging of minced beef. Two methodologies were investigated. The first (metric one) changed the barrier layer thickness in the biodegradable film to match the carbon dioxide transmission rate with that of a conventional film. The second (metric two) changed the barrier layer thickness to match a carbon dioxide transmission rate predicted by a mathematical model to ensure the same shelf-life as the conventional film. Using metric two over metric one resulted in 1) a thinner film 2) 2.3 times lower global warming potential. When using sugar beet as the biopolymer feedstock and the current UK disposal system, the biodegradable film had 135% higher global warming potential than the conventional film. By incorporating waste products and better farming practices, the global warming potential of the biodegradable film could be up to 92% lower than that of the conventional film. This work demonstrates how shelf-life can be incorporated into life cycle analyses and the importance of accounting for it, in particular when evaluating biodegradables which often have higher permeabilities. • Impacts of biodegradable barrier layer, butenediol vinyl alcohol analysed. • Functional unit based on predicted shelf-life according to the lidding film used. • Waste incorporated in production of biodegradable film lowers GWP. • UK should adopt industrial composting or anaerobic digestion for biodegradables. • Barrier properties of lidding films should be accounted for in food packaging LCAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulations of waste plastics and municipal solid wastes from the resident groups and industrial companies have been causing serious environmental issues in the UK, due to difficulties in logistics, sorting, and reuse. In this sense, this paper is stimulated to develop novel approaches to convert some wastes into eco-friendly infrastructural materials, which provides a new way of waste reduction and reuse and extending the service life of asphalt pavement. This study aims to characterise the healing performance of waste-derived bitumen before and after pressure ageing vessel (PAV) ageing based on the crack length. One waste-derived bitumen was fabricated by blending the bio-oil pyrolysed from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (5 wt%) with a control bitumen (X70) using a high shear mixer at a speed of 150 revolutions per minute (RPM) for 30 min at 150 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. A second waste-derived bitumen was fabricated using the low-density polyethene (LDPE) and mixed with the control bitumen at a concentration of 6 wt% at a speed of 900RPM for 90 min at 180 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. Crack length-based healing index and Ramberg-Osgood model were employed to characterise the healing rate and healing capability of the bitumen, respectively. Material properties (e.g., relaxation modulus and surface energy) of the bitumen used in the healing models were calibrated by linear amplitude sweep test (10 Hz and 20 °C), frequency sweep test (10 Hz, 10–70 °C), and time sweep fatigue-healing test (10 Hz and 20 °C) at a controlled strain level of 5% with different rest durations. Advancing contact angles used in the healing models of the bitumen were measured by a sessile drop tensiometer based on the tilting cradle method. Results show that the bio-oil productively promotes the healing potential and capability of the unaged bitumen, and the LDPE slightly strengthens them. The PAV ageing process evaporates most of the modifier bio-oil; hence, the PAV-aged bio-oil modified bitumen does not show better healing performance than that of the PAV-aged control bitumen. The PAV-aged LDPE modified bitumen has much better healing performance than those of the PAV-aged control bitumen and the PAV-aged bio-oil modified bitumen. The short-term healing rate and healing potential dominate the healing behaviours of the bitumen. The unaged bio-oil modified bitumen heals the fastest (having the highest short-term healing rate) and most (having the highest healing potential), followed by the unaged LDPE modified bitumen, and the unaged control bitumen heals the least and slowest. The PAV-aged LDPE modified bitumen heals the fastest and most, followed by the PAV-aged bio-oil modified bitumen and the PAV-aged control bitumen. The fundamental reason for LDPE's enhancement to bitumen's healing is that the LDPE increased the deformation recovery ability of the bitumen, leading to a higher wetting rate of the cracked surfaces and thus a higher short-term healing rate. However, the LDPE in bitumen cannot accelerate the molecular diffusion to increase the intrinsic healing or the long-term healing rate. • Two waste materials were firstly used to enhance healing ability of bitumen. • Healing properties of bitumen was characterised based on crack length. • Healing rate and potential was modelled using Ramberg-Osgood Equation. • Bio-oil productively promotes healing performance of unaged bitumen. • LDPE strengthens healing performances of unaged and PAV-aged bitumen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]