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Developing a biobased chemical industry that copes with the current environmental challenges relies on understanding the influence of the different stages of the value chain on economic and environmental performance. This paper investigates the use of a life cycle optimization framework to assess trade-offs between environmental and economic criteria for designing supply chains for biobased polyethylene terephthalate as a case study. A multi-objective optimization model was formulated to account for the environmental impacts (through life cycle assessment) and total costs (through life cycle costing) of the case study. High environmental priority (w = 0.9) in the design of the supply chain resulted in environmental gains (in 8 out of 9 midpoint indicators) with low increments (

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M Coastal sand mining for metals involves extraction of heavy mineral sands (HMS), which are sedimentary deposits of dense minerals that accumulate in coastal environments. HMS are localized concentrations of ores such as ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene, and iron, which are sources of metals such as titanium, zircon, iron, sillimanite/kyanite, staurolite, monazite, and garnet. The applications of these metals range from everyday products such as ceramics, paint, and pigments, as well as technologically advanced applications in the airline, shipbuilding, medicine, and defense industries. HMS extraction implies strip mining of coastal areas, which are often unique biodiversity ecosystems, or fragile ecosystems built up on sandy soils or dunes. The loss of such spaces has impacts such as loss of biodiversity and habitats, salt-water intrusion into agricultural lands and increased exposure to sea level rise. As a result of the serious ecological and socioeconomic transformations at such extraction frontiers, these operations cause resistance movements across the world. This article identifies and documents 24 cases of resistance against such operations. It presents the first comprehensive database and analysis of HMS related ecological distribution conflicts.

With circular economy being high on governmental agendas, there is an increasing request from governing bodies for circularity measurements. Yet, currently existing macro-level monitoring frameworks are widely criticized for not being able to inform the decision-making. The criticism includes, among others, a lack of consensus on terminologies and definitions among scholars, politicians, and practitioners, a lack of supporting data and tools and, consequently, a lack of transparency and trustworthiness. To address those needs, a bottom-up approach to build a shared terminology is suggested as a starting point for monitoring development. The government, data providers, and tool developers are involved in the process of formal ontology development and alignment. The experiment builds upon a use case of the Amsterdam Circular Economy Monitor (2020). First, four ontology development approaches are used to create a theory-centered, a user-centered, a tool-centered, and a data-centered ontology. The ontologies are later compared, merged, and aligned to arrive at one single ontology which forms the basis of the circular economy monitor. The notes taken during the process have revealed that next to a material flow model, typical of socioeconomic metabolism analysis, policy makers are concerned with actors (i.e., institutions, companies, or groups of people) who participate in the analyzed processes and services. Furthermore, a number of terms used by the decision-makers lack clear definitions and references to be directly associated with the available data. Finally, a structured terminology alignment process between monitor users, developers, and data providers helps in exposing terminology conflicts and ambiguities.

Producción Científica, Input–output tables (IOTs) provide a relevant picture of economic structure as they represent the composition and interindustry relationships of an economy. The technical coefficients matrix (A matrix) is considered to capture the technological status of an economy; so, it is of special relevance for the evaluation of long-term, structural transformations, such as sustainability transitions in integrated assessment models (IAMs). The A matrix has typically been considered either static or exogenous. Endogenous structural change has rarely been applied to models. The objective of this paper is to analyze energy intensity, a widely used variable in IAMs, and its role as a driver of structural change. We therefore identify the most relevant technical coefficients in the IOTs time series and estimate an econometric model based on the energy intensity of five different final end-use energy sources. The results of this analysis show that energy intensity has a significant influence on the evolution of the A matrix and should therefore be taken into consideration when analyzing endogenous structural change in models., Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, project MODESLOW (grant ECO2017-85110-R), European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Project “Low Carbon society: An enhanced modelling tool for the transition to sustainability (LOCOMOTION) grant award H2020-LC-CLA-01-2018, n. 821105

Battery storage systems (BSSs) are popular as a means to increase the self-consumption rates of residential photovoltaics. However, their environmental impact is under discussion, given the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production and the efficiency losses during operation. Against this background, we carry out a holistic environmental assessment of residential BSSs by combining a partial life cycle assessment for the production phase with a detailed simulation of 162 individual German households for the operational phase. As regards the production phase, we only find small differences between the carbon footprints of different cell chemistries. Moreover, we can show that the balance of plant components have a comparable impact on the global warming potential as the cell modules. In terms of the operational phase, our simulations show that BSSs can compensate at least parts of their efficiency losses by shifting electricity demand from high-emission to low-emission periods. Under certain conditions, the operational phase of the BSSs can even overcompensate the emissions from the production phase and lead to a positive environmental impact over the lifetime of the systems. As the most relevant drivers, we find the exact emissions at the production stage, the individual household load patterns, the system efficiency, and the applied operational strategy.

Decarbonizing the national energy system by increasing the amount of non‐conventional renewable resources (NCRRs) is one of the strategies of the Colombian government to meet the compromises declared in the last conference of the parties (COP 26) (Glasgow 2021). Concretely, it is expected that at the end of 2023, the shares of NCRRs in the power grid will increase from

In the course of the energy transition, storage technologies are required for the fluctuating and intermittently occurring electrical energy. The vanadium flow battery (VFB) is an especially promising electrochemical battery type for megawatt applications due to its unique characteristics. This work is intended as a benchmark for the evaluation of environmental impacts of a VFB, providing transparency and traceability. It considers the requirements for an industrial VFB from the technical and electrochemical point of view. The system design is based on a net capacity of 8 MWh and a net power of 1 MW. This ex ante study is a cradle‐to‐grave life cycle assessment (LCA) for a VFB to identify, analyze, and evaluate the environmental impacts for a lifetime of 20 years. Moreover, potential environmental impacts of several subsequent life cycles of the emission‐intensive and long‐lasting vanadium electrolyte are evaluated. With a focus on the electrolyte, the extraction process of vanadium pentoxide is studied in detail for the first time. Consequently, recommendations for the design of the life cycle of VFBs and for comparative LCAs with other energy storage technologies can be derived. Based on this work, more detailed work can follow, which helps to estimate the recycling potentials and emissions more precisely. This article met the requirements for a gold‐gold JIE data openness badge described at https://jie.click/badges, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

A significant amount of energy waste has accumulated in the world, in particular, large-tonnage fine ash from central heating stations (coal ash), which can negatively affect the natural environment and the health of the population. However, at the same time, due to its chemical composition, this waste can be disposed of by complex processing as a secondary mineral component, thus reducing the anthropogenic load on the natural environment. This article presents a physico-chemical study of coal ash for its further use as a secondary mineral component, in particular, a component of a raw mixture with limestone to produce a composite Portland cement clinker. Coal ash and limestone were subjected to granulometric, chemical, differential thermal, scanning electron microscopy, elemental chemical and X-ray structural analyses, as well as modeling to assess the possibility of optimizing the raw material and mineralogical composition of the composite Portland cement clinker. During the research, the chemical and elemental compositions of the coal ash and limestone were determined and SEM images of the coal ash were obtained; it was found that 68.04% of the coal ash was represented by the fraction with granules

Recent research suggests that over 75% of resources extracted globally now go toward creating, maintaining, or operating material stocks (MS) to provide societal services like housing, transport, education, and health. However, the integrity of current and future built environments, and the capacity of the system to continue providing services, are threatened by extreme events and sea-level rise (SLR). This is especially significant for the most disaster-prone countries in the world: Small Island Developing States. In the aftermath of disasters, complex rebuilding efforts require substantial material and economic resources, oftentimes incurring massive debt. Understanding the composition and dynamics of MS and environmental threats is essential for current and future sustainable development. Drawing on open-source OpenStreetMap (OSM) data, we conducted a spatially explicit material stock analysis (MSA) for The Bahamas for 2021, where we included buildings and transport MS, and SLR exposure scenarios. Total MS was estimated at 76 million tonnes (Mt) or 191 tonnes per capita (t/cap) of which transport comprises 43%. These MS are likely to increase by 36 Mt in the future. Simulations show that under 1-, 2-, or 3-m SLR scenarios, around 4, 6, and 9 Mt of current MS will be exposed, with transport MS at greatest risk, with over 80% of total exposure in each scenario. Our findings highlight the critical role that key MS play in sustainability and resilience, contributing to the emphasis on effective development planning and climate change adaptation strategies, and to the exploration of the use of OSM data for studying these objectives.

La décarbonation des transports et des mobilités, premier secteur émetteur de gaz à effet de serre en France et premier secteur consommateur d’énergie, est un impératif, dont l’urgence est renforcée par le dérèglement climatique, la crise énergétique et les risques d’instabilité économique et sociale. Alors que la Première ministre a dévoilé un plan d’action visant à accélérer la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre et que la programmation énergie-climat doit être discutée à l’automne, cette note expose une vision globale de la décarbonation des déplacements du quotidien par voie terrestre en France, sur longue et moyenne distance, qui ont longtemps constitué un angle mort des politiques publiques alors qu’ils représentent des enjeux essentiels en termes sociaux et environnementaux. Elle est centrée sur des investissements et mesures « sans regret » à déployer dès à présent, pour avoir un impact avant 2030.

By using resources more efficiently, resource users help to overcome the inherent resource scarcity on “spaceship earth.” One strategy in this context is to close resource loops and to use resources circularly. With fewer resources wasted, a more circular use of resources should also increase the efficiency of resource use and create more value. However, when resource users aim for a greater degree of efficiency, inadvertently they might contribute to resources being used less rather than more circularly and, consequently, less instead of more efficiently. We show how to assess the value that is created by the efficient use of resources for the case of linear and circular resource use. This allows us to identify three distinct types of positive externalities related to the circular use of resources: (1) systemic static externalities; (2) idiosyncratic dynamic externalities; and (3) systemic dynamic externalities. We describe how the value created by these externalities can be assessed and argue that they need to be considered when evaluating environmental resource use.

RESUMO As cidades que apresentam concentração de indústrias enfrentam diversos problemas socioambientais associados à produção industrial, exigindo soluções que diminuam e previnam os impactos negativos provenientes das atividades industriais. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a possibilidade de aplicação do conceito de simbiose industrial, do campo da Ecologia Industrial, no município de Diadema (SP). Os dados referentes às empresas e suas respectivas matérias-primas e resíduos foram coletados na página eletrônica da prefeitura de Diadema, na seção Cadastro das Indústrias, e por meio de buscas na internet. Foram identificadas 1.293 indústrias em Diadema e mais de 2.100 interações potenciais entre empresas, matérias-primas utilizadas e resíduos gerados, com base tanto em processos utilizados no cenário atual como em processos que poderão vir a ser adotados pelas empresas que já existem no município, caso venham a produzir produtos do mesmo segmento — 890 das empresas identificadas apresentam ao menos uma possibilidade de interação. Foram contabilizados 32 tipos diferentes de resíduos que podem ser reaproveitados, com destaque para metais e plásticos. Considerando-se que Diadema ainda não possui estratégias direcionadas para a gestão de resíduos industriais, este trabalho pode contribuir para a elaboração de políticas públicas que visem à gestão de resíduos industriais em Diadema, bem como ser um ponto de partida para o planejamento ambiental do município. As informações geradas também podem ser úteis ao desenvolvimento de estratégias de simbiose industrial em outras regiões do Brasil. ABSTRACT Cities with industrial clusters face several environmental and social problems related to industrial production, requiring solutions to reduce and prevent negative impacts from industrial activities. The objective of this work was to evaluate the possibility of applying the concept of industrial symbiosis, from the discipline of Industrial Ecology, in the municipality of Diadema, São Paulo State. The data related to the companies and their corresponding raw materials and wastes were collected from the municipality of Diadema website, in the “Register of Industries” section, and through internet searches. A total of 1,293 companies were identified in the municipality of Diadema and more than 2,100 potential interactions between companies, raw materials used and waste generated, both based on processes used in the current scenario, as well as on processes that may be adopted by companies that already exist in the municipality, in case they produce products from the same segment – 890 of the companies identified present at least one possibility of interaction. Furthermore, 32 different types of waste that can be reused have been accounted for, with emphasis on metals and plastics. Since the municipality of Diadema still does not have strategies aimed at the management of industrial wastes, this work can contribute to the elaboration of public policies aimed at industrial waste management in Diadema, and act as a starting point to help in the planning and environmental management by the municipal government. The information obtained in this study can also be useful to potential future development of industrial symbiosis strategies in other regions of Brazil.

Multi-regional input–output (MRIO) models are widely used to analyze the economic interdependencies between regions in the context of global trade and environmental research. MRIO tables enable us to teleconnect the sectors in different regions along the supply chain and track both direct and indirect impacts of global production. Yet emerging economies—despite reshaping international trade patterns and playing an increasingly important role in the world economy—are not adequately represented in existing MRIO databases, which lack key detail on countries and sectors. To bridge this gap, our study presents EMERGING: Up-to-date and full-scale MRIO tables covering 135 sectors in 245 economies over the period from 2015 to 2019. We describe in detail the steps in the development of the database and reconciliation and validation of bilateral trade data and national statistics. The EMERGING database is also designed to incorporate more official and publicly available data from national statistical institutes to ensure a high level of data quality, especially for these economies. We compare both national production-based and consumption-based value added generated from the EMERGING MRIO with the results from four major MRIO databases. Although global value-added accounts are similar across databases, we find significant discrepancies at the level of individual countries and sectors concerning conflicting benchmark data.

A comprehensive data inventory of the current materials cycle in industry and society is crucial for an informed discussion and for decision-making on the supply of raw materials. Particularly, it is key to understand how these materials are functionally and nonfunctionally recycled, and enable the assessment of recycling indicators needed for the monitoring of circular economy. In this context, a material system analysis (MSA) of cobalt for the European Union (EU) from 2012 to 2016 is presented and discussed. Detailed results are provided for the year 2016, and the evolution of the flows over time is presented from 2012 to 2016. In addition, six indicators are calculated to characterize the cobalt cycle. In 2016, the EU28 embedded around 24,000 metric tons (t) of cobalt in manufactured products, and 33,700 t were put into use. The main losses of the system are due to nonselective collection of postconsumer waste (disposed), and nonfunctional recycling of old scrap. From the years analyzed, it was possible to detect a shift in the imports; the import of primary material decreased more than 99% between 2012 and 2016, and the import of semiprocessed and processed materials increased around 31% in the same period. This indicates that after 2012, the EU became more dependent on imports in downstream stages of the supply chain. One way to decrease this dependency is to establish higher collection targets, and to establish recycling targets based on the recovery of single materials, in order to decrease the amount dissipated through nonfunctional recycling.

According to the waste hierarchy, waste prevention is environmentally superior to recycling or recovery, hence its inclusion in government policy. The assessment and prioritization of waste prevention strategies are impeded, inter alia, by ambiguous definitions and the lack of a sound environmental assessment method. In this study, a systematic approach to the environmental assessment of waste prevention activities (WPAs), covering the whole life cycle of products, was developed. The approach combines material flow analysis and life cycle assessment with a sustainable circular system design framework whilst giving special consideration to pivotal factors such as diffusion factor (share of population engaging in WPA), substitutability (degree to which a new product is replaced), effects on use-phase impacts, and rebound effects. The application of the approach to the case studies of clothing and household furniture in Switzerland revealed lower impact saving potential than assumed initially, due to lack of participation, low substitutability, or high rebounds. For example, reusing clothing locally, instead of exporting it to low-income countries, as currently done, displayed no or even negative impact savings since secondhand clothing in high-income countries is often consumed in addition to new clothing. Drastic scenarios for clothes led to only moderate impact reductions of less than 15%, whereas a take-back scheme for furniture reduced impacts by 70%. Concluding, the four factors (diffusion rate, substitutability, effects on use-phase impacts, and rebounds) proved crucial in the assessment of waste prevention strategies and the approach presented was able to pinpoint improvement potentials of the waste prevention scenarios investigated., Journal of Industrial Ecology, 26 (4), ISSN:1088-1980, ISSN:1530-9290

This study proposes a new framework for estimating the effects of changes in the physical lifespan (PHL) of cars and the possession lifespan (POL) of new and used cars on stock, flow, and carbon footprint (CF). Applying this framework to all new and used cars registered in Japan from 1990 to 2016 showed that a 10% extension of the PHL of cars reduced the CF of cars by 30.7 Mt, while a 10% extension of the POL of new cars reduced the CF of cars by 26.4 Mt, and a 10% extension of the POL of used cars produced a 5.2 Mt CF reduction. On the other hand, a 10% lifetime reduction in the three cases increased CF by 42.2 Mt, 29.4 Mt, and 6.0 Mt, respectively. These results indicate that increasing the lifetime of new and used cars could contribute significantly to the mitigation of global warming. To achieve a large reduction in life cycle emissions, car designers should focus on ways to extend vehicle lifetimes.

Over the past years, an increasing number of scholarly papers have used the planetary boundaries (PBs) within life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine if the life cycle impacts of a product system fit within those PBs and thereby establish the absolute sustainability of the product system. This type of LCA is nowadays coined as LCA-based Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessment (AESA). “Absolute” thereby refers to methods enabling the comparison of environmental impacts of products, companies, nations, and so on, with an assigned share of environmental carrying capacity for various impact categories. A recent review of LCA-based AESA methods and their applications characterized 47 studies “according to their intended application, impact categories, basis of carrying capacity estimates, spatial differentiation of environmental model and principles for assigning carrying capacity.” However, the review and the majority of studies reviewed did not, or only to a limited extent, discuss potential temporal issues of assigning carrying capacity to product systems. Several of the carrying capacity estimates have a time dimension while LCA results lack a time dimension. In this article, we show that assigning PBs to product systems is only technically possible when adopting several fundamental though unrealistic assumptions, and conclude that even product LCA-based AESA is relative. This should not withhold scholars from developing approaches applying the PBs in LCA, but it should prevent them from claiming and using the term “absolute.”.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) will play a crucial role in achieving decarbonization and reducing greenhouse gases. If the EU wants to be competitive in the global market of LIBs, it has to ensure a sustainable and secure supply of the raw materials needed for the manufacturing of these batteries. Limited understanding of how the battery material cycles are linked with raw materials supply chains may hinder policy measures targeting the set-up of a domestic supply chain in the EU since no precise information on where to intervene will be available. The novelty of this work lies in a multilayer system approach developed to reveal interlinkages between the flows of five raw materials contained in LIBs (cobalt, lithium, manganese, natural graphite, and nickel) in the EU. This was achieved by aligning material system analysis datasets of raw materials contained in LIBs with datasets on stocks and flows of this type of batteries in the EU. The results demonstrate the EU's strong import dependency on LIBs and battery raw materials. The EU recycling of lithium and natural graphite is low/nonexistent hindering the sustainable supply of these materials. The results also show that the majority of battery materials are increasingly accumulated in use or hoarding stocks. The proposed approach is designed to help identify bottlenecks and possible solutions to increase the efficiency of the EU LIB system, which could go unnoticed if each material supply chain were examined individually. This study also highlights how the lessons learned can support EU resource-management policies.

Waste production, carbon dioxide atmospheric accumulation, and dependence on finite natural resources are expressions of the unsustainability of the current industrial networks that supply fuels, energy, and manufacturing products. In particular, circular manufacturing supply chains and carbon control networks are urgently needed. To model and design these and, in general, any material networks, we propose to generalize the approach used for traditional networks such as water and thermal power systems by using compartmental dynamical thermodynamics and graph theory. The key idea is that the thermodynamic compartments and their connections can be added, removed or modified as needed to achieve a circular material flow. The design methodology is explained and its application is illustrated through examples. In addition, we provide a physics-based definition of circularity and, by implementing a nonlinear compartmental control, we strengthen the connection between "Industry 4.0" and "Sustainability". The paper source code is publicly available., Submitted

We propose a simple model to study the conditions under which consumers prefer to purchase a good in coalition rather than individually. To identify those conditions, we study the full parameter space that defines the characteristics and preferences of heterogeneous consumers, the characteristics of the good, and the characteristics of a public service that offers the same services as the good. We find that shared ownership emerges only under niche conditions, for relatively lower income consumers with relatively higher demand. Furthermore, shared ownership is more likely to emerge if the shared good is relatively small and can be purchased in small coalition with lower coordination costs. Results are relevant to design sustainable consumption policies as they show that the diffusion of shared goods reduce the net number of goods in an economy, and therefore their environmental impact. However, we do not find any impact of shared ownership in reducing inequality in accessing goods. We show that policies that reduce the relative price of the shared purchase can accelerate the transition to a more sustainable shared consumption.

Policymakingmediates the relationships between manufacturers and consumers, thus defining the boundaries for the philosophies of production set forth by major companies.Research states that policymaking falls short in addressing the waste issues, natural resources consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and other negative impacts posed by premature obsolescence; only recently have the “right-to-repair” guidelines demanded by environmental organizations and communities of citizens been included in policymaking. The introduction of the Index of Repairability in France as information at the point of sale aims to inform consumers and support their decision-making in purchasing more repairable products. In this paper, we consider the two Indexes of Repairability publicly available to consumers—in the French legislation and iFixit —and assess their application to smartphones from three manufacturers. The study establishes links between the scores and the industrial design features that promote or hinder repairability, service factors and information for self-repair, authorized repair, and independent repair. Data collection considers the available information for consumers and citizens by using netnography and secondary data from manufacturers, policymakers, and communities of users. Our findings suggest that higher scores that indicate easier repairability are not limited to product architectures that follow design for disassembly guidelines. Smartphones that are difficult to repair can still score high, and thus be perceived as easier to repair, if manufacturers provide high quality and affordable service. This paper discusses the results of the ongoing development of repairability scores for smartphones, thus suggesting paths for future research to improve methods and policies to support a longer lifetime of products.

Despite the promotion of plastic recycling to sustainably manage plastic waste and advance the circular economy, existing plastic recycling systems globally are largely experiencing low performance and growth. To transition to world-class plastic material recycling and circularity, defining the metrics that impact the performance of a plastic recycling system is crucial. Bringing together existing literature, this study developed a conceptual framework, comprised of eight key performance metrics, for benchmarking recycling success or assessing the degree to which the performance of any plastic recycling system is optimal. Through a value chain approach, the specific performance metrics relevant to each stage of the plastic recycling system, their objectives, and the actors characterizing the system were analyzed in detail. Also, specific maturity models were developed to measure the performance of any plastic recycling system. This framework provides essential knowledge for related stakeholders to inform further development of plastic recycling and a circular economy.

The market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly, and there is a large demand for lithium‐ion batteries (LIB). Studies have predicted a growth of 600% in LIB demand by 2030. However, the production of LIBs is energy intensive, thus contradicting the goal set by Europe to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and become GHG emission free by 2040. Therefore, in this study, it was analyzed how the energy consumption and corresponding GHG emissions from LIB cell production may develop until 2030. Economic, technological, and political measures were considered and applied to market forecasts and to a model of a state‐of‐the art LIB cell factory. Notably, different scenarios with trend assumptions and above/below‐trend assumptions were considered. It could be deduced that, if no measures are taken and if the status quo is extrapolated to the future, by 2030, ∼5.86 Mt CO2‐eq will be emitted due to energy consumption from European LIB cell production. However, by applying a combination of economic, technological, and political measures, energy consumption and GHG emissions could be decreased by 46% and 56% by 2030, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that political measures, such as improving the electricity mix, are important but less dominant than improving the production technology and infrastructure. In this study, it could be deduced that, by 2030, through industrialization and application of novel production technologies, the energy consumption and GHG emissions from LIB cell production in Europe can be reduced by 24%., German Federal Ministry of Education and Research

The article processing charge was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – 491192747 and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. High-resolution maps of material stocks in buildings and infrastructures are of key importance for studies of societal resource use (social metabolism, circular economy, secondary resource potentials) as well as for transport studies and land system science. So far, such maps were only available for specific years but not in time series. Even for single years, data covering entire countries with high resolution, or using remote-sensing data are rare. Instead, they often have local extent (e.g., [1]), are lower resolution (e.g., [2]), or are based on other geospatial data (e.g., [3]). We here present data on the material stocks in three types of buildings (commercial and industrial, single- and multifamily houses) and three types of infrastructures (roads, railways, other infrastructures) for a 33-year time series for Austria at a spatial resolution of 30 m. The article also presents data on population and employment in Austria for the same time period, at the same spatial resolution. Data were derived with the same method applied in a recent study for Germany [4].

Raw materials form an industrial base to provide the wide range of products and services demanded by industry and society. In particular, manganese, nickel, and natural graphite are examples of materials having a globally consolidated supply chain with interlinked use in steelmaking and essential role in clean energy systems and e-mobility. A stable material supply chain is hence a priority for import-dependent regions like the EU and builds upon quantitative system understanding. To this aim, the EU Material System Analysis is applied to analyze the anthropogenic cycle of manganese, nickel, and natural graphite from 2012 to 2016. We provide a detailed characterization of their material stocks, flows, and changes in selected performance indicators including end-of-life recycling rate (51% +/- 3%, 49% +/- 8%, and 8% +/- 0% for manganese, nickel, and natural graphite, respectively), self-sufficiency potential (40% +/- 3%, 32% +/- 5%, and 5% +/- 1%), old scrap ratio (31% +/- 0%, 22% +/- 2%, and 90% +/- 1%), recycling input rate (25% +/- 1%, 38% +/- 2%, and 3% +/- 0%), recycling process efficiency rate (84% +/- 2%, 85% +/- 6%, and 48% +/- 3%), and pre-consumer losses rate (83% +/- 3%, 5% +/- 1%, and 24% +/- 2%). The achieved results may inform decision-makers engaged with raw materials recovery and recycling as well as the strategic securement of a reliable material supply to the EU for resilient industrial ecosystems.

The growing amount of electronic waste (e-waste) poses considerable risks to the environment and human health, especially when treated inadequately. However, it is difficult to assess the significance of these issues without quantitative understanding of spatiotemporal patterns of e-waste generation. This paper proposes a new model to estimate in-use stock of electric household appliances (HAs) and e-waste generation at the level of 1 km × 1 km grids by coupling geographic information system (GIS) and material flow analysis (MFA). We took Xiamen, a rapidly urbanized city in China, as a case and the results showed that demands for HAs increased from 1980, peaked in 2016, and then declined. In-use HAs exhibited a logistic growth and significantly increased in both spatial extent and intensity. E-waste generation kept rising until 2019, and its spatial center expanded outward from downtown to suburban areas. Our study highlights that a dynamic and spatial model is useful for designing effective policies for e-waste management by providing spatiotemporal details of e-waste types and generation magnitudes and explicitly recognizing generation hotspots in cities.

The use of Semantic Web and linked data increases the possibility of data accessibility, interpretability, and interoperability. It supports cross-domain data and knowledge sharing and avoids the creation of research data silos. Widely adopted in several research domains, the use of the Semantic Web has been relatively limited with respect to sustainability assessments. A primary barrier is that the framework of the principles and technologies required to link and query data from the Semantic Web is often beyond the scope of industrial ecologists. Linking of a dataset to Semantic Web requires the development of a semantically linked core ontology in addition to the use of existing ontologies. Ontologies provide logical meaning to the data and the possibility to develop machine-readable data format. To enable and support the uptake of semantic ontologies, we present a core ontology developed specifically to capture the data relevant for life cycle sustainability assessment. We further demonstrate the utility of the ontology by using it to integrate data relevant to sustainability assessments, such as EXIOBASE and the Yale Stocks and Flow Database to the Semantic Web. These datasets can be accessed by the machine-readable endpoint using SPARQL, a semantic query language. The present work provides the foundation necessary to enhance the use of Semantic Web with respect to sustainability assessments. Finally, we provide our perspective on the challenges toward the adoption of Semantic Web technologies and technical solutions that can address these challenges.

The uploaded files provide supplementary data related to the journal article: Schmidt, S. and D. Laner (submitted) "The Environmental Performance of Plastic Packaging Waste Management in Germany: Current and Future Key Factors." (DOI will be added after publication) Please, refer to the abovementioned article for further description of the provided data.&nbsp

Industrial ecology (IE) methodologies, such as input/output or material flow analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA), are often used for the environmental evaluation of circular economy strategies. Up to now, an approach that utilizes these methods in a systematic, integrated framework for a holistic assessment of a geographic region's sustainable circular economy potential has been lacking. The approach developed in this study (IE4CE approach) combines IE methodologies to determine the environmental impact mitigation potential of circular economy strategies for a defined geographic region. The approach foresees five steps. First, input/output analysis helps identify sectors with high environmental impacts. Second, a refined analysis is conducted using material flow and LCA. In step 3, circular strategies are used for scenario design and evaluated in step 4. In step 5, the assessment results are compiled and compared across sectors. The approach was applied to a case study of Switzerland, analyzing 8 sectors and more than 30 scenarios in depth. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) from waste incineration, biogas and cement production, food waste prevention in households, hospitality and production, and the increased recycling of plastics had the highest mitigation potential. Most of the scenarios do not influence each other. One exception is the CCS scenarios: waste avoidance scenarios decrease the reduction potential of CCS. A combination of scenarios from different sectors, including their impact on the CCS scenario potential, led to an environmental impact mitigation potential of 11.9 Mt CO2-eq for 2050, which equals 14% of Switzerland's current consumption-based impacts., Journal of Industrial Ecology, 27 (1), ISSN:1088-1980, ISSN:1530-9290

PURPOSE: The article refers to the current energy and ecological issues related to the life cycle assessment of vehicles. The main objective of the study was to compare the environmental impact of changes in passenger car design with the use of the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). LCA is now a widely used decision-making tool in the automotive industry to improve the energy and environmental performance of new cars., DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A simplified LCA method, which, in strictly defined cases, can be used to analyse the environmental impacts related to the manufacturing process of a passenger car, has been presented in the paper. Environmental inputs such as energy, required to provide materials and CO2 and SO2 emissions were used to evaluate the impact. The values of these variables were identified based on the material mass used to build the car., FINDINGS: The environmental burdens resulting from the use of individual types of materials in the most important functional units of the car were compared. Both the energy inputs and the environmental burdens increased at the turn of the analysed periods., PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The results of the analysis allowed to identify the materials with the greatest environmental impact., ORIGINALITY/VALUE: A life cycle model of a passenger vehicle with a conventional drive that allows to determine its environmental burdens was created., peer-reviewed

Public certification standards have received limited scholarly attention, especially the institutional capacity of public authorities that develop and implement these standards to address complex challenges, such as the promotion of industrial ecology and industrial symbiosis for enhancing resource use efficiency. This research uses an institutional capacity assessment framework to examine the ways in which a voluntary public standard for certifying eco-industrial parks affected the Vietnamese state’s capacity to coordinate and implement industrial ecology. The article draws upon the interviews and a review of official documentation to show that the benefits of public standards extend beyond compliance to the enhancement of state capacities to coordinate complex policy domains such as industrial ecology. The findings contribute to providing a basis to redesign standard-setting processes to move beyond end-user compliance and provide insights into how public actors can more effectively address ‘systemic’ sustainability challenges – from circular economy ambitions to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Understanding flows of resource-rich electrical and electronic equipment throughout its life cycle is increasingly important in the development of global circular economies, reflected by heavy legislative focuses on waste prevention and resource use efficiency. This research facilitates broader material flow analysis by characterizing flows of professional IT equipment within the Republic of Ireland, emphasizing the flow of legal exports for the purposes of refurbishment and reuse. The analysis of transboundary movement of non-waste used equipment contributes to a less often measured, but influential, facet of material flows. Eight key exporters of used equipment, comprising original equipment manufacturers, information technology asset disposition companies, and waste treatment facilities, were interviewed to characterize the sector, map the flow of materials, and identify gaps in existing reporting. Interviewed organizations declared exports of used equipment by category using a voluntary declaration form. Two key flows were identified representing currently unreported and unmeasured flows of non-waste professional equipment. A total of 441,261 units of equipment were declared to be exported for reuse from the Republic of Ireland through these previously unmeasured flows in 2019. Product keys developed by United Nations University were used to estimate the weight of total units exported as approximately 576 metric tons, amounting to an additional approximately 9% of the weight of IT equipment collected in the Republic of Ireland in 2018, or 0.1 kg per inhabitant. These quantifications of IT equipment exported for reuse will be a key component of future material flow analyses in the development of a circular economy.

Understanding flows of resource-rich electrical and electronic equipment throughout its life cycle is increasingly important in the development of global circular economies, reflected by heavy legislative focuses on waste prevention and resource use efficiency. This research facilitates broader material flow analysis by characterizing flows of professional IT equipment within the Republic of Ireland, emphasizing the flow of legal exports for the purposes of refurbishment and reuse. The analysis of transboundary movement of non-waste used equipment contributes to a less often measured, but influential, facet of material flows. Eight key exporters of used equipment, comprising original equipment manufacturers, information technology asset disposition companies, and waste treatment facilities, were interviewed to characterize the sector, map the flow of materials, and identify gaps in existing reporting. Interviewed organizations declared exports of used equipment by category using a voluntary declaration form. Two key flows were identified representing currently unreported and unmeasured flows of non-waste professional equipment. A total of 441,261 units of equipment were declared to be exported for reuse from the Republic of Ireland through these previously unmeasured flows in 2019. Product keys developed by United Nations University were used to estimate the weight of total units exported as approximately 576 metric tons, amounting to an additional approximately 9% of the weight of IT equipment collected in the Republic of Ireland in 2018, or 0.1 kg per inhabitant. These quantifications of IT equipment exported for reuse will be a key component of future material flow analyses in the development of a circular economy.

Chemical recycling (CR) could support a circular approach for municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment. In promoting the recirculation of recyclable carbon-containing waste as secondary feedstock for chemical production, it could contribute to resource conservation, emissions reduction, and supply security. To evaluate CR's contribution to the transition from a linear to a circular carbon economy - and correspondingly to the achievement of environmental, economic, and social sustainability as indicated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) - this study builds on extant literature of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) to investigate consequential environmental, economic, and social CR impacts. Specifically, an integrated approach whereby process-based life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and social indicators are linked in the framework of an agent-based model is developed to investigate sustainability consequences of CR via gasification of residual MSW in Germany. Results suggest that CR contributes to reducing climate change and to addressing terrestrial acidification and fossil resource scarcity. However, its deployment will be associated with significant system costs. Hence, to promote CR implementation, measures such as obliging direct waste incineration to trade CO2 certificates - provided that certificate prices increase sharply in the future - as well as implementing a recycling rate are found to be necessary to gap economic disadvantages. This study not only contributes to extending life cycle approaches for LCSA methodologically, it furthermore provides valuable insights into temporal and spatial interactions in waste management systems to inform science, industry, and politics about the sustainability impacts of CR on the achievement of the UN-SDGs.

Данная научная статья посвящена теме промышленной экологии и ее вкладу в достижение устойчивого развития. Промышленная экология представляет собой концепцию, основанную на принципах эффективного использования ресурсов, уменьшения отходов и снижения воздействия на окружающую среду. В статье описываются основные принципы промышленной экологии, такие как интеграция производственных процессов, использование вторичного сырья, снижение выбросов вредных веществ, энергоэффективность производства и другие. Также рассматриваются примеры успешной реализации промышленной экологии в различных отраслях промышленности, таких как химическая промышленность, производство бумаги, пищевая промышленность и другие. Описываются положительные результаты, полученные благодаря внедрению промышленной экологии, такие как сокращение выбросов вредных веществ, уменьшение объема отходов, повышение энергоэффективности производства, снижение использования природных ресурсов и другие. Статья подчеркивает важность промышленной экологии как одного из инструментов достижения устойчивого развития и сохранения окружающей среды. Реализация промышленной экологии требует серьезных усилий и инвестиций, а также согласованного подхода со стороны правительства, бизнеса и общественности. Однако, практические результаты показывают, что это эффективный инструмент для повышения конкурентоспособности предприятий, снижения расходов на сырье и энергию, а также снижения рисков возникновения экологических проблем и социальных конфликтов. В целом, статья представляет собой обзор теории и практики промышленной экологии, описывает ее основные принципы и примеры успешной реализации, а также подчеркивает важность данного подхода в контексте устойчивого развития., This scientific article is devoted to the topic of industrial ecology and its contribution to achieving sustainable development. Industrial ecology is a concept based on the principles of efficient use of resources, waste reduction and reduction of environmental impact. The article describes the basic principles of industrial ecology, such as the integration of production processes, the use of secondary raw materials, reducing emissions of harmful substances, energy efficiency of production and others. Examples of successful implementation of industrial ecology in various industries, such as chemical industry, paper production, food industry and others, are also considered. The positive results obtained through the introduction of industrial ecology are described, such as reducing emissions of harmful substances, reducing waste, increasing energy efficiency of production, reducing the use of natural resources, and others. The article emphasizes the importance of industrial ecology as one of the tools for achieving sustainable development and environmental conservation. The implementation of industrial ecology requires serious efforts and investments, as well as a coordinated approach on the part of the government, business and the public. However, practical results show that it is an effective tool for increasing the competitiveness of enterprises, reducing raw materials and energy costs, as well as reducing the risks of environmental problems and social conflicts. In general, the article is an overview of the theory and practice of industrial ecology, describes its basic principles and examples of successful implementation, and also emphasizes the importance of this approach in the context of sustainable development., Экономика и предпринимательство, Выпуск 5 (154) 2023, Pages 388-391

Understanding flows of resource-rich electrical and electronic equipment throughout its life cycle is increasingly important in the development of global circular economies, reflected by heavy legislative focuses on waste prevention and resource use efficiency. This research facilitates broader material flow analysis by characterizing flows of professional IT equipment within the Republic of Ireland, emphasizing the flow of legal exports for the purposes of refurbishment and reuse. The analysis of transboundary movement of non-waste used equipment contributes to a less often measured, but influential, facet of material flows. Eight key exporters of used equipment, comprising original equipment manufacturers, information technology asset disposition companies, and waste treatment facilities, were interviewed to characterize the sector, map the flow of materials, and identify gaps in existing reporting. Interviewed organizations declared exports of used equipment by category using a voluntary declaration form. Two key flows were identified representing currently unreported and unmeasured flows of non-waste professional equipment. A total of 441,261 units of equipment were declared to be exported for reuse from the Republic of Ireland through these previously unmeasured flows in 2019. Product keys developed by United Nations University were used to estimate the weight of total units exported as approximately 576 metric tons, amounting to an additional approximately 9% of the weight of IT equipment collected in the Republic of Ireland in 2018, or 0.1 kg per inhabitant. These quantifications of IT equipment exported for reuse will be a key component of future material flow analyses in the development of a circular economy.

Plastics consumption continues to steeply increase worldwide, while resultant waste is currently mostly landfilled, discarded to the environment, or incinerated. This significantly contributes to global warming and causes negative health and ecosystem effects. Increasing the circularity of plastics can reduce these impacts. This study investigated to which extent plastics' circularity can be increased by mechanical recycling. For this purpose, future scenarios involving increased waste collection, improved product design, and improved waste sorting were assessed. The system studied consists of 11 plastic types in 69 product groups consumed and arising as waste in Switzerland. By means of a material flow analysis, the amounts of consumption, waste, and secondary material utilizable in product manufacturing were quantified for the year 2040. For the waste not mechanically recycled, treatment situations mainly involving energy recovery in waste-to-energy plants and cement kilns were modeled. A life cycle assessment of the complete plastic material flow system was conducted. We found that the mechanical recycling rate calculated based on the utilizable secondary material can be increased to up to 31%. This can lower the plastic carbon footprint by one quarter (1.3% of today's total Swiss carbon footprint) compared to no recycling. Important barriers to a further increase of the recycling rate were inaccessibility, the large diversity of plastic grades, and contamination. The remaining impact at maximum recycling is mainly caused by polyurethanes, polypropylene, and polystyrene production. In conclusion, the potential of mechanical plastic recycling is limited, but it can, as one of several measures, contribute to combating climate change., Journal of Industrial Ecology, ISSN:1088-1980, ISSN:1530-9290

Over the past few decades, the fired clay brick industry has searched for industrial wastes to substitute raw clay deposits and lessen their impact on the environment. Despite several investigations showing positive results, industrial applicability is still scarce, mainly due to differences between industrial and laboratory procedures and the usage of certain wastes that already have added value in other circular economy chains. In addition, the assessment of such proposals commonly misses the environmental impact issue which is merely assumed to be positive. For these reasons this study, for the first time, has assessed together technological properties and the environmental impact of bricks made by strictly following industrial procedures. Hence, biomass bottom ash (BBA) was added at 9 replacement ratios, ranging from 2.5 to wt. 20.0% for making extruded bricks subjected to industrial drying and firing curves. Physical, thermal and mechanical properties of fired products were properly assessed and compared with the requirements set forth by Chilean standards. In addition, a life cycle impact assessment was developed to compare the ecological footprint among series. Although mechanical and water-proof requirements may limit the replacement ratio for exposed bricks, the feasibility of using BBA at industrial scale has been successfully demonstrated. Regarding the environmental impact, the raw clay may be replaced without adversely causing toxicity levels to exceed mandatory limits. However, this study demonstrated that the incorporation of BBA increases CO2 emissions due to the decomposition of contained carbonates during the firing process which compromise the results in terms of global warming potential and water consumption which highly impact on human health and ecosystems quality.

Self-organized industrial symbiosis (IS) starts with one actor's decision to invest in a waste recovery plant and the other actors' decision to buy the recovered flow. Technical and institutional conditions of the cluster influence actors' decisions. This paper explores the emergence of IS collaborations in industrial clusters under different techno-economic conditions in the long term. We propose a mixed-integer linear programming model that incorporates costs and constraints associated with waste recovery and exchange to study actors' investment decisions and investigate shaped symbiotic exchanges under rising energy prices and limited electricity supply. The approach is implemented in Iran's Persian Gulf Mining and Metals Special Economic Zone as a case study. The results revealed that changes in internal or external condition simultaneously influence the industrial and waste recovery plants. For instance, increasing energy prices without raising product prices significantly decreased the production level of industrial plants and, consequently, heat recovery potential. Furthermore, the waste heat recovery plants' contribution to improving the cluster's economic and environmental performance was not the same. Electricity recovery from a power plant's waste heat can result in 55 PJ grid electricity intake reduction and 720 M€ cluster cash flow increase. Recovered cooling or electricity from the steelmaking plant waste heat was consumed internally rather than shaping IS. These model outcomes show its capability to study IS within the socio-technical structure of the cluster, not a standalone phenomenon. Implemented conceptualization offers a novel system-level approach, which could be adjusted to assess other industrial development strategies.

Industrial symbiosis is an eco-innovative system concept that is based on a circular economy and industrial ecology ideas. This process comprises the movement of materials, energy, and skills across enterprises located within eco-industrial parks, and strives to provide economic, environmental, and social competitive advantages for all the involved parties. Considering that the agri-food system creates a vast quantity of by-products along the supply chain, it is a sector that has huge potential within material and energy recovery systems and fits well into eco-industrial parks. The current study is a literature review that aims to evaluate the interest exhibited so far by scientific research in the topic of industrial symbiosis in the agri-food sector and to highlight the primary analytical techniques that have been used for this topic. Using the paradigm of multiple correspondence analysis, a content analysis was conducted from which the major themes of the researched phenomena emerged. The results indicate that the topic areas are unrelated and somewhat distant from each other. The analyzed case studies have revealed that the authors had neglected the communicative and collaborative elements among stakeholders, and instead focused on the potential use of some tools and approaches. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that the hiding of information within a supply chain prevents industrial symbiosis procedures from being implemented. This research suggests the necessity of creating communication and cooperation platforms among stakeholders, which would promote the introduction of new techniques and tools for the development of circular production systems.

Buildings are an important part of society's environmental impacts, both in the construction and in the use phase. As the energy performance of buildings improve, construction materials become more important as a cause of environmental impact. Less attention has been given to those materials. We explore, as an alternative for conventional buildings, the use of biobased materials and circular building practices. In addition to building design, we analyze the effect of urbanization. We assess the potential to close material cycles together with the material related impact, between 2018 and 2050 in the Netherlands. Our results show a limited potential to close material cycles until 2050, as a result of slow stock turnover and growth of the building stock. At present, end-of-life recycling rates are low, further limiting circularity. Primary material demand can be lowered when shifting toward biobased or circular construction. This shift also reduces material related carbon emissions. Large-scale implementation of biobased construction, however, drastically increases land area required for wood production. Material demand differs strongly spatially and depends on the degree of urbanization. Urbanization results in higher building replacement rates, but constructed dwellings are generally small compared to scenarios with more rural developments. The approach presented in this work can be used to analyze strategies aimed at closing material cycles in the building sector and lowering buildings' embodied environmental impact, at different spatial scales.

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M The external resource dependency of urban areas results in the externalization of environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Implementing food, energy and water production systems on urban rooftops (roof mosaics) can potentially help cities become more self-sufficient but depends on the city's urban morphology. We studied the supply potential and impacts of four roof mosaic scenarios for different urban forms in Cerdanyola, a 58 thousand-inhabitant town in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. We combined spatial analysis of potential rooftops, metabolism analysis, and social and environmental impacts. The municipality has an average rooftop/household potential of 31 m2 on which to implement any of the mosaic scenarios, with the highest potential in the single-family housing typology. The highest level of vegetable self-sufficiency was found in housing estates (32%), and the lowest in originary fabrics (28%). Regarding electricity and water self-sufficiency, the highest self-sufficiency level was found in the single-family housing typology (51% and 14%, respectively) and the lowest in housing estates (26% and 8%, respectively). Regarding impacts, the implementation of the electricity and rainwater harvesting systems depicts the most positive indicators in single-family housing areas. However, for housing estates and originary fabrics typologies, the best performance is shown to be in the implementation of rooftop farming systems.

Society's increasing demand for metals led to the discussion as to whether scarcity of raw materials could lead to supply shortages and to which extend circularity can prevent resource depletion. This study investigates the need for and availability of secondary and primary zinc resources under moderate demand growth. A dynamic MFA model simulates future potentials of 9-14 Mt/a zinc recycling and the necessity of 17-22 Mt/a zinc mining in 2050. The MFA model estimates a cumulative required mine production of 500-560 Mt between 2020 and 2050, which equals less than 1% of the extractable global zinc resources estimated within a geological analysis. With continuous exploration contributing to new discoveries, primary zinc is sufficiently physically available. In contrast, recycling is limited to the amounts of post-consumer waste generation. Recycling capacities need to be extended, collection systems optimized and processing efficiencies increased worldwide to realize the full extent of modelled potentials.

Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a widely used building material for masonry units, prefabricated reinforced components, and lightweight mineral insulation boards. Its low thermal conductivity and good fire resistance increase its popularity in residential buildings. Thus, post-demolition wastes are expected to increase in the future. However, post-demolition AAC (pd-AAC) is mainly disposed in landfills while landfill capacities decrease and legal framework conditions in Europe are tightening. This study performed life cycle assessments (LCA) of different pd-AAC recycling options and compared them to each other and to current landfilling to identify the best end-of-life handling of pd-AAC from an ecological perspective. The functional unit was 1 kg pd-AAC, and the system boundaries included pd-AAC at the demolition site, transports, pd-AAC treatment, and secondary production processes. Final products of the recycling process gained environmental credits/rewards for avoiding primary production using system expansion. Providing primary resources, primary production, and use phase were not in the scope of this study. Results show that especially closed-loop recycling of pd-AAC in AAC production has a high potential of improving environmental impacts. In the best recycling option (high substitution in AAC-0.35), potential savings per kg pd-AAC compared to landfilling reach up to 0.5 kg CO2-Eq, 7 MJ fossil resources, 0.005 mol H+-Eq (acidification), 0.17 CTU (freshwater ecotoxicity), 0.2 g P-Eq (freshwater eutrophication), 5.2 × 10-9 CTUh (carcinogenic effects), 4.4 × 10-8 CTUh (non-carcinogenic effects), 2.5 × 10-5 g CFC-11-Eq (ozone layer depletion), and 1.6 g NMVOC-Eq (photochemical ozone creation). Despite data uncertainties, recycling of pd-AAC is advantageous for several recycling options, including the production of AAC, light mortar, lightweight aggregate concrete, and shuttering blocks made from concrete without fine fractions (no-fines concrete). In Germany, up to 280,000 t CO2-Eq could have been saved in 2022 by pd-AAC recycling using different recycling options instead of landfilling.

Industrial symbiosis (IS) involves networks of organizations collaborating through flow exchanges. Scientific research has shown that such systems are able to provide benefits at the environmental level. Structural organization and stability were also studied, as they are linked to resilience (maintenance of activity over time), especially with ecological network analysis (ENA), which considers several dimensions in the assessment of a network organization. Studies combining ENA and environmental assessment are lacking in the literature; therefore, the links between the two dimensions are not well documented. The intention of this study was to fill this gap by analyzing structural and environmental performance simultaneously using ENA and a life-cycle-analysis-based approach focusing on the structural topology of IS. The results show that the two dimensions do not strictly influence each other. Structural performance was found to vary depending on the network structure topology, whereas environmental performance was influenced by the network complexity. To ensure the continuation of IS benefits, the two dimensions should be considered in the decision-making process in IS planification, even if they are independent evaluation criteria. Tradeoffs should be based on IS development possibilities and territorial needs.

The use of novel battery technologies in short‐haul electric aircraft can support the aviation sector in achieving its goals for a sustainable development. However, the production of the batteries is often associated with adverse environmental and socio‐economic impacts, potentially leading to burden shifting. Therefore, this paper investigates alternative technologies for lithium–sulfur all‐solid‐state batteries (LiS‐ASSBs) in terms of their contribution to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). We propose a new approach that builds on life cycle sustainability assessment and links the relevant impact categories to the related SDGs. The approach is applied to analyze four LiS‐ASSB configurations with different solid electrolytes, designed for maximum specific energy using an electrochemical model. They are compared to a lithium–sulfur battery with a liquid electrolyte as a benchmark. The results of our cradle‐to‐gate analysis reveal that the new LiS‐ASSB technologies generally have a positive contribution to SDG achievement. However, the battery configuration with the best technical characteristics is not the most promising in terms of SDG achievement. Especially variations from the technically optimal cathode thickness can improve the SDG contribution. A sensitivity analysis shows that the results are rather robust against the weighting factors within the SDG quantification method., Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy ‐ EXC 2163/1‐ Sustainable and Energy Efficient Aviation

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are expected to fulfill a crucial role in the renewable energy systems of the future. Within current regulatory frameworks, assessing the sustainability as well as the social risks for BESS should be considered. In this research we conducted a social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) of two BESS: the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) and the lithium-ion battery (LIB). The S-LCA was conducted based on the guidelines set by UNEP/SETAC and using the PSILCA v.3 database. It was found that most social risks related to the life cycle of the batteries are associated with the raw material extraction stage, while sectors related to chemicals also entail considerable risks. Workers are the stakeholder group affected most. These results apply to supply chains located in both China and Germany, but risks were lower for similar supply chains in Germany. An LIB with a nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode is associated with considerably larger risks compared to a LIB with lithium manganese oxide cathode. For a VRFB life cycle with an increased vanadium price, the social risks were higher than those of the VRFB supply chain with a regular vanadium price. Our paper shows that S-LCA through the PSILCA database can provide interesting insights into the potential social risks associated with a certain product's life cycle. Generalizations of the results are not recommended, and one should be careful with assessments for technologies that have not yet matured due to the cost sensitivity of the methodology.

The extensive disposal of plastic components into the environment requires an economically and ecologically feasible solution for the proper treatment or new uses for plastic waste. This study compares the environmental and mechanical performance of a sandwich panel based on disposed bottle caps core with different eco-friendly skins and adhesive. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment compares the environmental impacts of the manufacture of six-bottle cap panel designs with various skin (aluminum, recycled PET, and flax laminates) and adhesive types (epoxy vs. biopolymer) by calculating their ReCiPe midpoint impact indicators. An eco-mechanical indicator is additionally proposed to measure the efficiency of designs with greater strength/stiffness and less environmental footprint. The bio-based skin on the sandwich panel significantly reduces environmental damage between 32% and 87% compared to metallic skins. Recycled skin promotes the lowest impacts, while considerably reducing mechanical performance. The bio-based adhesive has emissions up to 15% lower than epoxy. The eco-mechanical balance showed up to 630% higher efficiency for bottle cap panel designs based on bio-based polymer, flax-based skins, and/or less adhesive depending on the mechanical response. Promising environmental performance with superior mechanical strength highlights the potential of bottle caps as an eco-friendly honeycomb for secondary construction and transport structures.