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Summary: The book "Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting" is a collection of twelve papers that focus on the built environment in order to systematically collect and analyze relevant data for the energy use profile of buildings and extended for the sustainability assessment of the built environment. The contributions address historic buildings, baselines for non-residential buildings from energy performance audits, and from in-situ measurements, monitoring, and analysis of data, and verification of energy saving and model calibration for various building types. The works report on how to diagnose existing problems and identify priorities, assess, and quantify the opportunities and measures that improve the overall building performance and the environmental quality and well-being of occupants in non-residential buildings and houses. Several case studies and lessons learned from the field are presented to help the readers identify, quantify, and prioritize effective energy conservation and efficiency measures. Finally, a new urban sustainability audit and rating method of the built environment addresses the complexities of the various issues involved, providing practical tools that can be adapted to match local priorities in order to diagnose and evaluate the current state and future scenarios towards meeting specific sustainable development goals and local priorities.

Summary: Biocultural restoration is a process by which the various connections between humanity and nature, as well as between People and Place are revived to restore the health and function of social-ecological systems. This collection explores the subject of biocultural restoration and does so within the context of Hawaiʻi, the most remote archipelago on the planet. The Hawaiian Renaissance, which started in the 1970s, has led to a revival of Hawaiian language, practices, philosophy, spirituality, knowledge systems, and systems of resource management. Many of the leading Indigenous and local scholars of Hawaiʻi who were born into the time of the Hawaiian Renaissance contributed to this collection. More than a third of the authors are of Indigenous Hawaiian ancestry; each paper had at least one Indigenous Hawaiian author, and several papers had a Hawaiian lead author, making this the largest collection to date of scientific publications authored by Indigenous Hawaiians (Kānaka ʻŌiwi). In addition, the majority of authors are women, and two of the papers had 100 percent authorship by women. This collection represents a new emphasis in applied participatory research that involves academics, government agencies, communities and both private and non-profit sectors.

Summary: Natural World Heritage sites, such as the Serengeti, or Natural and Cultural Heritage sites, such as the Historic Centre of Rome, have the common feature of being a treasured resource of global importance. The 1121 properties on the World Heritage (WH) list have permanent recognized value for humankind. Most of those >1000 locations are at some risk from changes in climate. Globally, scholars and managers seek to understand current and future climatic stresses, mitigation and adaptation opportunities. There is a strong need for the "So What?" in World Heritage studies. The invited papers in this volume address natural, cultural and mixed WH sites, and each offers a fresh perspective on assessing the degree of risk from changing climate and guidance on acting to mitigate and adapt to climate changes to provide new awareness and tools to improve their state of conservation for the future.

Summary: The available range of ornamental plants (cut flowers, potted plants, perennials, bulbous, woody ornamental plants) is constantly being supplemented with new species and cultivars; thus, new methods for their production are required. The sustainable development of the floriculture industry requires modern and environmentally friendly solutions that can maximize the plant's potential. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt flower production methods to actual conditions and take into account the energy transformation and biological, technical, and organizational advances. This Special Issue is a collection of seven well-written research works covering the current state-of-the-art of ornamental crop production. The main body of the Special Issue gives an interesting coverage of new strategies that can be utilized for plant reproduction, regulating their growth and flowering, adapting production technologies to fit the concept of sustainable development, and optimizing supply chain management. This Special Issue will provide a good reference source for growers, research scientists, and advanced undergraduate students.

Summary: Achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources. We consume more resources than the planet can generate, and growing rates of pollution and waste only worsen the problem. In this context, globally, a significant number of frameworks and programs on sustainable consumption and production have been introduced. Most of them concern the environmentally sound management of energy and raw materials and all wastes throughout their life cycle; the substantially reduce of waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse; the adoption of sustainable practices and the integration of sustainability information into their reporting cycle; the promotion of procurement practices that are sustainable; the enhancement of scientific and technological capacity intending to more sustainable patterns of consumption and production etc. This reprint" Sustainable Production and Environmentally Responsible Consumption" takes a broad view of all these issues and aimed to inform about ways contributing to sustainable consumption and production by reducing our environmental impact, promoting the use of renewable sources of energy and encouraging responsible purchasing decisions.

Summary: In light of the considerable impact of global food supply chains on climate change, more sustainable ways of producing, distributing, and consuming food appear critical for sustainable development. With the aim of contributing to this topic, this Special Issue on sustainable food consumption and food marketing addresses various relevant issues related to food consumption, including innovative and sustainable forms of food production and consumption, animal welfare and meat consumption, price transmission, social media communication, alternative food production, and organic agriculture, among others. As such, this Special Issue sheds light on more sustainable and carbon-friendly food production and consumption systems from various angles. It delivers valuable scientific evidence for the transformation of current carbon-based food supply chains to more eco-friendly, fair, and future-oriented food supply chains.

Summary: Effective environmental decision-making is often challenging and complex, where final solutions frequently possess inherently subjective political and socio-economic components. Consequently, complex sustainability applications in the "real world" frequently employ computational decision-making approaches to construct solutions to problems containing numerous quantitative dimensions and considerable sources of uncertainty. This volume includes a number of such applied computational analytics papers that either create new decision-making methods or provide innovative implementations of existing methods for addressing a wide spectrum of sustainability applications, broadly defined. The disparate contributions all emphasize novel approaches of computational analytics as applied to environmental decision-making and sustainability analysis - be this on the side of optimization, simulation, modelling, computational solution procedures, visual analytics, and/or information technologies.

Summary: Despite many years of efforts to reduce the emission of toxic pollutants into the environment, the contamination of air, soils and water by heavy metals and organic xenobiotics is still a serious problem. This has urged many scientists around the world to undertake research that aims to find effective methods of removing pollutants from the environment. Special attention is paid to biological methods, which, thanks to their numerous advantages, meet the expectations of the whole society. As part of the Special Issue "Study of Biodegradation and Bioremediation", in the MDPI journal Processes, several valuable articles have been published, which together form a picture of the current state of advanced research on the effective fight against environmental pollution. These include papers on the biodegradation of petroleum compounds or synthetic dyes by microorganisms or the enzymes they produce. In addition, the Special Issue includes papers on the bioremediation of dangerous heavy metals such as mercury and copper, and the results make a valuable contribution to our current state of knowledge on this topic. A separate and valuable part of this collection of publications are review articles devoted to the remediation of antineoplastic drugs, as well as the hopes and challenges connected with the application of nanotechnology in bioremediation. We are pleased that so many researchers from different parts of the world have submitted their articles on this topic. We are very grateful to them. We hope that readers of this collection will find many interesting ideas and relevant information that will lead to new solutions in the bioremediation and biodegradation of emerging environmental contaminants. Prof. Ewa Kaczorek Dr. Wojciech Smułek

Summary: This book is a compilation of articles published in the Special Issue "Sensory and Consumer Research for a Sustainable Food System" of the journal Foods. The compilation includes 18 original research articles, 2 review articles, and 1 editorial. The articles show how sensory and consumer research can contribute to the development of a sustainable food system.

Summary: Many people live in rural areas in tropical regions. Rural development is not merely a contribution to the growth of individual countries. It can be a way to reduce poverty and to increase access to water, health care, and education. Sustainable rural development can also help stop deforestation and reduce livestock, which generate most of the greenhouse gas emissions. However, efforts to achieve a sustainable rural development are often thwarted by floods, drought, heat waves, and hurricanes, which local communities are not very prepared to tackle. Agricultural practices and local planning are still not very risk-informed. These deficiencies are particularly acute in tropical regions, where many Least Developed Countries are located and where there is, however, great potential for rural development. This Special Issue contains 22 studies on best practices for risk awareness; on local risk reduction; on several cases of soil depletion, water pollution, and sustainable access to safe water; and on agronomy, earth sciences, ecology, economy, environmental engineering, geomatics, materials science, and spatial and regional planning in 12 tropical countries.

Summary: Rural areas have a very important role in society and the economy. They provide residence and employment and also serve as recreational sites, enabling visitors to enjoy unspoiled nature. Rural areas not only supply raw materials and products, but they also provide space for other functions. Spatial planning has a very important role in the process of rural space modeling. It is also important to study local and external conditions. A rural development framework can be proposed based on an evaluation of the observed phenomena. The following list provides some examples of topics of interest to ensure the consistency of the papers in this Special Issue: - Spatial planning;- Spatial order;- Institutional efficiency;- Spatial, financial, and environmental effects of planning studies;- The urbanization of rural areas;- Town-village relationships;- Social, cultural, economic, environmental, and spatial aspects of rural development. Dynamically growing new technologies (e.g., multi-criteria methods and GIS tools) are gaining popularity worldwide as tools for use in spatial analysis. This Special Issue focuses on the practice and theory of the application of modern technologies in rural space modeling and rural area development planning.The monograph includes papers on contemporary research directions on rural space modeling in areas such as spatial planning, spatial order, spatial-temporal analysis, land use change, environmental aspects, etc. The integration of different data, GIS tools and modeling can provide valuable support for rural space modeling and decision making.

Summary: The synthesis of enantiopure organic compounds is a key issue for several applications in pharmacology, food chemistry, agricultural chemistry, perfumery, materials science and other industrial sectors. Nowadays, asymmetric catalysis is undoubtedly the most important tool to achieve this goal. This technology, in fact, enables the production of large amounts of enantiomerically enriched compounds, employing relatively small quantities of chiral enantiopure catalysts, which is exactly what is accomplished by enzymes in nature. Since the pioneering works of Noyori, Knowles and Sharpless, which later earned them the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, asymmetric catalysis has experienced a rapid and relentless development in the last fifty years. The tremendous expansion of enantioselective transformations, the design of novel and more efficient organometallic and organic catalysts, the development of sophisticated bioreactors and cell factories, are just some of the elements responsible for such growth. However, new challenges of asymmetric catalysis are devoted to enhancing the process's sustainability, by the introduction of recyclable and low-cost catalysts, and the use of renewable starting materials and energy source. This book provides an overview of some of these development directions and comprises a collection of review papers and a research article authored by renowned researchers actively involved in this field. The topics covered by the review papers are photoredox-catalyzed reactions of imines, asymmetric catalytic electrosynthesis, cooperative catalysis of chiral N-heterocyclic carbenes and Lewis acid, and asymmetric ring-opening reactions of epoxides catalyzed by metal-salen complexes. The research article presents a proline-catalyzed aldol reaction in water-methanol solvent mixture.

Summary: This Special Issue collected original contributions, both research papers and reviews, showing recent results and/or positive advances in the behavior of new sustainable bio-materials under applied mechanical stress, both in static and dynamic mode, and evaluating the characteristics of resistance, moduli and/or viscoelasticity, in view of potential applications, such as tissue engineering, medical devices, surgical or dental implants, manufacturing of human parts, agriculture, packaging, textiles, electronics, automotive and aerospace, green buildings, and architecture and construction.

Summary: This book deals with sustainable agriculture at a time of climate change. It seeks to identify a number of solutions to deal with the agricultural stresses caused by climate change. These range from the identification and cultivation of appropriate crop varieties and the adoption of climate adaptive agricultural practices. Significant sustainable agricultural innovation is required to deal with these challenges. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) may be of crucial importance for modern agriculture. They serve to make R&D in agriculture attractive, by encouraging investment in new technologies and generating tradeable assets. A number of the chapters of this book refer to the principal IPRs relevant to agricultural innovation, namely: (i) patents, which protect inventions; (ii) plant variety rights, which protect the breeding of new and distinct plant varieties; and (iii) trademarks and geographical indications, which facilitate the marketing of products by providing protection for the symbols of their manufacturing or geographic origin. The United Nations Climate Change Panel has urged the consideration of the agricultural practices of traditional communities and some of these practices particularly involving rice, banana, and brassica cultivation are explored in the book. This book is essential reading for officials of governments and international organizations concerned with sustainability, as well as scholars and students concerned with these subjects

Summary: This book collects fifteen papers published in s Special Issue of Mathematics titled "Fuzzy Sets in Business Management, Finance, and Economics", which was published in 2021. These paper cover a wide range of different tools from Fuzzy Set Theory and applications in many areas of Business Management and other connected fields. Specifically, this book contains applications of such instruments as, among others, Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Neuro-Fuzzy Methods, the Forgotten Effects Algorithm, Expertons Theory, Fuzzy Markov Chains, Fuzzy Arithmetic, Decision Making with OWA Operators and Pythagorean Aggregation Operators, Fuzzy Pattern Recognition, and Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets. The papers in this book tackle a wide variety of problems in areas such as strategic management, sustainable decisions by firms and public organisms, tourism management, accounting and auditing, macroeconomic modelling, the evaluation of public organizations and universities, and actuarial modelling. We hope that this book will be useful not only for business managers, public decision-makers, and researchers in the specific fields of business management, finance, and economics but also in the broader areas of soft mathematics in social sciences. Practitioners will find methods and ideas that could be fruitful in current management issues. Scholars will find novel developments that may inspire further applications in the social sciences.

Summary: This book focuses on the analysis, design and implementation of future smart grid systems. This book contains eleven chapters, which were originally published after rigorous peer-review as a Special Issue in the International Journal of Energies (Basel). The chapters cover a range of work from authors across the globe and present both the state-of-the-art and emerging paradigms across a range of topics including sustainability planning, regulations and policy, estimation and situational awareness, energy forecasting, control and optimization and decentralisation. This book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and scholars working in areas related to future smart grid systems.

Summary: Providing the security of a broad-based energy and slowing the speed of climate change are the main challenges today of the basic of legal framework to stimulate the development of alternative energy sources. Energy from renewable sources is one part of the system, which not only enables to provide energy self-sufficiency, but also contributes to the reduction heating of the Earth's atmosphere. International climate agreements indicate the need to intensify the prevention of global warming and accelerate the reduction in CO2 emissions. The implementation of such challenging plans as outlined in the European Green Deal or "Fit for 55," among others, entails the almost complete elimination of GHG emissions in the energy sector, which can be very challenging for some member states. In the EU, the preferred direction of development of RES use is distributed generation and increasing the share of the use of by-products and organic waste for the production biofuels. This creates great opportunities for rural areas, which until the last century were identified with agriculture and the production of food or raw materials. While the role of agriculture will not diminish, as incomes are rising in relatively poor countries with a high elasticity of demand for food, these areas will increasingly perform a number of other important functions as well. The production of energy raw materials and energy, which is no longer a mere idea, but is becoming, thanks to the development of new technologies, a mainstream energy sector that can make contribution to improving energy security and achieving climate neutrality.

Summary: This reprint collects works which stimulate and spread the latest knowledge on energy in construction and building materials, providing the basis for new ideas on various topics for young investigators as well as leading experts in the field of Materials Science and Engineering. The collection features fifteen research papers and one review study. The main research aim covers the topic of thermal energy storage in construction and building components.

Summary: Energy and the environment are irrevocably interrelated, and they are critical factors that influence the development of societies. The pollution of the environment without considering various consequences has become one of the most important global issues today. This environmental pollution is mainly the result of increases in economic activities, population, transportation, electricity generation, agriculture, forestry, and land use. The exigency of energy for these activities, the rapidly rising price of petroleum oil, the harmful effect of greenhouse gases, and the quest for energy security have steered our attention towards sustainable sources of energy. It is fundamental to find innovative solutions that are sustainable from the perspective of energy management and environmental protection. This book includes three review articles which review the state-of-the-art of different sustainable energy resources. These articles include ammonia as a renewable energy carrier, integration of solar photovoltaic, and bio-oil from waste tires for automotive engine application. In addition, eight research studies reveal new knowledge about energy for a sustainable future. The topics covered span many diverse areas associated with sustainable energy, including various biofuels, photovoltaic, and other aspects of sustainability. These complementary contributions provide a substantial body of knowledge in the field of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

Summary: Climate change is increasing due to the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases. The majority of these are due to the production and consumption of energy. According to the latest estimates, global energy demand could triple by 2050, and by then, 70% of the world's population will live in cities. The challenge for future cities is the implementation of a mechanism that minimizes the need for injection of new energy resources in them, so that a high level of self-sufficiency can be achieved through the concept of circular economy, thus partially mitigating the impacts of climate change. Using solar energy today is considered to be one of the best solutions that can be installed in buildings to help with this issue. This book addresses several relevant aspects related to energy saving at cities, including a deep survey of research topics and scientific collaborations in energy saving. The main research topics carried out are related to sustainability, solar energy, the use of rooftops for energy generation, energy conversion from urban biomass or residues, wind energy, and public and private urban energy saving.

Summary: This book focuses on the much-needed efforts to design sustainable, well-being-oriented economies, based on appropriate energy use in all sectors of a country´s development. Carbon neutrality, energy efficiency and effectiveness, renewable energies, circular economy strategies, environmental consequences of energy use, engagement and empowerment of local communities in decision making, energy and environmental impacts of consumer behavior, and finally science-based approaches towards sustainable production and consumption are the main focus of the research activities described within this book. An effort to go beyond energy scarcity, to promote energy communities, to explore new technologies, and overall, to understand and address the population-lifestyle-energy nexus towards increased and shared well-being is the final result jointly provided by the book authors. All in all, the aim is for the book to be the starting point of a deeper research and understanding of the importance of a radical improvement in energy use in society, beyond considering energy as just a resource in the world market. Circular economy aspects are also investigated, showing the energy saving potential associated with the appropriate design and recovery of material resources.

Summary: The provision of affordable housing for low-income households is a very complex issue that has long been debated in many countries around the world. Social housing (SH) is one of the tools for achieving fairness, social sustainability, and economic feasibility, and it is interrelated with politics, ethics, and economics, as well as the environment, architecture, and technology. In other words, national and local policies, as well as public and private financial resources, are all needed to provide SH.SH also involves social and urban transformations and is, consequently, linked to urban planning and redevelopment projects, real estate market dynamics, and cooperation between public and private stakeholders. Furthermore, decision-making on SH policies and projects has to be supported by assessments of economic feasibility and social and environmental sustainability.This volume presents studies on various topics to recompose the multi-faceted subjects of social housing within a unified framework.

Summary: Children today face significant challenges in response to living in a globalised world and the impact of environmental threats to the planet. As such, there is an increasing need for schools to have a global perspective and to cultivate a critical sense of environmental and social responsibility in students. Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in schools is frequently promoted as a route to achieving this, as it has the potential to empower learners to develop the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills, or competences to respond to the complex socio-environmental issues. However, there remains a general lack of pedagogical consensus as to how to teach either about or for ESE within school contexts.To develop effective ESE pedagogies, some educators look to transformative learning theory to encourage learners to move beyond the simple acquisition of knowledge to a change in worldview which not only affects their deeper level of understanding but, importantly for ESE, builds their capacity to think critically and plays an active role in providing a sustainable transformation of society. This book explores the pedagogy and practice of ESE, particularly focus on transformative pedagogies. Exploring themes including the attitudes of the teachers who are implementing transformative pedagogies, the tensions and emotional loads that teachers experience when seeking to develop their professional identity in the context of ESE, and how learning through ESE-informed practice involves and is intimately connected with emotions, this book will be of significant value for researchers and practitioners globally looking to develop transformative ESE practice.