| 1. |
- Nikulina, Varvara, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Planning transport futures. Backcasting vs forecasting.
- 2016
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Ingår i: The 7th International Sustainability Transitions (IST) Conference. Wuppertal, Germany, 6-9 September 2016.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A quarter of the energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) originate from the transportation sector. Continuously increasing demand for transportation services worldwide is one of the main present-day urban challenges. One way to address this issue is to develop an integrated transportation system that can ensure confidence and comfort for the passengers. This will contribute not only to the customers’ experience, but also to operators and authorities through sustainable, cost effective and profitable services. Conversely, the lack of such a system or a poorly managed system prevents the economy and society from realizing its potential. In transition towards sustainability the planning process of complex systems such as transportation, often requires supportive tools and methods. The example of those is futures methodologies that assist decision making by providing information about possible futures. In the rapidly changing environment of the modern cities, forecasting tools do not always provide the expected outcomes since it is difficult to predict all the unexpected events. Therefore, there is a demand for alternative methods that not only grasp the constant changes, but also create additional value (for example, meeting the needs of multisectoral collaboration and creation of common vision). The present article investigates the usefulness of backcasting methodology in the planning process of the bus park and railway station in Kisumu, Kenya and Centralen in Gothenburg, Sweden compared to the standard forecasting methodologies. The paper’s contribution is a description of the Kenyan transportation system (which has not been studied in detail before), planning process and pertinent issues related to the stations both in Kisumu and Gothenburg. Based on the sharply contrasting contexts of global South and global North determined through field studies, interviews and feasibility study of futures methodologies, the paper concludes that backcasting is the most suitable methodology for both places rather than alternative approaches such as foresighting and SymbioCity, since it can be applied on the small scale, provides creative solutions and has a high level of integration of stakeholders.
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| 2. |
- Boons, Frank, et al.
(författare)
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Comparing industrial symbiosis in Europe : towards a conceptual framework and research methodology
- 2015
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Ingår i: International perspectives on industrial ecology. - Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing. - 9781781003565 - 9781781003572 ; , s. 69-88
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Industrial symbiosis (IS) continues to raise the interest of researchers and practitioners alike. Individual and haphazard attempts to increase linkages among co-located firms have been complemented by concerted efforts to stimulate the development of industrial regions with intensified resource exchanges that reduce environmental impact. Additionally, there are examples of both spontaneous and facilitated linkages between two or more firms involving flows of materials/energy waste. A striking feature of IS activities is that they are found across diverse social contexts and vary considerably in form (Lombardi et al., 2012); there are substantial differences in the ways in which IS manifests itself. Equally diverse are the activities of policy makers to stimulate such linkages. Such diversity can already be found within Europe, as became apparent in a first meeting among some of the present authors in 2009 (Isenmann and Chernykh, 2009). Researchers present there decided to create a network of European researchers on IS, with the explicit aim to develop a comparative analysis. We can thus provide insight to the relationship between the style of IS and its context and thereby the potential for policy makers in different contexts to learn from each other. Policy learning can be a tempting route to IS, but is fraught with difficulties if the influence of context is not appreciated (e.g., Wang et al., Chapter 6, this volume).
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| 3. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Det specifika med miljösystemanalysen
- 1999
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sammanfattning av diskussion om vad forskning i ämnet miljösystemanalys innebär och innefattar.
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| 4. |
- Lindkvist, Mathias, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Complementing LCA with qualitative organisational study for improving waste management governance – illustrated by a comparative case on metal packaging
- 2016
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Ingår i: Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization, Cetraro, Calabria, Italy, 5-10 June 2016.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We here present a novel method that combines the life cycle approach with qualitative organisational study for environmentally effective waste management. While LCA is useful for producing a systems overview of the environmental performance, it does not provide further guidance on systems management since the actors and activities that uphold them are not systematically studied. The human dimension is particularly manifest in waste management where many types of actors (private, public, consumers, legislators, sector organisations) interact in complex ways.Our method, with which we study Product Chain Organisation (PCO), is designed to complement LCA. Descriptions and accounts of actors interacting and communicating in the product chain provide a basis for understanding how actions influence overall environmental performance. The method is thoroughly grounded in a socio-material approach well established in the social sciences and the humanities. The socio-material approach considers human organisation to be intimately entangled with material flows, machines, buildings, the environment, etc, and that they all influence each other.We illustrate our method through a comparative study of metal packaging flows in Sweden (SE) and the Netherlands (NL). We first created an overarching understanding of the organisation of different waste management options and their environmental performance. Several field research methods were employed (interviews, field visits, document studies). The empirical material was used to make descriptions of conditions and practices in the product chain in the respective countries. As both a result and a stepping-stone for further analysis and understanding, we produced an overview combining technical, environmental, and organisational aspects (simplified version in Figure 1). Next, we identified a number of situations where management has a significant influence on life cycle environmental performance, for example, where disagreement between public and private actors blocks change, and organisational sources to unreliable data and statistical methods. The study identified that data transparency is low for both countries, but for somewhat different reasons. Further study of organisational practices in the Swedish recycling system and data collection and statistical practices in the Dutch recycling system could be useful. This makes the statistics for SE and NL not readily comparable.mineral miningmetal productionpackaging production: SE & NL: Producers and importers of packaged products have considerable freedom for how to reach EU and national recycling targets. Fees are included in product prices to cover costs of recycling systems.filling, distribution & use: SE: 7 kg/cap (2011). NL: 12 kg/cap (2011).metal packaging waste collection: SE: Source separation. Organised and carried out by several organisations, with different organisation for household and business waste, respectively. NL: Metal separation from municipal incineration ashes for household waste; source separation for business waste. Nedvang, which represents all Dutch producers and importers of packaged products, oversees and organises packaging waste collection and recycling.recycling and other waste mgt: Recycling rates for SE & NL are not readily comparable owing to different methods and data choices. SE: 75% reported to be recycled, but monitoring is incomplete. Discussions to recover metal from incineration ashes have stalled. NL: 91% reported to be recycled. Recycling statistics by Nedvang; estimation methods change over time. Conflict about fees being siphoned to cover budget deficits.Figure 1: Simplified findings for metal packaging waste management in Sweden and the Netherlands.Our case study illustrates how the method by not being limited to LCA study can be used to produce a realistic understanding of even complex systems, such as waste management. It produces accounts that enable the understanding needed for informed action as well as identifies socio-material sources to data uncertainties that hide behind the figures in official statistics and sustainability reports.
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| 5. |
- Nikulina, Varvara, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Context-Adapted Urban Planning for Rapid Transitioning of Personal Mobility towards Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review
- 2019
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - Basel : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 11:4, s. 1007-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sustainability related challenges in mobility planning have been recognised at the international level, and the urgency for change has been widely discussed among scholars. However, there seems to be no general agreement on the best ways to pursue such change. To seek answers to the question of how to pursue change, this study analysed the development of the broad research fields of mobility, urban planning and transitions, and the overlap of these bodies of literature. Both academic and non-academic literatures were covered. By means of a systematic literature review, as well as bibliometric studies, several prominent research themes that address change from planning and transition perspectives were identified. Moreover, these themes describe different viewpoints and challenges in mobility planning. These include planning and policy for sustainable mobility and accessibility, backcasting and scenario planning, indicators in planning, modes of transport, decision-making, studies of global North and global South, as well as overarching themes of equity, equality and justice, roles of institutions, and co-production of knowledge. Strategies for staying up to date with these fields were also identified. In the literature covered, the temporal dimension in mobility planning was described in four different ways, but little was found about how accelerated transitions towards sustainable mobility can be achieved. Further knowledge gaps were identified in relation to behavioural change, policy development, institutionalisation of planning capacity, and social sustainability in mobility planning. This created an outline for possible future studies.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Brunklaus, Birgit, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Managing Stakeholders or the Environment? : The Challenge of Relating Indicators in Practice
- 2008
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Ingår i: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. - : Wiley. - 1535-3958 .- 1535-3966. ; 16:1, s. 27-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many organizations present their environmental work in the form of annual reports and use the indicators in them for follow-up. However, internal communication and management is needed for environmental improvements. The indicators found in reports may be suitable for external communication, but are they also suitable internally and operationally? This article reviews the existing literature on environmental indicators. With the help of an operational approach, from organisation theory, and a life-cycle approach, indicators are analysed. The analysis shows that formulating indicators for internal management is not an easy task; available guidelines are of little help. It is concluded that the environment can be managed internally by relating indicators. Therefore, an additional set of indicators for internal management and a wider responsibility for the life cycle are recommended. The analysis and recommendations are illustrated with examples drawn from the field of property management.
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| 8. |
- Glass, Jacqueline, et al.
(författare)
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Future use of life-cycle assessment in civil engineering
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Construction Materials. - : Thomas Telford Ltd.. - 1747-650X .- 1747-6518. ; 166:4, s. 204-212
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A LimesNet mission to Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, is reported in this paper. The aim of the mission was to explore new ways of exploiting the untapped potential of life-cycle assessment, its application in the civil engineering and construction industries and, specifically, to debate the associated trade-off decisions for reinforced concrete structures (buildings and civil engineering). Life-cycle assessment is an important tool in sustainable design; engineers need robust life-cycle assessment data and must balance this with operational performance considerations (e.g. energy consumption, durability). Through the mission it was clear that much could be learned from the Swedish experience. The UK team noted the importance of life-cycle assessment studies which allow building performance and construction products to be benchmarked and the role of emerging European standards (e.g. product category rules for construction and the development of environmental product declarations). Valuable lessons exist for consulting engineers and materials manufacturers, and there is a need for the greater inclusion of life-cycle assessment skills in the civil engineering education curriculum.
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| 9. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond a Corporate Social Responsibility Context Towards Methodological Pluralism in Social Life Cycle Assessment: Exploring Alternative Social Theoretical Perspectives
- 2020
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Ingår i: Perspectives on Social LCA : Contributions from the 6th International Conference. - 9783030065645 ; , s. 53-64
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The UNEP/SETAC guidelines have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the underpinning theoretical perspective. However, studies on CSR suggest that the companies have benefitted more than society. We explore two alternative theoretical perspectives: the theory of ecologically unequal exchange (TEUE) and the actor-network-theory (ANT). By analysing case studies informed by TEUE and ANT, we identify their contribution to social life cycle assessment. The analysis shows that the perspectives enable description and identification of issues otherwise uncovered by the UNEP/SETAC approach: the unequal balance of health effects over a production and a consumption system and the presence of multiple and sometimes conflicting interests across actors in a production and consumption system, respectively. We point out characteristic methodological differences and conclude that S-LCA would benefit from greater pluralism.
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| 10. |
- Lindkvist, Mathias, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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The influence of organisational practices on environmental performance: A screening of the organising of nodes in product life cycles in six test cases
- 2015
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the here reported on project, we have screened relations between product life cycle environmental performance and organising traced from technical processes that are nodes by having central roles in these cycles. Thereby, we have aimed both to further an already introduced method for this type of study by introducing an approach that is quicker to use than the thorough design previously deployed and to test it on a broader range of empirical domains.The method used combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and organisational studies, which are coherently integrated with each other using particularly the socio-material approaches actor-network theory (ANT) and action nets. The screening approach was applied to six test cases that covered six different types of services and physical commodities, and for each of these six comparisons have been performed between the organising traced empirically from at least three different nodes and their product life cycles environmental performance. The cases have covered the products and nodes listed in table S.1, further on in this summary.The test case on properties management was based on existing publications on a thorough study using the combination of LCA and organisational studies, while the other five test cases were performed as screenings applying this combination approach for the first time.A large number of practices of this organising have been indicated potentially to considerably influence product life cycle environmental performance. These organisational practices have been indicated to vary considerably between different activities both regarding the practices themselves and regarding the discernibility of their relations to each other and of their influence on environmental performance. The approach used in the project necessarily has limitations due to its screening characteristic, but these can be seen as prerequisites both for identifying the large number of organisational practices with indicated large influence on environmental performance and for reaching the overarching indications made through the project.However, even if no direct quantitative environmental differences were possible and feasible to present, the screening has at least shown that the environmental performances of the studied product life cycles seemed considerably to depend on organisational practices through not straightforward interplays between organising, technology and materials and energy processes. These organisational practices include the examples presented in Table S.2, further on in this summary.Table S.2:Bowling:Ceasing of business or not,Lunch provision or not,Additional games and similar activities degrees;Bread:Supply transport distance,Bread thickness and baking,Overproduction;Bus travel on intercity routes:Eco-driving training and discussions degrees,Number of routes served by the ticket offices,Seats organisation differences on the buses;Cement:Production permits renewal procedure differences,Production permit expiration criteria differences,Organisational practices for handling technical problems at and operation of the plant differences;Properties management:Types of windows related to the handling of cultural heritage requirements,Water taps replacement related to renovation and emergencies, system knowledge and operation and maintenance differences,Insulation differences due to fire protection differences;Road management (operation and routine maintenance of roads):Renewal or not of procurement contracts,Centralisation of contractors activities,Fragmentation of procurement governance.Regarding overall usefulness of screening and thorough nodal LCA organisation studies, respectively, generally the screenings were found to be considerably useful but instead performing thorough studies was indicated to provide considerable additional usefulness although the level and type of this addition were generally found to be difficult to predict. In relation to this, the results have also been discussed regarding whether and if so how they may point towards more overarching ideas on considerable reductions of society’s environmental impacts. This has covered internally driven environmental work within the organising connected to and along product life cycles, substantial amounts of assistance in such work from external experts, and an approach to focus of with a global coverage letting the local activities where the environmentally impacting resource use and emissions occur be monetary targeted. The actual feasibility of each of these approaches, however, have been found to be more or less limited and a uniting requirement seem to be a considerable pressure from the public. Finally, even if such considerable undertakings are made the project here reported on suggests that the environmental effects of a considerable share of actions still may not be possible or feasible to foresee.
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