| 1. |
- Elnour, Mugahid, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of a retail store aquaponic system in a cold-weather region
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Sustainability. - Stockholm : Frontiers Media SA. - 2673-4524. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alternative food production technologies are being developed to meet the global increase in population and demand for a more sustainable food supply. Aquaponics, a combined method of vegetable and fish production, is an emerging technology that is widely regarded as sustainable. Yet, there has been limited research on its environmental performance, especially at a commercial scale. In this study, life cycle analysis (LCA) was used to assess the environmental impacts of food produced by an urban commercial aquaponic system located next to a retail store in a cold-weather region (Östersund, Sweden). The functional unit (FU) used is 1 kg of fresh produce, which includes cucumber (Cucumis sativus), tomatoes (Solanum Lycopersicum), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The system boundary is set from cradle to farm or retailer's gate due to the proximity of the aquaponic system to the retail store. Results were reported employing eight environmental impact categories, including global warming potential (GWP), marine eutrophication (MEU), and cumulative energy demand (CED). According to contribution analysis, the main hotspots of the system are electricity, CO2 enrichment, and heating. Potential areas to mitigate the impact of these parameters were highlighted in this study, including the establishment of symbiotic links to utilize urban waste and by-products. The impact per vegetable or fish produced was partitioned using energy and economic allocation and compared to other common cultivation methods. The yearly harvest from the aquaponic system was also compared to importing these food items from other European countries which showed lower annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the aquaponic system.
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| 2. |
- Fagerholm, Anna-Sara, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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What a Waste – A norm-critical study on how waste is understood and managed through integrating perspectives
- 2022
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Ingår i: Book of Abstracts – The 28th Annual Conference, International Sustainable Development Research Society “Sustainable Development and Courage. Culture, Art and Human Rights” 15-17 june 2022. ; , s. 252-253
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In previous research waste is described as a design flaw, as the processes that generate waste are a result of poor design (Anastas & Zimmerman, 2006; Ordónez, 2017). Ekberg (2009) points out that waste is what is left behind when imagination fails and this also reflects a reconsidering of waste as resources if given another context. In a globalized world with international trade, there is a greater range of products on the market and the amount of waste is constantly increasing (Avfall Sverige, 2021). A challenge is therefore to reduce the amount of waste. De Laney (2018) points out that there is a huge opportunity to reduce landfill waste and improve consumer habits through design. In this process, we must learn to include new and more inclusive ways of thinking and acting that support long-term social sustainability through design (Wikberg Nilsson & Jahnke, 2018). More than forty years ago, Dilnot (1982) emphasized that through design, we humans give shape, direction and meaning to our individual and collective existence in the world. Today, there are different design solutions for household waste and recycling and Vollaard and van Soest (2020) argue that reducing unsorted waste normally requires little in the way of capital investment beyond buying a set of in-home recycling bins. Although, many times consumers aren´t aware of the impact of their disposal decisions and many facilities for local waste disposal and recycling have processes that are unique to them that could cause confusion (De Laney, 2018). In accordance, we must find a way to get consumers to care and to motivate a change in habits. The research question of this study is how waste is understood and managed and this is explored through a case study with a local housing company and waste management company, interested in improving waste sorting. In order to answer the research question, interviews are conducted with people living in the specific buildings belonging to the housing company, respondents from the local housing company and the waste management company and results are presented on perceptions of waste and what the barriers are to improve waste sorting. This is complemented by a literature review to provide a better understanding of research through design for a sustainable behavior related to waste. This paper presents a norm-critical aspect on universal design and waste in a collaborative research project with the objective of creating more inclusive solutions for waste systems. The overall ambition of this study is to build on knowledge of the role of design as an activity of shaping the human surroundings and as an expression of the culture to which it belongs (Skjerven & Reitan, 2018). The study is related to global goal number 2.5: by 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
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| 3. |
- Haller, Henrik, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Restoration & Liability Duties for Environmental Damages "from the past"? : The interplay of EU’s environmental liability, habitat & birds directives and Swedish fiber banks
- 2022
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Ingår i: PROCEEDINGS of the 28th Annual Conference, International Sustainable Development Research Society. - Stockholm : Södertörns högskola. - 9789189504172 ; , s. 1261-1261
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The contribution concerns Directives of the European Union related to environmental liability and the restoration of environmental damages caused by Fiber Banks in Swedish coastal waters. Fiberbanks and fiber-rich sediments are legacies of the previously unregulated wastewater discharge from the pulp and paper industry. Large quantities of this toxic waste material have accumulated in the Baltic Sea floor and on the bottom of rivers and lakes. The Environmental Liability Directive, the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive of the EU addresses the liability against and restoration of damages of soil, water and biological diversity. The contribution aims to identify – based on the first results of an ongoing project -the potential to establish a liability for restoration measures also for cases of ongoing damages even if the discharges have been lawfully emitted prior to the release of these Directives. An in-depth literature review is applied as well as hermeneutic methods, such as comparative legal analyses and different types of text interpretation (e.g. historic, wording, rational).The results show the kind of scientific evidence that exists for negative causal effects by Fiber Banks on soil, water and biological diversity respectively. Furthermore, the legal framework as well as the related judgement at EU-level will be presented which are relevant to establish the duty to restore and the liability of particular stakeholders to do so. Finally, first answers to questions about the level of evidence required to establish causality of negative effects by Fiber Banks as well as to questions about the burden of proof in such procedures will be presented.The first results on this ongoing project show based on Swedish costal Fiber Banks the high potential of the interplay among the three Directives to effectively mitigate even past and ongoing environmental damages that have their origin in a time prior to the entering into force of these Directives. Such an institutional interplay can provide a blueprint for other restoration activities beyond the case study presented, in wider EU and globally. The presentation has its focus on SDG 16 as it particular guides SDG 16.3. “16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all” as well as 15.5 “Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species”. It relates to the conference topic through its call for liability for and restoration of environmental damages that have been caused by past human culture of ignoring nature.
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| 4. |
- Haller, Henrik, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Towards a Resilient and Resource-Efficient Local Food System Based on Industrial Symbiosis in Härnösand : A Swedish Case Study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 14:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The endeavour to align the goals of the Swedish food strategy with the national environmental quality objectives and the 17 global SDGs, presents an extraordinary challenge that calls forsystemic innovation. Industrial symbiosis can potentially provide the means for increasing sustainable food production, using locally subexploited resources that can reduce the need for land, agro-chemicals, transport and energy. This case study of the municipality of Härnösand, aims to assess opportunities and challenges for using waste flows and by-products for local food production, facilitated by industrial symbiosis. A potential symbiotic network was developed during three workshops with the main stakeholders in Härnösand. The potential of the COVID-19 pandemic to instigate policy changes, behavioural changes and formation of new alliances that may catalyse the transition towards food systems based on industrial symbiosis is discussed. The material flow inventory revealed that many under exploited resource flows were present in quantities that rendered them commercially interesting. Resources that can be used for innovative food production include, e.g., lignocellulosic residues, rock dust, and food processing waste. The internalised drive among local companies interested in industrial symbiosis and the emerging symbiotic relations, provide a fertile ground for the establishment of a local network that can process the subexploited material flows. Although there are multiple challenges for an industrial symbiosis network to form in Härnösand, this study shows that there is a significant potential to create added value from the region’s many resources while at the same time making the food system more sustainable and resilient, by expanding industrial symbiosis practices.
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| 5. |
- Kåresdotter, Elisie, et al.
(författare)
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Modeling the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Multifunctional Agroforestry-Based Phytoremediation (MAP) Systems in Chinandega, Nicaragua
- 2022
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 14:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global sustainability challenges associated with increasing resource demands from a growing population call for resource-efficient land-use strategies that address multiple sustainability issues. Multifunctional agroforestry-based phytoremediation (MAP) is one such strategy that can simultaneously capture carbon, decontaminate soils, and provide diverse incomes for local farmers. Chinandega, Nicaragua, is a densely populated agricultural region with heavily polluted soils. Four different MAP systems scenarios relevant to Chinandega were created and carbon sequestration potentials were calculated using CO2FIX. All scenarios showed the potential to store significantly more carbon than conventional farming practices, ranging from 2.5 to 8.0 Mg CO2eq ha−1 yr−1. Overall, carbon sequestration in crops is relatively small, but results in increased soil organic carbon (SOC), especially in perennials, and the combination of crops and trees provide higher carbon sequestration rates than monoculture. Changes in SOC are crucial for long-term carbon sequestration, here ranging between 0.4 and 0.9 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, with the most given in scenario 4, an alley cropping system with pollarded trees with prunings used as green mulch. The adoption rate of multifunctional strategies providing both commodity and non-commodity outputs, such as carbon sequestration, would likely increase if phytoremediation is included. Well-designed MAP systems could help reduce land-use conflicts, provide healthier soil, act as climate change mitigation, and have positive impacts on local health and economies.
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