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- Aid, Graham, 1980-
(författare)
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Industrial Ecology Methods within Engagement Processes for Industrial Resource Management
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The global use of resources such as materials, energy, and water has surpassed sustainable levels by many accounts. The research presented here was explicitly normative in its aim to improve the understanding of, and make sustainable change toward highly systemic issues of resource management. The core methods chosen to work toward this aim were bottom up action research procedures (including stakeholder engagement processes) and industrial ecology analysis tools. These methods were employed and tested in pragmatic combination through two of the author’s case study projects. The first case study, performed between 2009 and 2012, employed a multi-stakeholder process aimed at improving the cycling of construction and demolition waste in the Stockholm region. The second case study produced a strategic tool (Looplocal) built for facilitating more efficient regional industrial resource networks. While the highly participative aim of the cases required a larger contribution of resources than that of more closed studies, it is arguable that the efficacy of approaching the project aims is improved through their employment.
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| 2. |
- Brandt, Nils, et al.
(författare)
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Referensscenario för utsläpp av växthusgaser i Stockholms stad fram till 2015
- 2007
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Uppföljningen av Stockholms stads handlingsprogram visade att Stockholms stads utsläpp av växthusgaser sjönk mellan 2000-2005 så att man nådde sitt mål att gå från 4,5 ton CO2-ekv.per capita år 2000 till 4,0 ton CO2-ekv. år 2005. Stockholms stads arbete för att ytterliggare minska växthusgasutsläppen fortsätter i och med det uppdrag Miljöförvaltningen fick av Miljö- och fastighetsborgarrådet Ulla Hamilton om att undersöka hur utsläppen av växthusgaser kan sjunka till 3,5 ton CO2-ekv. respektive 3,0 ton CO2-ekv. per capita år 2015. Denna rapport är ett underlag till Miljöförvaltningens arbete och utlåtande i frågan. Rapporten presenterar ett business-as-usual-scenario över växthusgasutsläppen inom Stockholms stads kommungräns fram till 2015. Utsläpp från uppvärmningssektorn, elanvändningen och transportsektorn redovisas i scenariot. Scenariot omfattar inte utsläpp av stockholmarnas resande utanför kommungränsen t ex flygresor från Arlanda och Skavsta, ej heller omfattar scenariot utsläpp på grund av stockholmarnas konsumtion av varor och tjänster. Utsläppen av växthusgaser i denna rapport omfattar utsläpp av växthusgaserna koldioxid, metan och kvävedioxid samt så har utsläppen ett livscykelperspektiv. Referensscenariot visar att utsläppen av växthusgaser sjunker med ca 500 kton CO2-ekv. frånca 3 070 kton CO2-ekv. år 2005 till ca 2 580 kton CO2-ekv. år 2015. Det är en minskning om ca 16 %. Scenariot innefattar effekter ifrån återinförandet av trängselskatten samt FortumVärmes två nya kraftvärmeverk i Värtan och Brista. Exkluderas dessa effekter blir utsläppenår ca 340 kton högre år 2015 (dvs. totalt ca 2 900 ton CO2-ekv.). Uppvärmningssektorn minskar sina utsläpp av växthusgaser med ca 360 kton CO2-ekv. mellan 2005-2015 i scenariot. Med denna minskning sjunker uppvärmningssektorn sin andel av totala utsläppen från 45 % till 39 %. Utsläpp av växthusgaser från elanvändningen sjunker med ca 50 kton mellan 2005-2015. Trots att utsläppen minskar från elanvändningen ökar dess andel av totala växthusgasutsläppen i staden från 31 % till 34 %. Transportsektorn minskar sina utsläpp med ca 90 kton CO2-ekv. mellan 2005-2015 men ökar ändå sin andel av de totalautsläppen från 24 % till 26 % under samma tidsperiod. Med denna minskning av växthusgasutsläpp samt med en ökade befolkning under perioden 2005-2015 med ca 60 000 minskar utsläppen per capita från ca 4,0 ton CO2-ekv. år 2005 till ca 3,1 ton CO2-ekv. år 2015. För att nå Stockholms stads målnivå om 3,0 ton CO2-ekv. percapita behöver utsläppen totalt sett minska med ytterliggare 85 kton CO2-ekv. år 2015. Energianvändningen för uppvärmning och el ökar med ca 880 GWh mellan 2005-2015 (+ 6%) och vägtrafikarbetet i staden ökar med ca 336 miljoner fordonskilometer mellan 2005-2015 (+ 11 %).Två stora faktorer påverkar hur utsläppen av växthusgaser utvecklas fram till 2015; den nordiska elmixens bränslesammansättning och fjärrvärmens bränslesammansättning. Referensscenariot visar att av den totala minskningen av utsläppen mellan 2005-2015 om ca 500 kton beror ca 73 % (ca 360 kton) på Fortums nya kraftvärmeverk och konvertering till fjärrvärme. Tillsammans påverkar nordiska mixen och fjärrvärmen ca 60 % av de totalautsläppen år 2015. Känslighetsanalysen visar att en förändring av mixarna påverkar utsläppenså att utsläppen per capita år 2015 ökar till 3,4 ton CO2-ekv. jämfört med referensscenariot år 2015. Den stora minskningen av utsläppen sker inom uppvärmningssektorn vilket beror på stora tekniska investeringar i energisystemet men visar också på att nästa steg i utvecklingen för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser inte kommer vara lika enkel inom områdena transport och elanvändning.
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| 5. |
- Galli, Ester
(författare)
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Frame Analysis in Environmental Conflicts : The case of ethanol production in Brazil
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Governments and policy-makers are currently dealing with some key issues as energy security in countries dependent on oil imports; global economic development, including increased food production; and controlling global climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. The perception that biofuel could solve these challenges simultaneously has led to the implementation of policy and regulatory mechanisms on the mandatory use of biofuels, resulting in a sharp increase in biofuel production and consumption. Serious concerns about large-scale ethanol production have been raised regarding loss of biodiversity and competition for land between food and ethanol production. It is also suggested that sugarcane-based ethanol increases GHG emissions due to indirect land use change. Furthermore, sugarcane harvesting has been criticised for causing air pollution and bad working conditions for cutters. These criticisms have mostly been denied by Brazilian actors. This thesis seeks to clarify these divergent views and conflicts concerning Brazilian ethanol. It was carried out within a KTH research programme that uses frames in the analysis of conflicts emerging from the development and implementation of new technologies. Frame analysis can help improve understanding of such conflicts, which derive from differences in values, world views and beliefs and can be difficult to resolve. Frame analysis seeks to identify the particular factors determining the actions taken by different stakeholders, giving equal treatment to all actors. The results showed that the international views expressed in the media captured the attention of the public and policy-makers, and led them to frame ethanol as a destructive for nature fuel. The analysis identified that the ethanol as a threat to food security frame combined with the ethanol as a destructive for nature frame led the public and policy-makers to frame ethanol as a brown fuel. However, Brazilian actors frame ethanol differently: as a green and safe fuel. These differences have raised the conflicts that are analysed in this thesis. Furthermore, the analysis identified that the changes in the harvesting system, from manual to mechanised –besides decreasing air pollution- will cost the job of hundreds of thousands of cane cutters. Values and beliefs orientating such changes are analysed in the thesis.
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| 9. |
- Laurenti, Rafael, 1980-
(författare)
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Applications of Systems Thinking within the Sustainability Domain : Product Design, Product Systems and Stakeholder Perspectives
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Many of the sustainability challenges our society currently face have arisen as unanticipated side effects of our own modern developments. This thesis investigates if unintended consequences and perspectives are fully addressed by traditional methods for providing decision-making support within the sustainability domain. For that purpose, Systems Thinking is utilised in three cases: in the first, Systems Thinking is used to analyse sustainability issues relating to the current product design paradigm. In the second case, Systems Thinking is applied to two product systems – household washing machines and conventional passenger vehicles. The third case discusses different stakeholder perspectives in environmental decision-making and proposes a way to combine the ESA tools LCA, LCC and CBA in order to consider the different stakeholder perspectives. Results of the first case point out that the practices within the current design paradigm are focused on innovations and improvements in material and energy efficiency. These practices have led to the following unintended consequences: consumption rebound effects, increased waste, pollution, negative externalities, economic inequalities and other environmental and social negative impacts. These unintended consequences are represented in a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD). The diagram graphically illustrates how these unintended consequences influence one another and interact by means of cause-effect linkages and reinforcing feedback loops. A novel conceptual framework named Sustainability-Driven Systems-Oriented Design is proposed to work within broader system boundaries in order to address possible negative side effects that micro-level gains could have on macro-level losses. In the case of the two product systems, a CLD for household washing machines and conventional passenger vehicles is developed. The CLDs represent how selected variables interact by means of cause-effect associations to affect environmental impacts of the products. The CLD technique appears to be a useful way to connect quantitative assessment (from Life Cycle Assessment) with qualitative analysis (from Systems Thinking). In the third case it is argued that stakeholders tend to adopt different system boundaries and make assumptions according to their perspective when they use ESA tools in environmental decision-making. A way to combine ESA tools is suggested to facilitate the observation of the environmental decision from different viewpoints. It concludes, to some extent, that traditional methods for providing decision-making support can handle certain parameters that may result in unintended consequences. Systems Thinking may assist in the process of performing qualitative analyses of what is important to consider in order to strengthen the robustness of, and improve on the recommended actions from, quantitative detailed analyses.
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| 10. |
- Lazarevic, David
(författare)
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Life Cycle Thinking and Waste Policy : Between Science and Society
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study investigates the application of life cycle thinking (LCT) and life cycle assessment (LCA) in the field of waste management from perspectives based in the social sciences. LCT is explored through the theoretical construct of regimes, drawing theoretical resources from a combination of the ‘pragmatic turn’, the economics of conventions and transition theory.This work is based on eight papers treating theoretical arguments, qualitative and quantitative analysis, case studies and semi-structured interview data. LCT is placed in the context of contemporary societies. LCA is seen as an instrument of quantification and evaluation used by actors which have both similar and disparate objectives, and who offer justifications for its use through arguments embedded in conflicting pluralities of worth. Furthermore, this work analyses LCA as a tool for the qualification of the waste hierarchy; a waste management principle articulating a convention based on closed material cycles. This study argues that the technological trajectory of waste management regimes has been significantly influenced, inter alia, by actors’ institutional articulation of the waste hierarchy at national and territorial levels. It discusses the legitimacy of LCA, and the quantitative application of LCT, as an intermediary object used to qualify the waste hierarchy. Furthermore, LCT is placed in a prospective context which may be used to assist in the transition toward sustainable waste management.
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