Top Research Papers on Environmental Sustainability

A thorough review on the role of different NFs and their impact on crop growth, productivity, soil, and environmental quality is required, which would be helpful for the research of sustainable agriculture.

The aim of this paper is to review and analyse the latest available evidence to provide a greater clarity and understanding of the environmental impacts of different liquid biofuels and investigates the key methodological aspects and sources of uncertainty in the LCA ofBiofuels.

Producing biochemicals from renewable resources is a key driver for moving towards sustainable societies. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a standardized tool to measure related progress by quantifying environmental sustainability performance of chemical products along their life cycles. We analysed LCA studies applied to commercialized commodity biochemicals produced through microbial fermentation. The few available studies show inconsistencies in coverage of environmental impacts and life cycle stages, with varying conclusions. Claims of better sustainability performance of biochemicals over f...

This association between environmental crises and social injustice is now widely accepted. Many feel that time is running out for incremental approaches to prove effective and that there is an inescapable need for a radical, transformative change that combines sustainability and justice. The primary purpose of this paper is to underline the importance of placing justice at the heart of transformative change. We begin by briefly addressing the meaning of transformations to sustainability. Coming at this from a justice angle, we emphasize the challenge of addressing not only the unequal outcomes...

This paper assesses what is known about the likely economic implications of either current trends or the transformation to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy in the years to 2050, and argues that no conventional cost–benefit analysis for either scenario is possible.

A distinct formulation of Indigenous environmental justice (IEJ) is required in order to address the challenges of the ecological crisis as well the various forms of violence and injustices experienced specifically by Indigenous peoples. A distinct IEJ formulation must ground its foundations in Indigenous philosophies, ontologies, and epistemologies in order to reflect Indigenous conceptions of what constitutes justice. This approach calls into question the legitimacy and applicability of global and nationstate political and legal mechanisms, as these same states and international governing bo...

This paper delves into the multifaceted concept of sustainability, covering its evolution, laws, principles, as well as the different domains and challenges related to achieving it in the modern world. Although capitalism, socialism, and communism have been utilized throughout history, their strengths and drawbacks have failed to address sustainable development comprehensively. Therefore, a holistic approach is necessary, which forms the basis for a new development model called sustainalism. This study proposes a new socio-economic theory of sustainalism that prioritizes quality of life, socia...

This study examines how environmental technology contributes to wastewater improvement in 16 selected OECD countries during 2000-2019 and shows a heterogeneous behaviour in the quantiles of wastewater treatment, environmental technology and renewable energy are positively related to an increase in wastewater treatment.

Abstract Over 2500 airports worldwide provide critical infrastructure that supports 4 billion annual passengers. To meet changes in capacity and post-COVID-19 passenger processing, airport infrastructure such as terminal buildings, airfields, and ground service equipment require substantial upgrades. Aviation accounts for 2.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but that estimate excludes airport construction and operation. Metrics that assess an airport’s sustainability, in addition to environmental impacts that are sometimes unaccounted for (e.g. water consumption), are necessary for a...

The appraisal was carried out based on the properties of the derived HA, including but not limited to geometry, particle size, morphology, thermal stability, and stoichiometry to suggest the most economic and environmentally sustainable sources and processing routes.

The rapid development and implementation of digitalization in manufacturing has enormous impact on the environment. It is still unclear whether digitalization has positive or negative environmental impact from applications in manufacturing. Therefore, this study aims to discuss the overall implications of digitalization on environmental sustainability through a literature study, within the scope of manufacturing (product design, production, transportation, and customer service). The analysis and categorization of selected articles resulted in two main findings: (1) Digitalization in manufactur...

The ‘state of the art’ environmental sustainability research within anaesthesia and critical care is surveyed, addressing why it matters, what is known, and ideas for future work.

Industry 4.0 is a concept that originated from the German industry, and whose essence is the use of technology for efficient production. In business today, the emergence of Industry 4.0 for production, and its related technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems, amongst others, have, however, a negative impact on environmental sustainability as a result of air pollution, the poor discharge of waste, and the intensive use of raw materials, information, and energy. The method used in this study is an analysis of a literature review of manuscripts discussing topi...

Popularized in the movies Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action , "environmental justice" refers to any local response to a threat against community health. In this book, Julian Agyeman argues that environmental justice and the sustainable communities movement are compatible in practical ways. Yet sustainability, which focuses on meeting our needs today while not compromising the ability of our successors to meet their needs, has not always partnered with the challenges of environmental justice. Sustainable Communities and the Challenge of Environmental Justice explores the ideological difference...

While aquaculture is critical to global food and nutrition security, the fast development of aquaculture production systems has been accompanied by resource overconsumption and environmental impacts. Understanding
\nhow sustainable is current global aquaculture practice is important given its potential impacts on key sustainable
\ndevelopment goals (SDGs). Here, for the first time, we developed a food-energy-water-carbon (FEWC) composite
\nsustainability index (0–100) to assess the sustainability of global aquaculture across countries. Results indicate
\nthat the overall sustai...

Abstract This study investigates the influence of democracy, autocracy, and globalization on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in 69 developing countries from 1990 to 2018. We used the unit root approaches to scrutinize the level of stationarity and recognize that all concern variables were unified at first difference. Pedroni and the Kao cointegration methodologies were employed for the detection of long‐run cointegration, and the conclusions discovered the presence of long‐run relationships among variables. Furthermore, this study applied a fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) approac...

Purpose The purpose of this study determines how environmental management control system (MCS) packages influence ecological sustainability and sustainable performance through the mediating role of environmental strategies. Furthermore, this applies organizational capabilities as moderating variables between environmental strategies, ecological sustainability and sustainable performance in a sample of 373 construction firms. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply quantitative questionnaire data from construction firm representatives (from project, sales and construction managers and con...

The environmental pollution and degradation of natural resources issues are worsening with every passing day and companies need to take immediate action to save the environment. Due to this reason, the current study intended to explore the mediating role of green innovation in corporate environmental ethics and sustainable performance relationship. Additionally, multiple moderating effects 1). Environmental leadership in corporate environmental ethics and green innovation relationship, 2). Environmental strategy in green innovation and sustainable performance nexus was also explored. The multi...

This paper explores the environmental impact of the super-linear growth trends for AI from a holistic perspective, spanning Data, Algorithms, and System Hardware. We characterize the carbon footprint of AI computing by examining the model development cycle across industry-scale machine learning use cases and, at the same time, considering the life cycle of system hardware. Taking a step further, we capture the operational and manufacturing carbon footprint of AI computing and present an end-to-end analysis for what and how hardware-software design and at-scale optimization can help reduce the ...

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed to reconcile environmental protection with socioeconomic development. Here, we compare SDG indicators to a suite of external measures, showing that while most countries are progressing well towards environmental SDGs, this has little relationship with actual biodiversity conservation, and instead better represents socioeconomic development. If this continues, the SDGs will likely serve as a smokescreen for further environmental destruction throughout the decade. Comparing relevant indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals with other ...

Considering that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are interrelated and the attainment of one is a good springboard for the attainment of others, we picture the whole SDGs from two dimensions: i) economic and social development and ii) environmental sustainability. Proxying economic and social development with human development, this study examines how improvement in human development contributes to the attainment of environmental sustainability. We use data from OECD countries for the period 1996–2016 and a battery of estimation methods (Driscoll-Kraay, instrumental variable and panel ...

This review provides an overview of the key regulatory and ecotoxicological aspects relating to nanopesticides that will need to be considered for environmentally-sustainable use in agriculture.

This work highlighted the major factors affecting low energy conversion efficiency and oxygen sensitivity of hydrogen-producing enzymes, noting that the most practical pathway of biohydrogen generation was sulfur-deprivation compared with phosphorus, nitrogen, and magnesium deficiency.

A plethora of investigations regarding the emerging techniques for process improvement like integration methods, less energy-intensive distillation techniques, and bioengineering of microorganisms are discussed, which can assist in making biofuel-production in a real-world market more economically and environmentally viable.

This narrative review describes the scope of healthcare sustainability research, identifies knowledge gaps, introduces a framework for applications of existing research methods and tools to the healthcare context, and establishes research priorities to improve the environmental performance of healthcare services.

The conversion of eggshell waste to a low-cost adsorbent for the treatment of metal contaminated waters could contribute to a more sustainable and effective management of this biowaste.

This review encompasses circular bioeconomy based various AW management strategies, which involve 'reduction', 'reusing' and 'recycling' of AWs to boost sustainable agriculture and minimise environmental pollution.

This study examines the impact of economic growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) on environmental degradation in 76 developing economies between 1991 and 2022, using various panel data models. Firstly, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is supported, indicating that, as the economy expands, cleaner technologies and practices are adopted, resulting in lower carbon emissions. Secondly, FDI and carbon emissions are positively related, suggesting that investment type and regulatory frameworks must be considered carefully. This analysis underlines the impact of abundant natural resourc...

This review provides an overview and description of the omics platforms that have been described in recent reports on omics approaches in bioremediation and that demonstrate the effectiveness of integrated omic approaches and their novel future use.

The empirical research investigated the relationship between tourism development and environmental suitability to propose a framework for sustainable ecotourism. The framework suggested a balance between business and environmental interests in maintaining an ecological system with the moderating help of government support and policy interventions. The study population encompasses tourism stakeholders, including tourists, representatives from local communities, members of civil administration, hoteliers, and tour operators serving the areas. A total of 650 questionnaires were distributed to res...

South Asia, a developing region housing almost a quarter of the world population, faces stringent energy and environmental problems including acute vulnerability to climate change. To improve their socioeconomics and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is imperative for South Asian countries to address their energy and environmental challenges. A thorough review of the national and regional achievements and challenges concerning SDGs is important for finding fast and sustainable solutions. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the energy and env...

Eutrophication of lakes is an environmental issue that has attracted increasing attention all over the world. This study analyses the monitoring data of the Lake Erhai, Yunnan Province in China with Carlson's TSI, Improving Carlson's TSI (TSIM) and TLI. The results reveal that the eutrophication index for this lake is in the Mesotrophic status. The mechanism of the eutrophication in Lake Erhai is also investigated. The mechanism shows that rate of nutrient transformation is the core issue and the process of eutrophic evolution involves natural, social, and economic factors. The restrictions on...

Ports are an essential impetus for the development of cities, and cities provide important resources and infrastructure for ports. As a significant factor to enhance the competitiveness of port cities, the sustainable ability affects the development characteristics of cities. How to evaluate the sustainability has become the priority of port cities development. However, existing researches mainly focus on ports or cities separately, instead of combining the two. Therefore, we first establish a two-stage interaction model to associate port and city. Then we propose a new index system, covering ...

Accepting sustainable development goals leads to the reorientation of all sectors at all levels. The European Union (EU) actively accepts a vast range of policies to achieve environmental sustainability due to declining carbon dioxide emissions. Within the Green Deal Policy, and in particular the Fit for 55 packages, the EU declared ambitious goals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 55% from the transport industry by 2030 and 100% by 2035. These goals require introducing appropriate digital technologies into the ecologically friendly functioning of the transport sector to attain su...

Innovative and sustainable food preservation techniques are vital for enhancing food quality, safety, and reducing environmental impact. In this review, the methods aligned with sustainability goals are explored, focusing on their mechanisms, applications, and environmental benefits. It examines non-thermal technologies such as cold plasma, pulsed light technology, high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric fields (PEFs), and ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which effectively inactivate microbes while preserving nutritional and sensory qualities. Natural preservatives, including plant extracts...

It is important for practitioners, policymakers, and scholars to understand how the adoption of sustainability strategies and innovations influence firms’ overall performance. Practitioners obviously seek knowledge of the likely financial outcome of the adoption of sustainability strategies and innovations. Policymakers need the knowledge to devise effective policies to reach sustainability goals, and scholars seek to understand firm behavior and their ability to create financial value in the sustainability shift. Even though an increasing amount of empirical evidence indicate that the sustain...

Abstract Environmental degradation has become an important issue for countries worldwide due to increase in carbon emission in recent years. It is an important concern for countries to achieve environmental sustainability; however, the debate on the role of innovation and institutions in environmental sustainability is still not adequate. There is a lack of understanding as to how countries can achieve higher economic growth as well to protect the quality of environment. Innovation is considered as effective tools as it enhances energy efficiency and cleaner production, which in turn lowers ca...

This research aimed to analyze the impact of financial development on environmental sustainability. Data was collected for 34 countries in Europe, covering the period from 2000 to 2020. Data analysis was conducted using the Feasible Generalised Least Squares (FGLS) model, a random-effects model (specified by the Hausman test), and the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) approach. It was found that lending rates are negatively related to CO2 emissions per capita, total CO2, and CO2 by the transport industry. It was also found that bank credit to the private sector increases total CO2 emissions ...

Pursuing sustainable development in the face of climate change and environmental degradation has led to a significant shift toward renewable energy sources. A dependable, affordable, and stable renewable energy source must meet almost any future energy need. This review explores the environmental impacts of various forms of renewable energy, emphasizing their role in promoting sustainable development. This analysis covers wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass energy, assessing their benefits and challenges in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating environmental harm, and fostering long-t...

Abstract Latest report of NASA claims that planet average surface temperature has risen about 1.62°F since the late 19th century because of increased human‐made emissions into atmosphere. Due to recent COVID‐19 pandemic, this planet is getting relief from pollution, as Wright stated that the sudden fall in pollution is observed in India, a country having world's 30 most polluted cities, similarly Gohd stated that satellite track emissions drop over china during this coronavirus outbreak. These facts showing, human is responsible to increase the pollution in this planet, therefore current study...