Search results for " life cycle"
showing 10 items of 158 documents
The cost of green roofs disposal in a life cycle perspective: covering the gap.
2012
Abstract This study is aimed at providing a contribution in overcoming the current gap, especially in Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Benefit – Cost (BCA) analyses, due to the lack concerning the green roof disposal costs. Therefore, we have applied to an actual extensive green roof the LCC methodology suggested by D. G. Woodward (that appears like one of the most formalized and generalizable), but we have extended the analysis to the disposal phase. This will allow a complete and proper application of the LCC methodology in order of achieving an economic accounting of this component through its life cycle. In this way, it is possible to achieve the complete evaluation of the “green roof” perf…
Mobility scenarios in the Valley of the Temples
2015
The valley of the Temples in Agrigento is one the most known wonders of the ancient Greek time to be still standing is South Italy. Chosen as an emblematic location in the center of the island, it is the exemplary site used to assess the potential for electric mobility in terms of energy and environmental benefits of electricity over standard fuels. Such an assessment is performed by means of a life-cycle approach, including the use of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, the use of the standard ILCD-PEF indicators and the development of a parametric analysis investigating the impact of different electricity penetration levels in the local transports system. The results identify relevant …
Embedding “substrate” in environmental assessment of green roofs life cycle: evidences from an application to the whole chain in a Mediterranean site
2012
Abstract A classical LCA methodology is here applied to green roofs including in this analysis also the whole life cycle of the substrate, that represented a lack of previous LCA studies on green roofs. This inclusion will allow a complete and proper application of the LCA methodology to achieve an environmental accounting of the “green roof” performance. We have here chosen to approach the problem by analysing a specific substrate, that is used within an actual extensive green roof. Afterwards, we have applied the LCA methodology to the whole actual extensive green roof whose substrate under analysis is part of. In this manner, we achieved an environmental accounting of the “green roof” pe…
A virtual integration—The management control system in a multinational enterprise
2008
Abstract This paper draws on actor-network-theory, especially Law and Hassard [Law, J., Hassard, J. (Eds.), 1999. Actor Network Theory and After. Blackwell, Malden, MA] and Latour [Latour, B., 2005. Reassembling the Social. An Introduction to the Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford University Press, Oxford] to investigate how a division-wide management control system was created in a multinational enterprise. The empirical findings were gathered from different actors involved in the implementation of enterprise's ABC and ERP projects. Our study focuses on the ontological politics [Mol, A.-M., 1999. Ontological politics. A word and some questions. In: Law, J., Hassard, J. (Eds.), Actor Network Theo…
Energy-environmental assessment of the UIA-OpenAgri case study as urban regeneration project through agriculture
2020
Abstract Sustainable agriculture is strongly promoted by Agenda 2030 and peri-urban agriculture is considered strategic for agri-food sustainability. Although, innovative farming practices are being implemented, the analysis of their impacts often does not reach the required depth. Within the EU project ‘UIA-OpenAgri - New Skills for new Jobs in Peri-urban Agriculture’, a regeneration process of a peri-urban area in Milan (Italy) was started, through the development of an innovative food hub. 28 innovative foodchains are assessed by a Life Cycle Assessment approach based on primary data collected from the involved start-ups. Non-Renewable Cumulative Energy Demand and the Global Warming Pote…
Energy-related GHG emissions balances: IPCC versus LCA
2017
Addressing climate change is one of the greatest environmental challenges. Due to the impact of cities to energy consumption, the involvement of the local authorities in environmental policies is rapidly increasing. The Covenant of Mayors (CoM), launched by the European Commission, is an urban initiative aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. The signatories have to compile the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) balance of their territory and, to do so, they can use the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Moreover, the signatories have to define strategies to reduce the GHG emissions. In this context, authors estimate the GHG balance of an Italian muni…
INNOVATIVE APPLICATIONS OF EXERGY ANALYSIS AND THERMOECONOMICS IN CHEMICAL, THERMAL AND COOLING ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS
Since 70s, the world has been becoming more and more concerned about energy and environmental issues. The need of meeting the current energy demand by guaranteeing the ability of future generation to satisfy theirs have been pushing research not only to exploit alternative energy sources such as renewable energies, but also to improve the efficiency of energy conversion systems. To this regard, developing systems that use efficiently energy is of paramount importance especially in those countries which rely on non-renewable energy sources such as oil, natural gas, and coal. In fact, the reduction of energy consumption will lead not only to the saving of unrestorable and limited energy resou…
Helminth Microbiota Profiling Using Bacterial 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing: From Sampling to Sequence Data Mining
2021
Symbiont microbial communities play important roles in animal biology and are thus considered integral components of metazoan organisms, including parasitic worms (helminths). Nevertheless, the study of helminth microbiomes has thus far been largely overlooked, and symbiotic relationships between helminths and their microbiomes have been only investigated in selected parasitic worms. Over the past decade, advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, coupled with their increased affordability, have spurred investigations of helminth-associated microbial communities aiming at enhancing current understanding of their fundamental biology and physiology, as well as of host-microbe intera…
Manufacturing Strategy: Production Problem Analysis for Assessing Focused Flexibility
2008
The objective of this chapter is to define an operationalization pattern which supports decision makers and managers in determining the level of manufacturing flexibility competences, given the business strategy and the manufacturing structure of the firm. This should drive the production system design and configuration activity. Specifically, this chapter presents an innovative approach to develop a manufacturing strategy, which is based on the idea that information on potential production problems that the manufacturing system could face throughout a given long-term planning horizon should be used as a starting point to determine the level of flexibility that the system should possess.
Energy and environmental life cycle assessment of an institutional catering service: An Italian case study
2019
Food production is recognised as one of the major drivers for global environmental pressure. In the last years, changes in consumption models result in an increasing population consuming food out of home that pose the catering service sector at the centre of the European Union policies aimed at improving the environmental sustainability of the food sector. In this framework, better technical knowledge on the environmental impacts of catering service is essential in order to identify potential actions towards a more sustainable food sector. This article presents an environmental assessment of a school catering service operating in Italy and delivering approximately 2,518,128 meals per year. …