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No / Effective integrated water management is a key component of the World Water Vision and the way in which aspirations for water equity may be realized. Part of the vision includes the promotion of sustainability of water systems and full accountability for their interaction with other urban systems. One major problem is that “sustainability” remains an elusive concept, although those involved with the provision of urban wastewater systems now recognize that decisions involving asset investment should use the “triple bottom line” approach to society, the economy, and the environment. The Sustainable Water Industry Asset Resource Decisions project has devised a flexible and adaptable framework of decision support processes that can be used to include the principles of sustainability more effectively. Decision mapping conducted at the outset of the project has shown that only a narrow range of criteria currently influence the outcome of asset investment decisions. This paper addresses the concepts of sustainability assessment and presents two case studies that illustrate how multicriteria decision support systems can enhance the assessment of the relative sustainability of a range of options when decisions are being made about wastewater asset investment.

Nanotechnology has enormous potential to transform a wide variety of sectors, e.g., energy, electronics, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. At the same time, there are concerns about the health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology and uncertainties about the fate and toxicity of nanomaterials. Life cycle assessment (LCA), a quantitative framework for evaluating the cumulative environmental impacts associated with all stages of a material or process, has emerged as a decision-support tool for analyzing the environmental burdens of nanotechnology. The objective of this research was to combine laboratory techniques with LCA modeling to reduce the life cycle impacts of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) production. The LCA studies were focused on three aspects of AuNP synthesis: 1) the use of bio-based ("green") reducing agents; 2) the potential for recycling gold from nanomaterial waste; and, 3) the reduction of the life cycle impacts of AuNP production by conducting the synthesis at reduced temperature. The LCA models developed for AuNPs can inform future nanotechnology-focused LCA studies. Comparative LCA showed that in some cases, the environmental impacts associated with green synthesis methods may be worse than those of conventional synthesis approaches. The main driver of the environmental burdens associated with AuNP synthesis is the large embodied energy of gold, and so-called green synthesis methods do not offset those impacts. In addition, the reaction yield, which is seldom reported in the literature for green synthesis of nanomaterials, was found to greatly influence the life cycle impacts of AuNP synthesis. Gold from nanomaterial waste was successfully recovered by using host-guest inclusion complex formation facilitated by alpha-cyclodextrin. This recycling approach involved room temperature conditions and did not require the toxic cyanide or mercury commonly used in the selective recovery of gold. A major advantage offered by this approach for selective gold recovery over conventional approaches is that the recovery does not involve the use of toxic cyanide or mercury. To reduce the energy footprint of citrate-reduced AuNP synthesis, the synthesis was conducted at room temperature. LCA models showed significant reduction in the energy footprint. The findings of this research can inform future LCAs of other nanomaterials. / Ph. D.

No / Approaches to projects and development have undergone considerable change in the last decade with significant policy shifts on governance, gender, poverty eradication, and environmental issues. Most recently this has led to the adoption and promotion of the sustainable livelihood (SL) approach. The adoption of the SL approach presents challenges to development interventions including: the future of projects and programmes, and sector wide approaches (SWAPs) and direct budgetary support.This paper `A livelihoods-grounded audit of the Sustainable Management of the Usangu Wetland Catchment (SMUWC) project in Tanzania¿ is the eighth in the series of project working papers. / Department for International Development

What does sustainability mean with respect to furniture design and fabrication? How has technology - created and subsequently clouded - opportunities for new thinking? This body of work explores these broader questions and, more specifically, the efficiencies of bending wood. Historical precedents will guide a distillation of established bentwood technologies, which in turn will generate a more sustainable operation. The framework of this operation revolves around a minimalist approach to design coupled with an increased focus on product longevity - the paramount sustainable attribute. Additionally, an investigation of suitable alternatives to the most common - and highly toxic - adhesives is necessary. Beyond secondary research the primary research will utilize small-scale models to minimize material waste while examining the appropriateness of new processes. These studies will emulate the sculptural plywood experiments of Alvar Aalto and Charles and Ray Eames. The final manufacturing process will make use of these study models with the intent of generating a modular system of interchangeable formwork to customize sustainably produced pieces. Final deliverables include the tangible studies along with full-scale designs utilizing modular formwork and a research component documenting the potential for a more comprehensive definition of sustainability with regards to furniture. / Master of Science