More and more local governments (municipalities and county councils) include the indirect climate impacts of consumption in their environmental work. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an established tool for inventorying both direct and indirect impacts of a product or service, but when the climate impact of an entire organization's consumption of products and services is of interest, the inventory of data can easily become excessive. Through the years, various methods for enabling life cycle inventory on the organizational level have been developed. Hybrid-LCA is one of them where the term "hybrid" comes from that the method combines a so-called bottom up with a top down approach of the data inventory. The practical application of hybrid-LCA and the usefulness of the assessment results for local governments are not self-evident. This study aims to investigate the practical application of hybrid-LCA as a tool for inventorying climate impact for municipalities’ and county councils’ consumption. The purpose includes identifying the challenges associated with the practical procedure when conducting a hybrid-LCA and evaluating the inventory results’ usefulness in municipalities and county councils’ climate work. The results of the study are based on semi-structured interviews, a case study in which hybrid LCA is applied and a workshop where the case study is evaluated. The results show that the hybrid-LCA enables both a holistic approach to the climate impact and a level of detail for selected areas, making it possible to prioritize areas and identify measures to reduce the climate impact from consumption. The main challenges that arise in the practical procedure of the hybrid-LCA are associated with inventory and verification of foreground data and matching purchases of product groups to standardized classifications. To simplify the execution, increase transparency and facilitate monitoring, local governments are recommended to investigate the possibility of coordinating purchasing system and labeling product groups, in accordance with standardized classifications. It is also recommended to request information about a products weight and material content from suppliers. The uncertainties associated with the outcome of a hybrid-LCA are and remain large, therefore it is important that the results are communicated in terms of potential environmental impacts.

The thesis deals with the problem of global ecological crisis caused by excessive consumption of material goods, particularly in countries of "The Rich North" (western countries). In the theoretical part I set up individualized man as a consumer in the system of modern society, which indicates the conditions of its existence mainly through the market. I discuss the possible way out of the ecological crisis through ideological changes in the company initiated from the "bottom", based on the internalization of values leading to responsible and moderate consumption. I demonstrate alternative ways of life, environmentally friendly in terms of consumption, and discuss the obstacles and ways of its spread. The research was conducted through interviews with eco-advisers who are dealing with consumption, as potential "opinion leaders" in this case. I tried to look their conception of responsible consumption and their potential impact on society in favor of spreading the idea of an environmentally responsible way of life Key words Ecological crisis, consumption, consumerism, modernity, individualization, values, responsible consumption, modesty, environmentally friendly way of life

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Bakgrund: Det miljömässiga hållbarhetstänket är en drivande faktor inom logistikutvecklingen i samband med de påtryckningarna från både samhället och dess konsumenter. Den kraftiga tillväxten inom e-handeln har satt e-handlare i en svår situation då kraven på korta leveranstider påverkar deras arbete med att även arbeta mer miljömässigt hållbart. Här sätts företagens logistikhantering på prov, då dilemmat mellan leveranstider och miljömässigt hållbara leveranser tvingar företagen att hitta en balans mellan de två. Därmed påvisas det att e-handelsföretagens arbete med sin logistikhantering blir deras sätt att överkomma denna problematik. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att bidra till en ökad förståelse kring hur ehandelsföretag arbetar med sin logistikhantering för att hålla sig konkurrenskraftiga. Frågeställning: 1) Hur påverkar efterfrågan av miljömässigt hållbara transportlösningar e-handelsföretags logistikhantering? 2) Hur arbetar e-handelsföretag med sin logistikhantering för att möta efterfrågan på korta leveranstider? Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi och genom en flerfallsstudie har fyra fallföretag valts att studeras. Det perspektiv som valdes inom studien är det hermeneutistiska perspektivet med en abduktiv ansats. Insamlingen av empirin har skett med hjälp av fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med en respondent från respektive fallföretag. Den empiriska data har även kompletterats med dokumentstudier Slutsats: Från studien kunde vi komma till slutsatsen att e-handelsföretags arbete med att erbjuda miljömässigt hållbara leveranser härstammade från flera faktorer. Där valet att outsourca sina godstransporter och ett ökat användande av hemleveranser i kombination med allt mer automatiserade och information-drivna lagerverksamheter var deras sätt att möta denna efterfrågan. Då dilemmat med att arbeta miljömässigt hållbart inte alltid korrelerar med e-handelsföretagens ambitioner att erbjuda korta leveranstider visade det sig att områden som fyllnadsgrad var en aspekt där leveranstid visade sig vara viktigare och därav fortsätter e-handlare att behålla sina låga fyllnadsgrader. Bortsett från fyllnadsgrader är automatisering och användandet av informationssystem områden där miljömässigt hållbara leveranser och korta leveranstider korrelerade. / Background: The environmental sustainability concept is a driving factor in the development of logistics in connection with the pressures from both society and its consumers. The strong growth in e-commerce has put e-retailers in a difficult situation as the requirements for short delivery times affect their work to work even more environmentally sustainable. Here, companies logistics management is put to the test, as the dilemma between delivery times and environmentally sustainable deliveries forces the companies to strike a balance between the two. Thus, it is demonstrated that the e-commerce companies work with their logistics management becomes their way of overcoming this problem. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of how e-commerce companies work with their logistics management to stay competitive. Research question: 1) How does the demand for environmentally sustainable transport solutions affect e-commerce companies' logistics management? 2) How does e-commerce companies work with their logistics management to meet the demand for short delivery times? Methodology: The study has a qualitative research strategy and through a case study, four case companies have been selected to study. The perspective chosen within the study is the hermeneutic perspective with an abductive approach. The collection of the empirical data was conducted using four semi-structured interviews with one respondent from each case company. The empirical data has also been supplemented with document studies Conclusion: From the study, we were able to conclude that the e-commerce companies efforts to offer environmentally sustainable deliveries can be derived from several factors. Where the choice to outsource their freight transport and increased use of home deliveries in combination with increasingly automated and information-driven warehousing operations was their way of meeting this demand. As the dilemma of working in an environmentally sustainable manner does not always correlate with the ambition of e-commerce companies to offer short delivery times, it was found that areas such as fill rates were an aspect where delivery time proved to be more important and hence e-retailers continue to maintain their low fill rates. Apart from filling levels, automation and the use of information systems are areas where environmentally sustainable deliveries and short delivery times are correlated.

Ceria (cerium oxide) nanomaterials, or nanoceria, have commercial catalysis and energy storage applications. The cerium atoms on the surface of nanoceria can store or release oxygen, cycling between Ce3+ and Ce4+, and can therefore act as a therapeutic to relieve oxidative stress within living systems. Nanoceria dissolution is present in acidic environments in vivo. In order to accurately define the fate of nanoceria in vivo, nanoceria dissolution or stabilization is observed in vitro using acidic aqueous environments. Nanoceria stabilization is a known problem even during its synthesis; in fact, a carboxylic acid, citric acid, is used in many synthesis protocols. Citric acid adsorbs onto nanoceria surfaces, capping particle formation and creating stable dispersions with extended shelf lives. Nanoceria was shown to agglomerate in the presence of some carboxylic acids over a time scale of up to 30 weeks, and degraded in others, at pH 4.5 (representing that of phagolysosomes). Sixteen carboxylic acids were tested: citric, glutaric, tricarballylic, α-hydroxybutyric, β-hydroxybutyric, adipic, malic, acetic, pimelic, succinic, lactic, tartronic, isocitric, tartaric, dihydroxymalonic, and glyceric acid. Each acid was introduced as 0.11 M, into pH 4.5 iso-osmotic solutions. Controls such as ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and water were also tested to assess their effects on nanoceria dissolution and stabilization. To further test stability, nanoceria suspensions were subject to light and dark milieu, simulating plant environments and biological systems, respectively. Light induced nanoceria agglomeration in some, but not all ligands, and is likely to be a result of UV irradiation. Light initiates free radicals generated from the ceria nanoparticles. Some of the ligands completely dissolved the nanoceria when exposed to light. Citric and malic acids form coordination complexes with cerium on the surface of the ceria nanoparticle that can inhibit agglomeration. This approach identifies key functional groups required to prevent nanoceria agglomeration. The impact of each ligand on nanoceria was analyzed and will ultimately describe the fate of nanoceria in vivo. In addition, simulated biological fluid (SBF) exposure can change nanoceria’s surface properties and biological activity. The citrate-coated nanoceria physicochemical properties such as size, morphology, crystallinity, surface elemental composition, and charge were determined before and after exposure to simulated lung, gastric, and intestinal fluids. SBF exposure resulted in either loss or overcoating of nanoceria’s surface citrate by some of the SBF components, greater nanoceria agglomeration, and small changes in the zeta potential. Nanocomposites are comprised of a polymer matrix embedded with nanoparticles. These nanoparticles can alter material and optical properties of the polymer. SR-399 (dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate) is a fast cure, low skin irritant monomer that contains five carbon-carbon double bonds (C=C). It is a hard, flexible polymer, and also resistant to abrasion. It can be used as a sealant, binder, coating, and as a paint additive. In this case, metal oxide nanoparticles were added to the monomer prior to polymerization. Titania nanoparticles are known to absorb UV light due to their photocatalytic nature. Titania nanoparticles were chosen due to their high stability, non-toxicity, and are relatively quick, easy, and inexpensive to manufacture. Channels in thin monomer films were created using a ferrofluid manipulated by magnetic fields. The mechanical properties of a microfluidic device by rapid photopolymerization is dependent on the crosslinking gradient observed throughout the depth of the film. Quantitative information regarding the degree of polymerization of thin film polymers polymerized by free radical polymerization through the application of UV light is crucial to estimate material properties. In general, less cure leads to more flexibility, and more cure leads to brittleness. The objective was to quantify the degree of polymerization to approximate the C=C concentration and directly relate it to the mechanical properties of the polymer. Polymerization of C=C groups was conducted using a photoinitiator and an UV light source from one surface of a thin film of a multifunctional monomer. The C=C fraction in the film was found to vary with film depth and UV light intensity. The extents of conversion and crosslinking estimates were compared to local mechanical moduli and optical properties. A mathematical model linking the mechanical properties to the degree of polymerization, C=C composition, as a function of film depth and light intensity was then developed. For a given amount of light energy, one can predict the hardness and modulus of elasticity. The correlation between the photopolymerization and the mechanical properties can be used to optimize the mechanical properties of thin films within the manufacturing and energy constraints, and should be scalable to other multifunctional monomer systems.

Dieser Beitrag gibt, basierend auf einem BMBF-Verbundvorhaben, Einblicke in die umfassende Bewertung von OPTextilien. Ziel des Vorhabens ist es, Entscheidern in Krankenhäusern Anregungen und Know-how für ihren Berufsalltag und Produzenten von OP-Textilien Impulse für die Gestaltung ihrer Produkte zu geben. Es werden die hygienischen Anforderungen zur Vermeidung nosokomialer Infektionen, die die Schutzwirkung der Textilien garantierenden textiltechnologischen Voraussetzungen sowie die zur Erfüllung der Wirtschaftlichkeit und Umweltfreundlichkeit notwendigen Anforderungen an OP-Textilien dargestellt. Der Beitrag verdeutlicht, dass die Beachtung all dieser Kriterien und deren Zusammenführung für eine bewusste Entscheidung zum Einsatz von OP-Textilien notwendig ist. / This article describes a holistic assessment approach for operating room (OR) textiles, based on a joint research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research. The objective of the project is to ease decision processes for decision makers in hospitals and OR textile manufacturers. The hygienic demands for protection against nosocominal infections, the technological requirements to guarantee textiles their protective properties, as well as the bases for an economically and environmentally optimum decision, are discussed. To permit a holistic procurement decision regarding OR textiles, it is necessary to consider all these criteria and their integration, as proposed in this article.

<p>    </p> <p>Electronic waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams, spurred by their rising market and demand. However, these devices contain an array of metals that is recyclable for economic and environmental benefit through secondary manufacturing. As the turnaround rate for newer models quickens, consumers are motivated to purchase novel devices, leaving their current ones behind. Focusing on how United States (U.S.) households manage their electronics, a top-down approach stock and flow STELLA model was created to model the lifecycle of eight common electronics. Input data for the model came from a public online survey directed to U.S. household owning adults. From the model, a metallic stock and flow analysis was conducted to quantify the trends, environmental footprint, and economic value of stored devices in U.S. households and how it compares to devices being used, disposed, and recycled. The number of stored devices in the U.S. was found to be increasing annually with a stored amount of over 757 million stored individual electronic devices, nearly half of which originate from cell phones, carrying an economic value of 32.6 billion US dollars (USD) and carbon emissions of 7.6 billion kilograms (kg) from their metallic components alone for the year 2020. Most of the pollution and economic value stems from precious metals (PMs) and in a circular economy, these stored metals can have a significant impact to the environment and economy through recycled. Also, with advancing capabilities of smartphones, the metallic composition for device components of Samsung galaxy smartphones was quantified to assess their evolving metallic content. With the growing market of electronic devices, knowing the value and importance of devices currently in U.S. households is critical. This underlies the influence of sustainable design through a circular economy to push initiatives to manufacture recyclable friendly devices, expand the metal recycling industry, and motivate citizens to properly handle their stored devices. </p>

Recent studies have suggested that an increasingly large proportion of a building's energy cost consists of energy consumption during the building process, before the building becomes operational. A large part of this "early energy" consists of indirect energy that has been used to manufacture building materials and components and to transport material to the construction site. Furthermore, there is the more direct energy used in construction projects such as construction electricity, district heating, LPG and diesel fuel used on-site. These costs are in a more direct and comprehensible way linked to the construction site and can be influenced by the developer and / or contractor. Therefore, this report focuses primarily on the direct energy involved during a building’s constructions phase. The problems that exist today are several. For example, both clients and contractors have very poor means of monitoring energy consumption on construction sites thus making it difficult to optimize the costs. There are no reliable statistics regarding energy usage, which makes it difficult to analyze problems and to suggest improvements. One of the reasons is that the cost of construction energy, or at least the monetary value of the potential savings, is considered to be negligible in the context of a major construction project and the subject has therefore rather low priority. Furthermore, the clients rely heavily on the contractor’s expertise and have big faith in the contractor’s ability to optimize energy usage. On the other hand, contractors assume that the customers are fully informed and aware of their own needs and that the contractor should only offer what the customer asks for, as cheaply as possible. However, it would be possible for both parties to make substantial savings by adopting a more efficient energy management. In order to achieve this, construction energy issues have to be considered early in the planning process and throughout the entire project. The best results are achieved when the developer and contractor share a common vision and there is open exchange of knowledge and experience. To facilitate this dialogue and to create a tool to address the issue early in the project, this exam-work has led to a prototype for a template that is intended to be used as a letter of intent between the parties, by which they can jointly or individually clarify and specify their energy goals within a specific project / Nya utredningar tyder på att en allt större andel av en byggnads energiåtgång återfinns i de tidiga skedena, innan huset ännu tagits i drift, det vill säga under produktionsfasen. En stor del av denna "tidiga energi" består av indirekt energi som har använts i framställningen av byggmaterial och byggnadskomponenter samt till transporter för att få materialet på plats. Därtill finns den mer direkta energin, i form av byggström, fjärrvärme, gasol och diesel som används på byggena. Dessa kostnader är på ett mer direkt och lättöverskådligt sätt knutna till byggarbetsplatsen och bakomliggande processer är något som beställare och entreprenör har inflytande över och kan förbättra. Följaktligen kommer denna rapport främst behandla den direkta energin som används under en byggnads uppförandefas. Problemen som finns idag är flera. Delvis har många aktörer, både på beställar- och utförarsidan, bristfälligt statistiskt underlag angående byggenergin. Detta resulterar i en undermålig eller obefintlig uppföljning och identifiering av förbättringsmöjligheter gällande energianvändningen. En bidragande anledning till problemet är att kostnaden för byggenergi, eller åtminstone det monetära värdet av en potentiell besparing, av många anses som en försumbar del av ett stort byggprojekt och frågan blir därför nedprioriterad. Vidare verkar det inom beställarleden finnas en viss överdriven tilltro till entreprenörernas expertis och vilja att utveckla branschen i energihänseende medan det omvända förhållandet delvis råder bland entreprenörerna, där man utgår från att kunderna är aktiva beställare som vet vad de vill ha. Entreprenörerna föreslår sällan alternativa lösningar utan försöker snarare uppfylla kundernas kravspecifikationer till ett så billigt pris som möjligt. Det skulle dock kunna vara möjligt för bägge parter att spara både pengar och koldioxid genom en effektivare energihantering. Dessa åtgärder kräver att byggenergifrågan finns med tidigt i projekten och i planeringsprocessen. Allra bäst resultat uppnås när beställare och entreprenör har en gemensam målbild och ett öppet utbyte av kunskaper och erfarenheter. För att underlätta denna dialog har vi tagit fram ett förslag till en mall som är tänkt att fungera som en intentionsförklaring mellan parterna varigenom man gemensamt eller individuellt kan tydliggöra och konkretisera energimålen i byggprojekten. Vi har även tagit fram förslag till formuleringar gällande energieffektivitet som kan inkluderas vid upphandlingar.

Rock climbing has become a popular adventure activity, yet it poses a threat to the environment, particularly to the rare species that inhabit the lower vegetation density of rock faces. To address this concern, effective evironmental communication is necessary to provoke environmentally responsible behavior among climbers. This study explores what the most effective form of environmental communication is, that elicits a positive response from rock climbers. Regulatory Focus Theory as well as the nature values distinction (intrinsic, instrumental, and relational) are employed to assess the effect of value-based messages on rock climbers' environmental behavior. Moreover, this research investigates how personal values of rock climbers (biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic) impact their response to messages that highlight different nature values. Environmental messaging that resonates with the personal values of rock climbers can influence their response positively. Thus, crafting messages that are aligned with the target audience's environmental dispositions is essential for effective environmental communication. While the findings did not yield definitive results, the study indicates that messages emphasizing the instrinsic value of nature coupled with prevention-oriented foucus may be more effective for rock climbers. Moreover, altruistic and biospheric values significantly moderated climbers' response to environmental messages framed with nature values. Regulatory focus was not found to significantly influence rock climbers' environmental behavior. The study also shows that demographic characteristics such as age and gender can influence the environmental behavior of rock climbers. The study's insights provide a baseline for future research in persuasive messaging for adventure tourists. The research opens up new directions in tourism studies and identifies environmental values most relevant to the rock climbing community, providing guidance to climbing area managers and other stakeholders invested in safeguarding natural habitats. By shedding light on possible environmental communication strategies for the promotion of pro-environmental behavior among rock climbers, this research offers an important contribution to the protection of vulnerable ecosystems and the preservation of natural habitats.

<p>To accurately estimate the potential recovery of metals from electronic devices, various tools such as mass flow analysis, dynamic models, and forecasting models have been employed. However, the reliability of the model-generated outputs hinges on the accuracy of the input data. To ensure accurate data collection, it is imperative to examine and compare different methodologies. Although surveys have conventionally been used in information and telecommunications technologies to gather consumer information, their validity is seldom contrasted with alternative methods due to the lack thereof. In response, a new mixed methodology has been developed to obtain primary consumer data through tangible information, offering new avenues for data acquisition. The methodology involves quantitative and qualitative approaches taking direct physical measurements (dimensions, weight, and quantity) of devices and including a ten question semi-structured interview to discussed consumer devices use, stock and transfer patterns, composition changes of the electronic devices, and disposal behavior. As a result, it was found new methodology measured 79% of the devices directly at laboratories and 21% of the remaining devices were self-reported by the participant. The devices on consumer stage frequently have the same type and number of components as fabric and a positive difference of about 17.99 g compared with the mass reported by fabricants or literature. The sequential steps undertaken by participants in the new methodology to acquire consumer-stage data offer distinct advantages over surveys, particularly in capturing a more comprehensive inventory of devices in storage.</p><p>Additional results indicate that the proposed methodology can provide valuable insights into the stock of electronic devices. Nevertheless, further research is required to understand the implications of surveys versus direct measurements in accurately representing mass flows during the user stage. Additionally, the relevance of external power supply or charging systems on storage will be explored as part of the supplementary findings. By improving the accuracy of metal recovery estimation and exploring more effective data collection methods, we can optimize closed-loop projects and contribute to sustainable resource management.</p>