Is Sustainability Really Sustainable? A Critical Review
Abstract
1. Introduction
- 38% of the amount of global carbon dioxide dispersed into the air;
- 35% of global energy consumption;
- 50% of raw materials extracted;
- 1/3 of global consumption of drinking water.
2. Materials and Methods
3. State of the Art
- Decree No. 264 of 13 October 2016: regulation laying down indicative criteria to facilitate the demonstration of the requirements for the classification of production residues as by-products and not as waste, in which Article 2 provides definitions of product, production residue, and by-product [18]. In particular, a product is any material or substance that is deliberately obtained as part of a production process or as a result of a technical choice; production residue is any material or substance that is not deliberately produced in a production process and may or may not be waste; a by-product is a production residue that is not waste.
- Legislative Decree No. 152 of 2006, Article 184-bis, paragraph 1, specifies the requirements that a production process residue must meet in order to be considered a by-product rather than waste: “(a) ‘the substance or object originates from a production process, of which it is an integral part and whose primary purpose is not the production of that substance or object’; (b) ‘it is certain that the substance or object will be used in the same or a subsequent production or utilization process by the producer or a third party’; (c) ‘the substance or object can be used directly without any further processing beyond normal industrial practice’; (d) ‘the further use is legal, i.e., the substance or object meets, for the specific use, all relevant requirements relating to products and the protection of health and the environment and will not lead to overall adverse effects on the environment or human health’ [19]”.
3.1. Agricultural Sector
- A decrease of up to 15.4% in apparent density (making the products comparable to a lightweight structural aggregate or lightweight plaster mortar);
- A sharp drop in mechanical performance (while still maintaining acceptable values for the plastering application considered) and in thermal conductivity (up to 47%).
3.2. Industrial Sector
- Compressive strength increased with the replacement of 20% of marble waste and then decreased after several mixtures. Furthermore, compared to the control mixture, the compressive strength values of other portions of the mixture increased and became acceptable.
- Generally, fiber content increases the flexural and tensile strength of concrete. Compared to the control mixture, the test values of all other mixtures increased.
- Marble waste replaced up to 40% showed acceptable results for fresh concrete and also showed an increase in flexural and tensile strength. Therefore, replacing the fine aggregate with 40% marble waste together with the fiber additive is considered an optimal percentage.
3.3. Waste
4. Environmental Assessment
- Type I environmental labels—ISO 14024: voluntary certifications based on a multi-criteria system that considers the entire product life cycle, subject to external authentication by an independent body. These include, for example, the European ECOLABEL ecological quality mark. They are regulated by UNI EN ISO 14024:2018 [47], which establishes the principles and procedures for the development of labeling programs.
- Type II environmental self-declarations—ISO 14021: labels bearing environmental self-declarations by manufacturers, importers, or distributors of products, without the involvement of an independent certification body (including: “Recyclable,” “Compostable,” etc.). The UNI EN ISO 14021:2016 standard [48] specifies the requirements, including declarations, symbols, and graphics relating to products. It also describes specific assessment, specific evaluation, and verification methods for the claims selected in this international standard.
- ISO Type III Environmental Product Declarations—ISO 14025: These contain statements based on established parameters and quantify the environmental impacts associated with the product’s life cycle, calculated through an LCA assessment. They are independently verified and presented in a clear and comparable format. These include, for example, “Environmental Product Declarations.” The UNI EN ISO 14025:2010 [49] standard establishes the principles and specifies the procedures for the development of Type III environmental declarations and corresponding programs. It also establishes the principles relating to the use of environmental information in addition to those provided by UNI EN ISO 14020.
- Definition of the objective and scope;
- Inventory analysis (LCI, Life Cycle Inventory);
- Impact assessment (LCIA, Life Cycle Impact Assessment);
- Interpretation.
5. Discussion
- “By-product AND Sustainability”;
- “By-product AND Life Cycle Assessment”.
- Cork_001: natural hydraulic lime (NHL), granular corn cobs, expanded perlite, zeolite, and additives;
- Bioart Cork: natural hydraulic lime (NHL), wheat straw granules, cork granules from bottle caps, and cellulose flakes;
- VGT_001: natural hydraulic lime (NHL), zeolite, expanded vermiculite, expanded perlite, and corn cob granules;
- VGT_014: natural hydraulic lime (NHL), Portland cement, sulfoaluminate cement, expanded perlite, corn cob granules, and wheat straw granules.
- Thermal plaster: natural hydraulic lime (NHL), Portland cement, EPS, and additives;
- Thermolime: natural hydraulic lime (NHL), Portland cement, expanded perlite, and additives;
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Authors | By-Product | Objective | Product | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|
Saeli et al. [20] | Spent coffee grounds | Demonstrate a possible alternative reuse of ground coffee waste in new eco-friendly building materials for thermal plaster applications in construction | Biocomposite mortars | Decrease in apparent density, decrease in mechanical properties, and decrease in thermal conductivity |
Pintea et al. [21] | Casein, eggs, and rice gelatin | Evaluate the influence of organic polymers on the workability of fresh mortars | Mortar | Increased workability |
Vitale et al. [22,23] | Citrus fruit paste | Evaluate the use of agricultural by-products for the production of thermal insulation products for building envelopes | Insulating panels | Good thermal insulation |
Liuzzi et al. [24] | Leaves and twigs from pruning olive trees | Using agricultural waste materials in a mixture of clay and sand to obtain a bio-based plaster to study its hygrothermal behavior | Clay plasters | Linear reduction in density and an increase in porosity, reduction in thermal conductivity, and good capacity to exchange moisture with the surrounding environment |
Schackow et al. [25] | Fired clay brick waste | Study of the effect on the durability of mortars with partial replacement (10, 25, and 40% by weight) of Portland cement with CBW | Mortar | Improved strength and density |
Kumar et al. [26] | Marble processing waste | Examine the experimental results of self-compacting concrete (SCC) with marble waste as a partial replacement for fine aggregates and polypropylene fibers as an additive material | Self-compacting concrete | Increased resistance to bending and compression |
Vaclavik et al. [27] | Ladle slag | Determine the optimal proportion of treated ladle slag additive and evaluate the environmental properties of the resulting cement composites | Concrete | Better workability of fresh cement paste, extended setting times, and increased water absorption of cement composites |
Bayat et al. [28] | Blast furnace slag and natural zeolite | Verify the possibility of using industrial and natural supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) in self-compacting concrete | Self-compacting concrete | Better water impermeability, electrical resistivity, and resistance to chloride migration |
Vembu et al. [29] | Magnesite mine waste | Evaluate the suitability of using magnesite mining waste in self-compacting concrete (SCC) as a substitute for binders and aggregates, assessing fresh and hardened properties | Self-compacting concrete | Increased compressive strength |
Da Silva et al. [30] | Two types of PET aggregates, PP and PF aggregates (which stand for plastic pellets and plastic flakes) | Study the effects of incorporating plastic waste into mortars | Mortar | Decrease in elasticity modulus, increase in impact resistance, and gain in water vapor permeability, preventing moisture condensation |
Pedreño-Rojas et al. [31] | Biomass waste ash | Exploring the potential of using biomass ash waste as a secondary raw material for building composites | Gypsum-based composites (slabs) | Improvement of the building’s energy efficiency |
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Massimino, G.; Sciuto, G. Is Sustainability Really Sustainable? A Critical Review. Buildings 2025, 15, 2304. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15132304
Massimino G, Sciuto G. Is Sustainability Really Sustainable? A Critical Review. Buildings. 2025; 15(13):2304. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15132304
Chicago/Turabian StyleMassimino, Grazia, and Gaetano Sciuto. 2025. "Is Sustainability Really Sustainable? A Critical Review" Buildings 15, no. 13: 2304. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15132304
APA StyleMassimino, G., & Sciuto, G. (2025). Is Sustainability Really Sustainable? A Critical Review. Buildings, 15(13), 2304. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15132304