Search Results (926)

An important task for the European Union is to transpose agreements and international standards in regulation and directives that are binding on member states. The resultant European action plans and directives identify priority areas in the building and energy sectors where circular economy principles can be applied. Italy records a general circular materials rate of 20.8%, surpassing the mean European value. But low recycling rates are still registered in the construction sector. This paper aims to assess the position of Italy with respect to the European regulatory framework on circularity in the energy transition of buildings. Firstly, the government’s initiatives and technical standards are introduced and commented upon. Secondly, the study illustrates the current Italian platforms, networks, and public and private initiatives highlighting opportunities and obstacles that the energy sector has to overcome in the area of circularity. It emerges that Italian policies still use voluntary tools that are not sufficiently in line with an effective circular economy model. Moreover, data collection plays a crucial role in accelerating the implementation of future actions. Italy should consider the foundation of a National Observatory for the Circular Economy to elaborate European directives, harmonize regional policies, and promote the implementation of effective practices. Full article

The construction industry is transitioning towards the circular economy, an approach that effectively reduces the industry’s environmental impact and promotes sustainability. However, realising the circular economy goal requires adequate information sharing among stakeholders and across the building lifecycle stages. This research examines the barriers that impede the information-sharing process in construction projects for the circular economy. This research adopts the framework of the information-sharing process, which suggests four essential components: context, content, people, and media. This study systematically searches and analyses the literature to identify and classify the information sharing barriers in the circular economy context, as well as their interaction. This study also conducts a case study to validate the information barrier framework and the findings. The findings suggest that information barriers are interlinked and require comprehensive solutions from the aspects of technology, organisation, and people, instead of single-aspect solutions. As this study provides insights into the systemic complexities of how information flows within the circular economy implementation system, it consequently contributes to the improvement of sustainable construction practices. Full article

In response to the escalating climate crisis, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) has become a top priority for both the public and private sectors. The pavement industry plays a key role in this transition, offering innovative technologies that minimize environmental impacts without compromising performance. Among these, the incorporation of recycled tire rubber and warm-mix asphalt (WMA) additives represents a promising strategy to reduce energy consumption and resource depletion in road construction. This study conducts a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental performance of an asphalt pavement incorporating recycled rubber and a WMA additive—referred to as R-W asphalt—against a conventional hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavement. The analysis follows the ISO 14040/44 standards, covering material production, transport, construction, and maintenance. Two service-life scenarios are considered: one assuming equivalent durability and another with a five-year extension for the R-W pavement. The results demonstrate environmental impact reductions of up to 57%, with average savings ranging from 32% to 52% across key impact categories such as climate change, land use, and resource use. These benefits are primarily attributed to lower production temperatures and extended maintenance intervals. The findings underscore the potential of R-W asphalt as a cleaner engineering solution aligned with circular economy principles and climate mitigation goals. Full article

This study uses life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of co-firing bituminous coal with agricultural biomass waste, such as coconut and rice husks, emphasising circular economy principles. Seven experimental scenarios with different coal-to-biomass ratios were designed, ranging from pure coal to pure biomass. The results show that Scenario B (100% rice husk) achieved the best overall environmental performance, with the lowest global warming potential (300 kg CO₂ equivalent), eutrophication potential (4.742 kg PO₄ equivalent), and smog formation potential (0.012 kg C₂H₄ equivalent). Additionally, Scenario F (15% biomass mix) recorded the lowest acidification potential (57.39 kg SO₂ eq), indicating that even partial substitution can yield significant environmental benefits. In contrast, Scenario C (100% coal) exhibited the highest acidification (164.08 kg SO₂ eq) and eutrophication (8.82 kg PO₄ eq) potential. Overall, the results demonstrate that co-firing biomass waste significantly reduces pollutant emissions compared to burning coal alone. This study highlights the effectiveness of biomass waste co-firing in mitigating environmental impacts, promoting resource recovery, and supporting a sustainable energy transition within a circular economy framework. Full article

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, and blockchain technologies within the digital economy presents transformative opportunities for promoting low-carbon urban development. However, a systematic understanding of how these digital innovations influence urban carbon mitigation remains limited. This study addresses this gap by proposing two research questions (RQs): (1) What are the key success factors for artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain in urban carbon emission reduction? (2) How do these technologies interact and support the transition to low-carbon cities? To answer these questions, the study employs a hybrid methodological framework combining the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) techniques. The data were collected through structured expert questionnaires, enabling the identification and hierarchical analysis of twelve critical success factors (CSFs). Grounded in sustainability transitions theory and institutional theory, the CSFs are categorized into three dimensions: (1) digital infrastructure and technological applications; (2) digital transformation of industry and economy; (3) sustainable urban governance. The results reveal that e-commerce and sustainable logistics, the adoption of the circular economy, and cross-sector collaboration are the most influential drivers of digital-enabled decarbonization, while foundational elements such as smart energy systems and digital infrastructure act as key enablers. The DEMATEL-ISM approach facilitates a system-level understanding of the causal relationships and strategic priorities among the CSFs, offering actionable insights for urban planners, policymakers, and stakeholders committed to sustainable digital transformation and carbon neutrality. Full article

The escalating climate crisis and global disruptions have prompted a critical re-evaluation of operations management within manufacturing and supply systems. This conceptual article addresses the theoretical and strategic gap in aligning resilience and sustainability by proposing an Integrated Sustainable Operational Strategy (ISOS) framework. Drawing on systems theory, circular economy principles, and sustainability science, the framework synthesizes multiple operational domains—circularity, localization, digital adaptation, and workforce flexibility—across macro (policy), meso (organizational), and micro (process) levels. This study constructs a conceptual model that explains the interdependencies and trade-offs among strategic operational responses in the Anthropocene era. Supported by multi-level logic and a synthesis of domain constructs, the model provides a foundation for empirical investigation and strategic planning. Key propositions for future research are developed, focusing on causal relationships and boundary conditions. The novelty of ISOS lies in its simultaneous integration of three strategic pillars—circularity, localization, and digital resilience—within a unified, multi-scalar architecture that bridges fragmented operational theories. The article advances theory by redefining operational excellence through regenerative logic and adaptive capacity, responding directly to SDG 9 (industry innovation), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), and SDG 13 (climate action). This integrative framework offers both theoretical insight and practical guidance for transforming operations into catalysts of sustainable transition. Full article

Industrial robots are undergoing a transformative shift as Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven and bio-inspired control strategies unlock new levels of precision, adaptability, and multi-dimensional sustainability aligned with Industry 5.0 (energy efficiency, material circularity, and life-cycle emissions). This systematic review analyzes 160 peer-reviewed industrial robotics control studies (2023–2025), including an expanded bio-inspired/human-centric subset, to evaluate: (1) the dominant and emerging control methodologies; (2) the transformative role of digital twins and 5G-enabled connectivity; and (3) the persistent technical, ethical, and environmental challenges. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, the study employs a rigorous methodology, focusing on adaptive control, deep reinforcement learning (DRL), human–robot collaboration (HRC), and quantum-inspired algorithms. The key findings highlight up to 30% latency reductions in real-time optimization, up to 22% efficiency gains through digital twins, and up to 25% energy savings from bio-inspired designs (all percentage ranges are reported relative to the comparator baselines specified in the cited sources). However, critical barriers remain, including scalability limitations (with up to 40% higher computational demands) and cybersecurity vulnerabilities (with up to 20% exposure rates). The convergence of AI, bio-inspired systems, and quantum computing is poised to enable sustainable, autonomous, and human-centric robotics, yet requires standardized safety frameworks and hybrid architectures to fully support the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0. This review offers a strategic roadmap for future research and industrial adoption, emphasizing human-centric design, ethical frameworks, and circular-economy principles to address global manufacturing challenges. Full article

Sustainability reporting has evolved into a multidimensional field encompassing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure, integrated reporting (IR), and circular economy (CE) practices. This study aims to map the intellectual and thematic landscape of sustainability reporting research over the past decade, with a focus on sectoral differentiation. Drawing on bibliometric analysis of 1611 scientific articles indexed in Scopus, this research applies co-word analysis, thematic mapping, and bibliographic coupling to identify prevailing trends, conceptual clusters, and knowledge gaps. The results reveal a clear progression from fragmented debates toward a more integrated discourse combining ESG, IR, and CE frameworks. In the real economy, sustainability reporting demonstrates a mature operational focus, supported by standardized frameworks and extensive empirical evidence. In contrast, the banking sector exhibits emerging engagement with sustainability disclosure, while the public sector remains at an earlier stage of conceptual and practical development. Despite the increasing convergence of research streams, gaps persist in linking reporting practices to tangible sustainability outcomes, integrating digital innovations, and addressing social dimensions of circularity. This study concludes that further interdisciplinary and sector-specific research is essential to advance credible, comparable, and decision-useful reporting practices capable of supporting the transition toward sustainable and circular business models. Full article

The shift from traditional linear economic models to circular economy principles has gained momentum, particularly in the wastewater treatment sector. This transition relies on resource use efficiency, waste minimisation, and value creation. Nevertheless, a review of 83 articles, yielding 386 key performance indicators, reveals a significant lack of standardised methodologies for assessing circular economy performance in Wastewater Treatment Plants. This absence allows ambiguous outcomes and hinders comparative analyses across facilities and countries. There is a clear need for a universally applicable Key Performance Indicators-based framework that evaluates all environmental dimensions without forgetting the technical component while encompassing the various circularity strategies. Such a framework should not discard defined parameters’ costs and data availability, avoiding abstract parameters that may lead to data manipulation and require extensive additional costs. Standardising Key Performance Indicators with explicit units of measurement is essential to ensure data comparability. In addition, they should comply with the regulatory institutions’ evaluation requirements, at least while these methodologies have not yet evolved to incorporate broader circular and environmental considerations. Developing a standardised Key Performance Indicators-based framework is crucial for effectively evaluating circular economy performance in Wastewater Treatment Plants, ensuring comprehensive environmental assessment, data comparability, and alignment with regulatory standards. This approach would facilitate a more consistent and transparent evaluation of circular economy initiatives across diverse contexts. Full article

Japan’s 8.5 million vacant homes (Akiyas) represent a paradox of scarcity amid surplus: while rural depopulation leaves properties abandoned, housing shortages and bureaucratic inefficiencies hinder their reuse. This study proposes AKI2ALL, an AI-blockchain framework designed to automate the circular repurposing of Akiyas into ten high-value community assets—guesthouses, co-working spaces, pop-up retail and logistics hubs, urban farming hubs, disaster relief housing, parking lots, elderly daycare centers, exhibition spaces, places for food and beverages, and company offices—through smart contracts and data-driven workflows. By integrating circular economy principles with decentralized technology, AKI2ALL streamlines property transitions, tax validation, and administrative processes, reducing operational costs while preserving embodied carbon in existing structures. Municipalities list properties, owners select uses, and AI optimizes assignments based on real-time demand. This work bridges gaps in digital construction governance, proving that automating trust and accountability can transform systemic inefficiencies into opportunities for community-led, low-carbon regeneration, highlighting its potential as a scalable model for global vacant property reuse. Full article

This work studies and analyzes the transition from a linear to a circular economy through wastewater treatment and resource recovery. As wastewater volumes grow, sustainable management becomes critical. This study highlights the reuse of treated effluent, beneficial sludge utilization, and energy generation via anaerobic digestion. Wastewater treatment plants should be envisioned as hubs for recovering water, materials, and energy, rather than disposal facilities. Emphasizing resource efficiency, the circular economy approach offers viable solutions to challenges related to resource scarcity, climate change, and ecological impact. Full article

This study investigates the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a decision-support mechanism for managing complex sustainability issues in industrial settings, specifically within the framework of circular economy principles. Focusing on a case from the brewery sector, developed under the EU ECOFACT initiative, this research evaluates ten distinct configurations for the must cooling process. These alternatives are assessed using environmental, economic, and technical criteria, drawing on data from life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methodologies. The findings indicate that selecting an optimal scenario involves balancing trade-offs among electricity and water consumption, operational efficiency, and overall environmental impacts. Notably, Scenario 3 emerges as the most balanced option, consistently demonstrating superior performance across the primary evaluation criteria. The use of AHP in this context proves valuable by introducing structure and transparency to a multifaceted decision-making process where quantitative metrics and sustainability objectives intersect. By integrating empirical industrial data with an established multi-criteria decision approach, this study highlights both the practical utility and existing limitations of conventional AHP, particularly its diminished ability to discriminate between alternatives when their scores are closely aligned. These insights suggest that hybrid or advanced AHP methodologies may be necessary to facilitate more nuanced decision-making for circular economy transitions in industrial environments. Full article

The construction sector significantly contributes to global environmental degradation through intensive resource extraction, high energy consumption, and substantial waste generation. Addressing this unsustainable trajectory requires integrated approaches that simultaneously improve operational efficiency and material circularity. Lean Construction (LC) and Circular Economy (CE) offer complementary frameworks for enhancing process performance and reducing environmental impacts. However, their combined implementation remains underdeveloped and fragmented. This study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) of 18 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2025, selected using PRISMA 2020 guidelines and sourced from Scopus and Web of Science databases. A mixed-method approach combines bibliometric mapping and qualitative content analysis to investigate how LC and CE are jointly operationalized in construction contexts. The findings reveal that LC improves cost, time, and workflow reliability, while CE enables reuse, modularity, and lifecycle extension. Integration is further supported by digital tools—such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), and digital twins—which enhance traceability and flow optimization. Nonetheless, persistent barriers—including supply chain fragmentation, lack of standards, and regulatory gaps—continue to constrain widespread adoption. This review identifies six strategic enablers for LC-CE integration: crossdisciplinary competencies, collaborative governance, interoperable digital systems, standardized indicators, incentive-based regulation, and pilot demonstrator projects. By consolidating fragmented evidence, the study provides a structured research agenda and practical insights to guide the transition toward more circular, efficient, and sustainable construction practices. Full article

Gasification of municipal solid waste and other biogenic residues (e.g., biomass and biowaste) is increasingly recognized as a promising thermochemical pathway for converting non-recyclable fractions into valuable energy carriers, with applications in electricity generation, district heating, hydrogen production, and synthetic fuels. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of major gasification technologies, including fixed bed, fluidized bed, entrained flow, plasma, supercritical water, microwave-assisted, high-temperature steam, and rotary kiln systems. Key aspects such as feedstock compatibility, operating parameters, technology readiness level, and integration within circular economy frameworks are critically evaluated. A comparative assessment of incineration and pyrolysis highlights the environmental and energetic advantages of gasification. The valorization pathways for main product (syngas) and by-products (syngas, ash, tar, and biochar) are also explored, emphasizing their reuse in environmental, agricultural, and industrial applications. Despite progress, large-scale adoption in Europe is constrained by economic, legislative, and technical barriers. Future research should prioritize scaling emerging systems, optimizing by-product recovery, and improving integration with carbon capture and circular energy infrastructures. Supported by recent European policy frameworks, gasification is positioned to play a key role in sustainable waste-to-energy strategies, biomass valorization, and the transition to a low-emission economy. Full article

Most industrial processes depend on heat, electricity, demineralized water, and chemical inputs, which themselves are produced through energy- and resource-intensive industrial activities. In this work, acetic acid (AA) production from syngas (CO, CO₂, and H₂) fermentation is explored and compared against a thermochemical fossil benchmark and other thermochemical/biological processes across four main Key Performance Indicators (KPI)—electricity use, heat use, water consumption, and carbon footprint (CF)—for the years 2023 and 2050 in Portugal and France. CF was evaluated through transparent and public inventories for all the processes involved in chemical production and utilities. Spreadsheet-traceable matrices for hotspot identification were also developed. The fossil benchmark, with all the necessary cascade processes, was 0.64 kg CO_2-eq/kg AA, 1.53 kWh/kg AA, 22.02 MJ/kg AA, and 1.62 L water/kg AA for the Portuguese 2023 energy mix, with a reduction of 162% of the CO₂-eq in the 2050 energy transition context. The results demonstrated that industrial practices would benefit greatly from the transition from fossil to renewable energy and from more sustainable chemical sources. For carbon-intensive sectors like steel or cement, the acetogenic syngas fermentation appears as a scalable bridge technology, converting the flue gas waste stream into marketable products and accelerating the transition towards a circular economy. Full article