Search Results (401)

The successful deployment of sustainable building construction (SBC) is connected to sound knowledge sharing. Concerning SBC, knowledge sharing has been identified to directly and indirectly increase innovation, environmental performance, cost saving, regulatory compliance awareness and so on. The necessity of enhancing SBC practice globally has been emphasised by earlier research. Consequently, this study aims to investigate knowledge-sharing elements to enhance SBC in South Africa (SA). Utilising a questionnaire survey, this study elicited data from 281 professionals in the built environment. Data analysis was performed with “descriptive statistics”, the “Kruskal–Wallis H-test”, and “principal component analysis” to determine the principal knowledge-sharing features (KSFs). This study found that “creating public awareness of sustainable practices”, the “content of SBC training, raising awareness of green building products”, “SBC integration in professional certifications”, an “information hub or repository for sustainable construction”, and “mentoring younger professionals in sustainable practices” are the most critical KSFs for SBC deployment. These formed a central cluster, the Green Education Initiative and Eco-Awareness Alliance. The results achieved a reliability test value of 0.956. It was concluded that to embrace the full adoption of SBC, corporate involvement is critical, and all stakeholders must embrace the sustainability paradigm. It is recommended that the principal knowledge-sharing features revealed in this study should be carefully considered to help construction stakeholders in fostering knowledge sharing for a sustainable built environment. Full article

This study aims to evaluate the level of awareness and practical adoption of green wall systems in the Nigerian construction industry. It seeks to examine the current state of green wall implementation and recommend strategies to enhance their integration into construction practices among Nigerian construction professionals. A thorough review of the existing literature was conducted to identify different types of green wall systems. Insights from this review informed the design of a structured questionnaire, which was distributed to construction professionals based in Lagos State. The data collected were analyzed using statistical tests. The study reveals that while there is generally high awareness of green wall systems among Nigerian construction professionals, the practical use remains low, with just 8 out of the 18 systems being actively implemented, eclipsing the mean value of 3.0. The findings underscore the need for targeted education, industry incentives, and increased advocacy to encourage the use of green wall systems in the Nigerian construction sector. The results have significant implications for the Nigerian construction industry. The limited awareness and adoption of green wall systems highlight the need for strategic actions from policymakers, industry leaders and educational institutions. Promoting the use of green walls could drive more sustainable building practices, improve environmental outcomes and support the broader goals of decarbonization and circularity in construction. This research adds to the body of knowledge on sustainable construction by offering a detailed evaluation of green wall awareness and adoption within the Nigerian context. While green wall systems have been studied globally, this research provides a regional perspective, which in this case focuses on Lagos State. The study’s recognition of the gap between awareness and implementation highlights an important area for future research and industry development. Full article

Achieving the construction sector’s dual carbon objectives necessitates scaling green energy adoption in new residential buildings. The current literature critically overlooks four unresolved problems: oversimplified penalty mechanisms, ignoring escalating regulatory costs; static subsidies misaligned with market maturity evolution; systematic exclusion of innovation feedback from energy suppliers; and underexplored behavioral evolution of building owners. This study establishes a government–suppliers–owners evolutionary game framework with dynamically calibrated policies, simulated using MATLAB multi-scenario analysis. Novel findings demonstrate: (1) A dual-threshold penalty effect where excessive fines diminish policy returns due to regulatory costs, requiring dynamic calibration distinct from fixed-penalty approaches; (2) Market-maturity-phased subsidies increasing owner adoption probability by 30% through staged progression; (3) Energy suppliers’ cost-reducing innovations as pivotal feedback drivers resolving coordination failures, overlooked in prior tripartite models; (4) Owners’ adoption motivation shifts from short-term economic incentives to environmentally driven decisions under policy guidance. The framework resolves these gaps through integrated dynamic mechanisms, providing policymakers with evidence-based regulatory thresholds, energy suppliers with cost-reduction targets, and academia with replicable modeling tools. Full article

Urban areas are at the forefront in addressing global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Among the key responses are nature-based solutions, which are increasingly being integrated into policy frameworks but which require strong community engagement for their effective implementation. This paper presents the findings of surveys conducted within the Place Lab in Katowice, Poland, an initiative developed as part of an international project and used as a participatory tool for co-creating and implementing green infrastructure. The project applies both place-based and people-centred approaches to support European cities in their transition towards regenerative urbanism. Place Lab activities encourage collaboration between local authorities and residents, enhancing awareness and fostering participation in environmental initiatives. The survey data collected during the project allowed for the evaluation of changes in public attitudes and levels of engagement and for the identification of broader societal phenomena that may influence the implementation of nature-based solutions. The findings revealed, for instance, that more women were interested in supporting the project, that residents tended to be sceptical of governmental actions on climate change, and that views were divided on the trade-off between urban infrastructure such as parking and roads and the presence of green areas. Furthermore, questions of responsibility, awareness, and long-term commitment were frequently raised. Building on the survey results and the existing literature, the study proposes a set of indicators to assess the contribution of citizen participation to the adoption of nature-based solutions. While the effectiveness of nature-based solutions in mitigating climate change impacts can be assessed relatively directly, evaluating civic engagement is more complex. Nevertheless, when conducted transparently and interpreted by experts, indicator-based assessment can offer valuable insights. This study introduces a novel perspective by considering not only drivers of engagement but also the obstacles. The proposed indicators provide a foundation for evaluating community readiness and commitment to nature-based approaches and may be adapted for application in other urban settings and in future research on climate resilience strategies. Full article

Nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs) are central to global carbon reduction strategies, and Taiwan is actively promoting their adoption through building energy performance labeling, particularly in the retrofit of existing buildings. Under Taiwan’s nZEB framework, qualification requires both an A⁺ energy performance label and over 50% energy savings from retrofit technologies. This study proposes an integrated assessment framework for retrofitting small- to medium-sized office buildings into nZEBs, incorporating diagnostics, technical evaluation, policy alignment, and resource integration. A case study of a bank branch in Kaohsiung involved on-site energy monitoring and EnergyPlus V22.2 simulations to calibrate and assess the retrofit impacts. Lighting improvements and two HVAC scenarios—upgrading the existing fan coil unit (FCU) system and adopting a completely new variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system—were evaluated. The FCU and VRF scenarios reduced the energy use intensity from 141.3 to 82.9 and 72.9 kWh/m²·yr, respectively. Combined with rooftop photovoltaics and green power procurement, both scenarios met Taiwan’s nZEB criteria. The proposed framework demonstrates practical and scalable strategies for decarbonizing existing office buildings, supporting Taiwan’s 2050 net-zero target. Full article

At present, the construction industry has not yet fully optimized the integration of the potential of big data. Past studies signaled the potential benefits of integrating building information management (BIM) and big data in the field of sustainable building management (SBM). However, these studies have a monotonous perspective in identifying the development of BIM and big data applications in SBM. Therefore, this paper aims to explore BIM and big data from various perspectives in the field of SBM to identify the aspects where additional efforts are required and provide insights into future directions, and it adopts a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative analysis, including bibliometric analysis and knowledge mapping, providing a macro-overview of the research status and development trends of BIM and big data integration for SBM from multiple bibliometric perspectives. The results indicate the following: (1) the current studies on BIM and big data integration (BBi)-aided SBM mainly focused on data integration and interoperability for collaboration, development of information technologies and emerging technologies, data analysis and presentation, and green building and sustainability assessment; (2) the longitudinal analysis of three time-slice phases (2010–2014, 2015–2018, and 2019–2024) over the past 15 years indicates that the studies on BBi-aided SBM have been expanded from the application of BIM in construction projects to the integration and interoperability of BIM with information technology, the integration of virtual models with physical buildings, and sustainable management throughout the building life cycle stages; and (3) key research gaps and emerging directions include data integration and model interoperability across the building life cycle, model transferability in the application of technology, and a comprehensive sustainability assessment framework based on the whole building life cycle stages. Full article

With rising environmental awareness, numerous firms are transitioning to green investment, such as low-carbon production. However, the consumer adoption of low-carbon products remains low due to transparency concerns. Many firms are leveraging blockchain to address information asymmetry in the supply chain, thereby building consumer confidence in low-carbon products. The purpose of this work is to provide decision support for business firms by analyzing the strategic choices regarding the manufacturer’s green investment and the e-retailer’s adoption of blockchain technology. Three strategy combinations are considered, including the baseline strategy combination without green investment and blockchain technology (NN), the strategy combination with only green investment (LN), and the strategy combination with both green investment and blockchain technology (LB). The optimal pricing and green level decisions are derived, and the conditions under which green investment and blockchain technology are beneficial to the supply chain members are examined. The findings suggest that the e-retailer can obtain the highest profit without adopting blockchain technology if it holds a substantial or extremely low market share, if the consumers’ low-carbon preference is at a low to medium level, or if the consumer green trust coefficient is high when the manufacturer implements the green investment strategy. When consumers exhibit a weak preference for low-carbon products, the strategy combination NN is optimal for the supply chain members. The strategy combination LB becomes optimal if the consumer green trust coefficient is near or below the moderate threshold, if the market share of a channel is neither extremely high nor low, or if consumers exhibit a strong preference for low-carbon products. Full article

In the low-carbon era, there is a serious challenge of climate change, which urgently needs to promote low-carbon consumption behavior in order to build sustainable low-carbon consumption patterns. The establishment of this model not only requires in-depth theoretical research as support, but also requires tripartite cooperation between the government, enterprises and the public to jointly promote the popularization and practice of the low-carbon consumption concept. Therefore, by constructing a tripartite evolutionary game model and simulation analysis, this study deeply discusses the mechanism of government policy on the strategy choice of logistics enterprises. The stability strategy and satisfying conditions are deeply analyzed by constructing a tripartite evolutionary game model of the logistics industry, government, and consumers. With the help of MATLAB R2023b simulation analysis, the following key conclusions are drawn: (1) The strategic choice of logistics enterprises is affected by various government policies, including research and development intensity, construction intensity, and punishment intensity. These government policies and measures guide logistics enterprises toward low-carbon development. (2) The government’s research, development, and punishment intensity are vital in determining whether logistics enterprises adopt low-carbon strategies. R&D efforts incentivize logistics companies to adopt low-carbon technologies by driving technological innovation and reducing costs. The penalties include economic sanctions to restrain companies that do not comply with low-carbon standards. In contrast, construction intensity mainly affects the consumption behavior of consumers and then indirectly affects the strategic choice of logistics enterprises through market demand. (3) Although the government’s active supervision is a necessary guarantee for logistics enterprises to implement low-carbon strategies, more is needed. This means that in addition to the government’s policy support, it also needs the active efforts of the logistics enterprises themselves and the improvement of the market mechanism to promote the low-carbon development of the logistics industry jointly. This study quantifies the impact of different factors on the system’s evolution, providing a precise decision-making basis for policymakers and helping promote the logistics industry’s and consumers’ low-carbon transition. It also provides theoretical support for the logistics industry’s low-carbon development and green low-carbon consumption and essential guidance for sustainable development. Full article

In China, the recycling system for waste tires is characterized by high output but low standardized recovery rates. This study examines the environmental and health risks caused by non-compliant treatment by individual recyclers and explores the barriers to the large-scale adoption of Pyrolysis Technology. A Tripartite Evolutionary Game Model involving pyrolysis plants, waste tire recyclers, and government regulators is developed. The model incorporates pollutants from pretreatment and pyrolysis processes into a unified metric—Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO₂-eq)—based on Global Warming Potential (GWP), and designs a Differential Carbon Taxation mechanism accordingly. The strategy dynamics and stability conditions for Evolutionary Stable Strategies (ESS) are analyzed. Multi-scenario numerical simulations explore how key parameter changes influence evolutionary trajectories and equilibrium outcomes. Six typical equilibrium states are identified, along with the critical conditions for achieving environmentally friendly results. Based on theoretical analysis and simulation results, targeted policy recommendations are proposed to promote standardized waste tire pyrolysis: (1) Establish a phased dynamic carbon tax with supporting subsidies; (2) Build a green market cultivation and price stabilization system; (3) Implement performance-based differential incentives; (4) Strengthen coordination between central environmental inspections and local carbon tax enforcement. Full article

Despite the rapid adoption of green buildings as a sustainable development strategy, robust, data-driven approaches for assessing and predicting project risks remain limited. This study proposes an innovative hybrid framework combining the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), multilayer perceptron neural networks (MLPNNs), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) to quantify and forecast the impact of critical risks on green buildings’ performance. Drawing on structured input from 30 domain experts in Shenzhen, China, ten risk categories were identified and prioritized, with economic, market, and functional risks emerging as the most influential. Using these expert-derived weights, an MLP was trained to predict the effects of the top five risks on four core performance metrics—cost, time, quality, and scope. PSO was applied to optimize the model’s architecture and hyperparameters, improving its predictive accuracy. The optimized framework achieved RMSE values ranging from 0.06 to 0.09 and R² values of up to 0.95 across all outputs, demonstrating strong predictive capability. These results substantiate the framework’s effectiveness in generating actionable, quantitative risk predictions under uncertainty. Full article

Green roofs are increasingly being adopted as sustainable, nature-based solutions for managing urban stormwater, mitigating the urban heat island effect, and saving energy in buildings. However, the long-term performance of their individual components—particularly filter geotextiles—remains understudied, despite their critical role in maintaining system functionality. The filter layer, responsible for preventing clogging of the drainage layer with fine substrate particles, directly affects the hydrological performance and service life of green roofs. While most existing studies focus on the initial material properties, there is a clear gap in understanding how geotextile filters behave after prolonged exposure to real-world environmental conditions. This study addresses this gap by assessing the mechanical and structural integrity of geotextile filters after five years of use in both extensive and intensive green roof systems. By analyzing changes in surface morphology, microstructure, and porosity through tensile strength tests, digital imaging, and scanning electron microscopy, this research offers new insights into the long-term performance of geotextiles. Results showed significant retention of tensile strength, particularly in the machine direction (MD), and a 56% reduction in porosity, which may affect filtration efficiency. Although material degradation occurs, some geotextiles retain their structural integrity over time, highlighting their potential for long-term use in green infrastructure applications. This research emphasizes the importance of material selection, long-term monitoring, and standardized evaluation techniques to ensure the ecological and functional resilience of green roofs. Furthermore, the findings contribute to advancing knowledge on the durability and life-cycle performance of filter materials, promoting sustainability and longevity in urban green infrastructure. Full article

In the current context, where environmental concerns are gaining increased attention, the transition toward sustainable urban mobility stands out as a necessary and responsible step. Technological advancements over the past decade have brought private autonomous vehicles, particularly those defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers Levels 4 and 5, into focus as promising solutions for mitigating road congestion and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the extent to which Autonomous Vehicles can fulfill this potential depends largely on user acceptance, patterns of use, and their integration within broader green energy and sustainability policies. The present paper aims to develop an integrated conceptual model that links behavioral determinants to environmental outcomes, assessing how individuals’ intention to adopt private autonomous vehicles can contribute to sustainable urban mobility. The model integrates five psychosocial determinants—perceived usefulness, trust in technology, social influence, environmental concern, and perceived behavioral control—with contextual variables such as energy source, infrastructure availability, and public policy. These components interact to predict users’ intention to adopt AVs and their perceived contribution to urban sustainability. Methodologically, the study builds on a narrative synthesis of the literature and proposes a framework applicable to empirical validation through structural equation modeling (SEM). The model draws on established frameworks such as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior, and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, incorporating constructs including perceived usefulness, trust in technology, social influence, environmental concern, and perceived behavioral control, constructs later to be examined in relation to key contextual variables, including the energy source powering Autonomous Vehicles—such as electricity from mixed or renewable grids, hydrogen, or hybrid systems—and the broader policy environment (regulatory frameworks, infrastructure investment, fiscal incentives, and alignment with climate and mobility strategies and others). The research provides relevant directions for public policy and behavioral interventions in support of the development of clean and smart urban transport in the age of automation. Full article

The “Green Riyadh” project in Saudi Arabia represents a major initiative to enhance urban sustainability by expanding green spaces throughout Riyadh City. The initiative aims to improve air and water quality, increase tree and plant coverage, and promote environmental well-being for city residents. However, accurately assessing the extent and quality of green spaces remains a significant challenge. Current methods for evaluating green areas and measuring tree density are limited in precision and reliability, preventing effective monitoring and planning. This paper proposes an innovative solution that leverages live satellite imagery and advanced deep learning techniques to address these challenges. We collect extensive satellite data from two sources and then build two separate analytical pipelines. These pipelines process high-resolution satellite imagery to identify trees and measure green density in vegetated areas. The experimental results show significant improvements in accuracy and efficiency, with the YOLOv11 model achieving a mAP@50 of 95.4%, precision of 94.6%, and recall of 90.2%. These findings offer a scalable and reliable alternative to traditional methods, enabling comprehensive progress evaluation and facilitating informed decision-making for urban planning. The proposed methodology not only supports the objectives of the “Green Riyadh” project but also sets a benchmark for green space evaluation that can be adopted by cities worldwide. Full article

Livestock farming has been identified as a significant contributor to atmospheric pollution, underscoring the necessity for the design and management of housing systems to adopt mitigation strategies. In the context of civil engineering, green wall systems are proving to be effective solutions for air filtration and purification. Nevertheless, research related to their application in livestock buildings is limited. This study focuses on the design, implementation, and performance evaluation of a modular, mobile green wall system that has been specifically developed to test PM2.5 concentrations’ reduction in naturally ventilated, free-stall dairy barns in the Mediterranean region. To this end, PM2.5 concentrations and climatic parameters have been measured before and after the application of the green wall system. Based on one-way analysis of variance, PM2.5 concentrations after the application were significantly lower (p < 0.001) than those before the mitigation strategy. The results of this study showed that the overall efficacy of the green wall reached 44%. The implementation of green wall systems offers a promising strategy to improve air quality in livestock facilities and to design aesthetically pleasing barns with a positive impact on the surrounding landscape. Full article

In a dynamic global market, platinum-group metals (PGMs), particularly palladium, are in high demand across various industries due to their unique properties. Palladium plays a crucial role in environmentally friendly technologies, such as catalytic converters, which mitigate harmful automotive emissions. Additionally, it is essential for clean energy production, particularly in hydrogen generation, which makes palladium a critical resource for building a sustainable and secure supply chain. This study evaluates the prospects of the palladium market through strategic analysis, focusing on the Russian mining and metals company PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel. The research employs strategic and industry analysis methods to examine palladium production, market dynamics, and technological advancements, as well as emerging applications in the context of a green economy. The article analyzes the economics of palladium production, including price volatility driven by stringent environmental regulations and the rising adoption of electric vehicles. The palladium market faces challenges such as a constrained resource base, supply disruptions due to sanctions, price instability, and growing demand from key sectors, particularly the automotive industry. Nevertheless, innovation-driven trends offer promising opportunities for market growth, aligning with sustainable development principles and the transition toward a green, low-carbon economy in both established and emerging markets. As a key scientific contribution, this study proposes a modified methodological approach to industry analysis, enabling the assessment of a mining and metals company’s competitive sustainability in the palladium market over the medium and long term. Furthermore, the research models the life cycle of palladium as a commodity, considering evolving market trends and the rapid development of new industries within the green economy. Full article