The circular economy concept has recently gained prominence in political debate and corporate dis... more The circular economy concept has recently gained prominence in political debate and corporate discourse around the world as a pathway towards sustainability. The academic debate is characterised by several and sometimes very contrasting definitions of the concept. We claim here that the issue is not finding silver-bullet solutions that will simultaneously support population growth, increasing affluence and environmental resource regeneration. We argue that a clearer definition is needed for the circular economy concept, in terms of strategies, objectives, future states and stakeholders’ needs. Also, assessment methods need to be developed for keeping track of the transition towards a circular economy. Within this context, this paper establishes the need for a multi-stakeholder, multi-dimensional and multi-criteria approach for the evaluation of the transition towards a circular economy across different time and spatial scales, as well as multiple sustainability dimensions.
Urbanization is widely recognized as a relentless trend at the global level. Nevertheless, a comp... more Urbanization is widely recognized as a relentless trend at the global level. Nevertheless, a comprehensive assessment of urban systems able to address the future growth and decline of cities is still lacking. Urban systems today rely on abundant resources, flowing in from other regions, and their future availability and accessibility should be taken into consideration to ensure urban well-being and resilience in likely post-growth scenarios. A logical framework to address the challenge of urban planning and management to promote long-term urban system sustainability is proposed. Systems thinking and diagramming are applied, while comprehensively tracking the key material flows upon which cities depend back to their sources. First, the nexus among resources and urban activities is identified, and then its circularity is framed within a wider discourse on urban sustainability and resilience. Discussion is carried out within a twofold perspective of both existing and newly built environments, while related economies are analyzed in order to find possible game-changing scenarios.
The growth of modern societies with their scientific, economic and social achievements was made p... more The growth of modern societies with their scientific, economic and social achievements was made possible by the cheap availability of fossil fuels. Side effects of fossil energy resources were the development of unsustainable production and consumption patterns, the degradation of natural capital, and the release of airborne, waterborne and solid waste. Consumption and environmental loading are not only related to fuels, but also to other material resources, such as minerals in general and rare earths in particular. The increasing shortage of crucial resources affects and constrains important economic sectors (e.g., electronic sectors, renewable energies, food production), thus placing a limit on further development and wellbeing. Concepts of sustainable economies and communities, with focus on the social dimension of development and also on the ecological and economic aspects at the same time, are gaining the attention of policy makers, managers, and investors, as well as local sta...
A life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to assess the environmental load of a prospective local... more A life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to assess the environmental load of a prospective local bioethanol (EtOH) production system in Southern Italy by using lignocellulosic Fiber sorghum (FS) feedstock. A two steps analysis was carried out considering: (i) a "cradle-to-farm gate" LCA to investigate thoroughly the FS cultivation on hilly marginal land and (ii) a "cradle-to-wheels" system boundary encompassing the environmental pressure of the whole EtOH supply-use chain. Primary data related to lignocellulosic biomass production were combined with experimental feedstock conversion processes through advanced second generation technology. The purpose was the evaluation of the environmental performance of different EtOH-gasoline mixtures in midsize passenger cars: E10 (10% of EtOH and 90% of gasoline) and E85 (85% of EtOH and 15% of gasoline). N fertilization appeared as the prevailing contributor of the crop phase. The "cradle-to-wheels" results concerning E10 passenger car disclosed that the main hotspots were represented by the input of low sulphur petrol (66%) and the linked tailpipe emissions (15%), for almost all the impact categories. Otherwise, for E85 flex-fuel vehicle, the major drivers were represented by the feedstock production (46%) and the imported electricity used in the conversion facility (18%). The FS EtOH blends entailed potential environmental benefits compared with the fossil counterpart (gasoline) for climate change, ozone and fossil depletions. Otherwise, they evidenced a worse profile in terms of acidification, eutrophication and particulate matter formation. Within the context of a the prospective territorial bio-refinery network, the comparison of the annual FS bioethanol based systems with similar EtOH scenarios from giant reed perennial crops highlighted: (i) the importance to optimize the N-management for FS feedstock cultivation and (ii) the need to increase the use of the renewable energy carriers along the industrial conversion pathway.
The circular economy concept has recently gained prominence in political debate and corporate dis... more The circular economy concept has recently gained prominence in political debate and corporate discourse around the world as a pathway towards sustainability. The academic debate is characterised by several and sometimes very contrasting definitions of the concept. We claim here that the issue is not finding silver-bullet solutions that will simultaneously support population growth, increasing affluence and environmental resource regeneration. We argue that a clearer definition is needed for the circular economy concept, in terms of strategies, objectives, future states and stakeholders’ needs. Also, assessment methods need to be developed for keeping track of the transition towards a circular economy. Within this context, this paper establishes the need for a multi-stakeholder, multi-dimensional and multi-criteria approach for the evaluation of the transition towards a circular economy across different time and spatial scales, as well as multiple sustainability dimensions.
Urbanization is widely recognized as a relentless trend at the global level. Nevertheless, a comp... more Urbanization is widely recognized as a relentless trend at the global level. Nevertheless, a comprehensive assessment of urban systems able to address the future growth and decline of cities is still lacking. Urban systems today rely on abundant resources, flowing in from other regions, and their future availability and accessibility should be taken into consideration to ensure urban well-being and resilience in likely post-growth scenarios. A logical framework to address the challenge of urban planning and management to promote long-term urban system sustainability is proposed. Systems thinking and diagramming are applied, while comprehensively tracking the key material flows upon which cities depend back to their sources. First, the nexus among resources and urban activities is identified, and then its circularity is framed within a wider discourse on urban sustainability and resilience. Discussion is carried out within a twofold perspective of both existing and newly built environments, while related economies are analyzed in order to find possible game-changing scenarios.
The growth of modern societies with their scientific, economic and social achievements was made p... more The growth of modern societies with their scientific, economic and social achievements was made possible by the cheap availability of fossil fuels. Side effects of fossil energy resources were the development of unsustainable production and consumption patterns, the degradation of natural capital, and the release of airborne, waterborne and solid waste. Consumption and environmental loading are not only related to fuels, but also to other material resources, such as minerals in general and rare earths in particular. The increasing shortage of crucial resources affects and constrains important economic sectors (e.g., electronic sectors, renewable energies, food production), thus placing a limit on further development and wellbeing. Concepts of sustainable economies and communities, with focus on the social dimension of development and also on the ecological and economic aspects at the same time, are gaining the attention of policy makers, managers, and investors, as well as local sta...
A life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to assess the environmental load of a prospective local... more A life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to assess the environmental load of a prospective local bioethanol (EtOH) production system in Southern Italy by using lignocellulosic Fiber sorghum (FS) feedstock. A two steps analysis was carried out considering: (i) a "cradle-to-farm gate" LCA to investigate thoroughly the FS cultivation on hilly marginal land and (ii) a "cradle-to-wheels" system boundary encompassing the environmental pressure of the whole EtOH supply-use chain. Primary data related to lignocellulosic biomass production were combined with experimental feedstock conversion processes through advanced second generation technology. The purpose was the evaluation of the environmental performance of different EtOH-gasoline mixtures in midsize passenger cars: E10 (10% of EtOH and 90% of gasoline) and E85 (85% of EtOH and 15% of gasoline). N fertilization appeared as the prevailing contributor of the crop phase. The "cradle-to-wheels" results concerning E10 passenger car disclosed that the main hotspots were represented by the input of low sulphur petrol (66%) and the linked tailpipe emissions (15%), for almost all the impact categories. Otherwise, for E85 flex-fuel vehicle, the major drivers were represented by the feedstock production (46%) and the imported electricity used in the conversion facility (18%). The FS EtOH blends entailed potential environmental benefits compared with the fossil counterpart (gasoline) for climate change, ozone and fossil depletions. Otherwise, they evidenced a worse profile in terms of acidification, eutrophication and particulate matter formation. Within the context of a the prospective territorial bio-refinery network, the comparison of the annual FS bioethanol based systems with similar EtOH scenarios from giant reed perennial crops highlighted: (i) the importance to optimize the N-management for FS feedstock cultivation and (ii) the need to increase the use of the renewable energy carriers along the industrial conversion pathway.
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Papers by Amalia Zucaro