Taofeeq Ibn-Mohammed

Abstract As product development becomes increasingly complex, the demand for the earth's mineral ores increases and with it, the challenge to achieve global “sustainability”. Chemical elements are the building blocks of natural resources which are sourced from across the planet to manufacture globally traded goods. While global technological, social and economic progress accelerates, evaluating the sustainability of these building blocks remains a challenge. Numerous methodologies to evaluate sustainability exist but most rely on high levels of data collection. In this paper, a methodology is presented within a multi-criteria decision analysis and composite indicator framework with the aim of rapidly and comprehensively estimating the sustainability of a chemical element . The framework is based on triple bottom line principles; the environment, economy and society, to measure the sustainability of 59 chemical elements. The output, the chemical element sustainability index (CESI), is a single value supported by the aggregation of the Human Development Index, Global Warming Potential, and National Economic Importance indicators, derived through a rigorous and systematic selection process. Recycling rate is employed within the framework as a control variable given its importance as a sustainability strategy. The results show that the greater the Human Development Index, National Economic Importance and Recycling Rate, and the lower the Global Warming Potential, the more sustainable the chemical element is, and vice-versa. The CESI was validated using three representative piezoelectric materials as a case study. The framework presented is useful for product designers, policy makers and educational bodies, to support decision making towards sustainable production and consumption.

Considered as a less hazardous piezoelectric material, potassium sodium niobate (KNN) has been in the fore of the search for replacement of lead (Pb) zirconate titanate for piezoelectrics applications. Here, we challenge the environmental credentials of KNN due to the presence of ~60 wt% Nb2O5, a substance much less toxic to humans than Pb oxide, but whose mining and extraction cause significant environmental damage.

The role of organisations in efforts to address negative externalities on the natural environment has become urgent. As such, an organisation-focused perspective would be a limited view point of addressing global environmental impacts on the natural environment. We argue that by drawing on resource-based view theory, development of decision support systems (DSS) is an example of how organisational competences which are rooted in technology can be directed and used to not just create value but also enhance environmental sustainability. To this end, we present a decision support model which seeks to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of how to effectively conduct energy savings investment to promote energy conservation and sustainability within organisation. Bridging knowledge domains, the model presented integrates the key variables of economic and net environmental benefits to produce optimal decisions. These variables are used within an optimisation scheme that consists of integrated modules for data input, sensitivity analysis and takes into account the use of a set of energy saving options that satisfies a range of criteria (environmental, demand, cost and resource constraints); hierarchical course of action; and the evaluations of ‘best’ case scenario based on marginal abatement cost methods and Pareto optimisation. The steps involved in the system development are presented and its usefulness is evaluated using a case study application. The results of the application are analysed and presented, verifying the feasibility of the model whilst encouraging further improvements and extensions. The methodology developed provides stakeholders with an efficient and reliable decision process that is informed by both environmental and financial considerations.

Measuring the performance of environmentally sustainable supply chains instead of chain constitute has become a challenge despite the convergence of the underlining principles of sustainable supply chain management. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that supply chains are inherently dynamic and complex and also because multiple measures can be used to characterize performances. By identifying some of the critical issues in the literature regarding performance measurements, this paper contributes to the existing body of literature by adopting an environmental performance measurement approach for economic sectors. It uses economic sectors and evaluates them on a sectoral level in specific countries as well as part of the Global Value Chain based on the established multi-regional input-output (MRIO) modeling framework. The MRIO model has been used to calculate direct and indirect (that is supply chain or upstream) environmental effects such as CO2, SO2, biodiversity, water cons...

Contrary to conventional knowledge, LCA of PZT vs. KNN indicates the presence of niobium in KNN constitutes far greater impact across all the 16 categories considered in comparison with PZT. The increased environmental impact of KNN occurs in the early stages of the LCA due to raw material extraction and processing.