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The increasing accumulation of synthetic plastic waste in oceans and landfills, along with the depletion of non-renewable fossil-based resources, has sparked environmental concerns and prompted the search for environmentally friendly alternatives. Biodegradable plastics derived from lignocellulosic materials are emerging as substitutes for synthetic plastics, offering significant potential to reduce landfill stress and minimise environmental impacts. This study highlights a sustainable and cost-effective solution by utilising agricultural residues and invasive plant materials as carbon substrates for the production of biopolymers, particularly polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), through microbiological processes. Locally sourced residual materials were preferred to reduce transportation costs and ensure accessibility. The selection of suitable residue streams was based on various criteria, including strength properties, cellulose content, low ash and lignin content, affordability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, shelf-life, mechanical and physical properties, short maturation period, antibacterial properties and compatibility with global food security. Life cycle assessments confirm that PHB dramatically lowers CO₂ emissions compared to traditional plastics, while the growing use of lignocellulosic biomass in biopolymeric applications offers renewable and readily available resources. Governments worldwide are increasingly inclined to develop comprehensive bioeconomy policies and specialised bioplastics initiatives, driven by customer acceptability and the rising demand for environmentally friendly solutions. The implications of climate change, price volatility in fossil materials, and the imperative to reduce dependence on fossil resources further contribute to the desirability of biopolymers. The study involves fermentation, turbidity measurements, extraction and purification of PHB, and the manufacturing and testing of composite biopolymers using various physical, mechanical and chemical tests.

Composites based on fiber are commonly used in high-performance building materials. The composites mostly use petrochemically derived fibers like polyester and e-glass, due to their advantageous material features like high stiffness and strength. All the same, these fibers also have important shortcomings related to energy consumption, recyclability, initial processing expense, resulting health hazards, and sustainability. Increasing environmental awareness and new sustainable building technologies are driving the research, development, and usage of “green” building materials, especially the development of biomaterials.

In this chapter, the natural fiber evaluation approach is applied, which covers a diverse set of criteria. Consequently, the comparative assessment of diverse natural fiber types is applied through the use of an expert decision system approach. The best performing fiber choice is made by comparatively evaluating the materials related to green building. The proposed fiber can be used and applied by green building material manufacturing companies in various countries or locations as a reference when selecting the fiber with the best performance.

This chapter shows how different recycling locations influence closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) cost and carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e), as well as reveal competitive recycling and manufacturing locations, including relevant distance- and location-related factors, for achieving very low cost and CO₂e CLSCs supporting circular economy. Exploratory data analysis is used to analyze results from simulations based on empirical data and market rates relating to textile and clothing CLSCs. The results show that most very low-cost and CO₂e CLSCs consist of fabric and garment manufacturing located at the same or nearby locations, and whose labor costs and electricity CO₂e are low, whether fiber recycling facilities are located in proximity to used garment sorting facilities or not. Scenario and sensitivity analyses of important cost and CO₂e factors for recycling location competitiveness reveal that increasing used garment prices makes locations with high import duties lose competitiveness, and that varying water freight CO₂e changes comparative location competitiveness.

To examine the role of new aeronautical technologies in improving commercial aviation’s environmental performance.

Reviews the environmental improvements that may be conferred through the adoption of alternative aviation fuels and new airframe, engine and navigation technologies.

Although aeronautical technologies have evolved considerably since the earliest days of powered flight, the aviation industry is now reaching a point of diminishing returns as growing global consumer demand for air transport outstrips incremental improvements in environmental efficiency. The chapter describes some of the technological interventions that are being pursued to improve aviation’s environmental performance and discusses the extent to which these innovations will help to deliver a more sustainable aviation industry.

System change for the circular economy (CE) in the society requires innovative thinking in refining existing material into new resources and collaboration with different actors. We introduce examples of decomposers with different roles in a circular ecosystem. Examples from reusers of waste material, users of recycled materials, designers of new technologies, and facilitators of CE networks are introduced to illustrate how companies contribute to a circular ecosystem in the clothing and textiles industry. Moreover, we illustrate the networked nature of supply chains of circular materials.

The consideration of alternative sources of material for construction is imperative to reduce the environmental impacts as two-fifths of the carbon footprint of materials is attributed to the construction industry. One alternative material with improved biodegradable attributes which can contribute to carbon offset is bamboo. The commercialisation of bamboo in modern infrastructures has significant potential to address few of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) itemised by the United Nations, namely SDG 9 about industry, innovation and infrastructure. Other SDGs covering sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production and climate action are also indirectly addressed when utilising sustainable construction materials. Being a natural material however, the full commercialisation of materials such as bamboo is constrained by a lack of durability. Besides fracture mechanisms arising from load-induced cracks and thermal modification, the durability of bamboo material is greatly impaired by biotic and abiotic factors, which equally affect its natural rate of degradation, hence fracture behaviour. In first instance, this chapter outlines the various factors leading to the durability limitations in bamboo material due to load-induced cracks and natural degradation based on recent findings in this field from the author's own work and from past literature. Secondly, part of this chapter is devoted to a new approach of processing the surge of information about the varied aspects of bamboo durability by considering the powerful technique of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically the artificial neural network (ANN) for prediction modelling. Further use of AI-enabled technologies could have an impactful outcome on the life cycle assessment of bamboo-based structures to address the growing challenges outlined by the United Nations.

There is growing apprehension about climate change and the role played by fossil fuels. Exploration of renewable sources of energy as an alternative to fossil fuels reveals that there is no path forward toward a true green economy that does not have negative environmental side effects. Thus, the improvement of managerial and financial accounting to provide more environmental information and accountability by governmental and nongovernmental institutions is increasingly important in guiding us toward wiser choices. Since the 1970s, the increasing concerns about the environment in the United States have led to improved regulation and more comprehensive environmental reporting requirements and accounting standards. Also, global institutions have been created to foster voluntary reporting of both direct and indirect environmental impacts of their activities by institutions. However, evidence suggests that, while some large global firms have found it useful to engage in sustainability reporting throughout their operations, in general, the US organizational environmental reporting is not strong and is oriented toward the legal minimum when present. If we are to take account of the many direct and indirect ways in which our production choices affect our environment, then our institutions need to play a larger role in informing our choices. Both the Environmental Managerial Accounting Initiative and an enhanced balanced scorecard approach are recommended as frameworks for future efforts; public and private institutions must also include life cycle analysis in decision-making systems in order to enhance their ability to help achieve sustainable economic progress.

Now more than ever, climate action requires both private and public investment in building a sustainable future for all. COP26 affirmed the importance of collective action at all scales coupled with supporting public policy to limit global warming to a 1.5-degree trajectory. This chapter outlines the process and building blocks that culminated in the launch of the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, whose mission is to leverage the collective impact of Georgia’s business community to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the state by 2050. In bringing together companies across diverse industries, the Business Compact creates a community of practice where cross-sector collaboration accelerates Georgia’s path to actualizing COP26’s decarbonization vision while also considering ‘beyond carbon’ issues such as the economy, equity, public health, and the environment. This is a regional and voluntary approach to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 (Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development), which recognizes multi-stakeholder partnerships as important vehicles to achieve SDGs.

In the 1930s, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were developed as safe, non-reactive alternatives to toxic and explosive refrigerants and propellants such as ammonia, chloromethane, and sulfur dioxide. American engineer Thomas Midgley famously demonstrated these properties by inhaling Freon (CFC-12) and blowing out a candle with it. He was presented with many awards for his discoveries, such as the Perkin, Priestley, and William Gibbs medals. In today's jargon, CFCs might have been called an eco-innovation, because they provided solutions to several environmental issues. However, CFCs solved environmental problems by creating others. In 1974, Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina published their pathbreaking research that demonstrated CFCs were depleting the ozone layer. In 1989, the Montreal Protocol, which regulates a global phaseout of CFCs, entered into force. A few years later, in 1995, Rowland and Molina received the Nobel Price in Chemistry. The new substitutes for CFCs, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), have no known effects on the ozone layer but are extremely potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) and thus subject to the Kyoto Protocol.