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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 July 2023

Margherita Lisco and Radhlinah Aulin

The reuse of timber building parts, when designing new buildings, has become a topic of increasing discussion as a proposed circular solution in support of sustainable development…

Abstract

Purpose

The reuse of timber building parts, when designing new buildings, has become a topic of increasing discussion as a proposed circular solution in support of sustainable development goals. Designers face the difficulty of identifying and applying different design strategies for reuse due to multiple definitions, which are used interchangeably. The purpose of this study is to propose a taxonomy to define the relationships between various concepts and practices that comprise the relevant strategies for reuse, notably design for disassembly (DfD) and design for adaptability (DfA).

Design/methodology/approach

Literature reviews were conducted based on research publications over the previous 12 years and located through the Web of Science and Scopus.

Findings

A taxonomy for the design process grounded on two strategies for reuse is presented: DfD and DfA. Based on previous work, the taxonomy aims to build a vocabulary of definitions in DfD and DfA to support other researchers and practitioners working in the field.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to the design phase of timber-based buildings. It does not take into account the other phases of the construction process, neither other kind of construction methods.

Practical implications

The application of the taxonomy can facilitate communication between different actors and provide a way for building product manufacturers to demonstrate their reuse credentials, enabling them to produce and promote compliant products and thereby support design for reuse strategies.

Social implications

This paper could contribute to a closer collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the building process since the very early phases of the conceptual design.

Originality/value

This paper contributes a comprehensive taxonomy to support the deployment of circular reuse strategies and assist designers and other stakeholders from the earliest of phases in the building’s life cycle. The proposed definition framework provided by the taxonomy resolves the longstanding lack of a supporting vocabulary for reuse and can be used as a reference for researchers and practitioners working with the DfD and DfA.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 June 2023

Gunilla Carlsson, Oskar Jonsson, Stefan Olander, Marianne Salén, Eva Månsson Lexell and Björn Slaug

This study aims to explore how an accessibility database (AD) has been developed and implemented as a tool for facility managers to evaluate and increase the accessibility of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how an accessibility database (AD) has been developed and implemented as a tool for facility managers to evaluate and increase the accessibility of public facilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Eight participants were strategically sampled for semi-structured interviews, and documents on the AD were gathered. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used for a directed content analysis of the data. The CFIR domains used for the analysis were: intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals and process.

Findings

The development and implementation of the AD demonstrated the complexity in assessing and planning for increased accessibility. The communication and iterative processes within the inner as well as with the outer setting was an important part of the development and implementation, as well as anchoring each step locally, regionally and nationally, within public authorities and disability organizations.

Practical implications

The assessments of environmental barriers and the results reported in the AD can serve as a guide for identification of accessibility issues. However, singular identified barriers were reported as a fragmentation of the building regulations, and thereby when retrofitting is carried out, experts who have the competence to suggest solutions based on the entirety need to be involved to reach the goals of increased accessibility and countering of exclusion and discrimination.

Originality/value

By structuring the implementation process by means of the CFIR, facilitators and barriers of using an AD as a basis for retrofitting were revealed. The practical challenges outlined in assessing and increasing accessibility can guide facility managers when considering actions to increase accessibility.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 August 2022

Mark S. Reed, Pippa J. Chapman, Guy Ziv, Gavin Stewart, Helen Kendall, Amy Taylor and Dianna Kopansky

There is growing interest around the world in more effectively linking public payments to the provision of public goods from agriculture. However, published evidence syntheses…

Abstract

There is growing interest around the world in more effectively linking public payments to the provision of public goods from agriculture. However, published evidence syntheses suggest mixed, weak or uncertain evidence for many agri-environment scheme options. To inform any future “public money for public goods” based policy, further synthesis work is needed to assess the evidence-base for the full range of interventions currently funded under agri-environment schemes. Further empirical research and trials should then focus on interventions for which there is mixed or limited evidence. Furthermore, to ensure the data collected is comparable and can be synthesised effectively, it is necessary to reach agreement on essential variables and methods that can be prioritised by those conducting research and monitoring. Future policy could then prioritise public money for the public goods that can most reliably be delivered, offering better value for taxpayers and improving the provision of ecosystem services from agricultural landscapes.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 September 2023

Zhiping Hou, Jun Wan, Zhenyu Wang and Changgui Li

In confronting the challenge of climate change and progressing towards dual carbon goals, China is actively implementing low-carbon city pilot policy. This paper aims to focus on…

Abstract

Purpose

In confronting the challenge of climate change and progressing towards dual carbon goals, China is actively implementing low-carbon city pilot policy. This paper aims to focus on the potential impact of this policy on enterprise green governance, aiming to promote the reduction and balance of carbon emissions.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the panel data of China's large-scale industrial enterprises from 2007 to 2013, this paper uses the Difference-in-differences (DID) method to study the impact and path mechanism of the implementation of low-carbon city pilot policy on enterprise green governance. Heterogeneity analysis is used to compare the effects of low-carbon city pilot policy in different regions, different enterprises and different industries.

Findings

The low-carbon pilot can indeed effectively enhance corporate green governance, a conclusion that still holds after a series of robustness tests. The low-carbon city pilot policy mainly enhances enterprise green governance through two paths: an industrial structure upgrade and enterprise energy consumption, and it improves green governance by reducing enterprise energy consumption through industrial structure upgrade. The impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on enterprise green governance shows significant differences across different regions, different enterprises and different industries.

Research limitations/implications

This paper examines the impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on enterprise green governance. However, due to availability of data, there are still some limitations to be further tackled. The parallel trend test in this paper shows that the pilot policy has a significant positive effect on the green governance of enterprises. However, due to serious lack of data in some years, the authors only selected the enterprise data of a shorter period as our experimental data, which leads the results to still have certain deficiencies. For the verification of the impact mechanism, the conclusions obtained in this paper are relatively limited. Although all the mechanism tests are passed, the reliability of the results still needs to be further tested through future data samples. In addition, as the pilot policy of low-carbon cities is still in progress, the policy can be tracked and analysed in the future as more data are disclosed, and further research can be carried out through dimensional expansion.

Practical implications

Low-carbon city pilot policy plays an important role in inducing the green governance of enterprises. Therefore, policy makers can continue to strengthen the construction of low-carbon city pilots by refining pilot experience, building typical cases, actively promoting pilot policy experience, expanding pilot scope and enhancing the implementation efficiency of pilot policy nationwide, which will contribute to the optimization and upgrading of the regional industrial structure at the urban level and will provide experience and reference for the synergistic implementation plan of pollution reduction and carbon reduction.

Social implications

The impact of the low-carbon city pilot policy on enterprise green governance not only exists in two separate paths of urban industrial upgrading and enterprise energy consumption but also exists in a chain transmission path from macro to micro. The authors find that the effect value of each influence path is different, and there is an obvious leading influence path for the role of enterprise green governance. Therefore, in the process of implementing a low-carbon city pilot policy, policies should be designed specifically for different mechanisms. Moreover, complementing and coordinating several paths should be advocated to give full play to the green governance effect of enterprises brought by different paths and to further expand the scope of industries and enterprises where policies play a role.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, this paper connects macro mechanisms with micro mechanisms, discovering a macro-to-micro transmission mechanism in the process of low-carbon city pilot policy affecting enterprise green governance. That is, the low-carbon city pilot policy can facilitate industrial structure upgrading, resulting in reduced enterprise energy consumption, ultimately enhancing enterprise green governance.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 15 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 September 2022

Andrew Ebekozien, Clinton Aigbavboa and John Aliu

Research reveals that the built environment graduates are not matching the needs of the 21st century construction industry. Evidence shows that the built environment academics…

1987

Abstract

Purpose

Research reveals that the built environment graduates are not matching the needs of the 21st century construction industry. Evidence shows that the built environment academics (BEA) struggle to reskill and upskill to meet the industry's demand. Studies about Nigeria's BEA's perceived barriers in meeting the 21st-century industry demands are scarce. Thus, the paper investigated the perceived barriers and measures to improve BEA in Nigeria's 21st-century world of teaching. The outcome intends to enhance teaching practices and increase employability in the built environment disciplines.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were sourced from elite virtual interviews across Nigeria. The participants were well informed about Nigeria's built environment education and the possible barriers hindering 21st-century teaching from improving employable graduates in the built environment professionals (BEP). The researchers adopted a thematic analysis for the collected data and supplemented the data with secondary sources.

Findings

The study shows that BEA needs to improve BEA's teaching mechanism. Improving BEA will enable the built environment graduates to meet the minimum standards expected by the 21st-century industry. Findings categorised the perceived 22 barriers facing BEA into internal stakeholders-related barriers, external stakeholders-related barriers, and common barriers. Also, findings proffered practicable measures to improve BEA in the workplace via improved industry collaboration and technological advancement.

Research limitations/implications

The research is restricted to the perceived barriers and measures to improve BEA in 21st-century teaching in Nigeria via a qualitative research design. Future research should validate the results and test the paper's proposed framework.

Practical implications

The paper confirms that the BEA requires stakeholder collaboration and technological advancement measures to improve teaching in the 21st century, leading to enhanced employability graduates. The paper would stir major stakeholders, especially BEA, and advance the quality of employable graduates in the Nigerian built environment professions.

Originality/value

The thematic network and proposed framework could be employed to stimulate Nigeria's BEA for better service delivery. This intends to create an enabling environment that will enhance stakeholders' collaboration and technological advancement for the BEA to produce better employable graduates in the 21st century.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 41 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 September 2023

Sara Perotti and Claudia Colicchia

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of green strategies as a combination of energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction for…

2060

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of green strategies as a combination of energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction for improving environmental sustainability at logistics sites. Such measures are examined by discussing the related impacts, motivations and barriers that could influence the measures' adoption. Starting from the framework, directions for future research in this field are outlined.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed framework was developed starting from a systematic literature review (SLR) approach on 60 papers published from 2008 to 2022 in international peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings.

Findings

The framework identifies six main areas of intervention (“green strategies”) towards green warehousing, namely Building, Utilities, Lighting, Material Handling and Automation, Materials and Operational Practices. For each strategy, specific energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction are further pinpointed. In most cases, “green-gold” measures emerge as the most appealing, entailing environmental and economic benefits at the same time. Finally, for each measure the relationship with the measures' primary impacts is discussed.

Originality/value

From an academic viewpoint, the framework fills a major gap in the scientific literature since, for the first time, this study elaborates the concept of green warehousing as a result of energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction. A classification of the main areas of intervention (“green strategies”) is proposed by adopting a holistic approach. From a managerial perspective, the paper addresses a compelling need of practitioners – e.g. logistics service providers (LSPs), manufacturers and retailers – for practices and solutions towards greener warehousing processes to increase energy efficiency and decrease the environmental impact of the practitioners' logistics facilities. In this sense, the proposed framework can provide valuable support for logistics managers that are about to approach the challenge of turning the managers' warehouses into greener nodes of the managers' supply chains.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 January 2023

Francesco Calza, Annarita Sorrentino and Ilaria Tutore

The aim of this work is to provide a theoretical model that can help companies to develop a unique approach to achieve both corporate environmental sustainability (CES) and…

6619

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this work is to provide a theoretical model that can help companies to develop a unique approach to achieve both corporate environmental sustainability (CES) and successful customer experience management (CEM).

Design/methodology/approach

A two-phase study achieved the research aim. The first phase consisted of the analysis of contemporary theoretical contributions with a focus on CES and CEM. In the second phase, taking a qualitative approach, the key dimensions identified in the initial analysis were investigated to explore the dominant perceptions of practitioners and to hone the theoretical categories.

Findings

Five innovative pathways emerged from the study to inform decision-making while maintaining the dual objectives of CES and successful CEM. These pathways are combined to offer a strategic tool for managers and for research advances. This original integrated model also offers six novel theoretical propositions that describe how to shape corporate decisions to achieve environmental sustainability in CEM.

Research limitations/implications

Firms can benefit from an approach that integrates CES and CEM to develop a new mindset for an innovative and valuable decision-making process and to design more captivating experiences for customers. Nevertheless, the efficacy and generalizability of the theoretical framework and propositions require empirical testing.

Originality/value

This paper makes an original contribution to the environmental sustainability and marketing literature by bringing together all elements in these fields of research in a conceptual model. Moreover, this paper proposes theoretical propositions that advance knowledge of the subject and offer ideas for future research and managers.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 61 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 January 2023

Alessandra Cozzolino and Pietro De Giovanni

This study analyzes sustainable practices adopted by Italian firms to enhance the circularity of packaging and related results in terms of environmental improvements.

3511

Abstract

Purpose

This study analyzes sustainable practices adopted by Italian firms to enhance the circularity of packaging and related results in terms of environmental improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed an empirical analysis using publicly available data from the National Consortium of Packaging (CONAI) in Italy, which consists of 603 circular packaging projects. The authors ran both descriptive and prescriptive analyses to determine individual sustainable practices and portfolios adopted to enhance packaging circularity and to verify related reductions in terms of CO2 emissions as well as energy usage and water consumption.

Findings

The findings reveal that firms are more accustomed to focusing on single sustainable practices than on portfolios of practices to achieve packaging circularity. Raw material saving and logistics optimization are the most frequent sustainable practices adopted by firms to improve circularity of packaging. The reuse of packaging allows firms to simultaneously reduce CO2 emissions, energy usage and water consumption. Preferences in terms of portfolio of sustainable practices are strictly linked to the types of materials used for packaging and environmental targets.

Originality/value

The authors investigate environmental practices that firms adopt to support packaging circularity, and the authors detect portfolios of sustainable practices that positively impact environmental performance indicators. This research extends a significant glimpse into the portfolio of sustainable practices for packaging in the circular economy implemented by firms, filling academic gaps and indicating business opportunities and avenues for economic development.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 March 2024

Vishal Kumar Laheri, Weng Marc Lim, Purushottam Kumar Arya and Sanjeev Kumar

The purpose of this paper is to examine the purchase behavior of consumers towards green products by adapting and extending the theory of planned behavior with the inclusion of…

1190

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the purchase behavior of consumers towards green products by adapting and extending the theory of planned behavior with the inclusion of three pertinent environmental factors posited to reflect environmental consciousness in the form of environmental concern, environmental knowledge and environmental values.

Design/methodology/approach

The data was collected from 410 consumers at shopping malls with retail stores selling green and non-green products in a developing country using cluster sampling and analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling.

Findings

The findings of this study indicate that environmental factors reflecting environmental consciousness positively influence consumers’ attitude towards purchasing green products, wherein consumers’ environmental values have a stronger influence than their environmental concern and environmental knowledge. The findings also reveal that subjective norm, attitude and perceived behavioral control toward purchasing green products positively shape green purchase intention. The same positive effect is also witnessed between green purchase intention and behavior. However, perceived behavioral control towards purchasing green products had no significant influence on green purchase behavior.

Practical implications

This study suggests that green marketers should promote environmental consciousness among consumers to influence and shape their planned behavior towards green purchases. This could be done by prioritizing efforts and investments in inculcating environmental values, followed by enhancing environmental knowledge and finally inducing environmental concern among consumers. Green marketers can also leverage subjective norm and perceptions of behavioral control toward purchasing green products to reinforce green purchase intention, which, in turn, strengthens green purchase behavior. This green marketing strategy should also be useful to address the intention–behavior gap as seen through the null effect of perceived behavioral control on purchase behavior toward green products when this strategy is present.

Originality/value

This study contributes to theoretical generalizability by reaffirming the continued relevance of the theory of planned behavior in settings concerning the environment (e.g. green purchases), and theoretical extension by augmenting environmental concern, environmental knowledge and environmental values with the theory of planned behavior, resulting in an environmentally conscious theory of planned behavior. The latter is significant and noteworthy, as this study broadens the conceptualization and operationalization of environmental consciousness from a unidimensional to a multidimensional construct.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 April 2023

Mohamed Sapraz and Shengnan Han

This paper aims to evaluate the Digital Government Collaborative Platform (DGCP), which facilitates collaborations between the citizens and the government to address environmental…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the Digital Government Collaborative Platform (DGCP), which facilitates collaborations between the citizens and the government to address environmental issues in Sri Lanka. The DGCP is an artifact developed by the value-sensitive design approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The DGCP is evaluated following the Framework for Evaluation in Design Science Research (FEDS). In total, 224 citizens participated in the survey based on the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) and open questions about human values embedded in the design. Fifteen government officers were interviewed to enhance the evaluation.

Findings

The DGCP received positive evaluations from the citizens and government officers. The platform is attractive, novel and pragmatic, also generating hedonic experiences for the citizens. The users believed that human values are reflected in the DGCP. Furthermore, they shared a few suggestions to improve it.

Originality/value

The paper contributes knowledge to evaluating digital government systems, especially in developing countries. The human-value-centered DGCP was evaluated using multiple methods of quantitative (i.e. UEQ Survey) and qualitative (i.e. qualitative interviews with stakeholders) techniques. Furthermore, the systematic process of DGCP evaluation produces a case-based guideline for evaluating related and similar digital government systems using FEDS.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

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