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This paper aims to discuss the low carbon supply chain practices in China’s textile industry. To curb greenhouse gas emissions, the Chinese government has launched restrict regulatory system and imposed the energy consumption constraint in the textile industry to guarantee the achievability of low carbon economy. The authors aim to examine how the energy consumption constraint affects the optimal decisions of the supply chain members and address the supply chain coordination issue.

The authors conduct two case studies from Chinese textile companies and examine the impact of energy consumption constraints on their production and operations management. Based on the real industrial practices, the authors then develop a simple analytical model for a low carbon supply chain in which it consists of one single retailer and one single manufacturer, and the manufacturer determines the choice of clean technology for energy efficiency improvement and emission reduction.

From the case studies, the authors find that the textile companies develop clean technologies to reduce carbon emission in production process under the energy consumption enforcement. In this analytical model, the authors derive the optimal decisions of the supply chain members and reveal that supply chain coordination can be achieved if the manufacturer properly sets the reservation wholesale price (WS) despite the production capacity can fulfill partial market demand under a WS (or cost sharing) contract. The authors also find that the cost-sharing contract may induce the manufacturer to increase the investment of clean technology and reduce the optimal WS.

This paper discusses low carbon supply chain practices in China’s textile industry and contributes toward green supply chain development. Managerial implications are identified, which are beneficial to the entire textile industry in the developing countries.

Global climate change is a serious threat to the survival and development of mankind. Reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality are the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable human development. For many countries, taking China as an example, the electric power sector is the main contributor to the country’s carbon emissions, as well as a key sector for reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. The low-carbon transition of the power sector is of great significance to the long-term low-carbon development of the economy. Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to improve the energy supply structure on the supply side and increase the proportion of new energy in the total power supply. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve energy utilization efficiency on the demand side and control the total primary energy consumption by improving energy efficiency, which is the most direct and effective way to reduce emissions. Improving the utilization efficiency of electric energy and realizing the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry requires synergies between the government and the market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the individual and synergistic effects of China’s low-carbon policy and the opening of urban high-speed railways (HSRs) on the urban electricity consumption efficiency, measured as electricity consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP).

This study uses a panel of 289 Chinese prefecture-level cities from the years 1999–2019 as the sample and uses the time-varying difference-in-difference method to test the relationship between HSR, low-carbon pilot cities and urban electricity consumption efficiency. In addition, the instrumental variable method is adopted to make a robustness check.

Empirical results show that the low-carbon pilot policy and the HSR operation in cities would reduce the energy consumption per unit of GDP, and synergies occur in both HSR operated and low-carbon pilot cities.

This study has limitations that would provide possible starting points for future studies. The first limitation is the choice of the proxy variable of government and market factors. The second limitation is that the existing data is only about whether the high-speed rail is opened or not and whether it is a low-carbon pilot city, and there is no more informative data to combine the two aspects.

The findings of this study can inform policymakers and regulators about the effects of low-carbon pilot city policies. In addition, the government should consider market-level factors in addition to policy factors. Only by combining various influencing factors can the efficient use of energy be more effectively achieved so as to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.

From the social perspective, the findings indicate that improving energy utilization is dependent on the joint efforts of the government and market.

The study provides quantitative evidence to assess the synergic effect between government and the market in the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry. Particularly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first to comprehend the role of the city low-carbon pilot policy and the construction of HSR in improving electricity efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to develop the empirically tested framework about the knowledge and perception about sustainability of building materials in Prishtina, Kosovo from the perspective of users, construction industry and facility managers.

A survey of representative sections of the population was designed and carried out in the capital city of Kosovo to determine the knowledge and perception of the population about the sustainability of building materials and to determine the main criteria of selection of sustainable building materials. The study may be used as guidelines for sustainable real estate developers in Prishtina during the materials selection process. Qualitative interviews were conducted with architects, consulting engineering companies, construction companies and facility managers from the region of Prishtina with open-ended questions also being used.

Results of quantitative research find that embodied energy, durability and low energy consumption are used as key criteria that influence the materials selection process on the part of users. The results of the cross-case analysis of qualitative measure the perceptions of construction industry and facility managers, according to which durability to a large degree is the main criterion for selection of sustainable building materials followed by embodied energy and low energy consumption.

The study of measurement of level of knowledge and perception about sustainability of building materials in Kosovo focuses only on one pilot city; hence, further research is needed throughout Kosovo to validate the empirically tested tool within other geographical settings in Kosovo.

This survey represents the first quantification of knowledge and perception regarding the sustainability of building materials among users, construction sector and facility managers.

This paper is based on a study of six similar buildings built in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1971, which were in urgent need of renovation. A life cycle profit analysis shows how four competing concepts were evaluated to find a financially viable renovation concept; additionally, the environmental impacts of these renovation concepts using a life cycle assessment are presented.

Four renovation concepts are compared to find the most appropriate concept, namely, minimalist, code-compliant, low-energy and low-energy plus vertical extension concepts. The methods used for comparison are life cycle profit analysis and life cycle impact assessment; the methods used for data gathering included site visits, interviews, document study, co-benefits study and energy simulation.

The findings show that vertical extension supported the energy-efficient renovation of the buildings and that the combination of low-energy and the vertical extension had the highest return on investment and the lowest environmental impact. The selected concept for renovating the remaining five buildings combined was the low-energy plus vertical extension. Additional benefits from vertical extension include more apartments in central locations for the housing company, a wider variety of apartment layouts and a wider range of tenants. Drawbacks include increased use of infrastructure, green space and common appliances, as well as gentrification.

This study shows how a vertical extension can financially enable an energy-efficient renovation and further lower its environmental impact. Benefits and drawbacks of densification are also highlighted to better understand the implementation of vertically extending a building.

This paper aims to build a scientific evaluation index system for regional low-carbon circular economic development. Taking Sichuan Province as the empirical research object, the paper evaluates its low-carbon circular economy (LCCE) development level and proposes policy recommendations for climate change improvement based on the evaluation results.

This paper, first, built an evaluation index system with 30 indicators within six subsystems, namely, economic development, social progress, energy consumption, low-carbon emissions, carbon sink capacity and environmental carrying capacity. Second, develop an “entropy weight-grey correlation” evaluation method. Finally, from a practical point of view, measure the development level of LCCE in Sichuan Province, China, from 2008 to 2018.

It was found that Sichuan LCCE development had a general downward trend from 2008 to 2012 and a steady upward trend from 2012 to 2018; however, the overall level was low. The main factors affecting the LCCE development are lagging energy consumption and environmental carrying capacity subsystem developments.

This paper puts forward relevant suggestions for improving the development of a low-carbon economy and climate change for the reference of policymakers.

This paper built an evaluation index system with 30 indicators for regional low carbon circular economic development. The evaluation method of “entropy weight-grey correlation” is used to measure the development level of regional LCCE in Sichuan Province, China.

The aim of this study is to perform a comparative study on sandwich structures with several types of three-dimensional (3D) reticulate cellular structural core designs for their low-energy impact absorption abilities using powder bed additive manufacturing methods. 3D reticulate cellular structures possess promising potentials in various applications with sandwich structure designs. One of the properties critical to the sandwich structures in applications, such as aerospace and automobile components, is the low-energy impact performance.

Sandwich samples of various designs, including re-entrant auxetic, rhombic, hexagonal and octahedral, were designed and fabricated via selective laser sintering (SLS) process using nylon 12 as material. Low-energy drop weight test was performed to evaluate the energy absorption of various designs. Tensile coupons were also produced using the same process to provide baseline material properties. The manufacturing issues such as geometrical accuracy and anisotropy effect as well as their effects on the performance of the structures were discussed.

In general, 3D reticulate cellular structures made by SLS process exhibit significantly different characteristics under low-energy drop weight impact compared to the regular extruded honeycomb sandwich panels. A hexagonal sandwich panel exhibits the largest compliance with the smallest energy absorption ability, and an octahedral sandwich panel exhibits high stiffness as well as good impact protection ability. Through a proper geometrical design, the re-entrant auxetic sandwich panels could achieve a combination of high energy absorption and low response force, making it especially attractive for low-impact protection applications.

There has been little work on the comparative study of the energy absorption of various 3D reticulate cellular structures to date. This work demonstrates the potential of 3D reticulate cellular structures as sandwich cores for different purposes. This work also demonstrates the possibility of controlling the performance of this type of sandwich structures via geometrical and process design of the cellular cores with powder bed additive manufacturing systems.

Purpose – The UK energy market is in a period of significant transition, with a target of cutting carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050. There is widespread agreement that the current policy landscape needs to change if this ambitious target is to be achieved. However, the current business structure also requires a radical overhaul. This chapter explores the new business models that are being introduced to serve commercial and domestic customers.

Methodology/approach – This chapter presents a case study of the UK energy sector that draws on the first author's active engagement in the UK's energy market and thus participant observation. The discussion is framed around relevant material from the entrepreneurship and innovation literatures, with a particular focus on entrepreneurial opportunities created by policy.

Findings – In a rapidly changing policy environment, new ideas, technologies and business models are emerging. A range of new business models evident in the market are explored. These include new forms of service delivery, market-making models and finance models.

Social implications – The chapter highlights the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in the delivery of a low-carbon economy. It also explores the role of policymakers in promoting more environmentally sustainable approaches in this industry sector.

Originality/value of chapter – The chapter presents a novel, industry-specific case study. It contributes to extant knowledge on sustainable business through its focus on the complex interaction of policy and entrepreneurship as well as some of the business models required for the transition to a low-carbon future.

Designing a social marketing intervention for low-income earners requires an understanding of the key motivations. As part of the Low-Income Earner Energy Efficiency Programme, this study investigates the key factors that influence energy behaviours amongst Australian young low-income earners as part of the Reduce Your Juice social marketing programme. The authors also investigate the effect of gender.

An online survey of 753 low-income renters was conducted using validated measures. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The two factors that had the highest influence on intentions for energy-saving behaviours was the “mind” factor of self-efficacy and “money” factor of price concern. There were gender differences in the effect of bill control and price concern on intentions for different energy efficiency behaviours.

This study provides guidance on the factors to emphasise when designing an energy efficiency programme for low-income earners.

This study provides evidence for different motivations amongst low-income earners for energy efficiency programmes and that a “one size fits all” approach may not be effective.

While there is high interest in the public sector for motivating young-adult low-income earners to change their energy behaviours, little is known about the key factors that motivate intentions to engage in these behaviours.

Flying ad hoc networks (FANETs) have a major effect in various areas such as civil projects and smart cities. The facilities of installation and low cost of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have created a new challenge for researchers. Cluster head (CH) selection and load balancing between the CH are the most critical issues in the FANETs. For CH selection and load balancing in FANETs, this study used efficient clustering to address both problems and overcome these challenges. This paper aims to propose a novel CH selection and load balancing scheme to solve the low energy consumption and low latency in the FANET system.

This paper tried to select the CH and load balancing with the help of low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH) algorithm and bat algorithm (BA). Load balancing and CH selection are NP-hard problems, so the metaheuristic algorithms can be the best answer for these issues. In the LEACH algorithm, UAVs randomly generate numerical, and these numbers are sorted according to those values. To use the load balancing, the threshold of CH has to be considered; if the threshold is less than 0.7, the BA starts working and begins to find new CH according to the emitted pulses.

The proposed method compares with three algorithms, called bio-inspired clustering scheme FANETs, Grey wolf optimization and ant colony optimization in the NS3 simulator. The proposed algorithm has a good efficiency with respect to the network lifetime, energy consumption and cluster building time.

This study aims to extend the UAV group control concepts to include CH selection and load balancing to improve UAV energy consumption and low latency.