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The sustainability of last-mile (LM) freight delivery is crucial to add value to the stakeholders in the distribution chain. However, its achievement is often hindered by a poor consideration of their needs by both literature and practice. The goal of this paper is to address the point of view of local retailers by exploring their needs about innovative LM delivery services and identifying sustainable value propositions (VP). A survey was submitted to retailers operating in the limited traffic zone of Torino (Italy). The survey data were analyzed by a factor analysis using a principal component analysis (PCA) to extract the factors. A correlation analysis was also conducted between the needs and selected contextual variables. The results show that retailers accept higher costs for more reliable deliveries and stock reduction. Retailers also correlate punctuality and flexibility because flexible and on-time deliveries allow for better inventory management, higher control, and, in turn, improved customer service level. This work is one of the first research attempts to quantify local retailers’ LM delivery needs and provides guidelines about how to design value-added logistics services. Moreover, from a practical point of view, the analysis shows the main VP that managers and practitioners should consider in the development of LM initiatives.

The article analyses sustainable economic development of EU countries according to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), by using indices of integrated sustainable development and environmental footprint. Sustainable economic initiatives can be driven by economic, environmental and social aspects, applying principles of innovation and knowledge. However, development requires skills, human and financial resources; in turn, it increases productivity, efficiency, competitiveness, profit, and promotes a better working environment. In general, sustainable business initiatives contribute to SDGs and reduce the environmental footprint. The scientific problem is how to develop a sustainable economy while ensuring the achievement of SDGs and at the same time reducing the environmental footprint. The object of the scientific research is the evaluation of sustainable economic development through the analysis of integrated sustainable development indicators. The aim of the research is, upon the evaluation of SDGs and environmental footprint indices as well as the analysis of the integrated sustainable development indicator, to identify the opportunities for sustainable economic development in the EU countries. The research has been carried out by analysing the scientific literature, and applying SDGs and environmental footprint methodology to calculate individual and integrated sustainable development indices. The results have shown that despite the disparity of SDG indices, the overall value of the integrated sustainable development indicator is distributed quite evenly among the EU countries. The impacts from each of the SDG indices range from 11% to 31% but the environmental footprint index has the greatest impact on the sustainable development of a country—up to 31%.

The diffusion of the culture of sustainability and circular economy increasingly pushes companies to adopt green strategies and integrate circular business models in the corporate agenda. It assumes higher relevance in the packaging industry because of the growing plastics demand, the increasing awareness of consumers on single-use-products, the low recyclability performance and last but not least, the challenge of urban littering and microplastics dispersion in marine ecosystem. This paper presents the case of a small-medium enterprise that implemented a decision-making process to rethink the design of frozen food packaging in accordance with systemic and life cycle thinking. Eco-design and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been simultaneously used to test and validate the redesign process, thus fostering the substitution of the plastic “open and close” cap with a closing method entirely made of cardboard. Results shows how using an integrated decision-making system at the design stage have allowed to get up many benefits at multiple levels, including sustainable and safe supply chain, efficient logistic operations, better recyclability, and lower energy consumption. Moreover, even if it cannot be assessed by the existing tools, the solution provides a strong contribution to the reduction in the consumption of plastics and the prevention of marine pollution.

Tourism may not sustainably support territories with limited natural resource stock such as islands. The volume of visitor arrivals and the industry investments can increase the pressure even beyond sustainable levels. There is an evident and unresolved tension between these two great polarities, sustainability and economic growth driven by tourism. The aim for policymakers is to find an acceptable equilibrium between these two dimensions. This paper investigates tourism evolution between 2007 and 2019 in 15 Mediterranean islands, comparing tourism pressures through statistical indicators. The analysis will compare tourism demand and supply trends in these contexts. The performances will be evaluated to identify the islands’ positioning between sustainability needs and tourism development opportunities while considering post-COVID-19 challenges.

Ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from livestock farms contribute to negative environmental impacts such as acidification and climate change. A significant part of these emissions is produced from the decomposition of slurry in livestock facilities, during storage and treatment phases. This research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the additive “SOP LAGOON” (made of agricultural gypsum processed with proprietary technology) on (i) NH3 and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, (ii) slurry properties and N loss. Moreover, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was applied to assess the potential environmental impact associated with stored slurry treated with the additive. Six barrels were filled with 65 L of cattle slurry, of which three were used as a control while the additive was used in the other three. The results indicated that the use of the additive led to a reduction of total nitrogen, nitrates, and GHG emissions. LCA confirmed the higher environmental sustainability of the scenario with the additive for some environmental impact categories among which climate change. In conclusion, the additive has beneficial effects on both emissions and the environment, and the nitrogen present in the treated slurry could partially displace a mineral fertilizer, which can be considered an environmental credit.

Thermal comfort in the built environment is one of the most defining parameters influencing energy use, environmental quality, and occupant satisfaction. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research in this area within developing countries, which are becoming increasingly urbanised and where mechanical air conditioning demands are rising. Many of these countries are adopting thermal comfort standards such as the ASHRAE Standard 55, the EN 15251, and the ISO 7730 to regulate the use of air-conditioning; even when these standards have been widely criticised for their inadequacy within geographical regions different to the ones that they were designed for. Research suggests the need to confirm these models through further post-occupancy studies and fieldwork. Deficiencies in data collection and methodologies are thought to require particular attention to develop algorithms that can predict thermal comfort levels accurately. Comprehensive strategies considering interrelated psychological, physiological and social factors are needed. This manuscript highlights gaps of research, specifically within tropical developing countries, through the analysis of Colombia as a case study. It emphasises the importance of standardised fieldwork data and gives examples of alternative collection systems. This aims to contribute to the understanding of occupant´s adaptive behaviours and their impact on the mitigation of climate change.

The Italian building heritage is aged and inadequate to the high-performance levels required nowadays in terms of energy efficiency and seismic response. Innovative techniques are generating a strong interest, especially in terms of multi-level approaches and solution optimizations. Among these, Nested Buildings, an integrated intervention approach which preserves the external existing structure and provides a new structural system inside, aim at improving both energy and structural performances. The research presented hereinafter focuses on the strengthening of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings with cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, thanks to their lightweight, high stiffness, and good hygrothermal characteristics. The improvement of the hygrothermal performance was investigated through a 2D-model analyzed in the dynamic regime, which showed a general decreasing in the overall thermal transmittance for the retrofitted configurations. Then, to evaluate the seismic behavior of the coupled system, a parametric linear static analysis was implemented for both in-plane and out-of-plane directions, considering various masonry types and connector spacings. Results showed the efficiency of the intervention to improve the in-plane response of walls, thus validating possible applications to existing URM buildings, where local overturning mechanisms are prevented by either sufficient construction details or specific solutions.