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The shipping industry faces a large challenge as it needs to significantly lower the amounts of Green House Gas emissions. Traditionally, reducing the fuel consumption for ships has been achieved during the design stage and, after building a ship, through optimisation of ship operations. In recent years, ship efficiency improvements using Machine Learning (ML) methods are quickly progressing, facilitated by available data from remote sensing, experiments and high-fidelity simulations. The data have been successfully applied to extract intricate empirical rules that can reduce emissions thereby helping achieve green shipping. This article presents an overview of applying ML techniques to enhance ships’ sustainability. The work covers the ML fundamentals and applications in relevant areas: ship design, operational performance, and voyage planning. Suitable ML approaches are analysed and compared on a scenario basis, with their space for improvements also discussed. Meanwhile, a reminder is given that ML has many inherent uncertainties and hence should be used with caution.

KOF Working Papers, 327

Historical exploitation of the Mediterranean Sea and the absence of rigorous baselines makes it difficult to evaluate the current health of the marine ecosystems and the efficacy of conservation actions at the ecosystem level. Here we establish the first current baseline and gradient of ecosystem structure of nearshore rocky reefs at the Mediterranean scale. We conducted underwater surveys in 14 marine protected areas and 18 open access sites across the Mediterranean, and across a 31-fold range of fish biomass (from 3.8 to 118 g m(-2)). Our data showed remarkable variation in the structure of rocky reef ecosystems. Multivariate analysis showed three alternative community states: (1) large fish biomass and reefs dominated by non-canopy algae, (2) lower fish biomass but abundant native algal canopies and suspension feeders, and (3) low fish biomass and extensive barrens, with areas covered by turf algae. Our results suggest that the healthiest shallow rocky reef ecosystems in the Mediterranean have both large fish and algal biomass. Protection level and primary production were the only variables significantly correlated to community biomass structure. Fish biomass was significantly larger in well-enforced no-take marine reserves, but there were no significant differences between multi-use marine protected areas (which allow some fishing) and open access areas at the regional scale. The gradients reported here represent a trajectory of degradation that can be used to assess the health of any similar habitat in the Mediterranean, and to evaluate the efficacy of marine protected areas.

This is a postprint version of the Book Chapter. Information regarding the official publication is available from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 Springer Implementation of a Life Cycle Sustainability Management (LCSM) strategy can involve significant challenges because of competing or conflicting objectives between stakeholders. These differences may, if not identified and managed, hinder successful adoption of sustainability initiatives. This article proposes a conceptual framework for stakeholder management in a LCSM context. The framework identifies the key sustainability stakeholder groups and suggests strategic ambiguity as a management tool to harness dysfunctional conflict into constructive collaboration. The framework is of practical value as it can be used as a guideline by managers who wish to improve collaboration with stakeholders along the supply chain. The article also fills a gap in the academic literature where there is only limited research on sustainability stakeholder management through strategic ambiguity.

<p>Historical weather data represent an extremely precious resource for agro-meteorology for studying evolutionary dynamics and for predictive purposes, to address agronomical and management choices, that have economic, social and environmental effect. The study of climatic variability and its consequences starts from the observation of variations over time and the identification of the causes, on the basis of historical series of meteorological observations. The availability of long-lasting, complete and accurate datasets is a fundamental requirement to predict and react to climate variability. Inter-annual climate changes deeply affect grapevine productive cycle determining direct impact on the onset and duration of phenological stages and, ultimately, on the grape harvest and yield. Indeed, climate variables, such as air temperature and precipitation, affect evapotranspiration rates, plant water requirements, and also the vine physiology. In this respect, the observed increase in the number of warm days poses a threat to grape quality as it creates a situation of imbalance at maturity, with respect to sugar content, acidity and phenolic and aromatic ripeness.</p><p>A study was conducted to investigate the relationships between climate variables and harvest onset dates to assess the responses of grapevine under a global warming scenario. The study was carried out in the “Monferrato” area, a rainfed hillslope vine-growing area of NW Italy. In particular, the onset dates of harvest of different local wine grape varieties grown in the Vezzolano Experimental Farm (CNR-IMAMOTER) and in surrounding vineyards (affiliated to the Terre dei Santi Cellars) were recorded from 1962 to 2019 and then related to historical series of climate data by means of regression analysis. The linear regression was performed based on the averages of maximum and minimum daily temperatures and sum of precipitation (1962–2019) calculated for growing and ripening season, together with a bioclimatic heat index for vineyards, the Huglin index. The climate data were obtained from two data series collected in the Experimental farm by a mechanical weather station (1962-2002) and a second series recorded (2002-2019) by an electro-mechanical station included in Piedmont Regional Agro-meteorological Network. Finally, a third long-term continuous series covering the period from 1962 to 2019, provided by Italian Meteorological Society was considered in the analysis.</p><p>The results of the study highlighted that inter-annual climate variability, with a general positive trend of temperature, significantly affects the ripening of grapes with a progressive anticipation of the harvest onset dates. In particular, all the considered variables excepted precipitation, resulted negatively correlated with the harvest onset date reaching a high level of significance (up to P< 0.001). Best results have been obtained for maximum temperature and Huglin index, especially by using the most complete dataset. The change ratios obtained using datasets including last 15 years were greater (in absolute terms) than results limited to the period 1962-2002, and also correlations have greater level of significance. The results indicated clearly the relationships between the temperature trend and the gradual anticipation of harvest and the importance of having long and continuous historical weather data series available.</p>

Purpose This paper aims to propose a liquidity management solution for Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) that concurs with sustainable development and financial stability. Design/methodology/approach The study is a qualitative research. It uses the exploratory research methodology, specifically the content analysis approach, to gather primary data and identify and interpret relevant secondary data and Sharīʿah concepts. The purpose is to develop a liquidity management solution for IFIs. The proposal is based on the Unleveraged Green Investment Trust (UGIT) model, which is consistent with Basel III regulatory requirements. In developing the UGIT model, the exploratory research was complemented by a case study to examine the UGIT solution for the particular case of renewable energy. Findings The model demonstrates how financial innovation can meet both financial stability and sustainable development objectives, thereby achieving the spirit of Islamic finance. The structure further highlights the importance of regulatory and fiscal frameworks to enhance liquidity management and investor appeal for green financial instruments. Originality/value This study suggests a structure of UGIT to enable IFIs to meet their liquidity management needs while promoting sustainable development.