• Energy Research
• 2016-2025close
• Restricted close
• Open Source close
• Embargo close
• 9. Industry and infrastructure close

Treball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs acadèmic: 2019/2020 In recent years there has been a rise in businesses investing in social and ethical issues. The sustainable development goals published in 2015 by the UN provide a globally agreed framework to make the world more sustainable. Companies have been given the opportunity to help the environment and society through their actions whilst increasing their value and return and improving their reputation. A method for doing so is by following the principles of responsible investment and incorporating environmental, social and governance criteria into long-term businesses strategies. Spanish banks are actively working to achieve the sustainable development goals by investing in sustainable finance, social projects, housing programmes, etc. to meet societal needs whilst extending their market scope and achieving corporate growth and financial success. The main focus of their actions lays with two specific goals: ending poverty and providing decent work and economic growth for all.

Artículos en revistas Este estudio analiza cómo las estrategias de responsabilidad social corporativa ambiental (ECSR) contribuyen a mejorar la innovación entre las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES) mediante el desarrollo de recursos tecnológicos. Probamos nuestras hipótesis durante un período de ocho años utilizando un panel de 2.405 pymes industriales en España. Encontramos empíricamente que ECSR impulsa la construcción de los recursos tecnológicos de las empresas, lo que resulta en una mejora de su esfuerzo tecnológico o I + D y resultados en términos de innovación de productos y procesos. ECSR intensifica la innovación para empresas innovadoras y cataliza el inicio de la innovación para empresas que antes no innovaban, y los efectos resultantes se mantienen en el tiempo. Contribuimos a la literatura analizando los efectos de ECSR en la promoción de la innovación de las empresas más allá de la conocida influencia en la innovación verde. Además, examinamos el área de investigación descuidada de las estrategias ambientales de las PYME. Nuestros hallazgos fortalecen el valor innovador instrumental de ECSR, específicamente para las PYMES. This study analyzes how environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) strategies contribute to enhancing innovativeness among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by developing technological resources. We test our hypotheses over an eight-year period using a panel of 2,405 industrial SMEs in Spain. We empirically find that ECSR drives the building of firms’ technological resources, which results in an enhancement of their technological effort or R&D and outcomes in terms of product and process innovation. ECSR intensifies innovation for innovative firms and catalyzes the inception of innovation for previously non-innovating firms, and the resultant effects are sustained over time. We contribute to the literature by analyzing the effects of ECSR in promoting the innovation of firms beyond the well-known influence on green innovation. Further, we examine the neglected research area of the environmental strategies of SMEs. Our findings strengthen the instrumental innovative value of ECSR, specifically for SMEs. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

M.S.S. Santos is grateful to Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for her PhD fellow (reference: SFRH/BD/104087/ 2014). Kashif Mushtaq is grateful to MIT Portugal Program for his doctoral grant (PD/BD/128041/2016) under the scope of the FCT. The authors would like to acknowledge to the FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI 01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145- FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors also acknowledge the Projects: i) POCI-01-0145- FEDER-006939 (LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – UID/EQU/00511/2013), funded by the ERDF, through COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao (POCI) and by nationals funds through FCT, ii) by the Project SunStorage - Harvesting and storage of solar energy”, with reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016387, funded by ERDF, through COMPETE 2020 –POCI), and by national funds, through FCT; (iii) Project PTDC/EQU-EQU/30510/2017 - POCI-01-0145- FEDER-030510 – Sunflow “Solar energy storage into redox flow batteries” funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES and iV) NORTE-01-0145- FEDER-000005 – LEPABE-2-ECO-INNOVATION, supported by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the ERDF. The authors are indebted with all the colleagues who assisted in the laboratory work.

Achievement of sustainable development in light of ongoing climate change and biodiversity pressures benefits from the deployment of innovations that foster engagement and uptake across all levels, mobilises finance flows commencement to the scale of the challenge, and enables the dissemination of transition solutions that support the low carbon economy. This research investigates the relationship between the legal architecture of market mechanisms under international law and the role of private actors, and how this contributes to sustainable development. Through an exploration of how market mechanisms under the climate change and biodiversity regimes have achieved environmentally sound outcomes, been advanced in sectoral approaches, and facilitated via bilateral and multilateral trade and investment relationships, important insights are identified regarding the composition of effective law and governance architectural approaches. Leveraging experiences derived from treaty practice viewed through an interactional account of international law, this assessment elucidates the important role played by alignment of legal regimes, robust transparency measures, and complementary schemes such as stakeholder-endorsed certifications in buttressing the established measures to ensure sustainable development outcomes and contributes to understanding the role of private actors in the operationalisation of environmental agreements. Research findings suggest it is the interaction of norms across the international legal architecture, informed by relationships within and across relevant treaty systems and the general corpus of international law, and actualised through engagement with private actors as a component of market mechanisms that provides the opportunity for congruence of practice, forging of shared understandings, and normative internalisation and ownership among communities of practice that stimulates both innovative solutions and ambitious action.

Smart grids provide services at the basis of a number of application sectors, several of which are critical from the perspective of human life, environment or financials. It is therefore paramount to be assisted by technologies able to analyze the smart grid behavior in critical scenarios, e.g. where cyber malfunctions or grid disruptions occur. In this paper, we present a stochastic modelling framework to quantitatively assess representative indicators of the resilience and quality of service of the distribution grid, in presence of accidental faults and malicious attacks. The results from the performed analysis can be exploited to understand the dynamics of failures and to identify potential system vulnerabilities, against which appropriate countermeasures should be developed. The features of the proposed analysis framework are discussed, pointing out the strong non-linearity of the involved physics, the developed solutions to deal with control actions and the definition of indicators under analysis. A case study based on a real-world network is also presented.

Over the last decade, significant attention has been devoted to Closed-Loop Supply Chain (CLSC) design problems. As such, this review aims at assessing whether the current modelling approaches for CLSC problems can support the transition towards a Circular Economy at a supply chain level. The paper comprehensively assesses the extent to which existing modelling approaches evaluate the performance of supply chains across the complete spectrum of sustainability dimensions. Also, the capability of the current approaches of incorporating strategic, tactical, and operational decisions is considered, along with adopted solution methodologies. As a result, a comprehensive analysis was performed on 254 selected articles. This paper emphasises how most of the current literature in the field is affected by a disconnection between supply chain design and the founding principles of Circular Economy. Specifically, the CLSC literature exhibits a reductionist interpretation of the Circular Economy. CLSC studies focusing on all three dimensions of sustainability are relatively rare, and performance measurement approaches appear to be very much focused on monetary issues. While methodological contributions appear adequate to focus on the non-deterministic nature of CLSC design problems, there is paucity of empirically-grounded research. Coherently, a research agenda is proposed, in order to address the mentioned gaps and increase the relevance of this research field to practice.

As society is continuously embracing Information Technologies (IT) in different fields from everyday life, the construction industry will also be affected by this transformation. With the recent deployment of IT for the construction industry, new opportunities and approaches are being sought to enhance the buildings efficiency, sustainability, and general quality. Among the most recognized IT, Building Information Modelling (BIM) stands out as a major industry change driver. By allowing multi-disciplinary information to be overlaid into a single model, BIM creates an opportunity to incorporate sustainable measures in a project. BIM can act throughout all the building lifecycle, making it an added value for the customer and society. Digitalization impacts will benefit the whole society, with better constructions that consume fewer resources and operate more efficiently. This chapter identifies the current IT applications for the construction industry with focus on BIM method. Current applications, benefits and challenges are identified, as well as software and procedures. Moreover, the integration process of digital technologies to enhance constructions sustainability is analysed, highlighting the impact on project development and quality. Despite the increased use and benefits of IT, current tools and working methods are not properly oriented for sustainability purposes yet. Nevertheless, IT has great potential for sustainable construction, and it is an essential tool for developing high-performance buildings. Main contributions are given during the early project phases, either by providing reliable data for decision-making or to increase process efficiency.

A indústria da moda é a segunda maior poluidora industrial depois da aviação, respondendo por até 10 % da poluição global. No entanto, apesar desse impacto ambiental amplamente divulgado, a indústria continua a crescer, em parte devido ao surgimento da fast fashion, que depende da mão de obra de baixo custo, do consumo excessivo e de vestuário de curta duração. Posto isto, é essencial que haja uma desaceleração da produção, de volta para a slow fashion, a introdução de práticas sustentáveis por toda a cadeia de abastecimento e uma mudança no comportamento do consumidor. A presente dissertação contribuiu para a melhoria da sustentabilidade da Sonae Fashion, onde o principal objetivo foi o apoio na definição da estratégia de melhoria e no desenvolvimento de modelo negócio para o plástico e denim responsável. Em relação ao denim da marca Salsa, foi necessário analisar a sua rastreabilidade (pegada ambiental, logística, geografia), estudar benchmarks de denim sustentável e responsável, e desenvolver um plano de alternativas mais sustentável. Relativamente aos plásticos das marcas MO, Zippy e Salsa, foi necessário analisar todo o plástico das lojas, desde a sua chegada à loja até à sua saída, quantificar, tipificar e cadastrar os tipos de plásticos, estudar alternativas para reduzir o seu consumo e apoiar a definição de estratégia e modelo de negócio para a sustentabilidade, circularidade e reciclagem do plástico. Concluiu-se, em relação ao denim, que 1 par de calças de ganga 100 % algodão consome 2 096 L de água, 760 g de algodão, 3,31 g de soluções químicas, 3,36 g de hipoclorito de sódio e 0,4 kg de pedra-pomes, necessita de uma área de 4,81 m2 , e tem uma pegada de carbono de, 6,01 kg. Através destes resultados foi possível desenvolver um modelo de negócio para tornar o denim ambientalmente mais responsável optando, por exemplo, pelo uso de cânhamo como matéria-prima, pela implementação de tecnologias de acabamento com menor consumo de água e químicos e pela conscientização dos consumidores em relação aos seus impactos. Nos plásticos, após a quantificação e tipificação do plástico que chega ao consumidor final nas lojas MO e Zippy, foi possível concluir que no ano de 2019 o mais consumido foi o PEBD, cerca de 74 toneladas, e o segundo mais consumido foi o PVC, cerca de 39 toneladas. Para além disso, confirmou-se que o plástico gerado nas lojas MO, Zippy e Salsa, é corretamente tratado, sendo recolhido e encaminhado para a reciclagem. Com estes resultados, foi possível desenvolver um modelo de negócio para o plástico através da eliminação, substituição e reutilização das embalagens. The fashion industry is the second largest industrial polluter after aviation, accounting for up to 10 % of global pollution. Yet, despite this widely publicized environmental impact, the industry continues to grow, in part due to the rise of fast fashion, which relies on cheap labor, overconsumption and short lived clothing. That being said, it is essential that there is a slowdown in production, back to slow fashion, the introduction of sustainable practices throughout the supply chain and a change in consumer behavior. This dissertation contributed to improving Sonae Fashion's sustainability, where the main objective was to support the definition of the improvement strategy and the development of a business model for responsible plastic and denim. In relation to denim from the Salsa brand, it was necessary to analyze the traceability of denim (environmental footprint, logistics, geography), study sustainable and responsible denim benchmarks, and develop a plan of more sustainable alternatives. Regarding plastics of the MO, Zippy and Salsa brands, it was necessary to analyze all the plastic from the MO, Zippy and Salsa stores from its arrival at the store to its departure, quantify, typify and register the types of plastics, study alternatives to reduce the consumption and support the definition of a strategy and business model for the sustainability, circularity and recycling of plastic. It was concluded, in relation to denim, that 1 pair of 100 % cotton jeans consumes 2 096 L of water, 760 g of cotton, 3,31 g of chemical solutions, 3,36 g of sodium hypochlorite and 0,4 kg of pumice stone, needs an area of 4,81 m2 , and has a carbon footprint of about 6,01 kg. Through these results, it was possible to develop a business model to make denim more environmentally responsible, opting, for example, for the use of hemp as a raw material, for the implementation of finishing technologies with less consumption of water and chemicals and for the awareness of the consumers regardind their impacts. In plastics, after quantifying and typifying the plastic that reaches the final consumer at MO and Zippy stores, it was possible to conclude that in 2019 the most consumed was LDPE, around 74 tons, and the second most consumed was PVC, about 39 tons. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the plastic generated in the MO, Zippy and Salsa stores is correctly treated, being collected and sent for recycling. With these results, it was possible to develop a business model for plastic through the elimination, replacement and reuse of packaging. Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biológica