• Energy Research
• social sciences close
• 12. Responsible consumption close
• 9. Industry and infrastructure close
• English close

LocaGIStics is a support tool for the design of regional biomass delivery chains. It enables to further design and evaluate regional biomass delivery chains that are e.g. the result of initial planning by an energy company or a biobased producer. These general plans are translated in several biomass delivery designs using the variation in logistical concepts covering transport, pre-treatment and conversion options. The performance of every chain design can then be analyzed by comparing the different biomass delivery chains on the following environmental and economic indicators. A regional case study was performed in Aragón (Spain) using the LocaGIStics tool. In this case study maps were used where the biomass availability is specified for 2.5 x 2.5 grid cells. Data about the logistical components were supplied partly by the energy supplying company that was involved. This paper shows the main outcomes of this case study. Proceedings of the 25th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 12-15 June 2017, Stockholm, Sweden, pp. 41-47

One of the most important routes for cultural tourism in Bali connects the seaside tourist town of Sanur to the provincial capital city of Denpasar, continues through the Sukawati Art Market, skirts the village of Mas, site of many studios and workshops, and culminates in Ubud, the historic artistic center of Bali. The city of Ubud is the epicenter of a renowned tradition of painting but it is also a community staggering under the influx of tourists arriving via this route. The roadway from Sanur to Ubud illustrates a range of different types of arts-based heritage tourism, from mass produced art for beachside tourists in Sanur to several high-end galleries in Ubud. This trajectory of towns and their varied relationships with the arts and tourism illustrate the potentials and pitfalls of arts tourism as a means of development, and this roadway highlights the challenges of crafting sustainable routes for tourists interested in the arts. Almatourism - Journal of Tourism, Culture and Territorial Development, Vol 4, No 8 (2013)

The history of the relationship between man’s activities and the environment has not been a harmonious one, and tourism is no exception. This article gives a brief overview of the impacts caused by the tourism, on both the natural environment and built environments, establishing that the only way to avoid, or at least minimize these negative effects is to develop sustainable tourism, seeking socioenvironmental and economic balance. One of the ways of achieving this sustainable development is through environmental education and the theme of didactic itineraries, in particular, is discussed as a form of raising awareness among the tourists concerning the importance of preserving the natural and cultural environment.  

This study aims to separately investigate: 1.The political reasons behind Norway‟s controversial decision to encourage a coal enterprise on Svalbard (an archipelago in the Arctic) and, 2.The current and future potential of wind and solar energy as untapped renewable sources, locally exploited through a hybrid wind-PV system. In doing so this preliminary study attempts to provide insights for the implementation of an alternative, sustainable strategy to keep a Norwegian year-round settlement at Longyearbyen, Svalbard, without any recourse to polluting mining operations. Such an eventuality, despite the need for further research, is promisingly described as feasible, environmentally advantageous and politically conceivable. Consilience, No 6 (2011): Issue Six: 2011

Amidst debates between the North and the South, Emission Trading (ET), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Joint Implementation (JI) were adopted as flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol. These mechanisms allow developed countries to meet their emission reduction targets by investing in clean projects in other countries of their choice. The implementation of these mechanisms have however been faced with many problems which cast doubts on their efficacy as viable options for combating climate change. One main criticism of these mechanisms is that they lead to a trade off between sustainability and emission reduction. This paper examines the efficiency of these mechanisms in combating climate change. It reviews the main criticisms of the flexibility mechanisms in an attempt to answer the question whether the flexibility idea should still be retained as part of the post 2012 commitments. While arguing in favor of flexibility, this paper offers ideas on how their effectiveness can be enhanced in the post 2012 commitment period.

Entrepreneurship education is aimed at shaping relevant entrepreneurial competencies needed not only to fulfil the role of the entrepreneur but also to change behaviour in order to build a culture of innovation, seeking knowledge and business opportunities to ensure sustainable economic growth and social wellbeing. Entrepreneurial competencies can be understood as knowledge, skills and attitudes having an impact on the readiness and ability to create new value as part of business or social activity. Therefore the development of entrepreneurial competencies is gaining growing interest. This article aims to determine the academic potential of entrepreneurship education in shaping competencies supporting sustainable development as well as to verify entrepreneurial competencies exemplified by students of a selected Polish university. In line with this, a quantitative study was carried out, based on a questionnaire-based survey involving students with entrepreneurship education background. This analysis allows assessing current trends in the development of entrepreneurial skills supporting sustainability at the higher education level.

Freight transport has emerged as one of the most critical and dynamic aspects of the transport sector where change has become the norm. It is now the main element supporting global commodity and more generally supply chains. Yet the lack of seamlessness and inefficiencies in general as well as the rising costs and complexities of shipping and delivering goods are adding to profit pressures faced by manufacturers across the globe. Our paper first discusses the concept of seamlessness, and then examines some of the consequences of the lack of seamlessness in terms of freight transport inefficiencies. We then begin to examine the new developments in which intermodality, technology (e-commerce), and logistics are changing and will have the impact of heightening competitive advantage and reducing constraint points in production value chains and global production networks. Finally the intent is to show how research on this theme might be advanced in a trans-Atlantic framework.

Discussions of global environmental governance seem to have gotten nowhere in the last thirty years despite environmental problems that continue to grow in scope and magnitude. Here, the role of sustainable development in that failure is examined, particularly the constructively ambiguous nature of the paradigm. It is suggested that an emphasis on the shifting, contextualized and relative term ―needs‖ in the definition of sustainable development has led to paralysis at the international level in addressing environmental problems, particularly climate change. Contradictions that emerge when sustainable development is formalized in economic models as weak and strong sustainability are discussed. Finally, promising future pathways for environmental actions are explored. Consilience, No 5 (2011): Issue Five: 2011

In order to be competitive on the tourism market, hotels adopt different strategies. An intelligent and relatively new strategy that is adopted in the hotel market in Romania is the use of the ECO concept, the goal being to achieve sustainable development and sustainable tourism, involving a series of socio-economic benefits. One of the first accommodation units in Romania to use this strategy is Vega Hotel in Mamaia, a 5* hotel, which was awarded the Eco-Hotel Management System certification by Tuv-Rheinland Romania in the summer of 2009. This paper, through a market research, analyzes the views and attitudes of tourists on the use of the ECO concept in the hospitality industry.