• Energy Research
• 13. Climate action close
• Sustainability close
• Universidade Católica Portuguesa close

The food- and feed-value systems in the European Union are not protein self-sufficient. Despite the potential of legume-supported production systems to reduce the externalities caused by current cultivation practices (excessive use of N fertilizer) and improve the sustainability of the arable cropping systems and the quality of human diets, sufficient production of high-protein legume grains in Europe has not been achieved due to multiple barriers. Identifying the barriers to the production and consumption of legumes is the first step in realizing new pathways towards more sustainable food systems of which legumes are integral part. In this study, we engage stakeholders and decision-makers in a structured communication process, the Delphi method, to identify policy interventions leveraging barriers that hinder the production and consumption of legumes in the EU. This study is one of a kind and uses a systematic method to reach a common understanding of the policy incoherencies across sectors. Through this method we identify policy interventions that may promote the production of legumes and the creation of legume-based products in the EU. Policies that encourage reduced use of inorganic N fertilizer represent an important step toward a shift in the increased cultivation of legumes. Relatedly, investment in R&D, extension services, and knowledge transfer is necessary to support a smooth transition from the heavy use of synthetic N fertilizer in conventional agriculture. These policy interventions are discussed within current EU and national plant-protein strategies.

Islands are often considered excellent socio-ecological laboratories for testing the rapidity of global change since they experience the climate effects of sea-level rise faster than other areas. The Azores are a Portuguese volcanic archipelago located on the junction of the three tectonic plates: the Eurasian, the African and the North American plates. São Miguel, the main island of the Azores archipelago, hosts three active volcanoes, but the last significant volcanic eruption was the Capelinhos volcano on the island of Faial in 1957. Hence, the Azores offers the opportunity to assess insular risk awareness, facing both telluric and climate-related hazards. The key research question emerges from their natural situation: how does the local population perceive the threat of the natural hazards that occur in Azores? Because risks are socially constructed and depend on the uniqueness of territories, risk mitigation strategies must focus on the individual experiences of local dwellers, as a relationship between risk awareness and such strategies may be expected. To analyze this relationship, a web-based survey with a questionnaire including these variables was administered to a sample of Azoreans. The study aimed to assess risk awareness of the Azorean population and find a relationship between this and reported mitigation strategies. The results gave a preliminary insight into Azorean risk awareness of natural hazards and showed a significant positive relationship between risk awareness-raising activities and reported mitigation strategies. This is relevant information for municipalities and regional governments of areas with similar risk exposures, showing that, although risk awareness alone is not enough for measures to be implemented, it may be an important motivational first step for this to occur.

Emerging issues related to climate change have been explored in recent years as the need for appropriate behavioral solutions grows. However, one of the main problems raised and yet to be solved is the challenge to encourage people to act against climate change. One of the identified barriers is the mental indirect link between the influence of human activities in the present and their future consequences. This psychological distance could be investigated by examining temporal discounting—the overvaluation of benefits in the present compared to benefits in the future—and its relationship to environmental behavior on consumers’ attitudes toward green purchasing. In this research, we conducted a survey (n = 337) to examine the relationship between temporal discounting and perceived seriousness of environmental behavior and investigated the moderating effect of consumers’ attitudes regarding green purchasing. The results show a moderating effect of these consumers’ attitudes on the relationship between temporal discounting and perceived seriousness of environmental behavior. These findings make important contributions to environmental policies by rethinking and adapting new solutions that promote behavioral change, namely by exploring psychological variables and identifying green consumption profiles.

In this paper, we propose a novel approach to the development of green public policies. We emphasize the significance of the system of systems (SoSs) methodology, which concentrates on understanding and managing complex systems by contemplating their interdependencies and interactions as a single integrated system. Based on this perspective, we consider green public policy as a system interacting with the energy, health, pollutants, and economic systems of the SoSs. As a method of systematic structural analysis, we use both decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) techniques to understand the relationships between the systems listed above. We provide a literature review on the application of these soft operation research (SOR) techniques. We note that SOR methods are suitable for the formulation of effective public policies. Using an example, we demonstrate the primary advantage of DEMATEL and ISM, which is the establishment of easily comprehendible causal relationships between the systems in the SoSs.

Steelmaking and ferrous metal processing companies are suppliers of great importance to a wide array of industries, thus being quintessential for the social and financial growth of regions and countries. Most used processes (i.e., blast furnace, basic oxygen furnace, and electric arc furnace-based) are, however, highly pollutant, generating hazardous wastes that were usually landfilled. Generated wastes are important sources of secondary raw materials such as zinc and iron, presenting interesting market value. Hence, aiming to develop green procedures, industries have been using diverse approaches to treat and detoxify hazardous wastes, extract and reuse added value components, or even use their existing infrastructures to convert the wastes generated by other industries into secondary raw materials for steel manufacturing. This paper reviews the main industrial processes, focusing on the waste-generating steps, and discloses the most recent and relevant industrial synergies toward a circular economy. The final contribution of this study consists of the compilation of industrial synergies and recovery technologies for the steelmaking and metal processes.

Green contracting mechanisms are utilized to integrate sustainable and environmentally protective goals into business objectives. This study proposes a framework for the design of green contract mechanisms in forestry supply chain management. We assumed that there was an applicant for harvesting timber in a forest, and that the owner tried to evaluate different scenarios to design a green contracting mechanism. We also assumed that the owner of a forest cared about green goals, such as carbon dioxide absorption, in the forest. We regarded the interests of the parties, such as the profit of the applicant as well as the green goals of the forest owner. We used multi-attribute decision-making techniques such as the weighted sum, normalized weighted sum, TOPSIS, and VIKOR to evaluate the various scenarios. In the literature, another approach was taken to solve a similar problem based on multi-objective techniques and the Pareto optimality concept. We compared the outcomes of the determined framework with the outputs of the previously employed methods. The recommended framework can provide more interpretable results since it considers the interests of different sides. The framework can assist businesses in designing contracts that promote sustainable operations and support compliance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.