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Life Cycle Thinking and Industrial Symbiosis: Challenges for A Sustainable...
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Life Cycle Thinking and Industrial Symbiosis: Challenges for A Sustainable Growth

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Ecology and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 12449

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Roberta Salomone

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Guest Editor
Department of Economics, University of Messina, Piazza Pugliatti, 1, 98122 Messina ME, Italy
Interests: environmental management; industrial ecology; life cycle assessment; circular economy
Prof. Andrea Raggi

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Guest Editor
Department of Economic Studies, University "G. d'Annunzio"
Interests: environmental management systems; life cycle sustainability assessment; industrial ecology
Dr. Laura Cutaia

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Guest Editor
Italian National agency for new technologies, Energy and sustainable economic development (ENEA)
Interests: life cycle assessment (LCA); life cycle sustainability assessment; industrial ecology; industrial symbiosis; circular economy
Dr. Andrea Cecchin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Archives of Sustainability, Ca Foscari University of Venice
Interests: sustainable resource management; circular economy in developing countries; waste management and policy; sustainability in construction; community-based participatory research; adaptive governance
Dr. Pauline Deutz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK
Interests: circular economy; industrial symbiosis; governance; human geography; qualitative research; social implications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit articles for a Special Issue on “Life Cycle Thinking and Industrial Symbiosis: Challenges for a Sustainable Growth”, by 31 May 2021.

We believe that the Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approach is an essential part of Industrial Symbiosis experiences, supporting the transition to the traditional focus on a single production facility to the system vision that includes environmental, social and economic impacts of a product over its entire life cycle and that improves synergies among different organizations.

Starting from this belief, this Special Issue covers discussions on methodologies and practices for sustainability and Circular Economy based on the implementation of Life Cycle Thinking in Industrial Symbiosis challenges, which include but are not limited to:

  • Role of LCT in planning, implementing and assessing industrial symbiosis challenges
  • Investigating Industrial Symbiosis through Life Cycle Assessment
  • Investigating Industrial Symbiosis through Life Cycle Costing
  • Investigating Industrial Symbiosis through Social-Life Cycle Assessment
  • Circular Economy and Life Cycle Thinking
  • Local sustainability and Life Cycle Thinking

We would like to invite you to share a wide range of studies, experiences and knowledge that helps to promote sustainability issues (not limited only to environmental aspects but also covering social and economic aspects) linking life cycle thinking and industrial symbiosis.

In recognition of the fact that the benefits sought are diverse, contributions from various sectors are welcome. Special encouragement goes to the papers that extend the presentations from the 24th International Sustainable Development Research Society Conference “Actions for a Sustainable World: from Theory to Practice” (ISDRS 2018).

Prof. Roberta Salomone
Prof. Andrea Raggi
Dr. Laura Cutaia
Dr. Andrea Cecchin
Dr. Pauline Deutz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Life Cycle Thinking/Management
  • Life Cycle Assessment
  • Life Cycle Costing
  • Social LCA
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Material/Energy Efficiency
  • Industrial Ecology
  • Industrial Symbiosis
  • Circular Economy
  • Sustainable Development Goals
  • Sustainable consumption and production.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 613 KiB  
Article
Energy Clusters as a New Urban Symbiosis Concept for Increasing Renewable Energy Production—A Case Study of Zakopane City
by Agnieszka Czaplicka-Kotas, Joanna Kulczycka and Natalia Iwaszczuk
Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5634; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12145634 - 13 Jul 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3257
Abstract
One of the priority lines of action in Poland is to increase energy production from renewable energy sources (RESs). Based on the “Poland’s national energy and climate plan for the years 2021–2030”, Poland aims to achieve 21%–23% of RES share in gross final [...] Read more.
One of the priority lines of action in Poland is to increase energy production from renewable energy sources (RESs). Based on the “Poland’s national energy and climate plan for the years 2021–2030”, Poland aims to achieve 21%–23% of RES share in gross final energy consumption by 2030. While coal is still the most important source of energy, new technological and organisational solutions for increasing RESs are being tested and implemented. Therefore, the creation of energy clusters based on the idea of urban and industrial symbiosis was first proposed by the Ministry of Energy in 2016. To date, there are 66 clusters in different regions in Poland, but only a few of them are active and innovative. One of them is located in the city of Zakopane, a mountain resort, which attracts about 3 million tourists annually and has developed the wide-ranging use of geothermal sources for energy supply and recreation. The paper aims to analyse the impact of the creation of energy clusters on the city’s development, including economic, social, and environmental aspects. The “willingness to pay” (WTP) method was used to calculate the impact of air pollution on Zakopane and to compare it with the Polish average to estimate the significance of the transformation to RESs in this tourist city. The results from the studies are as follows: health cost per capita in Zakopane is between 252.07 and 921.30 euro. The investigations presented can be the basis for recommendations in strategic documents in the field of regional development and environmental protection, especially on the use and promotion of urban symbiosis for increasing use of RESs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Thinking and Industrial Symbiosis: Challenges for A Sustainable Growth)
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20 pages, 304 KiB  
Article
The EMAS Registration of the Livenza Furniture District in the Province of Pordenone (Italy)
by Veronica Novelli, Paola Geatti, Francesco Bianco, Luciano Ceccon, Stefania Del Frate and Paolo Badin
Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 898; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12030898 - 25 Jan 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2241
Abstract
One of the most important manufacturing areas of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region is the territory close to Pordenone, the Livenza furniture district. This industrial district, consisting of industries of wood, wood and cork products, furniture, straw articles, and weave materials, located in [...] Read more.
One of the most important manufacturing areas of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region is the territory close to Pordenone, the Livenza furniture district. This industrial district, consisting of industries of wood, wood and cork products, furniture, straw articles, and weave materials, located in 11 municipalities of that area, was the first Italian district to obtain the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Registration in 2006. Data and information from a questionnaire compiled by more than 100 firms and 11 municipalities of the district were used to draw up the territorial environmental analysis (TEA). For the EMAS registration renewal, obtained in 2016, the TEA was updated by reviewing the methodology of the environmental impact evaluation: the ecological footprint (EF) was compared with the carrying capacity (CC) of that area. The results put in light that the EF was greater than the CC. Several actions for reducing the environmental impacts of the district activities were highlighted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Thinking and Industrial Symbiosis: Challenges for A Sustainable Growth)
18 pages, 1033 KiB  
Article
Industrial Symbiosis Dynamics, a Strategy to Accomplish Complex Analysis: The Dunkirk Case Study
by Manuel E. Morales and Arnaud Diemer
Sustainability 2019, 11(7), 1971; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11071971 - 03 Apr 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6002
Abstract
Industrial symbiosis (IS) is presented as an inter-firm organizational strategy with the aim of social innovation that targets material and energy flow optimization but also structural sustainability. In this paper, we present geographical proximity as the theoretical framework used to analyse industrial symbiosis [...] Read more.
Industrial symbiosis (IS) is presented as an inter-firm organizational strategy with the aim of social innovation that targets material and energy flow optimization but also structural sustainability. In this paper, we present geographical proximity as the theoretical framework used to analyse industrial symbiosis through a methodology based on System Dynamics and the underpinning use of Causal Loop Diagrams, aiming to identify the main drivers and hindrances that reinforce or regulate the industrial symbiosis’s sustainability. The understanding of industrial symbiosis is embedded in a theoretical framework that conceptualizes industry as a complex ecosystem in which proximity analysis and stakeholder theory are determinant, giving this methodology a comparative advantage over descriptive statistical forecasting, because it is able to integrate social causal rationality when forecasting attractiveness in a region or individual firm’s potential. A successful industrial symbiosis lasts only if it is able to address collective action problems. The stakeholders’ influence then becomes essential to the complex understanding of this institution, because by shaping individual behaviour in a social context, industrial symbiosis provides a degree of coordination and cooperation in order to overcome social dilemmas for actors who cannot achieve their own goals alone. The proposed narrative encourages us to draw up scenarios, integrating variables from different motivational value dimensions: efficiency, resilience, cooperation and proximity in the industrial symbiosis. We use the Dunkirk case study to explain the role of geographical systems analysis, identifying loops that reinforce or regulate the sustainability of industrial symbiosis and identifying three leverage points: “Training, workshop and education programs for managers and directors,” “Industrial symbiosis governance” and “Agreements in waste regulation conflicts.” The social dynamics aims for the consolidation of the network, through stakeholder interaction and explains the local success and failure of every industrial symbiosis through a system dynamics analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Thinking and Industrial Symbiosis: Challenges for A Sustainable Growth)
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