The Concern of Energy Companies in Obtaining and Maintaining their Sustainable Value

The last years are distinguished by increasing the awareness of companies towards sustainable business, going beyond their traditional role of providing goods and services at competitive prices to meet customer requirements. Thus, companies will have to consider the effects of their best practices on the environment and society, in order to contribute to the progress of society and the protection of the environment, the essence of sustainable development being the coexistence of economic and social relations and environmental protection by implementing economic, social and environmental objectives. We can see that every company that seeks to become sustainable must consider approaches based on sustainable business practices geared to meeting customer needs. For companies listed on the stock market, the index that stands next to each company is the one that shows the level of sustainability, through corporate sustainability, long-term value is created for shareholders, taking into account all social factors, those related to the environment, as well as economic ones. All these considerations have led to the establishment of the general objective of the paper, through which the authors aim to explain and present the importance of sustainability/sustainable development in energy companies in conjunction with the UN guidelines on business and human rights, which will address with priority to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.

Development of Animal Fibres Composites for Construction Applications

Climate change has become one of the world’s leading threats. Currently, the construction industry has a high environmental footprint. For this reason, the scientific and technological sector is looking for new materials to reduce the environmental consequences of this division. It is well known that the valorisation of different by-products can contribute to the reduction of the energy global consumption and CO2 emissions. Magnesium Phosphate Cement (MPC) can be obtained by using Low Grade Magnesium Oxide (LG-MgO) as a by-product from the industrial process of magnesite calcination. In this research, a Sustainable MPC (Sust-MPC) for different construction purposes is developed by using LG-MgO along with monopotassium phosphate KH2PO4 (MKP) as raw materials. The increasing use of synthetic fibres in clothing, as well as China’s competitive prices on Animal Fibres (AF) market, have led to a commercial interest fibre decrease for wool-like AF in Spain. This study aims to formulate a Sust-MPC cement with Animal Fibre (AF) to reduce the cost of the new material (Sust-MPC-AF) and to increase the thermal insulation, allowing the use of Sust-MPC-AF in several potential applications. Besides, it should be emphasized that the final pH of Sust-MPC is neutral, which allows containing natural fibres. To develop Sust-MPC-AF, some properties such as thermal conductivity, density, Modulus of Elasticity (MoE), flexural strength, and economic cost were evaluated using the Design of Experiments (DoE). The DoE studies allowed obtaining a model for further optimization considering minimum thermal conductivity and cost dosages. The formulation 30L-25EW presents the minimum conductivity (λ=0.140 W·m-1·K-1). Therefore, two optimal dosages (36L-25EW and 24L-22EW) are obtained by considering mixing variables such as AF/Cement ratio (AF/C) and AF/Extra Water ratio (AF/EW).

Mapping the Process to Improve the Operative and Environmental Performance of Feeder Ports

Container terminals play an important role in linking regional and continental areas for the exchange of goods. Port authorities have to provide their services under competitive prices and service levels to customers. This increasing competition pushes feeder ports to improve their processes. The goal is to increase the port capacity to deal with the increasing demand for containers and, at the same time, to reduce the environmental impact and operative costs. The authors address the gap in the literature regarding alternatives for feeder ports. They analyse best practices adopted in international terminals and evaluate the implementation in feeder ports. They apply a quantitative approach using the simulation software AnyLogic. The model uses market data to analyse the vessel unloading process at the berth. Moreover, an alternative to reduce the CO2 emissions for diesel equipment is presented. A flowchart for the vessel unloading and loading operations is proposed that includes the strategies to increase capacity and efficiency of operations and the utilisation of equipment.

Potential of Vegetable E-Commerce for Empowering Farmers in Indonesia

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the flow of horticultural products from farmers to consumers. It causes the delivery of vegetables to be hampered, especially in Jabodetabek, which is the center of vegetable consumption. Therefore, a new marketing strategy is needed involving e-commerce to meet people's need for vegetables. This study discusses the buying behavior of vegetables through e-commerce in Jabodetabek and analyzes the role of e-commerce platforms to empower farmers in Indonesia. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with two data sources, primary data obtained from questionnaires filled out by 153 respondents and secondary data obtained from literature studies. The results showed that 50.33 percent of respondents prefer to shop for vegetables through e-commerce, and 51.63 percent think online vegetable shopping services are better than offline or conventional shopping. The majority of people choose to buy vegetables online through e-commerce because of concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, vegetable purchasing behavior is still in the introduction stage. E-commerce plays a role in making it easier for people to get the needs of quality vegetables at competitive prices. Empowering farmers to produce high-quality products is very important in increasing consumer repurchase intentions and improving the welfare of farmers in Indonesia.

Sustainable Supply of Scandium for the EU Industries from Liquid Iron Chloride Based TiO2 Plants

Scandium (Sc) applications in solid oxygen fuel cells, aeronautics and heat exchange systems are forecasted to increase significantly without a sufficient continuous Sc supply for Europe. ScaVanger is an EU project for upscaling Sc extraction and purification technologies from various TiO2 pigment production residues. High purity Sc2O3 and ScF3 will be produced at competitive prices for the EU market. The ScaVanger process is expected to result in a 10% higher production rate and higher product purity as processing starts with a unique cleaning process of actinides. The first plant at a major European TiO2 pigment production site will be supplying about 30 t/a of Sc2O3.

A Simulation Analysis of an Influenza Vaccine Production Plant in Areas of High Humanitarian Flow. A Preliminary Study for the Region of Norte de Santander (Colombia)

The production of vaccines of biological origin presents a tremendous challenge for researchers. In this context, animal cell cultures are an excellent alternative for the isolation and production of biologicals against several viruses, since they have an affinity with viruses and a great capacity for their replicability. Different variables have been studied to know the system’s ideal parameters, allowing it to obtain profitable and competitive products. Consequently, this work focuses its efforts on evaluating an alternative for producing an anti-influenza biological from MDCK cells using SuperPro Designer v8.0 software. The process uses the DMEN culture medium supplemented with nutrients as raw material for cell development; the MDCK cells were obtained from a potential scale-up with a final working volume of 500 L, four days of residence time, inoculum volume of 10%, and continuous working mode with up to a total of 7400 h/Yr of work. The scheme has the necessary equipment for the vaccine’s production, infection, and manufacture with yields of up to 416,698 units/h. In addition, it was estimated to be economically viable to produce recombinant vaccines with competitive prices of up to 0.31 USD/unit.

Application of E-Pharmacies in India

Consumer convenience and access are improved through E-pharmacy. This will mostly benefit chronic old patients living in nuclear families, as well as people who are unable to travel to a pharmacy. E-pharmacy also offers competitive prices, making drugs more affordable to those who are less well-off. Consumers in India focused on staying indoors after the COVID-19 lockdown was announced, which forced people to go digital, whether to pay bills or contact doctors. There are no exceptions when it comes to e-pharmacies. Brick-and-mortar pharmacies' home delivery of medicines has also increased. The aim of this paper is to discover and experimentally validate the many characteristics that influence customer acceptance, usage, and intent to suggest E-pharmacy for pharmaceutical purchases. This paper also aims to identify the factors that influence customers on choosing between the various e-pharmacies (PharmEasy, Tata 1mg, Net Meds, Apollo 24x7) providing their service in the market. For this research, the information from 106 respondents was collected and it was found that factors like ease of buying, discounts, user experience, customer care, and availability of the medicines/healthcare products influences their buying behaviour.

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI LOYALITAS KONSUMEN TOKO STARS MADIUN 2

Consumer loyalty is a positive attitude given by consumers to a product or company caused by consumer satisfaction with the product or company which is manifested by repeat purchase behavior to recommend it to anyone they know. This study aims to determine and analyze the effect of price, promotion, and service quality on consumer loyalty at Stars Madiun 2 Store. This research is a field research with a quantitative approach. Stars Madiun 2 shop consumers are the population in this study with 97 consumers as samples. Sampling was done by incidental sampling method. Data were analyzed by Partial Least Square (PLS) method. The results showed that price and promotion had a positive effect on consumer loyalty. While the quality of service has no effect on consumer loyalty. The magnitude of the influence of price, promotion, and service quality on consumer loyalty has an effect of 66.5% and 33.5% is influenced by variables that are not included in the model. The price variable has the greatest contribution to loyalty. The Stars Madiun 2 store must consider prices more carefully, such as providing more competitive prices, and offering a variety of products accompanied by good quality. After that, promotion and service quality can be improved. Loyalitas konsumen merupakan sikap positif yang diberikan oleh konsumen kepada suatu produk atau perusahaan yang disebabkan oleh kepuasan konsumen terhadap produk atau perusahaan tersebut yang diwujudkan dengan perilaku pembelian berulang hingga merekomendasikannya kepada siapapun yang mereka kenal. Penelitian ini memiliki tujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis pengaruh harga, promosi, dan kualitas pelayanan terhadap loyalitas konsumen Toko Stars Madiun 2. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian lapangan dengan pendekatan kuantitatif. Konsumen Toko Stars Madiun 2 merupakan populasi pada penelitian ini dengan 97 konsumen sebagai sampel. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan dengan metode incidental sampling. Data dianalisis dengan metode Partial Least Square (PLS). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa harga dan promosi berpengaruh positif terhadap loyalitas konsumen. Sedangkan kualitas pelayanan tidak berpengaruh terhadap loyalitas konsumen. Besarnya pengaruh harga, promosi, dan kualitas pelayanan terhadap loyalitas konsumen berpengaruh sebesar 66,5% dengan 33,5% dipengaruhi oleh variabel yang tidak masuk dalam model. Variabel harga memiliki kontribusi paling besar terhadap loyalitas. Toko Stars Madiun 2 harus lebih mempertimbangkan harga dengan matang, seperti memberikan harga yang lebih kompetitif, dan bermacam-macam dengan diiringi dengan kualitas produk yang baik. Setelah itu dapat dilakukan peningkatan promosi dan kualitas pelayanan.

Cyber Insurance Ratemaking: A Graph Mining Approach

Cyber insurance ratemaking (CIRM) is a procedure used to set rates (or prices) for cyber insurance products provided by insurance companies. Rate estimation is a critical issue for cyber insurance products. This problem arises because of the unavailability of actuarial data and the uncertainty of normative standards of cyber risk. Most cyber risk analyses do not consider the connection between Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sources. Recently, a cyber risk model was developed that considered the network structure. However, the analysis of this model remains limited to an unweighted network. To address this issue, we propose using a graph mining approach (GMA) to CIRM, which can be applied to obtain fair and competitive prices based on weighted network characteristics. This study differs from previous studies in that it adds the GMA to CIRM and uses communication models to explain the frequency of communications as weights in the network. We used the heterogeneous generalized susceptible-infectious-susceptible model to accommodate different infection rates. Our approach adds up to the existing method because it considers the communication frequency and GMA in CIRM. This approach results in heterogeneous premiums. Additionally, GMA can choose more active communications to reflect high communications contribution in the premiums or rates. This contribution is not found when the infection rates are the same. Based on our experimental results, it is apparent that this method can produce more reasonable and competitive prices than other methods. The prices obtained with GMA and communication factors are lower than those obtained without GMA and communication factors.

THE COOPERATIVE EXPERIENCE OF COGON FARMERS: FOOD SECURITY FOR SMALL FARMERS

Cooperativism is a method introduced by people in a society to neutralize the competitive prices of goods from among business sectors. It is a way for people to come together, put up their goods and services as one, and with the end in view of benefiting from their products. The purpose of this study is to appraise the fundamental function of cooperativism and how it can assist and sustain small farmers in their aim for food security. This work utilized hermeneutical phenomenology in understanding the lived experiences of small farmers in Barangay Cogon, Tanauan, Leyte, Philippines from the establishment of their cooperative, its operation, and its eventual success in giving them food security in the process. The results indicate that farmers were hesitant in establishing a cooperative because of the groundwork that accompanies it. But with the aid of the faculty members of the Eastern Visayas State University, the farmers underwent education on the nature of cooperativism. From there, the faculty members allowed the farmers to cultivate discipline, sustenance, and business integrity while operating the cooperative. Constant monitoring from the faculty members over the farmers was necessary to ensure that the cooperative was consistently maintained thereby achieving stability and eventual food security. For years now, the cooperative has helped its members substantially. Coincidentally, the occurrence of the covid-19 virus has made significant changes or damages to human life and properties, but this cooperative gave hope and food sustenance to its members. This study hopes that the effort of the initiators coupled with the cooperation and effort of the cooperative members exemplify the need to proliferate cooperativism in every society especially among poor farmers. Keywords: Cooperativism; Agricultural cooperative; Theory of cooperation; Phenomenological study; Research and extension service; Food security