Environmental Profiling of Green Educational Building Using Life Cycle Assessment

Over the last twenty years, architects and designers have been working towards minimizing the impact that buildings have on the environment. In spite of the fact that many architects claim their buildings are environment-friendly, the claims cannot be justified unless a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is conducted. The two major parts of the theoretical basis of the proposed scheme are the concept of sustainability of the environment and methods of assessing the building’s environmental impacts. The objective of this report is to evaluate the possible ecological impact of an educational building through its life cycle, from extracting raw materials to the end of life. In order to accomplish the goal of the study, a single-case method of a life cycle assessment was used to determine which stage of the life cycle (manufacturing, construction, consumption, maintenance, and dismantling) made the most contribution to the overall impact. The main installation system (foundation, frame, wall, floor, roof) of a building will have an impact on the environment during its life cycle. A typical new educational building was used as a case study in Islamabad, along with an optimized LCA method based on energy consumption inventories, the material input and output, and the assessment of the environmental impact.

THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING ON FIRM VALUE

This research study aims to examine the effect of implementing environmental management accounting in increasing firm value in Tangerang Raya. This research uses a population of 2,579 manufacturing industrial companies in Banten province spread across Cilegon City, Serang Regency and City, Pandeglang City, Lebak City and Tangerang Raya. The samples were selected using predetermined criteria with quantitative methods. Based on the multiple linear regression testing that has been carried out, the following results are obtained: there is a significant positive effect between the material input aspect and the environmental complaint mechanism aspect on firm value. Furthermore, the results of non-output aspects of products and aspects of compliance have a significant negative effect on firm value. However, there are three aspects of the proxy for the application of environmental management accounting which consist of transportation aspects, other aspects, and supplier assessment aspects that have a positive and insignificant effect on firm value. Simultaneously, the effect of the application of environmental management accounting proxied through material input, environmental complaint mechanism, non-product output, compliance, transportation, supplier assessment and others have a significant effect on firm value.

A Process-Planning Framework for Sustainable Manufacturing

Process planning in manufacturing today focuses on optimizing the conflicting targets of cost, quality, and time. Due to increasing social awareness and subsequent governmental regulation, environmental impact becomes a fourth major aspect. Eventually, sustainability in manufacturing ensures future competitiveness. In this paper, a framework for the planning of sustainable manufacturing is proposed. It is based on the abstraction and generalization of manufacturing resources and part descriptions, which are matched and ranked using a multi-criteria decision analysis method. Manufacturing resources provide values for cost, quality, time and environmental impacts, which multiply with their usage within a manufacturing task for a specific part. The framework is validated with a detailed modeling of a laser machine as a resource revealing benefits and optimization potential of the underlying data model. Finally, the framework is applied to a use case of a flange part with two different manufacturing strategies, i.e., laser metal-wire deposition and conventional milling. The most influential parameters regarding the environmental impacts are the raw material input, the manufacturing energy consumption and the machine production itself. In general, the framework enabled the identification of non-predetermined manufacturing possibilities and the comprehensive comparison of production resources.

DISPERSION IN INPUT AND OUTPUT PRICES: A FIRM-LEVEL ANALYSIS

Analyzing representative and rich data on the Indian formal manufacturing sector, this paper tries to establish an empirical relationship between prices of input, output and firm size of the plant. The firm-level data reflect tremendous dispersion in prices that firms pay to purchase material input even within an industry. Price heterogeneity is also observed for prices that firms charge for their output even for narrowly defined products. The paper constructs a model using information on output and input choices by firms to analyze the observed patterns. The paper finds that on average, bigger plants not only pay a premium for the inputs used in the production process, but also charge a premium for their outputs. After documenting the empirical relationship, the paper discusses the possible sources for price dispersion. The paper highlights sectoral variations in the correlation between plant size and prices, which are consistent with the findings in the literature related to the scope for quality differentiation in output as well as inputs. The empirical pattern observed supports the hypothesis that correlation between plant size and price can be driven by market power.

An Evaluation of Recycled Polymeric Materials Usage in Denim with Lifecycle Assesment Methodology

Today, World economy is only 8.6% circular, which creates a huge potential in materials reuse. To close the Emission Gap by 2032, this percentage needs to be doubled. The circular economy ensures that with less virgin material input and fewer emissions. With the help of effective recycling technologies, virgin material use can be decreased and especially petroleum based materials impact can fall within planetary boundaries. This book chapter analyzes different chemical and biological recycling technologies, their advantages and challenges in denim production. Moreover, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis will be used to evaluate the environmental impact of recycled polymeric materials usage in denim fabrics. Finally, it concludes by challenges and the future of chemically recycled materials in denim production and opportunities to evaluate waste as a raw material to design circular systems.

BIOGENIC SILICA SEDIMENTATION ON THE SHELF AND CONTINENTAL SLOPE OF THE BLACK SEA

Investigation of the marine sediments processes, regularities of their accumulation in the inland seas is one of the main tasks of marine geology and sedimentology. Biogenic sedimentation is extremely important in the general sediment deposition cycle in the Black Sea basin. This article provides an overview of the literature and analysis of our own research of the distribution of biogenic siliceous deposits in Holocene bottom sediments on the shelf and continental slope of the Black Sea. The composition and conditions of biosilicates formation, their relationship with coccolithic silts and sapropels in sedimentary strata, sources and forms of siliceous biogenic matter input, the dynamics of transformation of modern bottom sediments, as well as the influence of various environmental factors on the process of sedimentary accumulation of silica in the Black Sea basin in the late quarter are considered. The relevance of the topic is caused by insufficient coverage of a number of issues regarding the sources of mobilization and the nature of material input, the features of the origin and deposition of silicate biogenic matter in the basin, paleogeoecological factors that influenced on sedimentogenesis in the late Quarter. The study of the formation processes of modern bottom sediments in a wide range of facies conditions is of undoubted practical importance for diverse geological, sedimentological and facies research, both fundamental and applied, related to prospecting, exploration and exploitation of minerals, as well as for using the results obtained in the development of marine water area.

To Sit Quietly in a Room Alone: The Psychology of Social, Material, and Sensation Seeking Input

External input is any kind of physical stimulation created by an individual’s surroundings that can be detected by the senses. The present research established a novel conceptualization of this construct by investigating it from the perspective of three research areas that tap into its different aspects but have so far been disconnected—materialism, social motives, and sensation seeking. Studies 1-5 focused on individual differences regarding external input (i.e., the needs for material, social, and sensation seeking input). It was established that the three needs are positively related and constitute different dimensions of the overarching construct of external input, that the needs for social and sensation seeking input have negative consequences for how people experience long-term input deprivation (i.e., COVID-19 restrictions), and that the need for material input has negative consequences for people’s experiences of short-term input deprivation (i.e., sitting in a chair without doing anything else but thinking). Finally, Study 6 focused on external input as a situational characteristic and showed that the degree of sensation seeking input constituting various situations is a more important predictor, relative to social and material input, of how enjoyable and meaningful people perceive the situations and of their willingness to engage in them. Overall, the present research established a novel construct that has fundamental implications for people’s experiences and actions in a range of different contexts.