Assessing and Measuring Environmental Impact and Sustainability answers the question “what are the available methodologies to assess the environmental sustainability of a product, system or process?” Multiple well-known authors share their expertise in order to give a broad perspective of this issue from a chemical and environmental engineering perspective. This mathematical, quantitative book includes many case studies to assist with the practical application of environmental and sustainability methods. Readers learn how to efficiently assess and use these methods. This book summarizes all relevant environmental methodologies to assess the sustainability of a product and tools, in order to develop more green products or processes. With life cycle assessment as its main methodology, this book speaks to engineers interested in environmental impact and sustainability. Helps engineers to assess, evaluate, and measure sustainability in industry Provides workable approaches to environmental and sustainability assessment Readers learn tools to assess the sustainability of a process or product and to design it in an environmentally friendly way

Compostable Polymer Materials deals with an environmentally important family of polymers designed to be disposed of in industrial and municipal compost facilities after their useful life. These compostable plastics undergo degradation and leave no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue. Environmental concerns and legislative measures taken in different regions of the world make composting an increasingly attractive route for the disposal of redundant polymers. This book provides up–to-date results and information about compostable polymer materials in a coherent and comprehensive manner. It covers the entire spectrum of preparation, properties, degradation, and environmental issues. The emphasis is on recent studies concerning compostability and ecotoxicological assessment of polymer materials-–important issues from the ecological point of view. Moreover, the thermal behavior of compostable polymers is described. Their price evolution over the past decade, an estimation of the market and future perspectives are presented. - Focus on the composting process, compostability standards, compost quality and composting studies - Coherent and uniformly presented information about methods of preparation; properties, processing and applications - Up-to-date information on ecotoxicity testing and studies of polymers - Overview of thermal stability and thermal degradation process of compostable polymer materials - Presents future perspectives of compostable polymers, including evolution of price during last decade - Information about waste management evolution in Europe, USA and Asia (China) with emphasis on composting during the last decade

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but significantly more for producing things such as food, paper and cotton clothes. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Indirect use refers to the 'virtual water' embedded in tradable goods and commodities, such as cereals, sugar or cotton. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. This book offers a complete and up-to-date overview of the global standard on water footprint assessment as developed by the Water Footprint Network. More specifically it: o Provides a comprehensive set of methods for water footprint assessment o Shows how water footprints can be calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses o Contains detailed worked examples of how to calculate green, blue and grey water footprints o Describes how to assess the sustainability of the aggregated water footprint within a river basin or the water footprint of a specific product o Includes an extensive library of possible measures that can contribute to water footprint reduction

Rapidly increasing demand for food and agricultural non-food products to meet the demands of rising populations with new consumption patterns have worrying implications for sustainability of many ecosystems globally. Landscape approaches are often promoted as a win-win solution to reducing harmful impacts of development – a means to balance social needs and economic performance, while maintaining ecological function. In this respect, landscape approaches that address multiple sector needs, including agriculture, production forestry and conservation, are identified as a significant opportunity to contribute to the United Nations new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, assessing and verifying sustainability outcomes across broad, diverse and dynamic landscapes is challenging, mainly because of the lack of pragmatic and standardized means of assessment and measurement in cost-effective ways. This paper aims to advance the concept of sustainable landscape development, including ways to assess sustainability performance and to leverage the scaling-up of investment in sustainable development, as a means of achieving SDGs and other goals.

The field of sustainability continues to evolve as a discipline. The world is facing multiple sustainability challenges such as climate change, water depletion, ecosystem loss, and environmental racism. The Handbook of Sustainability will provide a comprehensive reference for the field that examines in depth the major themes within what are known as the three E’s of sustainability: environment, equity, and economics. These three themes will serve as the main organizing body of the work. In addition, the work will include sections on history and sustainability, major figures in the development of sustainability as a discipline, and important organizations that contributed or that continue to contribute to sustainability as a field. The work is explicitly global in scope as it considers the very different issues associated with sustainability in the global north and south

The food system is responsible for some of society’s most pressing sustainability challenges. Diets are currently unsustainable in many countries as evidenced by the growing burden of malnutrition, degradation of natural resources, contributions to climate change, and unaffordability of healthy diets. There is an urgent need to address the gaps in understanding of what a sustainable food system means across varying populations and geographies and how we can better measure these systems, while identifying how dietary choices impact on human health and the environment. However, decision makers and experts are questioning whether it is possible to meet environmental, social, and economic goals simultaneously, or whether trade-offs are necessary. Thus, the development of better measurements and indicators to clearly understand the benefits and considerations for healthy and sustainable food systems is needed.

"Practical, accessible, careful and interesting, this...revised volume brings the subject up-to-date and explains, in bite sized chunks, the ′how′s′ and ′why′s′ of modern day geographical study...[It] brings together physical and human approaches again in a new synthesis." —Danny Dorling, Professor of Geography, University of Oxford Key Methods in Geography is the perfect introductory companion, providing an overview of qualitative and quantitative methods for human and physical geography. This Third Edition Features: 12 new chapters representing emerging themes including online, virtual and digital geographical methods Real-life case study examples Summaries and exercises for each chapter Free online access to full text of Progress in Human Geography and Progress in Physical Geography Progress Reports The teaching of research methods is integral to all geography courses: Key Methods in Geography, Third Edition explains all of the key methods with which geography undergraduates must be conversant.

This book introduces green bonds and their significance in portfolio management and sustainable finance. It emphasizes the significance of green bonds in terms of two primary factors: environmental sustainability and investor return. The book establishes the definitions, features, and typology of green bonds, and explains the characteristics that separate it from traditional ones. It delves into the benefits and challenges of investing in these financial instruments, and outlines the process by which green bonds are certified, focusing on the widely accepted Climate Bonds Standard. It also covers transparency, reporting, and monitoring measurements of green bonds. In its second section, the book focuses on investor and policy perspectives. The authors discuss asset allocation strategies for investors as well as various methods for integrating ESG issues into investment portfolio design. New estimating methodologies and case studies of successful green bond investments are also provided. Pitched at graduate students and researchers in finance, accounting, as well as related fields of energy and environmental economics, this book will also interest practitioners and investors looking to understand this emerging area in finance.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Sustainability Assessments of Buildings" that was published in Sustainability