Publications

@article{Santagata2020,

title = {Assessing the sustainability of urban eco-systems through Emergy-based circular economy indicators},

author = {Remo Santagata and Amalia Zucaro and Silvio Viglia and Maddalena Ripa and Xu Tian and Sergio Ulgiati},

url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1470160X19308532},

doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105859},

issn = {1470160X},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-02-01},

journal = {Ecological Indicators},

volume = {109},

pages = {105859},

publisher = {Elsevier},

abstract = {Circular Economy (CE) concepts and tools are getting increasing attention with regard to their implementation in agricultural, urban and industrial sectors towards innovative business models to optimize resource use, process performances and development policies. However, conventional biophysical and economic indicators hardly fit CE characteristics. Life cycle assessment, footprint and economic cost-benefit indicators, do not fully capture the specificity of a closed loop CE framework, characterized by feedbacks and resource use minimization and quality assessment. Commonly used mono-dimensional indicators seem unable to successfully relate the process performance and the use of ecosystem services and natural capital, in that they do not assess the environmental quality and sustainability (renewability, fit to use, recycle potential) of resources and the complexity of interaction between agro/industrial/urban environments and socioeconomic systems, and translate into an incomplete and inadequate picture, far from an effective CE perspective. In this study, Emergy Accounting method (EMA) is used to design an improved approach to CE systemic aspects, focusing on the importance of new indicators capable of capturing both resource generation (upstream), product (downstream) and systems dimensions. This conceptual scheme is built around the case study of the City of Napoli's economy (Campania region, Southern Italy) considering the surrounding agro-industrial area with its smaller urban settlements. In order to design a reasonable and reliable CE framework, a number of already existing and innovative processes is analyzed and discussed, through a bottom-up procedure capable to account for CE development options based on the recovery of locally available and still usable resources (i.e., conversion of waste cooking oil into biodiesel, conversion of slaughterhouse residues to power and chemicals, recovery and conversion of agro-waste residues, amongst others). The result highlighted that EMA was capable to keep track of the improvement generated by the implemented circularity patterns in terms of reduced total emergy of the system. Moreover, EMA indicators suggested that, in any case, the CE business framework should be intended as a transitional strategy towards more feasible paradigms.},

keywords = {Circular economy, Circular indicators, Emergy Accounting, Sustainability assessment, Urban systems},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Diaz-Maurin2016,

title = {Power capacity: A key element in sustainability assessment},

author = {Fran\c{c}ois Diaz-Maurin},

url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1470160X16000583},

doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.01.044},

issn = {1470160X},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-07-01},

journal = {Ecological Indicators},

volume = {66},

pages = {467--480},

publisher = {Elsevier},

abstract = {In the field of complex energetics, human societies to survive follow the same 'maximum power principle' as other living systems. In this view, human societies developed because they have been able to increase "their capacity to convert energy at a given time rate" rather than simply increase "their level of energy consumption". This was translated into an increase of the level of 'power capacity' in human societies so far. Yet, one can expect that the level of power capacity will be altered in light of the unavoidable progressive depletion of fossil energy resources. The systemic study of power capacity in sustainability assessment is therefore essential for facing the external constraints ahead. Starting from the characterization commonly used in energy systems engineering, this paper seeks to clarify the concept of power capacity when used in sustainability assessment. It provides explicit methods of assessment for the different types of power capacity used by human societies. Power capacity refers to the converters transforming energy flows at a given time rate. Dealing with societal transitions therefore requires being able to characterize properly those converters in addition to the study of energy flows. However, this requires extending the timescale typically considered in conventional energy analysis which entails several epistemological problems over sustainability assessment.},

keywords = {Complex energetics, Energy transitionSocietal metabolism, MuSIASEMa, Power level, Sustainability assessment, Theoretical ecology},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Garnasjordet2012,

title = {Sustainable Development Indicators: From Statistics to Policy},

author = {Per Arild Garnr{a}sjordet and Iulie Aslaksen and Mario Giampietro and Silvio Funtowicz and Torgeir Ericson},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eet.1597},

doi = {10.1002/eet.1597},

issn = {1756932X},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-09-01},

journal = {Environmental Policy and Governance},

volume = {22},

number = {5},

pages = {322--336},

abstract = {Sustainable development indicators (SDIs) may have good potential to bring environmental concerns to the policy agenda. However, different understandings of sustainability, definitions of SDIs and measurement procedures may give completely different assessments of whether society moves towards a sustainable development path or not. Compilation of statistical indicators for environmental change and sustainability comprises not only a selection of facts in some technical sense, as the choices involved are conditioned by societal interests and implicit values embedded in the data-generating processes. This implies that statistical offices cannot ignore the role that values play in the generation of accurate data sets. To give an assessment of sustainability, we need not only to address historical trends but also to evaluate policy choices made today and how they may influence future development. SDI sets should be evaluated according to how they contribute to deliberation on sustainability in learning processes involving participants beyond the science-policy interface. textcopyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.},

keywords = {Policy, Statistical narratives, Sustainability assessment, Sustainable development indicators},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}