Rooftop gardens ona building have proved to be a good way to improve its storm water management, but many other benefits can be obtained from the installation of these systems, such as reduction of energy consumption, decrease of the heat stress, abatement on CO₂ emissions, etc. In this paper, the effect from the presence of these rooftop gardens on abuilding’s energy consumption has been investigated by experimental campaigns using a green roof ona public building in a Mediterranean location in Spain. The obtained results demonstrate a substantial improvement by the installation of the green roof onthe building’s cooling energy demand for a standard summer day, in the order of 30%, and a reduction, about 15%, in the heating energy demand for a winter day. Thus, given the longer duration of the summer conditions along the year, a noticeable reduction on energy demand could be obtained. Simulation analysis, using commercial software TRNSYS code, previously calibrated using experimental data for typical summer and winter days, allows for the extrapolation to the entire year of these results deducing noticeable improvement in energy efficiency, in the order of 19%, but with an increase of 6% in the peak power during the winter period.

In industrial maintenance activity, very sophisticated technical and human factors are needed to achieve the great process or service that the company provides, with a large dose of knowledge based on the personal experience of maintenance technicians. However, the management and application of knowledge in this activity is often relegated to a third level (or simply forgotten). The aim of this study is to identify, classify and prioritize the different barriers and facilitators that can be found in maintenance organizations of the company in reference to knowledge management in strategic maintenance activities, and what competitive advantages could be used for their appropriate introduction in the company. For this, qualitative techniques have been used through a field study and observation, as well as semi-structured interviews between company directors and maintenance managers of first-level companies in various sectors (industrial or services), to draw conclusions on the application of knowledge management techniques which help to determine the principles of a company that wants to face a knowledge management project within the area of maintenance engineering.

In recent decades, alkali activated and blended cements have attracted great interest worldwide due to their advantages of low energy cost, high strength, and good durability. This study evaluated the effects of replacing 50% of Portland cement with a mixture of three waste materials: ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash (FA), and geothermal waste (GS), with and without external alkaline activation, and activated with different alkali agents: 4 and 7% Na₂O equivalent of sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate (water glass), and sodium sulfate. After 90 days of curing, samples were characterized using compressive strength tests, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analyses. The results showed that sodium hydroxide caused an alkali–silica reaction and reduced the strength, while sodium silicate and sodium sulfate improved the strength and hydration products formation. Moreover, the addition of fly ash decreased the compressive strength but increased the workability, while the addition of slag and geothermal waste increased strength and densified the matrix with the formation of additional hydration products. The blended cements without activation also showed better performance than pure cement and a more compact matrix of hydration products. The study demonstrated the feasibility of using waste materials to produce blended cements with low energy costs and high durability.

The disposal volume of material for Construction and Demolition in Europe is increasing each year, that the European Union has decided to take control of the matter unifying practices and goals to achieve. This article analyses how waste management works in Italy adjusting its system to the European Union, regarding Construction and Demolition, taking into consideration the disposal of material coming from C&D (Construction and Demolition) production. In Italy, the disposition may differ according to the regions in which it is divided, and this must be taken into consideration when analysing information that reflects the different logistical aspect linked to the territory. It is also necessary to consider how the volume of waste can vary according to the size of the region considered and the type of industrial development to which it belongs. The analysis of the Italian situation shows their achievements regarding reaching a good level of recycling waste volume; indeed, their amount of C&D recycled waste after 2010 was always up to the 70% value established by the European Union, though barriers are still present in the field of waste management. Through data collecting, it has been seen the different volume that is generated in construction-related activities in the country, along with the recovered waste volume. Thus, the goal of this paper is to deepen the general knowledge on waste produced by Construction and Demolition in Italy and waste management practices adopted according to the European Union.