Electric mobility is promoted as a future transport option that has environmental and economic benefits and encourages sustainable urban transportation. The aim of this study is to reveal the changes in environmental and economic performance if we switched from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) to battery electric (BEV) or hybrid electric (HEV) vehicles. Therefore, this research presents a comparative environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) from the Cradle-to-Grave perspective of the vehicles and a Well-to-Wheel analysis of their fuel supply. Moreover, an LCA of a BEV was performed under diverse electricity mix scenarios, which are forecasted for 2015–2050 in Lithuania. From an economic point of view, a life cycle costing was conducted for the same vehicles to estimate the economic impacts over the vehicle life cycles under Lithuanian conditions. The results show that ICEV-petrol contributes the major environmental damage in all damage categories. BEVs with the electricity mix of 2020–2050 scenarios, which are composed mainly of renewable energy sources, provide the least environmental impact. The economic results reveal that BEV and ICEV-diesel are the most cost-efficient vehicles, with the total consumer life cycle costs of approximately 5% and 15% less than ICEV-petrol and HEV, respectively.

The decarbonization of the mobility and energy sector is one of the major necessary trends for achieving targets set for the European Union (EU) in the 2020 and 2030 climate and energy frameworks. Two key technologies which offer great potential for climate change mitigation are electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energies (REs). Thus, there is the need for innovative and stable policies in order to favor these technologies. The purpose of the study is to identify and compare features of policies for the integration of EVs, REs, and information and communication technology (ICT). This study uses an integrated Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT), and Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) qualitative methodology in order to show different policies and initiatives, related to e-mobility, RE and ICT, collected from five European regions. This research provides discernments to the EVs and RE challenges, such as the lack of capacity to deal with high energy demands or limited EV-charging infrastructure. On the contrary, a high percentage of REs share, raising climate change awareness, and decreasing EV prices which are great opportunities for the whole EU. Such insights encourage policymakers and other groups of interest to improve their RE and mobility policies, which could lead to effective sustainable mobility systems in urban areas.

Food waste is a global multidimensional problem, with economic, social, and environmental dimensions linked to sustainable development. This study analyses the socio-economic and pollution effects of reducing food waste in the European Union. The food waste reduction scenarios analysed cover all segments of the supply chain from primary production to household consumption. Using the economy-wide model SAMmodEU, the impact of the scenarios is analysed in the context of the whole economy. Most scenarios analysed demonstrate positive socioeconomic effects in terms of a slight increase in gross domestic product and increasing employment. The multicriteria analysis indicates that the best overall performance is achieved by reducing food waste in the foodservice. It is recommended to focus on behaviour in policy design, thereby reducing food waste both in food services and in households and ensuring positive socioeconomic impacts.

Although the negative environmental impact of plastic carrier bags has long been known, their use in Europe continues undiminished. Lithuania stands out for its high use and production of plastic bags. Governments and sustainability-driven businesses are taking various measures to reduce the environmental impact. Such measures include strategies to replace conventional plastic bags with paper or bioplastic bags, to reduce plastic bags by encouraging consumers to reuse them, and similar strategies. In contrast to the environmental impact of plastic bags, the socioeconomic effects of strategies to reduce their use have been much less studied in the scientific literature. Therefore, this paper analyses the impact of sustainability practices in the producing and using of carrier bags on Lithuania’s gross domestic product (GDP), employment and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study uses the CleanProdLT computable general equilibrium model based on the latest available data for 2020. The model allows for analysis of economy-wide effects by considering cleaner production and more sustainable consumption scenarios at different levels of detail. The results of the analysis show that while the analysed substitution of plastic bags with bioplastic (BioPlastic scenario) or paper bags (PaperBags scenario) has positive socioeconomic impacts, the overall best results can be achieved by reducing their consumption (ConsReduction scenario). In detail, it is estimated that the GDP could increase by EUR 18 million under the PaperBags scenario, by EUR 47 million under the BioPlastic scenario, and by EUR 64 million under the ConsReduction scenario. At the same time, employment increases by 213 jobs, 891 jobs, and 449 jobs, respectively. While the PaperBags and the BioPlastic scenarios reveal increases in GHG emissions of 4.5 ktCO_2eq. and 29 ktCO_2eq., respectively, the ConsReduction scenario demonstrates a decrease in GHG emissions of 4 ktCO_2eq.. These findings suggest that the recent policy decision to charge for plastic bags in supermarkets will have positive environmental and socioeconomic impacts in the future.

Resource Efficiency and Carbon Footprint Minimization in Manufacture of Plastic Products