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Carbon-neutral design is pivotal for achieving the future energy performance targets of buildings. This paper shows research projects that promote the environmental sustainability of university campuses at the international level. GHG accounting methods and operational strategies adopted by the University of Genoa (UNIGE), Italy, and the Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, USA, are compared, with both universities striving to make buildings and campus facilities benchmarked and carbon neutral in the near future. Our comparative research includes analyzing campus buildings at both universities and their attempts to design, retrofit, and transform these buildings into carbon neutral buildings. Two case studies were discussed: the Smart Energy Building (SEB) in the Savona Campus of the UNIGE, and the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture (PCA) Building of the FIU. The SEB’s construction reduced emissions by about 86 tCO2/y, whereas the PCA’s retrofitting reduced GHG emissions by 30%. Other operational strategies, including energy efficiency and energy generation, allowed the UNIGE to reduce their overall Scope 1 + 2 GHG emissions by 25% from 2013 to 2016. Globally, FIU Scope 1 + 2 GHG emissions per person were found to result in more than three times the UNIGE’s emissions, and 2.4 times if evaluated per square meter. The results were compared with GHG emissions and operational strategies from other universities.
Adriana Del Borghi; Thomas Spiegelhalter; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. Carbon-Neutral-Campus Building: Design Versus Retrofitting of Two University Zero Energy Buildings in Europe and in the United States. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9023 .
AMA StyleAdriana Del Borghi, Thomas Spiegelhalter, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo. Carbon-Neutral-Campus Building: Design Versus Retrofitting of Two University Zero Energy Buildings in Europe and in the United States. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9023.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdriana Del Borghi; Thomas Spiegelhalter; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. 2021. "Carbon-Neutral-Campus Building: Design Versus Retrofitting of Two University Zero Energy Buildings in Europe and in the United States." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9023.
Urban greening provides a wide range of ecosystem services to address the main challenges of urban areas, e.g., carbon sequestration, evapotranspiration and shade, thermal insulation, and pollution control. This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of a vertical greening system (VGS) built in 2014 in Italy, for which extensive monitoring activities were implemented. The life-cycle assessment methodology was applied to quantify the water–energy–climate nexus of the VGS for 1 m2 of the building’s wall surface. Six different scenarios were modelled according to three different end-of-life scenarios and two different useful lifetime scenarios (10 and 25 years). The environmental impact of global-warming potential and generated energy consumption during the use phase in the VGS scenarios were reduced by 56% in relation to the baseline scenario (wall without VGS), and showed improved environmental performance throughout the complete life cycle. However, the water-scarcity index (WSI) of the VGS scenarios increased by 42%. This study confirms that the installation of VGSs offers a relevant environmental benefit in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions and energy consumption; however, increased water consumption in the use phase may limit the large-scale application of VGSs.
Katia Perini; Fabio Magrassi; Andrea Giachetta; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi. Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4886 .
AMA StyleKatia Perini, Fabio Magrassi, Andrea Giachetta, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo, Adriana Del Borghi. Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):4886.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKatia Perini; Fabio Magrassi; Andrea Giachetta; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi. 2021. "Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 4886.
Purpose Environmental impact evaluation in the food sector is a key topic, due to both stricter legislations and higher consumer awareness towards sustainable choices. The case of chocolate is a remarkable example, owing to the increasing demand and the complex production process from cocoa beans to final bars. The present study aims at assessing the environmental impacts related to three chocolate types (dark, milk and white) through life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Methods Consistent with food Product Category Rules (PCRs) and previous LCA literature, the study follows a cradle to grave approach. Among different raw material productions, it focuses above all on cocoa farming assuming three possible producer countries (i.e. Ghana, Ecuador and Indonesia), so that the influence of specific weather conditions and soil properties is underlined. Since the manufacturing step is supposed in the North Italian factory, different transport distances are also taken into account. Moreover, the work focuses on the possible use of several packaging materials and following disposal issues. In view of the open discussion about the most suitable functional unit in food sector, mass and energy amount approaches are compared. Results and discussion Along chocolate supply chain, different phases are evaluated according to LCA methodology. Among analyzed producer countries: Indonesia monoculture case results to be the most impacting situation, due to an intensive use of agrochemicals; pesticides give a wide contribution in Ecuador, whereas Ghana is penalized by the highest water consumption. The transport of beans to manufacturing plant influences mostly the GWP, owing to long travelled distances. Considering the whole production process, cocoa derivatives and milk powder are the main contributors to every impact category. From packaging point of view, the best solution is the use of a single polypropylene layer. A sensitivity analysis is performed to check the validity of different allocation procedures: both mass and energy content allocations lead to similar results. Conclusions Through LCA methodology, the life cycle of dark, milk and white chocolate is compared. The study assesses different potential environmental impacts, assuming mass and energy content as possible functional units and references for allocation procedures. For all combinations of functional units and allocation rules, dark chocolate globally presents the best environmental performance, whereas the other two types have similar environmental impacts.
F. R. Bianchi; L. Moreschi; M. Gallo; E. Vesce; A. Del Borghi. Environmental analysis along the supply chain of dark, milk and white chocolate: a life cycle comparison. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2020, 26, 807 -821.
AMA StyleF. R. Bianchi, L. Moreschi, M. Gallo, E. Vesce, A. Del Borghi. Environmental analysis along the supply chain of dark, milk and white chocolate: a life cycle comparison. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2020; 26 (4):807-821.
Chicago/Turabian StyleF. R. Bianchi; L. Moreschi; M. Gallo; E. Vesce; A. Del Borghi. 2020. "Environmental analysis along the supply chain of dark, milk and white chocolate: a life cycle comparison." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26, no. 4: 807-821.
Purpose The packaging system plays an essential role in the logistic chain and takes into account the rise in packaging demand and consumption. A study on sustainability was carried out through a comparative life cycle assessment in order to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of plastic, corrugated board and wood (solid, MDF and particleboard) crates used for food delivery. Single-use and multi-use systems were considered and compared. Methods According to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the whole life cycle of crates was divided into four primary phases: raw materials acquisition, crate manufacturing, transport (including the reuse, if applicable) and final disposal. The functional unit used for this study was 1 crate with an external dimension of 400 × 600 × 240 mm and with an inner volume of 50 l. The comparison focused on the critical parameters expected to have a higher influence on the results, such as the distances for delivery and the number of reuses for multi-use crates. All input data came from sector studies, literature and Ecoinvent database. The results were evaluated according to 8 impact categories. Two sensitivity analyses were performed. Results and discussion The most relevant impacts are linked to transport, electricity and raw materials contributions. Cumulative energy demand results show that the renewable energy resources in the case of plastic crates are about 3% while for the other type of crates exceed the 30% reaching the 77.5% in the case of solid wood crate. The environmental impacts result lower for multi-use plastic crate due to its possibility of being reused during its lifetime, avoiding the high impacts of the manufacturing. The best option among the single-use systems is the solid wood crate. The final results of the sensitivity analysis applied to the transport distances show that the impacts related to solid wood are more stable than plastic. Concerning the end-of-life scenarios, a significant decreasing (around 14.7%) in the global warming potential can be reached increasing the crates recycling till 100%. Conclusions and recommendations The best crate materials are plastic crates if a recovery system is planned; otherwise, the best choice is the wood crate. It is preferable to use raw material, such as solid wood than processed material, such as particle board, MDF and corrugated board. In performing this type of analysis, it is important to have accurate data, preferentially primary data, in particular for plastic crates as evidenced by the sensitivity analysis.
Adriana Del Borghi; Sara Parodi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. Sustainable packaging: an evaluation of crates for food through a life cycle approach. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2020, 26, 753 -766.
AMA StyleAdriana Del Borghi, Sara Parodi, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo. Sustainable packaging: an evaluation of crates for food through a life cycle approach. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2020; 26 (4):753-766.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdriana Del Borghi; Sara Parodi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. 2020. "Sustainable packaging: an evaluation of crates for food through a life cycle approach." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26, no. 4: 753-766.
This study shows the benefits of using the environmental product declarations (EPDs), based on ISO 14025:2013, for the configuration and conceptualization of new building materials. Using a quantitative evaluation on these phases of design, it allows one to create materials with lower impacts, in comparison with the existing ones. In this paper, it is proposed to evaluate the potentiality of this tool in the development of a panel from pineapple by-products from agroindustry, used as a thermal insulator. The issue of environmental sustainability was pursued, employing the assessment of the environmental impacts according to characterization methods defined by the International EPD® System. By comparing the possible compositions of the materials under development, with certified environmental declarations of commercial materials, it is possible to identify and select optimal compositions decreasing up to 98.28% of impacts in acidification potential or up to 99.38% for photochemical oxidation—with respect to traditional materials—already at the design stage, where the changes on the composition or the facilities decision have fewer complications.
Diego Arellano-Vazquez; Luca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Gustavo Islas Valverde; Miguel Mayorga Rojas; Lorena Romero-Salazar; Juan Arteaga-Arcos. Use of EPD System for Designing New Building Materials: The Case Study of a Bio-Based Thermal Insulation Panel from the Pineapple Industry By-Product. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6864 .
AMA StyleDiego Arellano-Vazquez, Luca Moreschi, Adriana Del Borghi, Michela Gallo, Gustavo Islas Valverde, Miguel Mayorga Rojas, Lorena Romero-Salazar, Juan Arteaga-Arcos. Use of EPD System for Designing New Building Materials: The Case Study of a Bio-Based Thermal Insulation Panel from the Pineapple Industry By-Product. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (17):6864.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDiego Arellano-Vazquez; Luca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Gustavo Islas Valverde; Miguel Mayorga Rojas; Lorena Romero-Salazar; Juan Arteaga-Arcos. 2020. "Use of EPD System for Designing New Building Materials: The Case Study of a Bio-Based Thermal Insulation Panel from the Pineapple Industry By-Product." Sustainability 12, no. 17: 6864.
Waste management under emergency conditions requires proper handling. The sudden closure of a strategic final disposal site can result in serious environmental and health hazards which need to be addressed. Furthermore, this situation requires the identification of new sites to be used for waste disposal. This study analysed the case-study of Genoa, Northern Italy, following the closure of the Scarpino landfill previously dedicated to the disposal of waste generated in this municipality. A multi-objective tool was developed and applied from long-term planning to day-to-day scheduling. A sensitivity analysis was performed on the basis of collected waste volumes, in order to study the utilization and actual rate of fulfilling of the plants according to the leading objective function. Considering all of the objective functions, the emissions optimization shows better behaviour in terms of simultaneous global accomplishment of each function. In this context, the introduction of a decision support system for waste management shows its usefulness in setting and effectively pursuing long-term targets in term of total costs, emissions generated by waste transport, and exploitation of single plants from a sustainability perspective.
Luca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Michela Gallo. Waste Management under Emergency Conditions: Life-Cycle Multicriteria Analysis as Decision Support System. Resources 2020, 9, 82 .
AMA StyleLuca Moreschi, Adriana Del Borghi, Angela Celeste Taramasso, Michela Gallo. Waste Management under Emergency Conditions: Life-Cycle Multicriteria Analysis as Decision Support System. Resources. 2020; 9 (7):82.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Michela Gallo. 2020. "Waste Management under Emergency Conditions: Life-Cycle Multicriteria Analysis as Decision Support System." Resources 9, no. 7: 82.
Sustainability and waste management on board are key issues that need to be addressed by the maritime sector also in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). With the aim of evaluating waste management alternatives in a circular economy perspective, the study examines a combined system for the optimisation of ship waste management and assesses its possible use for energy purposes. Different systems are analysed in relation to their GHG emission reduction potential regardless of routes and ports of destination. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis was carried out on waste management alternatives in order to preliminary identify their potential in terms of GHG emissions reduction, cost, environmental sustainability, methodological coherence, feasibility and replicability. Following this analysis, two case studies of particular interest were identified: (1) the thermo-chemical treatment of waste oils and sludge to obtain fuel oils; (2) the installation of a waste-to-energy plant and subsequent energy recovery on board. UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) methodologies were applied to these two case studies to calculate GHG emission reduction resulting from their implementation. The obtained results are presented with the aim of supporting sustainable waste management strategies on board in a circular carbon economy perspective.
Michela Gallo; Luca Moreschi; Michela Mazzoccoli; Veronica Marotta; Adriana Del Borghi. Sustainability in Maritime Sector: Waste Management Alternatives Evaluated in a Circular Carbon Economy Perspective. Resources 2020, 9, 41 .
AMA StyleMichela Gallo, Luca Moreschi, Michela Mazzoccoli, Veronica Marotta, Adriana Del Borghi. Sustainability in Maritime Sector: Waste Management Alternatives Evaluated in a Circular Carbon Economy Perspective. Resources. 2020; 9 (4):41.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichela Gallo; Luca Moreschi; Michela Mazzoccoli; Veronica Marotta; Adriana Del Borghi. 2020. "Sustainability in Maritime Sector: Waste Management Alternatives Evaluated in a Circular Carbon Economy Perspective." Resources 9, no. 4: 41.
World Fairs such as the Expo events are major events organized to generate tourism revenues, attract people and investments, but which result in environmental impacts that need to be accounted in a reliable and comprehensive way. In particular, accounting the greenhouse gases of a mega-event and comparing the emissions of different events is a very challenging task due to the large amount of data to be collected and to the lack of a specific methodology. In this paper, the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions and removals of Milan Expo 2015 international exposition is presented. Calculations, performed according to the international standard ISO 14064-1, includes office activities, construction of expo site and pavilions, operations and decommissioning process. Detailed information on data collecting methods and sources is shown in the paper. Furthermore, the obtained GHG results normalized to the number of visitors were compared to other mega-events, i.e. the latest Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups and Shanghai Expo 2010. With all the limitations described in the paper, the results showed a total impact of World Expos of about one ton of CO2-eq per square meter of exhibition and averagely 60 kgCO2-eq/visitor. Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups have an average impact respectively of 400 kgCO2-eq/visitor and 600 kgCO2-eq/visitor. The performed analysis was presented in the form of requirements and guidelines with the aim of refining the existing standard methodology highlighting the specific aspect of mega-events and transferring the findings to future world fairs.
Gallo M; Arcioni L; LeonardI D; Moreschi L; Del Borghi A. GHG Accounting for sustainable mega-events: How lessons learnt during the Milan Expo 2015 world fair could lead to less carbon-intensive future mega-events. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2020, 22, 88 -109.
AMA StyleGallo M, Arcioni L, LeonardI D, Moreschi L, Del Borghi A. GHG Accounting for sustainable mega-events: How lessons learnt during the Milan Expo 2015 world fair could lead to less carbon-intensive future mega-events. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2020; 22 ():88-109.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGallo M; Arcioni L; LeonardI D; Moreschi L; Del Borghi A. 2020. "GHG Accounting for sustainable mega-events: How lessons learnt during the Milan Expo 2015 world fair could lead to less carbon-intensive future mega-events." Sustainable Production and Consumption 22, no. : 88-109.
The increase in world population and the resulting demand for food, water and energy are exerting increasing pressure on soil, water resources and ecosystems. Identification of approaches to reduce the related cross-sectoral environmental impacts for the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is, therefore, crucial. The purpose of the review is to discuss the circular economy approaches devoted to understand the interdependencies among these three sectors. In particular, the review focuses on the importance of the application of life cycle thinking and life cycle assessment (LCA) for understanding the interconnections in the nexus along the whole supply chains. Moreover, researches related to water and energy use in the agri-food sector are presented, addressing food waste management alternatives in a circular economy perspective.
Adriana Del Borghi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. Circular economy approach to reduce water–energy–food nexus. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2019, 13, 23 -28.
AMA StyleAdriana Del Borghi, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo. Circular economy approach to reduce water–energy–food nexus. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health. 2019; 13 ():23-28.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdriana Del Borghi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. 2019. "Circular economy approach to reduce water–energy–food nexus." Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 13, no. : 23-28.
Despite in Europe companies and policy makers perceive both the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Type III environmental declarations as applicable tools supporting external communication or public procurement, at scientific level there is still no prompt and comprehensive comparison between the PEF Guide and the EPD requirements. Therefore, this paper aims to compare the relevant PEF Guide requirements with the key rules defined by the International EPD® System (IES)—one of the main widely accepted EPD schemes —identifying the critical discrepancies which potentially reduces the consistency of the outcomes. Coherently with the approach of the PEF Guide, the comparison was based on the analysis of the following criteria: scope, LCA application, reporting, review. Further, after a qualitative pre-assessment, the average results of the EPDs published in IES framework were evaluated in respect to the available benchmarks for the products belonging to the same categories for which the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) were finalised. An overview of some key selected requirements contained in the PEF Guide was compared with the requirements/specifications contained in the IES GPI. Despite having a comparable scope and being based on a life cycle approach, the methods are not aligned in several key requirements, such as cut-off rules, modelling approach, allocation rules, and impact categories. The results of the comparison between the benchmarks defined in the PEFCRs and the average impacts in the EPDs show a general low comparability and, anyway, limited to the climate change impact category. This paper was aimed to compare the relevant PEF Guide requirements with the key rules defined by the IES. Several critical discrepancies have been identified concerning key requirements affecting the results. The main outcome is that PEF and GPI results cannot be considered comparable and the EU PEF and EPDs cannot be alternatively used as tools supporting Green Public Procurement (GPP) tender requirements. In conclusion, the development of ecolabels can be stimulated via several initiatives such as improving the access to good quality LCA data and strengthening the link between public procurement and environmental labels, but a lot of work is still to be done to reach the harmonisation of rules and the comparability of the results. At present, a statement of non-comparability could be added on ecolabels based on different specific rules.
Adriana Del Borghi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. Communication through ecolabels: how discrepancies between the EU PEF and EPD schemes could affect outcome consistency. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2019, 25, 905 -920.
AMA StyleAdriana Del Borghi, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo. Communication through ecolabels: how discrepancies between the EU PEF and EPD schemes could affect outcome consistency. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2019; 25 (5):905-920.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdriana Del Borghi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. 2019. "Communication through ecolabels: how discrepancies between the EU PEF and EPD schemes could affect outcome consistency." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 25, no. 5: 905-920.
Fabio Magrassi; Elena Rocco; Stefano Barberis; Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi. Hybrid solar power system versus photovoltaic plant: A comparative analysis through a life cycle approach. Renewable Energy 2019, 130, 290 -304.
AMA StyleFabio Magrassi, Elena Rocco, Stefano Barberis, Michela Gallo, Adriana Del Borghi. Hybrid solar power system versus photovoltaic plant: A comparative analysis through a life cycle approach. Renewable Energy. 2019; 130 ():290-304.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFabio Magrassi; Elena Rocco; Stefano Barberis; Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi. 2019. "Hybrid solar power system versus photovoltaic plant: A comparative analysis through a life cycle approach." Renewable Energy 130, no. : 290-304.
A. Del Borghi; C. Strazza; F. Magrassi; A.C. Taramasso; M. Gallo. Life Cycle Assessment for eco-design of product–package systems in the food industry—The case of legumes. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2018, 13, 24 -36.
AMA StyleA. Del Borghi, C. Strazza, F. Magrassi, A.C. Taramasso, M. Gallo. Life Cycle Assessment for eco-design of product–package systems in the food industry—The case of legumes. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2018; 13 ():24-36.
Chicago/Turabian StyleA. Del Borghi; C. Strazza; F. Magrassi; A.C. Taramasso; M. Gallo. 2018. "Life Cycle Assessment for eco-design of product–package systems in the food industry—The case of legumes." Sustainable Production and Consumption 13, no. : 24-36.
Michela Gallo; Veronica Marotta; Fabio Magrassi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Adriana Del Borghi. University campus waste prevention and reduction: A circular-economy approach. ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT 2017, 235 -252.
AMA StyleMichela Gallo, Veronica Marotta, Fabio Magrassi, Angela Celeste Taramasso, Adriana Del Borghi. University campus waste prevention and reduction: A circular-economy approach. ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. 2017; (1):235-252.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichela Gallo; Veronica Marotta; Fabio Magrassi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Adriana Del Borghi. 2017. "University campus waste prevention and reduction: A circular-economy approach." ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT , no. 1: 235-252.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. Besides the “flexibility mechanisms” defined by the Kyoto Protocol to lower the overall costs of achieving their emissions targets, The Voluntary Green House Gases (GHG) reduction projects can have a lead role in GHG reduction in “non Emissions Trading System ETS sectors”. Nowadays, the voluntary market is characterised by critical aspects, such as fragmentation, lack of accounting, monitoring and validation rules that have led to the low spread of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by local authorities in the European Union despite their high potentiality.\ud \ud The aim of this paper is to test the applicability of voluntary emission reduction projects in the public sector following a homogeneous and consistent pattern. A research has been performed at local level on 143 voluntary emission reduction projects implemented by Public Administrations in Northern and Central Italy in renewable energy, energy efficiency and transport sectors. The applicable standards and methodologies have been checked and the case studies have been analysed though a three-step process: Preliminary additionality assessment; Projects selection; Validation of the selected project. The assessment shows that energy efficiency projects, once overcoming additionality issues, are the most promising for public entities while renewable energy and transport projects resulted to be mainly affected by double counting problems and lack of reliable methodologie
Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi; Carlo Strazza; Lara Parodi; Livia Arcioni; Stefania Proietti. Opportunities and criticisms of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by Public Administrations: Analysis of 143 case studies implemented in Italy. Applied Energy 2016, 179, 1269 -1282.
AMA StyleMichela Gallo, Adriana Del Borghi, Carlo Strazza, Lara Parodi, Livia Arcioni, Stefania Proietti. Opportunities and criticisms of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by Public Administrations: Analysis of 143 case studies implemented in Italy. Applied Energy. 2016; 179 ():1269-1282.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi; Carlo Strazza; Lara Parodi; Livia Arcioni; Stefania Proietti. 2016. "Opportunities and criticisms of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by Public Administrations: Analysis of 143 case studies implemented in Italy." Applied Energy 179, no. : 1269-1282.
Energy efficiency measures in buildings can provide for a significant reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A sustainable design and planning of technologies for energy production should be based on economic and environmental criteria. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts over the whole cycle of life of production plants. Optimization models can support decisions that minimize costs and negative impacts. In this work, a multi-objective decision problem is formalized that takes into account LCA calculations and that minimizes costs and GHG emissions for general buildings. A decision support system (DSS) is applied to a real case study in the Northern Italy, highlighting the advantage provided by the installation of renewable energy. Moreover, a comparison among different optimal and non optimal solution was carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DSS.
Fabio Magrassi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Carlo Strazza; Michela Robba. Optimal Planning of Sustainable Buildings: Integration of Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization in a Decision Support System (DSS). Energies 2016, 9, 490 .
AMA StyleFabio Magrassi, Adriana Del Borghi, Michela Gallo, Carlo Strazza, Michela Robba. Optimal Planning of Sustainable Buildings: Integration of Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization in a Decision Support System (DSS). Energies. 2016; 9 (7):490.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFabio Magrassi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Carlo Strazza; Michela Robba. 2016. "Optimal Planning of Sustainable Buildings: Integration of Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization in a Decision Support System (DSS)." Energies 9, no. 7: 490.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of using the environmental performance indicators retrievable from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) into a non-conventional Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) procedure for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), replacing inventory background data from secondary datasets. In standard methodology, when specific inventory data are not available for life cycle stages that do not constitute the core process of the investigated system, secondary data are gathered from globally acknowledged sources such as international LCI databases. Once EPDs are available for the specific products included in the analyzed system, through this approach characterized data are used in place of traditional input and output information, with higher quality level. The approach proposed here is compared with traditional practice by means of a real case study, i.e. the analysis of switching primary packaging material, from glass to plastic, of water bottles distributed onboard a cruise ship. The results show that the experimented alternative approach for life cycle inventory is consistent with the collection of input/output data from literature, supporting the same conclusions for decision making process. Through conventional data capture from secondary sources, reductions in weight of the bottle body, corresponding to manufacturing standards of the specific supplier in the analyzed study, are not taken into account. The use of primary characterized data is showed to avoid overestimations of potential environmental impacts for the various typologies of bottles, with different relative shares in relation to the format. In the implementation of such non-conventional pattern, the selection of the same set of characterization factors is a necessary condition for the reliability of the result
C. Strazza; Adriana DEL Borghi; F. Magrassi; M. Gallo. Using environmental product declaration as source of data for life cycle assessment: a case study. Journal of Cleaner Production 2016, 112, 333 -342.
AMA StyleC. Strazza, Adriana DEL Borghi, F. Magrassi, M. Gallo. Using environmental product declaration as source of data for life cycle assessment: a case study. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2016; 112 ():333-342.
Chicago/Turabian StyleC. Strazza; Adriana DEL Borghi; F. Magrassi; M. Gallo. 2016. "Using environmental product declaration as source of data for life cycle assessment: a case study." Journal of Cleaner Production 112, no. : 333-342.
Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Fabio Magrassi. Glass Packaging Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Deep Review and Guideline for Future Developments. Reference Module in Food Science 2016, 1 .
AMA StyleAdriana Del Borghi, Michela Gallo, Fabio Magrassi. Glass Packaging Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Deep Review and Guideline for Future Developments. Reference Module in Food Science. 2016; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Fabio Magrassi. 2016. "Glass Packaging Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Deep Review and Guideline for Future Developments." Reference Module in Food Science , no. : 1.
Carlo Strazza; Adriana DEL Borghi; Paola Costamagna; Michela Gallo; Emma Brignole; Paola Girdinio. Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing of a SOFC system for distributed power generation. Energy Conversion and Management 2015, 100, 64 -77.
AMA StyleCarlo Strazza, Adriana DEL Borghi, Paola Costamagna, Michela Gallo, Emma Brignole, Paola Girdinio. Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing of a SOFC system for distributed power generation. Energy Conversion and Management. 2015; 100 ():64-77.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarlo Strazza; Adriana DEL Borghi; Paola Costamagna; Michela Gallo; Emma Brignole; Paola Girdinio. 2015. "Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing of a SOFC system for distributed power generation." Energy Conversion and Management 100, no. : 64-77.
The aim of this paper is to analyse the potential green practices that can be adopted onboard a cruise ship in order to enhance the environmental performance of the cruise with particular attention to paper input and output flows in a waste minimization perspective. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of management scenarios of paper streams onboard a cruise ship is performed. The potential environmental impacts due to three strategic choices about paper and paper waste management onboard a case-study ship have been investigated through a so-called difference analysis, i.e. the digitalization of the daily information journal Today, the reduction of toilet paper and paper towels through the installation of auto-cut single extraction dispensers and the reduction of printing paper through dissemination of specific guidelines. In order to compare each scenario with the reference case in absence of the practice implementation, the functional unit in this study has been defined as 1 day of cruise. The implementation of the analysed green practices show comparable environmental benefits onboard a pilot ship, on the basis the set of assumptions and hypothesis identified in this simulation. In particular, when comparing the potential GHG emission reductions, it results that the two most realistically feasible scenarios in the communication area, i.e. digitalization of 25 and 50 % shares of Today journal, show environmental savings comparable to measures related to reduction of consumables and guidelines for personnel. Nevertheless, the addition of a reasonable number of touch-screen devices for this purpose would not significantly influence the environmental impacts. A set of reduction measures of paper items onboard a cruise ship is able to both avoid the impacts related to production and incineration stages. In the form of forecast scenarios, the results of such modelization may represent a set of indicators to be considered in a feasibility analysis prior to selection of the green practices to be introduced, as a support to decisions for cruise managers.
Carlo Strazza; Adriana DEL Borghi; Michela Gallo; Roberta Manariti; Emanuela Missanelli. Investigation of green practices for paper use reduction onboard a cruise ship—a life cycle approach. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2015, 20, 982 -993.
AMA StyleCarlo Strazza, Adriana DEL Borghi, Michela Gallo, Roberta Manariti, Emanuela Missanelli. Investigation of green practices for paper use reduction onboard a cruise ship—a life cycle approach. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2015; 20 (7):982-993.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarlo Strazza; Adriana DEL Borghi; Michela Gallo; Roberta Manariti; Emanuela Missanelli. 2015. "Investigation of green practices for paper use reduction onboard a cruise ship—a life cycle approach." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 20, no. 7: 982-993.
Industrial symbiosis principles, reprized in industrial ecology definition, are recently embraced by circular economy concept as the basis for characterization of cradle-to-cradle approach, with particular interest on global markets with growing environmental issues such as food sector. This paper investigates a potential innovative pattern of recycling food waste from cruise ships for use as feed in aquaculture, in terms of environmental sustainability. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment is used to evaluate the possible potential benefits of replacing conventional formulations of feed mix for salmon with food waste, generated and processed onboard a vessel where turbo-drying technology has been tested as a case study. A set of three indices, otherwise possible stand-alone indicators, is selected to measure global warming potential, non-renewable cumulative energy demand, and water scarcity index. The basis for comparison is represented by a typical commercial feed product for aquaculture in Norway and UK. A conventional feed formulation shows higher life cycle burdens for the whole set of indicators, with respect to the analysed case study. In particular, traditional feed product in UK shows the worst performance in terms of carbon footprint and non-renewable energy demand, whilst the Norwegian traditional mix is source of the highest impact for water scarcity. The investigation of supply chains results particularly relevant for highlighting that bottle-necks are not univocal for the different impact categories. For instance, when conventional mix in Norway is analysed from a water footprint perspective, crop-derived products result to be more influent than fish-derived ones, unlike for carbon and energy indicators
C. Strazza; F. Magrassi; M. Gallo; A. Del Borghi. Life Cycle Assessment from food to food: A case study of circular economy from cruise ships to aquaculture. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2015, 2, 40 -51.
AMA StyleC. Strazza, F. Magrassi, M. Gallo, A. Del Borghi. Life Cycle Assessment from food to food: A case study of circular economy from cruise ships to aquaculture. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2015; 2 ():40-51.
Chicago/Turabian StyleC. Strazza; F. Magrassi; M. Gallo; A. Del Borghi. 2015. "Life Cycle Assessment from food to food: A case study of circular economy from cruise ships to aquaculture." Sustainable Production and Consumption 2, no. : 40-51.