An approach for the application of the Ecological Footprint as environmental indicator in the textile sector

Analyzing the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility for Sustainable Environmental Performance: Mediating Roles of Environmental Strategy and Environmental Outcomes

This study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental performance, utilizing data from 415 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China as a case study. We found that CSR has a direct and significant impact on environmental performance (EP) and is positively correlated to environmental strategy (ES) and environmental outcomes (EO), both of which improve environmental performance, i.e., they serve as a significant mediating factor between CSR and environmental performance. Our study will help general managers and policy maker of SMEs, provides a beneficial model for managing CSR, ES, and EO to achieve sustainable environmental performance. Specifically, it can assist general managers of SMEs in strengthening their internal resources such as CSR, ES, and EO in order to improve long-term environmental performance.

Corporate Social Responsibility Influencing Sustainability within the Fashion Industry. A Systematic Review

The fashion industry, one of the largest industries in the world, is a complicated phenomenon, driven by aspirations of symbolic lifestyle and the creativity of architecture and design. It pushes the use of natural resources to its limits by mass production and a low-cost structure that motivates consumerism at large. The purpose of this study is to explore corporate social responsibility and how it influences sustainability within the fashion industry. A systematic literature review was carried out. This encompassed the academic publications available in two scientific databases focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainability, and fashion, covering the period 2003–2019. The findings indicate that the CSR approach taken by managers within the fashion industry is focused on sustainability, business models, and/or supply chain innovation, with commitments undertaken concerning the economy, environment, and/or society, wherein the production of eco-friendly products and workers’ safety are emphasized. Actions that tie CSR and sustainability with companies’ actions are presented in a micro-meso-macro framework, where brand equity, culture, supply chain management, activism, and human rights are evident. The findings of the study are relevant for academia, practitioners, and policymakers, as they provide insight into the operations and impacts of domestic and multinational fashion companies, outlining the most relevant studies on the topic, and also highlighting research trends and gaps in the field.

Valorisation of fish by-products against waste management treatments--Comparison of environmental impacts

Reuse and valorisation of fish by-products is a key process for marine resources conservation. Usually, fishmeal and oil processing factories collect the by-products generated by fishing port and industry processing activities, producing an economical benefit to both parts. In the same way, different added-value products can be recovered by the valorisation industries whereas fishing companies save the costs associated with the management of those wastes. However, it is important to estimate the advantages of valorisation processes not only in terms of economic income, but also considering the environmental impacts. This would help to know if the valorisation of a residue provokes higher impact than other waste management options, which means that its advantages are probably not enough for guarantying a sustainable waste reuse. To that purpose, there are several methodologies to evaluate the environmental impacts of processes, including those of waste management, providing different indicators which give information on relevant environmental aspects. In the current study, a comparative environmental assessment between a valorisation process (fishmeal and oil production) and different waste management scenarios (composting, incineration and landfilling) was developed. This comparison is a necessary step for the development and industrial implementation of these processes as the best alternative treatment for fish by-products. The obtained results showed that both valorisation process and waste management treatments presented similar impacts. However, a significant benefit can be achieved through valorisation of fish by-products. Additionally, the implications of the possible presence of pollutants were discussed.

Ecological deficit and use of natural capital in Luxembourg from 1995 to 2009

Scarcity of natural resources and productive land is a global issue affecting the provision of goods and services at the country scale. This is particularly true for small regions with highly developed economies such as Luxembourg, which usually balance the chronic unavailability of resources (in particular with regard to fossil fuels) with an increasing demand of imported raw materials, energy and manufactured commodities. Based on historical time-series analysis (from 1995 to 2009), this paper determines the state of natural capital (NC) utilization in Luxembourg and estimates its ecological deficit (ED). Accordingly, solar energy demand (SED) and ecological footprint (EF) for Luxembourg have been initially calculated based on a recently developed country-specific environmentally extended input-output model. Thereafter, these indicators have been compared to the corresponding annual trends of potential NC (estimated using the emergy concept) and biocapacity, respectively. Results show that the trends in ED and in the use of NC in Luxembourg have not increased substantially during the years surveyed. However, the estimates also highlight that the NC of Luxembourg is directly and indirectly overused by a factor higher than 20, while circa 9 additional 'Luxembourg states' would be ideally necessary to satisfy the current land's requirements of the country and thus balance the impact induced by the EF. An in-depth analysis of the methodological advantages and limitations behind our modelling approach has been performed to validate our findings and propose a road map to improve the environmental accounting for NC and biocapacity in Luxembourg.

Combined application of energy and material flow analysis and ecological footprint for the environmental evaluation of a tailoring factory

Two environmental evaluation methodologies, namely energy and materials flow analysis (EMFA) and ecological footprint (EF), were combined to assess a tailoring factory that produced jackets in the period 2002-2005. During the EMFA, aided by the software Umberto(®) 5.5, cutting was identified as the most energy consuming stage and gas-oil as an important source of pollution in spite of its low contribution to energy supply. The EF appraisal was built on the basis of a previous work, incorporating methodological contributions developed by the authors that made the indicator more suitable for its application at corporate level. Initially, an increasing tendency in the indicator was observed (from 37.8 in 2002 to 45.2 gm(2)/jacket in 2005). When including other emissions apart from CO(2), the results conveyed a significant increase in EF that ranged from 80% in 2002 to 14% in 2004, demonstrating that this contribution should not be disregarded when evaluating production processes. Finally, sensitivity analyses were carried out to assess the influence in the EF of the variability in input variables. When emissions were not included, the most influencing input flow was the cotton fabric; otherwise gas-oil became the most relevant factor. Therefore, its substitution for cleaner sources of energy was advised.

Sustainable and safe design of footwear integrating ecological footprint and risk criteria

The ecodesign of a product implies that different potential environmental impacts of diverse nature must be taken into account considering its whole life cycle, apart from the general design criteria (i.e. technical, functional, ergonomic, aesthetic or economic). In this sense, a sustainability assessment methodology, ecological footprint (EF), and environmental risk assessment (ERA), were combined for the first time to derive complementary criteria for the ecodesign of footwear. Four models of children's shoes were analyzed and compared. The synthetic shoes obtained a smaller EF (6.5 gm(2)) when compared to the leather shoes (11.1 gm(2)). However, high concentrations of hazardous substances were detected in the former, even making the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and the Cancer Risk (CR) exceed the recommended safety limits for one of the synthetic models analyzed. Risk criteria were prioritized in this case and, consequently, the design proposal was discarded. For the other cases, the perspective provided by the indicators of different nature was balanced to accomplish a fairest evaluation. The selection of fibers produced under sustainable criteria and the reduction of the materials consumption was recommended, since the area requirements would be minimized and the absence of hazardous compounds would ensure safety conditions during the use stage.