Assessing the total factor performance of wastewater treatment in China: A city-level analysis

Developing environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies on evaluation of municipal waste disposal centers: A case of Mexico

Waste disposal systems are crucial components of environmental management, and focusing on this sector can contribute to the development of various other sectors and improve social welfare. Urban waste is no longer solely an environmental issue; it now plays a significant role in the economy, energy, and value creation, with waste disposal centers (WDCs) being a key manifestation. The purpose of this study is to measure the performance of WDCs in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico, with the aim of developing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies to strengthen and prepare the WDCs for the industrial developments in this state. By identifying environmental variables and undesirable factors, the efficiency and managerial capacity of 32 WDCs were assessed. The analysis revealed that 9 out of the 32 WDCs are technically efficient, while the remaining 23 require significant improvements. Using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique, an average efficiency score of 0.91 was found, with a standard deviation of 0.08. The managerial capacity analysis indicated that the highest-ranked WDC achieved an efficiency score of 1, whereas the lowest-ranked WDC scored 0.67. Finally, an operational map of development strategies was developed using the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Matrix Impact Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) approach. The results indicate that four phases of development should be followed for real development and maturity of development in these WDCs, including Groundwork, Structuring, Development and Growth, and Smart Maturity.

Adaptive strategies to enhance water security and resilience in low- and middle-income countries: A critical review

The water sector is facing unprecedented pressures as increased environmental and anthropogenic challenges, such as climate change and rapid urbanization, impact the availability and predictability of safe drinking water. There is a need for practitioners and policymakers to integrate water security and resilience (WS&R) factors into programming to sustain investments in drinking water systems to support associated economic, security, and public health benefits. In response to intensifying impacts from WS&R risks, communities around the world are developing adaptive strategies, and a critical review of these strategies may provide lessons that can be implemented at scale. In this critical review, we systematically screened over 9000 peer-reviewed and grey literature articles and extracted data from relevant studies that propose, pilot, and/or evaluate adaptations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and evaluated the suitability of each adaptation for different contexts. We created a portfolio of adaptive strategies from over 75 LMICs to inform practitioners and policymakers in enhancing the resilience of drinking water systems. Over 20 adaptations were identified, including strategies such as stormwater management, wastewater reuse, non-revenue water reductions, water pricing, and public awareness campaigns. We categorized adaptations by function (improving water management, augmenting existing supplies, reducing water demand) and scale (household, municipal, regional) to provide recommendations tailored to local needs. For each adaptation, we highlighted associated strengths, weaknesses, barriers to adoption, and enabling environments for successful implementation. We propose a novel decision-support tool, called STEP WS&R, that provides a consistent and replicable process for informing high-level investment and policy choices around WS&R. This critical review presents recommendations for practitioners and policymakers to invest in WS&R adaptations, catered to shared risks and contexts.

Carbon emission efficiency evaluation of wastewater treatment plants: evidence from China

A scientific evaluation of the carbon emission efficiency is crucial for ensuring the sustainable development of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this paper, we applied a non-radial data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to calculate the carbon emission efficiency of 225 WWTPs located in China. The results showed that the average carbon emission efficiency of China's WWTPs was 0.59, indicating that the efficiencies of most samples still require improvement. The carbon emission efficiency of WWTPs from 2015 to 2017 decreased because of the decrease in technology efficiency. Among the influencing factors, different treating scales had positive impact on carbon emission efficiency improvement. WWTPs with anaerobic oxic process and the first-class A standard were likely to have higher carbon emission efficiency in the 225 WWTPs. By incorporating direct and indirect carbon emissions into WWTP efficiency evaluation, this study helped decision-makers and related water authorities to better understand the contribution of WWTPs to the aquatic and atmospheric environments.

What are the determinants of wastewater discharge reduction in China? Decomposition analysis by LMDI

Wastewater discharge reduction (WDR) is a key breakthrough point for China's environmental protection. Based on China's 30 provincial data from 2011 to 2017, this paper applied the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method to clarify the determinants of WDR at national, regional, and provincial levels. Except for wastewater discharge factor, economic development, and total population, four innovative factors, total water application intensity, water environment cost, water treatment industry development level, and drainage infrastructure investment scale were first proposed in this study. The results indicated that from 2011 to 2017, at the national level, total water application intensity and water treatment industry development level were dominant contributors to WDR, while other factors all inhibited WDR. At the regional level, the results of wastewater discharge factor, economic development, and water environment cost were similar to the national level. The drainage infrastructure investment scale had a positive effect on WDR in Northeast and South China while having a negative effect on other regions. And except for Northeast China, the water treatment industry development level promoted WRD, while the total population inhibited WDR. Finally, the determinants of WDR at the provincial level were investigated. On this basis, targeted corresponding policies were provided in this paper.

Sustainability performance of global chemical industry based on green total factor productivity

The sustainability of the chemical industry is crucial for achieving global sustainable production. The sustainability performance of global chemical industry is influenced by many issues synergistically and has not been fully quantified. Systematic analysis from multiple perspectives, such as resource savings, economic growth, and environmental improvement, is urgently needed to support effective macro-policy decisions. This study quantifies the variation trend of the sustainability of the global chemical industry during 2004-2014 and identifies the driving forces under the framework of green total factor productivity (GTFP). Results show that most developed countries performed efficiently (with GTFP values equal to 1) in sustainable production of the chemical industry, while the least developed countries usually performed inefficiently (with GTFP values lower than 1). Notably, a polarization of sustainability in the chemical industry has been confirmed among countries with different production capacities. From 2004 to 2014, the sustainability performance of the global chemical industry has generally improved. It was mainly driven by technological progress (resulting from independent technological innovation) rather than efficiency catching-up (derived from technological learning). Furthermore, technological progress was manifested mainly as the improvement in CO₂ reduction performance and capital saving performance, while technological learning was manifested mainly as the improvement in labor saving performance. Based on the conclusions of this study, the international world is suggested to take action to strengthen international technology cooperation, and governments should make prioritized and focused policies to effectively promote the sustainability of global chemical industry.

Efficiency of Water Pollution Control Based on a Three-Stage SBM-DEA Model

With the growing severity of water pollution issues, the prevention and control of water pollution became highly complicated and challenging, and the investment in water pollution control has been constantly increased. Scientific evaluation of efficiency is critical to recognize whether the investments in water pollution control are effective. However, most studies could not exclude the influences of external environmental and random factors when evaluating the efficiency of water pollution control, resulting in biased results. To overcome this shortcoming, this study employed a three-stage SBM-DEA (slacks-based measure-data envelopment analysis) model to determine the efficiency of water pollution control efforts in a city of China from 2003 to 2017. The results showed that water quality in the study area has been significantly improved due to those pollution control efforts. The influences from external environmental and stochastic factors have led to an underestimation of the efficiency of water pollution control in the first stage. After excluding these effects in the second stage, the adjusted efficiency of water pollution control showed a fluctuating upward trend in the third stage, reflecting the true effectiveness of efforts to prevent and control water pollution in the study cities, with an average efficiency of 0.87. Finally, several suggestions for enhancing the efficiency of water pollution control in Chengde were proposed.