Implications for Sustainability of the Joint Application of Bioeconomy and Circular Economy: A Worldwide Trend Study

Research on Shelf-Life Extension Technologies for Food Sustainability: An Assessment of Scientific Activities and Networks

A clearer understanding of research streams and players involved in efforts to address the sustainability of global food and agricultural systems is needed to clarify the current state of scientific knowledge and form collaborations to pursue future research directions. This study presents new insights into this issue through a scientometric process involving a case study of technologies for extending fruit shelf-life. The text mining software was utilized to analyze 3,131 Web of Science-indexed articles published between 2000 and 2020 as a means to glean the conceptual structure of current knowledge and conduct a social network analysis to explore scientific and publication activity. The findings were mapped onto a strategic diagram of research productivity and collaboration between players at the national, organizational, and individual levels. This research's main findings highlight that research on shelf-life technology is in continuous development, and academic institutions from China, Spain, and the U.S. are the core national players in this field. The results provide insights for further investigation to strengthen co-research and technological development programs in other fields. Researchers who are exploring networking opportunities can use the model and process presented as a guideline for identifying emerging and future research trends and formulating strategies.

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Research on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining

Mineral resource exploitation is one of the activities that contribute to economic growth and the development of society. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is one of these activities. Unfortunately, there is no clear consensus to define ASM. However, its importance is relevant in that it represents, in some cases, the only employment alternative for millions of people, although it also significantly impacts the environment. This work aims to investigate the scientific information related to ASM through a bibliometric analysis and, in addition, to define the new lines that are tending to this field. The study comprises three phases of work: (i) data collection, (ii) data processing and software selection, and (iii) data interpretation. The results reflect that the study on ASM developed intensively from 2010 to the present. In general terms, the research addressed focuses on four interrelated lines: (i) social conditioning factors of ASM, (ii) environmental impacts generated by ASM, (iii) mercury contamination and its implication on health and the environment, and (iv) ASM as a livelihood. The work also defines that geotourism in artisanal mining areas is a significant trend of the last decade, explicitly focusing on the conservation and use of the geological and mining heritage and, in addition, the promotion of sustainable development of ASM.

Evaluating the Transition of the European Union Member States towards a Circular Economy

This paper presents the assessment of the European Union member states in terms of the circular economy (CE) targets, using a combination of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and factor analysis. This approach fills in the existing knowledge gap by providing an innovative methodology of an objectivised comparative evaluation of the degree of implementation of the CE principles by the EU countries. Assessing countries’ performance in achieving the goals of the circular economy is a challenge due to the lack of a generally accepted methodology, the multitude of indicators, and the insufficient data. Countries may be compared in a narrow way, according to single indicators, but a more holistic synthetic assessment of countries is also needed to determine their position against each other. In such cases, DEA may be successfully used. The study resulted in the identification of two clusters of countries with similar profiles of relative efficiency in the CE goals’ implementation. It was concluded that the position of a particular country in achieving the CE aims was strongly correlated its GDP per capita. Moreover, factor analysis showed that many CE indicators are strongly correlated with each other and may be aggregated into five meta-indicators (factors): Recycling rate of general waste, Waste production, Jobs and investments, Recycling rate of special waste, and Circular material use rate. In addition to simple rankings and indication of benchmarks, the article offers a novel concept of technology competitors which was used to group units competing for positions in the ranking.

Analysis of the routes for biomass processing towards sustainable development in the conceptual design step: Strategy based on the compendium of bioprocesses portfolio

Process sustainability has been one of the most challenging issues faced by process designers. Conceptual designed processes do not overcome this stage because aspects such as context and technological readiness level are left aside. This paper proposes a strategy to consider different processing routes for biomass (compendium of existing routes) towards sustainable development. The strategy comprises five stages where a supported bioprocesses selection is made by considering the chemical composition of the raw material and the context where biomass is produced and processed. This strategy aims to give decision tools to designers to filter and reduce the number of options to be considered when proposing an alternative biomass use. The proposed strategy was applied to upgrade orange peel waste and sugarcane bagasse to demonstrate how it can be applied. In conclusion, selecting of bioprocesses and considering the proposed strategycould improve the biorefineries design. Even so, more bioprocesses must be included.

Green bonds and other assets: Evidence from extreme risk transmission

Green bonds (GB) are gaining a prominent role in sustainable development because of their ability to fund environment-friendly projects. This study aims to investigate if investors can benefit from the risk diversification properties of including GB with other assets, particularly within the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we utilize a quantile-connectedness approach to examine a set of GB and traditional assets, i.e., commodities, stocks, and bonds, from 2008 to 2020. We find higher total time-varying risk spillovers during extreme high volatility periods than those with average and low volatility. For pairwise risk spillovers, GB offers more diversification opportunities when volatility is very low. Nevertheless, the diversification benefits increase during the COVID period. The strong bidirectional risk spillovers between GB and conventional bonds imply that GB can be considered a good alternative to traditional bonds while benefiting from their diversification potential, particularly with energy and agriculture. Our findings are useful for investors wishing to implement green diversification portfolio strategies in extreme volatility periods and act as an encouragement to policymakers to establish efficient policies to promote green finance.

The Role of Bioeconomy in the Future Energy Scenario: A State-of-the-Art Review

The bioeconomy aims at decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, preventing or reducing climate change, eliminating insecurity, and efficiently using resources; however, fierce controversy exists on conceivable pathways to accomplish these objectives. The transport sector alone, which encompasses all other industrial sectors, has grown with regard to its energy demand by 50% over the past 30 years. The aim of this paper is to promote a dialogue as to whether an economy based on biomass can be more sustainable than today’s existing economies, considering that the economy needs to expand and be boosted, while creating a cascading and recycling system. This semi-systematic review paper discusses four research questions based on findings from the last 20 years: (i) What are the crucial issues in the ongoing debate on the development of a sustainable bioeconomy concept? (ii) Where are the major conflicting points and focuses? (iii) How does the bioeconomy follow current urbanization and land-abandonment trends? (iv) How will the crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic change these previous scenarios? As it is not easy to currently predict which pathway will be the most effective, whether it be the one taken as of now or a specific novel pathway, this article recommends following a strategy that is diverse regarding its approaches to shaping the bioeconomy and further funding of renewable energy sources, along with the involvement of urban planning. In addition, conclusions are validated through a questionnaire completed by 51 experts in the field.

Sustainable University: From the Worldwide Conception to the Brazilian Amazonia

Higher Education as a transforming instrument in societies raises the need for universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as a whole to be leaders in the current paradigm of the time. The objectives of this study are to verify and analyze the movement and actions around the world that drove and started the conceptual model of Sustainable University (SU), as well as these ideas that started in Brazil and their implications for the reality of the Brazilian Amazon Region. A timeline has been sketched and provides additional theoretical insights into universities’ involvement in events before and after the sustainable development process. The methodological procedures were based on a wide literature review in scientific databases that gather journals with satisfactory impact factors; with the refinement of the searches, 87 scientific articles supported the analysis of this study. The results show that universities have played a prominent role on the world stage since 1950, in the post-war period. In the 1970s, HEIs sought to engage in the design of the new paradigm, and in the 1980s it is enunciated as Sustainable Development and conceptualized by the Sustainability approach. Universities, which had been active in discussions and events related to sustainability from the late 1980s onwards, began to organize themselves more effectively and promote sustainable initiatives to become examples of sustainability. Currently, many HEIs from countries in Europe and North America stand out in the initiatives. In Brazil, according to a global classifier, some HEIs seek to align themselves towards the SU model. Until 2019, no university in the Brazilian Amazon region had integrated the ranking, but in 2020, two appear in the list. It appears that information on the sustainability of universities inserted in the context of the Brazilian Amazon is still incipient.

Sustainable Business Model in the Product-Service System: Analysis of Global Research and Associated EU Legislation

The business fabric is trying to resolve the many transformations that have occurred in recent decades. Companies are obliged to offer new ways to meet the needs of the market. This situation has led to the creation of new business models that combine both competitiveness and sustainability. Among the most consistent strategies, the product-service system (PSS) stands out. A bibliometric analysis was carried out on 1088 documents during the period 2000–2020, to synthesize the knowledge base on PSS in a global context and analyse future trends. The results obtained have made it possible to identify the evolution of scientific production, the main drivers of this issue, the lines of research developed and their link with EU legislation and reveal some critical gaps in knowledge. The main lines of research describe different aspects of PSS: servitisation, product design, manufacturing, life cycle, circular economy, and sustainable development. This study has identified how its analysis has developed to date and what terms allow us to glimpse new approaches; hence, it is a useful tool for PSS researchers and sponsors who provide financial resources that allow new directions in this research.

Overview of Research on Sustainable Agriculture in Developing Countries. The Case of Mexico

One of the principal challenges faced by Mexican agriculture is the development of management models that are able to increase production while respecting the environment and generating wealth for society as a whole. In recent years, the number of studies analysing the sustainability of Mexican agriculture has grown significantly. The purpose of this study is to analyse the evolution of the research on the sustainability of agriculture in Mexico. For this purpose, a review and bibliometric analysis of a sample of 867 articles was carried out. The results reveal that the research has focused on the development of sustainable agricultural models in vulnerable rural areas, the sustainable exploitation of agroforestry systems, the development of energy crops for different uses, water resource management and land uses and their changes, conservation farming and climate change. Although research focused on sustainability is still in its early stages, it has become a priority field. A need to promote research from the economic and social disciplines may be observed, together with holistic projects that include the three pillars of sustainability (social, economic and environmental). This study could be useful to researchers in this field as it identifies the recent trends and principal agents that drive knowledge.

Contextualization of the Bioeconomy Concept through Its Links with Related Concepts and the Challenges Facing Humanity

The concept of bioeconomy is a topic of debate, confusion, skepticism, and criticism. Paradoxically, this is not necessarily a negative thing as it is encouraging a fruitful exchange of information, ideas, knowledge, and values, with concomitant beneficial effects on the definition and evolution of the bioeconomy paradigm. At the core of the debate, three points of view coexist: (i) those who support a broad interpretation of the term bioeconomy, through the incorporation of all economic activities based on the production and conversion of renewable biological resources (and organic wastes) into products, including agriculture, livestock, fishing, forestry and similar economic activities that have accompanied humankind for millennia; (ii) those who embrace a much narrower interpretation, reserving the use of the term bioeconomy for new, innovative, and technologically-advanced economic initiatives that result in the generation of high-added-value products and services from the conversion of biological resources; and (iii) those who stand between these two viewpoints. Here, to shed light on this debate, a contextualization of the bioeconomy concept through its links with related concepts (biotechnology, bio-based economy, circular economy, green economy, ecological economics, environmental economics, etc.) and challenges facing humanity today is presented.