Research

The impact of carbon labels on consumer behaviour

Bronagh Loughlin — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 10:41:30 +0000

The impact of carbon labels on consumer behaviour

Tags

Carbon Management

Carbon Footprint

communication

Topic

Carbon Management

If items sold in stores were labelled according to the carbon emissions embodied in them, would customers be encouraged to shop more eco-consciously?

Carbon labelling is a relatively new concept that enables manufacturers to display information surrounding the impact their products have on the environment.

The concept behind a climate label is that the label on a product not only tells the consumer what the product contains but also tells the planetary costs that went into manufacturing the product.

These expenses are typically hidden from consumers and might range from water usage to animal welfare and carbon emissions.

Think of a climate label like a nutritional label on a food product that helps customers make better choices.

However, just like a nutritional information label, we must question whether this is an effective approach to encouraging consumers to shop more sustainably.

A group of American researchers sought to determine this with a SUSDIET project.

They completed a study in a suburban grocery store in Ballina for 12 weeks in 2008. They identified five categories of grocery items with a high turnover and wide product choice.

These 37 products were then categorised according to their CO2 emissions generated up to the point of sale.

The labels were in place for 8 weeks, and over the eight weeks, the number of black-labelled sales fell from 32 per cent to 2 per cent while the share of green-labelled sales soared from 53 per cent to 57 per cent.

A further analysis unveiled three different trends of consumer response.

The products were labelled with one of three symbols:

average or medium (yellow footprint),
lower than average (green footprint),
higher than average (black footprint).

The classification was significantly influenced by the energy used during transport and the energy embodied in the packaging.

In other words, when green-labelled products were also the cheapest, there was a strong consumer response.

However, if the green-labelled goods were not the most affordable, the reaction to the labelling was weaker.

Carbon labelling has been found to increase people’s willingness to pay more for a product.; Image: Unsplash

Other research has also been conducted to analyse the effectiveness of carbon labelling for driving behavioural change.

Some findings have concluded that those who express higher environmental concern and typically purchase eco-friendly products are more likely to buy carbon-labelled items.

Researchers across the globe agree that carbon labels successfully get customers to consider the ecological impact of their choices.

A paper published in 2018 revealed the presence of a carbon label makes customers more likely to purchase a product.

Additionally, European shoppers were found to be willing to pay premium prices of 20 per cent for a product. Other studies have also backed up these findings.

A Carbon Trust 2020 survey uncovered customers were more likely to think positively about a brand when it could showcase its environmental impact on its products.

Besides, a TENZING study confirmed carbon labels could help alter consumer behaviour.

Research does still note that customers have a poor knowledge of carbon measurements.

Therefore, when carbon labels are re-designed using familiar symbols like traffic light colours, a consumer’s understanding increases significantly.

Considering the potential positive impact of carbon labelling seems to be a way to make sustainability communication more consumer-friendly while incentivising and encouraging sustainable choices.

Research has proven that carbon labelling does precisely what it is supposed to do - drive behavioural change.

According to the Carbon Trust, most consumers actively want carbon labelling.

Their survey found that over 10,000 people from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, and the US support carbon labelling on products. Carbon labels could have a significant role to play in the transition to a greener world.

However, the latest EU proposal on banning vague carbon and environmental claims concerning products and services will also force organisations to be strict on labelling.

Headline image: Unsplash

This article is published in collaboration with the Profit with Purpose Magazine.

To read more insights regarding carbon management, you can download the latest digital edition of the magazine that further explores topics such as carbon offsetting, regulations and more.

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Responsible Sourcing – Groundwork for a Circular Economy

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 17:17:54 +0000

Responsible Sourcing – Groundwork for a Circular Economy

Tags

Responsible Innovation

Topic

Creating a Circular Economy depends to a large extent on the sustainable sourcing of raw materials in global supply chains.

Resources such as rare earth minerals, copper, lithium and many others are crucial to sustainability, especially in the green energy transition.

The demand for these materials is expected to continue to grow substantially. To address this challenge, extracting these materials with the least possible negative impact on the environment and society is increasingly important before integrating them into circular economy systems.

However, achieving sustainable sourcing in global supply chains is a complex and challenging issue as companies, civil society organisations, governments, and countries have differing opinions on the best approach.

Besides, they must also comply with various specifications and laws, making sustainable sourcing legally binding to varying degrees.

While existing singular approaches and policies to promote the circular economy and responsible sourcing are becoming more established, there is still a need to strengthen collective action that recognises the interdependence between the two concepts and all stakeholders involved.

Harmonising fragmented sustainability approaches

The challenge of sourcing raw materials responsibly could be a bottleneck to mainstreaming circular economy solutions.

For instance, the mobility industry is strongly dependent on lithium-ion batteries in order to power the electric vehicles on the roads and run rails of the future.

Responsible sourcing of raw materials is essential in creating a Circular Economy and embracing clean technology. Image: Getty Images

On the other hand, the renewable energy sector is massively linked to rare earth elements and silicon to produce wind turbines and solar PV modules.

Meanwhile, the future of modern technology is built on the electronics and electronic equipment sector, which is intertwined with mining rare earth minerals.

Responsible Sourcing aims to harmonise existing approaches by promoting shared responsibility among policy, businesses, and civil society stakeholders across the global value chain to further sustainable sourcing of raw materials and promote circular economy practices.

The EU-funded RE-SOURCING project set out to provide a global platform for Responsible Sourcing of mineral resources in global value chains, connecting all key stakeholders in the mobility, renewable energy and electronics sectors.

Led by the Vienna University of Economics and Business and 11 international partners, this project offers a neutral, mediating space for collaborative solutions to advance Responsible Sourcing.

It can also subsequently contribute to global initiatives such as the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The project’s main objective is to facilitate the implementation of Responsible Sourcing practices through direct knowledge exchange within its stakeholder network and beyond while advocating these practices in international political forums.

How does the RE-SOURCING Project facilitate action?

The Circular Economy is both an end and a means to achieve Responsible Sourcing.

Project partners developed roadmaps based on existing sustainability approaches, policies, and knowledge from key stakeholders in the three sectors most reliant on global mineral value chains – mobility, renewable energy and electronics.

The three sectoral roadmaps propose targets and milestones towards achieving the targets set in the EU Green Deal by 2050, each tailored to the perspectives, needs and priorities of businesses, civil society organisations or policymakers.

The roadmaps emphasise the reduction of resource consumption through eco-design, the promotion of extended producer responsibility and take-back schemes at all roadmap stages.

What makes the RE-SOURCING Stakeholder Platform unique?

Considering different stakeholder perspectives is essential for any ambition to deliver guidance for responsible sourcing.

At the core of the RE-SOURCING approach is a comprehensive understanding of the interconnections and interdependencies between sectors, stakeholders and sustainability initiatives to create a coherent and integrated picture of sustainability efforts.

The RE-SOURCING project outcomes include real-world examples, demonstrating that proactive and forward-thinking stakeholders can already achieve the proposed goals for the future through practices that already exist today.

How can the RE-SOURCING project help you embrace Responsible Sourcing?

As a policymaker, industry, or civil society representative, you can benefit from the project's many in-depth best practice examples, ranging from technology businesses setting up repair ecosystems to extend the life of their smartphones, to evaluations of the latest EU directives on responsible sourcing, to what to expect from the use of blockchain technology in supply chains.

Learning resources are publicly available in an open-source format, presenting the learnings from global supply chain stakeholders and gathering knowledge from international experts on Responsible Sourcing in various panel discussions

Key learning opportunities for the mobility, renewable energy, and electronics and electronic equipment sectors from the RE-SOURCING project:

Industry representatives

best practices in responsible sourcing
guidance for implementing successful business practices

Policymakers

insight into how international standards and regulations interact
broadening knowledge about opportunities for collaboration

Civil society organisations

ways to bring in unprecedented voices
counter greenwashing
exchange ideas with industry and politicians

Headline image: Unsplash

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The state of Circular Economy in EU Research and Innovation projects

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 14:47:44 +0000

The state of Circular Economy in EU Research and Innovation projects

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Topic

The European Union invests about 10 billion euros annually into more than 4,000 research and innovation projects.

Circular Economy plays an increasingly vital role in these projects, leading to an emerging community of businesses, research organisations, and NGOs collaborating on a broad diversity of topics, such as food, waste, plastics, construction, manufacturing, biotechnology, product innovation and design, and circular business model development.

A recent research project carried out by Anja Grüll and Dr André Martinuzzi at the Vienna University of Economics and Business explored the characteristics of organisations within this community while analysing trends and assessing collaboration patterns.

One increasingly prominent topic in these funding programs is the Circular Economy due to its potential to mitigate climate change, promote sustainability initiatives and boost economic growth and competitiveness by creating business opportunities, jobs, and technological innovations.

Dr André Martinuzzi, Head of the Institute for Managing Sustainability, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Anja Grül, Researcher and PhD Candidate, Vienna University of Economics and Business

The Circular Economy is now part of all major EU strategies like the European Green Deal and driving transition through numerous policies and regulations, including the Circular Economy Action Plan, Waste Framework Directive, Eco-design Directive or the Bioeconomy Strategy, and Plastics Strategy.

For its last Framework Programme, Horizon 2020, the EU distributed a budget of nearly €80 billion over seven years between 2014- 2021.

This resulted in over 35,000 projects and involved almost 18,000 organisations from 177 countries.

In search of data

The European Union Open Data portal, CORDIS, has been the primary source for this research.

One of the main challenges was to identify Circular Economy projects partly because initially, the term Circular Economy was not widely recognised, though its goals (e.g., waste reduction, resource efficiency) correspond strongly with the concept.

As the concept and term of Circular Economy became more established, the EU created a dedicated Focus Area as an overarching topic across numerous themes in its third funding round.

Who is involved with EU-funded circular economy projects?

In terms of nations, the Circular Economy Network includes 92 countries, of which the following ones received 78% of the project funding budget: Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

The top 20 most prominent players in the Circular Economy Network come from the EU-15 countries, while Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as non-EU countries, also play an essential role.

The EU invested €4.8 billion into almost 990 Circular Economy projects, involving 13,300 organisations from 92 countries.

Figure 1: Based on research project carried out at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Looking at the organisational level, the recipients of almost half of the EU budget for Circular Economy projects have been for-profit businesses, followed by research institutions, then higher education establishments and public bodies, who take the smallest share.

Even though research institutions only make up 10% of all participants in the Circular Economy Network, they are by far the best connected, taking 70% of the Top 20 player positions.

They possess substantial resources and capabilities, participate in numerous projects and are, therefore, dominant in the network, serving as connectors and knowledge disseminators or knowledge hubs.

Meanwhile, the private for-profit businesses show contrasting results since they comprise 66% of all participants but are only represented by one organisation in the Top 20 most prominent organisations.

Due to data privacy issues, intellectual property concerns, and fear of losing a competitive advantage, private for-profit businesses are not as willing to collaborate with other private companies and prefer to work with research or higher education institutions.

Private for-profit businesses generally have a high participation rate and obtain a significant share of EU funds. However, they are not as well-connected and less likely to collaborate with other private for-profit businesses.

Collaboration Networks

By incentivising different organisations to collaborate on projects, the EU supports the emergence of networks around different themes, which is crucial for developing technological innovation and designing socially desirable products and services.

These networks develop dynamically and are shaped by different actors. Participating organisations may form stronger bonds and stay connected for several projects.

The more often actors work together, the stronger their relationship grows alongside the willingness to embark on future collaborative journeys.

Building solid relationships brings mutual support, improved reputation, access to resources, and increased collaboration opportunities.

The more connections an organisation has, the more it obtains a central position in the network, leading to increased visibility, influence, and competitiveness. Organisations that don’t have strong ties or a good relationship with at least one significant player will have a hard time creating successful project proposals.

The emergence of the Circular Economy community

Circular Economy projects in Horizon 2020 steadily increased each year in terms of EU funding, number of active projects and participants, and budget per project – in other words, the projects grew, and more organisations got involved, showing the uptake of the program.

However, there was a downward trend in the number of new players joining.

According to the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020, this may be due to a lack of awareness about the funding program, the application process's complexity besides intellectual property concerns, or a lack of resources or capacity.

In 2021, there were still 474 active projects, and all 9,000 involved organisations were linked to at least one participant in the main component, resulting in one entirely connected network.

Figure 2: Circular Economy Network Development

Network Centralization shows the existence of dominant actors who have a disproportionate number of collaborations compared to others. A small, strong core of highly collaborative organisations tended to expand their network, while the majority participated only in a few projects.

Hot topics in funding circularity

Circular Economy can be found in nine funding call themes, which differ in topic focus, action area, and approaches to circular solutions. Some are focused on forwarding industry-oriented solutions, while others are open to a broader range of diverse activities.

The biggest variety can be found in the EU Call themes CLIMATE and CROSS-CUTTING actions, which include multiple areas of activity:

urban waste management, housing solutions, creation of new technologies, development of circular business models, the establishment of circular supply chains and industrial symbiosis, design and innovation of circular products, promotion of sustainable consumption, stakeholder platforms, and advancement in knowledge and research for a circular economy.

These efforts expand over numerous value chains and industries, including manufacturing, construction, bioeconomy, electronics, water, batteries, packaging, critical raw materials, textiles and food.

The theme of Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEIT) includes the parts of Horizon 2020 providing new opportunities for industrial leadership in Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Space.

These are areas of key industrial competencies determining Europe’s global competitiveness and providing key components and systems needed for solutions to Societal Challenges.

This is now split into two areas.

In LEIT ICT, many projects aim to forward digital solutions across different sectors and manufacturing industries, especially platform solutions. Deliverables include dissemination of knowledge, the connection of actors across supply chains, and optimisation of processes.

Additionally, the focus of LEIT NMP* is the advancement of key enabling technologies. Its activities range from (re-)manufacturing and processing to creating sustainable materials and product life cycle enhancement. Included sectors are electronics, intensive industries, nanotechnologies, and biotechnologies.

Waste and waste management are paired with multiple areas like urban waste solutions, food, plastics and packaging, water, and agriculture, as these value chains are closely related.

*Nanotechnologies, Advanced Material and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing

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Can clay help us to counter the heat?

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 10:36:29 +0000

Can clay help us to counter the heat?

Tags

Heatwaves

Responsible Research and Innovation

Topic

Heatwaves instantly result in increased use of air conditioning, which already accounts for considerable energy consumption. Is there a better option?

Written by

Ellen Albertsdóttir & Adrian Grist

Turning on the air conditioning is the logical response for many to counter the heat.

However, it is not just a burden to the environment but also a financial blow to the pocket. It is an issue which prompted architect and researcher Marwa Dabaieh at Malmö University in Sweden to develop an eco-cooling system.

Air conditioning is the norm in Egypt, where Dabaieh tested her cooling system despite being very expensive to purchase and operate. Another issue in such countries is that many residents live outside the electricity grid.

Furthermore, the need for cooling systems will also increase in countries with modest average temperatures as heatwaves become more commonplace, as we are experiencing this already.

Marwa Dabaieh is a researcher working on the eco-cooling system made out of clay; Docent and associate professor at Malmö University.

As an expert in sustainable and environmentally conscious architecture, Dabaieh’s innovation relies on a self-assembly concept. This solution aims to keep indoor temperature and humidity low by using traditional ‘shisha funnels’ made of clay to construct a cooling system.

The goal is to lower the indoor temperature by 10 °C by combining clay funnels, water, and the natural power of sun and wind.

The experimental attempts so far have been promising. In a recently published scientific article, Dabaieh presents a reduction of the indoor temperature by 2 °C during an experiment in Cairo. Since then, she has achieved a decrease of 6 °C.

The next step for Dabaieh is to continue the development of the sustainable and passive cooling system.

“Clay is not expensive, which makes the construction price affordable. But it is expensive to develop the method. I am driven by pure passion for this but still need resources to take the pilot project further.

Now I hope to find innovation support that would allow me to scale up the project,” says Dabaieh.

The next step for her is to continue the development of a sustainable and passive cooling system with economical benefits.

“Some people, such as pensioners, the unemployed and refugees, cannot afford air conditioning. This means that mortality risks increase when heat waves become more common. Tragically, this happens when it could be resolved by being better prepared,” adds Dabaieh.

"This passive eco-cooling solution does not require any extra energy or electricity and can offer a practical solution to enhance the living conditions of low-income populations."

Using traditional ‘shisha funnels’ made of clay to construct natural cooling systems can help manage extreme heat.

This project is being developed at the Malmö University, which has close collaboration ties with the Forum for Social Innovation Sweden, the national knowledge and collaboration platform for social innovation and social enterprise.

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How can innovation help your back pain disappear?

Business Spirit News reporting — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 10:16:19 +0000

How can innovation help your back pain disappear?

Tags

Innovation

Responsible Innovation

Responsible Research and Innovation

Wellbeing

Smart Health

Topic

Innovation

Responsible Innovation

Smart Health

The concept of a Smart Chair to improve the health and wellbeing of office workers has been developed as part of a Responsible Research and Innovation project.

The pandemic and working from home have dramatically increased the time we sit on a chair and the number of people suffering from back and neck pains.

A Smart Chair helping you improve your posture and maintain good habits could be a solution to avoid the negative health implications of sitting while working.

As a part of the Living Innovation project, global digital services company ATOS worked on this problem, trying to find a solution with citizens, particularly Millenials and GenZ, experts and scientists.

“We held several Design Thinking workshops in Spain and remotely with Austrian young people to understand the real needs of these groups.

Then, experts in the company have analysed the results and tested ideas in a virtual innovation workshop,” says Lydia Montandon, Business Development Director at ATOS Research & Innovation group.

As a result, they developed the concept of a Smart Office Chair, which is expected to be ergonomically designed in line with the recommendations of therapists: it should provide good support for the back, while integrated sensors detect the incorrect postures and send information to the user.

Lydia Montandon, Business Development Director, ATOS Research & Innovation group

The company would need to cooperate with office furniture manufacturers and physicians or traumatologists to produce a Smart Chair that can meet these requirements.

“In the future, smart health will probably focus more on preventing illnesses or diseases, helping people to avoid bad habits and therefore enjoying better wellbeing and healthier lives. But, let me ask you: How do you feel about your back and neck today?”

adds Montandon.

Software developers would use AI technologies to analyse built-in sensor data and detect unhealthy patterns.

An app would serve as an interface for the users and alert them when unhealthy postures can be corrected.

The idea is that “correct” postures can progressively become normal and become a new habit for the user.

The interesting part is that this chair is designed to be “shareable”.

Once the sitting position has been improved for one person – or one employee in an organisation – the Smart Chair can be passed on to the next one.

Thus, the business model is based on the idea of health prevention benefiting both employees and organisations in the long term.

According to Lydia, the whole design process has been fascinating since they involved different stakeholders in the ideation process.

“It was an exciting experience to reach out to younger generations and experiment with co-innovation methodologies during the pandemic.

It requires a lot of effort, but the resulting value proposition is richer than what we could have been achieved with traditional methods,” she recalls.

So far, the product has not reached the market yet, but the design team expects that the involvement of all stakeholders in the first steps of the project design will enhance its adoption when the product is ready to be commercialised.

“The main barrier in embracing co-creation in product design is the time and investment needed to organise co-innovation activities involving a representative group of stakeholders, including citizens, experts, salespeople, organisers, facilitators, etc.

Another barrier is the innovative way of doing things, which is still not convincing to all interested parties. A lot of effort is needed to raise awareness about the benefits of this approach,” Montandon explains further.

Lydia believes that a change of mindset regarding designing and developing an innovative product is needed, alongside how you approach customers, involving them in the process rather than presenting a result.

One of the early achievements would be for her to see her colleagues complaints about their back pains and visits to the therapist disappear soon, and provide this relief for many other people in the near future.

To learn more about this and other Responsible Innovation projects join the 'Living in a smart future' session at the Responsible Innovation Summit virtual conference on 19-22 Ocotber.

Headline image: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

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Open calls for proposals on Gender Equality research with cash grants

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 11:19:51 +0000

Open calls for proposals on Gender Equality research with cash grants

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Citizen Social Science projects on Gender Equality are invited to submit applications to receive up to €20,000 grant and other supports.

Civil society initiatives can apply for a grant of up to €20,000 to conduct Citizen Social Science research on the topic of Gender Equality as part of the Co-designing Citizen Social Science for Collective Action (CoAct) research project.

Three open calls for proposals are available for non-profit organisations registered in the EU until September 30th 2021, with specific topics and regional focus.

“The CoAct Open Calls on Gender Equality are a way for us to both share our findings with the civic sector and learn from their feedback, ensuring that our research stays closely connected and responsive to the needs of civic actors," said Cédric Lombion, Data and Innovation Lead at Open Knowledge Foundation, a member organisation of the CoAct consortium.

"Gender Equality is an ongoing major societal issue that constantly affects our daily life."

Cédric Lombion, Data and Innovation Lead at Open Knowledge Foundation

The first call is for projects addressing initiatives on “Sustainable cities and communities” in the Berlin-Brandenburg region in Germany that aim for making cities and villages inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable for all their inhabitants.

The second call is focusing on “Decent work and economic growth”.

It is open for organisations from Eastern Europe, and projects from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia are invited to apply for support.

The third call is open to international civic organisations operating within the European Union working on topics related to “Opportunities and risks of digitalisation”.

Proposals under this call should address issues relevant to gender inequalities in online spaces, such as gender dynamics of online platforms and exposure to online harassment.

Applications from a broad range of backgrounds are welcome, including feminist, LGTBQ+, none-binary and critical masculinity perspectives that tackle gender inequalities in their various manifestations.

Besides the maximum of €20,000 cash grant, selected projects will benefit from other supports provided by CoAct, like research mentoring program, peer networking and access to tools and resources.

CoAct is a research project exploring Citizen Social Science and started in January 2020, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

CoAct is a Horizon 2020 research project exploring Citizen Social Science

This project seeks to move beyond its own co-research activities and invite other actors to benefit from the project and its support mechanisms by connecting with experts at the grassroots level while exploring the opportunities and challenges of citizen-led research.

A transdisciplinary consortium of nine research institutions and civil society organisations from Barcelona, Wien, London, Buenos Aires, Berlin, and Potsdam is collaborating to achieve the project's objectives.

According to Cédric Lombion consortium partner, the CoAct project aims to contribute to the field of Citizen Social Science by implementing research programmes dealing with various social issues, from youth unemployment to mental health to environmental justice.

“We believe that Citizen Social Science is not just a research field: it is also a set of strategies and practices developed within activist communities and civic organisations to support citizen mobilisation and community building projects,”

Lombion adds.

Citizen Social Science combines collaboration between citizen groups and academic researchers to address pressing social issues from the bottom up, finding solutions embedded in their social contexts, building on robust research methods.

Headline image: Adam Wingler from Unsplash

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Citizens are invited to shape the future of parks across Dublin city

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 09:34:36 +0000

Citizens are invited to shape the future of parks across Dublin city

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A new research survey aims to find out what people want to see in Dublin’s parks.

The reality of “social distancing” and “self-isolation” became the new norm as part of consecutive lockdowns, and we were all faced with a sudden and radical change in our daily routine and lifestyle.

However, parks in Dublin and nationwide in Ireland have remained open, providing an important outlet for people to support their physical, social and psychological needs.

Dublin City Council (DCC), in partnership with Dublin City University (DCU) are hosting an online survey to identify what roles and functions the parks fulfilled for all Dublin citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research will also focus on how these features can be maintained after the pandemic and what future developments people would like to see in the parks.

This is an opportunity for the public to share their opinions and experiences, shaping the development of parks across Dublin in the coming years.

The research team behind the project highlight that there are significant insights available in terms of the frequency, type of usage and volume of activities that have taken place in the capital’s parks during this time.

“People access parks for a whole variety of reasons, for exercise, to enjoy nature, for their overall wellbeing and by hearing from them it will help to inform the ways in which parks should be improved and developed and, crucially planned as a space that all generations can enjoy together”, said Research lead Dr Carol Barron, DCU School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health.

Parks have provided a safe haven for many during COVID-19; Image: Pexels

This study may have a direct benefit to individuals by helping to identify the specific reasons people are using parks during the era of COVID-19 and plan for the future development of parks as sites of recreation, play, leisure, health, socialisation and biodiversity.

“Parks have provided a safe haven for many during COVID-19, and undoubtedly, the volume of people using their local park has increased substantially.

While the country remains under current restrictions and people are using their parks frequently, we want to find out from respondents what they would like to see developed in their park”, added Dr Marcos Dias from DCU School of Communications and Joint Research Lead.

Organisers want to consult with as many people as possible who use Dublin parks to identify what visitors currently like about Dublin parks and what services, facilities, and events they would like to see in the parks in the near future.

Launching on 15th March, the survey seeks responses from people across Dublin city and county until Sunday 28th March 2021.

The findings will be used to help inform planning and development policy concerning public parks by DCC. It is envisaged that the results will be disseminated via Dublin City University communication platforms.

This project is being funded by the School of Nursing, Psychology and Community Health Publication Grant and a COVID-19 Research Network seed funding grant.

The survey is a collaboration between DCU’s School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, DCU School of Communications and Dublin City Council.

Headline image: Mina-Marie Michell from Pexels

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Green pandemic recovery requires better finance of adaptation plans

Bronagh Loughlin — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:41:15 +0000

Green pandemic recovery requires better finance of adaptation plans

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Topic

The Adaptation Gap Report urges all nations to pursue the efforts for green pandemic recovery

As climate change impacts intensify and temperatures continue to rise, nations need to urgently act to adapt to the new climate reality.

Otherwise, they will face severe costs, damages and losses, the new Adaptation Gap 2020 report by UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) finds.

The recently published report discovers that whilst nations have advanced in planning, huge gaps remain in finance for developing countries and delivering adaptation projects to the stage whereby they get real protection against climate impacts such as floods, droughts and sea-level rise.

Findings suggest that private and public finance for adaptation must be stepped up urgently, along with faster implementation.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director at UNEP said:

“The hard truth is that climate change is upon us.

Its impacts will intensify and hit vulnerable countries and communities the hardest – even if we meet the Paris Agreement goals of holding global warming this century to well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director at UNEP, image: UNEP

As the UN Secretary-General has said, we need a global commitment to put half of all global climate finance towards adaptation in the next year.

This will allow a huge step in adaptation – in everything from early warning systems to resilient water resources to nature-based solutions.”

The report states that nature-based solutions - locally appropriate actions that address societal challenges, such as climate change, and provide biodiversity and human-wellbeing benefits by protecting, sustainably managing and restoring modified or natural ecosystems - must become a priority.

Nature-based solutions for adaptation can be low-cost options that are potentially effective in reducing climate risks, while simultaneously bringing important additional benefits for the environment, economy, livelihoods and other values to a wide range of stakeholders, including the poor, women and other marginalised groups.

The recognition that nature-based solutions can make crucial contributions to climate change adaptation is both nationally and internationally. However, there are few concrete plans.

Adaptation Gap 2020 report by UN Environmental Programme, image: UNEP

The most encouraging finding of the report is that 72 per cent of countries have adopted a minimum of one national-level adaptation planning instrument.

Although, the drawback is the finance needed to implement these plans, is not growing fast enough.

While the pace of adaptation funding is rising, it continues to be outpaced by the rapidly increasing adaptation costs.

Annual adaptation costs in developing countries are estimated at around $70 billion, and this figure is expected to reach 140-300 billion in 2030 and 280-500 billion in 2050.

The Adaptation Gap Report 2020 emphasises that cutting greenhouse gas emissions will reduce the impacts and the costs associated with climate change.

An analysis of four major climate and development funds – the Global Environmental Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the International Climate Initiative – suggested that support for green initiatives with some element of nature-based solutions has increased over the last two decades.

Cumulative investment for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects under the four funds remained at $94 billion.

However, just $12 billion was spent on nature-based solutions – a rather small fraction of total adaptation and conservation finance.

In most cases, this necessitates planning and coordination across national or jurisdictional boundaries, creating both a challenge and an opportunity for environmental policy frameworks and transboundary negotiations.

Of over 1,700 adaptation initiatives surveyed, just 3 per cent had already reported real reductions to climate risks posed to the communities where the projects were being carried out.

New tools such as sustainability investment criteria, climate-related disclosure principles and mainstreaming of climate risks into investment decisions can stimulate investments in climate resilience.

The report urges all nations to pursue the efforts outlined, which call for green pandemic recovery and updated Nationally Determined Contributions that include new net-zero commitments.

Adaption – reducing communities’ and countries’ vulnerability to climate change by improving their ability to absorb impacts – is a key pillar of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The agreement requires its signatories to implement adaption measures through national plans, climate information systems, early warning, protective measures and investments in a green future.

The world must plan for, finance and implement climate change adaptation to support those nations least responsible for climate change but most at risk.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to hit countries' ability to adapt to climate change, investing in adaptation is still a sound economic decision.

Headline photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels

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January 2021

Degradation of nature is linked to economic damage and increased risk of pandemics

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 13:10:49 +0000

Degradation of nature is linked to economic damage and increased risk of pandemics

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Escaping the era of pandemics is possible, but will require a seismic shift in approach from reaction to prevention

Future pandemics will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, do more damage to the world economy and kill more people than COVID-19 unless there is a transformative change in the global approach to dealing with infectious diseases, warns a major new report on biodiversity and pandemics by 22 leading experts from around the world.

IPBES virtual workshop report about the links between degradation of nature and increasing pandemic risks

Convened by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for an urgent virtual workshop about the links between degradation of nature and increasing pandemic risks, the experts agree that escaping the era of pandemics is possible, but that this will require a seismic shift in approach from reaction to prevention.

COVID-19 is at least the sixth global health pandemic since the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, and although it has its origins in microbes carried by animals, like all pandemics its emergence has been entirely driven by human activities, says the recently released report.

It is estimated that another 1.7 million currently ‘undiscovered’ viruses exist in mammals and birds – of which up to 827,000 could have the ability to infect people.

“There is no great mystery about the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic – or of any modern pandemic”, said Dr. Peter Daszak, President of EcoHealth Alliance and Chair of the IPBES workshop.

“The same human activities that drive climate change and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our environment.

Changes in the way we use land; the expansion and intensification of agriculture; and unsustainable trade, production and consumption disrupt nature and increase contact between wildlife, livestock, pathogens and people. This is the path to pandemics.”

Pandemic risk can be significantly lowered by reducing the human activities that drive the loss of biodiversity, by more significant conservation of protected areas, and through measures that reduce unsustainable exploitation of high biodiversity regions.

This will reduce wildlife-livestock-human contact and help prevent the spillover of new diseases, says the report.

IPBES Pandemic Report results

“The overwhelming scientific evidence points to a very positive conclusion.

We have the increasing ability to prevent pandemics – but the way we are tackling them right now largely ignores that ability. Our approach has effectively stagnated – we still rely on attempts to contain and control diseases after they emerge, through vaccines and therapeutics.

We can escape the era of pandemics, but this requires a much greater focus on prevention in addition to reaction.”

said Dr. Daszak.

Pointing to the likely cost of COVID-19 of $8-16 trillion globally by July 2020, it is further estimated that costs in the United States alone may reach as high as $16 trillion by the 4th quarter of 2021.

The experts estimate the cost of reducing risks to prevent pandemics to be 100 times less than the cost of responding to such pandemics, “providing strong economic incentives for transformative change.”

Some of the recommendations suggested in the report:

Enabling changes to reduce the types of consumption, globalized agricultural expansion and trade that have led to pandemics – this could include taxes or levies on meat consumption, livestock production and other forms of high pandemic-risk activities.

Reducing zoonotic disease risks in the international wildlife trade through a new intergovernmental ‘health and trade’ partnership; reducing or removing high disease-risk species in the wildlife trade; enhancing law enforcement in all aspects of the illegal wildlife trade and improving community education in disease hotspots about the health risks of wildlife trade.

IPBES Pandemic Report result

Valuing Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ engagement and knowledge in pandemic prevention programs, achieving greater food security and reducing consumption of wildlife.
Closing critical knowledge gaps such as those about key risk behaviours, the relative importance of illegal, unregulated, and the legal and regulated wildlife trade in disease risk, and improving understanding of the relationship between ecosystem degradation and restoration, landscape structure and the risk of disease emergence.

The IPBES workshop report is one of the most scientifically robust examinations of the evidence and knowledge about links between pandemic risk and nature since the COVID pandemic began – with contributions from leading experts in fields as diverse as epidemiology, zoology, public health, disease ecology, comparative pathology, veterinary medicine, pharmacology, wildlife health, mathematical modelling, economics, law and public policy.

The report is also strongly scientifically substantiated, with almost than 700 cited sources – more than 200 of which are from 2020 and 2019 – which offers decision-makers a valuable analytical snap-shot of the most up-to-date data currently available.

IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body comprising more than 130 member Governments. Established by Governments in 2012, it provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people, as well as the tools and methods to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets.

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December 2020

Dutch social enterprises have a strong influence on building a new economy

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:07:00 +0000

Dutch social enterprises have a strong influence on building a new economy

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Social enterprises are pioneers in building a better economy in the Netherlands

A new research report from Social Enterprise Netherland revealed the pioneering role of mission-driven enterprises in the business community to facilitate a transition towards a more sustainable economy and contribute to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Transition Theory shows that small, innovative players – niche actors – are of crucial importance in accelerating the process of building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. Social enterprises – companies with a primarily social mission – are the pioneers in the transition to a new economy.

Many social enterprises focus not only on the direct positive impact they create with their own product or service but also aim to influence other companies to act more sustainably.

Study: Social Enterprises as Influencers of the Broader Business Community - image:Social Enterprise NL

Social Enterprise Netherland (NL) has conducted the ‘Social Enterprises as Influencers of the Broader Business Community’ research based on thorough academic literature research and inspiring examples from the Dutch social enterprise sector.

The report found that there are three important ways in which social enterprises can influence the business community, which are at the core of their ‘model of influencing’:

1. ‘Raising the possible’ (showing that it is possible to do business sustainably),

2. ‘Raising the desirable’ (showing that it is desirable to do business sustainably),

3. ‘Raising the acceptable’ (showing that it is unacceptable not to do business sustainably).

“People might think that social enterprises are very small as compared to the industry leaders. Can they really make a change?

This report shows that they can actually play a crucial role in the transition of the business community towards creating a more sustainable economy, by showing that it is in fact possible to make a profit with purpose by disrupting the mainstream business as usual practices.” says Simone van Dijk Social, one of the researchers contributed to the report from Social Enterprise Netherland (NL).

The ‘model of influencing’ describes eleven ‘influencing activities’: concrete strategies that social enterprises employ to influence. Different inspiring examples from the Dutch social enterprise sector illustrate these activities.

Social enterprise Tony’s Chocolonely's mission statement: “Together we make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate” - Image: Tony’s Chocolonely'

For example, social enterprise Tony’s Chocolonely has a mission statement that goes beyond their products: “Together we make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate”. This explicit mention of changing the norm clearly references changes beyond Tony’s own chocolate bars.

Their case shows that it is possible to make fair chocolate that has a positive impact on local communities and stimulates other chocolate-making companies to copy their methods through their Tony’s Open Chain platform.

Albert Heijn, the largest retailer in the Netherlands, followed the example and became an official ‘mission ally’ for its private-label chocolate brand Delicata.

"Real social entrepreneurs want systems to change, transitions that take years, and that can hurt. It is about operating radically differently.

As a social entrepreneur, you should think about: where are you in that landscape, in the system? What do you want to change? Do you want to set up a whole new system, or turn the current system around? Is what you’re doing impactful, or are you merely limiting the damage?” says Arjen Boekhold, Game Changer Unltd., former Tony’s Chocolonely.

Another precedent showed by social enterprise Frank About Tea when they published an ‘Open letter to the CEO of Unilever’ in the Dutch Financial Times.

With this action, they actively raised awareness about the inequalities in the tea sector amongst consumers and professionals, stimulating them to hold companies accountable for their responsibility in the supply chain.

Social enterprises can also contribute to raising official standards, such as voluntary industry agreements, certifications and even legislation, thereby making it unacceptable not to do business sustainably.

Fairphone, Dutch social enterprise challenging smartphone industry - image: Fairphone

For instance, Fairphone is a social enterprise company which aims to develop smartphones that are designed and produced with minimal environmental impact.

They are bringing together major industry players in the Fair Cobalt Alliance to jointly improve the conditions in which cobalt, an essential resource to produce smartphones, is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Our strength lies in giving an example with the product, with the service itself.

[…] We have to accomplish, to prove, that a product or service like ours has a sustainable business case to put in the market, and develop a sourcing model,” says Monique Lempers, Impact Innovation Director at Fairphone.

The ‘Social Enterprises as Influencers of the Broader Business Community’ research shows that social enterprises – often relatively small players in their industries – can play a crucial role in the transition to a new economy.

The results provide concrete tools to help social and other innovative companies from around the world accelerate the sustainability transitions in their industries through influencing.

Simone van Dijk from Social Enterprise NL explains further the relevance of their research:

“We conducted this research because we found there was still little known about the way social enterprises influence the broader business community – even when this is often at the core of a social enterprise’s mission.

We hope that the findings in this report do not only help value-driven enterprises to see and enhance their influencing role, but also show corporates the relevance of (working together with) social enterprises.

It also shows the importance of funding long term systems change, stimulate researchers to investigate this further, and help support organisations such as ours to support their members to unlock business potentials through their influencing role.”

The recently released Social Enterprise Monitor 2020 also showed that 96% of Dutch social enterprises actively aims to influence other organisations. The Social Enterprise Monitor is the largest annual survey of social enterprises in the Netherlands, carried out by Social Enterprise Netherland (NL) in collaboration with multiple partners and with the support of PwC.

Social Enterprise NL is a national membership body that represents, connects and supports the growing community of social enterprises in The Netherlands with over 400 members to date.

Their mission is to build an economy that works for all people: circular, inclusive and poverty-free. The organisation offers its members different kinds of business support and works on a more favourable ecosystem for social entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and beyond.

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November 2020