Loading...
6 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
- Assessing the connections between COVID-19 and waste management in BrazilPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Paço, Arminda; Ferreira, Célia; Neiva, Samara; Rampasso, Izabela Simon; Anholon, Rosley; Vasconcelos, Claudio Ruy Portela de; Eustachio, João Henrique Paulino Pires; Jabbour, Charbel Jose ChiappettaIn addition to the health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, several countries— particularly in developing regions—faced serious additional challenges in the economic, social and environmental areas. In Brazil, one of these challenges refers to the changes in consumption caused by the lockdowns, and the environmental impacts caused by new patterns of waste generation. Against this background, this paper investigates the changes in consumption and waste generation in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a technical contribution to the topic by comparing the perception of survey respondents on the amount of household waste produced before and during the pandemic, and cross-checking these with information on current aspects of policymaking, the findings suggest that the amount of some specific types of household waste has noticeably increased, challenging even more the local waste management systems. The data instrument was validated by a pre-test, prior to deployment. According to the respondents, packaging (both plastic and paper/cardboard) was the type of waste that reported the highest increase in generation during the lockdowns, which is in line with the results of increased consumption of food delivery within this period. The results also suggest that current waste management policies make Brazil ill-equipped to deal with one of the non-intended effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely impacted Latin America’s largest country.
- COVID-19: the impact of a global crisis on sustainable development teachingPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Price, Elizabeth; Wall, Tony; Shiel, Chris; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; Mifsud, Mark; Brandli, Luciana; Farinha, Carla; Caeiro, Sandra; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Vasconcelos, Claudio Ruy Portela de; Sousa, Luiza Olim de; Pace, Paul; Doni, Federica; Avila, Lucas Veiga; Fritzen, Bárbara; LeVasseur, Todd JaredThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global crisis, one which also infuences the ways sustainability is being taught at universities. This paper undertakes an analysis of the extent to which COVID-19 as a whole and the lockdown it triggered in particular, which has led to the suspension of presence-based teaching in universities worldwide and infuenced teaching on matters related to sustainable development. By means of a worldwide survey involving higher education institutions across all continents, the study has identifed a number of patterns, trends and problems. The results from the study show that the epidemic has signifcantly afected teaching practices. The lockdowns have led to a surge in the use of on-line communication tools as a partial replacement to normal lessons. In addition, many faculty teaching sustainability in higher education have strong competencies in digital literacy. The sampled higher education educations have—as a whole—adequate infrastructure to continue to teach during the lockdowns. Finally, the majority of the sample revealed that they miss the interactions via direct face-to-face student engagement, which is deemed as necessary for the efective teaching of sustainability content. The implications of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, it describes how sustainability teaching on sustainable development has been afected by the lockdown. Secondly, it describes some of the solutions deployed to overcome the problem. Finally, the paper outlines the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic may serve the purpose of showing how university teaching on sustainability may be improved in the future, taking more advantage of modern information technologies.
- The COVID-19 pandemic and single-use plastic waste in households: a preliminary studyPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Minhas, Aprajita; Paço, Arminda; Ferreira, CéliaThe Coronavirus pandemic promoted an unprecedented change in consumption habits, especially as lockdowns contributed to the increase in online shopping and in delivery services. One of the consequences is the substantial amounts of plastic waste produced, which can undermine the efforts to reduce plastic pollution. In this context, this commentary explores, as a preliminary study, the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic in relation to singleuse plastic waste in households by means of an international survey with 202 participants distributed over 41 countries worldwide.
- Implementing innovation on environmental sustainability at universities around the worldPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Emblen-Perry, Kay; Molthan-Hill, Petra; Mifsud, Mark; Verhoef, Leendert; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Sousa, Luiza Olim de; Castro, Paula; Beynaghi, Ali; Boddy, Jennifer; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Frankenberger, Fernanda; Price, ElizabethInnovation is known to be an important and influential factor in fostering sustainable development. Yet, there is a paucity of literature on the extent to which universities are successfully implementing innovation in this field. This paper addresses this gap, by examining the role of innovation in the field of environmental sustainability in universities, and by reporting on the results of an international study, in which examples of successful experiences and good practice were identified. The paper outlines the lessons learned from such examples, with the aim of motivating other universities to engage in this rapidly‐growing field.
- A framework for the implementation of the sustainable development goals in university programmesPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Frankenberger, Fernanda; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; Alves, Fátima; Castro, Paula; Will, Markus; Platje, Joost; Lovren, Violeta Orlovic; Brandli, Luciana; Price, Elizabeth; Doni, Federica; Mifsud, Mark; Ávila, Lucas VeigaThere is a perceived need to develop approaches, methods and tools that may help higher education institutions to systematically introduce the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into research and teaching as an intrinsic part of their programs. However, at present, there is a gap in the literature on the suitable means to do so. This paper addresses this gap by examining the many foci and commitments for and about the SDGs that are currently included in university programs. An overview of the SDGs’ focus at universities was presented using a survey to gather qualitative and quantitative data. . Based on current trends and gaps, this paper identifies the need for a framework which may be of assistance in facilitating the inclusion of the SDGs as a whole, and individually targets in particular in the programs of institutions of higher education. The scientific contribution of this paper value lies in the fact that this is one of the first papers to tackle the need for a framework which caters to a more systematic introduction of the SDGs in university programs. The basis for the framework approach, here introduced, includes institutional, thematic, structural and personal/individual aspects which need to be considered for proper implementation of the SDGs at the university level.
- COVID-19 and waste production in households: a trend analysisPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Voronova, Viktoria; Kloga, Marija; Paço, Arminda; Minhas, Aprajita; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Ferreira, Célia; Sivapalan, SubarnaApart from the health aspects and the high death toll, the COVID-19 pandemic has, since its official recognition in March 2020 caused may social and economic problems. It has also led to many environmental ones. For instance, the lockdowns have led to higher levels of consumption of packaged products, and of take-away food. This paper reports on an international study on the increased consumption and subsequent changes in the amounts of waste produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that 45–48% of the respondents observed an increased consumption of packed food, fresh food, and food delivery. One of the main reasons for the increased waste generation during the lockdown was the fact that people have spent more time at home. In addition, increases of 43% and 53% in food waste and plastic packaging. Drawing from comparisons on the amount of domestic waste produced before and during the pandemic, the findings suggest that some specific types of municipal waste have visibly increased, putting additional pressure on waste management systems. This characterises one of non-intended effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results from this study provide useful insights to city administrations and municipal utilities on consumption patterns during emergency situations. This, in turn, may support more systemic and strategic measures to be taken, so as to curtail the increase of household waste during pandemic situations.