A breakthrough in macro-scale circularity and eco-efficiency assessment: A case study of OECD countries.

Countries' circularity performance and CO2 emissions should be addressed as a part of the UN net-zero Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. Macro-scale circularity assessment is regarded as a helpful tool for tracking and adjusting nations' progress toward the sustainable Circular Economy (CE) and SDGs. However, practical frameworks are required to address the shortage of real-world circularity assessments at the macro level. The establishment of CE benchmarks is also essential to enhance circularity in less sustainable nations. Further, monitoring the extent to which nations' circularity activities are sustainable and in line with the SDGs is an area that lacks sufficient practical research. The current research aims to develop a macro-level framework and benchmarks for national sustainable circularity assessments. Methodologically, we develop a dynamic network data envelopment analysis (DN-DEA) framework for multi-period circularity and eco-efficiency assessment of OECD countries. To do so, we incorporate dual-role and bidirectional carryovers in our macro-scale framework. From a managerial perspective, we conduct a novel comparative analysis of the circularity and eco-efficiency of the nations to monitor macro-scale sustainable CE trends. Research results reveal a significant performance disparity in circularity, eco-efficiency, and benchmarking patterns. Accordingly, circularly efficient nations cannot necessarily be considered eco-friendly and sustainable. Although Germany (as a superior circular nation) can be regarded as a circularity benchmark, it cannot serve as an eco-efficiency benchmark for less eco-efficient nations. Hence, the new method allows decision-makers not only to identify the nations' circularity outcome but also to distinguish sustainable nations from less sustainable ones. This, on the one hand, provides policymakers with a multi-faceted sustainability analysis, beyond the previous unidimensional analysis. On the other, it proposes improvement benchmarks for planning and regulating nations' future circularity in line with real sustainability goals. The capabilities of our innovative approach are demonstrated in the case study.

A study of management decisions to adopt emission reduction measures in heavy industry in an emerging economy.

Heavy industry can face challenges in choosing applicable climate change mitigation measures due to a lack of technical background and practical guidance. A better understanding of these determinants is needed to design region-specific climate policies that most effectively enable more 'successful' low carbon transitions. Set in an emerging economy, this study aims to understand the determinants which underlie investment decision-making in greenhouse gas reduction. It relies on empirical research using an exploratory case study method in the leading cement company in Indonesia. The results show four key determinants influencing (constraining) adoption were (1) the primacy of profit-seeking objectives in operational planning and development; (2) the availability of sources (clinker substitutes and alternative energy fuels); (3) the limited access to cash capital; and (4) the complexity in implementing emissions reduction projects. The inquiry also compares determinants in an emerging and developed country to provide a comparative perspective on emissions management in manufacturing. It appears that firms from the industrial sector in emerging economies have investment strategies that are largely characterised by activities that accentuate achieving financial benefits or best value for money or cost savings in a short time frame, or 'short-termism'. Currently, greenhouse gas emissions management activities tend to be second-preference strategies for firms in emerging economies, at least in the industrial manufacturing sector.

The Model of Children's Active Travel (M-CAT): a conceptual framework for examining factors influencing children's active travel.

BACKGROUND: The current decline in children's participation in physical activity has attracted the attention of those concerned with children's health and wellbeing. A sustainable approach to ensuring children engage in adequate amounts of physical activity is to support their involvement in incidental activity such as active travel (AT), which includes walking or riding a bicycle to or from local destinations, such as school or a park. Understanding how we can embed physical activity into children's everyday occupational roles is a way in which occupational therapists can contribute to this important health promotion agenda. AIMS: To present a simple, coherent and comprehensive framework as a means of examining factors influencing children's AT. METHODS: Based on current literature, this conceptual framework incorporates the observable environment, parents' perceptions and decisions regarding their children's AT, as well as children's own perceptions and decisions regarding AT within their family contexts across time. CONCLUSION: The Model of Children's Active Travel (M-CAT) highlights the complex and dynamic nature of factors impacting the decision-making process of parents and children in relation to children's AT. The M-CAT offers a way forward for researchers to examine variables influencing active travel in a systematic manner. Future testing of the M-CAT will consolidate understanding of the factors underlying the decision-making process which occurs within families in the context of their communities.

Environmental correlates of children's active transportation: a systematic literature review.

This systematic review investigated the environmental (physical, economic, socio-cultural and political) correlates of active transportation (AT) among young people aged 5-18 years to better inform the promotion of active living. Greater distance, increasing household income and increasing car ownership are consistently associated with lower rates of AT among children. Having a non-white ethnic background has a convincing positive association with AT. Having recreation facilities and walk or bike paths present are possibly associated with higher rates of AT. Further research requires longitudinal and intervention studies, utilizing multi-level design methodologies and objective measures of environmental attributes.

A place to play: socioeconomic and spatial factors in children's physical activity.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Concerns about physical inactivity in children and growing levels of obesity are expressed by politicians, health economists and those involved with the health and well-being of children. As this has the potential to be a major health issue, the aim of this investigation was to explore any contributing socioenvironmental considerations. METHODS AND RESULTS: Census-matched survey data were analysed from 318 parents of 6- to 7-year-old children, revealing that family socioeconomic status (SES) influenced the places where children engaged in physical activity. Children from low SES backgrounds spent significantly more time playing close to their homes, and their families were less able to afford access to commercial physical-activity facilities, than those from middle and high SES families. Although neighbourhood-based activities are generally associated with more spontaneous free play, such activities may not provide the same opportunities for supervision and physical skill building available through commercial-based activities. CONCLUSIONS: Given that access to 'enriching' physical-activity spaces may be limited by the capacity to pay, these findings have implications for professionals such as occupational therapists who can take on a role in advocating for equity in access and promotion of a more engaging urban design. Dialogue with urban planners is central to this process.

Walking to school: incidental physical activity in the daily occupations of Australian children.

Children's participation in physical activity is declining, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the incidental activity of walking to school. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the extent to which Australian children walked to and from primary school, and to survey parents to identify factors influencing this behaviour. Parents of 164 students in Grades 1 7 (mean age 9.1 +/- 2.02 years) from a primary school comprising 360 students responded to a questionnaire regarding psychosocial and environmental factors thought to influence the means by which their children went to and from school. Results indicated that parent perception of the importance of physical activity, parents' individual history of transport to school as well as distance from school were the most statistically significant factors determining children's involvement in walking to and from school. The results of this study highlight the attitudes and experiences of parents in determining the extent to which children are involved in non-motorized access to school. Also implicated are organizational policies about geographical school regions. While this study is limited to one school community, further study is recommended with others to better confirm findings by examining socioeconomic, geographic and policy variables. Occupational therapists are challenged to examine ways in which incidental physical activity can be increased in the lives of young children.