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Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2023)
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Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2023)

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2024) | Viewed by 4233

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Oz Sahin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4222, Australia
2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
Interests: systems dynamics modelling; operations research; natural resource management; decision support systems; water resources engineering; geospatial information systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Russell Richards

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, ‎Australia
Interests: coastal systems and ecosystem services; social-ecological modelling; system dynamics modelling; serious games and gamification; Bayesian modelling; decision support systems; app development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ever since 2002, when the first Conference on the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) was held in Dubrovnik, the SDEWES Conference series has been providing a worldwide forum for scientists and those interested in sustainability to share the state of the art, future directions and priorities. SDEWES is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge on methods, policies, and technologies for increasing the sustainability of development by de-coupling growth from the use of natural resources and by transitioning toward a knowledge-based economy.  

Considering all of the economic, environmental, and social pillars of sustainable development, one of the main issues in the coming decades is to improve efficiencies by integrating various life-supporting systems, using excess from one as a resource in another in the correct moment. Integrating electricity, heating, cooling, transport, water, buildings, waste, wastewater, industry, forestry and agriculture systems will be pivotal in the transition toward sustainable development. To make efficiency improvements happen, political aspects of sustainable development need to be considered as well, thus implying the need for taking account of, among other things, the Sustainable Development Goals, resource and political security, long-term planning, the role of political leaders and voters, energy democracy, and community and citizen participation in the energy transition.

SDEWES has maintained high publishing standards, with more than 2500 research articles published in leading journals. MDPI’s Sustainability journal has continued its cooperation with SDEWES, launching a Special Issue dedicated to the 2023 Conference. Taking this into consideration, this SI aims to provide an opportunity for researchers in a wide range of areas to originate, discuss, share, and disseminate new ideas. Sustainability also offers a perfect platform for the interdisciplinary and multi-cultural evaluation of complex systems.

Dr. Oz Sahin
Dr. Russell Richards
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability comparisons and measurements
  • green economy and better governance
  • sustainable resilience of systems
  • environmental policy and management
  • energy policy
  • energy systems
  • renewable energy sources
  • waste and wastewater treatment
  • water–energy nexus
  • energy and water efficiency

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

34 pages, 4229 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Development in Third Level Programs: Distilling a Pathway to a True Net-Zero Education
by Dlzar Al Kez, Christopher Lowans and Aoife Foley
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1998; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051998 - 28 Feb 2024
Viewed by 932
Abstract
This study probes the notable gap between the theoretical endorsement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 7, 12, and 13, and their tangible implementation in higher education curricula. We hypothesize that entrenched unsustainable practices in key academic disciplines, such as [...] Read more.
This study probes the notable gap between the theoretical endorsement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 7, 12, and 13, and their tangible implementation in higher education curricula. We hypothesize that entrenched unsustainable practices in key academic disciplines, such as engineering and business, persist despite the global shift towards sustainability. The study engages a diverse cohort of participants from academia, public, private, and nonprofit sectors, chosen for their distinct roles and insights in integrating SDGs into educational and industrial frameworks. Our research design integrates an extensive qualitative literature review and critical analyses with quantitative surveys using specially designed instruments. The study was conducted with a sample of 48 participants, representing various sectors, using specially designed survey instruments to gauge expert opinions on the barriers and opportunities in advancing sustainable education. Our findings identify economic and administrative hurdles as primary impediments to academia’s shift towards sustainability. The data underscore the urgent need for targeted strategies in transitioning to a net-zero educational paradigm. The study concludes with a call to reshape academic initiatives, highlighting the critical role of education in preparing future leaders. It emphasizes bridging the gap between theoretical support for SDGs and their practical application in academia, proposing actionable strategies for this alignment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2023))
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15 pages, 2288 KiB  
Article
Assessing Hydropower Potential under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways Scenarios Using Integrated Assessment Modelling
by Tomás Calheiros, Pedro Beça, Tiago Capela Lourenço, Lukas Eggler, Margarita Mediavilla, Noelia Ferreras-Alonso, Iván Ramos-Diez, Roger Samsó, Tiziano Distefano and Amandine Pastor
Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1548; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041548 - 12 Feb 2024
Viewed by 701
Abstract
The world is facing a global sustainability crisis affecting environmental systems and society. Addressing these issues requires a multi-dimensional approach that can integrate energy, water, and environment Systems, as well as provide scientific policy advice. In this study, an updated version of an [...] Read more.
The world is facing a global sustainability crisis affecting environmental systems and society. Addressing these issues requires a multi-dimensional approach that can integrate energy, water, and environment Systems, as well as provide scientific policy advice. In this study, an updated version of an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) was used, together with new data compatible with Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) projections, to significantly improve the work developed before. SSP climate data (temperature, precipitation, and total radiative forcing) and socioeconomic data (population and GDP) were loaded into the IAM, together with different scenario parameters. By analyzing varying socioeconomic scenarios, mitigation efforts, and adaptation strategies, this study assesses their impact on primary energy demand and, consequently, their impact on hydropower potential production. Our results show diverse energy paths, strongly dependent on the future scenario. Energy demand could increase up to 160%; however, several projections foresee a decline in hydropower production to minus 46% due to both climate change and socioeconomic transformation. Our findings highlight the importance of considering a range of potential future scenarios in energy planning and policy development. The varied outcomes across the considered scenarios emphasize the need for flexibility in strategies to accommodate for uncertainties and address the challenges posed by divergent trajectories in hydropower use and renewable energy shares. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2023))
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16 pages, 664 KiB  
Article
Drivers and Barriers for the Adoption of Circular Economy Principles towards Efficient Resource Utilisation
by Vesna Alivojvodic and Filip Kokalj
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1317; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031317 - 04 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1111
Abstract
Contemporary societies, whether they have reached advanced levels of economic and social development or are still developing, need to prioritise the implementation of circular economy practices. This will facilitate the shift towards regenerative, sustainable, and closed-loop industrial systems. For now, there are some [...] Read more.
Contemporary societies, whether they have reached advanced levels of economic and social development or are still developing, need to prioritise the implementation of circular economy practices. This will facilitate the shift towards regenerative, sustainable, and closed-loop industrial systems. For now, there are some efforts to encourage patterns of production and consumption through changes in economic trends, development of institutional frameworks, harmonising regulations in the field of environmental protection, and raising the level of social awareness to achieve, above all, greater efficiency of resources. Extensive literature that deals with monitoring the implementation of the circular economy already indicates the existence of numerous barriers in this process but also notices some incentives for raising the degree of circularity of the observed systems. In this paper, the question of whether a single value can represent the level of circularity of the chosen material/product chain is researched. An overview of barriers and drivers for implementing circular economy strategies is given to structure a proper metric framework in correlation to the research question. The objective was to simplify the monitoring of circularity by developing a unique index for comparing material/product chains in similar systems. This was accomplished by using the circular material use (CMU) rate introduced in the European Union and modifying it for financial data calculation. As a result, the circular economy index, which covers all 9R strategies (CEIR), is obtained. The practical verification of model applicability was shown by determining the degree of circularity achieved for passenger cars in the four observed EU countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2023))
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23 pages, 4878 KiB  
Article
Challenging 21st-Century Competencies for STEM Students: Companies’ Vision in Slovenia and Norway in the Light of Global Initiatives for Competencies Development
by Andreja Abina, Alenka Temeljotov Salaj, Bojan Cestnik, Aram Karalič, Matevž Ogrinc, Rebeka Kovačič Lukman and Aleksander Zidanšek
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1295; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031295 - 03 Feb 2024
Viewed by 857
Abstract
Rapid technological innovations are changing the jobs that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students are employed in after completing their education. Therefore, employers are looking for applicants with skills beyond the specialised professional competencies that can be acquired in the chosen subjects [...] Read more.
Rapid technological innovations are changing the jobs that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students are employed in after completing their education. Therefore, employers are looking for applicants with skills beyond the specialised professional competencies that can be acquired in the chosen subjects during formal education. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have an important role to play in this process, as they endeavour to equip graduates with the skills and knowledge for future jobs. Our study aims to identify the key competencies that Slovenian and Norwegian companies expect from graduates of selected STEM degree programmes in both countries. Based on these findings, the participating HEIs can tailor their degree programmes to the employability requirements of companies. This study first analysed European and international recommendations and initiatives relevant to skills development in STEM employment and education. We selected 30 key competencies and included them in the questionnaires in which companies’ human resources managers (HRMs) defined their attitudes towards employability skills in the future. We focused on companies employing graduates of the Ecotechnologies and Civil and Environmental Engineering programmes of the participating HEIs. The analysis of the results showed that companies in the two countries have different attitudes towards skills. Four competencies were identified as more important in both countries: (i) management and design of processes, technologies, and people’s work, (ii) adaptation to changes, (iii) ability to manage uncertainty, and (iv) innovation. Based on the analysis, we have developed a framework of ten employability skills for STEM students. In addition, this study provides the basis for operating a decision support system (DSS) to monitor the development of students’ competencies. The DSS is being developed as part of the RESPO-VI project supported by the Norway Grants to better match the skills of STEM students as future job seekers with the needs of potential employers. The study’s results will also help other formal and non-formal education adapt their curricula and thus reduce the employability skill gaps between current STEM education and future labour market needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2023))
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