Industrial-scale sustainable rare earth mining enabled by electrokinetics
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Sustainable supply chain management practices and performance: The moderating effect of stakeholder pressure
Currently, sustainable supply chain management practices have become an important strategy for firms to improve performance and gain competitive advantage. However, there is a current debate over the performance outcomes of sustainable supply chain management practices. Additionally, the role of stakeholder pressure is frequently overlooked. Drawing on Natural Resources-Based View and Stakeholder Theory, this study aims to elucidate the ambiguous connection between sustainable supply management, sustainable process management, stakeholder pressure and performance, and investigate the mediation role of sustainable process management and the moderation effect of stakeholder pressure. Our analysis, based on data collected from 235 Chinese manufacturing firms, reveals significant insights. First, stakeholder pressure positively moderates the relationship between sustainable process management and performance, while negatively moderates the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. Second, sustainable process management has a complete mediation effect on the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. The conclusion not only explains the inconsistent relationship between sustainable supply chain management practice and performance, but also reveals clearly the relationship between sustainable supply management and sustainable process management. Besides, it also highlights the difference in performance outcomes of sustainable supply management and sustainable process management under stakeholder pressures, and has valuable guidance to the practice of sustainable supply chain management in Chinese manufacturing firms.
Disparities in expert and community perceptions of industrial heritage and implications for urban well-being in West Bengal, India
An industrial heritage site, whether functioning or abandoned, has impact both on the industrial workers and on the population living in an industrial neighborhood, comprising the urban industrial community. However, limited research addresses the role of public perception in heritage management, often excluding the perspective of the urban community from discussions of urban well-being. This study examines the riverine industrial landscape of West Bengal, India, exploring the alignment and contradiction between expert and community views on industrial heritage value. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach of content analysis, Fuzzy Delphi survey, and Principal Component Analysis, this study reduces the ambiguity of subjective responses, identifying 19 consensus-based indicators categorized into six heritage values. Comparative analysis of the rankings reveals significant disparities in 12 of these indicators, underscoring a contrast in how experts and industrial community prioritize value indicators of industrial heritage. Indicators with notable disparities were further analyzed to address their implications for 5 urban well-being dimensions, including employment, living environment, cultural diversity, citizen services, and education. As urban industrial areas navigate the dual pressures of industrial heritage and modernization, understanding these perceptual differences is essential for inclusive heritage management. The findings also advance methodological approaches for assessing urban heritage perceptions.
Conceptualizing space environmental sustainability
Recent advancements have significantly enhanced the capabilities for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM), to develop infrastructure in orbit and on the surface of celestial bodies. This progress is a departure from the traditional sustainability paradigm focused solely on Earth, highlighting the urgent need to define and operationalize the concept of “space sustainability” along with the development of an evaluation framework. The expansion of human activity into space, particularly in low-earth orbit, cis-lunar space, and beyond, underscores the critical importance of considering sustainability implications. Leveraging space resources offers economic growth and sustainable development opportunities, while reducing pressure on Earth’s ecosystems. This paradigm shift requires responsible and ethical utilization of space resources. A space sustainability assessment framework is essential for guiding ISAM capabilities, operations, missions, standards, and policies. This paper introduces an initial framework encompassing (1) pollution, (2) resource depletion, (3) landscape alteration, and (4) space environmental justice, with potential metrics (resources use and emissions, midpoint, and endpoint indicators) to measure impacts in the four domains.
Mineral origin of tremolite jade artifacts from the Guojiamiao Cemetery, Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Hubei, China: based on petrology, spectroscopy, and geochemistry
The origin of raw materials is a key area of study in jade archaeology, with significant implications for understanding the interactions and exchanges between ancient cultures. The Guojiamiao Cemetery, located in Zaoyang City, Hubei Province, China, has been the subject of two protective excavations, one in 2004 and another in 2014. These excavations revealed a large aristocratic cemetery from the Zeng State, dating from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn periods. The jade artifacts found at the site are diverse in type and exquisite in craftsmanship, serving as important burial items. This study applied gemological, spectroscopic, and geochemical methods to analyze 30 jade artifacts in detail. We examined the types of minerals, shape characteristics, and chemical composition of the materials. In particular, we focused on determining the origin of the tremolite jade artifacts found at the cemetery. Using a classification method based on combinations of trace and rare earth elements associated with different regions, we were able to identify the sources of the jade. Our findings suggest that the raw materials for the Guojiamiao Cemetery jade artifacts unearthed were transported over long distances, from northwestern China to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This research is important for understanding the jade use system of the Zeng State from the early Western Zhou to the mid-Warring States periods. It also provides insights into the sources of jade materials in different historical periods of the Zeng State and its connections with the Chu State. Ultimately, this study contributes to a broader understanding of the evolution of civilization in the middle Yangtze River region.
Sustainable production of CO2-derived materials
The current CO2 emissions scale (Gton) magnitude is 5–6 orders greater than that of utilization (Mton). CO2 utilization should focus on its massive consumption, application of sustainable technologies, low-C energy sources and long-lasting products. CO2 conversion into materials might fulfill these requirements while using C-neutral resources and circularization to avoid waste generation will contribute to achieve sustainability. This article revises reported RD&T on production of CO2-derived materials and circularization approaches.
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