In 2016, the first universal and legally binding global climate deal will be opened for signature and the new sustainable development goals and targets come into effect. This marks the opening of new possibilities for the sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems. Best practices to transform energy and related systems towards better integrated ones is more vital than ever to reduce resource spending and emissions.
This Special Session focuses on the role of campuses and communities in supporting the more sustainable consumption and production systems of the future. Already in the 10th SDEWES Conference in Dubrovnik, invited papers representing 30 researchers and 16 institutions from countries in Europe and Asia, including International Sustainable Campus Network members, put forth analyses of best practices. These included climate strategies, smart renewable energy systems and microgrids, innovative energy monitoring, self-sufficiency in heating and cooling, energy positive communities, energy quality (exergy) mapping of campus buildings and clusters, as well as circular economy in campuses.
In Dubrovnik, 27 September – 2 October 2015 the session has received a considerable attention, which having three time slots and spanning two conference days, consolidating the outcome of the 2014 conference (Mediterranean). Many of the presenters will be soon invited to publish extended manuscripts in dedicated Special Issues of journals with a high Impact Factor, among which Applied Energy (IF 5.613), Energy (IF 4.844), Energy Conversion and Management (IF 4.380), Journal of Cleaner Production (IF 3.844).
Smart grids can be described as the superposition of digital communication and information technology to conventional power grids in order to manage both the bi-directional power flows between centralized and decentralized generation, and the bi-directional data flow between and users and system operators. The goal of a such modernized network is to meet actual grid challenges at minimum costs. Among a number of challenges for this Special Session three of them have been chosen: Integration of Renewables, Demand Response, and Energy Storage topic. The new methods and software applications for these topics, improvement of SCADA systems for medium voltage network operation management in order to improve distribution networks operation and planning of their development will be in the core interest.
Demand Response programs enable Distribution System Operators to manage consumption in response to grid imbalances, dominantly during time of peak demand or unexpected drops in supply. Active consumer contribution is designed to alter the demand of smart appliances at residential and commercial sites, or even to alter industry demand.
The current global interconnected crises of economy, environment, society and institutions are endangering the sustainability of human civilisation. This session will be devoted to brainstorming, modeling, analysis, measurement and assessment of activities that provide innovative concepts and technologies directed towards sustainable abundance. This session is organized in cooperation with the World Academy of Art & Science and the Club of Rome - European Research Centre and National Associations.
The session is planned as follows:
Plastic is one of the most widely used materials in modern societies. This is due to the fact that plastics can be specially designed for individual applications by using different polymers, additives, fillers and so on. This is positive with regard to the application, but poses challenges for the end-of life phase of plastics as well, as plastics properties change during its use-life and substances added beforehand might hinder high quality recycling or a high-level use of recyclables. In recent years the ban on various substances used for example as stabilizers before have reduced the pollutant potential in PVC but substances like Bisphenol A and others came into focus due to potential negative effects on the human health. Another development in recent years was the creation of bio-polymers which should reduce the dependency on crude oil as feedstock for plastics production and help to address the limited degradability of plastics in the environment.
The management of plastic waste has gained in importance over the last two decades. In the early 90ies of the 20th century countries like Austria and Germany introduced mandatory collection and recycling targets for packaging waste. While material recovery of paper & cardboard and glass waste became reality very quick, the start of plastic waste recycling was not that easy. Recovery of plastic waste was mainly realized by thermal utilization as solid recovered fuel (SRF) in cement kilns or even steel furnaces. There have been and there still are reasons for that
At the Rio+20 Conference in 2012, the United Nations declared that a “green economy in the context of sustainable development” is a chance for economic development in the institutional framework of sustainable development. The UNEP supports this model and defined green economy as a strategic economic policy agenda for achieving sustainable development. In 2011, UNEP stressed that the green economy does not only focus on current environmental and economic problems but also has to address inter- and intragenerational issues. The central element of the green economy is to develop new management concepts for the water, energy (climate change) and food nexus, which were identified by the UNEP as key sectors for the realization of sustainable development. “The water-energy-food nexus refers to the complex links between the three sectors [and its actors and stakeholders (industry, households, research)] and shows that actions in one sector may have impacts in one or both of the others. It plays a key role in exploiting the synergies between the sectors and in making trade-offs, and therefore contributes to sustainable development.” The analysis and assessment of these interlinked systems are now under development (nexus-based strategies).
The session aims to identify management methods for the transition process of the green economy to sustainable development with a special focus on nexus-based strategies. The session will be a forum for theoretical methods, models and practical examples from industry, science (sustainability science, bioeconomy, energy (climate change), water and food) and the public sector for analysing and measuring progress and obstacles in the nexus sectors on the way to sustainable development. The session will present measuring and management methods from both top-down approaches, such as sustainability indicator systems, nexus metrics, input-output modelling, general equilibrium modelling and linear programming models for the energy-water-food Nexus, as well as bottom-up approaches, such as life cycle sustainable assessment (LCSA) methods.
