Hwang Yi and Abhishek Mehrotra

https://doi.org/10.54175/hsustain1010003

Sustainable buildings tend to maximize power and information rather than efficiency. The multidimensional concepts and tools provided by systems ecology and thermodynamics aid the understanding of building performance and sustainability as part of the global and ... Read More Sustainable buildings tend to maximize power and information rather than efficiency. The multidimensional concepts and tools provided by systems ecology and thermodynamics aid the understanding of building performance and sustainability as part of the global and complex thermodynamic phenomena in living systems—energy is not concentrated, but it flows, increasing the flow rate of useful energy. From such an extended macroscopic perspective, this paper addresses holistic eco-systemic criteria of building performance evaluation, focusing on emergy (spelled with an “m”) and information—the two critical indices of extensive and intensive analysis. Emergy aggregates the utmost and upstream energetic impacts, whereas information evaluates the structural pattern of the energy-flow distribution. These indices are theoretically correlated under the principles of ecological energy transformation and are often practically compatible. To clarify the definitions and appropriate scientific contexts of the new indices for environmental building studies, we review information theory, ecological theorems, and a few pioneering studies. Emergy and information have a great potential for advanced environmental building analysis, but building-scale implementation of emergy, information, and system principles remains a scientific challenge. The findings call for further research into the improvement of building-specific emergy/information data and reliable evidence of the analogy between building and open living systems. ... « or Access Full Article

Massimo Biasin, Roy Cerqueti, Emanuela Giacomini, Nicoletta Marinelli, Anna Grazia Quaranta and Luca Riccetti

https://doi.org/10.54175/hsustain1010002

This paper explores a possible way in which strategic asset allocation decision-making processes can suitably exploit Social Impact Investments (SIIs). We focus on the role that SIIs play in the context of variance-minimizing investments. To this ... Read More This paper explores a possible way in which strategic asset allocation decision-making processes can suitably exploit Social Impact Investments (SIIs). We focus on the role that SIIs play in the context of variance-minimizing investments. To this aim, we employ an index that tracks companies’ financial performance. A hand-collected sample of Social Impact Firms (SIFs) is the basis of the empirical experiments. Our results point out that, on average, investors should invest a relevant fraction of their wealth in stocks of SIFs. ... « or Access Full Article

Chamila Roshani Perera and Lester W. Johnson

https://doi.org/10.54175/hsustain1010001

This paper argues that the strongly established connection between identity and consumer behaviour may not be necessarily applicable in examining environmentally conscious behaviour through an identity lens due to several other factors that may especially influence ... Read More This paper argues that the strongly established connection between identity and consumer behaviour may not be necessarily applicable in examining environmentally conscious behaviour through an identity lens due to several other factors that may especially influence environmental identity formation; (1) the continuously evolving nature of environmental identity in the context of complexities (i.e., political debates, climate change science) of climate change; (2) the challenges of expressing inner connection with nature (i.e., instrumental value vs. intrinsic value); (3) the various cultural and symbolic meanings associated with environmentally conscious behaviour (i.e., functional benefits vs emotional benefits) and (4) different forms of behavioural practices (i.e., environmentally conscious behaviour vs. anti-consumption). Therefore, this paper recommends utilising insights and measurements unique to environmentally conscious behaviour as opposed to that of general consumer behaviour because the antecedents of the former, especially environmental identity projections can be multifaceted. ... « or Access Full Article