Conference Presentations by Belmira Neto
Papers by Belmira Neto
European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2018
Changing public demand in favour of sustainable products is recognised as an important part of "g... more Changing public demand in favour of sustainable products is recognised as an important part of "greening" the production of goods, so-called green procurement. 1 Famously, green procurement has been defined as "a process whereby public authorities seek to procure goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle when compared to goods, services and works with the same primary function that would otherwise be procured". 2 However, when it comes to public buying, public authorities are not free to do what they want. Public authorities are required to advertise the contract, carry out one of the recognised procurement procedures, process bids in the qualification and selection stage according to predetermined criteria, and award the contract according to award criteria, all while respecting binding time frames. Therefore, public procurement regulation has always been characterised by a strong tension between budgetary considerations that would favour the most economically advantageous bids, and the pursuit of other considerations relating to social or environmental goals. EU public procurement rules only gradually allowed the inclusion of certain "green" considerations. Fearing challenges to their procurement procedures, contracting authorities therefore often resort to normal tenders, as "green" tenders are seen as difficult to undertake correctly and marred by legal uncertainty. The Green Public Procurement criteria ("GPP criteria") were drawn up in order to remedy this problem by providing an example catalogue of permissible tender specifications with the aim of facilitating the take-up by contracting authorities of "green" criteria in their tenders. Food and catering services, with €206.3 billion annual expenditure (in 2011) by the Member States an economically important sector, were an obvious target for the formulation of GPP criteria. 3 An initial version of the GPP criteria for food and catering
Life cycle assessment of shale gas production: a case study in Spain
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Apr 28, 2021
Purpose Bacterial cellulose (BC), obtained by fermentation, is an innovative and promising materi... more Purpose Bacterial cellulose (BC), obtained by fermentation, is an innovative and promising material with a broad spectrum of potential applications. Despite the increasing efforts towards its industrialization, a deeper understanding of the environmental impact related to the BC production process is still required. This work aimed at quantifying the environmental, health, and resource depletion impacts related to a production of BC. Methods An attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to a process design of production of BC, by static culture, following a cradle-to-gate approach. The LCA was modeled with GaBi Pro Software using the ReCiPe 2016 (H) methodology with environmental impact indicators at midpoint level. The functional unit was defined as 1 kg of BC (dry mass), in 138.8 kg of water. Results From the total used resources (38.9 ton/kg of BC), water is the main one (36.1 ton/kg of BC), most of which (98%) is returned to fresh waters after treatment. The production of raw materials consumed 17.8 ton of water/kg of BC, 13.8 ton/ kg of BC of which was for the production of carton packaging, culture medium raw materials, and sodium hydroxide (for the washing of BC). The remaining consumed water was mainly for the fermentation (3.9 ton/kg) and downstream process (7.7 ton/kg). From the identified potential environmental impacts, the production of raw materials had the highest impact, mainly on "Climate change", "Fossil depletion", "Human toxicity, non-cancer", and "Terrestrial toxicity". The sodium dihydrogen phosphate production, used in the culture medium, showed the highest environmental impacts in "Human toxicity, non-cancer" and "Terrestrial ecotoxicity", followed by corn syrup and carton production. The static culture fermentation and downstream process showed impact in "Climate change" and "Fossil depletion". Conclusions Per se, the BC production process had a small contribution to the consumption of resources and environmental impact of the BC global life cycle.
Assembly serve: The food is delivered pre-processed and reheated and assembled on site. (Mostly c... more Assembly serve: The food is delivered pre-processed and reheated and assembled on site. (Mostly common in fast food restaurants) Catering: "the preparation, storage and where appropriate delivery of food for consumption by the consumer at the place of preparation or at a satellite unit" (EC DG SANCO, 1993). Centralised: central kitchens or central food factories, that sends out completed dishes to satellites. For example school kitchens. Contract catering firm: "A business engaged in providing a meals service (for example by running staff restaurant or providing school meals)" (National Audit Office, 2006). Conventional kitchen: Food is prepared on site (the majority made from scratch) The Hospitality and Food Service sector "can be defined as outlets that sell food and drinks for immediate consumption outside of the home" (WRAP, 2013). Mass caterer: "means any establishment (including a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall), such as restaurants, canteens, schools, hospitals and catering enterprises in which, in the course of a business, food is prepared to be ready for consumption by the final consumer" (OJEU, 2011). Mass catering: "the preparation, storage and/or delivery and serving of food to a large number of people" (EC DG SANCO, 1993). Meal services and catering: "Procurement of meals services means that the contracting authority procures an external supplier which wholly or partly runs the meals service" (Swedish Competition Authority, 2015). Ready-prepared: Preparation on site of large batches that are then kept frozen or chilled until required. (Used in hospitals and prisons). Vending and coffee machines: Machines that are available at all times with snacks, fruit, drinks and/or sandwiches etc. that are ready to eat/drink or that can be microwaved. Water dispensers: A device for heating or cooling and dispensing drinking water. Wholesale supplier: "A business that buys a range of different food and non-food items from producers (such as farms or food manufacturers) and importers for resale to catering contractors, kitchens within public sector organisations" (National Audit Office, 2006). vii CO 2 carbon dioxide CH 4 methane K potassium N Nitrogen N 2 O nitrous oxide NH 3 ammonia P phosphorus SO 2 sulphur dioxide tCO 2 e emissions equivalent to tonnes of CO 2 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions (according to ISO 3166
This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commissio... more This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission's science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of this publication. For information on the methodology and quality underlying the data used in this publication for which the source is neither Eurostat nor other Commission services, users should contact the referenced source. The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Union concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Frontiers in Environmental Science, Apr 25, 2022
Science of The Total Environment, Feb 1, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commissio... more This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission's science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of this publication.
Green Public Procurement in the Municipality of Porto, Portugal
Multi-criteria classification for prioritization of preventive maintenance tasks to support maintenance scheduling
Preventive maintenance scheduling is a complex maintenance management activity that involves the ... more Preventive maintenance scheduling is a complex maintenance management activity that involves the consideration of several factors: maintenance technicians' availability, available machine periods, maintenance skills required and, task duration and its set date of achievement. When resources are scarce and time to perform maintenance is limited due to high utilization of equipment, tasks are delayed in relation to the date set for achievement. In this context, maintenance tasks must be prioritized to minimize the delays of critical tasks and, consequently, the overall negative impact. Thus, tasks classification is considered the first step of maintenance scheduling. This paper presents a multi-criteria classification using a risk-based approach to prioritize preventive maintenance tasks. The developed method can be easily integrated in a computerized maintenance management system to support maintenance scheduling.
Science of The Total Environment, Dec 1, 2018
First Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of shale gas for a Western European production site under... more First Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of shale gas for a Western European production site under the appraisal phase. • Global warming potential and abiotic depletion potential of fossil fuels have similar results to those of the literature. • Water usage in hydraulic fracturing (HF) and the number of workovers with HF are the most sensitive parameters. • The Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) demonstrates that ecotoxicity related impact categories present the largest uncertainties.
Engagement with the Community and Partnerships for Sustainable Food Production and Consumption in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions
Springer eBooks, 2023
End-of-life management strategies of pharmaceuticals in Portuguese households
Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy
The end of life of pharmaceutical products through environmentally unsafe routes is a growing con... more The end of life of pharmaceutical products through environmentally unsafe routes is a growing concern in our society. However, the studies reported so far, apart from being limited in number, do not reflect the current management practices for the end-of-life management of pharmaceuticals. Published work lacks an in-depth analysis in focusing on the pharmaceutical waste in households. The present work focused on (1) performing a state-of-the art overview to compare worldwide studies and the results and (2) implementing a comprehensive survey in Portugal ( n = 454 respondents). The results showed that the delivery to pharmacies was used by the majority of the respondents (72%), indicating a good awareness of pharmaceutical waste management issues, when compared to the reviewed studies. Statistically significant variables for the destination of end-of-use pharmaceuticals include gender, age and distance from the residence to the pharmacy ( p < 0.05). Most participants believe that ...
Dietary Carbon Footprint of Portuguese Adults: Defining and Assessing Mitigation Scenarios for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
SSRN Electronic Journal
Life Cycle Assessment of reverse logistics of empty pesticide containers in Brazil: assessment of current and previous management practices
Production
Education and New Developments 2019, 2019
Design for sustainability is not necessarily a new subject. Research and studies about it rapidly... more Design for sustainability is not necessarily a new subject. Research and studies about it rapidly increase, given the current conditions of the planet and the way lifestyles, production and consumption continually move towards unsustainability. The concept, which was initially treated as a design specialty with ecological concerns, has today a broad theoretical and practical scope, recognizing the important role of users, communities, and society in general. Thus, designers are increasingly expected to have more than technical skills. Existing methods and tools taught at universities, and applied to design practice, are currently challenged by the global changes that affect the planet, by transforming the role and responsibility of designers in building a more sustainable and inclusive material reality. With this scenario, universities play an important role on training professionals rather than just researchers, highlighting the need for teaching methods and processes focusing on p...
Life Cycle Assessment Applied to the Physical Process to Recovery Copper from Printed Circuit Board
Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2020
Medical devices (MDs) are important health instruments, encompassing an enormous diversity of pro... more Medical devices (MDs) are important health instruments, encompassing an enormous diversity of products, from simple ligatures to pacemakers, bone grafts or auxiliary life support machines. Despite the growing social and economic relevance of the MD industry in the health sector, its environmental problems have only recently started to be discussed. MDs companies worldwide are being pressed to assess the environmental impacts of their products by considering the full life cycle. These pressures are leading to the use of tools which promote fact-based environmental decision-making toward a more sustainable health sector. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and eco-design are well-known methods which may provide the MDs industrial sector with knowledge of the environmental impacts associated with their products and subsequently promote informed decisions leading to more sustainable materials, devices and services. This paper selects and reviews relevant studies using the methodology of LCA or eco-design, either applied in a singular basis or simulated, to access impacts of MDs. Seeking for a comparative analysis, this review is extended to LCA studies for the most used material in the MDs industry: the polymers. Results show that the number of studies is not vast, realizing the yet scarce use of either LCA and eco-design in the scientific literature for MDs. Nevertheless, it is observed that when applied either LCA and eco-deign can promote grounds for an increase in the environmental sustainability of MDs.
Sustainability
The food chain is a large contributor to environmental pollution, especially greenhouse gas emiss... more The food chain is a large contributor to environmental pollution, especially greenhouse gas emissions, strongly associated with the consumption of animal-based proteins. The understanding of the negative environmental impacts of dietary habits by the population is of the utmost importance to provide the means to effect change to more sustainable eating patterns. The main purpose of this study was to assess the carbon footprint of animal protein consumption in Portugal, while also evaluating six mitigation scenarios aiming to lower greenhouse gas emissions through strategic changes to the animal protein consumption of current dietary habits. Overall, the carbon footprint associated with animal protein consumption is 2.63 kg CO2 eq/(cap⋅day) nationally and 28.4 t CO2 eq/month for the faculty canteen. Meat is by far the largest contributor to the carbon footprint in both cases, with beef being its “hotspot”. All scenarios showed significant reduction potentials, with values ranging fro...
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Conference Presentations by Belmira Neto
Papers by Belmira Neto