In the in the last twenty years, there has been a sharp increase in the consumption of commodities with a short life-cycle. This is especially true for electronic equipment such as mobile phones, which are the focus of this paper. The short lifespan, which is due to continually substituting obsolete equipment with newer and more innovative models, has stimulated the growth in sales of these electronic goods. Europe continues to be the main mobile phone market in developed countries, but this growth has slowed down over the last two years. Despite being an already mature market, Italy has a “diffusion rate” (i.e., the number of active lines per 100 inhabitants) higher than 146, which is the highest in the European Union. This scenario demonstrated the need for a study examining the sustainability of the mobile phone sector according to two critical aspects that are often due to the behavioural patterns of the users: the first is the energy consumption of mobile phones and their associated equipment, and the second is related to the conflicting link between potential dematerialisation due to the miniaturisation of the devices and the resource consumption and waste generated in this sector. This paper discusses these two critical aspects and presents an overview of the Italian mobile phone sector, particularly related to the energy consumption during the use phase and increase of mass flows due to the devices circulating in Italy and the higher amount of the disposable products that have to be managed. The results show that, in Italy, the entire mobile phone system consumes approximately 2,200 GWh per year, which is equal to 0.7% of the national electricity consumption, and produces potential e-waste from end of life devices totalling over 11 thousand tonnes for the period from 2007 to 2012. Concerning the issue of resources consumption, this estimate highlights that the potential savings in inputs, due to the reduction in device weight over time, has always been counteracted by their increasing demand.

The challenge of sustainable development is now recognised worldwide. This paper explores some environmental concepts relevant to provide adequate support to the implementation of policies and strategies of sustainable development. Through the dissemination of knowledge, once we analyze the evolution of environmental issues together with the economic issues, we can understand the most important causes or often find the answer to the same problems. According to the general idea of environmental accounting, a model of sustainable development requires a new way of thinking, based on the interaction between population, natural resources, environment, technology, optimization and economic development. To provide adequate support to the implementation of strategy of sustainable development, it’s important to consider the quality of Information and Environmental Communication. Renewal of system implies a strategic approach: from the economic sustainability to the ecological sustainability approach, with the intention to reduce material through the economy and its pressure on nature’s carrying capacities.

Italian drinking water supply structure includes two main systems: tap water and bottled water. Thanks to the first, drinking water is available almost all around domestic territory while bottled water represents one of the ways to make water available where and/or when there is no tap water. Due to the changing eating habits and lifestyles bottled water has become a large consumption beverage provoking a growth rate of the drinking water industry. The objective of this study is the analysis of the key environmental issues related to the Italian drinking water supply systems and of practical solutions for improving the sustainability of the both systems. The results obtained highlight that bottled water is less environmentally friendly than tap water because it requires much higher material (130–154 kg/m3) and energy (1000–4900 MJ/m3) inputs than tap water (respectively equal to 0.5–1.3 kg/m3 and 2–3 MJ/m3) and generates more waste (130–155 kg/m3 of bottled water versus 0.3–0.7 kg/m3 of tap one). Among the different possible opportunities, to improve the sustainability of bottled water the authors present different options mainly related to the recycling of post-consumption bottles and the organization of logistics. With regard to tap water the main points of criticism are water losses and energy costs. Quantitative evaluations of the given alternatives make this analysis a concrete example of how it is possible (and necessary) for industrial sectors to implement environmental management to settle company development and environmental sustainability.

The mobile phone market has experienced an exponential growth trend in the last ten years. Europe continues to be the main market in developed countries, although in the last two years the growth has slowed down. Italy, despite being already a mature market, has a “penetration rate” (i.e. the number of active lines per 100 inhabitants) higher than 146, the highest in the European Union. In Italy, also about 70% of active lines are characterized by the use of UMTS and HDSPA (the so-called 3rd and 3,5rd generations). It is important to point out that these technological standards enable greater power (hence; faster transmission and the use of increasingly complex services and software), but with high energy consumption. This scenario has suggested a study on energy consumption of mobile phones and their associated equipment. The aim of the present paper is to estimate the impact of this sector (including the so-called mobile network) on Italian energy consumption.

The biomasssectorhasastrategicroleinenergyrenewablespolicy,accordingtotheNationalRenewable Energy ActionPlans(NREAPs),elaboratedincompliancewiththeDirective2009/28/EC.Planninga suitable useofbiomassforenergypurposescallforthecleardefinition ofthebiomasspotential,thathas to beperiodicallyupdatedbyinventoriesforallEUcountries. The aimofthispaperhasbeentheassessmentoftheavailableresidualbiomass,particularlylig- nocellulosic, intheItalianterritory,toevaluatethepotentialforbioenergy,particularlyforelectricityand heat generation.ThegreenhousegassavingsaccordingtotheEuropeantargetandindicatorshavebeen estimated onthenationalscale.Particularly,thetotal final energywhichcouldbegeneratedfrom 22,208,455 t/yofresidualbiomassassessedinItaly,isequalto4.57Mtoe,nearly2.7%ofthegrossItalian energy consumptionin2013andthetotalsavingsofGHGemissionscomingfromthisbioenergygen- eration, arecloseto52MtCO2eq fortheentireItalianterritoryperyear.Theconclusionsunderlinethat an appropriatebioenergypolicycanhelpdecarbonisetheeconomy,enhancethereliabilityoftheenergy supply andadditionallyitcanrevitaliseruralareas.

Today, as it is commonly recognized, energy patterns lead to an unsustainable future, that concerns not only natural energy resources narrowness and scarcity but is strictly linked to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), mainly CO2 ones. Burning fossil fuels is one of the main causes of energy natural resources depletion and climate changes. After power generation one, transportation is the second sector that considerably generates these phenomena. As per the above, policy makers efforts are more and more focused on how to effectively harmonize growing energy demand and climate change mitigation. In these scenarios, a valuable option is the increase of renewable energy sources utilization. Among these sources a relevant role is held by biofuels intending any fuel derived from biomass, living organisms (algae) or their metabolic byproducts (bovine manure). Biofuels of so called “third generation” seem to be a promising possibility to convert a low-input and high-yield no food feedstock into biofuels, mitigating the transportation sector influence on energy demand and climate changes. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of the third generation biofuels, their impact on existing transportation sustainability and linked emergent markets.

ENVIRONMENTALLY INNOVATION IN THE FUEL SECTOR: THE ROLE OF BIOFUEL FROM ALGAE

This research study represents one of the first attempts to measure the environmental impact of the cultural events (theatrical and festival) in order to evaluate the risks for formulating better policy. It is important to underline that this sector, which is not considered responsible in having a direct influence on the environment, has on the contrary a substantial ecological impact as other sectors, like services and commodity’s manufacturing. In this paper the impact both of theatrical and festivals events in Apulia region, through the tool of the I-O (input/output) Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA), has been carried out.

The drinking waters industry is recording a growth rate three times superior compared with other beverage compartments, becoming a dominant market and moving conspicuous business. The growing interest towards this sector is the result of changing in eating habits and lifestyles that encourage the consumption of health and well being products. As a consequence, spring waters have become large consumption beverage, because of consumers consider them healthier than tap water, and they have caused the enlargement of packaging waste. The analysis of environmental issues of life cycle of a product, from cradle to grave illustrates the massive negative effects of this sector on the environment and social organization. The objective of this note, which is the first part of a wider research still in progress, is to analyze the most important considerations that have promoted the huge increase of consumption of bottled drinkable water reducing tap water utilization. Subsequently, applying the international methodology Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the authors investigate the sustainability of bottled and tap water sector from cradle to the consumption phase. The preliminary results allow proposing different industrial strategies, in particular as regard waste management.

Last years have been characterized by a growing interest toward natural origin products such as plant pigments and dyes or animal ones. The reasons of this interest are different, for example, the environmental pollution linked to synthetic dyes use, their toxicity occurring in health risks for workers and consumers and the increasing preference toward natural extract in commodities consumption. Recent restrictions (e.g. Directive EEC 61/2002) imposed by the legislation concerning the use of some synthetic dyes, in food and textile fields, make research and studies engaged in the valorization of organic dyes. The aim of this paper is to review only the plant species useful in natural dye production in alternatives to synthetic ones and to evaluate the market potentialities of this sector. Furthermore, a briefly description of extraction and applications methods are highlighted.

The main purpose of the publication has been to individuate which factors influence the uptake of green practice in managing the event to be adopted by municipal and regional administrations, cultural departments and players in the cultural sector who are in a position to take responsibility for strengthening the cultural aspects of their city's or region's development.

In scientific literature, the interpretation of the term "green" growth is diverse- from meaningful limited to contradictory sense. The specific theme of the present paper is related to the definition of better and understandable meaning of the term "green" growth through two groups of indicators that defines it. The scope of the study is to present by using Granger causality test some main results from the interrelationship between ICT indicators and environment indicators (eg. emissions, renewable energy and others.). Indicators that make up this research database may be considered in the same time as a cause and as a consequence from one another. The study is dedicated to Bulgaria and covers a period of 15 years. Information security of the survey is based on data from the World Bank, Eurostat, National Statistic Institute-Bulgaria and others. In conclusion, it will be proposed a model / methodology to add the explanation of the term "green" growth through significant ICT and environmental indicators.

The public sector has realized the importance of successful internal changes in the means of environmental management of public administrations for improving its specific policies, targets, products and services. To embed in the public sector environmental indicators can help to provide, as for the private sector, useful information concerning Earth modifications by human actions for the top decision-makers. The aim of this study is to examine the citizen concerns and expectations by implementation of environmental public management (EPM) carried out by local authorities in Bulgaria. Based on the perceptivity of the Bulgarian citizens, also illustrated by relevant questionnaire, the authors of the present paper give some proposals about the creation of appropriate communication channels for environmental public management between institutions and citizens.

L’attuale modello energetico, caratterizzato da una forte dipendenza dalle fonti fossili e dall’esaurimento delle stesse, evidenzia la necessità di incrementare lo sviluppo delle fonti energetiche rinnovabili. Benché non completamente sostitutive di quelle tradizionali, queste, e i biocombustibili in particolare, possono contribuire a soddisfare la crescente domanda di energia limitando le emissioni di gas climalteranti. In questo scenario, il libro si propone di delineare il ruolo che il settore dei biocombustibili può svolgere e le nuove potenzialità che esso offre, attraverso l’analisi delle diverse metodologie di produzione, delle principali barriere tecnologiche ed economiche e degli impatti socio-ambientali conseguenti alla loro produzione. Al fine di testare le potenzialità del territorio pugliese e anche in virtù del sostegno finanziario assicurato dalla Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Puglia, l’attività di ricerca si è concentrata sullo studio di fattibilità d’impianti di produzione di biocarburanti con tecniche di II generazione. Il richiamo ai criteri di sostenibilità economico-ambientale e alla legislazione che disciplina il settore termina tale analisi

Lithium is the lightest of the alkali metals, and a high reactivity and specific heat capacity characterizes it. Lithium is not found in nature as a pure element, and it is included as a component in some minerals, such as igneous rocks (lepidolite, petalite, spodumene, and ambligonite), or in the natural springs and salt lakes. Lithium and its compounds possess particular features, which make them adapted to many commercial and industrial applications, such as ceramics, glass, aluminium, lubrication industries, and pharmaceuticals industries. Thanks to the particular properties, in the near future, lithium is expected to play an increasingly role in the energy sector and high technology flanking the rare minerals earths for strategic importance in the post-oil era. New energy policies adopted by European Union level and internationally will boost the status of lithium and its applications. The industrial sectors more interested into the technical innovation of this metal are the following: rechargeable batteries in the transport sector, as well as tablets and smartphones and the storage, and distribution of electrical energy. The first one should mainly develop the intensive production of the electric car with the aim of reducing significantly the CO2 emissions generated by the transport sector toward the zero emissions standard. The second one should be associated with power plants producing renewable energy from intermittent nature (e.g. solar or wind energy) and to be used in local distribution networks (smart grids) of electricity. The aim of this paper is twofold: a) to review the factors affecting the demand for lithium and its supply analysing the industrial application and the production chain; b) to examine lithium sources and its future perspectives.

In un sistema economico sempre più rivolto a modelli di sviluppo sostenibile l’uso dei sistemi di gestione ambientale diventano quasi strategici per il raggiungimento di una corretta gestione delle risorse naturali. Migliorare l’efficienza energetica e/o ridurre la produzione di rifiuti di un processo produttivo, di un settore industriale ma anche di un sistema economico porta al raggiungimento di vantaggi sia economici che ambientali. Per misurare questi vantaggi, è necessario disporre di strumenti analitici in grado di calcolare sia le interazioni esistenti tra sistema naturale e antropico in termini quantitativi durante le fasi di produzione e consumo ma anche di stimare i costi monetari associabili alle conseguenti performance ambientali. In quest’ultima direzione si muove la norma ISO 14051:2011 proponendo la Material Flow Cost Accounting. Quest’ultima, quantifica i flussi di materia e vi associa i relativi costi allo scopo di evidenziare i benefici economici corrispondenti al miglioramento delle performance ambientali apportabili. Appare evidente che l’efficacia di questo strumento sia fondamentalmente basata sulla possibilità di disporre di analisi quantitative (Material Flow Accounting ad esempio) quanto più precise possibili. Maggiore sarà il grado di dettaglio della prima tanto maggiore sarà l’utilità della seconda. Obiettivo di questo lavoro è stato quello di valutare e dimostrare attraverso la metodologia dell’MFCA il fondamentale ruolo della contabilità materiale anche per la valutazione dei benefici economici derivanti dal miglioramento della eco efficienza aziendale. A questo riguardo, è stato proposto un caso studio che ha consentito di verificare la stretta relazione tra la possibilità di misurare (in peso) la pressione ambientale esercitata dalla attività industriale della produzione del saccarosio e la valutazione dei costi (monetari) associati.

In the last years the economic and environmental sustainability of modern agriculture has been often challenged. It is affected more and more also by the several market crisis and the productive processes with a significant environmental burden. The organic agriculture might be a suitable solution to change course on these concerns. In the last few years its market has continued to grow also thanks to the introduction of new marketing strategies very often linked to the concept of short supply chain. The aim of this note is the analysis of the main characteristics of the organic food market, focusing on the factors that can lead to the enhancement of this agricultural sector. For this purpose the constraints and the potentials for the " short supply chain" concept have been highlighted, taking into account the effects generated from its widespread application in the distribution phase of the biological food.

Riassunto Il riscaldamento globale e i cambiamenti climatici sono problematiche da tempo in discussione che influenzano le scelte politiche e impongono cambiamenti nelle abitudini di consumo e negli stili di vita. Anche il settore alimentare contribuisce in modo rilevante ai cambiamenti climatici in termini di emissione di gas serra, in tutte le fasi della filiera produttiva. Questo lavoro ha l’obiettivo di evidenziare il contributo dell’introduzione dell’etichetta climatica apposta sui prodotti alimentari alla tutela dell’ambiente e al migliore dialogo con il consumatore. In particolare, vengono evidenziate le azioni strategiche atte a corresponsabilizzare gli attori sociali e gli effetti in termini di competitività e di influenza sulle scelte d’acquisto. A tal fine,vengono analizzati i limiti e le potenzialità dei concetti di “food miles” e di “carbon footprint” e le possibilità di realizzazione di un sistema di etichettatura omogeneo che fornisca ai consumatori indicazioni chiare sulle performance dei prodotti e li orienti verso scelte di acquisto più consapevoli e sostenibili.

È noto che tutte le attività umane sono responsabili di modificazione sull’ambiente naturale (Turner et al. 1995). Questo accade per l’adozione di criteri di gestione non idonei sia nell’utilizzazione delle risorse naturali che nella gestione di rifiuti o inquinanti (Leoci 2007). Ne consegue che l’ambiente naturale subisce dei danni mettendo, peraltro, in difficoltà lo svolgimento di molte attività economiche, come il turismo, che si basano sull’utilizzo del capitale naturale. L’obiettivo di tale nota è di illustrare a) come la gestione di tutte le attività economiche deve essere innovata per tenere nella giusta considerazione i problemi ambientali e b) come la valorizzazione del territorio e dei prodotti locali rappresenti una possibile strategia di sviluppo. La nota nella prima parte richiama i concetti teorici che stimolano l’adozione di gestioni sostenibili per ogni tipo di attività economica, nella seconda si descrivono le norme volontarie di certificazione, che attestano la compatibilità tra ambiente naturale, società e mercato. L’ultima parte illustra un caso studio a testimonianza dell’opportunità e della possibilità d’innovare la gestione delle attività turistiche e delle potenzialità associate alla valorizzazione dei prodotti locali. Nelle conclusioni sono tracciate le osservazioni finali senza trascurare di proporre alcune linee future di ricerca.

The railways transport has to be further implemented in the medium and long term to reduce traffic on the road and greenhouse gases emissions. The aim of the paper was the analysis of the end-of-life (EOL) of rolling stock and the evaluation of its management taking into account the sustainable use of resources and the reduction of waste. Considering that, at present, the EOL of this sector has been not much investigated, this case study was an attempt to show as the information regarding the flows on the material composition of railway vehicles and the material basis of the EOL are helpful for decision makers to carry out profitable, as well as, sustainable strategies of EOL in the medium and long term. In this way, the case study allowed to verify the feasibility of a practically application of the industrial ecology theory and the closed loop concepts.

In recent years enterprises have been paying attention to environmental issues relating to the production processes in terms of resource depletion, waste and wastewater generation and air emissions. Data, able to link information on the environmental and economic details of organizations, are missing and for this reason various research studies have been carried out with the aim of filling this gap. The objective of this paper is twofold: a) to apply the MFCA approach in an SME b) and to verify its usefulness optimizing the manufacturing process from a technical and economic point of view. The authors have carried out a case study within an SME operating in the plastic sector.

Monitoring the transition of modern societies towards a path of sustainable development requires comprehensive and consistent information on the interactions between economic activities and the biosphere. It is crucial to recognize them because, despite the general impression, the economy is very dependent upon the natural environment both as a source of natural resources and as a sink for waste and pollution. Since the 1960s many research studies and approaches have been carried out highlighting this information in biophysical terms. The aim of this study is to describe the recent innovations in environmental quality management systems and new tools concerning analysis in physical terms.

I petali delle rose sin dall’antichità sono stati utilizzati per le loro particolari essenze nell'industria cosmetica, pasticcera e liquoristica. La Rosa appartiene al philum Euphyta, classe Dicotyledones, ordine Rosales, famiglia delle Rosaceae e comprende circa 150 specie, con diversi ibridi e cultivar, originarie sia dell'Europa che dell'Asia. A tale famiglia appartengono altre specie quali il pero (Pirus communis) o il genere Prunus che comprende il mandorlo, il ciliegio e il pesco. La quasi totalità delle rose deriva da antiche ibridazioni i cui progenitori sono da ricercare tra R.gallica, R.moschata, R.foetida, R.chinensis, R.odorata, R.multiflora, R.wichuraiana, e R.pimpinellifolia. L’obiettivo di questa nota è quello di illustrare le potenzialità tecnico-economiche degli estratti della Rosa damascena trigintipetala della città Bulgara di Kazanlak che trovano impiego soprattutto nell’industria della cosmesi per via delle uniche caratteristiche organolettiche.

The expansion of markets, as a consequence of the so-called global economy, determines economic systems more complex and requires more innovative strategies for the subsistence of businesses and consumer protection. For the European Union the advantages of a single market are evident for both companies, which may have a wider market, and for consumers who may count on a wide range of commodities. We underline that consumers need more information tools to make choices more conscious. In this context it is worthwhile to note some effects arising from the transformation process outlined and examine the actions that EU has adopted to promote the "real" free movement of commodities and to protect the consumer. The resistance encountered in several Countries and the complex method adopted to eliminate technical barriers has caused several difficulties. The aim of this study is to illustrate the role of tools available for consumer protection and of the knowledge concerning commodities to achieve more transparent relationships between producers and consumers.

The introduction of Directive 2003/30 EC of the European Union (EU) on biofuels had the ambitious goal to both reduce greenhouse gas emission (GHG) and create new jobs in rural areas. The challenge lies in the availability of premises to convert biomass in energy, which depends on the availability of land. Thus an opportunity has been created on the EU market for biofuels, offering to each Member State with an excess of agricultural land, to benefit from both environmental and economic point of view. In this paper, the authors investigate whether it would be profitable for Bulgarian SMEs, operating in the agricultural sector, to shift into such a ‘green business’ and whether this shift could contribute in diversifying the role of agriculture by stimulating the development of new sources of income and by ensuring long-term competitiveness.

The flows of natural resources, goods and services (air quality, soil fertility etc.) from ecosystems are the natural capital of the economies. Among these flows the ecosystem services are critic and in decline. It has been underlined the need for ecosystem accounting techniques to study the relationship between economic sectors and their dependence from ecosystem goods and services, as well as the impacts on the last ones. Many countries are being developed payment programmes for ecosystem services (PES). This paper analyses definitions, scope, schemes and the main actors of the PES as tool to protect the natural capital.

This The Apulia Region has large underutilized and, in some cases, abandoned areas. At the same time, soil and climatic conditions are suitable for the development of dyeing and fibre plants that could rise to the role of alternative crops in the context of local agriculture. This work intends to be a contribution to the appreciation of the tradition of dyeing and fiber crops of our country such as Reseda luteola L., Rubia tinctorum L. and Urtica dioica L. In particular for the latter crop, a cost-benefit analysis will be offered for disadvantaged areas of the Apulia Region. The development perspectives appear promising and worthy of testing on site.

DAIRY MILK CHAIN. OUTLOOK AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANIC MILK IN ITALY The milk & dairy production chain plays one of the principal roles in the Italian food industry. Consumers from each part in the world appreciate the different PDO cheeses (Protected Designation of Origin) and other typical products of the Italian agro-food culture. The recent scandals about “blue mozzarella” and other food contaminations, adulterations of milk increased the attention of consumers to their health. To provide the demand of “secure food”, an increased number of producers now offer different kinds of products and some of them are certified like organic products. Move to the organic method, to produceoffer- consume-recycle goods, is the future trend of agricultural system, in general the hoped general approach of life. The aim of organic production system is to limit the impact on the environment from the food production chain and in the same to offer higher quality food; the added value of this food is documented trough a specific label that can be put on the recognized and certified products. Organic milk is still now a small part of the entire milk sector but the consumption of this product, at the beginnings just thought for specific alimentary diet, is now appreciate from consumers that are well informed about properties and organoleptic characteristics, and often also available to spend something more than the same conventional product.

Il presente lavoro si è proposto di selezionare le specie vegetali tintorie e da fibra più promettenti ai fini di una loro proficua coltivazione nella Regione Puglia. Le colture che sono state individuate sono: Reseda luteola L. e Rubia tinctorum L. per quanto concerne le specie vegetali tintorie, e l'Urtica dioica L. per quelle da fibra. L'analisi è stata estesa a colture non tradizionali, quali amaranto e agave.

The aim of this paper is to verify whether the voluntary environmental policy tools introduced in the last years in Europe, as Ecolabel, have achieved the pre-fixed results both from environmental and economic points of view. This paper presents the findings of a case study carried out in tourism sector in Italy. During the years, limited review works have been carried out in the EU in order to confirm or to reject the performance and the efficiency of the adoption of Eco-label certifications. This research enriches the empirical usefulness of the above-cited environmental tool.

Today energy systems not only put pressure on natural energy resources which are nearly running down but also they involve an increase in the greenhouse gas emissions. After the development of the 1st and 2nd techniques of biofuels generation and considering the several issues bound up with their production, the attention is now shifting to the 3rd generation technologies, which use microalgae as feedstocks (since their main features are the high oil content, the high oil and biodiesel yield, the low land area needed). These technologies have been developed only in pilot plants (ponds or photobioreactors), with high capital expenditures. In the long term, through the genetic engineering development, the joint production of several profitable co-products (pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, animal feed supplements, bioplatsics, etc.) and the link with other processes (such as the waste gas recovery and the wastewater treatment), it is expected, as well as the environmental sustainability, also the economic feasibility of the biodiesel production by microalgae.

An analysis of the biofuel production chain suggests that adapting and optimizing the whole system to an appropriate scale based on the availability of agricultural and/or agro-industrial biomass feedstock is needed. This study of the potential use of these biomass materials is carried out on a regional scale and, in particular, in Apulia, a region in south Italy with a high agricultural vocation. The aims of this paper are to identify the real availability of the residual biomass (particularly lignocellulosic), and form a hypothesis regarding launching new production chains (from biomass to diesel) on a regional scale with appropriate localization in the Apulia territory. According to the methodology (adapted from the European Directive 2009/28/EC on renewable energy sources), the greenhouse gas savings due to the replacement of a share of fossil diesel with BTL diesel produced from inland biomass are evaluated as well. A hypothesis regarding the appropriate scale and localization of BTL plant together with relative costs are presented in the results and discussion section. The conclusion section provides perspectives regarding the BTL diesel and bioenergy system, and the creation of an agro-energy district in the Apulia region.

Nowadays, the attention of enterprises towards the environmental issues is considerably increased. The main problem they have to face consists in rethinking the production cycle of the commodities, taking into account the efficient use of resources, the waste reduction and the implementation of technological innovation. It should be emphasized that one of the most problems concerns the efficient management of the end of useful life of goods. Some terms like "reuse", "recycling", "reverse logistics" have today a strategic role. The knowledge of the composition of material and energy flows involved in the production of goods help to implement the management practices for suitable development of the end of life (EOL) phase. This note focuses on the railways industry, which historically has had a significant role in the development of modern industrial civilization. A large number of complex and high-tech equipment characterize the rolling stocks. This aspect lays the stress on the problem of correct management at the end of useful life of this equipment. To reach this aim, it is necessary the thorough knowledge of their material composition for carrying out strategies of reuse or recycling of these materials. The aim is to elaborate the study of the end of life of some equipment of the Italian railway sector, by the material flows analysis approach.

Purchasing decisions are influenced by several factors. Among the most relevant there are religious belief and identity, two aspects highly considered by Muslims people Even if in the recent past Muslims purchased goods (mainly food) avoiding products not allowed by Islamic principles, today they actively ask for complying ones. Muslims use two opposite terms to describe products and services in or out of their religious code: halal and haram. Halal indicates what is permitted and haram what is forbidden. Muslims firmly request certified products matching halal process standards. It is estimated that the global halal market is growing mainly in the halal food sector, whose up to date value is approximately equal to 16% of the whole global food industry and in the near future, to 20% of total food world trade. A World Halal Secretariat research highlights that the global halal products market is estimated in US$ 2,300 billion (not including finance and insurance sectors) of which food and beverages represent the 67%, pharmaceuticals 22% and cosmetics and personal care amounting to 230 US$ billion. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increase in the Muslim population equal to approximately 1.6 billion representing the 25% of the total. The European Union is an important halal market considering that the 7% (51 millions) of Muslims lives there especially in France, in Germany and the United Kingdom. There are also substantial Muslim communities in Eastern Europe, specifically Albania (70% Muslim). Halal certification is a valuable opportunity for Muslims toward a wider integration and for markets toward new targets. However so far there is not yet a unique standard procedure to guarantee halal products. The objective of this paper is mainly to analyses different worldwide halal certifications and then to evaluate their impact on Italian food market.

Generally the flows of natural resources, goods and services (climate regulation, water and air quality etc.) from ecosystems are the natural capital of the economies. Among these flows the ecosystem services, which derive from interactions between the organisms and their function within the ecosystems, are critic and in decline. The need of knowing and assess these services to realize a suitable management it is clear indeed by the negative trends of health of the biodiversity of biomes. It has been underlined the need for ecosystem accounting techniques to study the relationship between economic sectors and their dependence from ecosystem goods and services, as well as the impacts on the last ones. Many countries are being developed payment programmes for ecosystem services (PES), even if there are many definitions and types for the PES. As a consequence in the PES scheme it is possible to delineate many steps for their implementation. The first one is really to choose and clearly define the environmental goods and service and the second one has to be the identification of stakeholders involved in this programme. The following step is the economic evaluation of the specific ecosystem service and finally it has to carry out the relative “payment”, according to the type of economic and/or financial tools chosen. Each of these steps shows several issues and controversial aspects, due to many reasons. This paper analyses definitions, scope, schemes and the main actors of the PES as tool to protect the natural capital.

With regard to its energy supply, Italy has always been heavily dependent on foreign countries. As a consequence adequate strategies to solve the problem are urgently needed. In the last years the Italian energy policy has seemed to squint: on the one hand, renewable energies, particularly wind and photovoltaic energies, have been developed, also driven by the political strategy of the European institutions; on the other hand, a return to nuclear energy production has been attempted unsuccessfully, due to a recent popular referendum that ratified the termination of this kind of energy production. In conjunction with the consideration that in Italy the use of fossil fuel is very high and responsible for relevant greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2, particularly in the transport sector, this issue is boosting the need to study new and complementary options to diversify the energy supply and to tackle the most relevant economic and environmental effects of the energy system. All things considered, the production and use of biofuels could become a viable alternative. However, the implications associated with the increasing production and trade in both raw materials and biofuels, particularly the first-generation ones, show several issues worldwide (e.g. the “food versus fuel” debate). In the light of the previous considerations, this chapter focuses on an Italian energy strategy based also on the production of biofuels, particularly second and third-generation technologies, which could potentially overcome some of the mentioned limits. It should be noted that although both of them are in a pre-trade phase, they could be a good choice in the medium and long terms. Among the several sources for next-generation biofuel production, residual biomass, particularly the lignocellulosic kind, generated by the agricultural, forest and agro-industrial sectors, has to be considered as a potential feedstock for the second-generation biofuels. The authors aim to carry out an analysis of the exploitation of this residual biomass for the entire Italian territory in order to underline its potential in this sector. A hypothesis of territorial development of third-generation biofuel production from algae is also considered.

Researchers, politicians and decision-makers continue to search for a recipe for sustainable economic growth. International interest is growing in the use of material indicators for evaluating the impact of human activities on natural systems. Water footprinting is becoming a popular way of understanding the total water input used to produce goods and services to help managers and policy makers evaluate the sustainability of a country’s water resources. The goal of this study is to apply the water footprint (WF) indicator to Italy’s olive oil production. Based on the applied methodology, the total WF for annual Italian olive oil production is approximately 3,600–6,700 million m3. These figures are the sum of the internal and external WFs. Knowledge is a valuable contribution to understand future needs and freshwater availability. Furthermore, suggestions on its practical application are proposed.

It is long time since the efforts of researchers, politicians and decision makers are engaged, overall the world, to find the “recipe” to reach a sustainable economic growth. Even if significant steps are made, it is still far the final goal. In this contest, growing is the international interest towards Material Accounting and Material Indicators, useful tools to evaluate human activities impacts on natural system (air, water, ground, fauna, flora and climate). According to the common certainty that water scarcity will be one of the first limits to the future growth, the objective of this paper is to evaluate if a specific material indicator, the “Water footprint” (WF), represents a profitable tool to manage water natural resources. The aim is to underline pros and cons of this tool for private managers and public decision makers. In particular, WF has been applied to a specific product, the Italian extra virgin olive oil, with the aim to evaluate the effects of olive oil production chain on domestic water resource and to highlight suggestions for managers.