The significant climate change the planet has faced in recent decades has prompted global leaders, policymakers, business leaders, environmentalists, academics, and scientists from around the world to unite their efforts since 1987 around sustainable development. This development not only promotes economic sustainability but also environmental, social, and corporate sustainability, where clean production, responsible consumption, and sustainable infrastructures prevail. In this context, the present article aims to propose a development framework for sustainability in food sector SMEs, which includes Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies as key elements to reduce CO₂ emissions and improve operational efficiency. The methodology includes a comparative analysis of strategies implemented between 2019 and 2023, supported by quantitative data showing a 20% reduction in operating costs, a 10% increase in market share, and a 25% increase in productivity for companies that adopted clean technologies. This study offers a significant contribution to the field of corporate sustainability, providing a model that is adaptable and applicable across different regions, enhancing innovation and business resilience in a global context that requires collective efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals.

This paper provides a unique empirical analysis of the effects of political factors on the adoption of PPP contracts in Brazil. As such, it innovates along two different lines: first, political factors behind the adoption of PPPs have been largely ignored in the vast body of empirical literature, and second, there is scant work done on the motives of any kind behind the adoption of PPPs in Brazil. Various economic and financial reasons have been evoked to justify the use of PPPs in general. These include the goal of promoting socio-economic development in a tight public budgetary framework or of improving the quality of public services through the use of economically efficient and cost-effective mechanisms. Any possible underlying political motives, however, have been overlooked in the PPP research. And yet, there is abundant literature suggesting a link between the adoption of PPPs and the ideology of the governing body or the political cycles associated with elections. This study examines the impact of ideological commitment and opportunistic political behavior on the process of PPP contracting in Brazil, including the stages of public consultation, the publication of tender, and the signature of the contract, using federative-level data for the period between 2005 and 2022. Consistent with the outstanding literature, the two hypotheses are tested: first, conservative parties tend to celebrate more PPP contracts than left-leaning parties, and second, the electoral calendar has a significant effect in the process, allowing for opportunistic behaviors. Empirical results suggest that there is little evidence for the relevance of ideological leanings in the process of adopting PPPs in Brazil. Additionally, regardless of ideology, parties significantly choose to enter PPPs at specific points in the electoral cycle, suggesting decisions are influenced by political considerations and electoral strategy rather than by purely financial or ideological considerations. This may pose severe constraints on the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the contracts, negatively impacting public governance and leading to protracted costs for taxpayers.

According to the United Nations, by 2050, about 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. This population increase requires environmental resilience and planning ability to reduce the negative environmental impacts associated with growth. In this scenario, life cycle analysis, whose standards were introduced by ISO 14000 series, is an essential tool. From this perspective, smart cities whose concern about environmental sustainability is paramount corroborating SDG 11. This study aims to provide a holistic view of environmental technologies developed by Brazilian inventors, focused on life cycle analysis, which promotes innovation by helping cities build greener, more efficient, resilient, and sustainable environments. The methodology of this article was an exploratory study and investigated the scenario of patents in the life cycle. 209 patent processes with Brazilian inventors were found in the Espacenet database. Analyzing each of the results individually revealed processes related to air quality, solid waste, and environmental sanitation. The review of patent processes allowed mapping of the technological advances linked to life cycle analysis, finding that the system is still little explored and can present competitive advantages for cities.

Micro-mobility has the potential to address first -mile challenges, improving transit accessibility and encouraging public transit usage. However, users’ acceptability of modal integration between various micro-mobility options and public transit remains largely unexplored in the literature. Our study investigates the user behavior for first-mile options, focusing on four alternatives: walking, bicycling, motorcycling, and bus, to access urban mass rapid transit (UMRT) in Hanoi, Vietnam. Based on data collected from 1380 individuals, a Nested Logit Model (NLM) was proposed to analyze the determinants of users’ acceptability under each access mode option as well as evaluate further impacts of shifts in access mode choice on vehicle-kilometer traveled and emissions. The analysis shows that the availability of access modes might increase UMRT use by 47.83%. While this increase further generates additional vehicle-kilometer traveled due to the increase in park-and-ride users, this is offset overall by the large number of motorcycle users shifting to UMRT. Under the most optimistic scenario, modal integration for transit-access trips leads to an average reduction of 17.7% in net vehicle-kilometer traveled or 14.5% in net CO₂ emissions or 10.9% in NO_x from private vehicles. Our findings also imply that the introduction of parking fees for bicycling- or motorcycling-access trips, while impactful, does not significantly change UMRT choice. Therefore, the pricing schemes should be a focus of parking planning surrounding stations. Finally, a number of policy suggestions for parking planning and first-mile vehicles are presented.

This study provides an evaluation of the environmental impact and economic benefits associated with the disposal of mango waste in Thailand, utilizing the methodologies of life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in accordance with internationally recognized standards such as ISO 14046 and ISO 14067. The study aimed to assess the environmental impact of mango production in Thailand, with a specific focus on its contribution to global warming. This was achieved through the application of a life cycle assessment methodology, which enabled the determination of the cradle-to-grave environmental impact, including the estimation of the mango production’s global warming potential (GWP). Based on the findings of the feasibility analysis, mango production is identified as a novel opportunity for mango farmers and environmentally conscious consumers. This is due to the fact that the production of mangoes of the highest quality is associated with a carbon footprint and other environmental considerations.  Based on the life cycle assessment conducted on conventional mangoes, taking into account greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it has been determined that the disposal of 1 kg of mango waste per 1 rai through landfilling results in an annual emission of 8.669 tons of carbon. This conclusion is based on comprehensive data collected throughout the entire life cycle of the mangoes. Based on the available data, it can be observed that the quantity of gas released through the landfilling process of mango waste exhibits an annual increase in the absence of any intervening measures. The cost benefit analysis conducted on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of traditional mango waste has demonstrated that the potential benefits derived from its utilization are numerous. The utilization of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the adoption of a sustainable business model exemplify the potential for developing novel eco-sustainable products derived from mango waste in forthcoming time.