Csaba Fogarassy

Low-carbon Building Innovation Trends and Policy Pespectives in Hungary between 2020 and 2030

Abstract Regarding the aspects of climate policy, the building sector in Hungary is one of the best performing industries. This means that the GHGs (Greenhouse Gasses) the sector emits can be decreased more effectively and at less cost than in the case of other sectors. This is no surprise in the European Union, since there is a continual demand on behalf of society to develop old and outdated buildings, thus modern technological solutions also inherently result in operating efficacy. The ‘climate policy targeted’ development of the built environment based on EU funds is thus one of the most popular developments amongst European Union Member States. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to assess the climate policy effects of the presently preferred strategy approach(es) between 2020 and 2030.

The Interpretation of Circular Priorities to Central European Business Environment with Focus on Hungary

Abstract In recent years, there was an increase in economic concepts which defined various concepts for the European Union to leave the economic depression behind. The idea of circular economy boomed into the sight of European Union policy makers in the beginning of 2015. The notion introduced a holistic system planning approach for EU development initiatives. This paper introduces the essential background for the interpretation of circular economy and presents the main priorities throughout its implementation. The size of the European Community leaves many opportunities for the reconsideration of circular processes. The study focuses on circular applications in Hungary which substantially differ from the Western-European practice. The different wage and development levels of the member states in some cases might appear as a possibility to extend product life cycles which otherwise would end sooner. The analysis aims to find the reasons for the variant operations and examines how the extended spatial perspective from national levels to the EU level influences the transition to circular economy.

Climate policy cost-benefit model application for successful Central European building retrofitting programs—A Hungarian case study

In general, European Union Member States attribute great importance to the building sector in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions as part of their climate policy strategies. The present study is aimed at studying what happens if decision-makers do not take any prominent measures to ensure that the building sector realizes more efficient performance. The current European tendencies indicate that the most common approach is to attempt to renovate the existing building stock. However, this is not always the best solution. In Central and Eastern European countries, such as Hungary, the greatest problem encountered in renovations is the outdated heating and electricity supply of the old buildings. Many experts are convinced that these buildings should be demolished now and replaced with new ones in order to achieve more effective performance. This study, besides the environmental matters presents a climate policy-related economic evaluation which strengthens the latter opinion. The purpose of this novel cost effectiveness analysis is to examine the long-term viability of these two approaches (retrofitting strategy vs. the building of new houses) from the aspect of both environmental conformity (climate friendliness) and sustainable economics between 2020 and 2030.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CIRCULAR EVALUATION (CEV) TOOL – CASE STUDY FOR THE 2024 BUDAPEST OLYMPICS

According to the early candidate intentions, The Budapest 2024 Bid Committee goal was to submit a responsible and sustainable Games plan to the IOC. In doing so, it became evident that a superior approach would be needed than that adopted by cities hosting earlier versions of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In recent years, Olympic Games were successfully organised from the perspective of handling sustainability. The previously applied low-carbon standards aimed to mitigate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions comparing to business-as-usual (BAU) processes. However, the carbon management strategy is still limited to the decarbonization of material stocks assigned to certain functions. This is the reason for the appearance of a new economic perception, Circular Economy which is built on sustainable material flow and reasonable resource utilization. While the low-carbon concept aimed to optimize the application of stocks, circular economy rather applies services for the same functions. Therefore, the mechanism eliminates the potential emission sources in the first place. This paper aims to introduce a calculation method which helps to assess the stock intensity of activities throughout the Olympics lifecycle (preparation, host of games, legacy periods). The outcome of the methodology, the Circular Economic Value (CEV) highlights the main improvement points on the initial BAU plans. This theoretical model will be used for the future evaluation of the Budapest 2024 Olympic Games, where future researches are expected to associate cost-benefit ratios to this value and enable decision makers to apply the accurate circular planning tools to enhance circularity of the long term Olympic programming.

The Cost-Benefit Relations of the Future Environmental Related Developments Strategies in the Hungarian Energy Sector

Abstract In the case of economic and social wealth, it is strategically essential to provide reliable energy sources which are available in long-term. Setting an energy network which suits the sustainable criteria might take a long time. Therefore, it is important to make decisions on the energy sector in advance. The Hungarian National Energy strategy elaborated on certain scenarios towards 2030, which describe the possible electricity generation opportunities up to 2020 and 2030. For 2020, there is already an accurate recommendation, but in case of the 2030 targets, there are several ways for innovation. Out of all, the realization of the “Nuclear-Carbon-Green” scenario seems most likely to be implemented. It implies the obvious involvement of nuclear energy potential development in the future strategies. Considering this trend, the present study divides the mentioned strategy into “Nuclear-Carbon” and “Nuclear-Green” scenarios to compare their long-term efficiency by economic means.

Urban Wastewater Management in Focus of Heavy Metal Contamination

Abstract In our study, we focused on urban wastewater management, with special regard to the problems caused by heavy metal contaminations. Heavy metals function at low concentrations as a biogenic element, but at the same time in higher amounts (especially above the limit value) are considered as pollutants. We determined the basic wastewater treatment problem: which is the main problem of heavy metal contaminated urban wastewaters and how could eliminate heavy metals. We focused on wastewater origin heavy metal mobility in environment and effect (risk) on human health. In the following, we undertook to analyse urban wastewater in this direction.

Analysis of Circular Development and Investment Possibilities (Transport, Energy and Building) Related to International Sports Event Planning

Abstract This study investigates the possibilities of various development areas (transport, energy, building) to make the cost-efficient realisation of high-profile investments, and organising and holding international sports events possible. Using a case study, the paper introduces development routes based on the evaluation of environmental and economic perspectives. The current research introduces the investment characteristics based on the development of the Hungarian building, energy and transport sectors for the 2017-2030 period. The main criterion is the integration of ‘circular economy’. For sectors which operate with high material and energy consumption, the consideration of circular economy principles may prove to be important for sustainable development. Through planning highvolume sports and worldwide events, the usual development strategy for traffic systems focuses on public transport and rentable vehicles (f. e. electric scooter, or bicycle) which can decrease CO2 emissions via modern technological solutions. Regarding the buildings, sports arenas and related facilities, besides the existing low-carbon solutions, the functions of buildings must be expanded and their usage prolonged. The management of waste left after the life cycle is expended has to be pre-planned. These are the options for making the sector’s GHG emissions decrease apart from circular tenders, which can be further combined with SMART energetic solutions.

Climate Regulation of Rearing-Related Buildings - Evaluating the Factors Related to the Energy Requirement of Heating/Cooling, and Analysis of Alternative Solutions

Abstract The most notable role in the energy usage of rearing-related buildings belongs to barn climate. For animals, one of the most important climate parameter is the temperature of the barn atmosphere. This can be kept in the proper interval by either heating or cooling. Apart from the operation of technological solutions, the need for airing barns must be taken into consideration. This means there are special technical requirements for airing. Also, they can cause significant energy losses. The temperature limit of heating is mainly influenced by the technological temperature related to keeping the animal in question, its acceptable differences, the heat loss of the barn, and the airing requirement. Energy sources applicable to heating can be traditional sources (coal, oil, gas), renewable sources (solar, biomass, wind, water, or geothermal energy), or transformed energy (electricity). As these have specific operation systems, they also mean further challenges in implementing efficient energy usage. The usage of heating energy can either be optimised by the rational usage of the heating system, or machinery explicitly made for reserving energy. Sparing heating energy via recuperative heating exchange may cut costs significantly, which we also proved in this research with actual calculations. However, we have to state that the efficient usage of heat exchangers requires that the internal and external temperatures differ greatly, which has a huge impact on heat recovery performance.

Business Model Innovation as a Tool to Establish Corporate Sustainability

Abstract Considering the frequently changing business environment, staying competitive on the current markets takes more efforts from companies in the 21st century. Conducting only incremental product innovation does not meet the market criteria anymore. The successful entrepreneurs of the future must focus more on the design of their business models to gain superior economic performance. Besides the market, society has also raised a major requirement towards companies, which is being socially responsible. The word ‘sustainability’ regarding businesses might confuse a lot of people as several aspects of the term reach beyond its traditional economic interpretation. The present study provides a clear explanation and furthermore examines its application at a corporate level. This paper aims to present how business model innovation does not simply lead to economic success but its generated value can be extended to social and environmental aspects as well.

Long-term Green Innovation Opportunities Within the Hungarian District Heating Sector Towards 2030

Abstract Natural gas is still the primary input of the Hungarian heating and cooling systems, therefore it still makes most of the overheads. One of the main obstacles of a competitive district heating system is the public opinion which still considers this service more expensive than the traditional heating forms. According to the absolute numbers this assumption might be valid but from a more accurate economic perspective, heat production has more aspects to stress. Most people forget about the simple fact that the maintenance costs of natural gas based systems are rather outsourced to the consumer than in the case of district heating. Furthermore, the uneven rate of the fixed and variable costs of this technology does not prove to be optimal for service developments. Investigating the future tendencies highlight that encouraging the efficiency improvement of district heating and the spread of technological innovation in the sector does not belong to the top priorities. Still, avoiding this problem it could lead serious deadweight losses in the case of the heating sector.