Daniela Sica

Life Cycle Assessment in the Cereal and Derived Products Sector

This chapter discusses the application of life cycle assessment methodologies to rice, wheat, corn and some of their derived products. Cereal product systems are vital for the production of commodities of worldwide importance that entail particular environmental hot spots originating from their widespread use and from their particular nature. It is thus important for tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) to be tailored to such cereal systems in order to be used as a means of identifying the negative environmental effects of cereal products and highlighting possible pathways to overall environmental improvement in such systems. Following a brief introduction to the cereal sector and supply chain, this chapter reviews some of the current cereal-based life cycle thinking literature, with a particular emphasis on LCA. Next, an analysis of the LCA methodological issues emerging from the literature review is carried out. The following section of the chapter discusses some practices and approaches that should be considered when performing cereal-based LCAs in order to achieve the best possible results. Conclusions are drawn in the final part of the chapter and some indications are given of the main hot spots in the cereal supply chain.

L’obiettivo dell’efficienza energetica nella pubblica amministrazione italiana: criticità ed opportunità

La ricerca di una crescente efficienza nell’uso delle risorse energetiche rappresenta da lungo tempo uno degli obiettivi fondamentali della politica energetica europea e, dunque, anche di quella nazionale, in considerazione del ruolo strategico che essa ricopre per avviare una reale transizione verso la tanto auspicata low carbon economy. Il risparmio energetico e il miglioramento dell’efficienza energetica costituiscono una leva straordinaria, in grado di contribuire al conseguimento sinergico di tradizionali obiettivi di politica energetica, fra i quali la sicurezza degli approvvigionamenti, la diminuzione della dipendenza dalle importazioni di idrocarburi e la riduzione delle emissioni climalteranti, generando effetti positivi sulla competitivita, sull’innovazione tecnologica nonche sulla creazione di nuova occupazione. Scopo del presente lavoro e quello di delineare in chiave critica, anche alla luce della crescente attenzione dei policy maker all’efficienza energetica, lo stato dell’arte in merito alla implementazione di misure per il suo miglioramento nella PA, nonche i principali elementi di criticita che non hanno consentito di liberare il potenziale ancora ampiamente inespresso. Cio anche in considerazione del recente recepimento, nel nostro paese, della Direttiva 27/2012/UE che assegna un ruolo chiave alla PA, nella duplice veste di gestore del patrimonio pubblico e di decisore, nel promuovere l’efficienza energetica nel territorio.

The Energy Performance in the Italian Public Administration: State of the Art and Future Prospects

The commitment to improve energy and environmental performance in public administration is essential for the success of development models geared towards lasting sustainability. The Public Administration (PA) in Italy, in particular, plays a key role to affirm models of development oriented towards energy and environmental sustainability, thanks to a wider and more innovative vision. The PA has a dual consumer/user role, public heritage and decision maker/planner, in promoting energy efficiency at local level, in the light of specific problems and peculiarities. For several decades, initiatives have been launched at various levels to improve energy and environmental performance in the public administration. The aim of this study is to outline from a critical perspective, the state of the art of policy makers in Italy concerning energy efficiency measures in public administration. There are however many cultural, value-related, financial, technological, institutional, and operational issues in the PA sector that limit investments in energy efficiency. It should be noted that if on one hand the PA shows a lack of knowledge and is unwilling to adopt practices and systemic tools for monitoring and control, on the other, in terms of bureaucracy, the system appears to be far too complicated and costly. The multiple benefits linked to improved energy performance would therefore require that the PA rethink their organizational and functional models, put in place more flexible and less bureaucratic forms of management and a more dynamic, pervasive, and proactive approach towards initiatives that promote energy efficiency. The research is a contribution towards identifying the driving forces behind potential systems and tools for energy efficiency in the PA, highlighting both critical elements and opportunities and, in particular, the limits deriving from the technological, managerial, and organizational options available for energy efficiency enhancement in the sector of the Italian PA.