Giovanni Lagioia

Materials Flow Analysis of the Italian Economy

This article analyzes the mass of the materials that flowed through the Italian economy during 1994 and compares the results with a similar analysis of Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States published by a collaboration headed by the World Resources Institute. In order to perform this comparison, we have evaluated the mass of the materials produced within the country and the mass of the imported materials and commodities. For the domestic production, imports and exports, we have also evaluated the mass of the materials that accompany—as “hidden flows”—each physical flow. Our analysis indicates that, in 1994, Italy experienced total material requirements (TMR) of 1,609 million metric tons (Mt), of which 727 Mt was used as direct material input (DMI). A comparison with other developed countries shows that the TMR and DMI flows, measured in mass per person and in mass per GDP unit, are, in Italy, lower than the corresponding figures evaluated for the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands. An interpretation of these results is presented. The analysis may give information useful for environmental considerations, although the limits of such an approach are made clear.

Environmental approach to implement sustainable management: partnership between Transnational Corporations and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises

The aim of this research is to show, in a country, catching-up like Bulgaria, how crucial the extension of environmental approach from the Transnational Corporations (TNCs) towards their suppliers is, when they are mainly Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The authors propose the approach of Material Flow Analysis (MFA) for extending sustainable management from TNCs to SMEs. For showing the advantage of MFA, we use the example of one of the most important chemical manufacturing plants in Europe, Solvay Group and its affiliate in Bulgaria Solvay Sodi. We propose concrete suggestions for creating a favourable collaboration between TNCs, SMEs and an external auditing company, for each one of them to benefit from.

The water footprint as an indicator for managing water resources: the case of Italian olive oil

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 countrys water resources. The goal of this study is to apply the water footprint (WF) indicator to Italys 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.

Towards a competitive environmental policy: the case study of the Bulgarian wine industry

The article aims to study whether the Bulgarian wine-manufacturing industry considers the ecological issues as an important prerequisite for breaking into both the European Union and the worldwide markets. A survey has been carried out in 17 companies producing wines in Bulgaria. A questionnaire has been designed with the intention to understand whether the managers have an interest in implementing environmental management system. The article points out that the integration of environmental policy and its benchmarking indicators is dependent only on a number of managerial and business factors. Some environmental issues are not considered in the process of making competitive decisions, while others are still under evaluation.

Managing the end-of-life of railway vehicles for resource recovery

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.

Green Marketing Willingness of Bulgarian Market: Comparison with Italy

The concept of green marketing is wide covering different aspects of business strategy and policy making. Green marketing puts together issues of sustainable development, such as recycling concerns, material re-use or eco-efficiency with the promotion of products by the conventional marketing policy. The purpose of this paper is to establish how the adoption of green marketing could be an effective tool for improving the market share in Bulgaria following the example of the Italian case. The adoption of eco-label brand or the fulfilling of other environmental certifications could enable to the small medium enterprises (SMEs) to become more competitive in the EU market. We try to explain how a changing view about the environmental aspect could represent an opportunity to snap it up in shorter-medium time.