The mitigation and prevention of environmental impacts is still a challenge for most companies, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The literature shows that researchers are ...paying attention to the concept of eco-efficiency, and that companies are making significant efforts to develop sustainable methodologies, as a result of consumer pressure or for government enforcement reasons. However, there is still a lack of concrete initiatives implemented at SME level. The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual framework that may be used to examine to what extent SMEs understand the eco-efficiency concept and implement sustainability strategies. This has been achieved through the identification of the following four specific factors: availability of an environmental management system, environmental knowledge, organizational culture, and environmental monitoring and control. The limitations and research gaps in the specific context have been analyzed, and a conceptual framework that allows the eco-efficiency implementation to be assessed has been proposed. An exploratory study has been carried out on 17 wood industry SMEs from Bogotá, Colombia. The results show that most SMEs are unaware of the existing sustainability strategies and environmental practices. Nevertheless, all the SMEs agreed that the environment requires more attention and they are therefore interested in sustainability strategies to help decrease their negative impact and increase their cost-effectiveness and competitiveness.
Display omitted
•A conceptual framework to assess the eco-efficiency level in SMEs is presented.•Environmental management strategies and managerial orientations are considered.•The framework was applied to examine Colombian SMEs in the wood sector.•The results show that efforts to implement sustainability strategies are needed.
In transitioning to a carbon‐neutral chemical industry, the intake of fossil feedstocks will have to be reduced by maximizing end‐of‐life product recycling and introducing alternative feedstocks ...based on renewable carbon. This perspective article analyses the potential of domestically grown and sourced woody biomass for the supply of renewable carbon for chemicals in Europe. The European chemical industry can become a major consumer of woody biomass in a context where burning wood for energy production is viewed as an unsustainable practice.
Understanding biomass interaction is critical for bottom‐up design of novel biocomposites and existing manufacturing processes. In this study, interactions between bioadhesives (lignin, ...carbohydrates, or proteins) and fibers (cellulosic fiber or wood fiber) are elucidated via experimental bonding strength tests and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Experimental results reveal a good, nearly linear correlation between the composite's density and tensile strength, a finding which has rarely been reported previously. Adhesives are compared to one another: soy protein isolate is found to be the best for pinewood fiber, while apple pectin and soy protein isolate are the best for α‐cellulose fiber. It is further shown that the fiber type plays an important role in defining the composite strength. In agreement with experiments, the MD simulations at nanoscale predict a linear strength to density correlation; this is driven by the hydrogen bond (H‐bond) content in the composite. The H‐bond content is also found to determine the varied performances of different adhesives.
In this study, interactions between bioadhesives (lignin, carbohydrates, or proteins) and fibers (cellulosic fiber or wood fiber) are elucidated via experimental bonding strength tests and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Together, they reveal a good, nearly linear correlation between the composite's density and tensile strength. MD simulations also show that the hydrogen bond (H‐bond) is driving the performances of different adhesives.
Australia has significant wood resources in its native forest, but the resource available for harvest becomes lesser due to the conversion of native forest to conservation reserves. The natural ...occurrences of bushfires, droughts, and cyclones are highly destructive, making the situation worse. The shortage of wood resources is having a significant negative impact on Australia because wood is so scarce that they cannot meet domestic demands, especially durable wood. Australia cleared approximately 100 million hectares of its land to establish forest plantations, and two million trees were planted. However, most of these plantations are for pulpwood production; however, their application for high-value products is limited due to their undesirable properties. Wood modification is a process of improving unfavorable wood properties to be utilized for a wide range of applications. Australia has not adopted any of these modification processes; it still depends on the less toxic wood preservative to treat wood. This study focuses on the recent advancement in industrial wood modification worldwide and how it may be used to modify Eucalyptus wood for high-value applications. The opportunities and suggestions for Eucalyptus wood modification in Australia will be discussed. Before the study concludes, the future of commercial wood modification for Eucalyptus plantation in Australia will also be presented.
Innovation and entrepreneurship research related to the forestry sector has progressed significantly in recent years, integrating an increasing number of topics and developing stronger theoretical ...grounding. Specifically, Schumpeterian theory is increasingly used as a framework of reference. This review of the application of Schumpeterian theory to the forestry innovation and entrepreneurship literature reveals a growing number of alternative theoretical interpretations, highlights several potential issues, and provides suggestions on how to address these issues to allow the debate to proceed on more solid theoretical ground. Furthermore, we suggest a Schumpeterian research agenda tailored to the current debates in the context of forestry research to illustrate the usefulness of Schumpeterian theory for the development of the field.
•Forestry research increasingly relies on the Schumpeterian theory of innovation.•Spurious theoretical understanding hinders the field's development.•Application to innovation and entrepreneurship are similarly vitiated.•Correct theoretical understanding could facilitate multidisciplinary discourse.•Integration of the Schumpeterian financial dimension would benefit the field.
This study evaluates the performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for treating wastewater from the laminated plywood industry. To this end, a pilot-scale MBR was operated for 60 days with a ...hydraulic retention time of 20 h and a solid retention time of 20 days. The reactor's performance was assessed based on the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), phenol, turbidity, and apparent color. Furthermore, we monitored the solids content, dissolved oxygen concentration, and pH of the mixed liquor, as well as the progression of the transmembrane pressure (TMP). The wastewater exhibited a COD/biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) ratio of 5.5, suggesting low biodegradability, usually when this ratio is higher than 4.0. Nevertheless, it was observed that the MBR's performance was stable and satisfactory, with average removal efficiencies of 98% for COD, 70% for phenol, 99% for turbidity, and 93% for true color. The evolution of TMP indicated gradual membrane fouling; however, the operational limit of 0.6 bar was not reached during the study period. In conclusion, the utilization of MBR presents a promising approach to mitigate the environmental impacts associated with wastewater from the laminated plywood industry.
The use and consumption of wood has always captured the attention of forest researchers, mainly from the point of view of forest management and the sustainable processing of raw materials. For this ...reason, the wood industry has not only been concerned with the maintenance of forests, but also with efficient processing. The objective was to identify, analyse and discuss the main elements that influence the efficient use of natural timber resources at a global, regional and local level, providing a historical and current perspective of the industrial forestry sector in Mexico. Historically, the wood industries worldwide have been concerned with applying intensive silvicultural treatments in native and artificial forest stands, in search of satisfying the demand of a growing market. In this context, industries evolved as processes needed to be more efficient. Therefore, efforts were made to reduce and take advantage of forest residues, at the same time various historical events generated additional needs. At present, the integration of silviculture and forest transformation allow to increase and improve the quality of the products generated. Through the application of intensive silvicultural treatments, products of a single species are obtained. However, it is possible to direct production to a specific market as the forest mass develops. For its part, selective treatments in uneven-aged forests maintain a constant production of diverse products for different specialized markets. In Mexico, it is imperative to analyse and generate innovative or competitive products derived from wood to improve the efficiency of forest harvesting.
To minimize the environmental burdens and to promote natural resource conservation and sustainability, a composite additive (CA) is proposed using paper and wood industry waste, i.e., lignosulphonate ...(LS) and lime (LM) as a replacement for conventional stabilizers. However, the implication of this proposed stabilizer for real construction scenarios requires a multi-objective optimization for a thorough guideline for practitioners. In this regard, the response surface methodology is used for the mix design optimization of the proposed CA for various construction scenarios (i.e., buildings, roadways, and slopes). An extensive testing program is designed and conducted to obtain different geotechnical parameters related to the mechanical, volumetric change, and hydraulic behavior of the soil with special attention to the stabilization mechanism. The interplay between variables (LS and LM) and responses is examined using the effective 3D surface diagrams, and mathematical models are derived for which the difference between
R
2
, Adj
R
2
, and Pred
R
2
is found to be less than 0.2. In addition, LM is found to be more sensitive in terms of mechanical and hydraulic parameters than LS whereas LS moderately contributes to altering the parameters related to the volumetric change and hydraulic behavior. The optimized mix design of CA (i.e., LS:LM) is determined against the expansive soil stabilization for foundation, subgrade, and slope stability cases which are found to be 1.03:3.57, 0.84:2.90, and 0.9:2.75 as best suitable for these cases, respectively. Predicted responses for the optimal solution for slope stability cases are found to have an error of 0–9.6%. The stabilization mechanism shows that LS and LM work well in conjunction and lead to a more stable soil structure with better interlocking and cementation between soil particles along with the formation of new cementing materials, i.e., calcium aluminate hydrate (CAH) and calcium silicate gel (CSH). The LS in CA is observed to reduce the LM concentration in soil stabilization by up to 45% with improved geotechnical performance. Thus, the proposed CA is vital for natural resource conservation and paper and wood industry–related waste management.
Graphical Abstract
Followings are the results. (1) The forestry and wood industry in Totsukawa village have developed through the production and sale of logs centered on the three parties : local government, forestry ...association and lumber cooperative association. (2) Private companies have conducted business on the basis of the infrastructure development by the three parties. (3) Totsukawa village has made a spontaneous effort and created an input-output relationship centered on forestry and wood industry. (4) "Sixth Industrialization of Forestry" in Totsukawa village was realized because the three parties have inherited assets and played an intermediate role in developing forestry and wood industry.
Innovation in the forest sector is a growing research interest and within this field, there is a growing attention for institutional, policy and societal dimensions and particular when it comes to ...the question of how to support innovativeness in the sector. This Special Issue therefore focuses on governance aspects, relating to and bridging business and political-institutional-societal levels. This includes social/societal factors, goals and implications that have recently been studied under the label of social innovation. Furthermore, the emergence of bioeconomy as a paradigm and policy goal has become a driver for a variety of innovation processes on company and institutional levels. Our article provides a tentative definition of “innovation governance” and attempts a state-of-art review of innovation governance research in the forest sector. For structuring the research field, we propose to distinguish between organizational/managerial, policy or innovation studies. For the forestry sector, specifically, we suggest to distinguish between studies focusing on (i) innovative governance of forest management and forest goods and services; on (ii) the governance of innovation processes as such, or (iii) on specific (transformational) approaches that may be derived from combined goals such as innovation governance for sustainability, regional development, or a bioeconomy. Studies in the forest sector are picking up new trends from innovation research that increasingly include the role of societal changes and various stakeholders such as civil society organizations and users. They also include public-private partnership models or participatory governance. We finally should not only look in how far research approaches from outside are applied in the sector but we believe that the sector could contribute much more to our general scientific knowledge on ways for a societal transformation to sustainability.
•We sketch the state-of-knowledge in innovation governance in the forest sector.•We provide a definition and possible categorizations of innovation governance.•We discuss recent research avenues, including social innovation and bioeconomy.•We assess how this Special Issue contributes to our scientific knowledge.•We discuss state of art, research gaps and possible future research directions.
PDF
