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AbstractConcepts such as sustainability and sustainable development applied to companies have recently come under the spotlight pushed by stakeholders that are increasingly aware of the negative externalities such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and overexploitation. Several methodologies and tools have been developed encompassing standard, reporting tool, environmental, social, and governance rating tools and frameworks which are often not standardized and increase the uncertainties related to the selection of the most suitable tool or methodology to implement sustainable practices. The purpose of this paper is to design a logical tool, identified as a sustainability decision‐making framework (SDMF), that can guide companies in the process of identifying a personalized, and strategic path toward sustainable development. Specifically, SDMF supports companies in (i) the assessment of material issues and key externalities through bilateral interaction with the key stakeholders, (ii) the adoption and implementation of sustainability through a proactive approach and (iii) reporting their non‐financial externalities. Furthermore, an iterative morphological matrix was developed with the support of 20 sustainability experts and integrated within the SDMF to support the identification of the most suitable methodologies which can be used by companies to mitigate the relevant sustainability issues.

The consequences of the extractive and disconnected relationship with nature that has dominated past and current sustainability approaches are now being witnessed. A harmonious relationship with nature needs to be reestablished to guide how we can live, act and respond to the global climate emergency. Regenerative development has emerged as a process which enables the reconnection between human and natural systems to create the necessary conditions for a healthy and thriving future. While several frameworks and tools have been developed to support the implementation of regenerative development practices, few deal specifically with decision-making and its associated challenges and opportunities. Responding to this, the purpose of this paper is to present the development of a novel decision-making framework for regenerative precinct development. It is an evidence-based framework established from the key findings of a qualitative case study investigation into the decision-making approaches of regenerative precinct developments. It is a visual guiding framework that poses challenging questions to enable decision-makers to structure and align their thinking, decisions and actions with the fundamental principles of regenerative development. This paper discusses the framework's development, its key features and theoretical basis, and its potential to influence decision-making practices towards regenerative development.

TO PROVIDE A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF POLICY-MAKING BEHAVIOR, A MORE SYSTEMATIC DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK IS OFFERED, WHICH SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BETTER MODEL - AND THEORY-BUILDING.

The bureaucratic politics model has achieved great popularity in the study of decision making. Yet too often the term "bureaucratic politics" is used by scholars and practitioners without clearly stating its policy application. The decision-making behavior that occurred during the Johnson and Nixon administrations for SALT I serves to illustrate many of the limits of the model. First, the decision-making structure posited by the bureaucratic politics model is not nearly as prevalent within the executive branch as is commonly assumed. Second, even where the bureaucratic politics structure is present, the decision-making process is not always one of bargaining, compromise, and consensus. Finally, the decision context and the decision participants are ignored in the model. To provide a clearer understanding of policy-making behavior, a more systematic decision-making framework is offered, which should contribute to the development of better model- and theory-building.

Design frequently involves a series of trade-offs to obtain the "optimal" solution to a design problem. Green roofs have many different characteristics based on a variety of variables. Designers typically weigh the impacts of these characteristics in an implicit process based on intuition or past experience. But since vegetated roofing is a relatively complex and comparatively new technology to many practitioners, a rational, explicit method to help organize and rank the trade-offs made during the design process is useful. This research comprises the creation of a framework diagramming the decision process involved in the selection of vegetated roofing systems. Through a series of expert interviews and case studies, the available knowledge is captured and organized to determine the critical parameters affecting design decisions. A set of six case study projects in North America is analyzed and six critically important evaluative categories are identified: storm water management, energy consumption, acoustics, structure, compliance with regulatory guidelines and governmental incentives, and cost. These six factors are key decision-making parameters in the selection of vegetated roofing systems and they form the basis of this study. They are addressed in the context of a decision support system for green roof designers. A summation of the total importance of the advantages represented by each alternative is used to determine the most feasible green roof system for a particular project. The decision-making framework developed in this dissertation will ultimately be adaptable to digital processing and a computer-based design assistance tool. ; Ph. D.

Australia has been grappling with recurring bushfires for over a century, significantly affecting the landscape and communities. Despite this, there has been an increase in residents moving into high-risk bushfire areas. This study aimed to develop a framework that could guide householder decision-making regarding self-evacuation during bushfires by identifying the incentives that encourage early evacuation. The study used a qualitative approach and 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents in the southeast part of New South Wales; a region hardest hit during the 2019–20 summer bushfire season. Thirteen potential incentives that motivate self-evacuation were identified. The framework provides valuable insights into how incentives could influence residents' decision-making during bushfires. In addition, it serves as a useful reference for policymakers, fire services and emergency management organisations when creating effective ways to encourage early self-evacuation and, ultimately, reduce injury and fatality.

A 'multiple perspective' framework for the grouping of nanomaterials Robert Landsiedel k, Josje H.E. Arts a, Mackenzie Hadi b, Athena M. Keene c, Reinhard Kreiling d, Delina Lyon e, Monika Maier f, Karin Michel g, Thomas Petry h, Ursula G. Sauer i, David Warheit j, Karin Wiench k a AkzoNobel, Technology and Engineering, Arnhem, Netherlands b Shell Health, Shell International B.V., The Hague, Netherlands c Afton Chemical, Richmond, VA, USA d Clariant Produkte GmbH, Sulzbach, Germany e Shell Health, Shell Oil Company, Houston, TX, USA f Evonik Degussa GmbH, Hanau, Germany g Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Düsseldorf, Germany h Toxminds BVBA, Brussels, Belgium i Scientific Consultancy – Animal Welfare, Neubiberg, Germany j DuPont Haskell Global Centers For HES, Newark, DE, USA k BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany The grouping of substances serves to streamline testing for regulatory purposes. Currently, specific regulatory frameworks for the grouping of nanomaterials are unavailable. Notwithstanding, this topic is addressed in different publications, and preliminary guidance is provided in the context of substance-related legislation or the occupational setting. A review of available concepts conducted by the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals Task Force on the Grouping of Nanomaterials (ECETOC Nano TF) came to the conclusion that all approaches for the grouping of nanomaterials for human health risk assessment go beyond the determination of structure-activity relationships. They are founded on different aspects of a nanomaterial's life cycle, including its material properties and biophysical interactions, specific types of use and exposure, uptake and kinetics, and potential early and apical biological effects. None of the available grouping concepts takes into account all aspects of the nanomaterial's life cycle. To promote application of nanomaterial grouping in practice, the ECETOC Nano TF is putting forward a comprehensive 'multiple perspective' framework for the grouping of nanomaterials. ...

A 'multiple perspective' framework for the grouping of nanomaterials Robert Landsiedel presenting the results of the ECETOC Nano Task Force (Josje H.E. Arts a, Mackenzie Hadi b, Athena M. Keene c, Reinhard Kreiling d, Delina Lyon e, Monika Maier f, Karin Michel g, Thomas Petry h, Ursula G. Sauer i, David Warheit j, Karin Wiench k, Robert Landsiedel k) a AkzoNobel, Technology and Engineering, Arnhem, Netherlands b Shell Health, Shell International B.V., The Hague, Netherlands c Afton Chemical, Richmond, VA, USA d Clariant Produkte GmbH, Sulzbach, Germany e Shell Health, Shell Oil Company, Houston, TX, USA f Evonik Degussa GmbH, Hanau, Germany g Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Düsseldorf, Germany h Toxminds BVBA, Brussels, Belgium i Scientific Consultancy – Animal Welfare, Neubiberg, Germany j DuPont Haskell Global Centers For HES, Newark, DE, USA k BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany The grouping of substances serves to streamline testing for regulatory purposes. Currently, specific regulatory frameworks for the grouping of nanomaterials are unavailable. Notwithstanding, this topic is addressed in different publications, and preliminary guidance is provided in the context of substance-related legislation or the occupational setting. A review of available concepts conducted by the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals Task Force on the Grouping of Nanomaterials (ECETOC Nano TF) came to the conclusion that all approaches for the grouping of nanomaterials for human health risk assessment go beyond the determination of structure-activity relationships. They are founded on different aspects of a nanomaterial's life cycle, including its material properties and biophysical interactions, specific types of use and exposure, uptake and kinetics, and potential early and apical biological effects. None of the available grouping concepts takes into account all aspects of the nanomaterial's life cycle. To promote application of nanomaterial grouping in practice, the ECETOC Nano TF is putting forward a ...

AbstractIndia has a large number of schools to ensure good accessibility for students even in sparsely populated regions. However, in publicly funded education systems, governments need to address the trade‐off between accessibility and resources for desired amenities in many schools. Over the last few years, several state governments in India have consolidated schools. School consolidation is the process of closing some existing schools and reinstating their operations in other functioning, appropriately located schools, without opening any new schools. Within a state or even within a district, different regions have specific requirements based on enrolment and the spatial distribution of schools. Hence, the one‐size‐fits‐all approach of a single optimization model to consolidate schools may not provide acceptable solutions for all. The current study proposes and analyses several approaches to school consolidation decision‐making that consider the stakeholders' needs. The aim is to provide tractable models based on median and coverage principles to help formulate sustainable school consolidation policies. Further improvements in the policies adopted by different states can be achieved using these models. The results of the case study indicate that utilization remains unaffected with the addition of accessibility requirements, and transfer outside the administrative boundaries yields better results in terms of additional travel distance and number of schools closed. The models can also be applied in several other service facility merger contexts with minor alterations.