Our current dependency on the oil and gas (O&G) industry for economic development and social activities necessitates research into the sustainability of the industry's supply chains. At present, studies on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices in the industry do not include firm-internal factors that affect the sustainability strategies employed by different functional areas of its supply chains. Our study aims to address this gap by identifying the relevant internal factors and exploring their relationship with SSCM strategies. Specifically, we discuss the commitment to and preparedness for sustainable practices of companies that operate in upstream and downstream O&G supply chain. We study the impact of these factors on their sustainability strategies of four key supply chain functions: supplier management, production management, product stewardship and logistics management. The analyses of data collected through a survey among 81 companies show that management preparedness may enhance sustainable supply chain strategies in the O&G industry more than commitment does. Among the preparedness measures, management of supply chain operational risks is found to be vital to the sustainability of all supply chain functions except for production management practices. The findings also highlight the central importance of supplier and logistics management to the achievement of sustainable O&G supply chains. Companies must also develop an organizational culture that encourages, for example, team collaboration and proactive behaviour to finding innovative sustainability solutions in order to translate commitment to sustainable practices into actions that can produce actual difference to their SSCM practices.
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This paper empirically explores the relationship between the external factors within the oil and gas (O&G) industry business environment and supply chain sustainability goals to understand the factors that could drive or hinder its adoption of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. It examines the relationships between six external factors (political stability, economic stability, stakeholder pressure, competition, energy transition and regulations) and sustainability goals through multiple regression analysis, using survey data from companies that operate in the O&G industry. Data analyses reveal that there are two types of sustainability goals namely strategic goals (SGO), which are conditional for long term survival, and functional goals (FGO), which are closely related to the companies' operational processes. The analyses also show that stakeholder pressure and economic stability are the most influential factors that could affect the goals. While competition within the O&G industry has a positive effect on the FGO, competition from the broader energy industry results in a negative effect on the SGO. The influence of energy transition relates to a higher focus on SGO. The results are useful in designing SSCM strategy that could help the O&G industry address the pressure from the external factors for more sustainable supply chain practices to achieve its sustainability goals.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the sustainability reporting practices of oil and gas (O&G) companies and the integration of sustainability in the management of their supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of sustainability report of 30 companies was conducted based on the Pacific Sustainability Index that contains 21 topics on social and environmental reporting. An analysis was also conducted on supply chain management (SCM) topics related to supplier management, product stewardship and logistics management. Findings – There is inconsistency in the sustainability reporting practices among the O&G companies studied. While 63 percent of the companies expressed higher environmental intent compared to social intent, their reporting of environmental performance is lagging behind social performance reporting. There is also a lack of supply chain indicators in the sustainability reporting guidelines. This affects the companies ability to report their supply chain practices objectively. Practical implications – The findings of this study can be used as a guideline to improve the sustainability reporting practices and to identify relevant supply chain indicators that can be incorporated in a sustainability reporting index. Originality/value – There is a lack of research on sustainability reporting practices in the O&G industry context, especially in terms of SCM. Previous studies focussed on companies in specific countries and/or do not incorporate all sustainability dimensions, namely, economic, environmental and social factor. We think that this is the first comprehensive study on the sustainability reporting practices and the integration of sustainability in SCM in the O&G industry.
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The Cashing Cashew project focuses on isolation and purification of Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) from Cashew Nut Shells (CNS) in order to fully utilize this valuable by-product of the cashew nut production. Global cashew nut production is about 4 million mt/ tons/yr. Of the cashew nut, about 70 % is shell that is removed in processing and currently typically burned as a dirty and inefficient fuel or discarded as waste. This is not only creating an environmental issue but also wasting valuable by-products. The shell contains circa 20-30 % brown viscous liquid, Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL). This natural resin contains valuable chemical components, for example, cardanol, cardol, and anacardic acid. CNSL and its derivatives have several industrial uses as for example biobased additives, polymeric building blocks, and biodiesel. Part of the CNSL can be extracted during the roasting process prior to separating the shell and nut kernel. The shell waste still has a high CNSL concentration that can be isolated by solvents or pressing (expeller). Expeller process is simple and not capital-intensive; therefore it is commonly used. The main disadvantages of the method are the high energy consumption and that 3-5 % oil remains in the press-cake producing harmful gases in burning. Also, the resulting cake is too dense to be further processed to charcoal or other useful application. The objective of this project is to study the purification of the CNSL obtained from pyrolytic isolation to find the most efficient way of making use of the CNSL oil and the total Cashew Nut Shell biomass. An initial evaluation of potential applications is also performed.
Wat is de mogelijke rol van lokale duurzame energiesystemen en –initiatieven in de overgang naar een duurzame samenleving? En hoe kunnen op lokale toepassing gerichte innovaties worden ontwikkeld en toegepast op een zodanige manier dat deze bij lokale systemen en initiatieven aansluiten?Deze vragen staan centraal in dit onderzoeksproject dat zich richt op innovaties die rekening houden met een grotere rol van burgers bij een duurzame energievoorziening. Het project behelst echter meer dan het verrichten van onderzoek. Het beoogt bouwstenen te leveren voor een duurzame samenleving waarin meer ruimte is voor lokale (burger)initiatieven. We stellen drie deelprojecten voor:1. een vergelijkende studie naar energiecoöperaties en vergelijkbare innovatieve initiatieven, binnen en buiten Nederland, in heden en verleden. Daarbij hopen we lering te kunnen trekken uit de succesvolle ervaringen in Denemarken en Oostenrijk en van innovaties door coöperatiesen collectieven in het verleden.2. een analyse van energie-innovaties die beogen aan te sluiten bij lokale energiesystemen. Concreet zal het onderzoek zich richten op speciale batterijen, ontwikkeld dor het bedrijf Dr.Ten, en een soort slimme grote zoneboiler, ontwikkeld door het gelijknamige bedrijf Ecovat.3. De ontwikkeling van drie scenario’s, gebaseerd op inzichten uit studies 1 en 2. De scenario’s zullen bijvoorbeeld inhoudelijk verschillen in de mate waarin deze geïntegreerd zijn in bestaande energiesystemen. Deze zullen worden ontwikkeld en besproken met relevante stakeholders.Het onderzoek moet leiden tot een nauwkeurig overzicht van de mate van interesse en betrokkenheid van stakeholders en van de beperkingen en mogelijkheden van lokale energiesystemen en daarbij betrokken technologie. Ook leidt het tot een routemap voor duurzame energiesystemen op lokaal niveau. Het project heeft een technisch aspect, onderzoek naar verfijning en ontwikkeling van de technologie en een sociaal en normatief aspect, studies naar aansluitingsmogelijkheden bij de wensen en mogelijkheden van burgers, instanties en bedrijven in Noord-Nederland. Bovenal is het integratief en ontwerpend van karakter.This research proposal will explore new socio- technical configurations of local community-based sustainable energy systems. Energy collectives successfully combine technological and societal innovations, developing new business and organization models. A better understanding of their dynamics and needs will contribute to their continued success and thereby contribute to fulfilling the Top Sector’s Agenda. This work will also enhance the knowledge position of the Netherlands on this topic. Currently, over 500 local energy collectives are active in The Netherlands, many of them aim to produce their own sustainable energy, with thousands more in Europe. These collectives search for a new more local-based ways of organizing a sustainable society, including more direct democratic decision-making and influence on local living environment. The development of the collectives is enabled by openings in policy but –evenly important - by innovations in local energy production technologies (solar panels, windmills, biogas installations). Their future role in the sustainable energy transition can be strengthened by careful aligning new organizational and technological innovations in local energy production, storage and smart micro-grids.
Paper sludge contains papermaking mineral additives and fibers, which could be reused or recycled, thus enhancing the circularity. One of the promising technologies is the fast pyrolysis of paper sludge, which is capable of recovering > 99 wt.% of the fine minerals in the paper sludge and also affording a bio-liquid. The fine minerals (e.g., ‘circular’ CaCO3) can be reused as filler in consumer products thereby reducing the required primary resources. However, the bio-liquid has a lower quality compared to fossil fuels, and only a limited application, e.g., for heat generation, has been applied. This could be significantly improved by catalytic upgrading of the fast pyrolysis vapor, known as an ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis approach. We have recently found that a high-quality bio-oil (mainly ‘bio-based’ paraffins and low-molecular-weight aromatics, carbon yield of 21%, and HHV of 41.1 MJ kg-1) was produced (Chem. Eng. J., 420 (2021), 129714). Nevertheless, catalyst deactivation occurred after a few hours’ of reaction. As such, catalyst stability and regenerability are of research interest and also of high relevance for industrial implementation. This project aims to study the potential of the add-on catalytic upgrading step to the industrial fast pyrolysis of paper sludge process. One important performance metric for sustainable catalysis in the industry is the level of catalyst consumption (kgcat tprod-1) for catalytic pyrolysis of paper sludge. Another important research topic is to establish the correlation between yield and selectivity of the bio-chemicals and the catalyst characteristics. For this, different types of catalysts (e.g., FCC-type E-Cat) will be tested and several reaction-regeneration cycles will be performed. These studies will determine under which conditions catalytic fast pyrolysis of paper sludge is technically and economically viable.
