title: From willingness to engage to willingness to pay: A behavioral  experiment on green consumer information in a digital product passport

authors: Dorner, Zack

subjects: circular economy

abstract: Information represents the “third wave” of environmental policy. Existing evidence shows consumers increase their willingness to pay (WTP) for environmentally friendly products with clear labelling. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding whether consumers have a willingness to engage (WTE) with detailed information, for example, through a Digital Product Passport (DPP). This technological innovation is part of the European Union’s new circular economy action plan. In our theoretical model, a green consumer decides whether to invest in information on how to mitigate their environmental damage, but at a cognitive cost. We test the model in a lab experiment selling an environmentally friendly toothbrush, but information about its environmental credentials is only available through a DPP. We find education on the DPP’s purpose is key to increasing revealed WTE when a DPP is available. Participants with a high stated WTE engage with the DPP regardless; the increase in revealed WTE comes from those with a lower stated WTE. Engagement with the DPP, in the case that it contains positive environmental information, increases WTP. The policy implications of our results are that education about the purpose of the DPP is required in order to increase the likelihood of actual consumer engagement with it, as long as it is user friendly. However, engagement with a DPP may not lead to further shifts in environmental orientation and behavior. Our study also demonstrates novel measures of WTE, and how these can be used to understand pro-environmental consumer behavior in a theoretically informed manner.

text: From willingness to engage to willingness to pay: A behavioral  experiment on green consumer information in a digital product passport Information represents the “third wave” of environmental policy. Existing evidence shows consumers increase their willingness to pay (WTP) for environmentally friendly products with clear labelling. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding whether consumers have a willingness to engage (WTE) with detailed information, for example, through a Digital Product Passport (DPP). This technological innovation is part of the European Union’s new circular economy action plan. In our theoretical model, a green consumer decides whether to invest in information on how to mitigate their environmental damage, but at a cognitive cost. We test the model in a lab experiment selling an environmentally friendly toothbrush, but information about its environmental credentials is only available through a DPP. We find education on the DPP’s purpose is key to increasing revealed WTE when a DPP is available. Participants with a high stated WTE engage with the DPP regardless; the increase in revealed WTE comes from those with a lower stated WTE. Engagement with the DPP, in the case that it contains positive environmental information, increases WTP. The policy implications of our results are that education about the purpose of the DPP is required in order to increase the likelihood of actual consumer engagement with it, as long as it is user friendly. However, engagement with a DPP may not lead to further shifts in environmental orientation and behavior. Our study also demonstrates novel measures of WTE, and how these can be used to understand pro-environmental consumer behavior in a theoretically informed manner.

year: 2025

title: Total site methodology as a tool for planning and strategic decisions

authors: Nemet, Andreja

subjects: Electricity production

abstract: A Total Site (TS) is defined as a set of processes (industrial plants, residential, business and agriculture units) linked through the central utility system. The utility system incorporates a number of operating units such as boilers, steam turbines, gas turbines and letdown stations. Many sites are using the TS system representation. Heat Integration at TS level has been well developed and successfully implemented. However, sites typically develop with time and even minor changes/extensions can affect TS heat recovery significantly. It is beneficial to plan their strategic development in advance, to increase or at least not to decrease the rate of heat recovery when integration of additional processes takes place. Even when this has not been done at the initial stage, the TS methodology can still be used as a tool for the strategic planning decision making. This work illustrates how the TS methodology can contribute to the strategic development and the extension planning of already existing TS. The aim is to reveal the potentials for Heat Integration, when new units or processes are considered for the inclusion in the TS. Moreover, some operating parameters (e.g. temperature or capacity) of the unit can be proposed to achieve the best possible heat recovery. The degrees of freedom for TS changes can be on two levels: (i) only adding an operating unit to the current utility system (the Total Site Profiles remain the same) or (ii) changing of the TS by including more processes (the Total Site Profiles are changed). The first group of changes includes the integration of heat engines to produce electricity utilising heat at higher temperature and returning it to the system at lower temperature, which is still acceptable for the heat recovery and simultaneously for the electricity production. The second group of changes is more complex. For evaluating these changes a plus/minus principle is developed allowing the most beneficial integration of new units to the TS. Combinations of both types of changes are also considered.

text: Total site methodology as a tool for planning and strategic decisions A Total Site (TS) is defined as a set of processes (industrial plants, residential, business and agriculture units) linked through the central utility system. The utility system incorporates a number of operating units such as boilers, steam turbines, gas turbines and letdown stations. Many sites are using the TS system representation. Heat Integration at TS level has been well developed and successfully implemented. However, sites typically develop with time and even minor changes/extensions can affect TS heat recovery significantly. It is beneficial to plan their strategic development in advance, to increase or at least not to decrease the rate of heat recovery when integration of additional processes takes place. Even when this has not been done at the initial stage, the TS methodology can still be used as a tool for the strategic planning decision making. This work illustrates how the TS methodology can contribute to the strategic development and the extension planning of already existing TS. The aim is to reveal the potentials for Heat Integration, when new units or processes are considered for the inclusion in the TS. Moreover, some operating parameters (e.g. temperature or capacity) of the unit can be proposed to achieve the best possible heat recovery. The degrees of freedom for TS changes can be on two levels: (i) only adding an operating unit to the current utility system (the Total Site Profiles remain the same) or (ii) changing of the TS by including more processes (the Total Site Profiles are changed). The first group of changes includes the integration of heat engines to produce electricity utilising heat at higher temperature and returning it to the system at lower temperature, which is still acceptable for the heat recovery and simultaneously for the electricity production. The second group of changes is more complex. For evaluating these changes a plus/minus principle is developed allowing the most beneficial integration of new units to the TS. Combinations of both types of changes are also considered.

year: 2012

title: A Māori homeless woman

authors: Groot, Shiloh Ann Maree

subjects: Māori

abstract: Indigenous peoples are overrepresented in homeless populations in many countries. As part of a larger ethnographic project, this case study draws upon interviews and photoelicitation projects with a homeless Māori woman, Ariā. The actions of this Māori woman exemplify how Indigenous cultural practices can shape a person’s efforts to retain a positive sense of self and place while homeless. Māori cultural concepts relating to caring, leadership, unity, relationships, spirituality, history and place provide a basis for interpreting Ariā’s actions. This article demonstrates the appropriateness of cultural concepts indigenous to a group for conducting ethnographic research into homelessness within that group.

text: A Māori homeless woman Indigenous peoples are overrepresented in homeless populations in many countries. As part of a larger ethnographic project, this case study draws upon interviews and photoelicitation projects with a homeless Māori woman, Ariā. The actions of this Māori woman exemplify how Indigenous cultural practices can shape a person’s efforts to retain a positive sense of self and place while homeless. Māori cultural concepts relating to caring, leadership, unity, relationships, spirituality, history and place provide a basis for interpreting Ariā’s actions. This article demonstrates the appropriateness of cultural concepts indigenous to a group for conducting ethnographic research into homelessness within that group.

year: 2011-09