This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study conducted to analyse the growing use of Environmental Declarations as environmental communication tools, together with the factors that have led to this situation in Europe. To do so, and focusing on the EPD programme called the International EPD System, an exhaustive analysis was performed of the evolution of Product Category Rules (PCR) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). The next step was to draw up a survey to be administered to companies that currently have EPD in that programme in order to identify the factors that led to its being chosen as an environmental communication tool, the communication channels through which they came to know about the programme, the target public of EPD, whether or not they intend to renew it and the reasons for not doing so if that is the case, and so on. Despite a progressive growth in the use of EPD, according to the companies, the main weakness of these programmes is the fact that final consumers do not know about EPD. Implementing actions geared towards raising awareness about them may therefore play a key role in maintaining and continuing to increase the success of EPD programmes.

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Mobile phones have caused diverging opinions regarding the change in communication patterns and the isolation among young people. However, in the case of the elderly, there are positive effects related to their use, their social activity, and their environmental awareness. This study connects these three variables beginning with the mobile telephone use by the elderly. A sample of 399 self-reliant elderly people was interviewed in Chile, where 159 had mobile phones. They answered the Usefulness, Satisfaction and Ease of Use Questionnaire (USE) and a series of questions about the environment and social life developed from previous studies. The results were analyzed using a multiple correspondence and correlation analysis. A high correlation between the three variables was found. Hence, a higher usability of mobile phones was associated with higher social activity and a higher environmental concern. These results showed that a design approach for the elderly could increase satisfaction regarding the use of a product and, as a result, improve communication with their social setting. From an environmental point of view, an indirect relationship was seen between the selection, use, and expectations of the end of life of the products.

Abstract:The aim of this work was to analyse consumers' attitudes to economic, environmental, and social information on shoe labels, in particular on sustainable consumption, and also to examine the importance of the source of the information. Three steps were followed to develop an appropriate method of extracting, analysing, and interpreting the information contained in the questionnaire used in the survey: an Exploratory Factorial Analysis (EFA) to evaluate the reliability and dimensionality of the questionnaire; a Cluster Analysis (CA) and an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test the ability of the questionnaire to identify different customer categories and the main purchase characteristics included in the questionnaire to characterize each homogeneous group; and a tree classification method using the Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) to characterize the hypothetical scenario of the purchase selection. The results show that consumers, especially those aged between 21 and 30, are concerned about elements related to economic, environmental, and social dimensions on shoe labels. The most important variable in the purchase process was the presence of Environmental Management Systems (e.g., ISO 14001, EMAS). These results could help to optimize the information on shoe labels and would add value by including variables other than environment and price.

Industrial symbiosis (IS) improves resource efficiency and creates sustainable opportunities by encouraging synergies between industries. However, managers still have difficulties in promoting IS, given the lack of appropriate managerial tools to efficiently obtain an overview of IS potential. In this paper, a procedure merging the Quick Wins Workshop format with clustering techniques is proposed, in order to both identify IS opportunities and support IS creation in the industrial cluster of Valenciaport. A total of 18 stakeholders took part in the study. As a result, 79 different resources classified into eight categories—materials (16), goods (14), space (11), expertise (11), energy (9), services (8), hydrocarbons (7), and water (3)—were derived and a total of 78 possible matchings were found. The creation of IS was supported by the clustering methods, which allow for the definition of common symbiotic features among stakeholders, classifying them into groups with similar IS potential. Three IS profiles were identified (high, medium, and low IS potential) and two strategic projects were devised, accordingly. It can be concluded that the proposed procedure provides useful managerial tools to identify resource flows, uncover patterns of exchange, identify possible matchings, and devise projects in communities interested in fostering IS from scratch.