Initial design process of the sustainability science ontology for knowledge-sharing to support co-deliberation

Implementation of the sustainability science (SS) approach is often difficult because of poor communication between experts from different academic fields. We focused on ontology engineering as a method of knowledge structuring that supports the co-deliberation process. However, SS is too broad for a few experts to construct an ontology because SS targets and covers almost all existing research fields from the viewpoint of problem-solving. The N-iteration process is required for completing an SS ontology. In the present paper, we discuss the initial design process for constructing an ontology on SS from the aspect of a knowledge-sharing tool to support co-deliberation. First, we identified the SS ontology by referring to the existing literature. Second, we traced the structuring process of the SS ontology, which is independent of the existing research domain. Third, we compared the SS ontology with existing ontologies or concept structures on SS. Fourth, we assessed the SS ontology produced in the initial process in terms of relevance and coverage and addressed areas for improvement in order to facilitate co-deliberation among researchers from different domains. As a result of developing the SS ontology and applying it to the mapping tool that we developed based on the ontology, we found the following three points: the SS ontology enables us to define concepts relevant to SS without overlapping by distinguishing part-of and attribute-of relationships at the upper level of the ontology; the SS-based mapping tool successfully represents the potential countermeasures required by the targeted problem for all scientific fields except experimental engineering; however, the SS ontology requires further improvement in order to represent the conceptual linkage arising from compound and secondary problems and the fulfillment of classes at the lower hierarchy of Shortage problem, and requires slots for the entire hierarchy. In addition, based on the discussion of the areas for improvement, we found that missing slots and classes should be added in the process in which we use or improve tools corresponding to a variety of requirements for supporting co-deliberation. In this way, we are able to propose an incremental process for constructing the SS ontology from the aspect of a knowledge-sharing tool to support co-deliberation.     

Comparative analysis of socio-economic and environmental performances for Chinese EIPs: case studies in Baotou, Suzhou, and Shanghai

To decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, the Chinese government proposed the circular economy (CE) strategy as part of its 11th 5-Year Plan. This strategy expands the application of CE from individual enterprises to eco-industrial parks (EIPs) and to the cities, provinces, and regions. We carried out field studies in three EIPs in Baotou, Suzhou, and Shanghai. In this paper, we discuss the current state of CE and the sustainable development of EIPs in China. We first provide detailed information on the three EIPs' infrastructures, preferential policies, CE frameworks, and eco-chains. We then examine the status of sustainable development in the three EIPs from the perspectives of socio-economic, resource and material efficiency, and environmental performance. The results indicate that the overall performance of the three EIPs is reasonably good with respect to socio-economics, resources and materials, and efficiency and environmental protection, whereas green management is rather weak and thus requires further improvement. We found that the CE frameworks along with eco-chains within the EIPs are effectively improving resource and material efficiency. Moreover, we demonstrate that there are positive associations among socio-economic, resource and material, and environmental indicators. Given the large presence of EIPs in the local economies, these results suggest that EIPs play a key role in promoting sustainable development in China.     

Energy intensity trends and scenarios for China��s industrial sectors: a regional case study

Due to its rapid industrialization and urbanization, China faces the daunting challenge of sharply growing energy and resource consumption. It is now indispensable for the nation to alter its course of development into more sustainable paths in terms of energy and resource efficiency. In this paper, we discuss the energy intensity of the industrial sectors of the Yangtze River Delta, consisting of Shanghai City and the neighboring province of Jiangsu—the fastest economically developing region of the country—and argue possible strategies for energy efficient industrial activities there. We first examine the historical trends of energy intensity associated with industrial sectors and study the factors affecting the evolution of these trends by applying decomposition analysis. We then argue that if “business as usual” (BAU) development patterns are continued, energy intensity level in both regions may surpass China’s policy targets in 2010, and GDP growth as well as energy consumption will exceed possible pathways under current policy targets by 2020. Thus, appropriate measures are urgently needed to lower energy intensity and consumption. Based upon these analyses as well as the Chinese government’s policy orientation, we propose two options as alternative scenarios for improving practices in energy-intensive industries, particularly targeting the cement and steel production sectors. These options are: (1) diffusion of highly energy efficient technologies into these industries, and (2) promotion of a circular economy and industrial symbiosis. We highlight that these options can potentially lead to energy savings and reductions in resource consumption associated with industrial activities and can serve as a regional model for more sustainable industrial activities in China.     

Developing joint educational programs in sustainability science across different universities: a case study from Japan

The challenge for sustainability educational programs lies in how to imbue students with the strong motivation necessary to move the world in a more sustainable direction. Five universities in Japan have mutually collaborated in the design and development of a unique curriculum and education system for sustainability science since 2008. Specifically, they have developed a common and remote lecture system called the “Frontier of sustainability science” (FSS). This paper discusses the concepts and challenges of FSS and how it was organized to teach students to actively learn how to work with people of various disciplines to realize interdisciplinarity.     

Sustainability assessment with time-series scores: a case study of Chinese provinces

Asian nations are currently facing a number of challenges, including environmental degradation and growing societal inequalities, in the course of their rapid economic growth and industrialization. Under such conditions, it is of critical importance to develop appropriate assessment tools with which to comprehensively measure the sustainability status of a region in order to guide its transformation into a sustainable society. This paper proposes a method of sustainability assessment consisting of the three components of environment, resource, and socio-economic with aggregated time-series scores. This method can demonstrate the relative sustainability scores of targeted regions for different time periods, thereby, enabling the comparison of relative sustainability status for different regions over these periods. We carried out a case study of Chinese provinces for the years 2000 and 2005 using the proposed method and confirmed its applicability as the indicative type of sustainability assessment at the regional level, while actually investigating the sustainability status and its chronological changes. The results indicated that aggregate sustainability index scores improved between 2000 and 2005 in most provinces, mainly due to significant improvement in the scores for the socio-economic component, whereas the scores for the environment component deteriorated in some provinces over the study period. Our method proves to be effective in analyzing the relative sustainability status among targeted regions for different time periods in the form of aggregate scores, paving the way for practical applications, such as policy analysis, in the pursuit of a sustainable society.     

Educational initiative of Osaka University in sustainability science: mobilizing science and technology towards sustainability

One of the most important and yet difficult challenges that modern societies face is how to mobilize science and technology (S&T) to minimize the impact of human activities on the Earth’s life support systems. As the establishment of inter-disciplinary education programs is necessary to design a unified vision towards understanding the complexity of human nature, the Research Institute for Sustainability Science (RISS) launched a new program on sustainability science in April 2008. The program expects to address the issue of how to use knowledge more effectively to understand the dynamic interactions between nature and human society. This paper first offers an overview of international and Japanese initiatives on sustainability education in which we highlight the uniqueness of the attempt by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S). The paper then introduces the RISS program for sustainability science, addressing the principles and curriculum design of the program. The paper discusses the main problems and constraints faced when developing the program, such as institutional barriers in building a curriculum and obtaining cooperation from faculty. To challenge these barriers and limitations, the RISS uses the program as a platform to disseminate the idea of sustainability science across the university. This attempt helps us to obtain the continuing cooperation necessary to improve and maintain the program.

Participatory approach in vision setting: emerging initiatives in local municipalities in Japan

In this paper, we present the emerging practices in Japanese local municipalities, in which participatory methods are applied to envision sustainable future and relevant target settings. We selected three local cases: Higashiomi city, Kizugawa city and Nagakute city as emerging initiatives. A comparative analysis was carried out to identify commonalities and differences, and to derive lessons for appropriate governance and systems for participatory deliberation in future visioning. We argue that the deliberation processes served as a platform for effective communication, and that installing a mechanism that allows reflexive deliberation processes is the key to make participatory methods fully functional.