Dr Effie Papargyropoulou | University of Leeds (original) (raw)

Papers by Dr Effie Papargyropoulou

Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2019

The rise of palm oil as the world's most consumed vegetable oil has coincided with exponentia... more The rise of palm oil as the world's most consumed vegetable oil has coincided with exponential growth in palm oil research activity. Bibliometric analysis of research outputs reveals a distinct imbalance in the type of research being undertaken, notably a disproportionate focus on biofuel and engineering topics. Recognizing the expansion of oil palm agriculture across the tropics and the increasing awareness of environmental, social, and economic impacts, we seek to reorientate the existing research agenda toward one that addresses the most fundamental and urgent questions defined by the palm oil stakeholder community. Following consultation with 659 stakeholders from 38 countries, including palm oil growers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and researchers, the highest priority research questions were identified within 13 themes. The resulting 279 questions, including 26 ranked as top priority, reveal a diversity of environmental and social research challeng...

Business Strategy and the Environment

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 2017

Food production and consumption is one of the major causes of global environmental degradation. O... more Food production and consumption is one of the major causes of global environmental degradation. One way to address environmental impacts in the food and beverage (F&B) sector is via the adoption of environmental management systems (EMS). To date, EMS research has focused predominantly on countries and sectors based in the Global North despite growing recognition of the global extent of environmental impacts from food production and consumption. In order to widen our knowledge of this topic in an under-researched emerging economy, this study examined factors determining EMS adoption within the Malaysian F&B industry. Drawn from a survey of 42 companies, this research investigated the drivers, barriers, and incentives to the adoption of the internationally recognized standard, ISO 14001. Discrepancies between the perceptions of small- and medium-sized enterprises and large companies’ as well as different product market groups were observed. It was found that large companies tend to ha...

After cost-effective investments in the city. After cost-effective investments in the electricity... more After cost-effective investments in the city. After cost-effective investments in the electricity sector. After cost-neutral investments in the city. After cost-neutral investments in the electricity sector.

Landscape Research, 2016

Tham (2016): Landscapes in transition: an analysis of sustainable policy initiatives and emerging... more Tham (2016): Landscapes in transition: an analysis of sustainable policy initiatives and emerging corporate commitments in the palm oil industry, Landscape Research

Sustainability, 2019

Food waste has formidable detrimental impacts on food security, the environment, and the economy,... more Food waste has formidable detrimental impacts on food security, the environment, and the economy, which makes it a global challenge that requires urgent attention. This study investigates the patterns and causes of food waste generation in the hospitality and food service sector, with the aim of identifying the most promising food waste prevention measures. It presents a comparative analysis of five case studies from the hospitality and food service (HaFS) sector in Malaysia and uses a mixed-methods approach. This paper provides new empirical evidence to highlight the significant opportunity and scope for food waste reduction in the HaFS sector. The findings suggest that the scale of the problem is even bigger than previously thought. Nearly a third of all food was wasted in the case studies presented, and almost half of it was avoidable. Preparation waste was the largest fraction, followed by buffet leftover and then customer plate waste. Food waste represented an economic loss equal to 23% of the value of the food purchased. Causes of food waste generation included the restaurants' operating procedures and policies, and the social practices related to food consumption. Therefore, food waste prevention strategies should be twofold, tackling both the way the hospitality and food service sector outlets operate and organise themselves, and the customers' social practices related to food consumption.

The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management System (E... more The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard provides a guideline for an organisation to perform a continuous improvement to their environmental performance. In light of continued concerns over global environmental impacts and climate change, the ISO 14001 standard serves to demonstrate organisational commitment to sustainable production processes. The objective of our paper is to determine the thematic and geographical trends of published EMS research with a view of developing a coordinated and holistic research framework which can be applied to facilitate the adoption of ISO 14001 in developing and developed regions of the world. Drawn from a portfolio of 509 articles from the Web of Science database, this study investigates the global trends of ISO 14001 EMS research between 2000 and 2016. The results show a considerable increase in scientific publications; from 10 articles in 2000 to 58 articles in 2016. Three themes were identified from the analysis: socio-ecological (60%), economic implications (25%), and environmental aspects (15%). In addition to a concentration of articles towards the socio-ecological theme of research, it is found that the majority of the published research derived from Europe (40%), North America (21%), and China (11%). Articles authored by researchers from developing countries were poorly represented in the findings. In order to address the thematic and global imbalance of EMS research, a research framework is proposed that promotes multi-stakeholders inclusion (e.g. industry, academics, government, etc.), crosscountry research collaboration and a focus on demand-driven approach for problem solving and policy-making.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Aug 2014

The unprecedented scale of food waste in global food supply chains is attracting increasing atten... more The unprecedented scale of food waste in global food supply chains is attracting increasing attention due to its environmental, social and economic impacts. Drawing on interviews with food waste specialists, this study construes the boundaries between food surplus and food waste, avoidable and unavoidable food waste, and between waste prevention and waste management. This study suggests that the first step towards a more sustainable resolution of the food waste issue is to adopt a sustainable production and consumption approach and tackle food surplus and waste throughout the global food supply chain. The authors examine the factors that give rise to food waste throughout the food supply chain, and propose a framework to identify and prioritize the most appropriate options for prevention and management of food waste. The proposed framework interprets and applies the waste hierarchy in the context of food waste. It considers the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social), offering a more holistic approach in addressing food waste. Additionally, it considers the materiality and temporality of food. The food waste hierarchy posits that prevention, through minimization of food surplus and avoidable food waste, is the most attractive option. The second most attractive option involves the distribution of food surplus to groups affected by food poverty, followed by the option of converting food waste to animal feed. Although the proposed food waste hierarchy requires a fundamental re-think of the current practices and systems in place, it has the potential to deliver substantial environmental, social and economic benefits.

Food waste has significant detrimental economic, environmental and social impacts. The magnitude ... more Food waste has significant detrimental economic, environmental and social impacts. The magnitude and complexity of the global food waste problem has brought it to the forefront of the environmental agenda; however, there has been little research on the patterns and drivers of food waste generation, especially outside the household. This is partially due to weaknesses in the methodological approaches used to understand such a complex problem. This paper proposes a novel conceptual framework to identify and explain the patterns and drivers of food waste generation in the hospitality sector, with the aim of identifying food waste prevention measures. This conceptual framework integrates data collection and analysis methods from ethnography and grounded theory, complemented with concepts and tools from industrial ecology for the analysis of quantitative data. A case study of food waste generation at a hotel restaurant in Malaysia is used as an example to illustrate how this conceptual framework can be applied. The conceptual framework links the biophysical and economic flows of food provisioning and waste generation, with the social and cultural practices associated with food preparation and consumption. The case study demonstrates that food waste is intrinsically linked to the way we provision and consume food, the material and socio-cultural context of food consumption and food waste generation. Food provisioning, food consumption and food waste generation should be studied together in order to fully understand how, where and most importantly why food waste is generated. This understanding will then enable to draw detailed, case specific food waste prevention plans addressing the material and socio-economic aspects of food waste generation.

The provision of appropriate waste management is not only an indicator of development but also of... more The provision of appropriate waste management is not only an indicator of development but also of broader sustainability. This is particularly relevant to expanding cities in developing countries faced with rising waste generation and associated environmental health problems. Despite these urgent issues, city authorities often lack the evidence required to make well-informed decisions. This study evaluates the carbon and economic performance of low-carbon measures in the waste sector at a city level, within the context of a developing country. Palembang in Indonesia is used as a case of a medium-sized city in a newly industrialized country, with relevance to other similar cities in the developing world. Evidence suggests that the waste sector can achieve substantial carbon emission reductions, and become a carbon sink, in a cost effective way. Hence there is an economic case for a low carbon development path for Palembang, and possibly for other cities in developing and developed countries facing similar challenges.

Cities are central to the fight against climate change, but the IPCC recently noted that many cit... more Cities are central to the fight against climate change, but the IPCC recently noted that many cities — and particularly
those in the developing world — lack the institutional, financial and technical capacities needed to switch
to low emission development paths. Based on detailed case studies of three Asian cities, this paper finds that the
adoption of low emission development strategies (LEDS) at the urban level could be economically attractive.
However, it also argues that without a coordinated multi-level, cross-sectoral governance framework these opportunities
for low carbon urban development are likely to be left unexploited. As these governance conditions
are frequently not in place, we argue that these case study cities, and cities in similar contexts, are likely to
miss even the economically attractive low carbon development opportunities and become increasingly locked
in to higher cost, higher carbon development paths. Due to their growing size and importance, we conclude
that the presence or absence of governance arrangements that enable the adoption of low carbon development
strategies in Asian cities will have global implications for climate change.

There is increasing interest in the potential of cities to contribute to climate mitigation. Mult... more There is increasing interest in the potential of cities to contribute to climate mitigation. Multiple assessments have evaluated the scale and composition of urban GHG emissions, while others have evaluated some aspects of urban mitigation potential. However, assessments of mitigation potential tend to be broadly focused, few if any have evaluated urban mitigation potential on a measure-by-measure basis, and fewer still have considered the economic case for investing in these measures. This is a significant knowledge gap as an economic case for action could be critical in building political commitment, strengthening institutional capacities, securing large-scale finance and targeting investment and implementation in cities. In this paper, we conduct a comparative analysis of the results of five recently completed studies that examined the economic case for investing in low-carbon measures in five cities: Leeds in the UK, Kolkata in India, Lima in Peru, Johor Bahru in Malaysia and Palembang in Indonesia. The results demonstrate that there is a compelling economic case for cities in both developed and developing country contexts to invest, at scale, in cost-effective low-carbon measures. The results suggest that these investments could generate significant reductions (in the range of 15–24% relative to business-as-usual trends) in urban carbon emissions over the next 10 years. Securing these savings would require an average investment of $3.2 billion per city, which if spread over 10 years equates to 0.4–0.9% of city GDP per year. However, the savings generated in the form of reduced energy bills would be equivalent to between 1.7% and 9.5% of annual city-scale GDP, and the average payback period of investments would be approximately 2 years at commercial interest rates. We provisionally estimate that if these findings were replicated and similar investments were made in cities globally, then they could generate reductions equivalent to 10–18% of global energy-related GHG emissions in 2025. While the studies offer some grounds for optimism, they also raise important questions about the barriers to change that prevent these economically attractive options from being exploited and about the scope for mitigation based on the exploitation of only the economically attractive options. We therefore discuss the institutional capacities, policy environments and financing arrangements that need to be developed before even these economically attractive opportunities can be exploited. We also demonstrate that, in rapidly growing cities, the carbon savings from such investments could be quickly overwhelmed – in as little as 7 years – by the impacts of sustained population and economic growth. We conclude by highlighting the need to build capacities that enable the exploitation not only of the economically attractive options in the short term but also of those deeper and more structural changes that are likely to be needed in the longer term.

The assumption that climate mitigation can only be afforded at a particular level of income is im... more The assumption that climate mitigation can only be afforded at a particular level of income is implicit in global climate negotiations. This suggests that middle-income countries may reach a tipping point in their development process where low-carbon investment becomes more viable. In order to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, this tipping point needs to be brought forward in time: upper-middle-income countries are already responsible for 37.8% of global CO2 emissions. We explore the scope for large-scale investment in climate mitigation in Johor Bahru, a fast-growing industrial city in Malaysia. We find that the city could reduce per capita emissions by 10.0% by 2025, relative to 2014 levels, through cost-effective investments. If the returns could be recovered and reinvested in low-carbon measures, Johor Bahru could reduce per capita emissions by 35.2% by 2025, relative to 2014 levels. This result suggests that the tipping point may be a function of political will and institutional capacity as well as income. This has substantial implications for global climate policy discussions, particularly the opportunities and responsibilities of middle-income countries. If comparable savings can be delivered across cities in middle-income countries, this would equate to a reduction in global emissions of 6.3% with the exploitation of cost-effective options and 11.3% with the exploitation of cost-neutral options. Investing in economically attractive low-carbon measures could also provide cities in middle-income countries with an opportunity to build the political momentum and institutional capacities necessary for deeper decarbonization.

We evaluate the economic case for low carbon investment in a developing world city. Cost-effectiv... more We evaluate the economic case for low carbon investment in a developing world city. Cost-effective measures could reduce emissions by 24.1% relative to BAU levels. These pay for themselves in o1 year and generate savings throughout their lifetime. Further savings come from reduced expenditure on energy infrastructure, subsidies. Limitations on climate action seem to be political/institutionalnot economic.

Environmental Conservation, Jan 7, 2014

There is a need for coordinated research for the sustainable management of tropical peatland. M... more There is a need for coordinated research for
the sustainable management of tropical peatland.
Malaysia has 6% of global tropical peat by area and
peatlands there are subject to land use change at an
unprecedented rate. This paper describes a stakeholder
engagement exercise that identified 95 priority research
questions for peatland inMalaysia, organized into nine
themes. Analysis revealed the need for fundamental
scientific research, with strong representation across
the themes of environmental change, ecosystem
services, and conversion, disturbance and degradation.
Considerable uncertainty remains about Malaysia’s
baseline conditions for peatland, including questions
over total remaining area of peatland, water table
depths, soil characteristics, hydrological function,
biogeochemical processes and ecology. More applied
and multidisciplinary studies involving researchers
from the social sciences are required. The future
sustainability of Malaysian peatland relies on
coordinating research agendas via a ‘knowledge hub’
of researchers, strengthening the role of peatlands in
land-use planning and development processes, stricter
policy enforcement, and bridging the divide between
national and provincial governance. Integration of the
economic value of peatlands into existing planning
regimes is also a stakeholder priority. Finally, current
research needs to be better communicated for the
benefit of the research community, for improved
societal understanding and to inform policy processes.

New Climate Economy and Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Nov 24, 2014

In this paper, we conduct a comparative analysis of the results of five recently completed studie... more In this paper, we conduct a comparative analysis of the results of five recently completed studies that examined the economic case for investment in low-carbon development in five cities: Leeds in the UK, Kolkata in India, Lima in Peru, Johor Bahru in Malaysia and Palembang in Indonesia. The results demonstrate that there is a compelling economic case for cities in both developed and developing country contexts to invest, at scale, in cost-effective forms of low-carbon development. The studies show that these cost-effective investments, for example in building energy efficiency, small-scale renewables and more efficient vehicles and transport systems, could lead to significant reductions (in the range of 14-24%1 relative to business-as-usual trends) in urban energy use and carbon emissions over the next 10 years. The financial savings generated by these investments would be equivalent to between 1.7% and 9.5% of annual city-scale GDP. Securing these savings would require an average investment of $3.2 billion per city, but with an average payback period of approximately two years at commercial interest rates. The results therefore show that large-scale low-carbon investments can appeal to local decision-makers and investors on direct, short-term economic grounds. They also indicate that climate mitigation ought to feature prominently in economic development strategies as well as in the environment and sustainability strategies that are often more peripheral to, and less influential in, city-scale decision-making. If these findings were replicated and similar investments were made in cities globally, then we estimate that they could generate reductions equivalent to 10-18% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2025. While the studies therefore offer some grounds for optimism, they also highlight the institutional capacities that need to be built and the policy interventions and financing mechanisms that need to be adopted before these opportunities can be exploited. If these were all in place, initiatives to exploit the costeffective opportunities for low-carbon development in cities could build momentum for change in cities that for a time could be globally significant. However, the studies also demonstrate that, in rapidly growing cities, the carbon savings from cost-effective investments could be quickly overwhelmed – in as little as seven years – by the impacts of sustained population and economic growth. They therefore highlight the pressing need for wider decarbonization (particularly of electricity supply) and deeper decarbonization (through more structural changes in urban form and function) if truly low-carbon cities are to emerge.

Sustainable Cities and Society

In the past two decades, the growth of the global sustainability agenda has led to the conception... more In the past two decades, the growth of the global sustainability agenda has led to the conception of a new business market, most commonly referred to as ‘sustainability services for the built environment’. For developing countries, the emergence of this market represents an opportunity to meet sustainability goals by improving access to skills necessary for improved performance in the design, construction and operation of buildings. Set against global trends in policy and market growth, this paper examines the rise of sustainability services in Malaysia – a developing country with a relatively young, undeveloped market with potential to benefit from market growth. Drawing on first hand experiences of consultants offering sustainability services in Malaysia, the current status of the market and the key barriers are discussed. The paper explores the business opportunities this emerging market has to offer to the Malaysian built environment sector and concludes with the potential it presents to contribute to the country's aspirations for sustainable development.