Publications by Albert Merino | EPFL Graph Search

Is the sharing economy a sustainable mode of consumption? An empirical case study of sharing of household goods and environmental rebound effects in a university context

Claudia Rebeca Binder Signer, Albert Merino, Ralph Hansmann

The Sharing Economy has been suggested as a sustainable mode of consumption due to its potential to lower resource use and waste generation. A better understanding of sharing drivers, consumption dynamics, and their interlinkages is essential to suitably a ...

Elsevier BV2024

Drivers and barriers to participation in the sharing economy: Does the environment really matter? A systematic review of 175 scientific articles

Claudia Rebeca Binder Signer, Albert Merino

The sharing economy (SE) has gained attention in recent years in both academia and practice. This derives from the economic and social benefits that are often attributed to it, but also from its limited anticipated environmental impacts. However, its role ...

2023

Conceptual frameworks in indicator‐based assessments of urban sustainability—An analysis based on 67 initiatives

Albert Merino, Pekka Jaakko Halla

Urban sustainability is today commonly considered to be a crucial determinant of global sustainable development, and indicator-based assessments represent a popular means of operationalizing this complex concept. An important aspect of these assessments co ...

2022

How to link sustainability assessments with local governance? – Connecting indicators to institutions and controversies

Claudia Rebeca Binder Signer, Albert Merino, Pekka Jaakko Halla

The concept of sustainability is growing in importance for local urban governance, and indicator-based assessments represent a popular means for its operationalization. While much effort has been spent developing the technical aspects of these assessments, ...

2022

Unraveling how the concept of circularity relates to sustainability: An indicator-based meta-analysis applied at the urban scale

Claudia Rebeca Binder Signer, Albert Merino, Valeria Superti

Cities account for 75% of resource consumption and 80% of CO2 emissions. With rising urbanization, achieving urban sustainability becomes crucial. The Circular Economy (CE) concept has been proposed to reduce resource consumption, although its link to sust ...

2021

Unpacking the Green Economy concept: A quantitative analysis of 140 definitions

Romano Tobias Wyss, Albert Merino, Marta Giulia Baldi

Over the past ten years, the Green Economy (GE) concept has gained momentum in both academia and policy-making arenas, leading to international programs in diverse sectors and driving national agendas all over the world. The concept is however highly contr ...

2020

Indicators for urban sustainability: Key lessons from a systematic analysis of 67 measurement initiatives

Claudia Rebeca Binder Signer, Albert Merino, Valeria Superti, Pekka Jaakko Halla, Anne Frédérique Cécile Noémi Bösch

Today, the centrality of cities in the global sustainability challenge is widely acknowledged, and numerous initiatives have been developed worldwide for monitoring and comparing the sustainability performance of urban areas. However, the escalating abunda ...

2020

Assessing Urban Sustainability through Participatory Multi-Criteria Approaches (PMCAs): An Updated Comparative Analysis

Albert Merino

This chapter presents a comparative analysis of four Participatory Multi-Criteria Approaches (PMCAs) usually applied in sustainability assessments (SMCE, MCM, 3-SPM and INTEGRAAL). Such approaches are presented in detail and subsequently compared to each o ...

Cambridge University Press2020

Articulating natural resources and sustainable development goals through green economy indicators: A systematic analysis

Albert Merino, Marta Giulia Baldi, Bruno Maria Camelo Oberle, Ian Gunderson

Natural Resources are essential inputs for economic and social development. However, unsustainable resource use has led to environmental degradation and resource depletion, endangering the well-being of humanity and the environment. The 2030 Agenda for Sus ...

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV2018