To implement a robust and durable circular economy strategy, it is important to assess its environmental impacts. Valérie Laforest and Natacha Gondran, both researchers at Mines Saint-Étienne, explain the reasons for incorporating an absolute environmental sustainability assessment method and the underlying concept of “environmental budgeting“.   The lifestyles of our contemporary societies are exerting constant and unsustainable pressure on the …

The RAMP-UP Seed project is one of 9 new projects to have been selected by the German-French Academy for the Industry of the Future as part of the “Resilience and Sustainability for the Industry of the Future” call for projects. It focuses on helping companies adapt their production capacities to respond to crisis situations. The project relies on two main …

Over the past decade, the use of facial recognition has developed rapidly for both security and convenience purposes. This biometrics-based technology is used for everything from video surveillance to border controls and unlocking digital devices. This type of data is highly sensitive and is subject to specific legal framework. Claire Levallois-Barth, a legal researcher at Télécom Paris and coordinator of …

The manufacture of steel produces mineral residues called steel slags, which are stored in large quantities in slag dumps. These present a dual challenge. On the one hand, they are potentially harmful for the environment and health, and on the other hand they are a useful resource for certain industries. The HYPASS project at Mines Saint-Étienne aims to address both …

Recovering untreated plastic materials and putting them back into the recycling loop through a decontamination line is the challenge of thesis research by Layla Gripon, a PhD student at IMT Lille Douai. These extraction methods contribute to a comprehensive approach to recovering plastic materials, in particular brominated plastics. High consumption of electronic devices implies a significant amount of waste to …

Aurélie Dudézert, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School and Florence Laval, IAE de Poitiers After a lockdown that has helped reveal how far along companies are in their digital transformation, the easing of lockdown measures has ushered in a new phase marked by a desire to return to “normal” activities, which is impossible due to changing health restrictions. Some organizations have therefore tried to use the …

Responsibilities surrounding digital waste are multi-faceted. On one side, it is governments’ responsibility to establish tighter border controls to better manage the flow of waste and make sure that it is not transferred to developing countries. On the other side, electronic device manufacturers must take accountability for their position by facilitating end-of-life management of their products. And consumers must be …

Arsenic contamination of water, whether surface water or ground water, affects many parts of France. Such contamination may be the result of anthropogenic causes, linked to mining operations for example, or of natural causes in relation to changes in geological formations, as is the case in many countries such as India, Pakistan and Chili. In partnership with the Nuclear Materials …

Fabrice Flipo, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School Despite the Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions are currently at their highest. Further action must be taken in order to stay under the 1.5°C threshold of global warming. But thanks to the recent European Green Deal aimed at reaching carbon neutrality within 30 years, Europe now seems to be taking on its responsibilities and …

Natacha Gondran, Mines Saint-Étienne – Institut Mines-Télécom and Aurélien Boutaud, Mines Saint-Étienne – Institut Mines-Télécom This article was published for the Fête de la Science (Science Festival, held from 2 to 12 October 2020 in mainland France and from 6 to 16 November in Corsica, overseas departments and internationally), in which The Conversation France is a partner. The theme for this year’s …