http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35354 2026-04-10T10:59:15Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194462 Title: Overcoming the solar PV retrofit challenge in strata properties: identifying discrete segments for targeted interventions Authors: Charters, B; Daly, M; Heffernan, T Abstract: Purpose: This article discusses research addressing apartment owners’ reluctance to adopt solar photovoltaic (PV) technology by focusing on factors directly relevant to strata property owners. The research utilised a motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA)-based conceptual model and market segmentation, identifying discrete segments within this population with regards to their attitudes to solar PV adoption and informing solar PV adoption interventions tailored to each. Design/methodology/approach: The research utilised a tailored survey distributed to strata property owners. To identify segments within the resulting 547-respondent sample, latent class analysis and k-means cluster analysis were performed. Findings: Data analysis revealed three discrete segments within this sample: “Frustrated Advocates”, who are highly supportive of strata solar but are less likely to consider it feasible for their particular strata scheme and who might respond to an ongoing collaborative intervention; “Passive Supporters”, who are more confident that strata solar would be feasible for their scheme but less enthusiastic in their personal support; and “Older Avoiders”, who are indifferent to strata solar in principle, unwilling to support it in practice, and who might require a carrot-and-stick approach that recognises their actual motivations. Research limitations/implications: The research does not test interventions targeting the identified segments. However, its findings can inform tailored interventions and subsequent case studies, and influence broader research into multi-stakeholder decision-making. Practical implications: This article proposes intervention strategies based on the segments' identified characteristics, to encourage and support adoption of solar PV in existing strata properties. Social implications: This article could help strata property owners and their tenants to access an important form of renewable energy. Originality/value: Through the application of an MOA-based model, this article enhances extant literature by enabling the conceptualisation of the directly relevant factors facing strata property owners seeking to adopt solar PV, particularly the need for collective approval from diverse stakeholders, and demonstrates how a segmentation-based methodology can provide robust findings with regards to their resulting attitudes. 2025-06-03T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194461 Title: Potential for a circular economy for sustainable large-scale renewable energy systems Authors: Pham, L; Kutay, C; James, G Abstract: The renewable energy industry has been in rapid progression to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. In this process, we cannot ignore the inevitable and continual decommissioning of a multitude of generation and transmission systems at their end-of-life, leading to a very large mass of waste being produced. With renewable generator lifespans ranging between 20-30 years, there is a limited period to develop a plan to re-introduce materials from these systems into future projects. This paper aims to discuss the status of our renewable energy market and the material available for re-use. This review relies on company and government reports, published work and other sources to establish the material that exists in our solar and wind farms, battery storage and transmission systems, and future changes expected. Then, we collate the options for recycling and the output of these existing recycling processes to separate and reuse the materials collected. There is a significant overlap in material across the generation and transmission networks which could be introduced into the circular economy through mass processing. At present some of this already have proposed uses, but most still goes to landfill, removing them from the circular process we aim to achieve. This research highlights the difficulty in achieving sustainability aspect of the renewable energy industry and some opportunities for introducing all material into the circular economy. This problem is handled for the energy industry and policy makers as well as encouraging those in recycling to take up this challenge. 2025-06-30T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194440 Title: From 3Ps to 6Rs: Urban Water and Wastewater Policies Influencing Circularity in the Built Environment in Australia Authors: Gajanayake, A; Karunasena, G; Paul, R Abstract: Wastewater systems in Australia are designed to efficiently transport the 3Ps (Poo, Pee and Paper) from households for treatment and safe disposal. With increasing water shortages, government policies are focusing on alternative sources of water such as recycled water to reduce freshwater demand and Circular Economy (CE) adoption. This chapter examines Australia's water and wastewater policies to assess how they incorporate the 6Rs (Rethink, Reduce, Remove, Reuse, Recycle and Recover) of circular economy strategies into the built environment. The analysis reveals that most of the policies focus on the use of recycled water for non-potable purposes and there is very limited use of recycled water in construction and built environment when this sector is responsible for 15–20% of the total freshwater use in Australia. The major challenges to achieving circularity in the water system are inconsistent regulations on water uses, conventional water and wastewater management systems that impede the utilisation of recycled water, lack of effective education and training among the construction practitioners and absence of metrics and tools to quantify the benefits. Given the economic focus of the construction and built environment sector, adequate attention is needed to address these challenges while developing and implementing water and wastewater policies. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/193726 Title: Evaluating changes in gender equality related to water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in rural Nepal: findings from a quasi-experimental evaluation Authors: MacArthur, J; Basnet, MP; Budhathoki, R; Chhetri, A; Yadav, A; Willetts, J Abstract: Growing evidence highlights the gender-transformative potential of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions, which can shape gender equality and social inclusion alongside and through improvements in WASH practices, service delivery, and governance. This paper presents results from a quasi-experimental evaluation of the gender-transformative impacts of WASH interventions in the districts of Dailekh and Sarlahi in Nepal between 2020 and 2022. This timeframe also overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic. The evaluation utilized propensity-score-matching and difference-in-difference techniques with the 16-theme water, sanitation, and hygiene–gender equality measure (WASH-GEM) to differentiate results between women and men of varying levels of program involvement. Average scores increased in 10 of the 16 themes for men, while decreasing in 10 themes for women; suggesting that men experienced greater improvements in gendered outcomes. Nonetheless, active participation in the program led to higher benefits or mitigated negative impacts in 15 themes, and women had better outcomes than men in 13 of these. These results suggest that active participation in the program had a positive net benefit for women participants, mitigating the negative gender impacts of the pandemic. This study illustrates the value of gender-transformative WASH programming as a pathway not only to improved WASH but also advancing equality. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z