By: Meredith Oglesby
As Ohio and surrounding states slowly reopen after the shutdowns caused by COVID-19, many companies are wondering how to stay safe and sustainable while moving forward. The Sustainability Institute staff conducted an informal survey of more than two dozen external partners in late May to learn about their top needs related to the pandemic and how sustainability and resilience research could help.
Supply Chain Disruptions
Survey respondents identified their top concern as managing the disruptions in supply chains and developing ways to make them more resilient. Yongyang Cai, associate professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics and a Sustainability Institute core faculty member, leads a research team examining supply chain resilience in the face of the pandemic. It is based on another large project, funded by the National Science Foundation and led by Elena Irwin, Sustainability Institute faculty director and Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, which examines the effects of deglobalization on food, energy and water system sustainability in the Great Lakes region. Cai’s project model links food and health systems to economic and policy changes and will examine, through different scenarios, effects during the post-outbreak period and compare long-term effects through 2050.
The scenarios will vary in their use of trade or border restrictions, stay-at-home orders, food supply chain labor policies and the availability and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. The results of the research, supported by the Ohio State Office of Research, are expected by late summer and will be used to guide state and regional policymakers as they address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In other related work, Sustainability Institute faculty designed the online Infrastructure System Investment Climate, Labor, and Environmental Synergies (ISICLES) Tool, which will aid policymakers and the public in making sound decisions regarding infrastructure projects that could provide job opportunities and stimulate the economy. The ISICLES Tool is a social and environmental life-cycle assessment model to quantify economic effects, such as job creation, and environmental factors, such as carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from investments in infrastructure projects.
ISICLES team members, who received COVID-19 funding from the Office of Research, include Daniel Gingerich, assistant professor of civil, environmental and geodetic engineering and integrated systems engineering and Sustainability Institute core faculty member; Jeffrey Bielicki, associate professor of civil, environmental and geodetic engineering and John Glenn College of Public Affairs, who is a member of the Sustainability Institute’s faculty advisory board and research co-lead for its sustainable energy program area; and Yue Qin, assistant professor of geography and Sustainability Institute core faculty member.
Keeping Indoor Environments Safe
Another priority identified by the survey was designing and configuring indoor environments to improve the health and safety of occupants. Ohio State researchers, including Mark Weir, assistant professor of environmental health sciences and Sustainability Institute core faculty member, create computer models to illustrate how rapidly the coronavirus can spread. Weir presented what these models found and how certain surfaces contribute to the spread of COVID-19 during Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s daily press conference April 23. The models created are helping hospitals, schools and businesses reopen safely. Weir’s presentation can be viewed at the 18:30 marker of the press conference video.
Perena Gouma, professor and Orton Chair, materials science and engineering, and Sustainability Institute affiliated faculty member, is the primary investigator for a team developing a breathalyzer device that will test breath samples for key biomarkers of COVID-19. This device would serve as an alternative to current tests and would give rapid results. The breathalyzer test is inexpensive and easy to use, and the results can be viewed directly on the display or transferred to the physician wirelessly. This device would even identify the virus in individuals who are asymptomatic.
Contactless Commerce
Many businesses participating in the survey identified contactless commerce and other innovations for consumption choices as an area of high interest. Brian Roe, professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics and Sustainability Institute affiliated faculty member, shares how to keep food fresh during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a way to avoid frequent trips to the store, Roe advises that people should create a grocery list before going to the store, which allows for more efficient shopping, cuts down shopping time and limits trips back to the store for missed items.
When you return home, is it critical to sanitize items brought into the home? Weir’s advice: While it is possible for the virus to live on packages goods, we are not as likely to catch the virus that way. The most likely surface to transfer the virus is a non-porous one, like plastic or steel. Porous surfaces like hair, fabric or cardboard can hold the virus but not transmit it as easily.
Environmental Impacts from COVID-19
Survey results report that no respondents plan to deprioritize or scale back sustainability efforts, and some said a higher priority would be placed on implementing sustainability plans. Aligning with these sentiments, the business owners indicated a strong interest in preserving environmental gains like lower carbon emissions from less business travel after resuming operations.
The environmental impacts from COVID-19 are apparent throughout communities as people are working from home and traveling less. Harvey Miller, professor of geography, director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA) and Sustainability Institute faculty advisory board member, is conducting an analysis to better understand the impacts of the coronavirus on transportation and mobility. Miller found that in Columbus, Ohio, during the COVID-19 shutdown, transit demand decreased by 60%, meaning that 40% of Central Ohio Transit Authority users are potentially essential workers relying on public transportation services. COVID-19 brought to light the safety and distancing challenges facing public transportation and the larger concepts of sustainability.
As the world continues to navigate life through the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio State’s researchers will continue to take an interdisciplinary approach to looking at the resulting challenges. Stay up to date with pandemic-related research by Sustainability Institute faculty members.
Meredith Oglesby is a communication assistant for the Sustainability Institute.